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Category Archives: Transhuman News

Med school hosts Harry Potter exhibit

Posted: January 23, 2015 at 5:40 pm

Photo by Courtney Elaine Frederick.

This winter, Yale has one more reason to consider itself a second Hogwarts.

This week, Harry Potters World an exhibit about Renaissance science, magic and medicine in J.K. Rowlings celebrated series debuted at the Yale School of Medicine. The exhibit is on loan from the U.S. National Library of Medicine until Feb. 28, 2015. Given the popularity of the subject matter, the library has waited several years for the exhibit to become available. A lecture series is slated to complement the material covered in the six-panel exhibit.

Its exciting that Harry Potter can be used to get people excited about medical history, said Elizabeth Bland, who curated the exhibit at the National Library of Medicine. Especially given that rare books are not as immediately accessible.

The exhibit is centered around six themes: potions, monsters, herbology, magical creatures, fantastic beasts and immortality. Each panel focuses on the themes appearance in Harry Potter, how it relates to Renaissance magic and medicine, and how it manifests itself in centuries-old texts.

University Clinical Support Librarian Denise Hersey, who chaired the working group responsible for organizing Yale events associated with the traveling exhibit, said the Medical Historical Library and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library own many of the Renaissance-era texts cited in the panels. But because the exhibit is not housed in an environment suitable for display of the rare books, they are only available on request, she said.

Bland said Rowlings fascination with alchemists led her to borrow from historical figures in alchemy when creating her characters. She said that Paracelsus, who is featured on the Chocolate Frog card a popular piece of Harry Potter paraphernalia pioneered medical treatments during the Renaissance. In addition, Nicolas Flamel, who is responsible for creating the philosophers stone in the book series, had a posthumous reputation as an alchemist and was rumored to be immortal.

[Rowling] tried to create a physical, visceral world based on both fictional and real people, Bland said.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the library will host lectures concerning elements of Renaissance science found in the world of Harry Potter such as pharmaceuticals and immortality.

Exhibition Registrar of the National Library of Medicine Jill Newmark said the exhibit has been traveling to libraries and universities around the world since 2009. Bland said she was originally inspired to curate the exhibit because she wanted to explore parallels between some of the ethical issues presented in the novels and the challenges encountered by real historical figures.

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Med school hosts Harry Potter exhibit

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Is this the Earnest, Fast-Paced Future of Science Communication?

Posted: at 5:40 pm

Its the quintessential college experience: late nights, pizza, and heady intellectual conversations. And then there was that one friend, whose philosophical musings would bring unconnected thoughts together into a stream of mellifluous prose; it all sounded pretty convincing at the time even if the specifics were hazy leaving us with the sense of fertile pastures just outside our mental grasp.

Jason Silva is the polished, better-sourced, hipper version of that roommate, one that can walk the walk in addition to talking the very frenetic talk. As the creator of the Shots of Awe video series (see an example at the end of this post) and host of National Geographics Brain Games, Silva has made a name for himself as a leading science evangelist and technology enthusiast.

But unlike the professorial Bill Nye or the authoritative Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Silva takes a different communications tack, guiding us through a journey of wonder rather than telling us precisely how it is. Its a refreshing antidote to the jaded, nothing-but-the-facts approach taken by scientists who feel they have the moral high ground, an approach that only serves to propagate a culture war. Im interested in exultation, wonderment, inspiration, and content that acts as a decentering experience, says Silva, using language that could just as easily apply to a religious experience. And in many ways, thats just what the modern world is to Silva, with its delivery and continued promise of new knowledge and techno-futurism.

To Silva, the sequence of events that, as he puts it, took a naked ape and put him on the Moon, required a carefully calibrated balance of human instincts. We are naturally curious explorers, certainly, but unbridled wanderings without focused expertise isnt particularly productive. On the other hand, ceaseless technical development and capacity building without an inspired objective leads to products with subpar utility. We love security and ritual and routine, Silva reflects, but also mystery and danger. We need to find a way to dance between these two modes, and I think thats a tough skill to develop. Theres got to be a functional output.

Silvas projects cover a wide range of subjects and flavors of functional output. His Shots of Awe are a way to eternalize fleeting epiphanies, two-minute serums meant to inspire and develop questions rather than to provide detailed explanations. Silva himself is involved with every aspect of production, from video clip curation to music selection and editing, and with a new video every week its an ambitious schedule. Brain Games* is a larger enterprise, a surprise hit for the National Geographic Channel that has offered a glimmer of educational hope as lifestyle shows dumb down other corners of the cable universe. Silva credits the shows production and writing teams, who combine triple-vetted science with a screenwriters instinct for pacing and storytelling.

If too-cool-for-school detachment seems to be on its way out as a cultural sensibility as presaged by empathy-bolstering websites like Upworthy, and Humans of New York then earnestness is a growth stock and Silva is a blue chip. By his own admission, Silva is terrified of boredom, which he characterizes as a coping mechanism to gird ourselves from the exhausting state of constant mental engagement with the world. By chasing novel connections and challenging viewers, Silva hopes to scramble previous mental models and demand a fruitful, if challenging, reconstruction. When you lose your center, you have to reconstruct your beliefs and understanding about the world, he notes. Any engagement that is potent must first disrupt.

*Brain Games airs Mondays at 9pm ET on National Geographic Channel.

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Is this the Earnest, Fast-Paced Future of Science Communication?

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Synopsis | Charles De Gaulle: Futurist Of The Nation By Regis Debray – Video

Posted: at 5:40 pm


Synopsis | Charles De Gaulle: Futurist Of The Nation By Regis Debray
THE SYNOPSIS OF YOUR FAVORITE BOOK =--- Where to buy this book? ISBN: 9780860914525 Book Synopsis of Charles De Gaulle: Futurist of the Nation by Regis Debray If you want to...

By: Gene Walter #39;s Marketplace

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LEGO Batman 3. Beyond Gotham. Space station infestation. Gameplay #4. 1080p HD – Video

Posted: January 22, 2015 at 11:49 pm


LEGO Batman 3. Beyond Gotham. Space station infestation. Gameplay #4. 1080p HD
The video clip was captured and uploaded by AVerMedia Game Capture HD II.

By: DiaTorGamer

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LEGO Batman 3. Beyond Gotham. Space station infestation. Gameplay #4. 1080p HD - Video

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Dead Space 2 – On The Run – Video

Posted: at 11:49 pm


Dead Space 2 - On The Run
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=shmellyorc Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/shmellyorc Make sure to like, comment, subscribe, or all above if you like...

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Dead Space 2 - On The Run - Video

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Stunning ISS Passover, 21/01/15 Melbourne, au – Video

Posted: at 11:49 pm


Stunning ISS Passover, 21/01/15 Melbourne, au
9.16 pm Passover of the space station,.filmed with Panasonic V520M.

By: brad morris

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Dextre lets CATS out of the bag on the Space Station – Video

Posted: at 11:49 pm


Dextre lets CATS out of the bag on the Space Station
This animation shows how Dextre, the Canadian-built robotic handyman on board the International Space Station, will remove the CATS (Cloud Aerosol Transport System) science experiment from...

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Dextre lets CATS out of the bag on the Space Station - Video

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Let’s Play Kerbal Space Program – Career Day40 – Building the ISS part1 – Ep55 – NOELonPC – Video

Posted: at 11:49 pm


Let #39;s Play Kerbal Space Program - Career Day40 - Building the ISS part1 - Ep55 - NOELonPC
We embark on a massive Kerbinwide effort to manufacture and launch the Kerbnational Kerb Station (int #39;l space station) in part one, we begin by launch the Core of the ISS up into a nice orbit....

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Growing bone in space: Study to test therapy for bone loss on the International Space Station

Posted: at 11:49 pm

UCLA has received grant funding from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to lead a research mission that will send rodents to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission will allow astronauts on the space station and scientists on Earth to test a potential new therapy for accelerating bone growth in humans.

The research will be led by Dr. Chia Soo, a UCLA professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery and orthopaedic surgery, who is member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. Soo is also research director for UCLA Operation Mend, which provides medical care for wounded warriors. The study will test the ability of a bone-forming molecule called NELL-1 to direct stem cells to induce bone formation and prevent bone degeneration.

Other members of the UCLA research team are Dr. Kang Ting, a professor in dentistry who discovered NELL-1 and is leading efforts to translate NELL-1 therapy to humans, Dr. Ben Wu, a professor of bioengineering who modified the NELL-1 molecule to make useful for treating osteoporosis, and Dr. Jin Hee Kwak, an assistant professor of dentistry who will manage daily operations.

Based on results of previous studies supported by the NIH, the UCLA-ISS team will begin ground operations in early 2015. They hope that the study will provide new insights into the prevention of bone loss or osteoporosis as well as the regeneration of massive bone defects that can occur in wounded military personnel. Osteoporosis is a significant public health problem commonly associated with "skeletal disuse" conditions such as immobilization, stroke, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury and jaw resorption after tooth loss.

"NELL-1 holds tremendous hope, not only for preventing bone loss but one day even restoring healthy bone," Ting said. "For patients who are bed-bound and suffering from bone loss, it could be life-changing."

The UCLA team will oversee the ground operations of the mission in tandem with a flight operation coordinated by CASIS and NASA.

"A group of 40 rodents will be sent to the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory onboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule, where they will live for two months in a microgravity environment during the first ever test of NELL-1 in space," said Dr. Julie Robinson, NASA's chief scientist for the International Space Station program at the Johnson Space Center.

"CASIS is proud to work alongside UCLA in an effort to promote the station as a viable platform for bone loss inquiry," said Warren Bates, director of portfolio management for CASIS. "Through investigations like this, we hope to make profound discoveries and enable the development of therapies to counteract bone loss ailments common in humans."

Prolonged space flights induce extreme changes in bone and organ systems that cannot be replicated on Earth.

"Besides testing the limits of NELL-1's robust bone-producing effects, this mission will provide new insights about bone biology and could uncover important clues for curing diseases such as osteoporosis," Wu said.

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Babylon 5 Creator to Write Red Mars Series for Spike TV

Posted: at 11:49 pm

It seems all those Star Wars marathons have paid off, seeing as Spike TV is looking to get into the sci-fi TV game in a big way with an adaptation of Red Mars, a television series based on author Kim Stanely Robinsons sci-fi book trilogy about the colonization and terraforming of the Red Planet.

Spike TV is looking atBabylon 5creatorJ. Michael Straczynski to handle the job of adapting Red Mars for the small screen. According to the latest reports. Straczynski has been tapped by the network to at least write the pilot script for this new program.

Should the series move forward, the hope is the show would ultimately draw fromevery Red Mars book, including Green Mars and Blue Mars. At the moment, its unknown if Spike executives would also have Straczynski showrun the series. However, given the man already has a Netflix show in production (more on that in a moment) that he hopes to have on the service for the next five years at the minimum, the odds of him also taking on the Spike TV project full time are 50/50 at best for now.

That Netflix series, titled Sense8, hasa pilot directed by The Wachowsks and is ahigh profile project for the SVOD service- meaning,Straczynski will be expected to devote as much time as possible to making the series the greatest thing it can be. This puts Spike in a tough spot, as it could use Straczynskis full commitment in order to help re-brand their network as a home of quality, scripted, dramatic programming (rather than the former home ofMANswers).

The Red Mars project may seem astrange buy for Spike, but following the almost cult like fandom surrounding the networks surprisingly well put together reality series Bar Rescue, it seems higher ups at the network are starting to realize theres a value in going for quality over quantity when it comes to its programming slate.

In addition, all signs point to Spike owning the series full stop, which means if its a hit the network will get 100% of the profits from its foreign market and streaming deals. That is to say, Red Mars could be the thing that gives Spike a massive leg up in the ever expanding cable slate of programming.

Stay tuned for more news on Red Mars as it develops.

Source: Deadline

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