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A rabbit’s brain has been successfully returned from long-term cryogenic storage, marking the first time a whole mammalian brain has been recovered in near-perfect condition.

It marks a significant breakthrough in the field of cryonics and boosts the prospect of one day bringing frozen human brains back to life.

Researchers from 21st Century Medicine (21CM) used a new technique called Aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation that filled the vascular system of the rabbit brain with chemicals that would allow it to be cooled to −211 degrees Fahrenheit (−135 degrees Celsius). When it was thawed, the cell membranes, synapses, and intracellular structures remained intact.

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There’s still much that we don’t understand about obesity and its underlying causes, but scientists in Germany say they’ve discovered a genetic ‘switch’ that could effectively turn obesity on or off.

The new report is based on epigenetics research — that is, the way the genes in our bodies change based on chemical and environmental factors, rather than modifications in the fundamental DNA genetic code itself. We’re all born with a certain set of genes, but these can be turned on or off, or dialled up or down, though processes inside the body (it’s part of the reason why identical twins don’t always look identical).

It’s one of these epigenetic tags that the scientists have identified, and it works like a light switch rather than a dimmer. “Once the switch is triggered, it is a lifelong, epigenetically-driven decision that ends in a stable, either a lean or obese phenotype,” lead author Andrew Pospisilik from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics. “The effect is akin to a light switch — on or off, lean or obese. Typically, we usually consider epigenetic control of disease to act much more like a dimmer, shifting phenotypes like body weight up or down gradually.”

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When the idea of a medical transplant is brought up, most people’s thoughts are usually drawn to procedures such as blood transfusions or organ replacements. But, oftentimes, we forget the importance of our bone structure, as well as the 2 million painful bone transplants that take place every year around world. Previously stuck in a Medieval-like operation method, surgeons had little option but to replace their patients’ bones with the bones of animals or human cadavers, and even this procedure can oftentimes led to complications due to the body’s rejection of the foreign replacement. But 3D bioprinting has been a major influence in changing the entire nature of this traditional surgical procedure, new methods of creating bone grafts have been developed by researchers around the world from Montana State University to Tokyo. 3D printing has become a recent revelation in skeletal reconstruction surgery, with 3D printed synthetic implants and even harvested stem cell materials proving to be a much safer and efficient surgical alternative.

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As long as there is no level of “personable experience/ empathy” AI will not eliminate the need for doctors or other medical staff members. For example, a female of 30 yrs of age newly married talking to a stone face robot that she has stage 3 breast cancer for first time. Yep; I see that one going well.

Plus, can you imagine how children in hospital wards for several months at a time will come out with only robots w/ no “EMPATHY.” I believe there are plenty of pyshcological case studies on this. If you ever want to advance AI; you must have women heavily embedded in its development as well as leading the work around it; or you will never get there.

Here’s another thought — can you imaging the potential lawsuits in the making because a child was proven to be impacted by only having interactions with robots in the children’s ward for months a time. Especially, when the robots that cannot connect due to the lack of design of “empathy”. Who gets sued? Hospitals, tech companies, etc.? This list could go on and on. So, again you must have various perspectives in the AI design in place or you could really be in trouble on a large scale.


Imagine your child requires a life-saving operation. You enter the hospital and are confronted with a stark choice.

First confirmed case of Zika Virus hits Tennessee (US)


The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed Tuesday afternoon the first case of Zika virus in the state.

TDH, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported one person in the state tested positive for the Zika virus.

The patient had traveled to South America before coming back to East Tennessee.

Researchers from 21st Century Medicine have developed a new technique to allow long term storage of a near-perfect mammalian brain. It’s a breakthrough that could have serious implications for cryonics, and the futuristic prospect of bringing the frozen dead back to life.

By using a chemical compound to turn a rabbit’s brain into a near glass-like state, and then cooling it to −211 degrees Fahrenheit (−135 degrees Celsius), a research team from California-based 21st Century Medicine (21CM) showed that it’s possible to enable near-perfect, long-term structural preservation of an intact mammalian brain. The achievement has earned not just accolades from the scientific community, but a prestigious award as well; the 21CM researchers are today being awarded the $26,735 Small Mammal Brain Preservation Prize, which is run by the Brain Preservation Foundation (BPF).

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The Brain Preservation Foundation (BPF) announced that the Small Mammal Brain Preservation Prize has officially been won. The spectacular result achieved by 21st Century Medicine researchers provides the first demonstration that near-perfect, long-term structural preservation of an intact mammalian brain is achievable.

A team from 21st Century Medicine, spearheaded by recent MIT graduate Robert McIntyre, has discovered a way to preserve the delicate neural circuits of an intact rabbit brain for very long-term storage using a combination of chemical fixation and cryogenic cooling. Proof of this accomplishment, and the full “Aldehyde-Stabilized Cryopreservation” (ASC) protocol, was recently published in the journal Cryobiology and has been independently verified by the BPF through extensive electron microscopic examination conducted by the two official judges of the prize: BPF President Ken Hayworth and Princeton neuroscience professor Sebastian Seung, author of “Connectome: How the Brain’s Wiring Makes Us Who We Are.”

“Every neuron and synapse looks beautifully preserved across the entire brain,” said Hayworth. “Simply amazing given that I held in my hand this very same brain when it was frozen solid… This is not your father’s cryonics.”

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NASA laser expert Mike Krainak and his team plan to replace portions of this fiber-optic receiver with an integrated-photonic circuit (its size will be similar to the chip he is holding) and will test the advanced modem on the International Space Station. (credit: W. Hrybyk/NASA)

A NASA team plans to build the first integrated-photonics modem, using an emerging, potentially revolutionary technology that could transform everything from telecommunications, medical imaging, advanced manufacturing to national defense.

The cell phone-sized device incorporates optics-based functions, such as lasers, switches, and fiber-optic wires, onto a microchip similar to an integrated circuit found in all electronics hardware.

The device will be tested aboard the International Space Station beginning in 2020 as part of NASA’s multi-year Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD). The Integrated LCRD LEO (Low-Earth Orbit) User Modem and Amplifier (ILLUMA) will serve as a low-Earth-orbit terminal for NASA’s LCRD, demonstrating another capability for high-speed, laser-based communications.