Lifeboat Foundation

Meet the opponents of BMIs & their report.

*This article only represents a very small fraction of the research regarding the dangers associated with these devices. We encourage you to further your own research, and just wanted to provide a base to let you know that it’s something more of us need to pay attention to.

Continue reading “This Is What WIFI, Cell Phones, iPads & More Are Doing Your Child’s Brain – 100 + Scientists Are Now Petitioning The UN” »

Of course the title is outlandishly overreacting, but the article is interesting.

Millenniums old mystery of consciousness solved by explaining how, when and why does it emerge and how subconscious and unconscious thoughts and processes influence decisions and behaviour, besides explaining causal relations of consciousness to sensations, perceptions, thoughts, awareness, attention, pain, hunger, etc. including the ‘hard problem of consciousness’.

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Whether or not nerve cells are able to regrow after injury depends on their location in the body. Injured nerve cells in the peripheral nervous system, such as those in the arms and legs, can recover and regrow, at least to some extent. But nerve cells in the central nervous system—the brain and spinal cord—can’t recover at all.

A UCLA-led collaboration has identified a specific network of genes and a pattern of gene expression mice that promote repair in the peripheral nervous system in a mouse model. This network, the researchers found, does not exist in the central nervous system. The researchers also found a drug that can promote nerve regeneration in the central nervous system.

The study appears in the online edition of the journal Neuron.

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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is often difficult to treat due to an enzyme (endonuclease DFF40/CAD (Death Fragmentation Factor, 40 kDa subunit / Caspase-Activated DNase)). This enzyme, which is essential for degrading DNA during apoptosis, appears both downregulated and improperly located inside the tumour cells. The researchers observed that overexpression of the enzyme allows the glioblastoma cells to properly degrade their DNA content.

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive manifestation of brain tumours. Due to its high invasive capacity and uncontrolled, infiltrating growth, it is particularly difficult to manage. Currently, the treatment for this disease consists of a combination of surgery (when possible), radiation and chemotherapy. Although current therapy raises the overall survival of patients by around 15 months, it remains inefficient at eradicating tumour cells and, unfortunately, recurrences are another of this cancer’s characteristics.

A team of researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience at the UAB, together with the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge — ICO, have identified a common molecular alteration in glioblastoma. The researchers observed that the cells of this type of tumour harbour a common intrinsic defect that prevents them from degrading their genetic material during apoptosis, the most important form of programmed cell death induced by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Continue reading “Biochemical alteration responsible for brain tumor resistance identified” »

A new chip designed for the brain is now wireless. Now that it is no longer connected using wires, will it compromise its accuracy?

The Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has developed a smart chip that can be used for neural implants in order to wirelessly transmit brain signals to the rest of the body with 95% accuracy. These neural implants, and the data that they register, are expected to help curtail symptoms of diseases like Parkinson’s, and they could also help paraplegic patients move their prosthetic limbs.

For operations, external devices can use the the 5mm by 5mm chip to receive and analyze data before sending back important details, instead of sending the entire data stream all at once. This drastically decreases its power consumption, making the tech far more viable.

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=KV3hHGUGXIU

A complete cognitive architecture to implement systems that are self-aware and capable of intentional mutations. Now available at mecasapiens.com.

HALIFAX, CANADA, February 16, 2016 (Newswire.com) — Monterège Design Inc. is pleased to announce the publication of a cognitive architecture to implement synthetic consciousness. The systems based on this architecture will be fully autonomous, self-aware and capable of intentional mutations. The architecture, published under the title The Meca Sapiens Blueprint, is complete and ready for design and implementation. It can be purchased on line at mecasapiens.com.

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Researchers have developed a functioning miniature replica of the human brain, composed of neurons and glial cells, to help study and better understand neurological diseases.

A tiny ball of brain cells may help researchers alleviate or treat neurological diseases.

These small cellular balls act like miniature versions of the human brain, mimicking various aspects of the actual brain that include sending pulses of electric signals akin to what happens in a thinking mind. This research was reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington.

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How robotics is making live music a more enriching experience.

Scientists have developed a ‘smart’ wearable robotic limb that responds to human gestures and the music it hears, allowing drummers to play with three arms.

The two-foot long robotic arm can be attached to a musician’s shoulder, and knows what to play by listening to the music in the room. It improvises based on the beat and rhythm. For instance, if the musician plays slowly, the arm slows the tempo. If the drummer speeds up, it plays faster.

Continue reading “Robot limb lets drummers play with three arms” »

New insights on GBM resistance markers.

A research team, with the participation of the University of Granada (UGR), has made some progress in determining the causes for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), one of the most aggressive brain tumors known, to be resistant to the drugs currently used, which is one of the main limitations of its treatment. The results have been recently published in two articles in PlosOne magazine.

The researchers have proven that proteoglycans (the cells’ structural elements), called decorin (DCN) and lumican (LUM), could be decisive in the behavior and development of a resistance to the drugs used for treating glioblastoma multiforme, such as temozolamide (TMZ). In the other hand, they have laid bare that the inhibition of the transcription of some of the sub-units belonging to the mismatch-repair (MMR) complex, a system that analyzes and repairs DNA, could be responsible of the failure of current therapies against this kind of tumor.

Continue reading “GBM Treatment Discoveries: Why Select Drugs Might not Work” »