I currently work in a cardiovascular and Diabetes lab conducting human trials of metabolism and cardiovascular modifying medications and am attempting to transition into graduate school. I will post about; Science, Art, Film, History, Literature, Fashion, Music, and what's going on in my life. I will likely steer clear of political related posts, as I've become utterly disenchanted.
Social interactions and daily tasks involved in being a successful member of the human species can sometimes feel automated and depersonalizing. Sometimes others appear as malfunctioning machines, repeating the same maladaptive or just menial behaviors. . .and thats when sometimes philosophy is the only consolation, well that and laughing and maybe a mountain hike.
My Statement: I believe we humans live in an environment surrounded by biology and technology, yet a majority of us focus merely on short sighted effects of those things. Contemporary discoveries in science and advances in technology describe an existence in a much more mechanistic way than any of us could have imagined. Being able to incorporate this information into our conscious while maintaining respect for human creativity and emotion will be important for future human technological advancements and environmental management. I also believe life extension "200 years +" via bio-physiological modification is well within the grasp of my generation, and I'll do my best to participate in these efforts.
"V'tosh Ka'tur"
Location: U.S. Denver
Education: B.S. in Psychology, Minors in Art History and Biology
Political Views: Libertarian Transhumanism
Religious Views: Agnostic
Myers-Briggs: INTJ
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
I like Vampire Weekend and this line, except every time I hear it I think in my head … The Kennedy’s didn’t have bad luck, they were legit being murdered. Bad luck is most of what Alanis Morisette thinks is ironic, not assassinations.
Baybeh, Baybeh,Baybeh, Baybeh right on time.
The Sounds of a Pulsar
This pulsar lies near the center of the Vela supernova remnant, which is the debris of the explosion of a massive star about 10,000 years ago. The pulsar is the collapsed core of this star, rotating with a period of 89 milliseconds or about 11 times a second. Radiation is beamed out along the magnetic poles and pulses of radiation are received as the beam crosses the Earth, in the same manner as the beam from a lighthouse causes flashes. Being enormous cosmic flywheels with a tick attached, they make some of the best clocks known to mankind. These sounds directly correspond to the radio-waves emitted by the brightest pulsars in the sky as received by some of the largest radio telescopes in the world.
Well, this is
magnificentterrifying.
How dorky/creepy is it that I find this almost arousingly intimate. Like someone whispering a secret or something.
(Source: spaceplasma)
Cold Fusion Device May Have Been Created
Against all probability, a device that purports to use cold fusion to generate vast amounts of power has been verified by a panel of independent scientists. The research paper, which hasn’t yet undergone peer review, seems to confirm both the existence of cold fusion, and its potency: The cold fusion device being tested has roughly 10,000 times the energy density and 1,000 times the power density of gasoline.
Even allowing for a massively conservative margin of error, the scientists say that the cold fusion device they tested is 10 times more powerful than gasoline — which is currently the best fuel readily available to mankind.
The device being tested, called by Energy Catalyzer (E-Cat for short), was created by Andrea Rossi. Rossi has been claiming for the past two years that he had finally cracked cold fusion, but much to the chagrin of the scientific community he hasn’t allowed anyone to independently analyze the device — until now.
While it sounds like the scientists had a fairly free rein while testing the E-Cat, we should stress that they still don’t know exactly what’s going on inside the sealed steel cylinder reactor. Still, the seven scientists, all from good European universities, obviously felt confident enough with their findings to publish the research paper.
(via Cold fusion reactor independently verified, has 10,000 times the energy density of gas | ExtremeTech)
(Source: hochepot)
Modest Mouse, “Dramamine” (via ivegotbigbigplans)
Nanotechnology and religion: a complex relationship
There is much evidence that public views on nanotechnology will be shaped by religious beliefs
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In the science fiction short story Halo, a panel of Muslim scholars discuss a strip of bacon made by a “molecular assembler”, a device capable of producing the meat directly from individual atoms, instead of slicing it from an animal. All meat from a pig is forbidden according to Islam’s halal laws. Synthetic bacon is identical to the real one, but it has never been part of a living pig. Is it still forbidden?
“The story may look like a joke, but it shows how the capacity of nanotechnology to manipulate atoms may change the material world in such a way to raise religious questions,” says Chris Toumey, a cultural anthropologist at the University of South Carolina, who has studied in depth the relation between nanotechnology and faith.
It is mostly secular voices who have expressed their thoughts and concerns on nanotechnology until now, but there is a lot of evidence that public views on it will be shaped by religious beliefs. For example, a 2009 survey found that strength of religious beliefs in the US is negatively related to support for funding of nanotechnology. A study of the same year found that the more religious a country is, the less it tends to find nanotechnology morally acceptable.
Until now, religions have been remarkably silent on nanotechnology, Toumey points out. Nothing compared to the harsh bioethical controversies about in vitro fertilisation in the Catholic world, for example. “Nanotechnology is a heterogeneous body of sciences and technologies: few faith communities have enough universities or journals to examine such a complicated issue,” says Toumey. “Their attention may be attracted if some dramatic event happens: either positive, something like a cure for a cancer, or negative, like an environmental disaster.” The scarcity of official documents makes it difficult to guess religious views, but it is an opportunity for scientists to get prepared in advance.
go read..
(via Nanotechnology and religion: a complex relationship | Science | guardian.co.uk)
Supreme Court Rules Human Genes Cannot Be Patented
This morning, in a case challenging patents held by the Utah-based Myriad Genetics, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that human genes may not be patented.
Initially, the patents had been challenged by scientists and doctors who said that the patents hindered their ability to help patients.
The decision hewed closely to the position of the Obama administration, which had argued that isolated DNA could not be patented, but that complementary DNA, or cDNA, which is an artificial construct, could. The patentability of cDNA could limit some of the impact on industry from the decision.
The central question for the justices in the case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, No. 12-398, was whether isolated genes are “products of nature” that may not be patented or “human-made inventions” eligible for patent protection.
Myriad’s discovery of the precise location and sequence of the genes at issue, BRCA1 and BRCA2, did not qualify, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court. “A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated,” he said. “It is undisputed that Myriad did not create or alter any of the genetic information encoded in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.”
“Groundbreaking, innovative or even brilliant discovery does not by itself satisfy the criteria” for patent eligibility, he said.
But manipulating a gene to create something not found in nature, Justice Thomas added, is an invention eligible for patent protection. He also left the door open for other ways for companies to profit from their research.
They may patent the methods of isolating genes, he said. “But the processes used by Myriad to isolate DNA were well understood by geneticists, ” Justice Thomas wrote. He added that companies may also obtain patents on new applications of knowledge gained from genetic research.
Source: NY Times
via quantumaniac
I’m a day late…but in addition to the ethical implications of this, it also has a big effect on academic research!
Ethan Allen - Reason: The Only Oracle Of Man (1784)
(Source: theilluminatiarchives)
Ding, Ding!
I know nothing about sports, but my best friend was wearing this and I was like “what the hell are those shapes on your hat?” He said the Nordiques moved to Colorado and became the Avalanche?
I found this pretty interesting but I think I was turning sports into symbology/history.
We went down to the natural water slides today, it was probably the most extreme hiking I’ve done in a while, some of the ledges along the river were pretty steep! The weather was perfect and the hike was beautiful, the water was freezing.
