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Category Archives: Transhuman News

Nucleic acid double helix – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Posted: August 23, 2016 at 9:19 am

In molecular biology, the term double helix[1] refers to the structure formed by double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double helical structure of a nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its secondary structure, and is a fundamental component in determining its tertiary structure. The term entered popular culture with the publication in 1968 of The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, by James Watson.

The DNA double helix polymer of nucleic acid, held together by nucleotides which base pair together.[2] In B-DNA, the most common double helical structure found in nature, the double helix is right-handed with about 1010.5 base pairs per turn.[3] This translates into about 20-21 nucleotides per turn. The double helix structure of DNA contains a major groove and minor groove. In B-DNA the major groove is wider than the minor groove.[2] Given the difference in widths of the major groove and minor groove, many proteins which bind to B-DNA do so through the wider major groove.[4]

The double-helix model of DNA structure was first published in the journal Nature by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in 1953,[5] (X,Y,Z coordinates in 1954[6]) based upon the crucial X-ray diffraction image of DNA labeled as "Photo 51", from Rosalind Franklin in 1952,[7] followed by her more clarified DNA image with Raymond Gosling,[8][9]Maurice Wilkins, Alexander Stokes, and Herbert Wilson,[10] as well as base-pairing chemical and biochemical information by Erwin Chargaff.[11][12][13][14][15][16] The previous model was triple-stranded DNA.[17]

The realization that the structure of DNA is that of a double-helix elucidated the mechanism of base pairing by which genetic information is stored and copied in living organisms and is widely considered one of the most important scientific discoveries of the 20th century. Crick, Wilkins, and Watson each received one third of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their contributions to the discovery.[18] (Franklin, whose breakthrough X-ray diffraction data was used to formulate the DNA structure, died in 1958, and thus was ineligible to be nominated for a Nobel Prize.)

Hybridization is the process of complementary base pairs binding to form a double helix. Melting is the process by which the interactions between the strands of the double helix are broken, separating the two nucleic acid strands. These bonds are weak, easily separated by gentle heating, enzymes, or physical force. Melting occurs preferentially at certain points in the nucleic acid.[19]T and A rich sequences are more easily melted than C and G rich regions. Particular base steps are also susceptible to DNA melting, particularly T A and T G base steps.[20] These mechanical features are reflected by the use of sequences such as TATA at the start of many genes to assist RNA polymerase in melting the DNA for transcription.

Strand separation by gentle heating, as used in PCR, is simple, providing the molecules have fewer than about 10,000 base pairs (10 kilobase pairs, or 10 kbp). The intertwining of the DNA strands makes long segments difficult to separate. The cell avoids this problem by allowing its DNA-melting enzymes (helicases) to work concurrently with topoisomerases, which can chemically cleave the phosphate backbone of one of the strands so that it can swivel around the other. Helicases unwind the strands to facilitate the advance of sequence-reading enzymes such as DNA polymerase.

The geometry of a base, or base pair step can be characterized by 6 coordinates: Shift, slide, rise, tilt, roll, and twist. These values precisely define the location and orientation in space of every base or base pair in a nucleic acid molecule relative to its predecessor along the axis of the helix. Together, they characterize the helical structure of the molecule. In regions of DNA or RNA where the "normal" structure is disrupted, the change in these values can be used to describe such disruption.

For each base pair, considered relative to its predecessor, there are the following base pair geometries to consider:[21][22][23]

Rise and twist determine the handedness and pitch of the helix. The other coordinates, by contrast, can be zero. Slide and shift are typically small in B-DNA, but are substantial in A- and Z-DNA. Roll and tilt make successive base pairs less parallel, and are typically small.

Note that "tilt" has often been used differently in the scientific literature, referring to the deviation of the first, inter-strand base-pair axis from perpendicularity to the helix axis. This corresponds to slide between a succession of base pairs, and in helix-based coordinates is properly termed "inclination".

At least three DNA conformations are believed to be found in nature, A-DNA, B-DNA, and Z-DNA. The "B" form described by James D. Watson and Francis Crick is believed to predominate in cells.[24] It is 23.7 wide and extends 34 per 10 bp of sequence. The double helix makes one complete turn about its axis every 10.4-10.5 base pairs in solution. This frequency of twist (known as the helical pitch) depends largely on stacking forces that each base exerts on its neighbours in the chain. The absolute configuration of the bases determines the direction of the helical curve for a given conformation.

A-DNA and Z-DNA differ significantly in their geometry and dimensions to B-DNA, although still form helical structures. It was long thought that the A form only occurs in dehydrated samples of DNA in the laboratory, such as those used in crystallographic experiments, and in hybrid pairings of DNA and RNA strands, but DNA dehydration does occur in vivo, and A-DNA is now known to have biological functions. Segments of DNA that cells have been methylated for regulatory purposes may adopt the Z geometry, in which the strands turn about the helical axis the opposite way to A-DNA and B-DNA. There is also evidence of protein-DNA complexes forming Z-DNA structures.

Other conformations are possible; A-DNA, B-DNA, C-DNA, E-DNA,[25]L-DNA (the enantiomeric form of D-DNA),[26] P-DNA,[27] S-DNA, Z-DNA, etc. have been described so far.[28] In fact, only the letters F, Q, U, V, and Y are now[update] available to describe any new DNA structure that may appear in the future.[29][30] However, most of these forms have been created synthetically and have not been observed in naturally occurring biological systems.[citation needed] There are also triple-stranded DNA forms and quadruplex forms such as the G-quadruplex.

Twin helical strands form the DNA backbone. Another double helix may be found by tracing the spaces, or grooves, between the strands. These voids are adjacent to the base pairs and may provide a binding site. As the strands are not directly opposite each other, the grooves are unequally sized. One groove, the major groove, is 22 wide and the other, the minor groove, is 12 wide.[34] The narrowness of the minor groove means that the edges of the bases are more accessible in the major groove. As a result, proteins like transcription factors that can bind to specific sequences in double-stranded DNA usually make contacts to the sides of the bases exposed in the major groove.[4] This situation varies in unusual conformations of DNA within the cell (see below), but the major and minor grooves are always named to reflect the differences in size that would be seen if the DNA is twisted back into the ordinary B form.

Alternative non-helical models were briefly considered in the late 1970s as a potential solution to problems in the replication of DNA in plasmids and chromatin. However, the models were set aside in favor of the double-helical model due to subsequent experimental advances such as X-ray crystallography of DNA duplexes and later the nucleosome core particle, as well as the discovery of topoisomerases, and these non-double-helical models are not currently accepted by the mainstream scientific community.[35][36]

Single-stranded nucleic acids do not adopt a helical formation, and are described by models such as the random coil or worm-like chain.[citation needed]

DNA is a relatively rigid polymer, typically modelled as a worm-like chain. It has three significant degrees of freedom; bending, twisting and compression, each of which cause particular limitations on what is possible with DNA within a cell. Twisting/torsional stiffness is important for the circularisation of DNA and the orientation of DNA bound proteins relative to each other and bending/axial stiffness is important for DNA wrapping and circularisation and protein interactions. Compression/extension is relatively unimportant in the absence of high tension.

DNA in solution does not take a rigid structure but is continually changing conformation due to thermal vibration and collisions with water molecules, which makes classical measures of rigidity impossible. Hence, the bending stiffness of DNA is measured by the persistence length, defined as:

This value may be directly measured using an atomic force microscope to directly image DNA molecules of various lengths. In an aqueous solution, the average persistence length is 46-50nm or 140-150 base pairs (the diameter of DNA is 2nm), although can vary significantly. This makes DNA a moderately stiff molecule.

The persistence length of a section of DNA is somewhat dependent on its sequence, and this can cause significant variation. The variation is largely due to base stacking energies and the residues which extend into the minor and major grooves.

The entropic flexibility of DNA is remarkably consistent with standard polymer physics models, such as the Kratky-Porod worm-like chain model.[citation needed] Consistent with the worm-like chain model is the observation that bending DNA is also described by Hooke's law at very small (sub-piconewton) forces. However, for DNA segments less than the persistence length, the bending force is approximately constant and behaviour deviates from the worm-like chain predictions.

This effect results in unusual ease in circularising small DNA molecules and a higher probability of finding highly bent sections of DNA.[citation needed]

DNA molecules often have a preferred direction to bend, i.e. anisotropic bending. This is, again, due to the properties of the bases which make up the DNA sequence - a random sequence will have no preferred bend direction, i.e. isotropic bending.

Preferred DNA bend direction is determined by the stability of stacking each base on top of the next. If unstable base stacking steps are always found on one side of the DNA helix then the DNA will preferentially bend away from that direction. As bend angle increases then steric hindrances and ability to roll the residues relative to each other also play a role, especially in the minor groove. A and T residues will be preferentially be found in the minor grooves on the inside of bends. This effect is particularly seen in DNA-protein binding where tight DNA bending is induced, such as in nucleosome particles. See base step distortions above.

DNA molecules with exceptional bending preference can become intrinsically bent. This was first observed in trypanosomatid kinetoplast DNA. Typical sequences which cause this contain stretches of 4-6 T and A residues separated by G and C rich sections which keep the A and T residues in phase with the minor groove on one side of the molecule. For example:

The intrinsically bent structure is induced by the 'propeller twist' of base pairs relative to each other allowing unusual bifurcated Hydrogen-bonds between base steps. At higher temperatures this structure, and so the intrinsic bend, is lost.

All DNA which bends anisotropically has, on average, a longer persistence length and greater axial stiffness. This increased rigidity is required to prevent random bending which would make the molecule act isotropically.

DNA circularization depends on both the axial (bending) stiffness and torsional (rotational) stiffness of the molecule. For a DNA molecule to successfully circularize it must be long enough to easily bend into the full circle and must have the correct number of bases so the ends are in the correct rotation to allow bonding to occur. The optimum length for circularization of DNA is around 400 base pairs (136nm), with an integral number of turns of the DNA helix, i.e. multiples of 10.4 base pairs. Having a non integral number of turns presents a significant energy barrier for circularization, for example a 10.4 x 30 = 312 base pair molecule will circularize hundreds of times faster than 10.4 x 30.5 317 base pair molecule.[38]

Longer stretches of DNA are entropically elastic under tension. When DNA is in solution, it undergoes continuous structural variations due to the energy available in the thermal bath of the solvent. This is due to the thermal vibration of the molecule combined with continual collisions with water molecules. For entropic reasons, more compact relaxed states are thermally accessible than stretched out states, and so DNA molecules are almost universally found in a tangled relaxed layouts. For this reason, a single molecule of DNA will stretch under a force, straightening it out. Using optical tweezers, the entropic stretching behavior of DNA has been studied and analyzed from a polymer physics perspective, and it has been found that DNA behaves largely like the Kratky-Porod worm-like chain model under physiologically accessible energy scales.

Under sufficient tension and positive torque, DNA is thought to undergo a phase transition with the bases splaying outwards and the phosphates moving to the middle. This proposed structure for overstretched DNA has been called "P-form DNA", in honor of Linus Pauling who originally presented it as a possible structure of DNA.[27]

The mechanical properties of DNA under compression have not been characterized due to experimental difficulties in preventing the polymer from bending under the compressive force.[citation needed]

The B form of the DNA helix twists 360 per 10.4-10.5 bp in the absence of torsional strain. But many molecular biological processes can induce torsional strain. A DNA segment with excess or insufficient helical twisting is referred to, respectively, as positively or negatively "supercoiled". DNA in vivo is typically negatively supercoiled, which facilitates the unwinding (melting) of the double-helix required for RNA transcription.

Within the cell most DNA is topologically restricted. DNA is typically found in closed loops (such as plasmids in prokaryotes) which are topologically closed, or as very long molecules whose diffusion coefficients produce effectively topologically closed domains. Linear sections of DNA are also commonly bound to proteins or physical structures (such as membranes) to form closed topological loops.

Francis Crick was one of the first to propose the importance of linking numbers when considering DNA supercoils. In a paper published in 1976, Crick outlined the problem as follows:

In considering supercoils formed by closed double-stranded molecules of DNA certain mathematical concepts, such as the linking number and the twist, are needed. The meaning of these for a closed ribbon is explained and also that of the writhing number of a closed curve. Some simple examples are given, some of which may be relevant to the structure of chromatin.[39]

Analysis of DNA topology uses three values:

Any change of T in a closed topological domain must be balanced by a change in W, and vice versa. This results in higher order structure of DNA. A circular DNA molecule with a writhe of 0 will be circular. If the twist of this molecule is subsequently increased or decreased by supercoiling then the writhe will be appropriately altered, making the molecule undergo plectonemic or toroidal superhelical coiling.

When the ends of a piece of double stranded helical DNA are joined so that it forms a circle the strands are topologically knotted. This means the single strands cannot be separated any process that does not involve breaking a strand (such as heating). The task of un-knotting topologically linked strands of DNA falls to enzymes known as topoisomerases. These enzymes are dedicated to un-knotting circular DNA by cleaving one or both strands so that another double or single stranded segment can pass through. This un-knotting is required for the replication of circular DNA and various types of recombination in linear DNA which have similar topological constraints.

For many years, the origin of residual supercoiling in eukaryotic genomes remained unclear. This topological puzzle was referred to by some as the "linking number paradox".[40] However, when experimentally determined structures of the nucleosome displayed an over-twisted left-handed wrap of DNA around the histone octamer,[41][42] this "paradox" was considered to be solved by the scientific community.

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Nucleic acid double helix - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Funding Aging Research for Life Extension and Human Longevity

Posted: at 9:19 am

Maximize investment returns while Minimizing risk and Maximize health and longevity in Minimum time. How to Profit from the Coming Revolution in Anti-Aging Science... Even If You Do Not Invest

Why not get involved in an emerging trillion dollar industry... while developing technologies that are designed to extend healthy lifespans by 25 years or more?

My name is David Kekich. I founded and managed the biggest marketing arm of a Fortune 500 life insurance company until an unfortunate accident changed the direction of my life thirty two years ago. (It could also impact your life in a very positive way.)

then, I have devoted myself to a single passion:

I have invested the remainder of my time to say nothing of considerable financial resources to advancing life extension technologies. In other words, I understand the anti-aging industry. Over the past nine years, I helped build a world-class, star-studded scientific team.

As you will see in the following pages, there is a compelling case to be made for the potential rewards for individuals who embrace an appropriate and sound approach to this emerging growth market.

The Next Big Investment Sector Can Make Early Participants Very Wealthy

All it takes is one glance at the chart below to see where the biggest money will be made in the health care field in the years just ahead. Its going to be in treating and preventing diseases and conditions related to AGING.

U.S. Population Aged 80+

It is still some time before Wall Street will put the full force and power of their resources behind solutions to the aging problem.

But now, a world-class investment management team headed by the former CEO of Citicorps pioneer venture group (he built it into a $50 million fund that earned over $7 billion) has set its sights on the opportunity.

And the opportunity for you reading this Special Report today is twofold, because:

1) You can be part of an elite inner circle who are on the cutting edge of information and treatment as research postpones the debilitating effects of aging by years or even decades; and

2) You can participate financially with a group of unusually dedicated and extraordinarily credentialed investment professionals as they pursue maximum returns in this exploding field of research and development.

The prize is a longer and healthier life, coupled with what could become the most important and exponentially lucrative investment youve ever made.

Aging: An Impossible Problem. Or the Ultimate Opportunity?

We all consider aging to be lifes ultimate reality. On our birthdays, our friends often joke with us that its better than the alternative! Thats because, all our lives (and all throughout human history up to this point), there has been no alternative to aging and the symptoms and diseases of aging. But you and I are fortunate to be living at the precise moment in history when mankind is experiencing a veritable explosion of science and technology. Our entire world is changing virtually every day due to exciting, breakthrough innovations in every industry from telecommunications to travel from computers to cars from farming to pharmaceuticals and everything in between. But nothing is more exciting, in my view, than the technological advances that have already been made (and continue to be made nearly every day) in the rapidly growing science of anti-aging. What Does Anti-Aging Really Mean? First of all, dont let the term anti-aging (as its used and abused today) fool you. The science-based anti-aging industry emerging today is qualitatively different. It targets products that will substantially extend lifespan as well as make that lifespan healthier even for those with all the right lifestyle habits including eating right and exercising regulary with these Muscle Building Workouts. Today anti-aging is already a multi-billion dollar business even though most of the products have little or no basis in medical science. Many promoters mislead, exaggerate and make false claims to sell to a market eager to hang on to their youth. The anti-aging were talking about isnt about snake oil; its about the emerging (and serious) field of life-extension medicine. Anti-aging science is quickly coming of age and being taken very seriously by esteemed universities, respected research institutions, and giant pharmaceutical companies. Breakthroughs in Life Extension Are Already Here In fact, some new inventions and innovations in anti-aging medicine have already proven themselves behind the closed doors of our nations top research and testing agencies. Theyre already here. They just havent been released yet to the general public. Thankfully, however, many of these breakthroughs dont take as much time as do other health care innovations, such as new drugs. And because of the rapidly approaching urgency and the looming, overwhelming demand for anti-aging innovations, were soon going to see wave after wave of anti-aging products getting introduced to a TRILLION-DOLLAR world market of people who are literally dying to hold onto their health, youth, beauty and vitality. Its what we all want, actually. And now, thanks to the unique research and marketing strategy weve developed here at Maximum Life Foundation, you can learn about the development and distribution of the very innovations that will one day very soon benefit you directly and help you lead a longer, healthier, wealthier and happier life. SAP Training - Training and certification in over 30 different SAP career paths.

This white paper will take you on a journey into the exciting world of anti-aging science and show you the virtually unlimited opportunities that await savvy people like you who get on board the train to the future and do it now.

Welcome aboard. David A. Kekich President, Maximum Life Foundation January 2010

One final note before we begin: I want you to know that nearly all of my personal financial return from my activities goes to The Maximum Life Foundation. In other words, Im in this for the money but not the way you think.

Special Report on Life Extension Technology By David A. Kekich

AGING: A Growing Problem Becomes an Enormous Opportunity

Its happening all over the world

Imagine the potential profit if you participated in even one of these! And our research is uncovering dozens of similar opportunities. Its no accident venture capitalists and major medical companies are investing billions of dollars annually in research leading toward the treatment and cure of incurable diseases. Why? They readily recognize the upside to such investment. Today, the biggest returns both to investors and to individuals who want to live longer, healthier, and therefore more productive lives will come in the field of anti-aging medicine. And heres why: Back in the year 2000, the number of Americans (for example) aged 65 or older reached an estimated 35 million and accounted for almost 13 percent of the total U.S. population. The rapidly aging U.S. population is very significant especially when you consider the number of older Americans has increased more than ten-fold since the turn of the last century. This trend is mirrored in other developed countries. And, its projected to accelerate even faster over the next 30 years. This is both a problem and an opportunity. Its a problem because the diseases associated with aging will put a tremendous burden on our health-care system (along with the younger taxpayers who will have to foot the bill).

The table below lists just a few of the adverse health events that our older population is now experiencing

Health events that increase with aging

These aging-dependent chronic diseases and conditions are now the most common forms of illness in the United States. Heart disease and stroke alone account for almost 40% of all deaths.

Consider this chart

Altogether, the groups of degenerative diseases we link to aging are directly responsible for the deaths for roughly 75% of all deaths in the United States.

Whats more, the list of diseases above has contributed to a quadrupling of health care expenditures per person in the U.S., rising from $1,067 in 1980 to $4,358 in 1999.

By 2010, those expenditures are expected to double again. Total national health expenditures are projected to equal $2.6 trillion and reach 15.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product by 2010, up from 13 percent in 1999.

Why?

Its pure demographics. You see, the burgeoning number of baby boomers in our society will begin to turn 65 in 2011. And by 2030, the proportion of the population 65 or older will be one in five or 70 million U.S. citizens.

In the United States, the population 80 and older is currently 9.2 million (3.35 percent of the U.S. population). This age segment is projected to grow to 14.9 million (4.4 percent of population) by the year 2025 and to 31.6 million (7.82 percent of population) by the year 2050.

In other industrialized countries around the world, the percentage of the population age 65 or older is even higher than in the U.S. The percentage of population over 65 in the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan is 24%, 44% and 34% higher than in the United States, respectively.

This is truly a growing problem, worldwide. And it cries out for a solution.

Fortunately, timing is on our side because science MAY NOW HAVE solutions to some of the age-related diseases listed above.

Happily, the catastrophic effects of such a huge percentage of our population getting old and getting sick all at the same time can now be virtually eliminated IF the science of anti-aging proceeds on the fast track and quickly develops the treatments and cures to life-threatening (and life-shortening) diseases we now passively accept.

And thats what we at the Maximum Life Foundation are all about: Helping to get anti-aging science into the mainstream before its too late for you.

Whether youre young or old, herein lays one of the major investment opportunities of the 21st century.

ANTI-AGING MEDICINE: An Emerging Solution

Think about it

If the illnesses and deaths weve been talking about were preventable, shouldnt we stop them if we can?

Let me put it another way: If a loved one (or yourself) had a major medical condition such as cancer, heart disease or suffered a stroke., wouldnt you ask that they (or you) receive the very best medical care for those conditions?

If there was a treatment that could reverse Alzheimers, Parkinsons, osteoporosis, arteriosclerosis or diabetes who in their right mind would turn it down?

What ties all these diseases together is the underlying processes of aging.

But now, science is gradually coming to the realization that aging itself could be classified as a disease. Why? Because its not necessarily normal or inevitable for the bodys vital organs to stop functioning properly. Scientists now know that our cells could live and grow in the same healthy manner as when we were in our 20s!

Am I just blowing smoke?

No.

Heres the hard-core evidence that gives everyone involved in anti-aging science so much cause for optimism

How the EXPLOSION of Scientific Progress Is Revolutionizing Our Lives

To properly understand what Im about to share with you, you need to know that the pace of scientific advancements today far outstrips what you and I have been accustomed to during our lifetime.

Whereas science used to proceed at a snails pace, thats not the case anymore. Now its approaching the speed of light!

Its all because several sciences and technologies are finally coming together and working synergistically on the problems that face mankind.

For instance, medical researchers are now able to use supercomputers to speed up experiments that used to take years. The key? Theyre using a new technology known as bioinformatics.

Bioinformatics is a computer-assisted data management discipline that assists in accumulating, analyzing and representing biological processes. Emerging in the 1990s, this field is accelerating the drug discovery and development process through in vitro (in test tubes) and in vivo (in animals or humans) testing processes. Now theyre adding in silico (computer simulations) to turbo charge anti-aging science.

The major task of bioinformatics is utilizing the power of supercomputers to convert the complexity of the genetic codes of the human genome into useful information and knowledge that can be harnessed to understand the aging process and its attendant diseases.

The result? Faster and faster progress in the anti-aging sciences

Its not a surprise. In the modern era, our knowledge has been advancing by quantum leaps compared to most of human history. For instance, scientific knowledge doubled from the year 1 A.D. to 1500 A.D. But by 1967, it doubled five more times... and each time, faster than before.

And several experts estimate that today, biotech knowledge doubles about every 48 months. Some computer scientists project that by 2010, scientific knowledge in general will double every 100 days!

Part of the reason? As I said, supercomputers, like the kind now being used in bioinformatics. These computers can do experiments in 15 seconds that used to take years. Its no wonder were gaining on the aging problem so fast!

Heres another anti-aging advance: Newly developed research tools called gene chips can do tissue studies in hours or even minutes that used to take years of animal studies. These gene chips are actually laboratories on a chip. Theyre simply amazing.

But perhaps the most profound observation is the rate of change itself is accelerating. This means the past is not a reliable guide to the future. The 20th century was not 100 years of progress at todays rate but, rather, was equivalent to about 20 years, because weve been speeding up to current rates of change. And, well make another 20 years of progress at the year 2000 rate, equivalent to that of the entire 20th century, by 2014. Then well do it again by 2021.

Because of this exponential growth, the 21st century will equal 20,000 years of progress at todays rate of progress 1,000 times greater than what we witnessed in the 20th century, which in itself was no slouch for change.

And youre probably aware that the power of technology per dollar doubles every 12 months. This means our tools could be 1,000 times more powerful in just 10 years and a billion times more powerful by 2035.

On top of that, scientists just launched an emerging discipline known as nanomedicine that will revolutionize cell repair.

In a nutshell, nanomedicine, the medical application of nanotechnology, could eventually build or repair almost every cell in the body, from the bottom up, atom-by-atom. It promises to give us complete control of matter and a very efficient way to cure aging damage, injuries and diseases.

More Anti-Aging Breakthroughs

For your information, here are some of the anti-aging and life-extension breakthroughs that took place just in the last few years

That means someday, we could completely understand how the human body works at the most basic level. This will greatly speed up the time it takes to develop new treatments for all diseases.

By understanding how eating less calories works to extend life in something like yeast, scientists can use this information to figure out the same pathway in humans. Then, we could develop drugs to do the same thing. In fact, Dr. Guarente co-founded Elixir Pharmaceuticals to do just that, and now, several caloric restriction mimetics have been discovered.

This is the first time drugs dramatically extended the lifespan of a complex form of life. This could perhaps result in a pill that would greatly extend your lifespan and your healthspan.

Once again, turning the right genes on or off can extend lifespan.

Stem cell research could eventually lead to a cell-by-cell replacement of the human body, substituting old cells with new young cells.

With good gene therapy techniques, the same type of thing might add about 30 years to our lives. Thats not an exaggeration.

Resveratrol is now available as a supplement for human consumption.

Theres more.

Recently, a group at the University of Wisconsin developed a technique to locate many genes that are involved in the aging process in mice. This may soon allow us to control the aging process itself.

At Sierra Sciences, a biotechnology company, researchers have been working on shutting off the cellular aging clock, the telomere.

There are far too many examples to list them all.

What does all this research mean?

Very simply this: With todays astonishing pace of scientific progress, well most likely develop technologies in the next 5 to 10 years in the lab that could eventually slow aging to a crawl.

Maybe halt it.

Maybe even reverse it by 2029.

And even before these technologies are translated to humans, they will be worth BILLIONS.

Where the Money Will Be Made in Life Extension Technology

Aside from the sheer humanitarian benefits of anti-aging science and the promise of a disease-free, healthy and happy society, theres also a lot of money to be made in this sector for those who are savvy enough to see the trend and invest early.

Link:
Funding Aging Research for Life Extension and Human Longevity

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US Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health

Posted: at 9:18 am

BMJ. 2000 Nov 4; 321(7269): 11531154.

British Medical Association, London WC1H 9JP

The pomegranate was chosen as the logo for the Millennium Festival of Medicine from a shortlist that included DNA, the human body, and a heart beat. Not only has the pomegranate been revered through the ages for its medicinal properties but it also features in the heraldic crests of several medical institutions involved in the organisation of the festival.

The pomegranate has been held sacred by many of the world's major religions

It has been revered through the ages for its medicinal properties

Preparations of different parts of the plant have been used to treat a variety of conditions

It features in the coat of arms of several medical associations

Before its medicinal properties were described the pomegranate was held sacred by many of the world's major religions.

In the Greek myth of Persephone's abduction by Hades, lord of the underworld, the pomegranate represents life, regeneration, and marriage.1 One day while out gathering flowers, Persephone noticed a narcissus of exquisite beauty. As she bent down to pick it, the earth opened and Hades seized her and dragged her down to his kingdom. By eating a few pomegranate seeds, Persephone tied herself to Hadesthe pomegranate being a symbol of the indissolubility of marriage. Inconsolable at the loss of her daughter, the corn goddess Demeter prevented the earth from bearing fruit unless she saw her daughter again. Zeus intervened and worked out a compromise: Persephone should live with Hades for one third of the year and the other two thirds with Demeter. Persephone's return from the underworld each year is marked by the arrival of Spring.

The pomegranate probably originated in Iran and Afghanistan and was much used in Zoroastrian ritual and domestic observances.23 In Persian mythology Isfandiyar eats a pomegranate and becomes invincible.4 In The Persian War Herodotus mentions golden pomegranates adorning the spears of warriors in the Persian phalanx.5

Pomegranate seeds are said to number 613one for each of the Bible's 613 commandments.6 The pomegranate was revered for the beauty of its shrub, flowers, and fruitsymbolising sanctity, fertility, and abundance.7 The Song of Solomon compares the cheeks of a bride behind her veil to the two halves of a pomegranate.8 Depictions of the fruit have long featured in architecture and design. They decorated the pillars of King Solomon's temple and the robes and regalia of Jewish kings and priests.

Along with the citrus and the peach, the pomegranate is one of the three blessed fruits. In Buddhist art the fruit represents the essence of favourable influences.9 In Buddhist legend the demoness Hariti, who devoured children, was cured of her evil habit by the Buddha, who gave her a pomegranate to eat. She is depicted in Buddhist art holding a child. In Japan she is known as Kishimojin and is invoked by infertile women.10

In China the pomegranate is widely represented in ceramic art symbolising fertility, abundance, posterity, numerous and virtuous offspring, and a blessed future.11 A picture of a ripe open pomegranate is a popular wedding present.

A symbol of resurrection and life everlasting in Christian art, the pomegranate is often found in devotional statues and paintings of the Virgin and Child.

In medieval representations the pomegranate tree, a fertility symbol, is associated with the end of a unicorn hunt. The captured unicorn appears to be bleeding from wounds inflicted on him by the hunters.12 The wounds are actually pomegranate seeds dripping their blood red juices on his milk white body. Wild and uncontrollable by nature, unicorns can be tamed only by virgins. Once tamed, the unicorn was held in an enclosed garden and chained to a pomegranate tree, symbolising the impending incarnation of Christ.13

The heavenly paradise of the Koran describes four gardens with shade, springs, and fruitsincluding the pomegranate. Legend holds that each pomegranate contains one seed that has come down from paradise.5 Pomegranates have had a special role as a fertility symbol in weddings among the Bedouins of the Middle East.14 A fine specimen is secured and split open by the groom as he and his bride open the flap of their tent or enter the door of their house. Abundant seeds ensure that the couple who eat it will have many children.

Preparations of different parts of the plantflower, fruit juice, rind, barkhave been used for a wide variety of conditions, although gastroenterological ailments predominate. Dioscorides describes some of them:

All sorts of pommegranats are of a pleasant taste and good for ye stomach . . . The juice of the kernells prest out, being sod and mixed with Hony, are good for the ulcers that are in ye mouth and in ye Genitalls and in the seate, as also for the Pterygia in digitis and for the Nomae and ye excrescencies in ulcers, and for ye paines of ye eares, and for the griefs in ye nosthrills . . . The decoction of ye flowers is a collution of moist flagging gummes and of loose teeth . . . ye rinde having a binding faculty . . . but ye decoction of ye roots doth expell and kill the Latas tineas ventris.15

The use of pomegranate rind and root bark as a treatment for tapeworm infestation (Latas tineas ventris) was recommended by several early Roman medical writers and is still listed as a treatment for tapeworms and diarrhoea in a current encyclopaedia of medicinal plants.16

The British Medical Association and three royal colleges feature the pomegranate in their coats of arms. The pomegranate was part of Catherine of Aragon's coat of arms and was accepted into English heraldry when she married King Henry VIII in 1509. The Royal College of Physicians of London had adopted it in their coat of arms by the middle of the sixteenth century.17 The heraldic meanings of the pomegranate hark back to the meanings of the pomegranate in the myth of Persephonethe persistence of life, fertility, and regeneration.

Competing interests: None declared.

British Medical Association

Royal College of Midwives

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Royal College of Physicians

1. New Larousse encyclopedia of mythology. London: Hamlyn; 1983.

2. Trees at the Chelsea Physic Garden. London: Chelsea Physic Garden Company; 1997. p. 14.

3. Modi JJ. The religious ceremonies and customs of the Parsees. Bombay: British India Press; 1922.

4. Curtis VS. Persian myths. London: British Museum Press; 1996. p. 54.

5. Herodotus . The histories. London: Penguin; 1996. p. 389.

6. Good A, Nurock M. The fruits of the Holy Land. Jerusalem: Israel Universities Press; 1968.

7. Wigoder DE. The Garden of Eden cookbook. San Francisco: Harper & Row; 1988.

8. Holy Bible. Song of Solomon 4, 3.

9. Hall J. Hall's illustrated dictionary of symbols in eastern and western art. London: John Murray; 1995.

10. Munsterberg H. Dictionary of Chinese and Japanese art. New York: Hacker Art Books; 1981. p. 241.

11. Cooper JC. An illustrated encyclopaedia of traditional symbols. London: Thames and Hudson; 1995. p. 134.

12. Freeman MB. The unicorn tapestries. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art; 1976.

13. Cherry J. Mythical beasts. London: British Museum Press; 1995. pp. 4752.

14. Garrison W. Strange facts about the Bible. Nashville: Festival Books; 1980. p. 184.

15. Gunter RT. The Greek herbal of Dioscorides. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1934. pp. 8081.

16. Chevallier A. Encyclopedia of medicinal plants. London: Dorling Kindersley; 1996. p. 257.

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US Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health

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Doug Malewicki’s patented inventions and engineering …

Posted: at 9:17 am

To see pictures from each of the races listed below - Click HERE

7,000+ crazy runners (Geezer Doug proudly included, of course!)

Article and photos by columnist David Whiting: OC Register ___________________ Doug has enjoyed running Big Baz's Winter Trail Run Series since 1998! 15 years worth! http://www.BigBazTrailRaces.com

"Sportsman of the Year"

Check out the "DOUGumentary" QuickTime Movie Trailer at: http://www.3launch.com

Gore-Tex TRANSROCKIES http://www.Transrockies.com (Doug's Facebook page has 100's of photos from TransRockies) The 2012 TransRockies 6 day endurance race covered a total of 125 miles of trails between 8,000' and 12,538' elevations and had 21,000' of total ascents!

Team California Old Goats Doug (age 73) and ultra running legend Gordy Ainsleigh (age 64) - also ran the2011 six day TransRockies endurance trail race together.

2012 was Doug's 5th year in a row running the 6 day TransRockies race. Gordy & Dous are already signed up for the 2014 TransRockies! Doug's 6th year.

August 14, 2012 Team California Old Goats Gordy & Doug at the top of HOPE PASS - 12,538' elevation.

Hah! 6 pack abs compliments of PHOTOSHOP & Mark Kelly, PhD.

March 2013: I hit 74 on March 28, 2012. To celebrate my 74th birthdayI ran a bit more than 74 miles of my favorite trails in 4 days (74.13 miles according to my Garmin GPS).

I also did 70@70 in 3 days w/19,000' of climbs four years ago; 71@71 in 6 days; 72@72 in 5 days & 73@73 in 4 days

Doug & Yoda birthday present w/grand daughter Sierra & daughter Michelle (Do or do NOT.. There is no TRY!)

SkyTran - Personal MagLev Transportation

Malewicki has been an invited keynote speaker on SkyTran and our new Wind Turbine retrofit business (based on our SkyTran technology and patents) to Dubai (April 2010 with Dr. Greg Smedley CEO/founder of One-Cycle-Control, Inc.) and to Macau, China (July 2011). Details on these and several local presentations in California HERE

The photo on the left is Doug pointing to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the world's tallest building at 2,716.5'. That is just over 1/2 mile up! http://www.burjkhalifa.ae

In Macau & Beijing, China

The interview is mostly about my SkyTran invention, but also talks about the advanced Wind Turbine work we are doing and even the low cost electric first stage boosters for Micro-satellite launches. Some of that was discussed in the IEEE paper that you can read below.

My SkyTran invention was featured on the cover of he July 2008 issue of Popular Science (or their artist's version of what THEY think our pods should look like). "GREEN MEGALOPOLIS - An eco-savvy blueprint for tomorrow's megacity points the way to fresh air, clean water and traffic that never jams."

Starting on page 49, five more pages have our MagLev SkyTran in the future city art done by a second artist. Includes a nice paragraph that mentions our company UniModal LLC. Love their online animation at: http://www.popsci.com/futurecity/plan.html (SkyTran is the 4th- click on their FLASH animation).

Check out: http://www.SkyTran.us

The key to this solid state, personalized MagLev systems capacity performance falls out of math and physics analysis. SkyTran will greatly reduce energy used in the transportation of people; eliminate the pollution associated with commuting; greatly enhance safety of personal travel and reduce travel costs.

The California Commuter - 157 MPG at freeway speeds

The California Commuter PLANS & TECHNICAL BOOKLET are also available as electronical PDF's. (Faster, cheaper & ZERO shipping costs!)

157.192 MPG

156.53 MPG

The improved eCC will have 25% less aerodynamic drag and will obtain 400 MPGe at a steady 65 MPH.

IMAGINE a penny per mile!

Robosaurus - the FIRE BREATHING monster robot

ROBOSAURUS THE FIRE BREATHING, CAR EATING, ELECTROHYDROMECHANICAL, 40 foot tall, 58,000 pound, TRANSFORMING MONSTER ENTERTAINMENT ROBOT. GOING ONCE... GOING TWICE... GONE! On January 19, 2008 after 18 years of operation, Robosaurus was sold at the famed Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona . MORE Two of Dougs USA Patents are for his Robosaurus invention. He founded Monster Robots, Inc. and was involved in finding all investors and product sponsors. Doug did all the structural design and engineering (loads determinations, weights and stress analysis). Along with all the electronic, hydraulic and control system packaging and functional testing. The creature, which was built in 1.5 years, has been doing shows since 1990. The most recent NDT (non-destructive-testing) inspection of all welded joints was performed at 250,000 miles and showed no weld fatigue degradation.

One man sitting up in the creatures cranium controls Robosaurus. Doug had to develop an innovative wearable control system to enable a single pilot to simultaneously control 18 proportional hydraulic motions. Each hydraulic valve is controlled by a P-Q Controls Inc. of Bristol, Connecticut computer valve board that converts the simple on-off electrical switch signals given by the pilot in the head into proper proportional fluid flow rates to the various hydraulic cylinders and pumps.

Much of the Robosaurus structural design involved tradeoffs to enable transformation to a legal trailer for hauling the 58,000-pound, fire breathing, beast from show to show. Robosaurus meets highway size and weight requirements for all 50 States.

FLYING and DARPA FLYING MACHINES

UMAAVs (Unmanned Morphing Aerial Attack Vehicles)a conceptual development contract for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency).

Rather than just doing a extensive theoretical aerodynamic and structural analysis for his innovative designs,Doug's company AeroVisions, Inc. built and flew Radio Control modelsto demonstrate his various morphing concepts.

July 2005, Doug was the plenary speaker for the DARPA Morphing Aircraft Structures Conference in San Diego.After sensing & confirming the bad guys, morphing UAVs of the future will be able to transform and divedownat Mach 0.9 and pull 5 g maneuvers to take out targets. Will save calling in the F-16 jet jocks and waiting 20 minutes for them to arrive. A computer generated movie of a typical mission of Dougs favorite proposed UMAAV, aptly named THE DROID OF DEATH, can be seen at the above UMAAV link.

DAREDEVIL Engineering Projects

NOTICE: April 18, 2014 AeroVisions, LLC and the Big Ed (Beckley Media LLC) have mutually terminated the relationship to build a rocket powered motorcycle system for Big Ed to jump the Snake River Canyon. We are no longer involved in engineering or developing his jump bike system. There were numerous reasons we could not participate:

1) AeroVisions negotiating with Beckley Media's attorney for months without reaching a fair agreement.

2) AeroVisions agreed to warrantee the jump bike & jump system. Beckley wanted us to warrant the rider as well.

3) In April, Beckley insisted on changing the engineering funding source to a new 3rd party. Negotiating with that party's attorney would have just added more delay.

4) AeroVisions constantly expressed urgency to start engineering, since time was rapidly evaporating to complete the project with confidence by September 7, 2014. We needed adequate time to design, engineer, fabricate and fully test all systems plus train the pilot to establish a high level of confidence to insure a 99.5% probability of success for the rider. Rushing and only achieving 70% probability of success by starting at this late date to us was unacceptable.

5) Extending the jump date to July 4th, 2015 was also unacceptable to Beckley Media.

6) The AeroVisions proposed jump bike would be a genuine drivable motorcycle that could "jump" over 1/2 mile in distance and land on its wheels on the other side. It would NOT be a non-road worthy, non-motorcycle, rocket powered missile that would slide up a launch rail like a child's model rocket toy.

All we can say is best of luck to Big Ed in "gettin' er done" safely this September.

Rest in Peace Oct 17,1938 - Nov 30, 2007.

Doug Malewicki was the designer and engineer of Evel Knievel's steam rocket powered SkyCycle X-1 canyon jumping motorcycle. Doug is shown here shaking hands with Evel at the machine's unveiling at the Twin Falls, Idaho Snake River canyon jump site on May 6, 1972. On the left is rocket pioneer, Robert Truax who invented and holds the patents on Steam Rocket engines. Wearing sunglasses is Facundo Campoy, one of Truax's partners.

Niagara Falls Aerospace Museum Rocket Belt Conference PHOTOS Click HERE to see the online PBS interviews & flight videos from the conference

NUCLEAR WAR - Doug's 1965 Game Invention

As time passed, the weapons used in the basic game became obsolete, so expansion sets with newer futuristic weapons were created:

1965 - The original Nuclear War 1982 - Nuclear Escalation 1992 Nuclear Proliferation 1996 Nuclear War Booster Packs 2004 Weapons of Mass Destruction (YES - that is THE DROID OF DEATH on the cover of the newest game!)

Doug and his original Nuclear War game were inducted into the Adventure Game Hall of Fame in 1998. 2015 will be the 50th Anniversary of Nuclear War! F. B. I. will celebrate with a NEW SPECIAL EDITION!

Droid phone screen shot Still ticking after 48 years! The RadioAPPtive Fallout Spinner is now available in the DROID & iPhone marketplaces. (SEARCH: Nuclear War Spinner)

You use the touch screen to swipe the arrow to get it moving. As it spins, it makes Geiger Counter ticking sounds. When it stops you will hear the results. Hilarious voiceover comments in an over-the-top Russkie accent by actress Claudia Christian, well known for her TV character - Commander Ivanova of the SciFi hit series Babylon 5. [Special thanks to Rick Roszko, Rick Loomis & Steve Johnson]

"LOST WORLDS" COMBAT FANTASY BOOKS

Michelle has taken up trail running like her dad & has evolved into a top ranked ultra distance speedster. Over the years Michelle set numerous female course records for 50K and 50 mile race distances - including six as overall winner where she "chicked" all the men!

She won first female & fourth overall at the Javelina Jundred 100 mile trail race in Arizona in a 19:42 time. She was 4 hours ahead of the second place female! Pictures

ORDER PAGE Hard to find Rocket Books on 90% Hydrogen Peroxide, Steam and Solid Propellant rocket systems; California Commuter Car plans; Air Car plans; Nuclear War games/T-Shirts! We take PayPal payments for USA & foreign orders. PayPal processes most credit cards too.

Click HERE to see MORE pictures of Doug Malewicki's other inventions and read his free TIPS for new inventors.

Doug's favorite quotes (besides Yoda!)

"Life is what you make it; always has been; always will be." -- Grandma Moses

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Astronauts Taking Spacewalk to Install New Space Station …

Posted: August 21, 2016 at 11:08 am

First-time flier Kate Rubins and veteran spacewalker Jeff Williams will venture outside the International Space Station this morning (Aug. 19) to install a massive, crucial piece of machinery:a vital new docking port that will allow private space taxis to link up with the station on future missions.

The spacewalk is slated to begin at 8:05 a.m. EDT (1205 GMT), NASA officials said during a news briefing. You can watch the spacewalk live here on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.

This spacewalk marks a first for Rubins, and the fourth of Williams' career. The two astronauts plan to spend about 6.5 hours outside the station installing this new heavy piece of machinery, known as an International Docking Adapter (IDA), which arrived at the station on July 20 aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. [The Most Memorable Spacewalks in History (Photo Gallery)]

The IDA being installed today is the first of two devices that will be attached to the space station as part of a new international standard that allows a variety of vehicles to dock with the orbiting lab independently rather than being grappled with the station's robotic arm.

Williams, Expedition 48's commander, will head out first, and Rubins will hand off a bag of IDA installation tools before stepping outside the station.

"This EVA [spacewalk] that we are going to be doing on Friday represents a very significant milestone on the path to establishing a commercial crew capability on board the ISS," Kenny Todd, the station's mission operations integration manager, said at the news briefing Monday (Aug. 15). "We're very excited to put this piece of hardware on the front of the station."

Astronauts Kate Rubins and Jeff Williams are all set to venture outside the International Space Station (ISS) tomorrow (Aug. 19) to install the first International Docking Adapter. This addition to the ISS will allow future private space vehicles to hook up to the station.

Multiple previous spacewalks paved the way for today's installation. During four EVAs (extravehicular activity) performed earlier this year, and in 2015, astronauts routed cables for the docking adapter and installed a control panel, among other maintenance tasks.

On Wednesday (Aug. 17), the ground robotics team successfully removed the IDA from the Dragon spacecraft's trunk using the space station's robotic arm, and positioned it 3 feet (0.9 meters) from the front of the port. This morning, prior to the start of the spacewalk, the ground crew used the arm to move the IDA closer to the port, so that it would be ready to be installed by Williams and Rubins.

The International Docking Adapter as seen before its launch to the International Space Station.

The new IDA, which measures 7.8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter, will allow for larger crews to launch from all different places around Earth and dock with the space station automatically. Boeing and SpaceX have contracts with NASA to send astronauts to the space station in 2017.

If all goes according to plan, the spacewalkers will complete some additional tasks after hooking up the IDA. Williams and Rubins will install thermal covers, as well as set up mirrors that will allow future space taxis to autonomously navigate, align and connect with the space station properly. The team will also route some additional cables for the second docking adapter, which is expected to fly up to the space station next year.

The International Space Station is the largest structure in space ever built by humans. Let's see how much you know about the basics of this science laboratory in the sky.

0 of 10 questions complete

Cosmic Quiz: Do You Know the International Space Station?

The International Space Station is the largest structure in space ever built by humans. Let's see how much you know about the basics of this science laboratory in the sky.

On Sept. 1, a second EVA will be conducted to perform more work on the IDA, during which astronauts will retract one of the station's thermal radiators.

Williams and Rubins are part of a six-member space station crew. They arrived at the station on July 9, and are joined by Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka, Alexey Ovchinin and Anatoly Ivanishin.

Visit Space.com later today for complete coverage of the spacewalk and a final wrap-up of the day's orbital activities.

Follow Samantha Mathewson @Sam_Ashley13. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Astronauts Taking Spacewalk to Install New Space Station ...

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Korea: The Transhumanist capital of the world | Recharge …

Posted: August 14, 2016 at 7:06 pm

This week, it is my honor to be in Seoul Korea as the keynote speaker at a meeting of the Korean Association of Anti-Aging Medicine. Yesterday, I visited my host who runs a longevity clinic in the center of the worlds capital of plastic surgery, Gang Nam, or the tony section south of the Han River where people travel from all over Asia to have their appearances altered, Gangnam style, if you will.

This is just my fourth trip to Korea. As a 10-year-old my parents enrolled me into a first grade class into a summer school session. My classmates must have thought me a gentle simpleton, like Lenny Small from Of Mice and Men, because I didnt speak any Korean and I certainly felt like a mentally-challenged giant among those 6-year-old peers of mine.

In college, I came to Seoul to attend a 12-week course in Korean language studies only to find that I was again the tallest kid in my class. I recall during the 1987 riots for democracy that I felt like one of the tallest people in the country at 510 and could easily see over the lines of student protesters and riot police that clashed frequently in front of Yonsei University.

But eight years ago, when I visited with my family and found that I was just above average height as the post-IMF boom economy of South Korea had brought access to growth drugs and more meat consumption for children. Height may confer competitive advantage so many elected to enhance it and there are countless men over six feet now.

Here is the proof that something related to nutrition and growth-enhancing supplement which are commonly used, are working:

The average height for men living in Seoul reached 173.9 centimeters in 2013, up 10.2 cm from 163.7 cm in 1965, according to data released by the Seoul Institute. Their average weight rose by 15.3 kilograms, from 54.3 kg to 69.6 kg.

This trip, I am most struck by the women. You may know that South Korea has the highest rate of plastic surgery in the world and as you walk the streets, it is exceedingly rare to see any woman who has NOT undergone alterations. Just take a look at the faces of Ms. Korea in recent years (yes, these are all different people):

It is quite eerie to look into the faces of Korean women and not recognize the phenotypes present when I was here in 1987. Those women of matched age simply cant be seen in a relatively affluent urban center.

So what happened? Transhumanism. People using technology to alter their humanity. In terms of game theory, you can talk platitudes of beauty being only skin deep but here it is de rigeure if you want to have self-respect and the acceptance of your culture.

There are a lot of Americans who misunderstand Korean plastic surgery as an attempt to look more Occidental. Others might overlay a moralistic sense and decry the dehumanizing nature of it. But the fact is that for South Korean women and many of the men now, there is no more consideration of the morality of body modification than there would be to wearing clothes or makeup.

Anthropologically speaking, from an emic perspecitive, to NOT have the alterations in Korea would be akin to not wearing makeup, not shaving your legs and armpits, and wearing tank tops and sweatpants around as a young American woman. It is done, but is it really approved of?

Mark Twain said, Modesty died when clothes were born. In Korea, genetically-dictated faces died when plastic surgery was born. Enjoy this gif of different Ms. Koreas and while you shake your head, dont for get that a lot of the statues of antiquity such as David and Aphrodite, look alike; different media, same idea

Think that beauty is only skin deep? Then you may remember this scene from The Eye of the Beholder, The Twilight Zone, which raises an interesting point, albeit one that refutes what we know about symmetry, the golden ratio, and human nature

Postscript:

Some would consider taking telomerase activators and potentially lengthening my lifespan as a form of transhuman modification. That is fair. Even if taking them becomes illegal tomorrow, I believe that my current median telomere length of 14,100 base pairs indicates that I could have added decades to my life expectancy even if I resume aging at the normal rate now.

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Posthuman Futures | KurzweilAI

Posted: at 7:05 pm

Welcome to the Second Edition of our Glocal Symposium Series on the topic of the Posthuman.This event has been generously supported byNYU -Liberal Studies, Office ofStudent Affairs.

It features more than 30 international speakers and performers.Our keynote this year is: Dr. Natasha Vita-More.

The specific focus of this Symposium is dedicated to the significance of the posthuman in relation to near and far futures. We will address current global issues in terms of possible posthuman futures, in ordertospark a deep and multilayered analysisofwhat the notion of posthuman futures implies.In the contemporary era, characterized by different political, economical, cultural, religious, social and environmental conflicts, the traditional approach based on the humanistic attempt to acknowledge our shared humanity has not been successful. What can posthumanism add to the conversation? Howcana post-humanistic,post-anthropocentric and post-dualistic approach be achieved in conflicts resolution, without repeating the failed resolution attempts of the past?More specifically,these are some of the global issues we would like to address: human and non human migration; racism, sexism, ethnocentrism and anthropocentrism; religious fundamentalism and Islamophobia; technological unemployment and economic disparities; environmental issues; non human animals and robot personhood. What perspective can posthumanism offer to these global issues?

Focusing on key notionssuch as transformation and hybridization, but also heritage conservation and cultural acknowledgment, we will delve into our posthuman futures. A reflection on space ethics (including space travel; space exploration; space commercialization), bio-technology and bio-conservation, human and non-human enhancement;emerging technology and economic equity,post-genders and post-humanities will merge with our rigorous analysis of posthuman futures. We welcome proposals on posthuman developments and religion, including the spiritual dimension of virtual reality and virtual communities, the religious-mythological nature of hyperreality, the enhancement of meditative techniques through technology, the religious life of humanoid robots and robotic communities, the theological response of religious communities to posthumanism, the effect of cyborgian immortality on religious doctrine, and the reconceptualization of transgressive behaviours.

Event Producer

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Preterism | Theopedia

Posted: at 7:05 pm

Preterism is a view in Christian eschatology which holds that some or all of the biblical prophecies concerning the Last Days refer to events which took place in the first century after Christ's birth, especially associated with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The term preterism comes from the Latin praeter, meaning past, since this view deems certain biblical prophecies as past, or already fulfilled.

Preterism is most dramatically contrasted with Futurism, the view that most prophecies regarding the End times, and passages referring to Last Days, Great Tribulation, and Judgment are still future and will immediately precede the return of Christ. Proponents of preterist views generally fall in one of two categories: Partial Preterism or Full Preterism.

Partial Preterism, the older of the two views, holds that prophecies such as the destruction of Jerusalem, the Antichrist, the Great Tribulation, and the advent of the Day of the Lord as a "judgment-coming" of Christ were fulfilled circa 70 AD when the Roman general (and future Emperor) Titus sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Jewish Temple, putting a permanent stop to the daily animal sacrifices. It identifies "Babylon the great" (Revelation 17-18) with the ancient pagan City of Rome or Jerusalem.

Most Partial Preterists also believe the term Last Days refers not to the last days of planet Earth or the last days of humankind, but rather to the last days of the Mosaic covenant which God had exclusively with national Israel until the year AD 70. As God came in judgment upon various nations in the Old Testament, Christ also came in judgment against those in Israel who rejected him. These last days, however, are to be distinguished from the "last day," which is considered still future and entails the Second Coming of Jesus, the Resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous dead physically from the grave in like-manner to Jesus' physical resurrection, the Final judgment, and the creation of a literal (rather than covenantal) New Heavens and a New Earth, free from the curse of sin and death which was brought about by the Fall of Adam and Eve.

Thus partial preterists are in agreement and conformity with the historic ecumenical creeds of the Church and articulate the doctrine of the resurrection held by the Early church fathers. Partial preterists hold that the New Testament predicts and depicts many "comings" of Christ. They contend that the phrase Second Coming means second of a like kind in a series, for the Scriptures record other "comings" even before the judgment-coming in 70 AD. This would eliminate the 70 AD event as the "second" of any series, let alone the second of a series in which the earthly, physical ministry of Christ is the first. Partial Preterists believe that the new creation comes in redemptive progression as Christ reigns from His heavenly throne, subjugating His enemies, and will eventually culminate in the destruction of physical death, the "last enemy" (1 Cor 15:20-24). If there are any enemies remaining, the resurrection event cannot have occurred.

Nearly all Partial Preterists hold to amillennialism or postmillennialism. Many postmillennial Partial Preterists are also theonomists in their outlook.

Partial Preterism is generally considered to be an historic orthodox interpretation as it affirms all items of the ecumenical Creeds of the Church. However, Partial Preterism is not the majority view among American protestant denominations and meets with significant vocal opposition, especially by those which espouse Dispensationalism. Additionally, concerns are expressed by Dispensationalists that Partial Preterism logically leads to an acceptance of Full Preterism, a concern which is denied by Partial Preterists.

Full Preterism differs from Partial Preterism in that it sees all prophecy fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem, including the resurrection of the dead and Jesus' Second Coming or Parousia. Full Preterism is also known by other names, such as Consistent Preterism or Hyper-Preterism (a somewhat derogatory term). A related but more recent term is Pantelism, which some regard as an extension of Full Preterism rather than the same thing.

Full Preterism holds that Jesus' Second Coming is to be viewed not as a future-to-us bodily return, but rather a "return" manifested by the physical destruction of Jerusalem and her Temple in AD 70 by foreign armies in a manner similar to various Old Testament descriptions of God coming to destroy other nations in righteous judgment. Full Preterism also holds that the Resurrection of the dead did not entail the raising of the physical body, but rather the resurrection of the soul from the "place of the dead," known as Sheol (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek). As such, the righteous dead obtained a spiritual and substantial body for use in the heavenly realm, and the unrighteous dead were cast into the Lake of Fire. Some Full Preterists believe this judgment is ongoing and takes effect upon the death of each individual (Heb. 9:27). The New Heavens and the New Earth are also equated with the fulfillment of the Law in AD 70 and are to be viewed in the same manner by which a Christian is considered a "new creation" upon his or her conversion.

Although Full Preterism is viewed as heretical by many, this condemnation is not universal. Many of those who condemn Full Preterism do so not based solely upon the historic creeds of the church (which would exclude this view), but also from biblical passages that they interpret to condemn a past view of the Resurrection or the denial of a physical resurrection/transformation of the body, doctrines which many Christians (but not all) believe to be essential to the faith. Critics of full preterism point to the Apostle Paul's condemnation of the doctrine of Hymaneus and Philetus (2 Tim 2:17-18), which they regard as analogous to full preterism.

Adherents of Full Preterism, however, dispute this assertion by claiming that any biblical condemnation of a past resurrection was written during a time in which the Resurrection was yet future (i.e., pre-AD 70) as well as claiming different interpretations of other proffered biblical passages. Furthermore, Full Preterists reject the authority of the Creeds to condemn their view, stating that the Creeds were written by uninspired and fallible men and are simply in error on this point and need to be reformed. A growing movement, there has been a strong push by Full Preterists for acceptance as another valid Christian eschatological view; however, to date, no major conservative denomination or group has officially accepted this view as normative, though several have issued a condemnation.

The sayings in Matthew 24 concerning the "Great Tribulation" are seen in preterism as being fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem cuminating in AD 70. Support for this claim is drawn from Jesus' saying that "this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place," which has the appearance of limiting the events described to an event that was going to take place in the first century.

Potential difficulties arise when critics of preterism point out that Matthew 24 also refers to the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. The claim is then made that since this refers to the return of Jesus in the air, and this never happened in the first century, the preterist approach must be mistaken. The preterist reply has been to point out that there is no reason to assume that this "coming" is the second coming of Christ hoped for in the New Testament. In the Old Testament God speaks of coming to His people in judgement. In Isaiah 19, as a striking example, the prophet refers to the impending judgement on Egypt, and we are told "See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, and is coming to Egypt." The language of God coming to us, and even the language of riding the clouds, does not necessarily refer to the second coming of Christ that Christianity generally affirms.

Although Preterists are at general agreement among themselves regarding key eschatological issues, weighty objections have been brought against Preterism by advocates of Futurism. Dispensationalists argue that the Preterist view of Christ's Second Coming is flawed, as it ignores the fact that God's covenant with Israel was "everlasting," and therefore cannot have ended in A.D. 70. It is also asserted that Preterists confuse verses which speak of a "scattering" with those that predict a "restoration" of the covenant nation. (Deuteronomy 30: 1-10). Most Dispensationalists teach that Israel was dispersed in A.D. 70. However, textual support is brought in to show that a future regathering and national restoration of Israel is in order. Futurists have sometimes claimed that Preterism logically leads to Anti-Semitism and replacement theology.

Mathison, Keith A.

Jay E. Adams, Preterism: Orthodox or Unorthodox? Stanley, NC: Timeless Texts, 2003.

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Futurism | ATKINSON+CO

Posted: August 12, 2016 at 2:29 pm

Inspired by the drawings of Antonio SantElia, these visualisations were created to show hisvast imaginary monolithic structures placed in a London setting 100 years later. Below are a few lines from the Wikipedia article describing his life and career.

Antonio SantElia was born inComo,Lombardy. A builder by training, he opened adesignoffice inMilanin 1912 and became involved with theFuturistmovement. Between 1912 and 1914, influenced by industrial cities of theUnited Statesand the architectsRenzo Picasso,Otto WagnerandAdolf Loos, he began a series of design drawings for a futuristCitt Nuova(New City) that was conceived as a symbol of a new age.

Many of these drawings were displayed at the only exhibition of theNuove Tendenzegroup (of which he was a member) exhibition in May/June 1914 at the Famiglia Artistica gallery. Today, some of these drawings are on permanent display at Comos art gallery (Pinacoteca).

ThemanifestoFuturist Architecturewas published in August 1914, supposedly by SantElia, though this is subject to debate. In it the author stated that the decorative value of Futurist architecture depends solely on the use and original arrangement of raw or bare or violently colored materials.His vision was for a highly industrialised andmechanizedcity of the future, which he saw not as a mass of individual buildings but a vast, multi-level, interconnected and integrated urbanconurbationdesigned around the life of the city. His extremely influential designs featured vast monolithicskyscraperbuildings with terraces, bridges and aerial walkways that embodied the sheer excitement of modern architecture and technology. Even in this excitement for technology and modernity, in SantElias monumentalism, however, can be found elements ofArt NouveauarchitectGiuseppe Sommaruga.

Anationalistas well as anirredentist, SantElia joined the Italian army as Italy enteredWorld War Iin 1915. He was killed during theEighth Battle of the Isonzo, nearGorizia. Most of his designs were never built, but his futurist vision has influenced many architects, artists and designers.

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Incompatibilism – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Posted: August 10, 2016 at 9:05 pm

Incompatibilism is the view that a deterministic universe is completely at odds with the notion that people have a free will; that there is a dichotomy between determinism and free will where philosophers must choose one or the other. This view is pursued in at least three ways: libertarians deny that the universe is deterministic, the hard determinists deny that any free will exists, and pessimistic incompatibilists (hard indeterminists) deny both that the universe is determined and that free will exists. Some of these incompatibilistic views have more trouble than the others in dealing with the standard argument against free will.

Incompatiblism is contrasted with compatibilism, which rejects the determinism/free will dichotomy. Compatibilists maintain free will by defining it as more of a 'freedom to act'a move that has been met with some criticism.

Metaphysical Libertarianism argues that free will is real and that determinism is false. Such dualism risks an infinite regress however;[1] if any such mind is real, an objection can still be raised using the standard argument against free will that it is shaped by a higher power (a necessity or chance). Libertarian Robert Kane (among others) presented an alternative model:

Robert Kane (editor of the Oxford Handbook of Free Will) is a leading incompatibilist philosopher in favour of free will. Kane seeks to hold persons morally responsible for decisions that involved indeterminism in their process. Critics maintain that Kane fails to overcome the greatest challenge to such an endeavor: "the argument from luck".[2] Namely, if a critical moral choice is a matter of luck (indeterminate quantum fluctuations), then on what grounds can we hold a person responsible for their final action? Moreover, even if we imagine that a person can make an act of will ahead of time, to make the moral action more probable in the upcoming critical moment, this act of 'willing' was itself a matter of luck.

Libertarianism in the philosophy of mind is unrelated to the like-named political philosophy. It suggests that we actually do have free will, that it is incompatible with determinism, and that therefore the future is not determined. For example, at this moment, one could either continue reading this article if one wanted, or cease. Under this assertion, being that one could do either, the fact of how the history of the world will continue to unfold is not currently determined one way or the other.

One famous proponent of this view was Lucretius, who asserted that the free will arises out of the random, chaotic movements of atoms, called "clinamen". One major objection to this view is that science has gradually shown that more and more of the physical world obeys completely deterministic laws, and seems to suggest that our minds are just as much part of the physical world as anything else. If these assumptions are correct, incompatibilist libertarianism can only be maintained as the claim that free will is a supernatural phenomenon, which does not obey the laws of nature (as, for instance, maintained by some religious traditions).

However, many libertarian view points now rely upon an indeterministic view of the physical universe, under the assumption that the idea of a deterministic, "clockwork" universe has become outdated since the advent of quantum mechanics[citation needed]. By assuming an indeterministic universe libertarian philosophical constructs can be proposed under the assumption of physicalism.

There are libertarian view points based upon indeterminism and physicalism, which is closely related to naturalism.[3] A major problem for naturalistic libertarianism is to explain how indeterminism can be compatible with rationality and with appropriate connections between an individual's beliefs, desires, general character and actions. A variety of naturalistic libertarianism is promoted by Robert Kane,[4][5] who emphasizes that if our character is formed indeterministically (in "self-forming actions"), then our actions can still flow from our character, and yet still be incompatibilistically free.

Alternatively, libertarian view points based upon indeterminism have been proposed without the assumption of naturalism. At the time C. S. Lewis wrote Miracles,[6]quantum mechanics (and physical indeterminism) was only in the initial stages of acceptance, but still Lewis stated the logical possibility that, if the physical world was proved to be indeterministic, this would provide an entry (interaction) point into the traditionally viewed closed system, where a scientifically described physically probable/improbable event could be philosophically described as an action of a non-physical entity on physical reality (noting that, under a physicalist point of view, the non-physical entity must be independent of the self-identity or mental processing of the sentient being). Lewis mentions this only in passing, making clear that his thesis does not depend on it in any way.

Others may use some form of Donald Davidson's anomalous monism to suggest that although the mind is in fact part of the physical world, it involves a different level of description of the same facts, so that although there are deterministic laws under the physical description, there are no such laws under the mental description, and thus our actions are free and not determined.[7]

Those who reject free will and accept Determinism are variously known as "hard determinists", hard incompatibilists, free will skeptics, illusionists, or impossibilists. They believe that there is no 'free will' and that any sense of the contrary is an illusion.[8] Of course, hard determinists do not deny that one has desires, but say that these desires are causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences. According to this philosophy, no wholly random, spontaneous, mysterious, or miraculous events occur. Determinists sometimes assert that it is stubborn to resist scientifically motivated determinism on purely intuitive grounds about one's own sense of freedom. They reason that the history of the development of science suggests that determinism is the logical method in which reality works.

William James said that philosophers (and scientists) have an "antipathy to chance."[9] Absolute chance, a possible implication of quantum mechanics and the indeterminacy principle, implies a lack of causality[citation needed]. This possibility often disturbs those who assume there must be a causal and lawful explanation for all events.

Since many believe that free will is necessary for moral responsibility, this may imply disastrous consequences for their theory of ethics.

As something of a solution to this predicament, it has been suggested that, for the sake of preserving moral responsibility and the concept of ethics, one might embrace the so-called "illusion" of free will. This, despite thinking that free will does not exist according to determinism. Critics argue that this move renders morality merely another "illusion", or else that this move is simply hypocritical.

The Determinist will add that, even if denying free will does mean morality is incoherent, such an unfortunate result has no effect on the truth. Note, however, that hard determinists often have some sort of 'moral system' that relies explicitly on determinism. A Determinist's moral system simply bears in mind that every agent's actions in a given situation are, in theory, predicted by the interplay of environment and upbringing. For instance, the Determinist may still punish undesirable behaviours for reasons of behaviour modification or deterrence.

While hard determinism clearly opposes the concept of free will, some have suggested that free will might also be incompatible with non-determinism (often on the basis of lack of control associated with pure randomness).[10][11][12] This is hard incompatibilism, and has been used as an argument against Libertarian incompatibilism.

Under the assumption of naturalism and indeterminism, where there only exists the natural world and that the natural world is indeterministicevents are not predetermined (e.g., for quantum mechanical reasons) and any event has a probability assigned to itno event can be determined by a physical organism's perceived free will, nor can any event be strictly determined by anything at all.

Hard incompatibilism differs from hard determinism in that it does not commit to the truth of determinism.[13] By and large, supporters of hard incompatibilism accept both libertarian critiques of compatibilism and compatibilist critiques of libertarianism.

In recent years researchers in the field of experimental philosophy have been working on determining whether ordinary people, who aren't experts in this field, naturally have compatibilist or incompatibilist intuitions about determinism and moral responsibility.[14] Some experimental work has even conducted cross-cultural studies.[15] The debate about whether people naturally have compatibilist or incompatibilist intuitions has not come out overwhelmingly in favor of one view or the other. Still, there has been some evidence that people can naturally hold both views. For instance, when people are presented with abstract cases which ask if a person could be morally responsible for an immoral act when they could not have done otherwise, people tend to say no, or give incompatibilist answers, but when presented with a specific immoral act that a specific person committed, people tend to say that that person is morally responsible for their actions, even if they were determined (that is, people also give compatibilist answers).[16]

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