Lifeboat Foundation

Going to eco-extremes to try and save the planet is a great thing to do, but for the majority of us, it’s not an easy thing to do. If everybody makes a few easy little changes to live more sustainably, it’ll have a far bigger impact. And with our range of affordable, everyday solutions, the power of change is in everybody’s hands. The difference isn’t going to be made with a few grand gestures, it’ll be when we all change a bit for good.

#WonderfulEveryday.

Continue reading “IKEA — Change a bit for good — TV advert 60 #WonderfulEveryday” »

Both arts and sciences advance through open-minded iterations. The alternative of staying within traditional boundaries suppresses the exploration of new territories. As Oscar Wilde said: “Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”

Recognizing the crucial role that imagination plays in advancing both arts and sciences would translate to a culture that fosters innovation by rewarding creativity. Conventional groupthink could be circumvented by populating selection committees of funding agencies with creative individuals rather than with traditional thinkers. A culture of innovation would also benefit from overlap spaces where scientists and artists interact. In deriving his theory of gravity Albert Einstein was inspired by the philosopher Ernst Mach, and Einstein’s new notions of space and time inspired Picasso’s paintings.

Creativity in arts and sciences establishes a backdrop for human existence, as the content it invents gives pleasure and meaning to our lives. The human act of creation is an infinite-sum game, from which all of us benefit. And we can all participate in the creative process, as long as we follow Wilde’s advice: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Global Automobile Infotainment System Market 2020 Industry Research, Review, Growth, Segmentation, Key Players Analysis and Forecast to 2025.

MIT researchers have developed the first fiber with digital capabilities that is able to capture, store, analyze and derive activity after it has been sewn into a shirt.

Yoel Fink, professor of materials science and electrical engineering, lead researcher at the Electronics Research Laboratory and lead author of the study, says digital fibers expand the possibilities for fabrics to uncover the context of hidden patterns in the human body that could be used for monitoring physical performance, medical conclusions and early disease detection are used.

Continue reading “Engineers create a programmable fiber | MIT News” »

Things to note: Treating the rats until they die. They are at 31 months and the longest they have lived without treatments is 38 months. Also, a small number of people have done this and though ailments like arthritis go away they still look elderly.

We recently had an update from Professor Rodolfo Goya who is conducting a follow up experiment from the one that Dr. Katcher first did in India, showing a rejuvenation in old rats. This video goes through the update that we had and provides a short introduction to the background.

Continue reading “Young Blood Plasma Extending Rats Max Lifespan | Professor Rodolfo Goya’s Experiment Update” »

Signals can be amplified by an optimum amount of noise, but stochastic resonance is a fragile phenomenon. Researchers at AMOLF were the first to investigate the role of memory for this phenomenon in an oil-filled optical microcavity. The effects of slow non-linearity (i.e. memory) on stochastic resonance were never considered before, but these experiments suggest that stochastic resonance becomes robust to variations in the signal frequency when systems have memory. This has implications in many fields of physics and energy technology. In particular, the scientists numerically show that introducing slow nonlinearity in a mechanical oscillator harvesting energy from noise can increase its efficiency tenfold. They have published their findings in Physical Review Letters on May 27th.

It is not easy to concentrate on a difficult task when two people are having a loud discussion right next to you. However, complete silence is often not the best alternative. Whether it is some soft music, remote traffic noise or the hum of people chatting in the distance, for many people, an optimum amount of noise enables them to concentrate better. “This is the human equivalent of stochastic resonance,” says AMOLF group leader Said Rodriguez. “In our scientific labs, stochastic resonance happens in nonlinear systems that are bistable. This means that, for a given input, the output can switch between two possible values. When the input is a periodic signal, the response of a non-linear system can be amplified by an optimum amount of noise using the stochastic resonance condition.”

“This study seeks to explore the potential role of the psychoactive brew ayahuasca in settings of intergroup contact to shift the awareness and attitudes related to the relations between groups embedded in ethnopolitical conflicts, including long-term disputes between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians. By doing so, the present study also seeks to 1) understand how psychedelics can affect relational and group-participatory processes and 2) expand knowledge on dynamics between these two groups by focusing on their interactions in a psychedelic group setting.”

Psychedelics are used in many group contexts. However, most phenomenological research on psychedelics is focused on personal experiences. This paper presents a phenomenological investigation centered on intersubjective and intercultural relational processes, exploring how an intercultural context affects both the group and individual process. Through 31 in-depth interviews, ceremonies in which Palestinians and Israelis drink ayahuasca together have been investigated. The overarching question guiding this inquiry was how psychedelics might contribute to processes of peacebuilding, and in particular how an intercultural context, embedded in a protracted conflict, would affect the group’s psychedelic process in a relational sense. Analysis of the interviews was based on grounded theory. Three relational themes about multilocal participatory events which occurred during ayahuasca rituals have emerged from the interviews: 1) Unity-Based Connection – collective events in which a feeling of unity and ‘oneness’ is experienced, whereby participants related to each other based upon a sense of shared humanity, and other social identities seemed to dissolve (such as national and religious identities). 2) Recognition and Difference-Based Connection – events where a strong connection was made to the other culture. These events occurred through the expression of the other culture or religion through music or prayers, which resulted in feelings of awe and reverence 3) Conflict-related revelations – events where participants revisited personal or historical traumatic elements related to the conflict, usually through visions. These events were triggered by the presence of ‘the Other,’ and there was a political undertone in those personal visions. This inquiry has revealed that psychedelic ceremonies have the potential to contribute to peacebuilding. This can happen not just by ‘dissolution of identities,’ but also by providing a space in which shared spiritual experiences can emerge from intercultural and interfaith exchanges. Furthermore, in many cases, personal revelations were related to the larger political reality and the history of the conflict. Such processes can elucidate the relationship between personal psychological mental states and the larger sociopolitical context.

“Those who experience do not participate in the world. For the experience is “in them” and not between them and the world.”

Continue reading “Relational Processes in Ayahuasca Groups of Palestinians and Israelis” »

Most important part comes at 1:49 where Liza talks about gene therapies for people to stop people from aging, reaching homeostasis, or even exceeding it a little bit.

In this video Liz introduces BioViva Science and how the company works with its partners in delivering gene therapies.

Continue reading “Fighting Aging With Gene Therapies | Liz Parrish Interview Series Episode 2” »

Circa 2017

What is the best way to preserve music for future generations to enjoy? Store it in DNA, of course.

That is exactly what Twist Biosciences, which pioneers high-quality DNA synthesis, has facilitated in collaboration with the University of Washington and Microsoft. Two iconic performances – from the iconic Montreux Jazz Festival, one Deep Purple’s playing of Smoke on the Water, and Tutu by Miles Davis, have been ‘encoded onto DNA and read back with 100 percent accuracy.

Continue reading “Music stored in DNA” »

Physics has long looked to harmony to explain the beauty of the Universe. But what if dissonance yields better insights?

Quantum physics is weird and counterintuitive. For this reason, the word ‘quantum’ has become shorthand for anything powerful or mystical, whether or not it has anything whatsoever to do with quantum mechanics. As a quantum physicist, I’ve developed a reflexive eyeroll upon hearing the word applied to anything outside of physics. It’s used to describe homeopathy, dishwasher detergents and deodorant.

Continue reading “Uniting the mysterious worlds of quantum physics and music” »