TEDx Talk: Linking Human Minds
13 Jan, 2014
Video of my TEDxRainier talk, on Linking Human Brains, is now up. This is all about the current science of sending sights, sounds, and sensations in and out of human brains amid rapid advancements in digital connectivity that span global industries. I delved into the…
R e a d M o r eVideo: Wiring the Brain: The Real Science of Nexus
24 Sep, 2013
I spoke last night at University Book Store on the science of sending sight, sound, and more in and out of the human brain – the real life science behind my novels Nexus and Crux. For those who couldn't make it, you can check out…
R e a d M o r eOne gene helped human brains become complex
3 May, 2012
Two extra copies of the SRGAP2 gene appear to have led to slower human brain development, but denser interconnection between neurons, possibly contributing to our current cognitive abilities. (Total brain interconnectivity correlates moderately well with IQ.) If you want to learn how to take care…
R e a d M o r eNano-devices that cross blood-brain barrier
23 Apr, 2012
In my upcoming sci-fi novel Nexus , I write about a nano-device that can cross the blood-brain barrier and which has a very real impact on the mind. Not so far fetched… A team of scientists from Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have developed nano-devices that successfully cross…
R e a d M o r eReconstruction from brain activity – YouTube
27 Sep, 2011
Below is a clip showing the reconstruction of video subjects where shown via MRI scanning of their brains. Pretty remarkable. The ‘reconstructed’ video looks odd because the reconstruction method was actually to match the brain activity against snippets of YouTube videos. Future…
R e a d M o r eRat cyborg gets digital cerebellum
27 Sep, 2011
New Scientist covers another step towards functional neural prosthetics. Development here will be slow and complex, but we now have sufficient proof of concept across the field to see that interfacing digital systems with out brains is quite possible. We’ll use that first to help…
R e a d M o r eMemory Prosthetics – Some Progress
27 Sep, 2011
Theodore Berger and team, who I’ve been following since describing their work in More Than Human, achieved success earlier this year in recording a rat memory during encoding, and playing it back to the rat later. This is a very very very early step towards…
R e a d M o r eAnti-Ghrelin Vaccine to Fight Obesity
12 Jun, 2011
Ghrelin is a hormone that helps regulate body weight and metabolism. Higher ghrelin levels lead us to expend less energy and to eat more in an attempt to conserve resources. Now a group in Portugal has shown that it’s possible to immunize mice against ghrelin,…
R e a d M o r eAnders Sandberg, Aubrey de Grey, Nick Bostrom on Future of Human Aging
24 Nov, 2008
>Three of my friends and fellow futurists commenting on the future of future of human aging. Anders focuses on uploading the brain (the best preservation, but most challenging), Aubrey de Grey on our attitudes on change. And Nick Bostrom on the uncertainties implicit in the…
R e a d M o r eWoman Gets New Windpipe Grown from Her Stem Cells
19 Nov, 2008
>Now this is really exciting. New Scientist: Woman Receives Windpipe Built from Her Stem Cells Organ transplants have lots of problems, from the number of donors and availability of the right organ, to the issues of transport and logistics, and especially immune rejection. For a…
R e a d M o r eFirst Potential Anti-Aging Drug Clears Mouse Trials
5 Nov, 2008
>Back in 1990 or so, Tom Johnson demonstrated that it is possible to slow the aging process in a multi-cellular organism. Since then, our knowledge of the biology of aging and the interconnections of caloric restriction, the effects of red wine, mitochondrial function, and the…
R e a d M o r eWe’re All Transhumanists
13 Mar, 2005
>Thinking about my conversation with Alex Pang about his review of More Than Human in the LA Times. I still think it’s a fine review, the kind that informs people about the book and calls out an honest limitation- More Than Human isn’t going to…
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