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It may sound like something out of a futuristic science fiction film, but scientists have managed to engineer spinach plants which are capable of sending emails. Through nanotechnology, engineers at MIT in the US have transformed spinach into sensors capable of detecting explosive materials. These plants are then able to wirelessly relay this information back to the scientists.
When the spinach roots detect the presence of nitroaromatics in groundwater, a compound often found in explosives like landmines, the carbon nanotubes within the plant leaves emit a signal. This signal is then read by an infrared camera, sending an email alert to the scientists. This experiment is part of a wider field of research which involves engineering electronic components and systems into plants. The technology is known as “plant nanobionics”, and is effectively the process of giving plants new abilities. “Plants are very good analytical chemists,” explains Professor Michael Strano who led the research. “They have an extensive root network in the soil, are constantly sampling groundwater, and have a way to self-power the transport of that water up into the leaves.” “This is a novel demonstration of how we have overcome the plant/human communication barrier,” he adds....
Meanwhile in Poland they seem to have overcome the mussels/human communication barrier:
The clams filter the water. They check whether the water is polluted or clean
Mussels have been “evaluating” the condition of water for 26 years. It is different with biomonitoring. – Here one organism, in this case a clam, checks many parameters and if there is any chemical contamination, it lets you know. And that’s enough to take a sample, take it to the laboratory and see what it is about: confirm or deny that something is happening to the water. It is a system that ensures safety against pollution and even terrorist activities. The work of the mussels is closely related to what the laboratory does, adds Podolski.
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Pieter Hintjens (1962 - 2016) on Patents
"Patents are a medieval economic tool by which politicians attempt to stimulate trade and wealth by banning innovation and competition in crucial areas of technology"
"House prices fall and bad debt shakes the financial markets across the US and Europe. Bankers look nervously at their portfolios of consumer debt and mortgages. But some analysts say that it's patents, not houses or loans, that will tip the global financial market into crisis"
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The SCP Foundation is a fictional organization documented by the web-based collaborative-fiction project of the same name. Within the website's fictional setting, the SCP Foundation is responsible for locating and containing individuals, entities, locations, and objects that violate natural law (referred to as SCPs).
On the SCP Foundation wiki, the majority of works consist of "special containment procedures": structured documentation that describes an SCP object and the means of keeping it contained.
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H is an abbreviation for Hexen, witches. Created by Heinrich Himmler, the researchers of this special and secret part of the SS studied source material in more than 260 archives and libraries throughout German territory and systematically detailed cases of people prosecuted and punished for witchcraft.
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There's a Curious Effect Urban Trees Might Have on Depression, Study Finds (sciencealert)
Researchers used antidepressant prescriptions rather than self-reporting to gauge the mental health of communities, and then cross-referenced these statistics with the numbers of street trees in each area. They reported that more local foliage within 100 metres (328 feet) of the home was associated with a reduced likelihood of being prescribed antidepressants – findings that could be very useful indeed for city planners, health professionals, and governments.
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The hills look alive, with a giant smiley face - An Oregon forester planted a smiley face of larch trees, it appears every Autumn and will do so for around 50 years.
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The study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body. The main interests of PNI are the interactions between the nervous and immune systems and the relationships between mental processes and health.
Psychoneuroimmunology: laugh and be well
The idea that a positive outlook on life and a cheery disposition help to stave off illness is as old as the hills. Perhaps surprisingly, this adage is much more than an old wives’ tale.
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Over 1.5 BILLION Face Masks Now Believed to Be Polluting Oceans Thanks to 2020
Disposable face masks can take more than 450 years to break down.
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Bio-Politics in the age of Identity Dominance
Sci-fi surveillance: Europe's secretive push into biometric technology (Guardian)
EU science funding is being spent on developing new tools for policing and security. But who decides how far we need to submit to artificial intelligence?
There is a bigger question at stake, concerning who decides what kind of technological development is truly in the public interest. “Do we want to fund these dubious technologies?” he asked. “That’s a decision that should be taken democratically.”
Wirelessly rechargeable soft brain implant controls brain cells (science daily)
Researchers have invented a smartphone-controlled soft brain implant that can be recharged wirelessly from outside the body. It enables long-term neural circuit manipulation without the need for periodic disruptive surgeries to replace the battery of the implant. Scientists believe this technology can help uncover and treat psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as addiction, depression, and Parkinson's.
DARPA-Funded Implantable Biochip to Detect COVID-19 Could Hit Markets by 2021 (mintpress)
An experimental new vaccine developed jointly with the US government claims to be able to change human DNA and could be deployed as early as next year through a DARPA-funded, injectable biochip.
The breakthrough came to a Canadian scientist named Derek Rossi in 2010 purely by accident. The now-retired Harvard professor claimed in an interview with the National Post that he found a way to “reprogram” the molecules that carry the genetic instructions for cell development in the human body.
NSA makes medical intelligence operations a priority (strategic-culture)
In yet another worrying sign that the U.S. National Security Agency has completely gone off the rails, a June 2010 PowerPoint slide, titled «Medical Pattern of Life: Targeting High Value Individual № 1», subtitled «SIGINT Enabling HUMINT / Targeting», describes how NSA is using medical intelligence (MEDINT) to target medical patients.
The Head of Operation Warp Speed & The Gates Foundation Are Pushing BioElectronics & Vaccine Patches (thelastamericanvagabond)
To understand the goals of Operation Warp Speed we must understand Dr. Moncef Slaoui and his connections to Big Pharma and the Gates Foundation.
Is Your DNA Data Safe in Blackstone’s Hands? (neo.life)
The Wall Street giant’s big bet on Ancestry.com drives home the financial realities facing the consumer genomic revolution.
Stanford researchers develop lab-on-a-chip that turns blood test snapshots into continuous movies (stanford)
The new device can continuously sense levels of virtually any protein or molecule in the blood. The researchers say it could be transformative for disease detection, patient monitoring and biomedical research.
First Platoon: A Story of Modern War in the Age of Identity Dominance - Book by Annie Jacobsen
This is a story that starts off close and goes very big. The initial part of the story might sound familiar at first: It is about a platoon of mostly nineteen-year-old boys sent to Afghanistan, and an experience that ends abruptly in catastrophe. Their part of the story folds into the next: inexorably linked to those soldiers and never comprehensively reported before is the U.S. Department of Defense’s quest to build the world’s most powerful biometrics database, with the power to identify, monitor, catalogue, and police people all over the world.
U.S. Intelligence Claims China Wants to Steal Your DNA (gizmodo)
"Indeed, warnings about China’s alleged desire to gobble up the world’s genetic data and use it for nefarious purposes have been ongoing for some time. It’s true that China has an extensive domestic DNA collection program, having launched an initiative to create a national genetics database in 2017. Concerns exist that this data will be used to control trends in medicine and pharmaceuticals, or to engineer bioweapons."
France Says Its Developing Bionic Supersoldiers Because “Everyone Else Is Doing It”
A report published last Tuesday by the French Military Ethics Committee has indicated that the country has begun to develop technology for bionically enhanced soldiers. The report discussed conditions in which devices like implants can be used to improve soldier performance on the battlefield.
“Human beings have long sought ways to increase their physical or cognitive abilities in order to fight wars. Possible advances could ultimately lead to capacity enhancements being introduced into soldiers’ bodies,” the report said, according to the BBC.
