Category Archives: Transhuman News

TO THE YOUNG ARTISTS OF ITALY!

The cry of rebellion which we utter associates our ideals with those of the Futurist poets. These ideals were not invented by some aesthetic clique. They are an expression of a violent desire which boils in the veins of every creative artist today.

We will fight with all our might the fanatical, senseless and snobbish religion of the past, a religion encouraged by the vicious existence of museums. We rebel against that spineless worshipping of old canvases, old statues and old bric-a-brac, against everything which is filthy and worm-ridden and corroded by time. We consider the habitual contempt for everything which is young, new and burning with life to be unjust and even criminal.

Comrades, we tell you now that the triumphant progress of science makes profound changes in humanity inevitable, changes which are hacking an abyss between those docile slaves of past tradition and us free moderns, who are confident in the radiant splendor of our future.

We are sickened by the foul laziness of artists, who, ever since the sixteenth century, have endlessly exploited the glories of the ancient Romans.

In the eyes of other countries, Italy is still a land of the dead, a vast Pompeii, whit with sepulchres. But Italy is being reborn. Its political resurgence will be followed by a cultural resurgence. In the land inhabited by the illiterate peasant, schools will be set up; in the land where doing nothing in the sun was the only available profession, millions of machines are already roaring; in the land where traditional aesthetics reigned supreme, new flights of artistic inspiration are emerging and dazzling the world with their brilliance.

Living art draws its life from the surrounding environment. Our forebears drew their artistic inspiration from a religious atmosphere which fed their souls; in the same way we must breathe in the tangible miracles of contemporary lifethe iron network of speedy communications which envelops the earth, the transatlantic liners, the dreadnoughts, those marvelous flights which furrow our skies, the profound courage of our submarine navigators and the spasmodic struggle to conquer the unknown. How can we remain insensible to the frenetic life of our great cities and to the exciting new psychology of night-life; the feverish figures of the bon viveur, the cocette, the apache and the absinthe drinker?

We will also play our part in this crucial revival of aesthetic expression: we will declare war on all artists and all institutions which insist on hiding behind a faade of false modernity, while they are actually ensnared by tradition, academicism and, above all, a nauseating cerebral laziness.

We condemn as insulting to youth the acclamations of a revolting rabble for the sickening reflowering of a pathetic kind of classicism in Rome; the neurasthenic cultivation of hermaphodic archaism which they rave about in Florence; the pedestrian, half-blind handiwork of 48 which they are buying in Milan; the work of pensioned-off government clerks which they think the world of in Turin; the hotchpotch of encrusted rubbish of a group of fossilized alchemists which they are worshipping in Venice. We are going to rise up against all superficiality and banalityall the slovenly and facile commercialism which makes the work of most of our highly respected artists throughout Italy worthy of our deepest contempt.

Away then with hired restorers of antiquated incrustations. Away with affected archaeologists with their chronic necrophilia! Down with the critics, those complacent pimps! Down with gouty academics and drunken, ignorant professors!

Ask these priests of a veritable religious cult, these guardians of old aesthetic laws, where we can go and see the works of Giovanni Segantini today. Ask them why the officials of the Commission have never heard of the existence of Gaetano Previati. Ask them where they can see Medardo Rossos sculpture, or who takes the slightest interest in artists who have not yet had twenty years of struggle and suffering behind them, but are still producing works destined to honor their fatherland?

These paid critics have other interests to defend. Exhibitions, competitions, superficial and never disinterested criticism, condemn Italian art to the ignominy of true prostitution.

And what about our esteemed specialists? Throw them all out. Finish them off! The Portraitists, the Genre Painters, the Lake Painters, the Mountain Painters. We have put up with enough from these impotent painters of country holidays.

Down with all marble-chippers who are cluttering up our squares and profaning our cemeteries! Down with the speculators and their reinforced-concrete buildings! Down with laborious decorators, phony ceramicists, sold-out poster painters and shoddy, idiodic illustrators!

These are our final conclusions:

With our enthusiastic adherence to Futurism, we will:

The dead shall be buried in the earths deepest bowels! The threshold of the future will be swept free of mummies! Make room for youth, for violence, for daring!

Read more here:
Manifesto of the Futurist Painters - unknown.nu

In Brief Scientists from Durham University and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have developed a model that explains both known types of solar flares or coronal ejections. This new theory could help us prepare for when these disruptive flares occur. A Universal Model

The sun is volatile, capable of unleashing huge amounts of plasma in outbursts that affect the space around it including the space near Earth. There are two types of these solar eruptions: coronal ejections, which are smaller bursts of plasma, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are large eruptions that release plasma and high-speed magnetic fields.

We know they happen, but we havent really figured out howthey happen. Now, thanks to researchers from the Durham University in UK and NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, we have a theoretical model that could explain both types of coronal jets. According to their study, published in the journal Nature, both occurrences are the result ofmagnetic field lines in the surface of the sun, above the jets, breaking apart and rejoining.

It was previously thought that there were different drivers for the varying scales of eruptions from the Sun, but our research provides a theoretical universal model for this activity, which is very exciting, lead researcher Peter Wyper from Durham said in a press release.

Using this theoretical universal model, dubbed thebreakout model, the researchers believe that it may be possible to predict when solar flares will occur. As Wyper explained it: A greater understanding of solar eruptions at all scales could ultimately help in better predicting the Suns activity.

If proven, the breakout model could help us prepare for solar flares particularly large-scale CMEs which are known to disrupt radio transmissions and satellite communications by sending huge amounts of electromagenetic radiation. They are tend to trigger aurorae in the Earths poles. This phenomenon was last recorded in 1859, during whats now known as the Carrington Event. Such CMEs today could prove dangerous for astronauts in space.That being said, the next step is to confirm the breakout model using high-resolution observations of the solar atmosphere.

Within a unified context, we can advance understanding of how these eruptions are started, how to predict them, and how to better understand their consequences, said Richard DeVoreone of the researchers at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center.

More:
We May Have Finally Solved the Mystery of Solar Flares - Futurism

In Brief A recent study on a spaceanomaly that has perplexed scientists for years has some suggesting that it could be explained by a parallel "bubble universe" although there are other, more standard potential explanations, as well. Too Cold

For years, scientists have been baffled by a weird anomaly far away in space: a mysteriousCold Spotabout1.8 billion light-years across. It is cooler than its surroundings byaround 0.00015 degrees Celsius (0.00027 degrees Fahrenheit), a fact astronomers discovered by measuring background radiation throughout the universe.

Previously, astronomers believed that this space could be cooler simply because it had less matter in it thanmost sections of space. They dubbed it amassive supervoidand estimated that it had 10,000 galaxies fewer than other comparable sections of space.

But now, in a recently published survey of galaxies, astronomers from the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS)say they have discovered that this supervoide could not exist. They now believe that the galaxies in the cold spot are just clustered around smaller voids that populate the cold spot like bubbles. These small voids, however, cannot explain the temperature difference observed.

To link the temperature differences to the smaller voids, the researcherssay a non-standard cosmological model would be required. But our data place powerful constraints on any attempt to do that, explained researcher Ruari Mackenzie in anRAS press release. While the study had a large margin of error, the simulations suggest there is only atwo percent probabilitythat the Cold Spot formed randomly.

This means we cant entirely rule out that the Spot is caused by an unlikely fluctuation explained by the standard model. But if that isnt the answer, then there are more exotic explanations, said researcher Tom Shanks inthe press release. Perhaps the most exciting of these is that the Cold Spot was caused by a collision between our universe and another bubble universe.

If more detailed studies support the findings of this research, the Cold Spot might turn out to be the first evidence for the multiverse, though far more evidence would be needed to confirm our universe is indeed one of many.

See more here:
We May Have Uncovered the First Ever Evidence of the Multiverse - Futurism

In Brief Physicians at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia worked with 23 week-old lambs to in order test a synthetic device that imitates a woman's uterus, hoping to limit mortality and disease in premature children that are born before 37 weeks. Synthetic Wombs

Creating an artificial womb would be a feat of monumental proportions, as premature birth is the leading cause of death for newborns.And this week,Philadelphia physiciansmade significant strides towards a world where synthetic wombsare a reality. While the new development isnt exactly an artificial womb tank, physicians have created a uterus-like biobag that is capable of sustainingpremature fetal lambs very soon after they begin development.

Before toolong, the same technologies could be used on humans.

Ultimately, the lambs were placed in the transparent biobagsjust 105 days after they started development, whichis equivalent to about 22 weeks of humandevelopment. At that point in their development, neither lambs nor human babies can survive outside the womb on their own.

The lambs were kept in the biobags for four weeks. During this time, they grew hair; their lungs developed; and they reached the point where they could survive on their own.

Remarkably, the eight lambs in the trial developed normally in the artificial womb and each survived, proving that the biobagsuccessfully mimicked the natural conditions found in the uterusand paving the way for a new life-saving device for humans.

The results of their study are published in Nature Communications.

Ultimately, aninfant is considered premature when they areborn before 37 weeksof development. Globally, millions of babies are born prematurely each year. This exposes them to a host of chronic health conditions, as their lungs and brains are still in very early stages of development.

While current therapies incubate preterm children, this new device could do them one better by allowing them to complete development in natural conditions.

Although the fluid-filled plastic enclosure cant develop a child for an entire nine-month term, it can allow us to incubate them remarkably soon after conception. The team of physicians is already in talks with theU.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA), and clinical trialsare slated to begin in the next 3 to 5 years.

In light of this progress, experts assert that artificial wombsmay be areality in the next few decades.

Read the original post:
This Fluid-Filled Bag Lets Lambs Develop Outside the Womb. Humans Are Next. - Futurism

No Brain-Damaging Blood Loss

Okay, so its not every day you hear about a real life head transplant, but there is such a thing. In fact, research into transplanting heads has been around for a while now, with the first known two-headed animal experiments dating as far back as the 1900s and the 1950s.

Now, scientists from China have made a remarkable breakthrough intransplanting the head of one organism onto that of another.

For their work, they took the head of a smaller ratand attached it to abigger one, creating what is effectively a two-headed rat. It is important to note that the rat did not survive long-term, but that was never the goal. The teamknew the rat would not live long, as there are still a lot of technical and scientific issues that need to be resolved before we can successfully perform head transplants on living organisms and have them survive.

However, this is an astonishing step forward in performing viable head transplants in that the doctorswere able toavoid any brain-damaging blood loss while the donors head was being attached.

The goal of this particular experiment was simple: the scientists wanted to know if they could successfully transplant a head without damaging the brain due to excessive blood loss. And they did. To do this, they had to keep the blood circulation going during the transplant by attaching the donorrats blood vessels to the other rat.

We developed a bicephalic model of head transplantation to study these aspects, the scientists report inthe paperthat they published in the journal CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics.

While the idea is a real head turner and maybe a head shaker, for some scientists assert that head transplants areworth exploring, as it could help millions of people worldwide who are suffering from muscle or nerve problems. It could also allow us to take the head of a person suffering from fatal cancer and transplant it onto a healthy human body.

Understandably, there are a number of issues that have to be resolved before it would be possible to transplant human heads. For example, apart from making sure the brain isnt damaged by blood loss during the transplant process, there are a number of other concerns, such as rejection by the immune system.

Still, grafting a head onto another while keeping the brain safe from the damage associated with blood loss is certainly a positive step forward as far asdeveloping a viable means of conductinghuman head transplants.

However, some experts assert that the problems associated with transplanting human heads extend beyond scientific and technical concerns and touch upon the fundamental nature of human psychology.

Arthur Caplan, founding director of NYULMCs Division of Medical Ethics, previously told Futurism that, in such a procedure, a person could suffer from unprecedented levels of insanity. He ultimately stated that this would likely result from things such as novel chemistry flooding the brain, unfamiliar input coming in from the nervous system of the body, etc.

While some claim to have already successfully performed the procedure, theres no clear evidence to supportsuch claims.

In any case, if we are to ever successfully completesuch a procedure in the future, this most recent study provides an important piece of the puzzle. As the researchers note in their abstract, The application of vascular grafting can also provide the possibility of long-term survival of the model.

See original here:
Scientists Transplanted A Rat's Head Onto Another Rat, Hoping to ... - Futurism

In Brief A drug developed in the 1960s is making a much-needed comeback. Clinical trials of the inexpensive drug tranexamic acid have shown it is able to help save the lives of women who suffer from hemorrhages after childbirth. Drug of the Past

Although it seems like a problem of the past, women are still dying in childbirth across all areas of the world. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), roughly 830 women die in childbirth each day. Many ofthe causes are preventable, and of these, blood loss is the biggest contributor, killing roughly 100,000 women after they give birth every year.

The thing is, it neednt be the case. In the 1960s,a Japanese doctor named Utako Okamoto developed a powerful drug, tranexamic acid,that prevents hemorrhage after childbirth. It was Okamotos dream to save women, Haleema Shakur told NPR. But she couldnt convince doctors to test the drug on postpartum hemorrhaging.

That is, until now.

Shakur headed up clinical trials at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygienefor the tranexamic acid that Okamoto developed. The trials involved 20,000 women from about 200 hospitals across 21 countries. After each woman was diagnosed with postpartum hemorrhaging (heavy bleeding after childbirth), she was given either the drug or a placebo.

Roughly 1.2 percent of the women who received tranexamic acid within three hours of hemorrhaging died, according to the study, which waspublished in the journal The Lancet. Meanwhile, 1.7 percent died after receiving just a placebo.

I think the study is exciting, said Felicia Lester, an OB-GYN at the University of California, San Francisco, who does work in Uganda and Kenya. Im usually cautious in saying that. But it looks like tranexamic acid has the potential to save lives.

According to the WHO, 99 percent of all maternal deaths take place in developing countries,and women in rural areas or poorer communities are more likely to fall victim than those in cities or wealthier areas. Because tranexamic isnt costly to produce only about $3 in the U.K. and just a quarter of that in places like Pakistanits potential could easilyextend to these remote areas and poorer communities.

If you can save a life for approximately $3, then I believe thats worth doing, said Shakur. Now, we just need to make sure the drug actually gets to the women who need it the most.

See the article here:
A Remarkably Cheap Drug Could Eliminate the Leading Cause of Maternal Mortality - Futurism

In Brief Tesla's employing a huge number of Kuko robots to build its Model 3 electric vehicle. These robots, which have also been part of the production lines for the Model S and Model X, would help bring Tesla's cheapest EV to more people. Alien Robots

Tesla hired its first robots back in 2014to beused as part of a dedicated production center for the Model S. These robots, developed by German industrial manufacturerKuka Robotics, are also responsible for the Model X and Teslas energy product line. Now, photos leaked by someonewho claims they work as aField Service Engineer atKuka Robotics posted bya user inSoutheastTradersforumshow an army of Kuka robots ready to be shipped out.

These new Kuka robotsquirkily named after X-Men superheroes will be responsible for several Model 3 production line duties, including: spot welding, laser welding, handling, and loading materials, and various other tasks. The Kuka robots are part of what CEO Elon Musk previously called an alien dreadnought that will be tasked with building theModel 3. According to the person who posted the photos, the robots will be at the Tesla factory for the next 7 weeks to help set up and commission 467 robots and 21 KL slides.

Tesla users who toured the factory confirmed sightings of these alien robots. [T]here is an enormous area of the factory where the Model 3 assembly line is being built, said an owner from the Tesla Motors Club (Engle). There are Kuka robots all over the place waiting to be installed.

Tesla and Musk have long seen the value of automation in its factory production lines. As Teslas highly-anticipated Model 3 electric vehicle is slated to begin low volume production by July, these robots which cost between $50,000 to $500,000 will be essential. Supposedly, Tesla spent more than $50million on them and the additional $1.4B capital raised in March certainly helped cover the cost.

The Model 3 will be Teslas cheapest EV yet, priced at $35,000. Its expected to have the latest Autopilot software, an entirely unique display system, Teslas solar roof technology, as well as a number of featuresfound inpreexisting Tesla models.

As a less costly EV, the Model 3 is Teslas attempt to bring autonomous and green vehicles within the reach of more people. Research has indicated that autonomous vehicles are alreadysaving lives, andhelping the environment. Now its just a matter of getting them on the road.

Originally posted here:
Leaked Photos From Tesla Show the Alien Robots That Will Build Model 3s - Futurism