Woolly mammoths won’t be trouncing through the Arctic tundra anytime soon.
Contrary to recent headlines, which herald the extinct beast’s coming resurrection, scientists are still a long way from figuring out how to revive the elephant ancestor.
Woolly mammoths roamed the planet for hundreds of thousands of years before they vanished about 4,000 years ago. Paleontologists say the culprit for the die-off was possibly overhunting, or changes in mammoth’s food supply after the last Ice Age.
A camp of scientists — known as “revivalists” — are dedicated to bringing mammoths back in the modern era for environmental and biological reasons. Some researchers have made important early progress, although nothing is close to leaving the lab.
Alec Ross served as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s senior advisor for innovation. During that role, he earned unique insight into the changing nature of technology. In his new book, “The Industries of the Future,” Ross not only lays out the key industries that will shape the 21st century, but also provides the geopolitical, cultural and generational contexts out of which they are emerging. Berggruen Institute’s Dawn Nakagawa sat down with Ross to discuss the book.
You assert the importance of a variety of disruptive technologies from robots to genetics to coded money. What in your mind will have the most impact on the day to day lives of our children when compared to how we live?
Commercialization of genomics is going to change the lives of the vast majority of people on Earth. My kids will live longer, healthier lives because of the commercialization of genomics. Today, health care is delivered with a very small degree of customization but that is going to change as genetic screening becomes less and less expensive and we understand better and better what to look for. The last trillion-dollar industry was built on computer code. The next will be built on genetic code.
Almost every man alive can trace his origins to one man who lived about 135,000 years ago, new research suggests. And that ancient man likely shared the planet with the mother of all women.
The findings, detailed today (Aug. 1) in the journal Science, come from the most complete analysis of the male sex chromosome, or the Y chromosome, to date. The results overturn earlier research, which suggested that men’s most recent common ancestor lived just 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.
Despite their overlap in time, ancient “Adam” and ancient “Eve” probably didn’t even live near each other, let alone mate.
“Those two people didn’t know each other,” said Melissa Wilson Sayres, a geneticist at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the study.
What might humans look like in the distant future?
Nickolay Lamm, a Pittsburgh-based artist, has created four sci-fi-like illustrations showing one idea of what changes to the human genome may do to the human face 20,000 years, 60,000 years, and 100,000 years hence. The images are based on hypotheses put forth by Dr. Alan Kwan, an expert on computational genomics.
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Dr Greger suggests a diet change that reduces saturated fats. A vegetarian diet reduces the risk of fat storage that produces cellulite. So if you eat less animal products, you are healthier, thinner and better looking (less cellulite). Your choice ladies.
With the chill in the air in many parts of the country and the threat of blizzards brewing, that long awaited trip to the islands couldn’t come at a better time.
And as with any vacationer traveling to a hot climate, the No. 1 item on your packing list is sunscreen. However, according to a new study published in Genetics, that SPF 40 may not completely protect you from the repercussions of the sun’s dangerous rays. Turns out, your genes may put you at greater risk for skin cancer than UV exposure.
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