Will Superhuman AGI Be Our Friend or Foe? – Lifeboat News: The … – Lifeboat Foundation (blog)

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Lets just go ahead and address the question on everyones mind: will AI kill us? What is the negative potential of transhuman superintelligence? Once its cognitive power surpasses our own, will it give us a leg-up in the singularity, or will it look at our collective track record of harming our own species, other species, the world that gave us life, etc., and exterminate us like pests? AI expert Ben Goertzel believes weve been at this point of uncertainty many times before in our evolution. When we stepped out of our caves, it was a risk no one knew it would lead to cities and space flight. When we spoke the first word, took up agriculture, invented the printing press, flicked the internet on-switch all of these things could have led to our demise, and in some sense, our eventual demise can be traced all the way back to the day that ancient human learnt how to make fire. Progress helps us, until the day it kills us. That said, fear of negative potential cannot stop us from attempting forward motion and by now, says Goertzel, its too late anyway. Even if the U.S. decided to pull the plug on superhuman intelligence research, China would keep at it. Even if China pulled out, Russia, Australia, Brazil, Nigeria would march on. We know there are massive benefits both humanitarian and corporate and we have latched to the idea. The way we got to this point as a species and a culture has been to keep doing amazing new things that we didnt fully understand, says Goertzel, and for better or worse, thats what were going to keep on doing. Ben Goertzels most recent book is AGI Revolution: An Inside View of the Rise of Artificial General Intelligence.

Ben Goertzels most recent book is AGI Revolution: An Inside View of the Rise of Artificial General Intelligence.

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Will Superhuman AGI Be Our Friend or Foe? - Lifeboat News: The ... - Lifeboat Foundation (blog)

Educational seminar on stem cell therapy to be featured at lunch meeting in Abilene – Salina Post

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Kansas Regenerative Medicine Center (KRMC) staff will be the guest speakers at the next Healthwise 55 luncheon. Speakers Frank Lyons, MD; John Farley (Founder); and Kate Farley will define stem cells and explain their many therapeutic uses. The KRMC staff will also share how stem cell therapy is a potential alternative to joint replacements or other medical therapies.

The event will be on Thursday, February 23, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Conklin Conference Center at Memorial Hospital, located at 511 N.E. 10th, Abilene. The cost is $5.00 to cover the price of the meal. Please call Michelle McClanahan, MHS Director of Volunteer Services, at (785) 263-6692 by Monday, February 20, to make a reservation.

Healthwise 55 is a luncheon and health information program hosted by the MHS Volunteer Corps. It is open to the public for individuals ages 55 and older. It includes a meal followed by a health care professional(s) speaking on a health-related topic.

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Educational seminar on stem cell therapy to be featured at lunch meeting in Abilene - Salina Post

Can banking baby teeth treat diabetes? – Fox News

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When she was just 11 months old, Billie Sue Wozniaks daughter Juno was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that affects 1.25 million people and approximately 200,000 children under age 20 in the United States.

The disease had affected several members of Billie Sues family, including her uncle, who passed away at the age of 30.

My first thought was, Her life is going to be short, the 38-year-old from Reno, Nevada recalled. The more that I learned, the more I found that many people with type 1 live longer and the treatment advances are really exciting.

While looking for treatments, Wozniak learned about encapsulation therapy, in which an encapsulated device containing insulin-producing islet cells derived from stem cells is implanted under the skin. The encapsulation device is designed to protect the cells from an autoimmune attack and may help people produce their own insulin.

After learning of the therapy through JDRF, Wozniak saw an ad on Facebook for Store-A-Tooth, a company that offers dental stem cell banking. She decided to move forward with the stem cell banking, just in case the encapsulation device became an option for Juno.

In March 2016, a dentist extracted four of Junos teeth, and sent them to a lab so her stem cells could be cryopreserved. Wozniak plans to bank the stem cells from Junos molars as well.

Its a riskI dont know for sure if it will work out, Wozniak said.

Dental stem cells: a future of possibilities

For years, stem cells from umbilical cord blood and bone marrow have been used to treat blood and bone marrow diseases, blood cancers and metabolic and immune disorders.

Although there is the potential for dental stem cells to be used in the same way, researchers are only beginning to delve into the possibilities.

Dental stem cells are not science fiction, said Dr. Jade Miller, president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. I think at some point in time, were going to see dental stem cells used by dentistson a daily practice.

Dental stem cells have the potential to produce dental tissue, bone, cartilage and muscle. They may be used to repair cavities, fix a tooth damaged from periodontal disease or bone loss, or even grow a tooth instead of using dental implants.

In fact, stem cells can be used to repair cracks in teeth and cavities, according to a recent mouse study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Theres also some evidence that dental stem cells can produce nerve tissue, which might eliminate the need for root canals. A recent study out of Tufts University found that a collagen-based biomaterial used to deliver stem cells to the inside of damaged teeth can regenerate dental pulp-like tissues.

Dental stem cells may even be able to treat neurological disorders, spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries.

I believe those are the kinds of applications that will be the first uses of these cells, said Dr. Peter Verlander, Chief Scientific Officer for Store-A-Tooth.

When it comes to treating diseases like type 1 diabetes, dental stem cells also show promise. In fact, a study in the Journal of Dental Research found that dental stem cells were able to form islet-like aggregates that produce insulin.

Unlike umbilical cord blood where theres one chance to collect stem cells, dental stem cells can be collected from several teeth. Also, gathering stem cells from bone marrow requires invasive surgery and risk, and it can be painful and costly.

The stem cells found in baby teeth, known as mesenchymal cells, are similar to those found in other parts of the body, but not identical.

There are differences in these cells, depending on where they come from, Verlander said.

Whats more, mesenchymal stem cells themselves differ from hematopoietic, or blood-forming stem cells. Unlike hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells can expand.

From one tooth, we expect to generate hundreds of billions of cells, Verlander said.

Yet the use of dental stem cells is not without risks. For example, theres evidence that tumors can develop when stem cells are transplanted. Theres also a chance of an immune rejection, but this is less likely if a person uses his own stem cells, Miller said.

The process for banking stem cells from baby teeth is relatively simple. A dentist extracts the childs teeth when one-third of the root remains and the stem cells are still viable. Once the teeth are shipped and received, the cells are extracted, grown and cryopreserved.

Store-A-Tooths fees include a one-time payment of $1,749 and $120 per year for storage, in addition to the dentists fees for extraction.

For families who are interested in banking dental stem cells, they should know that theyre not necessarily a replacement for cord blood banking or bone marrow stem cells.

Theyre not interchangeable, we think of them as complementary, Verlander said.

Although the future is unclear for Junowho was born in 2008her mom is optimistic that shell be able to use the stem cells for herself and if not, someone else.

Ultimately, however, Wozniak hopes that if dental stem cells arent the answer, there will be a biological cure for type 1 diabetes.

I hold out hope that somewhere, someone is going to crack the code, she said.

Julie Revelant is a health journalist and a consultant who provides content marketing and copywriting services for the healthcare industry. She's also a mom of two. Learn more about Julie at revelantwriting.com.

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Can banking baby teeth treat diabetes? - Fox News

Psychics, witches and pagans: What do people get out of alternative spirituality? – ABC Online

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Posted February 12, 2017 06:04:46

According to Rose Smith, most people who consult psychics these days are looking for guidance in relationships.

Ms Smith, who runs a phone-in psychic business on the Gold Coast, would know: she gets thousands of calls a year from people having relationship troubles or hoping to find "the one".

Online and telephone readings are all part of being a modern psychic. Though you might think the magic would be lost, Ms Smith believes her readings over the phone are more effective than those she does face to face.

"The voice conveys a lot, and it's a clearer channel of communication than face to face," she told The Spirit of Things.

"It's rather distracting to see what people are wearing or what they look like, so better to have just the information coming through the top of my head, whatever I'm getting from spirit and the person's voice.

"Because I've only got two sources of information then to interpret, so it's actually much easier than face to face."

But if Ms Smith's clients think that she or any of the 70 psychics associated with her website, Absolute Soul Secrets, will solve their problems for them, they've got another thing coming.

"I think this is a point that gets lost sometimes," she said. "A psychic is not going to run your life for you. They're not going to make any decisions for younot good ones anyway."

If that's true, why do people keep consulting them? According to Ms Smith, the desire to take control is a big factor. Despite the clues and suggestions a psychic might offer, clients are free to choose any course of action.

"Lots of people feel that they are not in control, so they go to a psychic to get tips on how to get into control," said Ms Smith.

"Any reasonable psychic is going to give you options and advice, and you're going to make up your own mind which way you're going to go."

But aren't the notions of free will and personal responsibility contradicted by the idea that we're affected by spirits, stars and past lives, and that clairvoyants can access these truths while we cannot?

Ms Smith is tertiary educated and trained as a therapist before becoming a full-time psychic. So how does she reconcile this paradox?

"I've always been a searcher, I've always wanted to know the truth. Having said that, I actually do have an analytical mind," she said.

"I've just recently completed my Masters of business administration in leadership and innovations. I still have that part of me.

"But what I've learnt is to switch between the two, and they're almost like polar opposites. I've done that for many years now, and I can kind of float between the two."

But according to sociology professor Doug Ezzy from the University of Tasmania, young people who become involved in alternative spiritual practices can be somewhat naive, even if the practices can have very positive effects on their emotional wellbeing. Much of Dr Ezzy's research focuses on teenage witches.

"I had one teenager who I interviewed who thought that by doing particular spells she could make herself live forever," he said.

"As an interviewer I wasn't supposed to evaluate her, but as a friend maybe after the interview I would try and help her understand that there is a complex relationship here between magical practice and what is actually achievable."

Dr Ezzy has been documenting witchcraft and paganism in Australia for about 15 years. Together they form a new religious movement of about 0.1 or 0.2 per cent of the population.

Initially he thought the phenomenon of teenage witches, as seen in TV series like Charmed and Buffy, was "just young women, playing around, doing silly things".

But he discovered while researching the book he co-authored with Helen Bergman, Teenage Witches, that these young women are often struggling with real-life issues, including relationship difficulties, health problems, depression, the pressures of school and even sexual abuse.

"People are still looking for a life with soul," he said.

"They're looking for symbols and resources that help them to make sense of the world around them, to deal with difficult situations, cope with loss, find courage and hope.

"These sorts of experiences and practices help them build a life with soul."

In his latest book, Sex, Death and Witchcraft, Dr Ezzy observes similar coping mechanisms at play at the pagan Faunalia festival, which requires individuals to role play their own death.

There's something in that for Ms Smith, who traces her psychic ability back to her difficult childhood.

"I've always had it since being a little girl ... you get psychic really quick if you don't want to get hurt."

Topics: spirituality, spiritualism, religion-and-beliefs, community-and-society, witchcraft, qld

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More science heading to the International Space Station – Daily Press – Daily Press

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SpaceX's upcoming Falcon 9 rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center will carry a host of science experiments to the International Space Station, aside from the SAGE III instrument to study Earth's atmosphere.

They include:

The Lightning Imagining Sensor, or LIS, will sample lightning over a wider geographic area than any previous instrument. Lightning strikes occur around the globe at a rate of 45 per second, said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in a media call Wednesday afternoon. LIS will help measure the amount, rate and energy of those strikes, improve our understanding of their weather effects and offer insight into weather forecasting, climate change, atmospheric chemistry and physics and aircraft and spacecraft safety. LIS was developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the University of Alabama.

The "Nanobiosym" experiment will try to learn how microgravity affects the growth and mutation of a superbug. Superbugs are germs or bacteria that can rapidly mutate and become resistant to antibiotics, said Anita Goel, scientific director of the project. "By using microgravity in space as an incubator," she said, "we can better predict what these mutations might look like. ... Do these bacteria grow faster and mutate faster in a microgravity environment? And, if so, why?" What they learn could help to develop better drug treatment. Space station crew isn't at risk of exposure, she said, because the entire system will be contained.

"Raven" is a step toward robotic missions far from Earth developing a navigation and rendezvous technology to get humans out of the loop, said Ben Reed, a deputy division director at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Once installed on the ISS, the Raven module will observe the range, bearing and pose of every visiting vehicle as it approaches, then gimbal or pivot autonomously for rendezvous.

"The next era that we are bridging toward now," Reed said, "is going to be, in our view, dominated by missions where you have satellites being upgraded, being serviced, being refueled, being relocated, being assembled in orbit." Autonomous systems will benefit not only NASA's ambitions for deep-space missions to Mars or an asteroid, he said, but commercial missions, too.

Growing better crystals in space could help develop better treatments for a wide range of ills on Earth, from cancer to asthma, infections to high cholesterol. To that end, Merck Research Laboratories will be growing crystalline monoclonal antibodies on the space station or molecules designed to attach to other molecules in the body to help fight various diseases. Microgravity is an ideal environment for growing crystals that are "larger, more uniform and higher purity than Earth-grown crystals," said Paul Reichart, an associate principal scientist at Merck. Depending on their success, he said, such antibodies might one day be manufactured in space.

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More science heading to the International Space Station - Daily Press - Daily Press

See International Space Station Tonight In Western Washington – Patch.com

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See International Space Station Tonight In Western Washington
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See International Space Station Tonight In Western Washington. SEATTLE, WA - The sky will be clear over most of Western Washington tonight - just in time to see the International Space Station pass by on Sunday evening. The space station will pass over ...

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Space station films ‘unexplainable’ blue jet beam bursting from ‘alien cloud’ – Express.co.uk

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A Danish astronaut recorded the creepy moment "elusive blue jets" burst from a distant cloud in footage which has raised more questions than answers.

The unexplained phenomenon, filmed two years ago from onboard the International Space Station (ISS), appears to be a terrifying thunderstorm unfolding in space.

Despite using the station's most sensitive camera, the strange "activity" recorded over the Bay of Bengal remains a mystery.

It was perplexed scientists so much that the European Space Agency (ESA) are set to launch several experiments this year to "monitor the pulsating blue jets" shooting up out of clouds.

For years, the existence of the gigantic blue discharges has been debated, with the scientific community largely dismissing them - despite contrary reports from astronauts in space.

ESA

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who captured the footage, said: "It is not every day that you get to capture a new weather phenomenon on film, so I am very pleased with the result but even more so that researchers will be able to investigate these intriguing thunderstorms in more detail soon."

But for now, Mr Mogensen reiterated that "it's something that we know very little about".

The ESA added: "The blue discharges and jets are examples of a little-understood part of our atmosphere.

"Electrical storms reach into the stratosphere and have implications for how our atmosphere protects us from radiation."

ESA

ESA

It's something that we know very little about

Andreas Mogensen

The Danish-led investigation, named the Thor Experiment, into the "astonishing blue jets" confirmed that the beams grew to 25 miles out of the cloud before fading away.

The beams can move at speeds of up to 360,000kph (220,000mph) and without a high speed camera can be easily missed by the human eye.

Further studies into the strange phenomenon are planned for later this year, as part of a project to monitor the "transient luminious events".

ESA

Olivier Chanrion of the Danish National Space Institute in Lyngby: "We wanted to see what happens above a thunderstorm.

"What we see is that at the top of the cloud in what we call the 'turrets', there is incredible activity.

"They were dancing over the top of the cloud, and we called them glimpses.

"But it's only a first step and we need to find out more."

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NASA wants to send a life-detecting lander to Europa – Engadget

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Scientists believe that Europa's icy crust is hiding a global saltwater ocean. They also believe that ocean is in contact with a rocky, silicate seafloor, which is a necessary source of elements and energy needed to give rise to and sustain life. The only other ocean in contact with a seafloor outside our planet is Saturn's moon Enceladus, making Europa an ideal world to explore if we want to find extraterrestrial life forms.

Next in the lander's goal list is assessing whether Europa is habitable by examining its non-ice materials. Finally, it has to characterize the properties of its surface and subsurface materials for future explorations. It'll be a long time before this lander takes off, though -- it was designed to follow the Europa Multiple Flyby Mission that's scheduled to launch in the 2020s. If it does push through, it'll be the first mission since the 1970s' Martian Viking program that will "conduct... in situ search for evidence of life on another world."

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NASA wants to send a life-detecting lander to Europa - Engadget

NASA reminds us that space is gorgeous with breathtaking new Hubble snapshot – BGR

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While you were sitting in your office this morning, sipping your half-milk soy latte, space was out there being awesome. It was there when you grabbed lunch at Chipotle, too, and again when you got stuck in traffic on your way home. Thankfully, the Hubble Space Telescope is out there, capturing ridiculously gorgeous shots like this one (full version) of a galaxy in the Andromeda constellation, so at least you can come home at night and enjoy some celestial eye candy while you binge on Netflix and drip Ben & Jerrys on your couch cushions.

The galaxy, known by the very clinical name of NGC 7640, is what is called a barred spiral galaxy. NASA describes it thusly:

These are recognizable by their spiral arms, which fan out not from a circular core, but from an elongated bar cutting through the galaxys center. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is also a barred spiral galaxy.

The agency goes on to note that the photo, while spectacular, might not actually show a visible spiral due to the galaxys orientation to the Hubbles location, making it more difficult to identify the crescent-shaped arms that extend from the bar.

NASA believes that NGC 7640 has experienced some kind of interaction in its past, which is really just a vague way of saying that something intense happened to it in the distant past, such as merger between two smaller galaxies. NASA studies these distant structures in the hopes of further developing our own understanding of how galaxies like our own were born and mature over time. Oh, and because the photos are fantastic.

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NASA reminds us that space is gorgeous with breathtaking new Hubble snapshot - BGR

Has China beaten Nasa in building warp-drive technology dubbed the ‘impossible engine’? – Express.co.uk

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Back in November, leaked documents showed that Nasa believed that it had cracked the once impossible warp drive mystery and were working on an engine that could drastically reduce the time that it takes to travel through space.

Super-fast warp drive faster than any travel currently available would make it possible to travel to the Moon in a matter of hours.

The warp drive Nasa was working on is an EM Drive which is an engine that would outperform any booster that is currently available and has no exhaust.

The technology works by bouncing microwaves around inside a closed engine. The microwaves subsequently push against the side of the container, acting as a propellor.

GETTY

GETTY

This was once considered impossible as it violate Newtons third law for every action, there is an equal reaction.

The new engine would also make it possible to get humans to Mars within a month, compared to current technology which takes upwards of three months to get to the Red Planet.

GETTY

The news sent shockwaves around the scientific community who were impressed with Nasas feat, but now China says that it already has the technology in operation.

The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) said that it has been funding research into the project since 2010, and Nasas news just re-confirm what they allegedly already knew.

GETTY

They added that they have been testing the device aboard the Tiangong-2 Chinas low-orbit manned satellite.

Dr Chen Yue, head of the communication satellite division at Cast said at a recent press conference: National research institutions in recent years have carried out a series of long-term, repeated tests on the EmDrive.

NASAs published test results can be said to re-confirm the technology. We have successfully developed several specifications of multiple prototype principles.

The establishment of an experimental verification platform to complete the milli-level micro thrust measurement test, as well as several years of repeated experiments and investigations into corresponding interference factors, confirm that in this type of thruster, thrust exists.

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Has China beaten Nasa in building warp-drive technology dubbed the 'impossible engine'? - Express.co.uk

NASA astronauts train at Fairchild to prep for space capsules – KXLY Spokane

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NASA astronauts train at Fairchild to...

AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. - Four of the astronauts that will put America back in the driver's seat when it comes to space exploration were in Spokane this week.

The crew, training at Fairchild Air Force Base, were practicing what would happen if their SpaceX capsule ended up landing in the ocean.

The four NASA astronauts on that life raft will be among the first Americans to blast into space aboard an American-made spacecraft in more than 6 years. Friday, they were getting some important training.

The astronauts were participating in a water survival course, which is something they need now that they're switching over to space capsules that could possibly splashdown in the ocean beginning in 2018.

When we flew on the shuttle we were always looking for a runway, said Captain Sunny Williams, NASA astronaut. Now we're going to be flying on capsules and capsules can land anywhere.

The 336th training group tried to make its survival lessons as realistic as possible. Fans, fog machines, and fire hoses recreated the difficulties of ditching at sea.

There's lots of waves, lots of wind, and lots of rain, said Colonel Doug Hurley, NASA astronaut. This is a great way to tell how bad it could possibly get. It's a good way to reset everything you've learned over the years.

Dealing with the deluge in a controlled environment, right down to getting hoisted aboard a rescue copter, gives students the confidence they need for the real thing.

It also allows us to talk to the providers and get a better insight as to what type of survival gear and techniques we may need, especially for an ocean-landing spaceship, said Hurley.

There were a lot more people in the pool today than just astronauts and that's because the space crew was integrated in one of Fairchild's regularly scheduled survival courses. It's the only place it can happen in the Air Force and it makes Fairchild that much more valuable to the Pentagon.

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Nano-level lubricant tuning improves material for electronic devices and surface coatings – Science Daily

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Nano-level lubricant tuning improves material for electronic devices and surface coatings
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... mechanical science and engineering at Illinois. "Whereas the wettability of its more famous cousin, graphene, has been substantially investigated, that of atomically thin MoS2 -- in particular atomically thin MoS2 with micro- and nano-scale ...

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Nano-level lubricant tuning improves material for electronic devices and surface coatings - Science Daily

Pizza pub, offices on tap in The Warehouses at Chaffee Crossing in Fort Smith – Times Record

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By John LovettTimes Recordjlovett@swtimes.com

The Warehouse at Chaffee Crossing, a row of several 9,000-square-foot World War II era warehouses, soon willbe turned into a mixed-used development with an engineering firm and pizza pub.

Scott Archer, principal engineer with HSA Engineering Consulting Services in Fort Smith, is a partner in the Diades Investments project and said the timeline for site work is pending final approval by the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Design Review Committee and the final details of a bank loan.

The committee meeting was set for Thursday and rescheduled to 2 p.m. Feb. 21. FCRA Executive Director Ivy Owen could not make the meetingbecause ofillness.

Archer noted the firms commitment to the project.

The firm has to move, because right now were homeless, Archer said.

Site work will include new sidewalks and railing on the exterior.

Last March, the FCRA accepted a bid of $100,000 from Archer and Diades Investments for the whole row, a 2.27-acre block of five warehouses, in the 7400 block of Ellis Street across from the historic barracks. The move tipped off an unexpected redevelopment of two rows of old warehouses not far from the Museum of Chaffee History and Chaffee Barbershop Museum. Old Fort Furniture opened in a warehouse last August opposite the Diades Investment project.

Current plans call for The Warehouse at Chaffee Crossing call for a Napoletana-style pizza pub with a nano-brewery that will be capable of producing about 100-gallons of beer per brew. The pizza pub will be next to the engineering firm, and the remaining three 9,000-square-foot warehouses are up for grabs.

First come, first serve, Archer said to entrepreneurs who offer their plans.

A bicycle shop and office space are options suggested by Archer as prime candidates for the mixed-use redevelopment in the three remaining warehouses on that row.

Although there are two interested parties with ideas to house a restaurant in one of those remaining three buildings, there have been no official commitments or plans with dedicated funding attributed. One of the three buildings, however, is currently being used as a storage facility by a local church and those items are set to be relocated further down to Building 5 in the row.

The pizza pub will be in Building 1 with a theme to honor local military units and Fort Chaffees history. The location is directly behind another microbrewery in development by Fort Smith Brewing Co.

Building 2 will house HSA Engineers offices. Archer said his business partner, Rob May, suggested the move last year to the warehouses. Interior wooden beams will be exposed to offer vaulted ceilings as done by Randy DeCanter and his family at Old Fort Furniture on the opposite side of the warehouse district.

If tenants become available during construction, well roll that into Building 3, Archer explained. All of them should be filled within a five-year time span.

Although they have long wanted to have a Napoletana-style pizza place to call their own, Archer said he and his wife, Stacey, found inspiration and help in planning the pizza pub from Anthony Valnotti ofDeLucas Pizzeria in Hot Springs.Scott Archer is also an award-winning home brewer.

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Pizza pub, offices on tap in The Warehouses at Chaffee Crossing in Fort Smith - Times Record

College of Medicine focuses on four areas of research – Gulf Times

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The Qatar University College of Medicine (QU-CMED) focuses on four pillars of medical research molecular medicine, clinical research, medical education and public health, a top official of the university told Gulf Times. One of our main goals is to unite CMED researchers, faculty and students with all departments and stakeholders in Qatar to conduct world-class research in medical health, and contribute to the growing healthcare sector. For this, we have identified molecular medicine, clinical research, medical education and public health as the major areas of research, said Dr Egon Toft, QU vice president for Medical and Health Sciences and CMED founding dean. The Colleges molecular medicine research aims to improve patient care by combining basic research excellence with innovations in clinical practice. The research strategy of the college is to shift to translational medicine in addressing major diseases such as diabetes, cancer, inflammatory, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as clinical infections such as enteric pathogens causing diarrhoea, ulcer forming bacteria and several respiratory infections, explained Dr Toft. According to the official, in clinical research, researchers and biomedical scientists from QU Health are working closely with researchers across QU health programmes and from HMC to combine basic research excellence with innovations in clinical practice. Medical education research is another focus for us with a special interest in developing agreed standards of professional competence and ethics, and also the use of technology to enhance learning and teaching especially simulation technology in medical education. In public health research, the college is focusing on five inter-disciplinary themes epidemiological studies on chronic diseases, health promotion and healthy lifestyle, healthcare delivery systems, evidence-based healthcare and health informatics, continued the dean. The official maintained that the college focuses on research in areas of national priority. Our research covers the full translational pathway from basic science to applied health research with the aim to advance the healthcare sector in Qatar. CMEDs research agenda is within the broader university-wide health research strategy, and aligns with both the QU 5-year research roadmap and the National Health Strategy. The college has established partnerships with healthcare providers in Qatar especially those under HMC and PHCC, covering the area of research collaboration and aiming to further contribute to enhancing Qatars health research, he noted. The college has enrolled 93 new students to its Class of 2022 in Fall 2016. This is an increase of 16% of the number of students who enrolled the previous year. At 62%, the majority (58) of the new admits are Qatari nationals. The college has also adopted an interactive and engaging pedagogy, incorporating technology-based learning, which contributes to preparing students for the future and to shaping doctors for tomorrow. The college is also registered in the WHOs international directory for medical schools, this registration strengthens its reputation and credibility, added the official.

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Dubrovnik to Host Largest Group of Nobel Prize Winners in Europe – Total Croatia News

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Fantastic news for Dubrovnik as the city is set to play host to the largest cathering of Nobel Prize laureates in Europe this summer.

Dubrovnik has recently made quite a name for itself as a congress destination, and with continuing talks about gradually increasing the length of the currently accepted summer season, Dubrovnik's tourism spectrum seems to only grow wider.

As DuList reported on the 10th of February 2017, following the announcement of Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli and prof. dr. Dragan Primorac, that the City of Dubrovnik will proudly host the 10th ISABS Conference on Forensic and Anthropologic Genetics and Mayo Clinic Lectures and Individualised Medicine this summer, from the 19th of June to the 24th of June 2017. The truly exceptional scientific event, which is dedicated to advances in the fields of medicine, forensics and anthropological genetics is expected to gather more than 500 participants from approximately 40 countries.

In addition to lectures from the world's leading experts in the field of clinical and molecular medicine and the field of forensic and anthropological genetics, lectures will be held by no less than five Nobel Prize winners in chemistry and medicine.

''This conference is one of the most important international scientific events in 2017 and I was especially glad for it to be held in Croatia, and in Dubrovnik. Croatia has the potential to become one of the most recognisable destinations for business tourism, and the gathering of such a large number of experts from around the world certainly contributes to that strengthening and recognition. Soon, we will open the conference office as part of the Croatian Tourist Board and I believe that in the future, we will witness many such global events that will make Croatia a more competitive tourist destination'' stated Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli.

Prof. dr. Dragan Primorac echoed Minister Cappelli's remarks, pointing out that the position of Croatia as a state of knowledge in this manner is priceless, and that this year's congress signifies a tremendous step forward for Croatia. It is the largest gathering of Nobel laureates in Europe this year.

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Dubrovnik to Host Largest Group of Nobel Prize Winners in Europe - Total Croatia News

You’re hardwired to go mad – Independent Online

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Washington - American and Japanese researchers said on Thursday that they had found a genetic mutation that causes obsessive-compulsive disorder and other mental illnesses and said some patients had a second mutation that made their conditions worse.

The rare finding could make it easier to discover better treatments for the disorder, one of the top 10 leading causes of disability worldwide.

Dr Norio Ozaki of Fujita Health University School of Medicine in Japan and colleagues at several American institutions - including the University of Pittsburgh and Yale University - worked on the study, which was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

The gene is called the human serotonin transporter gene, hSERT, and helps control how the body uses serotonin, a message-carrying chemical or neurotransmitter linked with mood.

Some anxiety drugs and antidepressants target serotonin, but the researchers said patients with the mutations are not helped by these drugs.

"In all of molecular medicine, there are few known instances where two variants within one gene have been found to alter the expression and regulation of the gene in a way that appears associated with symptoms of a disorder," said Dr Dennis Murphy of the National Institute of Mental Health, who worked on the study.

The researchers analysed DNA from 170 people, including 30 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 30 with eating disorders such as anorexia and 30 with seasonal affective disorder - which can cause depression and other symptoms in dark winter months.

They also looked at the DNA of 80 healthy people.

A specific mutation in the hSERT gene was seen in two patients with OCD and their families, but not in other patients.

With such a rare mutation showing up, the researchers believe it is likely to be found in other families with OCD and related disorders.

They interviewed relatives of the patients and found six of the seven people with the mutation had an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and some also had anorexia, Asperger's syndrome, which is a form of autism, social phobia or were abusers of alcohol.

A second mutation was found in hSERT in two patients, giving them a "double dose." The patients and their siblings had especially difficult to treat versions of OCD, the researchers said.

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You're hardwired to go mad - Independent Online

New method reduces adverse effects of rectal cancer treatment – Medical Xpress

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February 10, 2017

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that short-course preoperative radiotherapy combined with delayed surgery reduces the adverse side-effects of rectal cancer surgery without compromising its efficacy. The results are presented in the journal The Lancet Oncology.

Rectal cancer affects some 2,000 men and women in Sweden every year. Preoperative radiotherapy was gradually introduced in the early 1990s, with a consequent improvement in prognosis for people with rectal cancer and reduction in the risk of local recurrence.

"Back then we showed that preoperative radiotherapy reduces the risk of local recurrence by over 50 per cent for patients with rectal cancer," says principal investigator Anna Martling, senior consultant surgeon and professor at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery. "Thanks to our results, radiotherapy is recommended to many rectal cancer patients."

However, radiotherapy can cause adverse reactions and the optimal radiotherapeutic method and the interval between it and the ensuing surgery have been mooted.

The study now presented in The Lancet Oncology is based on the claim that the adverse effects of rectal cancer treatment can be reduced by administering more but lower doses of radiation for a longer time, or by increasing the interval between radiotherapy and surgery. These hypotheses have now been tested in a study in which rectal cancer patients were randomly assigned to three different treatment arms:

The results of the study show that patients with delayed surgery develop fewer complications with equally good oncological outcomes. It also showed that there is no difference between long-course and short-course radiotherapy other than that the former considerably lengthens the time for treatment.

"The results of the study will give rise to improved therapeutic strategies, fewer complications with a sustained low incidence of local recurrence, and better survival rates for rectal cancer patients," says Professor Martling. "The results can now be immediately put to clinical use to the considerable benefit of the patients."

Explore further: Specialists make breakthrough for bowel cancer patients

More information: Johan Erlandsson et al. Optimal fractionation of preoperative radiotherapy and timing to surgery for rectal cancer (Stockholm III): a multicentre, randomised, non-blinded, phase 3, non-inferiority trial, The Lancet Oncology (2017). DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(17)30086-4

Specialists at The Christie and The University of Manchester have made a breakthrough which will spare patients with cancer of the lower bowel, rectal cancer, from major surgery.

(HealthDay)There are no statistically significant differences in the rates of local recurrence (LR), distant recurrence, relapse-free survival, overall survival, or late toxicity in patients treated with short-course (SC) ...

Appearing in Lancet Oncology, long term results of EORTC trial 22921 with 10.4 years median follow-up show that 5-FU (fluorouracil) based adjuvant chemotherapy after preoperative (chemo)-radiotherapy for patients with cT3-resectable ...

Some older women with breast cancer could safely avoid radiotherapy, without harming their chances of survival, a study has shown.

(HealthDay)Patients with localized rectal cancer may achieve similar survival rates by having minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, instead of more invasive open surgery, according to new research published in the April ...

A drug first designed to prevent cancer cells from multiplying has a second effect: it switches immune cells that turn down the body's attack on tumors back into the kind that amplify it. This is the finding of a study led ...

Colorectal carcinomas arise in different forms, so all treatments do not work for all patients. OncoTrack, a public-private consortium supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking, has conducted one ...

(Medical Xpress)A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Korea has found that genetically altering a type of bacteria and injecting it into cancerous mice resulted in the disappearance of tumors in ...

Researchers have identified a gatekeeper protein that prevents pancreatic cancer cells from transitioning into a particularly aggressive cell type and also found therapies capable of thwarting those cells when the gatekeeper ...

A single blood test and basic information about a patient's medical status can indicate which patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are likely to benefit from a stem cell transplant, and the intensity of pre-transplant ...

Studies abound that point to a role for plain old aspirin in keeping deadly cancers at bay. While aspirin is not yet part of mainstream treatment for any cancer, it is recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force ...

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Thunderbird Won’t Release on Oculus Home Because Devs Don’t Want to ‘Dumb-Down’ The Game – UploadVR

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Platform exclusivity, project funding, and cross-platform compatibility are hot-button issues in the VR industry. Many developers do their best to bring their games to as many devices as possible, but it doesnt always work out that way. With the release of the Oculus Touch controllers late last year, were getting closer to a world of platform parity between the Rift and Vive, but some differences still exist in terms of how they handle full 360-degree roomscale tracking configurations.

The vast majority of the games on Oculus Home that include support for experimental roomscale setups also provide 180 options as well. According to Tony Davidson, founder atInnervision Games and developer of Thunderbird, that 180 tracking setup is the default configuration expected from the folks at Oculus to get your game on the Home Store in the first place, at least for the original launch lineup of titles for Touch.

Weve asked for clarification from Oculus about whether this forward-facing support is a guideline or a requirement for developers supporting Oculus Touch. Games released after the Touch launch window, such asHordeZandUnearthed Inc: The Lost Templeas well as some Gallery Apps, for example, only feature360 support in Oculus Home, but those apps may not get the same level of attention or promotion within the store.

Thunderbird is a slow-paced, puzzle-focused, atmospheric adventure game. It takes heavy inspiration from genre classics like Myst (Obduction is a recent VR game from the creators of Myst, following a similar idea) and infuses those concepts with full roomscale support, requiring players to physically move around and interact with the environment to progress. It truly transports you to a beautiful fantastical world, placing you in the shoes of the games intrepid traveler.

We were blown awayby the 20-minute introductory experiencethat lands on Steam today of Thunderbird: The Legend Begins. Naturally, something that requires so much interaction and activity from its users is best played with full 360 tracking and roomscale support.

Back in the summer [of last year] when Oculus started investing heavily into content that supported motion controllers, we began discussions and working with them on creating a port of Thunderbird for their Touch launch, explained Davidson in an email to UploadVR.We spent a good deal of time trying to accommodate them on their default 180 format requirement for Home but the results were far from idealThe whole exclusive ordeal with Oculus last summer would have been a big help to our project but we just couldnt agree with the whole 180 approach and having us dumb-down our experience for them. After making all of the necessary changes to support a 180 experience we ended up with a product that we felt was not representative of our vision of VR. There were so many sacrifices made to accommodate it and the end result was not very appealing and was considerably different compared to our original design.

When Davidson mentions the need to dumb-down the game, it is not an exaggeration. Oculus sensors might have trouble tracking below your knees in the default 180 arrangement and there are objects youve got to pick up off the ground in Thunderbird. One puzzle in particular necessitates 360 movement and they couldnt figure out an elegant and non-immersion breaking way around that hurdle that retained the quality of the game they wanted to ship.

We tried very hard to make it work with our project but there were just too many obstacles blocking the way and in the end, we ended up with an experience that we just couldnt endorse, wroteDavidson. For games like wave shooters it makes sense to limit the user to a 180 format but for something like Thunderbird its a much different scenario. One of the key assets in our first chapter is a periscope that requires 360 interaction and we spent days trying to redesign it so that it would work with a 180 format but no matter what we tried, nothing worked. It was literally impossible to make a simple 360 interaction like rotating a periscope functional within a front-facing format. In our case, we would have been forced to eliminate this from the experience entirely which would be a real shame because this is the type of interaction that is so fun to do in VR.

As someone that has used Oculus with Touch in a variety of configurations, I can see why Oculus would prefer developers support the lowest common denominator (which is 180, front-facing tracking) when building apps for Touch. Anyone that has Touch should be able to play a game standing, facing forward, with two sensors since that is the easiest way to set it all up. Ive expanded that to three or even four sensors personally at times to get a full 360 or roomscale effect, but not everyone with Touch can do that. Two months after release it is still considered an experimental arrangement by Oculus. In fact, recent patches have introduced bugs making the tracking even less reliable for some buyers.

Thunderbird was originally designed from the ground up as a true room-scale experience with the intention of targeting the various location-based entertainment venues like the VR arcades that are popping up around the globe, elaborated Davidson. From the start, our intention with Thunderbird was to create a premium VR experience that showcases the full capabilities of room-scale VR and the Vive allowed us to really make progress in that directionWe personally dont consider 180 experiences to be true VR and so we wont be offering this on Oculus Home. To us, VR is a 360 experience by default and so we dont want to dumb the experience down that far. At least not just yet because we really dont support what Oculus is doing for VR with their default 180 format.

The version of Thunderbird players will try at home will have teleportation as a way of getting around though, in case your play space isnt large enough, but if you have the room, you can freely move around just like you would in the large location-based booths theyve demoed the experience in previously. Davidsons issue isnt so much with the existence of 180 tracking. It is just not the type of content he wants to create.

Its no secret that Oculus shunned the whole room-scale approach as being nothing more than a niche within a niche, within a niche and so, fortunately for us, Valve and HTC had the insight to see its potential and gave us devs the option to create content that was more conducive to what I consider to be true Virtual Reality, said Davidson. I guess you could say that Im a purist at heart because Im not personally interested in creating or even playing games and watching movies in VR as much as I am in experiencing virtual environments with the same sort of freedom and interaction that we all enjoy in our actual realitiesThe seated experience is very limiting in terms of what we can offer as developers and the approach of restricting users movements to a front-facing format goes directly against our whole concept of VR which I believe, by default, is a 360 experience.

If youve only got a Rift, but do have the Touch controllers with a 360 setup, youre not out of luck; Innervision still wants you to enjoy the game. They are still supporting the Oculus SDK through the version that is on Steam, so if you have the appropriate setup with your Rift you should still be able to enjoy it roomscale.

Thunderbird: The Legend Begins is a short, 20-minute interactive adventure (now available on Steamfor $5.99) that serves as the foundation for the base game and lore. Longer chapters are expected to release soon episodically. More is coming soon.

Update: The headline of this story was changed at 1:40PM PST 2/10/17 to highlight a different quote and sentiment, but the body of the story is the same.

Tagged with: exclusive, funding, home, innervision, myst, oculus, steam, Thunderbird, tony davidson

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Thunderbird Won't Release on Oculus Home Because Devs Don't Want to 'Dumb-Down' The Game - UploadVR

Post video, make money – Daily News & Analysis

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Technology and the internet have made room for a fresh approach to information consumption and the way we work. If you want to dole out information on a visual medium, talk your head off on a subject of interest or simply offer entertainment - and make money while pursuing your passion - YouTube is the word that comes to mind.

That's how it has worked out for 23-year-old fitness enthusiast Ranveer Allahbadia, whose work begins post 12.30 p.m. He ideates, prepares a script and then mounts a camera on a tripod with a mike. His work station prepped, all is in readiness for the next instalment of his fitness channel BeerBiceps.

The independent YouTuber started the channel in August 2015 and has a subscription base of 111,255. "YouTube can be the best yet the most challenging thing to happen to you," he says. "During my initial few months, I would go on to the streets of Bandra and request people to subscribe to my channel, just to increase my subscriber base."

Increasing the number of subscribers was critical to monetize the channel, which sees Ranveer make about Rs.50,000 per month. The video sharing website allows YouTubers to monetize their content through advertisements played before the video. Tracked by AdSense, the YouTuber is paid based on the number of views a video gets and the number of clicks made on the advertisement. "I have noticed that if people in the US watch my video and click on the add, I get paid by the dollar rate," says Ranveer.

It's not as easy as it sounds though. For a newbie, the first year may often be difficult with no income and not enough subscribers trickling in. As 19-year-old Niharika NM, a second year engineering student from Bangalore who posts funny videos about life situations, discovered much to her dismay. Despite having 56,841 subscribers, the numbers fail to fetch her adequate returns. "I am able to upload just two videos a month for want of time, and earn less than Rs.1,000. This is obviously insufficient but am passionate about this," says Niharika.

Apart from the cool quotient of being on YouTube, posting videos brings in a sense of responsibility, adds 21-year-old Yash Sharma, who doesn't make too much money either. "A YouTuber is obligated to update him/herself and research the subject before a video is done," says the Delhi-based youth who posts videos about weight training. "People listen because they trust you. It's important not to mess with that," says Yash, who has 11,717 subscribers and makes between Rs.4,000-10,000 per month.

While Yash acknowledges that the amount is not much, he is confident that this will change once he devotes himself to posting YouTube videos full time.

For the likes of Yash and Niharika, Ranveer offers lessons from his journey understand how to shoot, use the right angles and invest in a good camera. "I brought a partner on board to help me with production since my videos are doing well," says the Mumbai resident.

"It's not an easy process as each video takes more than two days to prepare and upload. It's a huge investment of time, energy and money along with a great deal of patience. The secret is to keep doing it, no matter what."

This is what enabled him to breach the 10,000 subscribers mark, after which YouTube itself gave his channel a boost. "Subscriptions for my channel increased by 10,000 persons every month after that," he says. "YouTube is a powerful space for marketing and will grow in the coming years. Many brands are reluctant to invest in advertising on the site because the concept is new. Also, once one has a fan base, a good chunk of money comes from brand deals, which becomes an additional source of revenue."

You're the boss, and it's your business

You work on a subject you are passionate about

Create your fan base

Get paid to do something cool

Connect with people all over the world, find common ground

You cannot comprehend what a viewer would like

There's criticism and sometimes nasty comments

Income is not fixed

Constantly need something fresh and new

Choose a subject that you are passionate about

Be yourself and be honest

Think of your audience while creating your video

Invest in equipment

Be consistent with uploading videos

Keep going no matter what

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Post video, make money - Daily News & Analysis

New jobs con-scheme alert! – The Standard (press release)

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It is the second month of the year, and every other Unemployed Kenyan is looking for a job.Then out of the blues, and like God has been listening to your prayers, your referee calls you, and breaks the best news of the year.

Someone has called him, most of the times some Dr. X. He's working for a certain company and has requested for your recommendation letter. What a great way to start the year!

As though that was not good news enough, you receive the magic call. Indeed your referee has confirmed you are the right candidate, and you are supposed to report to work next week.

Never mind it is either Thursday, Friday or even Saturday! You are excited. You silently thank God for the opportunity.

The caller goes into details of your CV, explaining that they believe you are the best candidate. He urges you to talk to you referee to confirm how soon you can get the recommendation letter. He drops the call.

Now you are all happy and optimistic, you call your referee just to confirm that your recommendation letter will be out in good time.

Even before you are done with the call, your employer to be calls again. He needs some crucial documents from you to upload to their online system.

These documents are urgently needed, and failure to produce them would disqualify you getting the job.

He needs your Certificate of Good Conduct and KRA compliance certificate. You either don't have one or both.

He then asks you to check if you can get them in minutes and hangs up.

At this moment, you are thinking of all the connections you know. But within two minutes, he's calling again. This time around, he offers to help.

He has a colleague who works at either KRA or the CID head quarters. This colleague will help you get the documents. You thank him for the effort. Now get ready to lose your cash!

He tells you to write down the contacts of that person and asks you to see how he can help you.

You give him a call. Initially, he's busy and won't pick your call.Later on, he calls you back. After explaining you case, he offers to help.He asks for your ID number. (Never mind, he has your CV, so he has all your details.)

Within seconds, he narrates your bio-data. You are now convinced he's working at the right office. He tells you to wait a minute and hangs up.

At this moment, the job is yours for taking. You call your would-be employer and tell them all is well.

He tells you to speed up. In the meantime, he explains your terms of service; some good salary package among other benefits. You have always wished for this.

The KRA/CID officer calls you again. He tells you that you need to send some cash to have your documents processed. Say something like sh5,000.Compared to the job offer, this is a paltry amount.

Without thinking, you send the cash and now wait. He acknowledges receipt and assures you that you will get your documents in an hour's time. You report this to your employer to be.

Twenty minutes later, the so-called KRA/CID officer calls you once again. This time around, one of the bosses has refused to sign your documents, and he wants to refund your cash; optionally, you send some additional cash to be forwarded to him.

If you don't discover you are being conned, you send more cash. If your third sense detects fraud, good for you, at least you are not going to lose more than the initial amount.

Whatever cause of action you take after this, the end result is always the same. You don't get your documents, and the employer to later tell you that you have lost the chance because you didn't submit the documents in good time.

The fake KRA/CID officer blocks your calls or goes "mteja". You have lost your cash. No blessings of a new job were coming by. Next victim, please!

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