Centerblue.org

It’s been quite a while since I’ve done one of these–but there have been no shortage of scientific miracles in the last few months as technology continues its exponential acceleration.

MEDICINE/BIOTECHNOLOGY

Anti-aging pill on the horizon, soon to be available. This has got to be one of the most exciting technological advances of the year. Researchers are working on creating a pill that preserves the mitochondria in cells, the degeneration of which is a major cause of aging. The treatment is, in fact, entering human trials now. It is based on the compound in red wine you may have heard of called reseratrol; one pill would contain the equivalent of resveratrol found in 1500 bottles of red wine. Not only does it attack aging itself, but also shows very promising results against diseases of aging such as diabetes.

New enzyme kills HIV dead. A new enzyme has been developed that literally kills HIV inside the cells it infects, never to have it return. This isn’t just treating someone who’s HIV+. This is actually making them HIV negative again. It’s going to take some time to test it, engineer it on a large scale and make it widely available–5 to 20 years–but there is good solid hope on the horizon.

Alzheimer’s cure is found. Just what the title says–a new treatment blocks Alzheimer’s-causing amyloid plaques in the brain, and even reverses the early stages of the disease. Trials are to start within the next two years.

Artificial Life in 3 to 10 years. A widely read Associated Press article discussed the likelihood of artificial life in the test tube being possible in the next three to ten years. Why would we want to do this? Well, we could create a life form that converts agricultural waste to pure ethanol or gasoline, for example–or build a life form that can eat toxic waste and clean up the environment. Hopefully the scientists creating these critters won’t get the smart idea of allowing them to reproduce….

ROBOTICS

The amazing Robot Asimo. Just watch the video of a robot being developed by Honda. Spooky.

Robotic insects take flight. Researchers have built an insect-sized robot that can fly. Its intended use is for covert surveillance, detecting chemicals, and probably eventually delivering explosives.

NANOTECHNOLOGY

IBM develops single-atom storage capability. IBM is developing technology that allows a single atom to store computer data. Eventually this will allow you to store the equialent of all of Youtube on a device the size of an iPod.

Nanoscale data retrieves data 1000 times faster for 100,000 years. On a similar vein, UPenn researchers are using nanowires to develop computer memory that accesses data 1000 times faster than today, and can store data for 100,000 years, all using less space and power than current Flash and RAM memory.

Solar cells made from plastic are now possible. One of the biggest problems with solar technology is that it requires large, inefficient and unwieldy silicon panels. Not anymore. Scientists have developed nanotube-based solar panels that can be printed on films of plastic. These films can then be “painted on” just about anything–walls, roofs, on top of cars, whatever. Once these are developed in mass quantity you can literally have solar energy available anywhere you have a surface on which to paint the film.

Nano-generators become reality. Scientists have visions of legions of nanobots coursing through our bloodstream in a few decades, directly attacking all manner of illnesses and keeping us perpetually healthy (and young.) But they need a power source, or else these nanobots are just floating pieces of micro metal. Researchers are working on that too, recently unveiling nano-generators that can use unconventional forms of energy such as ultrasonic waves, mechanical vibrations, and even your body’s blood flow to generate energy. You could also put them in your shoes, so that your walking creates energy to power devices you have on your person.

OTHER

3D desktop fabrication coming to your home. This is another wondrous technology–you can literally build objects by printing them out. This is a precursor to what nanotechnology promises to deliver, though the tech here is not nano-based. It’s still incredible enough. Watch the video yourself. It’s billed as a way of building models…but the same technology could eventually allow you to, say, download the blueprints for that fancy set of shoes you want without even visiting the store. A similar machine from another company is going on sale for less than $5000.

Photon propulsion could cut trip to Mars down to one week. A scientist is presenting his discovery of a new propulsion technology to agencies like NASA and JPL. If it pans out, it would greatly increase propulsion speeds for various space missions–including cutting down the travel time to Mars from six months to a week.

A monthly roundup of technological breakthroughs in energy, computing, nanotechnology, and biotechnology–and how these converging technologies are transforming our society, solving problems, and creating new ones.

1) (Nanotechnology/computing) Scientists create memory chip the size of a white blood cell. It is the densest such chip ever developed. It provides a possible path for circumventing the physical limits of silicone-based chips in the years ahead. Also, it is a potential milestone for creating machines that can operate at the nano level inside our bodies and such.

2) (Nanotechnology) Gut-crawling microrobot to debut in 2009. Think that the idea of robots crawling through your body to fix you is fanciful science fiction? Coming soon to a doctor near you in just two years: a robot the width of two human hairs that can travel through the arteries and organs of your body, penetrating far deeper than current methods. It will be able to provide images, and even perform non-invasive microsurgery.

3) (Computing) Military develops robotic insects. These nasty little bad boys will be remotely controlled, can fly into targets undetected, and will perform a variety of military operations from disabling computers to exploding. But can you imagine these little buggers in the hands of terrorists?

4) (Energy) Military unveils awesome projectile railgun. The military has been busy with futuristic technology. This nasty railgun, straight out of a Doom video game, can launch a small 7-pound projectile that can travel 250 nautical miles and hit its target with the force of a car at 380 mph. It can take down a building with one shot. Ouch! Who needs cruise missiles when you can lay down the smack with this nastiness?? (That goes for terrorists as well as us, of course–better not be finding this toy at the local Wal-Mart!)

5) (Energy) Military unveils new crowd-controlling ray gun. Isn’t it nice to know our military is putting our taxpayer dollars to good use with all this technology? Next up: a non-lethal ray gun it can point at people that can make them feel they are about to be burned alive, causing them to cease whatever rioting they may be doing and run away at top speed. The military says the gun is harmless, but critics claim they may have nasty side-effects.

6) (Computing) Researchers encode entire image onto a single photon. They essentially put a picture image onto a photon and were able to store it and retrieve it later. This could be a huge breakthrough in computer storage, as it would pave the way for society being able to store unimaginably large amounts of data using very little substrate.

7) (Energy) Company claims creation of new battery-ultracapacitor hybrid. EEStor claims to have created this new battery that has ten times the life of existing ones, and can be used on everything from laptops to cars. If true, it would transform our energy equation in a multitude of ways–from making intermittent solar/wind power much more reliable to allowing hybrid-electric cars to fully serve as stable backup for the power grid. Our iPod’s and laptops would run a hell of a lot longer too!

(Energy) New process makes ethanol out of trash. Forget corn, which we’d rather eat than shove down our gas tanks. A new process converts landfill and industrial trash into ethanol, with very little pollution created. We create enough trash to replace 25% of our gasoline if we used this process.

9) (Computing) Australia science agency demoes 6 gb/s wireless speeds. This new wireless peer-to-peer technology would let you download an entire DVD in six seconds. Researchers say this is just the beginning and will shortly be able to double these speeds.

10) (Computing) “Minority Report” style computer interface ready for prime time. Forget keyboards and mice, and take a cue from the (relatively primitive) iPhone. Direct manipulation of computer imagery, as shown in the “Minority Report” movie, is going to be a great new way to interact with our machines. There is a great video of the technology here, although it appears to be temporarily unavailable. Two videos showing the technology can be found on YouTube here and here.

11) (Computing) 65% of computer users spend more time with computer than with significant other. Lastly and sadly, this is not an innovation but a demonstration of a negative effect technology is having on society. Put down World of Warcraft and go cuddle your SO!