SUPERCENTENARIANS: WHY 110 IS THE NEW 100
A
global team of demographers has identified at least 600 individuals who have
reached the age of 110 and earned the title of “supercentenarians.” Of these
600, 20 were more than 115 years old.
More than half (341) of the supercentenarians discovered are in the United
States, where women in the cohort outnumbered men by nearly 10 to 1. (These
numbers may have been a factor of better record keeping in the United States
compared with other countries, the researchers note.)
The
work, coordinated by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in
Germany, aims to create a database that would provide a reliable,
international record of scientifically verified data on human longevity.
The
effort may yield important clues about why and how some individuals are able
to live such a long time, some even surviving major surgery in their 110s.
For instance, as the U.S. example illustrates, being born female has its
advantages for longevity, whereas socioeconomic differences and the
longevity of one’s ancestors seem to have little impact on the likelihood of
supercentenarianism.
The
researchers observed that many of the supercentenarians had been able to
avoid dementia. This suggests that efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat
Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia may also contribute to
longevity.
SOURCES:
Max Planck Institute
International Database on Longevity
SYNTHETIC ANTIBODIES FIGHT BEE STINGS
Synthetically produced antibodies injected into mice have successfully
blocked bee venom, report researchers at the University of California,
Irvine.
The
“plastic antibodies” are tiny particles created through molecular imprinting
and designed to match and encase the melittin peptide in bee venom that
causes cells to rupture, leading to organ failure and death.
“Never before have synthetic antibodies been shown to effectively function
in the bloodstream of living animals,” says UCI chemistry professor Kenneth
Shea. “This technique could be utilized to make plastic nanoparticles
designed to fight more lethal toxins and pathogens.”
SOURCE:
University of California, Irvine
KNOWLEDGE SHARING AMONG U.S. DIPLOMATS
A Rice University study
of the U.S. State Department’s Wikipedia style knowledge-sharing platform
suggests that such tools could improve information management in other areas
of government.
Dubbed Diplopedia, the
open-source platform for the U.S. diplomatic corps allows a registered user
to post articles and edit other pages, will all contributions directly
traced to that user.
In three years, the site
has grown to more than 11,000 articles, creating a knowledge base of
expertise for working diplomats.
SOURCE:
U.S. Department of State
A draft of the
Diplopedia study (PDF document), prepared by the State Department’s Office
of eDiplomacy and Rice University, is available
here.
ECONOMICS AND POLITICS OF WELL-BEING
A new survey will
examine the need to look “Beyond GDP” in determining national well-being.
The survey, conducted by GlobeScan, will be funded by Ethical Markets Media
(USA and Brazil), according to president Hazel Henderson, and will be
similar to one that group produced in 2007 for the European Parliament (see
http://www.beyond-gdp.eu
).
GDP--gross domestic
product--is the key measure of progress used by traditional economists (and
institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund), but
critics argue that this measure does not take into account the social and
environmental costs of certain economic activity that may degrade overall
quality of life. Henderson has long “urged the retraining of economists
beyond their narrow money-focused view of wealth.”
Despite the development
of alternative measures, such as the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life
Indicators, Henderson charges that economists simple don’t want to change.
“They fear losing their
data series, their intellectual superiority, [and] their dominance of
national policy making and international bodies,” Henderson wrote in an
e-mail to FUTURIST UPDATE. “The economics profession (it was never a
science) would be in for a necessary downsizing, just as their clients in
bloated financial firms must be downsized as well.”
Henderson also expresses
concern about popular acceptance of “happiness” measures as an alternative
to GDP, because these, too, can become politicized. Among the pitfalls of
“Gross National Happiness” types of indicators is the inherent subjectivity
of happiness.
“Just one or two
examples suffice,” says Henderson. “A population surveyed may report high
levels of happiness for many reasons. Some cultures seem to produce happier
people than other cultures. [And] a community can report high levels of
happiness while in danger from undiscovered contaminants in their water
supply or radiation levels in their homes due to spent wastes mixed with
cement in their construction.”
SOURCE: Hazel Henderson,
Ethical Markets Media, LLC
http://www.ethicalmarkets.com
NEWS FOR THE FUTURIST COMMUNITY
* DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
OPPORTUNITY: The World Future Society’s development committee is seeking
volunteers interested in exploring new ways to make foresight useful to
communities such as youth. The committee specifically seeks committed
individuals with experience in grant writing, fundraising, youth program
development, and sponsor recruitment. Meetings are held in the Washington,
D.C., area but may be attended by teleconference or Internet if needed.
CONTACT: WFS President Tim Mack mailto:tmack@wfs.org or 301-656-8274.
*
FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN SPACE PROPULSION: The Space, Propulsion, and Energy
Sciences International Forum, to be held March 15-17, 2011, at the
University of Maryland, has issued a call for papers on propulsion science,
astrosociology, high-frequency gravitational waves, and future directions in
space science and technology. Initial abstracts are due August 15, 2010.
DETAILS: Institute for Advanced Studies in the Space, Propulsion and Energy
Sciences
http://www.ias-spes.org/SPESIF.html
* INVESTING IN THE
PUBLIC GOOD: The Tomorrow Project has published a new report, “Investing for
Public Good,” to illustrate how governments can save money via Social Impact
Bonds (SIBs) and tackle social problems at their roots. “Without doubt SIBs
offer a real opportunity to support the most disadvantaged, the most
vulnerable, and those who are so often forgotten about or left behind by
more traditionally structured interventions,” says Gavin Poole, managing
director of the Centre for Social Justice. “SIBs offer these people a real
chance to transform their lives and provide an opportunity that if not
present would end in further neglect.” DETAILS: Richard Worsley, the
Tomorrow Project
http://www.tomorrowproject.net
FUTURIST UPDATE: News &
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