Chinese researchers trial the worlds first cancer vaccine on humans
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The CRISPR gene editing technique is being used to create everything from new forms of life that are resistant to every known virus on Earth to vaccines for cancer, it will, and is already, revolutionising life and wellbeing In July this year a team...
Scientists have found a way to turn your body into a computer
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A chemical computer, one that doesn’t use electrical signals to communicate, means that we now, potentially, have a way to send computer instructions around the human body that won’t interfere with our nervous system. You probably take it for granted that the devices that...
Researchers used Jennifer Aniston to discover how we form long term memories
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Understanding how our brain creates memories paves the way for new treatments for neurodegenerative disorders and one day could help us discover new ways to improve memory retention and learning. Brain researchers in the UK and US have collaborated to make “a spectacular discovery”...
British girl who died of cancer wins right to be cryogenically frozen
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In an age where we are making so many advances in healthcare it is increasingly conceivable that we may be able to bring people back from the dead which opens up a myriad of moral, ethical and religious questions about life and death. A...
Scientists have designed a nanoscale computer that’s smaller than a virus
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Nanoscale computers could work inside, or outside the body to help control, direct and interact with other atomic, molecular or nanoscale devices and systems. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. While the...
Researchers 3D print body parts that work like the real thing
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The ability to 3D print body parts, or parts of bodies, on demand changes the long term health and survivability prospects for every person on the planet. It will let us all live healthier, longer lives and is nothing less than revolutionary. Using 3D...
Researchers think our cellular powerhouses may be responsible for aging
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Unravelling the mysteries of aging requires a multi-disciplinary approach, but as scientists gather more evidence the possibility of slowing, or reversing aging becomes more of a reality Mitochondria — the structures within cells mostly known for converting nutrients into usable energy — may play...
Scientists might have found the source of human conciousness
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF If humans can understand where consciousness comes from then it’s possible we can one day understand how it “works”, and once we understand how something works we can re-create it in, for example, an AI. Right now your eyes and your optic nerves are...
Australian researchers reproduce the effects of excercise with a pill
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Exercise has undisputed benefits when it comes to helping us live longer, healthier lives but for those people with chronic conditions, or for those who can’t exercise, a medical alternative would dramatically change their lives for the better. Firstly, let me say this about...
The internet pioneer behind Apache pushes blockchain to fuel the next big internet revolution
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Everyone agrees that blockchain is a disruptive technology, and a technology that could help revolutionise not just one industry but all of them but in order for it to really change the world it first needs to be embedded into the “plumbing” of the internet,...
Second Sight’s bionic eye helps restore a woman’s sight
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Neuroprosthetics provides individuals with crippling or debilitating conditions, whatever their origin, with the opportunity to regain sensations and capabilities, such as sight and hearing, that would otherwise be impossible. Over the past several years, people with degenerative eye diseases could recover some their vision...
Japanese researchers have built a computer brain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to model the human brain will help us create better treatments for neurological conditions, and might also help answer questions about consciousness and sentience. Researchers in Japan have used the powerful Riken K computer, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, to simulate...
Scientists lay out plans to build an artificial human genome by 2036
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When scientists can create artificial genomes they will be able to create new designer organisms, and humans, with entirely new, engineered properties and abilities. Scientists have put forward plans for a follow up to the Human Genome Project (HGP) with a proposal to create...
New genetic discovery will one day help humans regenerate damaged spinal chords
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The ability to regrow, repair and replace damaged parts of our bodies using Regenerative Medicine could help humans live longer, healthier lives – and it could potentially help us live forever. One of the reasons why there are so many scientists today focusing on...
Brazil releases billions of genetically modified Mosquitos to combat Zika
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There will always be questions about the viability and impact of releasing genetically modified organisms into our environment but with billions of mosquitos being released it might already be a moot point Every Saturday morning, Maria do Carmo Tunussi goes door to door asking...
Harvard puts a 3D printed Heart on a Chip to make drug testing safer
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Organs-on-chips pave the way for faster, safer, animal free drug testing and will contribute to a healthcare revolution. Harvard University researchers have made the first entirely 3D printed organ-on-a-chip with integrated sensing. Built by a fully automated, digital manufacturing procedure, the 3D printed “Heart on a...
New electronics breakthrough lets devices run for years without batteries
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF New transistor design scavenges energy and paves the way for ultra low power electronics. Transistors are found in almost every electronic device and now a new ultra low power transistor design from the engineers at the University of Cambridge that lets them operate by ‘scavenging’ energy...
Scientists are creating a detailed map of all 35 trillion cells in the human body
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The Human Cell Atlas will exponentially accelerate our understanding of disease and “the Human Condition.” Last week in at a meeting in London, convened by the Broad Institute of MIT, Harvard University, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the Wellcome Trust, a group of international scientists...
Top scientists met in secret to discuss creating the first artificial humans
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Synthetic biology opens the door for custom designed humans whose only parents are a computer. Scientists can already produce viable artificial human eggs and sperm but earlier this month they took everything one step further when an invite only group of about 150 experts convened...
Scientists can now see molecules and objects clearer than ever before
Discovery paves the way for new breakthroughs in materials, molecular science, semiconductors and much more A team of scientists from Complutense University have managed to bypass a theoretical limit on optical resolution, allowing them to see more sharply than ever before. Their results are published in a paper in the journal...
