Lifeboat Foundation

As the price of DNA sequencing drops, a new wave of consumer genomics companies is taking the science mainstream. Are you ready?

An artificial intelligence system developed by researchers at DeepMind and the University of Oxford got so good by watching 5000 hours of BBC programmes.

In Brief:

• Researchers have succeeded in creating a “living membrane” that can transport molecules from one side to the other, a key requirement for a functional bioartificial kidney.
• Their work could make dialysis or transplantation unnecessary for the millions of patients suffering from renal failure across the world.

A new study being presented at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2016 at McCormick Place in Chicago is poised to revolutionize kidney failure treatment. Dutch researchers Dimitrios Stamatialis of the University of Twente, Roos Masereeuw from the University of Utrecht, and their teams have successfully engineered a key requirement for a functional bioartificial kidney.

Knowing that most subject matter about space’ Is for the most part from humans point of view’ is vastly unknown, Most subject matter can and should be disc.

Planetary Resources, Inc., the asteroid mining company, announced today that it has finalized a 25 million euro agreement that includes direct capital investment of 12 million euros and grants of 13 million euros from the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the banking institution Société Nationale de Crédit et d’Investissement (SNCI). The funding will accelerate the company’s technical advancements with the aim of launching the first commercial asteroid prospecting mission by 2020.

Planetary Resources’ Arkyd 6 is equipped with the first commercially licensed mid-wave infrared imager, an essential tool for detecting water on asteroids. Two spacecraft are completed and will test this technology on orbit. Planetary Resources’ President & CEO Chris Lewicki and Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider pictured with the Arkyd 6 in Planetary Resources’ clean room facility in Redmond, Washington.

Continue reading “Planetary Resources And The Government Of Luxembourg Announce €25 Million Investment and target 2020 asteroid mining mission” »

Implanting false memories could cure Alzheimer’s, PTSD, and depression. It could also make scapegoating easier, allow for witness tampering, or give those under a brutal dictatorship false patriotism.

Check out my latest story for Newsweek: http://www.newsweek.com/dead-gone-forever-need-cryonics-policy-523030 #transhumanism #cryonics

The case of a 14-year-old UK girl whose body was preserved after death highlights the need for governments to take cryonics seriously.

In Brief:

• Computing pioneer, Vinod Khosla, envisions a future where Artificial Intelligence will take over 80 percent of IT jobs.
• IT guys are not the only white collar professionals who Khosla sees as replaceable by VR they also join doctors, lawyers, and accountants on the growing list.

Let’s be honest, we have our fair share of problems on planet Earth: war, floods, disease, poverty, environmental destruction, Justin Bieber (the list goes on and on, really). But we also have a lot of things going for us: the Alcubierre Warp Drive, invisibility cloaks, the Mars rover missions, the discovery of the Higgs (the list goes on and on, really).

How can we weigh all the exciting and inspiring scientific discoveries against all the destruction and chaos? We have an ever expanding list of catastrophes that is coupled with (indeed, that parallels) our unrelenting march towards technological perfection. With such a coupling of unimaginable horrors and magnificent advancements, how can we possibly measure our status as a civilization?

One of the easiest ways to answer this question is to form a scale that will allow us to scientifically measure our technological *abilities* against the technological *possibilities.* Or in layman’s terms, something that will allow us to measure our awesomeness against the total possible awesomeness. Fortunately, there are several ways of conducting such measurements.