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Archive for the ‘economics’ category: Page 15

Jul 29, 2023

Bioengineered Probiotics: Synthetic Biology Can Provide Live Cell Therapeutics for the Treatment of Foodborne Diseases

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, economics, food, health

The rising prevalence of antibiotic resistant microbial pathogens presents an ominous health and economic challenge to modern society. The discovery and large-scale development of antibiotic drugs in previous decades was transformational, providing cheap, effective treatment for what would previously have been a lethal infection. As microbial strains resistant to many or even all antibiotic drug treatments have evolved, there is an urgent need for new drugs or antimicrobial treatments to control these pathogens. The ability to sequence and mine the genomes of an increasing number of microbial strains from previously unexplored environments has the potential to identify new natural product antibiotic biosynthesis pathways. This coupled with the power of synthetic biology to generate new production chassis, biosensors and “weaponized” live cell therapeutics may provide new means to combat the rapidly evolving threat of drug resistant microbial pathogens. This review focuses on the application of synthetic biology to construct probiotic strains that have been endowed with functionalities allowing them to identify, compete with and in some cases kill microbial pathogens as well as stimulate host immunity. Weaponized probiotics may have the greatest potential for use against pathogens that infect the gastrointestinal tract: Vibrio cholerae, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens and Clostridioides difficile. The potential benefits of engineered probiotics are highlighted along with the challenges that must still be met before these intriguing and exciting new therapeutic tools can be widely deployed.

The discovery and application of antibiotic drugs is among the most significant accomplishments of medical science. Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin (Fleming, 1929) and subsequent discovery and development of multiple classes of natural product antibiotics have been transformational to modern society. These compounds have yielded cheap and effective treatments for diseases caused by common bacterial infections that would previously have proven fatal. The advent of effective antibiotic drugs has made it possible to survive complex surgical procedures like open heart surgery and organ transplants and extended the average human life-span (Riley, 2005; Kaviani et al., 2020). The benefits of readily available antibiotic drugs have extended into agriculture and aquaculture, making it possible to increase productivity of farmed animals (Park et al., 1994; Patel et al., 2020).

Jul 27, 2023

The true costs of ageing

Posted by in categories: economics, life extension

The rich world is ageing fast. How can societies afford the looming costs of caring for their growing elderly populations? film supported by @mission.winnow.

00:00 The wealthy world is ageing.
01:17 Japan’s elderly population.
02:11 The problems of an ageing world.
04:01 Reinventing old age.
05:48 Unlocking the potential of older years.
07:09 Reforming social care.
08:20 A community-based approach.
11:08 A fundamental shift is needed.

Continue reading “The true costs of ageing” »

Jul 26, 2023

ChatGPT creator says AI advocates are fooling themselves if they think the technology is only going to be good for workers: ‘Jobs are definitely going to go away’

Posted by in categories: economics, employment, robotics/AI

Generative artificial intelligence technology such as ChatGPT could boost productivity for many workers in the years ahead. But some people are likely to lose their jobs in the process.

That’s according to Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Altman said in June that AI’s development could provide the “most tremendous leap forward” for people’s quality of life. But he also said in March it’d be “crazy not to be a little afraid of AI” and its potential to create” disinformation problems or economic shocks.”

Jul 25, 2023

Chip Industry Sees Labor Shortages Threatening US Expansion Plan

Posted by in categories: computing, economics

The semiconductor industry warned that there won’t be enough engineers, computer scientists and technicians in the US to support a rapid expansion this decade, threatening efforts to boost the domestic chip economy.

Jul 25, 2023

The Battle of the Everything Apps — Digital Identity, Payments, Social Graphs, AI and Universal Basic Income

Posted by in categories: economics, robotics/AI

A high-stakes battle is unfolding between major tech giants to create dominant “everything apps” that combine digital identity, messaging, payments, and AI services. The winner of this contest could gain unrivalled data to power their AI platforms and to shape the future of society.

There is the promise of implementing a universal basic income (UBI) via these super apps as a mechanism to mitigate the downside risks of technological disruption in an era of accelerating automation and the rise of artificial general intelligence. Whether the promises will be delivered, lead to more equality, be decentralized enough to distribute power to all of humanity, or be available in time before the automation disruption will be, at the very least, interesting to monitor.

The main contenders in this race are:

Jul 24, 2023

Dr. Michael Roberts, Ph.D. — Chief Science Officer, International Space Station National Laboratory

Posted by in categories: biological, economics, education, science, space, sustainability

Dr. Michael Roberts, Ph.D. is Chief Science Officer of the International Space Station National Laboratory (https://www.issnationallab.org/), and Vice President at the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS — https://www.issnationallab.org/about/center-for-the-advancem…dership/), which as manager of the ISS National Laboratory in partnership with NASA, is responsible to the nation for enabling access to the International Space Station for research, technology development, STEM education, and commercial innovation in space as a public service to foster a scalable and sustainable low Earth orbit economy.

Before joining CASIS in 2013, Dr. Roberts worked as a microbial ecologist, principal investigator, and research group lead in the NASA Advanced Life Support program at the Kennedy Space Center.

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Jul 20, 2023

A strong commercial space industry secures America’s future

Posted by in categories: economics, robotics/AI, security, space

The United States remains the only nation to have landed humans on the Moon and returned them safely to Earth. It is among the greatest achievements in human history, and it has significantly contributed to America’s leadership on the world stage. As a young man I had the opportunity of working on the Apollo program as an inspector with McDonnell Douglas. It was an exciting experience, and I am both grateful and humbled to have been a part of it.

The success of the Apollo Missions led to other significant accomplishments like building reusable Space Shuttles to test the limits of human space flight, prolonged robotic exploration of Mars, deploying a space-based telescope that can see far beyond our solar system, and conducting scientific research on the International Space Station. In more recent years we’ve seen an explosion in commercial space activity which has culminated in private companies conducting successful human space launches. This too is a significant milestone.

Our investment in space is critical to our national security, scientific discovery, technological advancement, and economic competitiveness. So much of our modern-day life is dependent on space making a bank transaction, for example, or even a phone call, these days requires using some type of space-faring technology. And while NASA’s leadership of our space efforts will continue to be indispensable, the U.S. commercial space industry’s role in space exploration will grow larger and more critical. American companies must continue to lead the way.

Jul 19, 2023

Cover-Up Of Promising Cancer Treatment | Cancer Research | Documentary

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, economics, education, health

The story of a young science-writer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who risked everything by blowing the whistle on a massive cover-up involving a promising cancer therapy.

Cover-Up Of Promising Cancer Treatment (2014)
Director: Eric Merola.
Writers: Eric Merola.
Stars: Robert Good, Ben Moss, Martha Moss.
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Drama.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Also Known As: Second Opinion — The Lie of America’s War on Cancer.
Release Date: March 1, 2014 (United States)

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Jul 18, 2023

It’s Time to Consider the Federal Land Dividend

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, business, economics, government

Here’s my new Opinion essay at Newsweek. It’s about the need to use our nation’s massive natural resources to pay for a bipartisan tax free universal basic income, called the Federal Land Dividend. I hope you will read and share it!


In 2018, I began lecturing about the Federal Land Dividend, a bipartisan tax-free Universal Basic Income (UBI) based on monetizing the 640 million acres of mostly unused federally owned land. Due to the lasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which include a struggling U.S. economy, there is increasing interest in implementing basic income plans. The Federal Land Dividend is the only method that is both bipartisan and tax free.

An estimated 50 percent of the 11 most western states are mostly empty land that belong to the government. Estimates say this land and its resources are worth approximately $100 to $200 trillion. If we divide the middle— $150 trillion —by America’s population of 333 million, every person would have approximately $450,000 in equity. That’s much higher than the median net worth in America of $122,000.

Continue reading “It’s Time to Consider the Federal Land Dividend” »

Jul 15, 2023

ChatGPT boosts writing productivity, finds new MIT study

Posted by in categories: economics, robotics/AI

ChatGPT decreased the time it took workers to complete certain writing tasks by 40 percent and increased output quality by 18 percent.

A new MIT study has found that access to the assistive chatbot ChatGPT decreased the time it took workers to complete certain writing tasks by 40 percent and increased output quality by 18 percent.

This is according to a press release by the institution published on Friday.

Continue reading “ChatGPT boosts writing productivity, finds new MIT study” »

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