A set of 75 million year-old fossils found in the badlands of southern Alberta is adding credence to the suggestion that dinosaurs used feathers to attract a mate, and not to take flight. The fossils, which are from the oldest feathered dinosaurs ever found, are also offering further proof that all ornithomimids — an ostrich like creature — were covered in feathers.

The image to your right is an artistic reconstruction of feathered ornithomimid dinosaurs by Julius Csotonyi.

According to researcher Darla Zelenitsky from the University of Calgary, the Upper Cretaceous Ornithomimus underwent a unique pattern of change in its feathery plumage over the course of its life. Prior to becoming an adult, the dinosaur would have been covered in down-like feathers. But as it got older, it developed larger feathers on the forearms which formed wing-like structures. This pattern, says Zelenitsky, is different from what we see in birds who develop feathered wings when they're still quite young.

The discovery also indicates that these dinosaurs did not use these filamentous feathers for any kind of flight or gliding. Because the wing-like forelimbs developed only in more mature individuals, paleontologists theorize that they were used later in life for such things as attracting a mate or egg brooding. Moreover, because ornithomimids were over 150 kilograms (330 lbs), there would have been simply too big to fly.

And interestingly, these specimens, which were found back in 2008 and 2009, have pushed back the date of the earliest wings by about 10 million years. But because they weren't used for flight, paleontologists think they must have evolved for completely different reasons — and only later did they endow smaller, lighter versions of dinosaurs with flight.

Check out the entire study at Science.

Inset image Leah Hennel , Calgary Herald.

Contemporary societies have their problems — there's no question about it. But few would go so far as to say that we live in a global dystopia. Yet many of the changes that have unfolded over the years — developments that many of us would consider to be good things — would horrify our ancestors. Here are the many ways our world would appear completely dystopian to a visitor from the past.

In this article, we focus a lot on specific examples of changes in the societies of North America, but comparable changes have occurred in many parts of the world.

In most countries, women have the right to vote and run for office

Prior to the rise of the women's suffrage movement in the late 19th century, many men were convinced that politics and women were a poor mix. A visitor from the past would be completely aghast at how involved women have become in the political arena. Anti-suffragists, which consisted of both men and women, thought that women should instead involve themselves in social reform work, healthcare, teaching, and domestic responsibilities. Men also worried that women, should they have the right to vote, would bandy together and collectively support such things as alcohol prohibition (wait, what?...) or dominate a certain political spectrum; a single household, it was thought, deserves a single vote. And in terms of political life, men argued that women were too noble to involve themselves in some of the more distasteful aspects of governing. And indeed, delving into something like foreign affairs would have been considered a complete non-starter because "all government rests ultimately on force, to which women, owing to physical, moral and social reasons, are not capable of con­tributing." The idea of a woman being Minister of War or Secretary of State (ahem) would have seemed laughable — if not completely terrifying; women were considered overly emotional and sentimental creatures — traits that would lead to irrational and ill thought-out political decisions. Democracy and fair representation, it would seem, played a minor role in their thinking.

Civil rights

Racism is something that most societies around the globe are still struggling with. But the degree of racism that's present today cannot compare in the slightest to what existed hundreds of years ago. Slavery in the West was predicated on the assumption that blacks were not even persons — and because of this, were denied any kind of social consideration or basic rights. If we were to tell a Southerner from pre-Civil War America that a black president would take office in 2012, he'd have a massive heart attack. The only explanation he'd likely come up with is that some kind of massive uprising had taken place and that blacks had somehow taken over the place by force. The idea that civil rights and political involvement could have come about through decades of struggle and social reforms would have seemed inconceivable. But we don't even have to go that far back in time to get these sorts of sentiments. As George Wallace infamously said at his 1963 inauguration, "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." I guess "forever" didn't mean what he thought it meant.

Interracial unions

Relatedly, the idea of interracial marriages, what's also referred to as 'miscegenation,' is something that most of us are totally cool with. In fact, many of us don't even give it a second thought — but it wasn't always that way, and even until fairly recently. As early as the 1970s it was still very uncommon to see couples of different racial and ethnic backgrounds holding hands in public. Going much further back in time, a number of countries, including colonial America, enacted anti-miscegenation laws barring blacks and whites from marrying or having sex. Many of these laws were expanded to include Native Americans, Chinese, and other ethnicities. Back in 1924, Virginia passed the Racial Integrity Act. And in the 1930s, the Motion Picture Production Code (known as the Hays Code), explicitly stated that the depiction of "miscegenation...is forbidden." Fundamentalist preacher Jerry Falwell warned that interracial couples would eventually "destroy" the white race. Today, however, support for interracial unions is as high as 86% — a stark contrast from the 4% approval that existed in 1958. Today, what many of us celebrate as a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society, would be considered nightmarish to our unenlightened visitors from the past.

Same-sex marriages

Opposition to same-sex marriage can be seen as a kind of futureshock. For many, this is dystopia now. This is social progress that's happening right before our eyes, and there's a significant segment of society that's still reacting to it. Recent polls suggest that 48% of Americans favor same-sex marriages, which is up 17% from 2004. This burgeoning sentiment is a far cry from where things were at only a few decades ago. Living memory still recalls a time when homosexuality was considered a mental disorder that required treatment. Gays used to get beaten on all too frequent basis while much of society turned a blind eye. Unlike the opposition to interracial marriages, which was/is driven by racism and the fear of "racial contamination," the opposition to same-sex marriages is rooted in religious injunctions. Most homophobes, whether they're willing to admit it or not, have fears that are fueled by religious inhibitions. In turn, same-sex marriages are seen as a threat to traditional marriages and so-called family values. And as a result, some critics worry that traditional marriages — what is a spiritual union — is being demeaned or undermined. What many fail to understand, however, is that marriage is a civil concern — one that should be supported by the laws of the nation and the imperative to separate church from state.

Widespread irreligiosity

Speaking of religion, there was a time not too long ago when virtually everyone took the time to go and worship at their local church, synagogue, or mosque. These institutions served as the backbones of communities — the go-to place to meet and greet the neighbors. Moreover, religion used to serve as the alpha and omega of moral, existential and metaphysical thought for the vast majority of the population. Very few people, particularly before the European Enlightenment, would dare consider that there was something questionable about Scripture. Today, religion is still widely practiced — no doubt — but it's starting to wither away. In Europe, church attendance is at an all-time low, and almost non-existent in some countries. China is essentially a country of a billion atheists. And despite the in-your-face presence of the Bible Belt, Americans are steadily rejecting religion as a belief system. A recent Pew study showed that 1 in 5 Americans are now religiously unaffiliated — the highest this number has ever been in the country's history. There's no reason to think that this isn't part of a larger trend. But from the perspective of the past, this would most certainly be considered a social and spiritual disaster. The steady encroachment of godlessness, they would argue, can only result in the decay of society, the evaporation of moral values, and a countless number of souls condemned for all eternity.

In-vitro fertilization

For many bioconservatives, July 25 1978 is a day that will live in infamy — a day that likely kickstarted our descent towards a Huxlian Brave New World. For it was on that day that Louise Brown was born — the first child to be conceived through in-vitro fertilization. And indeed, back at the dawn of the biotechnology era, many commentators were warning of a slippery slope that would lead us to the complete dehumanization of humanity. Our hubris, they argued, has led us to tamper with Mother Nature and "play God." In-vitro fertilization — the insemination of a human egg outside of the womb — was seen as the first step down that path. Activist Jeremy Rifkin, like many others, warned that these "test tube babies" would grow up to be psychologically "monstrous." He said: "What are the psychological implications of growing up as a specimen sheltered not by a warm womb but by steel and glass, belonging to no one but the lab technician who joined together sperm and egg? In a world already populated with people with identity crises, what's the personal identity of a test-tube baby?" The Jeremy Rifkin of 1978 would have been mortified to learn that by 2012 over 5 million IVF "monsters" with identity crises had been born globally, and that 200,000 are born each year in the United States alone.

Factory work

We don't give it much thought today, but factory work as seen through the eyes of someone living before the Industrial Revolution would have seemed indescribably nightmarish. Prior to the 19th century, most people worked on farms or as artisans. The idea that humans could be automated and made to work as veritable machines on assembly lines would have seemed like the ultimate expression of dehumanization. And indeed, in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, conditions were deplorable; men (and some children) were overworked, underpaid, and made to work in dangerous or contaminated environments. In reaction to this social and personal disruption, workers organized by forming labor unions and supporting radical left wing politics. Today, conditions aren't nearly so bad in most parts of the developed world — but megafactories in China defy description. Workers there are hyper-regimented, exploited, and alienated. Many don't even know what they're producing. The images of Chinese at work in these factories can only be described as Orwellian.

Living under the threat of a nuclear apocalypse

If you were to go back in time and tell a random person that we'd eventually have the technology to annihilate every person on the planet with a press of a button they'd think that we had gone completely mad. That's the kind of power, they would surely argue, that should only reside in the hands of God. And indeed, the transition to an atomic-capable civilization was an uneasy one to say the least. The Cold War was a surreal existential adjustment period characterized by the wail of air raid sirens, duck-and-cover drills, and the intrusive voice from our television sets telling us that "this is a test of the emergency broadcast system..."

Lack of privacy

Privacy is dead. We like to think that it's not, but it's dead. It had been dying for quite a while, but the death blows came with the advent of the internet and the introduction of the Patriot Act — a sweeping and reactionary piece of legislation that has made life considerably easier for law enforcement officials. As it stands, the FBI can unilaterally search email, telephone, and financial records without a court order. Law enforcement agencies can take a look at business records, including library and financial reports. Patriot Act aside, our internet activities are meticulously tracked by third parties, and security cameras track our every movement. A visitor from the past, accustomed to anonymity, would likely be baffled at how comfortable we've become as participants in the surveillance state. But it's not as if this wasn't predicted; futurists like David Brin and Jamais Cascio have argued for years that this was coming — and that we should welcome it.

The obesity epidemic

One of the first things a visitor from the past would notice about our society is that virtually everyone is fat. As is stands, more than one-third of all Americans are now obese. And given just how freakishly rare obesity was prior to the 20th century, the sight would have no doubt seemed surreal. They'd also be astonished to learn how much disposable income is left over after all our grocery shopping is done, and the astounding amount of sugar we consume each year (156 pounds of added sugar). Our visitor would no doubt wonder how such overeating could lead to a self-inflicted epidemic that has resulted in a public health disaster — one that has led to an increase in Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and metabolic syndrome.

Top image. Inset images: AP, oliveromg/shutterstock, govicinity/shutterstock, Gladskikh Tatiana/shutterstock, via, Vladislav Gajic/shutterstock, Suzanne Tucker/shutterstock.

Back in 1982, David Martin discovered the remains of a pigeon while renovating his chimney. Upon closer inspection he noticed that the dead bird had a red capsule attached to its leg, what has now been confirmed as a top secret message that was en route to an unknown location in Britain during World War II. Ignored for three decades, code experts are now trying to decrypt the secret message. 

Though rarely discussed, pigeons were widely used during the war as an old-school way to transmit messages. Among the benefits, it allowed the military to send secret information without having to broadcast it live over the radio - what could often be subject to analysis by the enemy (both in terms of content and the measurement of heightened radio activity - an indication of potential military action). And in fact, an astounding number of pigeons were used in this capacity, with estimates reaching as high as 250,000.

But not all the birds made it to their destinations. Many were shot by snipers who were tasked with this very job. Some simply died of natural causes. And in the case of military carrier pigeon 40TW194, it died mysteriously while in the vicinity of Martin's chimney.

The secret message, which has now been sent to Britain's top-secret GCHQ listening post and decoding department, must have been important. Preliminary analysis of the code reveals that it was one of two pigeons carrying an identical message. But like 40TW194, the other pigeon, named 37DK76, also never made it to its destination.

As for message's point of origin and destination, historians have already begun to speculate.

Given the location of Martin's home in Bletchingley, it's quite possible that the bird was coming in from the site of the Allied landings at the Normandy beaches on June 6 1944; Winston Churchill had imposed a radio blackout during the landings. It's possible, therefore, that it was heading to Bletchley Park - home of Alan Turing and the Allied cryptographers. And interestingly, it was also the location of a MI6 pigeon loft.

Historians also theorize that 40TW194 was going to the headquarters established by the British field marshal Bernard Law Montgomery at Reigate right before the D-Day landings - a location that's only five miles from Martin's home.

Speaking through the Bletchley Park press release, curator Colin Hill noted that the pigeon may have been on a very important mission: ‘"We suspect it was flying back to Monty's HQ or Bletchley Park from Nazi occupied Normandy during the invasion. I can only presume it became exhausted and attempted to rest on an open chimney -– where it valiantly perished."

He added that pigeons routinely accompanied both ground forces and Royal Air Force bomber crews who were told to use the birds to report back their positions if they crash-landed in hostile terrain.

It's quite possible, therefore, that the pigeon was on a life-saving mission.

In fact, military carrier pigeons were known for doing just that. In 1943, an American pigeon named G.I. Joe brought a message that arrived just in time to save the lives of at least 100 Allied soldiers from being bombed by their own planes. Another bird, called Mary of Exeter, was used to send top secret messages and received 22 stitches after being injured during the course of her duties. Consequently, many pigeons (and other animals) were honored for heroism - including the awarding of the Dickin Medal, the highest decoration for animal valor.

Sadly, 40TW194's message was never received - and it may have cost lives.

Needless to say, a lot of people will be interested to know the content of the coded message - and thankfully, it's not expected to be a big problem. Using World War II logbooks, Colin is working with the GCHQ team to crack the code.

Early work shows that the message was sent to X02 (what is believed to be Bomber Command) at 16:45 and contains 27 codes, each made up of five letters or numbers. The sender's signature at the bottom of the message reads Serjeant W Stot.

Sources: Bletchley Park, NYT.

Images: NYT, Telegraph.

It's something that many of us think about from time to time: Is an orgasm the same whether it is experienced by a male or a female? It's a fair question given that men and women tend to follow different arousal patterns during sex — and by virtue of the fact that we have different parts. But as the science is increasingly showing, there may be more similarities to our orgasms than we have supposed — particularly as far as the brain is concerned. But just how this translates to the actual subjective experience of orgasms across the two genders remains a mystery.

Indeed, as Kayt Sukel notes in Big Think, brain scans are finally giving neuroscientists a way to study orgasms at the cognitive level. Like any physical sensation, it's the brain that generates those feelings.

Sukel points to an older study by Janniko Georgiadis at the University of Groningen in which he compared the cerebral blood flow in both men and women both during genital stimulation and at the point of orgasm by using positron emission tomography (PET):

They found significant differences in activation patterns during arousal but not orgasm itself. And they concluded that those differences were likely due to differences in our anatomical equipment—which, when you think about it, makes a lot of sense. What works on arousing a penis may not be quite as magical when applied to a clitoris. (Though, different strokes for different folks...)

Other studies have measured the intensity, frequency, and durations of pelvic muscle contractions (measured with a pressure sensitive anal probe) of males and females during masturbation. The results showed considerable similarities in the pattern of these contractions between males and females.

According to psychologist Alan Fogel, there may be a very good reason why men and women evolved near-identical orgasms:

Shared experiences of emotionally intense moments enhance our own and our partner's body sense. When we observe someone crying, we feel sadness for and with them. When we observe someone else having an orgasm, regardless of gender, it enhances the desire, readiness for, and experience of our own orgasms. If orgasms were radically different in males and females, this would be much less likely to happen.

More recently, however, scientist have turned to higher resolution scanning, namely fMRIs — and interestingly, while they're once again showing similarities in male and female orgasms, they're also revealing some subtle differences. Sukel describes a recent study by Nan Wise and Barry Komisaruk:

As part of their series of studies on the time course of orgasm—that is, the chain of activation of brain components leading up to, during, and after orgasm—they compared men and women participants self-stimulating to orgasm. Using fMRI and then a graphical causal modeling analysis technique, they compared effective connectivity, or how blood flow traveled between key areas of the brain like the cerebellum, the paracentral lobule, the nucleus accumbens and the frontal pole (areas that had been identified as important to orgasm in previous studies), as individuals self-stimulated to orgasm.

Their preliminary results showed that both men and women experience significant activation of the frontal pole feeding back to the paracentral lobule, an area that processes sensorimotor signals from the lower extremities at the point of orgasm. In other words, the frontal cortex (what is involved in planning and inhibition) is channeling back to an area that's responsible for processing sensation. Wise and Komisaruk aren't entirely sure what that means, as it could imply a connection to emotional release, control, and even fantasies.

But that said, the researchers did observe slightly different activation patterns, both between sexes and individuals — a possible indication that qualitative and quantitative differences may exist at the individual level. So, while the preliminary evidence points to more similarities than differences in the male and female orgasm, it's fair to say that more research in this area clearly needs to be done.

You can read Kayt Sukel's entire article at Big Think.

Top image via andrea michele piacquadio/shutterstock.com.

Unlike most countries in the developed world, the United States is still deeply mired in the abortion debate — a hotly contested issue that divides the nation and still holds the potential to tip the balance at election time. But while the Religious Right and elements of the Republican Party are undoubtedly the prime instigators in keeping the debate alive, there are other factors as well — including an unscientific notion of when life truly begins.

As an outside observer, I have to admit that the ongoing abortion debate in the United States seems odd — if not a bit anachronistic. Here in Canada, where abortion has been legal since 1969, conservative governments have tried to rekindle the issue at various times, but are quickly forced to back down after the inevitable public backlash; for most Canadians the abortion debate is over and done with.

This may have something to do with a well established sense of women's rights in this country — but it may also be on account of diminished religiosity. In Canada, politicians re-introduce the abortion issue at their own peril, due to our general distaste for politicians who openly espouse their religious views. This is clearly not the case in the US, of course — a factor that certainly helps to explain why the abortion debate can't seem to go away.

Religion, Access, Contraception

Abortion as an issue is remarkably complex and dynamic. It touches upon women's rights, politics, law, ethics, and many other areas — but one domain that's particularly sensitive to abortion is religion.

Indeed, a quick scan of countries in which abortion is either prohibited or severely limited reveals a list of nations whose populations are still very pious. In Europe, for example, Catholic countries like Ireland, Poland, Portugal, and Spain still limit abortions to only those cases in which the mother's health is in question. And like the US, the abortion debate in these countries is still very much on the top of the political agenda.

Similarly, access to abortion is also constrained in a number of South American and African countries. In these regions, religion remains a contributing factor — but so too is access to contraceptives (whether it be on account of religious injunctions against their use or outright inaccessibility).

And indeed, it's important to note that abortions are declining globally, mostly on account of better access to contraceptives. The connection is near incontrovertible; a recent study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology revealed that abortion rates plummet in those regions where contraceptives are provided at no cost.

Conversely, the abortion debate has all but disappeared in countries like Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Japan. And in fact, a recent gallup poll ranked these countries as among the lowest 30 nations in world in terms of public religiosity. The United States, on the other hand, was ranked as the 44th most religious nation alongside such countries as Kosovo and Argentina.

What makes the US unique, however, is in how it compares to other rich-world populations. When considering developed nations exclusively, the median proportion of the population who say religion is important in their daily lives is at 38%. In America, this figure is as high as 65%. The US, when compared to other developed nations, is astonishingly devout.

Few would argue that there isn't some sort of connection between this religious sensibility and the ongoing abortion debate in the US.

And it's also no mystery as to why abortion and religion make for poor bedfellows. Christians in particular believe in the existence of the soul, and by virtue of this, insist that life begins at the point of conception. Abortion, as seen through the eyes of the devout, is nothing less than murder — an egregious usurpation of God's will — not to mention a capital offense. It's this fundamental conviction that has led to the wide scale mobilization and politicization of the pro-life movement in those countries where religion still matters.

From Political Religion to Political Science

Indeed, the abortion debate has become remarkably politicized in the US. As of late, the Republican Party has rekindled the issue, much to the chagrin of its more liberal and libertarian elements (not to mention a good portion of its female constituency). In addition, grassroots Tea Party activists have also worked aggressively in their attempts to knock down existing abortion laws.

And interestingly, unlike the way politics is done in most other developed nations, American politicians are not afraid to wear their religiosity on their sleeve — and in fact, it's practically a requirement. A good example of this came recently when Indiana Republican Richard Mourdock argued that if a woman became pregnant from rape that it's what God intended. While there was certainly shock and outrage at the comment, it was by no means a career ending statement. And in fact, he may have even earned some accolades (and votes) from his religious supporters for being so forthright.

Try this in another country, however, and one risks political suicide. Canada provides another good example. Its Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is a devout member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance — yet the realities of Canadian political life has largely forced him to remain tight-lipped about his religious views (not that it prevents him from tabling policies that are consistent with his spiritual convictions).

Now this being said, not all Republicans are willing to use the religion card in the struggle against abortion. In a country that has claimed to have separated church from state, it's often not wise to attack abortion by using religious arguments alone. So instead, some politicians have learned to use backdoor tactics and outright misinformation.

The efforts of Minnesota's Michelle Bachmann provide a good example. Bachmann has tried to undermine support for abortion laws by turning it into a money issue. She recently referred to Planned Parenthood as the "LensCrafters of big abortion" and slammed the federal government for injecting $363 million into the organization. But as a 2009 report indicates, none of this money can be used to fund abortions — of which only 3% of its total budget make up the organization's abortion services anyway.

Other backhanded attempts involve enacting laws that limit or regulate abortion, such as laws requiring parental consent for minors, parental notification laws, spousal mutual consent laws (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), laws that require abortions to be performed in hospitals exclusively (i.e. no clinics), laws that enforce waiting periods, and so on. Other attempts include limiting state funding, and forcing women to read pro-life literature prior to consenting to an abortion.

And most recently, some Republicans have tried to co-opt science itself. The latest trend along these lines is the suggestion that fetuses have what's called "pain sentience" — the psychological capacity for physical suffering. The basic argument is that the capacity for pain is the ultimate arbiter of things, and that the ability of a fetus to feel pain should be enough to prohibit abortions.

This idea has taken off in some districts, including Nebraska and Idaho where legislators have sketched out respective Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection acts. And to bolster their case, these politicians are citing neuroscientific findings of pain sentience.

Mitt Romney is one such politician. Last year he wrote a piece for the National Review in which he said, "I will advocate for and support a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion."

But as the misguided war against Darwinian evolution has shown, scientific "arguments" propped-up by religious interests are very rarely on point — and this issue is another good example. While the capacity for pain is a requirement for personhood (an issue we'll get to in just a bit), it is not sufficient. As William Egginton recently wrote in the New York Times, "As pain sentience does not serve as a basis for legal prohibitions in general (or else mousetraps and deer hunting would be prohibited), the statutes' real purpose is to use potential evidence of pain sentience in fetuses to indicate the presence of something far more compelling - namely, personhood."

But more to the point, (actual) scientific research has shown that a preterm fetus cannot experience pain. A 2005 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that "Evidence regarding the capacity for fetal pain is limited but indicates that fetal perception of pain is unlikely before the third trimester."

It's Really About Personhood

Yet, setting aside religion, politics, and suspect science, there's also the issue of Roe v. Wade, the important precedent that makes abortion permissible in the US. Its specific wording states that abortions are allowable only up until the point of viability — that crucial point when a baby can survive on its own outside the womb.

While some might argue that this indirectly confers personhood status at the time of viability, further scrutiny reveals that it does not. As a thought experiment, suppose that medical technologies will continue to push back the limits of how early preterm births can happen. As it stands, some of the earliest preemies have survived as early as 24 weeks, with some documented cases as low as 21 weeks. So, does this mean that viability (or is that personhood?) should start at 21 weeks?

Moreover, because it's not unreasonable to assume that medical technologies will continue to improve the survival rates of premature births, it's possible that the age of viability could be reduced even further — what would thus require women to get abortions far earlier than the current standard maximum limit (20 weeks). The situation will get even more absurd if and when artificial wombs are developed in which the entire gestational period can take place outside of a biological womb.

This is why the abortion debate so desperately needs to settle around the personhood issue. Unless the dialogue switches from viability to personhood, Roe v. Wade may not stand the test of time.

Unfortunately, this is not going to be easy. As it stands, there is no agreed upon definition or criteria for personhood. And it's doubtful that consensus will ever be reached on the matter.

Christians will forever insist that ensoulment is the defining factor, and that an embryo is a person. Moreover, they will not be swayed by arguments from pro-lifers who raise completely separate issues, such as women's rights. And in fact, this points to a fundamental problem in the abortion debate; oftentimes, the opposing camps aren't actually engaging in conversation. Too many times they just talk past one another.

Another angle on personhood is the idea of potentiality — that it's the potential of an entity that confers moral status. But this doesn't work either. If a clump of embryonic cells can be considered a person because it has the potential to be a person, then logically speaking a clump of stem cells would also have to be considered a nascent human; recent studies have shown that pluripotent cells can be coaxed into reproductive cells. Moreover, the idea of confering personhood status to an abstract entity is deeply problematic unto itself.

Many bioethicists, on the other hand, consider physiological and cognitive attributes like cortical activity (an indication of conscious awareness), emotional response (like responding to a parent's movement or voice), and the startle reflex (a response to the environment).

So, for example, 53% of fetuses between 26 and 27 weeks display startle reaction, but none prior to that. By consequence, current laws which state (either explicitly or implicitly) that personhood begins at the third trimester may actually be spot on. Clearly, further work needs to be done to reach scientific consensus as to when personhood truly emerges.

In the meantime, Americans who are interested in upholding abortion laws should concentrate on these aspects of the debate. Logically sound arguments backed by science (and supported by the courts) will forever trump religious superstitions and opportunistic politicians.

Image: Allen Graham - PDImages / Shutterstock.com. Inset images via Guardian, BBC/UN, StemCells.

The idea of treating genetic diseases by replacing a defective gene with a working copy has been around for nearly three decades, but the road to creating an actual therapy that's safe and effective has proven to be a long and difficult one. Now, thanks to the efforts of the Dutch biotech company uniQure, the Western world's first therapy to correct errors in a person's genetic code has finally been approved. While the therapy is extremely expensive and limited to a rare genetic disorder, the approval is set to open the door for similar interventions.

The drug is called Glybera and it's intended for the treatment of a genetic disorder called Lipoprotein Lipase Deficiency (LPLD), a rare, inherited disease that makes it impossible to metabolize fatty acids found in blood — what results in inflammation of the pancreas. The disorder affects about 1 in every one million people.

And as mentioned, the new drug ain't cheap: Each treatment is expected to cost 1.2 million euros ($1.6 million) per patient — what is a new cost record for a single medicine. Despite this, the company feels justified in giving the product such an exorbitant price. Speaking to Reuters, company CEO Joern Aldag argued that more treatments will soon follow, and that the high price was warranted given that the therapy restored natural body function, and not just a short-term fix.

"This provides higher benefit to patients than the classical protein replacement strategy and this is why we think we should be fairly and adequately compensated," he told Reuters.

Needless to say, it will be difficult (if not impossible) for patients to afford these treatments, which is why uniQure will be working with European governments on potential pricing strategies (including payment plans). The European Commission gave uniQure its consent to start selling Glybera next summer.

Glybera works by introducing a normal, healthy LPL gene into the patient's body so that it can make functional LPL protein. The LPL gene is packaged in a delivery vector derived from adeno-associated virus (AAV), serotype 1, which has a natural propensity towards muscle cells.

The company is also currently working on regulatory approval for Glybera in Canada and the United States.

In future, it's thought that similar therapies will be able to remedy other genetic disorders, including Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disorder (the so-called "bubble boy" disease).

It's worth noting that Glybera is not the world's first gene therapy drug. Back in 2003, China's Shenzhen SiBiono GeneTech won approval for a gene therapy drug for head and neck cancer (though not for use in Europe or North America).

Sources: Reuters, uniQure.

Image: Biomedical Beat National Institute of General Medical Science (NIGMS).

Famed linguist and cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky has suddenly found himself embroiled in a debate about the ongoing quest to develop AI. It all started last year when he spoke at MIT's "Brains, Minds and Machines" symposium when he critiqued AI theorists for adopting an approach more akin to behaviorism. His talk was later countered by Google's Peter Norvig, among others. Now, speaking to the Atlantic in a lengthy interview, Chomsky has further expressed his thoughts on the matter.

Essentially, Chomsky is worried that AI theorists have been focusing too much on what he calls associationist psychology. "It could be — and it has been argued, in my view rather plausibly, though neuroscientists don't like it — that neuroscience for the last couple hundred years has been on the wrong track," he says. Chomsky contends that many AI theorists have gotten bogged down with such things as statistical models and fMRI scans — paths of inquiry that have revealed very little about the inner workings of the brain and how it relates to actual cognitive function.

Instead, says Chomsky, AI developers and neuroscientists need to sit down and describe the inputs and outputs of the problems that they're studying. When considering vision, for example, the first step is to ask what kind of computational task the visual system in carrying out. "And then you look for an algorithm that might carry out those computations and finally you search for mechanisms of the kind that would make the algorithm work," he says, "Otherwise, you may never find anything."

Chomsky continues:

[I]f you want to study, say, the neurology of an ant, you ask what does the ant do? It turns out the ants do pretty complicated things, like path integration, for example. If you look at bees, bee navigation involves quite complicated computations, involving position of the sun, and so on and so forth. But in general what he argues is that if you take a look at animal cognition, human too, it's computational systems. Therefore, you want to look the units of computation. Think about a Turing machine, say, which is the simplest form of computation, you have to find units that have properties like "read", "write" and "address." That's the minimal computational unit, so you got to look in the brain for those. You're never going to find them if you look for strengthening of synaptic connections or field properties, and so on. You've got to start by looking for what's there and what's working..."

This is just a small snippet of the entire interview, which is very much worth the read.

Image via.

Earlier this year a team of palaeontologists came into the possession of what appeared to be a 95 million-year-old skull cap from a previously unknown dinosaur. Further analysis showed that the bone likely belonged to a carcharodontosaurid – an offshoot of the familiar Allosaurus. Given its unique domed skull, the researchers concluded that it was in fact a newly discovered species, one they've decided to name after the demonic Sauron from the Lord of the Ring series.

It's full name is Sauroniops pachytholus, a massive bipedal carcharodontosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period. The paleontologists, Andrea Cau, Fabio Dalla Vecchia, and Matteo Fabbri, felt that the single fragment provided enough evidence to warrant the classification of an entirely new species, and their work describing the new dinosaur has since been published in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

Interestingly, the discovery now adds credence to the hypothesis that a fourth large theropod existed in the Cenomanian of Morocco together with Carcharodontosaurus, Deltadromeus, and Spinosaurus (yes, all four of them at the same time — must have been a nice place to visit).

Unfortunately, however, the limited bone fragment reveals achingly little about Sauron. That said, the researchers speculate that it was more than 30 feet in length, and that it was probably just as large as the Carcharodontosaurus. The palaeontologists are obviously hoping to find more fossils to be absolutely sure.

There's also the prominent bump on its head. Brian Switek from Smithsonian offers some theories as to its function:

Why did such a large theropod have a prominent bump on its head? In other theropod lineages, such as the abelisaurids, bumps, knobs and horns are common forms of ornamentation. Perhaps the same was true for Sauroniops–thanks to Acrocanthosaurus and the sail-backed Concavenator, we know that carcharodontosaurs showed off with visual signals. Then again, Cau and coauthors speculate that the dome might have been a sexual signal or might have even been used in head-butting behavior. I think the last hypothesis is unlikely, especially since we don't know what the microstructure of the dome looks like and there's no evidence of pathology, but it's still a distant possibility.

For now we can only speculate — and hope that more fossils will eventually be discovered.

Check out the studies here and here.

Images via Smithsonian.

At long last, scientists have finally caught a glimpse of one of this planet's most elusive species, the spade-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon traversii). In 2010, a mother and calf washed up on shore in New Zealand, but biologists had initially assumed it was the more commonly known Gray's beaked whale. But subsequent DNA analysis showed it was in fact the previously unseen species.

Prior to this discovery, the spade-toothed beaked whale was only known from two skull fragments and a mandible. The species was first documented in 1872 when bone fragments were found on a remote Pacific island. Apart from that, the only other traces were partial skulls found in New Zealand in the 1950s and Chile in 1986.

It's not often that an animal of this size can go unseen for so long. Marine Biologist Rochelle Constantine of the University of Auckland speculates that they are exceptionally deep divers who forage for squid and small fish and spend very little time at the surface. Constantine also suspects that their deep ocean habitation results in few specimens washing up on shore.

The whales, the largest of which measured 5.3 meters long (about 17 feet), featured a prominent melon (an organ behind the forehead that may allow for echolocation), a dark gray rostrum, a dark eye patch, a while belly, and dark flippers.

Interestingly, the DNA analysis that was done was simply routine. The scientists were taken aback to discover that the mother and calf were not Gray's beaked whales, but in fact the previously unseen species.

The entire study can be found at Current Biology.

Images: New Zealand Government/Current Biology.

There is a groundbreaking new program called the Op Nightingale Archaeological Project that's giving veterans a chance to get involved in meaningful work as they strive to overcome physical injuries and psychological trauma sustained during the war. Recently, a group of these amateur army archeologists uncovered the remains of a lost Liberator Bomber in the UK, highlighting the value of the project as not just a rehabilitative effort, but a genuine scientific one as well.

Working alongside their colleagues from the Royal Air Force, the Op Nightingale team discovered the wreckage of an AL595 B-24 Liberator that crashed into a field on the outskirts of Lyneham, UK, in November 1942. All five air crewmen were killed in the incident, but the exact cause of the crash remains a mystery.

As the UK's Ministry of Defence reports, the RAF's acting Sergeant Graham Moore was tipped to the exact location by a local farmer, and then, with the landowner's consent, initiated a detailed land survey. Not knowing the first thing about archaeology, and to help the RAF with their subsequent excavation, Moore invited the Op Nightingale team. Richard Long reports:

"Being an absolute novice I didn't have a clue what I was doing," said A/Sgt Moore. "I was put in touch with Richard Osgood, of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, who was working with the soldiers on the Salisbury Plain dig."

"They were asked if this was something they might be interested in and they couldn't wait to get involved. The guys are absolutely superb. They have so much information and know all the techniques of how to record different finds. We would not have been able to do this without their help."

Soon after the investigation started the team began to unearth their prizes. First it was ammunition casings and parachute buckles — and then they discovered a 12-foot (3.7 meter) section of fuselage. Surprisingly, they also discovered a Royal Australian Air Force cap.

But just as importantly, these discoveries are also offering the former soldiers an opportunity to reboot their lives. Afghanistan veteran Rowan Kendrick, who is now studying for an archaeology degree, says the program has changed his life:

"Before I deployed to Afghanistan I suffered a mental breakdown," he explained. "I had counselling and psychiatric therapy and a friend in the education centre told me about this.

"I have always been interested in history and archaeology so this was the next step. It is an excellent project and there are so many discoveries to make. But it is not just military-based, we have worked on Roman villas and cemeteries and we look to do something new every time. It helps me take my mind off things. When I'm on a dig I concentrate on that, I'm not stressing out or feeling anxious in any way."

Be sure to read the rest of the article at the MoD, including some more background information on the AL595 B-24 Liberator — and about the discovery of another bomber near the same site.

Images: Graeme Main/MOD.

Czech archaeologists have discovered a 4,500-year-old tomb of a Pharaonic princess named Shert Nebti just south of Cairo. The ancient burial site, which is located at the Abu Sir complex near the famed step pyramid of Saqqara, is surrounded by the tombs of four high officials from the Fifth Dynasty dating to around 2,500 BC. And excitingly, archaeologists now suspect that the area contains other sites just waiting to be unearthed.

Mohammed El-Bialy, who heads the Egyptian and Greco-Roman Antiquities department at the Antiquities Ministry, noted that inscriptions on the four limestone pillars of the Princess' tomb indicate that she is the daughter of King Men Salbo.

The current excavation has also unearthed an antechamber containing the sarcophagi of the four officials and statues of men, women, and a child.

Source and images: Associated Press.

Check out Figaro, a Goffin's cockatoo that was reared in captivity near Vienna. This species of bird is not known for making tools in the wild, so the behavior captured in this video comes as a complete surprise. Figaro can be seen to spontaneously fashion tools from objects like wooden beams and branches to rake in objects out of its reach. His ability to do this — despite any prior knowledge or experience with tools — shows just how complex and adaptable bird intelligence really is.

The observation was made by Alice Auersperg of the University of Vienna, whose study now appears in Current Biology. Auersperg was inspired to conduct the experiment after watching Figaro use a stick to pull in a pebble that had fallen just outside his reach.

Speaking through a release, Auersperg describes what happened next:

To investigate this further we later placed a nut where the pebble had been and started to film. To our astonishment he did not go on searching for a stick but started biting a large splinter out of the aviary beam. He cut it when it was just the appropriate size and shape to serve as a raking tool to obtain the nut.

It was already a surprise to see him use a tool, but we certainly did not expect him to make one by himself. From that time on, Figaro was successful on obtaining the nut every single time we placed it there, nearly each time making new tools. On one attempt he used an alternative solution, breaking a side arm off a branch and modifying the leftover piece to the appropriate size for raking.

The researchers' observation shows that some birds, even those who don't use tools in the wild, have the requisite cognitive and physical skills required to do so. Alongside corvids, cockatoos can now be added to the list of birds capable of spontaneous tool innovation.

Image: University of Oxford.

The idea of harnessing the energy from wind by using ground-based stations linked up to atmospheric turbines is gaining traction. Trouble is, they're expensive, unwieldy, and prey to low winds. Moreover, why go to all the trouble of building massive wind turbines when something much simpler exists? Such is the thinking of German development firms NTS GmbH and Fraunhofer, a partnership that's looking to harness wind energy by sending simple stunt kites into the sky.

Stunt kites, also known as sport kites, are controlled by pilots who maneuver them in the air in a manner similar to how cyclists steer a bike — but instead of steering them with handles, the pilots pull on strings. Most standard kites can fly in winds from three to nine mph (14.5 km/hr) and are made from ultra-light materials. Stunt kites can cost anywhere from $50 to $300.

But as NTS GmbH and Fraunhofer have discovered, the kites' aerial movements can also be used to power a generator, which then converts the kinetic energy into electricity.

To make this happen, the kites are lifted to a height of 300 to 500 meters (about 1,000 to 1,600 feet) and oriented in an optimal way to absorb the strongest winds. Cables then tether the kites to vehicles which are pulled around on a circuit of rails. A generator then converts the kinetic energy of the vehicles into electricity.

Compared to conventional wind farming, this approach offers some definite advantages.

According to the developers, wind speeds at 500 meters can exceed 20 meters per second (65 feet/second). Wind turbines, which can only attain a maximum height of 200 meters, experience winds which are considerably weaker. In fact, Fraunhofer claims that their stunt kites capture winds twice as fast as conventional turbines, but produce eight times the energy. They calculate that eight kites with a combined surface area of up to 300 square meters can equate to 20 conventional 1-megawatt wind turbines.

In addition, winds rarely achieve speeds less than 5 km/h at those heights (resulting in higher reliability and an increased availability of lowland sites), and it costs considerably less to build a system that doesn't require towers each weighting hundreds of tons.

Moving forward, NTS GmbH will design the kites and construct the high-altitude farm, while the IPA will develop the control and measuring technology for the cable winching mechanism and cable store. One of the jobs of the control unit will be to maneuver the kite in either a figure-eight or sine-wave flight pattern. These flight configurations could generate a high pulling power of up to 10 kilonewtons (kN) -– meaning that a 20-square-meter kite has the capacity to pull one ton.

The companies have already tested a 400-meter-long straight track in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. Ideally, they'd like to use a total of 24 kites to generate 120 gigawatt hours a year (GWh/year). Putting this into perspective, a 2-megawatt wind turbine produces around 4 GWh/year. So an NTS system could replace 30 2-megawatt turbines and supply power to around 30,000 homes.

Source and image: Fraunhofer Inset image: via.

Brazilian scientists have announced that they are moving ahead with plans to clone a number of endangered species, a list of animals that includes the jaguar, maned wolf, and black lion. The groundbreaking initiative is being conducted by the Brasilia Zoological Garden in partnership with the Brazilian government's agricultural research agency, EMBRAPA. The researchers claim that they're not looking to repopulate habitats, but to increase the number of captive specimens available. But in the event of extreme cases, they admit that they're prepared to release these cloned animals into the wild.

Researchers at the Brasilia Zoological Garden have selected eight animals for the initiative, most of which are on the the Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The genetic material required to clone these animals were collected over the course of the past two years, including the genomes of the bush dog, coati, collared anteater, gray brocket deer, and bison. The genomes were harvested primarily from dead animals native to the Cerrado, the vast tropical savannah biome that stretches across central Brazil. The researchers say they have already collected 420 samples which are currently being stored in their gene banks.

Now that this initial phase is complete, the next step will be to train the researchers at the zoo.

These animals will not be the first ones to be cloned by EMBRAPA; the government agency was responsible for the birth of a cloned cow in 2001. Since that time, various other animals have been cloned in Brazil, including other cows and horses.

As it stands, existing legislation in Brazil does not adequately set out the regulations for cloning, but a bill is currently under development in the Brazilian senate. Speaking to the Tierramérica news service, EMBRAPA researcher Carlos Frederico Martins noted that, "Research can be freely conducted, but there is little monitoring and control."

And according to Martins, Brazil is not alone when thinking about cloning endangered species, noting that scientists in both South Korea and the United States are also working on similar research.

As to when the first cloned animal is expected to make its appearance, Martins wasn't prepared to say, but suggested that the first specimen was likely to be a maned wolf.

And in terms of motives, EMBRAPA researchers insist that they're not intending to release the animals into the wild — at least not unless they have to. The idea is to keep the animals in captivity for their own use — like restocking zoo populations — without having to pull the animals from their natural habitats. They're hoping to see conservation efforts in which these animals have their numbers restored by natural means.

And indeed, this is likely prudent given that cloned animals would diminish the genetic diversity of wild stocks. Moreover, the long term effects of releasing cloned animals into the wild are completely unknown — including potentially deleterious genetic effects.

But that being said, the researchers admit that in a crisis situation they will be able to "provide reinforcement." As Brasilia Zoo conservationist Juciara Pelles told Tierramérica, "We are still in the phase of developing the technology, so we still don't know if it will be possible to rescue a population in the wild, but we could potentially make it viable again."

The next step for the researchers is to get the formal go-ahead from the relevant agencies, what could take as little as one month.

Source: Tierramérica network via IPS news.

Images: Top: Pal Teravagimov/Shutterstock, colared anteater maned wolf.

Most science fictional and futurist visions of the future tend towards the negative — and for good reason. Our environment is a mess, we have a nasty tendency to misuse technologies, and we're becoming increasingly capable of destroying ourselves. But civilizational demise is by no means guaranteed. Should we find a way to manage the risks and avoid dystopic outcomes, our far future looks astonishingly bright. Here are seven best-case scenarios for the future of humanity.

Above image courtesy Gary Tonge.

Before we get started it's worth noting that many of the scenarios listed here are not mutually exclusive. If things go really well, our civilization will continue to evolve and diversify, leading to many different types of futures.

1. Status quo

While this is hardly the most exciting outcome for humanity, it is still an outcome. Given the dire warnings of Sir Martin Rees, Nick Bostrom, Stephen Hawking, and many others, we may not be around to see the next century. Our ongoing survival — even if it's under our current state of technological development — could be considered a positive outcome. Many have suggested that we've already reached our pinnacle as a species.

Back in 1992, political scientist Francis Fukuyama wrote The End of History and the Last Man in which he argued that our current political, technological, and economic mode was the final stop on our journey. He was wrong, of course; Fukuyama's book will forever be remembered as a neoconservative's wet dream written in reaction to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of the so-called New World Order. More realistically, however, the call for a kind of self-imposed status quo has been articulated by Sun Microsystems cofounder Bill Joy. Writing in his seminal 2004 article, "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us," Joy warned of the catastrophic potential for 21st century technologies like robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech. Subsequently, he called for technological relinquishment — a kind of neo-Luddism intended to prevent dystopic outcomes and outright human extinction. The prudent thing to do now, argued Joy, is to make do with what we have in hopes of ensuring a long and prosperous future.

2. A bright green Earth

Visions of the far future tend to conjure images of a Cybertron-like Earth, covered from pole-to-pole in steel and oil. It's an environmentalist's worst nightmare — one in which nature has been completely swept aside by the onslaught of technology and the ravages of environmental exploitation. Yet it doesn't have to be this way; the future of our planet could be far more green and verdant than we ever imagined. Emerging branches of futurism, including technogaianism and bright green environmentalism, suggest that we can use technologies to clean up the Earth and create sustainable energy models, and even to transform the planet itself.

An early version of this sentiment was presented via Bruce Sterling's Viridian Design Movement, an aesthetic ideal that advocated for innovative and technological solutions to environmental problems. Looking to the far future, the ultimate expression of these ideas could result in a planet far more lush and ecologically diverse than at any other point in its geological history. In such a future, humans could be re-engineered to live in harmony with the environment. All our energy needs would be completely met (a true and sustainable Kardashev I civilization). Using advanced models as our guide, we could also redesign and overhaul the Earth's ecosystem (including the elimination of predation and animal suffering), There's also the possibility for weather control. And we might finally be able to implement defensive measures to counter the effects of natural disasters (like asteroid impacts, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions). Given an Earth like this, why would anyone want to leave?

Image: Thomas Cole's The Arcadian or Pastoral State, 1834.

3. Watched over by machines of loving grace

Regrettably, it's very possible that the technological Singularity will be an extinction event. The onset of radically advanced machine intelligence — perhaps as early as 30 years from now — will be so beyond our control and understanding that it will likely do us in, whether it happens deliberately, accidentally, or by our own mismanagement of the process. But the same awesome power that could destroy us could also result in the exact opposite. It's this possibility — that a machine intelligence could create a veritable utopia for humanity — that has given rise to the Singularitarian movement.

If future AI designers can guide and mould the direction of these advanced systems — and most importantly their goal orientation — it's conceivable that we could give rise to what's called ‘friendly AI' — a kind of Asimovian intelligence that's incapable of inflicting any harm. And in fact, it could also serve as a supremely powerful overseer and protector. It's a vision that was best expressed by Richard Brautigan in his poem, "Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace."

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

4. To boldly go where no one has gone before...

We need to get off this rock and start colonizing other solar systems — there's no question about it. Not only does our ongoing survival depend on it (the ‘all our eggs in one basket problem'), it's also in our nature as a species to move on. Indeed, by venturing beyond our borders and blowing past our biological limitations we have continually pushed our society forward — what has resulted in ongoing technological, social, political, and economic progress. Even today, our limited ventures into space have reaped countless benefits, including satellite technologies, an improved understanding of science — and even the sheer thrill of seeing a high-definition image streamed back from the surface of Mars.

Should our civilization ever be capable of embarking upon interstellar colonization — whether it be through generation ships, self-replicating Von Neumann probes, or an outwardly expanding bubble of digital intelligence, it would represent a remarkable milestone, possibly for all life in the Milky Way. As it stands, we appear to live in a Galaxy devoid of interstellar travelers — a troubling sign that has given rise to the Fermi Paradox. So assuming we can start planet hopping, it might just turn out that we are the first and only civilization to embark upon such a journey. It's something that we must try; the future of life in our Galaxy could depend on it. But more to the point, interstellar colonization would also allow our species to expand into the cosmos and flourish.

5. Inner space, not outer space

Alternatively (or in conjunction with space travel), we could attain an ideal existential mode by uploading ourselves into massive supercomputers. It's an idea that makes a lot of sense; given the computational capacity of a megascale computer, like a Matrioshka Brain (in which the matter of entire planet is utilized for the purpose of computation) or Dyson Sphere (which can capture the energy output of the sun), there would be more to experience in a simulated universe than in the real one itself. According to Robert Bradbury, a single multi-layer Matrioshka Brain could perform about 10⁴² operations per second, while Seth Lloyd has theorized about a quantum system that could conceivably calculate 5x10⁵⁰ logical operations per second carried out on ~10³¹ bits. Given the kinds of simulated worlds, minds, and experiences this kind of power could generate, the analog world would likely appear agonizingly slow, primitive, and exceptionally boring.

6. Eternal bliss

Virtually every religion fantasizes about a utopian afterlife. This only makes sense given the imperfections and dangers of the real world; religion gives people the opportunity to express their wildest projections of an ideal state of existence. Given our modern materialist proclivities, many of us no longer believe in heaven or anything else awaiting us in some supposed afterlife. But that doesn't mean we can't create a virtual heaven on Earth using our technologies.

This is what the British philosopher David Pearce refers to as the Hedonistic Imperative — the elimination of all suffering and the onset of perpetual pleasure. This could be as simple as eliminating pain and negative emotional states, or something far more dramatic and profound, like maximizing the amount of psychological, emotional, and physical pleasure that a single consciousness can experience. Given that we live in a hostile universe with no meaning other than what we ascribe to it, who's to say that entering into a permanent state of bliss is somehow wrong or immoral? While it may be offensive to our Puritan sensibilities, it most certainly appeals to our spiritual and metaphysical longings. A strong case can be made that maximizing the human capacity for pleasure is as valid a purpose as any other.

7. Cosmological transcension

This is basically a placeholder for those far-off future states we can't possibly imagine — but are desirable nonetheless. While this line of speculation tends to venture into the realms of philosophy and metaphysics (not that many of the other items on this list haven't done the same), it's still interesting and worthwhile to consider some super-speculative possibilities. For example, futurist John Smart has suggested that human civilization is increasingly migrating into smaller and smaller increments of matter, energy, space, and time (MEST). Eventually, he argues, we'll take our collective intelligence into a cosmological realm with the same efficiency and density as a black hole — where we'll essentially escape the universe.

Alternatively, forward-looking thinkers like Robert Lanza and James Gardner have speculated about a universe that's meant to work in tandem with the intelligence it generates. This idea, called biocentrism, suggests that the universe is still in an immature phase, and that at some future point, all the advanced intelligent life within it will guide its ongoing development. This would result in a Universe dramatically different from what we live in today. And then there are other possibilities such as time travel and the exploitation of quantum effects. Indeed, given just how much we don't know about what we don't know, the future may be full of even more radical possibilities than we're currently capable of imagining.

Images: Top | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Canadian researchers working to develop the world's first HIV vaccine announced on Tuesday that they have cleared a major hurdle. Initial results from a Phase I trial conducted by scientists at Western University has shown no adverse effects while significantly boosting immunity. The vaccine, which is based on a genetically modified, dead virus, can now progress to the next stage of testing. If all continues to go well, the vaccine could be commercially available in five years.

Since it first made its appearance in the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS has killed more than 28 million people worldwide, with more than 34 million people currently living with the virus infection. While there have been numerous attempts over the years to develop vaccines, nothing has worked to date. But if the early indications of this new vaccine is of any indication, that could soon change.

The vaccine, called SAV001-H, is being developed by Dr. Chil-Yong Kang and his team at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, with the support of Sumagen Canada. The now completed first-phase trial was a randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled study involving infected men and women aged 18 to 50.

Results from the trials showed that patients experienced no adverse effects — no local reactions from the injections, or any signs, symptoms, or reactions to potential toxicities. Given that the early results have shown safety and tolerability in humans, Sumagen and the Western researchers are now ready to embark upon the next phase of clinical trials to study the vaccine's immunity and effectiveness.

"We have proven that there is no safety concern of SAV001-H in human administration and we are now prepared to take the next steps towards Phase II and Phase III clinical trials," said Dr. Dong Joon Kim through the official release. "We are delighted to be one step closer to the first commercialized HIV vaccine."

Interestingly, the vaccine is unique in that it uses a killed whole HIV-a — much like the killed whole virus vaccines that are used to treat polio, influenza, rabies and hepatitis A. A killed vaccine is a vaccine made from a previously virulent or infectious agent that has been inactivated or killed in some way, typically by radiation, heat, or chemicals. In this case, the HIV-1 was genetically engineered so that it is non-pathogenic and can be produced in large quantities.

The phase 2 trial, which will begin next year, will see the vaccine tested on 600 HIV-negative volunteers at high risk for infection. This will allow the researchers to measure immune response. For phase 3, it's hoped that 6,000 HIV-negative volunteers can be recruited from different countries who are also at high risk for infection.

In addition, Sumagen will be looking to collaborate with multi-national biopharmaceutical companies for globalizing clinical trials and commercialization. Sumagen Co. Ltd. is a Korean-based pharmaceutical venture company that was established to fund the development of the HIV vaccine.

Source: Western University.

Image: Alexander Raths/Shutterstock.com.

Back during the late Miocene period, about 9 million years ago, two large and ferocious predators shared the same ecological niche. The two species, the leopard-sized sabre-toothed cat (Promegantereon ogygia) and the much larger, lion-sized bear dog (Machairodus aphanistus), somehow managed to avoid each other and share the resources of the same woodland habitat. Looking to find out how they achieved this apparent harmony, a team of paleontologists took a closer look at their fossilized remains.

To do so, a collaborative research team from the University of Michigan and the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid conducted a series of tests in which stable carbon isotypes of the animals' teeth were analyzed, providing them with a glimpse into their eating habits. The researchers, a team led by Soledad Domingo, used a standard dentist's drill to extract samples from nearly 70 specimens that lived at the time, including 42 herbivores and 27 saber-toothed cats and bear dogs. The remains were found in geological pits near Madrid, Spain.

Once the researchers isolated the carbon from the tooth enamel, they used a mass spectrometer to measure the various organic elements present in the teeth (different animals will leave different isotropic signatures depending on what they eat). Once the various compounds were mapped according to species, the researchers could start to determine who was eating what.

What they discovered was that the saber-tooth cats and bear dogs did in fact hunt the same prey — but that the prey were occupying slightly different portions of habitat (they were able to determine this by looking at the different kinds of plants that the herbivores were eating).

Based on this, the researchers determined that the big cats could avoid the larger bear dogs by using the ample tree cover to conceal themselves while hunting for such things as horses and wild boar. The bear dog, on the other hand, in addition to preying on the same animals, also likely hunted antelope in more open areas that overlapped with the cats' territory, just slightly separated. This way, the two animals could avoid unpleasant encounters with each other — even if there was some overlap in their prey.

Consequently, these two sympatric predator animals could inhabit the same geographic area and partition resources accordingly.

The entire study can be read at Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Top iomage: Mauricio Antón. Bear dog via.

The Royal Society, along with the Academy of Medical Sciences, British Academy, and Royal Academy of Engineering, recently concluded a workshop called Human Enhancement and the Future of Work in which they considered the growing impact and potential risks of augmentation technologies. In their final report, the collaborative team of scientists and ethicists raised serious concerns about the burgeoning trend, and how humanity is moving from a model of therapy to one in which human capacities are greatly improved. The implications, they concluded, should be part of a much wider public discussion.

Specifically, the report expressed concerns about drugs and digital technologies that will allow people to work harder, longer, and smarter. The resulting implications to work and human values, they argue, may not necessarily be a good thing. It's quite possible, they argue, that employers will start to demand (either implicitly or explicitly) that employees "augment" themselves with stimulants such as Aderall.

Similarly, the workshop considered the potential for other smart drugs that can enhance memory and attention, as well as physical and digital enhancements such as cybernetic implants and advanced machine-interfacing technologies.

From the report:

Work will evolve over the next decade, with enhancement technologies potentially making a significant contribution. Widespread use of enhancements might influence an individual's ability to learn or perform tasks and perhaps even to enter a profession; influence motivation; enable people to work in more extreme conditions or into old age, reduce work-related illness; or facilitate earlier return to work after illness.

At the same time however, they acknowledge the potential efficacy and demand for such technologies, prompting the call for open discourse. Again, from the report:

Although enhancement technologies might bring opportunities, they also raise several health, safety, ethical, social and political challenges, which warrant proactive discussion. Very different regulatory regimes are currently applied: for example, digital services and devices (with significant cognitive enhancing effects) attract less, if any, regulatory oversight than pharmacological interventions. This raises significant questions, such as whether any form of self-regulation would be appropriate and whether there are circumstances where enhancements should be encouraged or even mandatory, particularly where work involves responsibility for the safety of others (e.g. bus drivers or airline pilots).

Indeed, the details of the report, while most certainly reasonable, are also exceedingly obvious. In a way, it's as if the workshop participants are late to the show and only now trying to get the word out. And in fact, given the popularity (and rampant misuse) of stimulants such as Provigil and the tremendous interest in nootropics (i.e. cognitive enhancers), the report does seem long overdue.

The panel's recommendations, such as further investigations into ensuring safety, affordability, and accessibility are most certainly welcome. And their suggestion that some of these enhancement technologies — whether they be pharmaceutical, regenerative medicines, or cybernetics — should be regulated by the government is spot on. Given the potential for personal misuse — not to mention the potential exploitation by employers — would most certainly necessitate the need for regulatory oversight.

And perhaps most encouragingly, rather than reacting hysterically and calling for an outright ban on enhancement technologies, the panelists have outlined a roadmap for getting these technologies integrated into our lives in a safe and effective way.

The entire report can be read here (pdf).

Top image via Royal Society et al. Inset image: drugs.com

European astronomers using the HARPS planet searcher have detected a super-Earth orbiting an orange dwarf star that's only 44 light years away. The researchers aren't entirely sure if it's a rocky planet or not, but it does have a number of key features that make it an excellent candidate for life, including its presence within the solar system's habitable zone — and a spin that allows for day and night cycles.

The discovery was made by Mikko Tuomi of the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, and Guillem Anglada-Escude from Germany's University of Goettingen. Their paper is set to be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The planet, called HD 40307g, is about 7 times the mass of Earth and orbits its sun along with five other planets (all of which are too close to their parent star to make them viable candidates for life). It's not clear if the planet is terrestrial — but if it is, it may have the right conditions for habitability.

For one, it is situated within the solar system's Goldilocks zone; the planet features a very reasonable year that is 320 Earth days in length. Consequently, the planet receives a similar amount of solar energy compared to Earth (it gets about 62% of the radiation that Earth gets from the sun). This unto itself is big news as most super-Earths that have been discovered tend to be situated far too close to their parent stars.

And excitingly, HD 40307g is the closest planet to the Earth within a habitable zone that doesn't have a tidally locked orbit — a feature that gives the planet a night and day cycle. While this may not be a prerequisite for life, our example here on Earth shows that in may be a crucial ingredient — what prevents one side of the planet from getting constant exposure to the sun. It may also provide cyclical rhythms that induce geological bio-friendliness.

As noted, the astronomers aren't sure about the planet's composition. But they point out that other observations of nearby hot super-Earths show that a good fraction of the planets in that general cosmological neighborhood are made from rock. Clearly, their future observations should focus on finding out for sure.

Sources: Reuters, Discovery.

Image: J. Pinfield, for the RoPACS network at the University of Hertfordshire.

As if the folks out on America's east coast don't already have enough to worry about after the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy, it now looks like last year's magnitude-5.8 earthquake in Virginia was no anomaly. According to a report presented this week at the Geological Society of America's annual meeting, the highly populated area around Washington, D.C. features a kind of 'perfect storm' of geological factors, that could amplify the effects of seismic activity. And worse still, the area also appears to be susceptible to landslides.

The earthquake, which was centered about 80 miles (130 km) southwest of Washington, was groundbreaking for two reasons: It was felt by more Americans than any previous tremor recorded, and it caused landslides over a wider area than any other recorded quake anywhere in the world. The quake was felt from Florida to southeastern Canada and as far west as Wisconsin.

And as Sid Perkins reports in Nature, seismologists are now worried about the next one:

Because of a variety of factors, including the age, type, temperature and density of the rocks underlying the eastern United States, seismic waves are transmitted more efficiently there than in the western states. The area shaken by the magnitude-5.8 quake was approximately the same size as that rocked by a much larger magnitude-7.2 tremor that struck Baja California in April 2010...

Normally, a 5.8 shouldn't cause the kind of damage that was experienced in Washington and its outlying areas — an earthquake that caused tens of millions of dollars and rang the Washington Monument "like a tuning fork."

According to geologist Donald Wells, this can be attributed to energy accelerations that are caused by this unique set of conditions. And in fact, it's thought that this effect, what the seismologists refer to as a 'preferential concentration and amplification of seismic energy', could create earthquakes that are three to five times more powerful than what would normally be expected when looking at conventional Richter scale measurements — and in a highly populated region of the United States.

Part of the surprise has to do with the fact that seismic activity isn't normally studied on the East coast. But as last year's quake suggests, that will likely change, including the deployment of more seismic scales in the Washington region.

Moreover, the quake triggered rockfalls across an unexpectedly wide area. These landslides weren't large, and they didn't cause any damage or injuries, but the scale was tremendous. Normally, a 5.8 would trigger rockslides across an area 37 miles (60 km) from the epicenter, but this one caused them as far as 152 miles (245 km) away.

Be sure to read Perkins's entire report in Nature.

Top image: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite. Inset image via USGS.