Technology & Society
From CNET News: “This month, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) in Bremen, Germany, are unveiling a new type of screw that not only biodegrades within two years but actually encourages bone growth
Scientists have been experimenting with “printing” various types of human tissue for years now, often using their own tricked-out devices. The Economist has a great article on a company that is now making printers specifically for this purpose. In addition,
Great article on the topic from the NYT. This sentence is of interest: Ideally you wouldn’t even need to know anything about DNA to manipulate it, just as a 5-year-old doesn’t need to understand the chemical composition of the plastic
I’m looking forward to attending the TED2010 conference this week in Long Beach. If you’re going, I recommend hitting all the Singularity University events, one of which I’ll be leading on Friday at 12:45 in the Dome (topic is how
Here’s a rather disturbing article published by CNN today. Apparently, many “states mandate that newborns be tested for anywhere between 28 and 54 different conditions, and the DNA samples are stored in state labs for anywhere from three months to
Oh boy!
This is an excellent video of Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Regenerative Medicine center. Regrowing organs is a therapy that has already been done in test cases and isn’t too far away from becoming mainstream.
Spike TV’s John Papola and GMU economics professor Russell Roberts teamed up to create an exceptional and entertaining “rap video” pitting John Maynard Keynes against F. A. Hayek. If you ever wondered what would happen if the two famous economists
The Personalized Medicine World Conference in Silicon Valley last week showcased huge opportunities for new advances in medicine and personalized health. What remained unclear was who will take the lead, what techniques or products will win, and whether the medical
Today’s WSJ contained a well-written review by Matt Ridley of a new book about the anti-aging market. Ridley says that in “Eternity Soup,” author Greg Critser meets “snake-oil salesmen, then the hard-headed scientists and along the way people who cannot
NewScientist reports that Jon Vogel and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland have come up with a procedure that creates “patches of synthetic skin could deliver gene therapies to patients without the need for injections.” As
At the third annual U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum last week, top government and technology leaders gathered to discuss business and policy topics of mutual interest, such as online child protection and intellectual property issues. The United States and China are
From the Scientist: “Newly created synthetic particles that mimic red blood cells may one day carry drug molecules and/or oxygen through bloodstreams, according to researchers writing in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Yesterday marked the beginning of the third annual US-China Internet Industry Forum (held this year in SF). The purpose of the gathering is to increase mutual understanding of key business and policy issues in China and the US. It is
Using nanotech to target cancer cells is an idea that’s been in the works for a while. A team “led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has just successfully combined an antibody with single-walled nanotubes to create
If you’re in the LA area and interested in longevity issues, I’ll be speaking at the H plus summit tomorrow.
From the NYT: “The National Institutes of Health said Wednesday that it had approved 13 new human embryonic stem cell lines for use by federally financed researchers, with 96 more under review.” and “Researchers’ interest in human embryonic stem cells
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Here’s a preview of my column on health tech we can be grateful to have: “There have been striking advances in healthcare, thanks to technology, that have nothing to do with the controversial “reform” efforts under
This is a fantastic article. At a time when Congress is debating a bloated $850 billion health care bill, doctors in India have come up with ways to make heart surgery cheaper, with potentially better recovery rates. According to the
Another innovative idea from Ray Kurzweil. He proposes, “a collaborative technology incubator between Israel and Palestine.” According to reports, the proposal was widely met with enthusiasm and support in both public and private sessions. Would it work? Maybe, and it