Fluorescent Cats

Everyday the world becomes stranger and more beautiful. Some enterprising young minds in Korea have genetically modified and cloned some glow in the dark cats. In the picture below the orange cat on the left is glowing orange under an ultra violet light source, whereas a normal cat (right) is merely reflecting green.

Transcats walk amongst us, as apparently do Transmice.

The mouse picture is actually from a Forbes article from back in ’01. Which shows just how long this technology has been around. In China and other areas you can already buy genetically modified glowing pets, and hopefully we will have glowing kitties in the rest of the world soon.

Medical and amusement purposes aside, another interesting ramification of this technology is that nothing can ever truly go “extinct” now. One day, when our race is old and wise, this planet can once again team with all of the strange strains of life that, in our youthful ignorance, we sought to destroy.

EEG used to control avatar in Second Life

I did not realize that a simple non-invasive EEG could get such detailed information from the motor cortex. Apparently a Japanese University (Only available in Japanese) has created an EEG capable enough to receive incredibly detailed information about the motor cortex state. They are using this information to control an avatar in the ever popular Second Life:

When you think about walking forward, your avatar walks forward. When you think about moving your left arm, your avatars left arm will move, etc. etc. Since I do not read Japanese very well I do not know how any of this works, but I do know that I want to build one of these things. Luckily there is an open source hardware project to help us do just that: OpenEEG

Of course I am not much of a gamer, and I can not think what else an able bodied person could use this for… Except maybe using it as a mouse so I could move my cursor while keeping both hands on the keyboard. That does seem a little overkill though.

Building the EEG seems simple enough, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin deciphering the signal. I would probably create a software neural network and train it to interpret my brain patterns. That way adding new functionality could be done fairly easily. Also I rather like the idea of a comprehensible software neural network interpreting the practically incomprehensible hardware networks of our brains. But what could I do with this new found power? Maybe remote control a robot to get me a beer from the fridge. Now that would be science!

Blue Brain

This is probably the coolest development in AI since Babbage and Ada. Although the purpose of most AI is to solve problems, this AI’s only purpose is to exist. Although one day in the far future it may be able to completely emulate, and improve upon, the human brain.

Be sure to check out the gallery too:

http://bluebrain.epfl.ch/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Brain

Modulation of neurogenesis by nootropic agents

This is a fascinating patent about using nootropics to stimulate, inhibit, and control the growth of new brain cells. However the use of current drugs can only manipulate natural neurogenesis occurring in the lateral ventricles and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation.

What this means is that we could increase our capacity to learn and remember permanently by using nootropic drugs! Since inhibited neurogenesis, usually caused by stress, can often lead to depression this therapy could lead to a whole new branch of antidepressant drugs as well.

Unfortunately it appears that the creation of neurons is caused by the effects of either large and possibly dangerous doses of one nootropic, or small and safe doses of multiple nootropics. You are unlikely to convince your physician to go along with either path, so I guess we are on our own. I am trying to dig up some more on this, hopefully there are some case studies in a medical journal somewhere.

Here is the patent:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20070244143.html

Artificial Red Blood Cells

Unfortunately I can not find out more about this, as I do not have access to the journals it was published in. Here is the abstract:

Abstract: Molecular manufacturing promises precise control of matter at the atomic and molecular level, allowing the construction of micron-scale machines comprised of nanometer-scale components. Medical nanomachines will be among the earliest applications. The artificial red blood cell or “respirocyte” proposed here is a bloodborne spherical 1-micron diamondoid 1000-atm pressure vessel with active pumping powered by endogenous serum glucose, able to deliver 236 times more oxygen to the tissues per unit volume than natural red cells and to manage carbonic acidity. An onboard nanocomputer and numerous chemical and pressure sensors enable complex device behaviors remotely reprogrammable by the physician via externally applied acoustic signals. Primary applications will include transfusable blood substitution; partial treatment for anemia, perinatal/neonatal and lung disorders; enhancement of cardiovascular/neurovascular procedures, tumor therapies and diagnostics; prevention of asphyxia; artificial breathing; and a variety of sports, veterinary, battlefield and other uses.

I have seen some numbers out there detailing the effectiveness of this artificial cell, although I do not know their accuracy. Apparently you could sit on the bottom of your pool for four hours or run at top speed for fifteen minutes without taking a single breath. I need to get a subscription to these damn peer reviewed publications.

Rob Freitas’ original paper was printed in ’96, so I imagine there has been quite a bit of progress since then. Has anyone out there heard anything about this? I would be a little worried about any machinery that goes through the blood brain barrier, but this seems almost cool enough to risk being an early adopter.

Solicitation

Several years ago I took Adderall for approximately six months while studying for some technical certifications. It greatly increased the effectiveness of my studying, and substantially increased my memory retention and even reasoning. In the course of 24 hours I read an entire textbook on a subject I knew very little about, and passed a very thorough written exam. I doubt very much that I could have done this with out the use of serious drugs. Caffeine alone would not have sufficed.

The drug, unfortunately, has several side effects. The most prominent of which is it’s addictive nature and the euphoric high it induces during use. Ultimately these side effects caused me to discontinue my experiments with the drug.

However there have been several breakthroughs in nootropics since my failed experiment, and I very much would like to hear about anyones experiences with “smart drugs”. Currently I am self-employed and without medical insurance, and therefor my access to these drugs is rather limited. Unless of course I chose to break the law, which in this case is not a practice I condone.

If I get enough feedback on this topic I will post the best experiences in a testimonials section. This is a pro-transhuman blog, but should I receive stories of negative experiences with these drugs, I will be sure to post those too.

Keeping Life Human

This is a speech given by Leon Kass, former chair of the President’s Council on Bioethics to The Manhattan Institute:

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/wl2007.htm

Honestly I think that this is just as much an argument for transhumanism as it is against it. Mr. Kass quotes brilliant and articulate scientific minds, and then makes vague and emotional appeals against them. He names his enemy “Scientism”, which one can only assume is the belief in empirical evidence through repeated experimentation. Mr. Kass is dead wrong in several of his statements, such as:

“Unlike a normally curious child, cosmologists do not ask, “What was before the big bang?” or “Why is there something rather than nothing?” because the answer must be an exasperated “God only knows!””

While the study of what happened prior to the big bang is actually a very active and exciting field of study. Also he argues on and on about “God” and the “Soul”, which to me seems a bit strange. The man is not only a scientist, but the chairman of the board of the bioETHICS council. It seems that in his position he would make a lot of sound ethical arguments against transhumanism, but instead he has decided to take the low and easy road of religious and overtly emotional appeals.

All in all his arguments are coherent, but that is about it. He seems to have no trouble sacrificing his scientific integrity to make a weak point or a bad joke. Some may accuse me of setting up a straw man, but honestly, as weak as this man’s arguments are, I have yet to see anything better.

A Hot New Cup Of Tea

This is not an anti-transhuman argument, but it does outline some of the more serious moral issues surrounding the use of nootropics for cognitive enhancement: A Hot New Cup Of Tea

Ultimately I find this paper to be well written and insightful. However near the end the arguments tend to break down slightly and become rather baseless and unfounded. For example the implication that creativity and emotion are in some way mutually exclusive with cognitive productivity is a baseless fear. The cold and logical genius is a timeless symbol, a man void of emotion and creativity. However this type of person is in reality very rare and is not typical of most people of above average intelligence. Nootropics do not enhance our logical abilities at the expense of emotional and creative existence. Increasing our cognitive functions does not turn us into cold calculating machines, but rather increases our inherent ability to comprehend and communicate with the world. If anything it increases our artistic and creative abilities, and logic is but one medium in which we may express ourselves.

There are several other baseless and nonsensical arguments present in this paper, but in the end it gets the main part right; nootropics are here to stay. It would be in our best interest to find the safest and most effective way of using them, because it goes without saying that we are not the only ones studying these drugs. In order to stay competitive “smart drugs” are looking to be more and more necessary. Some of us might not like this turn of events, but thats just how it is.