Category Archives: Immortality Medicine

This was not a question much asked in the hundred and more years between the nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, being seen as perfectly irrelevant. There was so much to learn in order to get ahead. In virtually every country worth its name, learning came to be recognised as widely necessary in order to be able to get on top of the respective industrial revolutions, and escape the tyranny of land holdings and feudalism.

Many, many people of great intellect, of varied talents and capabilities, from learned and even aristocratic families , who were already educated in India but also definitely overseas took to teaching. They saw readily, how much at an advantage they were, in response to the demands of a new world order stark, colourless, driven; immediate and complicated on the one hand. Yet fruitfully successful on the other, with promise of various levels of prosperity and usefulness as opposed to a life of intellectual void and endless peasantry. These people taught for the calling, not for money. You often heard how such and such person had asked to be paid a rupee a year. Many considered it demeaning to ask for or even accept a salary, genuinely believing that they had something to give, of themselves and freely. And so they did. The mathematician was as familiar with Yeats as he was with cricket, thumris and Impressionism. This eclectic catholicism, generated talent or appreciation or both. And translated into a passion for independence, for the freedom to apply all we knew in our way for ourselves.

As education spread, the concept of earning a monthly income and the accompanying financial independence grew. Governance, legalities and administration had also to come into existence. And then adapt and change. But as the demand for learning, for knowledge and information grew, education as we think of it now, went into overdrive, together with the idea of a literate nation. Literacy was associated with everything from national pride to patriotism, to preseumptions and the intimations of immortality. Science and medicine began to make big break-throughs, streaking ahead into a universe of pure imagination and startling discoveries. And so too did earthly infrastructure and goods & services. These brought about spaces that needed to be occupied by front-line creativity, by support and supply lines, rules and regulations and arbitration and laws and permissions and bureaucracy. Today, it would appear, everything is available to everyone everywhere. If you know how to access the net you can do anything. Best of all, you can teach yourself anything. And be a provider instead of taker, self-esteem at your fingertips. That we are limited by nothing except the lack of imagination and will.

In truth, what has strangled our Nation, is the practically insurmountable problem of discrepancies. Created by us and of us; and, in specific cases, even for us.

Despite the proliferation of information and its construct, almost impossible to contain within specifics, a pall of distances shrouds us. We are at a time of great discomfort and suffering. Our school & college education is mostly awful. The number of young people who are class XII/ inter pass, with nothing else going for them, is enormous. It limits our horizons, constantly threatening self esteem and inclusive growth. The generous education referred to above has all but disappeared. In its place is something gooey; like some unmentionable gruel; amorphous and difficult to outrun. Teaching is suspect. Tuitions fill voids, threatening institutions. Its more about patterns and breaking codes and cracking a test with high scores. Its a way out for many. For first generation educated wanting to uplift the quality of ones own home and family, from out of wretchedness and into contentment. To combat illness and disease, suddenly all around us all the time, like stalking. Success is possible. Success can mean jobs and pay and marriage and upward mobility.

Some success may be happening, whether in suicidal frenzy or quiet isolation. But in the process there is no time for consideration of what is good or bad, but rather what can or cannot be got away with. It has spawned the venal and the feral and thus let loose the beasts of endless strife. Conscience has little or no say when it comes to the logic of income and expenditure. If there is money there can be respect. Anyone not born with the mysteries of money making in their blood is of little or no significance. As a result, employees are obligated, beholden and servile. And the employers implacable in demand. Dignity is not their purview, though pass percentages are. Sometimes.

The redress lies in education. But we are far yet from such an evolution. Literacy has turned to much upon itself. Govt. institutions are too frequently a mess despite handsome salaries, perquisites and the eternal issue of security, marriage prospects and other useful advantages. Private institutions are monotonously exploitative under the garb of cost effectivity.

The government makes all sorts of well-intentioned rules and regulations in favour of the underdog but our follow through and monitoring are generally insufficient and we continue to get away with murder. It is a huge irony that the governments definition of corruption is financial, what they refer to as ill gotten gains. But the real corruption that is choking us is the corruption of attitude and of exploitation not in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh and Orrisa but in every city and town and district. If money comes it disappears. But persecution, lack of attendance, lack of application, shortcuts, under-motivation, non-adherence, non-compliance, deliberate diversion of opportunities, blackmail, laziness, lack of initiative, intolerance, impatience to get ones way, compound the disrespect of one another. It, in fact, fills our lives. We end the day and go to sleep with it and we wake with it. Filth is everywhere, on streets, around homes and places of work and worship and worse, in our minds and actions. Make-do and jugaad are everywhere too. Little or nothing is sacrosanct. Not the Constitution; not governance and politics, not the given word, not provisioning and neither treatment nor health.

So why teach? Because. Because its the only way to bring out the better creature. The only way, comprised of a million things, that can shape an individual. And so restore the integrity she once had and which startled almost all who came to know her.

Children are killing one another in classrooms and at homes. Such is their intolerance and rage at being belittled or insulted; buffeted by deprivation or want or ridicule. There is an immediacy of care and need that we are simply not seeing, too busy filling seats and growing numbers. Whether it is because we cant see it, blinded by our own needs, or because we choose to ignore it in favour of other priorities, is anybodys guess in given situations. What is critical to acknowledge is that there is virtually no Civil Society left among us. We have neither faith nor strength enough to protect the country from ourselves.

And yet the assertion is that education can make us change. Not literacy but a totality of education that permeates our very beings. For those who may disagree, they need only to look to themselves. To their own education and wisdom. To the civility of their own homes; the ethical goodness of their own blood.

Good schools in India are countable schools that build and care and give. Those who benefit from these institutions are also countable among our vast billions. Leadership is therefore thrust upon us by circumstance. Nurturing, respectful family (irrespective of money people maybe in positions of great hardship and yet are generous and kind and an example for the children to follow); nurturing respectful school; the best of tertiary options; exclusive graduate programmes, selections and promotions and then employment almost whatever you want to do Civil Services, Defence, Corporate & Tech; any profession anywhere, business, trade & commerce, science and medicine and design and film and entertainment.

But from the moment you occupy a chair you may be looked to. Looked up to also perhaps, but certainly expected to be trustworthy and to set an example and thus to lead. It may only be a small team to begin with but you will have to lead it nevertheless. How will you lead? What will your team be? What impact upon others will your team make; how will they be perceived? What is your the reliability, that others can turn to you? If you are well brought up, your work will be ethical and perceptive. Top quality will be a primary objective. Others will be proud to be associated with you; good people will come to you and want to be part of your small still anonymous team. And that is how goodess grows. None of this is wishful thinking. There are homes and schools and teachers which send out batch after batch of good people, year after year, around the country and the world.

But, they can be counted.

So then? So then teach! Teach your Math and English and languages and science and every other subject in the world if you can. But teach it so that the learning will never be forgotten. Teach it with depth. With the very potency with which it has come to be, from its origins in thought and experience and pursuance. Who thought it? How was it come upon? What really is it? What does it change? Why should there be change? Will it exclude or encompass? Will it deprive or enrich?

Know yourself before you teach: everyday, all the time. Between class and library and office and conference and meetings and the setting of a routine by balance, by time duly managed and not made treacherous. By examples that give hope; by hope that is achievable. Create the curriculum and endorse it. Teach thinking and cogitation and introspection and pursuance. Teach from wit and imagination. Hunt for stuff from the past; show up greatness; anticipate the inheritance. Not one school or one teacher or some but every school and every child and every teacher and parent always.

Stop complaining about good teachers being unavailable. Find good people instead, and help them to become great. Tap them from the inside, where they keep dreams and capabilities and talents and skills, so far back some of them, they forget what they have. The born teacher is as much a surprise as is the teacher who started with little. Make them, like soldiers are made.

Evict the tyranny of the syllabus by a simple expedient decide on content by means of understanding what learning outcomes are and need to be. Plan the year. Teach and question. Ask so the question is not a threat and answering it is not fraught with the danger of ridicule. Teach little text and more experience. And assign. And correct. And give back and ask for more. Stick at it. Suddenly you will see how much youve done.

Decompress the exams. Work through multi-test processes. Some of which is happening but far too little. Reduce numbers in classes and increase the number of teachers so that the optimum can be maintained and so that the balance of reverence and respect cannot be easily assailed ever again. Divest from ownership and administration. Empower and monitor instead. Reward and appreciate instead of castigation, humiliation and distance. Bug, irritate, quarrel, fight, demand and give. And then look at what is coming out of your hands after 12 or 15 or 16 years. Does it fill you with pride? You may forget how it was right back then but the children will never forget you. And you may be pretty safe in the knowledge that they wont let their world down.

And thus may you go peacefully to the great sleep, where, as a little girl in class VI said, there are no pockets.

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Why Teach? - Hill Post

The issue of extreme, or binge, drinking among young people is neither novel nor easily understood. Most Kingstonians -- students included -- tend to stand back and give the inebriated their due. "Kids will be kids," the old saw goes, and local residents certainly have seen these "kids" in action, too many times to recount here.

As a retired Queen's University professor, and as someone who has learned a great deal himself from youthful encounters with John Barleycorn, I began to pay closer attention the evening of Homecoming 2016, when a neighbouring house became the scene of bedlam. Yes, a step down from the notorious Aberdeen riots of 2007, but still necessitating several calls to security and the Kingston Police Force to quell what amounted to a small riot.

Given that William Street has become primarily a student-centred demographic -- with several family homes transitioning to student apartments in the past five years -- the "party" was merely one of many, part of the culture that gives Queen's its reputation as a hard-drinking school.

The culture that gives rise to behaviours that you would not write home to tell mom about is ubiquitous. It becomes problematic for homeowners primarily during Orientation Week, Homecoming and St. Patrick's Day. But uncontainable parties are liable to break out at any time, especially given the power of social media to tell the world that a revelry is underway at a given address. And, then, woe betide anyone who gets in the way.

This set of proposals is based on conclusions reached after my decision to do something constructive to ameliorate the problem. I determined to interview as many people as possible, people who may be described as stakeholders in a positive outcome. Many fellow citizens shook their head sadly, offering a variation of "good luck with that," and walking off to attend to simpler tasks.

But I persisted, believing the importance of getting all people involved, at whatever level, on the same page. There are many intelligent people who live in Kingston. Why should they not wish to contribute to a constructive program to cut down on drunken merriments, which do so much to antagonize residents, anger law enforcement officials, give headaches to mayors and principals, outrage the chiefs of emergency medicine at both Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu, and provide a nursery school for alcoholics?

I have described the etiology of "the party" elsewhere. Here, after many conversations with people who make policy and who think about these things, I offer suggestions to mitigate what is now an intolerable state of affairs.

1. The mayor of Kingston and the city council, as well as the principal of Queen's, must look at both short and long terms of any programs that will affect behaviours and social mores in place for more than a century. A good start would be twofold: first, to take a good look at housing policies that have allowed student density in residential to become nearly unmanageable. It is time for Queen's University to get into the housing market, to find ways and places, to build residences for non-first-year students. A good start might be to knock down all the houses that Queen's owns on Aberdeen between Earl and William and commission two comfortable residences for upperclassmen to be built by private developers. That location is perfect. Queen's should make those new residences affordable, and take an interest in them, as well as becoming engaged in affecting the larger Kingston urban environment. I find it ironic that Queen's boasts a Department of Urban Planning but resists, year after year, doing what it should to become part of the urban scene it inhabits.

2. In the short term, city council should seek to make enforceable existing bylaws dealing with noise, garbage, and what I deem "nuisance behaviour." Queen's students do not have a lawful right to drink outside their apartments and homes. I, for one, would like to see -- and this idea is both short- and long-term -- council passage of a general nuisance bylaw that has some teeth. On drinking days (Homecoming, St. Pat's, orientation), enforcers should be out in force.

3. At present, Queen's Security is useless to homeowners in immediate need. Queen's should become more proactive in terms of providing security for people who are "visited," especially at night, by its drinking crowd. It would seem, also, that repeat offences might be tagged by having the university consider all students to live up to its code of conduct, revisited in 2016. Violations of said code should have consequences. At present, those regulations seem laughable. Drunken misbehaviours and police attention go unchallenged. The problem now is that, aside from terrible hangovers and -- worst-case scenario, trips to emergency via ambulance -- there are currently no consequences, save the damage done by/to the students themselves. Again, might there, should there, be penalties? Given the undeniable impact of excessive alcohol use on individuals' physical and mental health, there is a strong argument to make for consequences, especially for repeat offenders. Letters home? Names published in the Whig-Standard? Academic penalty? We've done well with other objectionable wicked problems -- smoking and drunk driving come to mind. There is no reason why we cannot deal constructively with this one. We must realize, as one colleague put it, "shame is not a Puritan ethic. It is a strategy for fostering a sense of citizenship -- calling out the failure to take the views/feelings of others into consideration when using public spaces and resources."

4. Queen's has a ready bureaucracy, undermanned to be sure, but prepared to deal with the fallout left in many instances by extreme drinking. The Wellness Centre, the Chaplain's Office, the Office of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Co-ordinator -- all of these and other venues are involved in the aftermath of alcohol and drug abuse at the university. And these centres are very busy. They might think about joining forces with Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health to step up a needed educational program. They all need more support, especially when it comes to proactive prevention.

5. Any educational program that will succeed, however modestly, requires significant student support. The AMS and various faculty and activity organization need to do more to recognize the severity of the problem. They need to teach incoming students about the dangers of drinking and doing drugs. It's that simple. One thing I have learned in my 75 years is that the immortality that many students seem to assume in their years between high school and the real world is a mirage. Swimming with the crocodiles while one is "wasted" too often appears a challenge, a positive, a way of fitting in with the peers. I offer a different view -- one that emphasizes human mortality, and the chances that one takes when one drinks to excess.

6. Given the centrality of the health issue, and the need merely to survive a bad night with booze, I note that the Detox Centre is too busy for business on Homecoming, and consequently that the hospitals are overrun with company. This year it was 45 ambulances at KGH emergency, clogging the arteries of that venerable site. So, to keep the hospital functioning as it should at future Homecomings, I suggest creation of a MASH-like mobile unit (perhaps two of them), one stationed at Market Square, or at the intersection of Union and University, dedicated to bringing the moribund back to life. This way the hospital emergency room can go about its business as intended.

7. The university must recognize how social the practice of extreme drinking is in its meanings. Paradoxically, students gain a great deal in the realms of individual and group identity as they share their alcohol experiences -- both good and bad -- before, during and after being under the influence. Queen's needs to revisit its practices of orientation and Homecoming, and note how central the alcohol experience is to both events. The proposal here would lessen the social component of orientation by removing the second-year Gaels completely and turning orientation into the academic enterprise it should be. This might also remove the "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" attitude toward drinking in the dorms, much of it underage. You have to cut the umbilical between frosh and alcohol, and this is the place to begin to do it.

I have been asked many times about my own past. I state here merely that I know and have experienced all of the highs and lows associated with alcohol. There are days and nights and weeks and months that I would like back -- primarily from my university years. I make it clear here, however, that I am not against drinking, per se. But I am very much in favour of moderation, in intake and in behaviour.

Geoff Smith is professor emeritus at Queen's University and a former op-ed columnist for the Whig-Standard.

The Kingston Whig-Standard 2017

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A rendezvous with destiny - The Kingston Whig-Standard

By Yoko Inoue, founder of Shokuiku

A large variety of vegetables implemented into your daily diet is very important, but there are some vegetables we seem to skip past. Mushrooms, mushrooms are the one vegetable that some of us really love or really hate but this little baby is one superfood you should not skip past in your diet. Shokuiku have put together a list of 8 super mushrooms that you cannot pass up and this is why:

Reishi - Hailed in ancient Eastern medicine as the "mushroom of immortality" and the "medicine of kings", the Eastern world has been using Reishi for thousands of years, particularly in China and Japan. It is also used to treat certain medical conditions. The Reishi mushroom is very strong in antioxidants. It is believed to suppress the growth of tumors in people with cancer. Have anti-inflammatory properties and are therefore used sometimes for patients who have Alzheimers and heart disease. Reishi mushrooms can improve the flow of blood to the heart and reduce the amount of oxygen the heart consumes. It can help to lower cholesterol and some of the ingredients may help combat high blood pressure.

Chaga - Rather than soft like a mushroom, chaga is hard, almost as hard as wood. It is unique, nothing like common mushrooms. In fact, chaga is the most nutritionally dense of all tree growths. Known by the Siberians as the "Gift from God" and the "Mushroom of Immortality," this vibrant growth has been used by humans to support health for thousands of years. Number of studies on cell cultures show that chaga possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-stimulating properties. kChaga may help treat inflammatory bowel disease (such as ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease), Chaga also shows promise as a treatment for diabetes.

Lionsmane - Lions mane is one of the more interesting looking mushrooms, showing teeth like spines, this mushroom that has been used for centuries as a traditional Chinese medicine and best known for its immune boosting properties. Lions mane has also being known to help improve memory and brain function and also can be helpful in treating anxiety and depression. There is also studies that have shown that lions mane has also being beneficial to people suffering from high blood pressure and eliminating toxins from the body.

Turkey tail - The turkey tail mushroom is one of the most common mushrooms and used as a traditional Chinese medicine. This magical mushroom is best known for its antioxidants, and believed to have great healing elements and strengthening the body against disease. Its immune strengthening components has been known that it can rebuild the immune system in people with cancer. Fighting off infection, prevents and treats the common cold and can also aid in digestion when incorporated into your diet.

Cordyceps - This is a rare, wild Chinese mushroom that grows on caterpillar larvae and other insects. Militaris variety is said to have more and better quality of spores. This fungus is known helps to combat Fatigue, it has been used to improve sexual dysfunction, Increase immunity and anti-viral properties and is being studied as a cure for cancer. Most of cordyceps on the market are grown without a use of insects and safe for vegans.

Shiitake - The shiitake mushroom is native to East Asia and famous for its rich texture and smokey flavour. Also known as "medical mushrooms" due to a long history of fighting infection, this mushroom is filled with flavour, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Shiitakes benefits include improving liver function, fighting antiviral infections, strengthening the immune system, improving liver functions and helping cure liver diseases.

Maitake - This mushroom native to Japan, north America and Europe. Maitake has been known as one of the most promising medical mushrooms used to treat cancer and also used to treat some of the effects from chemotherapy. It has been known for helping fight diabetes (controlling glucose levels), high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It can also be used to help maintain weight which can promote heart health.

Meshima - Grown on a mulberry tree in Japan this mushroom also known as "womens island" this has been known for its remarkable health benefits for women. It has been used to support healthy breast cells, by having extremely positive effects of treating breast cancer tumors and also prostate cancer. The mushroom is also known for stimulating the immune system. Other health benefits include anti-ageing properties, antiviral, antibacterial, and protecting the body against DNA damage.

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8 super mushrooms that you cannot pass up - Voxy

Swiss Engineer Michele Angelo Besso was a close friend of Einsteins. Upon his death, the father of relativity said, "Now Besso has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us ... know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."

We often think of the afterlife as a spiritual or religious belief, when in a way, its pursuit is also somewhat familiar to science. Robert Lanza, M.D. takes things one step further. He thinks we start out with a wrong assumption, that we have it all backward. It isnt the universe which is supreme, but life. In fact, life and in particular consciousness are essential to the makeup of the universe, he says. Through the theory of biocentrism, he believes he can prove that space and time do not exist, unless our consciousness says they do.

This is an all-encompassing theory which in Greek means life center. Though radical, if one day proven correct, it could have ramifications for the study of physics, biology, consciousness, the brain, and even AI. Consider a blade of grass. Your brain through your eyes tells you its green. But what if a neuroscientist could reconnoiter that part of the brain where the concept registers, and make it indicate red or yellow instead? Lanza reminds us that all reality is sensory information interpreted by our brain.

Its our consciousness that puts our reality together. For instance, space-time in physics is different from how we experience these, separate concepts in real life. Science treats the space-time continuum as a solid principle. According to Lanza they are simply tools of our mind. Death too in his view cannot exist in any real sense.

Dr. Robert Lanza in his laboratory, 2009.

Notice how, for instance, when you are a child, days and weeks seem to drag on, while when you get older, they fly by. Time itself hasnt changed, just our perception of it. Whether the universe actually works the way in which we perceive it isnt readily known. One of the fundamental laws of Newtonian physics is that energy isnt created or destroyed, it simply takes another form. The energy trapped in our brain must take another form then, even when a person dies. Meanwhile, our senses tell us that its their end. But where does this energy go? In a world with endless space and time, could death really exist? If not, is immortality a phenomenon which occurs within space-time or outside of it?

Dr. Lanza isnt some newfangled guru. Hes a biotech Zion, and currently, the Chief Scientific Officer of the Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Hes studying stem cells and their application for treating disease. Previous to this, he did some research on embryonic stem cells and in cloning, both with animals and humans. Lanza is also an adjunct professor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina.

In quantum physics, particles can be observed in several different states at the same time. This is called superposition. They in fact, exist in all possible states simultaneously. In terms of predicting what a particle will do, nothing is absolute. Each state has its own range of probability. In Lanzas view, each corresponds with a different universe.

This coincides with the many worlds theory, also known as the multiverse. Each universe is thought to operate with its own physical laws. Anything that can occur does, with one possibility playing out in each realm. Our life, Lanza believes, at one stage or another, is occurring across many universes simultaneously. Yet, your life on one world wouldnt influence your life in another.

What are the chances that death is a portal into another universe?

What has long plagued particle physicists is that observation affects reality. Consider the famous double-slit test. In this classic experiment, physicists observe a particle passing through two slits in a barrier. When the phenomenon is observed, it behaves like a particle, a little cannonball shooting directly through the slits. If it isnt observed, it performs like a wave, gliding through both openings at once. This shows that energy and matter are made up of both particles and waves, and that ones mere observation changes its form.

Such inconsistencies dont prove the existence of the multiverse, however. Yet, through the scaffolding of biocentrism or this new Theory of Everything, the physics begins to take shape. Consciousness is an essential force in the universe, according to this theory, which shows why the properties of energy, matter, space, and time, depend on whether or not a conscious mind is observing them. Lanza uses other research to support his view.

A 2002 study of photons or light particles, showed that they communicated with one another. When one photon was guided to a certain place, it was picked up by a detector. Researchers used a scrambler to force it to remain a particle rather than a wave. After one was sent out and reached its destination, the second photon crossed the same space instantaneously. It was as if it knew where it was going, and the knowledge must have traveled back to it faster than the speed of light. Another supporting factor in an entirely different category, is the Goldilocks principle. This is the theory that the universe was made just right for supporting life.

Photons being smashed at the CERN large hadron collider. By ESO/M. Kornmesser [CC BY 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Critics argue that unexplained phenomena in physics only occurs on the quantum level. They also point out that there is no direct evidence of the existence of other universes. Several physicists have told Forbes that Lanzas writings look more like works of philosophy rather than science. The doctor himself states that he is healing a glaring rift, and applying innovative methods from biotech to physics. He also admits his theory lacks a mathematical basis. As such, Lanzas working on the supporting mathematical structure. Papers are expected to follow in scientific journals.

Another competing theory accounts for inconsistencies in quantum physics by stating that the universe is an illusion. It could be for instance, a projection created by a highly advanced quantum computer. Though still entirely theoretical, biocentrism offers those of us who want to hold onto a comforting afterlife scenario, without giving up a devotion to science, an avenue to explore. In this vein, Lanza wrote, Life is an adventure that transcends our ordinary linear way of thinking. When we die, we do so not in the random billiard-ball-matrix but in the inescapable-life-matrix. Life has a non-linear dimensionality; it's like a perennial flower that returns to bloom in the multiverse.

To learn more about biocentrism, click here:

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Biocentrism Posits That Death Is Merely Transport into Another Universe - Big Think

Time will exist in the future but it wont be time as we know it.

( March 3, 2017, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) In most countries across the world, humans are bound to a system of time that tends to shunt us through the main phases of life in the same order first, we learn; then we work; at some point children come along and eventually we retire.

But is this roadmap of a lifetime still relevant? And even if it is today, will it still be tomorrow?

Exponential technological innovation is making it clear that were at a pivotal point in human history. Were on the cusp of advances in medicine and science that could significantly increase the average human lifespan but at the same time, we hear every day about how our resources are critically depleted and our environment is collapsing. Meanwhile, automated workforces and Universal Basic Income are redefining the way we think about labour not just for manual workers, but for experts, too. Is our current political machinery set up to deal with the world of tomorrow? What will our economy look like in 30 years? Will we still die? Will we still pursue the future or come to fear it? Will we continue falling in love, for life?

Underpinning all of these questions, and each of the possible futures that their answers could precipitate, is one fundamental question: Do humans need to invent a new relationship with time?

We spoke to six diverse individuals bio-hackers, education tsars, apocalypse-thwarting visionaries, desert island castaways and immortality-hunting scientists with the vision to see the way ahead, and new models of living.

Courtesy: unlimited.world

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Time Challengers - Sri Lanka Guardian

By Sandy Cohen, The Associated Press on March 1, 2017.

Logan is not for the faint of heart not just because of its brutal violence, but because it packs an emotional wallop you dont typically expect from a comic-book movie.

Featuring Hugh Jackmans final turn as Wolverine, Logan isnt a shiny, colorful, superhero-style film, either. Its gritty, dark, and a deeply satisfying conclusion for fans whove followed the clawed character through Jackmans past eight movie outings with the X-Men and alone as Wolverine.

Writer-director James Mangold, who also directed 2013s The Wolverine, clearly loves the character as much as Jackman does, and both seem liberated by this films R rating. Logan is not a kids movie. Its viscerally violent lots of claws-through-the-face shots and emotionally profound as it explores the relationship between Logan and Professor X (Patrick Stewart).

Viewers would need some basic familiarity with these characters to fully appreciate the story told in Logan. If you dont know anything about the relationship between the title mutant and Charles Xavier (Stewart), the arc they experience in this film would be far less impactful.

(The quick version: Professor X is the de-facto leader of mutants, who most appreciates them and their powers. Logan has resented the immortality that comes with his mutant-ness, and has a lot softer heart than his claws would indicate.)

Its the near future, and Logan is a hard-drinking limo-driver for hire. As one of the few remaining mutants, he keeps a low profile while caring for an aging and ill Professor X, whos hidden in a secret silo just south of the Mexican border. Half the time he babbles nonsense, but the professor tells him theres a young mutant coming their way, and soon theyre charged with Laura, a little girl who doesnt speak but has deadly claws like Wolverine.

A slick-looking villain with a Terminator hand (a perfectly smarmy Boyd Holbrook) is interested in this young mutant as well. She was part of a pseudo-military genetic research project led by the evil Dr. Rice (Richard E. Grant, even smarmier).

Laura (entrancing newcomer Dafne Keen) is planning to meet the other kids Dr. Rice experimented on in Eden, a place they read about in an X-Men comic book. So meta.

Thus the story becomes a road movie, with Logan, Laura and Xavier comprising an endearing and offbeat family on their way to Eden as they try to outrun Dr. Rice and his goons. Logan is reluctant and disinterested, Xavier is kind and a little kooky, and Laura is mute.

Laura is also a killer badass, and Keen makes her so fun to watch. Imagine Wolverines powers in a pint-sized, ponytailed package. Between the 11-year-olds performance and flawless special effects, Keens fight scenes are as thrilling and bloodletting as any of Wolverines.

And Jackman doubly delivers as Wolverine. Youll see what I mean when you watch the film. He is in top form as both an action star and an actor, bringing heart to his dramatic scenes and wielding unmatched admantium power in the action sequences.

Beyond the claws, theres also some cutting-edge car play, including a throw-down between a limo, two motorcycles and a barbed-wire fence. Mangold also manages to work in an anti-GMO message about a Monsanto-like company and pay tribute to classic cinema with a nod to the 1953 Western, Shane.

Logan is a family drama, an action thriller and an epic superhero story. If this is indeed Jackmans last Wolverine film, hes going out in heartfelt, high-class style.

Logan, a 20th Century Fox release, is rated R for strong brutal violence and language throughout, and for brief nudity. Running time: 141 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.

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MPAA Definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at http://www.twitter.com/APSandy .

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Review: 'Logan' a satisfying end for Jackman's Wolverine - Medicine Hat News

From preventing cancer to decreasing anxiety to improving eyesight, the cannabis plant boasts incredible health benefits. Thankfully, due to cannabis reform, were beginning to unlock the mysteries of our endocannabinoid system, maximizing the potential of this potent plant medicine.

As we all know, cannabis isnt the only plant that boasts benefits; most of the plant kingdom nourishes, heals and soothes, too. Common salad herbs like cilantro and parsley are known to remove heavy metals from the body while celery juice prevents GERD and liver disease. Herbs have been used for medicinal and spiritual purposes since the dawn of humankind, so what other wonders may be lurking in our salads, backyard gardens, and beyond?

In the everlasting quest to hip ourselves to the miracles of all things trees, check out these six cool botanicals that support a balanced approach to health.

Aloe vera can be used both externally and internally, and its antibacterial and antioxidant properties have been enjoyed for centuries. Aloe supports cellular regeneration, digestion, and anti-inflammatory action, as well as skin moisturizing. Dubbed the the plant of immortality by the Egyptians, Aloe vera is known to promote anti-aging outcomes. Its chocked full of valuable enzymes, minerals, amino acids, and vitamins like A, C, E, B12.

Schisandra has been called the "quintessence of Chinese tonic herbs, for those unfamiliar. The plant was originally recorded as a superior herb in the ancient Chinese Shennong pharmacopeia between 1st and 2nd century A.D. A known adaptogen (or natural substance that stabilizes the bodys physiological processes), this special red-berried plant helps people resist stress and disease while increasing endurance and energy. Schisandra is also used to tonify the blood and normalize blood pressure, promote beautiful skin, maintain sexual energy, and boost memory.

Native to the high plateaus of the Andes Mountains in central Peru, maca is often referred to as Natures Viagra due to its ability to arouse sexual desire, stimulate blood flow, improve fertility, and correct hormone imbalance. Its also known to ameliorate menstrual pain and menopause symptoms. A cruciferous vegetable with a bulbous downward growing root, maca is often dried and powdered into potent medicine containing many salubrious fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

Basil, one of natures most aromatic herbs and a favorite on pasta and pizza alike, is an excellent source of iron, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, and calcium. As a healing herb, basil is used to treat an array of maladies, like poor circulation, kidney infections, stomach spasms, intestinal gas, head colds, and loss of appetite. Others use basil to soothe insect and snake bites and women sometimes use it to boost breast milk production.

Scholars believe kelp, or brown seaweed, first came into existence 5-20 million years ago. A rapidly-growing marine plant found in shallow, mineral-rich ocean water, kelp is known to reduce blood clots, lessen inflammation, and protect against viruses. Kelp is one of the worlds most potent sources of iodine, and the plant is also known for being high in amino acids, omega-3 fats, fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, as well as magnesium, potassium, boron, iron, and calcium.

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Medicating With Cannabis? You'll Also Love These 6 Plants - MERRY JANE

You're not only about to see how this revolutionary new - patented liquid vitality extract - is scientifically-proven to combat all "major causes of death" below, but also how it may ADD YEARS TO YOUR LIFE - while shedding years OFF your physical appearance!

See how this amazing extract can revolutionize your health and enhance your "life-span expectancy" - while combatting the most-threatening culprits like:

*You'll see how this life-giving extract, derived from "juicing a common food" - combats each of these threats - in detail, and MORE - on this page as you read below...

Location: Ontario, Activation Lab Facility Re: "The most essential substance you can feed your body today..."

This vitality secret has been woven in legends carried through centuries.

The Japanese have been long known for their longevity... and reputation for living long-healthy lives.

They also have among the lowest incidences of cancer and coronary heart disease.

And although not "all Japanese" habits are created equal - for the purposes of ultimate vitality & longevity, there is some very interesting history among their elite...

There is a definitive legend of ancient fisherman among the coastlines of the Suruga Bay - that were extraordinarily strong and infused with vitality - due to undiscovered-extracts they were taking.

As Shoguns caught word of this... after they too began consuming it, they also began requiring all their Samurai warriors to ingest this secret extract as well.

And even though the extracts reputation exceeded all expectations... no one really knew WHY it actually worked, or what it really was inside, or what it was called.

There was no particularly known reasoning for it's many health & life-giving properties!

All they knew is - somebody had caught a "deep sea shark" known as the dogfish shark (or aizame) in the pacific ocean, extracted oil from its liver - and decided to drink it!

...But it wasn't until 1906, that an unsaturated-hydrocarbon in this shark liver oil, was actually discovered, and deemed responsible for all the folklore.

And in 1916, it was publically announced by its given name -- Squalene.

(*and even at this time, Squalene was still only known to come from the liver of deep sea sharks)

In fact, Squalene has been the defining reason and answer to the question -

Technically, there have been less that 5 tumors ever discovered in Sharks...

So while it is a possible anomaly, cancer is almost non-existent in sharks.

To put this into perspective... a human would be about 1,000 times more likely to get "struck by lightning", than a shark would be to get cancer!

It's virtually non-existent!

Why sharks?

Sharks livers are made up of a tremendous amount of Squalene... which seems to have cancer fighting and preventative properties. And "deep sea" sharks contain the MOST - which is thought to be what enables them to go DEEPER into the ocean, and for longer periods of time.

The reason being, is Squalene's very unique ability to supply oxygen to the cells.

This is what gives Squalene the ability to enhance your body with...

The premier benefit of Squalene is its ability to supply Oxygen to your cells.

Simply put, when oxygen is deficient, cells deteriorate!

It is when the cells receive the necessary supply of oxygen - that the ultimate benefits of Squalene are received. Healthy oxygen-rich cells help in ensuring an efficient working body and the better conversion of nutrients into energy.

In Dan Buettners book, about "people who've lived the LONGEST" - he talks about the places these cultures each live, which he calls...

"The Blue Zones".

The main-distinction of what most "zones", or areas of people living in longevity shared - is they were extremely-rich in clean Oxygen!

Which brings up an important question...

..."What if you don't live on a (clean) beach or in the desolate Mountains?"

Well that's just it!

Here's how it works:

Oxygen rich cells allow more efficient removal of metabolic waste from cells providing better bowel movement, urination and efficient disposal through the respiratory system.

All are signs of good health - which is commonly seen when people ingest Squalene.

Think of how a healthy baby consistently moves their bowel at least two, if not three times per day. Young children typically also sleep more soundly because of their healthier cells.

In Japan, and other advanced countries, it's also widely known that stressed people head for either the mountain or sea-side resorts...

Why? To get "away from it all" and find seclusion, sure. But the other reason - is the kind of fresh oxygen supply found in these areas! People innately know it will make them feel better, even though most of them don't know WHY!

But Oxygenation is only ONE essential element. There is far more to...

"Squalene exhibits a remarkable ability to help strengthen the human immune system and is perhaps the most amazing immune enhancer ever discovered."

~North American Research Excerpts

The main cause of disease is thought to be cellular impairment.

And a major known cause of cellular impairment is due to oxygen deficiency.

(...Which we covered just a few moments ago, in regards to "The Blue Zone Effect".)

But the rabbit-hole goes much deeper...

Obviously we know that Squalene can enhance your health and combat disease through its oxygenation capabilities... but Squalene has many more remarkable traits.

To understand why it's so important to put Squalene in your body, lets start with...

What exactly Squalene is...

Squalene is an unsaturated-hydrocarbon and lipid found it small quantities in shark liver, olive, palm, and wheat germ oil. However, the highest containing source of Squalene in the world - is found in a "plant oil", without previous capabilities of proper extraction.

(Which you'll learn about in just a minute...)

But here's the most important thing you need to know about Squalene itself...

Squalene is the greatest anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory oil in the world!

AND - It is also the ultimate skin rejuvenator for everlasting beauty and body health! Which is only logical, considering it's naturally found in your body and makes up about 12% of your skin!

In fact, here are a just a few of Squalene's remarkable abilities...

Lack of oxygen is the main voiced reason for development of cancer cells. Squalene has distinct anticarcinogenic effects, specifically on Cancer. Squalene is a chemoprotective substance and reduces risk of cancer and has anti-tumor property.

In a study involving the development of lung cancer, from tar induced toxicity, Squalene prevented 58% of all tumor growth.

Squalene is also a (powerful angiogenesis inhibitor) - which means it can prevent blood vessels from feeding tumors - by cutting off it's blood & food supply, potentially starving its growth!

Squalene prevents lipid peroxidation in human skin surface. Lipid peroxidation refers to the oxidative degradation of lipids (fats). It is the process in which free radicals "steal" electrons from the lipids in cell membranes, resulting in cell damage. It is also an extremely effective moisturizer.

Those that have applied Squalene Oils to their face and skin, have consistently reported it as "the most powerful skin rejuvenator and moisturizer ever used" - commonly resulting in softer, more even-toned skin, with a more "youthful" visual appearance!

They say "you're only as healthy as your gut". Well, Squalene is a cytoprotectant - which combats thinning of intestinal lining and can prevents ulcers by increasing mucosal protection in the stomach.

Squalene helps treat conditions resulting form inadequate immune response. Because of its potent immune-boosting effects, it's known to help against colds, flu, chronic infections, asthma, psoriasis, arthritis, and even AIDS.

Squalene is also a very strong immunostimulant and source of vitamin D - the "immunity vitamin", and our bodies can transform Squalene into sterols, which can also be converted into more Vitamin D!

Cholesterol is absolutely vital to human cell membrane structure. You simply cannot have a properly functioning cell membrane without healthy cholesterol!

Up to 80% of dietary Squalene is absorbed through the intestinal tract, and is converted to cholesterol in the human body!

This occurs because Squalene is a precursor to cholesterol. Squalene is converted into cholesterol via lanosterol. Healthy cholesterol, or HDL - not associated with LDL, or "bad cholesterol", is absolutely vital to great health.

HDL also makes up the inner-outer layer of every cell, as well as hormones essential for biomechanism. It's also an insulator for the nerves and is responsible for producing bile acids needed to digest fats in the gut. Thus, a body WITHOUT adequate healthy cholesterol, can break down from impaired function.

Because Squalene increases HDL, or "good cholesterol", it stimulates excretion of "bad cholesterol" in bile acids - helping lower dangerous "high cholesterol" that can contribute to heart disease - by improving our overall total cholesterol ratio, thus helping reduce the risk of heart disease!

Because Squalene is a precursor to important sterols such as cholesterol, it can improve hormone balance, as cholesterol is the basic building block for all bodily hormones.

Squalene supports the endocrine/hormone system because it allows hormones to be made with proper materials. Especially for even healthy vegans & vegetarians, there are not a lot of good sources of plant sterols (the main sterol in the human body is cholesterol).

Affected "hormones" include hormones like - testosterone, estrogen, androgens, Vitamin D, progesterone, and sex hormones. Why is the main reason Squalene is said to also improve...

Chinese medicine has long correlated "sexual vitality" with LONGEVITY... or simply living a longer, healthier life. Squalene aids in the production of adrenal hormones as well as sex hormones for both males and females... such as testosterone, estrogen, androgens, Vitamin D, progesterone, and other sex hormones. Thus, taking Squalene regularly improves sexual vitality!

Basically, the scrotum in the case of men, and the womb and ovaries in the case of women, have a very high cellular activity. As a result, nutrients and oxygen are continuously required in sufficient quantities.

The oxygen-supplying action of Squalene augments the cellular activity in these organs, thus increasing sexual vitality. Allowing you to also gain MORE ENERGY and...

But the philosophy of seeking these life-extending benefits goes beyond the "benefits themselves"... but rather... the importance of Squalene's ability to elevate your body's natural threshold for impairment.

Squalene can help your body "put up with more abuse" from chemicals, toxicity, oxygen deficiency, stress, general cellular impairment, and MORE...

These are just a few reasons why you should be ingesting Squalene on a daily basis!

Plus, Squalene is potentially the best natural protectant against -

"This is the greatest public health hazard the world has ever witnessed - apart from the threat of nuclear war."

~Dr. Helen Caldicott, MD

Radiation is a major, MAJOR threat.

To us, and to everyone else in the world.

We are exposed via a multitude of ways, including... microwaves, xrays, cell-phones, airport body scans, CT scans, cell towers, power lines, power plants, EMF's... airplane flights, etc.

Escaping this "everyday" radiation is near impossible.

But a MUCH BIGGER addition to this threat has been Fukushima's Nuclear Plant Disaster.

The Fukushima Daiichi Plant has continuously leaked over 300,000 gallons of radioactive poison PER DAY into the pacific... and years later today - it's STILL LEAKING!

The new found exposure from Fukushima is simply compounding onto our already threatening - daily exposure.

Recently there have been new reports of high levels of Radioactive CESIUM 137 - from the leakage, discovered right in the United States - found in everything from: seaweeds, fish, dairy milk, meat agricultural top soil - (used to grow produce), even breast milk!

Meaning: We are ingesting this radiation in our food... and there's nothing we can do about it.

Well... ALMOST nothing.

Obviously we can choose our food sources wisely, etc... but this problem is beyond that.

It lurks in our shore, ground and rainwater...

It's airborne. And it's coming for every one of us.

The health effects of radioactive particles from "normal daily exposure" alone, can be devastating.

Causing a variety of happiness-stealing issues, from - tumors, leukemia, central nervous system impairment, heart disease, and cancer, among others. It can also plague your family with birth complications, from: birth defects, spontaneous abortion, premature birth, still birth, to SIDS (sudden-infant-death).

Now, all radiation is extremely damaging, and accumulates... contributes to all cancers.

But things have gotten MUCH WORSE...

On March 11, 2011 the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant had a meltdown, exposing the world to deadly radioactive isotopes.

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Panaseeda | IMMORTALITY EXTRACT

A surgeons dream isa macabre bank of organs, tissues, and digits, readily available body parts for when patients need a quick transplant.

But that doesnt exist, at least in part because those tissues would have to be frozen and reanimated without ruining how they function. Today, scientists are pretty good at the freezing part. But the thawing is still an issue. The current gold standard, which involves putting the frozen tissue into a warm vat for a gradual thaw, doesnt work for anythingwith a volume larger than three millileters. A kidney is on average about 205 milliliters. Thats not going to work.

Now researchers have taken a big step in the right directionthey have figured out how to warm up frozen organs using magnetic nanoparticles.

Heres how their system works. The tissue is frozen in a solution that contains iron oxide nanoparticles, which are coated in a silicone material to make them biocompatible. When its time to thaw, a copper coil is wrapped around the frozen sample. When its electrified, it creates an electromagnetic current that stimulates the nanoparticles, making them magnetic and heat-generating as their magnetic fields flip-flop in a complex action of physics. The process allows the tissue to heat up rapidly and uniformly, protecting it from damage.

In the study, published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the researchers tested their warming technique on frozen individual cells, then on different frozen pig arteries and heart valves measuring up to 80 milliliters in volume. Ninety percent of the tissues defrosted with this technique were intact, with fewer cracks and damaging ice crystals than the standard method. Sophisticated imaging techniques showed that the thawed tissues were more comparable to fresh ones than to those that had been defrosted the standard way.

This isnt the first time complex tissues have been successfully defrostedanother team did this with a comparable technique, on a rabbit brain, in 2016. But the nanoparticles technique can be scaled up for larger, more complex tissues, like whole organs or limbs, the researchers said.

Theres a chance that a system like this could someday be used on an entire human. There are some 350 people who are currently cryogenically frozen in the U.S. and in Russia. A number of them are biding their time until scientists find the cure for what ailedthem, like cancer; others are seeking a type of immortality. This method probably, however, wouldnt help those in particular since the nanoparticles have to be frozen in the solution.

The researchers arent thinking on that kind of scale quite yet, however. Theyre more concerned with expanding their experiments past rabbit organs to human samples, with finding the right ways to wash the nanoparticles out of thawed organs with lots of nooks and crannies (like hearts), as well as probably regulatory hurdles. They have already received a grant from the U.S. Army to continue their work on composite, donated human tissues that combine skin, muscles, and large blood vessels. They suspect it will take another seven to 10 years before their technique could be used reliably on large organs. But who knows, maybe someday it could even be used to defrost a whole human.

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We're Now Closer To Bringing Frozen OrgansAnd PeopleBack To Life - Vocativ

Bob Harper in New York City, days before he had a heart attack.(Photo: Brad Barket, Getty Images for Sunset Boulevar)

Biggest Loser host Bob Harper makes his living tellingothers their lives depend on exercise, weight control and other healthy habits. This week, the 51-year-oldfitness guru told fans he is recovering from a heart attack.

How could that happen?

Its not as unlikely as it mayseem. Heart disease is the leading killer of men andwomen in the United States, and about 735,000 Americans suffer heart attacks each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

'Biggest Loser' host Bob Harper 'taking it easy' after heart attack

Not all those people have obvious risk factors. But Harper suggested he has at least one: his mother died of a heart attack, NBCs Today reported. That kind offamily history canincreaserisk, according to the American Heart Association.

And while Harper may seem relatively young, he is in the company of the 3% of U.S. men and 2% of U.S. women who have heart attacks between ages 40 and 59, says the heart association.

Heart attacks become more common afterage 60. Other risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and smoking.

And what about exercise? Harper toldTMZ he collapsed whileworking out in a New York City gym. While vigorous exercise can sometimes act as atrigger for a heart attack, its less likely to happen in someone who is already fit, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. The overall heart benefits of exercise far outweigh any risk, the group says.

Physical fitness and a heart healthy diet dont confer immortality, but do lower risks, says Prediman K. Shah, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai inLos Angeles. Good health habits also help people recover from heart attacks and prevent recurrences, he says.

Shah says many young heart attack patients recall no warning signs and have never been properly screened for the most common underlying cause, coronary artery disease. Thats a build-up of fat, cholesterol and other substances in arteries, and it can happen even in people who look and feel healthy, Shah says.A strong family history especially heart disease in a father before age 50 ora mother before age 60 is a good reason to ask your doctor about screening tests, he says.

And everyone should know their blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, as well as the warning signs of heart attack, such as chest pain or pressure and unusual shortness of breath.

As for Harper, he wrote in an Instagram post that he is home after a hospital stay:"I am feeling better. Just taking it easy."

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Bob Harper was the picture of health and then he had a heart attack. How does that happen? - USA TODAY