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Jul 15, 2017

A Beautiful Vision of What’s Beyond – The Work of Erik Wernquist

Posted by in categories: entertainment, media & arts

Earlier Work

Wernquist early short film “Wanderers” explored many of the same themes about humanities nature to explore and experance, built around beautiful images of space and the cosmos and narration built around an expert from Carl Sagan ‘s “Pale Blue Dot.”

Wernquist described the film as:

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Jul 14, 2017

This Is How Gene-Editing Will Change The Food You Eat

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food, genetics

For example, in 1994 Calgene won approval to sell the Flavr Savr tomato. To make a Flavr Savr, scientists genetically modified a garden variety tomato with aminoglycoside 3-phosphotransferase II, a compound that kept the fruit from rotting.

The tinkering sabotaged the process that makes tomatoes turn squishy. But the less-squishy tomatoes never did catch on with a skeptical public. The company was later sold to Monsanto.


It changed everything.

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Jul 14, 2017

US military reveals ‘Matrix’ projects to plug brains into a computer

Posted by in categories: computing, military, neuroscience

US military reveals $65m funding for ‘Matrix’ projects to plug human brains directly into a computer…


The US military has revealed $65 of funding for a programme to develop a ‘brain chip’ allowing humans to simply plug into a computer.

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Jul 14, 2017

Earth is on its way to the biggest mass extinction since the dinosaurs, scientists warn

Posted by in categories: biological, existential risks, habitats

Three scientists who have studied extinctions of thousands of species of vertebrates believe so, though others are skeptical of the doomsday-like findings.


“This is the case of a biological annihilation occurring globally, even if the species these populations belong to are still present somewhere on Earth,” Rodolfo Dirzo, the study’s co-author and a Stanford University biology professor, said in a news release.

The researchers analyzed 27,600 species of birds, amphibians, mammals and reptiles — about half of all known vertebrate species — and found that 8,851 (about 32 percent) have seen declining populations and shrinking areas of habitat. A more detailed analysis on 177 mammal species found that more than 40 percent have experienced significant drops in population. The findings, the study says, mean that billions of animal populations that once roamed the Earth are now gone.

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Jul 14, 2017

U.S. Department of Defense Has Enlisted Six Teams to Develop New Brain-Computer-Interface Technologies

Posted by in categories: computing, neuroscience

DARPA’s quest for high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) has a new partner in Paradromics, which will be leading one of the agency’s six BCI-development consortia. This is just one of the projects working to develop a breakthrough BCI right now.

The U.S. Department of Defense has created six consortia to develop brain-computer interface (BCIs) technologies and is backing them up with a $65 million investment. On July 10, the Department chose Paradromics Inc., and neural interface company, to lead one of the six groups.

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Jul 14, 2017

Cell Functional Age Shows How Old You Really Are

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

A new aging biomarker system has been published and it looks pretty robust.


Chronological age is now generally accepted by academics as being a poor means to identify how a person is aging. Far more useful is a person’s biological age in evaluating how fast someone is aging.

Biological age is assessed using indicators known as aging biomarkers, and as rejuvenation biotechnology draws ever nearer, there is an urgent need for more effective biomarkers. As well as finding effective biomarkers, another challenge in the field of aging research is seeking consensus among academics as to which biomarkers are the best ones to use.

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Jul 14, 2017

Synthetic Biology and the Future of Creation

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

For decades, biologists have read and edited DNA, the code of life. Revolutionary developments are giving scientists the power to write it. Instead of tinkering with existing life forms, synthetic biologists may be on the verge of writing the DNA of a living organism from scratch. In the next decade, according to some, we may even see the first synthetic human genome. Join a distinguished group of synthetic biologists, geneticists and bioengineers who are edging closer to breathing life into matter.

Watch the full program here: https://youtu.be/rU_pfCtSWF4

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Jul 14, 2017

Laser SETI: First Ever All-Sky All-the-Time Search

Posted by in category: alien life

Introducing our brand-new project that needs your help:


The best way to find laser flashes from another civilization is to always look everywhere | Crowdfunding is a democratic way to support the fundraising needs of your community. Make a contribution today!

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Jul 14, 2017

Aliens from another dimension might have created our universe, according to a speculative new study

Posted by in category: futurism

There’s at least one possible mechanism by which life could be endowed with a higher natural purpose.

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Jul 14, 2017

Rice team developing flat microscope for the brain

Posted by in categories: engineering, government, neuroscience

HOUSTON – (July 12, 2017) – Rice University engineers are building a flat microscope, called FlatScope TM, and developing software that can decode and trigger neurons on the surface of the brain.

Their goal as part of a new government initiative is to provide an alternate path for sight and sound to be delivered directly to the brain.

The project is part of a $65 million effort announced this week by the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a high-resolution neural interface. Among many long-term goals, the Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program hopes to compensate for a person’s loss of vision or hearing by delivering digital information directly to parts of the brain that can process it.

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