Mel Sebastian posted a photo:
!["Richmond_Cats_Canal_07-16-6774-5"]("http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8671/28594675445_fc2aa3874f_m.jpg")
© Mel Sebastian
Mel Sebastian posted a photo:
!["Greenwich_16-07-16-6614-5"]("http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8578/28594668155_ab464c5057_m.jpg")
© Mel Sebastian
![]("http://motherboard-images.vice.com/content-images/article/no-id/1469651509332306.jpg?crop=1xw:0.8440514469453376xh;*,*&resize=630:*&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=90")
Biohacking technology like CRISPR, smart-retinas, and drug delivering nanoparticles could help people live longer and become stronger. But most Americans want “human enhancement” to remain firmly in science fiction, and out of the real world.
A new public survey conducted by Pew Research Center revealed the majority of Americans are more worried than excited about biomedical technology. The nationally representative study polled more than 4,700 adults about three specific biohacking concepts: gene editing, brain chip implants, and synthetic blood. Even when these innovations were described as beneficial to human health, more than half of respondents expressed distrust and wariness toward their potential use.
As biomedical technologies become more sophisticated, people are spending more time debating how they should be used, said lead author Cary Funk, an associate director of research at Pew Research Center, in a statement.
“This study suggests Americans are largely cautious about using emerging technologies in ways that push human capacities beyond what's been possible before.”
When it came to gene editing that would reduce the risk of disease in babies, 68 percent of Americans said they were “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the technology's implementation. Brain chips that might improve concentration or cognitive abilities garnered a negative response from 69 percent of those surveyed. And synthetic blood, which could one day make humans stronger and faster through increased oxygen levels, was disliked by 63 percent of study participants.
The survey was aimed at measuring public perception of technology that's still nascent, or used only for therapeutic purposes, such as injury recovery. Right now, according to the study, none of the three examples are commercially available for human enhancement. When people were asked if they believed these developments would be prematurely released, 73 percent responded “yes,” with regard to gene editing and synthetic blood, while 74 percent felt the same about brain chip implants.
“I think a lot of the fear about genetic engineering stems from what people have previously heard, and whatever incomplete understanding they have, about genetically modified organisms,” Dr. Patrick Blackburn, a geneticist who specializes in rare disease research, told me.
“I feel like a lot of these new technologies get lumped together, and the mindset is, ‘GMOs are bad,' rather than, ‘what can these technologies and do for me, and for the betterment of humanity?'”
That perception can depend on a person's worldview. One of the most striking trends the survey revealed was the relationship between religious commitment and the willingness to embrace biomedical technology. The more religious a person was, the more they perceived human enhancement as meddling with nature. Approximately 64 percent of respondents believed that gene editing, for the express purpose of delivering healthier babies, crosses a moral and ethical line.
Other trends, however, underscored more concrete concerns about biohacking and inequality. For example, 73 percent of Americans anticipate that brains chips—which might only be accessible to those who can afford them—will increase the divide between the wealthy and the poor, elite and underprivileged. And 63 percent of people felt that recipients of synthetic blood will deem themselves superior to others. People are concerned that genetic modification, and the way it's accessed, could widen the gap between the haves and have-nots.
Right now, these concerns are mostly speculative, and it would be a mistake to let them impede scientific progress. If anything, studies like this can help steer human enhancement away from the fears of a dystopian future, and toward something more evidence-based.
“Public perception can definitely affect the type of research that we can do, in the form of federal regulation—think about what happened with stem cells under President George W. Bush—but, so far, there has been very little federal regulation of these new genome engineering technologies in the research lab,” Dr. Blackburn added.
“I don't think many people realize there has been such a sea change in our understanding and ability to edit the genomes of humans, and pretty much anything else that has DNA.”
Mon dieu! What with tout le torture, les plotteurs and les attempted meurtres, Versailles is now about as sexy as Robot Wars
Not-So-Bad Philippe is sulking in front of the fire because his frere, le roi, has not unreasonably locked up the Mauvais Philippe for plotting against him. Louis barges in and tells Not-So-Bad Philippe to cheer up and come for a gallop for old times' sake. Not-So-Bad Philippe agrees but is still sulking.
Cue the title music, and much excitement. Because the BBC used exactly the same music during its coverage of the London Anniversary athletics at the weekend, prompting hopes/fears that they might be planning to roll it out for the Rio Olympics in just over a week's time. Who knew this piece of sub early-70s Genesis was the Nessun Dorma de nos jours? Perhaps the BBC thought Versailles = Sexy, Rio = Sexy, so wanted to find a way of combining the two. Only Versailles is now about as sexy as Robot Wars. Having spent the first episode ripping their kit off at any opportunity, the court of Versailles has taken an oath of chastity.
Continue reading...P. Damer posted a photo:
!["Till]("http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8662/28487390662_40d78e162f_m.jpg")
Moments after www.flickr.com/photos/p_damer/28191090496/
dukseli posted a photo:
!["Przewalski's]("http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/28308931080_5b697b9c37_m.jpg")
Korkeasaari zoo
Conservation status: Endangered species
(Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przewalski%27s_horse)
![]("https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/165123501/m%3D900/8549765548b877778da5e13db417d77e")
![]("https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/165091725/m%3D900/f90cc010bd31bbc073812a66826b015a")
![]("https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/165057339/m%3D900/fa3d7679cf1a86d3bfbc64f999a234c4")
![]("https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/165026021/m%3D900/44893784eb10c75fe1545c445a5b6251")
![]("https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/164993809/m%3D900/bf43f048c72094e8dd9780b33c0ba14b")
![]("https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/164989497/m%3D900/9e05c6b6fe79bad808ae5c4dc00aab4d")
![]("https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/164988259/m%3D900/c02929993fbfefad8a80cb5764445812")
Scientists in Germany have found a potentially powerful antibiotic that can kill dangerous bacteria. Maybe the most impressive thing about the new compound is where scientists found it: the human nose.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
A swift and global conservation response is needed to prevent the world's gorillas, lions, tigers, rhinos, and other iconic terrestrial megafauna from being lost forever, an influential group of international scientists reported today in the journal BioScience.
!["7-1.cover"]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/07/7-1.cover_.gif")
Their analysis, entitled Saving the World's Terrestrial Megafauna, covers the precipitous loss of large mammal populations around the globe, from the poorly known, such as the scimitar-horned oryx, to more familiar species including tigers, lions, gorillas and rhinoceroses, Panthera, one of the organizations associated with the research, said in a news statement.
The report was written by 43 wildlife experts from six continents. [At least 16 of them are scientists who have previously received research grants from the National Geographic Society.]
Business as Usual = Massive Species Extinction
The report included a 13-point declaration calling for acknowledgement that a “business as usual” mentality will result in massive species extinction; while a global commitment to conservation with support for developing nations is a moral obligation.
Declaration to Save the World's Terrestrial Megafauna
We conservation scientists
“The more I look at the trends facing the world's largest terrestrial mammals, the more concerned I am we could lose these animals just as science is discovering how important they are to ecosystems and to the services they provide to people,” said William Ripple, lead author and distinguished professor of ecology in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. “It's time to really think about conserving them because declines in their numbers and habitats are happening quickly.”
“To underline how serious this is, the rapid loss of biodiversity and megafauna in particular is an issue that is right up there with, and perhaps even more pressing than, climate change,” said senior co-author and Panthera Lion Program Policy Initiative Coordinator Dr. Peter Lindsey.
“Human communities stand to lose key elements of their natural heritage if these large wildlife species are allowed to go extinct,” Lindsey continued. “The disappearance of such species could also significantly undermine the future potential for communities to benefit from eco-tourism operations. Urgent measures are needed to address poaching, and to allow for the co-existence of people and wildlife if megafauna is to persist in the long term.”
Action Needed on Two Fronts
The scientists call for action on two fronts, Panthera explained: conservation interventions expanded to scales that address animals' extensive habitat needs, and policy shifts and increased financial commitment to alter the ways in which people interact with wildlife.
“Among the most serious threats to endangered animals are the expansion of livestock and agricultural developments, illegal hunting, deforestation and human population growth. Large wildlife species are extremely vulnerable to these threats because of their need for extensive spaces to live and low population densities, particularly for carnivores.”
Panthera President and Chief Conservation Officer and co-author Dr. Luke Hunter, said: “Among the world's largest animals, apex predators like the tiger, lion and leopard are increasingly under assault. The protection of these big cats the great white sharks of our terrestrial Earth and other large mammals is paramount to the health and survival of thousands of animals and their ecosystems.
“Today, 59 percent of the world's largest carnivores and 60 percent of the world's largest herbivores are categorized as threatened with extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. This situation is particularly dire in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, home to the greatest diversity of remaining large mammals.
“Yet the resources for effective implementation of conservation strategies are seldom available in regions with the greatest needs. The onus is on developed countries, which have long ago lost most of their large animals, to support conservation initiatives where the world's most celebrated wildlife still remain.”
!["Graphic]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/07/Megafauna-extinction-tables.jpg")
This post was compiled from materials sent by Panthera and published in BioScience
![]("https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/165076583/m%3D900/e839bbf379ec547d4cf71a59884266a2")