The fate of the meat world
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“Homo sapiens, the first truly free species, is about to decommission natural selection, the force that made us. Soon we must look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.” — Edward O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge …

This morning I watched a bird — I believe a finch — in the back yard. He was making use of the bird house, which is quite small, featuring perhaps a 3/4″ hole for a front door.

This bird arrived on the perch with about a 4 inch long stick in …

Wired:
The researchers’ algorithm is composed of a series of five equations through which data from cameras can be run. Each equation represents tricks used by fly circuits to handle changing levels of brightness, contrast and motion, and their parameters constantly shift in response to input. Unlike Lucas-Kanade, the algorithm doesn’t …

More extraordinarily high-signal outputs from the seemingly inexhaustible cognition engine behind Sentient Developments:
Cognitive liberty is not just about the right to modify one’s mind, emotional balance and psychological framework (for example, through anti-depressants, cognitive enhancers, psychotropic substances, etc.), it’s also very much about the right to not have one’s mind …

Yesterday in PhysOrg, as referred by KAI
A model that replicates the functions of the human brain is feasible in 10 years according to neuroscientist Professor Henry Markram of the Brain Mind Institute in Switzerland. ‘I absolutely believe it is technically and biologically possible. The only uncertainty is financial. It is …

EETimes:
Medtronic Inc. has started trials in monkeys of an implantable device that can automatically sense and respond to brain waves.

Bruce Lipton, The Wisdom of your Cells — “the cell wall *is* a computing device” — must be going ga-ga right about now, on this news.
“This is much the same thing that happens in a cell,” Stroeve explained. “Now that we can open and close these channels, we can, in …

As reported in WSJ and Technology Review:
A study published Wednesday found that rapamycin, a drug used in organ transplants, increased the life span of mice by 9% to 14%, the first definitive case in which a chemical has been shown to extend the life span of normal mammals.
Anti-aging researchers also …

And many other leading edge topics in this

Telegraph.co.uk: “If you have always wanted to be part of an integrated circuit board, Bare paint will make it possible. The special paint, created at the Royal College of Art, conducts electricity…” Picture: WENN

Reprinted from NPR.org.
Listen to Fresh Air from WHYY, April 20, 2009· In the modern world of busy schedules and busier lives, some people are turning to “neuro-enhancing” drugs to gain a competitive edge.
Proponents of “cosmetic neurology” say that the drugs allow people to reach their full potential, while critics warn …