Sunday, October 14, 2007
aspiring to hyperhumanity is integral
for our nature
Today, it's reported that researchers have identified a new batch of genes that slow the aging process. This may not seem to be news, but it's a reminder that the aspiration for immortality is becoming Big Science.
By the way, recalling that Darwin wrote "He who understands baboon would do more towards metaphysics than Locke" (Notebook M, 1838; quoted in Baboon Metaphysics), today's research is about genes shared by worms and humans.
More primordially still, this week's Science presents the complete genome of a species of algae that specifies eukaryotic functions shared by plants and animals. This kind of research into biomechanics has importance for aspirations to design artificial life, as well as for astrobiological venturing. Given the increasing liklihood that life begins easily and easily evolves to higher forms—relatively quickly—doing bioglyphics outstrips metaphysical pretense (that history of conceptualist mythics) scientifically, as real bio-ontology or biontology.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
beach party and clam bake news
A report in today's Nature indicates that 164,000 years ago (far earlier than scientists had supposed), people on a coastal cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean in far-southern Africa cooked shellfish and used make-up. "Shellfish were among the last additions to the human diet before the debut of domesticated plants and animals, [the lead researcher] said. Early hunter-gatherer relatives of modern humans for millions of years dined on only land plants and animals, the scientists said."
For millions of years! That's what's so amazing (old news anewly surprising to re-realize). For millions of years, our species didn't figure much out. Homo had been around for millions of years—millions and millions of years—then whomp!—relatively suddenly—we mind-bogglingly accelerate to become a planetary communications organon self-formatively accelerating, lonely hearts of the cosmos.
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