The Syndicate

Where Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists Talk Early Stage Tech Startups

The Scientist Behind (and Inspiration of) Jurassic Park Who’s Also Birthing a Dino Chicken | Jack Horner

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Jack Horner (@dustydino) is one of the best-known paleontologists in the world, the inspiration for (and advisor of the Jurassic Park films and Dr. Alan Grant and discovered and named Maiasaura, providing the first clear evidence that some dinosaurs cared for their young. His research is now focused on reactivating dormant dinosaur DNA in birds to hatch modern-day dinosaurs. Horner’s face is familiar to millions from his appearances in many television documentaries about dinosaurs.

Listen and Learn:

  1. Why Steven Spielberg just had to have his Jurassic monsters
  2. What is was like as the advisor to Jurassic Park
  3. The little known truths about dinosaurs and our their extinction
  4. Why Jack is working on creating a dino-chicken
  5. How to use dormant DNA to rebirth extinct creatures
  6. The value of sci-fi in forecasting and forewarning the future
  7. Why the public isn’t always so interested in science
  8. How we shifted our entire understanding of dinosaurs
  9. What are the big risks of biotech and why Jack’s not worried
  10. Why dinos were probably much more intelligent than we thought
  11. The actual way radioactive and carbon dating works
  12. What areas is Jack most excited about and why
  13. The truth and misconceptions about evolution

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George Church on Synthetic Biology, Climate Change and the SUPERHUMAN Genome Project

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George Church @geochurch) is a professor of genetics at Harvard & MIT, director of the Personal Genome Project, co-author of 509 papers, 143 patent publications and developed methods used for the first genome sequence (1994) & million-fold cost reductions since.

It is NO exaggeration to say George’s innovations have contributed to nearly all “next generation” DNA sequencing methods and companies; plus his lab’s work on chip-DNA-synthesis, gene editing, and stem cell engineering resulted in founding additional application-based companies spanning fields of medical diagnostics and synthetic biology/therapeutics (all of which has led to the creation of over 14 biotech companies he’s helped co-found

George is the director of the IARPA BRAIN Project and NIH Center for Excellence in Genomic Science and his many honors include election to NAS and NAE and Franklin Bower Laureate for Achievement in Science.

George is the author of Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves and now spends his free time trying to revive the Wholly Mammoth to combat climate change and save the world while remaining the foremost pioneer in the future of synthetic biology and genetic engineering.

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Why CRISPR is Overrated and Gene Drives are Terrifyingly Powerful | Gabriel Licina

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Gabriel Licina is a Molecular Biologist, Research Consultant, hardcore biohacker and the Chief Research Officer of Scihouse, a research-focused makerspace working to make science and technology accessible for everyone with a variety of classes on topics from programming and computer skills, to botany, chemistry, 3d printing and more. In 2015 Gabriel chemically induced night vision in his eyes with a controversial, yet successful experiment and is very active in the self-DIY movement. He’s also been very involved in the ecology and sustainable development spaces, serving as Biologist in Residence at Exosphere HQ. Continue Reading …

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Why We’re Basically Just Bonobos Monkeys with Better Tech | Rebecca Costa

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Rebecca D Costa is an American sociobiologist and futurist and a recipient of the prestigious Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Award. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, The Guardian, and other leading publications and here weekly column, THE FIX, is presently featured on Newsmax and on her site: rebeccacosta.com

Costa was the founder and CEO of one of the largest technology marketing firms in California, where she developed an extensive track record of introducing disruptive, bleeding edge technologies for industry leaders like HP, Apple Computer, Oracle, Siebel Systems, General Electric, 3M, and others.

Rebecca spent six years researching and writing the international bestseller The Watchman’s Rattle: A Radical New Theory of Collapse and her follow-on book On the Verge shot to the top of Amazon’s #1 New Business Releases. The success of The Watchman’s Rattle led to a popular weekly news program called The Costa Report which was syndicated throughout the United States until 2018.

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Blockchain, Isolationism, Space Exploration and the Future of Nations | David Orban of Singularity University

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David Orban is an entrepreneur, author, keynote speaker and the Founder and Managing Partner of Network Society Ventures, a seed stage global investment firm focused on innovative startups at the intersection of exponential technologies and decentralized networks.

An early adopter of blockchain and an active Bitcoin investor since 2010, he was the first to own Ether during the Ethereum launch in 2014. He also led the adoption of Bitcoin and blockchain in start-ups and is an advisor and investor in numerous blockchain companies and funds, such as Blockchain Capital, Bancor, Swarm Fund, and others. David was the keynote speaker at the first Ethereal Summit in May 2017 in New York and is the Founder and a Trustee of Network Society Research, a London-based global think tank present in over 40 countries focused on decentralized exponential technologies disrupting governments and corporations.

He is a mentor for the Thiel Fellowship, a Scientific Advisory Board Member for the Lifeboat Foundation on the Faculty of and an advisor to the Singularity University, an investor in the Singularity University Labs Accelerator Fund (now SU Ventures), President of SingularityU Italy Summit and an advisor to Humanity+.

David is a sought-after speaker, he has given over 100 keynote addresses and speeches around the world for organizations including Abbvie, Cisco, Oracle, Roche, Ernst & Young, Accenture, Gilead, TEDx Academy, Alphabet and others and blogs at davidorban.com

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Megashifts, AI and Why the Future is More Unknowable than Ever | Gerd Leonhard

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Gerd Leonhard (@gleonhard) is a futurist, keynote speaker and author and listed by Wired Magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in Europe (2015). Gerd’s work focuses on the future of humanity, technology and digital transformation; including big disruptors like artificial intelligence, robotics, the future of content and media and much more.

Gerd addresses topics such as what it means to be human in a world of machines and algorithms, the coming redefinition of human-machine relationships, the future of work and jobs and much more. He is a much sought-after speaker, having presented at more than 1700 events in 60+ countries since 2004. His clients include Google, Sony, UBS, Mastercard, Unilever, Lloyds Bank, WWF, Nokia, The Guardian, Siemens, BBC, France Telecom, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, MTN, The Financial Times, The EU Commission, VISA, and many others.

Gerd is a member of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA, London), an advisory board member of the Indian and Canadian research institutes and the author of Technology vs. Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine.

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Hillary Clinton’s Top Advisor on Technology, Innovation, Biotech and Future of Politics | Alec Ross

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Alec serves as an advisor to investors, corporations and government leaders to help them understand the implication of factors emerging at the intersection of geopolitics, markets and increasingly disruptive network technologies and is on the board of directors (or advisors) for companies in the fields of technology, media, telecommunications, education, health care and cybersecurity.

He recently served for four years as Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and acted as the diplomatic lead on issues including cybersecurity, Internet Freedom, disaster response and the use of network technologies in conflict zones. Previously, Alec served as the Convener for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Policy Committee on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and served on the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team.

In 2000, he and three colleagues co-founded the technology-focused nonprofit organization One Economy and grew it from modest origins in a basement into a global organization serving millions of low-income people, with programs on four continents.

His many awards include: Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy Magazine, U.S. Department of State Distinguished Honor Award, Oxford University Internet and Society Award, Huffington Post’s 10 Game Changers in Politics and Tribeca Film Festival Disruptive Innovation Award. Alec has served as a guest lecturer at numerous institutions including the United Nations, Oxford University, Harvard Law School, Stanford Business School and a number of parliamentary bodies and his writing has appeared in academic publications including the Johns Hopkins SAIS Review of International Affairs and the NATO Review.

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The Future of Digital Health, Personalized Medicine and Possible Immortality | Bertalan Meskó – The Medical Futurist

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Dr. Bertalan Meskó (@berci) is The Medical Futurist, one of the world’s leading biotech thinkers and keynote speakers. A self-described geek physician with a Ph.D. in genomics, Bertalan is an Amazon Top 100 author and host of the popular Youtube channel The Medical Futurist (TMF).Bertalan envisions the impact of digital health technologies on the future of health, and helps patients, doctors, government regulators and companies make it a reality.With 500+ presentations including courses at Harvard, Stanford and Yale Universities, Singularity University’s Futuremed course at NASA Ames campus and organizations including the 10 biggest pharmaceutical companies, he is one of the top voices globally on healthcare technology.Dr. Meskó has been featured by dozens of top publications, including CNN, the World Health Organization, National Geographic, Forbes, TIME magazine, BBC, and the New York Times.

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Why 21st Century Will Be Defined by Biotech | Ramphis Castro of ScienceVest

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Ramphis Castro (@jramphis) is the co-founder of ScienceVest, a venture capital fund for hard-tech and life science companies, and Impact Science Angels, an angel group focused on investing in companies that can impact 1MM+ lives. Ramphis is a Kauffman Fellow and co-Chair the NYC chapter of the Society and focused on the funding gaps for radical science companies in the US.

In 2016 Ramphis was invited by the White House and was part of the US delegation with President Obama on his historic visit to Cuba.

Ramphis has a diversified personal investment portfolio of companies ranging from Artificial Intelligence, Drones, Wearables, EdTech, Productivity Software, eCommerce, MarketPlaces, FinTech to Consumer Apps. He also designed and is on the investment committee for Parallel 18, a global accelerator based in Puerto Rico with a portfolio of 100+ seed/series A companies from over 40 countries across multiple verticals that have collectively raised over $40M in venture capital funding from investors from Silicon Valley, New York, and beyond.

 

 

 

 

Listen and Learn:

  1. How trade and politics affect economies
  2. Why AI is so important in biotech
  3. What areas of synthetic biology are most promising for investors
  4. The reason impact investing will dominate next generation of investing
  5. How Cuba’s embracing capitalism and the future of startup ecosystems
  6. The reason science and deep tech is underfunded
  7. Why biotech will be the driving force of 21st century
  8. Why CRISPR is such a promising technology to cure incurable diseases
  9. Why Ramphis will probably live forever
  10. The sad truth about startup investing

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FringeFM 18 – Aubrey de Grey on the End of Aging, Increased Human Longevity and Living to 1000 Years

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Aubrey de Grey (@aubreydegrey) is Cambridge researcher and Chief Science Officer of SENS Research Foundation focused on aging and extending human longevity. He proposes that the first human beings who will live to 1,000 years old have already been born.

In addition to his research, Aubrey is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research, author of The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging (1999) and co-author of Ending Aging (2007).  De Grey’s research focuses on whether regenerative medicine can prevent the aging process. He works on the development of what he calls “Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence” (SENS), a collection of proposed techniques to rejuvenate the human body and stop aging. To this end, he has identified seven types of molecular and cellular damage caused by essential metabolic processes. SENS is a proposed panel of therapies designed to repair this damage.

He has been interviewed by most major news sources, including CBS 60 Minutes, the BBC, The New York Times, Fortune Magazine, The Washington Post, TED, Popular Science, The Colbert Report, Time and the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.

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