News

Enzyme-free Nucleic Acid Logic Circuits
Seelig et al., Science, December 8, 2006
California Institute of Technology researchers have reported the design and experimental implementation of DNA-based digital logic circuits.
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Minsky Talks About Life, Love in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
The Boston Globe, December 4, 2006
Computer science professor Marvin Minsky of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is known for accomplishments that range from inventing the ultra-high-resolution confocal microscope to helping found the field of artificial intelligence, which aims to create computers that mimic the human mind.
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What Comes After Homo Sapiens?
James Hughes, NewScientist.com, November 18, 2006
Has transhumanism become a real possibility? Hughes suggests that the choices we make today decide the answer to the question "What comes after human civilization?"
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The Role of Brain Research in National Defense
Jonathan D. Moreno, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 10, 2006
Whatever the future holds for neuroscience, it would be naïve to imagine that national-security organizations are not monitoring developments in the field. The author f this article suggests that it is time to start a public conversation about the role of brain research in national defense.
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Bioethics Talk Urges Caution
Daniella Roseman, The Princetonian, November 7, 2006
The blind pursuit of modern science can result in a dangerous fixation upon the human ideal warned Leon Kass in a lecture entitled "Keeping Life Human: Biology and Human Dignity."
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Aging Drugs: Hardest Test is Still Ahead
Nicholas Wade, The New York Times, November 7, 2006
A new class of drugs looming on the horizon could, if they live up to their promise, avert heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. The drugs, sirtuin activators, could significantly prolong both health and lifespan.
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Nazi 'Master Race' Children Meet
BBC News, November 4, 2006
A group of children selected by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime with the aim of creating an Aryan master race has met openly for the first time as adults.
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Team Develops DNA Switch to Interface Living Organisms with Computers
Physorg.com, October 25, 2006
Researchers at the University of Portsmouth, UK, have developed an electronic switch based on DNA -- a world-first bio-nanotechnology breakthrough that provides the foundation for the interface between living organisms and the computer world.
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Human v 2.0: Ray Kurzweil vs. Hugo_de Garis
BBC News, October 24, 2006
It has been predicted that by_2029 artificial intelligence will be equivalent with the human intelligence. Some believe this will revolutionize humanity by enabling the download of the human mind on to computers.
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Silicon Retina Mimics Biology for a Clearer View
Tom Simonite, NewScientist.com, October 20, 2006
A silicon chip that _mimics the neural circuitry of the retina could lead to bionic eyes for those suffering from vision loss.
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DNA Trail Points to Human Brain Evolution
NewScientist.com, October 11, 2006
The human brain may have evolved beyond that of our primate cousins because our brain cells are better at sticking in place, researchers postulate.
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MIT Looks to Give 'Group Think' a Good Name
Network World, October 10, 2006
The new MIT Center for Collective Intelligence hopes to address the question: How can people and computers be connected so that -- collectively -- they act more intelligently than any individuals, groups, or computers have done individually?
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Meeting of the Minds
Tinne Vandensande and Stef Steyaert, The Scientist, October 5, 2006
A white paper discusses the 36 recommendations for brain science proposed by a European committee.
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Copper Circuits Help Brain Function; Could Tweaking the Circuits Make Us Smarter?
M.L. Schlief, Physorg.com, September 26, 2006
Washington University School of Medicine researchers postulate that copper and its transporter, a protein called Atp7a, are vital to human thinking.
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What If Bionics Were Better
Chris Oakes, Wired, September 25, 2006
This article delves into the population of early adopters, who are eager to test bionics by choice.
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A Question of Mind Over Matter
Rachel Metz, Wired, September 20, 2006
Scientists are probing the limits of mind-body interaction by developing tools that: employ artificial intelligence, and muscle and neuron sensors; and even plug directly into the brain.
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Brain Stimulation Creates Shadow Person
Physorg.com, September 20, 2006
Swiss scientists claim they have determined that electrical stimulation of the brain can create the sensation of a "shadow person," which mimics one's bodily movements.
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Switching Off Aging in Stem Cells
Howard Hughes Medical Institute News Release, September 6, 2006
Researchers have found that aging tissue is, in part, related to a single molecular switch in stem cells found in the brain, blood, and pancreas.
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Supercentenarian Research Foundation Plans Tissue Sampling of Supercentenarians
www.kurzweilAI.net, September 5, 2006
A research group has established a foundation to fund tissue sampling of supercentenarians -- humans more than 110 years of age. The goal is to create a database of genes that may contribute to longevity.
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Multiple Copies of Mystery Gene May Make Us Human
www.nature.com, August 31, 2006
Researchers think a newly discovered gene, which occurs far more often in humans than in other primates, may contribute to the development of the human brain.
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Kirk Seeks 'Superman' Technology Watchdog to Rein in Scientists
Ian Johnston, Scotsman, August 5, 2006
A Church of Scotland religion-and-technology expert aims to create a policing body to ensure that scientists in the field of human enhancement operate within ethical constraints.
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FDA Panel Recommends Against 'Bionic Eye'
USA Today, July 16, 2006
The Food and Drug Administration has recommended against approving a device called the Implantable Miniature Telescope, which would be implanted in a patient's eye to magnify images.
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Reprogramming Biology: Tinkering with Our Genetic Programs Will Extend Longevity
Ray Kurzweil, Scientific American, June 26, 2006
Biology has advanced to become an "information technology" as genetic sequencing, gene therapy techniques, and biotech and nanotech applications are becoming more powerful.
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Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies -- and What It Means to Be Human
Joel Garreau, Washington Post, June 20, 2006
For the first time in history, technology will not be directed at producing and improving materials and devices, but may be used to enhance and modify our minds and bodies.
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Heaven or Hell? How Will Technology Shape Our Future?
CNN.com, June 22, 2006
Will rapidly advancing technology ultimately have positive or negative effects on society? Some argue that nanotechnology, biotechnology, and incredibly powerful computing will endow us with limitless resources, while others warn that technology may bring about extreme social stratification or disaster.
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The questions addressed in this article are those that make the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future an indispensable resource for encouraging discussion on the critical issues emerging as a result of humanity's technological progression. By tackling the challenging ethical and social implications associated with these technologies now, the necessary social discourse can occur and appropriate policy measures can be formulated to ensure that these technologies will benefit human flourishing.

A Dose of Genius
Joel Garreau, Washington Post, June 11, 2006
Studies have uncovered an alarming rate of prescription drug use by students hoping to increase focus, improve memory, and stave off fatigue. The pills taken, normally issued by prescription to patients suffering from such conditions as ADHD and narcolepsy, are commonly obtained illicitly and abused by students looking for an edge in highly competitive academic environments.
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A Sixth Sense for a Wired World
Quinn Norton, Wired Magazine, June 07, 2006
In an effort to experience an additional sense - the ability to detect electromagnetic fields -- some people have had magnets implanted into their fingertips.
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