tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40445192978860933142024-02-07T11:56:19.016-06:00The Idea LabAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-49505358265968010772014-08-17T11:51:00.001-05:002014-08-17T11:51:00.916-05:00Alvin Toffler. La Tercera Ola. Era - Agricola - Era Industrial - Era de...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Le75avH1Cp4" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-46317222974213332672014-08-16T22:19:00.001-05:002014-08-16T22:19:46.048-05:00Donald Ingber - Biologically Inspired Engineering<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SeVCbg5p-RM" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-32231132623100104612014-08-08T20:32:00.001-05:002014-08-08T20:32:08.485-05:00Neil deGrasse Tyson - We Stopped Dreaming (Episode 1)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CbIZU8cQWXc" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-28766980001007026592014-03-30T17:22:00.001-05:002014-03-30T17:22:00.646-05:00Inequality for All<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/q-rpkZe2OEo" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-64458702049771097992014-03-25T15:21:00.001-05:002014-03-25T15:21:37.281-05:00Report Release: 2013 - 2014 State of the Future<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0MKQ9FrmU04" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-39069285682544574302014-01-22T22:36:00.001-06:002014-01-22T22:36:48.995-06:00StemCellShorts - What are induced pluripotent stem cells? Narrated by Dr...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oQKL5N1UwpE" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-59235835304279602512014-01-18T12:39:00.001-06:002014-01-18T12:39:44.239-06:00Boosting intelligence through embryo screening with...<a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/01/boosting-intelligence-through.html?spref=bl">Next Big Future: Boosting intelligence through embryo screening wit...</a>: Wired reported that BGI (used to be Beijing Genomics Institute) expect that within a decade their research into intelligence genes will be u...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-2821134363212423052013-12-09T19:00:00.000-06:002013-12-09T19:00:02.667-06:00CIO Network: The Eight Most Important Technologies <iframe width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/hRoStTSX8HY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-56130021701634123192013-12-09T10:09:00.000-06:002013-12-09T10:09:23.028-06:00The True Value of Bitcoin: What You Really Need To Know<iframe width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Cs6F91dFYCs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com1United States38.272688535980969 -98.437512.750654035980968 -139.746094 63.794723035980965 -57.128906tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-54885999145886979452013-10-11T14:52:00.000-05:002013-10-11T14:52:23.233-05:00Eric Drexler lecture & debate: "Radical Abundance" - Nanotechnology Science Café | KennisCafé Nanotechnology<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/74876270" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-75904231591629707642013-10-01T10:59:00.000-05:002013-10-01T11:14:44.182-05:00Rewired nerves control robotic leg<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/b3YgoYNgiMQ" width="520"></iframe>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">“Mind over matter” has been a saying that was left for
mystics and believers of supernatural phenomena. However, with a new break
through in bio medical technology, thoughts now have a direct causal reaction
to physical objects. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">A team of biomedical engineers led by Levi Hargrove at the
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago in Illinois reported a noteworthy break
through in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New England Journal of
Medicine. </i>The patient that you see in the video above is a 32 year-old man
whose knee and lower leg were amputated in 2009 after a motorcycle
accident. The prosthetic leg that
you see, isn’t the standard grade prosthetic, but is wired directly into the
patient’s muscles giving him full control over his prosthetic simply by thinking
about moving his leg. In a sense, hijacking the signal that would be sent down
the hamstring and to the missing foot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">The major advancement in this technology is that the patient
no longer requires a remote-control switch or exaggerated movements to tell the
robotic leg to execute a certain movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">“To our knowledge, this is the first time that neural signals
have been used to control both a motorized knee and ankle prosthesis,”
According to Hargrove. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">In past experiments of robotic prosthetics researchers have
shown that individuals that were paralyzed could move a robotic arm using their
thoughts such as <a href="http://brandonhtomlin.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-history-and-future-of-computer-input.html" target="_blank">Matt Nagle, the first person to control an artificial handusing a BCI</a> as part of the first nine-month human trial of Cyberkinestic’s
BrainGate chip-implant. What separates the technology that Matt used and our
current prosthetic user is that instead of using a typical BCI, it uses
the muscle signals to amplify the messages sent by the brain when the person wants
to move. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">“In order to use muscles as amplifiers to surgeons redirect
the nerves that previously controlled a part of the patient’s lower leg muscles
so that they would cause the muscles in his thigh to contract in a technique
called targeted muscle reinnervation. “ – Nature <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">They then used the sensors that were embedded in the robotic
leg to calculate the electrical pulse created by the reinnervated muscle
contraction and the existing thigh muscles. When researchers combined all of
this data with the additional information from the sensors, the patient was
able to use the prostatic more accurately than when attempting to control the
leg with its sensor alone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>381</o:Words>
<o:Characters>2176</o:Characters>
<o:Company>DuraComm</o:Company>
<o:Lines>18</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>4</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>2672</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>12.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">Researchers hope that within the next three to five years
this technology should be available to the public to help give mobility back to
people who have lost a limb. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">Citation <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt;">http://www.nature.com/news/rewired-nerves-control-robotic-leg-1.13818</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-59058169004213102812013-09-30T11:39:00.000-05:002013-09-30T11:40:24.178-05:00Researchers Demonstrate 'Accelerator on a Chip'<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 18px;">
<em>Menlo Park, Calif.</em><strong> </strong>— In an advance that could dramatically shrink particle accelerators for science and medicine, researchers used a laser to accelerate electrons at a rate 10 times higher than conventional technology in a nanostructured glass chip smaller than a grain of rice.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 18px;">
The achievement was reported today in <em>Nature</em> by a team including scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 18px;">
“We still have a number of challenges before this technology becomes practical for real-world use, but eventually it would substantially reduce the size and cost of future high-energy particle colliders for exploring the world of fundamental particles and forces,” said Joel England, the SLAC physicist who led the experiments. “It could also help enable compact accelerators and X-ray devices for security scanning, medical therapy and imaging, and research in biology and materials science.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 18px;">
Because it employs commercial lasers and low-cost, mass-production techniques, the researchers believe it will set the stage for new generations of "tabletop" accelerators.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 18px;">
At its full potential, the new “accelerator on a chip” could match the accelerating power of SLAC’s 2-mile-long linear accelerator in just 100 feet, and deliver a million more electron pulses per second.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 18px;">
This initial demonstration achieved an acceleration gradient, or amount of energy gained per length, of 300 million electronvolts per meter. That's roughly 10 times the acceleration provided by the current SLAC linear accelerator. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 18px;">
“Our ultimate goal for this structure is 1 billion electronvolts per meter, and we’re already one-third of the way in our first experiment,” said Stanford Professor Robert Byer, the principal investigator for this research.</div>
<div class="plainTextBlock" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
</div>
<div id="movie-block" style="display: inline; float: center; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 5px;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="331" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/V89qvy8whxY?rel=0&wmode=transparent" width="530"></iframe></div>
<div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span style="color: #4d4f53; font-size: 9pt;"><em>This animation explains how the accelerator on a chip uses infrared laser light to accelerate electrons to increasingly higher energies. (Greg Stewart/SLAC)</em></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="plainTextBlock" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<h3 style="font-size: 1.2em;">
How It Works</h3>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
Today’s accelerators use microwaves to boost the energy of electrons. Researchers have been looking for more economical alternatives, and this new technique, which uses ultrafast lasers to drive the accelerator, is a leading candidate.</div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
Particles are generally accelerated in two stages. First they are boosted to nearly the speed of light. Then any additional acceleration increases their energy, but not their speed; this is the challenging part.</div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
In the accelerator-on-a-chip experiments, electrons are first accelerated to near light-speed in a conventional accelerator. Then they are focused into a tiny, half-micron-high channel within a fused silica glass chip just half a millimeter long. The channel had been patterned with precisely spaced nanoscale ridges. Infrared laser light shining on the pattern generates electrical fields that interact with the electrons in the channel to boost their energy. (See the accompanying animation for more detail.)</div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
Turning the accelerator on a chip into a full-fledged tabletop accelerator will require a more compact way to get the electrons up to speed before they enter the device. </div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
A collaborating research group in Germany, led by Peter Hommelhoff at <a href="http://fau.eu/" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Friedrich Alexander University</a>and the <a href="http://www.mpq.mpg.de/cms/mpq/en/groups/hommel/homepage_cms/projects/laser_electon_acceleration/index.html" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics</a>, has been looking for such a solution. It<a href="http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v111/i13/e134803" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">simultaneously reports</a> in <em>Physical Review Letters</em> its success in using a laser to accelerate lower-energy electrons.</div>
<h3 style="font-size: 1.2em;">
Multi-Use Accelerators</h3>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
Applications for these new particle accelerators would go well beyond particle physics research. Byer said laser accelerators could drive compact X-ray free-electron lasers, comparable to SLAC’s <a href="http://www6.slac.stanford.edu/facilities/lcls.aspx" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Linac Coherent Light Source</a>, that are all-purpose tools for a wide range of research.</div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
Another possible application is small, portable X-ray sources to improve medical care for people injured in combat, as well as provide more affordable medical imaging for hospitals and laboratories. That’s one of the goals of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) <a href="http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/MTO/Programs/Advanced_X-Ray_Integrated_Sources_%28AXiS%29.aspx" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Advanced X-Ray Integrated Sources</a> (AXiS) program, which partially funded this research. Primary funding for this research is from the DOE’s <a href="http://science.energy.gov/" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;">Office of Science</a>.</div>
</div>
<div class="plainTextBlock" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
</div>
<div id="movie-block" style="display: inline; float: center; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 5px;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="331" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7DaXx-warNM?rel=0&wmode=transparent" width="590"></iframe></div>
<div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span style="color: #4d4f53; font-size: 9pt;"><em>SLAC's Joel England explains how the same fabrication techniques used for silicon computer microchips allowed their team to create the new laser-driven particle accelerator chips. (SLAC)</em></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="plainTextBlock" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
The study's lead authors were Stanford graduate students Edgar Peralta and Ken Soong. Peralta created the patterned fused silica chips in the <a href="http://snf.stanford.edu/" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Stanford Nanofabrication Facility</a>. Soong implemented the high-precision laser optics for the experiment at SLAC’s <a href="https://portal.slac.stanford.edu/sites/ard_public/tfd/facilities/nlcta/Pages/Default.aspx" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Next Linear Collider Test Accelerator</a><a href="http://snf.stanford.edu/" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"></a>. Additional contributors included researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles and Tech-X Corp. in Boulder, Colo.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<em>SLAC is a multi-program laboratory exploring frontier questions in photon science, astrophysics, particle physics and accelerator research. Located in Menlo Park, California, SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. To learn more, please visit<a href="http://www.slac.stanford.edu/" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;">www.slac.stanford.edu</a>.</em></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<em>DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit </em><a href="http://science.energy.gov/" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;"><em>science.energy.gov</em></a><em>.</em></div>
<hr style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.5em;" />
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<strong>Citation: </strong><a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vnfv/ncurrent/full/nature12664.html" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">E. A. Peralta <em>et al.</em>, <em>Nature</em>, 27 Sept 2013 (10.1038/nature12664)</a><br /><br /><strong>Press Office Contact: </strong>Andy Freeberg, SLAC, <a href="mailto:%20afreeberg@slac.stanford.edu" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;">afreeberg@slac.stanford.edu</a>, (650) 926-4359<br /><br /><strong>Scientist Contacts:</strong></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<strong></strong>Robert Byer, Stanford University, <a href="mailto:%20rlbyer@stanford.edu" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;">rlbyer@stanford.edu</a>, (650) 723-0226</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em;">Joel England, SLAC,</span><span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><a href="mailto: england@slac.stanford.edu" style="color: #990000; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;">england@slac.stanford.edu</a><span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em;">, (650) 926-3706</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em;">*This post was taken from </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">http://www6.slac.stanford.edu/news/2013-09-27-accelerator-on-a-chip.aspx* </span></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-83259406290684611382013-09-30T11:31:00.000-05:002013-09-30T11:31:00.334-05:00Dental implants that heal faster and fight infection<br /><div class="post-body" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<div class="body" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_207731" style="float: right; margin: 2px 0px 7px 15px; padding: 0px; width: 310px;">
<a class="expando-wrapper " href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/images/Osteoblast-in-Action.jpg" rel="prettyPhoto" style="color: #5288cb; display: block; text-decoration: none;"><span class="enlarge" style="display: block; font-size: 10px; text-align: right; width: 302px;"><strong>[+]</strong></span><img alt="" class=" wp-image-207731" height="255" src="http://www.kurzweilai.net/images/Osteoblast-in-Action.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgb(147, 147, 147) 0px 0px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgb(147, 147, 147) 0px 0px 5px; margin: 0px;" title="Osteoblast in Action" width="300" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 5px 2px 0px;">
A bone cell anchoring itself to a surface of titanium dioxide nanotubes. Because osteoblasts (cells that synthesize bone tissue).readily adhere to this novel surface, dental implants coated with TiO2 nanotubes could significantly improve healing following dental implant surgery. (Credit: Tolou Shokuhfar/Michigan Technological University)</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.mtu.edu/" style="color: #5288cb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Michigan Technological University</a> researchers have developed a way to use self-assembled titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes to <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-09/mtu-s092113.php" style="color: #5288cb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">lower</a> the rate of dental-implant failures.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Dental implants are posts, usually made of titanium, that are surgically placed into the jawbone and topped with artificial teeth.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
While most dental implants are successful, a small percentage fail and either fall out or must be removed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
“There are two main issues that concern dentists: infection and separation from the bone,” said Tolou Shokuhfar, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The mouth is a dirty place, so bacterial infections are a risk after implant surgery, and sometimes bone fails to heal securely around the device.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Because jawbones are somewhat thin and delicate, replacing a failed implant can be difficult, not to mention expensive. Generally, dentists charge between $2,000 and $4,000 to install a single implant, and the procedure is rarely covered by insurance.</div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_207733" style="float: right; margin: 2px 0px 7px 15px; padding: 0px; width: 310px;">
<a class="expando-wrapper " href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/images/A-forest-of-nanotubes1.jpg" rel="prettyPhoto" style="color: #5288cb; display: block; text-decoration: none;"><span class="enlarge" style="display: block; font-size: 10px; text-align: right; width: 302px;"><strong>[+]</strong></span><img alt="" class=" wp-image-207733" height="225" src="http://www.kurzweilai.net/images/A-forest-of-nanotubes1.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgb(147, 147, 147) 0px 0px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgb(147, 147, 147) 0px 0px 5px; margin: 0px;" title="A forest of nanotubes" width="300" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 5px 2px 0px;">
A forest of titanium dioxide nanotubes etched into metallic titanium. The surface may improve the longevity of dental implants. (Credit: Tolou Shokuhfar/Michigan Technological University)</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Shokuhfar is now working with Cortino Sukotjo, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Dentistry on a dental implant with a surface made from TiO2 nanotubes, but she has been making and testing them for several years.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
“We have done toxicity tests on the nanotubes, and not only did they not kill cells, they encouraged growth,” she said.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
She has already demonstrated that bone cells grow more vigorously and adhere better to titanium coated with TiO2 nanotubes than to conventional titanium surfaces. That could keep more dental implants in place.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Drug delivery</strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The nanotubes can also be a drug delivery system. Shokuhfar’s team, in collaboration with Alexander Yarin, a professor in UIC’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, loaded TiO2 nanotubes with the anti-inflammatory drug sodium naproxen and demonstrated that it could be released gradually after implant surgery.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
That assures that the medicine gets where it’s needed, and it reduces the chances of unpleasant side effects that arise when a drug is injected or taken orally.</div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_207735" style="float: right; margin: 2px 0px 7px 15px; padding: 0px; width: 310px;">
<a class="expando-wrapper " href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/images/Nanotube-as-a-Drug-Delivery-System.jpg" rel="prettyPhoto" style="color: #5288cb; display: block; text-decoration: none;"><span class="enlarge" style="display: block; font-size: 10px; text-align: right; width: 302px;"><strong>[+]</strong></span><img alt="" class=" wp-image-207735" height="300" src="http://www.kurzweilai.net/images/Nanotube-as-a-Drug-Delivery-System.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgb(147, 147, 147) 0px 0px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgb(147, 147, 147) 0px 0px 5px; margin: 0px;" title="Nanotube as a Drug Delivery System" width="300" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 5px 2px 0px;">
This cutaway view of a titanium dioxide nanotube reveals the drug sodium naproxen on the inside. On the surface of a dental implant, these nanotubes could release this anti-inflammatory drug or other pharmaceuticals that could speed healing. (Credit: Tolou Shokuhfar/Michigan Technological University)</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
To fight infection, the TiO2 nanotubes can also be laced with silver nanoparticles. Shokuhfar and Craig Friedrich, who holds the Richard and Bonnie Robbins Chair of Sustainable Design and Manufacturing at Michigan Tech, are conducting research, as yet unpublished, that is focused on orthopedic implants, such as artificial hips, but which also applies to dental implants.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
“Silver has antimicrobial properties, and we are capable of obtaining a dose that can kill microbes but would not hurt healthy cells and tissues,” she said. In particular, it can help prevent biofilms, vast colonies of bacteria that can cover implants and be very difficult to eradicate. A nanotextured implant surface embedded with silver nanoparticles could prevent infection for the life of the implant.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The TiO2 nanotubes also have a cosmetic advantage: transparency. That’s a plus for any dental implant, but especially for a new type made from zirconia, which some patients choose because it is totally white.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Shokuhfar expects that implants with the new nanotubular surface will be easily assimilated into the market, since titanium implants, both dental and orthopedic, have a long history.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Shokuhfar and Friedrich have received a provisional <a href="https://www.collectiveip.com/patents/US20130196128A1" style="color: #5288cb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">patent</a> and are working with two hospitals to further develop the technology and eventually license it. “As soon as the related paper work is taken care of and we get the FDA approval, the technology could be applied. However I am not aware how long all that would take,” she told <em>KurzweilAI</em>.</div>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_208144" style="float: none; margin: 2px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; width: 650px;">
<a href="https://vimeo.com/user771377/review/75447318/55aba3dea9" style="color: #5288cb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class=" wp-image-208144" height="368" src="http://www.kurzweilai.net/images/DNN-DrShokuhfar.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgb(147, 147, 147) 0px 0px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgb(147, 147, 147) 0px 0px 5px; margin: 0px;" title="DNN-DrShokuhfar" width="640" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 5px 2px 0px;">
<em>Interview with Dr. Tolou Shokuhfar (credit: DNN)</em></div>
</div>
<div class="references" style="margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<h3 style="font-size: 11px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">
REFERENCES:</h3>
<ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C3RA42173B" style="color: #5288cb; text-decoration: none;">Tolou Shokuhfar et al., Intercalation of anti-inflammatory drug molecules within TiO2 nanotubes, <em>RSC Advances</em>, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3RA42173B</a></li>
<li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;">T. Shokuhfar et al., Biophysical Evaluation of Osteoblasts on TiO2 Nanotubes, <em>Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine</em>, 2011, Under Revision</li>
<li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.collectiveip.com/patents/US20130196128A1" style="color: #5288cb; text-decoration: none;">Patent: US 2013/0196128, COMPOSITIONS, METHODS AND DEVICES FOR GENERATING NANOTUBES ON A SURFACE</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
*All credit for this post goes to: http://www.kurzweilai.net/dental-implants-that-heal-faster-and-fight-infection * </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-70017676276449483632013-09-06T20:21:00.002-05:002013-09-06T20:21:27.528-05:00Michio Kaku, Ray Kurzweil and Andreas Mershin discuss nanotechnology <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-ny3JyPWlzk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-45499129457331519272013-09-04T16:54:00.001-05:002013-09-04T16:54:38.271-05:00HIV Vaccine “HIV/AIDS has killed 35 million people worldwide, and more than 34 million people currently live with the virus infection. Since the virus was characterized in 1983, there have been numerous trials through pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions around the world to develop vaccines; however, no vaccine has been successful to date.”<br>
<br>
Researchers from Western University in Canada and Sumagen Canada Inc have successfully completed Phase I Clinical Trial of (SAV CT 01) the first and only preventative HIV vaccine that is based on a genetically modified killed whole virus (SAV001-H) has shown to be successful in all patients with no adverse side-effects.<br>
<br>
The vaccine is a prophylactic vaccine, meaning that is not a cure for people who are already living with the HIV/AIDS virus; but a preventative treatment for individuals that have not been infected by the HIV virus. In an interview, Dr. Chil-Yong Kang explains that the vaccine could be beneficial in suppressing the virus in people who are already have HIV or with hepatitis C.<br>
<br>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HsGwjm7wWns" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>
<br>
“Other HIV vaccines evaluated through human clinical trials have focused on either one specific component of HIV as an antigen, genetic vaccine using recombinant DNA, or recombinant viruses carrying the HIV genes. Kang’s vaccine is unique in that it uses a killed whole HIV-1, much like the killed whole virus vaccines for polio, influenza, rabies and hepatitis A. The HIV-1 is genetically engineered so it is safer and can be produced in large quantities.”<br><br>
Scientist are optimistic about the results from the Phase I trials, because the vaccine boosted the antibody production in HIV-positive volunteers, which raises suspicion that Phase 2 human clinical trials will yield a substantial increased immune systems response to the HIV virus.<br> <br>
"We have proven that there is no safety concern of SAV001-H in human administration and we are now prepared to take the next steps towards Phase II and Phase III clinical trials," said Dr. Dong Joon Kim in the official release. "We are delighted to be one step closer to the first commercialized HIV vaccine."<br><br>
“Sumagen anticipates not only having the first HIV vaccine in market but also the eradication of HIV/AIDS for human beings.”<br>
<br>
Source:
http://communications.uwo.ca/media/releases/2013/September/no_adverse_effects_in_volunteers_following_phase_i_clinical_trial_of_sumagen_aids_vaccine.htmlAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com87tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-58976306562131501992013-08-30T09:53:00.001-05:002013-08-30T09:53:55.141-05:00DNA Nanorobots: A New Method For Treating Cancer <div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
Kevin Russell and myself had the opportunity to interview <a href="http://lifeboat.com/ex/bios.ido.bachelet" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ph.D Ido Bachelet</a> from the Bar-Iran Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials. Dr. Bachelet and his team are developing a new form of cancer delivery system that has the potential to eradicate cancerous tissue from the body without damaging healthy cells.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
However, before I begin, it’s important to understand that all of the technologies we are going to discuss are not science fiction, but science reality.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
DNA origami is a technique that allows scientist to use DNA molecules as programmable building blocks, which make use of the programmable molecular recognition of complementary DNA cohesion to assemble designed structures. By taking a single strand of DNA, scientist are able to manipulate the genetic code, telling the DNA to self-assemble into predetermined shapes. In order to do this, scientist use software that is similar to CAD. It programs the DNA and tells it to fold back and forth into a desired shape or pattern.</div>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_7193" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(240, 240, 240); color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 5px auto; max-width: 96%; padding: 5px 3px 10px; text-align: center; width: 610px;">
<a href="http://www.seriouswonder.com/wp-content/uploads/CAD.jpg" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-7193" height="388" src="http://www.seriouswonder.com/wp-content/uploads/CAD.jpg" style="border: 0px none rgb(34, 34, 34); display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 98.5%; padding: 0px; width: auto;" title="http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/bio2.0/dna_origami" width="600" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px 4px 5px;">
CAD Programmed DNA</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
Almost seven years after the original technique of DNA origami was developed by <a href="http://www.dna.caltech.edu/~pwkr/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Paul Rothemund</a> at the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Ido Bachelet and his team evolved the concept of DNA origami into a radical new drug delivery system. In Dr. Bachelet’s recent publication ‘<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23893007" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Designing a bio-responsive robot from DNA origami</a>‘ his team was able to take the genome of a virus as the primary building block of his structure and create a cage like scaffolding that has the capability to house life promoting drugs such as antibiotics and chemotherapy medicines.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
However, these nanorobots not only have the ability to house powerful medicines; they can also deliver the drugs to the precise location that requires healing.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
The current version of these nanorobots are free floating robots that float through the bloodstream by the billions and remain neutral until they encounter a location that <a class="easyazon-link" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A17IAO0?tag=seriou03-20&link_code=as3&creative=373489&camp=211189" rel="nofollow" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">requires assistance</a>. The nanorobots know that they have reached the proper location by molecular cues that are programmed into them to move from their closed neutral state to its open state (See image 2 below). These molecular cues act as the key to activate the neutralized nanorobot into combat ready mode, and tell it to treat the infection site, delivering the drugs directly to the cancerous spot or site of infection.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.seriouswonder.com/wp-content/uploads/Nano.jpg" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Nano" class="aligncenter wp-image-7194" height="350" src="http://www.seriouswonder.com/wp-content/uploads/Nano.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 3px; border-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); border-style: none none solid; display: block; margin: 5px auto 10px;" title="http://newsana.com/scientific-discoveries/story/watchv-5kltonb3pg" width="600" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
Currently, one of the primary problem with chemotherapy is that the drugs being injected into the patient are not only killing the rogue cancerous cells but healthy cells as well. By taking a sample of the cancerous cells, or by knowing the specific molecular markers of the rogue cells, scientists are able to program the nanorobots to only attack the enemy cells with a specific payload.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
The idea is that the nanorobots don’t excrete the <a href="http://www.seriouswonder.com/pitchfork-medias-music-and-the-psychedelic-mind" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" title="Pitchfork Media’s “Music and the Psychedelic Mind”">drug</a> or release it. Instead, they make the drug accessible or inaccessible by turning it on and off. Because the drug is linked to the robot, one could think of it as a sword and the wielder. As the nanobot prepares to attack the cell that it was programmed to destroy, it enables its sword (the drug), that attacks the cell and then sheaths the drug again, leaving all of the healthy cells around the infection site unaffected by the potent chemotherapy drugs. Once could also think of this technology as predator <a class="easyazon-link" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AGOSQI8?tag=seriou03-20&link_code=as3&creative=373489&camp=211189" rel="nofollow" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">drone</a><a class="easyazon-link" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AGOSQI8?tag=seriou03-20&link_code=as3&creative=373489&camp=211189" rel="nofollow" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">drone</a> that have the ability to hone in and wipe out any enemy insurgents while leaving the healthy citizen population unaffected by the combat.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
I’m sure some of you are asking ‘what happens when these nanorobots have achieved their objective? I don’t want millions maybe even billions of loaded nanorobots with powerful chemo drugs floating in my body.’ The nanorobots have a half-life of an hour or two, but scientist can modify them to live up to 3 days before they start the disintegration process, which is via enzymes. These enzymes slowly start to form segregates about a half-micron in size (size of bacteria). As they slowly dismantle the nanobot, the payload is gradually released into the body at non-lethal doses until the enzymes have completed their task of disassembling, leaving the <a href="http://www.seriouswonder.com/sexbots-ethics-and-transhumans" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" title="Sexbots, Ethics, and Transhumans">body</a> free of the cancer and of any nanorobots.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
The current model of nanobots are extremely efficient in disengaging certain types of cells or delivering payloads to specific sites in the body. However, for diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, where the body suffers a death on the molecular level, these nanobots are non-effective. In the future, it is possible that we will see an all-in-one nanorobot package. These nanobots would not only have the ability to destroy cells but promote the rejuvenation of cells without increasing likelihood of tumors or cancers as well.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: PTSansRegular; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
Another additional future functionality that we will see in coming <a class="easyazon-link" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CNUZH4E?tag=seriou03-20&link_code=as3&creative=373489&camp=211189" rel="nofollow" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">nanorobot</a> versions is the ability to direct or steer nano particles to the precise location that requires treatment. Technically, this would be creating a new surgeon; the Nanorobot Surgeon. These doctors would have the ability to cut, stitch, and sample cells without ever having to perform what we consider modern day surgery. Dr. Bachelet and his team have already connected these nanorobots to an Xbox controller, acting as the conductor to a symphony of nanorobots working in unison to eradicate cancerous cells. These systems of controlling these nanorobots will grow in complexity and sophistication, completely changing the coming face of <a href="http://www.seriouswonder.com/will-robotic-doctors-be-at-your-hospital" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" title="Will Robotic Doctors Be at Your Hospital?">healthcare</a> around the world.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-41269053425606407262013-08-22T17:42:00.000-05:002013-08-22T17:42:02.480-05:00Geordie Rose on Singularity 1 on 1: Machine Learning is Progressing Faster Than You Think<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SuukrcJuHXw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-90790115745460814472013-08-21T12:06:00.000-05:002013-08-21T12:06:11.638-05:00David Pearce - Hedonic Zero - Interview at San Francisco<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Yym0VzgXBGk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-20737477407428866172013-08-17T20:44:00.002-05:002013-08-18T14:35:08.887-05:00Your next GUI will be a BUI When the common language of computers was first being established, engineers had to agree that the piece of code 1101 was the equivalent to an A (example). This collaboration helped create a standard working model that current and future developers could use to build off of. As computers continued to grown in sophistication, so did the standardized models that helped current developers push new software developments without having to rebuild the wheel.<br> <br>
After the standard model of computer architecture was firmly established in the computing community, a new method for operating computers started to manifest itself in the form of a Graphical User Interface (GUI). This GUI was a new and exciting development, and was one of the major launching points to the personal computer. However, this was the first GUI in development, and would be consumed by a mass audience that more than likely had never seen a computer, let alone a GUI before. Developers had to create a standard graphical model that allowed the end users, no matter what GUI they might be operating, to have a standard subconscious model of how this system operated. They did this by giving them an idea of how one GUI relates to another, and how to complete simple task with little cognitive strain.The GUI started to integrate itself into society and take a concrete form, new touch technologies began to be launched for mass consumption, repeating the same process as the GUI. This created a standard model of touch technology that set a precedence for what hand gestures represented for a certain input command to the device. This allowed for the standardized gestures to be adopted for mass integration into all touch technology. For example, the thumb and index finger coming together represents a close or zone out command for the device.<br> <br>
With the development of EEGs and new brain to computer technologies, a new standardized model needs to be developed for how to think and operate these new emerging technologies. For example, to operate a thought-guided helicopter that Professor Bin He and his team created, your EEG patterns or the thoughts that you are thinking to maneuver the device need to be calibrated to the computer. So, before you could begin to operate the helicopter, you would have to have the computer register what you are thinking for up, down, left, and right. Normally, to do this, most people either think of an object or color. Green for take off, red for stop, and a random object or color for left and right.process needs to take place in order for the device to understand what you are trying to convey. This is why a Brain User Interface (BUI) needs to be developed as a standard natural model to translate what we are trying to communicate to our devices. A standard operating procedure such as this would help standardized how to think and control our technologies with our mind until we are able to develop true mind reading technologies. This would lay down a foundation that is similar to gesture and GUI models so that the mass audience could adopt and apply the same ‘thought principles’ to all EEG devices. It was create out of the box devices that require little EEG calibration and operate on the same thought-principles as every other EEG device.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-54467978577419969152013-08-16T15:20:00.000-05:002013-08-16T15:20:12.188-05:00"Singularity Terrorism: Military Meta-Strategy in Response to Terror and Technology""Can the same strategies and tactics, coupled with radically empowering and decentralized technologies, be put to use by militaries to similarly disrupt the patterns of terrorists themselves?" -- <a href="http://jetpress.org/v23/evans.htm">Read the full article here</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-34714916122663813922013-08-06T10:48:00.002-05:002013-08-06T10:57:42.394-05:00The Psychology of Failed Predictions
Psychology plays a role in every decision that we make, to choosing a mate and starting a family, to the advertisements that persuade us in purchasing the latest electronics. But, what role does psychology play when it comes to our ability to predict world events or the latest emerging technologies?
Is it possible that we are limited to certain psychological barriers that hinder our ability to reasonably survey and forecast future events? In a new study by Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI) describes ‘<a href="HTTP://INTELLIGENCE.ORG/FILES/PREDICTINGAI.PDF">How We’re Predicting AI – or Failing To</a>’ by Stuart Armstrong and Kaj Sotala. It shows that there is substantial evidence for suspicion when it comes to our ability to predict future events. According to the data in the study, it is possible that forecasters could struggle with subconscious psychological predispositions that hinder their ability generate successful forecast.
This study was not limited to expert forecast, but also included the forecast of non-experts, and cites data that shows there is an indistinguishable difference between the predictions of expert and non-expert forecasters.
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCcUvNIrNZUYO63YisFWBhtdYLtlvPetjf-5-ehpCK4uoaFlVn61tNY1qEaLkQ5AgI0LfM2mw8-z4g5fcIn3QTQ-3adkUqCkpIyW1wB2ggN3TJsZOHYnifXqXPq1gSoylt6PG6ujgGxP3/s1600/PredictingAIFigure1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCcUvNIrNZUYO63YisFWBhtdYLtlvPetjf-5-ehpCK4uoaFlVn61tNY1qEaLkQ5AgI0LfM2mw8-z4g5fcIn3QTQ-3adkUqCkpIyW1wB2ggN3TJsZOHYnifXqXPq1gSoylt6PG6ujgGxP3/s320/PredictingAIFigure1.jpg" /></a></div></br>
Figure 1: “Median estimate for human-level AI, graphed against date of prediction” (1).<br>
<br>One of the most common mistake that expert and non-expert forecasters make is the so-called Maes-Garreau Law formulated by Kevin Kelly that states, forecasters will predict that a certain event with happen within their life time. “In this case, the rise of AI that will save them from their own deaths, akin to a Rapture of the Nerds” (1), a second mistake that forecasters make is that ‘event X is within 20 years’. </br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtwHcmDszhV3kOuCj5Ht1dKmH3zkHRLwlryhw-Oc3ivLWIoikqO0-dgFxhIYC4-_Kxe2sZtir31z3hnjiNDLH6q81AJiGupE9e-33hf8OveCJJhwf1MxhHtVni3SrLo4ehRfsm75gECkz/s1600/PredictingAI+Figure2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtwHcmDszhV3kOuCj5Ht1dKmH3zkHRLwlryhw-Oc3ivLWIoikqO0-dgFxhIYC4-_Kxe2sZtir31z3hnjiNDLH6q81AJiGupE9e-33hf8OveCJJhwf1MxhHtVni3SrLo4ehRfsm75gECkz/s320/PredictingAI+Figure2.jpg" /></a></div>
Figure 2: “Difference between the predicted time to AI and the predictor’s life expectancy, graphed against the predictor’s age” (1). <br>
<br>In order to compile and execute more accurate forecast and predictions, it is important that we understand our psychological procedures that could obstruct our vision of the future. By doing so, it could allow us to peer into the future with unbiased eyes, and a fresh perspective of what is logically possible according to our data, and not blindly project our ego onto our scenarios and forecast. </br>
<br> SOURCE: (1) <a href="HTTP://INTELLIGENCE.ORG/FILES/PREDICTINGAI.PDF">HTTP://INTELLIGENCE.ORG/FILES/PREDICTINGAI.PDF</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-43188806568292836352013-07-31T13:01:00.000-05:002013-07-31T13:01:29.796-05:00Ray Kurzweil and Eric Drexler discuss nanotechnology <div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/DnMBqwk9fZ4" width="560"></iframe></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-75378702067485825302013-07-30T09:00:00.000-05:002013-07-30T10:06:00.044-05:00The Extinction Of The Pure Human<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Arial;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Times;
panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is no such thing as the Human, only the Transhuman.</span></b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are all transhuman. The transhumanism spectrum varies in
magnitude, and so does the way that the transhuman philosophy is implemented in
the lives of the common man. To help us better understand why we are all
transhuman, and why most of the human species has already disposed of their
pure human form, we need to understand the current working definition of
transhumanism from Max More.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Transhumanism is a class of philosophies of life that seek the
continuation and acceleration of the evolution of intelligent life beyond its
currently human form and human limitations by means of science and technology,
guided by life-promoting principles and values.” (Max More 1990) (1).</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According to this definition, we are using science and technology
as a catalyst to accelerate human evolution and intelligence to exceed human
limitations. Furthermore, we are able to manipulate our environment, and
enhance our genetic composition. Thus, by using any type of enhancement to
improve the quality of life, pushing the boundaries of human limitations would
ultimately fall into the transhumanism philosophical category.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By using this definition of Transhumanism, at what point do we
make the transition from pre-programmed evolutionary mechanisms to the
transhuman being? Do we become transhuman when our parents placed the first
electronic gadget into our hands? Perhaps, when we received our first
“life-promoting” vaccines such as the hepatitis A, B, or the influenza vaccine?
My answer is no. We become transhuman much earlier. We shed our pure
human form and become transhuman in the womb; through the use of genetically
engineered foods, iodized salt, and prenatal pills (2).</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All of these standardized health procedures are all forms of
technology that strip away our pure evolutionary form, and converts us into transhuman
beings. Today, we only consider people transhuman if they carry some sort of
advanced gadgetry or ingest advanced neural enhancing pills. However, those are
all extreme cases of transhumanism, and as technology continues to merge with
biological beings, the extreme spectrums of transhumanism will be pushed
further out. Transhuman practices of today will become standard practices in
future societies. This gives us the ability to take our evolutionary destiny
into our own hands, creating a being that is conscious of it’s evolutionary
development.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even though the transition into worldwide transhumanism was a
subtle metamorphosis, most people do not consider themselves transhuman. It is
advisable to expect a similar evolution when contemplating the progression of
posthumanism. As humans, it is natural to strive to improve the quality of life
for ourselves and for our children. Survival is our most basic biological need.
Because of this it is reasonable to suspect that the same subconscious actions
will be take when moving from the transhuman state to the posthuman state. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sources:</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(1)
http://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_19</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">(2)
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2013/07/23/how-adding-iodine-to-salt-boosted-americans-iq/</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-17288819202389188702013-07-25T21:46:00.000-05:002013-07-31T13:14:52.180-05:00The History and Future of Computer Input. <!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4044519297886093314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4044519297886093314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4044519297886093314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4044519297886093314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">As technology increases in complexity with more servers
crunching more data, shouldn’t the way the humans interact with computers also
grow in complexity? While also ameliorating to a state where complex objectives
can be executed </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">without</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> equally complicated input?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">As the vastness and the interconnectedness of computer
systems ingrains itself into ever-complex systems. The way that we input data
into thus said systems needs to evolve with increasing complexity to compensate
for the amount of human effort that would be required to operate these future
systems. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">The way that our species has historically interacted with
computer systems has experienced little to no growth in its complexity and simplification
– until recently.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Where engineers and computer scientist are making great
strides in the development and implementation of natural language systems,
neural input, and artificial intelligence.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">These technologies are merging together to create a new way
to interact with technology</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">The objective of this article is to give the reader an
understanding of the history of input and where the future of input is heading
in the coming years and decades. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">One example of the stagnation in the evolution of input is the
QWERTY keyboard, which has been the golden standard of data input since the mid
1900s. However, in the last 5 to 10 years we have started witness the mergence of
two new types of new data input.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMu2UuO5qq0lZvryf-EtXm2-N9YSCUghcEMalpb_q4eiJeNgEkT1_uQWX70bIwGZz2t8aN3HATOkJICNjZjo8f1FfezbDmF0-OF5dX70WPaRf5AjCiYBp8xMrG42GPuBsNg82C1Ttwawp/s1600/1800+2013.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMu2UuO5qq0lZvryf-EtXm2-N9YSCUghcEMalpb_q4eiJeNgEkT1_uQWX70bIwGZz2t8aN3HATOkJICNjZjo8f1FfezbDmF0-OF5dX70WPaRf5AjCiYBp8xMrG42GPuBsNg82C1Ttwawp/s400/1800+2013.tiff" height="186" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">(The
data points on the graph represent a new type of input or a substantial
evolution in a certain input technology. Each technology is graphed out in
chronological order. The data in the chart will be provided at the end of the
article.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">In the graph </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Rate of
Input Change Throughout History</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> in 1866 the first teletype machines or
keypunches were invented as a means to program software. These keypunches were
slow, difficult to correct errors, and required armies of office soldiers to
hole punch cards to create software with limited functionality. Leaving its
growth to be fairly consistent until the 1946 when the first computer keyboards
were adopted from the punch card and early teletype machines. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">In 1946 the Eniac computer used a punched card reader as its
input and output device. Then, in 1948, the Binac computer used electromechanically
controlled typewriter to input data directly onto magnetic tape for feeding the
computer data and to print the results. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Now that we have established a limited part of the history
of input from a tactile perspective, which will be identified as the first wave
of technological develop; it is important to note that the second wave of
technological development does not begin at the end of first phase, but in the
middle.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">This allows for constant
advancement without causing technological development to become stagnate and falter.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">By 1936 the first ‘electronic speech synthesizer ‘ was
created by AT&T Bell Labs that produced the first electronic speech
synthesizer called “Voder” by Dundley, Riesz and Watkins. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">This allowed for the first phase of
tactile input of computer systems to continue onto the top of the S curve,
where a technology is ‘matured’ and experiences little to no significant
growth, while the second phase of technological growth beings its exponential
cycle, and takes over the first phase of development. Giving rise to a more
efficient technology, one could compare this type of development to Darwin’s
theory of evolution. (<a href="http://www.seriouswonder.com/methods-for-futuring-part-two" target="_blank">To learn more about the evolution of technology see Methods of Futuring part 2</a>)'</span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HFfI4pPx089bWRPrYppmpOyYwgm60xeQp924NrH1ETd-vXnrVhLZ-fFelC9aTdPoBFomPkOpbSva115OrDL4_7XVYZm6vrjbwwDIw_d8Nk6IAboFTXdnEmZ2cW5udaFjbj51SPTo7n3q/s1600/graph.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HFfI4pPx089bWRPrYppmpOyYwgm60xeQp924NrH1ETd-vXnrVhLZ-fFelC9aTdPoBFomPkOpbSva115OrDL4_7XVYZm6vrjbwwDIw_d8Nk6IAboFTXdnEmZ2cW5udaFjbj51SPTo7n3q/s400/graph.gif" height="173" width="400" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">By 1971 DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
established the ‘Speech Understanding Research’ (SUR) program with the
objective to develop a computer system that could understand continuous speech,
which received $3 million per year of government funding for 5 years. From this
initiative several project groups were erected. Such as CMU, SRI, MIT Lincoln
Laboratory, Systems Development Corporations (SDS), and Bolt (See graph for
sources).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDabKABkLQ4T53fmV4rWO9OSWwU8uYVykZ8c4MVdUiulLvIZFW7dAnJWJ5H37ZLXDdBFHafCrFXG00ADdiY32uq3eO0FTC0pXcepI1_4vsQYfXtMoUL0oSi3bRzQRseSGHfRo1x3Bl4vX/s1600/1930-2013+voice+technology+copy.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDabKABkLQ4T53fmV4rWO9OSWwU8uYVykZ8c4MVdUiulLvIZFW7dAnJWJ5H37ZLXDdBFHafCrFXG00ADdiY32uq3eO0FTC0pXcepI1_4vsQYfXtMoUL0oSi3bRzQRseSGHfRo1x3Bl4vX/s400/1930-2013+voice+technology+copy.tiff" height="187" width="400" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">(The
graph above is the growth of voice technology and neural implants from 1930 to
2000.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Fast forward 11 years to 1982, Dragon systems releases its
first language technology by its two founders, Drs. Jim and Janet Baker. Just
13 years later they release dictation speech recognition technology, allowing
the public for the first time to dictate natural language to a computer system.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">In 2000 the first world-wide voice portal was created by
Tellme, and just 3 years later, healthcare is radically impacted by highly
accurate speech recognition. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">This
leaves us with a continuous growth of voice recognition software that gives us the
current day technology of Watson, Siri, and Google’s voice recognition
technologies. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">This leaves us with highly integrated computer systems that
can execute extremely complicated mathematical calculations and deliver rapid
explanations that are easy for humans to digest.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">In the next few years, it is possible to have a cloud
service that allows us to speak naturally to our devices and implement commands
that would take us several minutes, if not hours to program or research for a
simple answer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">To give an example of what type of functionality such a
system could execute. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">(user speaking to computer) “Computer: what are the top
three diseases that are associated with my family’s medical history that are
neurological, and what is my likelihood of developing one of these mental
disorders?” </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">By 1978 the third phase of new technological input development
started to gain traction.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Dobelle’s first prototype was implanted into “Jerry” a man blinded in
adulthood. In 1978 a single-array BCI containing 68 electrodes was implanted
onto Jerry’s visual cortex and succeeded in producing phosphenes, the sensation
of seeing light. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">In 1998, 20 years
after “Jerry”, Johnny Ray (1944-2002) suffered from ‘locked-in syndrome’ after
suffering a brain-stem stroke in 1997. One year later he under went a surgery
that placed a brain implant that allowed him to control a computer cursor with
pure thought. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Just 2 years after Ray’s implant, a team of researchers </span><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">succeeded in
building a BCI that reproduced a monkey’s movements; while the monkey operated
a joystick or reached for food. The BCI operated in real time and could also
control a separate robot remotely over the Internet. However, the monkeys were not
able to see the arm moving and did not receive any feedback from the arm. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">In 2005 Matt Nagle became the first person to control an
artificial hand using a BCI as part of the first nine-month human trial of
Cyberkinetic’s BrainGate chip-implant. The chip was implanted into Nagle’s
right precentral gyrus (area of the motor cortex responsible for arm movement),
the 96-electrode BrainGate implant allowed Nagle to control a robotic arm by
thinking about moving his hand along with other electronic devices such as a
computer cursor, lights and TV. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">One year later the Altran Foundation for Innovation developed
Brain Computer Interface with electrodes located on the surface of the skull,
instead of directly in the brain that requires surgery. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Fast forward 7 years; we now have caps equipped with EEG
sensors that are sensitive enough to detach the EEG waves through the cranium to
determine when a user commands, (left, right, up, down), giving the person the
ability to control a helicopter with their mind. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gd9KHi4yFI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gd9KHi4yFI</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxSzuYzTcLgnN4-D5nPf7YYelV-FP8ZZ6DOYx4mrScmR2P_SCyC_5_VZ8LqGPHnheeRnV4ihdJCUjlg-6_Gj9aWO2qANyf8EwvNEETmin6f3rTvEkg6S8yRQgUhU7osjW9KDYrkDzQyUI/s1600/neurograph.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxSzuYzTcLgnN4-D5nPf7YYelV-FP8ZZ6DOYx4mrScmR2P_SCyC_5_VZ8LqGPHnheeRnV4ihdJCUjlg-6_Gj9aWO2qANyf8EwvNEETmin6f3rTvEkg6S8yRQgUhU7osjW9KDYrkDzQyUI/s400/neurograph.tiff" height="186" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">(The
graph above is from 1995 to 2013 with primary the growth of neural implants and
EEG readers that function as an input device.)</span></span></div><br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">FUTURE IMPLICATIONS: </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">THE
INVISIBLE FOURTH TECHNOLICAL PARADIGM OF INPUT</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><br>Fourth phase of technological growth that is happening in
parallel with phase two and three, combining natural language, neural implants,
and A.I. . Natural language and neural implants will increase our ability to
accomplish complex tasks. However, this data will be incomprehensible for our
biological brains to process. Instead, we will merge our biological, and
synthetic implants with a God-like artificial intelligence to accomplish
ever-sophisticated commands in a simplistic way that our biological
intelligence can understand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Leading to the final phase of computer input, where an
artificial intelligence that is integrated not only into our brains, but also
in our minds, giving humans the ability to program complex systems from pure
thought.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">However, technology such
as this will not be available until all three phases of computer input have
fully matured, and our understanding of the brain and mind has evolved into a
more concrete and fully understood science. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Sources: All source information and data can be found in the
Google Doc with data from the graphs, and where I compiled all of my data. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">This document will be left open to the public to add and
manipulate data points to create a more in depth picture of where the future of
input is heading. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div>
<b>Please feel free to add your predictions to the excel document. </b></div>
<div>
Link to locked document:<a data-mce-href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlCsYSuSapuZdGFEOHo4dzJoY1JGRXVCdUl0dzhhdWc&usp=sharing" href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlCsYSuSapuZdGFEOHo4dzJoY1JGRXVCdUl0dzhhdWc&usp=sharing"> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlCsYSuSapuZdGFEOHo4dzJoY1JGRXVCdUl0dzhhdWc&usp=sharing</a></div>
Link to open document: <a data-mce-href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlCsYSuSapuZdExHQTJxQldUbk1ReWJpNVlmcnhTd3c&usp=sharing" href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlCsYSuSapuZdExHQTJxQldUbk1ReWJpNVlmcnhTd3c&usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlCsYSuSapuZdExHQTJxQldUbk1ReWJpNVlmcnhTd3c&usp=sharing</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044519297886093314.post-18622732950520897722013-07-20T16:50:00.000-05:002013-07-29T21:47:48.794-05:00What if Google bought Detroit?<span class="blog_post_text"></span><br />
What if Google bought Detroit? Is it financially possible, and if so, what would Google do with an entire city? <br />
According to <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/" target="_blank">Yahoo! Finance</a>, Google’s market cap is approximately $297.46 billion dollars as of July 20<sup>th</sup> 2013. An article written by usatoday.com describes how <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/18/detroit-prepares-bankruptcy-filing-friday/2552819/" target="_blank">Detroit’s bankruptcy is one of the largest of its kind in U.S history</a>. With a population of approximately 700,000, Detroit debts and liabilities could reach as high as $20 billion dollars.<br />
Google
most definitely has enough purchasing power to bail out the city of
Detroit, but what would it do with a whole city? Historically Detroit
has been the heart of car manufacturing, where Henry Ford invented what
we consider the modern day assembly line. Thus, Google could convince
the existing car manufacturers to start producing Google Cars and a
premium rate. However, Google could convince any manufacturing company
to produce their driver-less cars at a premium rate.<br />
What would be appealing to Google would be the ability to produce
city wide legislature that allowed them to use the entire city of
Detroit as real life testing ground for all of their technologies
without having to comply to city laws and regulations. This would allow
them to test cutting edge technologies in everyday scenarios. It would
also present the authority needed to re-imagine how a city operates on
an information level, and not only to test their driver-less cars, but
test products such as mobile commerce, free public internet and free
public transportation as well.<br />
Most
importantly though, Detroit could become an example to other cities
across the United States of how to develop a sustainable city using
groundbreaking technology that would normally get stuck in the standard
bureaucratic processes. It also may radically changing our perspectives
on education, transportation, green energy, and public policy.<br />
Having a city such as this would draw in leading minds from all
around the world, including scientist, engineers, coder, IT experts, and
green architects. These individuals could present groundbreaking ideas
and test their new technologies on a laboratory scale that has been
historically unprecedented. Taking Detroit from the automotive center
of the United States and transforming it into an innovative
technological hub could challenge the authority of Silicon Valley as the
most technologically inventive city in the world.<br />
What do you think? Share your opinion below in the comments section.<br />
<br />
*This article is a hypothetical scenario, and not a call to action.* Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05364599778252447324noreply@blogger.com0