Latest news with #DemolitionMan
Mint
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
The race to freeze and revive the dead: Science or folly?
From Demolition Man—where Sylvester Stallone's cryogenically frozen whole body is revived to chase a futuristic villain played by Wesley Snipes—to movies like The 6th Day, Gemini Man, and Universal Soldier, Hollywood has long toyed with the idea of cheating death through scientific advancements such as cloning and cryonics. That notion of resurrecting the dead is no longer confined to pulp fiction and sci-fi. From Berlin to Arizona, companies are freezing brains—and sometimes the entire bodies—of humans and pets, betting that future science will one day bring them back. For instance, Tomorrow Bio, Europe's only provider of whole-body cryoprotection, recently made headlines when it raised about $6 million. However, behind the sci-fi gloss lie pressing questions: How does the process really work? Who can afford it? Which companies are leading the charge worldwide? And are these firms reckoning with the philosophical, social, legal, and moral upheavals that would follow if dead people, or animals like the Woolly Mammoth from the Ice Age, were ever revived into a world far removed from the one they left? What is Tomorrow Bio aiming to achieve? Founded in 2020, Tomorrow Bio offers post-legal-death cryopreservation across Europe. The Berlin-based startup says it has already preserved 20 people and 10 pets, with more than 800 members enrolled. Its ambulances—currently in Berlin and Amsterdam, and soon in Zurich—first cool patients to –80 °C immediately after death, before transferring them to long-term storage in Switzerland. There, vacuum-insulated steel dewars (containers) filled with liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) keep bodies preserved indefinitely without electricity. Oversight rests with a non-profit Patient Care Foundation, designed to ensure continuity even if the company itself fails. The start-up calls whole-body field cryoprotection its hallmark innovation, reducing delays and tissue damage. All equipment is German-sourced or custom-built in Berlin, while Switzerland's stability makes it, according to the company, the safest place to safeguard 'patients until revival becomes possible". Are there other cryonics companies? The cryonics industry is still small but growing, with only a few hundred people preserved worldwide. The Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona, founded in 1972, is the most established player, with around 1,442 members and 248 patients in storage. The Cryonics Institute in Michigan, set up in 1976, offers lower-cost whole-body preservation and has about 2,200 members and 240 patients. In Russia, KrioRus—operating since the mid-2000s—has preserved a little over 100 people and 77 pets, and offers both whole-body and head-only options. China's Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute is newer but has already cryopreserved a dozen or so individuals. Southern Cryonics in Australia is preparing its first storage facility, while Germany's non-profit Cryonics Germany offers low-cost neuro preservation to a small but dedicated base. In the US, Oregon Cryonics (now Oregon Brain Preservation) has shifted to brain-only services. Several related efforts complement these providers. Suspended Animation, Inc. handles stabilization and transport for patients in the US, while Nectome experiments with chemical brain preservation and focuses on "advancing the science of memory." Academic initiatives like the Brain Preservation Foundation and Biostasis Technologies pursue research rather than patient services. But what exactly is cryonics? James Hiram Bedford, a former University of California psychology professor who died of renal cancer in 1967, was the first human to be cryonically preserved. He has been stored at Alcor since 1991. Founded in 1972 in California by Fred and Linda Chamberlain, Alcor has grown into the world's most recognized cryonics provider. Fred himself is cryopreserved there, while Linda continues to work at the company. Cryonics, or biostasis, seeks to pause the dying process at subfreezing temperatures so that future medical technology might restore life and health. Alcor calls it the 'ambulance to the future". Ideally, preservation begins immediately after legal death, at cardiac arrest. Patients are not considered dead but 'cryopreserved". Unlike embalming, which slows decay, or organ donation, which repurposes tissue, cryonics halts biological processes altogether. This is achieved with cryoprotectants—chemicals that prevent lethal ice crystal formation by replacing water in tissues. Cooling is then carried out through vitrification, where body fluids solidify into a glass-like state rather than crystallizing. Once cooled to –196 °C, patients are stored indefinitely in vacuum-insulated steel dewars (insulated containers) filled with liquid nitrogen. The process requires no electricity, shielding patients from power failures and reducing long-term costs. How much do these companies charge? For members, the cost is €200,000 (full-body) or €75,000 (brain-only). One can pay in monthly instalments until you are cryopreserved. Membership guarantees standby services and provides a €30,000 discount on cryopreservation costs compared to non-member pricing. For non-members, whole-body cryopreservation costs €230,000.00 while brain-only cryopreservation is priced at €115,000.00. Those using Alcor for cryopreservation today must take a life insurance policy that pays $80,000 at death for neuropreservation (just the head), or $200,000 for whole-body preservation. Cryonics Institute offers the whole body at about $28,000, but standby and transport add another $60,000. KrioRus charges $36,000 for whole and $15,000-18,000 for brain. Prospective clients often fund services via life insurance policies. Can cryonics really bring people back? No full mammal has ever been cooled to cryogenic temperatures and successfully revived. At least, not yet. Still, hospitals routinely resuscitate 'clinically dead" patients—those without a heartbeat or breathing—using modern medical interventions. Cryonics advocates argue that 'absolute death" only occurs when the brain's critical information is lost, and that cryopreservation preserves this data for future repair. The hope is that advances in biotechnology and nanomedicine will one day make revival possible—and perhaps even allow terminally ill patients to undergo cryonics before legal death. For now, those cryopreserved remain in waiting. Do Big Tech executives support cryopreservation? Many Big Tech leaders identify with transhumanism—a movement that embraces technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), nanotech, genetic engineering, and cryonics to extend human life. For instance, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has publicly expressed his wish to be cryopreserved and invested millions in longevity research, including SENS Research Foundation and Craig Venter's Human Longevity. Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, became a paid member of Nectome in 2018. Others back ageing and disease research more broadly: Futurist Ray Kurzweil takes more than 100 pills a day to defy ageing. Google co-founder Sergey Brin, carrying a Parkinson's risk mutation, has donated over $130 million to Parkinson's causes. His co-founder, Larry Page, launched Calico Life Sciences to combat ageing, while Jeff Bezos has backed Altos Labs, focused on cellular rejuvenation. Elon Musk founded Neuralink to merge AI and the brain. Closer home, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan funds brain-computing research. What are the ethical and legal dilemmas of cryonics? Cryonics has long stirred controversy. In 1987, the Dora Kent case saw Alcor accused of preserving a patient's head while she was still alive; police raided its facility, but no charges were filed. Two decades later, the 'Frozen Larry" case alleged mishandling of remains, including baseball legend Ted Williams's head. The claims were never proven, but the headlines dented Alcor's image. More recently, US-based Colossal Biosciences, cofounded by Harvard and MIT geneticist George Church, is working to revive extinct species like the woolly mammoth and dodo through cloning and genetic engineering. This has raised fears of introducing a Jurassic World. Critics also argue that cryonics is scientifically unproven, more promise than practice, and borders on pseudoscience. Ethicists question whether billion-dollar longevity research benefits only the wealthy, while faith groups view it as an unnatural defiance of death. Medically, freezing can cause tissue damage, and even if revival becomes possible, there is no guarantee of restored memory or identity. Legal concerns include consent, funding sustainability, and the welfare of revived individuals—or pets—who may awaken to a world unrecognizable from the one they left, raising profound identity and quality-of-life dilemmas. And what if AI is sentient when cryonic patients awaken? If current trends pan out as feared, cryopreserved individuals—or even pets—revived centuries from now, may likely enter a world dominated by artificially sentient beings. The reason: by then, AI would have surpassed human cognition, running governments, economies, and even healthcare. Cryonics may hence save the body and brain, but re-entry into a world with sentient AI could challenge the very notion of what it means to be human. For one, revived humans might find themselves socially and intellectually obsolete, struggling to integrate into societies shaped by post-human intelligence. Second, pets could be seen as sentimental relics in a world where digital or bioengineered companions are common. Last but not least, it raises philosophical questions of personhood and rights: Would revived people have the same legal and social standing as those who never died? Would AI recognize their dignity, view them as historical curiosities, or simply lab rats? There are no easy answers.
Axios
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
A hidden arcade is fueling Richmond's pinball revival
Inside an unassuming storefront off Midlothian Turnpike, pinball is having a renaissance. Why it matters: What began as a nostalgic passion for baby boomers and Gen Xers is now attracting 20- and 30-year-olds at a time when people are seeking connection after years of isolation. State of play: The Richmond Pinball Collective started in 2017 when Clark and Laura Fraley had the idea to pool privately owned machines into a shared location. It's grown into a 2,400-square-foot space with 40+ free-to-play machines (no quarters required) — the largest collection in the Richmond area, per Members have loaned most of them. Though it briefly shut down during the pandemic, the collective has had the greatest boom in membership since then, board member Chris Terrell tells Axios. What they're saying: "Everybody that's been shut up for so long in their houses wants to start doing things," says Terrell, who grew up playing Pac-Man and Asteroids. "They love the competition. They love the camaraderie." Zoom in: The volunteer-run collective now has about 130 members, league nights that regularly draw over 60 players and a bar with craft beer and White Claws. The machines lining the walls date back to the 1970s and they're filled with pop culture references to famous movies, shows and bands like "Demolition Man," "Game of Thrones" and Metallica. Some are worth up to $15,000. The intrigue: Players also span demographics and age groups, Terrell adds, and increasingly include women (pinball has long been a male-dominated hobby). Jeff Allen, a member, told Axios he's surprised at how many young people are into it. But he noted the game can be "almost therapeutic" and a break from screens. Since joining, he's brought in his son and even old friends he played football with 50 years ago. Fun fact: Pinball was once illegal in Virginia and seen as a societal menace until the '60s. In 1946, police arrested 35 people in Henrico in a pinball raid, per the RTD archives. By 1978, Virginia's first state pinball championship was held at the Chesterfield mall. The bottom line: Pinball isn't going anywhere. "If you were to say, 'What was the best day for the Pinball Collective?' I would say yesterday," Terrell says. "And what's going to be the next best day? It'll be tomorrow." If you go: You can find the collective at 9550 Midlothian Turnpike #106. Hours vary.
Digital Trends
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
3 great action movies on Tubi you need to watch in June
If you haven't downloaded Tubi, what are you waiting for? As a FAST service, Tubi is free. You read that correctly. Tubi is a free service that offers hundreds of movies and television shows at no cost to the consumer. The quality of movies is better than expected. Jaws, Memento, Air, the Great Escape, and On the Waterfront are all on Tubi. Tubi's action genre remains one of its best. If you need some recommendations, we have you covered. One of our picks this month is Demolition Man, a 1993 sci-fi movie with a legendary action hero. Read our picks below. Recommended Videos We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+. Demolition Man (1993) In the action genre, Sylvester Stallone is more than just Rocky and Rambo. John Spartan might not be as iconic as the two 'R's,' but it deserves recognition on Stallone's illustrious resume. In Demolition Man, Los Angeles in 2032 is a peaceful utopia. The status quo is disrupted with the arrival of Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), a violent criminal who escaped frozen incarceration in a 'CryoPrison.' The cops are ill-equipped to handle a mercenary like Phoenix. Instead, they thaw out the man who caught Phoenix decades earlier: John Spartan (Stallone). Spartan brings an old-school, no-holds-barred style to policing, the only mentality that can defeat Phoenix. Demolition Man is a throwback good guy versus bad guy action movie with two strong leads in Stallone and Snipes. Stream Demolition Man on Tubi. Taken (2023) The movie that taught kidnappers to never mess with Liam Neeson is Taken. Retired government operative Bryan Mills attempts to repair his relationship with his teenage daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). Against his better judgment, Bryan allows Kim to go on a European excursion. The trip becomes Bryan's worst nightmare as sex traffickers abduct Kim. Yet the men who kidnapped Kim just made the worst decision of their lives. Bryan heads to Europe, using his particular set of skills, to find his daughter. Taken is the movie that resurrected Neeson's career and transformed him into an action star. Stream Taken on Tubi. Shooter (2008) Shooter can thank cable television for its popularity. Anyone who's ever watched TNT, TBS, or AMC has caught Shooter on a random Tuesday night. It's the perfect two-hour action film because Mark Wahlberg defies the odds and takes down an entire army. Retired Marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg) lives in seclusion after a mission resulted in the death of his spotter. Swagger reluctantly comes out of retirement to advise government officials on how to stop an assassination attempt against the President of the United States. While on the job, Swagger realizes it's a setup and flees. As a fugitive, Swagger searches for answers as to who betrayed him. And by answers, I mean torture and kill people. Stream Shooter on Tubi.
CNBC
27-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
This law enforcement stock is forming a 'bull flag' pattern that signals more gains ahead, charts show
When looking at the future of law enforcement envisioned by Axon Enterprise CEO Rick Smith, I can't help but think of the 1993 Sylvester Stallone movie "Demolition Man." In that movie, they portray a more civilized society where police utilize non-lethal AI-like systems and surveillance-driven technologies to maintain order. The movie portrays violent, lethal manners of containment as a crude relic of the past. Granted ,many personal freedoms are encroached in that movie and that's where the comparison ends. But AXON is designing a more balanced, ethical and technology-driven approach to law enforcement. We own AXON in our Tactical Alpha Growth and Active Opps portfolio at Inside Edge Capital and will be looking to increase our size in AXON. The company, formerly Taser International, has offerings in non-lethal weaponry, vehicle surveillance, systems to improve police force productivity, decision support and real-time operations utilizing artificial intelligence — as well as drone technology that act as first responders. To make one more fundamental case of how AXON can improve productivity, the company claims police officers spend 40% of their time on paperwork. Axon has solutions to utilize AI so officers can spend more time in the field and less time behind a desk. AXON recently broke out on the weekly chart from the $700-$720 resistance zone that should now be considered support. Provided the stock does not break back below $690, I see a potential move towards the upper end of the dashed parallel channel into the $900's. Looking at the annual revenue and EPS figures below the chart, revenues have been growing steadily, but you'll see a "shocking" (bad joke, I know) 2025 EPS drop of 75.21%. Those 2025 projected EPS numbers of $1.19 are GAAP earnings. The expected non-GAAP earnings for all of 2025 are $6.11 compared to $5.94 for 2024. Looking ahead to 2026, expected non-GAAP earnings are 7.50 for a 22.7% growth rate. As shown on the chart, 2026 GAAP earnings are expected to grow by 116.39% to $2.58 in EPS. The discrepancy between GAAP and non-GAAP comes from the company CEO Smith's policy of aggressive long-term compensation plan tied to performance goals. The company issues aggressive equity-based incentives to employees to attempt to hit those goals. Another reason for the discrepancy, according to company reports, is — when Axon acquires another company, intangible assets like software or patents are amortized in GAAP but are excluded from non-GAAP. Moving down to the daily chart we see AXON has carved out a "bull flag" consolidation pattern above the newly formed support zone and today we are extending higher. The 50-day average volume for AXON is 609,000 shares, so to help confirm the breakout I would like to see a few days on which volume exceeds 700,000 shares. In our Active Opps portfolio we hold a 4.02% allocation. After publishing this article I'm looking to increase the holding to approximately 5%-6% of the portfolio. In our slightly less aggressive but still growth-oriented model Tactical Alpha Growth, we hold a 1% allocation established on Aug. 28 that we're also looking to increase. If you look back to that time frame, you'll see a similar bull flag technical pattern (red arrow) that set up the breakout into the $400's. AXON is not trying to create a utopian overreach society like Demolition Man, but I think it is trying to take the best parts of non-lethal policing, officer accountability and efficiency, deterrent systems, all utilizing AI technologies. This name likely remains in our portfolios for the foreseeable future. -Todd Gordon, Founder of Inside Edge Capital, LLC We offer active portfolio management and regular subscriber updates like the idea presented above. DISCLOSURES: Gordon owns AXON personally and in his wealth management company Inside Edge Capital. All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
Globe and Mail
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Globe and Mail
Tesla's Robotaxi Revolution: Is it Too Late to Buy the Stock?
Robotaxi is a word that once was the exclusive to the world of science fiction. As it turns out, Demolition Man is about to manifest itself in reality. Elon Musk revealed that Tesla ( TSLA ) is going to begin deploying self-driving taxi cabs to the streets of the US. It's only a matter of time before transportation as a whole is drastically changed forever. The democratization of getting from point A to point B. Henry Ford is blushing somewhere. Of course, I understand that Elon isn't everybody's favorite anymore. Political motivations have created diverging feelings amongst us. For those that know me, at this point you realize that I couldn't care less about politics. In my opinion, it's theatre, sensationalized to evoke your emotions and get you to click and share articles. Here, I want to look at the inner workings of Tesla's chart and try to figure out where the next moves might run into trouble. Moving Averages: Bartosiak starts by examining the stock's moving averages, such as the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. He points out the significance of crossovers and divergences between these averages, which can indicate potential trend changes. Support and Resistance Levels: Bartosiak identifies key support and resistance levels on the chart. These levels act as barriers that the stock price must breach or hold above, providing traders with critical decision points. Chart Patterns: He discusses chart patterns like head and shoulders, cup and handle, or flags, and their relevance in predicting future price movements. These patterns can offer valuable insights into potential bullish or bearish trends. Volume Analysis: He emphasizes the importance of volume analysis in confirming price trends. An increase in trading volume during a breakout or breakdown can validate the significance of a price move. Dave Bartosiak's technical analysis approach adds depth to our understanding Tesla's stock chart. By paying attention to moving averages, support and resistance levels, chart patterns, technical indicators, and volume, he equips investors with a comprehensive toolkit for making well-informed decisions in the stock market. Remember, while technical analysis is a valuable tool, it's important to consider other factors like fundamental analysis and market sentiment before making investment choices. Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock It's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom. With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028. See This Stock Now for Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report
