Author Archives: Prof Baldwin

Help COVID-19 Researchers by Downloading an App – The Corvallis Advocate

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Do you want to help fight covid-19 without even leaving your home? Every computer has a central processing unit, or CPU, and it can be used to help with protein folding simulations to aide research efforts.

An application called folding@home (FAH or F@h) is a distributed computing project for disease research that simulates protein folding, computational drug design, and other types of molecular dynamics. As of today, the project is using the idle resources of personal computers owned by volunteers from all over the world. Thousands of people contribute to the success of this project and they hope it will eventually be millions.

This project began in 2000 at Stanford University: Under the direction of professor Vijay Pande, The Pande Lab started researching protein folding, computational drug design and other types of molecular dynamics. Recently the team has updated the software to begin simulating potentially druggable protein targets for the virus that causes COVID-19, detailed in a blog post on the FAH website.

How to help: If you would like to join FAHs research efforts, they have download versions for all major operating systems.

You can either fold anonymously or share your identity, as well as adjust your power settings within the app via the advanced settings. The program will continue to work as long it is opened and based on the preferences you have set.

Tech note:Do you have a computer with a dedicated GPU? Even better, you can put your systems GPU to work helping generate data for scientists fight everything from Covid-19 to cancer.

For more technical detail on CPU and GPU allocation you can find guides on youtube or here. Technical requirements can found on the FAH website, modern gaming graphics cards are the best suited, but almost any hardware can help. So gamers can really help fight COVID-19.

By Sam Schultz

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Help COVID-19 Researchers by Downloading an App - The Corvallis Advocate

Nvidia’s calling on gaming PC owners to put their systems to work fighting COVID-19 – GamesRadar+

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If you have a gaming PC, you can lend your graphical power to fighting the COVID-19 outbreak. That's not a thing I ever thought I'd write, but it turns out 2020 is occasionally weird in good ways too.

Nvidia is putting out a call to PC gamers everywhere to download the Folding@home application and start putting their spare clock cycles toward advancing humanity's scientific knowledge of coronavirus. The program links computers into an international network that uses distributed processing power to chew through massive computing tasks - something that gaming-grade GPUs are quite good at, as it turns out. You can still turn the application off and reclaim your GPU's full power for playing games whenever you want.

Folding@home has been around for years - it was also available on PS3 back in the day - with users lending their distributed power to all kinds of research. A new wave of projects "simulating potentially druggable protein targets from SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and the related SARS-CoV virus (for which more structural data is available)" were made available on the service earlier this week.

These projects could help researchers better understand coronavirus, and eventually even develop effective therapies against it. If you've been grappling with feelings of helplessness in the face of the worldwide outbreak, this is a small but real way you can lend your aid to the world without any medical experience. It also doesn't hurt that you don't need to leave your house to do it, since we're supposed to avoid that as much as possible anyway.

Pokemon Go is making some changes to help players keep enjoying the game while allowing for social distancing. Staying at home this weekend? Maybe you need a Disney Plus bundle to pass the time. Or if you've been thinking of upgrading your gaming PC check out our picks for the best graphics cards or best gaming laptops.

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Nvidia's calling on gaming PC owners to put their systems to work fighting COVID-19 - GamesRadar+

Play this game to help create a cure for the coronavirus! Here are the more details !! – Gizmo Posts 24

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Citizen scientists have a chance to help fight coronavirus by playing a game about folding proteins. Its name is Foldit, it is free-to-play, and it has a puzzle dedicated to COVID-19.

The developers of the game released the Coronavirus Spike Protein Binder Design. It allows users to try and create an antiviral protein that can counter the viruss spike protein. The puzzles description states: Coronaviruses display a spike protein on their surface, which binds tightly to a receptor protein found on the surface of human cells.

Once the coronavirus spike binds to the human receptor, the virus can infect the human cell and replicate it If we can design a protein that binds to this coronavirus spike protein, it could be used to block the interaction with human cells and halt the infection.

Researchers in the University of Washington created Foldit with the intention of using the tireless compulsions in the game to solve problems that would aid innovation. In the game, the player folds protein structures and creates new ones.

This helps in further understanding of protein chains. The FAQ reads: The more we know about how certain proteins fold, the better new proteins we can design to combat the disease-related proteins and cure the diseases.

According to the Universitys Center for Game Science, the developers originally designed the game to work on curing cancer, AIDS, and a host of diseases.

The puzzle has two difficulty levels. In the easier option, players can fold an already existing coronavirus binding protein. In the harder option, they can design the protein from scratch.

The designs that are the most promising will go through testing at UWS Institute for Protein Design. Itll be the beginnings of the cure, if not the cure itself. The UW says that Foldit has more than 200,00 players. They are keeping hopes high for discoveries due to the sheer number of players.

[emailprotected] is also a facility that allows citizens to help with researching protein structures. Those with unused computational resources on their Mac can donate them so that researchers can generate more data.

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Play this game to help create a cure for the coronavirus! Here are the more details !! - Gizmo Posts 24

Donate processing power to help find a treatment for Covid-19 – Rock Paper Shotgun

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If you want to help stop the spread of Covid-19, wash your hands. Follow medical advice. If you want to help some more, though, it wouldnt hurt to chuck some of your processing power at protein modelling. Folding@home is a program that lets you do exactly that: analysing protein structures to find potential druggable sites. I wont pretend to fully understand the science, but I do know this is more likely to help than doing nothing.

The program simply runs in the background, using spare CPU to run simulations of coronavirus proteins.

Folding@home Director Greg Bowman, whos also a full-time researcher at Stanford University, gives a rough explanation of how it works in this blog post. Viruses use proteins, molecular machines, to suppress our immune systems and reproduce. Bowman explains that other approaches to modelling these proteins only reveal a single snapshot of a proteins usual shape, whereas simulations can give you a moving picture. The goal is to accurately model how the atoms move within the viruss protein structure.

Doing so can reveal new therapeutic opportunities, Bowman says.

For example, in our recent paper, we simulated a protein from Ebola virus that is typically considered undruggable because the snapshots from experiments dont have obvious druggable sites. But, our simulations uncovered an alternative structure that does have a druggable site. Importantly, we then performed experiments that confirmed our computational prediction, and are now searching for drugs that bind this newly discovered binding site.

He compares each download to buying a lottery ticket. The more simulations they run, the more likely they are to stumble on something useful. Right now, too many people are chipping in for their servers to handle, so he warns that there will be intermittent downtime.

You can download the software here.

Many gaming events have been cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19, including our dear own Rezzed. Heres a helpful list of every event we know has been affected.

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Donate processing power to help find a treatment for Covid-19 - Rock Paper Shotgun

The mechanism of Hsp90-induced oligomerizaton of Tau – Science Advances

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Tau is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) known to bind to and stabilize microtubules (MTs) and regulate axonal transport in its physiological function (13). In pathology, filamentous aggregates of Tau constitute a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases, among them Alzheimers disease (AD) (4). Both MT binding and self-aggregation of Tau are mediated by the Tau repeat domain (Tau-RD) consisting of four imperfect repeats in the longest Tau isoform (Fig. 1A) (5, 6).

While Tau in solution is generally disordered and highly dynamic, long-range interactions mediate folding back of both termini onto Tau-RD, resulting in an overall paper-clip arrangement of monomeric Tau, which has been well established by a variety of experimental techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) (7, 8). In filamentous aggregates of Tau, Tau-RD forms the ordered filamental core, while N- and C-terminal regions remain a disordered fuzzy coat (9, 10). Tau filaments exist in different morphologies with notable differences in the fold of the filamental cores, which are probably disease specific (11, 12). Although fibrils have long been considered the neurotoxic species, neuronal death appears rather to be caused by prefibrillar soluble aggregates and oligomers of Tau (13, 14), which are also considered responsible for spreading Tau pathogenicity from cell to cell in a prion-like concept (15, 16).

The molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) (17, 18) initiates proteasomal degradation (1921) and induces oligomerization of Tau (2224). Tau-RD is part of the Hsp90/Tau interaction interface (25). While insight into the molecular mechanism of the emergence of toxic Tau oligomers is highly relevant in the context of neuropathology, its structural principle is elusive.

The lack of a defined three-dimensional fold of IDPs like Tau makes their structural characterization challenging. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in combination with site-directed spin labeling has proven powerful in the investigation of IDPs and their aggregation behavior also in the presence of diverse interaction partners (2631). EPR spectroscopy (i) provides information about the side-chain dynamics of a single residue (32). Dipolar spectroscopy, i.e., DEER (double electron-electron resonance) spectroscopy, (ii) gives access to distance information in the nanometer range between two spin labels by measuring their magnetic dipolar interaction frequency dd (3335). Here, we exploit the combination of these approaches to investigating the molecular mechanism of Hsp90-induced Tau oligomerization.

We genetically engineered Tau derivatives containing one or two cysteines at specific sites and performed thiol-specific spin labeling (Fig. 1B). A range of biochemical and biophysical assays was used to monitor the success of the labeling reaction and the structural integrity of the protein (figs. S1 to S3 and table S1).

Next, we set out to characterize the structural properties of Tau by obtaining long-range intramolecular distance information with DEER on doubly spin-labeled Tau. Typical experimental DEER form factors for Tau are shown in Fig. 1C (full data in fig. S4) in comparison to simulated data for a hypothetical, well-defined distance. In contrast to the latter, the experimental traces for Tau showed no distinct modulations, indicating a broad distribution of spin-spin distances and thus implying a vast conformational ensemble of Tau in solution.

For these experimental DEER traces, the standard method for DEER data analysis fails, and the extraction of precise distance distributions is precluded (36, 37). First, we tested whether the experimental DEER data are in agreement with a simple random coil (RC) model (fig. S5). We chose RC model parameters as published by Rhoades and co-workers (38, 39) for assessing the results of FRET experiments on Tau. For certain spin-labeled stretches of Tau, e.g., Tau-17*-103*, the RC model agreed well with the experimental results (Fig. 1D and fig. S5), indicating an RC-like structural ensemble in the corresponding Tau segments. However, the RC model cannot describe the whole DEER dataset even taking variation of RC parameters depending on solvent quality into account [see fig. S6; (40, 41)]: For Tau-17*-291* and Tau-17*-433*, the deviation between the experiment and the RC model indicates a considerable contribution from Tau conformations more compact than RC (Fig. 1E and fig. S5). This is in good agreement with the well-established finding that Tau does not adopt RC conformation in solution but rather a paper clip (7, 8).

Hinderberger and co-workers (36, 37) proposed a data analysis procedure, which we adapted for analyzing the broad conformational ensemble of a large IDP like Tau. We evaluated the DEER data using the effective modulation depth eff, which is the signal decay of the DEER time trace at time t = 3 s (Fig. 1C). While a DEER trace in the absence of Hsp90 delivers a reference eff value for each Tau sample, the change eff upon addition of Hsp90 characterizes transitions in the conformational equilibrium: Negative eff values indicate an increase in spin-spin separation, while positive eff values are consistent with the spins coming into closer proximity of each other (see details of modulation depthbased approach in fig. S7). This allows extracting distance information from DEER traces not analyzable in the conventional way.

The systematic analysis of the experimental eff values supports the paper-clip model proposed on the basis of FRET and NMR experiments for Tau in solution, where N and C termini are in proximity to each other, and Tau-RD is in an overall more compact fold than RC (7, 8). On the one hand, these results demonstrate the capacity of the eff approach for obtaining structural information from DEER traces reflecting vast protein ensembles, while on the other hand, they define the paper clip as a reference structural ensemble of Tau in solution, which is in agreement with the results obtained for the Tau structural ensemble in previous studies, suggesting a paper clip or S shape in solution (7, 8, 39, 42).

It has been shown that Hsp90 induces oligomerization of Tau fragments (22). Here, we analyzed the oligomerization behavior of full-length Tau by density gradient centrifugation (Fig. 2). Pure Tau was mainly found in its monomeric form, while heparin induced the formation of mature fibrils. In the presence of Hsp90, the amount of small oligomeric Tau species increased. Notably, the formation of highmolecular weight Tau aggregates and fibrils was prevented in the presence of Hsp90. Electron micrographs of K18 Tau fragments in the presence of Hsp90 also show the formation of small protein conglomerates, while fibril formation is prevented (43).

Dot blot summarizing the results of density gradient centrifugation and quantification (the color code represents Tau preparations as reported on top of the right graph): Pure Tau is mostly monomeric. Heparin induces formation of highmolecular weight fibrils. Hsp90 leads to an increase in small Tau oligomeric species, while formation of fibrils is prohibited. A.U., arbitrary units.

To identify the oligomerization domain in Tau relevant for Hsp90-induced oligomerization, we performed intermolecular DEER measurements using singly spin-labeled Tau: Upon oligomerization, eff would increase locally where inter-Tau contacts are established. We observed very small eff values for all Tau derivatives in the absence of Hsp90 (Fig. 3), indicating only minor subpopulations of oligomeric Tau species. Addition of Hsp90 leads to a considerable increase in eff for Tau-322* and Tau-354*, depicted as difference values eff. This suggests that the oligomerization interface is located in Tau-RD and specifically in R3/R4. Notably, Tau oligomerization initiates in the same Tau region responsible for AD fibril formation and Hsp90 binding (11, 25). This is remarkable, as it suggests that the same stretch of Tau mediating fibril formation (25) is addressed by Hsp90 to promote the formation of oligomers.

Information about intermolecular Tau/Tau interactions obtained with DEER of singly spin-labeled Tau in the absence (dark gray) and presence (light gray) of Hsp90. Nonzero eff values represent small amounts of nonmonomeric Tau in the absence of Hsp90. Hsp90 increased eff values for Tau-322* and Tau-354* (light green bars) in accordance with an increase in Tau oligomers mediated by R3/R4 of Tau-RD. Positions probed in the experiment are also indicated on a schematic representation of the Tau sequence, with indicated Hsp90-binding site (25) and the core of the AD fibril (11), yellow and green stars indicating spin labeling positions without and with changes in eff upon addition of Hsp90, respectively.

The dynamic properties of Tau in solution and with Hsp90 are reported by EPR spectra of spin-labeled Tau side chains. In general, we observed rather fast rotational dynamics with rotational correlation times corr around 1 ns (Fig. 4A). This is in accordance with Tau presiding in a largely unstructured state with a broad conformational ensemble and a high degree of dynamical disorder (26). Addition of Hsp90 induced only subtle changes in the spectra (fig. S9), indicating that dynamic disorder in Tau persists also when bound. The generally still fast dynamics in the Tau spectra hints toward a transient nature of the Tau/Hsp90 complex, as only a small portion of spin-labeled Tau might be motionally restricted by intermolecular contacts, while other Tau molecules retain unrestricted rotational diffusion. We determined the half lifetime of the Tau/Hsp90 complex by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) affinity measurements at ~10 s, which is typical for transient protein-protein interactions (fig. S10 and table S2) (44). The Tau/Hsp90 complex appears to be characterized by transient interactions between individual residues, involving a structural multiplicity of Tau.

(A) Local side-chain dynamics accessed by cw EPR of 28 M singly spin-labeled Tau derivatives: Rotational correlation times corr determined in the absence (dark gray) and presence (light gray) of 56 M Hsp90 and respective changes corr (purple/pink) are shown. Arrows indicate a decrease (pink) or increase (purple) in side-chain mobility at the respective site. (B) Intramolecular distance information obtained by DEER spectroscopy with doubly spin-labeled Tau derivatives: Effective modulation depths eff determined in the absence (dark gray) and presence (light gray) of Hsp90 and respective changes eff (light/dark green) are shown. Arrows indicate a decrease (light green) or increase (dark green) in spin label separation.

We observed local restrictions of the reorientational mobility for spin-labeled side chains Tau-291* and Tau-322* in the presence of Hsp90. Both residues are located in Tau-RD, which has been identified as the Hsp90-binding region before (25). Thus, the altered dynamics are attributed to direct Tau/Hsp90 interaction, while also oligomer formation might restrict side chain dynamics of Tau-322*.

Spin label mobilities increased in Tau-17* and Tau-103* upon addition of Hsp90, indicating that these side chains gain a larger conformational space. Thus, one might speculate that the N terminus detaches from Tau-RD upon binding of Hsp90, opening up the paper-clip fold.

To elucidate the structural influence of Hsp90 on the Tau conformational ensemble, we performed DEER spectroscopy of doubly spin-labeled Tau. DEER traces remained modulation free upon addition of Hsp90 (fig. S4). Thus, dynamic disorder prevails in Tau also when interacting with the chaperone (Fig. 1C). Addition of Hsp90 changed eff values, indicating a shift in the conformational equilibrium of Tau (Fig. 4B): A pronounced increase in the average spin-spin separation occurred for Tau-17*-291* and Tau-17*-433*. This indicates that the N terminus detaches from both Tau-RD and the C terminus and folds outward, opening up the paper clip (Fig. 5). eff values suggested a slight stretching of N-terminal Tau between Tau-17*-103* and of Tau-RD in the region between Tau-291*-322* in R2/R3, while the overall dimension of Tau-RD between Tau-244*-354* remained unchanged. While individual repeat sequences, e.g., R2/R3 expanded while accommodating Hsp90, there seems to be considerable flexibility in the remaining Tau-RD for preserving its overall dimension. A similar structural reorganization of Tau toward an open conformation was reported upon binding to tubulin, where stretches between individual repeats expanded, while the overall dimension of Tau-RD remained unaffected (38). Our results report the conformational basis of Tau oligomerization in the presence of Hsp90 and suggest that binding to Hsp90 opens the compact Tau solution structure, exposing Tau-RD residues and presenting them to other Tau molecules. As the Tau/Hsp90 complex is of a transient nature, oligomerization of Tau molecules may then occur via exposed Tau-RD.

A structural model of Tau in the absence (left) and presence of Hsp90 (right) can be derived from EPR data of the Tau conformational ensemble. In the absence of Hsp90, Tau adopts a paper-clip shape with both termini folded back onto Tau-RD. In the presence of Hsp90 the N terminus folds outward, thereby uncovering Tau-RD.

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Blurring the Line Between Natural and Artificial – Discovery Institute

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In 2010, Craig Venters lab embedded text and images into the DNA of a bacterium. Would a future investigator be able to tell? It would take special tools to see the insertion, but the difference should be detectable. What if bioengineers invent new genes that use the cells translation machinery to build non-natural proteins? This is already coming to pass with CRISPR/Cas9 methods. If the insertion were made in an embryo, all the adult cells would inherit the change. The line between natural and artificial is getting more blurry.

In a sense, the new bioengineering developments are similar in principle to longstanding cases of artificial interference in nature, as in agriculture, camouflage, or construction of simple dwellings with available materials like grass or fallen branches. The Design Filter takes into account what chance and natural law can do. There will always be difficult cases; ID errs on the side of non-intelligent causes when the degree of specified complexity is borderline. But now, specified complexity exists in both natural DNA and DNA altered by human intelligence. There should be ways to distinguish between human intelligent causes and non-human intelligent causes, whether those be space aliens, spirit beings, or a transcendent Creator.

In their epilogue to the book The Mystery of Lifes Origin (newly updated and expanded by Discovery Institute Press), Charles Thaxton, Walter Bradley, and Roger Olsen considered five sources for a more satisfactory theory of origins. These included: new natural laws, panspermia, directed panspermia, special creation by a creator within the cosmos, and special creation by a creator outside the cosmos. The last four involve intentional, mind-directed activity; only #5 necessarily involves the supernatural. To the investigator, though, the output of the Design Filter would be the same. It boils down to natural versus artificial: unguided, or mind-directed. But what happens when the mind-directed interference of bioengineers gets so good, it looks natural? It becomes a case of the perfect crime, leaving the investigator baffled. Todays Mars rovers are easily distinguished from the rocky, dusty environment of Mars. But what if future designers made them look like rocks, functioning when they roll over in the wind?

This is a growing challenge for ID as bioengineering progresses. News from ETH Zurich says:

Every living creature on earth has parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and so on representing an unbroken line of ancestry all the way back to the very first organisms that lived here billions of years ago. Soon we will have life forms that have no such direct lineage. The first of these organisms will be bacteria. Bioengineers will use computers to develop such bacteria and specifically tailor them for applications in medicine, industry or agriculture. With the help of DNA synthesisers, they will build these bacterias genomes from the ground up to produce artificial life forms. [Emphasis added.]

This implies that an investigator will have to search the ancestry of an organism to make a design inference.

I dont mean organisms in which only individual genes have been altered a technique that has been applied in biotechnology and crop breeding for decades, and that todays CRISPR gene scissors have made very simple. No, I mean organisms for which bioengineers have literally developed the genome from scratch so that they can synthesise it in the lab.

The author, Dr. Beat Christen of ETH, says this is not science fiction. The tools to do this are already in place. I am convinced that they will soon be a reality, he says. It may not require designing every molecular machine de novo.

Digital databases store over 200,000 genome sequences from a broad range of organisms providing us access to a wealth of molecular building plans. By cleverly combining or modifying known genetic functions, bioengineers can develop microorganisms with new and useful characteristics.

How would an investigator in such cases be able to differentiate a synthetic organism from known examples of mosaic organisms or natural organisms containing orphan genes? On ID the Future recently, Paul Nelson acknowledged from his trip to the Galpagos Islands that Darwin got something right: organisms have a history. There can be some natural modification in a lineage over time, as in the case of flightless cormorants, he said, and ID advocates need to build that into their theory of design. With bioengineering entering the mix, they will also have to distinguish natural history from artificial history in the codes of life.

This is an extension of what they must do in distinguishing the artificial history of cultivated crops and animal breeds. The dachshund looks very different from the wolf from which domestic dogs descended. The ears of corn we buy in supermarkets differ substantially from the maize or teosinte from which farmers selectively bred them. But now that bioengineers can selectively edit the genes, they will have to discern the history in the genotype as well as the phenotype. The ability to do this could become very important.

Another challenge will arise as human history progresses. Right now, we have more clues to trace genetic editing to particular labs. But as the number of gene editing labs grows over time, and editing becomes routine maybe even to individuals it may become impossible to trace the edits to their source. This happens with artificial breeding as well; unless particular breeders documented their work, historians and archaeologists can only gain indirect clues to the time and place of origin for a particular breed. It could have started in ancient Babylon, Egypt, or Rome. Its not IDs job to identify the agent, the books explain (e.g., The Design Revolution, Chapter 26); the investigator should be able to detect design from its effects alone. Genetic tinkering will make that inference more difficult, if genetic engineers continue to blur the line between natural genetic information and edited genetic information. Moreover, not all gene editors publish their work. As in the case of bioweapons, the source may intentionally try to conceal its designs.

In Nature, three scientists wrote a review titled, The coming of age of de novo protein design. The opening sentence of the article by Huang, Boyken, and Baker makes a point that Douglas Axe and Ann Gauger would agree with: functional space is dwarfed by sequence space.

There are 20200 possible amino-acid sequences for a 200-residue protein, of which the natural evolutionary process has sampled only an infinitesimal subset. De novo protein design explores the full sequence space, guided by the physical principles that underlie protein folding. Computational methodology has advanced to the point that a wide range of structures can be designed from scratch with atomic-level accuracy. Almost all protein engineering so far has involved the modification of naturally occurring proteins; it should now be possible to design new functional proteins from the ground up to tackle current challenges in biomedicine and nanotechnology.

The summary on Phys.org has the title, Scientists can now design new proteins from scratch with specific functions. One of the techniques of de novo protein design involves evolutionary algorithms, in which the intelligent agent provides the selective pressure to find the fittest protein for the chosen goal. If engineers succeed in taking an amino acid sequence that folds in silico and then can reverse engineer the genetic code for it so that it can be translated by a natural bacteriums cellular machinery, does it become indistinguishable from an orphan gene? In both instances, the Design Filter would register a positive, but should ID advocates be able to tell the difference? Does it matter?

Another blurring of lines between the natural and the artificial occurs in cases of guiding organisms to do unnatural things. At the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion), biotechnicians have turned a bacterial cell into a biological computer.

In recent decades, the barriers between engineering and life sciences have been falling, and from the encounter between the two different disciplines, a new science synthetic biology was born. Synthetic biology introduces engineering into biology, makes it possible to design and build biological systems that dont exist in nature, and supplies an innovative toolbox for reprogramming the genetic code in living creatures, including humans.

We built a kind of biological computer in the living cells. In this computer, as in regular computers, circuits carry out complicated calculations, said Barger. Only here, these circuits are genetic, not electronic, and information are [sic] carried by proteins and not electrons.

Once again, telling the difference will require a robust design inference. This type of tinkering might be compared to animal training. Shown two wolves, one trained to respond to human words and one in its wild state, could the investigator tell them apart by their behavior alone? Probably, but discriminating biological computers from wild bacteria could be a lot tougher, tractable only to molecular biologists.

These examples in the news present both challenges and opportunities. As lines blur between the natural and the synthetic in the 21st century, the design inference must be tightened accordingly. The specified-complexity criterion is robust against false positives (This is designed when its not), but not against false negatives (This isnt designed when it is; see William Dembski, No Free Lunch, pp. 22-28). To avoid a growing number of false negatives, the investigator must now become aware of the history of the genotype as well as the phenotype.

Its well and good to lump all instances of complex specified information into the designed category, whether a gene was edited by humans or designed by a transcendent entity. But these rapidly growing capabilities for bioengineering raise additional challenges for the ID community. Fortunately, with the challenges come opportunities. The very act of genetic engineering must surely be raising awareness in the scientific community of the degree of specified complexity in natural organisms, and the extremely limited tolerances for success. Nature confesses:

It is useful to begin by considering the fraction of protein sequence space that is occupied by naturally occurring proteins [1012 out of 20200]Evidently, evolution has explored only a tiny region of the sequence space that is accessible to proteins.

The design inference is not changing in principle; it only needs clarification to fit more challenging cases. It also affords opportunities to communicate design principles to those still clinging to the hope that blind, unguided processes are capable of navigating endless fields of haystacks for a tiny number of needles.

Photo: Topiary animals, by Doko Jozef Kotuli / CC BY.

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Blurring the Line Between Natural and Artificial - Discovery Institute

One of Our Best Biochemists, She Was Never Awarded By India! – The Better India

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Such was Darshan Ranganathans dedication that she got her mother to send jackfruit from India all the way to London, just for her research! #WomenInScience

Off the top of your head, how many women in science can you name from across the globe? Go ahead, take your time. Now that you have done that, how many Indian women in science can you think of? Does the name Darshan Ranganathan crop up in your head?

Promotion

A pioneer in the field of chemistry, among the many awards she had won for her work, Darshan was the recipient of Third World Academy of Sciences Award for her outstanding contributions to bio-organic chemistry.

In a world where the representation of women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) is quite low, the legacy left behind by women like Darshan can be a guiding force for many girls who want to make a mark in the field of science.

Darshan Ranganathan not only made strides in the field of bio-organic chemistry research, but funded her entire career with multiple fellowships. One of these fellowships even gave her the opportunity to travel all the way to Imperial College in London for a post-doctoral in the late 1960s!

Darshan was born in Karol Bagh, New Delhi on 4 June, 1941 and was the third child to Shantiswarup Makan and Vidyavati Markan. She completed her early education from Aryaamamj Girls Primary School in Delhi after which she studied in Indraprastha Higher Secondary School.

Here, her teacher S V L Ratan was a great influence on her and inspired by her to make a career in the field of Chemistry. She graduated in the subject from Delhi University. Later, Darshan completed her PhD in organic Chemistry in the same university, under the guidance of Prof. TR Seshadri. During her PhD, she also taught he subject at the Miranda college. Her hard work led her to receive The Senior Research Scholarship of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.

This helped her carry out her post-doctoral work with Professor DHR Barton at the Imperial College London.

It was at the Imperial College, London that she started studying cycloartenol in jackfruit and on photochemical reactions of steroids.

Darshan had always been interested in studying the structure or organic compounds and she ended up doing some pioneering work in the field of protein folding. This basically means that she studied the three-dimensional structure of plant-based atoms. With a passion for reproducing biochemical processes in the laboratory, she would often go to great lengths in fulfilling her research work.

Cycloartenol is a biologically active compound found in plants and the professor with whom she was working, wanted to clarify the confusion regarding its actual structure found in plants.

But, since jackfruit was not available in London, she went to the extent of asking her mother to ship it to her from Delhi in dry form. Hence, her involvement in the project helped the professor further the research work.

Promotion

Additionally, the other leading work she did was to create a protocol for the autonomous reproduction of imidazole. This is an organic compound that is an important ingredient found in antifungal drugs and antibiotics, which is why it has great pharmaceutical importance. She returned to India in 1969.

Upon her return, Darshan met Subramania Ranganathan, at a symposium. A few months later, he proposed to her and they married on 4 June 1970.

Just 12 days after her marriage, she joined the laboratory at IIT Kanpur, where her husband also worked. At the time, she did not really have any scholarship but she enjoyed working long hours.

In a glorious eulogy, her husband wrote:

I told her that from the very first day, we would share my resources as an Assistant Professor of the Department, by way of students, equipment, chemicals, project funds and that we will work in different domains of research. With all the trials, tribulations and various types of prejudices she did exceedingly well on her own.

He adds that she had independently published in several journals and was already a member of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Together, they even co-authored, Current Organic chemistry highlights. Her husband wrote, Those days, I typed on a stencil and she drew the structures beautifully.

In 1992, she got her first real job at the Regional Research Laboratory, Trivandrum in 1992 and ended up setting up a laboratory for her research.

The biggest feat for Darshan was that she could manage her entire career of research by securing fellowships. In 1991, she got the fellowships of the Indian Academy of Sciences, The Indian National Science Academy in 1996, AV Rama Rao Foundation Award (JNCASR), Third world Academy of Sciences award (TWAS) in Chemistry (1999) among several others.

In 1998, she and her husband moved to Hyderabad on invitation by Dr Raghavan, Director, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology.

She was later diagnosed with cancer and died on the day she was born, on 4 June 2001 at the age of sixty. Her son Anand, who was born in 1972, also followed his parents footsteps and became a scientist.

This is what her husband had to say for the eminent scientist:

She was a star. For such a wonderful human being, the end should come so early and so painfully is indeed a cruel twist of destiny. She fought her long suffering just as bravely. But he says that their time together were the golden years that went by, a dream never to return.

He truly looks up to his wife and says that her career path is one that can be emulated. Summarising Darshans genius is even more difficult. At the time of her passing away, she was the most prolific organic biochemist in India, he wrote.

Also Read: Kamal Ranadive, The Unsung Scientist Who Made Science Accessible to All Women

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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One of Our Best Biochemists, She Was Never Awarded By India! - The Better India

CLARUS THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES FINANCING TO SUPPORT THE COMMERCIAL LAUNCH AND AVAILABILITY OF JATENZO (TESTOSTERONE UNDECANOATE) CAPSULES, CIII FOR THE…

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Financing to speed commercialization of the only FDA-approved oral treatment of its kind for testosterone deficiency1,2

NORTHBROOK, Ill., March 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clarus Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial mens health specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today that it has completed a senior debt financing of up to $75M. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as sole placement agent for the transaction.

Clarus will use the proceeds from this financing to accelerate the commercialization strategy and launch for JATENZO (testosterone undecanoate) capsules, CIII, the first and only FDA-approved oral softgel testosterone replacement therapy for the treatment of men with hypogonadism due to certain medical conditions. This additional investment builds on an exceptional year for the company, which includes hiring multiple key executives and making JATENZO available for patients.

We are thrilled to have this investment as we bring JATENZO to market, said Dr. Robert Dudley, Chief Executive Officer of Clarus Therapeutics, Inc. We can now fully implement JATENZOs commercialization strategy and move Clarus closer to profitability.

About HypogonadismHypogonadism, also known as testosterone deficiency, is a condition in men in which the body does not produce enough testosterone.3 Only those men who are symptomatic and have consistently low results on a reliable testosterone assay should be offered testosterone replacement therapy, according to current treatment guidelines from both the Endocrine Society and the American Urological Association.3,4 Treatment is meant to induce and maintain secondary sex characteristics and improve clinical symptoms associated with testosterone deficiency.4About Clarus Therapeutics, Inc.Clarus is a men's specialty pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing JATENZO, a product protected by patents issued in the United States and in other major pharmaceutical markets around the world. Clarus owns the worldwide, royalty-free commercialization rights for JATENZO.For more information, please visit:www.clarustherapeutics.com.

About JATENZO JATENZO is the first and only FDA-approved oral testosterone undecanoate for testosterone replacement therapy in adult males for conditions associated with a deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone: primary hypogonadism (congenital or acquired) and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (congenital or acquired).1,2

JATENZOs proprietary formulation is built around testosterone undecanoatea testosterone prodrug that the body converts to testosterone. In the JATENZO pivotal inTUne (investigational testosterone undecanoate) clinical trial, 87 percent of hypogonadal men treated with JATENZO achieved a mean total testosterone concentration in the eugonadal range at the end of treatment.1 The efficacy and safety of JATENZO was evaluated in 166 adult, hypogonadal males in a 4-month, open-label study. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients with mean plasma total testosterone concentration (Cavg) over 24 hours within the normal eugonadal range on the final pharmacokinetic visit of the study.

INDICATIONJATENZO (testosterone undecanoate) capsules, CIII, is an androgen indicated for testosterone replacement therapy in adult males for conditions associated with a deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone:

Limitation of use

Safety and efficacy of JATENZO in males less than 18 years old have not been established.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: INCREASES IN BLOOD PRESSURE

CONTRAINDICATIONS

JATENZO is contraindicated in men with carcinoma of the breast or known or suspected carcinoma of the prostate, in women who are pregnant, in men with a known hypersensitivity to JATENZO or its ingredients, or in men with hypogonadal conditions that are not associated with structural or genetic etiologies as JATENZO has not been established for these conditions and there is a risk of increased blood pressure with JATENZO that can increase the risk of MACE.

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

ADVERSE EVENTS

The most common adverse events of JATENZO (incidence 2%) are headache (5%), increased hematocrit (5%), hypertension (4%), decreased HDL (3%), and nausea (2%).

DRUG INTERACTIONS

USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

The safety and efficacy of JATENZO in pediatric patients less than 18 years old have not been established. Improper use may result in acceleration of bone age and premature closure of epiphyses.

There have not been sufficient numbers of geriatric patients involved in controlled clinical studies utilizing JATENZO to determine whether efficacy or safety in those over 65 years of age differs from younger subjects. There is insufficient long-term safety data in geriatric patients utilizing JATENZO to assess the potentially increased risk of cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer.

Please click here for full Prescribing Information, including BOXED WARNING on increases in blood pressure.

Media ContactAmir KhanPhone: (212) 462-8767Email: Amir.Khan@Syneoshealth.com

1JATENZO (testosterone undecanoate) [prescribing information]. Clarus Therapeutics, Inc.

2US Food & Drug Administration. FDA Approved Drug Products. Available at: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/index.cfm?event=overview.process&ApplNo=206089. Accessed October 1, 2019.

3Bhasin S, et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2018;103(5):1715-1744.

4Mulhall JP, et al. J Urol. 2018;200(2):423-432.

2020 Clarus Therapeutics, Inc. All rights reserved.

JATENZO is a registered trademark of Clarus Therapeutics, Inc.

COR-US-0038 03/2020

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CLARUS THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES FINANCING TO SUPPORT THE COMMERCIAL LAUNCH AND AVAILABILITY OF JATENZO (TESTOSTERONE UNDECANOATE) CAPSULES, CIII FOR THE...

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market 2020 : Top Countries Data, Global Analysis, Market Size, Growth, Defination, Business Opportunities And…

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Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market 2020 Research Report provides key analysis on the market status of the Testosterone Replacement Therapy manufacturers with best facts and figures, meaning, definition, SWOT analysis, expert opinions and the latest developments across the globe. The Report also calculate the market size, Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share, cost structure and growth rate. The report considers the revenue generated from the sales of This Report and technologies by various application segments.

Short Description About Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market :

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is a class of hormone replacement therapy in which androgens, often testosterone, are replaced. Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is an FDA-approved medical treatment for men of any age who have low testosterone, a hormone necessary for male sexual development.

Get a Sample PDF of reporthttps://www.360researchreports.com/enquiry/request-sample/13836798

The objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments and countries in previous years and to forecast the values to the next Five years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualify qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry with respect to each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as drivers and restraining factors which will define the future growth of the market.

The research covers the current Testosterone Replacement Therapy market size of the market and its growth rates based on 5-year records with company outline ofKey players/manufacturers:

Scope of the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Report:

Testosterone deficiency, also referred to as hypogonadism, is a common problem among men aged between 40 and 79 years, with some studies stating that nearly 30% of all men worldwide are affected by hypogonadism. As the incidence of testosterone deficiency increases, it is expected that the demand for TRT will also show a simultaneous increase. The global average price of testosterone replacement therapy is in the decreasing trend, from 45.4 USD/Unit in 2012 to 34.9 USD/Unit in 2016. With the situation of global economy, prices will be in decreasing trend in the following five years. The classification of testosterone replacement therapy includes gels, injections, patches and other types, and the proportion of gels in 2016 is about 72%. Testosterone replacement therapy is widely sold in hospitals, clinics and other field. The most proportion of testosterone replacement therapy is sold in clinics, and the consumption proportion is about 43%. North America region is the largest supplier of testosterone replacement therapy, with a production market share nearly 86% in 2016. Europe is the second largest supplier of Testosterone Replacement Therapy, enjoying production market share nearly 9.9% in 2016. North America is the largest consumption place, with a consumption market share nearly 83% in 2016. Following North America, Europe is the second largest consumption place with the consumption market share of 12%. Market competition is intense. AbbVie, Endo International, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Actavis (Allergan)

Bayer, etc. are the leaders of the industry. The top five players together held about 80% of the market in the same year and they hold key technologies and patents, with high-end customers; have been formed in the monopoly position in the industry.

The worldwide market for Testosterone Replacement Therapy is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly -4.2% over the next five years, will reach 1410 million USD in 2024, from 1820 million USD in 2019, according to a new Research study.

This report focuses on the Testosterone Replacement Therapy in global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.

Get a Sample Copy of the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Report 2020

Report further studies the market development status and future Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market trend across the world. Also, it splits Testosterone Replacement Therapy market Segmentation by Type and by Applications to fully and deeply research and reveal market profile and prospects.

Major Classifications are as follows:

Major Applications are as follows:

Geographically,this report is segmented into severalkey regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Testosterone Replacement Therapy in these regions, from 2014 to 2024, covering

This Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Research/Analysis Report Contains Answers to your following Questions

Inquire more and share questions if any before the purchase on this report at https://www.360researchreports.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/13836798

Major Points from Table of Contents:

1. Market Overview1.1 Testosterone Replacement Therapy Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.4 Market Dynamics1.4.1 Market Opportunities1.4.2 Market Risk1.4.3 Market Driving Force

2.Manufacturers Profiles

2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 Testosterone Replacement Therapy Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Product A2.4.2.2 Product B

3.Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Competition By Manufacturer (2019-2020)

3.1 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer (2019-2020)3.2 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer (2019-2020)3.3 Market Concentration Rates3.3.1 Top 3 Testosterone Replacement Therapy Manufacturer Market Share in 20203.3.2 Top 6 Testosterone Replacement Therapy Manufacturer Market Share in 20203.4 Market Competition Trend

4.Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Analysis by Regions

4.1 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions4.1.1 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales and Market Share by Regions (2014-2019)4.1.2 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2014-2019)4.2 North America Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2019)4.3 Europe Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2019)4.4 Asia-Pacific Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2019)4.6 South America Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2019)4.6 Middle East and Africa Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2019)

5.Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Forecast (2020-2024)5.1 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate (2020-2024)5.2 Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Forecast by Regions (2020-2024)5.3 Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Forecast by Type (2020-2024)5.3.1 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales Forecast by Type (2020-2024)5.3.2 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Share Forecast by Type (2020-2024)5.4 Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Forecast by Application (2020-2024)5.4.1 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sales Forecast by Application (2020-2024)5.4.2 Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Share Forecast by Application (2020-2024)

6.Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers6.1 Sales Channel6.1.1 Direct Marketing6.1.2 Indirect Marketing6.1.3 Marketing Channel Future Trend6.2 Distributors, Traders and Dealers

7.Research Findings and Conclusion

8.Appendix8.1 Methodology8.2 Data Source

Continued..

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Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Research Report Insights on 2025 Industry Outlook, Competitive Breakdown, Opportunities and Trends – Daily…

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The key objective of Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market 2020-2025 Trends and Global Insights report is to help the user understand the market in terms of its segmentation, influential trends, leading players, market potential, primary and secondary research, and the challenges that the market is facing

Deep researches and analysis were done during the preparation of the Testosterone Replacement Therapy market report. The readers will find this report very helpful in understanding the market in depth. The data and the information regarding the market are taken from reliable sources such as websites, annual reports of the companies, journals, and others and were checked and validated by the industry experts. The facts and data are represented in the report using diagrams, graphs, pie charts, and other pictorial representations. This enhances the visual representation and also helps in understanding the facts much better.

The Key players covered in the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market research report are:

By Market Players:AbbVie, Teva, Pfizer, Endo International, Novartis, Eli lilly, Upsher-Smith, Bayer, Actavis (Allergan), Mylan, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Kyowa Kirin, Acerus Pharmaceuticals

By ApplicationHospitals, Clinics, OthersGels, Injections, Patches, Other

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The points that are discussed within the report are the major market players that are involved in the market such as manufacturers, raw material suppliers, equipment suppliers, end users, traders, distributors and etc.

The complete profile of the companies is mentioned. And the capacity, production, price, revenue, cost, gross, gross margin, sales volume, sales revenue, consumption, growth rate, import, export, supply, future strategies, and the technological developments that they are making are also included within the report. The historical data from 2012 to 2017 and forecast data from 2018 to 2023.

Click to access full report and Table of Content at https://www.abrreports.com/industry-insights/2020-2025-global-and-regional-testosterone-replacement-therapy-industry-production-sales-and-consumption-status-and-prospects-professional-market-research-report

The growth factors of the market are discussed in detail wherein the different end users of the market are explained in detail. Data and information by manufacturer, by region, by type, by application and etc, and custom research can be added according to specific requirements.

The report contains the SWOT analysis of the market. Finally, the report contains the conclusion part where the opinions of the industrial experts are included.

Key Reasons to Purchase

To gain insightful analyses of the market and have comprehensive understanding of the global market and its commercial landscape.Assess the production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk.To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the market and its impact in the global market.Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations.To understand the future outlook and prospects for the market.Besides the standard structure reports, we also provide custom research according to specific requirements.

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Key pointers of the Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Industry OverviewChapter 2 Production Market AnalysisChapter 3 Sales Market AnalysisChapter 4 Consumption Market AnalysisChapter 5 Production, Sales and Consumption Market Comparison AnalysisChapter 6 Major Manufacturers Production and Sales Market Comparison AnalysisChapter 7 Major Material AnalysisChapter 8 Major Type AnalysisChapter 9 Industry Chain AnalysisChapter 10 Global and Regional Market ForecastChapter 11 Major Manufacturers AnalysisChapter 12 New Project Investment Feasibility AnalysisChapter 13 ConclusionsChapter 14 Appendix

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Transhumanism And The Future Of Humanity: 7 Ways The World …

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Companies today are strategizing about future investments and technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, or growth around new business models. While many of these trends will make for solid investments for the next 5-10 years, fewer companies are considering the revolutionary convergence of disparate trends pulled from technology, behavioral and societal changes, and medical advances to understand how they will converge to transform society. This transformation will be messy, complex, and sometimes scary, but signals already point to a future of humanity that will blur our identities into transhumanism.

Transhumanism and the Future of Humanity

To understand this topic, our Visionary Innovation Group looked at three fundamental pillars of humanity and how they will evolve over the coming 10-15 years: our bodies, our thought, and our behavior. After identifying the driving forces that will transform these fundamental pillars, we extracted key themes emerging from their convergence. Ultimately our goal was to determine the ways in which the changing nature of humanity and transhumanism would affect individuals, society, businesses, and government.

A few of the trends that emerged from this study include the following seven trends. We hope they will spark discussion and innovation at your organizations.

The coming years will usher in a number of body augmentation capabilities that will enable humans to be smarter, stronger, and more capable than we are today. Wearables will be one form of body augmentation, but they will far surpass the fitness trackers of today. In the future, we can expect the arrival of contact lenses that can take pictures or video, universal language translator earbuds that allow us to communicate anywhere in the world, and exosuits that increase physical strength. We will also see increased use of implants ranging from brain microchips and neural lace to mind-controlled prosthesis and subdermal RFID chips that allow users to unlock doors or computer passwords with the wave of a hand. However, the most powerful body augmentation will come from biological augmentation as a result of increased insight into our genomes, advances in IVF technology that may allow us to select the most intelligent embryos, and powerful CRISPR gene-editing technology which may one day give us the ability to eliminate all heritable diseases. [i]

These body augmentation capabilities will give rise to humans that are more resilient, optimized and continually monitored. They will also lead to implications around which job opportunities are available to those with and without augmented abilities, as well as impacting sports competition with hierarchies based on body augmentation. We already see the early days of this with questions around leg prosthesis and whether they provide runners with increased speed compared to that of an average human. At the same time, augmented bodies will usher in risks such as espionage potential via contact lens camera hacks, or even more worryingly, risk of a stratified human race based on those who can afford augmentations and those who cannot.

Both wearable and implantable brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are in development from organizations that include Elon Musks Neuralink, Facebook, and DARPA. These devices will dramatically alter the ways in which we communicate with each other, as well as digital devices. Today, when I speak with others, I am limited by the speed with which I can speak and the words on the tip of my tongue. When I interface with a computer, I am limited by the speed that I can type. BMIs will change all of this to enabling communication at the speed of thought in its full, unfiltered state. Mark Zuckerberg has described the following scenario: Today, when we share our vacation experiences, we upload photos and videos. With BMIs, I can share my full sensory and emotional vacation experience with my friends and family. [ii]

Early innovators such as UBER are already harnessing the incredible combined power of behavioral science, gamification, and AI. Ubers behavioral science techniques include cueing up the next drive as the default option, not revealing the profitability of that ride (which is an uncertainty technique that is most often used in gambling), and giving drivers awards such as Above and Beyond that spur dopamine release. Gamification techniques used by the company include a graphical interface that brings a video-game like quality to the drive, as well as prompting goals that are always just out of reach to encourage continued pursuit.[iii]

Even governments have taken up these tactics with behavioral science units in both the UK and US. While these groups are focused on socially beneficial programs, they must be monitored to ensure they do not drift into more controlling engagements. In addition to applying these techniques to employees and citizens, it is easy to see how they will be increasingly be applied to consumers to drive more frequent and volume-driven purchases. By 2030 we can expect that behavioral scientists will be in demand in corporate HR, strategy, and consulting departments.

The adoption of virtual reality can play an influential role in our ability to understand perspectives other than our own at the current moment. For example, VR could be used to understand the plight of refugees, giving us the opportunity to step into their shoes, which may make us more likely to take action or donate money.[iv] Other examples may include stepping into the shoes of our future selves, and looking at the lives we will live 40-50 years down the road if we save $200 a month vs. $2000. This application can bring home the need to save over the short term desire to spend. BMIs may also advance our ability to empathize if we are able to understand someone elses full perspective straight from their own brain, rather than if they are trying to communicate it and misspeak or their intention is misinterpreted by the listener.

We already see an advanced degree of personalization in marketing practices, but this will be extended in the future to touch virtually all aspects of our lives. For example, in addition to location and past purchase history data, marketers may be able to use emotional filters based on our activity to change the tone of their message on the spot in response to our current mood. Personalization will also extend to our homes, as we are currently seeing with smart home devices that can set moods with lighting and music. Eventually, we may see AI personalization affect our career trajectory, playing a guiding role in the positions we are offered based on our personal strengths. It is inevitable that our diets and medical treatment will be far more personalized based on the information that our genome reveals about us. Personalisation will eventually give way to customisation at mass scale where products and services will be completely configured to personal needs and preferences.

We will see the rise of AI in our career settings as described in much work focused on smart factories, industrial IOT, and related topics. Most employees will have an AI counterpart with which they collaborate or through which their work is amplified. Some futurists predict that by 2026 companies will have an AI machine as a member of their board of directors[v]. Integration of BMI into workplaces will usher in heightened cybersecurity concerns, and we may see eventual scenarios in which companies are sponsoring nootropic supplements and neurostimulation devices to improve employee focus and increase the speed of new skills acquisition.

As these widespread and revolutionary technologies come at us from every angle and affect our bodies, thought processes, and behaviors, society will engage in growing philosophical debate around what our values are as individuals, as a country, and as a species. What do we value most? Is it intelligence, self-fulfillment, success, happiness, quality of life for all, or something else? As we increasingly have the tools to engineer any of these outcomes, some will have to take priority over others. For example, if one country decides that they want to create a nation of super-intelligent and physically augmented citizens, will other countries decide they have no choice but to follow suit? These and related questions that get at the heart of who we are as humans and what we value in our society will have tremendous ramifications.

Are you ready to be augmented into a super human? Frost & Sullivan explores these themes and many others in detail in a recently published study, Transhumanism: How humans will think, behave, experience, and perform in the future, and the implications to businesses. If you would like to explore this topic in more detail, you can access the study here.

This article was written with contributions from Lauren Taylor, Principal Consultant in Frost & Sullivans Visionary Innovation Group.

[i] National Geographic. April 2017. How Humans Are Shaping Our Own Evolution. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/04/evolution-genetics-medicine-brain-technology-cyborg/

[ii] MIT Technology Review. March 2017. The entrepreneur with the $100 million plan to link brains to computers. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603771/the-entrepreneur-with-the-100-million-plan-to-link-brains-to-computers/

[iii]The New York Times. April 2017. How Uber uses psychological tricks to push its drivers buttons. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/02/technology/uber-drivers-psychological-tricks.html

[iv] City Lab. October 2016. What if virtual reality can make us better citizens? https://www.citylab.com/life/2016/10/virtual-reality-empathy-natural-world/502694/

[v] The World Economic Forum. January 2016. The 10 skills you need to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-10-skills-you-need-to-thrive-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/

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Transhumanism And The Future Of Humanity: 7 Ways The World ...

Zoltan Istvan: The Transhumanist Candidate – Roads and Kingdoms

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This week on The Trip podcast: Zoltan Istvan has come from the future with a message New Hampshire doesnt want to hear.

Here they are in the New Hampshire Secretary of States office, paying their thousand dollars to be on the official primary ballot. They are the lesser-known candidates, the dramatic fringe of each presidential primary election up here. And they are the stars of my quadrennial quixotic reporting project with photographer Shane Carpenter. And listen, they arent like Tom Steyer lesser-known, theyre like Vermin Supreme lesser-known, Mary Maxwell lesser-known, Zoltan Istvan lesser-known. Almost nobody knows these people, but theyre running anyway. This is the fifth primary that Shane and I have spent ducking out of mainstream campaign press events to track down the people who are just obsessive, idealistic, or imbalanced enough to think they should run for president, often with no money, no support, sometimes no platform really. Of course, the idea of a non-politician becoming president was distinctly more laughable before 2016, and now it doesnt seem that funny at all. But these candidates are something different, a wild bunch, far more entertaining and thought-provoking even than the scripted candidates. Shane and I just published a feature on the lesser-known and their radical approach to democracy on roadsandkingdoms.com; I hope youll take a look. But for now, in this episode, Ive got one of the most composed and compelling of this years fringe candidates, writer and transhumanist Zoltan Istvan. We drank some 15 year old Dalwinnie Scotch and talked about exoskeletons, being escorted at gunpoint from a megachurch, and why he let someone jam a horse syringe into his hand to give him a permanent bio-chip implant.

Here is an edited and condensed transcript from my conversation with Eva. Subscribers canlisten to the full episode here. If youre not on Luminary yet, subscribe and listen (and get a 7-day free trial) by signing uphere.

Nathan Thornburgh: What is transhumanism?

Zoltan Istvan: Transhumanism is a social movement, now of many millions of people around the world, that want to use science and technology to radically transform the human body and transform the human experience. Anything from exoskeleton suits to brain implants to even driverless cars. But whatever it is, its kind of the top 10% of the most radical technologies that are affecting the human race.

Thornburgh: You say there were many millions. Are these people who would actively knowingly define themselves as transhumanists, or you think its just aligned with the way that they look at the world?

Istvan: I think there are now probably millions that would say, if you ask them are you a transhumanist, they would now say, yes I am. When you ask them, is that what they consider themselves? Thats a little bit more challenging of a question. Google, for example, is probably the most transhumanist of all the companies out there, and they have the largest, what we call life extension company, a company worth billions of dollars, that wants to overcome aging. Its specifically designed to make people essentially live indefinitely. So we are getting to a point when you can now say millions and likely tens of millions who are supporters of the idea. Chinas probably leading the transhumanist movement in terms of innovationthey have the first designer baby babies and stuff like that. So there might be even many more.

But the word is just an umbrella term for many other ideas. Cryonics, singulariatism. Cyborgism. Singularity is the concept of transhumanists where they believe that AI will become so sophisticated that our human brains wont even be able to understand its sophistication. And at that point we get left behind.

The main goal of transhumanism is overcoming death with science and technology.

Thornburgh: The word itself, can you just break it down for me?

Istvan: Well, the Latin would say its beyond human.

Thornburgh: Okay, got it. All of our limitations are physicalchronological aging, mortality. Those are the things that youre going to supersede through technology.

Istvan: Basically, yes. And nobodys really sure like exactly what transhumanism means in terms of the specific agenda. Is it when a primate picked up a rock and made an axe millions of years ago, or is it a robot taking over a workers job, which of course is increasingly happening. Is that transhumanism, or is it brain implants? Nobody really knows, but whatever it is and it radical science is, is sort of changing the human species and the core of it is the microprocessor. It keeps evolving exponentially and we even have things like quantum computing now happening where, you know, that could revolutionize again, the microprocessor. So anything that applies to the human being, in terms of merging us with machines, is a transhuman event.

I think whats very important is that there are various versions of transhumanism. There are socialist transhumanists, there are libertarian transients like myself, and there are transceivers party transhumanism. Of course, Im, Im the founder of the transceivers party, but Im also now running as a Republican. But Ive also run as a libertarian, Ive said openly, I might run as a Democrat in the future. For me, its about the seed of transhumanism. You can take it whichever political way you want. Theres also Christian transhumanism, theres Buddhist transhumanist. So we want a worldwide movement. I want different factions. I want a decentralized idea of it. And I hope to influence it in terms of it grows and grows and grows. Because you have to understand about 80% of the worlds population believes in an afterlife. The main goal of transhumanism is overcoming death with science and technology. Were fighting 80% of the population. So its very important that we coalesce together as a movement that says we need to change that 80%. We need to change their mindset. And thats really where the cultural reform comes in, and why its so important to have a huge movements like environmentalism, where the trajectory is that one day we also become a billion person movement that really wants to move beyond our cultural heritage.

Thornburgh: So lets, lets posit success and you reach those 80% and flip them into transhumanists. What will that actually mean? Does that mean that they will vote for people who pour more resources into death-defying technologies or pass laws? What, practically, would having people be fired up about transhumanism do?

Istvan: Thats the best question. The great question. Thats exactly what Im trying to do. My main goal here with running for office and my main goal of spreading transhumanism is to get more money into the hands of the scientists who are making the movement happen. You have to understand, right now our United States Congress, all 535 members, all nine Supreme Court justices, believe in an afterlife, and they say they believe in God, so they have no real reason to pass laws to put money into the hands of the scientists who want to end aging and live indefinitely and upgrade ourselves to this new bionic future. Now the problem with that is if the entire government doesnt want to give money to it, it doesnt happen. Really only private industry does it. We need an American culture on board with transhumanism.

I run for office in hopes of saying, look, instead of giant military fighting warrants in Afghanistan and Iraq, were going to take that money and put it into creating a science-industrial complex in America dedicated to ending aging and upgrading the human being. Its a very different kind of way. Im interested in American healthcare, in terms of eliminating disease. And thats a very transhuman idea that our president right now doesnt share. A president whos cut the budget of the National Institute of Health.

Im running because, ultimately, I think that Trump has failed the most important part of America: the science and innovation part.

Thornburgh: Youre running as a Republican. This is your opponent.

Istvan: You gotta you gotta hit them hard on that. One thing Trump has done that hasnt been great is hes not only cut the budget of the National Institute of Health, but he hasnt made a culture where science really thrives. In China, its thriving. Chinas our main kind of competitor at this point. So probably within five years, China lead the world in AI and genetic editing. Its game over for America in terms of leadership, and who wants not authoritarian nation to be leading the world and in science and technology. So this is where I really fault Trump. In fact, this is why Im running. This is the singular reason Im running because, ultimately, I think that Trump has failed the most important part of America: the science and innovation part.

Thornburgh: What is your background? Take me way back.

Istvan: My career really began after I graduated from Columbia University, and I went into journalism at National Geographic. And so for five years I traveled around the world and I wrote something like 50 or 60 articles for their website, and also was on their National Geographic Today, show, doing a lot of documentary work. It was a great time in my life. I was in my twenties, I covered a lot of conflict zones, so saw some horrifying things. In Vietnam I was covering the demilitarized zone 20, 30 years after the war. And theres a bunch of rice farmers that now dig up bombs that were dropped in Vietnam from Americans, but theyre unexploded. They sell the metal. But to get there you have to go through these landmine-infested jungles. And I almost stepped on one. It freaked me out because my guide had to throw me out of the way and pointed to the ground. And after covering war zones for a while kind of gets in your head. And it was that moment in Vietnam when I said, you know, Im going to stop being a journalist and Im going to do something to try to overcome death. And of course transhumanism has been an ongoing movement since the 90s, and thats their primary job. Their primary purpose is to use science to overcome death.

Istvan: So I came home, joined the movement, wrote a novel, the novel did really well. It was called The Transhumanist Wager, became a bestseller, and it launched my career as a public figure. And because I was a journalist, I began writing some of the very first transhumanist columns. So Ive had an ability over six years to write over 230 opinion pieces and essays for major media, almost cheerleading transhumanism. Up until that point, no one had ever been optimistic about it. People had been kind of skeptical.

Thornburgh: That literally came from a near-death experience that you had.

Istvan: Its based on two or three years of covering other conflicts. Id covered the Sri Lanka conflict. I covered the Kashmir conflict between Pakistan and India. Id been doing some pretty harrowing stories and it made me, I think it kinda got in my head, I dont want to say its PTSD, but really it made me think, What if we could overcome death? And when it hit me that I could do this, I realized that this is why I want to dedicate my life to.

Thornburgh: Does transhumanism have any rights or rituals or holidays?

Istvan: Its secular. Its a very decentralized movement. A lot of the life-extension people are not interested in the robotics people, because life extension people want to biologically live longer, where the robotics people want to become machines and upload themselves. So even though they are both transhumanist and I like both groups, they dont really talk to each other. Then there are the biohackers, who are mostly young, tattooed people that are putting chips in. I have a chip in my hand. It opens my front door, starts a car, it sends a text message.

Thornburgh: You have this right now?

Istvan: I have it right now. You can touch it. Its right there. Push. Youll see. Youll feel a bump. Its a glass-enclosed microchip.

Thornburgh: Does that hurt when I press your chip?

Istvan: No. Its tiny. Its the size of a grain of rice. When you get these chip implants, you use a horse syringe you just put it in. Its kind of painful. But the chip itself is about the size of a grain rice.

Thornburgh: But that wasnt sexual what we just did?

Istvan: No. Its just a chip.

Thornburgh: How do you program this chip? Is this like a radio-frequency identification?

Istvan: Yeah. Unfortunately, the technology doesnt work with Apple phones, but it works with all Android. And so if you have an Android phone, you will actually be able to put it against my hand and then get my serial number. Of course, that freaks people out, because who has a serial number? But you can also put in medical information. So if youre unconscious and they find you, they can scan it. But in my case, Im a surfer and a jogger and when you go surfing you have to always hide your keys, and what a pain in the butt that is, because then someone can steal it when youre surfing and take your car. So in my case, its just great because all my keys are embedded into my hand and you can even do things like hold Bitcoin on it, but you cant pay it Starbucks yet.

Listen to the full episode at Luminary.

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Invigorating procedure makes thinning hair grow thicker – Florida Today

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Dr. Emran R. Imami and medical assistant Maggie Smith work on a patient undergoing non-surgical hair restoration using techniques designed to stimulate new cell growth.(Photo: TIM SHORTT/ FLORIDA TODAY)

Most of us have some particular part of our anatomy that, well, bugs us.

It could be our nose, ears, neck or even the derriere that could use improvement, according to the lens through which we see ourselves.

For Leslie Burgett, its her hair.

Ive battled with it off and on for years, the Merritt Island resident said.

Her genetics predispose Burgett to alopecia, thinning hair in certain areas of the scalp. To be honest, however, Burgetts hair, while not voluminous, wasnt that scarce, either.

Dr. Emran Imami is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is an invited Fellow of the prestigious American College of Surgeons.(Photo: PROVIDED PHOTO)

A lot of people probably wouldnt have noticed, but its obvious to me, she said. When you look at yourself in the morning, what you look like sets the rest of the day, and I didnt like the way my hair looked.

Through the years, the decades, even, Burgett continued the battle with her locks. She underwent a thyroid test, since this gland could cause hair loss if malfunctioning. Thyroid was not the issue.

She tried minoxidil back when you needed a prescription for the product. Used to treat baldness in a topical format, minoxidil was originally developed as an antihypertensive vasodilator. It wouldhave helped grow hair on Burgett, but it also lowered her heart rate so much she had to quit.

After a death in the family, Burgett found that the antidepressants she was taking were growing her hair as well as loweringher stress.

Polydioxanone (PDO) Threads are inserted to stimulate hair follicles to grow. Dr. Emran R. Imami uses this non-surgical hair restoration technique at Imami Hair Restoration in Melbourne.(Photo: TIM SHORTT/ FLORIDA TODAY)

For a long time, my hair was fine, she said.

However, dropping the medication was not kind on her hair.

I started having the thinning I had years ago, said Burgett.

Treatment with PRP, or protein-rich plasma, worked well, but Burgett would have to go back to her doctor every three months to have blood drawn. A centrifuge would isolate and concentrate the healing portion of her blood, which would then be injected into her scalp to nurture flagging hair follicles.

It worked pretty well, she said.

It worked even better when she added PDO threads to the treatment.

Polydioxanone, or PDO, has been used for years in aesthetics for non-surgical facelifts and wrinkle control. The medical grade thread, made of protein and thinner in circumference than hair, both relaxes tendons and muscles in an area and simultaneously improves blood flow.

Polydioxanone (PDO) Threads are inserted to stimulate hair follicles to grow. Dr. Emran R. Imami uses this non-surgical hair restoration technique at Imami Hair Restoration in Melbourne.(Photo: TIM SHORTT/ FLORIDA TODAY)

They work with the face. They also work with hair, and patients with androgenetic alopecia have experienced hair regrowth after PDO threads were inserted into their scalps.

The threads increase inflammatory response, which in turn increases new blood vessels, said Dr. Emran Imami of Imami Skin & Cosmetic Center in Melbourne.

In medical terms, the threads perform a selective inflammatory response by encouraging the body to heal itself.

"Its like watering a plant, Imami said.

Burgett has a glowing report on her PDO threads experience, even though it has been just a couple of weeks since the procedure, which involves inserting into the scalp a series of tiny needles preloaded with the threads. The threads stay beneath the skin after the needle is withdrawn.

Ive noticed less hair falling and more hair growing back, she said.

Because the threads are fully absorbed in four to six months, the procedure should be repeated every six months, but Burgett has no problem with that.

I didnt feel a thing and I was out of there quickly, she said. After the procedure, my head felt a little heavy, like you had a hat on, but by the next morning, that feeling was gone and I was back to normal.

A research study presented at the 12thInternational Conference on Cosmetic Dermatology and Hair Care noted that patients experienced significant reduction in hair loss with PDO threads. Hair regrowth increased from an average of 65 hair follicles per centimeter of scalp to 93.

Polydioxanone (PDO) Threads are inserted to stimulate hair follicles to grow. Dr. Emran R. Imami uses this non-surgical hair restoration technique at Imami Hair Restoration in Melbourne.(Photo: TIM SHORTT/ FLORIDA TODAY)

Imami sees using the threads as part of a bigger treatment picture that can include, as in Burgetts case, PRP, and also low-level laser, daily use of vitamins such as B12 and herbal shampoos with red clover extract, and other treatments to stop, slow or even reverse hair loss. For good measure, add a touch of scalp micropigmentation to create the illusion of hair follicles through what is essentially a tattooing process.

There has been a marked increase in the science of anti-aging, reparative and regenerative medicine, and as such, there are several ways to preserve and grow healthy hair, said Imami.

Hair loss can be caused by hormonal or thyroid imbalance, diabetes, medications, genetics, stress and simply just the passage of time.

As you age, everything will thin, Imami said.

Because it usually happens gradually, hair loss often is not noticed until a significant loss has already occurred.

You have 100 hair follicles per centimeter and you can lose up to 75 percent of them and not look bald, Imami said.

The hair strands thin, and during the cycle of growth they may remain dormant for a longer period of time. Regrowth takes longer and longer, and eventually ceases altogether.

Catch them while they are still around, says Imami, or you may regret it later.

If you treat the follicles while they are still there, you can do something, but once the hair follicle dies, you cant get them back, he said. We want to maximize the growth phase of the hair cycle and the length of time it stays on the scalp, because if we can keep the hair on the head to last longer, the net effect is that you have more hair density.

Should you wait until the hair disappears, your only option is a transplant, which is effective, but takes time and is more expensive.

Burgett would rather skip the transplant and has no problem incorporating other different treatment modalities, as long as they keep hair on her head.

For women, hair is such an integral part of their self-esteem, she said.

For more information, call 321-312-4168 or visit imamihair.com.

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Invigorating procedure makes thinning hair grow thicker - Florida Today

Hilary Duff Shares Her "Busy Mom" Beauty Routine, Including Favorite Treatment for Melasma – What To Expect When You’re Expecting

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Hilary Duff, who is mom to Luca, 7, and Banks, 1, recently shared her busy mom makeup routine with Vogue including the product she uses to treat her pregnancy melasma.

Im a busy mom, the actress says in the video. I dont have a ton of time to do my makeup, but this version today is on a day when I have my kids but also have a couple of meetings and I want to look like I put some effort in.

Just so you know, What to Expect may earn commissions from shopping links.Why trust our product recommendations?

Duff starts off her routine by washing her hands or using hand sanitizer. She then reaches for her toner.

One really cool thing that happened to me when I had babies is I got melasma, she shared, pointing to a dark spot near the top of her forehead.

Every day, I say a little prayer that its taking care of that dark spot right there, she says, rubbing onOle Henriksens Glow2OH Dark Spot Toner($29; sephora.com).

Other products in Duff's kit includeREN Clean SkincareKeep Young and Beautiful Anti-Aging Eye Cream ($44;sephora.com) andPerricone MDNo Makeup Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 20 ($60;ulta.com).

Melasma is a commonskin condition that causes brown to gray-brown patches to develop, usually on the face. Also referred to as the mask of pregnancy, melasma appears when a sharp rise in estrogen and progesterone levels stimulates excess melanin production, also known as hyperpigmentation. As a result, your freckles and moles may look darker.

Melasma is especially common in darker-skinned women, or those of Asian and African descent, who have more pigment in their skin than fair-skinned people. Exposure to sunlight can make melasma worse.

The discoloration from melasma is temporary, though, and it usually disappears after you give birth or, for some women, after you stop breastfeeding.

Again, melasma tends to fade with time.

The problem with melasma is that there arent any permanent solutions, saysGary Goldenberg, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine atMount Sinaiin New York City. Still, he says many treatments help.

How to Treat Melasma

Topical products that contain kojic acid or lactic acid are helpful, Dr. Goldenberg says.In aprevious interview withWhat to Expect, dermatologist Jessica Wu, M.D., also recommended topicals with azelaic acid and vitamin C to help brighten your complexion.

As for the toner Duff likes, Dr. Goldenberg says it contains the following ingredients that may help with melasma:

Also important? Applying SPF 30 to 50 daily. If you have melasma, Dr. Goldenberg also recommends doing your best to limit your UV exposure.

The minute your skin is exposed to UV, it can re-pigment again, he explains.This isnt just sun you get at the beach. This is also sun you get through a window or windshield.

Just remember that not all skin care ingredientsare considered safe for pregnant or breastfeeding women. If you have questions about a product that you're considering to treat dark spots, show it to your OB-GYN first.

If your melasma persists after you have your baby and it bothers you, speak to your dermatologist. They may be able to offer up individualized treatment that can help.

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What Jason Hope Says About New Longevity Research – HealthTechZone

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Throughout the past decade, various topics related to stem cells have made headlines across all platforms. From being hailed as the most innovative method for eradicating specific diseases, to being protested by various groups and organizations, the use of stem cells has gained national attention repeatedly. With promising initial scientific findings, and avid researchers aiming to solidify the presence of stem cell usage in the realm of science on a normalized basis, increasing numbers of startups, biotech giants, and independent companies are forging ahead with stem cell-related projects. As global connectivity, technological advancements, and the marriage between medicine and technology continues to evolve swiftly, Jason Hope sees stem cells will undoubtedly remaining in the spotlight.

Over 20 years ago, scientists successfully extracted the first human embryonic stem cells, and effectively grew these cells in a lab setting. The remarkable feat of being able to successfully grow the parent cells, which essentially allow for the growth of new cells in the body, was a hopeful moment for the medical sector involved in creating effective regenerative treatments for conditions like heart disease, Alzheimers, stroke, and Parkinsons Disease. Using basic reasoning, the successful regeneration of parent cells could provide the regeneration of undesired cells, leading to anti-aging results, or effective care for many age-related conditions that deteriorate the body over time.

Though this initial breakthrough was promising, the scientific community has not yet made significant strides in bringing stem cell therapy to market in a way that is well-researched, backed by medical associations, and commonly accepted by the scientific community. In fact, the only readily utilized stem cell treatments are related to successfully growing blood cells from matching donors for patients with various blood disorders. According to entrepreneur, philanthropist, and expert in the realm of anti-aging and longevity, Jason Hope, these initial utilization of stem cells are commendable, but require a lot more research in order to maximize the potential widespread benefits of stem cells in medicine.

Hope, who has devoted much of his philanthropic endeavors within the medical industry via groups like the SENS Organization, recognizes that most stem cell implementations are rightfully considered experimental until appropriate research, testing, and development can occur. As an expert in the realm of anti-aging, and the championing of increasing health throughout a lifetime, Jason Hope recognizes the potential distrust that can be formulated by the general public as a result of eager companies making lofty claims or promoting potentially faulty treatments not yet fully vetted by the medical community. Thus, while he remains avidly enthralled by the potential maximization of stem cell therapies, hope supports the long-term research needed to safely, successfully, and effectively generate breakthrough stem cell treatments.

Providing continued backing for the extensive research completed at the SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) Organization, Hopes contributions aid in the research aiming to create preventative treatments for degenerative diseases and utilizing breakthrough science to increase the overall long-term quality of life for individuals. Instead of focusing on the treatment of symptoms and the disease throughout the progression of the condition, the scientists at SENS work to examine ways to successfully prevent the disease from happening. Through this boundary-pushing work, a lot of their research focuses on stem cell intervention. According to Hope, stem cell treatments for Parkinsons Disease are now in the second stage of clinical trials at SENS. While the process of undergoing such extensive trials may appear slow, it is crucial to maintaining overall public support via successful treatment launches and promising in terms of the long-term possibilities linked to stem cell treatments.

In addition to the research being conducted by SENS, preliminary medical studies are being conducted with a myriad of uses for stem cells. Experimental stem cell transplants of retinal cells were recently utilized in a small research study of macular generation, providing initially promising results for the handful of patients who have received artificially generated retinal cells. Elsewhere, scientists have begun to explore ways to minimize potential rejection of stem cells in organs like the liver, through maximizing the most conducive environment for stem cells to thrive. While these slow-moving vehicles of change are less prominent than startups promising the proverbial Fountain of Youth via experimental stem cell treatments, these medically sound research studies are forming the backbone of stem cell treatment for the future.

As with all scientific and medical innovations, Hope also recognizes the potential risks, hurdles, and roadblocks within the growing field of stem cell research, and integration into medicine. From supply chain concerns to potential long-term side effects, and the risk of overly eager startups making too-lofty claims, Hope understands that the road to the everyday utilization of stem cells remains lengthy and potentially bumpy. However, the proverbial juice may very well be worth the squeeze in this example. As stem cells harvest the potential power to overturn the degenerative effects of some of the most prominent diseases, allow individuals to maintain active health for elongated periods of time, and increase the quality of life for countless individuals, expanding upon the initial promising research is potentially a pivotal point for the medical community and humankind. Though the road to successful scientific integration of stem cells is long, the potential healthcare benefits are limitless, and according to industry experts like Jason Hope, worth investing in, exploring, and championing.

About Jason Hope

An avid entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, Jason Hope is a futurist involved in the championing of technological advancement, community involvement, and innovative medical interventions. Deeply passionate about the anti-aging, longevity, and human advancement niche of biomedicine, Hope remains actively involved in various scientific organizations.

After receiving a degree in Finance from ASU, and a subsequent MBA from ASUs W.P. Carey School of Business, Hope developed a successful mobile communications company. Professionally, he currently focuses on investing in startups and developing grant programs for small businesses.

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What Jason Hope Says About New Longevity Research - HealthTechZone

Find Out Here How To Shave Easily And Efficiently For These Rapidly Moving Modern Times – Forbes

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Braun Series 7

If one believes that modified grooming down results in being happier, more productive and more creative, than ones behavior will hear that out. How one is groomed has always been linked to how one behaves, hence the expression looks like a million bucks. The way you look affects the way you think, feel and act. Industry insiders have long observed that renewed attention to appearance is a sign of recovery and strength.

Managers are empowering employees to choose modified grooming methods from a variety of ways. Simply stated; good grooming habits is demonstrating your commitment and concern for your well-being during office hours. In fact, organizations are reporting such positive benefits from employees with clean grooming habits. Good grooming is here to stay and even part of a dress for success policy at many prominent corporations.

I recently had the privilege of speaking with Benjamin Wilson, Industrial Designer, Global Technology & DesignCommunications Lead for Braun & Gillette Venus. Procter & Gamble about the great history of the brand since 1921, why men are looking for tools to make their grooming effortless and that enable the looks they desire and why he believes that technology and needs will change, but Brauns principles will remain relevant!

Benjamin Wilson, Industrial Designer, Global Technology & Design Communications Lead for Braun & ... [+] Gillette Venus. Procter & Gamble

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the great history, and development of your brand?

Ben Wilson:Since 1921, Braun has been a benchmark for useful, functional design and products of the highest quality - from its founding years as a radio manufacturer, to the debut of the S50 shaver in the '50s, not to mention its current innovations in personal care tools and the recent return to the audio market, Braun is a brand with longevity. The undeniable influence of the era of Fritz Eichler and the Ulm School of Design on the role of design in business includes the thinking that led to the iconic "less, but better" way of creating objects." From personal care to audio, timepieces to kitchen appliances, the Braun brand permeates many personal everyday products. Braun since day one hasbeen about creating better solutions and experiences that improve peoples lives.

My background: At the beginning of 2002, I decided to move to Europe to experience new cultures, learn more about myself and to start my design career. I now have an amazing family of 4 and enjoy being part of the European and P&G design scene. Names like Hans Gugelot, Wilhelm Wagenfeld and naturally Dieter Rams drew me to Germany.

To be able to call myself a Braun Designer and have the privilege to share the knowledge I have gained at Braun, is a great honour. I have made it my mission to share my learnings and play a role in ensuring that the next generation of designers understand that it is not merely an aesthetic, but an approach, a way of thinking and doing things that leads to better products, ones that meet human needs and that are created to stand the test of time -the Germans call this having a Haltung, a wayof doing things.

In addition to my industrial design experience, I have continuously represented Braun as an internal and external brand ambassador and moved from the executional design function to lead Braun Technology and Design Communications since 2016.

Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what is your competitive advantage in development and specialized product.

Ben Wilson: Braun can be summed up simply, it is, and always has been, about creating objects for use that are based on human needs and that are designed and engineered to the highest quality to stand the test of time. In short, for humans, simplicity of use and built to last. We call this Designed for what matters. The idea of respecting humans is an underlying, recurring theme of our story, fromlooking after the humans that work at Braun through to treating the users with respect by means of considering their needs and helping them have a good experience with Braun products over a long time.

Joseph DeAcetis: How do you intend to market to Millennial's and Gen Z - whom quite often, do not wish to follow the rules?

Ben Wilson: Having stood the test of time for almost 100 years, our Haltung has future. This generation, like various before, are looking for what will be next, what is most important for them and the world? What type of world do they want to live in? This generation, as Gary Vaynerchuk says,have options. Like no generation before, they have the ability to make change happen, to start a company, to go live within days and reach millions of people with their ideas... they dont have to settlefor mediocrity or things they dont agree with anymore. They are looking for things that are authentic, real and that are intrinsically good- our Haltung, way of doing things, has a future. Technology and needs will change, but our principles will remain relevant. Imagine if the generations to come understand what truly good design is? In my opinion, one of the most important Dieter Rams quotes is

Good design is making something intelligible and memorable. Great Design is making something memorable and meaningful.

A thought/quote developed in association with my long-term business partner and friend Dr. PeterKapos: In Brauns current marketing approach to Millennials and Gen Z, the company arereconnecting with their brand tradition, particularly as it was formed in the 1960sand 70s. Itsstandard practice for companies today to study their audiences in order to adapt messaging to fit theirperceived requirements. Braun have realised that theres already a clean dovetailing between its deeplevel ethos, its Haltung, and the concerns of young people. Considerations about better living through a more conscious and deliberate relation to objects, an emphasis on quality and experience, a desire to reduce clutter, noise and chaos, awareness about the direct relation between our individual choices as consumers and the future of a habitable planetall of these thoughts directly informed Braunindustrial design from the early 70s on. They are Braun Design DNA. Of course, these issues are alsoof urgent concern for a younger generation growing up in a precarious and, in many ways, perilous social and physical environment in which futures, both personal and planetary, are uncertain. So, forBraun, all that is required to find the marketers holy grail of relevance is just to be true to itself. That may sound cheesy, but it in practice this has required the company to take a long hard look at itself, and to make some brave decisions. Haltung is, after all, something that must be practiced rather than preached. As a company, Braun is looking forward to earning the regard of its young audiences as thecompanys Haltung is increasingly evident in itsproducts.

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to us in details about the 3 new shavers?

Ben Wilson: Braun manufactures various shavers and the Braun Series9 is the Worlds most efficientelectric shaver, torture-tested on 3-5-day beards. The five shaving elements capture more hair in one stroke compared to other Braun shavers, for a flawless shave and provides both a close and gentle shave, without compromise.

However, this is not necessarily what all men are looking for when it comes to their grooming needs. Through extensive research we found that it takes a lot of attention and effort not to miss any hairs when shaving. Men generally just accept that there are some hard-to-reach areas whilst shaving, such as the jawline, and adapt their shaving technique to get the smoothest results. Therefore, Braun took on the challenge to address this and to deliver the ultimate shaving experience for men.

After several years of research and with the help of 10 s of thousands of men across the globe, Braun developed the NEW Series 7, Series 6 and Series 5 shavers with an extremely slim and perfectly balanced body. The new innovative slim drive system enabled the all new Series 7 3D flex head to ensure that the shaver head, which adapts to every contour of the face, can detail with ease and enables an easy smooth in-use experience that ensures closeness. This new generation of shavers brings together breakthrough technology, human first design and engineering excellence to provide a shaving experience that is easy, smooth and gentle.

Series 5

SERIES 5, SERIES 6 AND SERIES 7 HERO FEATURES EXPLAINED

A NEW slim and ergonomic design- the handle has been redesigned to deliver better shaving with

less effort:

The angle between the handle and the shaver head is designed to allow the shaver head to stay incontact with the skin.

The handle is slimmer to ensure a better grip and handling during the shave.

The shavers have been perfectly weighted to balance the device requiring less effort while shaving.

All three shavers can be used both wet and dry.

NEW and improved shaving systemfor more power delivered to the blades

Features advanced specialised cutting elements: a middle trimmer to capture longer hairs and twoultra-thin SensoFoils for a close and thorough shave.

For superior shaving performance, the Series 5, 6 and 7 all feature a new and improved direct drive system which enables this new generation of shavers to cut through even very dense facial hair.

NEW EasyClick system to upgrade your shaver with attachments:From the perfect 3-day stubble to perfectly smooth skin, the series 5, 6 and 7 can be upgraded with attachments for ultimate versatility. This is the first of its kind from Braun, all of this in a single tool!

Precision Trimmer: for moustache and sideburns trimming. Beard Trimmer: for beard styles from 0.5mm to 7mm.

Stubble Beard Trimmer: for a perfect and precise 3-day beard look without the effort, this is thanks to the hairs being captured inside the shaver head.

Body Groomer: for a head-to-toe grooming. Cleansing Brush: for deeppore-cleansing.

EasyClick functionality: Every attachment has been designed to be interchangeable with one simpleclick.

Fast charge technology:Powerful Li-Ion batteries provide a full charge in 60 minutes plus a 5-minute quick-charging mode, enough for one shave.

THE BRAUN SERIES 7 360 FLEX - A PERFECT COMBINATION OF REFINED CONTROL AND MOVEMENT

Combining breakthrough technology with intuitive design, the new Series 7 uses flexibility and adaptation to enable seamless close contact.

360 Flex System: The revolutionary Series 7 features a fully flexible head that responds to the contours of your face and neck, reaching every hair for a smoother shave, using less effort.

AutoSensing technology: The Series 7 uses Braun AutoSensing technology which automatically adapts to hair densityhelping to capture event more hairs in each stroke.

Series 6

THE BRAUN SERIES 6 - SENSITIVE TO YOUR SKIN

The Series 6 flexes to your skincare needs, meaning you never have to compromise on performance.

SensoFlex shaving head: Thegentle pivoting head and flexible blades of the Series 6 glide effortlessly over the curves of the face, reducing pressure on the skin and creating a sensitive yet close and comfortable shave.

Skin Heath Alliance: The Series 6 has been given dermatological accreditation from the Skin Heath Alliance, an independent organisation that verifies the safety of products for the skin.

THE BRAUN SERIES 5EASY AND DYNAMIC

The Series 5 offers an easy and efficient shave that simplifies your everyday shaving routine.

EasyClean System: The Series 5 features a built-in rinsing mechanism, allowing water to pass through the rinsing holes in the shaver head, clearing any shaving debris without the need to remove the shaving head.

Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what are men seeking today in a good shaver and how has Braun developed specialized product to compete with this change?

Ben Wilson: When it comes to their grooming needs, men are looking for tools to make their grooming effortless and that enable the looks they desire. Needs change over time and trends come and go, at Braun we always strive to understand these shifts and ensure that we have the right solutions to offer.

As these needs change, just like the Brothers Braun did in 1955, Braun does research and seeks to understand what is desired and develops products that are designed for what matters. Today, men are grooming in more ways than ever, from a clean-shaven look, to 3-5 day and full beardswith this, the grooming jobs to be done and the challenges for our designers and engineers change. For example, our Series 9 was developed because many men shave during the week but then let their beard grow

from Thursday through Monday morning, where the shaver needs to be able to get through the 3-day weekend growth, lifting and cutting longer hairs. This is an immense challenge that our Series 9 hasachieved and is therefore able to carry the tittle most efficient shaver in the world, torture-tested on 3- 5-day beards. Every year, we welcome over 30,000 men to our European technical centers to test our products. This way we stay very closely connected to trends and predict the unmet needs of our users.

Another example is the introduction of our Autosensing technology into our Series 7 and styling products. This technology ensures that our shavers and stylers achieve constant and optimal speed, regardless of how much hair is being cut at one time. Just like in 1955, if you understand what people desire and develop against those needs and aspirations, and develop products with a defined Haltung, this leads to happy users and strong business results.

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes in detail about the current offerings and why it is important for consumers to be aware of this brand

Ben Wilson: To best answer this, I would very much like to welcome you to our Braun Collection in Germany. Here you will be able to experience the true depth of the meaning of the Braun Haltung and why the world needs to know more about it, today more than ever. Let me try to give you a brief snapshot:

We at Braun design for what matters. This is founded on decades of developing products with a very specific Haltung. The brothers Braun, together with Fritz Eichler and Ulm school, did not simply createa vision of a better future; they made a future vision tangible. The vision was design for millions.They believed that everyone deserves products that are designed with humans in mind, easy to use, are reduced to what matters most and that are manufactured to stand the test of time. They wanted to reduce design back to the essentials, leaving out the non-essentials, summarised well by Dieter Ramsin the early 70 s with his idea of Less, but better. This is true sustainability, making things that areuseful and built to last. This leads to a keep culture and is something that the world needs more than ever. The Bauhaus idea of Less is More was given a radical new meaning in the context of the oilcrisis in the 70 sand scarcity of materials. The response to these conditions was that the world and thefuture requires Less, but better things.

Today, all products are developed with human needs in mind, from a tool like our S9 that can shave through 3-5-day beards with ease to those tools that are made to groom body areas... Our intentis to ensure that the needs are not only met, but maybe even create an experience that is surprising from time to time - in just how well they do the job they are intended to do, time and time again. This is Braun.

We aim to keep the promises we make when we enter a market. The return to audio equipment is another great example. The time is right to offer incredible technology, great design and innovative features like the mechanical microphone button. It might sound obviously simple but like most of our innovations it is founded on a deep user insight/need.

Series 7

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about how computer-aided design helped in the development of your brand: both product make-up and e-commerce? Details please

Ben Wilson: CAD and Digital tools continue to evolve, new AI technologies are already changing the way engineers specify structures and robots are working in factories, buildings, bridges and houses. Product experiences are a combination of hardware and software technology. At Braun, we aim to use technology to enhance the experience in meaningful ways. A good example of this is the IPL device and supporting app, our IPL device is very intelligent, utilizing sensors and computing power, called Senso-Adapt technology, which adapts the light intensity in real time according to the tone of the skin in the area of use, this helps ensure that our users have an effective and safe in-use experience.

Joseph DeAcetis: What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

Ben Wilson: Our Designers at Braun are involved from the first moments of understanding what is needed, all the way through to the manufacturing. This is how it has always been at Braun, a flux between what is needed, design and technology. The day-to-day roles vary from the status of theprojects that we lead... I think it is important to mention that the Braun design team is a mix ofindustrial, graphic and visual identity designers, but they are supported by the multifunctional teams that strive to create the best possible solutions. The team is always focused on keeping their promise, making sure the products are designed, engineered and tested to ensure they stand the test of time.

That being said, the development process can vary depending on whether we are creatinga new-to- the-world idea/technology or are improving on an existing / established technology. This will affecthow long the development process is- it can vary from 12 months to 5 years. Today, personally, much of my time is spent sharing insights like these to help more people around the globe understand why our products are so amazing and should be an essential part of their world.

Joseph DeAcetis: Where is the product made and why?

Ben Wilson: Braun was founded in Frankfurt am Main in Germany in 1921, and our new Series 5, 6 and 7 shaving technology is designed and engineered in Germany. We have a global supply and manufacturing network with Germany not only being a main manufacturing location but also the place where Braun is rooted and where our global design and engineering teams are located. All the knowledge, expertise and decades of experience in creating high quality electrical shaving and hair removal devices resides here.

Joseph DeAcetis: You have the floor: Talk to my viewers about why they should try this brand now? (details)

Ben Wilson: As mentioned, our products deliver top performance, are designed for what really matters to our users, are easy to use and built to last. This way of doing things helps ensure a positive in-use experience over time. To underline why: On a regular basis, I have the pleasure of guiding people through our 100 years of history and sharing stories that led us up to this moment in time. During these tours, I can pick up a hand-driven/powered torch from 1938 from the exhibition and demonstrate its use. That is Braun. Or that a simple Juicer, designed in 1972, is still in production today. One of my favorite questions I ask during my tours is: When the last time an orange changed? User needs can change or not, but when you keep the idea, design and engineering simple and ensure that they last, this is good for all. Good for the users, the planet and it is also good for the business. Make it once, make it right.

Joseph DeAcetis: How do you intend to keep customer's satisfied

Ben Wilson: Our quality is founded on decades of setting the highest standards. Benjamin Franklinonce said, The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten. Today, this is something that, thankfully, more and more people are discovering again. Thetime for things of lesser quality and the quick sale are gone. The future generations deserve better,this was the vision that the brothers Braun and the Ulm School had in the 50 s: Make better products that people need and ensure they last. Design for millions.

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes how Braun intends to play a positive role in the modern era of men's shaving?

Ben Wilson: By providing tools that do the jobs they are intended to do, keeping our promise of meeting the unmet grooming needs that men have with products that are designed for what matters, simple to use and built to last. It is our commitment to meetmenscurrent needs and strive to interpret the evolution of those needs in the future.

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Find Out Here How To Shave Easily And Efficiently For These Rapidly Moving Modern Times - Forbes

How, where and why Montana became the grayest state in the West – The Bozeman Daily Chronicle

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People have been parsing the human lifespan into a taxonomy of ages forever. Aristotle proposed three categories: youthful, prime of life and elderly. Two thousand years later, Shakespeares Seven Ages of Man carved human chronology into seven slices, with the bodys final frailty circling back to the original oblivion of infancy. And in the 1980s, British historian Peter Laslett proposed a revised map of three ages, with a caveat for the third: it could be a time of post-retirement fulfillment and achievement, or it could collapse, a la Shakespeare, into dependence and decrepitude.

The character of any individuals third age hinges on some key factors, including health, wealth, community and the government policies and cultural customs that influence them. Navigating those factors requires independence, assistance, access and education. The latter, especially, is lacking. Missoula Aging Services Executive Director Susan Kohler told a room full of Montana journalists in November that one of the biggest impediments to a fulfilling third age is lack of preparedness.

Already, Montana is the oldest state west of the Mississippi, according to median age statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. With half the states population 40 or older, were the ninth oldest in the nation, out-grayed only by Florida, Maine and a few other eastern states.

Peak age is yet to come, according to demographic projections produced for the state Department of Commerce by consulting firm REMI. As of 2017, the baseline year used by those projections, 18% of Montanans were 65 or older, up from 14% in 2001. The figure is expected to climb to 22% by 2030 then plateau through 2040 as boomers reach the end of their lives.

Different parts of the state, however, are on very different trajectories. Sparsely populated rural counties tend to have higher percentages of seniors and are, in many cases, on track to become even more disproportionately older. Petroleum Countys 520 residents make it the lowest-population county in Montana, and by 2030, 37% of county residents will be past retirement age, up from 23% in 2017. For Teton County, northwest of Great Falls, the 2030 figure is projected to be 27%, up from 22%.

Population centers like the Billings area tend to trend closer to the state as a whole, age-wise, though college towns Missoula and Bozeman are substantially younger than other urban areas, and are expected to stay that way. Seniors 65 and over accounted for 16% of the population of Yellowstone County (including Billings) and 12% of the population of Gallatin County (including Bozeman) in 2017. Those figures are projected to rise to 21% and 15%, respectively, by 2030.

Counties with sizable Native American populations, such as Roosevelt County (including Wolf Point), Big Horn County (including Hardin and Crow Agency), and Glacier County (including Cut Bank and Browning) are also younger than neighboring rural areas. Roosevelt County, with only 11% of its population over 65, is the states youngest by that measure.

Driving those trends are three key demographic forces: birth, death and migration. Higher birth rates pull areas younger while longer lifespans populate communities with more elders. Migration, in turn, tends to siphon young, mobile residents away from some places and toward others.

Montanas population is skewing older, in part, as the oversized generation of baby boomers born in the aftermath of World War II, between 1946 to 1964, reaches retirement age. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, longer life expectancies and declining birth rates are also a factor thats aging American communities across the nation. While average life expectancy in the U.S. was 68.2 in 1950, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, it was a decade longer, 78.6, in 2017.

In Montana, the median age of death is now 75 for men and 82 for women, according to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. Montanas Native communities are younger in part because death typically comes much earlier for American Indian Montanans, with DPHHS reporting a median age of death at 60 for Native men and 63 for Native women.

Counties with larger Native populations also tend to have higher birth rates, which means more young residents. For example, Roosevelt County, which is 57% Native, saw a rate of 22.3 births per 1,000 residents annually between 2010 and 2018, according to a Montana Free Press analysis of census data. The equivalent figure for Yellowstone County, in comparison, was 13.2.

Migration rounds out the picture. While Montana attracts some older migrants looking for a change of scenery in retirement, migration is on the balance a youthening force for destination communities, because young people constitute the lions share of movers. According to census estimates based on surveys conducted between 2014 and 2018, 58% of Montanas new arrivals to Montana are under the age of 30, versus just 11% who are 60 or older.

As such, migration patterns also contribute to the graying of places where there arent enough new arrivals to balance the number of young people moving away for school or work, creating the brain drain dynamic that has posed a challenge for swaths of rural Montana for decades.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR MONTANA

Those trends create challenges.

At a community level, an older population means more demand for healthcare services. A 2012 study by economists at Montana State University, for example, estimated that the states aging demographics would necessitate increased state Medicaid spending. And with large portions of the healthcare system funded by the state-administered Medicaid program, aging creates public policy questions at the state government level as well.

At the same time, an aging population is predicted to diminish the proportion of states residents who are in the workforce and available to staff nursing jobs, not to mention other businesses. Montanas working-age population of residents between the ages of 15 and 64 was 64% of the populace as of 2017. While the total number of working-age Montanans is projected to increase with population growth, the working-age share of the population is expected to decrease slightly, to 60%, by 2030.

That study also concluded that the aging of Montana will produce a modest shift in state revenue sources away from income taxes, which are highest for workers in the peak of their careers, and toward property taxes, which are higher for older adults, including retirees, who tend to live in more valuable homes than younger residents.

An aging population doesnt just influence tax projections and hospital budgets and worker supply.

It affects family farming and Elks Clubs.

It affects churches and nonprofits and all manner of governmental safety nets, whose funding structures are already strained.

It affects the aging and the aged, many of whom face financial insecurity and isolation. And it affects the generations behind them, who are increasingly called on to care for elderly parents, even as many raise their own children, who may one day help care for them.

The average American life expectancy has increased by three decades over the course of the 20th century, contributing to the aging of America and suggesting the need for what a 2018 Stanford Center on Longevity initiative calls a new map of life that reimagines education, work, retirement, intergenerational relationships, financial planning and healthcare to support a society in which more of us than ever are living in Lasletts third age.

Montana is on the forefront of that national trend, giving Montanans an opportunity to, as Center on Longevity Director Laura Carstensen wrote in the Washington Post, redesign how we live.

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How, where and why Montana became the grayest state in the West - The Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Start Spring With More Asparagus In Your Cooking – Longevity LIVE

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Start Spring off by improving your health with asparagus. This Spring vegetable is not only a tasty seasonal treat. It also has intriguing health benefits. In fact, asparagus will start Spring off by giving you a quick folate boost. It ranks high up in this department along with broccoli and spinach. Better yet, the vegetable contains antioxidants including vitamin C and carotenoids, other vitamins, minerals and fibre. Therefore it is probably one of the most beneficial vegetables.

Interestingly, major studies state that when you eat lots of fruit and vegetables there is a much lower risk of mortality, especially death from cardiovascular disease. On average, each additional serving of fruit and vegetables a day reduced mortality risk by about 5%. But asparagus contains benefits that exceed most vegetables and fruits. It also has compounds that help regulate blood pressure. This might reduce hypertension risk which is a major factor in cardiovascular disease.

Other than its delicious flavor, asparagus can also help fight cancer. Its good for your brain and may even help you slim down. Theres no nutritionally dense vegetable quite like asparagus to start Spring off healthier. Just remember that its best to eat your asparagus as soon as you buy it. Pair it with lots of other spring vegetables and flavors. Were thinking peas, garlic or baby potatoes.

According to research, the health benefits of asparagus extend far. Apparently it can help promote ahealthy pregnancy, improved fertility, relief from the pre-menstrual syndrome, and improved bone health. Moreover, this yummy vegetable may even help you to manage conditions like diabetes, hangovers, cataracts, rheumatism, depression,neurodegenerative diseases, and convulsions. Better yet, it could also reduce the risk of urinary tract infections and blood cholesterol.

It is also brilliant for digestive health and has shown anticancer potential. You dont need to worry about your waistline either because just 1 cup of cooked asparagus contains only40 calories. It also provides you with 4 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber and 404 milligrams of potassium. We need lots of Potassium in our bodies because it regulates blood pressure. Researchers state that asparagus also contains a compound called asparaptine, which helps improve blood flow and in turn helps lower blood pressure.

Besides tasting amazing, this spring veggie is filled with reasons to enjoy it with your meals. Lets explore some benefits and why you should eat more asparagus.

Start Spring right with this nutrient-packed vegetable. Experts explain that asparagus is an excellent source of fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K, as well as chromium. This is a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells. So if youre trying to keep an eye on your blood sugar then this is great news for you.

For your information, asparagus is part of the herbaceous plant family. This includes avocado, kale and Brussels sprouts. Start Spring with asparagus because its especially rich in glutathione which is a detoxifying compound. This compound can help break down carcinogens and other harmful compounds like free radicals.

Thats why eating asparagus may help protect against and fight certain forms of cancer, such as bone, breast, colon, larynx and lung cancers.

Youll find that asparagus is one of the top-ranked fruits and vegetables for its ability to neutralize cell-damaging free radicals.

This is a great way to start Spring because it could help you slow the aging process and reduce inflammation.

Asparagus is an incredible addition to your cooking because it promotes a healthy brain which is key to living a happy, long life.

This is an integral anti-aging property. If you start spring with this delicious vegetable, you might help assist your brain in fighting cognitive decline. Like leafy greens, asparagus delivers folate, which works with vitamin B12-found in fish, poultry, meat and dairy-to help prevent cognitive impairment.

Moreover, studies using older adults with healthy levels of folate and B12 performed better on a test of response speed and mental flexibility. Therefore, if youre over age-50, then be sure youre getting enough B12. This is because your ability to absorb it decreases with age.

There are more studies demonstrating that asparagus racemosus is effective in reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Some of which include Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and Huntingtons diseases. Theyve linked these benefits to the presence of phytoestrogens in asparagus which have certain neuroprotective effects. Neurodegenerative diseases are genetic or periodic conditions affecting the neurons of the human brain. The issue is that the body doesnt normally have the ability to replace the damaged neurons.

As you may know, depression is forever increasing around the world. We need to do as much as possible to help alleviate some of its symptoms.

Scientific research is showing the efficacy of asparagus racemosus as an anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drug. You see, now you can also help start Spring off on a happier note. Asparagus may even help enhance memory, increase the production and secretion of estrogen, and revitalize and calm the nervous system. A pretty amazing way to start Spring, right?

Asparagus contains high amounts of a nutrient called inulin. This is a kind of complex carbohydrate, commonly known as prebiotic.It does not get digested until it reaches the large intestine, where it is fed upon by a kind of good bacteria like lactobacilli. Inulin aids in the improved absorption of nutrients.

Start Spring with asparagus because it is also packed with high levels of the amino acid asparagine. This acts as a natural diuretic. Increased urination not only releases fluid but helps rid the body of excess salt. This is especially beneficial for people who suffer from edema (an accumulation of fluids in the bodys tissues) and those who have high blood pressure or other heart-related diseases.

You might also be wondering why eating asparagus causes a strong urinary odor. Well, experts explain that asparagus contains a unique compound that, when metabolized, gives off a distinctive smell in the urine. Young asparagus contains higher concentrations of the compound so the odor is stronger after eating it.

Fortunately, there are no harmful effects, either from the sulfuric compounds or the odor. So you can happily start Spring by cooking with more asparagus!

When shopping the most common type of asparagus is green. However, you might find two others in supermarkets and restaurants: white, which is more delicate and difficult to harvest, and purple, which is smaller and fruitier in flavor. No matter the type you choose start Spring with this vegetable. Asparagus is a delicious, versatile vegetable that can be cooked in a variety of ways or enjoyed raw in salads.

A hectic lifestyle and poor diet affect the number of essential nutrients taken on a daily basis. Heres why eating good foodis the best way to get the right balance of vitamins and minerals.

5 Powerful Health Benefits of Asparagus You Probably Didnt Know. Eating Well. http://www.eatingwell.com/article/17129/5-powerful-health-benefits-of-asparagus-you-probably-didnt-know/

17 Impressive Benefits Of Asparagus. Organic Facts. https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/vegetable/health-benefits-of-asparagus.html

Cancer: Treatments & Home Remedies. Organic Facts. https://www.organicfacts.net/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-cancer.html

Whats New And Beneficial About Asparagus? The Worlds Healthiest Foods. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=12

The Unique Health Benefits Of Asparagus. Noted. https://www.noted.co.nz/health/health-nutrition/asparagus-the-unique-health-benefits

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Start Spring With More Asparagus In Your Cooking - Longevity LIVE

Choreographer Angela Goh Announced As The Recipient Of The 2020 Keir Choreographic Award – Broadway World

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The Keir Foundation, Australia Council for the Arts, Carriageworks and Dancehouse have announced Angela Goh as the recipient of the $50,000 Keir Choreographic Award, Australia's most prestigious choreographic award, as well as Amrita Hepi as the recipient of the $10,000 Audience Choice Award.

The recipient of the 2020 Keir Choreographic Award is dancer and choreographer Angela Goh, for her work, Sky Blue Mythic. Performed by Goh to Corin Ileto's live operatic soundscape, Sky Blue Mythic imagined dance as a non-human entity. In a quest to move away from anthropocentrism, Goh's stark new work allows dance to alienate itself from human expression, in turn requiring the body to become an interface rather than a vehicle.

The Audience Choice Award choreographer, Amrita Hepi's work, Rinse questions whether being on the brink of extinction, or endings, has intensified the seduction of the past. An intimate solo based on a dynamic improvisational score, Rinse travels from end to end of an origin myth, positioning personal narratives in relation to dance, art, feminism, cannons, the void, desires, popular culture and colonial history.

Eight artists were selected by an international jury to take part in the biennial competition, dedicated to the commissioning, presentation, promotion and dissemination of new Australian choreography. The selected artists were: Alison Currie and David Cross, Angela Goh, Riana Head-Toussaint, Amrita Hepi, Jo Lloyd, Zachary Lopez, Lewis Major, The Farm.

A jury of international choreographers, critics and curators, Serge Laurent (FR), Mette Edvardsen (NO), Takao Kawaguchi (JP), Claudia La Rocco (USA) were tasked with the responsibility of selecting eight new commissions to compete in the semi-finals at Dancehouse, four works to be presented in the finals at Carriageworks, and the recipient of the Award announced on 14 March.

In making the announcement, Keir Choreographic Award Founder Phillip Keir said: 'Congratulations to Angela Goh, Corin Ileto and team for the glorious Sky Blue Mythic. A wonderful piece of sharply defined choreographic art that resonates with our times. And congratulations to Amrita Hepi, winner of the audience award for such a personal and beautifully observed piece of dance. It was an enormous privilege to be involved in supporting all eight dynamic and diverse pieces of best of Australian choreographic work.'

Australia Council CEO Adrian Collette said: 'Congratulations to Angela Goh, and to all the artists who participated in the 2020 Edition of the KCA. The Australia Council is delighted to once again be part of this important partnership that supportsa?? the development and presentation of new choreographic work in contemporary dance. We thank the participants for sharing their creativity, talent and passion with us.'

Carriageworks CEO Blair French said: 'Carriageworks congratulates the recipient of the 2020 Award, Angela Goh, and Audience Choice Award Amrita Hepi and is proud to continue to support all participants in making new choreographic work. Commissioning new work by Australian artists is at the heart of the Carriageworks programming and the Keir Choreographic Award is integral in this area.'

Dancehouse Artistic Director Angela Conquet said: 'I was impressed with the multitude of layers and diversity of forms that all the selected artists worked with, as well as with the rigour and creativity with which they envision and embody choreography, by replacing the body to the centre of how we filter and reflect current times.

The Australia Council for Arts, the Keir Foundation, Carriageworks and Dancehouse have confirmed their continued support to another two editions of the Keir Choreographic Award (2022 and 2024), an exciting development guaranteeing the longevity of this signature Australian commissioning program.

The Keir Choreographic Award public program, with its array of national and international jury members, panellists, guests and workshop leaders, ran concurrently with the performance seasons in both Melbourne and Sydney, providing a vital context for related and relevant discourse, reflection and debate.

Choreographic Art in the 21st Century is an increasingly expanded and international field, incorporating a multiplicity of practices and production modes, and a diversity of aesthetic, philosophical and social perspectives. Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and launched in 2014 as Australia's only cash award for choreography, the Keir Choreographic Award looks to identify and illuminate the most urgent and experimental choreographic practices occurring in the Australian context today.

The Award has fast become the largest generator of new choreographic work in Australia and offers a rare opportunity to develop and present new work. To date, the Award has garnered further commissioning and touring support, both nationally and internationally with works including Berlin-based artist Martin Hansen's If it's all in my veins which since 2016 has been presented in Hong Kong, Paris and Berlin. Previous Keir Choreographic Award recipients include Melbourne-based artist Atlanta Eke, 2014; Sydney-based Torres Strait Islander choreographer and performer, Ghenoa Gela, 2016; and Javanese-Australian choreographer and performer, Melanie Lane, 2018.

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Choreographer Angela Goh Announced As The Recipient Of The 2020 Keir Choreographic Award - Broadway World

Business as "un"usual: Running an events business in the COVID-19 era – MuMbrella

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Natalie Simmons, General Manager, cievents

In January, we started seeing the first impact coming out of China and our Asian markets.We realized that this would have a serious effect and were preparing ourselves but the domestic piece hit much faster than we expected. So while we started preparing six weeks ago, were still seeing significant shifts by the hour.

Events are always the first area to see an impact.There are significant movements, big spends and many people and stakeholders involved. Its an easy part of the strategy piece to look at and think is this business-critical? With meetings and conferences, theres a certain level of need in the business with events theres time to be flexible and the distance for people to rationalise.

Ive been with cievents for going on 21 years.In that time weve seen some major external disruptors: weve weathered recessions, we saw SAARS. And there has been technological pressure as well I was around when video conferences came out, and there were questions about whether that would fundamentally shift the events industry.

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None of these phenomena affected the events industry in the way we anticipated they might. I think thats attributable to the want of the events industry to disrupt itself. There is an ever-present notion in this industry of how do we do things differently? How do we think outside the box?

In recent years corporates have responded to this by shifting their thinking and seeing events as a critical marketing activity and part of their business strategy. Brands, increasingly, see events as a crucial platform rather than just a moment in time that type of thinking is the biggest disruption and the most significant opportunity within our business.

People and diversity of product are what makes the events industry successful, theyre the same things that have kept me working in events for so long.Were doing something different every day because consumers change constantly. One thing has remained the same though, even though we live in a world where we are connected by device where we can work from anywhere, learn from anywhere human beings still have the drive to connect person to person. We arent built to be alone weve seen this in the escalation of mental health issues centred around social media and feelings of isolation. We also process information and make decisions differently online than we do in face-to-face interactions. We are social creatures and social factors still influence our decision making face-to-face will always have more of an impact.

There are two options when something like this happens: we can go into doom and gloom mode, or we can think about how were going to come out the other end in a positive way.One of the ways we are going to come out the other end is technology. Its been exciting to see companies and brands testing it and using it to different degrees in recent years. But its not a fully integrated part of the strategy piece and it needs to be. Companies need to stop seeing technology as a superficial way to differentiate themselves in the market, instead, they need to see it as an integral component of the way they strategise and do business. When people come to us to start planning an event, well sit down and say what are we going to be doing 6 weeks pre-event, what are we going to be doing six weeks post? because we dont want events to be just a moment in time. When you come off the high of an event you need to be thinking, how are people going to be engaging with the content in three weeks? Thats where technology can help extend the tail-end of these kinds of activations.

Now, with COVID19 we have an enforced opportunity to look at what technologies we can use and how we can use them to give customers a better return on their investment. Because when we use that technology properly and we continuously engage with people we can continue to improve. Generally, that doesnt happen, you might have a survey and a couple of content pieces. And thats as far as it goes. Whereas now, if we flip it on its head and integrate the strategy from the outset we can see a much longer return on investment and far greater investment. Hopefully, that will enable us to think outside those parameters and think about the longevity and resilience of our events. Thats why were releasing our campaign business as un usual because its still business as usual. It just has to be business done differently. And we have to keep changing and evolving.

COVID19 will prompt companies to review the way they do events, and they should be doing this.Its a large spend category for many of our customers. It involves a lot of resources. Our customers change and our people change and we need to be communicating that constantly. If you view events as what they are, which is a marketing platform, marketing is forever evolving, it cant be stagnant. You wouldnt see the same ad on television for ten years so you shouldnt see the same events.

We have all the means at our disposal but its about opening that conversation and approaching it with an open mind.Its about saying this is what we still need to do, this is how were going to do it. We need to talk to as many people as possible, and as many of our clients as possible, about how we can use what weve got to engage people. Its not just cievents, its the whole industry. That is how were going to find our way forward. I believe the industry can and should rally together. I have had clients at cievents who have been with us since I started. Year in, year out weve worked with those clients on different content and strategies. You go on their business journey with them and see them evolve and adapt. This is the next stage of that evolution. Right now we need open communication about what companies want to achieve and we need to be breaking it down quarter by quarter. Were predicting that we will see a pick up in the next quarter. In the meantime, we have the resources to flex up or flex down and make changes quickly, constantly adapting to the evolving needs of our customers and the market.

Register to join a webinar with Natalie Simmons on Friday 20th March at 9am (SYD time) to talk Business as (un) Usual.

Originally posted here:
Business as "un"usual: Running an events business in the COVID-19 era - MuMbrella