Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Expanding on previous research providing proof-of-principle that human stem cells can be genetically engineered into HIV-fighting cells, a team of UCLA researchers have now demonstrated that these cells can actually attack HIV-infected cells in a living organism.
Continue reading… “Engineered stem cells seek out and kill HIV in living mice”
What are the best ways to deal with a deceased love one online?
Your friends and family are going to die. Probably later, but maybe sooner. That much is certain. Another certainty is that, when it happens, we’ll all still be using some form of social media. Here’s how to grieve digitally, with dignity.
As much as Facebook is the sprawling, glowing, inexorable way we connect with each other these days—around the clock—death just doesn’t really belong there. Facebook is designed specifically to make you feel proud about yourself. Timeline is a monument to your joys and achievements, no matter how superficial and beer-soaked they may have been. It’s a place toshare your glee—share it all over everyone’s faces, whether they like it or not…
Continue reading… “How to Deal with Death Online the Right Way”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Working with many early stage inventors, I often have the privilege of seeing some truly remarkable inventions and innovations. A few days ago I was shown a technology that snugly fits into that remarkable category, one that has the potential to radically transform the way cars and other vehicles are powered. In fact, vehicles using this power source will never need to stop and refuel.
Continue reading… “Creating a ‘Ripple in the Force’ of the Power Industry”
Grand Challenges create a new vision of the future.
Tom Kalil of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy gave a presentation today about Grand Challenges, such as the ones proposed by futurist Thomas Frey HERE. Kalil called them “ambitious yet achievable goals that capture the public’s imagination and that require innovation and breakthroughs in science and technology to achieve,” like NASA’s Green Flight Challenge and the Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges in Global Health. I think Tom’s speech, delivered to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, does a terrific job showing why the grand challenge approach is a powerful way to tackle some pretty daunting problems. He also puts grand challenges in the context of President Obama’s Strategy for American Innovation. (By the way, it must be nice to be authorized to use the Presidential PowerPoint template.) From Tom’s speech
Continue reading… “White House’s Tom Kalil on “Grand Challenges””
The income tax system is only one of many systems that will collapse in the coming years.
An enormous opportunity is presenting itself as a frightening problem—Complexity. How leaders react will determine the future of their businesses, and indeed the future and prosperity of America for decades to come.
Continue reading… “Collapse of the income tax system – does it mean the end of life as we know it?”
Cosmic changes are coming.
When it comes to terraforming, the Universe makes man’s puny efforts to be king of the hill look pretty pathetic. Not only are we completely at the mercy of a constantly changing planet, but we’re careening through space totally vulnerable to a sea of objects and cosmic influences beyond our wildest imagination.
Yet intuitively we have the peace that all is under control in some magnificent way.
The decades long assertion that our solar system would soon enter an electrically charged life altering photon belt around the Sirius star system has been regularly dismissed as pseudo science–NASA speak for “conspiracy theory”. Despite periodical scientific validation it has been continually pushed aside by mainstream science.
Until now…
Continue reading… “Is NASA tracking the Cosmic Shift?”
CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (H.R. 3523), is a successor, of sorts, to the loathesome SOPA legislative proposal, which was shot down in flames earlier this year. EFF’s chilling analysis of the bill shows how it could be used to give copyright enforcers carte blanche to spy on Internet users and censoring the Internet (it would also give these powers to companies and governments who’d been embarrassed by sites like Wikileaks).
Continue reading… “CISPA is SOPA 2.0”
The dead want an iPhone?
Apple’s iPhone is so popular in China that even the dead want one! It’s the latest trend in burnt paper offering, a distinctly Chinese tradition where Hell Bank Notes, and paper items resembling cars, luxury villas, computers and so on, are burnt to send to the deceased…
Continue reading… “Paper iPhones as burnt offerings for the dead”
Isolation of MAP requires collection of infected white bloods cells from blood samples via centrifugation. For direct nPCR analysis, DNA directly isolated from white blood cells is purified in multiple steps prior to amplification and detection by gel electrophoresis. Meanwhile, culture-based nPCR requires the growth of MAP in specialized liquid media for 12 weeks, followed by DNA isolation before nPCR. Hybridizing magnetic relaxation sensors (hMRS) can detect MAP DNA in minimally processed blood samples via changes in magnetic signal (”¤2) in 1 hour, as opposed to 24 hours for direct nPCR and 12 weeks for culture nPCR.
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed a novel technique that may give doctors a faster and more sensitive tool to detect pathogens associated with inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease.
The new nanoparticle-based technique also may be used for detection of other microbes that have challenged scientists for centuries because they hide deep in human tissue and are able to reprogram cells to successfully evade the immune system…
Continue reading… “Nanotechnology Used to Hunt for Hidden Pathogens”
Gas prices are a supreme motivator.
Drivers tend to convert to the fuel-efficiency religion once they get severely wounded in the wallet. It’s a sad fact that environmental concerns alone are often not enough… Of course, the best ways to save on gas costs are to walk, bike, and take transit (for an example of a city that has great sustainable transportation, check out Colombia’s Medellin). But if you’re going to drive, you should get the most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets your needs. Near the top of the list, the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius can be found, and thanks to relatively high gas prices in the U.S. lately, they’ve both set new sales records in March 2012.
Continue reading… “Prius and Volt Set New Sales Records Thanks to High Gas Prices”
Does this equation makes sense?
Apple costs over $600 a share, and has nearly an unfathomable $100 billion in cash lying around. So is it any wonder its CEO is paid more than the national wealth of a small island nation?
Continue reading… “Tim Cook makes more than the GDP of the Kingdom of Tonga”
Some of the greatest writers in history have had works lost over time.
There are some great written works from authors such as Shakespeare and Jane Austen that you’ll never have a chance to read. Here are the top 10:
Continue reading… “Top 10 books from worlds greatest writers you will never have a chance to read”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.