Futurism – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Semen Frozen 50 Years Ago Just Produced Dozens of Healthy Lambs

Mar 18
2019

Semen frozen back in 1968 has been used to impregnate dozens of Merino ewes, resulting in healthy lambs. The Australian scientists who made it happen say it’s the oldest sperm ever used to produce offspring.

A research team led by Simon de Graaf from the Sydney Institute of Agriculture and School of Life and Environmental Sciences impregnated 34 Merino ewes with the thawed out 50-year-old ram sperm, according to a University of Sydney press release. Incredibly, the sperm resulted in birth rates comparable to semen frozen for 12 months.

Harvard Study on Sugary Drinks and Early Death May Spell the End of Soda

Posted by Genevieve Klien in futurism

Mar 18
2019

Soda, sports drinks, and fruit drinks are all under fire.

Dr. Philip Nitschke — Exit International — IdeaXme show — Ira Pastor

Posted by Ira S. Pastor in aging, biotech/medical, business, cryonics, disruptive technology, engineering, futurism, geopolitics, health, human trajectoriesTagged aging, bioquark, Death, degeneration, euthanasia, exit, health, healthspan, ira pastor, suffering, suicide, wellness

Mar 18
2019

Air-breathing SABRE rocket engine set to enter test phase

Posted by Quinn Sena in futurism

Mar 18
2019

Reaction Engine’s Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) is closer to reality with ESA and the UK Space Agency (UKSA) green lighting the preliminary design of the demonstrator engine core. The successful review of the hypersonic engine, which is designed to act as both a jet and a rocket, means that the company can move on the major testing milestones in the next 18 months.

A.I.-generated text is supercharging fake news. This is how we fight back

Posted by Quinn Sena in futurism, robotics/AI

Mar 18
2019

Last month, OpenAI announced a text generating A.I. so scarily accurate they claimed it would be dangerous to release it. Now researchers have developed a tool to help spot text written by bots. Here’s what it means for the future of fake news in an age of smart machines.

‘Impossible’ discovery found on remote island off African coast: A ‘lost part of the world’

Posted by Genevieve Klien in futurism

Mar 18
2019

Researchers have found rocks on a small island between Madagascar and the eastern coast of Africa, a discovery that has been described as mysterious for one very important reason — they shouldn’t be there.

The rocks in question, quartzite, were discovered by researchers at Columbia University, thanks to a grant from the National Geographic Society. They had heard about them from a number of different media reports, but were finally able to confirm the presence of the quartzite, which is usually found in areas that have high temperatures and pressures, for themselves.

“This is contrary to plate tectonics,” said Cornelia Class, a geochemist at Columbia University, in a blog post. “Quartzite bodies do not belong on volcanic islands.”

Colorado School of Mines engineers turn their talents from the terrestrial to the celestial

Posted by Genevieve Klien in futurism

Mar 18
2019

The Colorado School of Mines is tapping its tradition of natural resource development on Earth to help lead efforts to identify and develop extraterrestrial resources as humans venture further and …

An Indian Billionaire Just Gave Shares Worth $7.5 Billion to Charity

Posted by Derick Lee in futurism

Mar 17
2019

With the latest move, Premji, who turned a small maker of vegetable oil into a software behemoth, has donated $21 billion of his fortune to charity. Premji’s philanthropy may prompt the rich in a nation where ultra-high net worth population is expected to surge 39 percent by 2023 donate more to charity, and help pull millions out of poverty.

Azim Premji, the billionaire chairman of Indian conglomerate Wipro Ltd., will gift an extra $7.5 billion of the company’s shares to support philanthropic activities, making it the most generous donation in the nation’s history.