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Dealing with future nanotech dangers

April 22, 2003

New York — The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) issued a report today identifying 11 significant risks of molecular nanotechnology (MNT) along with possible solutions.

MNT has “the potential to disrupt many aspects of society and politics,” the report says. “The power of the technology may cause two competing nations to enter a disruptive and unstable arms race. The flexibility and small size of molecular manufacturing systems and their… read more

Topics: Nanotech/Materials Science | Survival/Defense

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Distributed computers power new search engine

April 22, 2003

A distributed computing project called Grub, which harnesses individual users’ spare computing power and Internet bandwidth, began cataloguing millions of web pages this week.

LookSmart, the US company behind Grub, believes the distributed service has the potential to one day rival Google.

Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI

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Startups Seek Perfect Particles To Search And Destroy Cancer

April 21, 2003

Several companies are developing new cancer treatments that send nanoparticles into patients’ bodies to find tumor cells. Once they do, doctors excite the particles with electromagnetic energy to attack the tumor without collateral damage to nearby healthy cells and without the frightening side effects of chemotherapy and radiation: hair loss, nausea, and ravaged immune systems.

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Nanotech/Materials Science

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The Unmanned Army

April 21, 2003

“The unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) is the first tangible evidence of [a] robotic future….If the UCAV program succeeds, it could lead us to a distant point on the horizon where no Americans in uniform will ever again fight on the battlefield — automated submarines launching cruise missiles, divisions of unmanned ground vehicles racing toward enemy capitals. Autonomous helicopters will charge ahead of the columns, flying 15 feet off the… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics

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Foresight offers discount to KurzweilAI.net readers

April 18, 2003

Foresight Institute is offering a $100 discount to KurzweilAI.net readers for the Foresight Vision Weekend Annual Senior Associates Gathering: “Molecular Myth, Manufacturing, Money and Mania-Will the real nanotechnology please self-assemble!,” May 2-4, 2003 in Palo Alto.

Speakers include Larry Lessig, K. Eric Drexler, Peter Schwartz, Ed Feigenbaum, Steve Jurvetson, Ralph Merkle, Neil Jacobstein, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Brad Templeton, Christine Peterson, and Aubrey de Grey. They will address current… read more

Topics: Nanotech/Materials Science

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Planning for the Next Net War

April 18, 2003

The Department of Defense is introducing network-centric warfare in Iraq, using “real-time video images to target missiles in flight, wireless PDAs to connect with stateside medical records from the battlefield, and virtual- reality simulations to provide just-in-time delivery of material to front-line troops.”

Future war technologies will include information from sensors reporting such things as the shape of radar waveforms, acoustic signals and seismic analysis, used to immediately notify… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics

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In the Skies Over Iraq, Silent Observers Become Futuristic Weapons

April 18, 2003

“Remotely piloted aircraft like the Predator have played a crucial role in the Iraq war, not only providing a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield but also giving military planners the ability to kill fiercely defended targets with a futuristic weapon — all without risking American lives.”

All the armed services are now using unpiloted aerial vehicles, with more than ten different unmanned aerial vehicles on the battlefield.

Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI

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GM Blood Kills Human Cancer Cells

April 18, 2003

“Genetically modifying a patient’s white blood cells turns them into potent cancer killers, UK researchers have revealed.”

The researchers isolated T-lymphocyte cells from cancer patients and genetically modified these cells to carry a gene that produces an antibody that recognizes a specific molecule in the cancer cells.

“This antibody allows the T-cell to bind onto the cancer cell and trigger a chain of events that turns the T-cells… read more

Topics: Biotech

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SARS Virus is Mutating, Fear Doctors

April 18, 2003

“A cluster of SARS patients in Hong Kong with unusual symptoms has prompted concern that the virus causing the disease is mutating….Scientists in Hong Kong are now urgently sequencing key genes from recently isolated coronaviruses to reveal any changes.”

Topics: Biotech

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Games to take your breath away

April 18, 2003

Scientists at Dublin’s Media Lab Europe have developed a computer game uses sensors stuck to a player’s body.

“The sensors monitor breathing and only move characters on-screen if the player breathes in the right way. The game is designed for children in hospital to help them cope with boredom during long periods of bed rest and recuperation.

Topics: Entertainment/New Media

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Fast Tracking

April 18, 2003

“Sophisticated software and hardware are giving wildlife trackers an almost instant overview of plant and animal patterns. Ultimately, this will offer scientists a more profound understanding of how nature interacts….Using handheld computers, digital cameras, and satellite positioning systems, scientists are able to simplify data collection, recruit more people to do the work, and take their most comprehensive look yet at plants and wildlife.”

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Robot Planes Tested for Friendly Skies

April 18, 2003

“NASA is developing a collision-avoidance system that would allow fully autonomous, and not just remotely piloted, aircraft to operate in civil airspace.”

The aircraft uses a radar system and can detect the transponders found in larger aircraft. “Eventually, engineers envision a system that combines radar, transponders, cameras and other instruments so drones can operate as safely as any other plane.”

Topics: AI/Robotics

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Mind-Machine Merger

April 18, 2003

“Devices that connect the brain with computers could lead to mind-controlled robots, repair neurological disorders, and even improve memory.”

Topics: Human Enhancement

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Booze to Fuel Gadget Batteries

April 18, 2003

A new breed of biofuel cell, fueled by ethyl alcohol (ethanol), may become the power source of choice for portable electronics.

Prior experiments have used methanol as fuel. Ethanol is not toxic like methanol, easier to deal with, easier to get hold off (straight out of the bottle), and more active than methanol in the presence of enzymes, which are used as catalysts.

A working prototype is expected… read more

Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI

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Cloned Pigs Differ From Originals In Looks And Behavior

April 17, 2003

Another cloning myth shattered. New research at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine indicates that cloned animals do not retain the physical and behavioral attributes of the animal from which they were cloned, “so you cannot expect your cloned pet to behave like your original pet,” said Dr. Jorge Piedrahita, professor of molecular biomedical sciences at NC State.

Topics: Biotech

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