Category Archives: Futurism

In Brief A new blood test can detect buildups of beta-amyloid in the brain, the plaques that signal the development of Alzheimers disease. This test could mean earlier detection of the disease and more effective lifestyle interventions for patients. Early Detection

A new blood test has been found to be able to detect buildups of beta-amyloid in the brain, the cause of the plaques that characterize the development of Alzheimers disease. Although the role that these clumps of beta-amyloid play in the brains of Alzheimers patients is unknown, monitoring their presence has been a reliable way to watch for the disease. Unfortunately, watching for the build-up of these plaques in the brain has only been possible through PET-scans, which are expensive and not widely available, or with spinal tap procedures, which are invasive and can only be administered by a, relatively, select few practitioners.

In this new study, researchers have developed a simple blood test to screen for Alzheimers risk that anyone from general practitioners to nurses in clinics could use. This simple to administer screening would be able to identify thousands of at-risk patients, allowing them to start treatment before brain damage and irreversible memory loss occurs. In fact, with this kind of basic screening tool, monitoring for Alzheimers disease could be as widespread and quick as checking your cholesterol and blood sugar.

Although there is not yet any silver bullet treatment for Alzheimers disease, there are promising treatments on the horizon some that reverse symptoms, and others that slow the progression of the disease. However, the most important way to fight Alzheimers right now is through prevention. As scientists study why some brains resist the disease more than others and how we might prevent the disease entirely, evidence shows that lifestyle interventions including healthy diet and exercise can reduce the risk of Alzheimers disease by as much as 30 percent. Earlier detection with a blood test would make lifestyle interventions more effective.

Beta-amyloid plaques begin to accumulate 15 to 20 years before a person exhibits the symptoms of Alzheimers disease. Positive test results wouldnt guarantee that a patient would develop the disease, but they would signal possible risk while suggesting a need for lifestyle changes.

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New Test Allows For Easier and Earlier Detection of Alzheimer's - Futurism

In Brief The central South African bank is partnering with a blockchain-based solutions provider to experiment with digital currency regulations. This may bring digital currencies like Bitcoin further into the mainstream and legitimize their use. South African Bitcoin Experiment

The South African Reserve Bank, which functions as the countrys central bank, is partnering with blockchain-based solutions provider Bankymoon to experiment with digital currency regulations. Bankymoon will serve as a sandbox business as the team works with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with the ultimate goal of understanding and legitimizing the growing adoption of cryptocurrency.

As with any new technology that becomesmainstream, regulation becomes an issue. However, cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology they are based upon are, by nature, decentralized. Therefore, there is, at some level, a fundamental tension between the governments need or desire to regulate and the structure of the technology (not to mention the intent of its users).

However, government regulation of digital currencies could legitimize the technology. Gamaroff believes that regulations will strengthen and give legitimacy to Bitcoin and other digital currencies for novice users, I think the regulation will move things along and make people on the street comfortable with Bitcoin. With these new regulations, these everyday people can now trust that Bitcoin is not just for hackers and criminals.

The initiative also enjoys the support of some of South Africas leaders and biggest businesses. Former First National Bank CEO Michael Jordaan, for example, believes that digital currency is on track to render central banks and the entire traditional banking model obsolete. Only time will tell whether the government can involve itself in a meaningful way with this kind of regulation or if the technology will simply continue to expand without that type of constraint.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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Central South African Bank Will Experiment With Bitcoin Regulation - Futurism

In Brief Swiss blockchain startup Ambrosus wants to revolutionize the food supply chain by introducing smart contracts to track produce. This new blockchain ecosystem, built on the Ethereum network, was launched on Wednesday.

The food industry is warming up to blockchain, thanks to the likes of Ambrosus. The Swiss startup was founded last year, but officially launched yesterday. An Initial Coin Offering (ICO)will begin in September.

According to Ambrosus website, the companyaims to use cutting-edge technology to improve the food supply chain: Combining high-tech sensors, blockchain protocol, and smart contracts, we are building the worlds first publicly verifiable, community-driven ecosystem to assure [sic] the quality, safety, and origins of food.

The idea is to keep track of produce as it moves from farm to fork, with the blockchain ensuring the integrity of the data. Russias ITcoin is doing something similar for the nations beef products.

Ambrosus is built on the Ethereum blockchain,and Ethereum co-founder Gavin Woods Parity Technologiesis its core technology partner. Paritys co-founder Jutta Steiner joins Wood as a technical advisor for Ambrosus.

Its worth noting that Parity has been in the news itselfrecently. Just yesterday,the company reported a breach that compromised its crypto wallet, leading to the theft of $30 million in ether. The news threatens to cast a shadow on the supposed security of blockchains.

Despite the bad timing of this Parity news, Ambrosus co-founder Angel Versetti appears optimistic about the potential for his companys technology to push Ethereum into a largely untouched industry: The combination of the maturity of the technology and the brainpower and creativity of participating actors provides a unique and clear opportunity to build a bridge between Ethereum and the food sector.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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Ethereum Co-Founder Helps Launch New Blockchain Startup - Futurism

In Brief Elon Musk has announced on Twitter that he has verbal permission to build a Hyperloop connecting New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington - and that in the future he plans to bring the technology to Texas.

Elon Musk has announced via Twitter that he received verbal approval for this planto build an underground Hyperloop between New York and Washington which would also stop at Philadelphia and Baltimore. As a result, one could get from New York to D.C. in just 29 minutes.

Its worth noting that the approval is only verbal at this point. Which means that it isnt set in stone. Musk will likely still have to deal with regulatory concerns, and some red tape. He did note, however, that support would be much appreciated, in the meantime.

Musk also did not reveal who the permission came from or give any details concerning when the project will start and finish although he didlater reveal that he also plans to build a Hyperloop in Texas and the west coast.

Longer term, Musk has expressed a desire to introduce Hyperloop routes worldwide, with projects as large and far-ranging as connecting multiple European citiesand helping to ease Dubais current congestion crisis. Recently, Musks Boring Company completed the first segment of the Hyperloop system in Los Angeles,marking a major milestone in the projects development. This may be a partial reason why the project is now gaining traction in other states.

The Hyperloop seems to already be disrupting the transportation industry due to the incredibly short journey times, positive environmental consequences, and comparatively low cost of the project. As long as governmental support continues, this can only be a good thing.

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Elon Musk Just Announced He Has Approval to Build a 29-Minute Hyperloop From NY to DC - Futurism

In Brief There has been a major breach in the Parity Ethereum client that may have given access to user's digital wallets. An official statement regarding the extent of the security threat is forthcoming.

Parity the worlds fastest ethereum client just posted an alert on their blog warning of a vulnerability in version 1.5 or later in its wallet software.The alert advises users to immediately move their funds to a secure address.

Users are scrambling to learn the extent of the breach and if their funds were made vulnerable.Coindeskreportsthat, so far, 150,000 ether (worth $30 million) have been reported to the company as stolen.

Parity claims to be the most secure way of interacting with the Ethereum network. The project was originally devised by a co-founder of Ethereum,Gavin Wood.

Decentralized technologies are rapidly emerging as cryptocurrency is increasing in visibility and popularity. Regardless of how much currency was stolen, the optics of such a breach are not good for these emerging technologies. It will be difficult for themto become a new standard if adopters cannot rely on the highly-touted security of the platforms.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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This Crypto Wallet, Devised by a Co-Founder of Ether, Has a Major Breach - Futurism

In BriefAt today's ISS R&D conference, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sharedan update on the company's Falcon Heavy rocket, crewed missionplans, and hopes for building a base on the Moon. The Falcon Heavy

At the ISS R&D conference today, Elon Musk provided some much-anticipated updates on SpaceXs upcoming manned mission to the Red Planet, explaining that the trip hinges on the success of the companysFalcon Heavy.

Once it launches this year, the Falcon Heavywill be the most powerful operational rocket in the world. It will be able to lift more than 54 metric tons (119,000 lbs), which is twice the payload of the Delta IV Heavy at one-third the cost.

Developing the rocket wasnteasy. In fact, Musk says it was way, way more difficult than SpaceX originally anticipated.

[Falcon Heavy] requires the simultaneous ignition of 27 orbit class rockets, he explained. Because of this, Musk says there is a lot of risk associated with Falcon Heavy, which is why he is setting the bar for success rather low for initial launches: Theres a real good chance that it does not make it to orbit. I hope it gets far enough away from the launch pad that it does not cause pad damage I would consider that a win.

Problems with initial launches wont be due to any inherent flaws with the rocket itself, however; theyre just part of the process. Falcon Heavys going to be a great vehicle. [There] just isnt a lot you can test on the ground, Musk noted.

SpaceX has experienced a fair share of (fiery) failuresin the past, and the potential for problems with early Falcon Heavy launches had the SpaceX CEO joking about the characterof the crew members aboard the first manned missions:No question, whoevers on the first flight brave. Brave.

Other brave SpaceX explorers will eventually be able to enjoy a trip aboard the companysCrew Dragon, also known as Dragon 2. Thus far, the Dragon spacecraft has only been used to transport cargo, but the design is being modified to support crewed mission. In fact, the Dragon 2 could even eventually carry Musk, who replied, I would like to at some point. Assuming things work out, yeah, maybe in three or four years, when asked whether hed like to take a ride to the International Space Station (ISS) and back aboard the craft.

Also in the works for the Crew Dragon are orbital launches and testing of its automatic docking abilities. Currently, in order for the Dragon to attach to the ISS, the space stations robotic arm has to be used. Not of much importance, according to a comment by Musk, is refining the Dragons 2 purposive landing capability (i.e., descending using retrorockets vs. a parachute) as he claims its no longer a requirement for landing on Mars.

The real public excitement lies beyond the ISS and Mars missions, though, according to Musk. If you want to get the public real fired up, we gotta have a base on the Moon. Having some permanent presence on another heavenly body, he said. Thats the continuance of the dream of Apollo.

Some of the biggest players already in the race to build a Moon base hail from China and Europe, and their respective space agencies have announced that they are engaging in international collaboration to realize a Moon Village vision. Whether Musk will beat them to it remains to be seen.

This trickle of small updates will do little to pacify those eager for more details on Musks mission to Mars. That information is likely to arrive in September in the form of a revision to his detailed plan for making humanity a multi-planetary species. The efforts of SpaceX are now more vital than ever, given NASAs recent admissionthatthey wont be the ones to get us to the Red Planet,but perhaps the plan will include the announcement of a NASA/SpaceX collaboration?

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Elon Musk Just Shared an Update on SpaceX's Upcoming Manned Mars Mission - Futurism

In BriefBrain damage caused by drowning and cardiac arrest wasreversed in a toddler who received hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)and normobaric oxygen (sea level oxygen). These treatments activategenes, promoting cell survival and reducing inflammation. Brain Damage Reversed

Doctors recently reported the reversal of brain volume loss in an unresponsive two-year-old cold water drowning victim who had experienced cardiac arrest. After treating the child with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and normobaric oxygen (oxygen at sea level), she experienced marked improvement and reversal of many symptoms.

After resuscitation, an MRI showed that the child experienced cerebral atrophy with white and gray matter loss and deep gray matter injury. At the time she was discharged from the hospital, she was unable to speak, unresponsive to commands, and she exhibited constant head shaking and squirming.

To prevent permanent degeneration of tissue, Dr. Paul Harch, Director of Hyperbaric Medicine at LSUs School of Medicine, began partial treatment. Fifty-five days post-drowning, the patient began daily short-duration treatment under Dr. Harchs care with 100% normobaric oxygen.

With treatment, the child became more awake and alert and even stopped squirming. She experienced ongoing neurological improvement throughout her treatment period, characterized by laughing, eye tracking, increased movement of arms, grasp with the left hand, movement of hands, partial oral feeding, and short-sequenced speech at pre-drowning levels, albeit with diminished vocabulary.

78 days post-drowning, eight weeks/40 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy began. At the beginning of every session, the childs neurological improvement was visually apparent. The childs mother said that, except for her coordination, the child was near normal after 10 HBOT sessions, at which point the team re-instituted physical therapy. 162 days post-drowning, following her last HBOT session, the child exhibited near-complete reversal of white matter and cortical atrophy.

The growing brain of a young child is a hormone-rich setting, thriving in an oxygen-rich environment. Both normobaric and hyperbaric oxygen-rich environments activate genes that promote cell survival and reduce inflammation. Increased oxygen with pressure is consistent with the synergy that takes place in the presence of growth hormones and hyperbaric oxygen.

The startling regrowth of tissue in this case occurred because we were able to intervene early in a growing child, before long-term tissue degeneration, Harch stated in press materials. Although its impossible to conclude from this single case if the sequential application of normobaric oxygen then HBOT would be more effective than HBOT alone, in the absence of HBOT therapy, short duration, repetitive normobaric oxygen therapy may be an option until HBOT is available. Such low-risk medical treatment may have a profound effect on recovery of function in similar patients who are neurologically devastated by drowning.

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Medical Researchers Reverse Brain Damage in Drowning Victim - Futurism

In Brief When serial entrepreneur Elon Musk spoke to U.S. governors on Saturday, he urged them to create regulations to cover the development of artificial intelligence. Musk, who has previously warned of the risks of AI, thinks it could lead to the end of human civilization if left unregulated. A Fundamental Risk

As a guest speaker at the 2017 National Governors Association Summer Meeting, entrepreneur and innovator Elon Musk covered a number of topics, including artificial intelligence (AI). During his talk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and founder urged the U.S. governors present on Saturday to set up regulations for the development of AI.

Musk is very familiar with the topic of AI, as hes spoken about it a number of times. To be clear, heisnt afraid of AI itself. What scares him is what could happen if AI is left unchecked. In fact, he calls it potentially the biggest risk we face as a civilization.

One solution, he said, is early regulation. Normally, the way regulations are set up is a whole bunch of bad things happen, theres a public outcry, and after many years, a regulatory agency is set up to regulate that industry, said Musk. It takes forever. That, in the past, has been bad but not something which represented a fundamental risk to the existence of civilization. AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.

Several of the governors asked Musk how it would be possible regulate an industry thats so new, and he replied that the first step is getting a firm grasp onit: The first order of business would be to try to learn as much as possible, to understand the nature of the issues. Thats what Musk has been doing through his non-profit AI research company OpenAI.

Musks isnt the only initiative with the goal of ensuringAI is ethical, but even if these all fail, the serial entrepreneur has a few other potential plans of action against rogue AI.

One isNeuralink,which would give humanity the ability to keep up with AI by essentially incorporating the technology into ourselves. Another isSpaceXs plan to reach Mars. If successful, this would ensure humanitys survivalby giving us a potential second homein case AI takes over the Earth.

While theres still time, however, Musk is pushing for proactive regulation. Until people see robots going down the street killing people, they dont know how to react because it seems so ethereal, he told the governors. AI is a rare case where I think we need to be proactive in regulation instead of reactive. Because I think by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, its too late.

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Elon Musk: Unregulated AI Could Be The Biggest Risk We Face as a Civilization - Futurism

In Brief After a rough weekend, Bitcoin investors, miners, and developers are cautiously optimistic: after hitting historic lows, the cryptocoin's price went back up on Monday.

After a rough weekend of historic lows, Bitcoin prices began to recoveron Monday, reachingover $2,300, signaling a crisis averted for now.Its also an optimistic sign that the potential network hard fork may be avoided, with more bitcoin shareholders, miners and developers,warming up to a proposed solution.

Bitcoin prices dropped dramatically beginning Friday and continuing well into the weekend. Economic forecasts had suggested that the most turbulent period in the cryptocoins history wasimminent. It didnt come as a complete surprise, as many were expecting the so-called Bitcoin Civil Warto ensue between miners and developers, after a deadlock in deciding what direction the cryptocurrency should take amidst increased blockchain traffic.

Miners wanted to increase Bitcoins block-size limit, while developers have proposed moving data off the main blockchain network, which would diminish the influence miners wield. The scaling solution in question is the Bitcoin Improvement Protocol (BIP) 91, which makes theSegWit2x update and the BIP 148compatible. Essentially, it would make it easier for the SegWit2x update to be adopted, while at the same time avoiding the split that BIP 148 might cause.

To lock in by July 31, BIP 91 only needs 80 percent miner support unlike BIP 148, which would require 95 percent. With increased support for BIP 91, the expected July 31 to August 2 bitcoin splitcould still be averted.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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As Cryptocurrency Prices Recover, Bitcoin War May Be Averted - Futurism

In BriefCryptocurrencies fell over the weekend, reaching record lowsand loosing billions in market cap. While they've since recoveredthe losses, it shows just how unpredictable the cryptocurrencymarket truly is. Cryptos Rise (& Fall)

Over the weekend, cryptocurrencies suffered one of the most severe decreases in value in history when their market cap fell from a record high of $116 billion in June to $60 billion on Sunday July 17. Early this week, themarket has started to rise again, but the plummet will not soon be forgotten:throughout the day on Sunday, Bitcoin dropped from over $2,000 to as low as $1,758.20, and Ether fell 20percent to $130.26.Click to View Full Infographic

As of Tuesday morning, it seems thedownward trend has ended, with all major cryptocurrencies reporting rising rates again: Bitcoin is back over $2,000 once more, with Coin Market Cap reporting the currency is now trading at $2,307 (9:00 EST), while Ether has risen from a low over the weekend to a current value of $196.58. The total market cap has regained losses of around $10 billion,according to Coindesk.

Despite the improvement, however, cryptocurrencies are a long way off the meteoric successes they enjoyed in June, where they saw a market cap as high as $116 billion. Since then, Bitcoin has lost around 30 percent of its value, with its highpoint being $3,000 in contrast to todays figure of roughly $2,000. Ethereum has suffered even more severely, dropping from $395 to $164. Despite these falls, 2017 remains a record breaking year for cryptocurrency overall.

There have been, according to Venture Beat, three main reasons for the 48 hour cryptocurrency flop.

First, the bitcoin civil war that seems imminent as of August 1st when the Bitcoin improvement proposal 148 is set to activate. For one, theproposal concerns the possibility of increasing the cryptocurrencysblock size, (a decision which has divided miners and investors).At any rate, and regardless of the eventual decision, the uncertainty right now has caused many investors to liquidate their virtual assets.

Second, a flurry of startups have chosen to get out of the game afterprofitable rounds of investment derived from initial coin offerings (ICOs). Two particularly striking examples are EOS: after raising $200 million worth of Ether earlier this month, they have been offloading it to Bitfinex and TenX, which raised 200,000 ETH ($67 million at the time) in its token sale 30 percent of which has already been sold. This contributes to uncertainty and danger in the marketplace, which can precipitatedecreasing value.

Third, the presence of amateur sellers that the bitcoin market attracts through its fundamental lack of regulation and policing can have a multiplier effect on every market movement, namely throughfrantic, if not occasionally panicked, buying and selling practices.

While the ultimate success of cryptocurrencies remains speculative, one thing we know for sure after observingtheir activity over the last few days is that financial currencies remain volatile and prone to unpredictability.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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Cryptocurrency Hit Record Low Values Over the Weekend - Futurism