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Category Archives: Transhuman News

Longevity Prize of the Fondation IPSEN is Awarded to Andrzej Bartke – Business Wire (press release)

Posted: July 24, 2017 at 7:46 am

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Fondation IPSEN Longevity Prize was created in 1996 to recognize the global importance of the continuing increase in human life expectancy. The 2017 prize will be given, today, during the 21st International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics, in San Francisco (2-3.30 pm). The international jury chaired by Professor Thomas Kirkwood (Newcastle University, UK and Copenhagen University, Denmark), has unanimously decided to award the prize to Andrzej Bartke for his pioneeringanalysis of the molecular and hormonal mechanisms that can extend mammalian longevity in mice.

The Fondation IPSEN Longevity Prize was created in 1996 to recognise the global importance of the continuing increase in human life expectancy. This remarkable increase has implications for a very wide range of scientific disciplines as well as for the organisation of society in all of its aspects.

The Fondation IPSEN is justifiably proud to have created an award that recognises the intrinsic scientific interest and importance of the topic. Over more than twenty years, the distinguished list of laureates of the Longevity Prize highlights the complementary ways in which the relevant disciplines are making their contributions, says Thomas Kirkwood, President of the jury (Newcastle University, UK and Copenhagen University, Denmark).

In 2017, the recipient of the Longevity Prize is Dr. Andrzej Bartke (Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, USA) for his pioneeringanalysis of the molecular and hormonal mechanisms that can extend mammalian longevity in Ames dwarf mice.These studies firmly establish neuroendocrine factors as key contributors to the aging processes that affect lifespan.

During this event, Dr. Bartke will present a lecture entitled Growth and aging; the hidden costs of stature. Elimination of growth hormone (GH) actions by mutations or targeted gene deletion produces a remarkable extension of longevity in both sexes of laboratory mice. Long-lived GH-deficient and GH-resistant animals are characterized by small body size, delayed puberty, reduced fecundity and a striking delay in multiple symptoms of aging, including the decline of gonadal function. These findings lead to a somewhat counterintuitive conclusion that the normal actions of GH incur significant costs in terms of the impact on aging and longevity. Studies in genetically normal (wild type) mice, domestic dogs and various human populations indicate that GH signaling is indeed negatively associated with life expectancy across mammalian species. The evolutionary history of the genetic variation underpinning the trade-offs between growth, maturation, reproductive functions, stress resistance, age-related disease and longevity is difficult to decipher. However, persistence of a wide range of the corresponding phenotypes may benefit survival of populations under challenging environmental conditions.

Andrzej Bartke is Professor of Internal Medicine at Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois, USA. The focus of his research is on the genetic and hormonal control of aging in mammals. Current work is aimed at identifying mechanisms that link reduced growth hormone action with delayed aging and extended longevity. For this work, he is using mutant mice that live longer than normal mice and show various symptoms of delayed aging, including retention of cognitive function and protection from age-related disease.

The Longevity Prize

Created in 1996, this Prize of the Fondation IPSEN has been awarded every year to renowned specialists in Longevity:

Caleb E. Finch (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA), Vano Kannisto (Odense University, Denmark) , Roy L. Walford (formerly University of California Los Angeles, USA), John E. Morley (St. Louis University, USA), Paul B. and Margret M. Baltes (formerly Free University of Berlin, Germany), Justin D. Congdon (University of Georgia, Aiken, USA), George M. Martin (University of Washington, Seattle, USA), James W. Vaupel (Max-Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany), Linda Partridge (University College London, UK), Sir Michael Marmot (University College London, UK), Cynthia Kenyon (University of California, San Francisco, USA), David J.P. Barker (University of Southampton, UK), Gerald McClearn (Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA), Jacques Vallin (French National Institute of Demography, Paris, France), Judith Campisi (Buck Institute for Age Research, Novato, USA), Thomas Kirkwood (Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK), Linda Fried (Columbia University, New York, USA), Gary Ruvkun (Harvard Medical School - CCIB, Boston, US), Luigi Ferrucci (National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, USA), Steven N. Austad (University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA) and Kaare Christensen (Odense University, Denmark).

Members of the jury

Thomas Kirkwood, President (Newcastle University, UK Copenhagen University, Denmark), Judith Campisi (Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, USA), Eileen Crimmins (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA), Caleb Finch (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA), Bernard Jeune* (University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark), George Martin* (University of Washington, Seattle, USA), Yasuyuki Gondo (Osaka University, Japan), Jean-Marie Robine (INSERM, Dmographie et Sant, Montpellier, France), Bruno Vellas (University of Toulouse, France), Marja Jylh (University of Tampere, Finland), Steven N. Austad (University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA), Luigi Ferrucci (National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, USA) and a Fondation IPSEN representative.

(* Former Jury Members).

The Fondation IPSEN

Established in 1983 under the aegis of the Fondation de France, the ambition of the Fondation IPSEN is to initiate a reflection about the major scientific issues of the forthcoming years. The long-standing mission of the Fondation IPSEN is to contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge by fostering interaction between scientists and clinicians. It has developed an important international network of scientific experts who meet regularly at meetings known as Colloques Mdecine et Recherche, dedicated to three main topics: neurosciences, endocrinology and cancer science. Moreover the Fondation IPSEN has started several series of meetings in partnership with the Salk Institute, the Karolinska Institute as well as with the science journals Cell and Science. The Fondation IPSEN produced several hundred publications and more than 250 scientists have been awarded prizes and grants.

http://www.fondation-ipsen.org

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Longevity Prize of the Fondation IPSEN is Awarded to Andrzej Bartke - Business Wire (press release)

Posted in Human Longevity | Comments Off

Sernova-HemAcure Consortium Announce Significant Progress in Development of ‘First in World’ Regenerative … – GlobeNewswire (press release)

Posted: at 7:45 am

July 24, 2017 06:00 ET | Source: Sernova Corp

LONDON, Ontario, July 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sernova Corp. (TSX-V:SVA) (OTCQB:SEOVF) (FSE:PSH), a clinical stage regenerative medicine company, announced today significant scientific progress achieved in the development of a first in world personalized regenerative medicine therapy for the treatment of Hemophilia A patients by the HemAcure Consortium and confirmation of the second phase of funding of the Consortium by the European Commission. The therapy being developed by international scientific Consortium members consisting of three European academic institutions, an enterprise for quality management and Sernova Corp is to treat severe Hemophilia A, a serious genetic bleeding disorder caused by missing or defective clotting factor VIII in the blood stream. This therapy consists of Sernovas implanted Cell Pouch(TM) device transplanted with therapeutic cells, corrected to produce Factor VIII at a level sufficient to significantly reduce the side effects of the disease and improve patient quality of life.

The international HemAcure Consortium team members are pleased with the ground breaking scientific advances achieved at this point and are on track for this regenerative medicine solution to advance into human clinical evaluation, remarked Dr. Philip Toleikis, Sernova President and CEO. Toleikis added, Sernovas Cell Pouch platform technologies are achieving important world first milestones in both diabetes and now hemophilia, two significant clinical indications which are being disrupted by its regenerative medicine approach aimed at significantly improving patient quality of life.

We are thrilled with the approval by the European Union of the next stage of funding for the HemAcure program based on our quality interim report. This is a strong validation of the Consortiums dedication and teamwork and the importance of this regenerative medicine approach, said Dr. Joris Braspenning, HemAcure Program Coordinator.

In summary, the following ground-breaking developments have been achieved by the Consortium:

This combination of advances by the HemAcure team represents a first in world achievement towards developing a regenerative medicine therapy for the treatment of severe hemophilia A patients. In this regard, these fundamental advancements have set the stage for further optimization and implementation of cell production processes under controlled GMP conditions, stated Martin Zierau, IMS member consortium team leader responsible for coordination of GMP processes. With Factor VIII corrected cells, studies are ongoing to optimize cell dosing within the Cell Pouch and for study of safety and efficacy of hemophilia corrected Factor VIII cells in the hemophilia model. These studies are in support of the current extensive regulatory package already assembled for the Cell Pouch in anticipation of human clinical evaluation of the Cell Pouch with hemophilia corrected Factor VIII producing cells.

Sernova has developed its proprietary highly innovative Cell Pouch technologies for the placement and long-term survival and function of immune protected therapeutic cells. It has proven to be safe and efficacious in multiple small and large animal preclinical models and has demonstrated safety alone and with therapeutic cells in a clinical trial in humans for another therapeutic indication. We believe the Cell Pouch platform is the first such patented technology proven to become incorporated with blood vessel enriched tissue-forming tissue chambers without fibrosis for the placement and long-term survival and function of immune protected therapeutic cells.

About Hemophilia A

People with Hemophilia have prolonged abnormal bleeding as a result of trauma. Hemophilia A, also called factor VIII (FVIII) deficiency is the most common form of Hemophilia and is a genetic disorder caused by missing or defective FVIII, a blood clotting protein. Severe hemophilia occurs in about 60% of cases where the deficiency of FVIII is less than 1% of normal blood concentration. While it is passed down from parents to children, about 1/3 of cases are caused by a spontaneous change in the gene. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hemophilia occurs in about 1 in 5,000 births. If the prolonged bleeding occurs in the brain of a person with hemophilia, it can be fatal. Prolonged bleeding in joints can cause inflammatory responses and permanent joint damage. Approximately 20,000 people in the United States and 10,000 in Europe have the moderate or severe form of hemophilia A, as well as approximately 2,500 in Canada. All races and ethnic groups are equally affected by hemophilia A. Though there is no cure for the disease, it can be controlled with regular infusions of recombinant clotting FVIII. Annual costs for the treatment of the disease for each patient may range from $60,000 to $260,000 US for a total cost of between $2-5B per year in North America and Europe.

About Horizon 2020 Programme

Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation program ever with nearly 80 billion of funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020). It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market. The project is funded as part of societal challenges personalizing health and care in a specific call about innovative treatments and technologies. New therapies, such as gene or cell therapies, often require technological innovation in the form of development of specific component tools and techniques such as isolation and multiplication of a cell or development of a scaffold, delivery of the therapy to the patient and for following-up the effect of the therapy in the patient. In particular, achieving therapeutic scale production and GMP standards at reasonable cost is often underestimated. The European Union aims to improve the development of advanced methods and devices for targeted and controlled delivery, and to bring these innovative treatments to the patient.

About HemAcure

HemAcure is the name of the consortium developing a product for hemophilia A. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 667421. The consortium members include the University Hospital Wuerzburg (Coordinating Institute), Germany, IMS - Integrierte Management, Heppenheim, Germany, Universit del Piemonte Orientale Amedeo Avogadro, Novara, Italy, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom, ARTTIC International Management Services, Munich, Germany and Sernova Corp., London, Ontario, Canada. The main objective of the HemAcure project is to develop and refine the tools and technologies for a novel ex vivo prepared cell based therapy within Sernovas prevascularized Cell Pouch to treat this bleeding disorder that should ultimately lead to improved quality of life of the patients. http://www.hemacure.eu; twitter.com/HemAcure_EU

About Sernova

Sernova Corp is a clinical stage regenerative medicine Company developing medical technologies for the treatment of chronic debilitating metabolic diseases such as diabetes, blood disorders including hemophilia and other diseases treated through replacement of proteins or hormones missing or in short supply within the body. Sernova is developing the Cell Pouch, an implantable medical device and therapeutic cells (donor, xenogeneic or stem cell derived therapeutic cells) which then release proteins and/or hormones as required.

Forward-Looking Information

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, potential and similar expressions, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could or should occur. Although Sernova believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements, which include our beliefs about the functionality of the Cell Pouch and our expectations of the potential benefits of the consortium and the Horizon 2020 hemophilia project including but not limited to projected timelines and potential for entry into human clinical trials, are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Sernovas management on the date such statements were made. Furthermore, there are no assurances that there will be a clinical evaluation of a product developed from the consortium. Sernova expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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Sernova-HemAcure Consortium Announce Significant Progress in Development of 'First in World' Regenerative ... - GlobeNewswire (press release)

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Helix’s Bold Plan to Be Your One Stop Personal Genomics Shop – WIRED

Posted: at 7:45 am

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>| UMuZ#GLlOP cri?3[X}Pm+9U93dx 4PM8+,FBEXl6Sf=2u*|gDc)ve`&T1La,jfXSlOjwK/,gluvj(%nUz 8,[b2@,>^K~XuqjfXsN=:}V$KkPx,p|LZ_^J33;AM04n3``~MXJ&w`r-$1L3,&>${5n`vA]CrSU2b]&0#a#t|Rl6P])QbcKVV$KVeKjN0[M-"VsC-Vm%IQt%#BQs#yQ~.IEWI:uGMIS3;5W;;GM#>Qs{BEW&& WA$WIDj+99!3RssnBvX W$UJTFTtKEzSc{KSc)x{<5 Tt's<5vfHECz<57!xyODxj'Q'u"S/K.LEdm|5/_53n)w5%2n%W#}}_k}I4W%&]F@rYL@bFj@0a]3J "]J>TCP'P#d$TwJ(l(]Jn .qPPDjdN(U6Ts:EGC5od7n8EE(P@65q|m([v7Svm4# 5k4 [kt2CviCxLrd L5F";S3e.%={4e/^g*]]g*4e2e4eW5e/^3ew^g*@r KGoMEi%{Rv?S~V$f)zvn)zUK>dR,>K$c"EVFgrMEIG6EXT=,P@p,E Gyo*J7mSb@2@Q=0f?e [Q=k+z"=,i+zXRvTtHVB2o+RFME7/)"iK@ Y8VM;h4(P@vTtt,@2q(-Q8PEKNU(z%EqGJ,G8GJ,G&Ue!5GQHEE/G8i!Sq!^"KvjTtlte'ueT*"S#a4O # ':z)1[@ K"@ G6EXOE~=(X,i@SvTtd{8=_&|E+z"_,%&b/HRy8LTD(,K^5d}>5d[-w_/d"LE"d5t=$@ Y@*P d>ZGd@Q@*c"Y(rd@QHv TtF&)|EdHPB(MEl=PHFcTUGbv y8 y8,* 2*R y8,*2*Rl'T[Z5djBG"l5 #PtH'`DXu>>iR/47hq te?hYhXeWR G ftAy5>}y!4oAKi|Xvjbe8MkWgot GmR=Vm^E8Pf7tiltw#OgS|o=j^G0<|~ 4hS<9a*zzY4U'Vi3VhXA!1eoM=K{BQ]Y(_0Neid*X/ki&JryC]ibp &TGegk8^/ $;*USOq]0|_@R[{jmeN3Xk[$=u=@i@'5(g?"V@&@C^iX36s^XvCI@.a"0kk,],k}T_Zwl^>;5So^`;],)t(9m~G#z&h- &e54Nh`3]06A 6?V3-!rB%"$ZT{Y"ioZ9{jYlQ/'nw|3 Y#4nVX/,t@|5f &o9f}([-"RVEYQG_$pYuY$McJX.M}5YA.n"B H-50R0` b]!90UmjVf FYQV,c}zLlkpnz%gYS*jijD"Xz7P&D]B In|(qR P| BQAHA% XGN?>^]*T8 I2`5=#`".a~Z@RPeg R8{&+(uz hV-8NY&Y6k-^OXW=QoMA G.Fn@ZlqWr`Z *2g4oj`X!O[Yg"*X:FR-n1Giz+_ $ &Y ',QWd6HN ZD6$A-PeEY?d>JK1CxS#L4rx4;m{5]7 4rh}Q(EvE:uGh YZsH`,@b0OXF*SrLcb[:~bl @#-p KTG~X/D_q8zhX*yQ$8eT& PU|pD_Vfbk?QRH R+dX=1G75(P)Ff)K`@|^K|).B-j/A5GBg9-/)f,.pXw DhP#@2wB5O:HENFPTY4cq(> "JPBC'D( lTv&8(`jWvr7ZMV FQ2*nlhA!J}:-Z4kS{,!^Bx rU.K3Z@a>I&(sB[sOg0'@jZ!Wr%//*${kZA?bh44 cE|2kW|bS:R:G8_{+uM(w!a 4&pxW" !!ZBh[$d)?~oO${9@aCA8|wi> (>86Ly;HnYDxl b LDxYbH9;Gz[ yH}SXE7H$Vf#!9EHh%& y;:r+/00Q4v=,}'KLR]R & R(fJTnD6>m1$Tox8nW ctvDbcY/AAS -j#UnQ'UW v=Dph `l&_ b5/P"mJQDIXl'.q$3u:p'M)dv^UB,5biO=(egqAG6H[EZm}d+hi )h/6U 6%YY7>2NtpQUM .gg&@s^l'n!qy)D 2&YJ-RzBW,)YC,,ZTt% (X]E{Z 5( ]oIx"IkgEB:&{+"ncS1n ;x-0Xaprq^qT.(B z6*J>-|CYyAFL5kOPEXP Ulf')'&)h#0 AU+@7}g_|z){QhjxDaI$J{Q-O-X!"~1y;tvY_lxp>)vKo@ &M!yi]SK?l3NS H~.imJ(hEPH[M'i1( C8{"I08NnWLq Ig,4CWCa|6aQ&wV=P5x<d%}z=;= nx"G}fLCtX:-]Y>Y|9Y~ $Ab4%u;nb n4qqF] q|9h1RpBh0500T{dZ^_1`hj 4[*Aj4Srbl30dmRmk( (zsfh#BF# Y13n>]aGE@:I;YU UzCCc[U O>hX.Rry3bHCM*wh$Tv SB.'?I,Q G f9*LcO:y<*$D|2S#4R|5JQn d"RESHZOh!`u*fYDpt#osL`2LA6d9Z")GMY Y &T$JvR;PwfU>Rk<`q.YFZ`bQpStPjRZr5.`k!wLA>nJ`pG-P1% uZn1uLpi plx1kXQI?RWN1gl^w>HwM&q!4u!+KK&.4mpo CH^/hshvxuZy6Og(:<7uAOl7TnV5fvi2elk,Si-E%Oix|m(Jyn:>W77GFn8pN+tZc#1wP@I~FP@6`kodF&K:D1 :BS?EB'vi< QowfU+Qzkt1Mf;%`zGWE nigvd9 OC-N+}<->dvbAG:ZCx@Nr4CCn]tSJ q PQYbL1of`O)+OmDz|P<3CDq'nmEwtf%]qf,6h3tF wO%fq(@N9wvw?L>i#t}{d( 4=aP8 I39n{iT&+fZE>"[-Du^"bD{Nl%mtC{mOIw{Yn~<67~{G9K}TK LnPd`,|?8M|?T:,E'" 98<7@N.9MV%UC6pzspV47~`p}6p0OM"]uh`nyn K,%)eO0J,Q2X_3^7p(B]A'o} ]P~:9zwC7*BsiX<7~IN-q/!F, UNX9X2cVaVt_@^9c8@d~t%pusp=r=]>T:tR Z`(5&@(XtCGW2"4blUp [Hba3Et6tL;[{T._: p`YR@ O.aG~xT[= >gGZ=%PA_+nWmw.r!k/DvH 0:6khk<6:na_UC;yakO6W0ujw~,E~fC,{A0ut} jvvG7.)h2^UZ9zf9:^2u[Z`fz3|#Hl{~j0k,'8W8Q&r{ HYdG/QU`}flf%mQ'`}]c[FCF7sH9/^ ZnIBqJ|{+nll`i~X=J*=u UjBON0fZ,H<{1MsC2Hxxr D_o<5 ET+z@Nll3xw2w:% @u/NP/fA|v}OgN kHxoFF<9-=7_Yf71JGlc.g6}fGw*QG1K7C70]70z26f6l3I~(KJ{OhSf=%}X3~V`x%^g0::2bN2t( aC; 0v]0|)^Vo oS=K^eS1eom~'f<=dg?G^}/0KvX*DntQYcBN[zlz0#Pm3Vb${rXF|+4{ tXr}v'.),9X40/Wct!r9j/i]r$%Q$XQ~?k@)Vzs9n[v7*1<3+QG_UM3:v9DVN(8.Jfs+} gz'<[eYZ2W bq b(Af;="o 9$olNIXLn'Z{4Wf26p>8}V3b ^;Or%.8x,$ )-?gH<`zIfdy i<(Nr'^QwP/06FC:(~tWjAYd>JB%^VoDZOjL|OC=r]73rL|.0Pwp$ !4<:^e.b7`#J!.gH OR@LJ ]%%::x* wp^, Yb]dN,/Ydb"o]JcFE&>xPOBOH*OZny<(l2v?kUc!`9=4!1NohxCKznktP^!>J!d:|j?;IVG78bBsxG.8s8;qPd%T/%*Nj=r#.AD~x%Zp^avW`F Sq[*9?:qxMJ q>Jzmvf$0{=sNgA7:y:y.2/a~cL Ra#;yIqJGqBGs}#Q]JE*@R5If`]Q8KQ1w>Jn9(o.YTa`^P*CiC%Y o?1+bD4E4sFi77i i~KVxM TD.Rh#7S,o(6NYMx+IrI ?2kC]Lu8xzwZX?:@}L1M.@_4YR~GajVxG967p7fbSAh7p:1o<1?ro"y~!lJq0} ?*yOz'h|z@|BYBmZV=lEf(8?fS bxl[3oSn[XnqEIgxc6@TK|(2}xI&)&l3>[2~fOf aYMyZCsCtki/`}]|?]_|Jht>5m'HGhWTNtf G)4iT8D5]kJ}+Dhae$7j++nmb/-XGxxmJ:(pD[y5-%~`NBw-%Yj 3]nYu>x4uflwp~n"=*i{VF>~oqm{{SF|p;37e'^Zs }-k18./~/W%^a{"x].r

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Ideate, interrogate, speculate – The Hindu

Posted: at 7:44 am

The Hindu

Ideate, interrogate, speculate
The Hindu
I felt a desire to write a politically incorrect, pulp, theoretically-catatonic, narrative about bug-eyed-monsters-from-outer-space, which had no social or literary aim except one: the invasion has begun! As a genre, SF movies (good ones) are ...

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Censor keeps Israelis in the dark as world learns of Jordan embassy saga – The Jerusalem Post

Posted: at 7:43 am

Jordanian police outside Israeli embassy in Amman . (photo credit:SOCIAL MEDIA)

The world knew about it, reported on it but in Israel there was nothing. For about 11 hours between Sunday night Monday morning, Israelis were forbidden from reporting on the events taking place in Jordan.

The fact that social media was full of the news about the anapparent attacknear the Israeli embassy in Amman and stories had been published by Reuters, Fox News, the Independent and elsewhere, meant nothing. In Israel, journalists could not send out a tweet or post a word on Facebook. Everything about the attack was banned for publication by the Military Censor's Office.

Shortly before the incident was placed under censorship, some information got through. Zionist Union MK Ksenia Svetlova managed to launch a tweet saying only that there was a dangerous security incident at the embassy in Jordan.

Initially, reports were unclear, but it was learned that at least one Israeli security officer at the embassy had been injured after he was stabbed by a Jordanian who was subsequently shot. Svetlova called on the Jordanian government to take all the necessary steps to ensure the security of the personnel at the embassy.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the Israeli had been stabbed in the stomach in Amman by a man with a screwdriver moving furniture in one of the residences in the embassy compound Sunday night. The guard shot the assailant identified as Mohammed Zakaria al-Jawawdeh, 17 in self defense. Al-Jawawdeh was killed, and another man at the scene the owner of the compound was injured and later succumbed to his wounds.

These details became available as the night progressed and foreign outlets, including news agencies, reported on the developments. But in Israel, complete radio silence.

Of course anybody with internet access and basic English or Arabic reading skills (or the ability to use online translation services) could learn all about it easily. News reports appeared throughout the entire international media - on Reuters, Fox News, the Independent and elsewhere. Everyone was reporting about the incident. The only ones who didn't know were Israelis.

Slightly before midnight, the Jordanian General Security Administration released an official statement saying that the incident was being investigated. But Israeli media couldn't even report that.

Reporters couldn't even alert readers in Israel to the fact that the Foreign Ministry decided to evacuate all it staff from the Israeli embassy in Amman out of concern that the incident may cause riots outside the embassy, or that the move was stymied by Jordan.

It was that reason that the full censorship of the incident remained in place until Monday morning, hours after the incident. International and local Jordanian media, who began reporting the event shortly after it occurred continued to release details which Israeli media and foreign journalists with Israeli press cards were barred from reporting on.

Censorship was finally lifted early Monday morning. At this point Israel still has not fully evacuated embassy staff and the Jordanians have still refused to let the guard be transferred back to Israel. Jerusalem claims the guard enjoys diplomatic immunity and is exempt from investigation by Jordanian authorities.

The decision to leave Israelis in the dark was criticized by Israeli journalists and politicians. Unlike previous incidents in this case Israelis were also prohibited from citing foreign media sources for the story.

Even former chief IDFcensor Rachel Dolev characterized the information blackout as excessive. In an interview to Army Radio she said the "aggressive actions by the censor were unjustified," and only lead to a rumor mill breaking out on social media. She added that this was not the first time in recent weeks that the censor decided to act this way and as a result harmed the democratic value of having a free press.

At a time when information flows freely on the internet, many questioned the need for the censorship, which journalists and pundits argued Monday morning, was out of touch.

More details to follow.... maybe.

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Russian Protesters Rally Against Internet Censorship – RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

Posted: at 7:43 am

MOSCOW -- Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Moscow on July 23 to protest Internet censorship and demand the resignation of the head of Russia's state media regulator.

The protest came amid a broad crackdown on online speech in recent years that rights activists say is targeting legitimate dissent under the pretext of battling extremism.

Organizers of the rally, which received official permission from Moscow authorities, called for the rehabilitation of Internet users convicted for reposting material on social networks.

Protesters also called for the sacking of Aleksandr Zharov, the head of Roskomnadzor, the state agency that plays a central role in regulating online speech.

Demonstrators chanted slogans that included "No to censorship, no to dictatorship!" and "Down with the police state!" They also adapted a slogan against Russian President Vladimir Putin frequently chanted at opposition rallies: "Russia without Putin and censorship!"

The protest came two days after Russia's lower house of parliament passed a bill that would prohibit the use of Internet proxy services, including virtual private networks, or VPNs.

The bill, approved in its third and final reading on July 21, would also ban the anonymous use of mobile messaging services.

It will face a single vote in the upper house before going to Putin, who rarely rejects bills adopted by the Kremlin-controlled legislature.

Sarkis Darbinyan, head of the Center for the Defense of Digital Rights, a Moscow-based advocacy group, said he believes the solid turnout for the rally was driven by "typical Internet users" who are "tired of the volume of crazy laws."

He specifically cited the bill that would ban the use of proxy services and the anonymous use of mobile messaging services.

"This really does create problems for the connectivity of the Russian segment of the Internet and for access to services," Darbinyan told RFE/RL. "I think this is why many citizens truly want to come out and openly state their opposition to such ham-fisted regulation of the Internet."

Police estimated the turnout for the demonstration at around 800 people. Opposition activists frequently accuse authorities of playing down the size of public protests.

OVD Info, a website that monitors detentions of political activists, reported that three people had been detained at the rally -- one for distributing leaflets promoting Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.

Two of the detainees were released later in the day, OVD Info reported, including the minor reportedly hauled in for the Navalny leaflets.

The Washington-based rights group Freedom House says Internet freedoms continued to slide in Russia last year, and other international watchdogs have criticized the country's treatment of online speech as well.

Russian officials have repeatedly rejected such criticism. Vyacheslav Volodin, the current speaker of the lower house of parliament, said last year that the Internet in Russia is "more free than in the United States."

In one recent high-profile case, a Russian blogger was convicted of inciting hatred and insulting religious believers' feelings with videos he posted on YouTube -- including one showing him playing Pokemon Go in a church.

The blogger, Ruslan Sokolovsky, was handed a 3-1/2 year suspended sentence that was reduced by more than a year earlier this month.

Sokolovsky was also added to an official list of "terrorists and extremists" maintained by Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service.

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Russian Protesters Rally Against Internet Censorship - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

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The writers who defied Soviet censors – BBC News

Posted: at 7:43 am

BBC News

The writers who defied Soviet censors
BBC News
The replication and dissemination of prohibited poetry became part of a culture of samizdat an underground method of publishing that sought to evade strict censorship in the Soviet Union. We can read Mandelstam's poetry today because individuals took ...

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Is Star Trek Icon William Shatner a Libertarian? | The American … – The American Conservative

Posted: at 7:43 am

William Shatner at FreedomFest 2017 in Las Vegas Friday night. Credit: Emile Doak/The American Conservative

Is there a free mind? Are our minds free? Are we programmed by something up there to follow our fate? Or are we programmed by Mom and Dad at a very early age? So is there free will? Do we make choices?

So wondered William Shatner during his July 21 speech at the annual Las Vegas convention of libertarians and other free-marketeers called FreedomFest. He urged the audience to stick to its principles, not compromise as he says he did when he directed Star Trek V by giving up on his original vision of having the real God attack the crew with an army of lava men in the films climax.

Compromising principles is a mistake, suggested Shatner. Nobody can tell you what to do. Somewhere inside us is a core.

Is William Shatner a libertarian, you might ask? If not, whats he doing there? Well, it seems more like hes an environmentalist worried about overpopulationand hes a Canadian, of coursebut hes also expressed some populist longings for someone to sweep away the bureaucrats and make American democracy work again. And he avoids commenting on Donald Trump. Maybe call Shatner a frustrated technocratic populist? Sounds like sort of a Reform Party guy to me, leavened by an inevitable Star Trek-veteran love of science and education.

None of this makes him too much weirder than a previous FreedomFest speaker who went on to bigger things, namely Donald Trump. I suppose the question is how big you want the libertarian tent to be. You probably want a tent big enough to let in optimists who still believe we can invent and build things, but not a tent so big that it lets all the carny-barkers inside. A friend of mine in Colorado reports seeing someone flying around downtown Denver with a jetpack a couple weeks ago, so we know futuristic technological progress is officially going strong, but I worry more about unrealistic promises in politics these days.

I noticed some people joking online that theyd love to hear Shatner tell the assembled libertarians to get a life in the fashion of his notorious 1986 Saturday Night Live sketch about obsessive Trekkie conventioneers. I probably would have laughed harder at that joke myself a decade or two ago, when it seemed that the worst thing that could happen to the libertarian movement is that it might get too screechy and radical and alienate mainstream Americans. Everybody relax, I would have thought.

Nowadays, I worry more that in American politics, even the most radical road always leads back to the same mushy centrist middle, with a few highly predictable TV pundits guarding that middle against the emergence of any truly new ideas. So, if Shatner is unlikely to express a precise, coherent philosophical argument, I should at least root for him to leave crowds slightly confused, even if he says something stupid. That can spur thought. It beats sticking to safely-ambiguous, nigh-universal sentiments that are deployed as if to build coalitions but are really used mainly to make the speaker himself seem as non-threatening as possible, often boosting his career without doing much to shore up the hypothetical broader coalition. Absent utopian unanimity, one should root for competition, always.

Im beginning to feel the same way about fictional continuity in Star Trek, to my surprise.

A sci-fi geek, I have been as eager as anyone over the years to see massive fictional continuities like that of the Star Trek universe or the DC Comics universe kept perfectly consistent. Inevitably, though, things fall apart eventually. New writers and new producers like Star Trek/Star Wars director J.J. Abrams come along and cavalierly decide theres a certain scene they want to depict or a character they want to bring back, and out goes the whole timestream as were asked to pretend vast swaths of prior fictional history never happened. I used to think this process was as heartbreaking as watching footage of the old Penn Station being demolished.

But there comes a point when you realize that the hope of maintaining a consistent continuityor a large political coalitionis probably rooted in a misguided optimism. The editors are too busy to care about all the details, and the politicians and most popular pundits are too busy or corrupt to care about philosophical purity. So, then the disappointed idealist starts to root for chaos. Perhaps thats a little of what happened in November 2016.

Let my fellow libertarians fight viciously and devolve into factions (pausing to enjoy the occasional near-meaningless Shatner speech or other entertainment). Like small and decentralized states, the factionalism might afford a better chance for truth to survive out there somewhere than would one bland, homogeneous consensus version of the philosophy with all the rough edges polished and gleaming.

And if the new Star Trek: Discovery TV series comes out this fall and has a throwaway line in it suggesting that this timeline may replace both the Abrams films and all the TV material we know from the 60s and 90s, well, now Im okay with that possibility, too. I am preemptively embracing that anarchic conclusion before the monarchShatnerhas a chance to insult us all again. Let a hundred Omicron Ceti III flowers bloom.

In Vegas terms, until we really hit the jackpot, Im grateful so long as we can keep rolling the dice.

Todd Seavey is the author of Libertarianism for Beginners. He writes for SpliceToday.com and can be found on Twitter at @ToddSeavey.

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Is Star Trek Icon William Shatner a Libertarian? | The American ... - The American Conservative

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The Phelps vs. shark charade was another bizarre episode of humans racing animals – Washington Post

Posted: at 7:41 am

This post has been updated to reflect that Michael Phelps did not actually race a shark.

A few monthsafter embarrassing Adolf Hitler by winning four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Jesse Owens traveled to Cuba for an exhibition race against Julio McCaw.

Owens was the fastest runner in the world, but when he lined up against his opponent during halftime of a soccer game, helooked clearly outmatched. McCaw was bigger, more muscular.

He also had four legs.

McCaw was a chestnut gelding.

The history of sports and the history of marketing stunts is filled with stories like this, somewhat to the non-delight of animal rights activists.

Human vs. horse. Human vs. cheetah. Human vs. ostrich. Human vs. dog.

And on Sunday, human (Michael Phelps) vs. shark.

Well, as it turns out, not really.

The motivation for these challenges are typically commercial and often silly none more so than the short-lived Fox TV show, Man vs. Beast. Dwarfs race an elephant pulling an airplane. Pro eaterchallenges bear to hot dog eating contest. Champion sprinter beats giraffein race but loses to a zebra.

Phelps, the winner of 23 Olympic gold medals in swimming, was supposed to race a shark during the Discovery Channels annual Shark Week, which also includes programs titled SHALLOW WATER INVASION, SHARKS AMONG US, and AIR JAWS: NIGHT STALKER. (Anyone who watches these shows while vacationing at the beach is missing a few sea shells upstairs.)

Ive raced the fastest swimmers on the planet, Phelps says in a (ahem) promotional video. Except for one.

Except it was all simulated. (At least his golds werent. We think.)

[Blood in the water: Four dead, a coast terrified and the birth of modern shark mania]

While most human vs. animal races are promotional, at least one was to settle a bar bet. Thats how the annual Man vs. Horse Marathon got started more than 35 years ago in Wales, a place not lacking in collective alcohol consumption. Sports bookies take bets. The horses have a rider. The runners have their shoes. It goes on for 22 miles.

In 2004, on the 25th anniversary of the race, a known marathoner named Huw Lobb became the first of just two humans to win.

It is a very unusual event with men running against horses, he said after the race.

Giddy up.

And then theres cheetahs.

Why race a cheetah? Because its a cheetah! Dictionary entry: It is the fastest animal on land. Sarah the cheetah has the worldwide land record in the 100-meter dash, at 5.95 seconds. Olympic sprinter Usain Bolts time at the same distance: 9.58.

Devin Hester and Chris Johnson, both zippy NFL players, raced a cheetah for National Geographic a few years ago. These guys werent exactly brave there was a wall separating them from the cheetah. (At least they did it live.) Johnson, racing just two laps, lost. Hester won. He had an advantage over the cheetah by racing four laps. (Cheetahs cant make quick turns.)

Back in 1936, facing the Cuban horse, Jesse Owens was also given an advantage a 40-yard head start.

A crowd of 3,000 cheered the Negro flash enthusiastically, the Associated Press reported.

Owens beat the horse by a few lengths. (You can watch a short video here.) Though McCaw had nothing to say after losing, Owens was ecstatic, telling reporters, I would be willing to race a horse without a handicap, even from scratch.

But there was a but: Provided, he said, that the animal selected is not remarkably fast.

It was not the last time Owens raced a horse. Unlike Phelps, Owens struggled to earn a living for years, even as a symbol of freedom trouncing Hitlers hate. Owens appeared at promotional events around the world, racing not just horses but trains, cars, and dogs.

Those races made me sick, he said late in life. I felt like a freak.

Jesse Owens, a legend, was reduced to what these competitions ultimately are a sideshow.

Dumber than Darwin: Research shows human intelligence is falling since the 19th century – Times of India (blog)

Posted: at 7:41 am

Given developments in artificial intelligence many fear robots will soon surpass human intelligence, rendering human beings superfluous. One comfort for humans has been that at least we are smarter than our ancestors.Turns out even this could be false comfort. Research led by Michael Woodley from the Free University in Brussels has shown that our mental abilities have undergone significant decline since the Victorian era. No wonder Victorian sleuth Sherlock Holmes is still considered the acme of detective skill, and TV serials trying to transplant him into contemporary London or Manhattan are all the rage.

Darwins theory of natural selection has been proffered as an explanation: post-Victorian advances in medicine and nutrition meant that people with lower IQs could also have more children who survived into adulthood. This is usually celebrated as emphatic proof of civilisation, as is our current drive towards automation which will allegedly make greater convenience and leisure available to humanity. But Woodley et al force us to think about what it means if genes driving intelligence are becoming less common.

Arent worrying signs all around us? Its not just that computers already tell healthcare providers what drugs to prescribe and absolutely nail Super Mario. Its also the ludic loop of the modern work day check email and SMSs, then WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, then repeat and repeat. Rather than getting their news from trusted news brands, people are greatly excited by fake news these days. This business of becoming stupid intuitively feels connected to ducking real challenges, not doing work thats actually difficult. Maybe thats why modern day Da Vincis spend their weekends climbing mountains or running marathons. For them, theres no take it easy policy. Growing up in premodern times required many different skills. A lazier life may be making us dumb and dumber.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Dumber than Darwin: Research shows human intelligence is falling since the 19th century - Times of India (blog)

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Dumber than Darwin: Research shows human intelligence is falling since the 19th century – Times of India (blog)

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