Archive for the ‘biological’ category: Page 166
Feb 5, 2019
The Air Force’s ‘rods from god’ could hit with the force of a nuclear weapon — with no fallout
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biological, geopolitics, military, treaties
The 107-country Outer Space Treaty signed in 1967 prohibits nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons from being placed in or used from Earth’s orbit.
What they didn’t count on was the US Air Force’s most simple weapon ever: a tungsten rod that could hit a city with the explosive power of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
During the Vietnam War, the US used what it called “Lazy Dog” bombs. These were simply solid-steel pieces, less than 2 inches long, fitted with fins.
Feb 2, 2019
AHS18 Michael Rose — Evolutionary Biology of Diet, Aging, and Mismatch
Posted by Paul Battista in categories: biological, evolution, life extension, mathematics
Human health depends on age and evolutionary history. Firstly, adaptation is age-specific, with Hamilton’s forces of natural selection leading to much greater adaptation at earlier ages than later ages. This of course is how evolutionary biologists explain the existence of aging in the first place. Secondly, when environmental conditions change, it takes surprisingly few generations for populations to adapt to such new conditions, at least at early ages when natural selection is intense. Thirdly, at later ages, when the forces of natural selection are weak, natural selection will often fail to produce adaptation to a selective environment that is not evolutionarily ancient. All three of these themes will be illustrated using both explicit mathematical theory and findings from experimental evolution. At the end of the presentation, we will apply these general scientific insights to the case of human evolutionary history, human aging, and optimal human diets.
Feb 1, 2019
Biology, Technology, and the Posthuman Future
Posted by Steve Nichols in categories: biological, futurism
https://paper.li/e-1437691924#/
Philosopher Peter Sloterdijk provides insight into the upheavals to come.
Jan 31, 2019
Could an extremophile hold the secret to treatment of devastating injuries?
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in category: biological
Water bear. Moss piglet. Tardigrade.
The gentle teddy-bear features of this polyonymic animal belie its hardy nature.
Capable of withstanding dehydration and cosmic radiation and surviving temperatures as low as −450 F and as high as 300 F, this eight-limbed microscopic creature holds the key to one of biology’s greatest secrets — extreme survival.
Continue reading “Could an extremophile hold the secret to treatment of devastating injuries?” »
Jan 25, 2019
‘Immortality or Bust’ (Documentary): A Review
Posted by B.J. Murphy in categories: biological, education, geopolitics, life extension, transhumanism
There is a noble frontier in the making that is growing internationally at speeds yet to be comprehended. And this frontier goes by the name “Transhumanism,” which is the pursuit to overcome aging and all biological limitations via advanced science and technology. What started as nothing more than a fringe concept among futurist circles has now become a global movement consisting of philosophers, political activists, scientists, and technologists.
But when it comes to Transhumanism here in the United States, there was one particular event in mind that helped introduce this movement into the national dialogue. That event is now famously known as the “Immortality Bus tour,” for which was led by then-presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan, representing the U.S. Transhumanist Party.
Continue reading “‘Immortality or Bust’ (Documentary): A Review” »
Jan 25, 2019
On Transhumanist Manifestos and Dilemmas
Posted by Paul Battista in categories: biological, transhumanism
It’s been almost 10 years since I wrote the first versions of Hamlet’s Transhumanist Dilemma and A Transhumanist Manifesto. And a lot has changed. Including my point of view.
I started with Hamlet. With asking a question: Will technology replace biology?
At the time I felt that this was the contemporary version of Shakespeare’s original human dilemma: to be or not to be.
Jan 23, 2019
Don’t Bring Extinct Creatures Back to Life
Posted by Mary Jain in categories: biological, existential risks
What if woolly mammoths could walk the planet once again? De-extinction – or the process of creating an organism which is a member of, or closely resembles, an extinct species – was once a sci-fi fantasy only imaginable in films like “Jurassic Park.” But recent biological and technological breakthroughs indicate that reviving extinct creatures could become a reality. Even if advancements get us there, should we do it?
Jan 19, 2019
Artificially produced cells communicate with each other
Posted by Peter Morgan in categories: bioengineering, biological, robotics/AI
Using a modular construction kit of tailor-made cell systems, the researchers hope to simulate various properties of biological systems in the future. The idea is that cells react to their environment and learn to act independently.
The first applications are already on the horizon: In the long term, artificial cell assemblies can be deployed as mini-factories to produce specific biomolecules, or as tiny micro-robot sensors that process information and adapt to their environments.
Jan 18, 2019
Human lifespan has a natural limit – and we’ve already reached it
Posted by Steve Nichols in categories: biological, life extension
Biological life extension may hit limits. “Clearly, there are biological reasons for each species’ average lifespan, so why would anyone think that people could live for much longer than we do now?” Perhaps new breakthroughs will nudge lifespans upwards, but maybe these scientists are correct. This is why I still work on artificial death (non biological uploading to MVT awareness engines). Even if average ages go up many folks will still become terminally ill, and apart from MVT artificial death (second best to life) they will only have expensive cryogenics or doubtful religious faith as alternatives.
The average age of people over 110 has not increased for nearly 50 years.