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Oct 7, 2019

Lunar-polar Propellant Mining Outpost Envisioned

Posted by in categories: futurism, space

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Moon propellant mining outposts can grow into lunar cities. A futuristic architecture promises to greatly reduce the cost of human exploration and industrialization of Earth’s celestial next-door-neighbor.

Oct 7, 2019

Podcast #34: The Futures School, with Frank Spencer

Posted by in categories: futurism, neuroscience

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”–Malcolm X “Be open-minded, but not so open-minded that your brains fall out.”–Groucho Marx In our …

Oct 7, 2019

Trio Wins Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine For Work On Cell Metabolism

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

William G. Kaelin, Jr., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard University, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe, of Oxford University and the Francis Crick Institute, and Gregg L. Semenza, of Johns Hopkins University were jointly awarded the prize.

Oct 7, 2019

Three-drug combo almost doubles fruit fly lifespan

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

The complex interplay of various processes and mechanisms that contribute to aging means it’s unlikely we’ll discover a single “magic bullet” to prevent age-related diseases. But new research led by University College London and the Max Planck Institute for Biology and Ageing is potentially as close as anything we’ve seen. The scientists have been able to extend the lifespan of fruit flies by 48 percent using a triple drug combination made up of drugs already used in people.

“As life expectancies increase, we are also seeing an increase of age-related diseases so there is an urgent need to find ways to improve health in old age,” says study co-lead author, Dr Jorge Castillo-Quan. “Here, by studying fruit flies which age much more rapidly than people, we have found that a combination drug treatment targeting different cellular processes may be an effective way to slow down the aging process.”

The three drugs making up the combo include lithium, which is used as a mood stabilizer, trametinib, a cancer drug that inhibits MEK1 and MEK2 enzymes, and rapamycin, an immune system regulator produced by bacteria that was first found in a soil sample from Easter Island and has been found to improve learning and memory in mice.

Oct 6, 2019

On Supersymmetry | John Ellis, Catherine Heymans, Ben Allanach, Subir Sakar, Cumrun Vafa

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics, quantum physics

The standard model of physics remains incomplete. Could supersymmetry fill the gaps? From whether supersymmetric particles could fix the mass of the Higgs Boson to what this would mean for string theory, the world’s leading thinkers explain all.

John Ellis is a British theoretical physicist who is currently Clerk Maxwell Professor of Theoretical Physics at King’s College London. He was Division Leader for the CERN theory division, a founding member of the LEPC and of the LHCC at CERN and currently chair of the committee to investigate physics opportunities for future proton accelerators.

Continue reading “On Supersymmetry | John Ellis, Catherine Heymans, Ben Allanach, Subir Sakar, Cumrun Vafa” »

Oct 6, 2019

A 5,000-year-old city ten times the size of Jericho and an even older temple discovered in northern Israel

Posted by in category: futurism

An ancient city “ten times the size of Jericho” has been unearthed in northern Israel. The site, En Esur, is still expected to be paved over by a new road.

Oct 6, 2019

UPS wins approval to operate nationwide fleet of drones

Posted by in categories: drones, government

Delivery service UPS won the federal government’s first full approval to operate a fleet of drones. It marks a milestone in the race to commercial drone delivery.

Oct 6, 2019

Hot Tub Displays at State Fair Eyed as Link to Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

More than 100 people in North Carolina were sickened with Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever last month. One person died.

Oct 6, 2019

An Oxford Neuroscientist Explains Mind vs. Brain

Posted by in category: neuroscience

It’s good to see a growing response to the materialist superstition about the mind and the brain from the neuroscience and philosophy community. Materialist theories of the mind are philosophically indefensible and scientifically discredited. Dualism is necessary to account for the immaterial nature of the intellect, for the metaphysical simplicity of the mind, and for free will. Of the varieties of dualism, I believe that Thomistic dualism offers the most satisfactory framework for neuroscience.

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Oct 6, 2019

Virgin Orbit Plans First Satellite Launch in 2 Months

Posted by in category: satellites

Virgin thinks it can make its way to orbit — but can it compete with SpaceX?