Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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For those who can only speak one language, people who have the ability to speak multiple are often a source of fascination. What language do they think in? Can they switch mid-way through? Do they only dream in one language or both?

It turns out, these questions are not without merit as people who can speak two languages actually experience time in a different way.

A study from Lancaster University and Stockholm University, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, found that people who are bilingual think about time differently depending on the language context in which they are estimating the duration of events.

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Another futurist, Dave Evans, founder and CTO of Silicon Valley stealth startup Stringify, gave his thoughts about Kurzweil’s nanobot idea in an interview with James Bedsole on February.

Evans explained that he thinks such a merging of technology and biology isn’t at all farfetched. In fact, he described three stages as to how this will occur: the wearable phase (where we are today), the embeddable phase (where we’re headed, with neural implants and such), and the replaceable phase.

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Researchers invented the fastest camera in the world called Frequency Recognition Algorithm for Multiple Exposures or FRAME. This camera can capture five trillion frames per second. ( Kennet Ruona | Lund University )

Taking the art of photography a notch higher, researchers at Sweden’s Lund University developed a camera, which can capture five trillion images in a second or moments as short as 0.2 trillionths of a second.

These extraordinary capabilities of the new camera dubbed FRAME or Frequency Recognition Algorithm for Multiple Exposures, has earned it the title of the fastest camera in the world.

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Men and women differ in obvious and less obvious ways—for example, in the prevalence of certain diseases or reactions to drugs. How are these connected to one’s sex? Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently uncovered thousands of human genes that are expressed—copied out to make proteins—differently in the two sexes. Their findings showed that harmful mutations in these particular genes tend to accumulate in the population in relatively high frequencies, and the study explains why. The detailed map of these genes, reported in BMC Biology, provides evidence that males and females undergo a sort of separate, but interconnected evolution.

Several years ago, Prof. Shmuel Pietrokovski and Dr. Moran Gershoni of the Weizmann Institute’s Molecular Genetics Department asked why the prevalence of certain human diseases is common. Specifically, about 15% of couples trying to conceive are defined as infertile, which suggested that mutations that impair fertility are relatively widespread. This seems paradoxical: Common sense says that these mutations, which directly affect the survival of the species by reducing the number of offspring, should have been quickly weeded out by natural selection. Pietrokovski and Gershoni showed that mutations in genes specific to sperm formation persist precisely because the genes are expressed only in men. A mutation that is problematic for only half the population, no matter how detrimental, is freely passed on to the next generation by the other half.

In the present study, the researchers expanded their analyses to include genes that, though not necessary for fertility, are still expressed differently in the two sexes. To identify these genes, the scientists turned to the GTEx project—a very large study of human recorded for numerous organs and tissues in the bodies of close to 550 adult donors. That project enabled, for the first time, the comprehensive mapping of the human sex-differential genetic architecture.

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The power of somebody believing in you and your ideas is unbelievable. It gives me exceptional strength. I will wake up 6am and crash 1am, working relentlessly in between. Just recently, the mere fact of somebody becoming a PumpkinDB sponsor gave me a lot of confidence in our success and continuing inspiration to dedicate big chunks of my spare time to this work.

In the grand scheme of things, the amount of money the project receives so far is rather insignificant, it just covers some of our associated expenses. So why is it that important?

Well, words are cheap. Many people said they like what we are working on, but the shelf life of the inspiration coming from this kind of feedback is rather short. Having somebody continuously use your work is the best type of validation.

But in the absence of something immediately useful (as it is often the case with any new, non-trivial project), there are two things that rock: contributions (as in “sweat” or “pull requests”) and money. Both time and money are painful to part with, so when somebody parts with either, you know you’re onto something.

About a month ago I read Nadia Eghbal’s post where she was offering a few $5,000 grants, with no strings attached. Since then, I was obsessed with this idea. The basic idea is beautiful in its simplicity (simplified & paraphrased):

You have a project that you really care about, but funding isn’t readily available for it. If I really like your project, I will give you US$5,000 to pursue it. No strings attached.

The moment I finished reading her post, I knew I wanted to do something very, very similar. I know I can invest $5,000 into my own project, but the idea of being able to give the power of scarcely available validation to somebody else is overwhelmingly more exciting. Thank you, Nadia.

So, here it is: I am offering a $5,000 grant to one project of my choice. No strings attached.

You can apply here. Please note that applications are due by June 1, 2017 12am PST and I am expecting to make a decision on which project to fund during the month of June (2–4 weeks) and be ready to send the first installment some time around July 1, 2017

Questions & Answers

What kind of project am I going to fund?

While I am obviously very inclined to fund an open source software project (that’s where my expertise and passion is, after all), I am explicitly using this offer as an opportunity to learn more about other areas, and if there’s something that will really excite me, I will fund it.

It is important for me to learn why you’re doing this project and why do you think it’s important, so please take your time to answer this question in the application form.

Projects should have a rough scope and a reasonable timeline. Given the amount of money I am providing, it should rather be short (few months or to a year).

If nothing particularly interesting, or something I can relate to, will come my way (though I hope this will not happen!), I reserve a right to choose no project and fund nothing.

Can anybody apply?

As long as I can transfer the money to you in a reasonable and legal way (PayPal, bank transfer, Bitcoin, etc.), there are no restrictions. You can be a citizen of any country, or stateless. Any gender. Any age. Any way you’re wired. Any profession. Any system of beliefs. Anybody.

Can multiple projects be submitted?

Yes, please submit them as separate applications. That said, the less projects you have, the more I will be inclined to believe in your dedication to those.

What does “no strings attached” mean?

You don’t need to pay the money back. I will send you 50% of the amount in the beginning of the project. The rest will come roughly half way through the project, at which point I will check in with you to see how things are going. Upon completion, I’d like to learn how did the project go overall. You can contact me during or after the project if you feel like sharing any updates, thoughts (or questions) with me.

Other questions

Leave a comment here and I’ll do my best to address it. If you want to contact me privately, please email me at [email protected]

Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to start launching satellites into orbit in 2019 to provide high-speed internet to Earth.

In November, the company outlined plans to put 4,425 satellites into space in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing. But the document gave little detail on the timeline.

However on Wednesday, Patricia Cooper, SpaceX’s vice president of satellite government affairs, said later this year, the company will start testing the satellites themselves, launch one prototype before the end of the year and another during the “early months“ of 2018. Following that, SpaceX will begin its satellite launch campaign in 2019.

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Vomit.

It might be wise to look away now if you are eating or have a weak stomach, but scientists have discovered that ingesting bogies is good for teeth, and overall health.

Scientists at a number of universities including Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say parents should not discourage their children from picking their noses because they contain ‘a rich reservoir of good bacteria.’

Eating snot can also prevent bacteria from sticking to teeth, according to the article published in the journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Continue reading “Eating bogies is good for teeth and overall health, scientists conclude” | >

What are the bottlenecks in developing a rejuvenation biotechnology industry? LEAF takes a look at some of the main problems we are facing in creating that industry.

One of the most frequent questions we get from the general public is when will rejuvenation therapies arrive? Whilst young people can wait for a few more decades, those in middle age are much more concerned. According to statistics, new drug development takes 17 years on average, but the countdown only begins at the moment when the underlying mechanisms are investigated well enough – which cannot be said about the mechanisms of aging.

We have made great progress in understanding aging in the last decade thanks to the march of technology. One solution to an aging process is entering human clinical trials this year: a therapy to remove aged damaged cells to promote tissue repair and reduce chronic inflammation. This is of course fantastic news but progress is still too slow.

So what is holding back the pace of the research on aging and what we can do to foster progress?

Continue reading “Bottlenecks to the Development of Rejuvenation Biotechnology” | >

One of my essays is in this excellent new book. Also, many other writers I like are in here. Grab a copy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XB4CT95?tag=lifeboatfound-20?tag=lifeboatfound-20 #transhumanism

How different will the future be from today? As different as we can imagine, and possibly stranger and more wonderful than we ever HAVE imagined. The key is turning our visions for the future into the future itself. And that begins with articulating our visions.

In this collection of essays compiled by the hosts of the popular internet radio series, The World Transformed, world-leading futurists, scientists, authors, artists and others share their visions for changes that are on their way, or that we can bring about, that will transform our world forever. Contributors include Ramez Naam, Brian Wang, PJ Manney, John Smart, J. Storrs Hall, Aubrey de Grey, James Hughes, Jim Elvidge, Alvis Brigis, David Brin, Dave Gobel, Paul Fernhout, Ben Goertzel, Getnet Aseffa, Zheng Cui, Wayne Radinsky, Giulio Prisco, Colin McInnes, Erika Lives, Will Brown, Yiqing Liang, Cosmo Harrigan, Tudor Boloni, Khannea Suntzu, Belle Black, Anyazelie M.

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