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Karl Schroeder: The Singularity is an Old Idea. Keep Moving Forward!

Fourteen years ago, a science fiction author looked me in the eye and told me the singularity was already old news.

This was 2012. Almost nobody outside a small circle was talking about it. And Karl Schroeder, one of Canada’s sharpest minds in #ScienceFiction and foresight, was telling me to stop staring at it.

His words stuck with me: take the singularity, use it, it’s a lens. Then develop other lenses. Keep hunting for blind spots.

At the time, I thought he was just being contrarian. Today, with #AI swallowing every headline and every boardroom, I think he saw something most of us are still missing.

Schroeder doesn’t hand you easy answers. We got into the technological maximum, the Rewilding, why he believes “technology is legislation,” and why he rates the singularity as possible but not probable. He picked apart almost every assumption I walked in with.

Here is what keeps nagging me. The blind spot he warned me about in 2012 might be the exact thing everyone is fixated on in 2026.

Continue reading “Karl Schroeder: The Singularity is an Old Idea. Keep Moving Forward!” | >

Is the universe a computation? | Sara Walker and Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Sara Walker: Physics of Life, Time, Comple…
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GUEST BIO:
Sara Walker is an astrobiologist and theoretical physicist. She is the author of a new book titled \.

A large amount of the Universe is missing. Scientists think they may have found it

There must be some extra mass that we can’t see – and astronomers call this ‘dark matter’

Astronomers don’t know what dark matter is. And it turns out there’s quite a lot they don’t know about ordinary matter, either.

In fact, quite a lot of ‘normal’ matter is missing. But astronomers now think they might have found it – and it’s been hiding in plain sight all along.

The GutBrainMuscle Axis: Microbial Regulation of Neuromuscular Aging and Cognitive Frailty

Cognitive frailty, characterized by the coexistence of physical frailty and cognitive impairment, has emerged as a major challenge in aging populations and is closely linked to sarcopenia, neurodegeneration, and chronic inflammation. Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota acts as a central regulator of neuromuscular and neurocognitive aging through the integrated gut–brain–muscle axis. This review highlights how microbial dysbiosis, reduced short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, systemic endotoxemia, and altered microbial metabolites contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, anabolic resistance, and impaired neuroplasticity.

Ventricular arrhythmias during exercise in patients with mitral valve prolapse

Background Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) can be associated with ventricular arrhythmias (VA), but little is known about the relationship between VA and exercise in these patients. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence and severity of VA during exercise tests in patients with MVP, and to explore the association between VA during exercise and the occurrence of arrhythmic events during follow-up.

Methods In this multicentre study, 375 patients with MVP (58 (48–69) years, 53% male) who underwent a clinically indicated exercise test were included. Severity of VA during exercise was defined as: no VA, minor VA (premature ventricular contractions ≥5% or non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (nsVT) 120 beats per minute) and major VA (nsVTs ≥120 beats per minute).

Results During exercise test, 242 (65%) patients showed no VA, 88 (24%) minor VA and 45 (12%) major VA.

Motor mapping to enable resections of perirolandic diffuse gliomas NeuroOncology

Intraoperative motor mapping is essential for maximum safe resect ion of peri-Rolandic gliomas. While both awake and asleep techniques have demonstrated efficacy in preserving neurological function, comparative outcomes across WHO 2021 molecular tumor subtypes remain poorly defined. We compare outcomes between these mapping modalities in glioblastoma (GBM) and IDH-mutant gliomas.

A 130-patient cohort undergoing peri-Rolandic glioma resect ion with intraoperative motor mapping at a single institution was analyzed. Patients were stratified by mapping modality (awake n = 54, asleep n = 76) and tumor subtype (WHO 2021). Within the asleep cohort, handheld probe (HHP-DCS, n = 61) and subdural electrode direct cortical stimulation (SDE-DCS, n = 12) were compared. The primary outcome was new or worsening neurological deficits at 3 months. Secondary outcomes included Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), hospital length of stay, discharge disposition, and survival in GBM patients.

Three-month deficit rates were comparable between awake and asleep mapping (5.6% vs. 5.3%, p = 1.000). In GBM patients, pre-and postoperative KPS were significantly lower in the asleep group (p 0.001 and p = 0.002), though delta KPS and 3-month deficit rates did not differ. No deficits occurred in either group among IDH-mutant gliomas. Progression-free and overall survival were comparable between mapping modalities in GBM. HHP-DCS and SDE-DCS produced similar 3-month deficit rates (3.3% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.124).

Hallmarks and correlates of effective adoptive cell immunotherapy for cancer

In this Review, Krishna and colleagues draw on clinical and scientific progress in the past two decades to describe the many factors that influence clinical outcomes during adoptive cell therapy using tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and TCR-engineered T cell therapies. They explain how T cell-intrinsic factors and tumour-specific factors in patients with advanced cancer challenge or promote the success of adoptive cell transfer (ACT), and outline new approaches in the field of ACT.

Scientists May Have Found a Way to Extend Fertility in Mice

As ovaries age, their supporting tissue becomes stiffer, and slowing that process may be key to extending fertility.

The space between cells isn’t just an empty void: it’s more like a jelly bath, rich with proteins and other molecules that support the cells suspended within.

It’s also the medium through which important chemical and mechanical signals are transmitted between cells.

Ovarian cancer tumor immune profiles associated with intrauterine device and oral contraceptive use

Mongiovi, J.M., Babic, A., Sasamoto, N. et al. Ovarian cancer tumor immune profiles associated with intrauterine device and oral contraceptive use. Br J Cancer (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-026-03508-9

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