Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 2332
Dec 30, 2017
The Quest for Immortality, Rebooted
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: biotech/medical, evolution, life extension, neuroscience, singularity, transhumanism, virtual reality
Shermer’s journey into the present-day search for human domination over death and society’s ills introduces readers to all forms of what he calls “techno-optimism,” meaning the belief that technological progress means an end to death — or, at the very least, to aging and social decay. There are the cryonicists who want to freeze us, and those who want simply to freeze our brains, with all their neural connections and associated memories (the connectome). The transhumanists want to enhance us so thoroughly — through means both natural and artificial — that we become godlike, “taking control of evolution and transforming the species into something stronger, faster, sexier, healthier and with vastly superior cognitive abilities the likes of which we mere mortals cannot conceive”; the Omega Point theorists think we will all one day be brought back to life in a virtual reality. Believers in “the singularity” contend that it is possible to upload the human brain to a server without losing the essence of what makes you you. And, of course, there are those who try to cure us of aging, so that our bodies and minds will cease to deteriorate and our life spans will increase ad infinitum. Shermer visits each of these and other utopian theories with detail and considered analysis, drawing readers along increasingly unrealistic (or are they?) possibilities for our future evolution. It’s a journey as boggling as it is engrossing.
In “Heavens on Earth,” Michael Shermer explores the lengths to which mankind will go to ensure our souls’ survival beyond existence on this mortal coil.
Dec 30, 2017
Deadpool in real-life: Humans might one day be able to re-grow missing limbs, scientists claim
Posted by Shane Hinshaw in category: biotech/medical
Could we be like Deadpool in real-life? Scientists claim that humans might one day be able to re-grow missing limbs.
Dec 30, 2017
Report on Doctor’s Healthiest Diet
Posted by Brady Hartman in categories: biotech/medical, life extension
The report shows a surprising diet to be healthy and live longer.
Summary: Comparing the Atkins, Rosedale, Paleo, Mediterranean and DASH Diet plans, researchers report on the healthiest options. [This article first appeared on the LongevityFacts website. Author: Brady Hartman.]
Despite all the advances made with lifespan-extending drugs, a healthy diet remains as one of the best ways to stay healthy and live longer. While many dietary regimens can help us lose weight, few people recognize that some of these are downright unhealthy. However, given the multitude of meal plans – such as the Atkins, Rosedale, Paleo, DASH, Mediterranean and the ‘USDA MyFoodPlate’ – which diet is the best for a slim figure and optimal health?
Dec 30, 2017
Scientists Say Air Pollution Will Be Our Top Killer by 2050
Posted by Brady Hartman in categories: biotech/medical, life extension, sustainability
Can anyone suggest how we can prevent this from happening to us?
Summary: Air pollution and global warming will ascend to the top cause of death in the next three decades, say researchers from the University of Southern California. The scientists add that the polluted air will lead to a rise in lung disease, heart attacks, and strokes. [This article first appeared on the LongevityFacts.com website. Author: Brady Hartman.]
A pair of expert scientists from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles says that global warming and air pollution will ascend to the top cause of death due to “ischemic heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease.”
Continue reading “Scientists Say Air Pollution Will Be Our Top Killer by 2050” »
Dec 29, 2017
Scientists have found a way to translate brain activity into movement
Posted by Ian Hale in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, neuroscience, transhumanism
The transhumanist vision of a transformed and technologically enhanced humanity is no longer a science fiction pipe dream. The technological and scientific breakthroughs our society has experienced over the past couple of decades perhaps stand testament to that.
Applied science has certainly come a long way too, but we are yet to crack the brain’s enigma code. How would humanity benefit if we were to crack it? Neuroprosthetics seem to be a window into the future.
Can brain activity be translated into movement?
Continue reading “Scientists have found a way to translate brain activity into movement” »
Dec 29, 2017
Bioquark Inc. — Cosmos Connection
Posted by Ira S. Pastor in categories: aging, bioengineering, biological, biotech/medical, complex systems, cryonics, DNA, futurism, genetics, health, life extension
Dec 28, 2017
Meet the creature that can regenerate its brain and resist cancer
Posted by Ian Hale in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
Dec 28, 2017
Faster, stronger, better jumpers: Genetically engineered ‘super-horses’ to be born in 2019
Posted by Shane Hinshaw in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics
Scientists, who had previously cloned polo ponies, have achieved yet another breakthrough in their work that could lead to the creation of genetically engineered “super-horses” that are faster, stronger and better jumpers than regular horses within two years.
Scientists in Argentina reportedly managed to rewrite the genomes of cloned horses by using a powerful DNA editing technique called CRISPR. They also produced healthy embryos that are now expected to be implanted into a surrogate mother by 2019.
CRISPR, an acronym that stands for Clustered, Regularly Interspaced, Short Palindromic Repeats, is basically a technique in a bacteria’s immune system. When a virus invades a bacterial cell, the CRISPR system captures a piece of the virus’s DNA and slides it into a section of the bacteria’s own DNA, allowing it to detect and destroy the virus as well as similar viruses in future attacks.
Dec 28, 2017
China’s latest plans to dominate robot, smart car and railway industries by 2020
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: biotech/medical, economics, food, information science, internet, robotics/AI
China has unveiled three-year plans to increase the country’s economic competitiveness by developing “key technologies” in nine industrial sectors, from robotics to railways.
Other areas include smart cars, robotics, advanced shipbuilding and maritime equipment, modern agricultural machinery, advanced medical devices and drugs, new materials, smart manufacturing and machine tools.
The aim is “to make China a powerful manufacturing country” and upgrade the nation’s industrial power through “the internet, big data and artificial intelligence”, the commission said.