Singularity Sunrise

GMO Humans

The io9 blog takes a literary look at genetically modified (GMO) humans and one possible future (Iain M. Banks: Humans Could Join the Culture via Genetic Engineering):

Apparently scifi author Iain M. Banks (Matter, Consider Phlebas) believes that future humans could conceivably reach the advanced techno-political state of the Culture, a vast, intragalactic society he describes in several of his novels. And we'll get there via designer babies. Over at Biology in Science Fiction, Peggy quotes the author saying we'll become like his A.I.-loving Culture folk by "genetically modifying ourselves, I suspect."

I'm not sure our present day culture is ready for a pro-GMO stance, the people and political parties need some time to catch up with the science. Should humans view themselves as hardware and software to be upgraded and enhanced?

Thought Power

Some remarkable advances are being made in the field of neuroscience, specifically how brain signals can be interfaced with a computer to control the movement of objects in the physical world. This report was featured tonight on NBC Nightly News (Video - No Monkeying Around in Paralysis Research) in which a monkey controls a prosthetic arm with thought power:

Remaking Steve Austin

How much would it cost today to make the first cyborg, TV's Six Million Dollar Man, in inflation-adjusted dollars? CNN-Money is on the case (What would the $6 Million Man cost today?):

Today, we might call him the Twenty-Six Million Dollar Man. That's the value of $6 million in 1974 dollars when adjusted for inflation using tools from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the real cost of a modern-day cyborg in 2008 would be quite different [...] research and development costs to design a bionic man would be $50 million to $100 million today. But with a completed design, production costs would only be several hundred thousand dollars per person, he said, but they'd lack Austin's super powers.

The study notes that such cybernetic technology is not available yet, but that we are getting there..slowly. I thought this report was interesting because it allows us to think about how far along bionic technology has come since those days in the 1970s when this was all still very much in the realm of science fiction.

Send in the Clones

Cloning is very under-the-radar right now as a tech issue, but it's about to get a lot more visibility (Wall Street Journal - Cloned Livestock Poised):

Get ready for a food fight over milk and meat from cloned animals and their offspring. After more than six years of wrestling with the question of whether meat and milk from them are safe to eat, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to declare as early as next week that they are.

I am not at all worried about the health implications of eating cloned food. From what I understand, clones are the same as natural twins, the are just brought about in an unnatural manner. It's not like a cloned chicken is any different than a natural chicken. What's for more important to me is the marketing side of food product safety, let's clearly label food products so consumers can make their own informed choices about what kind of food to put into their bodies. Knowing if food is cloned may be important to some consumers, but I'd rather know if my food is organic or processed with dozens of artificial additives and preservatives.

Neural Prosthetics

CNET New.com - MIT develops brain-to-machine algorithm:

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said Wednesday that they've developed an algorithm for a neural prosthetic aid that can link an individual's brain activity to the person's intentions; and then translate that intention into movement.

It's interesting how technological innovation often starts with helping people overcome medical problems and then slowly expands to other non-medical applications. Imagine what the techs at DARPA would do with this kind of interface.  Wasn't there an old Clint Eastwood movie about Air Force fighter pilots using a direct neural interface to pilot their planes and launch their missiles?

Bionic Hand

One of the most prominent tech news reports today deals with an Iraq War vet and his state-of-the-art bionic hand (USA Today - Iraq War amputee's bionic hand moves all five fingers):

The i-Limb, now available to the U.S. public, outshines its artificial predecessors by a long shot, says Hanger vice president Troy Farnsworth. It still does not have sensory or waterproof functions, but it empowers the user to use all five fingers. Other bionic hands allow for the use of only the thumb, index and middle fingers. "It works so much like a normal hand that it really bridges the gap" between prosthetic and real hands, he says.

No word on whether the i-Limb comes with an iPod port, but I'm sure it's in the works.

Genetic Discrimination

Employers and health insurers will soon be banned from using your genetic info to discriminate against you (NPR - Congress Moves to Ban Genetic Discrimination). As things stand right now:

Employers can require anyone applying for a job to take a genetic test or fire a worker for having a genetic mutation. Health insurance companies can use a family history or genetic-test result to deny coverage or raise premiums for anyone who doesn't have group health insurance.

I wonder about reverse discrimination. If you upgrade your genetic code, will you qualify for a more favorable rate? If parents can demonstrate that their child was pre-screened for common genetic defects, will they then get favorable treatment from insurers? HT: Tech_Space