#Human Organs-on-Chips Market

[neelima0211]

Human Organs-on-Chips Market to Grow at a CAGR of 29.8% till 2027

The market for human organs-on-chips was estimated to be worth $115.04 million in 2021, and it is anticipated to increase to $1.20 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 29.8% during 2022 and 2027.

The Human Organs-on-Chips Market report evaluates product market value, trends, regional market analysis, key players growth decision, the volume and value of the product, Information Analysis and future growth opportunity. The Human Organs-on-Chips market report consists of trends that are anticipated to impact the growth of the Laparoscopic Hand Instrument market during the forecast period between 2022 and 2027. Evaluation of these trends is included in the report, along with their product innovations. This report also sheds light on the latest information on various specifications, buyer analysis, their purchasing decision, and price analysis, with deep insights on the leading suppliers.

Top Leading Companies of Human Organs-on-Chips Market are – Emulate, TissUse, Hesperos, CN Bio Innovations, Tara Biosystems, Draper Laboratory, Mimetas, Nortis, Micronit Microtechnologies B.V., Kirkstall, Cherry Biotech SAS, Else Kooi Laboratory, , and others.

To Browse Full Report, Click the Link Below:

The report segments the global Human Organs-on-Chips market as follows:

Global Human Organs-on-Chips Market: By Type

Brain-on-a-chip

Liver-on-a-chip

Kidney-on-a-chip

Lung-on-a-chip

Heart-on-a-chip

Intestine-on-a-chip

Vessel-on-a-chip

Other Organs

Global Human Organs-on-Chips Market: By Application

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

Academic & Research Institutes

Cosmetics Industry

Others

Global Human Organs-on-Chips Market: By Region

The regional analysis highlights the strengths of each region along with, prominent companies and their growth potential, key issues and trends that face the regions, potential opportunities in the near future, and a discussion of how these regions potential overcome these challenges. The global Miticides market is divided into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

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Report Highlights:

Detailed     analysis of Human Organs-on-Chips market     dynamics, including market drivers, restraints and opportunities

Detailed     analysis of the market segments, including technology, application,     end-user and region

A     comprehensive analysis of the Human     Organs-on-Chips competitive landscape, including market share and     company profiles of the key players

Value     chain analysis of the key players in the Human     Organs-on-Chips market

Analysis     of the micro and macro-economic indicators that affect the market

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Industry Data Analytics provides global and regional market intelligence coverage, a 360-degree market view which includes statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.

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[alwaysbewoke]

Ota Benga was born around 1883, in what is now the Republic of Congo. Theirs was a hunter-gatherer society. When he became a man, his teeth were chipped into sharp points, part of his tribal customs. His world came crashing down when King Leopold II of Belgium (The butcher of Congo) established a colony in the Congo to exploit its valuable resources. The demand for rubber was increasing around the world and Leopold wanted to corner the market. He subdued the native population to force them into laboring on the rubber plantations. In Belgium Congo, women were held hostage until their men returned with enough rubber for the colonizer King Leopold. Some had their hands chopped off for not meeting rubber quotas. Ota was out on a hunting expedition when his village was attacked by the slavers. Whether they were Force Publique or an African group working to collect people to sell to them varies from story to story. He was taken captive. On the other side of the globe, a man named Samuel Verner was preparing exhibits for the 1904 World's Fair. The fair's organizers wanted to do an exhibit showing the progress of mankind “from the dark prime to the highest enlightenment, from savagery to civic organisation" He was given a hefty budget to collect living "specimens" of people from Africa to represent the "savage depths" from which mankind had sprung. The experience of young African men at the 'fair' aka Human Zoo, was not a pleasant one. Billed as cannibals, they shook spears at the crowd and grimaced with their filed teeth, modeling their "war dances" Verner sent Ota to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In 1906, Verner found a new home for Ota: The Bronx Zoo. Ota was put as an "exhibit" A plaque was erected, describing him in the same way an animal would be described and put into a cage in the monkey house. The Minneapolis Journal declared Ota to be the "missing link" between chimps and humans. On March 19, 1916, he stole a revolver gun and shot himself through the heart.

x

[ansatsu-sha]

The Tezuman Empire in the jungle valleys of central Klatch is known for its organic market gardens, its exquisite craftsmanship in obsidian, feathers and jade, and its mass human sacrifices in honour of Quezovercoatl, the Feathered Boa, god of mass human sacrifices.

As they said, you always knew where you stood with Quezovercoatl. It was generally with a lot of people on top of a great stepped pyramid with someone in an elegant feathered headdress chipping an exquisite obsidian knife for your very own personal use.

Terry Pratchett / Eric

[soberscientistlife]

Ota Benga was born around 1883, in what is now the Republic of Congo. Theirs was a hunter-gatherer society.

—When he became a man, his teeth were chipped into sharp points, part of his tribal customs.

—his world came crashing down when King Leopold II of Belgium (The butcher of Congo) established a colony in the Congo to exploit its valuable resources.

—The demand for rubber was increasing around the world and Leopold wanted to corner the market. He subdued the native population to force them into laboring on the rubber plantations.

—In Belgium Congo, women were held hostage until their men returned with enough rubber for the colonizer King Leopold. Some had their hands chopped off for not meeting rubber quotas.

—Ota was out on a hunting expedition when his village was attacked by the slavers. Whether they were Force Publique or an African group working to collect people to sell to them varies from story to story. He was taken captive.

—On the other side of the globe, a man named Samuel Verner was preparing exhibits for the 1904 World's Fair. The fair's organizers wanted to do an exhibit showing the progress of mankind “from the dark prime to the highest enlightenment, from savagery to civic organisation"

—He was given a hefty budget to collect living "specimens" of people from Africa to represent the "savage depths" from which mankind had sprung.

—The experience of young African men at the 'fair' aka Human Zoo, was not a pleasant one. Billed as cannibals, they shook spears at the crowd and grimaced with their filed teeth, modeling their "war dances"

—Verner sent Ota to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In 1906, Verner found a new home for Ota: The Bronx Zoo.

—Ota was put as an "exhibit" A plaque was erected, describing him in the same way an animal would be described and put into a cage in the monkey house. The Minneapolis Journal declared Ota to be the "missing link" between chimps and humans. On March 19, 1916, he stole a revolver gun and shot himself through the heart.

Source: African Archives

💔💔💔💔

[wainwrightjakobshammerlock]

What I think disability aids made by Borderlands gun manufacturers would be like. CW for mentions of systemic ableism and weight loss.

Atlas: Sleek and fancy, but also expensive as hell and prone to accidents. Sort of like IRL fancy prostheses or wheelchairs - they seem cool but are actually kinda sucky and very pricey. Don't expect the average Promethean to afford one. Though in this case, it's because they're often loaded with purely experimental tech that was probably shipped too early.

Hyperion: They make a few prosthetic and implant models and that's it. Pretty much all their stuff is aimed at their own employees trying to get "ahead" and not actual disabled people, so give up trying to find one fitting your particular needs. At least they're pretty fucking sturdy (but not against hacking). And no, they haven't thought of adopting those exoskeletons their engineers use for other needs.

Maliwan: Similar to above, but aimed at their general customer base instead. These guys are hipsters who try marrying form and function, and in many cases that means augs of some sort. I wouldn't really call them transhumanist though, that implies respecting bodily autonomy, human rights and not being ableist; these guys would sell arms with tracking chips and neural interfaces that fry your brainstem if you don't pay the subscription fee. And then tell you to lose weight with the new fad diet their marketing department cooked up. The hoverchairs and flavored chewelry are pretty great, tho.

Dahl: They wouldn't. They claim to be reliable but they're actually the biggest cowards in the Six Galaxies. If one of their soldiers loses a leg or something that's grounds for being (dis)honorably discharged. What exoskeletons or other devices they make are purely for war. Plus, the one Dahl employee we see having a prosthesis (Helena Pierce) doesn't seem to have a Dahl brand one. Aside from weird metal rank implants and funky gun-inspired fidget cubes they don't do much in this department.

Torgue: Expect everything to be painted like a Hot Wheels toy and probably explode somehow - either on you or on your enemies. All the mobility aids have jets attached for either smacking ableists with great force or speeding through town. I think Torgue himself wears a hearing aid (from all the explosions) and it looks like a fucking microphone with car parts on it, complete with exhaust.

Jakobs: Steampunk baybeee!!! Of course, the subgenre of said steampunk depends on the quality of the aid. The most basic ones are IRL Victorian era metal arms: flat, spiky, inhuman, but still quite ornate. The ones custom-tooled for execs and their families (looking at you, Alistair Hammerlock) are more "sleek" steampunk, with fine chassis of signature Jakobs brass and filigree engravings. They also make genuine wood canes with organic rubber grips that will outlive you if you take proper care of them... which is definitely shown in their price tags. The Jakobs stim toy line is half weird gear contraptions, half competition with Dahl's fidget cubes.

Vladof: Heavy, clunky, dieselpunk style. But damn if they aren't effective. A standard Vladof boostchair could break through a wall and be completely unharmed. A Vladof AAC device looks like an electron tube supercomputer that you have to haul around in a cart. That's all I really have to say here.

Tediore: I have no idea.

[hyuge]

Wrapped in Sunshine

Katsuki stood by the campfire airing out the bedrolls. He hung them on a nearby tree branch and crawled back into the tent, wiping out the dirt that had gathered on the floor. As he was organizing their belongings, Katsuki heard heavy footsteps padding toward the campsite at a rapid pace. He poked his head out of the tent entrance to see Eijirou bounding into camp, stopping just shy of the fire.

Eijirou was in full dragon form, red scales glistening in the daylight. His large talons dug into the earth and in his maw hung the limp body of a giant boar. Blood dripped from his chin, and he released the beast. It fell with a heavy thud on the ground in front of the tent and Katsuki stared up at him wide-eyed.

He climbed out of the enclosure, poking the dead animal with his foot, then looked to Eijirou who was sitting upright in anticipation. “What the hell is this?” he asked.

Food for my sunshine, Eijirou replied telepathically. He licked his mouth clean before his body began to shrink, returning from dragon to human. “I thought we could feast,” he said, once he was able to speak in human tongue.

“Ei, this thing is massive. Even if we smoke the meat, it’s too much to carry.” Katsuki chided him. The boar had to be at least three hundred pounds. They would never eat it all and the nearest village was twenty kilometers away. They would have to fly the meat to market.

“But you always say we need more meat.” Eijirou looked and sounded defeated. He kicked his bare foot at the ground, head dipping so that they were no longer making eye contact. He looked like a wounded badger, and for all of Katsuki’s talk, he hated seeing animals (and Eijirou) wounded.

Katsuki sighed. He folded his arms across his chest and inspected the boar. Eijirou had managed a clean kill. If they skinned it properly, they could manage a hefty bag of coins from the remains. The boar was a victory, but also a giant pain in the ass. “You’re right,” he said after a long pause. “We do need more meat, and with a boar this size, we’ll make a profit.”

“You’re not mad?” asked Eijirou, looking hopeful. Crimson eyes glimmered and his cheeks eagerly touched his eyes. The lines of slowly forming crow’s feet wrinkled in delight as he scooped Katsuki up into a bear hug.

“I’m not mad, ya’ big oaf.” Katsuki let himself be hugged, leaning into the touch, and resting his head on Eijirou’s shoulder. “Now help me clean the beast before it expires.”

“Absolutely!” Eijirou held Katsuki at an arm’s length, planting a kiss on his lips before setting him down and drawing his claws out to skin the animal.

***

Katsuki stood next to the river tapping his foot on the ground. His hands rested on his hips, and he was eyeing Eijirou skeptically. “Tell me again how this happened?”

Eijirou sat in the river as water began to wash away layers of dirt from his body. His usually glimmering scales were tarnished. His claws were cracked and chips, the undersides thick with mud and dried blood. He had come back to camp in his half-human form, wings stretched out behind him, face coated in filth, and a handful of raw, uncut gemstones in his satchel.

Eijirou scratched at his scaley face, blushing in the odd way that dragons did. Their armored skin did not flush red, but it was still clear to Katsuki when the dragonborn was embarrassed. “Well, I uh... I heard about this diamond mine nearby. I wanted to get Sunshine something as bright as you are. They make rainbows in the light. Have you seen? If Sunshine doesn’t like them, I can take them back. There’s a ruby deposit to the north. Would Sunshine like rubies instead?”

Katsuki sighed in exasperation and shook his head. “Diamonds are fine, but don’t go digging by yourself. It’s dangerous.” He pulled a rag out of their bag and stepped into the water to begin wiping Eijirou’s body down so that it was free of dirt.

“I promise!” Eijirou smiled happily, his large mouth drawn back into a snarl. His guttural laugh sent ripples through the water and his breath was hot on Katsuki’s skin. The heat dried the sweat on his brow, and he dipped the rag in water to dampen it.

Katsuki took extra care on Eijirou’s claws, using a twig to dig the dirt out from underneath each one. “We’ll have to file your nails once you change back. You could get hurt if you let them stay cracked like this.”

“Okay, Sunshine.” Eijirou agreed, pleased to be groomed by his lover.

With a tired smile and a sigh, Katsuki shook his head and continued to clean his mate. He had grown accustomed to the pet name ages ago. While Katsuki wasn’t a fan of it at first, Eijirou insisted it was because his hair was as warm and golden as the sun’s rays, giving life to the earth—the same way Katsuki gave life to Eijirou. It was disgustingly sappy, but he didn’t have the heart to tell Eijirou to stop calling him “sunshine,” after that.

***

Things were beginning to take a strange turn and Katsuki knew something wasn’t adding up. First the boar, then the diamonds, and now Eijirou had gone out of his way to drag Katsuki to a hoard of ogres. He said it had been a while since Katsuki’s last fight and he knew how bad he had been itching for some action. It was true, but still strange. Usually, Eijirou was a pacifist, only engaging in battle if necessary. It wasn’t like him to actively seek out combat just to appease Katsuki.

Katsuki took a blow to the face, splitting his lip. He grinned wildly, wiping at the blood that was beginning to trickle down with the back of his hand. It smeared across his chin like war paint, and he rushed forward, sword poised for the kill. He thrust the blade into the ogre’s chest, then pulled free, smiling victoriously as the monster landed face-first into the dirt.

As Eijirou finished off the others, swiping his large talons across the battlefield, Katsuki began to wipe his sword clean of the carnage that had just ensued. Eijirou bounded over to him, licking his face with that giant dragon tongue of his. Katsuki smiled, petting his mate on the snout. “Yeah, yeah. This was fun. Thanks.”

Eijirou preened, a low rumbling rippled its way through his body. He nuzzled his snout against Katsuki’s cheek, soliciting a laugh from the blond. “Okay, okay. So, why did you want to go ogre hunting anyway?”

Eijirou whined in lieu of an answer.

“Not talking, eh?” Katsuki wiped at the blood on his lip with his thumb and gave Eijirou a onceover. “We should get cleaned up and see if there’s any loot worth taking.” Eijirou nodded his large head, then shifted back into a human.

“Sure thing, Sunshine.”

Katsuki pursed his lips, but shook it off, moving to the ogre he had defeated.

***

While Eijirou slept, Katsuki packed his bag to head off on a solo mission to the dragon village where Eijirou hailed from. He wanted answers and his mate was not talking. Every request to get answers was met with silence or a distraction and he was not one for being toyed with. There was something going on and he would figure it out.

As his dragon snored softly in their tent, curled up in their bedrolls and blankets, Katsuki stepped into the forest. It would take half a day to walk to the dragon village alone. Normally, Eijirou would fly them there in about an hour, but he couldn’t risk the dragon taking them on a detour or something instead of to his home. If anyone knew why Katsuki's mate was acting strangely, it would be his people. He slung the bag over his shoulder and started off on his journey in the wee hours of the morning.

The sun had yet to rise, making navigation through the forest difficult, but Katsuki had lived there long enough that he knew the area like the back of his hand. He just had to turn left at the old oak tree and then head south until he reached the clearing. Easy. At least, it would have been if the oak tree hadn’t been felled in a recent storm.

By the time Katsuki reached the dragon village, he was exhausted and dripping in sweat. His water had run out, and his rations were painfully low. He had packed for four hours, not seven. On the opposite side of the village Eijirou’s sworn brother, Tetsutetsu, was chopping wood outside his small cabin. Katsuki came to a stop a few meters away from him, hands gripping his knees as he caught his breath. Tetsutetsu dropped the axe he was wielding and rushed to Katsuki’s side.

“Bakugou? Are you okay?”

Katsuki waved him off. “Fine, fine. Can I get some water?”

Tetsutetsu nodded and ran to the well, pulling up the pail and filling the canteen on his side. He dropped the pail back into the well and returned to Katsuki’s side. “Here. Drink up.” He offered Katsuki the water, which he took gratefully. Once Katsuki had sufficiently drank down the water, Tetsutetsu took the canteen back and eyed concerned. “Where’s Ei? Is everything okay?”

Katsuki nodded, taking a seat on the ground. “I came alone. He’s fine or at least I think he is.”

“What do you mean?” Tetsutetsu took a seat beside him, crossing his legs and leaning his elbow on his knee.

“He’s been acting strange lately—showering me in gifts more than usual, taking me to fight monsters when he hates fighting, keeping secrets—it’s not like him. As a fellow dragon, I was hoping you could help.”

Tetsutetsu blinked and gave Katsuki a sniff. His nose wrinkled and scooched a few centimeters away. “Oof. That’s strong.”

“What?” asked Katsuki, confused.

“Ei’s scent on you. It’s stronger than normal, which makes sense since you just explained that he’s courting you.”

Katsuki’s face went white, his mouth dry. “Courting?”

“You know dragons mate for life?” asked Tetsutetsu.

Katsuki nodded slowly.

“Well, he must think it’s time for the bonding ritual or marriage as you humans refer to it. Though, a draconic bonding ritual is way more intense than any human marriage.”

Courting... bonding... Katsuki was embarrassed to not have realized it on his own. He studied dragons for years before meeting Eijirou. Now that it had been pointed out to him, it was completely obvious. He rose to his feet, body still tired from the long journey, but he needed to get back before Eijirou worried.

“Leaving already?”

“Yeah,” he replied.

Tetsutetsu got to his feet as well, giving Katsuki another onceover. “I’d offer you a ride home, but given the situation, I don’t want Ei coming for my head.”

“It’s fine,” Katsuki assured him. “I got here on my own, I can get home on my own.”

Tetsutetsu clicked his tongue and nodded. “Let me get you some supplies at least. I can’t send you back without any food or water.”

Katsuki didn’t argue. He was grateful to have a full reserve of water for the long walk home.

“You know,” Tetsutetsu started as he fetched the pail from the well once more, “the two of you should move back to the village. I know Itsuka would like to see you more too.”

Katsuki chuckled softly, taking the canteen, and shoving it in his bag. “Maybe. Tell them we’ll visit soon.”

He waved farewell to Tetsutetsu and headed back through town toward the forest he and Eijirou called home. Katsuki smiled to himself, thinking about all the things Eijirou had done lately to earn his favor. How long had Eijirou been planning this? Knowing him, from the day they met on the mountainside when Katsuki challenged him to a battle. Stupid lizard, he thought affectionately.

Katsuki was only halfway home when he caught sight of large red wings in the sky overhead. They eclipsed the sun, bathing him in shadows until Eijirou landed in front of him. He rushed to Katsuki, taking him in his arms and checking him over. “Are you okay? I woke up and you were gone. I couldn’t find you anywhere and you’ve been—” He sniffed, face blanching. “Why do you smell like Tetsu?”

“I needed to ask him something,” said Katsuki, patting Eijirou on the shoulder and freeing himself from the dragon’s grasp.

“Why?”

Katsuki shrugged. “No reason.” he replied, purposefully being coy. Two could play at that game. “It’s getting late, and I need to visit my parents before we return home. Do you mind?”

Eijirou pursed his lips pouting but huffed in defeat. “Yeah. Let’s go. I miss Sunshine’s kin. I would love to see what MawMaw and PawPaw are up to.”

It was disgustingly sweet how close Eijirou was with his parents. Katsuki loathed it, but he couldn’t complain that his parents loved his mate. It made life easier, even if they did spend a disgusting amount of time gossiping when together. Eijirou transformed and Katsuki climbed on his back, situating himself as the base of Eijirou’s neck before they took flight.

Flying together was always his favorite. It was invigorating having the vast sky expand around them, soaring through the clouds, having his skin kissed by precipitation. He loved it.

Arriving home took no time at all when Eijirou flew them there. Katsuki dismounted from Eijirou’s neck just outside the village and they walked toward his parent’s home together. Mitsuki and Masaru could keep Eijirou busy while Katsuki did what he needed to do.

The front door opened and Mitsuki walked outside, arms spread wide. “What a surprise. There’s my favorite son.” She hugged Eijirou, looking at Katsuki teasingly.

Normally, he would make some sort of snide comment, but for now, he would ignore it. “Hey hag, where’s my trunk?”

She looked at him, still hugging Eijirou and nodded in the direction of the shed. “I’m not sure what you need that old thing for, but it’s out back.” Mitsuki’s nose twitched as she let go of Eijirou. “Child, you need a bath. When was the last time you used soap? These clothes are filthy.” She began to steer Eijirou toward the house despite his protests. While he could easily put a stop to her dragging him away, Eijirou followed with a pout on his face.

When they were out of sight, Katsuki made his way to the shed, opening the window to let the evening light in. The trunk was coated in a layer of dust. He blew at the dust, coughing as it filled the air, and opened the trunk. Katsuki wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but the best gift had to be within the confines of the wooden box. All his best kept treasures were there, and Eijirou deserved the best. As Katsuki sifted through the trunk, he realized how much clutter he had collected over the years. Many of the items needed disposal, but tucked in the corner amongst animal teeth, scraps of fabric, and odd stones from the lands he visited, were two items Katsuki thought to be perfect for proposing. Everything was a competition, even courting.

He pulled out the skull of a griffin from his first adventure with Eijirou. It was customary to slay a beast for your betrothed, much like how Eijirou had brought Katsuki the boar. He set it down neatly on the floor and smoothed out ratty orange cloth that he had also procured from the trunk. His parents had said it was the blanket he had been swaddled in as a newborn. It was a relic of his past and something Eijirou would treasure for a lifetime.

Katsuki shut the trunk and scooped up the skull and blanket, closing the shed window before walking out of the small building. He started to head for the house, surprised to see Eijirou sitting in the yard picking flowers. The dragon was twisting the stems, tongue sticking out in concentration, as he formed a flower crown. Katsuki laughed to himself, coming to a stop in front of his mate. “Done bathing already?”

Eijirou looked up, eyes widening. “MawMaw agreed it could wait until after dinner if we spent the night. We can spend the night, right? PawPaw is making stew.” Eijirou loved Masaru’s stew (mostly because of the meat and potatoes).

Katsuki nodded. “Yeah, we can stay.” He dug the toe of his boot into the ground, fidgeting with the gifts behind his back. “Ei, can you stand up?”

“Sure, Sunshine.” Eijirou smiled, crimson eyes glittering in the evening light. “I made you a crown of sunshine flowers,” he said, placing the dandelions atop Katsuki’s head.

 Katsuki sighed, smiling softly at his far too sweet lover. “I have something for you too.”

“For me?” Eijirou’s wings beat wildly behind his back in anticipation.

“Yeah.” Katsuki wet his lips, moving his arms to the front of his body, blanket, and skull in tow. “Do you remember that griffin we fought after we first met?”

“I do.”

Katsuki gulped, suddenly nervous. He lifted his shaking hands, resting the skull atop Eijirou’s head, a crown for each of them. “A crown for my dragon king.”

“I’m not—”

“You’re mine,” Katsuki assured him, now holding out the blanket. “This was the cloth I was wrapped in when I was born. It’s a piece of me that will always be a part of you.”

“Katsuki.” Eijirou’s eyes began to water, and he sniffled. “What are you doing?”

“You were courting me, right?” Eijirou nodded. Katsuki grinned. “So, now I’m courting you. Will you have me forever?”

“Always,” replied Eijirou, pulling him in for a kiss.

You can also read it on AO3.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

New SpaceTime out Wednesday....

SpaceTime 20240207 Series 27 Episode 17

Confirmation of an ancient lake on Mars builds excitement for Perseverance rover's samples

If life ever existed on Mars, the Perseverance rover’s verification of lake sediments at the base of the Jezero crater reinforces the hope that traces of ancient organisms  might be found in the crater. 

A strange new type of hypothetical celestial object that might be real

One of the more fascinating celestial objects theorized but yet to be discovered is the hypothetical synestia.

Rocket Lab starts a busy year with a successful booster recovery

Rocket Lab has started the new year with a successful electron launch and booster recovery.

The Science Report

Men who improve their fitness could be reducing their risk of getting prostate cancer.

The most comprehensive and complete cat genome assembly ever achieved.

Claims small dog breeds are likely to have less risk of developing cancer than bigger breeds.

Alex on Tech – a computer-human interface chip planted in a human volunteer’s brain.

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SpaceTime YouTube: @SpaceTimewithStuartGary

SpaceTime -- A brief history

SpaceTime is Australia’s most popular and respected astronomy and space science news program – averaging over two million downloads every year. We’re also number five in the United States.  The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, space flight, and science.  SpaceTime features weekly interviews with leading Australian scientists about their research.  The show began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) NewsRadio network.  Award winning investigative reporter Stuart Gary created the program during more than fifteen years as NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor.  Gary’s always loved science. He studied astronomy at university and was invited to undertake a PHD in astrophysics, but instead focused on his career in journalism and radio broadcasting. He worked as an announcer and music DJ in commercial radio, before becoming a journalist and eventually joining ABC News and Current Affairs. Later, Gary became part of the team that set up ABC NewsRadio and was one of its first presenters. When asked to put his science background to use, Gary developed StarStuff which he wrote, produced and hosted, consistently achieving 9 per cent of the national Australian radio audience based on the ABC’s Nielsen ratings survey figures for the five major Australian metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.  The StarStuff podcast was published on line by ABC Science -- achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually.  However, after some 20 years, the show finally wrapped up in December 2015 following ABC funding cuts, and a redirection of available finances to increase sports and horse racing coverage.  Rather than continue with the ABC, Gary resigned so that he could keep the show going independently.  StarStuff was rebranded as “SpaceTime”, with the first episode being broadcast in February 2016.  Over the years, SpaceTime has grown, more than doubling its former ABC audience numbers and expanding to include new segments such as the Science Report -- which provides a wrap of general science news, weekly skeptical science features, special reports looking at the latest computer and technology news, and Skywatch – which provides a monthly guide to the night skies. The show is published three times weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and available from the United States National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio, and through both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Unbury the Bones: a Beyond Evil x Detroit Become Human fic

Prologue:

The first android police officers had been active in Seoul, and they largely stayed there. Everyone in Manyang knew that. They also knew that Lee Dongsik’s partner, some young kid who’d managed to stick it out with that lunatic, had gotten killed during a hostage situation one wet August night while Dongsik was still stuck in traffic. In his absence, the order was given to send in a negotiator, and that negotiator had been an android. No one really liked to talk about what had happened next.

Still, it wasn’t like Lee Dongsik had to worry about any of that now he had moved back to Manyang amidst dubious welcome. Androids weren’t a common thing around here. It seemed inconceivable that people in town would want—or need—that kind of assistance in their lives, which was what androids were supposedly for. It wasn’t just the cost (although with the increase in models and popularities, cheaper ones were coming on the market all the time), androids risked a hostile welcome in their little town—the damn androids took jobs, even farm jobs, and lucrative work was hard enough to come by around here. They didn’t complain, didn’t organize unions, could work for days with no decline in their job performance. And they looked so lifelike. It was creepy.

The exception proving the rule was the early-model, battered-looking android that had worked at the grocery store for years, and there were still those who gave it a wide berth—although general consensus was that this was a good thing for Kang Jin-mook, to have some reliable help at the store—what with that loud, flighty daughter of his spending her teens messing around town before swanning off to school in Seoul.

It was concern for Jin-mook that caused Park Jeong-je and Chief Nam to chip in for an RSAA90 for the grocer’s birthday the year that Min-jeong started high school (“this should count for at least the next ten birthdays,” the chief had joked), and despite his obvious initial apprehension, Jin-mook and “Helper” had settled into business just fine. RSAA90 models were built for customer service and light manual labor along with basic cleaning skills, and within a few months the bot’s cheery round face (Jae-Yi claimed it resembled Shindong from the early years of Super Junior) had become such a familiar sight making deliveries around town that older residents often forgot Helper was an android and urged it to stop in to have a drink during its rounds.

No one had dreamed the police in Manyang would get an android. For one thing, why would they need one? The station was over-staffed for the crime they didn’t have, as the most recent case had involved a drunk bar patron instigating a fight after someone had tried to turn down ahis favorite trot song on the radio; this had ended in a broken chair, some tears, and the bar’s new rule (made entirely in petty spite) of playing idol music only.

How would a programmed police android, destined for the violence and population of a city, even know how to deal with the quirks of small-town life? It sounded like a burden, rather than a gift. But Han Kihwan had been insistent in bestowing the HAN1020 on Manyang, where word had it he’d once lived briefly.

Even if the townspeople hadn’t largely disowned their former son twenty years ago, it was unlikely anyone would have dared to tell Lee Dongsik that an android was going to be his new partner on the force.

[visibleclosedeyes]

Sevika Cyberpunk 2077 Solo AU

Rescue

Sevika hates this side of Night City, the NID that is—a district of lightness, strangely silent with an occasional steady hum of factories run by machines. With choices, she wouldn't set her feet anyway near Northside—unfortunately, this gig pays well and Sevika isn't a woman known to say no to some easy eddies. 

Kidnapped case, need solo for a rescue, Maelstrom as our culprit, no stealth required—sounds like free money to her. She pulls out her phone again, looking at your photos—the girl who she was supposed to rescue. Clean face, nice clothes, has some chrome in your body but very minimal and done rather tastefully. Hmm, looks like some corpo daughter, whose last name is Fischer. Probably running away from home, having fun, and being rebellious on Friday night, then the shit hits the fan and gangers go too far—Sevika thinks filling in the blank of the basic premise of what might happen. It might not be the case but who cares? The solo was only hired to retrieve the girl then delta with eddies. 

—--------------+-----------------

"So where should we chrome her up then? " 

"Remove her arms and chip her in with the one we got from that cyberpsycho bitch yesterday, that would be funny as fuck, " 

"Ugh, her 'ganic eyes' are so watery when they move. So fucking annoying, we should pluck it out first,"

"Hey, be careful with the brain this time. If you fuck it up and she went brain dead, it wouldn't be fun otherwise,"

You hear a digitized human voice that seems to come right out of second-grade metal synth vocal cords. It took you several minutes for you to realize it came from one of the female Maelstromer. They're chatting among themselves about where exactly in your organic body they should replace, which part should be the most fun—most painful for her. 

You slowly gain more consciousness, and the brain starts working again, taking all the sensory stimulation far from anything nice. Fuck, well—should have actually gone back home when things started getting rougher, should have listened to your friends who still had some in that chrome skull of hers. But that's just that—shoulda, coulda, woulda. Your fate here is sealed—daughter of the Fischer family, died at the age of 22, stuck with ugly scavenger-grade cyberware by Maelstromers lunatic. Oh, yeah—you can see the headlines now. Actually, you might not be discovered at all. Nah, there's no way, you're their sole heiress—you're important. So, whoever sent by your parents better be hurried then 'cause you're about to be ripped apart—literally speaking. 

" Sleeping beauty 'wakes," one of the gangers announces as she sees your eyes rolling frantically in desperation for an exit. Then you hear something—like the sound of something getting hit hard by a blunt object, the other 'borg fuckers immediately lost focus on her to focus on whatever is attacking them right now. You're praying, whoever that is will not consider you a target as well. 

You look from beyond your tired body on a ripper chair to see someone who appears to be a muscular and rather well-chrome individual, she is an edgerunner that's for sure. She dressed rather…plainly, just a simple shirt with leather pants and a jacket. Then it all happened in a span of a few seconds, the first ganger was dropped to the ground by the sheer force of the woman's fist into their guts. The other Maelstrommers come to their comrades' aid but the results are pretty much the same. Soon enough, no one was left standing against her anymore.

"You Fischer?"

"And you? A solo? Did my kins send you?"

"Yeah, and we should delta quickly. Before more will come, " the woman with a dark and the most handsome features you have ever seen on women extends her arm to you. You take it, take a mental note on how toned her organic arm is—although the other one seems to be just a regular prosthetic that was a few decades behind the current market. Damn, She was a really fucking good fighter then—underchrome but yet highly effective. Badass. 

----------------------------

I'm sorry this is really short and not of the best quality I could write. I have been struggling to even write anything for some time now and I feel like I have to get something out there for my own sanity.

[hermesserpent-stuff]

Tobacco Beetle AU

This is background for the main hero, her friends, and potential future friends. Villains will have to be a separate post because this is already very very long.

Yay spidersona world building!!

Where:

This takes place in Richsten, a southern city with a port in Virginia. The city is not big, nor does it really matter to most people. New York is where most of the superheroes are, like the Avengers, and where many of the major crime organizations, like Hydra, put their focus. Not many look to Richsten. And that suits people in the city just fine. 

The city once was a hub for tobacco markets and things like cigarette rolling, with tobacco fields still lying just outside of the city. The smell of tobacco still fills the city, with its lingering smell reminding of the past that still touches the city. The movements of those markets out of the city and the slow movement away of the rolling factories has led to a slow decline of the city, leaving it poorer than it once was. 

Its age also leaves it haunted, full of ghosts. Just like the smell of tobacco, spirits linger throughout the city, reminders of the past that touch everything. 

Many villains are based off of TSSM’s versions with some changes cause spidersona au lol

Martha Anne Taylor

Name: Martha Anne Taylor

CB Radio handle: Ginger Snap

Aka: The Dynamic Tobacco Beetle “Baccy”

Powers: Climbing walls, super strength, enhanced senses, immunity to certain toxins, can digest less nutritious food (like rotten food) with no problem, good at riding horses

Toolkit: rope shooters; designed after books she found in the library on grappling hooks. Shes not a brilliant scientist or engineer, but she can copy and twist. And she does her best. But they are not always operational to the highest standard. A lot of the times, she just jumps and climbs it it seems like she can get where she needs to without swinging

ginger cinnamon molasses cookies to offer villains. 

Brown leather armor, made by her own hand from bits of leather she has hoarded over the years from the stable her grandfather runs.

Weakness: Cold!! She gets slower and slower as she gets colder. at 39.2 Fahrenheit (4 °C) she passes out. she learns to layer pretty fast. 

Homemade Biscuits and iced sweet tea. Offer those and she'll be distracted enough for you to go commit crimes

Age: 16ish

Height: 5 foot

Backstory: Martha has been living with her maternal grandparents since forever. The rest of her family has been chipped away over the years. Her mom died at childbirth, her dad died in a hurricane with her paternal grandparents when she was three. 

She is a horse loving history nerd who might be just slightly too obsessed with the American Revolution. And with history in general. She knows so much about the history of the city and feels like it is a part of her bones.

She ends up at an exposé for Agrioscorp (oscorp of this world). They were developing pesticides to use against crop pests. Martha is there for a school project about crops and then she is bitten by a tobacco beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) that the pesticide was supposed to murder, but instead altered its genes and made it able to give powers through a bite. It gets one bite and dies. She doesnt know what to do with the powers at first. Shes never really thought shed do much, content to grow up like her grandparents and take over their carriage business when she is old enough too. She’s not even really planning on college. She's not dumb, or unmotivated, just content with her lot in life. And then, two weeks after finding out she has powers, her Grandmother takes her on a surprise trip to New York to see the museums there. And then they end up in an attack. Some robbers. Human. Desperate. Her grandmother keeps her pushed back, unable to do anything. Some heroes burst in and the robbers, startled and scared of what is going to happen to them start firing wildly. Those the robber who shot her grandmother is felled by friendly fire and the other robbers are taken up by the cops and heroes.

Martha decides to become a hero. She doesnt want people to die like her grandmother had. But she also doesnt want to inspire fear. She grew up watching too much A-team, Red Dawn and Smokey and the Bandit to feel like police and government are the only paths to justice. So she suits up and heads out. She figures out how to fight, but more importantly to her, she figures out how to talk. To coax and to listen. She wears her opponents down until they are willing to talk and then she hauls them off to fill them with food at local bbq and breakfast places. She hoards all of her allowance to afford this. And some of those local business band together to create a small fund and find jobs willing to hire ex-cons. She listens to what the criminals have to say, their stories and their troubles, and tries to get them to places willing to help. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. A lot of people think that she’s just being taken advantage of. And she's fine with that. Life is hard enough without her adding to it. Some people just need a little mercy and grace. 

And so her career begins!

Main friends

Name: Gwynn Stacy

CB Radio handle: Glasses

Aka: Not a villain. Or hero.

Powers: Does being a wizz at science count? Lol. Also super strong death glares. His peers fear them.

Toolkit: Science.

Age: 16 almost 17

Height: 5’ 4”

Weakness: Wants to rise from his current life. He is willing to erase his accent and save his time 

Backstory: Born and raised in Richsten. He wants to leave and/or get a job in chemistry or bioscience. He is taking all the AP’s he can and is planning to go to college. He prefers to stick to the rules and often is the one to encourage people to get calmer. He sort of is against taking Ella all over town against her father’s wishes. Often over ruled and follows along to try to keep things from getting worse.

His dad is Captain Stacy of the police force. His dad wants him to be able do whatever he wants in life.

Name: Ella Osborn

CB Radio handle: Kelpie

Aka: Not a villain. Or hero.

Powers: Good at communing with the dead. 

Toolkit: Lots of free time. Lots of knowledge of myths, legends and ghost.

Age: 17

Height:5’ 4” 

Weakness: Physically very weak and sickly. Not able to walk very far without needing to sit. She uses mobility devices like wheelchairs and a cane (depending on the day) inside her home. Norman Osborn does not want her to leave the home most of the time, so often she does not have these aids outide of the house. Bruises very easily.

Easily possessed. But the ghosts cant do much other than talk before she passes out and they are expelled. 

Backstory: Ella was born sickly. Often her stomach does not take in all the nutrients and calories of food. And so she stays relatively weak. She is forced to be homeschooled, but not by her parents. She has tutors and often is ignored by her mother and father. She was lonely till a chance meeting with martha (before martha had powers). Martha starts helping her sneak out and hauls her around the city.

She loves myths and the supernatural and has dedicated much of her time to learning about them. She becomes the go to expert on ghosts in the group once Martha and Quentin realize just how haunted the city is.

She would say Martha is her best best friend. 

Quentin is her best friend: yelled at her dad on her behalf.

Gwynn is her friend.

Name: Quentin Mason nee Beck 

CB Radio handle: Dreamer

Aka: Mysterium (this worlds mysterio)

Powers: None. Though ghosts like him. And so do most stray cats.

Toolkit: Drones!! And smoke and holograms.

Weakness: Drama. He will sacrifice a surefire way to win if another method would look cooler or would be more dramatic.

Age: 16

Height: 5’ 9”

Backstory: Quentin is from New York originally and loved the big city and really wanted to end up on the stage or in movie making. He loves the theater. He never wanted to leave New York. his mom left his dad when he was 5 and his dad died when he was 11. He was left with Phineas Mason (tinkerer) due to the man being life time friends with his dad. Phineas makes weapons for the underground and Quentin learned a lot of his coding and building knowledge from him or by working on his gear. He loves Phineas but they get into fights at times. One of the biggest fights was Phineas’ decision to move them away from New York. That argument meant a long bout of silent treatment leading up to the move. But eventually, Quentin came around, understanding that there were too many heroes in New York for them to safely stay and continue to not be on the radar. And he doesnt love the idea of Phineas being killed or taken from him.

He ends up at the same high school as Martha and he feels like a fish out of water. They become friends as she helps him adjust and he starts to appreciate the city. He makes her a CB radio because she does not have a cell phone. He also becomes friends with Gywnn and Ella. He gets into a loud fight publicly against Norman Osborn for trying to keep Ella inside all the time. He is not allowed to visit. 

He ends up becoming a super villain, not out of any real anger or anything, but because he feels like the city needs one. It has a hero, doesnt it? Heroes need villains. 

He becomes friends with Baccy after his first defeat when he is dragged to a BBQ place: Woofsters. He helps her fight other villains when he feels like she needs it. He claims its to keep the name of the number one villain of the city. But he actually does it because he is besties with her and kinda doesnt want her to die.

Potential future friends!:

Name: Jackson 'Montana' Brice

Aka: tbd but leaning towards Tremors. 

Powers: None. But he is super willful. 

Toolkit: Makes his own shocker costume using a vague knowledge of mechanic from having to fix cars and guns growing up. It is a very very cobbled together piece of tech

Age: 19

Height: 5’ 6”

Weakness: always hungry and is a bit on the weaker side than is healthy for his age. He also will do anything for his kids. Whatever sacrifice or thing that must be done he will do.

Backstory: Raised in the Brice family, a family of mercs who travel about and take jobs. Threatening and offing people. But mostly threatening. They have a right of passage to adulthood and being allowed to take jobs alone, typically taken at the age of 18. He did it at 15. And survived it. Before this point, he traveled the country and world with his dad. 

At 15 he enters the world alone with some lingering support from his family. At 17 he takes in a 16 year old Ox. The kid is bigger than him, but had been stuck in fight rings. He settles down in Richsten to provide some stability and let Ox get schooling. He ends up taking in a 14-year-old Dan who has been left on the streets. 

Montana feels responsible for these two like a father. Or older brother. Depends on the moment. They all work together as enforcers, taking on jobs for the big man. But he also does extra work, security for concerts, odd jobs around town, anything to get a little more money. And he skips meals when his kids arent around to save more. He keeps them afloat by the skin of his teeth and pure stubbornness.

He becomes friends with Quentin when Quentin cuts him a deal to fix a calculator for cheaper. He and Quentin like similar music and Montana helps him get into shows that Montana is security for. Quentin is happy to give more deals and over time its friendship. Close friendship.

And so when he ripped apart an RC car to get a lot of the components for his villain persona and it glitches after the first few times out, he comes to quentin. Who helps make it better after extracting a promise. No killing. And Montana is happy to agree.

Name: Ox Brice

Aka: tbd but Ox??? maybe

Powers: none. But is a good fighter

Toolkit: really good at just powering through pain. Good at watching and reading people.

Age: 18

Height: 5’ 11”

Weakness: His family.

Backstory: Ox was abandoned young at an orphanage. An orphanage that kept the lights on by selling kids to fight rings. He was not well-loved by the staff and so when he was old enough to throw a punch he was sold. He learned quickly to keep his head down and mouth shut. He meets Montana when he is 16 when Montana is breaking up the ring on his own to get some other persons lost son. And he sees his chance and he helps Montana destroy the ring. Montana offers him a family. And Ox takes the chance presented to him.

Name: Dan Brice

CB Radio handle: Silver Tongued Devil

Aka: tbd maybe bullet…. idk

Powers: none. But!! Quick study and hyper good memory. This works both for and against him

Toolkit: mixed fighter. Spent a lot of time figuring out any fighting style he saw. Also good at info gathering

Age: 16

Height: 5 foot

Weakness: easy to egg into having a fight. Especially if the other Enforcers are insulted. 

Backstory: he grew up in a house with three other kids and a mom that didn't want him. His dad was a trucker and would let him ride along during summers. He loved those long hauls that took him away from angry slaps and digging words. He spent most of the rest of the time out of the house, learning as many different fight styles that he can to keep himself safe at school at the very least.

That all ends when his father is killed in a supervillain attack while trucking when Dan is 14. His mom packs him into a car and drops him in the middle of Richsten, telling him that he reminds her too much of his father and that she cannot stand for him to stay in her house. And he wanders the streets for a little bit until Montana finds him fighting off some guy tring to steal the little bit of money he has.

Starts talking to Martha and friends over cb radio for homework help and eventually becomes friends with them at school.

[hanahaki-ghost]

For those not wanting to read it on archives story will be below the cut

New Au…because when don’t I have a new au(I got two Disney related aus Imma draw for too soon also designs for this au hopefully coming out soon)

This is not proof read as I write these at night and post them directly after! (You can probably tell) I also suck at endings

This au is “the decay of make believe”

After encountering hate goes wrong make believe started to decay with the only safe place being the market, RGB, Dial and TOby are not able to get to the market and are slowly falling apart and hero tries to help them while finding a way to save make believe

Story below \/\/\/

————————————————————

“Hey you guys still alive?” A white haired girl said walking into the house. She had a bag slung over her shoulder, boots making a noise against the wood floor.

“Right over hErE kiddo?” A familiar southern accent said as a man with a microphone head peaked out of the doorway that led to the main dinning room area(even though there was no need for a kitchen and what not). She smiled seeing him walking over and setting her back on the table.

The microphone headed man walked back over to another man who was sitting at the table, he had a tv for a head though the front of his casing where the screen was seemed to be coming off and the microphone headed man was trying to tape it together.

“Hello hero how was your trip?” The tv headed man said in his British accent voice quiet due to the volume dial having been bumped making him sigh and turn it back up.

“It was fine I found some stuff to hopefully help repair you three, at least a little” Hero said digging through her bag “just glad to see you and Dial stayed in one piece while I was gone” she teased making the microphone headed man, Dial, chuckle.

“You know it’ll take more than a bit of decay to take me and ole’ RGB here out” Dial said giving his cousin a noogie or the best he could with their non human heads.

“You two are frustrating” a voice came from a chair, purple hair just barely visible over the table.

“Hello to you too TOby” hero said smiling “got some more thread” she said placing what she had gotten on the table.

The three men were not in the best condition after Make believe started to decay. RGBs casing had started to fall a part along with his screen cracking, occasionally a foot or hand would fall off too; Dial had started to rust, one of his wires no longer connected and his on air signed cracked and chipped, he also had some exposed internal wires on his microphone and a few other parts; TOby had lost an eye and his stitching had started to come undone as they decayed with their world.

They couldn’t go to the market for a variety of reasons(one being that last time RGB was there he got himself banned) and they were all living in the house of paint ) Hero making trips there to see her friends that lived there now and to get supplies for the three she lived with.

She grabbed some stuff for RGBs casing going over and sitting on a chair next to him as she worked on putting it back together earning a winch from the man every now and then. As Dial grabbed some covering for his exposed wires before going to help TOby get stitched up.

Later RGB was sitting with Hero on the couch, the room was quiet besides a phonograph softly playing music in the corner.

“I’m sorry” RGB spoke hunched over a bit elbows on his knees.

She sighed “I know, you don’t have to keep saying it” she looked to him “I told you already I forgive you, and I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better hero” she said sighing softly.

“You are a great hero, hero just I never should’ve dragged you into this you were a child and now look at where we are…sitting in a house in a decaying world waiting to disappear” he sighed blue and red trickling from his screen getting caught on cracks and beading up before streaming down like tears.

“But it hasn’t fully decayed yet, there’s still time to fix it” she said trying to be optimistic getting a small smile from the Telly headed man.

“I hope you’re right…though only time will tell” he said softly, she looked as some black ink rose from her vents, she had been seeing more recently which worried her.

“Maybe it’s time we get some rest, I’ll see you in the morning RGB” she got up patting his shoulder and going to head to her room until she felt his gloved hand gently stop her as he got up and gently pulled her to his chest.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to stop this, but please whatever you do, be careful and don’t be rash” he said hugging the girl gently, she was surprised but returned the hug.

“I promise” she said, neither acknowledging his hollow that promise was as they broke from their hugs and went to their respective rooms for the night. Resting as the make believe continued to decay.

[sparrow-the-tired-lesbian]

The Red Queen of Occasus - Chapter One, Eleanor POV: Sleeping Willows

ao3 link if you’d prefer that!

“Absolutely not!” I shouted, gripping the end of the table.

“Control your impulses, Eleanore!” My father ordered. “It is unbecoming of a young lady, especially in the marriage market!”

“Damn your marriage market! I won’t be sold off to some snot-nosed prince and shipped away to some kingdom that, for all I know, could be just as bad as Occasus! I am a woman, not a bargaining chip!”

“Do not speak that dreaded name, child. Not in these lands. You are Glantirian, and a princess. Act like it.”

I uttered a frustrated noise, halfway between a scream and a sarcastic laugh. “Why did you have to focus on the least important portion of my point?! I don’t want to be a wife yet, father! I refuse!”

“You already have a proposal on the table!” My father retorted.

“Then I refuse the proposal! I’d rather be French kissed by the Red Queen!”

Anger filled my father’s face. “That is enough, Eleanore. You are nothing but a child. You haven’t a choice in the matter. Now go. I don’t wish to see you until you’re in a fair mood.”

“Then I’ll be a century,” I muttered, storming off through the doors of the north wing.

Ladies and maids greeted me enthusiastically as I walked, but I seldom cared. I made my way to the stables with great haste. Nothing frustrated me more than when my father tried to strip me of my autonomy. No one made my blood boil the way he did. I wanted nothing more than to set fire to the palace and watch my father’s aspirations and motives burn to the ground. I wanted to end his reign, and when the nights got darker than I cared to bear, I wanted to end his life.

But then, in those moments, there was always Thomas. 

Thomas was a stable boy whom I’d grown up around. He had always cared about me, and I cared about him. We were inseparable as children, like twins. Other than the fact that we looked nothing alike and weren’t related in the slightest.

As I entered the stables, having changed into a less restricting and formal outfit (a pair of black trousers and a white linen shirt.) I heard Thomas’s voice from the stall my horse, Angel, was kept in. 

“Ellie!” Thomas waved at me, making sure I could see where he was.

I jumped over the stall gate and hugged my friend with a tight squeeze. “Hey, Thomas! I was hoping you’d be here.” 

Thomas laughed, brushing the mare’s coat. “Poor day, princess?”

“I’ve had better, I suppose.” I hopped on the railing and sat on it. “Thought some time away from the palace would do me some good.” I put my hair up in a ponytail. “Need a hand out here?”

“Not today, thank you. I’ve already finished all of the necessary chores, and most of the horses are out with their riders. Except for Angel, of course.”

“Are all of the riding courses…”

“Currently occupied, unfortunately. The soldiers need to practice fighting on horseback. They’re horrible at it.” Thomas laughed before taking a pause. “Something wrong, Ellie?”

I huffed in frustration. “Some stupid prince wants to marry me.”

“Yikes… what’s the price?”

“Gold. Silver. Spices. Imports. You know the drill.”

“I’m guessing you don’t have a say in the matter?”

“According to father? No. I’m ’just a child.’”

Thomas shook his head, sighing. “You are 23 years old and a human being who deserves respect. A grown woman. No king nor prince should be allowed to take that from you.”

“Try telling that to the almighty King Jacob Hawthorne, who’s so damn full of himself that he refused to use herbal remedies offered by the Queen of Occasus, even though they could’ve saved his wife from death.” I rolled my eyes. “He’s… full of himself. Like he’s got some kind of god complex. When I’m queen, I’ll be a level-headed one.”

“If, Eleanore. Your father will take that title to his deathbed, I feel.”

“I am hopeful on the contrary.” I smiled as I put the saddle and bridle on my horse, then hopped on her back. She whinnied in response.

“Where are you off to now, eh?” Thomas asked, taking a sip from his canteen.

“Wherever the wind blows the strongest.” I shrugged.

“But all of the riding courses are in use!”

“Well, there’s always the forest trail.”

“Ellie, wait, you can’t-”

Before he could speak, I took the reins and spurred Angel, crashing through the stall gate at incredible speeds and heading to the Red Forest.

The Red Forest was known across Glantire as an accursed, dreaded place. The trees had sap unlike any other maple; the sap was blood red. Still, to the Occasians, the forest was a sacred place, thought to bring good tidings. When the Queen was with child, she would spend the last month of her pregnancy in a small cottage with her handmaiden and midwife to care for her. Then, for the first month of the child’s life, the Queen would nurse her there. The Occasians did this to bless the child’s life and health. In addition to this, it marked where Glantire ended and Occasus began.

As I rode through the forest trail, I felt a chill up my spine. Occasus got much more snow than we did, and judging by the sound it made beneath Angel’s hooves, it was no more than a day fallen. The pale snow was a sharp contrast to Angel’s brown coat.

“Kind of cold out here, isn’t it, girl?” I stopped her where we were and hopped off her back, giving her an apple, which she gladly ate.

I suddenly heard the most peculiar song coming from the path before us. My first thought was that it might have been a bird of some sort. The Red Forest was said to have some strange creatures, but this didn’t sound like a bird at all. It sounded more like a woman.

And it was. A young woman, certainly no older than me, with short blonde hair and light brown skin that seemed to glitter in the sunlight as it shone through the trees. What surprised me the most was that her ears came to a point.

She was an Occasian fae.

Glantire had been at war with Occasus since before I was ever born; according to my father, the Red Queen had been sending covert attacks against him, spanning across his entire reign. War was a given. Humans were taught to hate Occasians, and, by extension, fae.

The fae sang in Latin, her words punctuated by soft, melodic humming. I felt almost enchanted and entranced by her song. When I least expected it, she noticed me, changing her song to one with a series of heavy, minor notes.

I felt my eyelids grow heavier. The song was soothing, calming, and sweet. It felt like a warm blanket and soft pillow. I suddenly felt like a petal adrift on a stream, water crashing against my limbs, almost as if I were weightless.

My body came crashing down to the forest floor, the world fading from view. The snow chilled my flesh as I gave way to a rest.

[soberscientistlife]

africanarchives —Ota Benga was born around 1883, in what is now the Republic of Congo. Theirs was a hunter-gatherer society.

—When Ota became a man, his teeth were chipped into sharp points, part of his tribal customs. Like most of his tribe, Ota was small in stature, under five feet tall.

—Ota's world came crashing down when King Leopold II of Belgium (The butcher of Congo) established a colony in the Congo to exploit its valuable resources.

—The demand for rubber was increasing around the world and Leopold wanted to corner the market. He subdued the native population to force them into laboring on the rubber plantations.Millions of Congolese people died under his reign

—In Belgium Congo, women were held hostage until their men returned with enough rubber for the colonizer King Leopold. Some had their hands chopped off for not meeting rubber quotas.

—Ota was out on a hunting expedition when his village was attacked by the slavers. Whether they were Force Publique or an African group working to collect people to sell to them varies from story to story. He was taken captive.

—On the other side of the globe, a man named Samuel Verner was preparing exhibits for the 1904 World's Fair. The fair's organizers wanted to do an exhibit showing the progress of mankind “from the dark prime to the highest enlightenment, from savagery to civic organisation"

—He was given a hefty budget to collect living "specimens" of people from Africa to represent the "savage depths" from which mankind had sprung.

—The experience of young African men at the 'fair' aka Human Zoo, was not a pleasant one. Billed as cannibals, they shook spears at the crowd and grimaced with their filed teeth, modeling their "war dances"

—Verner sent Ota to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In 1906, Verner found a new home for Ota: The Bronx Zoo.

—Ota was put as an "exhibit" A plaque was erected, describing him in the same way an animal would be described and put into a cage in the monkey house. The Minneapolis Journal declared Ota to be the "missing link" between chimps and humans.

—On March 19, 1916, he stole a revolver gun and shot himself through the heart.

[ravenkings]

[...]

Apocalypse is familiar, even beloved territory for Silicon Valley. A few years ago, it seemed every tech executive had a fully stocked apocalypse bunker somewhere remote but reachable. In 2016, Mr. Altman said he was amassing “guns, gold, potassium iodide, antibiotics, batteries, water, gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force and a big patch of land in Big Sur I can fly to.” The coronavirus pandemic made tech preppers feel vindicated, for a while.

Now, they are prepping for the Singularity.

“They like to think they’re sensible people making sage comments, but they sound more like monks in the year 1000 talking about the Rapture,” said Baldur Bjarnason, author of “The Intelligence Illusion,” a critical examination of A.I. “It’s a bit frightening,” he said.

[...]

For some critics of the Singularity, it is an intellectually dubious attempt to replicate the belief system of organized religion in the kingdom of software.

“They all want eternal life without the inconvenience of having to believe in God,” said Rodney Brooks, the former director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

[...]

Critics counter that even the impressive results of L.L.M.s are a far cry from the enormous, global intelligence long promised by the Singularity. Part of the problem in accurately separating hype from reality is that the engines driving this technology are becoming hidden. OpenAI, which began as a nonprofit using open source code, is now a for-profit venture that critics say is effectively a black box. Google and Microsoft also offer limited visibility.

Much of the A.I. research is being done by the companies with much to gain from the results. Researchers at Microsoft, which invested $13 billion in OpenAI, published a paper in April concluding that a preliminary version of the latest OpenAI model “exhibits many traits of intelligence” including “abstraction, comprehension, vision, coding” and “understanding of human motives and emotions.”

Rylan Schaeffer, a doctoral student in computer science at Stanford, said some A.I. researchers had painted an inaccurate picture of how these large language models exhibit “emergent abilities” — unexplained capabilities that were not evident in smaller versions.

Along with two Stanford colleagues, Brando Miranda and Sanmi Koyejo, Mr. Schaeffer examined the question in a research paper published last month and concluded that emergent properties were “a mirage” caused by errors in measurement. In effect, researchers are seeing what they want to see.

[...]

A.I., just like the Singularity, is already being described as irreversible. “Stopping it would require something like a global surveillance regime, and even that isn’t guaranteed to work,” Mr. Altman and some of his colleagues wrote last month. If Silicon Valley doesn’t make it, they added, others will.

Less discussed are the vast profits to be made from uploading the world. Despite all the talk of A.I. being an unlimited wealth-generating machine, the people getting rich are pretty much the ones who are already rich.

Microsoft has seen its market capitalization soar by half a trillion dollars this year. Nvidia, a maker of chips that run A.I. systems, recently became one of the most valuable public U.S. companies when it said demand for those chips had skyrocketed.

“A.I. is the tech the world has always wanted,” Mr. Altman tweeted.

It certainly is the tech that the tech world has always wanted, arriving at the absolute best possible time. Last year, Silicon Valley was reeling from layoffs and rising interest rates. Crypto, the previous boom, was enmeshed in fraud and disappointment.

[weare-yanagie]

Transhumanism🤖

Transition towards post-humanism

The close-knit relationship between technology and human evolution is not a newly identified discovery. For example, the discovery of fire made a significant change in the then-existing life cycle of man. Therefore, through this article in YanaGie, we hope to introduce you to the climax of the conflict between technology and human evolution.

(

Things to know before reading:

Content- The article describes modern biological and technological innovations related to this concept (For example, the article doesn’t deal with how a chip is attached to the human brain through the Neuralink project). More attention has been paid to its inception, publication, and the philosophical debates that have been arisen from it, for the purpose of scientifically analyzing it. The structure of the topics in the article is as follows:

1: emergence, 2: development of the concept during the 80s, 3: development of the concept during the 90s, 4: market interference, 5: philosophical and ethical views, 6: summary.

)

“For the last several decades, a strange liberation movement has grown within the developed world. Its crusaders aim much higher than civil rights campaigners, feminists, or gay-rights advocates. They want nothing less than to liberate the human race from its biological constraints. As “transhumanists” see it, humans must wrest their biological destiny from evolution’s blind ...”

- Francis Fukuyama (American political scientist)

1. Emergence

The concept of Transhumanism became popular through an article published in 1957 by Julian Huxley, a British biologist, and philosopher, under this name. He stated that at this time, human evolution can be “supplanted” by removing unnecessary factors and improving the necessary ones we have gained.

Here, Huxley mainly focused on improving human conditions to a higher level through also a social and cultural sense in a broader perception, but the concept was adopted by Transhumanist movements that emerged later only as a unification of scientific and technological advances that man had acquired at that time. For example, computer science, space exploration, and cell and tissue preservation through cryopreservation techniques.

2. Development of the concept during the 80s

Subsequently, in the 80s, Transhumanist organizations and schools of thought emerged, focusing on extending human life span, Cryonics (the belief that it is possible to revive deep frozen dead human bodies in the future), space colonization, etc. to advance scientific and technological approaches.

Furthermore, the 80s was a decade favorable for this subject. The Foresight Institute was established by American engineer K. Eric Drexler and researcher Christine L. Peterson with the aim of using molecular engineering and nanotechnology in a visionary manner and conceptual artist Natasha Vita-More brought the discussion of human enhancement through the integration of aesthetics and scientific-technological advancement, among other events. In addition, prominent figures within this movement included American philosopher James Hughes and Canadian roboticist Han Moravec.

3. Development of the concept during the 90s

In the 90th decade, the concept was discussed further. British philosopher Max More and American philosopher Tim W. Bell founded the organization Extropy in order to enhance human characteristics. In 1998, Swedish and Britain philosophers respectively, Nick Bostrom and David Pearce established the Transhumanist Association (WTA), to introduce Transhumanism as a research subject, and in 2008 WTA, was renamed as Humanity+ in hopes of broadening the ideology of Transhumanism.

4. Market interference

In fact, after 2000, Transhumanism received support and funding from Google co-founder Larry Page, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk among other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. In 2013, Larry Page established Calico Life Sciences LLC (Calico Labs) with the aim of using technological advancements to extend human life. In 2022, Bezos and his donors invests $3 billion in Altos Labs, which aims to use technology to prevent ageing and disease. Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of colonizing Mars and the moon, and Neuralink in 2016 with the goal of creating chips that can be connected to the human brain. In July 2022, Synchron announced that they had successfully implanted a chip in the brain of a patient with ALS(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

Elon Musk has quite a significant idea about this, according to him to avoid redundancy in the face of AI humans should merge mentally and physically with machines. Even if his statement seems quite serious at face value, the fundamentals of connecting humans and machines have been present for centuries, it exists in even wearing glasses which we have been doing for a long time now.

5. Philosophical and ethical views

American political philosopher, Francis Fukuyama, has stated “Underlying this idea of the equality of rights is the belief that we all possess a human essence that dwarfs manifest differences in skin color, beauty, and even intelligence. This essence, and the view that individuals therefore have inherent value, is at the heart of political liberalism. But modifying that essence is the core of the transhumanist project. If we start transforming ourselves into something superior, what rights will these enhanced creatures claim, and what rights will they possess when compared to those left behind? If some move ahead, can anyone afford not to follow? These questions are troubling enough within rich, developed societies. Add in the implications for citizens of the world’s poorest countries — for whom biotechnology’s marvels likely will be out of reach — and the threat to the idea of equality becomes even more menacing.” , when talking about Transhumanism in 2009.

He also elaborates “Transhumanism’s advocates think they understand what constitutes a good human being, and they are happy to leave behind the limited, mortal, natural beings they see around them in favor of something better. But do they really comprehend the ultimate human goods? For all our obvious faults, we humans are miraculously complex products of a long evolutionary process — products whose whole is much more than the sum of our parts. Our good characteristics are intimately connected to our bad ones: If we weren’t violent and aggressive, we wouldn’t be able to defend ourselves; if we didn’t have feelings of exclusivity, we wouldn’t be loyal to those close to us; if we never felt jealousy, we would also never feel love. Even our mortality plays a critical function in allowing our species as a whole to survive and adapt (and transhumanists are just about the last group I’d like to see alive forever). Modifying any one of our key characteristics inevitably entails modifying a complex, interlinked package of traits, and we will never be able to anticipate the ultimate outcome.” In his text.

6. Summary

Transhumanism has gained more popularity from the later end of the 1950s, been active during the 80s and 90s, and gained more attention of philosophers and scientists and had their views gained by the 2000s. This is because the action of succeeding biological limitations using science and technology is not an easy feat with positive outcomes. But after the 2000s, this concept gained more attention of the market, and individuals with more wealth have increased investing their resources largely for this matter. According to Francis Fukuyama, Transhumanism challenges equality among humans. Moreover, the changes that occur in the individual based on their unique characteristics affect the whole of humanity (our concepts, social relationships and interactions, desires, social values, spirituality, etc.) Transhumanists hope to eradicate “undesirable” qualities within us, but they do not realize that our “good” qualities are intertwined with our “undesirable” ones and that they would lose the basic essence of what humanity ultimately wishes for.

Sources: Brittanica (“Transhumanism”), The Guardian (“No death and an enhanced life: Is the future transhuman?”), Foreign Policy (Francis Fukuyama on “Transhumanism”).

@weare-yanagie | # SCIENCE

F O L L O W F O R M O R E ✨️

[apesoformythoughts]

“The Tezuman Empire in the jungle valleys of central Klatch is known for its organic market gardens, its exquisite craftsmanship in obsidian, feathers and jade, and its mass human sacrifices in honor of Quezovercoatl, the Feathered Boa, god of mass human sacrifices. As they said, you always knew where you stood with Quezovercoatl. It was generally with a lot of people on top of a great stepped pyramid with someone in an elegant feathered headdress chipping an exquisite obsidian knife for your very own personal use.”

— Faust Eric