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Sep 22, 2017
One year later, Microsoft AI and Research grows to 8k people in massive bet on artificial intelligence
Posted by Dan Kummer in categories: futurism, robotics/AI
Microsoft’s first mission statement envisioned a computer on every desk and in every home, but Bill Gates also had another goal: that computers would someday be able to see, hear, communicate and understand humans and their environment.
More than 25 years and two CEOs later, Microsoft is betting its future on it.
Sep 22, 2017
The quest for eternal life is trending
Posted by Montie Adkins in category: life extension
A long summary.
Could we live to 140? 1,000? Is there a limit? Scientific research into extending the human life span is being backed by Silicon Valley giants like Google and Facebook.
Sep 22, 2017
Modifying Neutrophil Behavior for Stroke Recovery
Posted by Steve Hill in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
The immune system is like an army keeping us safe from invasion, injury and infection and helps us to regenerate and repair tissues and organs. However, the immune system is sometimes a double-edged sword that does more harm than good.
A lot of focus has been on the role of macrophages and their ability to facilitate tissue healing and regeneration. Today, we will be looking at a study that examines the role of neutrophils and how they can actually harm the brain further following a stroke[1].
Sep 22, 2017
Listen up: the easiest place to use CRISPR might be in your ear
Posted by Dan Kummer in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
Scientists are hopeful they can inject the gene-editing technology directly into the ear to stop hereditary deafness.
Sep 22, 2017
Too few antibiotics in pipeline to tackle global drug-resistance crisis, WHO warns
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: biotech/medical, health, policy
Ed Whiting, director of policy at the Wellcome Trust agreed and said: “There is no doubt of the urgency – the world is running out of effective antibiotics and drug-resistant infections already kill 700,000 people a year globally. We’ve made good progress in getting this on the political agenda. But now, a year on from a major UN agreement, we must see concerted action – to reinvigorate the antibiotic pipeline, ensure responsible use of existing antibiotics, and address this threat across human, animal and environmental health.”
The report’s authors have found 51 new antibiotics and biologicals currently in development that may be able to treat the diseases caused by these resistant bugs. But that will not be anywhere near enough because of the length of time it takes to get drugs approved and onto the market, and because inevitably some of the drugs will not work.
“Given the average success rates and development times in the past, the current pipeline of antibiotics and biologicals could lead to around 10 new approvals over the next five years,” says the report. “However, these new treatments will add little to the already existing arsenal and will not be sufficient to tackle the impending antimicrobial resistance threat.”
Sep 21, 2017
ARCA’s revolutionary aerospike engine completed and ready for testing
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: energy, space
ARCA Space Corporation has announced its linear aerospike engine is ready to start ground tests as the company moves towards installing the engine in its Demonstrator 3 rocket. Designed to power the world’s first operational Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) satellite launcher, the engine took only 60 days to complete from when fabrication began.
Over the past 60 years, space launches have become pretty routine. The first stage ignites, the rocket lifts slowly and majestically from the launch pad before picking up speed and vanishing into the blue. Minutes later, the first stage shuts down and separates from the upper stages, which ignite and burn in turn until the payload is delivered into orbit.
Continue reading “ARCA’s revolutionary aerospike engine completed and ready for testing” »
Sep 21, 2017
Scientists spot sleeping jellyfish
Posted by Dan Kummer in categories: biological, neuroscience
Sept. 21 (UPI) — Scientists have observed, for the first time, a jellyfish in a sleep-like state. It’s the first time an animal without a brain or central nervous system has been observed sleeping.
The findings — detailed this week in the journal Current Biology — could help scientists finally answer the questions: Do all animals sleep?
All vertebrates studied by scientists sleep, but researchers haven’t been able to agree whether or not sleep is ubiquitous, or even common, among invertebrates. Studies have suggested fruit flies and roundworms sleep, but what about more primitive organisms like sponges and jellyfish?