Technology & Society
From the Scientist (ht to James Clement): “Scientists have met one of the long-standing challenges of regenerative medicine: For the first time, they have succeeded in coaxing an injured spinal cord to regenerate sensory axons in rats that reinnervate the
I’ll be on Fastforward radio tonight at 7:30 PT. Topic is “Risks, Dystopias, and Unsettling Futures” and other guests include David Brin (author of Transparent Society) and the Lifeboat Foundation’s Philippe Van Nedervelde. If you listen live, you can contribute
For those interested in longevity, July was a good news month. Recently published research in the journal Science shows that caloric restriction helps monkeys live longer and healthier, while a parallel study demonstrated the possibility that a drug could mimic
It’s a fact that as humans age, the chance of getting cancer increases. Unfortunately for Carmen Bousada and her twin boys, she fell to the disease much earlier than she had expected. Her own mother had lived to 101 years,
Anyone who seriously follows new technologies and cutting edge science knows that Singularity University officially launched this week. Here is an uplifting welcome message from Vice-Chancellor and Chairman Peter Diamandis and below is a thoughtful video featuring a Q&A with
Here’s the paper everyone has been buzzing about for the last few days (press release). Monkeys who ate a lower calorie, yet nutritious diet, lived longer than those who ate more. These results were expected, and it will be interesting
Like Resveratrol, the thinking is that Rapamycin mimics caloric restriction. Here’s the summary from Nature: “On the basis of age at 90% mortality, rapamycin led to an increase of 14% for females and 9% for males….To our knowledge, these are
This bolsters the argument that “stem cells can generate any cell in the body,” and also has big ramifications for future fertility technologies. From Time.com: “Researchers at Newcastle University in England report they have coaxed the first human sperm cells
This is a great video on growing human organs and how such procedures will extend life. Oprah’s Dr. Oz does a good job interviewing the experts at Wake Forest University.
The below text is from a speech given by Hawking at TED in 2008. He expects that humans will be able to repair and alter themselves, which will create new political issues. That just happens to be the topic of
This is a fantastic step towards healing heart damage. “Doctors at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute announced the completion of the first procedure in which a patient’s own heart tissue was used to grow specialized heart stem cells that were then
From Wired: “By tracking individual cells in genetically modified salamanders, researchers have found an unexpected explanation for their seemingly magical ability to regrow lost limbs. Rather than having their cellular clocks fully reset and reverting to an embryonic state, cells
That’s a headline one doesn’t expect to see, yet that’s the conclusion some are reaching from a recent OECD and FAO report.
This month, the Federal Communications Commission begins drafting a national broadband plan as part of the 2009 stimulus package. This is not the first government attempt at broadband ubiquity, so the FCC can learn from past failures. The commissioners have
This video, recorded at the World Science festival, shows Nobel Prize winner Paul Nurse telling his fascinating family history. How is it that a brilliant scientist grew up in a family where no one else went to school past 15
From The Scientist (registration required): “New York has become the first and only state to opt to pay women for eggs donated for human embryonic stem cell research. The Empire State Stem Cell Board (ESSCB), which oversees New York’s $600
This article from the Singularity Hub is a fabulous roundup of the state of organ growing technology. Great job, Drew!
From the Singularity hub: “Researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands have created a prototype device that is capable of detecting viruses and bacterium within the body in a matter of minutes rather than the week or two
This is a good summary of David Sinclair’s work (purchased by GlaxoSmithKline) in Forbes Magazine. “Glaxo has concocted sirtuin boosters far more potent than resveratrol. Among other effects, the compounds lower blood sugar, and Glaxo is testing them to treat
America’s winemakers have won a victory for online wine sales in Kansas, but the legislative battle demonstrates the challenges that e-commerce, a key force for economic recovery, still faces from outdated thinking and entrenched political institutions. Signed into law in