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Feb 28, 2019
DeepSpace: Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin banter about the fine print of suborbital tourism
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: satellites
Welcome to the sixth edition of our new newsletter, DeepSpace! Each Tuesday, I’ll be taking a deep-dive into the most exciting developments in commercial space, from satellites and rockets to everything in between. If you’d like to receive DeepSpace and all of our newsletters and membership benefits, you can become a member for as little as $3/month here. Just […].
Feb 28, 2019
Cooling 2D ion crystal may pave way for large-scale quantum computer
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: computing, quantum physics
Feb 28, 2019
Your genetic data can be exploited without you ever knowing about it
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
Your genome literally identifies you, but researchers and genetic firms keep saying that DNA data is anonymous. It’s a privacy scandal waiting to happen.
By Chelsea Whyte
EVERY person in the world is issued with a unique code before they are even born. Governments, insurance firms and indeed pretty much anyone can use this code to catalogue us throughout our entire lives. This isn’t a sci-fi dystopia – it is just genetics.
Continue reading “Your genetic data can be exploited without you ever knowing about it” »
Feb 28, 2019
Doudna’s Confidence in CRISPR’s Research Potential Burns Bright
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
Jennifer Doudna, one of CRISPR’s primary innovators, stays optimistic about how the gene-editing tool will continue to empower basic biological understanding.
Feb 28, 2019
Professor JohnJoe McFadden Quantum Biology — IdeaXme — Ira Pastor
Posted by Ira S. Pastor in categories: aging, biological, biotech/medical, chemistry, complex systems, cosmology, disruptive technology, DNA, evolution, health
![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RPIKvBOk1rU/maxresdefault.jpg)
Feb 28, 2019
Is Silicon Valley’s quest for immortality a fate worse than death?
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: biotech/medical, food, life extension
Besides that, everyone living much, much longer would cause many other problems. Where do the children of these centenarians live?
Until workable life-preserving technology is available, immortality enthusiasts are also obsessed with staying healthy – some fast on certain days, others watch calories, most exercise – so they are around long enough to benefit from emerging anti-aging science.
In 2019, the quest for everlasting life is, largely, though not always, more scientific. Funded by Silicon Valley elites, researchers believe they are closer than ever to tweaking the human body so that we can finally live forever (or quite a bit longer), even as some worry about pseudoscience in the sector.
Continue reading “Is Silicon Valley’s quest for immortality a fate worse than death?” »
Feb 27, 2019
Approaching Y2Q and barely a peep (or tweet) from the government
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: computing, government, quantum physics
The countdown to the arrival of quantum computing has already begun. Here’s how the government can get ready.
Feb 27, 2019
Study finds specific mechanism that protects cells from natural DNA errors
Posted by Xavier Rosseel in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
What is less known is that a more problematic source of DNA damage is normal cellular processes such as DNA replication. These cannot be avoided because they are inevitably in action every time cells divide. The scale of this problem is best illustrated by realizing that our bodies are made up by successive divisions of trillions of cells, all originating from a single fertilized egg. Every day, a quarter of a trillion cells in the adult human body continue to divide to replenish old or damaged tissue. Amongst the multitude of DNA damage incurred during each such cell division process, the most dangerous are those that can be passed on from mother cells to newly born daughter cells. This inherited DNA damage is the true ‘enemy within’ that cannot be simply avoided by changing one’s lifestyle.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have identified a specific mechanism that protects our cells from natural DNA errors — an ‘enemy within’ — which could permanently damage our genetic code and lead to diseases such as cancer. The study has just been published in one of the most influential scientific journals, Nature Cell Biology.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered a mechanism that gives human cells a chance to stop piling up mutations cells replicate and divide in the body. The discovery could prove to be very useful in the development of new treatments against diseases caused by changes in human DNA such as cancer.
Continue reading “Study finds specific mechanism that protects cells from natural DNA errors” »
Feb 27, 2019
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket booster survived a ‘spicy’ landing at sea after launching the first private moon mission
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: Elon Musk, space travel
The Air Force had said there was about a 20% chance that the launch would be delayed because of bad weather. But the 23-story Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on time on Thursday.
After the booster’s landing, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted: “Highest reentry heating to date. Burning metal sparks from base heat shield visible in landing video.”
You can watch the mission and landing, narrated by SpaceX staff, here, though this clip shows the booster’s heat shield burning off.