Lifeboat Foundation

Most cancer-busting strategies focus on removing cancerous cells. While this approach has proved extremely effective on many patients, most treatments have unpleasant side effects and there are many strains which prove extremely challenging to remove. An alternative model to this is to alter instead of remove — fixing cancerous behaviour by ‘reprogramming’ cells that go rogue; essentially swiss finishing school for cellular miscreants. A study published in Nature Cell Biology now provides hope that this tactic could in fact work in many cancers.

Researchers from Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus have found that adhesion proteins, which act like a glue sticking cells together, actually interact with a cell’s ‘microprocessor’. This processor creates molecules called miRNAs, which regulate multiple genes and essentially activate or de-activate different behavioural programs (like commands in computer programming). When healthy cells bump into a neighbour and begin to glue together, these adhesion proteins normally influence both cells — tuning down growth pathways. In cancer, the lab found this adhesion is perturbed; de-regulating miRNA production and enabling rampant growth. When scientists corrected these miRNA levels, the growth was arrested.

Continue reading “Can We Reprogram Cancer Cells Back To Normal?” »

A new story on transhumanism from Tech Insider which is Business Insider’s new tech site:

This presidential candidate wants you to live forever.

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Research and development in human–robot trust is the cutting edge of artificial intelligence, but faith in machines can often be misplaced.

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A little know startup in Seattle could do for metal what 3D printing is doing for other materials like plastic.

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Matter that drops into a black hole is gone forever, right? Not so, declares Stephen Hawking.

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Our brains didn’t evolve to deal with understanding exponential growth, it’s freaking terrifying.

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“It has sold millions of copies, is perhaps the greatest novel in the science-fiction canon and Star Wars wouldn’t have existed without it. Frank Herbert’s Dune should endure as a politically relevant fantasy from the Age of Aquarius.”

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Philip E. Tetlock presents findings from the Good Judgment Project:

In 1984, Tetlock began holding “forecasting tournaments” in which selected candidates were asked questions about the course of events. Accuracy rates have exceeded IARPA’s expectations.

To arrive at the edge of the world’s knowledge, seek out the most complex and sophisticated minds, put them in a room together, and have them ask each other the questions they are asking themselves.

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Finally, there’s a crowdfunding campaign for people who want to watch giant robots fight to the death.

MegaBots Inc. — a Boston-based company that builds huge, human-operated, fighting robots — launched a Kickstarter campaign today (Aug. 19) to raise money to develop a huge, gun-toting robot, in preparation for an upcoming “duel” with a similar “battle bot” from Japan.

The campaign has already drawn in nearly $200,000 of the requested $500,000, and robot fans have until Sept. 18 to contribute funds. [See photos of MegaBots’ massive “battle bot”].

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