Lifeboat Foundation

The derivation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and the stunning discovery that somatic cells can be reprogrammed into human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) holds the promise to revolutionize biomedical research and regenerative medicine. In this Review, we focus on disorders of the central nervous system and explore how advances in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) coincide with evolutions in genome engineering and genomic technologies to provide realistic opportunities to tackle some of the most devastating complex disorders.

Advances in stem cell biology are paving new paths toward their use in the clinic, especially toward understanding and treating neurological and neurodegenerative disease.

Harnessing an antitumor immune response has been a fundamental strategy in cancer immunotherapy. For over a century, efforts have primarily focused on amplifying immune activation mechanisms that are employed by humans to eliminate invaders such as viruses and bacteria. This “immune enhancement” strategy often results in rare objective responses and frequent immune-related adverse events (irAEs). However, in the last decade, cancer immunotherapies targeting the B7-H1/PD-1 pathway (anti-PD therapy), have achieved higher objective response rates in patients with much fewer irAEs.

This Perspective discusses the concept of immune normalization and how its underlying principles may help to augment, as well as design, cancer immunotherapies.

Finland knows it doesn’t have the resources to compete with China or the United States for artificial intelligence supremacy, so it’s trying to outsmart them. “People are comparing this to electricity – it touches every single sector of human life,” says Nokia chairman Risto Siilasmaa. From its foundations as a pulp mill 153 years ago, Nokia is now one of the companies helping to drive a very quiet, very Finnish AI revolution.

The small Nordic country is betting on education to give it a decisive edge in the age of AI.

This is proof that even technology needs a heart.” #SpaceApps #SpaceAppsPH http://verafiles.org/articles/isdapp-filipino-it-experts-win…-challenge

An app developed by a group of Filipino information technology professionals to assist local fishermen in their daily work has been named one of six global winners in the NASA Space Challenge, an announcement made on Feb. 16 said.

The much-awaited announcement was delayed for weeks because of the U.S. federal government shutdown.

Continue reading “ISDApp: INON: ISDApp represented the country with a simple solution but with a deep purpose, which we believe helped it swim to success” »

The DNA from the spit you submitted to Ancestry or 23andMe might be private for now. But experts warn it’s getting easier to link your DNA to your identity.

When researchers fed mosquitoes a drug used to treat people for obesity, the insects were less interested in hunting for their next human meal ticket. Karen Hopkin reports.

Full Transcript

Believe it or not, mosquitoes don’t bite out of spite. Female mosquitoes of the species Aedes aegypti need the nutrients present in your plasma to ensure the proper development of their eggs. And though their thirst may seem unquenchable, the ladies actually take time to savor your blood once they’ve sipped their fill.

Continue reading “Human Diet Drugs Kill Mosquitoes’ Appetite Too” »

The melding of humanity with the technology we have created has begun…

Publication: Gloucester Daily Times pages: opinion section: columns story title: Living with artificial super-intelligence author: Anthony J. Marolda date: February 1, 2019.

Note: collected for library archive.

With the development of deep fakes and social media bots, there’s a concern about the use of AI in crime. This paper by Floridi is a great analysis of the possible problems that may arise. From the above mentioned deep fakes to AI copying someone’s social media account into another media and pretending to be them or the use of AI financial bots to gather insider information to use in financial manipulation.

The last idea reminds of the scenes in Transcendence where the AI Will Caster makes a fortune in the markets.

Artificial intelligence (AI) research and regulation seek to balance the benefits of innovation against any potential harms and disruption. However, one unintended consequence of the recent surge in AI research is the potential re-orientation of AI.