Daily Archives: June 27, 2017

Catalyst for Genetic Kidney Disease in Black People Identified – Newswise (press release)

Posted: June 27, 2017 at 6:45 am

Newswise Between 15 and 20 percent of black people carry a genetic mutation that puts them at risk for certain chronic kidney disease, but only about half of them develop the illness a variance that long has puzzled researchers. Now a study has found that the gene mutations toxic effects require higher than normal levels of a protein called suPAR to trigger the onset and progression of the disease.

The results of the study, published in a research article in the journal Nature Medicine today, could lead soon to new treatments for chronic kidney disease that target these risk factors, according to Dr. Jochen Reiser, the senior author of the paper. Reiser is the chairperson of the Department of Internal Medicine and Ralph C. Brown MD Professor of Medicine at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.

Chronic kidney disease or CKD for short is a progressive failure of function that prevents kidneys from fulfilling their role filtering waste from the blood stream. Nearly 17 percent of people in the U.S. have chronic kidney disease, and approximately 4 percent require dialysis and/or a kidney transplant due to kidney failure. Currently, there are no drugs that can treat CKD in an effective way.

Study analyzed samples from more than 1,000 people with genetic risk for CKD

For the study recounted in the Nature Medicine paper, Reiser worked with a team that included researchers at Emory University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, the National Institute of Health, Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg, the Israel Institute of Technology and others. Together, they looked at two well-known genetic risk factors for CKD in black people, the mutated G1 or G2 variations in the gene known as apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1). To be at risk for developing CKD, an individual must have inherited two of these gene variants, one from each parent.

The study analyzed blood samples for suPAR levels, screened for APOL1 gene mutations and measured kidney function from two separate cohorts of black patients 487 people from the Emory Cardiovascular Biobank, 15 percent of whom had a high-risk APOL1 genotype; and 607 from the multi-center African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension, including 24 percent with the high-risk mutation.

Using these two large, unrelated cohorts, the researchers found that plasma suPAR levels

independently predict renal function decline in individuals with two copies of APOL1 risk variants. APOL1-related risk is reduced by lower levels of plasma suPAR and strengthened by higher levels.

The team then went on and used purified proteins to study if suPAR and APOL1 bind to each other. They found that the mutated G1 and G2 variant did so particularly well on whats known as a receptor on the surface of kidney cells, in this case the suPAR activated receptor alphavbeta3 integrin. This binding appears to be a key step in the disease onset adds Dr. Kwi Hye Ko, a scientist at Rush and the studys co-first author.

This binding causes kidney cells to change their structure and function, permitting disease onset. Using cell models and genetically engineered mice, the authors then could reproduce kidney disease changes upon expression of APOL1 gene variants, but the disease required the presence suPAR.

Without elevated suPAR levels, genetic mutation much less likely to trigger disease

Everybody has suPAR, which is produced by bone marrow cells, in their blood, with normal levels around 2400 picogram per milliliter (pg/ml). As levels of suPAR rise, risk for kidney disease rises in turn.

Patients with levels above 3000 picogram per milliliter carry a much higher risk for kidney disease in the general population. Black people are particularly at risk, given the studys finding that suPAR activates its receptor on kidney cells that then attract the APOL1 risk proteins. Over time, these assaults can damage and eventually destroy the kidney.

On the other hand, without high levels of suPAR, the ability of the genetic mutation of APOL1 to exert its damaging effects is impaired, which helps identify patients in most need of suPAR lowering or future anti-suPAR therapy.

Patients with APOL1 mutations who don't get kidney disease have more commonly low suPAR levels," said Dr. Salim Hayek, co-first author of the paper and a cardiologist at Emory University School of Medicine. "The suPAR level needs to be high to activate the mechanism in the kidney that enables APOL1 proteins" and set off the chain of events the genetic mutation can trigger.

suPAR is to the kidneys as cholesterol is to the heart

Like some other pathological gene mutations, the APOL1 variations may have persisted in the population, in this case in Africa, because they could protect people from infection with the parasites known as trypanosome. explained Sanja Sever, PhD, co-correspondent author of the paper and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. In the United States, however, fighting parasitic trypanosomes isnt a significant concern, while lifestyle and environmental pressures such as obesity promote the rise in suPAR levels. This scenario sets up people for high risk of kidney disease.

Reiser has spent his career studying a scarring type of chronic kidney disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. In past studies, he discovered that suPAR not only is a marker for kidney disease, but also a likely cause.

What we are learning today is that suPAR in a general way is to kidneys what cholesterol is to the heart, a substance that can cause damage if levels rise too high, or a substance that can likely make many forms of kidney disease worse, Reiser says. Based on these fundamental insights, suPAR level testing may become a routine test at many institutions around the world.

Like cholesterol, suPAR levels vary from person to person. Some environmental factors can contribute significantly to elevated suPAR levels. "Lifestyle is a big factor, bigger than we thought," Reiser says.

Smoking, weight gain and even frequent infections can add up and send suPAR to dangerous heights. Weight loss and smoking cessation can help bring levels down, but once elevated, suPAR may not recede to a healthy level again, said Dr. Melissa Tracy, co-author of the study and an associate professor of cardiology at Rush. People at genetic risk for kidney disease should aim to live a healthy life to keep suPAR levels low.

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Tycoon’s Claims Reverberate in China Despite Censorship and Thin Evidence – New York Times

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But it is already near impossible to hold a private conversation with anyone in the Chinese capital who takes an interest in politics without talk turning to Mr. Guo and his unverified insider tales of elite corruption and power plays. People here have followed each unveiling of Mr. Guos often long-winded allegations by creeping around Chinas barricade of internet censorship.

I dont think the party has ever had a big businessman so boldly challenge it like this, said Bao Tong, a former senior aide to Zhao Ziyang, a former party leader who was toppled from power during the 1989 protests. How to respond is a dilemma.

Mr. Guo, who also goes by the name Miles Kwok, has delighted in doling out his allegations on a lively Twitter feed as well as in hourslong talks and interviews broadcast, sometimes live, on YouTube and Mingjing, a Chinese news website based in the United States. All those sites are blocked in China.

During a broadcast in mid-June, which went on for more than four hours, Mr. Guo seemed to enjoy teasing the interviewer.

I dont get how youre just sitting there. Are you made from flesh and blood? Mr. Guo said as he laid out pictures and diagrams that he said proved his claims. Such huge news. Why dont you take off your clothes and get excited?

Mr. Guos stories have caused a stir in part because he socialized with security officials before he left China several years ago and has shown a familiarity with whos who in elite party families. But many of his recent claims are unverified and disputed, and Mr. Guo has sometimes left out important details needed to test the accusations.

Yet even without confirmation, the allegations appear vexing for Mr. Xi.

Mr. Guo has described himself as a paladin defending Mr. Xi and even acting indirectly on his orders. But the billionaire has also asserted that Mr. Xis plans for choosing a new leadership team for his second five-year term at the coming congress are mired in conflict. There is little evidence of that, but Mr. Guo has thrown a firecracker into the careful choreography of the lead-up, some experts said.

No matter whether these allegations are bogus or exaggerated, they have become a distraction, said Deng Yuwen, a current affairs commentator in Beijing. People who dislike Xi the democratic opposition, cadres unhappy with his policies are also finding something to focus on in Guo Wengui.

Much of the speculation has focused on the future of Mr. Wang, one of the most powerful men in China and the primary target of Mr. Guos ire. Party insiders have said Mr. Xi may want Mr. Wang to stay in office, bucking the established retirement rules.

But Mr. Guo wants Mr. Wang out and has claimed again and again that his extended family has amassed staggering wealth through a web of companies. At a minimum, the pounding has bruised Mr. Wangs reputation among members of the urban elite who have heard Mr. Guos claims. The state news media has long presented him as an incorruptible graft buster with the courage to catch tigers corrupt officials in the partys high echelons.

What if the tiger hunter turns out to be a tiger? asked Mr. Bao, the former senior aide. How do you explain that?

Still, Mr. Guos claims are uncorroborated and have been challenged even by some critics of the party.

Much of what Guo Wengui says is incorrect or speculative, said Zhang Lifan, a businessman and liberal intellectual in Beijing who has jousted online with Mr. Guo. Hes just letting off fireworks to create a ruckus.

Asked about Mr. Guos allegations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said he was a crime suspect whom China had put on an Interpol list, and it referred questions to the legal authorities. The State Council Information Office, the government agency that deals with such inquiries, did not respond to faxed questions.

Leaders in Beijing face a quandary: Openly disputing Mr. Guo would give him more prominence, while ignoring him could be read by some as a sign that he is telling the truth, several experts said.

You cant give him attention, but you cant ignore him, either, Mr. Bao said. You might have been able to entirely ignore Guo Wengui before, when society was shut off and had no access to information. But that doesnt work now. You cant act dumb.

Mr. Guo, his business and his employees have been assailed by a wave of lawsuits in China and the United States claiming unpaid wages and debts, fraud and libel. The authorities have also channeled vitriol against Mr. Guo through Global Times, a tabloid that the party often uses to attack its foes.

Hes lied so much that the lies dont match up, and Guo Wengui has totally given up on logic, the newspaper said this month.

Still, the editorial nodded to Mr. Guos acumen as a showman: It must be said that hes a spectacle, and at home and abroad there are those who loathe Chinas political system and get a kick out of political rumors enjoying taking in this spectacle.

Though some opponents of the partys rule inside China and abroad have embraced Mr. Guo as a folk hero, others warn he is an opportunist who could drag democracy advocates into perilous undercurrents of party infighting.

Mr. Guo has denounced some of these critics, accusing them of lacking the backbone to support him.

Hes become a divisive force in the democratic movement abroad, said Li Weidong, a former Chinese magazine editor living in New Jersey who has fought with Mr. Guo. Theres a clash of views over whether to back him or keep a distance.

Much of the whispering in Beijing has fixated on Mr. Guos claim that he still has powerful patrons inside the party, including an old leader whom he has not named.

But no Chinese leader is likely to make common cause with a volatile, talkative exile like Mr. Guo, said Minxin Pei, a professor at Claremont McKenna College in California who studies Chinese politics.

Those attempting to do that must be mad since they can get caught easily and suffer the consequences, he said.

Professor Pei added that Mr. Guo was unlikely to derail Mr. Xis plans for the next leadership. For his allegations to disrupt these preparations, there need to be at least a critical mass of senior officials who demand an investigation, he said. Under the current conditions in Beijing, it is inconceivable that there are people in Beijing who dare to take such risks.

Michael Forsythe contributed reporting from New York, and Adam Wu contributed research from Beijing.

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Urban Dictionary: libertarianism

Posted: at 6:44 am

The idea that licentiousness among consenting adults (legalized drugs, prostitution, gambling, etc.) can co-exist with limited government (confined strictly to preventing anyone from infringing upon the life, liberty, and property rights of anyone else) under a constitutional republic in an environment free from interference by over-zealous right-wing Bible-thumpers, tax-and-spend liberals, or other external agents of oppression.

The main problem with this delusional notion of co-existence is that it runs afoul of an annoying immutable natural law - roughly translated as "nature abhors a vacuum" - that's understood and exploited by every drug pusher, credit card issuer, Las Vegas casino, and Madison Avenue marketer and even the bailout-happy U.S. Federal Reserve and which was summed up by Edmund Burke:

"Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites; in proportion as they are disposed to listen to the counsels of the wise and good in preference to the flattery of knaves.

"Society cannot exist, unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without.

"It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters."

-or as John Adams said:

(The U.S.) constitution was made for a moral and religious people; it is wholly inadequate for any other.

"We favor the repeal of all laws creating 'crimes' without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes."

"The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights life, liberty, and justly acquired property against aggression"

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If the Church Condemns Socialism, She Condemns Modern Conservatism – Patheos (blog)

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A detail from The Apotheosis of Washington (1863-1864) by Constantino Brumidi. Source: Architect of the Capitol (no endorsement to be inferred), hosted on Wikimedia.

My title is very clearly provocative. So let me add a bit of nuance: if the Church condemns socialism, She also condemns Liberalism in generalboth in its center-left (e.g. John F. Kennedy, Joe Biden) and its center-right (e.g. Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan) varieties. Or, to be more precise: She condemns 90% (Im guesstimating) of state and federal American politics, perhaps, one might say, America itself.

To understand what I mean here, it will be necessary to put away how the term liberal is most often used in the contemporary United States. Liberal and socialist are treated as synonyms; often the first is regarded as a polite identification for the second, a mask of sorts.

But this is not the historical definition of Liberalism, and it is not the one with which most people (including most popes) have been familiar (this changed somewhat recentlymore on that below). The Encyclopdia Brittanica offers a good starting point for our analysis:

Liberalism, political doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual to be the central problem of politics. Liberals typically believe that government is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed by others; but they also recognize that government itself can pose a threat to liberty. As the revolutionary American pamphleteer Thomas Paine expressed it in Common Sense (1776), government is at best a necessary evil. Laws, judges, and police are needed to secure the individuals life and liberty, but their coercive power may also be turned against him. The problem, then, is to devise a system that gives government the power necessary to protect individual liberty but also prevents those who govern from abusing that power.

Lest I be thought to be pulling a fast one, even libertarians agree with the Encyclopdias definition. Libertarianism.org, for example, makes use of Edwin van de Haars work to classify classical liberalism, social liberalism, libertarianism, and conservatism as the four predominant forms Liberalism takes today:

Note here that in principle each of these emphasizes human freedom and its relationship to government. Liberalism on the whole might be said to ask the question: at what point does human freedom end in its relationship to ordained power? Each of these ideologiesincluding, lets not forget, conservatismoffers an answer to this question. There are, of course, illiberal, traditionalist forms of conservatism in the U.S. today (notably among Catholics and Orthodox), but such currents are not our concern at the momenttheir numbers are fairly negligible, and, insofar as they vote for either the GOP or the Democratic Party, they vote liberally (as almost all of us do, given our options in the U.S. today).

Liberalism carries with it specific discourses, that is, ways of speakinga vocabulary if you will. Terms like freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. While certainly some forms of social liberalism may launch assaults on free speech at universities as far as conservatives are concerned, such liberals do not disavow the concept entirely. In other words, a conflict over the definition of free speech does not disqualify social liberals from taking up the mantle of Liberalism.

Take, for example, Stanley Fish, a noted professor and public intellectual, who has repeatedly attacked the idea that universities ought to traffic in freedom of speech:

That leaves us with free speech and here the big mistake (again made by students, some professors, and all commentators) is to think that free speech is what universities are all about; to think that universities are in the business of protecting and encouraging free speech. No, they arent. Universities are in the business of advancing knowledge about the many subjects taught and researched within their precincts. In relation to that task, freedom of speech is not an absolute and trumping value; it is a tool that may or may not be in the service of the prime value the university stands for and instantiates the value of following the evidence to wherever it leads, the value of open academic inquiry.

A distinction is key here: Fish thinks universities are private (messier if public, but still) bodies with the ability to regulate themselves and decide which sorts of discussions ought to be allowed and which should not be. He is not saying that free speech is unimportant; in fact, at the popular level, I am sure he would say that those with unorthodox, even unacceptable, opinions are free to voice them on social media, in books (if they can find a publisher), and wherever else is open and in the public square (in fact, I heard a supporter of his opinion above say just that in a lecture today). This is an avowedly Liberal position (e.g. the private freedom of the university is to be distinguished from public discussion about issues). Fishs definition may be different from that found among most modern conservatives, but it still prioritizes freedom in a way central to Liberalism as a whole.

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Humans reach for godhood and leave their humanity behind … – Washington Post

Posted: at 6:42 am

Much analysis of Yuval Noah Hararis brilliant new book, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, focuses on the harrowing dystopia he anticipates. In this vision, a small, geeky elite gains the ability to use biological and cyborg engineering to become something beyond human. It may upgrade itself step by step, merging with robots and computers in the process, until our descendants will look back and realize that they are no longer the kind of animal that wrote the Bible [or] built the Great Wall of China. This would necessarily involve the concentration of data, wealth and power, creating unprecedented social inequality.

In the early 21st century, argues Harari, the train of progress is again pulling out of the station and this will probably be the last train ever to leave the station called Homo sapiens.

Few of us Homo sapiens are eager to take such a trip, apart from some dataists who pant for the apocalypse. But, as Harari repeatedly insists, the prophets job is really an impossible one. Someone living in the 12th century would know most of what the 13th century might have to offer. Given the pace of change in our time, the 22nd century is almost unimaginable.

Yet the predictions are not the most interesting bits of the book. It is important primarily for what it says about the present. For the past few hundred years, in Hararis telling, there has been a successful alliance between scientific thought and humanism a philosophy placing human feelings, happiness and choice at the center of the ethical universe. With the death of God and the denial of transcendent rules, some predicted social chaos and collapse. Instead, science and humanism (with an assist from capitalism) delivered unprecedented health and comfort. And now they promise immortality and bliss.

This progress has involved an implicit agreement, In exchange for power, says Harari, the modern deal expects us to give up meaning. Many (at least in the West) have been willing to choose antibiotics and flat-screen TVs over the mysticism and morality behind door No. 2.

It is Hararis thesis, however, that the alliance of science and humanism is breaking down, with the former consuming the latter. The reason is reductionism in various forms. Science, argues Harari, revealed humans as animals on the mental spectrum, then as biochemical processes and now as outdated organic algorithms. We have opened up the Sapiens black box and discovered there neither soul, nor free will, nor self but only genes, hormones and neurons.

This rather depressing argument is well presented, with a few caveats. Hararis breezy style is sometimes in tension with his utter nihilism. Here is a moral rule: You can either be cheery or you can describe the universe as an empty, echoing void where human beings have no inherent value. But you cant do both.

And Hararis treatment of religion is, charitably put, superficial. He seems to think that the absence of an immortal soul can be proved by dissection. Scientists have looked into every nook in our hearts and every cranny in our brains. But they have so far discovered no magic spark. For future reference, religious believers dont generally view the liver or the pineal gland as the seat of the soul. And when Harari claims that religion is no longer a source of creativity and makes little difference, it is tempting to shout Martin Luther King Jr. at your e-reader.

But Harari has one great virtue: intellectual honesty. Unlike some of the new atheists, he recognizes that science is incapable of providing values, including the humanistic values of Locke, Rousseau and Jefferson. Even Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and the other champions of the new scientific worldview refuse to abandon liberalism, Harari observes. After dedicating hundreds of erudite pages to deconstructing the self and the freedom of will, they perform breathtaking intellectual somersaults that miraculously land them back in the 18th century.

Harari relentlessly follows the logic of reductionism as it sweeps away individualism, equality, justice, democracy and human rights even human imagination. Yes, God is a product of the human imagination, but human imagination in turn is the product of biochemical algorithms.

This is the paradox and trial of modernity. As humans reach for godhood, they are devaluing what is human. Omnipotence is in front of us, almost within our reach, Harari says, but below us yawns the abyss of complete nothingness. A humane future will require someone to offer a bridge across the chasm.

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This human food tray gets aroused when strangers eat off of her body – New York Post

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2:12 This human food tray gets aroused when strangers eat off of her body

Lying on a dining table and wearing nothing but a flesh-colored thong, Miranda Robero from Bushwick keeps professional in her role as a living food platter a job she describes as "performance art." Robero, who also works as a fire juggler and gentlemen's club dancer, is one of eight so-called "human trays" at Brooklyn's latest hipster fad Lust, an "immersive erotic dinner party" founded by Abby Hertz.

For one Los Angeles resident, water is much more than a necessity its the future of luxury. Martin Riese is Americas one and only water sommelier, and he wants restaurant patrons choices to go far beyond sparkling or still. Riese not only created an extensive water menu for Patina Restaurant Group in Los Angeles, he started a Water 101 class where for $50, students can learn about what makes each glass so unique.

A 72-year-old man is making waves in synchronized swimming a sport almost entirely comprised of females. Harvey Burgett began swimming less than a decade ago in a continuing education class taught by Dale Mohammed at LehmanCollege in New York City.Burgett, who works as a music teacher and composer by day, is one of the few male synchronized swimming competitors in the world.

As a 6-year-old, this basketball phenom was already shooting her way to stardom. Jaliyah Manuel, from New Orleans, Louisiana, has been honing her skills since she was 4 with the help of her dad and coach, Javon Manuel.The duo trains for 30 hours every week. "I want to be in the WNBA," she said. Jaliyah may not have pro status yet, but she already has over 100,000 followers on Instagram, thanks to talent and hard work.

Divorce doesn't have to be ugly if you've got the budget. "My tagline is, 'There's no ugly women, just lazy ones,' which is also Coco Chanel's quote," New York image consultant Amanda Sanders told The Post. "But it's true." Sanders charges $250 anhour to give newly single womena sexy new look and a big boost in confidence after their split. "If you can afford me, I'm your fairy godmother," she said, adding that her services are the least expensive part of the process. Anew wardrobe for clients can cost as much as $15,000, cosmetics $4,000 and services like teeth whitening $1,000. Sanders' newest client, Jen, who chose not to share her last name, said the price isworth it now that she's separated from her husband.

They need to stop clowning around and get a job. When the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes its doors this monthafter a 146-year run, a group of costumed entertainerswill be out of work. Were going back in the workforce and, of course, were constructing our resumes and demos. Were all sort of, you know, hustling, 41-year-old Johnathan Lee Iverson, the first African-American ringmaster of a major US circus., told The Post.

A 92-year-old yoga master has the secret to staying young going to raves! Madan Bali, the founder of Yoga Bliss studio, brings his fun-loving, no-stress approachtothe dance floor. Wearing a green Yoda hat topped by a bejeweled crown and paired with gold sunglasses, Bali looked like the ultimate club kid at the Igloo Fest in Montreal in February.Life is too short. I like to have a party. I like to enjoy and celebrate life and thats what were here for, Bali told The Post. Produced for the New York Post by Fanny Texier.

A Superman who turned into a down-and-out Clark Kent is thriving again after Post readers came to his rescue.Christopher Reeve look-alike Christopher Dennis who for yearsmade a living as aSuperman impersonator on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles was way down on his luck just a few months ago.Last August he was violently robbedof his Superman suit, laptop, phone and nearly $1,000. But Dennis is making a comeback as the Man of Steel thanks toreaders. In addition to 700 social media comments offering support, people donated money to buy him new costumesand helped him gethousing.

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Did NASA Just Discover Alien Life? Spoiler Alert: No. – Futurism

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In Brief A Youtuber claiming affiliation with the hactivist group Anonymous released a video stating that NASA is on the verge of announcing the discovery of intelligent life. The video takes quotes out of context and adds their own unproven assumptions. Anonymous Tip

Living in these uncertain times, it seems that false news stories generated to rack up the clicks disseminate faster than ever before. Some of these fake stories even make it beyondthe traditionally susceptible Great Uncles Facebook feed and are quickly gobbled up by traffic-hungry publications who are more concerned with riding a wave of sensationalism than earnestly informing the populace. Such a story had its grips on publications across the internet today, and the salacious topic fueling the frenzy was (of course) aliens.Click to View Full Infographic

A video was posted by a self-describedmember of Anonymous a loosely associated international hacktivist group who claimed that they hadexclusive evidence from NASA saying that we are on the verge of discovering alien life. The person in the Guy Fawkes mask with the digitally-altered voice goes even further, claimingthat theyre not just talking about microbial life, but advanced, space-faring civilizations.

Unfortunately, the facts just do not measure up to these claims which were taken out of context from actual hearings. Keeping in mind thatNASA is certainly making significant progress in discovering life on other planets,The Washington Post decided to do some actual journalism and reach out to NASA for a quote on the fake news. While were excited about the latest findings from NASAs Kepler space observatory, theres no pending announcement regarding Extra-Terrestrial life, a spokesman for the agency wrote.

One of the quotes pulled for the video was said by NASAs Thomas Zurbuchen during a congressional hearing back in April (the entire hearing is publicly available). Zurbuchen did indeed state We are on the verge of making one of the most profound, unprecedented discoveries in history, but he was discussing the discovery of possible habitable planets around distant suns, as well asorganic chemicals being found on a moon of Saturn.

Futurism will continue to follow all leads regarding the search for life beyond Earth but we will do so with the full backing of peer reviewed science and not by taking the word of a viral video.

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Ethereum is Up 4000% This Year, And The World’s Elite Are All Buying In – Futurism

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Ethereum Goes Up

MGT Capital, the company run by John McAfee, said it would start to mine Ethereum the bitcoin rival that has surged nearly 4,000% this year in its latest bid to turn a profit. Although ethereumhas since dropped in value, its an alteration that was predicted by experts, given its unprecedentedly excessive rise. And as this latest announcement highlights, tech experts and investors alike are confident that its price will soon surge again.

MGT, which is publicly traded over the counter, has pitched itself to investors mostly as a cybersecurity company. Cybersecurity is where McAfee made his mark as the founder of the antivirus company that bears his name.

But McAfee has more recently started to tout cryptocurrencies. He said last month that investments in bitcoin would help put MGT back in the black by the end of the year.

Ethereum is like bitcoin in that it can be mined by computers that solve complex computations. MGT said Friday that it reached an agreement with Bit5ive LLC to buy up to 60 graphics-processor-based mining computers to help mine for ether.

We are more convinced each day of the growth and value of digital currencies, and our company is uniquely positioned to be a leading provider of processing power to relevant blockchains, McAfee said in the statement.

McAfees foray into the cryptocurrency space comes when others have been sounding the alarm after a huge run-up in prices.

In early June, billionaire Mark Cuban said it was evident that bitcoin was a bubble, tweeting, When everyone is bragging about how easy they are making $=bubble.

Days later, Goldman Sachs warned that bitcoin was looking heavy and that a drop to between $2,330 and $1,915 a coin was looking likely. Bitcoin put in a low of $2,076 just a day later after the scaling debate came back into focus as the bitcoin-mining firm Bitmain outlined its contingency plan for if a hard fork were to occur. Bitcoin has recouped those losses and now trades at $2,708.

Ethereum is up by 3,964% in 2017. As for MGT, its stock is up by 42% year-to-date.

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First Ever Cable-Free Elevator Can Move Horizontally and Vertically – Futurism

Posted: at 6:42 am

In Brief Engineering firm ThyssenKrup has just finished the first tests of its Maglev elevator that operates horizontally and vertically without cables. This in-building hyperloop could change high-rise building design and cut down wait time for elevators.

Engineering firm ThyssenKrup has created a Maglev elevator that operates horizontally as well as vertically, and without cables. The firm has completed the first public tests of the technology in a dedicated tower. Named Multi, the experimental elevator trades in cables for rails and magnetic fields. The fields push the cabins along the rails which work like linear motors, much like an in-building hyperloop.

The cabins can rotate to shift a cabin to the side when it stops at a floor. This allows more cabins to use the system seamlessly without getting in each others way. The cabins will also be able to plan their routes, which will reduce wait timesand prevent in-shaft traffic jams.

This tech may also solve an ongoing issue facing designers of modern high-rise buildings. If youve ever been in a very tall building, youve probably noticed that youre forced to take elevators from different banks to reach the highest floors. This is because standard cable elevator designs can only safely rise about 1,600 feet per single continuous stretch. The Multi system would put an end to that, making more space and style options possible.

ThyssenKrup has already signed up its first customer: the East Side Tower building planned for Berlin will feature the Multi. Before you get too excited, though, realize that the price tag of the system will probably keep it from becoming the new standard anytime soon:it costs up to five times as much as a standard elevator system. And, theres no up and out button the cabins will rely on the rails.

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First Ever Cable-Free Elevator Can Move Horizontally and Vertically - Futurism

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