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Wednesday December 12, 2012 Daily edition   News and Blog Headlines Scientists discover mechanism that could reduce obesity How to directly sequence small genomes without library preparation Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds Toxic interaction in neurons that leads to dementia and ALS Eyewire: a citizen science quest to map the connectome Uploaded e-crews for interstellar missions Latest News Scientists discover mechanism that could reduce obesity December 12, 2012   An international team of scientists led by Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researcher Andrew Larner, M.D., Ph.D., has successfully reversed obesity in mice by manipulating the production of an enzyme known as tyrosine-protein kinase-2 (Tyk2). In their experiments, the scientists discovered that Tyk2 helps regulate obesity in mice and humans through the differentiation of a type of … more… How to directly sequence small genomes without library preparation December 12, 2012   For the first time, researchers have sequenced DNA molecules without the need for the standard pre-sequencing workflow known as library preparation. Using this approach, the researchers generated sequence data using considerably less DNA than is required using standard methods, even down to less than one nanogram of DNA; 500 times less DNA than is needed … more… Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds December 12, 2012   The National Intelligence Council has issued Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds, “intended to stimulate thinking about the rapid and vast geopolitical changes characterizing the world today and possible global trajectories during the next 15-20 years.” The report sees four megatrends: Individual empowerment will accelerate substantially during the next 15-20 years owing to poverty reduction and … more… Toxic interaction in neurons that leads to dementia and ALS December 12, 2012   Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have uncovered a toxic cellular process by which a protein that maintains the health of neurons becomes deficient and can lead to dementia. The findings shed new light on the link between culprits implicated in two devastating neurological diseases: Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which … more… Eyewire: a citizen science quest to map the connectome December 12, 2012   It’s time to mobilize a global community of citizen neuroscientists to trace the 3D structure of J Cells and understand how retinal connectomes relate to visual perception. — Eyewire MIT’s Seung Lab has released EyeWire, which will enlist “citizen scientists” to to map the 3D structure of neurons by analyzing nanoscale brain images using web browsers … more… New BLOG POSTS Uploaded e-crews for interstellar missions December 12, 2012 by Giulio Prisco   The awesome 100 Year Starship (100YSS) initiative by DARPA and NASA proposes to send people to the stars by the year 2100 — a huge challenge that will require bold, visionary, out-of-the-box thinking. There are major challenges. “Using current propulsion technology, travel to a nearby star (such as our closest star system, Alpha Centauri, at 4.37 … more… New VIDEOS   Robot copies your muscles and bones   Space bursts provide insight to Theory of Everything   DARPA’s Wound Stasis technology could save lives New books Robots Will Steal Your Job, But That’s OK: how to survive the economic collapse and be happy author Federico Pistono   You are about to become obsolete. You think you are special, unique, and that whatever it is that you are doing is impossible to replace. You are wrong. As we speak, millions of algorithms created by computer scientists are frantically running on servers all over the world, with one sole purpose: do whatever humans can do, but better. … more… Transhumanism: A Grimoire of Alchemical Agendas author Scott D de Hart, Joseph P. Farrell   The ultimate question is no longer “who am I” or “why am I here.” These questions were answered in the earliest civilizations by philosophers and priests. Today we live in an age of such rapid advances in technology and science that the ultimate question must be rephrased: what shall we be? This book investigates what may become of … more… Latest Kurzweil Collection posts How to Create a Mind, The Light of Amsterdam, Because I Said So!   Source: The Boston Globe — December 8, 2012 | Kate Tuttle If you met a non-biological intelligent entity, one that demonstrated convincingly human-like emotional responses (it could laugh and cry, tell a joke, and argue), would you accept it as a conscious being, more or less equivalent to a person? Ray Kurzweil says he would, and much of his latest book focuses on trying to persuade … more… Read full article here Visit KurzweilAI.net You are currently subscribed to the KurzweilAI.net newsletter as *|EMAIL|* To unsubscribe, please click here. To change your email preferences, please click here. *|LIST:ADDRESS|*.