Lifeboat Foundation

Do you remember all the hoopla last year when the Higgs Boson was confirmed by physicists at the Large Hadron Collider? That’s the one called the ‘God particle’, because it was touted as helping to resolve the forces of nature into one elegant theory. Well—Not so fast, bucko!…

First, some credit where credit is due: The LHC is a 27-kilometer ring of superconducting magnets interspersed by accelerators that boost the energy of the particles as they whip around and smash into each other. For physicists—and anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of what goes into everything—it certainly inspires awe.

Existence of the Higgs Boson (aka, The God Particle) was predicted. Physicists were fairly certain that it would be observed. But its discovery is a ‘worst case’ scenario for the Standard Model of particle physics. It points to shortcomings in our ability to model and predict things. Chemists have long had a master blueprint of atoms in the Periodic Table. It charts all the elements in their basic states. But, physicists are a long way from building something analogous. That’s because we know a lot more about atomic elements than the fundamental building blocks of matter and energy. _{[continue below image]}

Continue reading “Fundamental Particles & Forces: What do we know?” »

Throwback from 6 October 2016…

According to Eugenia Kuyda, co-founder of the AI startup Luka, memorial bots are ‘the future.’ The CEO recently unveiled the ‘digital monument’ to her deceased friend Roman Mazurenko, feeding thousands of text messages to a neural network to create a Luka chatbot in his image.

In the App Store, Luka is described as ‘a new messenger with AI-powered chatbots. They help you find GIFs and funny videos, make plans together, pick places to eat, play trivia games and have fun.’

Continue reading “Would YOU talk to a dead friend an as AI? ‘Memorial’ chatbot revealed” »

Researchers map human genome in 4D as it folds.

Time-lapse view reveals new mechanism that brings DNA elements together.

A multi-institutional team spanning Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University, Stanford University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has created the first high-resolution 4D map of genome folding, which tracks an entire human genome as it folds over time. The report, which may lead to new ways of understanding genetic diseases, appears on the cover of Cell.

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Payne and another Google employee demonstrated a conversation between someone speaking Swedish and another person responding in English.

During the demonstration, one employee, speaking Swedish, had Pixel Buds and the Pixel phone. When the phone was addressed in English, the earbuds translated the phrase into Swedish in her ear. The Swedish speaker then spoke back in Swedish through the earbuds by pressing on the right bud to summon Google Assistant translated that Swedish reply back into an English phrase, which was played through the phone’s speakers so the English speaker could hear.

While this idea might sound far-fetched, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told investors in January that Google Translate was set to make big leaps this year.

Continue reading “Google shows off wireless headphones that it says can translate languages on the fly” »

It may sound like the plot from the latest science fiction blockbuster, but uploading your brain onto a computer to achieve immortality could soon become a reality.

In a new interview, Professor Brian Cox said that the technique, known as ‘technological singularity’ could be available sooner than you think.

Continue reading “Brian Cox says we’ll soon upload our brains onto computers” »

The use of artificial intelligence and, in particular, machine learning is becoming increasingly popular in research. Such systems excel at high-speed data analysis, interpretation, and laborious research tasks, such as image assessment. One of the areas in which machine learning has been enjoying success is image recognition. Now, researchers have begun to use machine learning to analyze brain tumors.

One of the areas in which machine learning has been enjoying success is image recognition. Now, researchers have begun to use machine learning to analyze brain tumors.

RT has released the first-ever 360-degree footage shot by man in outer space, putting viewers in the shoes of two Russian cosmonauts launching nanosatellites from outside the International Space Station (ISS).

The video, which shows out-of-this-world views of Planet Earth, is the first time that the so-called extravehicular activity (EVA) has been filmed in 360. The immersive new format previously helped viewers explore the ISS modules as part of the Space 360 project.

Continue reading “Spacewalk 360: RT releases first-ever panoramic video of man in outer space (VIDEO)” »

LEAF board director Elena Milova is featured today on the KP website talking about life extension. The page is in Russian but google translate does a reasonable job.

Публикация под заголовком «Мне 32 года, и я потратил $200 тысяч на «биохакинг» произвела в соцсетях эффект разорвавшейся бомбы. Ее автор бизнесмен Сергей Фаге (его состояние оценивается в $45 миллионов) создатель интернет сервисов «Островок» и TokBox рассказал об эксперименте, который он поставил на собой. Его цель ни много ни мало — вечная жизнь. Последние 4–5 лет он изменяет свое тело с помощью биотехнологий. На эту затею он потратил около $200 тысяч, львиная доля из них ушла на тысячи диагностических тестов и консультации врачей. Каждые несколько дней он сдает анализы и изучает детальную картину того, что происходит в его организме. Будучи здоровым человеком, ежедневно принимает несколько десятков разных лекарственных препаратов и, естественно, занимается спортом по собой программе.

These are a tiny fraction of the examples of how our economy differs from the 20th century industrial economy. Similar changes are under way in the developing world, as labor gives way to robotics and basic goods become affordable and accessible to the planet’s billions. Given those changes, why would 20th century models of prices and rates and money supply work as they used to work?

We like to believe that there are “laws of economics” and past patterns to guide us, but, as Yellen indicated, there is now “considerable uncertainty.” It may feel safer to trust that past patterns will reassert themselves. But maybe policymakers should weigh more heavily the chance that the patterns have changed.

The Federal Reserve takes a 20th-century approach to managing a 21st-century economy.

Continue reading “No Inflation? Technology May Have Left it Back in the 20th Century” »