Lifeboat Foundation

Research on diseases such as cancer reveals that primary mechanisms, which have been the focus of study by the new mechanists in philosophy of science, are often subject to control by other mechanisms. Cancer cells employ the same primary mechanisms as healthy cells, but control them differently. I use cancer research to highlight just how widespread control is in individual cells. To provide a framework for understanding control, I reconceptualize mechanisms as imposing constraints on flows of free energy, with control mechanisms operating on flexible constraints in primary mechanisms. Control mechanisms themselves often form complex, integrated networks.

Physicists have identified a new state of matter whose structural order operates by rules more aligned with quantum mechanics than standard thermodynamic theory. In a classical material called artificial spin ice, which in certain phases appears disordered, the material is actually ordered, but in a “topological” form.

Before two deadly nuclear mishaps, scientists used to risk “tickling the tail of a sleeping dragon.” An Object Lesson.

A hundred years after Einstein’s theory of general relativity was announced to the world, it’s a good time to remember Georg Riemann’s contributions as well.

Today’s leading buzzwords seem to describe very separate concepts, but it turns out that they have some amazing commonalities.

• By Stephen Wolfram on April 1, 2018

The USDA has officially approved gene-edited foods.

Dumping pesticides and using ducks instead. 🦆 🦆 🦆.

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft stands atop its launch pad counting down to a 4:30 p.m. EDT liftoff today to the International Space Station. The Expedition 55 crew is preparing for its arrival on Wednesday while continuing a variety of advanced space research aboard the orbital lab today.

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is hosting the 14^th launch of a SpaceX commercial cargo mission to the space station. Astronauts Norishige Kanai and Scott Tingle are practicing the maneuvers and procedures necessary to capture Dragon with 2 Canadarm2 when it arrives at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. Their fellow flight engineers Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold joined them later in the afternoon to review the cargo they’ll transfer back and forth after they open the hatches to Dragon.

Feustel spent the better part of his day testing algorithms on a pair of tiny internal satellites that could be used to detect spacecraft positions and velocities. Arnold strapped himself into an exercise cycle for an exertion in space study then collected his blood samples for stowage and later analysis.

Continue reading “Expedition Crew Waits for Dragon and Studies Life Science” »

There are over 18 million registered voters in California. On the ballot for the primaries for CA Governor on June 5th you’ll see candidates names, as well as a designation next to their name (their current occupation). One of my two designations is “transhumanist lecturer.” This likely won’t win many votes, but I believe it might be an important first for the #transhumanism movement. Here’s the first news story I’ve seen mentioning it:

Former big city mayors, a puppeteer and a even a ‘transhumanist lecturer’ are all officially running for California governor. Voters will be able to select from 27 people on the recently published certified list of candidates.