MEDICINE

Telescopic Eye Implant approved by FDA:

https://www.engadget.com/2010/07/08/telescopic-eye-implant-approved-by-the-fda/

○     Invented to combat macular degeneration

○     Made by a CO named: VisionCare

○     Not as cool as it sounds:  $15,000 to go from “complete impairment” to “moderate impairment”.

○     Only works about 75% of the time.

○     VisionCare says it expects the F.D.A. to give its O.K. later this year.

○     After implantation, extensive therapy is crucial, to learn to deal with the different abilities of the eyes.

Advances toward HIV vaccine:

https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703609004575355072271264394.html

○     U.S. government scientists say they have discovered three powerful antibodies, the strongest of which neutralizes 91% of HIV strains.

○     Previous attempts at a vaccine, like a recent one in Thailand, reduced the chances of infection only by about 30%

○     The HIV antibodies were discovered in the cells of a 60-year-old African-American man.

○     Vaccines are preventative only – don’t work as a cure.  However, vaccines for polio and smallpox have almost completely eliminated their spread in developed countries.

Cancer is immortal, but not for long!

https://io9.com/5589587/robbing-cancer-cells-of-their-immortality-could-stop-the-disease-in-its-tracks

○     Cancer cells are capable of reproducing forever (read first couple paragraphs?)

○     Researchers at Washington State University!

○     Wait, wait… Cancer cells are immortal?  Can we adapt this to live forever?

■     Substory:  What causes cancer?

              https://io9.com/5576960/cancer-caused-by-dna-repair-gone-haywire

■     Mutations during copy & repair of damaged DNA (caused by carcinogens)

■     Usually due to interruptions.  Compare to computers attempting to repair lost/damaged data from a backup drive with bad wiring.

Human sperm cells have not changedin 600 million years:

https://io9.com/5584575/human-sperm-gene-hasnt-changed-at-all-in-600-million-years?skyline=true&s=i

○     A universal gene known as “Boule” is found in all species’ reproductive, uhm… juice.

○     Scientists are talking about targeting this gene (somehow?) to kill off parasites and such.

              — Or, yknow, THE ENTIRE WORLD MAYBE.

MOVIE REVIEW:  ((SPOILER ALERT!))

INCEPTION

              Premise:  High tech military scientists discover a way to induce shared dreaming, using a fancy breathing suitcase.  Black market criminals get their hands on it and use it to steal “secrets” from peoples’ dreams.  Leonardo DiCaprio leads a team that is really good at this.  So good that he’s eventually hired instead to place an idea within someone’s mind — an infinitely more difficult task than stealing one.

              The rest of the film is a combination of a psychological thriller, and a heist film.  It turns out that Leo is carrying some serious baggage that is interfering with other peoples’ dreams when he joins their subconscious.  He wins by confronting his past.

* The movie is attempting to act like it’s a lot smarter than it really is.  Using high-brow pseudo-scientific terms and psychological mumbo-jumbo, it tries to pull the wool over your eyes and make itself seem a lot more epic than it is.  It’s really about on par with a comic book.

* I like the concept, but hate the execution.  Bad science.

– Dreams are extremely convoluted and charged with raw unchecked emotions and sudden shifts of mood.  These dreams are somehow stabled and as unbending as reality.

– Conscious and subconscious can rarely co-exist.  By realizing that you are dreaming, you attempt to force confinement and structure into an experience that is otherwise interpretive.

– “Being John Malcovich” had more convincing dream sequences.

* Leo is a boring actor.  He always seems to play the same role.

* Some of the special effects are outstanding (the no-gravity sequences and the dream cityscapes stand out).