The idea that intelligence can differ between populations has made headlines again, but the rules of evolution make it implausible.
Kevin Mitchell
Associate professor of genetics and neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin.
Continue reading “Why genetic IQ differences between ‘races’ are unlikely” »
3 days left to get into our Initial Community Offering (ICO) for the evolution of the blockchain which I’ve invested and advising.
Welcome to the Holo ICO whitelist registration! You will need to verify your identity and join the whitelist before you can participate in the ICO. The process requires creating an account, completing a quick identity verification, and then adding your Ethereum address to our whitelist. Once whitelisted, your address will be written into our smart contract, and you will be prepared to participate in the Holo ICO.
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To learn more about our ICO, visit https://holo.host/ico
Ignored for 30 years after its discovery, this archaic baleen whale finally gets a place in the spotlight.
A whale fossil unearthed three decades ago in New Zealand’s South Canterbury district has led to an unexpected find that rewrites the history of whale evolution, National Geographic reports.
The fossil dates back 27 million years ago and was identified as a previously unknown genus of baleen whale.
Advocates of transhumanism face a similar choice today. One option is to take advantage of the advances in nanotechnologies, genetic engineering and other medical sciences to enhance the biological and mental functioning of human beings (never to go back). The other is to legislate to prevent these artificial changes from becoming an entrenched part of humanity, with all the implied coercive bio-medicine that would entail for the species.
We can either take advantage of advances in technology to enhance human beings (never to go back), or we can legislate to prevent this from happening.
Researchers have identified a protein that is different between healthy and cancerous cells, offering a potential target for therapeutic interventions.
Abstract
Sorting nexins anchor trafficking machines to membranes by binding phospholipids. The paradigm of the superfamily is sorting nexin 3 (SNX3), which localizes to early endosomes by recognizing phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P) to initiate retromer-mediated segregation of cargoes to the trans-Golgi network (TGN). Here we report the solution structure of full length human SNX3, and show that PI3P recognition is accompanied by bilayer insertion of a proximal loop in its extended Phox homology (PX) domain. Phosphoinositide (PIP) binding is completely blocked by cancer-linked phosphorylation of a conserved serine beside the stereospecific PI3P pocket. This “PIP-stop” releases endosomal SNX3 to the cytosol, and reveals how protein kinases control membrane assemblies. It constitutes a widespread regulatory element found across the PX superfamily and throughout evolution including of fungi and plants.
Continue reading “A Protein that Shows the Difference Between Cancer and Non-cancer Cells” »
Ann Donnelly was utterly confused the first time she examined her protein. On all counts, it behaved like an enzyme—a protein catalyst that speeds up biological reactions in cells. One could argue that enzymes, sculpted by eons of evolution, make life possible.
There was just one problem: her protein wasn’t evolved. It wasn’t even “natural.” It was, in fact, a completely artificial construct made with random sequences of DNA—something that’s never existed in nature before.
Donnelly was looking at the first artificial enzyme. An artificial protein that, by all accounts, should not be able to play nice with the intricate web of biochemical components and reactions that support life.
Continue reading “Enzyme Designed Entirely From Scratch Opens a World of Biological Possibility” »
There’s an unsettling premise at the heart of Joe Brewer’s life’s work.
Brewer is a change strategist dedicated to ensuring a thriving global civilization exists 100 years from now—and he believes this is becoming less likely every year. There’s rising instability in our fragile and rapidly changing biosphere, he says, and society is unlikely to escape harm.
“We are going through a period of planetary change, and there is a collapse dynamic that’s already happening. The global scale social complexity we have today is at risk, and we may lose it,” he told me in a conversation for Singularity Hub.
Continue reading “How ‘Cultural Evolution’ Can Give Us the Tools to Build Global-Scale Resilience” »
A study on dozens of galaxies within several billion light years of our own has revealed black holes that far exceed our expectations on just how big these monsters can grow.
The discovery not only helps us better understand the evolution of our Universe’s building blocks, it leaves us with a new intriguing question – just how do black holes like these get to be so incredibly massive?
By now, the collapsed cores of massive stars known as black holes need no introduction. We’ve heard about their cosmic crashes rippling space-time, watched them belch, and expect to capture the closest look yet at their nature very soon.
