Although the possible uses include helping comatose, locked-in patients, or the speech-impaired to communicate, concerns have been raised that the method could be used for interrogation. fMRI has already been used by federal law enforcement agencies to detect signs of deception in detained suspects.

Brands have a psychological reality in that they provide differentiation for goods that might otherwise be seen as interchangeable commodities.  I give you vodka, salt, and baking soda, as pertinent examples.

The advent of 3-D printers in recent years, though,  introduces a possibility that branded goods may have less utility in the future.  The Pirate Bay,  already a source of downloadable content of all types (some of it probably of dubious legality) has created a new category of downloadable content containing the code for producing items on 3-D printers.  Once goods become “content” and can be produced by anyone,  what happens to brands? The ability to easily turn digital content into a physical object changes the marketing premise. Nicknamed “physibles”  over at the Pirate Bay,  these digital blueprints lead the way to a nearby future in which “…you will print your spare parts for your vehicles. You will download your sneakers within 20 years.”

Jalila Essaidi, the Dutch artist who, along with the Forensic Genomics Consortium in the Netherlands, created the skin, said that she embarked on the project to show “Which forms of safety are socially important?’”

The spider silk came from genetically modified goats and worms grown at Utah State University. The new “super-skin” material can be seen at the National Natural History Museum Naturalis until Jan. 8, 2012.

House Panel Approves Broadened ISP Monitoring Bill: The bill requires ISPs to log their customers’ activities for one year including “customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and temporarily-assigned IP addresses” for use in cases requiring police review.[CNET News]

UC Berkeley’s Geospatial Innovation Facility — with support from the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) agency — has developed a climate adaptation planning tool it is calling “Cal-Adapt” [cal-adapt.org.]� The tool models climate change scenarios in a mapping format, including projections through 2099 for factors such as wildfire risk, sea-level rise and flood risk,� temperature fluctuation, and even snow pack. � It is particularly interesting to explore the many microclimates that California offers.

The entire, very extensive dataset is available for download, and should keep anyone busy for a long time.

There are a number of interactive visualization tools at the site,? including a world map illustrating the origin of download requests,? an updating topical/keyword tag cloud,? and displays of real time downloads.?? This type of information could be used in many, many ways.?? On the commercial level,? authors and editors can get a fascinating view of which topics are emerging and in what geographic markets.? Scholarly and research applications abound, as well.? As a community,? scientists have an outsized impact on society and understanding trends in their work and interests could be useful.