Lifeboat Foundation

FUTURISM UPDATE (November 16, 2014) — Mr. Andres Agostini, Amazon

REUTERS: Western leaders confront Putin at G20 with threat of more sanctions. Western leaders warned Vladimir Putin at a G20 summit on Saturday that he risked more economic sanctions if he failed to end Russian backing for separatist rebels in Ukraine. Russia denied any involvement in an escalation of the separatist war in eastern Ukraine, where more than 4,000 people have been killed since April, but faced strong rebukes from leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “I guess I’ll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine,” Harper told Putin at the summit in Brisbane, Australia, according to his spokesman Jason MacDonald. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/15/us-g20-summit-idUSKCN0IZ03C20141115

FORBES: IBM Signs $325 Million Supercomputing Deal With Dept. Of Energy http://lnkd.in/drkeJ8E

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by Arjun Walia — Collective Evolution

The cause of autism is still unknown, but we are definitely closer to figuring it out. A new study published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, from researchers at the University of Chicago revealed that autism and intellectual disability (ID) rates are linked with exposure to harmful environmental factors during congenital development.

“Essentially what happens is during pregnancy… there are certain sensitive periods where the fetus is very vulnerable to a range of small molecules – from things like plasticisers, prescription drugs, environmental pesticides and other things. Some of these small molecules essentially alter normal development. Autism appears to be strongly correlated with rate of congenital malformations of the genitals in males across the country, this gives an indicator of environmental load and the effect is surprisingly strong. The strongest predictors for autism were associated with the environment; congenital malformations on the reproductive system in males.” (1) - Andrey Rzhetsky, professor of genetic medicine and human genetics at the University of Chicago

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FUTURISM UPDATE (November 15, 2014) — Mr. Andres Agostini, Amazon

NBC NEWS: Australia Accuses Russia of Trying to Reclaim ‘Lost Glories’ http://lnkd.in/dM5uq-2

CBC: Vladimir Putin stations Russian warships off Australia’s coast ahead of G20 Diplomatic drama has been simmering since a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over an area of Ukraine http://lnkd.in/dxQXaq3

THE ECONOMIST: A renewed Russian military build-up could be a prelude to more fighting. EVEN as Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, was heading to the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, tensions in Ukraine were escalating. http://lnkd.in/djazYuz

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Johns Hopskins Medicine

A modified version of the Clostridium novyi (C. novyi-NT) bacterium can produce a strong and precisely targeted anti-tumor response in rats, dogs and now humans, according to a new report from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers.

In its natural form, C. novyi is found in the soil and, in certain cases, can cause tissue-damaging infection in cattle, sheep and humans. The microbe thrives only in oxygen-poor environments, which makes it a targeted means of destroying oxygen-starved cells in tumors that are difficult to treat with chemotherapy and radiation. The Johns Hopkins team removed one of the bacteria’s toxin-producing genes to make it safer for therapeutic use.

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FUTURISM UPDATE (November 14, 2014)

BBC: Oil price falls below $80 a barrel http://bbc.in/1xChaon

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: An artificial retina based on semiconductor nanorods and carbon nanotubes. An international team of researchers has combined semiconductor nanorods and carbon nanotubes to create a wireless, light-sensitive, flexible film that could potentially act in the place of a damaged retina. http://lnkd.in/dCymrjH

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: Twisted-light waves transmitted in air over a 3-kilometer path. Could significantly increase data rates for non-fiber communications and improve encryption of quantum communications http://lnkd.in/dZJP7qw

Continue reading “FUTURISM UPDATE (November 14, 2014) — Mr. Andres Agostini” »

The audio in this archive file was compiled from a 1984 meeting of futurists, transhumanists, and progressives. The main topic of the meeting was the most appropriate ways to engage or advance these philosophies within government. For example, one significant point of discussion centered around whether running for office was an effective way to drive change.

In the course of the discussion, the primary viewpoint FM-2030 espoused was that some aspects of government — especially the concept of leadership — would become obsolete or be replaced by other aspects of society (see Part 1). However, he also expressed what he believed the core of a ‘true’ democracy might look like. This archive file is assembled from excerpts of that section of the discussion.

MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine

FUTURISM UPDATE (November 13, 2014)

FORBES: How Top CIOs Brace For The Next Big Data Breach http://lnkd.in/d-btWe3

STRATFOR: What the Fall of the Wall Did Not Change http://lnkd.in/d8qx75t

UPI: Lockheed Martin partners for space debris research. Lockheed Martin has announced a partnering agreement to study near-Earth space debris using the largest infrared telescope in the Western Hemisphere. http://lnkd.in/dGUFrnd

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By Nick Lavars — Gizmag

Even with advances in gels and dressings, burns remain a difficult injury to treat. This applies particularly to parts of the body where the skin bends around bones and joints, creating surfaces unfavorable to most types of bandaging. But researchers from Japan’s Tokai University have developed a new ultra-thin material that clings to those trickier locations, serving to ward off infectious bacteria.

The researchers liken the material as akin to cling wrap in its ability to adhere to not only flat surfaces without any adhesives, but also irregular surfaces that can be prone to dog-eared Band-Aids and curling gauze.

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