Krukes krok

Only three weeks to go now until they start announcing this years Nobel Prize winners. Have you placed your bets? NobelPrize.org

If I had been born in Norway in the 1850s my life expectancy at birth would have been about 47 years. In 1965, when I was born, my life expectancy was about 71 years. A boy born today is expected to live for 78 year. Today, at 43 years old, my life expectancy is 79 - and growing. It is growing due to two factors. First the fact that I survive another year obviously removes the probability that I die during that year and so increases my life expectancy. Should I reach 79 years my life expectancy will in fact be over 86 years! Second the population is getting healthier and health care is getting better so people are living longer year by year. In the world as a whole life expectancy at birth is now 65 years. The UN expects this to increase to 76 years in 2050. Throughout time there has been different factors with huge impact on life expectancy. Around 100 years ago the general improvements in social welfare did the trick. The probability of surviving the first year after birth is commonl...

Today the Large Hadron Collider at CERN fires up for the first time. Before Christmas we might have indications on the Higgs particle. Stay tuned. I will!

Today the first Kavli prizes were handed over to proud winners in the categories of Astrophysics, Nanotechnology and Neuroscience. In a way the Kavli prizes can be seen as a supplement, or a renewal, of the Nobel prizes. Astrophysics and neurology are in a way more focused versions of the Nobel prizes in physics and medicine. But you can't really blame Alfred Nobel for not including nanotechnology in his collection of prizes. Nanotechnology as a genuine area of research was defined by Richard Feynman by a speech in 1959, fully 70 years after Nobel's death. But I don't think Fred Kavli has had any intentions to either supplement or to compete with Alfred Nobel. I think he has a very intense inner drive fueling his keen interest in scientific progress and want to put his money to work for something that fascinate him. These three areas of science evidently tops his fascination, and I can't say I blame him. If I were to personally make a list of my favourite areas of scie...

I've been asking quite a few people this question. Most answer no , and then they laugh as if I was joking. I'm not joking. Although this is a hypothetical question at the moment, I think it will become a realistic option sooner or later. And sooner rather than later, but that is a separate post. What I don't understand is why anyone would not want to live forever? Is life that bad? Sure, many of those I ask give plausible explanations like "I don't want to be a senile vegetable and a burden to society for years and years". Of course, when I say "live forever" I take it to mean in a youthful way with good health and mental abilities intact . In fact, why stop there? What if you could live forever with regained youth, increased physical and mental capabilities and whatever else you could wish for, including sexual stamina and good looks! Still I get a few no's, but also some more or less reluctant ok's. I for one would answer yes. If I cou...

I'm moving to a new virtual home. I have done some blogging in the closed community of my company but feel it's time to spread my wings. I'll re-post my latest posts here, and from now on this is where you'll find me :-)