food – Page 179 – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Unless It Changes, Capitalism Will Starve Humanity By 2050

Posted by Amnon H. Eden in business, climatology, existential risks, food, habitats, sustainability | 1 Comment on Unless It Changes, Capitalism Will Starve Humanity By 2050

11.07.
2016

The wealth gap worries Forbes, not your usual wide-eyed socialist.

How do we expect to feed that many people while we exhaust the resources that remain?

Human activities are behind the extinction crisis. Commercial agriculture, timber extraction, and infrastructure development are causing habitat loss and our reliance on fossil fuels is a major contributor to climate change.

Public corporations are responding to consumer demand and pressure from Wall Street. Professors Christopher Wright and Daniel Nyberg published Climate Change, Capitalism and Corporations last fall, arguing that businesses are locked in a cycle of exploiting the world’s resources in ever more creative ways.

DARPA Aims to Create Armies of ‘Insect Allies’ to Protect Crops Worldwide

Posted by Karen Hurst in biotech/medical, food | Leave a Comment on DARPA Aims to Create Armies of ‘Insect Allies’ to Protect Crops Worldwide

11.05.
2016

A new DARPA program is poised to provide an alternative to traditional agricultural threat response, using targeted gene therapy to protect mature plants within a single growing season.

DARPA proposes to use a natural and very efficient two-step delivery system to transfer modified genes to plants; insect vectors and the plant viruses they transmit.

In the process, DARPA aims to transform certain insect pests into “Insect Allies,” the name of the new program.

Dinner: 2036

Posted by Shane Hinshaw in food, government | Leave a Comment on Dinner: 2036

11.01.
2016

Food is one of life’s absolute necessities and one that people take great pleasure from, so it’s no surprise that the future of food is one of those topics that always draws significant interest. So what will we be tucking into in the year 2036? A plate of bugs with a side order of seaweed? A glass of milky liquid? Cajun Swedish fusion cuisine? Or will it be a world of shortages where we munch on government issue Soylent Green and try not to think about where it came from? Take your places at table and join us as we take a look at what mealtimes in the future might look like.

China to launch first e-commerce satellite in 2017

Posted by Karen Hurst in economics, food, satellites | Leave a Comment on China to launch first e-commerce satellite in 2017

10.31.
2016

China plans to launch its first e-commerce satellite in 2017, with the primary purpose of using satellite data in agriculture.

The plan was announced on Monday during an international aviation and aerospace forum in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, China Aerospace Museum and Juhuasuan, an arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba.

“In an era of space economy, the potential of a commercial space industry is immeasurable,” Han Qingping, president of the Chinarocket Co., Ltd, said at the forum.

How Nanoscience Will Improve Our Lives in the Coming Years

Posted by Karen Hurst in biotech/medical, food, health, nanotechnology | Leave a Comment on How Nanoscience Will Improve Our Lives in the Coming Years

10.31.
2016

In a newly published study, nanoscientists look ahead to what we can expect in the coming decade, and conclude that nanoscience is poised to make important contributions in many areas, including health care, electronics, energy, food and water.

Nanoscience research involves molecules that are only 1/100th the size of cancer cells and that have the potential to profoundly improve the quality of our health and our lives. Now nine prominent nanoscientists look ahead to what we can expect in the coming decade, and conclude that nanoscience is poised to make important contributions in many areas, including health care, electronics, energy, food and water.

Significant progress has already been made in nanomaterials, report authors Paul Weiss, who holds a UC presidential chair and is a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA, and Dr. Andre Nel, chief of nanomedicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In the journal ACS Nano, Weiss, Nel, who is a distinguished professor of medicine, and their colleagues say the following:

What I Learned

Posted by Zoltan Istvan in biotech/medical, food, geopolitics, internet, transhumanism | Leave a Comment on What I Learned

10.28.
2016

My new story for Vice Motherboard on lessons learned running for President as a transhumanist. It’s also my endorsement of a ranked voting system:

Campaigning in Times Square.

With such overwhelming odds against my candidacy and tiny political party from the start, I chose to bypass the battle to get on state ballots and instead focus using media to move the transhumanism movement ahead. After all, only very rarely have third parties in America affected the outcome of the elections anyway. Like it or not, you are stuck with an elephant or a donkey-headed leader.

The good news, though, is the internet is making a run for the presidency a good way to get attention for a cause like transhumanism. It may only take five minutes to file a candidacy form with the FEC to run for US president, but the legitimacy in many people’s minds is real. Some candidates out there are using this for real good for the country, like the Nutrition Party and its candidate Rod Silva, which is trying to improve the way America eats. Or the Marijuana Party, which wants to legalize pot and end the asinine War on Drugs.

I’ve been honored to watch transhumanism grow a lot under my candidacy. My main goal all along has been to tell the world that science and technological innovation is coming far more quickly than ever before, and as a nation, we must answer to it with practical and forward-thinking policies. If we don’t, it could lead to increased inequality, a blatantly dystopian future, and a severe planetary environmental crisis.

“Peanut patch” may save some lives

Posted by Shane Hinshaw in biotech/medical, food, health | Leave a Comment on “Peanut patch” may save some lives

10.27.
2016

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, more children are allergic to peanuts than to any other food. Unfortunately, the reactions can be lethal. In western cultures, peanut allergies are the leading cause of food-related anaphylaxis death. Needless to say, therefore, people with such allergies need to be protected against exposure to the nuts – and a skin patch may help provide that protection.

Made by biopharmaceutical company DBV Technologies, the Viaskin Peanut patch is applied to the arm or between the shoulder blades. It gradually delivers small amounts of peanut protein through the skin, allowing the wearer’s body to build up a tolerance for it.

The patch is currently the subject of an ongoing American study conducted by the Consortium of Food Allergy Research, and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Due to aging, South Korean population headed for structural reversal

Posted by Steve Hill in biotech/medical, food, government, life extension | Leave a Comment on Due to aging, South Korean population headed for structural reversal

10.26.
2016

The decline of birth rate is causing a switch in society between younger workforce and the elderly. The Silver Tsunami is a real issue and one that rejuvenation biotechnology can potentially solve.

Data show productive population age group becoming smaller than the majority, and inadequate government preparation for slew of effects.

Residents of Sinpyeong township in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, were getting ready for their autumn harvest on Oct. 12. Cutting rice plants was an urgent task, they said — and all of the work is done by local village women in their seventies and older.

Caloric restriction can be beneficial to the brain, study shows

Posted by Steve Hill in biotech/medical, food, life extension, neuroscience | Leave a Comment on Caloric restriction can be beneficial to the brain, study shows

10.21.
2016

Studies of different animal species suggest a link between eating less and living longer, but the molecular mechanisms by which caloric restriction affords protection against disease and extends longevity are not well understood.

New clues to help solve the mystery are presented in an article published in the September issue of Aging Cell by scientists at the Center for Research on Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxoma), one of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs) funded by FAPESP.

The results of in vitro and in vivo experiments performed by the Redoxoma team included the finding that a 40% reduction in dietary caloric intake increases mitochondrial calcium retention in situations where intracellular calcium levels are pathologically high. In the brain, this can help avoid the death of neurons that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and stroke, among other neurodegenerative conditions.