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

The Ethics of Transhumanism — Dreaming of More, Without Losing What We Are

Transhumanism promises a better humanity—or perhaps something no longer human at all. Join us as we explore the moral dilemmas and future paths of human augmentation.

Watch my exclusive video Mass Drivers on the Moon: https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur–… Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isa… Use the link https://gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $36. Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Join Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a… Facebook Group: / 1,583,992,725,237,264 Reddit: / isaacarthur Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: The Ethics of Transhumanism July 17, 2025; Episode 740 Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Editor: Donagh Broderick Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator Stellardrone, “Red Giant”, “Billions and Billions” Taras Harkavyi, “Alpha and…” Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:36 The Promise and Peril of Transhumanism 3:56 Origins of Transhumanism 9:07 Subjective vs. Objective Improvements – Where Do We Draw the Line? 10:58 Nature and Morality – Three Views of Natural Law 13:03 The Road Ahead – What Does It Mean to Be Human? 14:35 The Moral Case for Transhumanism 18:01 The Risks & Dangers of Transhumanism 27:07 Navigating the Ethical Landscape — How Do We Proceed? 32:47 The Transhuman Future: Utopia, Dystopia, or Something Else? 33:57 Final Reflections: What Does It Mean to Be Human?
Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur.
Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isa…
Use the link https://gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $36.

Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net.
Join Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur.
Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur.
Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a…
Facebook Group: / 1583992725237264
Reddit: / isaacarthur.
Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content.
SFIA Discord Server: / discord.
Credits:
The Ethics of Transhumanism.
July 17, 2025; Episode 740
Written, Produced \& Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Editor: Donagh Broderick.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.
Stellardrone, \

Transhumanism: Should We Become More Than Human?

In the future, humanity may embrace genetic engineering and cybernetic augmentation of mind and body, but what does this Transhuman future look like? And should we embrace or resist these paths?

To claim your matching donation with Givewell, go to https://www.givewell.org/isaac.
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @isaacarthursfia.
Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net.
Join Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur.
Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur.
Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a… Group: / 1,583,992,725,237,264 Reddit: / isaacarthur Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: Transhumanism & Humanity’s Future Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur Episode 375, December 29, 2022 Written, Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur Editors: Briana Brownell Donagh Broderick Keith Blockus Lukas Konecny Graphics: Jeremy Jozwik Ken York of YD Visual Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.
Facebook Group: / 1583992725237264
Reddit: / isaacarthur.
Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content.
SFIA Discord Server: / discord.

Credits:
Transhumanism \& Humanity’s Future.
Science \& Futurism with Isaac Arthur.
Episode 375, December 29, 2022
Written, Produced \& Narrated by Isaac Arthur.

Editors:
Briana Brownell.
Donagh Broderick.
Keith Blockus.
Lukas Konecny.

Graphics:
Jeremy Jozwik.
Ken York of YD Visual.

Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator

Continue reading “Transhumanism: Should We Become More Than Human?” | >

The Science of Human Potential: How the Brain Shapes Aging, Health & Performance | Dr. Srini Pillay

What if aging isn’t just biology…but also psychology — and your brain is quietly shaping how fast you age every day?

Dr. Srini Pillay, MD (https://drsrinipillay.com/) is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, brain researcher, entrepreneur, author, and expert in the science of human potential, resilience, and longevity.

Dr. Pillay previously served as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and directed both the Outpatient Anxiety Disorders Program and the Panic Disorders Research Program in Brain Imaging at McLean Hospital, one of the world’s leading psychiatric institutions.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Pillay has focused on understanding how the brain shapes performance, creativity, emotional health, leadership, and even biological aging. His work bridges neuroscience, psychiatry, technology, and human behavior — translating cutting-edge brain science into practical tools for individuals, organizations, and healthcare systems.

Dr. Pillay is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Reulay (https://www.reulay.com/), an AI-driven digital therapeutics and mindset technology company focused on healthy longevity, stress reduction, and human performance. He is also founder of the NeuroBusiness Group (https://nbgcorporate.com/), where he works with leaders and organizations around the world on brain-based approaches to innovation, adaptability, resilience, and navigating complexity in the age of AI.

Dr. Pillay is the author of several influential books including Tinker Dabble Doodle Try (https://www.amazon.com/Tinker-Dabble-?tag=lifeboatfound-20… which explores the neuroscience of creativity and the untapped power of the brain’s unconscious processing systems.

Continue reading “The Science of Human Potential: How the Brain Shapes Aging, Health & Performance | Dr. Srini Pillay” | >

She Says Gene Therapy Made Her 20 Years Younger | Elizabeth Parrish, BioViva

She says she reversed 20 years of biological aging by testing gene therapy on her own body before anyone else. In this episode of The 200 Year Life Project, Gary Leland sits down with Elizabeth Parrish, founder and CEO of BioViva, the first person to undergo gene therapy specifically aimed at reversing aging.

Gary, 71 and dead serious about reaching 200, talks with Parrish about how telomere and myostatin gene therapy works, what her published telomere data showed, why these therapies are still done outside the US, and how she believes affordable gene therapy could change human lifespan and healthspan. They also get into longevity escape velocity, the \.

Can scientists learn cells’ led team aims to decode cellular conversations

“You have many different cells playing different parts,” said Dr. Dino Di Carlo, the Armond and Elena Hairapetian Professor and Chair of Bioengineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. “A healthy tissue emerges when those parts are coordinated — when cells listen and respond to one another in the right way.”

But when those signals are misheard or go out of sync, the results can be devastating. In fibrosis, a misfiring message drives cells into a scar-producing overdrive, stiffening lungs, hearts and kidneys. In cancer, tumor cells can distort the score, sending molecular signals that suppress or misdirect immune attack. What sounds like harmony in health can become discord in disease.

Now, in a perspective published in Nature Biotechnology, Di Carlo and colleagues from UCLA, USC and Caltech are calling on the scientific community to join the Billion Cell×Cell Project — an effort to understand the cellular symphony one duet at a time, by systematically mapping how individual pairs of cells influence one another.

Plain-language AI workflow tool could cut cloud energy use and costs dramatically

Agentic workflows are artificial intelligence-powered software systems that chain together multiple models and external tools to tackle complicated tasks, like analyzing a video and answering questions about it. But the way these highly fragmented systems are designed and deployed often causes inefficiencies that can lead to wasted computation, energy and cost.

To improve efficiency, researchers from MIT and Microsoft developed an intelligent system that streamlines the process of designing agentic workflows and automatically optimizes how those workflows are implemented. With this new method, a developer can describe what they want the agentic workflow to do in plain language, without needing to specify all the details of their application in advance.

The system automatically figures out the best models and tools to use, as well as the ideal hardware configuration and computational resource allocation when the workflow is executed by a cloud provider. It adjusts those configurations on the fly based on each user’s priorities, such as minimizing costs or maximizing speed.

Specific and Sensitive Visual Proviral DNA Detection of Major Pathogenic Avian Leukosis Virus Subgroups Using CRISPR-Associated Nuclease Cas13a

Avian leukosis viruses (ALVs) include a group of avian retroviruses primarily associated with neoplastic diseases in poultry, commonly referred to as avian leukosis. Belonging to different subgroups based on their envelope properties, ALV subgroups A, B, and J (ALV-A, ALV-B, and ALV-J) are the most widespread in poultry populations. Early identification and removal of virus-shedding birds from infected flocks are essential for the ALVs’ eradication. Therefore, the development of rapid, accurate, simple-to-use, and cost effective on-site diagnostic methods for the detection of ALV subgroups is very important. Cas13a, an RNA-guided RNA endonuclease that cleaves target single-stranded RNA, also exhibits non-specific endonuclease activity on any bystander RNA in close proximity.

Video of tiny vessels in the eye assessed by AI may replace needle sticks for anemia screening

A new collaborative study by Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center marks a significant advance toward noninvasive blood testing, one of the most significant unmet needs in the market. The researchers have developed an artificial intelligence–based system capable of assessing hemoglobin levels and red blood cell counts using a short video recording of the blood vessels in the eye’s conjunctiva, the transparent membrane covering the white part of the eye, without the need for a needle prick or blood draw.

The study was conducted by Tamir Denis, a master’s graduate of Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with the research groups of Prof. Haim Suchowski of the School of Physics and Astronomy and Prof. Lior Wolf of the Blavatnik School of Computer Science and AI, together with researchers from Sheba Medical Center: Prof. Ygal Rotenstreich, head of the Electrophysiology Clinic and Retinal Research Laboratory, and Dr. Ifat Sher-Rosenthal, research director and head of the Restorative Retinal Lab. The findings are published in the journal npj Digital Medicine.

Blood tests are among the most commonly performed medical procedures worldwide, yet they still rely on invasive blood sampling and complex laboratory processing. Previous attempts focused on anatomical sites failed to demonstrate significant correlation.

CAR T cell therapy leads to 10-year remissions in B-cell lymphoma patients

After a median follow-up of 10 years, more than one-third of patients with large B-cell lymphoma and nearly half of patients with follicular lymphoma who received a single infusion of tisagenlecleucel—the CAR T-cell therapy developed by Carl June, MD, that would go on to become the first such treatment approved by the FDA —were still alive without a lymphoma relapse, according to long-term follow-up data published in New England Journal of Medicine by researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

In the analysis of 38 patients from a Phase II clinical trial (including 24 patients with large B-cell lymphoma and 14 with follicular lymphoma) conducted at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, no patients experienced a relapse after 5.4 years, and most relapses occurred within the first year after CAR T-cell infusion, supporting the hypothesis that patients who experience a long-term response to CAR T-cell therapy may be cured.

“As oncologists, we use the word ‘cure’ with great care, but I am increasingly confident that CAR T-cell therapy has the potential to cure a meaningful number of patients with B-cell lymphomas,” said senior author Stephen J. Schuster, MD, the Robert and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus Professor in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Lymphoma Clinical Care and Research and director of Penn’s Lymphoma Program.

Pretreatment MRI as a Prognostic Factor After Radical Prostatectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses the prognostic value of pretreatment magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters for oncological outcomes in men undergoing radical prostatectomy.

/* */