Lifeboat Foundation

Throughout most of human history, the goal was to establish a better life for people. Whether proponents of change admit to it or not, they hope to make everything perfect. However, this very impulse to improve security against everything bad and eliminate all physical ills could precipitate just another kind of doom.

To borrow the words of a Jeff Goldblum character, those of us who did the most to uplift humanity may have been “so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

In Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World, he pointed out that the modern world is complicated. Everything we don’t understand is something to fear (unless you are a specialist in it), and it is a thing that can be ignorantly speculated about in a vacuum, as vaccines are by many on social media.

Rather than give up on humanity’s ability to come to correct judgments, Sagan offers the tools of critical thinking, taking the form of the famous Baloney Detection Kit. The rules are things you can always try to offer someone if they believe nonsensical conspiracy theories.

Continue reading “On rumors of impending doom” »

Sonifying science: from an amino acid scale to a spider silk symphony – Physics World.

Markus Buehler and Mario Milazzo explain how they have been able to explore new avenues of research by translating living structures into sound.

Webb’s science goals cover a very broad range of themes, and will tackle many open questions in astronomy. They can be divided into four main areas:

Other worlds

Key questions: Where and how do planetary systems form and evolve?

Continue reading “Science With the Webb Space Telescope — What Questions Will It Answer?” »

Culinary Herbs & Spices For Health, Wellness & Longevity — Dr. Hamed Faridi Ph.D., Executive Director, McCormick Science Institute

Dr. Hamed Faridi, Ph.D. is the founder of Faridi Strategy Group LLC and serves as the Executive Director of the McCormick Science Institute (https://www.mccormickscienceinstitute.com/).

Continue reading “Dr. Hamed Faridi, PhD — Executive Director — McCormick Science Institute — Herbs & Spices For Health” »

Celebrities often use their platforms to spread awareness on important issues. But while many of us have become numb to their warnings, there’s something about Harrison Ford that makes people sit up and listen.

Maybe it’s the cult following he’s acquired from playing heroic characters like Indiana Jones and Han Solo.

When scientists discovered DNA

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule composed of two long strands of nucleotides that coil around each other to form a double helix. It is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms that carries genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

Does the advent of machine learning mean the classic methodology of hypothesise, predict and test has had its day?

Sinclair’s first episode. Enjoy.

In this episode, Dr. David Sinclair and co-host Matthew LaPlante discuss why we age. In doing so, they discuss organisms that have extreme longevity, the genes that control aging (mTOR, AMPK, Sirtuins), the role of sirtuin proteins as epigenetic regulators of aging, the process of “ex-differentiation” in which cells begin to lose their identity, and how all of this makes up the “Information Theory of Aging”, and the difference between “biological age” and “chronological age” and how we can measure biological age through DNA methylation clocks.

Continue reading “The Science Behind Why We Age | Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair #1” »

Exercise for weight loss and its link to long life is explored in new research. Exercise carries many health benefits, independent of how much weight loss occurs.