Category Archives: Transhuman News

Surviving Progress Trailer
Surviving Progress presents the story of human advancement as awe-inspiring and double-edged. It reveals the grave risk of running the 21st century #39;s software - our know-how - on the ancient hardware of our primate brain which hasn #39;t been upgraded in 50000 years. With rich imagery and immersive soundtrack, filmmakers Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks launch us on journey to contemplate our evolution from cave-dwellers to space explorers. Ronald Wright, whose best-seller, "A Short History Of Progress" inspired this film, reveals how civilizations are repeatedly destroyed by "progress traps" - alluring technologies serve immediate needs, but ransom the future. With intersecting stories from a Chinese car-driving club, a Wall Street insider who exposes an out-of-control, environmentally rapacious financial elite, and eco-cops defending a scorched Amazon, the film lays stark evidence before us. In the past, we could use up a region #39;s resources and move on. But if today #39;s global civilization collapses from over-consumption, that #39;s it. We have no back-up planet. Surviving Progress brings us thinkers who have probed our primate past, our brains, and our societies. Some amplify Wright #39;s urgent warning, while others have faith that the very progress which has put us in jeopardy is also the key to our salvation. Cosmologist Stephen Hawking looks to homes on other planets. Biologist Craig Venter, whose team decoded the human genome, designs synthetic organisms he hopes will create ...From:FlightToTheLightViews:1 0ratingsTime:01:59More inPeople Blogs

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Surviving Progress Trailer - Video

Sir Sampleton on the iPad with Audiobus and CoreMIDI
Demonstration of Sir Sampleton sampler app using MIDI and Audiobus to work with other music apps. SIR SAMPLETON: itunes.apple.com AUDIOBUS: itunes.apple.com GENOME SEQUENCER: itunes.apple.com MULTITRACK DAW: itunes.apple.com SUNRIZER SYNTH: itunes.apple.com JAMUP XT: itunes.apple.comFrom:SOFTOFTTECHECHViews:75 3ratingsTime:03:26More inMusic

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Sir Sampleton on the iPad with Audiobus and CoreMIDI - Video

DNA Database 100m Bid To Cut Cancer Deaths
A new system will see tens of thousands of people having their DNA fully mapped - but there are fears about the impact on privacy. David Cameron is to unveil plans for a DNA database that could one day hold the genetic details of every person in Britain. The 100m project will see 100000 patients with cancer and rare diseases having their DNA fully mapped as part of a drive to revolutionise NHS treatment. The project, to take place in England over the next three to five years, is aimed at saving thousands of lives - but there are concerns that it could pose risks to privacy. The Prime Minister said he wanted to "push the boundaries" by introducing mainstream genetic sequencing for the first time. "Britain has often led the world in scientific breakthroughs and medical innovations, from the first CT scan and test-tube baby through to decoding DNA," Mr Cameron said. "By unlocking the power of DNA data, the NHS will lead the global race for better tests, better drugs and above all better care. "We are turning an important scientific breakthrough into a potentially life-saving reality for NHS patients across the country. "If we get this right, we could transform how we diagnose and treat our most complex diseases not only here but across the world, while enabling our best scientists to discover the next wonder drug or breakthrough technology." Some critics of the project, known as the "UK genome plan", have voiced concerns about how the data will be used and shared with third ...From:NightwalkersViewViews:0 0ratingsTime:01:55More inNews Politics

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DNA Database £100m Bid To Cut Cancer Deaths - Video

Diagnosing The Genome: Dr. Hutton Kearney at TEDxAsheville
From:TEDxTalksViews:0 0ratingsTime:17:11More inEducation

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Diagnosing The Genome: Dr. Hutton Kearney at TEDxAsheville - Video

NOVA | Decoding Neanderthals | Preview | PBS
Decoding Neanderthals premieres Wednesday, January 9th at 9PM/8c on PBS. http://www.pbs.org/nova Over 60000 years ago, the first modern humans mdash;people physically identical to us today mdash;left their African homeland and entered Europe, then a bleak and inhospitable continent in the grip of the Ice Age. But when they arrived, they were not alone: the stocky, powerfully built Neanderthals had already been living there for hundred of thousands of years. So what happened when the first modern humans encountered the Neanderthals? Did we make love or war? That question has tantalized generations of scholars and seized the popular imagination. Then, in 2010, a team led by geneticist Svante Paabo announced stunning news. Not only had they reconstructed much of the Neanderthal genome mdash;an extraordinary technical feat that would have seemed impossible only a decade ago mdash;but their analysis showed that "we" modern humans had interbred with Neanderthals, leaving a small but consistent signature of Neanderthal genes behind in everyone outside Africa today. In Decoding Neanderthals, NOVA explores the implications of this exciting discovery. In the traditional view, Neanderthals differed from "us" in behavior and capabilities as well as anatomy. But were they really mentally inferior, as inexpressive and clumsy as the cartoon caveman they inspired? NOVA explores a range of intriguing new evidence for Neanderthal self-expression and language, all pointing to the fact that we may have seriously ...From:PBSViews:92 7ratingsTime:00:31More inScience Technology

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NOVA | Decoding Neanderthals | Preview | PBS - Video

LONDON (Reuters) - Up to 100,000 Britons suffering from cancer and rare diseases are to have their genetic codes fully sequenced and mapped as part of government efforts to boost drug development and improve treatment.

Britain will be the first country to introduce a database of genetic sequences into a mainstream health service, officials say, giving doctors a more advanced understanding of a patient's illness and what drugs and other treatments they need.

It could significantly reduce the number of premature deaths from cancer within a generation, Prime Minister David Cameron's office said in a statement.

"By unlocking the power of DNA data, the NHS (National Health Service) will lead the global race for better tests, better drugs and above all better care," Cameron said on Monday.

His government has set aside 100 million pounds for the project in the taxpayer-funded NHS over the next three to five years.

Harpal Kumar, chief executive of the charity Cancer Research UK, said the work would uncover new information from which doctors and scientists will learn about the biology of cancers and develop new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat them.

He said some targeted, or personalised, cancer treatments such as Novartis' Gleevec, or imatinib - a drug for chronic myeloid leukaemia - are already helping to treat patients more effectively.

Some critics of the project, known as the "UK genome plan", have voiced concerns about how the data will be used and shared with third parties, including with commercial organisations such as drug companies.

Genewatch, a campaign group fighting for genetic science and technologies to be used in the public interest, has said anyone with access to the database could use the genetic codes to identify and track every individual on it and their relatives.

Cameron's office said the genome sequencing would be entirely voluntary and patients would be able to opt out without affecting their NHS care. It said the data would be made anonymous before it is stored.

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Britain launches genome database to improve patient care

Human Genome Project Supports Adam, Not Darwin
1. John Mattick, "The Genomic Foundation is Shifting," Science, 18 February 2011: Vol. 331 no. 6019 p. 874, DOI: 10.1126-science.1203703. 2. Maynard V. Olson, "What Does a #39;Normal #39; Human Genome Look Like?", Science, 18 February 2011: Vol. 331 no. 6019 p. 872, DOI: 10.1126-science.1203236. http:--www.sciencemag.org-content-331-6019-874.1.full http:--www.sciencemag.org-content-331-6019-872.3.full crev.infoFrom:sobaytjeViews:5 0ratingsTime:03:01More inEducation

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Human Genome Project Supports Adam, Not Darwin - Video