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Is the author of the book Free To Choose Medicine: Better Drugs Sooner at Lower Cost; a book that offers a compelling argument for the freedom of every patient, guided by the advice of his or her doctor, to make informed decisions about the use of not-yet-FDA-approved therapeutic drugs, that are in late stages of clinical testing.

Mr. Madden is recently retired as a Managing Director of Credit Suisse/Holt after a career in money management and investment research that included the founding of Callard Madden & Associates. During his career, he developed the cash-flow return on investment (CFROI) valuation framework that is widely used today by money management firms worldwide.

Mr. Madden is currently an independent researcher and a Senior Fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA). His research has focused on the themes of knowledge building and wealth creation being able to exist simultaneously in businesses, and these themes are represented in his various books including — Value Creation Principles: The Pragmatic Theory of the Firm Begins with Purpose and Ends with Sustainable Capitalism, Wealth Creation: A Systems Mindset for Building and Investing in Businesses for the Long Term, and Reconstructing Your Worldview: The Four Core Beliefs You Need to Solve Complex Business Problems.

Mr. Madden is a proponent of the application of systems thinking to public policy, and his work in public policy has resulted in the Free To Choose Medicine (http://freetochoosemedicine.com/) plan, which was originally developed in journal articles published in Regulation, Cancer Biotherapy & Radiopharmaceuticals, and Medical Hypotheses.

Summary: Astrocytes, not microglia, are responsible for constantly eliminate unnecessary and excessive adult synaptic connections in response to brain activity.

Source: KAIST

Developing brains constantly sprout new neuronal connections called synapses as they learn and remember. Important connections — the ones that are repeatedly introduced, such as how to avoid danger — are nurtured and reinforced, while connections deemed unnecessary are pruned away. Adult brains undergo similar pruning, but it was unclear how or why synapses in the adult brain get eliminated.

Volkswagen shows mobile charging robot for fully autonomous charging of electric vehicles.


A year ago, Volkswagen unveiled its mobile charging station concept in which an autonomous robot facilitates the charging of the battery of electric cars. And now, after spending a year making the concept a reality, the automaker gives us a first glimpse of the prototypes of its mobile charging robot.

The first working prototypes, able to revolutionize the world of electric cars, has always been linked to the current scarcity of charging infrastructures. Its task – fully autonomous charging of vehicles in restricted parking areas, like underground car parks.

“We don’t call Houston ”Space City” for no reason.

We’re already home to NASA and the Johnson Space Center, and soon the city’s Spaceport will house the world’s first commercial space station.

Beginning in 2021, Axiom Space will be constructing its 14-acre headquarters at the Spaceport located at Ellington Airport. The hub will serve as the central hub for research, manufacturing and commerce, according to Mayor Sylvester Turner.


Axiom Space is coming to Houston in 2021.

A scary prediction of our near future when acquiesce to government authority will be tracked, much like a credit score, by central authorities intent on controlling our every action and thought.


Here’s a scary vision of our future, based on the Chinese social credit model, from Bertelsmann Stiggung, an independent foundation under private law based in Gütersloh, Germany with offices in Washington DC and Barcelona Spain.

For more, check out the Berttelsmann Stiggung blog, focused on the European Union.

Robo maid I like my coffee light and sweet.


Robots from Japan: the new Toyota robot, giant robot, robot waiter and other technology news 2020. High Technology News 2020. Science and Technology News 2020. The newest and coolest robots from Japan and around the world.

In this issue:

Nearly two years ago, Chmielewski underwent a 10-hour brain surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore as part of a clinical trial originally spearheaded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and leveraging advanced prosthetic limbs developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Its goal was to allow participants to control [assistive devices](https://medicalxpress.com/tags/assistive+devices/), and enable perception of physical stimuli (touching the limbs) using neurosignals from the brain. Surgeons implanted six electrode arrays into both sides of his brain, and within months he was able to demonstrate, for the first time, simultaneous control of two of the [prosthetic limbs](https://medicalxpress.com/tags/prosthetic+limbs/) through a brain-machine interface developed by APL.


For more than 30 years—following an accident in his teens—Robert “Buz” Chmielewski has been a quadriplegic with minimal movement and feeling in his hands and fingers. But last month he was able to manipulate two prosthetic arms with his brain and feed himself dessert.

Buz’s accomplishment marks a big step toward restoring function and autonomy for patients affected by an illness or injury that results in the partial or total loss of use of all four limbs and torso.

I have added English and Spanish subtitles to my recent talk at the MadridSingularity Meetup, about the foundation and development of Alianza Futurista in Spain, and “What Is Transhumanism?”, the theme of the forum on December 19. Enjoy!


19 de diciembre, 2020
Meetup de MadridSingularity: ¿Qué es el transhumanismo?

Ponencia de sergio martínez de lahidalga tarrero, presidente de alianza futurista.