"And in 35 to 40 years, we basically will be immortal"

In 30 or 40 years, we'll have microscopic machines traveling through our bodies, repairing damaged cells and organs, effectively wiping out diseases. The nanotechnology will also be used to back up our memories and personalities.

In an interview with Computerworld, futurist Ray Kurzweil said that anyone alive come 2040 or 2050 could be close to immortal. The quickening advance of nanotechnology means that the human condition will shift into more of a collaboration of man and machine, as nanobots flow through human blood streams and eventually even replace biological blood, he added.

That may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but Kurzweil, says that research well underway today is leading to a time when a combination of nanotechnology and biotechnology will wipe out cancer, Alzheimer's disease, obesity and diabetes.

It'll also be a time when humans will augment their natural cognitive powers and add years to their lives, Kurzweil said.

"It's radical life extension," Kurzweil said. "The full realization of nanobots will basically eliminate biological disease and aging. I think we'll see widespread use in 20 years of [nanotech] devices that perform certain functions for us. In 30 or 40 years, we will overcome disease and aging. The nanobots will scout out organs and cells that need repairs and simply fix them. It will lead to profound extensions of our health and longevity."

Of course, people will still be struck by lightning or hit by a bus, but much more trauma will be repairable. If nanobots swim in, or even replace, biological blood, then wounds could be healed almost instantly. Limbs could be regrown. Backed up memories and personalities could be accessed after a head trauma.

Today, researchers at MIT already are using nanoparticles to deliver killer genes that battle late-stage cancer. The university reported just last month the nano-based treatment killed ovarian cancer, which is considered to be one of the most deadly cancers, in mice.

And earlier this year, scientists at the University of London reported using nanotechnology to blast cancer cells in mice with "tumor busting" genes, giving new hope to patients with inoperable tumors. So far, tests have shown that the new technique leaves healthy cells undamaged.

With this kind of work going on now, Kurzweil says that by 2024 we'll be adding a year to our life expectancy with every year that passes. "The sense of time will be running in and not running out," he added. "Within 15 years, we will reverse this loss of remaining life expectancy. We will be adding more time than is going by."

And in 35 to 40 years, we basically will be immortal, according to the man who wrote The Age of Spiritual Machines and The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology.

Kurzweil also maintains that adding microscopic machines to our bodies won't make us any less human than we are today or were 500 years ago.

"The definition of human is that we are the species that goes beyond our limitations and changes who we are," he said. "If that wasn't the case, you and I wouldn't be around because at one point life expectancy was 23. We've extended ourselves in many ways. This is an extension of who we are. Ever since we picked up a stick to reach a higher branch, we've extended who we are through tools. It's the nature of human beings to change who we are."

But that doesn't mean there aren't parts of this future that don't worry him. With nanotechnology so advanced that it can travel through our bodies and affect great change on them, come dangers as well as benefits.

The nanobots, he explained, will be self-replicating and engineers will have to harness and contain that replication.

"You could have some self-replicating nanobot that could create copies of itself... and ultimately, within 90 replications, it could devour the body it's in or all humans if it becomes a non-biological plague," said Kurzweil. "Technology is not a utopia. It's a double-edged sword and always has been since we first had fire.''

Asari Dokubo’s Rantings By Frank O. ijege

Recently, Chief Edwin Clark, the self-acclaimed leader of the Ijaw nation and ex militant Chief, Asari Dokubo, was in the news. These men, who are leaders in their own right, made comments unworthy of the positions they occupy in the society. To say that I am disappointed is to obviously state the least. To start with, Chief Edwin Clark is a man who has acquired a reputation for himself in the country, having served as a Federal Commissioner for Information and considering his age of over 80 years, earns him the status of an Elder Statesman. This accounts for one’s consternation about views about the events in the Nigerian polity. One is sometimes inclined to believe that ageing induced his recent comments.
Chief Clark recently pointed accusing fingers at General Ibrahim Babangida and some northern leaders as those sponsoring the dreaded Boko Haram sect. How he came by that conclusion remains a mystery. The current situation in the country is one that all hands to be on deck. So, if Chief Edwin Clark does not have anything to say, let him just look the other way and allow men with genuinely love Nigeria, to seek way solve the problem we currently face as a nation. Chief Clark should be reminded that such statements are capable of ruining the reputation he has earned for himself. Need I remind the revered Elder Statesman that while the Niger Delta was on fire, when he and other leaders in the region were visibly handicapped and incapable of bringing a lasting solution, it was a Northerner who brought the peace they currently enjoy?
Asari Dokubo in his own statement threatened fire and brimstone against the north. One wonders how Asari thinks. The question to ask him is; is it the entire north that is Boko Haram, or is it every northerner that is supports of the sect? Anyway such statements are not unexpected from people who have allowed ethnicity and politics to becloud their judgment and sense of reasoning. When he and other militants were kidnapping and killing innocent citizens in the Niger Delta, who threatened war against the people of the Niger Delta? If Nigeria were a nation where things work, men like Asari Dokubo would have been behind bars from crimes he committed against innocent people. Unfortunately we are not, that is why men like him still move about freely and even have the effrontery to threaten war against a particular section of the country.
The general feeling and belief among some members of the Niger Delta region is that certain people from the north are against the Presidency of President Goodluck Jonathan. Therefore they are creating confusion in the polity to label him a weakling and a failed leader. Whenever I hear such argument, I am always quick to remind people that BoKo Haram did not start from the time of Goodluck Jonathan. The insurgency started during the time of Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. President Goodluk Jonathan merely inherited it and just like his predecessor, found it tasking to solve. So, that argument is not tenable.
Besides, such an argument can only come from people who have a parochial mindset, and hardly mean well for Nigeria.
The so called leaders of the north have not fared any better. They seem to have all gone to sleep while their house is on fire. Maybe their view is, as long as I am not personally affected then everything is okay.
However they cannot pretend that everything is okay in the north, when things are anything but okay. Recently, the governor of a northern State paid a visit to victims of an attack in a hospital putting on a bullet proof vest. This shows that they are not unaware of the daunting security challenges present in the region.
As leaders, the general wellbeing of the people should be their primary concern. If these northern leaders had acted promptly when the situation was a bit controllable, it wouldn’t have enjoyed this sporadic spread and men like Asari Dokubo would not have had the opportunity to descend to the level of insult and finger pointing.

The current security situation is a national one and not just a northern problem. Therefore all well-meaning Nigerians must all arise to the task, so as to find a lasting solution to the current problem our dear country is faced with. Finger pointing and inflammatory remarks like those of Chief Edwin Clark and Asari Dokubo will only aggravate the situation. Let me state unequivocally that the unity of Nigeria is a settled and foregone issue and the blood of those who fought to keep this country together shall not be in vain. Anybody who seeks the breakup of Nigeria does not mean well for her and we must collectively resist such move. Our strength shall be our unity; we cannot conquer this security challenge with a divided house. God bless Nigeria.

What happens when body is exposed directly to space?

There are some myths about what happens when body is exposed directly to space. The official scientific theory is that a lot of things will hurt the body after 90 seconds.

First, the gases expand in the lungs and form airbubbles that could kill a man immediately. The water in body will convert to vapor, the moisture in mouth and eyes will boil and the moisture in muscles and soft tissues will evaporate, causing swelling.

Loss of vision, freezing nose, blue skin and sunburns follow. Interestingly, the heart and the brain will continue their work for another 90 seconds.

Theoretically, treating pressurized oxygen before these 90 seconds could lead to complete recovery with only minor injuries.

In scores of science fiction stories, hapless adventurers find themselves unwittingly introduced to the vacuum of space without proper protection. There is often an alarming cacophony of screams and gasps as the increasingly bloated humans writhe and spasm. Their exposed veins and eyeballs soon bulge in what is clearly a disagreeable manner. The ill-fated adventurers rapidly swell like over-inflated balloons, ultimately bursting in a gruesome spray of blood.

As is true with many subjects, this representation in popular culture does not reflect the reality of exposure to outer space. Ever since humanity first began to probe outside of our protective atmosphere, a number of live organisms have been exposed to vacuum, both deliberately and otherwise. By combining these experiences with our knowledge of outer space, scientists have a pretty clear idea of what would happen if an unprotected human slipped into the cold, airless void.

When the human body is suddenly exposed to the vacuum of space, a number of injuries begin to occur immediately. Though they are relatively minor at first, they accumulate rapidly into a life-threatening combination. The first effect is the expansion of gases within the lungs and digestive tract due to the reduction of external pressure. A victim of explosive decompression greatly increases their chances of survival simply by exhaling within the first few seconds, otherwise death is likely to occur once the lungs rupture and spill bubbles of air into the circulatory system. Such a life-saving exhalation might be due to a shout of surprise, though it would naturally go unheard where there is no air to carry it.

In the absence of atmospheric pressure water will spontaneously convert into vapor, which would cause the moisture in a victim’s mouth and eyes to quickly boil away. The same effect would cause water in the muscles and soft tissues of the body to evaporate, prompting some parts of the body to swell to twice their usual size after a few moments. This bloating may result in some superficial bruising due to broken capillaries, but it would not be sufficient to break the skin.

Within seconds the reduced pressure would cause the nitrogen which is dissolved in the blood to form gaseous bubbles, a painful condition known to divers as “the bends.” Direct exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation would also cause a severe sunburn to any unprotected skin. Heat does not transfer out of the body very rapidly in the absence of a medium such as air or water, so freezing to death is not an immediate risk in outer space despite the extreme cold.
For about ten full seconds– a long time to be loitering in space without protection– an average human would be rather uncomfortable, but they would still have their wits about them. Depending on the nature of the decompression, this may give a victim sufficient time to take measures to save their own life. But this period of “useful consciousness” would wane as the effects of brain asphyxiation begin to set in. In the absence of air pressure the gas exchange of the lungs works in reverse, dumping oxygen out of the blood and accelerating the oxygen-starved state known as hypoxia. After about ten seconds a victim will experience loss of vision and impaired judgement, and the cooling effect of evaporation will lower the temperature in the victim’s mouth and nose to near-freezing. Unconsciousness and convulsions would follow several seconds later, and a blue discoloration of the skin called cyanosis would become evident.

At this point the victim would be floating in a blue, bloated, unresponsive stupor, but their brain would remain undamaged and their heart would continue to beat. If pressurized oxygen is administered within about one and a half minutes, a person in such a state is likely make a complete recovery with only minor injuries, though the hypoxia-induced blindness may not pass for some time. Without intervention in those first ninety seconds, the blood pressure would fall sufficiently that the blood itself would begin to boil, and the heart would stop beating. There are no recorded instances of successful resuscitation beyond that threshold.

Though an unprotected human would not long survive in the clutches of outer space, it is remarkable that survival times can be measured in minutes rather than seconds, and that one could endure such an inhospitable environment for almost two minutes without suffering any irreversible damage. The human body is indeed a resilient machine.

NIGERIA/GHANA TWEET FIGHT - THE TRAILER

The Twitter fight broke out when some Ghanainans openly dissed Nigerians for losing woefully to Team USA at lastnight's Olympic basketball game. As omo 9ja you wouldn’t see anyone dissing your country and keep quiet na. Enough of the talk, check out the tweets below…..
" @Desola_123: Planet Of apes is actually Located In GHANA"

"@donteezy1: Ghanians are so dark dat in the azonto video they had to use a white mask!!!"

"@Toby_osagie: If you close your eyes you'll see many ghanians staring at you. Try it."

" @IamLooCas: we spend *just-a-few-dolls* in Russian clubs, Ghanaian boys said we are spoilin market for them! #growsomefuckinballs"

"@Kelsonline7: The Dark Knight cldnt rise in ghana.. He had 2 blend in .."

" @nitrojide: So sad and dumb. That's why Nigeria is still backward. RT @iambabadivision: Black people dissing black people for being black"

"@iPUKEwordz: Ghanain cars do not have tinted windows. The owners are already tinted"

"@DelzDapper: India- Bollywood, America- Hollywood, Nigeria- Nollywood, Ghana- Burnt Firewood."

"@Cutekhid: Baba Suwe Went to Ghana... With his Full Drama Costume..yet he Was Mistaken for an Albino!"

"@loveiswicked: I'm not sure we Nigerians hate Ghanians. I guess we are just having our normal fun and Ghana is the scape goat :)"

"@marvyn_freeman: Ghanaians are saying their economy is doing better than ours,DANGOTE will wake up,buy the whole ghana and turn it to coal production plant!"

"@Phemmie_Killz: Blackberry curve 2 and 3 will never sell in ghana....no flash! "
"@djpizaro: But a Ghana man will never call a child Friday.....Thank God we're not a Nigerians"

"@_iGhasFine_: Ah! Past 12 already, it'll soon be Ghana now!!! Night, sorry."

"@funnyguynikszo: WANDE Coal went to Ghana, the people were shouting 'oyinbo"

"@Temi_kun: HAAA! I knew there'd be consequences to this diss... I just knew it. Ghana buns is now N50 *crying*"

"@TeamGhana88: Even if these Nigerians get an olympic medal they'll just sell it at the airport."

"@BLACK0_0RABBiT: My nights so black call that shit Ghana Skin..."

"@uncensoredIII: If A Nigerian Artiste Does Not Perform Live At Any Of The Shows In Ghana,Then,That Show Can Never Make Sense..."

"@BJsmallz: Ghana Has Annoyed Nigeria Again (GHANA)"

"@doraayobami: Remember when they tot they found crude oil in Ghana,, nah.. It was only a group of Ghanians swimming in a pond"

"@Naijablogger: God bless Nigeria,God bless Ghana.........We r Africans!!!"

" @_ex_boyfriend: Its not even Nigeria vs ghana. Its a small part of lagos vs ghana"

See what #TeamUsa have caused. The fight is still going on via twitter and its trending. omo, my 9ja people no dey carry last.

THE ILLUMINATI CONSPIRACY

The Illuminati conspiracy is a conspiracy theory which holds that there is a "global elite" society that is either in control of the world or is seeking to take control of the world. As with most conspiracy theories, beliefs regarding the Illuminati conspiracy vary widely. As a result, it is virtually impossible to give a synopsis of the Illuminati conspiracy. Popularized in recent books and movies, the Illuminati conspiracy has definitely reached "cult fiction" status.

If one were to attempt to summarize the Illuminati conspiracy, it would go something like this: The Illuminati began as a secret society under the direction of Jesuit priests. Later, a council of five men, one for each of the points on the pentagram, formed what was called “The Ancient and Illuminated Seers of Bavaria.” They were high order Luciferian Freemasons, thoroughly immersed in mysticism and Eastern mental disciplines, seeking to develop the super powers of the mind. Their alleged plan and purpose is world domination for their lord (who precisely this lord is varies widely). The Illuminati are alleged to be the primary motivational forces encouraging global governance, a one-world religious ethic, and centralized control of the world’s economic systems. Organizations such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the International Criminal Court are seen as tentacles of the Illuminati. According to the Illuminati conspiracy, the Illuminati are the driving force behind efforts to brainwash the gullible masses through thought control and manipulation of beliefs, through the press, the educational curriculum, and the political leadership of the nations.

The Illuminati supposedly have a private board of elite, interlocking delegates who control the world’s major banks. They create inflations, recessions, and depressions and manipulate the world markets, supporting certain leaders and coups and undermining others to achieve their overall goals. The supposed goal behind the Illuminati conspiracy is to create and then manage crises that will eventually convince the masses that globalism, with its centralized economic control and one-world religious ethic, is the necessary solution to the world’s woes. This structure, usually known as the “New World Order,” will, of course, be ruled by the Illuminati.

Does the Illuminati conspiracy have any basis from a Christian/biblical perspective? Perhaps. There are many end-times prophecies in the Bible that are interpreted by most to point to an end times one-world government, a one-world monetary system, and a one-world religion. Many Bible prophecy interpreters see this New World Order as being controlled by the Antichrist, the end-times false messiah. If the Illuminati conspiracy and the New World Order has any validity and is indeed occurring, for the Christian, there is one fact that must be remembered: God has sovereignly allowed all these developments, and they are not outside of His overall plan. God is in control, not the Illuminati. No plan or scheme the Illuminati develop could in any way prevent, or even hinder, God's sovereign plan for the world.

If there is indeed some truth to the Illuminati conspiracy, the Illuminati are nothing but pawns in the hands of Satan, tools to be manipulated in his conflict with God. The fate of the Illuminati will be the same as the fate of their lord, Satan/Lucifer, who will be cast into the lake of fire, to be tormented day and night, forever and ever. In John 16:33 Jesus declared, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." For Christians, all we need to understand about the Illuminati conspiracy is summarized in the words of 1 John 4:4, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

BERMUDA TRIANGLE - THE MYSTERIES

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.


Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal or activity by extraterrestrial beings.More than 1000 ships and planes have disappeared in the triangle area over the past five centuries and continue to do so.

You won't find it on any official map and you won't know when you cross the line, but according to some people, the Bermuda Triangle is a very real place where dozen of ships, planes and people have disappeared with no good explanation. Since a magazine first coined the phrase "Bermuda Triangle" in 1964, the mystery has continued to attract attention.

And all these happen when apparently there is no human errors, equipment failures or even natural disasters. Strangely, the ships and aircraft just vanish when everything seems to be okay.

Many believe that Devil is at play here and therefore call the area also as Devil's Triangle.The facts however are quite far from what is generally known or believed to be true. There are many stories and myths created through sheer imagination of writers who have used them rampantly to draw publicity to their books. In many cases, the facts got blurred.
Lost Planes & Ships in Bermuda Triangle

Here are some of the most amazing stories of planes and ships that disappeared while crossing the triangle area.


Flight 19

The disappearance of this entire squadron of 5 US Navy Avengers was considered so extraordinary that it became the impetus for investigating the Bermuda Triangle. In 1962 Allan W. Ekert wrote a sensational piece in the American Legion Magazine. In it he introduced captivating dialogue between the “flight leader” and the “tower.” Legend, truth, myth and error sprang from that article, and to this day many people have a very confused or skewed view of Flight 19, the actual flight, men, the myth and, most importantly, the facts.


U.S. Battleship Goes Missing With 306 on Board

After fueling British ships in the south Atlantic in Brazilian waters, the ship embarked from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Feb. 16, 1918, came into Barbados in early March and then promptly disappeared completely.The 306 crew and passengers were never heard from again and, while there are many theories, according to the Naval Historical Center, it "is one of the sea's unsolved mysteries."

DC-3 Commercial Flight Vanishes

Capt. Robert Lindquist took off from San Juan with two crew members and 29 passengers heading for Miami.When the plane was 50 miles away from Miami, Lindquist reportedly radioed the Miami airport for landing instructions. The airport's reply was met with silence. The plane was never seen again.According to an investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Board, the plane had electrical difficulties and low battery power. Those findings have not stopped many from blaming supernatural forces on the disappearance.

Panamanian Ship Trades Cargo for Mystery

The Panamanian ship Sylvia L. Ossa was a cargo ship that was a regular near the mysterious waters of the Bermuda Triangle.
But in 1976, the Sylvia L. Ossa fell victim to the mysteries of the triangle when she and her 37-person crew disappeared without a trace.The Coast Guard is reportedly still looking for clues to what happened to the 590-foot ship.


Popular theories solving the mystery

So what caused the ships and aircraft to disappear mysteriously? There have been many research and explorations done to uncover the mystery. There is no single theory that can explain all the incidents. The ships and aircraft have been victims of different circumstances and situations. Things happened very quickly and unexpectedly. While many theories have come out, there are few that come close to solving the Bermuda Triangle Mystery.

Methane Gas --trapped under the sea floor can erupt, as a result can lower the water density and cause ships to sink. Even planes flying over it, can catch fire and get completely destroyed during such gas blowout. Any ships caught within the methane mega-bubble immediately lose all buoyancy and sink to the bottom of the ocean. If the bubbles are big enough and possess a high enough density they can also knock aircraft out of the sky with little or no warning. Aircraft falling victim to these methane bubbles will lose their engines-perhaps igniting the methane surrounding them-and immediately lose their lift as well, ending their flights by diving into the ocean and swiftly plummeting.

Sargasso Sea --is a strange area that has no shores and bounded only by water currents on all sides. The ships passing through it have been stranded and made motionless.

Electronic Fog--a strange thick cloud appears from nowhere and engulfs a ship or a plane. Instruments begin to malfunction, and finally the ship or the aircraft vanishes without a trace. The fog then keeps moving along with the ship or the plane. And soon, all the electronic systems and the instruments start going haywire. Nothing works correctly any longer. And finally the ship or the aircraft disappears without a trace.

So far, all such incidents of electronic fog had been described as supernatural phenomena, or as mere sensational stories from writers wanting to sell their own books on Bermuda Triangle. And there are also theories that took recourse to some supernatural events to explain the disappearances