Lifeboat Foundation

Jeff Lichtman is Jeremy R. Knowles Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard. He received an A.B. from Bowdoin (1973), and an M.D. and Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis (1980) where he worked for 30 years before moving to Cambridge (2004). He is a member of Harvard’s newly established Center for Brain Science. Jeff’s research interests revolve around the question of how mammalian brain circuits are physically altered by experiences, especially in early life. He has focused on the dramatic re-wiring of neural connections in early postnatal development. More recently his research has focused on developing new electron microscopy methods to map the entire wiring diagram of the developing and adult brain. One of the principal aims of this “connectomics” approach is to uncover the ways information is stored in neural networks.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Continue reading “Connectomics: Jeff Lichtman at TEDxCaltech” »

David C. Van Essen is the Alumni Endowed Professor in the Anatomy & Neurobiology Department at Washington University in St. Louis. He has pioneered the use of surface-based analysis methods to characterize the structure, function, development, and connectivity of the cerebral cortex. He is Principal Investigator for the NIH Human Connectome Project, a large-scale effort to map brain circuitry and its relationship to behavior in healthy adults. His physiological and anatomical studies have provided deep insights into cortical functional organization. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neuroscience, President of the Society for Neuroscience, and Head of the Anatomy & Neurobiology Department for 20 years. He is a fellow of the AAAS and received the Raven Lifetime Achievement Award from the St. Louis Academy of Sciences and the Krieg Cortical Discoverer Award from the Cajal Club.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Continue reading “The Human Connectome Project — Relating Brain Circuits to Behavior: David Van Essen at TEDxCaltech” »

In this episode, Emad and Peter discuss everything from AI-generated content and property rights to ethical implications, along with the upcoming hyper-disruption wave of technology in all industries.

Emad Mostaque is the CEO and Co-Founder of Stability AI, a company funding the development of open-source music-and image-generating systems such as Dance Diffusion and Stable Diffusion.

Continue reading “AI Will Be a Public Good With Emad Mostaque | EP #16 Moonshots and Mindsets” »

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Robots are moving up in the world. Labor shortages and rising wage costs are breathing life into a new generation of robots that can handle a growing number of tasks, from delivering pizza to sorting prescription drugs, fixing a tire or providing room service in a hotel.

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A sex startup says it’s created a VR-enabled masturbation pod for companies that want to make their employees very uncomfortable, very quickly.

Stripchat, a porn site, announced in a blog post that it’s developed something it’s dubbed a “Wank Pod” to give company employees a place to engage in a little office onanism. The company even installed one in their own workplace, and plans a commercial roll out in the future.

“Each ‘Wank Pod’ is planned to come fully equipped with masturbatory accessories, including a 4K LED screen to watch VR cams boosted by Dreamcam’s technology, an Oculus Quest VR headset, lotion, tissues, and more,” the startup wrote in the announcement.

The reason your three-pound brain doesn’t feel heavy is that it floats in a reservoir of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which flows in and around your brain and spinal cord. This liquid barrier between your brain and skull protects it from a hit to your head and bathes your brain in nutrients.

A researcher has claimed time travel may actually be possible – and says he has the math to prove it. Time travel is a concept that has fascinated scientists for some time. It’s the idea that one can move to specific points in time, often seen in popular TV shows and films such as Donnie Darko, Back to the Future andNetflix’s The Umbrella Academy.