Category Archives: Transhuman News
SpaceX Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Set To Depart International Space Station Sunday – SpaceCoastDaily.com
Posted: July 1, 2017 at 8:53 am
arrived at the station June 5
After delivering about 6,000 pounds of cargo, a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is set to leave the International Space Station on Sunday, July 2. (NASA image)
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA After delivering about 6,000 pounds of cargo, a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is set to leave the International Space Station on Sunday, July 2.
Space Coast Daily TVwill provide live coverage via NASA of Dragons departure beginning at 11:15 a.m. EDT.
Flight controllers will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the Dragon capsule, which arrived at the station June 5, from the Earth-facing side of the stations Harmony module.
After they maneuver Dragon into place, Expedition 52 Flight Engineers Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson of NASA will command release of the spacecraft at 11:38 a.m.
Dragons thrusters will be fired to move the spacecraft a safe distance from the station before SpaceX flight controllers in Hawthorne, California, command its deorbit burn.
The capsule will splash down about 5:16 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean.
Recovery forces will retrieve the capsule and its more than 4,100 pounds of returning cargo, including science samples from human and animal research, biotechnology studies, physical science investigations and education activities.
NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the nonprofit organization that manages research aboard the U.S. national laboratory portion of the space station, will receive and process research samples, ensuring they are distributed to the appropriate facilities within 48 hours of splashdown.
In the event of adverse weather conditions in the Pacific, the backup departure date is Monday, July 3.
Dragon, the only space station resupply spacecraft able to return to Earth intact, launched June 3 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, for the companys 11th NASA-contracted commercial resupply mission to the station.
CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS
Click here to contribute your news or announcements Free
Read more from the original source:
SpaceX Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Set To Depart International Space Station Sunday - SpaceCoastDaily.com
Video: Garth Brooks serenades astronauts on International Space Station from Mission Control in Houston – NewsOK.com
Posted: at 8:53 am
Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer Garth Brooks has achieved another first: performing a serenade for a fan currently located in outer space.
In a special episode of his Facebook Live video series, "Inside Studio G," Brooks on Thursday visited Mission Control Center at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he chatted via satellite video with astronaut Jack Fischer and his crew mate, astronaut Dr. Peggy Whitson, who are on the International Space Station.
Fisher is a devoted Brooks fan who picked the country music superstar's hit "The River" as the first tune on his pre-launch playlist back in April when he embarked on his first trip into space. He said on Twitter when he revealed his playlist that "The River" is his favorite song.
The astronaut likened the Songwriters Hall of Famer to Shakespeare and thanked him for being an inspiration, noting that "The River" has been his anthem for nearly three decades.
"I think that you have so many great songs and so many great messages. But it's the heart that you put into every performance and the soul that you put into all those songs that make them so impactful," Fisher said.
His praise moved Brooks to tears.
"Thank you very much for letting the music be part of your life," Brooks said.
With his wife, fellow country music star and Food Network personality Trisha Yearwood, on harmony vocals, Brooks sang a verse of "The River" to Fisher and Whitson.
"Awesome. I got goose bumps everywhere," Fisher exclaimed.
Brooks also surprised Fischer with a visit from his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter, Sariah, who joined him at the center, while Yearwood, naturally, asked the astronauts about the food. The best-selling cookbook author offered to fix them their favorite terrestrial meals upon their return to Earth.
According to People, Brooks is the first celebrity to go live on Facebook from Mission Control while speaking to an astronaut in orbit.
Your life is full of amazing moments andIjust got to have one, the singer-songwriter told People. WhatI love is social media allows you to take that journey to actually see these guys and do this. In all honesty,I totally forgot that we were on Facebook Live becauseI was so involved talking [to them].
Brooks and Yearwood even posed for a selfie with the astronauts' onscreen images, which Garth posted on Twitter with the caption "Could this be the longest distance selfie EVER?"
From Houston, Brooks and Yearwood are performing in concert at 7 tonight and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana. As previously reported,Brooks next will play four home-state shows in two days next month at Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena: 7 and 10:30 p.m. July 14 and 3 and 7:30 p.m. July 15. For tickets and information, go towww.chesapeakearena.com.
-BAM
US returns looted royal seals to South Korea – The Japan Times
Posted: at 8:52 am
SEOUL South Korean President Moon Jae-in is returning from an official visit to Washington with two ancient royal seals looted during the Korean War, reports said Saturday.
The repatriation of the Joseon Dynasty antiques, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, comes after years of campaigning by the South Korean government, which said they were stolen during the turbulent 1950-53 war.
Moon received the seals at a ceremony in Washington on Friday and was to arrive in South Korea with them on Sunday, the Yonhap news agency said.
The Joseon Dynasty, which cultivated a ruling philosophy drawn from Confucianism, governed from 1392 to 1910, when Japan colonized the country.
One of the seals was made in 1547 to honor Queen Munjeong (1501-1565), the third wife of Joseon Dynastys 11th king, Jungjong.
The other is a jade block created in 1651 to commemorate the crown prince becoming King Hyojong.
They were seized by U.S. authorities in 2013 after Seoul clarified these were stolen items.
It marked the third time that Washington has returned South Korean treasures. In 2013 the United States sent back Koreas first money-printing block, made in late 19th century; the following year, it handed back nine royal seals.
Tens of thousands of old Korean cultural items were spirited abroad during Japans colonization of Korea from 1910 to 1945 and during the Korean War.
See more here:
US returns looted royal seals to South Korea - The Japan Times
Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Think the Earth Is … – Observer
Posted: at 8:52 am
Astrophysicist Stephen Hawkings recently released documentary Expedition New Earth argues that humanity needs to develop ways to colonize the moon and Mars if it has any chance of surviving.Professor Stephen Hawking thinks the human species will have to populate a new planet within 100 years if it is to survive,thesaid in a statement. With climate change, overdue asteroid strikes, epidemics and population growth, our own planet is increasingly precarious.
In the past few years, several others have voiced their opinions that humanity is doomed and technology needs to rapidly progress to come to the rescue.
Elon Musk has sounded the alarm that life on Earth is inherently finite. Therefore, he says, colonization on different planets is a necessity to ensure the human race survives. I think there are really two fundamental paths. History is going to bifurcate along two directions. One path is we stay on Earth forever, and then there will be some eventual extinction event. I do not have an immediate doomsday prophecy, but eventually, history suggests, there will be some doomsday event, writes Musk on June 1. The alternative is to become a space-bearing civilization and a multiplanetary species, which I hope you would agree is the right way to go.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezosarguedfor a slightly different approach at the Recode Conference earlier this month. Let me assure you, this is the best planet. We need to protect it, and the way we will is by going out into space. You dont want to live in a retrograde world where we have to freeze population growth, he said. Energy is limited here. In at least a few hundred yearsall of our heavy industry will be moved off-planet. Earth will be zoned residential and light industrial. You shouldnt be doing heavy energy on earth. We can build gigantic chip factories in space.
Harvard Biologist Dr. E.O. Wilson outlined in a 2016booka Half-Earth theory in that 50 percent of the planet should be set aside in conservation to save the Earths biodiversity, not just humans. Now, this proposal doesnt mean moving anybody out. It means creating something equivalent to the U.N.s World Heritage sites that could be regarded as priceless assets of humanity, said Wilson in a March 2016interview, citing that interconnected wildlife corridors could be established to preserve the biodiversity currently suffering a mass extinction due to man. Do no further harm to the rest of life. If we can agree on that, everything else will follow.
While the tendency to speculate and grow technological capabilities is important and exciting, the apocalyptic foreshadowing this thinking generates needs to take into account what can be done currently to render solutions to the biodiversity and environmental crisis facing Earth today. No space colonies or infrastructure will be able to replace our planet.
Read the rest here:
Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Think the Earth Is ... - Observer
Build a DNA Molecule
Posted: at 8:50 am
Javascript is required to view this content.
Your body produces billions of new cells every day. Each time one of your cells divides, it must first copy the genetic information contained within its nucleus. Copying the genetic information in one cell using this activity would take more than 95 years*, yet molecular machines in your cells accomplish this feat in about 6 to 8 hours.
In order to speed up the copying process, DNA replication begins at multiple locations along each chromosome. The two DNA strands are pulled apart and copied in both directions at the rate of about 50 nucleotides per second.**
It would take nearly 5,000 strands of DNA laid side by side to equal the width of a human hair. At the magnification shown here (about 7 million X), an average human chromosome would be about 621 kilometers (385 miles) long, or roughly the distance between San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA.
These models are based on the molecular structure of real nucleotides. The grey and white circles on the models represent partial positive and negative charges that form hydrogen bonds between complementary bases. These bonds work kind of like tiny magnets to hold the two DNA strands together. Complementary base-pairing ensures that DNA strands are copied accurately, with just a few errors for each round of replication. Forces between neighboring nucleotides stack the bases on top of one another and twist the DNA strands into a double-helix.
*Assuming a rate of 2 base pairs per second x the 6 billion base pairs you inherit from your parents.
**DNA replication in one direction is straight-forward. But replication in the other direction happens a little differently. For an explanation, see the the animations below.
Animations of DNA replication on HHMI's Biointeractive: Basic detail and Advanced detail
APA format:
Genetic Science Learning Center. (2016, March 1) Build a DNA Molecule. Retrieved June 22, 2017, from http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/builddna/
CSE format:
Build a DNA Molecule [Internet]. Salt Lake City (UT): Genetic Science Learning Center; 2016 [cited 2017 Jun 22] Available from http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/builddna/
Chicago format:
Genetic Science Learning Center. "Build a DNA Molecule." Learn.Genetics.March 1, 2016. Accessed June 22, 2017. http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/builddna/.
More:
Build a DNA Molecule
DNA and Genes – 2017 News and Scientific Articles on Live Science
Posted: at 8:50 am
Genes are the blueprints of life. Genes control everything from hair color to blood sugar by telling cells which proteins to make, how much, when, and where. Genes exist in most cells. Inside a cell is a long strand of the chemical DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). A DNA sequence is a specific lineup of chemical base pairs along its strand. The part of DNA that determines what protein to produce and when, is called a gene.
First established in 1985 by Sir Alec Jeffreys, DNA testing has become an increasingly popular method of identification and research. The applications of DNA testing, or DNA fingerprinting within forensic science is often what most people think of when they hear the phrase. Popularized by television and cinema, using DNA to match blood, hair or saliva to criminals is one purpose of testing DNA. It is also frequently used for other benefits, like wildlife studies, paternity testing, body identification, and in studies pertaining to human dispersion. While most aspects of DNA are identical in samples from all human beings, concentrating on identifying patterns called microsatellites reveals qualities specific and unique to the individual. During the early stages of this science, a DNA test was performed using an analysis called restriction fragment length polymorphism. Because this process was extremely time consuming and required a great deal of DNA, new methods like polymerase chain reaction and amplified fragment length polymorphism have been employed. The benefits of DNA testing are ample. In 1987, Colin Pitchfork became the first criminal to be caught as a result of DNA testing. The information provided with DNA tests has also helped wrongfully incarcerated people like Gary Dotson and Dennis Halstead reclaim their freedom.
See more here:
DNA and Genes - 2017 News and Scientific Articles on Live Science
Research offers new clues to rare genetic disease – MSUToday
Posted: at 8:48 am
MSUToday | Research offers new clues to rare genetic disease MSUToday Tuberous sclerosis complex, or TSC, is considered a rare genetic disease, yet for the estimated 50,000 patients in the United States and almost 2 million individuals worldwide, dealing with its symptoms can be overwhelming. It's a devastating disease ... |
Visit link:
Research offers new clues to rare genetic disease - MSUToday
Nancy MacLean’s Ideologically Motivated Shortcuts – National Review
Posted: at 8:46 am
In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid theres that great bit about the super-posse that chases the outlaws. Theyre led by a legendary law man, Joe Lefors, and an Indian Scout (Lord Baltimore), who can follow horse tracks over rock and water.
I mention this because if I were Nancy MacLean, Id much rather have Lefors and Lord Baltimore coming after me than to have Don Boudreaux, Steve Horwitz, Jonathan Adler, Russ Roberts, and the rest of the libertarian super-posse on my ass.
You may have missed the story. The short version is that historian Nancy MacLean has written a book, apparently with some government funding, in which she argues that Nobel Prizewinning economist James Buchanan was part of a Kochtopussian Kabal of Konfederates who were direct intellectual descendants of the Southern Agrarians and the champion of slavery, John C. Calhoun.
I first heard about the book almost two weeks ago, and my immediate response was to roll my eyes (figuratively speaking). I figured the book would vanish from the radar because it all sounded so silly. David Bernstein had a similar reaction:
When I first came across this book and interviews with its author, I was immediately skeptical. For one thing, Ive been traveling in libertarian intellectual circles for about three decades, and my strong impression is that Buchanan, while a giant in economics, is something of a marginal figure in the broader libertarian and free-market movements.
Now, I am at best a fellow traveler in those circles, but Ive been writing about and, on occasion, arguing with, libertarians for a couple decades. And while Buchanans name came up every now and then, I had never once heard even the suggestion that he was a kind of intellectual lodestar for political libertarianism never mind that he was part of some reactionary Confederate tradition. He was that brilliant public-choice-theory guy. (As Bernstein notes, Buchanan gets a few respectful cameos in Brian Dohertys exhaustive history of libertarianism and thats about it).
MacLean has gotten herself into hot water because its already clear she cut a lot of corners, quoting people out of context, asserting intellectual lineages that do not exist, and other misdeeds. Russ Roberts, who is a kind of libertarian Gandhi strictly adhering to a policy of rhetorical non-violence started things off with his defense of Tyler Cowen, who MacLean essentially defamed. Worse, Don Boudreaux, the brilliant and tenacious libertarian scholar and cheeky letter writer, is now coming after her and her enablers like a spider monkey.
As my friend Steve Horwitz writes:
Finding examples of misleading, incorrect, and outright butcheredquotes and citations in Nancy MacLeans new book about James Buchanan, Democracy in Chains, has become the academic version of Pokemon Go this week.
Im all for fact checking her footnotes and outrageously misleading quotations. Every time I see a new one, I link to it on Twitter with the prediction, There will be more. And there will be. There will be for the simple reason that MacLean takes Buchanans life and libertarianism, generally out of context in order to argue that libertarianism is against democracy and that sinister libertarians have been scheming to tear it all down. In other words, you have to take quotes and facts out of context if you start with a premise that takes Buchanan out of context.
To be sure, theres an anti-democratic element in some corners of libertarianism, but as far as I can tell, that is true of every single political philosophy save pure majoritarianism. And, unlike pure majoritarians, libertarians are far more concerned with freedom and equality because they understand unrestrained majorities tend to treat minorities very poorly, particularly the minority of the individual.
Indeed, this is all downstream of the century-old effort to turn Herbert Spencer into some kind of monster because he opposed governmental social engineering. The idea seems to be that because the statists are good, anyone who opposes them must be evil.
The contemporary liberal obsession with claiming that their ideological opponents must be somehow in league with, or modern-day reincarnations of, Klansmen and slavers is just another manifestation of this old, self-indulgent smear. Its a bit like MacLean set out to reach that destination. When she realized she couldnt get there by conventional navigation, she put a magnet marked Calhoun! or Slavery! next to her compass, and that did the trick.
Conservatives are bit more accustomed to this sort of thing. Ramesh and I beat back a similar attempt to claim that modern conservatism is a Calhoun cult a few years ago.
But I think the assumption behind both efforts is very much the same: Anyone who disagrees with us must not simply be wrong, they must be evil. And taking shortcuts to expose evil is no vice.
View original post here:
Nancy MacLean's Ideologically Motivated Shortcuts - National Review
Forget the Blood of Teens. This Pill Promises to Extend Life for a Nickel a Pop. – WIRED
Posted: at 8:45 am
D-= HVI2"%UX -.t'")0H"$")$d"@$]b},vt@`,w5%9rd,PgI/D`yspQ-Jg`hZiDK1Aqs SXX[qi hVLjl$ B`)hs6f1y*y:7t^ZXE:xb|p5IW*uPAOc>~^ky'ji}M+o!>}ShqnVDx;/k[LJ[K+|`tX;!`@t,*++EPf .0X`Auo<:?P9 4B0#Nr1$h)f?B(@ZUzL]l?ceT/owNGb%0[&C3T&n'T'0Cx"VMcN2ouQD YqM|# xMIl4&WD M:O)77@|&EhiF6Ej, MZj&:hpvF{t{@ "hl%J:OHB47OUUl%!("Rz n=PAm"w]u5Dd*Dnk' MTk TIP!Lc$!jk2xv#^$ $[