transhumanism / transhumanismus

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]

The Dad’s Army of British cryonics (Simon Hattenstone, The Guardian, 07. Nov. 2009)

„In sleepy Sussex is a group of dedicated cryonicists who believe they hold the secret to eternal life. Simon Hattenstone joins them for a demonstration – but first they need to make sure the hosepipe isn’t too leaky“ [read original article]

Singing the Singularity

Mike Treder (posted on IEET, Jul 16, 2009)

„Like many a useful concept, the Technological Singularity has become over-invested with emotion, ideological leanings, and tangential agendas. Can its value be recovered?

On October 3, 2009, the fourth annual Singularity Summit will convene, this time in New York City. Among the speakers featured in the two-day event are IEET fellows Ben Goertzel and Aubrey de Grey, along with Ray Kurzweil, Anders Sandberg, Robin Hanson, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Greg Benford, and many others.

So what’s it all about?“ [read original article]

Patients who are frozen in time (Wendy M Grossman, The Guardian, Thursday 14 February 2008)

„Cryonics – freezing the dead with the hope of reviving them – has always been a long shot. But, says Wendy M Grossman, advances mean it could be coming a little closer“. [read original article]

Singularity University to Study Accelerating Technologies, Launches at NASA Ames

KurzweilAI.net, Feb. 3, 2009

„With the support of NASA, Google and a broad range of technology thought leaders and entrepreneurs, a new university will launch in Silicon Valley this summer with the goal of preparing the next generation of leaders to address “humanity’s grand challenges.”

Singularity University (SU) (www.singularityu.org) will open its doors in June 2009 on the NASA Research Park campus with a nine-week graduate-level interdisciplinary curriculum designed to facilitate understanding, collaboration, and innovation across a broad range of carefully chosen scientific and technological disciplines whose developments are exponentially accelerating.“ [read original article]

Interview: Jason Silva on How Science Will Make You Live Forever (Brave New Traveler)

„Will science finally be able to fix the “problem” of death? In a provocative interview, Jason Silva explains how very soon you may live forever.“ [read original article]

h+ transhumanist magazine launched

Humanity Plus (formerly the World Transhumanist Association) has launched h+, a stylish, web-based quarterly magazine that focuses on transhumanism, covering the scientific, technological, and cultural developments that are challenging and overcoming human limitations.

Edited by the legendary RU Sirius, co-founder and editor of the seminal Mondo 2000 magazine, and beautifully designed by virtual worlds artist D.C. Spensley, the magazine’s first issue features cutting-edge ideas and interviews with leaders in longevity, neuroengineering, nanofabrication, open-source robotics, science fiction, and other breakthrough areas. [...]

Technology Makes Us Optimistic; They Want To Live (New York Times Magazine 1997)

Obviously I’m an optimist to some degree,” says Larry Wood, a hard-bodied 50-year-old who lives with his wife, Candy, and their two dogs in the mountains above Los Angeles, ”but I really believe we could be the first generation that lives forever. Either that, or we’ll be the last generation to die.’ [...]

The Scientific Conquest of Death

Essays on Infinite Lifespans (2004) Edited by Immortality Institute

ISBN: 9875611352

Book Content

Introduction

Overview

Chapter I: SCIENCE: Biomedicine, Nanotechnology and other strategies

- Biological Immortality – Rose

- The War on Aging – Grey

- The Dream of Elixir Vitae – Magalhes

- Therapeutic Cloning – West

- Nanomedicine – Freitas

- Human Body Version 2.0 – Kurzweil

- Progress Toward Cyberimmortality – Bainbridge

- Will Robots Inherit the Earth? – Minsky

- Medical Time Travel: A Question of Science – Wowk

Chapter II: PERSPECTIVES: Ethics, Sociology and Philosophy

- Some Ethical and Theological Considerations – Mellon

- Superlongevity without Overpopulation – More

- Upsetting the Natural Order – Treder

- The Self-Defeating Fantasy – Rabkin

- Time Consciousness in Very Long Life – Clynes

- Confessions of a Proselytizing Immortalist – Vyff

- Some Problems with Immortalism – Best

- An Introduction to Immortalist Morality – Geddes

- Should We Fear Death? – Blackford

- Who Wants To Live Forever? – Bostrom

Chapter III: Resources

Bibliography

Publishers Note

Thanks

[complete book online ...]

Cryonics Institute: Cryonic Suspension Services (” “Your Last Best Chance For Life–and Your Family’s.” The Cryonics Institute offers cryonic suspension services and information. As soon as possible after legal death, a member patient is prepared and cooled to a temperature where physical decay essentially stops, and is then maintained indefinitely in cryostasis. When and if future medical technology allows, our member patients hope to  be healed and revived, and awaken to extended life in youthful good health.

Cryonics: Alcor Life Extension Foundation (“The Alcor Life Extension Foundation is the world leader in cryonics, cryonics research, and cryonics technology. Cryonics is the science of using ultra-cold temperature to preserve human life with the intent of restoring good health when technology becomes available to do so. Alcor is a non-profit organization located in Scottsdale, Arizona, founded in 1972.”)

Journal of Evolution and Technology

The Nanoaging Institute. The Cryonics Revolution will begin (“The comments are contributed by users. You are welcome to post comments. You can advertise your project or your web site. Post your opinions etc… it`s free. Alot of people (1000+) are visiting our pages so it is a good way to show your comments.”)

Robert C.W. Ettinger: Prospect of Immortality (“The following is from the dust jacket of the British hard cover edition, 1965. Would you like to live for ever, here on this earth? In the very near future this may become a real possibility. Indeed, in theory it is possible now, for if one was to be deep-frozen and stored away it is inevitable that in fifty, or a hundred, or a thousand years (time becomes meaningless in this context) surgery will have progressed to the point where damage to the cells which is at present irreparable will be able to be repaired. The difficulty at the moment is that present methods of freezing and unfreezing are so crude that a great deal more damage is done in the process. But this again is something which will soon be overcome.”) Einer der wichtigsten Referenztexte von dem wohl wichtigsten Autor in Sachen Cryonic.

Kryoniker. Der Traum vom ewigen Leben [3sat.online, 02.10.2000] (“Klaus Reinhard ist erst Ende dreißig, doch mit dem Tod beschäftigt er sich schon länger. Aber: Der Diplom-Informatiker will nicht irgendwann auf einem Friedhof liegen. Gräber sind für ihn Mahnmale der Hoffnungslosigkeit – mit Inschriften, die die schnöde Wirklichkeit einfach verschweigen. Ein Grab ist für Reinhard das endgültige Ende – keine Chance mehr auf ein Weiterleben. Doch genau das will Reinhard. Und deshalb hat er bereits eine vorerst letzte Reise gebucht. Reinhard ist Kryoniker und Gründer der “Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Herausforderung des Todes”.”)