Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Many people in tech point out that artificial narrow intelligence, or A.N.I., has grown ever safer and more reliable—certainly safer and more reliable than we are. (Self-driving cars and trucks might save hundreds of thousands of lives every year.) For them, the question is whether the risks of creating an omnicompetent Jeeves would exceed the combined risks of the myriad nightmares—pandemics, asteroid strikes, global nuclear war, etc.—that an A.G.I. could sweep aside for us.

Thinking about artificial intelligence can help clarify what makes us human—for better and for worse.

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Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have built a flexible, wearable oral sodium sensor that could help monitor a person’s sodium intake.

A leading cause of hypertension is a person’s uncontrolled salt intake. This often results in high blood pressure and heart complications.

As a solution, the Georgia Institute of Technology researchers built the oral sodium sensor that could be easily worn in the mouth to monitor salt intake.

The sensor reportedly incorporates a small, adaptable electronic framework that uses Bluetooth technology to transfer the data about a person’s sodium intake into a mobile device or tablet. On the other hand, the structure of the device is said to be based on an ultrathin, breathable elastomeric membrane.

Continue reading “New Wearable Oral Sodium Sensor to Help Fight Hypertension” | >

One of bitcoin’s biggest bulls has inked a deal with an unlikely partner to create a cryptocurrency price index.

Billionaire Mike Novogratz and Bloomberg LP on Wednesday announced that they are teaming up to launch the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index (BGCI), which will track the aggregate performance of a basket of large-cap cryptocurrencies.

“Today’s launch of the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index reflects our clients’ growing interest in cryptocurrencies,” said Alan Campbell, Global Product Manager for Bloomberg Indices. “The index brings our rigorous approach to index construction to cryptos and will provide investors with a transparent benchmark to gauge the performance of the broader market.”

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Fasting has been found to have a range of health benefits, and appears to slow down the aging process. Now, researchers from MIT have found that fasting for just 24 hours is enough to improve the regeneration of a person’s intestinal stem cells, which naturally declines with age. Better yet, with the metabolic switch identified, in the future the effect could be mimicked with a drug.

As with stem cells in all parts of the body, intestinal stem cells are in charge of growing new cells in the organ. They maintain the lining of the intestine, which is shed and replaced every few days, fight off infection and repair damage to the tissue. But as is usually the case, these stem cells get less and less effective at their job with age.

Previous research has found that caloric restriction, or continual fasting, has a profound effect on health and longevity. These effects have been seen in mice, rats, monkeys, lemurs, and other animals, and although human studies haven’t really been conducted, it seems that we could also benefit from harnessing the diet. So the MIT team set out to study the effects of fasting on intestinal stem cells.

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