My father-in-law had something similar installed in him this past year. He has Parkinson's disease and had a mini computer installed in his abdomen with some strategically placed wires that are tucked under his skin and connect to specific areas of his brain. The implant is wireless and so it can be reprogrammed and fine tuned without surgery. The dosage of his medicine was getting so high that it was affecting his heart and pulmonary system in some very negative ways. So far the implant has given him much better mobility and added about 4 hours to his day. Before the device his muscles would clamp down and render him immobile by around 9-9:30... with the medicine. For some paralytic types of disease these devices are very important!!
There is nothing new about nicotine. Maybe these particular findings are new, but it has had many uses (most notably as a toxin) in pest management for a long time.
I think it is important to proceed with an open mind. Not every "biohacker" is looking for the creation of novel organisms or even a directly applicable end product. As one who would be classified into this category by some, I know that many many more of biotech applications are used simply to understand systems more deeply. For example, say I want to better understand some pest tolerance pathway in a plant. One of the best ways to understand the system insert a special bit of nucleotide sequence into a plant virus that I know a lot about, inoculate the plant with the virus in the lab to functionally silence a particular gene, and subject the plant to the particular stress that I'm interested in learning about. I don't think this activity makes the world inherently less stable. On the contrary, doesn't it make the world better understood?
Of course we won't see an 80-core processor any day soon! Intel will produce "new chips" every couple years and just add cores. I suspect they have done this all along (e.g, the Pentium series). That is it makes sense from a capitalist standpoint to throttle your technology to generate or maintain a certain level of demand. I have no evidence for this, but as cynical as it sounds it sure makes sense.
I agree, accute dangers can be much more obvious than chronic dangers. But I also agree that the public needs to become much more informed about the scientific method and review. Much as you describe the complexities of hidden chronic dangers burden you, it seems that some people (many?) are unable to keep pace with the microscopic world that science tinkers with. The unknown is by its nature mysterious and thereby frightening. Understanding something, while not necessarily improving your safety, alleviates the burden of aimless fear.
Isn't the origin of the universe a little cloudy at the moment? TA indicates that there will be no information about how the universe expanded a long time from now. We don't know exactly how the universe is expanding now. If we did, we would know exactly how it formed, right? If this is an attempt to enhance funding for the study of the physics of space, they had better round off a couple zeros.
Actually, FTA it seems that Google's success may depend on part of ex-google employee's forming new startups (that depend on Google of course). Also, I think, as a company, Google has the major advantage of knowing very exactly what many people want being that its base is a very popular search engine. Hell, it seems they could survive a googol years just selling search-query analysis.
Lol. Yeah, I remember. And the booming sound of the degaussing mechanism that destroyed any magnetic storage device sitting near the sides of it when you turned it on. That was also a sign of high quality.
I'd say they are expert BS'ers. I've been on a full 747 flying over the atlantic when we hit some serious turbulence (of the sort that toss a plane in 100-ft increments) and, funny, we didn't crash.
I've been on 5 different overnight flights and having all of my bags arrive has been the exception not the rule. This has also been true for my 10 or so national flights as well. It would be nice if one of the airlines would wise up to this.
And you'll arive without your checked bags anywhere in sight I'm sure. I think some of the companies they outsource bag handling to must hire chimps... no wait, chimps know how to arrange items.
It wouldn't necessarily slow evolution, but it may speed it up. Species exist in populations that are distributed throughout a landscape and natural selection acts directly on a gene's phenotype. Therefore, if a sub-population of a species happens to have greater fitness due to a trait that is best maintained by asexual reproduction, it is possible that that sub-population may quickly diverge from the greater population.
Grind up some fresh Ugandan coffee beans into espresso-grade grounds. Add ~2 tablespoons of espresso-grade grounds into espresso maker. 4-cups worth of water into water chamber. Brew straight into medium size coffee mug. Coffee and mug will be extremely hot. I keep the espresso machine (it's a small, four-cup tank) and coffee mill on my file cabinet in the office. Works for me. Cheers!
Sure. The world is designed for people who can read, write, and do basic math. These are things that she has severe trouble with. It would be a burden for society to reorganize to suite her needs; however, society does not. I'm not saying society should adjust to her needs as she is a very small minority of the population. However, it is her burden to try to understand the world around her. There is no burden to society for her being alive, but I am certain she would very much enjoy learning beyond her current abilities if there was such a genetic treatment to reverse her condition.
It's the original word for the condition, and doesn't have to be used as an insult; it wasn't here.
First, you are not the original poster for the parent of this comment; therefore, you can not know what the poster's intent was. "Retards" is not the original word for the condition, but slang that is applied to a much more broad array of conditions and is currently accepted as offensive to most. The term was used by the poster either out of insult or ingnorance, in either case it wasn't a very kind word to use and I felt justified in making that known.
strawman
Strawman or example? The original post was trying to provide examples to bolster his case against disorders and justifying his stance by using "societal burden" as justification. In fact the poster stated "(retards, etc.)" which clearly indicates that he would include others in a list. I was merely citing an additional example of a condition that most would agree is truly a societal burden. It was not part of a counter argument.
There should be some limits, but who wouldn't want to get rid of conditions that produce people who are a burden on society? (retards, etc.)
My sister is mentally retarded. Whereas I agree with your statement in part (i.e., ridding her of her condition would be a wonderous thing for her), I strongly disagree that she is a burden on society. Rather, society places a much, much larger burden on her because of her condition. She is gainfully employed and pays taxes, what more would society want from anyone? I don't think that "retards", as you so kindly refer to people like my sister, are as great a burden as those who seek to committ homicide. Maybe there might be a genetic condition associated with such behaviors. Anyway, the bigger problem is who becomes the genetic "gold standard" and who makes the descision. Should that be left up to companies that house their employees in creepy sterile office buildings?
Slashdot Mirror
music industry = wooly mammoth
Is this in the voice of Elma Jetson?
True. And maybe the sidewalk 2.0 will convert their mass to energy!
Yes.
Holy corndogs.
My father-in-law had something similar installed in him this past year. He has Parkinson's disease and had a mini computer installed in his abdomen with some strategically placed wires that are tucked under his skin and connect to specific areas of his brain. The implant is wireless and so it can be reprogrammed and fine tuned without surgery. The dosage of his medicine was getting so high that it was affecting his heart and pulmonary system in some very negative ways. So far the implant has given him much better mobility and added about 4 hours to his day. Before the device his muscles would clamp down and render him immobile by around 9-9:30... with the medicine. For some paralytic types of disease these devices are very important!!
Like a laser that can be mounted on a vehicle and detect and destroy improvised roadside bombs? Seems like that is something that we could really use.
Do do do do, dah dah dah dah, is all I have to say to you.
There is nothing new about nicotine. Maybe these particular findings are new, but it has had many uses (most notably as a toxin) in pest management for a long time.
I think it is important to proceed with an open mind. Not every "biohacker" is looking for the creation of novel organisms or even a directly applicable end product. As one who would be classified into this category by some, I know that many many more of biotech applications are used simply to understand systems more deeply. For example, say I want to better understand some pest tolerance pathway in a plant. One of the best ways to understand the system insert a special bit of nucleotide sequence into a plant virus that I know a lot about, inoculate the plant with the virus in the lab to functionally silence a particular gene, and subject the plant to the particular stress that I'm interested in learning about. I don't think this activity makes the world inherently less stable. On the contrary, doesn't it make the world better understood?
... Yes and the rise of the mysterious solo career of the Morrissey.
"Hang the DJ"!
Wow! That figuratively and literally sucked!
Of course we won't see an 80-core processor any day soon! Intel will produce "new chips" every couple years and just add cores. I suspect they have done this all along (e.g, the Pentium series). That is it makes sense from a capitalist standpoint to throttle your technology to generate or maintain a certain level of demand. I have no evidence for this, but as cynical as it sounds it sure makes sense.
I agree, accute dangers can be much more obvious than chronic dangers. But I also agree that the public needs to become much more informed about the scientific method and review. Much as you describe the complexities of hidden chronic dangers burden you, it seems that some people (many?) are unable to keep pace with the microscopic world that science tinkers with. The unknown is by its nature mysterious and thereby frightening. Understanding something, while not necessarily improving your safety, alleviates the burden of aimless fear.
Isn't the origin of the universe a little cloudy at the moment? TA indicates that there will be no information about how the universe expanded a long time from now. We don't know exactly how the universe is expanding now. If we did, we would know exactly how it formed, right? If this is an attempt to enhance funding for the study of the physics of space, they had better round off a couple zeros.
Actually, FTA it seems that Google's success may depend on part of ex-google employee's forming new startups (that depend on Google of course). Also, I think, as a company, Google has the major advantage of knowing very exactly what many people want being that its base is a very popular search engine. Hell, it seems they could survive a googol years just selling search-query analysis.
Lol. Yeah, I remember. And the booming sound of the degaussing mechanism that destroyed any magnetic storage device sitting near the sides of it when you turned it on. That was also a sign of high quality.
I'd say they are expert BS'ers. I've been on a full 747 flying over the atlantic when we hit some serious turbulence (of the sort that toss a plane in 100-ft increments) and, funny, we didn't crash.
I've been on 5 different overnight flights and having all of my bags arrive has been the exception not the rule. This has also been true for my 10 or so national flights as well. It would be nice if one of the airlines would wise up to this.
And you'll arive without your checked bags anywhere in sight I'm sure. I think some of the companies they outsource bag handling to must hire chimps... no wait, chimps know how to arrange items.
It wouldn't necessarily slow evolution, but it may speed it up. Species exist in populations that are distributed throughout a landscape and natural selection acts directly on a gene's phenotype. Therefore, if a sub-population of a species happens to have greater fitness due to a trait that is best maintained by asexual reproduction, it is possible that that sub-population may quickly diverge from the greater population.
Grind up some fresh Ugandan coffee beans into espresso-grade grounds. Add ~2 tablespoons of espresso-grade grounds into espresso maker. 4-cups worth of water into water chamber. Brew straight into medium size coffee mug. Coffee and mug will be extremely hot. I keep the espresso machine (it's a small, four-cup tank) and coffee mill on my file cabinet in the office. Works for me. Cheers!
First, you are not the original poster for the parent of this comment; therefore, you can not know what the poster's intent was. "Retards" is not the original word for the condition, but slang that is applied to a much more broad array of conditions and is currently accepted as offensive to most. The term was used by the poster either out of insult or ingnorance, in either case it wasn't a very kind word to use and I felt justified in making that known.
Strawman or example? The original post was trying to provide examples to bolster his case against disorders and justifying his stance by using "societal burden" as justification. In fact the poster stated "(retards, etc.)" which clearly indicates that he would include others in a list. I was merely citing an additional example of a condition that most would agree is truly a societal burden. It was not part of a counter argument.
My sister is mentally retarded. Whereas I agree with your statement in part (i.e., ridding her of her condition would be a wonderous thing for her), I strongly disagree that she is a burden on society. Rather, society places a much, much larger burden on her because of her condition. She is gainfully employed and pays taxes, what more would society want from anyone? I don't think that "retards", as you so kindly refer to people like my sister, are as great a burden as those who seek to committ homicide. Maybe there might be a genetic condition associated with such behaviors. Anyway, the bigger problem is who becomes the genetic "gold standard" and who makes the descision. Should that be left up to companies that house their employees in creepy sterile office buildings?
Not really. Homer has extra-terrestrial experience.