12.31.09
Posted in Transhumanism at 8:07 am by rheil
Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths – Eastern, New Age Beliefs Widespread (Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
„The religious beliefs and practices of Americans do not fit neatly into conventional categories. A new poll by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that large numbers of Americans engage in multiple religious practices, mixing elements of diverse traditions. Many say they attend worship services of more than one faith or denomination — even when they are not traveling or going to special events like weddings and funerals. Many also blend Christianity with Eastern or New Age beliefs such as reincarnation, astrology and the presence of spiritual energy in physical objects. And sizeable minorities of all major U.S. religious groups say they have experienced supernatural phenomena, such as being in touch with the dead or with ghosts.“ [read original article]
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Posted in biotech, Technology at 8:02 am by rheil
In New Way to Edit DNA, Hope for Treating Disease (New York Times, by NICHOLAS WADE
Published: December 28, 2009)
„Only one man seems to have ever been cured of AIDS, a patient who also had leukemia. To treat the leukemia, he received a bone marrow transplant in Berlin from a donor who, as luck would have it, was naturally immune to the AIDS virus.“ [read original article]
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12.24.09
Posted in biotech, Evolution / Genetics, Nanotechnology, Neuro, Technology at 7:26 am by rheil
50 Science Sagas for 50 Years (Council for the Advancement of Science Writing)
„How do you summarize the past 50 years of discoveries in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics? That kind of challenge would be daunting for any one person – but fortunately, we have a huge crowd of science fans to help with the task.“ [read original article]
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Posted in Anti-Aging, biotech, Technology at 7:22 am by rheil
The Year in Biomedicine (TechnologyReview, By Emily Singer, Tuesday, December 22, 2009)
„Advances in antiaging drugs, acoustic brain surgery, flu vaccines–and the secret to IQ.“ [read original article]
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12.23.09
Posted in Neuro, Nootropics, Technology, Transhumanism at 8:33 am by rheil
Poor Children Likelier to Get Antipsychotics
New York Times, December 12, 2009, By DUFF WILSON
„New federally financed drug research reveals a stark disparity: children covered by Medicaid are given powerful antipsychotic medicines at a rate four times higher than children whose parents have private insurance. And the Medicaid children are more likely to receive the drugs for less severe conditions than their middle-class counterparts, the data shows.
Those findings, by a team from Rutgers and Columbia, are almost certain to add fuel to a long-running debate. Do too many children from poor families receive powerful psychiatric drugs not because they actually need them — but because it is deemed the most efficient and cost-effective way to control problems that may be handled much differently for middle-class children?
The questions go beyond the psychological impact on Medicaid children, serious as that may be. Antipsychotic drugs can also have severe physical side effects, causing drastic weight gain and metabolic changes resulting in lifelong physical problems.“ [read original article]
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Posted in Deutschsprachige Seiten, Neuro, Nootropics, Technology, Transhumanism at 8:29 am by rheil
Viele bunte Pillen – Psychopharmaka: Kinder sind eine wahre Goldmine für die amerikanische Pharmaindustrie
(Telepolis, Thomas Pany22.12.2009)
„Amerikanische Kinder, deren Eltern auf die Unterstützung durch das staatliche Krankenversicherungssystem Medicaid angewiesen sind, werden vier Mal so häufig “starke neuroleptische Medikamente” verschrieben wie Kindern aus Elternhäusern, die sich eine private Krankenversicherung leisten können, so ein Bericht der New York Times. Hinzu komme, dass Kinder, die von Medicaid unterstützt werden, die Medikamente mit “größerer Wahrscheinlichkeit” unter weniger akuten Bedingungen bekommen als ihre Altersgenossen aus der gutsituierten Mittelklasse.“ [zum Originalartikel]
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Posted in Nanotechnology, Technology, Transhumanism at 7:59 am by rheil
The next medical frontier: nano-surgery
(PhysOrg.com, December 21, 2009 ) – „Engineering professor’s nanorobot could be performing non-invasive surgical procedures on patients with tumors within the next decade.“ [read original article]
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12.22.09
Posted in biotech, Deutschsprachige Seiten, Ethics, Human Enhancement, Neuro, Nootropics, Technology, Transhumanism at 10:51 am by rheil
Zwischen Selbstbestimmung und Selbstausbeutung
Telepolis, Jörg Auf dem Hövel 21.12.2009
“Interview mit dem Rechtsphilosophen Reinhard Merkel über elektronisches und pharmakologisches Neuro-Enhancement
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Merkel lehrt Rechtsphilosophie und Strafrecht an der Universität Hamburg. Von 2003 bis 2005 war er Mitglied der Enquete-Kommission “Ethik und Recht der modernen Medizin” des Deutschen Bundestags. Merkel war Sechster im 400 Meter Lagenschwimmen bei den olympischen Spielen 1968 in Mexico. Er ist Mitverfasser des vieldiskutierten Memorandums ‘Das optimierte Gehirn’, in dem sieben Wissenschaftler zu den Herausforderungen des “Neuro-Enhancements” Stellung nehmen . Im Interview mit dem Rechtsphilosophen von der Universität Hamburg geht es um die Grenze zwischen Therapie und Enhancement, das Recht auf mentale Selbstbestimmung und die Rolle der Ärzteschaft. ” [zum Originalartikel]
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12.12.09
Posted in Anti-Aging, Human Enhancement, Transhumanism at 7:06 am by rheil
Calorie restrictive eating for longer life? The story we didn’t hear in the news (Sandy Szwarc, JunkFoodScience, 12. July, 2009)
„This should have been the lead:
The long-awaited research on the effects of calorie restriction on aging in rhesus monkeys from the University of Wisconsin and Wisconsin National Primate Research Center have just been released. It found no statistically significant difference in the number of deaths among the monkeys who’ve been eating a calorie-restrictive diet for more than 20 years compared to the monkeys who’ve been allowed to eat ad lib all day as much as 20% over their normal calories.
But that’s not what made the news, of course. Instead, we’ve been bombarded with a thousand news stories all reporting in lockstep that low-calorie diets have been proven to add years to our lives.“ [read original article]
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12.09.09
Posted in Cryonic, Technology, Transhumanism at 8:46 am by rheil
Pentagon: Zombie Pigs First, Then Hibernating Soldiers (Wired, by Katie Drummond, December 4, 2009)
„Around half of U.S. troop fatalities are caused by blood loss from battlefield injuries. Now, with another 30,000 troops deploying to Afghanistan, the Pentagon is pushing for medical advances that can save more lives during combat. The Defense Department’s latest research idea: Stop bleeding injuries by turning pigs into the semi-undead. If it works out, we humans could be the next ones to be zombified.“ [read original article]
Pentagon: Zombie Pigs First, Then Hibernating Soldiers (Wired, by Katie Drummond, December 4,
2009)
„Around half of U.S. troop fatalities are caused by blood loss from battlefield injuries. Now, with another 30,000 troops deploying to Afghanistan, the Pentagon is pushing for medical advances that can save more lives during combat. The Defense Department’s latest research idea: Stop bleeding injuries by turning pigs into the semi-undead. If it works out, we humans could be the next ones to be zombified.“ [read original article]
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