November 13, 2007
Motorized prosthetic arms can help amputees regain some function, but these devices take time to learn to use and are limited in the number of movements they provide. Todd A. Kuiken, M.D., Ph.D., a physiatrist at the Rehabilitation Institute of … Read More
November 12, 2007
A new article from Biomedical Microdevices is available by subscription only. Abstract Implantable neural microsystems provide an interface to the nervous system, giving cellular resolution to physiological processes unattainable today with non-invasive methods. Such implantable microelectrode arrays are being developed … Read More
October 27, 2007
Take this story with a huge grain of salt: Apparently a professor has warned that due to transhumanist-like modifications and eugenic mating decisions (my words), the human race will split into two branches, one beautiful, intelligent, and lithe, the other … Read More
October 17, 2007
In June of this year, reptile expert Brady Barr, his partner for the job, and a film crew were in an Indonesian cave, where they found a Giant Python. They were in waist-deep muddy liquid when Barr’s partner, Dr. Mark … Read More
October 11, 2007
This story gets the eye roll of the year award: The University of Maastricht in the Netherlands is awarding a doctorate to a researcher who wrote a paper on marriages between humans and robots. David Levy, a British artificial intelligence … Read More
October 10, 2007
Our correspondent meets the controversial philosopher John Harris, who argues that we have a moral and ethical duty to improve the human race by biologically enhancing our children. (Times Online)
October 6, 2007
“Dr. Rat’s Brain Augmentation Surgery,” runs into a hitch.
October 4, 2007
Artificial hearts. Kidney transplants. Mood-altering drugs. Gene-mapping. Robotic arms. In vitro fertilization. There’s no question about it. Scientists and medical researchers have come along way on the path to altering human life. (ASU News)
October 2, 2007
Bioethics Vol. 21 Issue 8 (October 2007) is now available by subsciption only. Articles include: “PLAYING GOD AND THE ETHICS OF DIVINE NAMES: AN ISLAMIC PARADIGM FOR BIOMEDICAL ETHICS” by QAISER SHAHZAD, 413–418 “TRANSHUMANISM AND MORAL EQUALITY” by JAMES WILSON, … Read More
September 12, 2007
Prediction: We are just a few years away from a catastrophic disaster brought about by an autonomous computer system making a decision–a disaster that will provoke a political response on par with 9/11. (CNET)
September 7, 2007
Some technologists believe that rapid advancement in computer hardware and software could at some point lead to a hazy future for humans. (CNET)
September 4, 2007
Are you happy “merely” being human? Or do you wish your life could somehow be made into something . . . more? If you discovered a risky drug that would grant you a superhuman power–such as the capacity to heal … Read More
August 24, 2007
Airic’s_arm is inspired by nature. Based on a combination of mechatronics and the biological model of a human being, it opens up new possibilities for future automated movement processes. The Airic’s_arm is a robotic arm fitted with artificial bones and … Read More
August 21, 2007
Combine a mechanical arm with a miniature rocket motor: The result is a prosthetic device that is the closest thing yet to a bionic arm. A prototype of this radical design has been successfully developed and tested by a team … Read More
August 20, 2007
Channel 4 documentary following the revolutionary life-extension and immortality ideas of this somewhat eccentric scientist, Dr. Aubrey de Grey. This video is all about the radical life extension ideas of a Cambridge biomedical gerontologist named Aubrey de Grey who believes … Read More
August 18, 2007
Ten years since the highly publicized chess match between Gary Kasparov and the Deep Blue supercomputer, Daniel Dennett from Tufts University reflects on the significance and legacy of Deep Blue’s win in “Higher Games,” a recommended read in MIT’s latest … Read More
August 8, 2007
Within the remote confines of Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Palo Alto, California, something big was brewing, the implications of which would make the likes of Bertrand Russell, Norbert Wiener, and Mephistopheles himself cackle. (Executive Intelligence Review)
August 3, 2007
The five speculative theories on posthuman that I investigated include: disembodied information; deconstructed DNA; prosthetic entity; science fiction characterization; and the uninterrupted progression of human evolution. These theories contain unique yet shared attributes which pertain to human nature, the future … Read More
August 1, 2007
The great subject of transhumanism appears to be death, and how to imagine conquering it, in the absence of God. The enemy of the transhuman self becomes the body, which may be why sex figures so little on the agenda. … Read More
July 30, 2007
Human are tool-using animals and have been for some time. Current estimates have our ancestors making simple stone tools about 2.5 million years ago. Back then, our forebears would have looked rather different to modern humans. Standing about 130 centimetres, … Read More
July 17, 2007
Volume 1, Issue 2 of Sports, Ethics and Philosophy is now available. Full content available through paid subscription. Original Articles “Transcending human limitations”by Claudio M. Tamburrini; Torbjörn Tännsjö, P.113 – 118 “Doctoring risk: Responding to risk-taking in athletes” by Lynley … Read More
July 3, 2007
How does transhumanity take care of its vital needs before salivating after the novelty of invention? By spending more time inside ideas than pandering outside, around them. We need – we must have more time set aside to explore new … Read More
July 2, 2007
The USA Network has a great science fiction series called The 4400, which could just as easily be named Transhumanism TV. The plot is about “the 4400,” people who were abducted by aliens or future human time travelers, and who … Read More
June 22, 2007
Forget the TV remote: a new technology in Japan could let you control electronic devices without lifting a finger simply by reading brain activity. The “brain-machine interface” developed by Hitachi Inc. analyzes slight changes in the brain’s blood flow and … Read More
June 19, 2007
As pre-released online. Full content is available by subscription only. Original Articles “Should We Prevent Non-Therapeutic Mutilations and Extreme Body Modifications?” by Thomas Schramme “The Development and Nature of the Ordinary/Extraordinary Means Distinction in the Roman Catholic Tradition” by Scott … Read More
