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Category Archives: Transhuman News

What causes eczema? – NetDoctor – Netdoctor

Posted: May 9, 2017 at 2:59 pm

Eczema is one of the most common skin conditions, affecting roughly one in 10 adults. Now, new research has suggested that a deficiency in the skin's outer barrier is key to triggering the debilitating problem, leaving scientists one step closer to discovering exactly what it is that triggers eczema and what they can do to prevent it.

Everything you've ever wondered about skin allergies

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The Newcastle University research team created a human model system in their laboratory in order to mimic the skin observed in patients with atopic eczema the most common type. They then used molecular techniques to reduce the levels of filaggrin, the protein which has previously been strongly linked to eczema, within the upper layer of skin (epidermis) of the model.

A number of regulatory mechanisms, such as stress responses, were affected by the changes. Nick Reynolds, Professor of Dermatology at Newcastle University and who works within the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the lead investigator of the study. He said:

"We have shown for the first time that loss of the filaggrin protein alone is sufficient to alter key proteins and pathways involved in triggering eczema. This research reinforces the importance of filaggrin deficiency leading to problems with the barrier function in the skin and predisposing someone to eczema."

Other mechanisms affected by altered filaggrin levels included inflammatory signalling, cell structure and barrier function all of which are known to be active in the skin of patients with eczema. Nina Goad of the British Association of Dermatologists said:

"This latest research from Newcastle is crucial as it expands on our knowledge of how filaggrin impacts on other proteins and pathways in the skin, which in turn trigger the disease. This type of research allows scientists to develop treatments that target the actual root cause of the disease, rather than just managing its symptoms. Given the level of suffering eczema causes, this is a pivotal piece of research."

The paper was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Are you giving yourself eczema?

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Global Psoriasis Therapeutics Pipeline Review, H1 2017 – Research and Markets – Business Wire (press release)

Posted: at 2:58 pm

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Psoriasis - Pipeline Review, H1 2017" report to their offering.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition caused by an overactive immune system. Symptoms of the disease include shedding of cells, flared up skin, itchiness, and burning sensation, swollen and stiff joints. Predisposing factors include heredity, side effects of certain medicines, stress, infections and environmental conditions. The condition may be controlled by topical or systemic medications and phototherapy.

Pharmaceutical and Healthcare latest pipeline guide Psoriasis - Pipeline Review, H1 2017, provides comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development for Psoriasis (Immunology), complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The guide covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and latest news and press releases.

The Psoriasis (Immunology) pipeline guide also reviews of key players involved in therapeutic development for Psoriasis and features dormant and discontinued projects. The guide covers therapeutics under Development by Companies /Universities /Institutes, the molecules developed by Companies in Pre-Registration, Filing rejected/Withdrawn, Phase III, Phase II, Phase I, IND/CTA Filed, Preclinical, Discovery and Unknown stages are 14, 1, 21, 44, 42, 1, 103, 32 and 9 respectively. Similarly, the Universities portfolio in Preclinical and Discovery stages comprises 8 and 6 molecules, respectively.

Psoriasis (Immunology) pipeline guide helps in identifying and tracking emerging players in the market and their portfolios, enhances decision making capabilities and helps to create effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage.

Key Topics Covered:

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/4kcrcl/psoriasis

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Global Psoriasis Therapeutics Pipeline Review, H1 2017 - Research and Markets - Business Wire (press release)

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Thoughts on Gene Editing From the Science Community – The Atlantic

Posted: at 2:58 pm

Our next group of correspondents stood out due to their vocations: In one way or another, their chosen careers brought them into the subculture of scientific thinking. These readers tended to be more favorably disposed to gene editing than others.

Take this reader, a semi-retired school psychologist and a lover of science whose daughter plans to become a clinical geneticist:

I agree with the premise of your article [that prophylactic gene editing could soon be mandatory] and am not frightened by it at all. Scientific advances have not, cannot, and should not be stopped. Since the first civilizations science has been dragging religion and society reluctantly along into a more technologically advanced future. What we gain from this seems always to be more than what we have lost.

A medical student who hopes one day to do gene editing was likewise eager for a future where it is used to cure diseaseand even to direct the way that humans evolve:

Modern medicine, in its current form, is basically the answer to the question: What is the best way to treat diseases whose cures cannot and will not ever be found? Treating someone with cystic fibrosis, for instance, is an admirable thing to do, but its also an exercise in futility: That patient will undoubtedly die prematurely. Anything besides excising the mutant gene and replacing it with a normal copy is treading water and delaying the inevitable (though, obviously, the patients must still be treated).

In modern societies, infectious diseases and trauma are more or less under control (relative to developing countries and bygone eras). Curing genetic diseases (cancer loosely being included in this category) are currently a dead end. So, logically, addressing this head-on is the only next step.

I view gene therapy and editing as the way of the future, not only of medicine but also of humanity in general. It will start as the means for cures of currently incurable diseases. Eventually, it will be a means by which we can continue to evolve ourselves as a species. If 3.5 billion years of evolution churned our species out through the natural selection of random mutations, how much better can we do with logic and molecular precision? In my opinion, anything that can widely (and, potentially, permanently) change mankind and society for the better should be done.

I wish I shared the correspondents confidence that logic and molecular precision will serve humanity better in this realm than the decentralized systems of dating and mating have done so far. Reflecting on the decisions that literally every bygone generation might have made if able to edit genes, I fear that our choices will prove as imprudent in hindsightand thats not even accounting for unintended consequences.

The next reader is working to earn his Masters degree in Biochemistry:

It is not unreasonable to imagine that in the near future gene editing will be a safe and effective means of preventing genetic diseases. It is also not unreasonable to imagine that in the case of many diseases, such as sickle-cell anemia or cystic fibrosis, which are caused by small mutations in a single gene coding for a functionally important protein, gene editing would be likely to prevent the disease without affecting the child in any other way. For these diseases, once it is demonstrated that gene editing works the way that it is supposed to, I think parents should be punished for failing to employ gene editing. I think that if it had been demonstrated that gene editing was safe, effective, and selective, refusal to use this technique to prevent disease would essentially amount to fear and mistrust of the scientific and medical communities. I really dont think thats a valid reason to allow another person to be afflicted by a preventable disease.

However, I draw a distinction here between expecting parents to make edits that will definitely prevent a debilitating disease, and expecting edits that reduce the risk of a disease that the child may or may not have ended up getting. I certainly wouldnt be opposed to parents editing genes to reduce the chance of cancer, but I wouldnt really expect it. There are a number of behaviors that we know reduce cancer risk which we dont really expect parents to push on their kids. For example, parents could probably reduce cancer risk in their children by some small fraction by giving them grape juice every day or something like that. I dont really expect parents to do that. If you cant blame parents for not giving their kids grape juice you really cant blame them for not editing the kids genome.

At the same time, he adds, we can really only justify using gene editing for medical purposes:

We are a long way from understanding our biology well enough to be able to make genome modifications to enhance intelligence or beauty or athleticism without risking horrible unforeseen side effects. But even if we did have the ability to do that, I still dont think it would be justified because I dont think we can tie these traits to an increased sense of happiness or fulfillment.

I am short and scrawny, and Im perfectly happy with that. I know plenty of people who are perfectly content with being as dumb as rocks. I know plenty of smart people who are miserable. So, Ill grant that I am basing my opinion here on a biased personal experience, but I really dont think that we can say that it really is in the best interests of the child to alter superficial traits.

When discussing a childs future, people often talk as if the parents preference is the most important thing. But parents dont own their children. Parents are stewards of their children. I think that making designer babies would be an example of parents making self-serving decisions, rather than making decisions in the best interests of the child. I dont think that is justifiable.

The next correspondent is a biochemistry grad student who works in a research group that specializes in genome-editing technology, and cautions against its near-term limits:

If gene therapy with Cas9 were at some future time as cheap, easy, and safe as an antibiotic treatment, then yes, I would support punishments for parents who forewent a cure for their children. In some cases, a genetic disorder is very similar to other macro-level disorders, e.g. genes can be broken in the same sense that a wrist is broken. While wrists can come in many healthy shapes and sizes and colors, broken in two is not one of them; likewise, while genetic diversity is important and natural and cant always be cleanly mapped to disease, some genetic mutations are incontrovertibly damaging and lead to illness and suffering. Refusing a simple medical treatment for a disorder with a clear singular genetic root cause (of which there are fewer than one might think) would be as unethical as refusing to set a broken wrist.

But I dont think gene therapy will be as cheap, easy, or safe as antibiotics in our lifetimerather, my opinion is that gene therapy will be expensive, invasive, and risky (at least relative to an antibiotic pill) for the foreseeable future. I dont expect gene therapy to become routine in the same way that oral therapies are, and so choosing not to subject your child to gene editing cannot be chalked up to negligence. (A contemporary example: Sovaldi is a drug that essentially cures Hepatitis C, but it costs $200,000 and there are other treatmentscould you imagine a parent being prosecuted for refusing to pay for Sovaldi?)

Why am I so down on gene therapy?

First of all, regarding cost, the clamor surrounding the Cas9 patent dispute should give you an idea of how profitable the players in this field expect gene therapy to be. Gene therapy will always be more expensive than an oral antibiotic because the treatment requires many more steps (each of which is far costlier), is much lower throughput, and will require specialized care and oversight. For similar reasons, it will not be nearly as convenient for patients as filling a prescription. And as Ive written elsewhere, our current early-generation gene-therapy tools and limited understanding of the link between genetics and disease means that gene therapy carries unprecedented safety risks. (For example, no currently approved therapy could cause permanent heritable genetic changes.)

These risks shouldnt disqualify gene therapy as a possible future treatment, but they could certainly give the most informed and adventurous patient pause. In short, I believe technical limitations and cost and safety concerns will delay the debate over mandatory gene editing for decades at least. More pressing to discuss are the multitude of other ways that gene editing and GMOs affect modern life and medicine.

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Thoughts on Gene Editing From the Science Community - The Atlantic

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University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Collaborate with Admera Health in a Clinical Study … – GlobeNewswire (press release)

Posted: at 2:58 pm

May 09, 2017 09:13 ET | Source: Admera Health, LLC

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. and ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and Admera Health announced that enrollment had commenced in a randomized clinical study evaluating the use of pharmacogenomics to guide pain management decisions related to acute dental surgery. Specifically, the study is seeking to determine if a preoperative chair-side pharmacogenomic algorithm can significantly enhance the efficacy of surgical pain management and to characterize the association between gene-drug interactions and clinical outcomes.

Admera Health, a molecular diagnostic company, will extract and sequence DNA samples provided by the University of Rochester. Sequencing will utilize Admeras PGxOne Plus test, a 50 gene Next Generation Sequencing panel that interrogates nearly 200 different variants and provides recommendations for over 220 drugs based on an individuals unique genetic makeup.

It is well understood in the medical community that most acute surgical pain methods have shown inconsistent effects on pain relief and rely excessively on opioid use, which has associated dependency issues, as stated by Admera CEO and President Guanghui Hu. With the implementation of our PGxOne Plus test, we are confident that this study will demonstrate improved patient outcomes, similar to the way pharmacogenomics has been clinically validated in other therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular health, oncology, and psychiatric care. That is why we are excited to be working with the University of Rochester for this study.

According to the CDC, opioid-involved deaths continue to increase and have reached epidemic status. In March, a United States Senate committee opened a probe into the practices of the top manufacturers of opioid drugs.

About Admera Health

Admera Health is a CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited advanced molecular diagnostics company focused on personalized medicine, non-invasive cancer testing, digital health, and providing research use only services. Research and development efforts are dedicated to developing cutting-edge diagnostics that span the continuum of care. Utilizing next generation technology platforms and advanced bioinformatics, Admera Health seeks to redefine disease screening, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and management through its innovative, personalized solutions. It is our mission to deliver transformative, valuable solutions for patients, physicians, and clinical researchers. We are committed to improving the health and well-being of our global community through the direct delivery of personalized, medically actionable results.

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University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Collaborate with Admera Health in a Clinical Study ... - GlobeNewswire (press release)

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Columbia University Accused of Censoring Its ‘Politically Incorrect’ Marching Band – Heat Street

Posted: at 2:57 pm

The Columbia University marching band, which has a decades-long tradition of irreverent and outrageous behavior on campus, is upset at the school for trying to mess with one of its most popular annual performances.

For the past four decades, members of the band have performed politically incorrect skits at the campus library for Orgo Night, which is held at midnight on the day of the organic chemistry final exams. During this years Orgo Night on Friday, band members were met by a small army of campus security guards who forced them to play on the lawn outside the library. According to College Fix, the administration posted the guards to prevent the band members from entering the library, where they usually perform.

This is the second semester in a row that the band has been banned from performing at their traditional venue following outrage from campus social justice warriors who staged a sit-in protest and wrote op-eds decrying the bands politically incorrect skits as both unsafe and triggering to special snowflakes.

Band alumni say that Columbia University administrators provided the students with false rationale to prohibit their presence at the library and censor their performances. One of the reasons they were given was that their performance was disruptive to students studying at midnight.

However, given the yearly tradition and commonplace knowledge that it takes place at the campus library, such excuses have been dismissed by the bands defenders.

As with their performances every year, the band took aim at the universitys faculty, students and policies with mockery and jokes. One of the topics they made fun of was the universitys narrowly defeated vote to boycott Israel.

We at Barnumbia University of Orthodox Judaism know the only thing that can really get students riled up is Israel, said the band during the skit, according to College Fix. Even the most disengaged students had to stop fingering each other in the stacks long enough to show up to a student senate hearing on the Mideast crisis.

Lets be frank, the [student government] is too afraid to take a stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict because they just care about getting re-elected, they continued. One side of this conflict is clearly in the right and that side is lets all say it at the same time

The audience erupted in chants of either Israel or Palestine, completing the joke. That, and several other skits were performed by the band during Orgo Night.

The band has since appealed to university president Lee Bollinger, a prominent First Amendment scholar, to revoke the ban, which they argue infringes upon their right to free speech.

Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken mediacritic. You can reach him through social media at@stillgray on Twitterand onFacebook.

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Columbia University Accused of Censoring Its 'Politically Incorrect' Marching Band - Heat Street

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Mendham man leading Trump re-election campaign, accuses CNN of ‘censorship’ – New Jersey Hills

Posted: at 2:57 pm

MENDHAM - A borough man who is President Donald Trump's campaign director has accused CNN of censorship because the news company would not run a Trump ad accusing CNN of producing "fake news."

The 30 second ad focused on Trump's accomplishments and superimposed the words "fake news" over several TV journalists, including Wolf Blitzer of CNN, and others from MSNBC, PBS, ABC and CBS. CNN said it would run the ad only if the "fake news" words were removed.

This is censorship pure and simple," the campaign director, Michael Glassner, said in a statement on May 2. "By rejecting our ad, CNN has proven that it supports censorship, is biased and fears an opposing point of view. President Trumps loyal supporters know the truth: The mainstream media mislead, misguide, deceive, and distract. CNN epitomizes the meaning of fake news and has proven it by rejecting our paid campaign ad.

Glassner was not available for further comment. He is married to Borough Councilwoman Christine Glassner.

The donaldjtrump.com website reported on May 2 that "mainstream media" had refused to run an ad entitled First 100 Days." The ad highlights the President's first 100 days in office, "exhibiting clear vision, resolute leadership and an uncompromising dedication to the American people, just as he promised throughout his campaign.

It is absolutely shameful to see the media blocking the positive message that President Trump is trying to share with the country. It's clear that CNN is trying to silence our voice and censor our free speech because it doesn't fit their narrative," said Glassner.

The website said "CNN takes issue with the ads message calling out the mainstream media for peddling fake news and not reporting on the fact that President Trump is making America great again."

CNN said in a statement that it had requested the Trump campaign to remove the "false graphic" that says the mainstream media is "fake news."

The mainstream media is not fake news, and therefore the ad is false. Per our policy, it will be accepted only if that graphic is deleted. Those are the facts, the CNN statement said.

The Trump campaign had accused the mainstream media of reporting "fake news" for not reporting on the fact that President Trump is making America great again.

A narrator in the ad claims that America has rarely seen such success, and listed several purported achievements from Trumps first 100 days in office.

You wouldnt know it from watching the news, the narrator says, before the words fake news are briefly superimposed on the reporters.

Glassner, 53, was first hired as Trumps deputy national campaign manager in August 2015. He is a former chief of staff and top advisor to Sarah Palin's 2008 run for vice president when she ran with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for president.

Glassner also was an adviser to former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kans., during his presidential campaign.

The Washington Post reported in June 2016 that Glassner had a role in developing Trumps plan to bar Muslims from entering the U.S. He said a ban would have nothing to do with religion but a result of those who attacked the World Trade Center.

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Ron Paul: Donald Trump Should Stay Home, Play Golf – FITSNews

Posted: at 2:56 pm

PRESIDENT SHOULDNT TRYTO SOLVE THE WORLDS PROBLEMS

President Donald Trump is about to embark on his first foreign trip, where he will stop in Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican, before attending a NATO meeting in Brussels and the G-7 summit in Sicily. The media and pundits have loudly wondered why hasnt he gone on a foreign trip sooner. I wonder why go at all?

What does the president hope to achieve with these meetings? This is a president who came into office with promises that we would finally start to mind our own business overseas. In December, he said that the policy of US intervention and chaos overseas must come to an end. Instead, he is jumping into a region the Middle East that has consumed the presidencies of numerous of his predecessors.

On Saudi Arabia, President Trump has shifted his position from criticism of the Saudi regime to a seemingly warm friendship with Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammad bin Salman. He has approved weapons sales to Saudi Arabia that President Obama had halted due to Saudi human rights abuses, particularly in its horrific war on Yemen.

While visiting Saudi Arabia, one of the most extreme theocracies on earth where conversion to Christianity can bring the death penalty President Trump will attend a meeting of Muslim leaders to discuss the threats of terrorism and religious extremism. No, not in Saudi Arabia, but in Iran, where Christianity is legal and thriving!

Cancer-Causing Virus Masters Cell’s Replication and Immortality … – Duke Today

Posted: at 2:55 pm

Viruses are notorious for taking over their hosts operations and using them to their own advantage. But few human viruses make themselves quite as cozy as the Epstein-Barr virus, which can be found in an estimated nine out of ten humans without causing any ill effects.

That is, until this virus causes mononucleosis in adolescents or various cancers of the lymph nodes, including Hodgkins and non-Hodgkins lymphomas, in immune compromised people.

In a paper appearing in the open access journal eLife, a team of researchers from Dukes School of Medicine details just how the Epstein-Barr virus manages to persist so well inside the immune systems B cells, a type of white blood cell that is normally responsible for recognizing and responding to foreign invaders.

The challenge is that its a really efficient pathogen, and evades the hosts immune system well even when its recognized as an invader, said Micah Luftig, an associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology and co-author on the new study.

Luftigs team has found that with a few select chemical signals used early in the course of an infection, Epstein-Barr mimics the beginning of the B cells normal response to an infectious agent. From within, the virus manages to ramp up the B-cells reproduction of itself, while at the same time helping the cell resist its own self-destruct signals.

The virus actually taps into the B cells normal protection against apoptosis, the programmed cell death that takes B cells out of circulation, Luftig said.

Once the infection is established, Epstein-Barr prefers to hide out in what are known as memory B cells, relatively slowly reproducing cells that circulate throughout the body. All of this is about establishing latency, Luftig said, or the ability to hide quietly in plain sight.

Using a new technique developed elsewhere called BH3 profiling that allowed them to test the critical cellular pro- and anti-apoptosis proteins individually, the team was able to see which of these the virus was controlling and then watch the transition from an uninfected cell to the active early infection phase to the latent infection in an immortal cell. The key piece theyve uncovered is a viral protein called EBNA3A which manages apoptosis resistance in infected B cells.

The risk for cancers is largely an issue if youre immune suppressed, Luftig said. But, for example, a recent National Cancer Institute study found that children who receive organ transplants have a 200-times higher chance of getting Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, one of the cancers caused by Epstein-Barr.

The team thinks BH3 profiling could prove useful in guiding treatment decisions on Epstein-Barr associated cancers such as these.

This research was funded by the American Cancer Society, the Wellcome Trust and the National Institutes of Health (R01-CA140337, R01-DE025994, 5P30-AI064518, F31-CA180451, R01-DE023939, T32-AI078985, R01-CA129974).

CITATION: Epstein-Barr Virus Ensures B Cell Survival by Uniquely Modulating Apoptosis at Early and Late Times After Infection, Alexander Price, Joanne Dai, Quentin Bazot, Luv Patel, Pavel Nikitin, Reza Djavadian, Peter Winter, Cristina Salinas, Ashley Perkins Barry, Kris Wood, Eric Johannsen, Anthony Letai, Martin Allday, Micah Luftig. eLife, online April 20, 2017. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.22509 https://elifesciences.org/content/6/e22509O

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Cancer-Causing Virus Masters Cell's Replication and Immortality ... - Duke Today

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A Case for Why Every Mormon Should be a Transhumanist – The Good Men Project (blog)

Posted: at 2:55 pm

If youre a Mormon, you should be a transhumanist.

So wrote Lincoln Cannon first in a blog post, Mormonism mandates transhumanism. He proceeded to offer Mormon scripture for his assumptions that God wants us to use ordained means to participate in Gods work, science and technology are among the means ordained of God, Gods work is to help each other attain godhood, and an essential attribute of godhood is a glorified immortal body.

Therefore, God wants humankind to use science and technology to attain godhood and a glorified, immortal body, Cannon wrote.

The conclusion is at once a religious mandate, he remarked, and a description of the transhumanist project.

Related is the eight-statementTranshumanist Declaration. Cannon co-founded the Mormon Transhumanist Association and it has a six-statementMormon Transhumanist Affirmation. If folks support them (even broadly, Cannon said), they can be a part of the MTA, whether they be Mormon or non-Mormon, practicing or not. And anyone was invited to their annual conference in April.

The purpose of the MTA is to advocate both creeds and that advocacy is the ethical use of technically and religion to extend human abilities, Cannon said.

Cannon also told the author that he and others sought an expression of their belief of a seriousness in the works part of the faith-and-works relationship with Mormonism and their trust in the visions that their religion offers.

That was the common idea among the (MTA) founders, Cannon said.

Then he added: We hadnt heard about transhumanism when we set out to make this organization.

But while Cannon, MTA Chief Operating Officer Carl Youngblood and other Aug. 2006 originators of the nonprofit were doing the research and trying to determine the specifics of the organization to create, Cannon explained, we came across transhumanism.

Its philosophies struck them immediately to the point that they didnt find any reason to re-invent the wheel in terms of creating an organization entirely different from the World Transhumanist Association (now Humanity+), whose creation saw the Transhumanist Declaration come with it. In Oct. 2010, the MTA renewed its affiliation with the WTA after the WTA board voted to accept the MTA.

That led us to (realize) that we had always been transhumanistsor had been for a long time, Cannon noted.

Today, with more than 600 members, the MTA is the largest organization in the world for the ethical use of technology and religion to extend human abilities.

Today, with more than 600 members, the MTA is the largest organization in the world for the ethical use of technology and religion to extend human abilities. It is also the largest religiously-affiliated transhumanist organization, Cannon said. Jon Bialecki, a University of Edinburgh School of Social and Political Science fellow, is studying the group.

Being present

Before what will be a half-dozen consecutive annual MTA conferences, the organization participated in the2010 Transhumanism and Spiritualityand2009 Mormonism and Engineeringconferences. Richard Bushman, author of the relatively well-known biography Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, was one of two keynote speakers for thesecond of the MTA-branded conferences. This years theme is Evolving Gods and its top-featured speakers are Steven Peck and Robin Hanson. (Each conference sees two keynoters, ones address oriented around religion and the others, transhumanism.)

Peck is a biology professor at Brigham Young University who boasts more than 40 scientific articles in major publications. His research in theoretical and insect populations have been recognized by the National Academy of Sciences and the United Nations for helping in combating insect-borne illness.

Hanson is an economics professor at George Mason University and researcher at Oxford University. He has pioneered prediction markets for 29 years, was a principal architect of many markets and developed new technologies for trading. His book, The Age of Em, is about what Earth will be like when ruled by robots that are brain simulations, or ems.

Other speakers include George Handley, a BYU humanities associate dean; Michelle Glauser, founder of a tuition-free technology training and job placement program; and Ben Blair, creator of a platform to de-institutionalize education.

Chris Bradford, MTA president, expects a highlight for him to be the keynoters.

Steven Peck is a really great thinker and author and Ive recently been reading Robin Hansons book, he said.

Youngblood anticipates the Mormon transhumanist barber quartet performing again, an idea made reality in conferences after it was merely joked about a few years ago.

In November, Blaire Ostler was appointed CEO of the MTA. She is looking forward to furthering initiatives at the conference that include more constructive monthly meetups, a curriculum and a semi-annual family social.

The northern Utah meetups have been held monthly and entailed philosophical discussions.

The curriculum is being developed to be easily-digestible small lessons or discussions and are going to coincide with our local meetup groups, Ostler said.

Im trying to make Mormon transhumanism more accessible, she remarked, and palatable to people who dont have a degree in philosophy or consider themselves techno-philes or have a degree in computer science.

Ostler also is developing the material to be presented in gender- and race-neutral perspectives.

A lot of times, religious messages get through a stereotypical lensmaybe the white male-default lens, she said. Like brotherhood and Heavenly Father, not Heavenly Parents.

The social is planned for the fall, she added.

Im particularly excited about this conference because we will shake things up, Ostler said. Sometimes Mormon transhumanism and transhumanism in general is big and abstract, but it can have a sense of communitywe personalize it.

Its a next step after the initial one was reaching out to Mormons generally. The MTA first did that when it presented at Sunstone and then was the cover story forthe symposiums March 2007 magazine issue(that and another placement,in The New Yorkerin April of last year, were all-time MTA highlights for Youngblood). Then the nonprofit presented for other organizations that were related to technology, including Second Life.

In the beginning

Cannon and Youngblood first met after elders quorum, a mens organization that meets on Sundays as part of LDS church attendance. Youngblood met Bryan Johnson, who knew Cannon from a previous Mormon congregation and later introduced Youngblood to Cannon. (After selling a successful company, Johnson created an investment fund for the purpose of doing transhumanist-related research.) WTA board members when the organization accepted the MTA, who became friends with Cannon, included Nick Bostrom, an Oxford philosopher and leading formulator of the simulation argument; James Hughes, a Trinity College bioethics professor and Buddhist; Michael LaTorra, an advocate of Buddhist transhumanism; and Giulio Prisco, an Italian information technology virtual reality consultant who came out as a believer in Catholicism, the faith of his youth, while keynoting the 2012 MTA conference, Cannon said.

Prisco was not the only person who it appears identified positivity with their spiritual heritage due to transhumanist associations with Cannon.

We tried to convince a black, Jewish female (to be CEO) and had to settle on a white but at least got a woman, he joked.

Lincoln could explore things in a way I felt safe about with my Mormon faith, said Youngblood, whose great-great-grandfather painted Salt Lake Temple murals after studying Impressionism in Paris after Brigham Youngs approval. A lot of us were involved in technology-related things we discovered a movement called transhumanism, which, in a lot of ways, is sort of a techno-utopia and a paradise on Earth. And Mormonism, being a restorationist movement and fairly recent, has many of the millenarian visions intact. (Transhumanism) was a little more close to us in (our) thinking about Zion and the renewal of the Earth and living to the age of a tree and lots of ideas (about) the Millennium.

That got us thinking, Youngblood continued, that maybe (scientific and technological) improvements not seen by our religion are things that are a cooperative effort between humanity and God. And maybe some of these (Mormon) things arent going to happen without us doing anything. And we realized the Mormon conception of salvation itselffamily history research to redeem the dead, saviors on Mount Zion and theology being work and effortits sort of a cooperation with God and angels.

At that point, it was a matter of formally organizing, with nonprofit registration with the Internal Revenue Service, elected officers and a board of directors.

Youngblood, who came to the interview between 8 and 9 p.m. directly from having delivered conference fliers on BYUs campus, also called the MTA a really strong support group.

One of the most significant of my lifea core group, he added. Its more of a safe place to explore and challenge things, but its ecumenical in a way that is bridge-building and doesnt create animosity between different groups.

The (MTAs) future is female

To further (the MTAs) pursuit of demographics, Ostler was selected as CEO, Cannon said.

We tried to convince a black, Jewish female (to be CEO) and had to settle on a white but at least got a woman, he joked.

Ostler, who is also bisexual, was apprehensive three years ago to join the MTA because it was dominated by white males, she said. But she was invited to blog for the organization, and then to join the board, and then to be the CEO.

This shows me that while there might be blind spots, it shows me a sincere and earnest desire for diverse perspectives and diverse interpretations, she said.

A main goal of Ostlers is to find ways to diversify (the MTAs) demographic.

Everyone needs to know that Mormon transhumanism is definitely for them, she said. Thats what drew me because thats the type of Mormonism I want.

Sixty-two percent of MTA members said they were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and 59 percent identified as theists. On social policy, 53 percent identified as progressive, 20 percent as conservative and 18 percent as moderate. On economic policy, 32 percent identified as moderate, 32 percent as progressive and 29 percent as conservative, according to a 2014 survey.

Providing answers

Cannon acknowledged that his Mormon-mandates-transhumanism opinion is controversial; the final part of a five-part series on the Rational Faiths blog,written by Bradford, responded to criticisms of the philosophy. He responded to questions such as Is the idea of Christ as community compatible with the idea of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? (answer: Of course. Just ask Paulor Jesus) and What is the role of Jesus in Mormon Transhumanism? (Answer: Jesus is the great example of what it means to be a son or daughter of God, who has walked, pointed out, and opened the way for us to become like God.)

Do we take him seriously? he asked. I dont know how to raise the dead, but Ive got medicine and maybe we can approach it that way.

A repeated criticism is a comparison of the MTAs efforts with those in the biblical account of building their Tower of Babel in an effort to get to heaven.Wrote Cannon: Today, as in the mythical days of Babel, we find ourselves at risk. Accelerating technological change has increased our destructive capacity faster than our defensive capacity. And yet, though our vices are many, our survival and progress so far are testimony to the extent of our virtues. We have proven ourselves at least benevolent enough to have attained an extent of heaven, however primitive, within the context of means provided by the grace of God. Have we reached our limits? Will we soon succumb to hubris? That depends in part on how we manage to proceed from here.

Ethical progress is not Babel.

Cannon noted that the word Babel appears in the Bible just twice and that The Book of Mormon references the tower in four chapters, without much additional insight into the moral of the story.

MTA leaders also pointed the author to technology God uses for his purposes in scripture. Among other devices, Cannon mentioned Noahs ark and Ostler brought up The Book of Mormons Liahona. Cannon also noted that Jesus said to raise the dead.

Do we take him seriously? he asked. I dont know how to raise the dead, but Ive got medicine and maybe we can approach it that way.

Cannon also referenced quotes from church prophets Joseph Smith and John Taylor. Smith, after marveling at skyscrapers in New York City, wrote: seeking these works are calculated to make men comfortable wise and happy, therefore, not for the works can the Lord be displeased; only against man is the anger of the Lord kindled because they give him not the glory. Taylor wrote: if we have any knowledge of electricity, we thank God for it. If we have any knowledge of the power of steam, we will say its from God. If we possess any other scientific information about the earth whereon we stand, or of the elements with which we are surrounded, we will thank God for the information, and say he has inspired men from time to time to understand them, and we will go on and grasp more intelligence, light and information, until we comprehend as we are comprehended of God.

The LDS church has been asked but not made a statement about the MTA. The church has a history of disciplining or excommunicating folks for publicly expressing unorthodox views. But no MTA member is known to have yet been disciplined by the church for their transhumanist beliefs, Cannon said.

Photo: Getty Images

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A Case for Why Every Mormon Should be a Transhumanist - The Good Men Project (blog)

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Butcher Review If Murder Is Your Thing, Butcher Is Your Thing – COGconnected (press release)

Posted: at 2:54 pm

Carnage is unleashed like a typhoon around me. Dervishes of blood, entrails, and flame engulf me in a flurry, and the heat of the fires warm my cold metal heart, and the tint of the blood brings me joy. I am the Butcher. Which is to say I am a murderous cyborg hell-bent on eradicating the last of human civilization. Come at me.

The Butcher is Transhuman Designs grimy homage to the hardcore metal-shooters of the 90s. Titles like Doom and Heretic are immediately brought to mind, not for gameplay similarities, but because Butcher revels in a certain bloodlust that cuts right to the core of what made those games so gnarly: buckets and buckets of blood and giblets. Of course, youll have to work to fill those buckets.

Luckily, filling them happens quickly as Butcher is a twitchy killfest. It plays like a roided out Soldat (dated reference, I know) with an emphasis on level navigation and exploration. Devilish traps, spinning blades, and flamethrowers litter the industrial hellscapes youre meant to scour, so without proper care, the majority of the blood that ends up in those buckets might be yours. And in fact, you will die. Lots. Butcher is not an easy game. Many of these levels are built with a trial and error mentality. Traps that you couldnt have known were poised to snap your legs off will do so, youll remember their position and avoid them next time, only to have a new one snap your head off a few feet further. Stuff like that feels cheap, and can quickly raise the blood pressure, but thankfully they dont lean on that stuff too heavily. Who knows, maybe youll avoid certain death because by sheer accident on a few occasions I made it past a long series of traps that normally would have killed me over and over again. I felt like some idiot hero inadvertently teasing death as walls collapsed around me, and pits of lava rose, only to singe my toe hair.

______________________________

The Butcher is Transhuman Designs grimy homage to the hardcore metal-shooters of the 90s

The combat in Butcher, for me, is a mixed bag. There are plenty of weapons that youll pick up over the course of the game and they feel great to fire, yet something about the combat left me feeling dissatisfied. The problem isnt with the weapons themselves. The assault rifle is chunky and loud and sends the screen shaking violently, and the railgun sends out a ray of devastating murder that is truly righteous. The problem for me came in the lightning quick pace of combat. Everything blows up so fast (yourself included) that you hardly have time to register what the hell just happened. You end up playing the game mostly on instinct and feel rather than acting out a plan of action. When it comes down to it, its a matter of taste. If you like to take your time and place your shots accurately, Butcher isnt for you. But if you enjoy the breakneck speed and mayhem of, say, Hotline Miami, Butcher is going to make you quite happy. You sicko.

Visually, Butcher is pretty rad looking. Everything is a smudgy grey mess of pixelated blood and stone and iron. It looks both simple and detailed simultaneously which can be kind of jarring (in a good way) at times. Parts of the background animate with barely two frames of animation and look kind of cheap, but then an enemy explodes in the foreground in a glorious burst of flame or blood. The flame and blood are what youll remember. It didnt take long for me to vibe with the look that Butcher was going for and the look is greatly enhanced by the sound design. I already mentioned how chunky and huge the guns sound, but also every enemy screams these tortured rales upon death that flesh out the vile universe Butcher exists in. Oh and the soundtrack bumps too.

That being said, Butcher is a tough one to recommend to everyone. It does a lot of things right, but still feels like the sum of its parts dont quite add up. When it comes down to it your enjoyment of Butcher will directly correlate to how quick and nasty you like your games. But if quick n nasty sounds good to you, youre in for it, because Butcher is awfully quick and wonderfully nasty.

*** PS4 code provided by the publisher ***

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Butcher Review If Murder Is Your Thing, Butcher Is Your Thing - COGconnected (press release)

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Category Archives: Transhuman News

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Butcher Review If Murder Is Your Thing, Butcher Is Your Thing – COGconnected (press release)

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