Over at The Extropist Examiner, Hank Hyena has a fascinating article about where transhumanist ideas and technologies are progressing and taking hold around the world. I had no idea, for example, that a Russian company is leading the way in inexpensive cryopreservation, that Italy is poised to be a world leader in service robots, or [...]
Posts under ‘Nanotechnology’
R.U. Sirius offers his utopian vision for a transhuman future
One of my favorite blogs, io9, has been running a series of posts on “posthumanity” from both fiction and real-life. Today R.U. Sirius of h+ Magazine has a great post up about his “best-case scenario for posthumanity.” In it, he describes what his ideal vision of the future might look like, which includes open-source style [...]
Luddites accused of plot to blow up IBM nanotechnology research center
A routine traffic stop in Switzerland nabbed three members of Italian anarchist group Il Silvestre, who are accused of planning to detonate explosives at an IBM facility where nanotechnology and biotechnology research is scheduled to take place: Swiss police said today that their car was halted on the night of April 15 at Langnau en-route [...]
U.S. lagging behind other countries on nanotechnology investments
Today the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology issued a report to President Barack Obama warning that private and public investment in nanotechnology in the U.S. is falling behind that of other nations. China, in particular, is coming on strong, having recently surpassed the U.S. in the number of nanotechnology patents it’s applied [...]
Where are the anti-nanotech activists?
While advancements in nanotechnology have been developing at a fast pace, there has been a noticeable absence of the kind of activist outrage we’ve seen with other new technologies, such as GMO crops and stem cell research. The question is, why? Professor Jennifer Kuzma of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of [...]
Top 5 TED talks on transhumanism
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) brings together some of the world’s top thinkers at conferences around the world to deliver short presentations on “ideas worth spreading.” Not surprisingly, several speakers have delivered talks on topics of interest to transhumanists, such as life extension, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and more. One of the great things about TED is [...]
Using nanoparticles to deliver targeted gene therapy for cancer
The Journal of Nature published results of a study yesterday that showed nanoparticles can be used to deliver targeted gene therapy that prevents cancer growth. A team at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena used nanotechnology — the science of really small objects — to create tiny polymer robots covered with a protein called [...]
Using nanotechnology to destroy colorectal cancer cells
The journal Nanotechnology reports a new method for targeting cancer cells using nanoparticles that destroys cancer cells while using healthy tissue unharmed: Led by Carl Batt, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Food Science, the researchers synthesized nanoparticles – shaped something like a dumbbell – made of gold sandwiched between two pieces of iron oxide. [...]
In what do you major if you want to go into nanotechnology as a career?
Over at his blog, Metamodern, Eric Drexler answers a question I’ve wondered myself – how does one study for a career in nanotechnology? After all, it’s not like there are nanotechnology majors for undergrads. The question requires a nuanced answer, which Drexler provides, encouraging students to develop a solid foundation of mathematics and basic physics. [...]
Highlights from the AAAS Annual Meeting
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held their annual meeting this week, and naturally a lot of very interesting stories and research results were unveiled: Turning paper and clothing into batteries – By coating fabric and paper with ink “laced” with carbon nanotubes, researchers were able to coax these ordinary materials into [...]