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Nov 7, 2019

Elon Musk says building the first sustainable city on Mars will take 1,000 Starships and 20 years

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk went into a bit more detail about the timelines and vehicle requirements to not only reach Mars, but to set up a sustainable base on the Red Planet that can serve as an actual city, supporting a local population. That’s the long-term vision for Musk and his space technology company, after all — making humans an interplanetary species. The timeline that Musk discussed today, replying to fans on Twitter, might be incredibly impressive or incredibly ambitious, depending on your perspective.

Addressing a question about comments he made earlier this week at the U.S. Air Force startup pitch day event in California, Musk said that his stated launch cost of only around $2 million per Starship flight are essentially required, should the final goal be to set up a “self-sustaining city on Mars.” In order to make that city a reality, he added, SpaceX will need to build and fly around 1,000 Starships according to his estimates, which will need to transport cargo, infrastructure and crew to Mars over the course of around 20 years, since planetary alignment only really allows for a realistically achievable Mars flight once every two years.

Musk addressed more near-term potential for Starship as well, including how much payload capacity Starship will provide for Earth orbital transportation. Starship’s design is intended to maximize re-use, and in fact Musk noted that ideally it can fly up to three times per day. That amounts to more than 1,000 flights per year per Starship, which means that if they end up with as many Starships as they currently have built Falcon rockets (around 100) and those can each transport as much as 100 tons to orbit, then on an annual basis, SpaceX will be able to launch upwards of 10 million tons to orbit per year.

Nov 7, 2019

A judge said police can search the DNA of 1 million Americans without their consent. What’s next?

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Law professor Natalie Ram discusses implications of landmark warrant.

Nov 7, 2019

This Amateur Physicist Built a Fusion Reactor in His Backyard

Posted by in categories: innovation, nuclear energy

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There’s no telling what you can do when you put your mind to it. Take Richard Hull, he built a small-scale fusion reactor—in a shed, in his backyard. A retired electronics engineer, Hull took a special interest in nuclear fusion. He lives in Lakeside, Virginia, with his cats and likes to pass on his knowledge and collaborate with others on projects. So he invites amateur scientists from all over the United States to meet at his home once a year to check out his reactor and share their inventions.

Continue reading “This Amateur Physicist Built a Fusion Reactor in His Backyard” »

Nov 7, 2019

Podcast #36: The Future of Nursing and Caregiving, Part One, with Oriana Beaudet and Dan Pesut

Posted by in categories: innovation, robotics/AI

While many futures are generalists, there is a need for foresight professionals centered on specific fields, as well. Perhaps no area is more in need of innovative outlooks for the future than healthcare. With rising costs, aging populations and personnel shortages, the challenges are many. But so are the opportunities to employ emerging technologies. In the first part of a two part series, host Mark Sackler discusses these challenge with two nursing Ph.D.’s, Oriana Beaudet and Dan Pesut. Part One addresses the need for foresight both in nursing specifically and healthcare in general, as well as the global challenges of an aging population. Part two will drill down to individual ssues, including automation, robotics and artificial intelligence as caregiving tools for the future.

Nov 7, 2019

Physicists Can Finally Peek at Schrödinger’s Cat Without Killing It Forever

Posted by in category: particle physics

There may be a way of sneaking a peak at Schrödinger’s cat — the famous feline-based thought experiment that describes the mysterious behavior of subatomic particles — without permanently killing the (hypothetical) animal.

Nov 7, 2019

The Oldest People In The World (Full Documentary) | Real Stories

Posted by in categories: education, food

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKlDszBCdNQ&feature=share

God gives long life to those with a good heart??? Because they work??? Because they eat anything??? That is some of the answers one gets when asking these centurians what got them past 100??? Buster is a character he states he smokes and drinks so he does not know why??? I say mindset and treatment are very key in Japanese culture. In the west sadly families begin to shun and demonize the elderly in their family.


As life expectancy continues to soar, more and more of us are living to well over the age of 100. Award-winning filmmaker Daisy Asquith asks some of the oldest people in the world the question everyone wants answered: what is the secret to long life?

Continue reading “The Oldest People In The World (Full Documentary) | Real Stories” »

Nov 7, 2019

Dr. David Sinclair on Informational Theory of Aging, Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, Resveratrol & More

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

David A. Sinclair, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biological Mechanisms of Aging.
Dr. Sinclair’s work focuses on understanding the mechanisms that drive human aging and identifying ways to slow or reverse aging’s effects. In particular, he has examined the role of sirtuins in disease and aging, with special emphasis on how sirtuin activity is modulated by compounds produced by the body as well as those consumed in the diet, such as resveratrol. His work has implications for human metabolism, mitochondrial and neurological health, and cancer.

▶︎ Get the episode’s show notes, timeline, and transcript.
https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/david-sinclair

Continue reading “Dr. David Sinclair on Informational Theory of Aging, Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, Resveratrol & More” »

Nov 7, 2019

Natasha Vita-More Joins the LEAF SAB

Posted by in categories: cryonics, life extension

The LEAF Scientific Advisory Board has grown recently with the addition of Dr. Natasha Vita-More, who may be a familiar name to many of our readers. Natasha is an extremely active public figure and science advocate and educator, and we are very pleased to welcome her to the SAB.

Natasha is an author, humanitarian, and innovator whose work focuses on longevity and regenerative generations. As a motivational speaker, she focuses on causes and solutions while fostering meaningful acknowledgement of the works of other people who have aspired to identify human potential. She is called “An early adopter of revolutionary changes” (Wired, 2000) and “Advocates the ethical use of technology to expand human capacities” (Politico, 2017).

Natasha was the Lead Scientific Researcher on the Memory Project, which has created scientific breakthroughs involving the long-term memory of C.elegans in cryonics (2015). As a proponent for mitigating aging, Natasha introduced the seminal field of Human Enhancement for longevity in academics.

Nov 7, 2019

First use of CRISPR against cancer in patients clears safety hurdles

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

The first attempt in the United States to use a gene editing tool called CRISPR against cancer seems safe in the three patients who have had it so far, but it’s too soon to know if it will improve survival, doctors reported Wednesday.

The doctors were able to take immune system cells from the patients’ blood and alter them genetically to help them recognize and fight cancer, with minimal and manageable side effects. The treatment deletes three genes that might have been hindering these cells’ ability to attack the disease, and adds a new, fourth feature to help them do the job.

“It’s the most complicated genetic, cellular engineering that’s been attempted so far,” said the study leader, Dr. Edward Stadtmauer of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “This is proof that we can safely do gene editing of these cells.”

Nov 7, 2019

Two-legged robot mimics human balance while running and jumping

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

This two legged robot could change how search and rescue operations are handled, with the ablity to enter areas too dangerous for humans.