Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryBiology

comparison-portrait-of-beautiful-woman-with-problem-and-clean-skin-aging-and-youth-concept-beauty-treatment-stockpack-adobe-stock
Comparison. Portrait of beautiful woman with problem and clean skin, aging and youth concept, beauty treatment
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post
Author
News
Date
April 15, 2024
Categorized
Biology, Technology
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Anti-Aging: Is it Possible or a Pipe Dream?

A brand-new video on the topic of anti-aging technologies from the 2023 COSM conference
News
April 15, 2024
1
Biology, Technology

The Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence is pleased to be able to share the videos from the 2023 COSM conference, now available on YouTube. This annual conference explores the status and the future of our era-defining technologies, from artificial intelligence to electric vehicles to new developments in biotech. Today’s video features a discussion on anti-aging, and whether this is even a possibility. Matt Scholz, CEO of Oisin Biotechnologies, leads a discussion with Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis, and Elena Sergeeva, Neuroscientist at Tufts and Harvard and co-founder of Tiamat Labs, about anti-aging biotechnologies — how genetic reprogramming of cells could negate the effects of aging and even allow a person to stay in perfect health indefinitely, essentially Read More ›

human-fetus-with-internal-organs-3d-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Human fetus with internal organs, 3d illustration
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post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
March 5, 2024
Categorized
Biology, Ethics, Medicine and Health
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Confronting IVF: Human Embryos Are Persons With a Right to Life

We humans are persons even when we are non-sentient and dependent on others
Michael Egnor
March 5, 2024
8
Biology, Ethics, Medicine and Health
IVF is the industrial manufacture of human beings. The right to life of the embryo is a bulwark against dehumanization for all. Read More ›
a-dna-testing-kit-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
A DNA testing kit. Generative AI
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 5, 2024
Categorized
Biology, Business and Finance, Medicine and Health
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Why Is 23andMe — the Hot Gene Testing Startup — Now Worthless?

Birthed in Silicon Valley among high-tech go-getters, it should still be steaming along, right? But traditional bedrock business realities cursed it at its birth
Denyse O'Leary
February 5, 2024
5
Biology, Business and Finance, Medicine and Health

Embattled genetic testing outfit 23andMe had a customer base of 14 million for its home DNA testing kits. Thus, many of us know at least someone who has discovered a partial Mongolian, West African, or even Neanderthal ancestry via the famous “spit kit.” The 2006 startup, birthed in Silicon Valley and riffing off the Human Genome Project (2000), had a dazzling “the future is now!” launch. The founder, Anne Wojcicki (pronounced as if “Wojisky”), was the daughter of “Godmother of Silicon Valley” Esther Wojcicki and sister of YouTube’s former CEO, Susan Wojcicki. For a time, she was married to Google co-founder Sergei Brin and had plenty of billionaire backers. Thus 23andMe raised $1.4 billion in funding. So why has the Read More ›

male-and-female-gender-symbols-on-blackboard-stockpack-adobe-stock
male and female gender symbols on blackboard
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 28, 2024
Categorized
Biology, Censorship, Evolution
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The Cancel Culture Mob Comes For the Evolutionary Biologists

Denyse O'Leary
January 28, 2024
5
Biology, Censorship, Evolution
Science is as dependent on the concept of public truth as the great religions are. Thus, when private truth rapidly gains power, it is just as vulnerable. Read More ›
escherichia-coli-e-coli-bacterial-strains-health-and-food-safety-microcosm-organismal-and-human-biology-science-and-research-stockpack-adobe-stock
Escherichia Coli , E. Coli Bacterial Strains, Health and Food Safety microcosm, organismal and human biology science and research.
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post
Author
News
Date
January 26, 2024
Categorized
Biology, Natural Intelligence
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Bacteria Have Memories? Well, That’s What Some Researchers Found…

News
January 26, 2024
3
Biology, Natural Intelligence
According to the researchers, they can form and pass along iron-based memories to later generations of cell division. Read More ›
3d-rendering-of-human-cell-or-embryonic-stem-cell-microscope-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d rendering of Human cell or Embryonic stem cell microscope background.
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post
Author
News
Date
January 24, 2024
Categorized
Biology, Global Technology, Information Theory
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How Life Differs From Matter: It Intentionally Uses Information

News
January 24, 2024
3
Biology, Global Technology, Information Theory
Information is immaterial by nature which makes it difficult to predict. Read More ›
surreal-brain-tree-in-a-desolate-land-and-a-determined-person-watering-it-using-a-sprinkling-can-man-splashes-the-green-shrub-using-a-water-pot-taking-care-of-mental-health-human-mind-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Surreal brain tree in a desolate land and a determined person watering it using a sprinkling can. Man splashes the green shrub using a water pot, taking care of mental health. Human mind concept
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 9, 2024
Categorized
Biology, Philosophy of Mind, Physics, Science
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A Biochemist Begins To Sense the Limits of Materialism

William Reville seems both confident and uncertain at the same time that science can crack the problem of consciousness
Denyse O'Leary
January 9, 2024
4
Biology, Philosophy of Mind, Physics, Science
Materialist science has got about as far as it can go and progress will only be made if we are willing to contemplate non-materialist approaches. Read More ›
blue-moon-super-full-moon-august-moon-bright-stars-the-background-full-of-stars-in-the-galaxy-stockpack-adobe-stock
Blue Moon. Super Full moon august. Moon bright. Stars. The background full of stars in the galaxy.
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 12, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Evolution, Philosophy of Mind
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Only an Immaterial Mind Can Ask “How Does Life Work?”

Science writer Philip Ball, facing cancer surgery, struggles to find meaning and purpose in a wholly material world. He is looking in the wrong place
Denyse O'Leary
November 12, 2023
5
Biology, Evolution, Philosophy of Mind
Materialists want to banish meaning and purpose from science because they know perfectly well that only an immaterial mind could recognize meaning in anything. Read More ›
child-in-womb-unborn-little-baby-in-utero-of-mother-development-of-human-fetus-during-pregnancy-family-planning-pregnancy-planning-concept-endure-pregnancy-and-easy-childbirth-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Child in womb, unborn little baby in utero of mother, development of human fetus during pregnancy, family planning pregnancy planning concept, endure pregnancy and easy childbirth, generative AI
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 17, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind
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Researchers: Conscious Experience May Occur Near Time of Birth

Researchers generally stress that the unborn child’s brain is in a rapid, ongoing, and little understood state of development
Denyse O'Leary
October 17, 2023
4
Biology, Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind
We can’t know for sure but increasingly, the evidence favors assuming that some sort of mental development is possible. Read More ›
bone-cell-structure-unveiling-the-building-blocks-of-bones-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Bone Cell Structure: Unveiling the Building Blocks of Bones - Generative AI
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 23, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Panpsychism, Philosophy of Mind, Theism
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Can Cells Learn? Can Molecules Communicate? What We Are Learning…

We are learning that the world of life is full of intelligence that we just did not know about
Denyse O'Leary
September 23, 2023
7
Biology, Panpsychism, Philosophy of Mind, Theism
These discoveries fuel panpsychism at the expense of materialism. But panpsychism’s downfall is that it cannot address an intelligence that is beyond nature. Read More ›
close-up-image-of-a-human-cell-nucleus-with-chromatin-strands-cytology-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Close-up image of a human cell nucleus with chromatin strands, cytology Generative AI
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 18, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Information Theory
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Can Information Be Separated From Intelligence? Part 3

Theoretical biologist Barbieri’s practical dilemma is that a popular, dominant idea like “life is just chemistry” need not be proved, only insisted on
Denyse O'Leary
August 18, 2023
6
Biology, Information Theory
Fundamentally, Barbieri wants a new information-friendly paradigm without dispensing with the old no-information one. But no one can ride two horses at once. Read More ›
anasazi-ruins-in-mesa-verde-stockpack-adobe-stock
Anasazi Ruins in Mesa Verde
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 12, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Chemistry, Information Theory, Philosophy
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Can Information Be Separated From Intelligence? Part 2

Theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri envisions life’s origin in terms that only make sense if we assume life is the work of an intelligent agent
Denyse O'Leary
August 12, 2023
6
Biology, Chemistry, Information Theory, Philosophy
Although Barbieri depicts the origin of life as the production of “artefacts,” he certainly does not see himself as an intelligent design theorist. Read More ›
blue-human-dna-strand-surrounded-by-dna-structure-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Blue Human DNA Strand Surrounded by DNA Structure. Generative AI
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 9, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Chemistry, Information Theory, Philosophy
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Can Information Be Separated From Intelligence? Part 1

Theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri finds that many biologists see information in life forms — biological information — as something that “does not really belong to science.”
Denyse O'Leary
August 9, 2023
6
Biology, Chemistry, Information Theory, Philosophy

In 2016, University of Ferrara theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri wrote a rather interesting open access paper on a key philosophical conflict in biology: Is life only chemistry or is it chemistry plus information? In it, he says that many biologists see information in life forms — biological information — as something that “does not really belong to science.” How did they get there from here? Author of Code Biology: A New Science of Life (Springer, 2015), Barbieri offers a history, a critique, and a proposed solution. In this three-part series, I will look at all three elements. First, the history. Molecular biology understands genes as transferring linear sequences of information to proteins that carry out instructions. That’s information as it Read More ›

3d-rendering-of-human-cell-or-embryonic-stem-cell-microscope-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d rendering of Human cell or Embryonic stem cell microscope background.
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post
Author
Wesley J. Smith
Date
August 1, 2023
Categorized
Biology
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Scientists Close to Creating Human Embryos from Stem Cells

The “anything goes” ethical peril in biotechnology is all too real
Wesley J. Smith
August 1, 2023
5
Biology
Once again, biotechnology is racing ahead of our capacity to intellectually digest what is happening. Read More ›
a-green-sprout-sprouts-from-the-microprocessor-a-symbol-of-a-new-startup-or-business-in-the-it-field-of-green-technologies-or-biotechnologies-a-living-beginning-in-computers-and-artificial-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
A green sprout sprouts from the microprocessor. A symbol of a new startup or business in the IT field of green technologies or biotechnologies. A living beginning in computers and artificial ai
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 29, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Evolution, Language, Philosophy, Religion, Theism
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“Emergence”: The College Level Version of “We Don’t Know How”

The word often permits the improbable to be considered probable for the purposes of sounding like science without providing any
Denyse O'Leary
July 29, 2023
6
Biology, Evolution, Language, Philosophy, Religion, Theism
No day that we can’t provide materialist explanations for everything can even be contemplated and that is where “emergence” stands bravely in the gap. Read More ›
pipette-adding-fluid-to-one-of-several-test-tubes-stockpack-adobe-stock
Pipette adding fluid to one of several test tubes
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post
Author
News
Date
July 28, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Technology
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Killing Disease and Living Longer

There are some exciting things happening in biotech that could lead to life extension
News
July 28, 2023
1
Biology, Technology

In this featured COSM conference video, Matt McIlwain, Managing Director of Madrona Venture Group, moderates a panel on exciting innovations in biotech that are offering new ways to both eliminate diseases and extend life. Panelists include Dr. Steve Meyer, Director of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, and Dr. Jim Tour, Professor of Chemistry at Rice University. We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences and other videos related to artificial intelligence and technology. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There you’ll find several lectures, interviews, and panels dealing with issues that range from economics, Big Tech, and artificial intelligence. Notable speakers include 2022 Kyoto Prize winner Carver Read More ›

cells-under-a-microscope-cell-division-cellular-therapy-3d-illustration-on-a-dark-background-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Cells under a microscope. Cell division. Cellular Therapy. 3d illustration on a dark background
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 11, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Philosophy
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Cognitive Cells? A Newer Challenge to Neo-Darwinism

The origin of self-referential cognition is unknown, say a trio of researchers who call it “biology’s most profound enigma”
Denyse O'Leary
June 11, 2023
6
Biology, Philosophy

In September 1957, Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist Francis Crick (1916–2004) announced the “Central Dogma” in biology, at a symposium at Oxford University. The dogma is currently given in the Biology Dictionary thus: “genetic information flows primarily from nucleic acids in the form of DNA and RNA to functional proteins during the process of gene expression.” This view that genes rule underpins mainstream assumptions about how traits are inherited; from there, it governs accepted assumptions about evolution. So the ground on which Darwin’s modern defenders stand, propounding the only true history of life, is narrow but it is firm. Sir Francis Crick is perhaps better known to laypeople for his 1994 book, The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for Soul, which he Read More ›

mice-feecing-in-an-urban-house-garden-stockpack-adobe-stock
Mice feecing in an urban house garden.
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post
Author
Wesley J. Smith
Date
March 10, 2023
Categorized
Biology

Mice With No Mother?

Biotechnologists keep pushing the borders of what is possible in procreation
Wesley J. Smith
March 10, 2023
3
Biology

Biotechnologists keep pushing the borders of what is possible in procreation. Mice pups have now been born with no mother and two fathers. It was done, apparently, by transforming skin cells from male mice into pluripotent stem cells and thence into egg cells with XX chromosomes. From the Guardian story: Male skin cells were reprogrammed into a stem cell-like state to create so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The Y-chromosome of these cells was then deleted and replaced by an X chromosome “borrowed” from another cell to produce iPS cells with two identical X chromosomes. “The trick of this, the biggest trick, is the duplication of the X chromosome,” said Hayashi. “We really tried to establish a system to duplicate the X chromosome.” Read More ›

border-collie-puppies-stockpack-adobe-stock
Border Collie puppies
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 15, 2022
Categorized
Biology, Natural Intelligence
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Can a Dog Be Bred To Be As Smart As a Human?

An enterprising electrical engineer thinks it can be done
Denyse O'Leary
December 15, 2022
7
Biology, Natural Intelligence

Within one hundred generations or roughly 600 years? That’s the project Payton Pearson, an electrical engineer who gives his affiliation as the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio, has set himself: Artificial selection is a well-known phenomenon of selecting for certain physiological characteristics of various species of plants and animals, and it is something that human beings have been doing for thousands of years. A perfect example of this is the union and development of dogs under human stewardship since the beginning of the agricultural era of society. In that time, approximately 6,000 years [1], dogs have been artificially selected in such a way as to produce thousands of different breeds. From the stout Dachshund, a dog breed Read More ›

microtubule-3d-illustration-a-polymer-composed-of-a-protein-tubulin-it-is-a-component-of-cytoskeleton-involved-in-intracellular-transport-cellular-mobility-and-nuclear-division-stockpack-adobe-stock
Microtubule, 3D illustration. A polymer composed of a protein tubulin, it is a component of cytoskeleton involved in intracellular transport, cellular mobility and nuclear division
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post
Author
News
Date
October 14, 2022
Categorized
Biology, Natural Intelligence
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One-Celled Life Form Uses Early “Computer” To Stand In For Brain

Researchers found that that’s how Euplotes eurystomus controls “legs” in a sort of walking pattern
News
October 14, 2022
4
Biology, Natural Intelligence

One unexpected thing that the computer has done is given us some insight into how life forms that are utterly different from ourselves manage to do things. For example, there is an analogy between the way ants think and computer programming. That helps us understand how an anthill can be organized in a very complex way without any individual ant ever seeing the big picture — or needing to. In the same way, a single-celled organism uses an “internal ‘computer’” to walk without needing a brain: Most animals require brains to run, jump or hop. The single-celled protozoan Euplotes eurystomus, however, achieves a scurrying walk using a simple, mechanical computer to coordinate its microscopic legs, UC San Francisco researchers reported Read More ›