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HumanPlus Blog Linkstravaganza: 1/29/10

Eric — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:52:57 +0000

It’s Friday. Here’s some sweet linkage to check out over the weekend:

io9 asks if vat-grown meat is kosher. I would think yes, but they consult a rabbi who gives a more nuanced answer.
Boing Boing notes the doctor who created the “MMR vaccine scare” could lose his license. Good riddance to bad researchers.
Climate change experts explore the possibility of geoengineering to curb global warming. While the proposals are huge in scope, they’re far cheaper than actually cutting emissions.
Grab the garlic and wooden stakes. Researchers find “young blood reverses signs of aging” – in old mice.
Amidst a lot of positive research on vitamin D comes a study showing that the vitamin may play a positive role in protecting against Crohn’s disease, a fairly debilitating autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the gut.

Humanpl.us Linkstravaganza – 12/28/09

Eric — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:10:51 +0000

I took a few days off from posting due to traveling for the holidays, but I’m back and ready for action. Here’s a few good links that eluded my all-seeing eye while I was away:

FuturePundit writes about tiny photovoltaic cells – described as “glitter-sized” – that could be embedded in clothing and other places where conventional photovoltaic cells won’t fit and/or aren’t practical.
Popular Science publishes its list of the “100 Best Innovations of 2009″ although it seems to me that a lot of these are just product improvements rather than true innovations. Still, it’s a fun read.
Like drinking alcohol but hate the resulting drunkenness and hangover? Scientists in London are working on a synthetic alcohol that will provide a “pleasant state of mild inebriation” but could be reversed with an antidote.
Next Big Future posts comments from nanotechnology visionary and evangelist Eric Drexler on nanotech developments, including why you won’t be developing molecular nanotechnology in your basement lab and where molecular manufacturing progress is taking place.

Humanpl.us Linkstravaganza – 12/22/09

Eric — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:04:47 +0000

Lots of good stuff appearing over the last couple of days:

Singularity Hub has a roundup of the “best robots of 2009” which includes a ton of video. You’ll see robots that build, robots that run, and even a robot that looks like a real, live human woman that got lost wandering the uncanny valley.
It’s alive… IT’S ALIVE! Ahem. New Scientist wonders if 2010 will be the year humans create artificial life.
Next Big Future ponders real life Predator and/or Harry Potter technology with a concept for making invisible materials using nano-electromagnets.
Roko Mijic posts about how a benevolent superintelligent AI could make human life more worthwhile and fulfilling in part six of he and Michael Anissimov’s stellar essay series, “Singularity 101.” Read them all if you haven’t already – they’re not just GOOD, they’re great.