- Monkey’s Thoughts Propel Robot, a Step That May Help Humans - I so look forward to seeing quadriplegics walking and moving like natural beings, independent and having a high quality of life. I also see visions of remotely controlling a robot "body" in harsh environments like underwater, volcanoes, the arctic, and space by using our thoughts. Remote sensing tech is also maturing at the exponential rate that most IT technologies are, so we will be able to "see, hear, and touch" the remote environment. In situ by proxy? I also like the idea of an exoskeleton that can augment the users strength, carrying capacity, endurance, and also protect the wearer. Powered Armor anyone? Another thought occurs to me, our interfacing with computers and machines are very crude and require training and practice, but a monkey, in just an hour could mentally manipulate complex robotic legs just by intuitively thinking about it, just like it were her own legs! We need to connect with our machines mentally and just use the equipment, not train, not practice, just think about it like moving an arm or leg. Easy, Breezy! How to use Windows XX would be a thing of the past, we would just know how to do it intuitively as the OS of the future would be connected directly into the brain. Exciting!
- Tinkering extends life of organism by 10-fold - By extrapolation, the average lifespan for humans worldwide is 67 (Wikipedia) so that could possibly mean 670 years, average? WOOT! 2641AD Here I come! I just need the pill for caloric restriction, the gene therapy, and I am set! BOOYAH!
- And then I read this: Robotic exoskeleton to help farmers with heavy lifting - Sometimes, even I am surprised with how fast tech is coming...Funny, I was just thinking about this, LOL.
- Cheap Ethanol from Tires and Trash - I am all about recycling, but what are the environmental effects of continued carbon release through hydrocarbon burning? We need to sequester the carbon we release, which is why I like [Making Gasoline from Carbon Dioxide] and [Biofuels on a Big Scale] which have a much lower carbon footprint. Yes, biofuel releases us from foreign oil dependence, which is a good move politically and economically, but at what cost ecologically? Anyway, I might want to invest when they go public. - Thought: Since nanotechnology requires carbon to create diamondoid structures, could we use solar cells to scrub and collect carbon as stock material for molecular manufacturing microfacilities? Thus a free source of nanomaterial to make virtually any object that is environmentally friendly. Hmmm.
- Researchers find new way to block destructive rush of immune cells - I love PhysOrg.com!
- T-cell 'nanotubes' may explain how HIV virus conquers human immune system - So, does HIV and AIDS have 5-10 years left before cured?
That's it for today. See you soon.
1 comment:
Hey, Clint.
Man, your notes on uplifting are making me drool! I'm just wondering now how to craft them into fiction. A series of shorts, from the point of view of different characters?
Hmmm...and I think that, if made sentient and equal, animals could simply request to be anthropomorphized via gene hacking. Opposable thumbs, ability to walk upright... It could be their choice.
I looked through the article links. When we're in person again, would you mind explaining the semantic web?
Brain-computer interfaces = very cool.
My dad mentioned the cloned beef to me the other day. Yeah, I don't get the deal people have with cloning. Clones = identical twins, for all practical purposes.
As for genetically modified food...though I am a proponent, I can understand some of the brujah-ha against it. But yeah, in general, the average consumer tends to fight against what it misunderstands (especially the au-naturale, "go organic!" crowd, of which I sometimes count myself a member). For instance, the FDA issued a guidance a few months back regarding herbal supplements, and the "green," metaphysical, and holistic crowds went crazy against it. They mistook the guidance (a guidance is not a law, just a document that *suggests* how a product should be regulated) as a law that clamped down on the sale of herbal and dietary supplements. In fact, it was not a law at all, and -- if you read through the document -- worked in *favor* of herbal and dietary supplements by suggesting stronger standards for higher-quality products! Too many consumers are tricked by dishonest companies that market and sell not-so-natural, not-so-pure supplements. The FDA is trying to safeguard the consumer, not put a halt to the herbal market.
In any case, people need to be better educated on these things, especially if they are activists. Haven't they ever heard, "Know your enemy?" All it takes is one person to misunderstand an issue and to disseminate that misinformation to other people -- people who are far too trusting. From there, the misinformation snowballs.
Very interesting stuff. Thanks!
--Lep
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