Lifeboat Foundation

Pulitzer-prize winning science writer Jonathan Weiner writing about transhumanism and longevity issues:

Science writer Jonathan Weiner writes: Even if you’ve been following the presidential campaign pretty closely, you may not have heard about Zoltan Istvan, the hopeful from the newly formed Transhumanist Party. Istvan’s platform is simple: We should all live forever. He’s driving across the country in a bus painted to look like a coffin, with big white letters on its side: “Immortality Bus.”

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I had to post this bigsmile couldn’t resist.

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Researchers have developed a new technique to produce a 3D ‘micro-printed’ array of needles capable of drug delivery. The technique would offer a pain-free drug delivery device that would allow drugs to diffuse within the body as the biomaterial device degrades in the body. This offers treatments for a wide range of diseases, including melanoma cancers.

The results are published today, Wednesday 30th September, in the journal Biofabrication .

The researchers, based at the University of Akron and the University of Texas, report producing a drug-loaded array for transdermal delivery of a chemotherapeutic drug, fabricated using microstereolithography. The arrays consisted of 25 poly(propylene fumarate) microneedles, each needle having a tip and base diameter of 20 µm and 200 µm, respectively, and a height of 1 mm.

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The brand new space opera novel Lightless is a fast-paced, gripping read, and like all good science fiction, explores the human side of cutting-edge scientific concepts. We talked to debut author C.A. Higgins about using real physics in her story.

In Lightless, a prototype spaceship on its maiden voyage on behalf of a totalitarian regime is infiltrated by escaped terrorists. And it’s up to Althea, a socially awkward computer scientist who prefers the company of the Ananke’s disturbingly sentient electronic system to that of her crewmates, to save the day as her well-ordered world begins to unravel.

http://www.amazon.com/Lightless-C-A-Higgins/dp/0553394428?ta…9236004136

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeCpHugyI80

Published on YouTube in April 2015.

Wow, first they create a real hoverboard, and now they’re on the road to creating a real lightsaber? Joy! wink

Killjoy physicists have long pointed out the sheer unlikelihood of building a working light saber. But now, they’ve taken a small step toward realizing the dream of Star Wars fans worldwide, by figuring out how to get photons to stick together like molecules in a super-chilled gas.

This latest work builds on prior experiments from 2013, when Harvard physicists first announced a new state of matter.

Continue reading “We’re One Small Step Closer to a Working Light Saber” »

Visionary Liz Parrish shares some of the remarkable ways that genetic therapies are helping humanity transcend disease, aging and physical limitations. We discuss some of the current applications of gene therapy, what we can reasonably expect given the rate of progress and some of the moral implications of this science. If you’re anything like us, you’ll be astounded to hear about this work; it can already make you stronger and faster, and it may help future generations live upwards of 400 years!

Click to download the episode directly (right click, then click save as) Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher.

“Known as “the woman who wants to genetically engineer you,” Elizabeth Parrish is the CEO of BioViva USA Inc ™ she is a humanitarian, entrepreneur and innovator and a leading voice for genetic cures. As a strong proponent of progress and education for the advancement of gene therapy, she serves as a motivational speaker to the public at large for the life sciences. She is actively involved in international educational media outreach and sits on the board of the International Longevity Alliance (ILA). She is an affiliated member of the Complex Biological Systems Alliance (CBSA) whose mission is to further scientific understanding of biological complexity and the nature and origins of human disease. She is the founder of BioTrove Investments LLC and the BioTrove Podcasts which is committed to offering a meaningful way for people to learn about and fund research in regenerative medicine. She is also the Secretary of the American Longevity Alliance (ALA) a 501©(3) nonprofit trade association that brings together individuals, companies, and organizations who work in advancing the emerging field of cellular & regenerative medicine with the aim to get governments to consider aging a disease.” –Blurb taken from Liz’ LinkedIn Profile.

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Researchers are testing a prosthesis that translates short-term memories into longer-term ones, with the potential to bypass damaged portions of the brain.

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This schematic shows the components of the optical rectenna developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology (credit: Thomas Bougher, Georgia Tech)

Using nanometer-scale components, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have demonstrated the first optical rectenna, a device that combines the functions of an antenna and a rectifier diode to convert light directly into DC current.

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