The World Transformed

Latest Episodes:

Keeping the Lights On Feb 13, 2018

Show notes

Stephen Pinker argues that the Enlightenment is the key driver behind massive improvement that is taking place in a number of different areas. He claims the enlightenment is working. Phil and Stephen discuss whether they agree with Pinker’s analysis and what the chances are that the enlightenment will keep doing what it’s doing. The Enlightenment is Working Globally, the 30-year scorecard also favors the present. In 1988, 23 wars raged, killing people at a rate of 3.4 per 100,000; today it’s 12 wars killing 1.2 per 100,000. The number of nuclear weapons has fallen from 60,780 to 10,325. In 1988, the world had just 45 democracies, embracing two billion people; today it has 103, embracing 4.1 billion. That year saw 46 oil spills; 2016, just five. And 37% of the population lived in extreme poverty, barely able to feed themselves, compared with 9.6% today. True, 2016 was a bad year for terrorism in Western Europe, with 238 deaths. But 1988 was even worse, with 440. Background on the Enlightenment Anti-enlightenment Trends Post-Modernism Authoritarian Governments Alt-Right / White Nationalists / the “Dark Enlightenment” WT 403-716 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Stem Cells Made to Order Feb 10, 2018

Show notes

Phil and Stephen review more reasons that this is a great time to be alive. The little lizard with the big genome. Making skins cells into stem cells -- three different ways! The check-in procedure that could save your life. PLUS Geekout: deciphering the Voynich manuscript via AI. The Smiling Axolotl Hides a Secret: A Giant Genome Scientists have decoded the genome of the axolotl, the Mexican amphibian with a Mona Lisa smile. It has 32 billion base pairs, which makes it ten times the size of the human genome, and the largest genome ever sequenced. Axolotl genome sequenced, revealing regeneration genes Researchers create first stem cells using CRISPR genome activation In a scientific first, researchers at the Gladstone Institutes turned skin cells from mice into stem cells by activating a specific gene in the cells using CRISPR technology. The innovative approach offers a potentially simpler technique to produce the valuable cell type and provides important insights into the cellular reprogramming process. Google is using 46 billion data points to predict the medical outcomes of hospital patients Some of Google’s top AI researchers are trying to predict your medical outcome as soon as you’re admitted to the hospital. GEEKOUT Artificial Intelligence May Have Cracked Freaky 600-Year-Old Manuscript WT 402-715 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Extra! Voyage of the Space Roadster! Feb 09, 2018

Show notes

Phil and Stephen reflect on the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, and Starman's drive to the asteroid belt. What is Elon Musk up to? Is this all just a publicity stunt? Or was that just a publicity stunt that NASA pulled back in July of 1969? Interesting times lie ahead for both NASA and SpaceX. Is it time NASA got out of the rocket business? Let’s discuss! Hat-tip to Brian Wang at Next Big Future for his outstanding coverage of this story. Third Burn successful going Past Mars to Asteroid Belt SpaceX Heavy Success will now publicly test US Government Spending Corruption [ Blistering analysis. But it’s possible that incompetence and an archaic approach, rather than corruption per se, are behind the massive spending. Also, we’re not convinced that the US government is trying to steal SpaceX IP. ] Falcon Heavy proved computer software for designing Big Falcon Rocket SpaceX Heavy is game changer for defense and NASA NOTE: Phil repeatedly uses the term “Orion” to refer to the NASA Space Launch System (SLS). The World Transformed regrets the error. WT 401-714 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Fast Forward -- The Data-Driven Enterprise Feb 08, 2018

Show notes

In this edition of Fast Forward on the World Transformed, Peter Evans, Senior Director for Big Data Solutions at Solix (www.solix.com) talks with our hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon about the challenges and opportunities that organizations face as they move to data-driven business and operational models. What lies behind all the current hype about “digital transformation?” And what are the process and infrastructure changes that an organization must be willing to address in order to become a true data-driven enterprise? Let's explore! About Our Guest: Peter is the Senior Director for Big Data Solutions at Solix, specializing in Big Data, Data Virtualization, Business Intelligence and Advanced Analytics. He is a recognized expert in the design, implementation, and delivery of bespoke Business Intelligence and Analytics systems. Leveraging a broad variety of technologies, he has more than 16 years experience delivering such systems to some of the world’s leading companies. Peter is a member of the British Computer Society and Institute of Analysts and Programmers, and he holds certifications from Microsoft, Novell and Targit. He regularly contributes to the Database Journal and online forums and social media discussions in the areas of Analytics and Business Intelligence and Data Virtualization. Music: www.bensound.com FF 004-713

The Time Travel Mortality Wager Feb 06, 2018

Show notes

Phil and Stephen discuss a familiar subject -- why this is the best time to be alive. But this time with a twist: how good would a life in the past have to be to persuade you to abandon the present? We just entered into a golden age of space exploration. Why all the pessimism? Thanks in part to infusions of capital and energy from tycoons like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos private rocket companies are doing things that only governments previously did... See also Rocket Lab. Cancer ‘vaccine’ eliminates tumors in mice Activating T cells in tumors eliminated even distant metastases in mice, Stanford researchers found. Lymphoma patients are being recruited to test the technique in a clinical trial. Anti-Aging Pioneer Aubrey de Grey: “People in Middle Age Now Have a Fair Chance” I think we have got a 50-50 chance of getting to that tipping point in mice within five years from now, certainly it could be 10 or 15 years if we get unlucky. Similarly, for humans, a 50-50 chance would be twenty years at this point, and there’s a 10 percent chance that we won’t get there for a hundred years. Could a Protein Called Klotho Block Dementia and Aging? “We found that those mice that had been treated, within four hours had better brain function,” she said. This worked in young mice, old mice, and mice that had a condition similar to Alzheimer’s. WT400-712 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Reality: and Now the Bad News Feb 03, 2018

Show notes

Phil and Stephen look at some dangerous possibilities that arise when the lines between reality and illusion are blurred. Reddit User Outperforms Disney With AI-generated Princess Leia I Made My Shed the Number One Restaurant on TripAdvisor British 15-year-old gained access to intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iran by pretending to be head of CIA, court hears A 15-year-old gained access to plans for intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iran by pretending to be the head of the CIA to gain access to his computers, a court has heard. From the bedroom of the Leicestershire home he shared with his mother, Kane Gamble used “social engineering” – where a person builds up a picture of information and uses it manipulate others into handing over more – to access the personal and work accounts of some of America's most powerful spy chiefs . Magic Mushrooms May Alter How You Feel About Nature (and Politics) Months after receiving psilocybin treatments for depression, patients report feeling more connected with nature and experience a shift away from authoritarian political views, researchers report. GEEKOUT New Dan Brown novel “Origin” has AI character Winston WT 399-711 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What Does a Thought Look Like? (And Other Amazing Stuff) Feb 01, 2018

Show notes

Phil and Stephen review amazing news indicating that the future is closer than we think. Neuroscientists Have Followed a Thought as it Moves Through the Brain A study using epilepsy patients undergoing surgery has given neuroscientists an opportunity to track in unprecedented detail the movement of a thought through the human brain, all the way from inspiration to response. Blood test can detect eight cancers in early stages which could save half a million lives every year CancerSEEK is a blood test that detects tiny amounts of DNA and proteins released into the bloodstream from cancer cells. This can then indicate the presence of ovarian, liver, stomach, pancreatic, oesophageal, bowel, lung or breast cancers. The world's most powerful acoustic tractor beam could pave the way for levitating humans 3D printers could let you produce your own drugs Machines Teaching Each Other Could Be the Biggest Exponential Trend in AI WT 398-710 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Whales, Rats, Salamanders, and Immortality Jan 30, 2018

Show notes

Phil and Stephen discuss three animals who might well show us how to live longer and healthier lives. Secrets of these 200-year-old whales who avoid cancer Why the bowhead whale lives 200 years and rarely gets cancer. Naked mole rats defy the biological law of aging In the world of animal models, naked mole rats are the supermodels. They rarely get cancer, are resistant to some types of pain, and can survive up to 18 minutes without oxygen. But perhaps their greatest feat, a new paper suggests, is that they don't age.” Google’s Calico Labs announces discovery of a “non-aging mammal.” In the first significant announcement since it was formed in 2013, Calico Labs researchers Rochelle Buffenstein, Megan Smith, and J. Graham Ruby announce that the naked mole rat is a “non-aging mammal.” Axolotl genome sequenced, revealing regeneration genes If you lose an arm or a leg, there's a whole range of advanced prosthetics to give you some functionality back. But we might not need any artificial help in the long run if research into limb regeneration bears fruit. Scientists have now sequenced the genome of the Mexican axolotl, and have identified a few key genes hidden amongst its extremely complex genetic blueprint. WT 397-709 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Friday Grab Bag Jan 27, 2018

Show notes

Future news from a variety of angles. What ties them together? You decide. Scientists reverse genetic aging, memory decline in rats They injected rats with viral vectors that expressed FKBP1b, causing a rise in overall expression of the protein. Both long- and short-term treatment improved the performance of aging rats in a water maze task: FKBP1b was able to prevent cognitive decline in long-term rats and reverse it in short-term rats. China’s 30 story tall air cleaning tower is a successful test for many 150 story air cleaning towers China has created an experimental air purifying tower that is over 100 meters (328 feet) tall in northern China. It reduces 2.5 micron air pollution by about 15% over a 10 square kilometer area. Elon Musk: “The Singularity for This Level of the Simulation Is Coming Soon” The singularity for this level of the simulation is coming soon. I wonder what the levels above us look like. Good chance they are less interesting and deeper levels are better. So far, even our primitive sims are often more entertaining than reality itself. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 5, 2017 GEEKOUT Furrion Exo-Bionics goo.gl/tucTDH New Season of X-Files New Amazon Series: Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams Baby Driver is brilliant artsy stylish action-packed fun WT 396-708

It's Happening Jan 23, 2018

Show notes

Phil and Stephen discuss a number of future developments that they have been predicting for years that now appear to be coming true. Biotech boss backing gene therapy to solve ageing crisis seeks injection of urgency, but scientists preach patience Alibaba and Microsoft AI beat humans in Stanford reading test This Neural Network Built by Japanese Researchers Can ‘Read Minds’ Cure for cancer happening (Or maybe it’s not happening -- update on computer program that can tell if you’re gay.) Do algorithms reveal sexual orientation or just expose our stereotypes? WT 394-706 Photo by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected