Jason Silva

The Extended Mind Thesis hits escape velocity when imagination meets AI: a chrysalis is breached, we enter bullet time, “as we imagine so it becomes”… a new kind of explosive creativity is born. This is the new extended mind.

Why we choke, get backaches, risk autism, and (half of of us) can get hit in the nuts: Top 10 Design Flaws in the Human Body nautil.us/top-10-design-…

I think that in some cases, the better someones grasp of science, the stronger their need to reject aerosol transmission. Because if they accept that it's a dominant mode of transmission and really understand what that means, the implications are far-reaching and incredibly frightening. For the layperson, it's just "Oh, so like coughs but further yeah? Well I'll take extra vitamins LOL" and they get on with their life of episodic illness, possibly debilitating, but with (to them) unclear vectors. For someone with a good grasp of science, if they really understand what almost every respiratory infection having airborne potential means, than they understand that if true, almost all of the modern indoor spaces we have would be unsafe without massive IAQ upgrades- and in many cases those upgrades might not even be physically possible. If airborne transmission is dominant = Nearly all of our indoor physical infrastructure is dangerous and obsolete without costly upgrades. That is a massive, massive social, political, and financial upheaval to contemplate- and people able to see the big picture implications, rejecting it at a visceral level, when a comfortable, nostalgic paradigm of handwashing and coughing into their elbow is right there for them to cling to, is somewhat understandable. It will take a long time, and a great deal more work before many come around- and many never will. Semmelweis's findings were not accepted during his lifetime- and those were a comparatively minor upheaval.

Leading European airlines are boosting ticket prices in reaction to soaring jet fuel prices impacted by the war in Iran, and more carriers may follow suit. politico.eu/article/iran-c…

Aviation executives said they were struggling to get assurances about the availability of fuel beyond the next month, as war in the Middle East threatened supplies and drove up prices. ft.trib.al/J7rl4bY

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Ryotaro Hashizume from Mie University in Japan, has achieved a significant breakthrough by using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to successfully eliminate the extra copy of chromosome 21—the genetic cause of Down syndrome (trisomy 21)—in human cells grown in the laboratory. In this proof-of-concept study, the scientists developed an allele-specific approach that targets and cleaves the surplus chromosome while preserving the normal pair, restoring typical cellular functions such as gene expression patterns, proliferation rates, and antioxidant capacity in a substantial portion of the treated cells (with success rates reported up to around 30-37% in optimized conditions). This marks the first time an entire extra chromosome has been precisely removed from human trisomy 21 cells, representing a major advancement in addressing the root genetic cause of the condition's associated cognitive and developmental effects, rather than targeting individual genes. The work remains at an early, preclinical stage, conducted solely in lab-based cell lines (including induced pluripotent stem cells and fibroblasts), and is not yet applicable to living patients. Translating this technique into safe, effective therapies for individuals with Down syndrome will require years of further research, refinement to minimize off-target effects, and thorough ethical discussions regarding potential applications. Nonetheless, this innovative demonstration of chromosome-level editing opens promising avenues for future precision medicine approaches to chromosomal disorders. [Hashizume, R., Wakita, S., Sawada, H., Takebayashi, S., Kitabatake, Y., Miyagawa, Y., Hirokawa, Y. S., Imai, H., & Kurahashi, H. (2025). Trisomic rescue via allele-specific multiple chromosome cleavage using CRISPR-Cas9 in trisomy 21 cells. PNAS Nexus, 4(2), pgaf022. DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf022]

Edward Norton: “The anxiety of these times is particularly intense right now. We know the world is effed up in ways that are unprecedented in our lifetimes. We live in this unbelievable onslaught of information. We see genocide being livestreamed to us. We see American citizens being killed by paramilitary people in our own streets for standing in solidarity with their neighbors. We’re seeing Epstein’s abuses titrated into us on a daily basis”

Elisabeth Shue on why "Adventures in Babysitting" (1987) resonates with the audience even today: "I think the story is very tight, It’s episodic, which I think maybe people are used to today in our culture. Its innocence, I think, resonates today, possibly, just watching these young kids trying to navigate a really complicated world and how they learn and grow from there. Their night out together, I think is a story that obviously is timeless. But maybe in today’s world, its innocence kind of shines through." (Elisabeth Shue's interview with Drew Weisholtz, Today, 2022)

There’s happiness, and then there’s Venezuelan happiness. The nation felt it Wednesday. Its people cried, yelled, danced, hugged and drank after Venezuela’s 3-2 victory over the United States in the World Baseball Classic final. Read more: abcnews.link/SfXNMCD

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian tore into Congress for forcing airport security agents to work without pay, calling the situation “inexcusable” and accusing lawmakers of using frontline workers as “political chips” while a partial government shutdown drags into its fifth week.

Southwest friends. It’s 106°F in March. That’s not normal. Your sleep tonight probably won’t be either. Here’s what to know: Your body drops its core temperature about 2°F to fall asleep. When your bedroom is 80°F+, that process stalls. Deep sleep suffers. REM suffers. You wake up feeling worse than when you laid down. Tonight and every night this week, cool your bed not just your room: → Lighter sheets → No alcohol close to bedtime → Get your sleep surface as cold as possible, that's where your body loses heat We’re obsessed with sleep so you don’t have to 🫡

The science of lifting weights may be far simpler than much of the fitness industry suggests. ow.ly/U2xe50Yw79c

🧵 New @HIGH_TIMES_Mag documentary by @matcafilms just dropped. How Portugal Quietly Became Europe’s Cannabis Capital explores the growers, standards and philosophy shaping one of the most important cannabis frontiers in Europe. Watch 👇 youtube.com/watch?v=rjqaX6…

Last year I let myself freely create for beauty, play, and the sake of seeing what might happen if I started building for myself again. And @capsulesink was born out of that. 🩶

The 4 biomarkers to meaningfully assess a person's risk of coronary artery disease @rayshafarah @aklfahed @pnatarajanmd @JACCJournals @uk_biobank sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

If you see Project Hail Mary this weekend, I hope you'll remember how I told you over 3 years ago that stuff like this was going to explode in pop culture. -From ironic cynicism to post-ironic sincerity. -Embracing the "cringe" & the celebration of the earnest "try-hard." -From deconstructing the past, to a nostalgia for some positive "vibe" we lost in the deconstruction. -The rejection of Fight Club-era nihilism. -The ability to stare at the apocalypse in front of you and be hopeful instead of a "doomer."

Andrew Lacy, CEO of @prenuvo, says he’s betting frustrated consumers will pay out of pocket for preventative MRI scans that insurance still won’t cover.

In a world of overly polished vacation posts, actor, adventurer, and humanitarian Ewan McGregor is dedicated to exploring the world as authentically as possible. Learn more about his journey: on.natgeo.com/KIYTnm #NatGeo33

In the past three decades, Labradoodles, Bernedoodles, and goldendoodles, among many other variants of so-called “designer dogs,” have taken over public spaces across the country—and ignited a backlash. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/3-ZdVB