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Jul 4, 2018

Drug that stops progression of Parkinson’s disease heads for human trials

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

An exciting experimental drug developed by scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine has been found to stop the progression of Parkinson’s disease in live mice models. The new drug could be the first medication to specifically slow the progression of the devastating disease as opposed to current treatments that only target the symptoms.

Microglia are a kind of immune cell primarily found in the brain. One of the neurodegenerative processes that occurs in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients is when the microglial cells send chemical signals to another kind of brain cell called astrocytes. This signal spurns those astrocytes into more aggressive behaviors, eating away at connections between neurons.

“The activated astrocytes we focused on go into a revolt against the brain,” explains Ted Dawson, one of the researchers on the project, “and this structural breakdown contributes to the dead zones of brain tissue found in those with Parkinson’s disease. The idea was that if we could find a way to calm those astrocytes, we might be able to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease.”

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Jul 4, 2018

Why astronaut Chris Hadfield isn’t afraid of death

Posted by in category: space

An astronaut’s odds of dying is over 1 in 20, but whether he’s going to the ISS or Mars, Chris Hadfield feels prepared for anything NASA, or space, throws him.

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Jul 4, 2018

Disney robots do flips

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Seen this video going around. I think this is more of a fancy dummy than a robot, cause if they had video of it walking around i’m sure they would of posted it. The Atlas robot will be able to do stuff like this in a couple of years. Disney probably wants to build some circus attraction where it would be cheaper and safer to have the robots doing the stunts than the people.


In Unrelated news robot news. Supposedly Honda has killed off the Asimo robot, figured that was coming when they didnt even attempt to send it out to the robot competitions, which gives some idea how bad it really must of been behind the scenes; its claim to fame though will be proving that robots that walked like people were possible.

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Jul 4, 2018

China has 9 of the world’s 20 biggest tech companies

Posted by in category: internet

China is on the rise when it comes to the number of massive tech companies in the country.


China is nearly even with the U.S. when it comes to who’s home to the most giant tech companies.

It’s got nine of the world’s top 20 tech giants, while the U.S. has got the other 11, according to this chart from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Mary Meeker’s annual report on internet trends.

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Jul 4, 2018

Manipulating the Immune System for Cancer Immunotherapy

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Researchers have manipulated the immune system to respond more aggressively to cancer according to a new study [1].

Manipulating macrophages

We have discussed modulating the immune system multiple times recently, especially in regards to macrophages and manipulating their behavior. Macrophages are part of the innate immune system and carry out a wide variety of tasks, such as clearing away cell debris, engulfing pathogens, facilitating tissue growth, and disposing of senescent cells once other immune cells have destroyed them.

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Jul 4, 2018

Interviews with Arie (Bionic technique) and Zoltan (Transhumanist)

Posted by in categories: cyborgs, transhumanism

FOR MY ENGLISH WATCHERS!

Future Flux Festival 2018 was a blast!

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Jul 4, 2018

Review and meta-analysis of genetic polymorphisms associated with exceptional human longevity

Posted by in categories: genetics, life extension

Life extension genetics.


Many factors contribute to exceptional longevity, with genetics playing a significant role. However, to date, genetic studies examining exceptional longevity have been inconclusive. This comprehensive review seeks to determine the genetic variants associated with exceptional longevity by undertaking meta-analyses.

Meta-analyses of genetic polymorphisms previously associated with exceptional longevity (85+) were undertaken. For each variant, meta-analyses were performed if there were data from at least three independent studies available, including two unpublished additional cohorts.

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Jul 4, 2018

Why Fans Might Have To Wait For Season 4 Of ‘The Expanse’ After The Sci-Fi Drama’s Amazon Revival

Posted by in categories: alien life, electronics

Life on Mars will continue after all. After three seasons on cable television, the Syfy space war drama The Expanse was given the axe on May 10. Since then, support from the show’s fans has helped it find new life: The series has officially been renewed by Amazon for Season 4, which will be streamable. That’s right — not only will the sci-fi favorite return, but it is now marathon material. So, when is The Expanse Season 4? A premiere date has not yet been announced, but one thing is for sure — fans and The Expanse cast members alike can’t get enough of the show’s revival.

The Expanse, based on the New York Times bestselling eight-part book series co-written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S. A. Corey, is set in a fully colonized solar system on the brink of war. There are three main parties that make up this narrative — Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt — and their biggest mission is universal peace. Just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, though, universal peace wasn’t achieved in three seasons, so it only makes sense that Amazon picked up the story for continuation on a new platform.

It helps that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is a big fan of the books on which the show is based, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and he wasn’t ready to see the TV series go. He made the public announcement on May 25 at a National Space Society panel where the show’s cast and crew were in attendance.

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Jul 3, 2018

Aneutronic Fusion Reactor

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Nuclear fusion reactor — clean, safe, and environmentally friendly atomic energy.

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Jul 3, 2018

Did Something Massive Smash Into Uranus?

Posted by in categories: energy, space

Uranus really is strange. Not only does it rotate on an axis that sits at a 98-degree angle to its orbital plane, but, unlike the other giant planets, it doesn’t appear to release more heat than it receives from the Sun. Its magnetic field, too, appears warped compared to the Earth’s. An impact could perhaps help explain some of these strange traits.

Scientists have been simulating giant impacts into Uranus since the early 1990s, according to the new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal. This time around, researchers built a new simulation with the newest and best available data of the planet’s composition. This allowed them to model how a giant impactor, perhaps one to three times the mass of Earth, would have deposited “material and energy inside Uranus” and how much debris would be left over, from which moons could form.

“This study provides some great new insights into what might have happened all those billions of years ago, with material left over from the impact possibly even serving to trap some of that heat inside,” Leigh Fletcher, Royal Society Research Fellow at the University of Leicester, told Gizmodo.

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