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Jun 28, 2018

Once-Dreaded Poliovirus Could Treat Brain Cancer

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

Polio was a devastating disease before the development of the polio vaccine. But now, this once-feared virus might help treat another deadly illness — brain cancer.

In a new study, some patients who had an aggressive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma and who received a genetically modified poliovirus lived much longer than typical for these patients.

The study found that about 21 percent of the brain cancer patients who received the poliovirus therapy were alive three years later. In contrast, among a group of previously treated patients who had the same cancer but received standard therapies (such as chemotherapy), just 4 percent were alive after three years.

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Jun 28, 2018

Zoltan Istvan: It Goes beyond Human

Posted by in categories: employment, geopolitics, policy, robotics/AI, security, transhumanism

I’m excited to share my interview with Jakub Dymek on #transhumanism in the new edition of The Aspen Institute (Eastern Europe) quarterly Aspen Review magazine.


Let’s think about this: what happens when sometime in the future the whole generation of Chinese kids have higher IQs than their American peers, because they’re technologically hardwired for that? Will this be a national security issue? This is a global security issue—says Zoltan Istvan in an interview with Jakub Dymek.

JAKUB DYMEK: You are a transhumanist—member of a movement endorsing technologically augmented advancement of human species and using technology to extend our capabilities. What does transhumanist thinking bring into the world of policy debate in the US and worldwide and how politically influential it is?

Continue reading “Zoltan Istvan: It Goes beyond Human” »

Jun 28, 2018

Free voice and text chat for gamers

Posted by in categories: entertainment, singularity

Want a place to discuss science, futurism, technology and the impact of their applications on society? Join the ‘Singularity’ Discord server:


Step up your game with a modern voice & text chat app. Crystal clear voice, multiple server and channel support, mobile apps, and more. Get your free server now!

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Jun 28, 2018

Common Gene Variants Found Among Psychiatric Disorders

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Does anyone have an opinion on this latest finding?


In the largest-ever study of its kind, researchers combined genomic data from nearly 900,000 patients and healthy individuals to identify commonalities among 10 mental illnesses.

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Jun 28, 2018

Uniform Iron Nanoparticles Key to Potential Cancer Breakthrough

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

Sandia Laboratories is developing iron nanoparticles as tracer elements to track metastasized cancer tumors…


It’s taken 15 years to devise a way to make iron nanoparticles all the same size, but the rewards could be timeless.

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Jun 28, 2018

Is ‘Oumuamua an Interstellar Asteroid or Comet?

Posted by in category: space travel

Scientists have confirmed ′Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object to travel through our solar system, got an unexpected boost in speed and shift in trajectory as it passed through the inner solar system last year. Examine what scientists found: https://go.nasa.gov/2Mwospx

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Jun 28, 2018

Building Bones: Testing a New Osteoporosis Therapy in Microgravity

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, space travel

Every three seconds, a person somewhere in the world breaks a bone due to osteoporosis—a progressive disease that decreases bone density, making bones weak and fragile. Osteoporotic fractures greatly reduce quality of life, and immobilization following a fracture can lead to further bone loss which puts these patients at risk for breaking another bone.

When SpaceX CRS-11 launched to the space station last June, it carried 40 mice to the ISS National Lab for a mission aimed at improving treatment for the millions of people with osteoporosis back on Earth. The Rodent Research (RR)-5 mission successfully proved the robustness of a new potential osteoporosis therapy based on a naturally produced protein, NELL-1, and also led to significant improvements in the delivery of the therapy.

chia soo laptop

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Jun 28, 2018

Two New Papers Offers Clues to Mars’ Weird History

Posted by in category: space travel

As far as humans are concerned, Mars has two stories. One is in the present: We’re trying to send our ships and our astronauts to the Red Planet in order to understand what it’s like today. But much of that work is meant to tell a second story—what the planet used to be like.

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Jun 28, 2018

Bill Gates says gamer bots from Elon Musk-backed nonprofit are ‘huge milestone’ in A.I.

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI

A team of OpenAI robots beat amateur human players at Dota 2.

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Jun 28, 2018

Electric vehicles are gaining momentum, despite Trump

Posted by in category: transportation

Policymakers and analysts are digging into the details of how to get more EVs on the road.

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