Lifeboat Foundation

Japanese scientists said they have succeeded in creating the world’s first mental images of objects and landscapes from human brain activity by using artificial intelligence technology.

The team of scientists from the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, another national institute and Osaka University was able to produce rough images of a leopard, with a recognizable mouth, ears and spotted pattern, as well as objects like an airplane with red lights on its wings.

The technology, dubbed “brain decoding,” enables the visualization of perceptual contents based on brain activity and could be applied to the medical and welfare fields.

Summary: A new study illuminated a part of the “dark genome,” specifically focusing on LINE-1, a genetic element linked to various diseases and aging.

Researchers have provided the first high-resolution images and structural details of LINE-1, an “ancient genetic parasite” with about 100 active copies in each person. This research, involving international collaboration, reveals LINE-1’s mechanism of integrating DNA into the human genome and its correlation with diseases like cancer and neurodegeneration.

The study’s findings offer a foundation for potential treatments targeting this retrotransposon.

While it’s not the first technology to be able to translate brain signals into language, it’s the only one so far to require neither brain implants nor access to a full-on MRI machine.

It offers new hope to people unable to communicate in other ways.

Continue reading “New Mind-Reading ‘BrainGPT’ Turns Thoughts Into Text On Screen” »

On this episode, learn about digital addiction, and the symptoms of technology addiction with our guest Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist currently working as the Chief of Addiction Medicine at Stanford’s Dual Diagnosis clinic. She was recently interviewed for the Social Dilemma, the amazing Netflix documentary exploring the dangers of social media. On this episode, we really dive deep into the heart of digital addiction—the symptoms of technology addiction, how it starts, how it controls our behavior, and how to escape its magnetic pull. But more specifically, we explore the role of social media and smartphones, and how these tools are hijacking our evolutionary drive for novelty, pleasure, exploration, and connection with other human beings.

Dr Gabrielle Lyon is a functional medicine physician and Founder of the Institute of Muscle-Centric Medicine. Most health advice focuses on shedding excess weight. But what if your longevity, healthspan, resilience and quality of life was more determined by gaining muscle than losing fat? This isn’t a bodybuilder’s coping strategy, it’s new science backed by mountains of data. Expect to learn why the quality of your life is a direct correlation to your muscle health, whether it’s more dangerous to be over-fat or under-muscled, whether exercise is more important than nutrition, Gabrielle’s favourite hacks for getting more protein in every day, whether protein timing matters, if it’s possible to achieve this with a plant-based diet and much more…

RNA polymerase

The key lies in mimicking nature’s machinery. The researchers identified RNA polymerase, a key enzyme that converts DNA into RNA, which is then used to make proteins. They designed two artificial nucleotides that flawlessly mimic the geometry of natural nucleotides. RNA polymerase readily accepted these novel additions when tested, seamlessly incorporating them into transcription.

Anna Lembke is professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. A clinician scholar, she has published more than a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries.

Psychiatrist and author Dr. Anna Lembke discusses dopamine, addictive behaviors, warning signs and treatment for addiction, and how our brains handle all that pleasure and pain in life. Dr. Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. She appeared in the 2020 Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma to discuss the addictive nature of social media, and she is the author of the 2021 New York Times bestseller Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, which explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.

Summary: Experienced meditators can voluntarily induce unconscious states, known as cessations, without the use of drugs. This ability, observed in Tibetan Buddhist practice, allows meditators to experience a momentary void of consciousness, followed by enhanced mental clarity.

Conducted across multiple countries, the study utilized EEG spectral analysis to objectively measure brain activity during these cessation events. By correlating the meditator’s first-person experience with neuroimaging data, researchers have gained insights into the profound modulation of consciousness achievable through advanced meditation practices.