Robots who heal. Robots who kill. Robots who love. Robots that swim, crawl, fly, swarm, spy or morph into other kinds of robots. The robot revolution has arrived and we are collectively watching the very beginning of what will be a seachange in technology. Scientists are quantifying and reproducing our intellect and our senses; breaking down the components of taste, touch, hearing, sight and even thought. We are seeing the very beginning of a robot revolution where A.I. will communicate, learn and adapt to humanity to meet our emotional needs. And in the process, change us completely. By observing the natural world, roboticists are designing machines that mimic birds, butterflies, dragonflies, snakes, jellyfish and octopus. Those machines could innocently vacuum your house, defuse a bomb or assassinate a troublesome enemy. In your home, robots will be available to cook, comfort, converse, teach and make love to you. They will strain the imaginations of scientists and futurists as they upend economics, job markets and social traditions. Robots will transform … [Read more...] about Robot Revolution
Volocopter: Flying Cars No Longer Science Fiction
Once you see Blade Runner 2049, the thought may cross your mind that flying cars (or "hovercars" as Phillip K. Dick wrote in his novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) could only exist in the distant future. Think again. On September 25, Dubai staged a test flight of the Volocopter, a two-seat drone with 18 propellers developed by a German drone firm. Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed even attended the test flight. The United Arab Emirates city has long sought to become a high-tech hub of modern innovation by enticing companies through the elimination of sales and income tax and investing in cutting-edge technology such as holograms and robot police. Right now, the Volocopter is a novelty, flying without remote control guidance for 30 minutes (with backup batteries and rotors as well as parachutes). Eventually, the technology will become practical, opening a Pandora's box of questions. What kind of effect will flying vehicles have on society? Will access to advanced transportation technology be exclusive, further dividing the social stratums? Drones have … [Read more...] about Volocopter: Flying Cars No Longer Science Fiction
Designer DNA: Will CRISPR-Cas 9 Create a BioHacker Revolution or a Nightmare?
When microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier and RNA expert and biochemist Jennifer Doudna met at a conference in 2011, their shared passion for science led to a profound discovery; a new technique to engineer genomes known as CRISPR-Cas9. The technological and economic revolution that ensued still reverberates through labs around the world. CRISPR-Cas9 has created a seismic shift in how science operates making genome editing fast, flexible, inexpensive and easily accessible to anyone with a modicum of lab equipment. But is CRISPR-Cas9 a bio-hacker revolution or a potential scientific nightmare? Based on a bacterial CRISPR-associated protein-9 nuclease (Cas9) from Streptococcus pyogenes, CRISPR-CAS9 allows researchers to edit parts of a genome, using the same adaptive immune system mechanism bacteria use to recognize viral DNA and trigger its destruction. The CRISPR-CAS9 kit allows sections of DNA sequences to be snipped out and replaced, giving scientists the ability to essentially mutate the DNA. Further complicating the issue are synthetic elements which can now be added to … [Read more...] about Designer DNA: Will CRISPR-Cas 9 Create a BioHacker Revolution or a Nightmare?
