Category Archives: Transhuman News

A New Plan

They say everythings sweeter the second time around, and that seems to be the casefor SpaceXs plans to colonizeMars. Last year, Musk unveiled his plans to colonize the Red Planet and make it fit for human habitation. Now, that version of the plan has been published and madeavailable for freewith a few notable updates.

In the paper, the focus is on affordability, as that is the primary factor in making life on Mars a reality. As Musk notes, You cannot create a self-sustaining civilization if the ticket price is $10 billion per person. In order for it to be viable, Musk asserts that the cost should be about $200,000equivalent to the median price of a house in the United States. In the paper, Musk outlines the steps he considers essential to ensuring this relative affordability.

But this is just the beginning.Musk posted a tweet today hinting that this version one is already being reviewedand version 2 is on its way.

According to Musk, the version one has one fundamental flaw, which is the cost of developing and operating giant rockets. While SpaceX has been specializing on reusable rockets, getting to Mars would still be costly due to the size of the rockets needed. According to V1 of the plan, getting to Mars depends on a reusable rocket-and-spaceship tandem, which Musk has called the Interplanetary Transport System (ITS). Reducing the costs to developing the ITS is crucial, especially since Musk himself has already put a cap on how much a trip to Mars should be.

Musk asserts that he envisions 1,000 or soITS spaceships, each of which are carrying 100 or more people, leaving Earth orbit during Mars windows, the point in time when Earth and Mars align favorably, which happens once every 26 months.

Outlining the importance of making this information freely available, New Space editor-in-chief Scott Hubbard asserts that publishing this paper provides not only an opportunity for the spacefaring community to read the SpaceX vision in print with all the charts in context, but also serves as a valuable archival reference for future studies and planning.

There is a huge amount of risk. It is going to cost a lot,Musk wrote. There is a good chance we will not succeed, but we are going to do our best and try to make as much progress as possible. By giving everyone access to this information, our chances of success are greatly improved.

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Elon Musk Just Published His Plan to Colonize Mars - Futurism

In BriefA head transplant doctor claims to have made advance towardrealizing the medical procedure, but the scientific communityremains skeptical. The team claims to have used a proprietary"glue" to repair the severed spines of rats and achieved fullrecovery. Head Transplants?

Sergio Canavero, a man who has made the goal of his lifes work to transplant a human head onto a donor body, is claiming a success. He and his team have reported seemingly positive results from a technique called the Gemini Protocol. They used the protocol to repair severed spinal cords in rats, and their findings indicate that their methodology works across the board.

The researchers severed thespinal cords of 15 rats. Nine then received the actual Gemini Protocol, while the remaining six served as controls.

After the team severed the spinal cords, they applied adrenaline and a cooled saline to reduce bleeding. The rats treated with the experimental process received a polyethylene glycol (PEG) substance Canavero simply refers to as glue, which he says repairs and seals nerve cells in damaged spinal cords. The wounds were closed and the rats received antibiotics for three days.

Fourteen of the 15 rats survived for a month following the operation. According to the researchers, the experimental rats treated with PEG mixture recovered motor function steadily and were about to walk again by day 28. In fact, two of them were basically normal by that time.

However, most in the scientific community joined by most in the gaming community for totally different reasons are as highly skeptical about these alleged outcomes as they have been all along.

Scientists are doubtful for several reasons. First, the team didnt describe their methods well enough for other researchers to be sure about them. Case Western Reserve University Professor of Neurosciences Jerry Silver said in an interview with Newsweek that its not clear whether they severed only the dorsal spinal chord or the entire spinal chord.

He also points out an overall lack of evidence: they show no evidence for regeneration. There is no histology [the microscopic study of tissue structure], which is the only way to assess what is really going on here, Silver added.

Moreover, the characterization and scoring of motor function in the experimental rats is, according to Silver, unrealistic. The study reported that two of the treated animals recovered nearly normal locomotor skills (scoring of 19 and 20 points out of a possible 21 total) and that the treated rats had average a score of 12, which means that, on average, they could take multiple weight-bearing steps.

[This is] unbelievable, Silver said in the interview. Too good to be true in my opinion, which mandates that these results will have be independently verified and properly analyzed before this work can be accepted as scientifically valid.

Gamers are also skeptical because this appears to many to be a viral marketing scheme for Metal Gear Solid. The games creator and Canavero both deny this.

The team is now moving on to experimentation on dogs apparently horrifying many potential consumers is not a concern for them. They hope this next stage will provide indisputable proof that the technique works across the board. The first human head transplant remains scheduled in December of this year; the patient will be a Chinese national.

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Head Transplant Doctor Reports Successful Repair of Spinal Cord ... - Futurism

In Brief Toshiba has developed a robot to help survey highly radioactive waters at the site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The robot will help find lost fuel rods and gauge the structural integrity of the facility to ensure safe removal.

The 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima Da-Ichi nuclear power plant was a disaster of outrageousproportions. Triggered by a massive earthquake, the meltdown forced tens of thousand of people to evacuate their homes. The cleanup effort is ongoing and has been employing robots to help remove the radioactive fuel still trapped within the ruins of the facility.

Past robots used in the effort have consistently run into issues given the intense radiation on the site. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) has made progress in the removal of some of the spent fuel rods, but some melted fuel rods have managed to evade detection.

A new remote-controlled robot, however, is hoping to help locate those melted rods while also surveying the structural damage to the facility. Once the rods are located, the team will have to study the best way to safely remove them. The robot is about the size of a loaf of bread.

Radiation levels in the plant continue to make it impossible for humans to complete the cleanup. One robot, known as the scorpion probe, was exposed to radiation levels of 1,000 Sievert, which would kill a human in a matter of seconds. Robotics give humans control in these impossible conditions.

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Toshiba Has Unveiled a Swimming Robot to Assist in the Fukushima Cleanup - Futurism

In Brief Renewable energy sources, particularly solar and wind, have broken records in the U.S. electricity market. According to a report by the EIA, solar and wind combined generated 10 percent of the nation's total energy, the highest percentage yet.

A new report shows that earlier this year, renewables brokeenergy records in the United States for the first time. The data from the U.S. Energy Information Administrations (EIA) Electric Power Monthlydemonstrated that the monthly electricity generation from solar and wind sources made up10 percent of the countrystotal generation in the U.S.during the month of March.

The date from the EIA showed that around 8percent of the total electricity generated during that month came from wind, and the other 2 percent was from solar sources, including residential and utility-scale solar panels. The EIA noted these two renewable sources are highly seasonal: wind generates increasedin electricity during spring and solar output reaches its highest numbersin the summertime.

The agency saidits likely when they review the data for April, the trend will have continued: Based on seasonal patterns in recent years, electricity generation from wind and solar will probably exceed 10% of total U.S. generation again in April 2017, then fall to less than 10% in the summer months, according to a press release by the EIA. Renewable energy is clearly stirring things up, as it continues to break records andnot just in the U.S. These record-breaking quarters arent surprising, sincethe price of renewables has decreased considerablycompared to traditional coal-based sources. Renewables are also disrupting the U.S. job scene: more people are now employed by solar power than all fossil fuel employers combined. Renewable employees also outnumber those working at huge companies likeGoogle, Facebook, and even Apple.

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Renewable Energy in the US Broke Energy Records for the First Time - Futurism

In Brief Amazon and Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos is asking help over Twitter for a new philanthropy strategy that's focused on helping people in the here and now. Though obviously an innovator, Bezos believes he needs to do something more immediate.

Serial entrepreneur Jeff Bezos needs your help. He recently took to Twitter to post a message about a predicament hes currently facing; he is crowdsourcing for a new philanthropic idea.

Im thinking I want much of my philanthropic activity to be helping people in the here and now short term at the intersection of urgent need and lasting impact, Bezos wrote in the tweet. It seems like the Amazon CEO was inspired by the philanthropic work done at Marys Place in Seattle.

Bezos admitted that much of his time is currently occupied by long-term innovation, as can be seen in his work with Blue Origin. His private space company is currently working on improving its rocket technology as it builds the New Glenn, its biggest one yet. The plan, Bezos revealed previously, is to colonize the SolarSystem, which is obviously a long-term endeavor.

Bezos also has projects that bring long-term ambition into the here and now. One example of this is how Amazon is redefining the retail experience with its unmanned stores. Its a product of how Amazon has been usingartificial intelligence (AI), an advanced and quickly developing technology, to influence business in the present.

As for Bezos new philanthropic idea, one can say that whatever positive changes it could make in the here and now could give people a shot at a better future. And hey, you can even get involved and pitch in an idea or two.

Link:
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Needs Your Ideas For a New Philanthropic Endeavor - Futurism