Category Archives: Transhuman News

The software of life. Thats how Stephane Bancel, the chief executive officer of Moderna, described messenger RNA (mRNA), which is at the core of Modernas drug development process.

Moderna is pioneering mRNA drugs that are believed to be able to direct the body to produce any protein of interest, including antibodies and other proteins that can create therapeutic activity. Bancel said mRNA is an information molecule.

Its like software, he said.

The company, which has secured enormous investments over the past few years, is inching closer to being a commercial company in developing personalized therapies for a wide range of diseases, including cancer. In order to create those personalized medicines, the Cambridge, Mass.-based company relies on gene sequencing and a partnership with one of the worlds largest companies Amazon.

In an interview with CNBCs Jim Cramer during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference this week, Bancel said the company relies on Amazon Web Services to compare every letter of DNA in the sequencing process. Once that is done, the company can deduce what needs to be done to develop personalized medicine, Bancel explained.

Amazon Web Services, the fastest growing division of the company, according to CNBC, provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to companies. Moderna is currently using Amazon Web Services with more than a dozen drug candidates in its pipeline, which means the high-tech platform plays a central role in the companys drug development program. As CNBC explains, the company is using the powerful cloud-based service to speed up the time it takes a drug candidate to move from the preclinical to the clinical phase. In addition to Moderna, Amazon Web Services is being used by several pharmaceutical companies, including San Diego-based Human Longevity Inc., Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and more.

The reliance on the high-speed program could lead to the company finally becoming a commercial entity 10 years after it was launched. Last week, just ahead of JPM, Bancel pointed to one of the companys clinical candidates as a potential blockbuster, an experimental treatment for cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most common infectious cause of birth defects in the United States.

Moderna said the analysis following a Phase I trial, which was taken after the third and final vaccination, shows continued boosting of neutralizing antibody titers in patients. The mRNA-based vaccine, mRNA-1647, is designed to protect against CMV infection. Cytomegalovirus is a common pathogen and is the leading infectious cause of birth defects in the United States with approximately 25,000 newborns in the U.S. infected every year. CMV is passed from the mother to her unborn child. Birth defects occur in about 20% of infected babies. The defects can include neurodevelopmental disabilities such as hearing loss, vision impairment, varying degrees of learning disability and decreased muscle strength and coordination. There is no approved vaccine to prevent CMV infection.

In October, the company received Fast Track Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for mRNA-3927, its investigational mRNA therapeutic for propionic acidemia, which is caused by the inability of the body to breakdown certain proteins and fats which leads to the build-up of toxic chemicals. Moderna plans to initiate an open-label, multi-center, dose-escalation Phase I/II study of multiple ascending doses of mRNA-3927 in primarily pediatric patients.

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Moderna Partners with AWS to Explore the 'Software of Life' - PharmaLive

New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) Over 300 doctors from across the globe congregated in the national capital and emphasised the importance of intermittent fasting as a preventive healthcare to lead a healthy life.

They said practices such as intermittent fasting are known to regulate the lipids in the body thereby maintaining the glycemic index. Apart from being a weight loss remedy, it also helps in developing a more active lifestyle.

Highlighting the ways for healthy living, renowned doctors, healthcare practitioners from India, USA, Canada, China, Vietnam, Australia and South Africa took part in the anti-aging conference.

The highlights of the lecture sessions included discussions on advanced cutting edge technology and futuristic innovations in the healthcare for a better and healthy living.

While medication has taken an exponential leap this century, many people are still unaware that preventive health has had a profound effect on human longevity, awareness, mental wellbeing, BK Modi founder-chairman, Smart Group, said via a video conference.

"I wish more people discover the benefits of preventive health. Though people are becoming very health conscious and hence intermittent fasting is one of the ways that has attracted 30-40% of the people for the same. Seeking the benefits, more number of people are opting, as it not only triggers weight loss but also helps the body to combat various chronic ailments," Modi said.

People are always looking for something new way of losing weight, and intermittent fasting is a very old method used by people for weight loss and body cleansing, another doctor said.

Unless any patient has a history of some chronic disease, diabetes, hypertention etc, people in any age bracket irrespective of gender are recommended.

"It is glad to see that doctors in India are taking a keen interest in preventive health. With the introduction of featured new age topics including intermittent fasting, regenerative medicine, autoimmunity, biochemical detox, and sub-fertile male amongst others, these techniques have gained attention for it''s incredible effects on both weight loss and curbing down chronic diseases," said Micheal Brown, director, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.

The conference was organised by Smart Group, a diversified business conglomerate with interests in mobility, finance, healthcare and technology sectors, in collaboration with American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, a not-for-profit medical society dedicated to the detection, prevention and treatment of diseases associated with aging. PTI PLB ABHABH

Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: PTI

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Over 300 doctors gather in Delhi to emphasize importance of intermittent fasting - Outlook India

A recent analysis of temperature trends suggests that the average human body temperature has dropped since the 19th century due to physiological changes. The authors of the new study also highlight potential causes of these alterations.

Most of us only take our temperatures when we are worried that we have a fever, as a result of an infection or a cold, for example.

But body temperature can indicate and be influenced by many other factors; lifestyle habits, age, and ambient temperature can all influence how our body disperses heat.

Body temperature is also a marker of metabolic health. Specifically, the authors of the new study explain, human body temperature indicates metabolic rate, which some have linked with longevity and body size.

So what is our normal body temperature? In 1851, a German physician called Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich surveyed 25,000 people in one city and established that 37C is the standard temperature of the human body.

However, recent analyses and surveys suggest that the average body temperature is now lower.

For instance, a study of more than 35,000 people in the United Kingdom and nearly 250,000 temperature measurements found that 36.6C is the average oral temperature. Could this discrepancy be a result of changes in measurement tools? Or, do the new findings reflect higher life expectancy and better overall health?

Myroslava Protsiv, then at Stanford University's Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, in California, and colleagues set out to investigate.

The team hypothesized that "the differences observed in temperature between the 19th century and today are real and that the change over time provides important physiologic clues to alterations in human health and longevity since the Industrial Revolution."

Their paper appears in the journal eLife.

To test their hypothesis, the researchers analyzed information from three datasets:

The first included data from 18621930 obtained from Union Army veterans of the Civil War.

The second dataset was from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I, which took place from 19711975.

The third dataset was from the Stanford Translational Research Integrated Database Environment, which contains data from people who received healthcare through Stanford between 2007 and 2017.

Overall, the scientists had access to 677,423 temperature measurements, which they integrated, forming a model of change over time.

Some of the researchers' findings include:

To check whether the decreases stemmed from advances in thermometer technology, Protsiv and the team looked at changes within datasets, assuming that doctors in each historical period were generally using the same types of thermometers.

The results of the analysis within datasets reflected the changes in the combined data. "Our temperature's not what people think it is," says Dr. Julie Parsonnet, a professor of medicine, health research, and policy, and the senior author of the study.

"What everybody grew up learning, which is that our normal temperature is [37C], is wrong."

Dr. Julie Parsonnet

However, because gender, time of day, and age can each change our body temperature, the researchers do not advise updating the standard for all U.S. adults.

So why has the average body temperature changed? "Physiologically, we're just different from what we were in the past," Dr. Parsonnet says.

"The environment that we're living in has changed, including the temperature in our homes, our contact with microorganisms, and the food that we have access to."

"All these things mean that, although we think of human beings as if we're monomorphic and have been the same for all of human evolution, we're not the same. We're actually changing physiologically."

Furthermore, Dr. Parsonnet believes, the average metabolic rate, which indicates how much energy our bodies use, has declined over time. This decrease could result from a decrease in inflammation.

"Inflammation produces all sorts of proteins and cytokines that rev up your metabolism and raise your temperature," she says.

Finally, air conditioning and heating have resulted in a more consistent ambient temperature, making it unnecessary to expend energy to maintain the same body temperature.

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Body temperature: What is the new normal? - Medical News Today

"The acceleration and convergence of exponential technologies will completely reshape everyindustry and society over the next decade. The Future is Faster Than You Thinkis the first book to thoroughly map this new territory. A fantastic guidebook for leaders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and anyone who wants to understand the massive changes ahead." Ray Kurzweil, a Director of Engineering, Google; founder and chancellor ofSingularity University; author of the New York Timesbestsellers The SingularityIs Nearand How to Create a Mind

"Diamandis and Kotler have written a powerful and beautiful masterpiece outlining a compelling future for humanity. The Future is Faster Than You Thinkoffers CEOs and entrepreneurs a clear vision on the transformation of every major industry this decade. Required reading for anyonewho wants to surf above the tsunami of change." Tony Robbins, #1 New York Timesbestselling author, entrepreneur, philanthropist,and life and business strategist

"Exponential technologies will transform every industry this decade. In this book, Diamandis andKotler provide a deep and thorough researched view of the road ahead. Every entrepreneur andleader needs to understand the transformation and opportunities to plan and prepare. The futureis faster than you think." Pharrell Williams, artist and musician

"In their amazing book The Future Is Faster Than You Think, Diamandis and Kotler offer us ahopeful and powerful vision of the future. Packed with amazing stories, mind-blowing technologyand deep lessons about all of the extraordinary opportunities before us -a must read!" Anousheh Ansari, CEO, XPRIZE; first private female astronaut

"There is little doubt that the decade to come will be filled with radical breakthroughs and world-changing surprises," writes Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler in THE FUTURE IS FASTER THAN YOU THINK: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives (January 28th, 2020/$28.00 hardcover). "Every major industry on our planet is about to be completely reimagined. For entrepreneurs, for innovators, for leaders, for anyone sufficiently nimble and adventurous, the opportunities will be incredible."

Technology is accelerating far more quickly than anyone could have imagined. During the next decade, we will experience more upheaval and create more wealth than we have in the past hundred years. In this gripping and insightful roadmap to our near future, Diamandis and Kotler investigate how wave after wave of exponentially accelerating technologies (defined as any technology that doubles in power while dropping in price on a regular basis) will impact both our daily lives and society as a whole. What happens as AI, robotics, virtual reality, and sensors crash into 3D printing, blockchain, and global gigabit networks? How will these convergences transform today's legacy industries? What will happen to the way we raise our kids, govern our nations, and care for our planet?

Diamandis, a space-entrepreneur-turned-innovation-pioneer, and Kotler, bestselling author and peak performance expert, probe the science of technological convergence and how it will reinvent every part of our lives, taking humanity into uncharted territories and reimagining the world as we know it. "Being able to see around the corner of tomorrow and being agile enough to adapt to what's coming have never been more important," the authors write. "And, in three parts, that's exactly what this book will do."

Part One explores breaking technologies currently on exponential growth curves, examining where they are today and where they're going: quantum computing, artificial intelligence, networks, robotics, virtual and augmented reality, 3-D printing, blockchain, materials science and nanotechnology, and biotechnology "We'll also assess a series of secondary forcescall them technological shock wavesand see how they're further accelerating the rate of change in the world and amplifying the scale of its impact."

Part Two focuses on key industriesshopping, advertising, entertainment, education, healthcare, longevity, business and foodto show how converging technologies are reshaping our world: "This portion provides a blueprint for tomorrow, a map of the major shifts coming to society, and a playbook for anyone interested in surfing the wave."

Part Three takes in the bigger picture, looking at a series of environmental, economic, and existential risks that threaten the progress we're about to make. The authors then expand their view from what's in store in the next decade to the full century, focusing on five great migrationseconomic relocations, climate-change upheavals, virtual worlds explorations, outer space colonization, and hive-mind collaborationsto show how they will serve as powerful innovation accelerants and how technology can help solve the world's biggest problems.

About the authorsPeter H. Diamandisis a New York Times bestselling author and the founder of more than twenty high-tech companies. He is the founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE and executive founder of Singularity University, and the cofounder of Human Longevity, Inc., Celularity, and Bold Capital Partners. Diamandis attended MIT, where he received his degrees in molecular genetics and aerospace engineering, and Harvard Medical School, where he received his MD. In 2014 he was named one of "The World's 50 Greatest Leaders" by Fortune magazine.

Steven Kotleris a New York Times bestselling author, an award-winning journalist, and the founder and executive director of the Flow Research Collective. His books include Stealing Fire, BOLD, The Rise of Superman, Abundance, A Small Furry Prayer, Tomorrowland, West of Jesus, and Last Tango in Cyberspace. His work has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, has been translated into more than forty languages, and has appeared in more than a hundred publications, including The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Wired, Forbes, and Time.

About the bookTitle: THE FUTURE IS FASTER THAN YOU THINKSubtitle: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries and Our LivesAuthors: Peter H. Diamandis and Steven KotlerPub Date: January 28th, 2020Price: $28.00 hardcoverPages: 384ISBN: 9781982109660

Visit https://futurefasterbook.com/

SOURCE Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler

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THE FUTURE IS FASTER THAN YOU THINK: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries and Our Lives By Peter H. Diamandis and Steven...

The average human body temperature has steadily declined since the 19th century, according to a study published earlier this month in eLife, raising questions about whether the "normal" human body temperature is actually lower than 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, Nicholas Bakalar reports for the New York Times' "Well."

According to researchers, the common claim that human body temperature averages 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit originated with a study by the German doctor Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich, who repeatedly measured the temperatures of 25,000 people in Leipzig in 1851. But researchers questioned whether that data truly represented average body temperature in the modern age.

To find out, they examined 677,423 human body temperature measurements from three databases to determine how body temperatures have changed over time. Human body temperatures serve as "a crude surrogate for basal metabolic rate which, in turn, has been linked to both longevity (higher metabolic rate, shorter life span) and body size (lower metabolism, greater body mass)," the researchers noted.

The databases spanned 157 years of measurement. The first database contained temperature readings obtained from 23,710 Civil War veterans between 1862 and 1930. The second database contained temperatures readings for 15,301 individuals collected by CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1971 to 1975. The third database contained temperature readings for 150,280 individuals collected by the Stanford University from 2007 to 2017.

Overall, the researchers found the average human body temperature has decreased by 0.03 degrees centigrade, or about 0.05 degrees Fahrenheit, per birth decade. Pointing to the findings, Bakalar in the writes, "Today, a temperature of 97.5 may be closer to 'normal' than the traditional 98.6."

According to the researchers, "men born in the early 19thcentury had temperatures 0.59C higher than men today, with a monotonic decrease of 0.03C per birth decade." Meanwhile, women's average body temperatures have decreased by 0.32C since the 1890s, at a similar rate of 0.029C per birth decade.

The researchers said the decline in the average human body temperature could not be explained by differences in measurement techniques. They explained that the decrease in average body temperature occurred annually within each of the three databases and that they found identical declines between the two modern databases, which presumably involved the same equipment and measurement techniques.

While it's unclear what drove the decline in body temperatures, the researchers did offer a few possible explanations. Namely, the researchers pointed to advancements in heating and air conditions, which help maintain constant temperatures; reductions in chronic inflammation; and improvements in dental care, medical care, and sanitation.

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The human body isn't running at 98.6 degrees anymore. (And it hasn't been for 150 years.) - The Daily Briefing

A new study shows that altering two cellular pathways in a species of roundworm can extend lifespan by a staggering 500 percent. The discovery could help scientists develop anti-aging therapies for humans, considering that humans have the same cellular pathways featured in the research.

Scientists have spent decades trying to solve the mysteries of aging by experimenting on a tiny nematode species called C. elegans. These microscopic roundworms are ideal for aging research because they live for only two to three weeks, meaning researchers are quickly able to distinguish which alterations or mutations are related to lifespan. In 1993, a famous paper revealed that C. elegans with a specific single-gene mutation lived twice as long as roundworms without it. This discovery helped to spawn a new era of research on aging.

Bob Goldstein

The new study, published in Cell Reports, shows that altering the insulin signaling (IIS) and TOR pathways yields a lifespan extension of about 500 percent. This surprised the researchers. After all, past research on the ISS and TOR pathways shows that altering them (through a process called gene knockdown) usually yields a 100 percent and 30 percent lifespan increase, respectively. So, they thought that altering them together would boost lifespan by 130 percent. But the effect was greater than the sum of its parts.

"The synergistic extension is really wild," Jarod A. Rollins, Ph.D., who is the lead author with Jianfeng Lan, Ph.D., of Nanjing University, told Phys.org. "The effect isn't one plus one equals two, it's one plus one equals five. Our findings demonstrate that nothing in nature exists in a vacuum; in order to develop the most effective anti-aging treatments we have to look at longevity networks rather than individual pathways."

The findings suggest that future anti-aging therapies might involve a combination of treatments, similar to how combination treatments are sometimes used for cancer and HIV.

K. D. Schroeder

Scientists have so far failed to pinpoint a specific gene that explains why some humans live mostly disease-free into old age. Why? In addition to environmental factors that affect aging and health, the answer might be that aging is primarily regulated not by single genes, but by a so-called "longevity network," comprised of seemingly unrelated systems in the body. For years, scientists have been trying to demystify the aging process by mapping out possible connections within the longevity network. The new study suggests that scientists are beginning to understand a bit of how this complex network operates.

Specifically, the new study focuses on the role that mitochondria, which are organelles that generate chemical energy in cells, might play in the longevity network. Recent research suggests that mitochondria may play a key role in the aging process, as described in a 2017 overview published in the journal Genes:

"Among diverse factors that contribute to human aging, the mitochondrial dysfunction has emerged as one of the key hallmarks of aging process and is linked to the development of numerous age-related pathologies including metabolic syndrome, neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular diseases and cancer."

It's unclear what effect manipulating the ISS and TOR pathways might have for humans. But a growing body of research suggests that promoting mitochondrial health could be a reliable way for us to increase lifespan. Interestingly, another recent aging study found that putting C. elegans on an intermittent-fasting diet helped to keep the roundworms' mitochondria in a "youthful" state, which seemed to extend lifespan.

"Low-energy conditions such as dietary restriction and intermittent fasting have previously been shown to promote healthy aging. Understanding why this is the case is a crucial step towards being able to harness the benefits therapeutically," Heather Weir, lead author of the study, told Harvard News. "Our findings open up new avenues in the search for therapeutic strategies that will reduce our likelihood of developing age-related diseases as we get older."

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Biologists extend worm lifespan by 500% in surprising discovery on aging - Big Think

The constant barrage of negative news on the state of mankind has clouded the otherwise generally positive news of world progress.

The 24/7 global news cycle is dominated by negative stories the kind of stories our minds are hard wired to be drawn to first. It is important to note, however, on the local front, your hometown newspaper works hard to give equal attention to positive local stories and events. Nonetheless, social media has devolved into a cauldron for hyperventilating all that is dark, crass, and sensational in real time ... all the time.

Steven Pinker, Johnstone professor of psychology at Harvard University and author of books on language, mind and human nature, has devoted his work to changing our deleterious perception of ourselves.

His latest best-selling book, Enlightenment Now, paints a compelling picture of the real progress humanity has made and, in fact, thrived based upon many essential metrics including prosperity, peace, safety and happiness.

Raya Bidshahri writing for Singularity University, a global learning and innovation community, notes that the work of Pinker and other champions of intelligent optimism is all about being excited for the future in a rational way based on data, science and empirical evidence. The truth is that despite our many shortcomings, we are living longer, healthier, safer and happier lives than at any other point in human history. Dismissing how far weve come is ultimately a denial of truth.

Pinkers study shows that in 2017 the world was troubled by 12 ongoing wars, 60 autocracies, 10 percent of the world population lived in extreme poverty, and was threatened by more than 10,000 nuclear weapons.

By contrast, 30 years ago, there were 23 wars, 85 autocracies, 37 percent of the world population in extreme poverty, and more than 60,000 nuclear weapons were stockpiled. While this data portrays great progress it is important not to ignore that a record number of expatriated people, 56.8 million (0.77 percent of the total global population) exist today.

Nonetheless, the world has more people (two-thirds of the population) living in democratic societies in the past decade than any time in history.

Longevity is also at an all-time high. For most of human history, life expectancy at birth was around 30. Today it is more than 70 worldwide, and in the developed parts of the world, more than 80. Increased life expectancy is tied in part to significant decreases in early deaths and injuries from car and plane crashes, infant mortality, workplace calamities, diseases, natural disasters, and lack of sanitation and safe drinking water.

Despite the fact that the media is fixated on the widening wealth gap, global poverty is, in fact, in decline. Two centuries ago, 90 percent of the worlds population subsisted in extreme poverty. Today, the extreme poverty level has dropped below 10%.

Seldom acknowledged in the news is the fact that literacy rates have skyrocketed in the last 30 years. According to Pinker, before the 17th century, no more than 15 percent of Europeans could read or write. Today, more than 90 percent of the worlds population under the age of 25 can read and write. Technology in the information age will certainly continue to drive not only the level of literacy, but a rising standard of living wherever digital access exists.

In his book The Better Angels of Our Nature, Pinker offers compelling evidence for the historical decline of human violence, another stunning phenomenon rarely found in mainstream reporting.

Pinker promotes the notion that mankind is too absorbed in the ever pervasive influence of negativity to fully appreciate the abundance of life and opportunity that exists in our time. He acknowledges that perfection is not realistically attainable but by drawing strength from the remarkable achievements of mankind, the next chapter can be a validation of the continued positive impacts of the human spirit.

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Compelling reasons for optimism seen throughout the world - Grand Island Independent

Leading a long and fulfilling life largely hinges on your ability to avoid chronic complications that shorten your lifespan.

One of the most important proactive measures you can take is to maintain a healthy weight because obesity can lead to life-threatening conditions such as coronary heart disease.

In fact, coronary heart disease is one of the biggest killers in the UK and worldwide so it is important to maintain a healthy weight to ward off the threat of developing this deadly disease.

Intermittent fasting, an eating pattern that involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting, has been shown to attack this harmful belly fat, however.

A large review of studies found that following an intermittent fasting style of eating helped reduce visceral fat by four to seven percent over a period of six to 24 weeks.

Intermittent fasting has also been shown to provide benefits to heart health.

The dietary approach has been shown to offer protection against mechanisms that lead to heart disease.

Studies have found that intermittent fasting can improve blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers and blood sugar levels - risk factors associated with the deadly condition.

In addition to a healthy dietary approach, numerous studies show that regular exercise can extend your lifespan.

In fact, a recent study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session, reveals the health benefits of exercising over the age of 70.

The study found that being physically fit provides a more complete picture of an older persons health than the typical cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and smoking.

Seamus P. Whelton, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the study's lead author, said: "We found fitness is an extremely strong risk predictor of survival in the older age group - that is, regardless of whether you are otherwise healthy or have cardiovascular risk factors, being more fit means you're more likely to live longer than someone who is less fit.

The findings, based on an analysis of more than 6,500 people medical records, found that higher fitness was associated with significantly increased rates of survival.

The most fit individuals were more than twice as likely to be alive 10 years later compared with the least fit individuals.

In light of the findings, Whelton called on doctors to incorporate it into their health assessments of older age patients: Assessing fitness is a low-cost, low-risk and low-technology tool that is underutilised in clinical practice for risk stratification.

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How to live longer: Avoid this eating habit to increase life expectancy - Express

Evolutionary anthropologist and geneticist Jenny Tung, a 2019 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship winner, will be the keynote speaker at the 15th Biological Sciences Research Symposium at UB. The fellowship is often referred to as the MacArthur genius grant.

Tungs lecture, titled Social interactions in primate genomics, life history and evolution, will take place at 4 p.m. Jan. 23 in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.

The event is presented by the Biology Graduate Student Association in association with the Department of Biological Sciences.

Tung is an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology and biology at Duke University and an affiliate of the Duke Population Research Institute and the Center for Genomic and Computational Biology.

According to her biography on the MacArthur Foundations website, she researches the interplay between social experiences, genomics and health. Combining field research with cutting-edge techniques for studying many genes at once, Tung is revealing the molecular mechanisms by which social and environmental stressors have long-lasting impacts on health, longevity and evolutionary fitness.

The lab is particularly interested in how social environmental variables of known biodemographic importance, such as social status and social connectedness, feed back to influence gene regulation and population genetic structure.

Most of her teams work centers on a longitudinally studied population of wild baboons in Kenya Tung co-directs the Amboseli Baboon Research Project and captive rhesus macaques at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Her research has implications for understanding human health.

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MacArthur 'genius grant' winner to speak at UB - UB Now: News and views for UB faculty and staff - University at Buffalo Reporter

On the morning of April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. readied to head to Memphis, Tennessee, for the third time in as many weeks in support of the city's striking sanitation workers.

The first trip had brought a crowd of 15,000 to hear the weary but still commanding civil rights leader speak at Bishop Charles Mason Temple on March 18. He had returned to lead a march 10 days later, only to see the demonstration dissolve into rioting and chaos that left a high school student dead.

Dismayed by the outcome and discouraged by staffers who wanted him to focus on the upcoming "Poor People's Campaign" in the nation's capital, King nevertheless was determined to lead a second, successful march in Memphis to prove that his method of nonviolent demonstration still had teeth.

As recounted in the bookRedemption: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Last 31 Hours, MLK's Memphis plans faced hurdles from the get-go, starting with the bomb threat that delayed his flight out of Atlanta, Georgia.

After arriving, King and his cohorts were slapped with an injunction that prevented them from leading a demonstration in the city. He huddled with his legal team at the Lorraine Motel to discuss strategy, and followed with another meeting with a local black power group called the Invaders, aiming to head off a potential repeat of the riot-instigating actions that had torpedoed his last effort.

Fighting a cold, and exhausted after weeks of traveling, King sent his chief lieutenant, Ralph Abernathy, to speak on his behalf at Bishop Charles Mason Temple that evening. Although the stormy weather had depressed the turnout, Abernathy sensed the crowd's disappointment with King's absence and convinced the celebrated orator by phone to make an appearance.

In what became known as his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, King took the audience on a time-traveling journey through the highlights of human civilization and revealed that here, amid the struggle for human rights in the second half of the 20th century, was exactly where he wanted to be. He then recalled how he had been stabbed 10 years earlier when a mere sneeze could have ruptured his aorta and prevented him from being part of civil rights history.

"I don't know what will happen now; we've got some difficult days ahead," he said, nearing the prescient climax. "But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do Gods will. And so I'm happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything; I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Utterly spent, King was helped back to his seat, tears welling in his eyes. However, the emotional speech was cathartic for a man who had endured so much stress. In the biography Bearing the Cross, Abernathy recalled how his friend seemed "happy and relaxed" at dinner after the rally, and King found the energy to stay up well into the night, joking around with the others.

Martin Luther King delivering his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech on April 3, 1968.

Photo: Getty Images

After waking up late on April 4, King discussed organizational matters with his staffers, before hearing the good news: His lawyers had persuaded the judge to lift the injunction, allowing for a tightly controlled march on April 8.

At around 6 p.m., as he prepared for dinner with a local minister, King stepped out to the balcony of room 306 at the Lorraine to chat with colleagues waiting in the courtyard below. A gunshot suddenly pierced the air, and the others recovered from their momentary confusion to find King prone on the balcony, bleeding profusely from the right side of his face.

Although he was rushed off to St. Joseph's Hospital relatively quickly, the bullet had punctured several vital arteries, fractured his spine, and 39-year-old King was declared dead at 7:05 p.m.

READ MORE: 17 Inspiring Quotes by Martin Luther King Jr.

King's assassination led to the outbreak of violence across American cities, with reports of more than 40 casualties, another 3,500 injuries and 27,000 arrests accumulating over the next several days. But there were also noble tributes to the slain civil rights leader: President Lyndon B. Johnson decreed April 7 a day of national mourning, while opening day of the Major League Baseball season and the Academy Awards telecast were both suspended.

The April 8 march went through as planned, with the widowed Coretta Scott King leading an estimated 42,000 demonstrators through the Memphis streets. The following day, another 50,000 supporters accompanied King's mule-drawn casket through downtown Atlanta, to South-View Cemetery.

On April 16, the cause that had consumed the final days of King's life realized its goal, as the city of Memphis agreed to improved wages and the recognition of the sanitation workers' union.

James Earl Ray being led to his cell by Shelby County Sheriff William Morris on July 19, 1968.

Photo: Getty Images

Meanwhile, a massive manhunt led the FBI from Bessie Brewer's Rooming House, across from the Lorraine Motel, to California, Alabama, Canada, Portugal and finally to London's Heathrow Airport, whereJames Earl Ray was apprehended on June 8. He pleaded guilty the following March, earning a 99-year prison sentence, but almost immediately recanted the plea, insisting he was part of a larger conspiracy.

In a twist, many members of King's family and inner circle eventually went public their belief that Ray was not the killer. In 1999, the family won a wrongful death suit against Memphis cafe ownerLoyd Jowers, who claimed to have hired the true assassin. This spurred the launch of a new investigation from the U.S. Department of Justice, which ultimately determined that there was no reason to reopen the case.

More than 50 years after King's final breath, the full story behind his killing remains unknown. Nevertheless, the tragedy cemented his place as an icon of the transformative era, forever frozen on the mountaintop as a man who lived out his life in the service of others.

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The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography