The Age Of Cyborgs Is Coming

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January 11, 2014

Image Caption: Communication between man and machine a fascinating area at the interface of chemistry, biomedicine, and engineering. Credit: KIT/S. Giselbrecht, R. Meyer, B. Rapp

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

The latest era of science could be considered the Age of Cyborgs, according to scientists at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

Cyborgs, or cybernetic organisms, may seem like a science fiction movie, but scientists writing in the journal Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed say the day of cyborg creations is coming. To be clearer, the scientists arent saying to expect Terminators walking around, but instead cyborg research is being focused on medical implants.

Scientists have been researching medical implants based on smart materials that are able to react to changing conditions automatically. The KIT team says that developments combining technical devices with organisms have great potential to considerably improve the quality of life of many people.

Currently, scientists are working on brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) for the direct physical contacting of the brain. This would be used to help control prostheses and complex movements, such as gripping. BMIs would also be an important tool for neuroscientists to provide a good look into the function of the brain.

BMIs can be used to feed signals into the brain, but this idea has been highly controversial when considering the ethics of what is going on.

Implanted BMI that feed signals into nerves, muscles or directly into the brain are already used on a routine basis, e.g. in cardiac pacemakers or implants for deep brain stimulation, Professor Christof M. Niemeyer, said in a statement. But these signals are neither planned to be used nor suited to control the entire organism brains of most living organisms are far too complex.

Last year, researchers created a device that essentially hacks a cockroachs brain, enabling the insects movements to be controlled by an iPhone. PETA spoke up against the project a few months later with concerns about the ethics involved in creating these cyborg insects.

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The Age Of Cyborgs Is Coming

The cyborg era has started

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Jan. 10, 2014 Medical implants, complex interfaces between brain and machine or remotely controlled insects: Recent developments combining machines and organisms have great potentials, but also give rise to major ethical concerns. In a new review, KIT scientists discuss the state of the art of research, opportunities, and risks.

They are known from science fiction novels and films -- technically modified organisms with extraordinary skills, so-called cyborgs. This name originates from the English term "cybernetic organism." In fact, cyborgs that combine technical systems with living organisms are already reality. The KIT researchers Professor Christof M. Niemeyer and Dr. Stefan Giselbrecht of the Institute for Biological Interfaces 1 (IBG 1) and Dr. Bastian E. Rapp, Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), point out that this especially applies to medical implants.

In recent years, medical implants based on smart materials that automatically react to changing conditions, computer-supported design and fabrication based on magnetic resonance tomography datasets or surface modifications for improved tissue integration allowed major progress to be achieved. For successful tissue integration and the prevention of inflammation reactions, special surface coatings were developed also by the KIT under e.g. the multidisciplinary Helmholtz program "BioInterfaces."

Progress in microelectronics and semiconductor technology has been the basis of electronic implants controlling, restoring or improving the functions of the human body, such as cardiac pacemakers, retina implants, hearing implants, or implants for deep brain stimulation in pain or Parkinson therapies. Currently, bioelectronic developments are being combined with robotics systems to design highly complex neuroprostheses. Scientists are working on brain-machine interfaces (BMI) for the direct physical contacting of the brain. BMI are used among others to control prostheses and complex movements, such as gripping. Moreover, they are important tools in neurosciences, as they provide insight into the functioning of the brain. Apart from electric signals, substances released by implanted micro- and nanofluidic systems in a spatially or temporarily controlled manner can be used for communication between technical devices and organisms.

BMI are often considered data suppliers. However, they can also be used to feed signals into the brain, which is a highly controversial issue from the ethical point of view. "Implanted BMI that feed signals into nerves, muscles or directly into the brain are already used on a routine basis, e.g. in cardiac pacemakers or implants for deep brain stimulation," Professor Christof M. Niemeyer, KIT, explains. "But these signals are neither planned to be used nor suited to control the entire organism -- brains of most living organisms are far too complex."

Brains of lower organisms, such as insects, are less complex. As soon as a signal is coupled in, a certain movement program, such as running or flying, is started. So-called biobots, i.e. large insects with implanted electronic and microfluidic control units, are used in a new generation of tools, such as small flying objects for monitoring and rescue missions. In addition, they are applied as model systems in neurosciences in order to understand basic relationships.

Electrically active medical implants that are used for longer terms depend on reliable power supply. Presently, scientists are working on methods to use the patient body's own thermal, kinetic, electric or chemical energy.

In their review the KIT researchers sum up that developments combining technical devices with organisms have a fascinating potential. They may considerably improve the quality of life of many people in the medical sector in particular. However, ethical and social aspects always have to be taken into account.

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The cyborg era has started

Volusia County beaches could become dog-friendly

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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla.

Volusia County is considering letting all of its beaches go to the dogs.

Dogs are banned from nearly all of the county's 40-mile coast, but a proposal would open the beaches to beach goers and their four-legged friends.

Smyrna Dunes Park is one of the only parks in the county that allows dogs.

New York resident Bob Frankel was walking his dog Moo-Moo along the beach Friday. He likes the idea of opening making more of the county beaches dog-friendly.

"I think we would come back more often with the dog. It's because it's hard to have the dog stay with anybody," said Frankel County leaders aren't totally sold on the idea. They plan to test it out with a three month pilot program that has some ground rules.

Under the plan, dogs wouldn't be allowed on the beach between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Dogs will have to be on leashes and owners will have to clean up after their pets.

Indiana visitor Ed O'Neill said it would make it much easier to navigate the beaches with his dog, without worrying if he's breaking the rules.

"We're a little uncomfortable with where the boundary is," said Ed O'Neill.

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Volusia County beaches could become dog-friendly

Students ‘fix’ litter problem with Westward Ho! beach clean

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Fixers Parry Hill and Hannah Seymour will be helping clean up North Devon's beaches.

Sarah Howells Saturday, January 11, 2014 8:00 AM

The Fixers from Petroc are working with a national charity to help clean up North Devons beaches.

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A GROUP of Petroc students who are sick of seeing litter on North Devon beaches are taking action against it.

The students are working with national charity Fixers to organise a beach clean on Westward Ho! on Thursday, January 16 from 9am-11am.

Parry Hill, 16, from Ilfracombe, has taken on the role of lead fixer and wanted to young people in the area to help out with the clean.

He said: Im sick of seeing litter on the beach every time I go there. I surf nearly every day and I see it as a growing problem.

After being on the National Citizen Service programme at college, I realised I can make a difference if I want to.

I hope to educate people about the impacts litter is having on our local beaches.

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Students ‘fix’ litter problem with Westward Ho! beach clean

Complete Coverage: Astronomy News from the 223rd AAS Meeting

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More than 3,000 scientists are gathering in Washington, D.C. this week for a five-day conference that has been billed as the "Super Bowl of astronomy." The 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) ran from Jan. 5 to Jan. 9. Researchers from around the world presented the latest findings about our own solar system, alien planets, black holes and the evolution of the universe, among other topics.

SPACE.com reporters Miriam Kramer and Tanya Lewis are in Washington for the AAS conference. Our complete coverage of meeting appears below, with the latest news first:

Friday, Jan. 10:Searching for Time Travelers, Scientists Look to Social Media Time travelers, if they exist amongst us, have yet to betray their period-hopping ways online, according to a fun, new study that tried to search out visitors from another time, based on their digital footprints.

Space Images from the 223rd American Astronomical Society Meeting: Gallery

3D-Printed Hubble Telescope Photos Help Blind Touch the Universe: Video Astronomers with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore are using a 3D printer to turn Hubble images into textured pictures, opening up the wonders of the universe to people who are visually impaired.

Thursday, Jan. 9

Super-Earth Planets May Have Watery Earthlike Climates According to a new model, tectonically active "super-Earth" exoplanets likely store most of their water in the mantle, leaving exposed continents and oceans that would create a stable climate such as that of Earth.

Wednesday, Jan. 8

Scale of Universe Measured with 1-Percent Accuracy An ultraprecise new galaxy map is shedding light on the properties of dark energy, the mysterious force thought to be responsible for the universe's accelerating expansion.

Smallest, Faintest Galaxies of the Ancient Universe Spotted The Hubble Space Telescope utilized a natural zoom lens to capture nearly 60 of the smallest, faintest galaxies ever spotted in the distant universe. In a separate study, observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope helped researchers determine the masses of four of the brightest early galaxies after Hubble picked them out.

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Complete Coverage: Astronomy News from the 223rd AAS Meeting

Royal Astronomical Society Honors Outstanding Astronomers and Geophysicists

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On Friday 10 January the Royal Astronomical Society, the UK's leading voice for astronomers and geophysicists, will announce the recipients of the Society's medals and awards for 2014. The prizes honor individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to astronomy (here designated 'A') and geophysics ('G') and will be presented at the 2014 National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2014) to be held in Portsmouth in June.

Professor David Southwood, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, congratulated the winners: "For nearly two centuries the RAS has supported the work of astronomers and geophysicists in the UK and around the world. It gives me the greatest pleasure to announce the winners of our medals and awards for 2014, recognizing the extraordinarily talented men and women who reach the highest levels of achievement in our field."

Full list of medal and award recipients:

* Gold Medal (A): Professor Carlos Frenk FRS, University of Durham

* Gold Medal (G): Professor John Zarnecki, Open University

* Eddington Medal (A): Professor Andrew King, University of Leicester

* Price Medal (G): Professor Seth Stein, Northwestern University, USA

* Herschel Medal (A): Professor Reinhard Genzel, MPIE Garching, Germany / University of California, Berkeley, USA

* Chapman Medal (A): Professor Louise Harra, Mullard Space Science Laboratory

* Jackson-Gwilt Medal (A): Professor George Fraser, University of Leicester

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Royal Astronomical Society Honors Outstanding Astronomers and Geophysicists

Media Registration Open for 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium

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What: The 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Head & Neck Society (AHNS), will explore the heterogeneous group of tumors in head and neck cancers, and the various complexities and factors in providing treatment. The multidisciplinary approach includes surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy in addition to novel molecular biologic therapies that show promise in improving outcomes.

The two-and-a-half day scientific meeting will include interactive educational sessions focused on topics such as supportive care, directed therapy, new surgical and radiotherapeutic techniques, as well as 12 oral abstract presentations of the most current, cutting-edge science of relevance to the head and neck cancer community. A total of 189 abstracts will be presented including 177 posters. Keynote speakers include: Jennifer Grandis, MD, University of Pittsburgh, The Molecular Road to Defining and Targeting High-risk Head and Neck Patients Julia H. Rowland, PhD, National Cancer Institute, Cancer Survivorship: Research Opportunities on the Path to Where We Want to Be

When: Thursday, February 20 Saturday, February 22, 2014

Where: JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort and Spa, Scottsdale, Arizona

Press Registration: Credentialed journalists from accredited news organizations are invited to attend and report on the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium.

Press Policies and Registration Form

Press Office: There will be a dedicated Press Office at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort and Spa.

Press Office Hours: Thursday, February 20: 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Friday, February 21: 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

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Media Registration Open for 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium

IBM’s Artificial Intelligence Problem, or Why Watson Can’t Get a Job

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What if we built a super-smart artificial brain and no one cared? IBM (IBM) is facing that possibility. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is having a hard time making money off of its Jeopardy-winning supercomputer, Watson. The company has always claimed that Watson was more than a publicity stunt, that it had revolutionary real-world applications in health care, investing, and other realms. IBM Chief Executive Officer Virginia Rometty has promised that Watson will generate $10 billion in annual revenue within 10 years, but according to the Journal, as of last October Watson was far behind projections, only bringing in $100 million.

The Journal article focuses on difficulties and costs in training Watson to master the particulars of various businessesat the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, at Citigroup (C), at the health insurer WellPoint (WLP). But there may also be another issue: the sort of intelligence Watson possesses might not be a particularly good fit for some of the jobs IBM is looking at.

Klaus-Peter Adlassnig is a computer scientist at the Medical University of Vienna and the editor-in-chief of the journal Artificial Intelligence in Medicine. The problem with Watson, as he sees it, is that its essentially a really good search engine that can answer questions posed in natural language. Over time, Watson does learn from its mistakes, but Adlassnig suspects that the sort of knowledge Watson acquires from medical texts and case studies is very flat and very broad. In a clinical setting, the computer would make for a very thorough but cripplingly literal-minded doctornot necessarily the most valuable addition to a medical staff. There may well come a day when computers can spit out diagnoses and treatment regimens, leaving doctors little to do but enter data and hone their bedside manner, but that day has not yet come.

To be useful in real-world medicine today, Adlassnig suggests, IBM would be better served designing tools to help inform doctors own clinical evaluations. Watsons competition in that niche would be the database PubMed and, of course, Google (GOOG). Neither of the two is going to make anyone feel bad about their Jeopardy prowess, but theyre a lot cheaper than Watson; they were designed to help people answer questions, not beat them at it.

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IBM's Artificial Intelligence Problem, or Why Watson Can't Get a Job

Jonze’s ‘Her’ makes AI look natural

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From Cube Critics Stephanie Curtis and Euan Kerr:

Spike Jonzes latest film, Her, starts with the seemingly wacky storyline of a man who falls in love with an operating system. Or rather, with the artificial intelligence of the operating system his phone brings to life (as it were). And credit to Jonze, it totally works.

Joaquin Phoenix is a lonely writer who develops an unusual relationship with his OS, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. The film clicks because it shows a relationship stripped of the physicality that distracts from its essence. So much about what you love about someone is talking to them, as Jonzes film perfectly states.

While Her is an example of artificial intelligence done right on screen, others have pulled it off before:

A.I. Artificial Intelligence, 2001. Steven Spielbergs drama about a highly sophisticated robot boy longing for the love of his mother. Its a great story about what happens when the technology that affects our lives becomes obsolete in this case, a little boy. Its a heartbreaking look at the world.

Robot & Frank, 2012. Frank Langella is a forgetful old man who plans heists with a robot gifted from his son. Its creative, and unlike many sci-fi movies that rely too much on special effects, Robot & Frank takes place in our own world just a touch into the future.

Sleeper, 1973. An early Woody Allen sci-fi comedy set in the future succeeds at two things: showing just how personal technology can make things, and how hilarious Woody Allen is while beating a giant pudding with a broom.

Minority Report, 2002. Steven Spielbergs take on Washington, D.C. in 2054 when the government knows when crimes are about to be committed is particularly relevant these days.

Chris Roberts is an arts and culture reporter for MPR News. He has worked at Minnesota Public Radio as a reporter, producer and host since 1989. From 1999 to 2003, Roberts created and hosted MPRs weekly arts program, Word of Mouth, hosted The Currents The Local Show, a weekly hour long program devoted to local music.

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Jonze's 'Her' makes AI look natural

Future trends in fighter aircraft design – Aerospace engineering – learn to design an aircraft – Video

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Future trends in fighter aircraft design - Aerospace engineering - learn to design an aircraft
Aerospace engineering - learn to design an aircraft - future trends in fighter aircraft design - Aero INDIA 2013.

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Thomas V. Jones, Northrop CEO, dies at 93

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When Thomas V. Jones took control of Northrop in 1960, it was a secondary aerospace company whose future was uncertain, but the gambles Mr. Jones made over the next 30 years swept the company to the top ranks of the defense industry during the Cold War.

He came from an era when the chiefs of U.S. aerospace companies laid huge bets on future projects, and over a three-decade tenure as Northrops chief executive, he made some of the biggest of any company, winning big and losing big.

Early in his career, he championed the modest T-38 trainer jet and transformed it into a low-cost fighter that Northrop exported to U.S. allies. It became the Volkswagen Beetle of jet fighters, with 3,789 of them used by countries far and wide, from Norway to Turkey and from Chile to Sudan. Early jets cost only $750,000, and their simplicity made them the weapon of choice for nations that wanted an air force but could not afford front-line weapons.

In the process, Mr. Jones hobnobbed with European royalty, befriended the shah of Iran and was close to air force chiefs in nations including West Germany and Argentina. On many weekends, he hosted elaborate parties with a long list of foreign dignitaries at his mansion in Bel Air, Calif. He courted the politically powerful, including President Ronald Reagan and the influential widow of Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese general who lost the civil war against the communists.

After stepping down as chief executive of Northrop Grumman in 1990, he became a respected maker of fine wines from his vineyard on his 16-acre Los Angeles estate. Mr. Jones died there Jan. 7 of pulmonary fibrosis, said his son, Peter. He was 93.

Thomas Jones somehow survived an astonishing succession of personal controversies that accompanied his long tenure.

There was his felony conviction for illegal campaign contributions to President Richard M. Nixon, a securities consent decree that stemmed from allegations that he paid foreign bribes to sell jet fighters and even a censure from his own board of directors for concocting an unusual hotel investment in South Korea that backfired into a political scandal.

When he stepped down in 1990, the company was under a federal indictment alleging the false testing of a nuclear armed cruise missile.

In an era when the Defense Department increasingly controlled its suppliers and their products, Mr. Jones attempted to exercise the vision of earlier aerospace pioneers, who would develop their own technology and then try to interest the military in it.

Northrop invested heavily in exotic guidance systems, pioneering the concept of a gyroscopic ball that could float inside a fluid-filled sphere.

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Thomas V. Jones, Northrop CEO, dies at 93

Calgary medical team attempting stem cell therapy on paralyzed man

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Ryan White, CTV Calgary Published Friday, January 10, 2014 3:37PM MST Last Updated Friday, January 10, 2014 7:10PM MST

Alex Petric is hoping his part in an international clinical trial at the Foothills Hospital will assist researchers in the development of a treatment for spinal cord injuries.

Alex, a paramedic from Winnipeg, was paralyzed during a winter holiday in Panama with his girlfriend. The 28-year-old dove headfirst into what he believed to be deep water.

Immediately I felt paralyzed, right when I came up, recollects Alex. You just know youre in a lot of trouble. Youre trying your hardest to move your legs and its not happening.

Ten months after the accident, 29-year-old Alex is taking part in a medical trial to determine the safety of stem cell therapy on patients with spinal cord injuries.

While the trial, conducted by researchers from the University of Calgary, focuses on safety, the ultimate goal is to develop a cure for spinal cord injuries which could require multiple therapies.

The medical team, led by Dr. Steve Casha, will make a small incision in order to view Alexs injury. Once the precise location of the injury has been determined, then stem cells are injected above and below to potentially recreate the lost tissue.

The approach is regeneration, explains Dr. Casha, to reverse the damage that has been done.

Researchers and Alex are realistic in their expectations of the treatment despite the fact two previous patients in the study have regained sensation.

I just feel like I am part of something that could give people hope, including myself, said Alex. We don't know what will happen with this surgery. They're trying to fix us, basically trying to make us normal again.

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Calgary medical team attempting stem cell therapy on paralyzed man

Scientists control cells following transplantation, from inside out

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Jan. 10, 2014 Harvard stem cells scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital and MIT can now engineer cells that are more easily controlled following transplantation, potentially making cell therapies, hundreds of which are currently in clinical trials across the United States, more functional and efficient.

Associate Professor Jeffrey Karp, PhD, and James Ankrum, PhD, demonstrate in this month's issue of Nature Protocols how to load cells with microparticles that provide the cells cues for how they should behave over the course of days or weeks as the particles degrade.

"Regardless of where the cell is in the body, it's going to be receiving its cues from the inside," said Karp, a Harvard Stem Cell Institute Principal Faculty member at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "This is a completely different strategy than the current method of placing cells onto drug-doped microcarriers or scaffolds, which is limiting because the cells need to remain in close proximity to those materials in order to function. Also these types of materials are too large to be infused into the bloodstream."

Cells are relatively simple to control in a Petri dish. The right molecules or drugs, if internalized by a cell, can change its behavior; such as inducing a stem cell to differentiate or correcting a defect in a cancer cell. This level of control is lost after transplantation as cells typically behave according to environmental cues in the recipient's body. Karp's strategy, dubbed particle engineering, corrects this problem by turning cells into pre-programmable units. The internalized particles stably remain inside the transplanted cell and tell it exactly how to act, whether the cell is needed to release anti-inflammatory factors or regenerate lost tissue.

"Once those particles are internalized into the cells, which can take on the order of 6-24 hours, we can deliver the transplant immediately or even cryopreserve the cells," Karp said. "When the cells are thawed at the patient's bedside, they can be administered and the agents will start to be released inside the cells to control differentiation, immune modulation or matrix production, for example."

It could take more than a decade for this type of cell therapy to be a common medical practice, but to speed up the pace of research, Karp published the Nature Protocols study to encourage others in the scientific community to apply the technique to their fields. The paper shows the range of different cell types that can be particle engineered, including stem cells, immune cells, and pancreatic cells.

"With this versatile platform, which leveraged Harvard and MIT experts in drug delivery, cell engineering, and biology, we've demonstrated the ability to track cells in the body, control stem cell differentiation, and even change the way cells interact with immune cells," said Ankrum, a former graduate student in Karp's laboratory. "We're excited to see what applications other researchers will imagine using this platform."

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Scientists control cells following transplantation, from inside out