Photo: Jynto (CC)
Buckminster Fuller (1895 – 1983) was the quintessential polymath: inventor, researcher, engineer, philosopher, mathematician, architect, teacher, archivist, author, social theorist, futurist, mystic & poet.
Best known for inventing (or more accurately ‘discovering’) the Geodesic Dome. *There were a few earlier domes built but no evidence the designers understood the engineering & mathematical implications of the shape*. He didn’t live to see the discovery of C-60, formally named Buckminsterfullerine in his honor, or the novel variant fullerines which, as minimum-case geometric shapes, are the essential building blocks of nanotechnology.
Fullerines were discovered in the lab, but quickly thereafter found to be ubiquitous in nature. These little 60-atom carbon soccer-balls are produced every time you strike a match or smoke a joint. They are also seen in deep space in large quantities (created in stellar explosions), and may have a cosmic function in kickstarting self-replicatory life processes.
Now the word is in … Buckyballs mixed in olive oil are like a super-mega antioxidant. The theory is that the 60 open binding sites on the cage serve to catch oxidative unwanted junk, but somehow don’t seem to cause any damage to the internal mechanics of healthy cells. Rats fed Buckyball-Oil lived an average of TWICE as long as the control group. That’s beyond statistically significant … it’s incredible.
This was the first study of it’s kind, so further research will be needed to establish the longevity effect works in humans. There’s a writeup at GIZMODO, or read a more technical paper at KURZWEILAI.net
