Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog – Page 8

Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.

Log in for authorized contributors

Rewiring the urge to smoke: How targeted brain stimulation may help people to quit

For many people who smoke, quitting is not just a matter of willpower. It is a tug-of-war in the brain—between the pull of reward and the ability to resist.

A study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research suggests that shifting that balance may be possible. Using a noninvasive brain stimulation technique called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS, researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center found that stimulating a specific brain region that regulates self-control significantly reduced how much people smoked.

Discovery of brain-body connection offers clues for Parkinson’s and alcohol use disorder

When danger lurks, instinct keeps us safe. It compels us to run from a burning building or wrestle a knife-wielding attacker to the ground. It also adjusts our body physiology to support these behaviors.

Survival helps explain why. But the mechanisms that link the brain and the body—the “switch” between rest and action—have long been shrouded in mystery.

A research team at Rutgers University-New Brunswick thinks they may have identified a key mechanism, and the findings may hold important clues to how diverse neurological conditions, such as alcohol use disorder and Parkinson’s, could be diagnosed and treated.

NASA Welcomes Paraguay as 67th Artemis Accords Signatory

The Republic of Paraguay signed the Artemis Accords on Thursday during a ceremony in Asunción, becoming the latest nation to commit to the shared principles guiding civil space exploration.

“Today, I am proud to welcome Paraguay as the 67th signatory to the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “They join an ever-growing coalition of like-minded nations committed to the peaceful, transparent, and responsible exploration of space. Established by President Trump in his first term, the Artemis Accords provided the principles for how we explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Now, with his national space policy, we are putting the Artemis Accords into practice with our Moon Base. We are creating opportunities for all Artemis Accords signatories, including Paraguay, to join us on the lunar surface and advance our shared objectives in this next era of exploration.”

U.S. Embassy Asunción Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Aaron Pratt shared Isaacman’s remarks during the ceremony. Minister President of the Paraguayan Space Agency Osvaldo Almirón Riveros signed on behalf of Paraguay.

Our Extropian Future, with Natasha Vita-More

Our extropian future: natasha vita-more on AI, nanotechnology, mind uploading, and the birth of transhumanism.

What happened to the future we dreamed about on the Extropian mailing list 30 years ago? Did we get the timelines wrong, or was the architecture of our thinking correct? In this compelling follow-up to the conversation with Max More, Giulio Prisco sits down with Natasha Vita-More—futurist, designer, and co-founder of the Extropian movement—to assess the state of \.

/* */