Our Technological Future

Our Technological Future Continues On Its Own Domain

2007-12-23T14:24:00.001+01:00

After two and a half years of bringing you the latest tech news, Our Technological Future will continue on its own domain, with a new name and a new look!This website will no longer be updated, but will remain online nonetheless.A fan of this blog was nice enough to donate hosting, so a special thank you to Chris for the free webspace.Our Technological Future continues as:Technut News!If you have

Anti-Aging Drugs Could Change the Nature of Death

2007-12-20T23:26:00.001+01:00

Anti-Aging Drugs Could Change the Nature of DeathA new class of drugs aimed at age-related physical and mental deterioration could change not only the nature of life, but of death. The drugs target mitochondria, the cellular power generators that provide our bodies with chemical energy. Over time, mitochondria accumulate damage, causing cells and eventually tissues to malfunction and break down.

Stem Cells Used to Fix Breast Defects

2007-12-20T23:25:00.001+01:00

Stem Cells Used to Fix Breast DefectsFor the first time, doctors have used stem cells from liposuctioned fat to fix breast defects in women who have had cancerous lumps removed. The approach is still experimental, but holds promise for millions of women left with cratered areas and breasts that look very different from each other after cancer surgery. It also might be a way to augment healthy

Start-Up Sells Solar Panels at Lower-Than-Usual Cost

2007-12-20T22:34:00.001+01:00

Start-Up Sells Solar Panels at Lower-Than-Usual CostNanosolar, a heavily financed Silicon Valley start-up whose backers include Google's co-founders, plans to announce Tuesday that it has begun selling its innovative solar panels, which are made using a technique that is being held out as the future of solar power manufacturing. The company, which has raised $150 million and built a

MIT Corrects Inherited Retardation, Autism In Mice

2007-12-20T22:33:00.001+01:00

MIT Corrects Inherited Retardation, Autism In MiceResearchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have corrected key symptoms of mental retardation and autism in mice. The work, which will be reported in the Dec. 20 issue of Neuron, also indicates that a certain class of drugs could have the same effect. These drugs are not yet approved by the FDA, but will soon be entering into

Aging Gracefully Requires Taking Out The Trash

2007-12-20T22:17:00.001+01:00

Aging Gracefully Requires Taking Out The TrashSuppressing a cellular cleanup-mechanism known as autophagy can accelerate the accumulation of protein aggregates that leads to neural degeneration. In an upcoming issue of Autophagy, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report for the first time that the opposite is true as well: Boosting autophagy in the nervous system of fruit

Robots Help Elderly When Humans Cannot

2007-12-20T22:15:00.000+01:00

Robots Help Elderly When Humans CannotIf you grow old in Japan, expect to be served food by a robot, ride a voice-recognition wheelchair or even possibly hire a nurse in a robotic suit - all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country's graying population. With nearly 22 percent of Japan's people aged 65 or older, businesses have been rolling out everything from easy-entry cars

Can IBM Connect Cores In a Chip With Light?

2007-12-19T22:02:00.001+01:00

Can IBM Connect Cores In a Chip With Light?IBM has come up with a technology that could one day let different cores on a processor exchange signals with pulses of light, rather than electrons, a change that could lead to faster and far more energy efficient chips. The device, known as a silicon Mach-Zehnder electro-optic modulator--converts electrical signals into pulses of light. The trick is

Light-powered Toothbrush Could Eliminate Need For Toothpaste

2007-12-19T22:00:00.001+01:00

Light-powered Toothbrush Could Eliminate Need For ToothpasteThe Shiken Company of Japan is making a prototype solar-powered toothbrush, which causes a chemical reaction in your mouth, with the hopes of improving the elimination of harmful plaque and bacteria. Dr. Komiyama designed the first model of this type of toothbrush more than 15 years ago: It contained a titanium dioxide rod in the neck

Researchers Identify Granddaddy Of Human Blood Cells

2007-12-19T21:58:00.001+01:00

Researchers identify granddaddy of human blood cellsResearchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have isolated a human blood cell that represents the great-grandparent of all the cells of the blood, a finding that could lead to new treatments for blood cancers and other blood diseases.This cell, called the multipotent progenitor, is the first offspring of the much-studied

Super Water Repellent Could Cause Big Wave In Market

2007-12-19T21:57:00.001+01:00

Super Water Repellent Could Cause Big Wave In MarketA water repellent developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory outperforms nature at its best and could open a floodgate of commercial possibilities. The super-water repellent (superhydrophobic) material, developed by John Simpson, is easy to fabricate and uses inexpensive base materials. The

Synthetic DNA on the Brink of Yielding New Life Forms

2007-12-17T21:24:00.001+01:00

Synthetic DNA on the Brink of Yielding New Life FormsIt has been 50 years since scientists first created DNA in a test tube, stitching ordinary chemical ingredients together to make life's most extraordinary molecule. Until recently, however, even the most sophisticated laboratories could make only small snippets of DNA -- an extra gene or two to be inserted into corn plants, for example, to help

Can We Cure Aging?

2007-12-06T00:25:00.000+01:00

Can We Cure Aging?Jim Hammond is an elite athlete. He works out two hours a day with a trainer, pushing himself through sprints, runs, and strength-building exercises. His resting heart rate is below 50. He’s won three gold medals and one silver in amateur competitions this year alone, running races from 100 to 800 meters. In his division, he’s broken four national racing records. But perhaps the

Skin Transformed Into Stem Cells

2007-12-02T20:05:00.000+01:00

Skin transformed into stem cellsHuman skin cells have been reprogrammed by two groups of scientists to mimic embryonic stem cells with the potential to become any tissue in the body.The breakthrough promises a plentiful new source of cells for use in research into new treatments for many diseases.Crucially, it could mean that such research is no longer dependent on using cells from human embryos,

Scientists Breed Mouse That Can't Get Cancer

2007-12-01T12:06:00.000+01:00

Meet the supermouse bred by genetic scientists that CAN'T get cancerMice resistant to cancer have been created in a breakthrough that could lead to a human treatment free of side-effects.A protein produced by the creatures may hold the key to a future therapy.It attacks tumour cells, but does not harm healthy tissue in the body.Scientists hope it can one day be adapted for use in humans - saving

Nanosolar's Breakthrough - Solar Now Cheaper Than Coal

2007-11-27T21:39:00.000+01:00

Nanosolar’s Breakthrough - Solar Now Cheaper than CoalTheir mission: to deliver cost-efficient solar electricity. The Nanosolar company was founded in 2002 and is working to build the world’s largest solar cell factory in California and the world’s largest panel-assembly factory in Germany. They have successfully created a solar coating that is the most cost-efficient solar energy source ever.

Nuke to the Future!

2007-11-26T11:26:00.000+01:00

Nuke to the FutureThe portable nuclear reactor is the size of a hot tub. It’s shaped like a sake cup, filled with a uranium hydride core and surrounded by a hydrogen atmosphere. Encase it in concrete, truck it to a site, bury it underground, hook it up to a steam turbine and, voila, one would generate enough electricity to power a 25,000-home community for at least five years.The company Hyperion

Nano Cancer Bombs And Mini Organs From MIT

2007-11-20T13:03:00.000+01:00

Nano cancer-bombs and mini organs from MITScientists at MIT have developed remote-controlled nano particles that, with the push of a button, can deliver drugs directly to a tumour. The same research director has also found a way to build tiny human "livers" just 500 micrometres across. This work should lead to more reliable toxicity testing for new drugs.According to Geoff von Maltzahn,

Second Life Brain-Computer Interface, Thought Controlled Technology

2007-11-11T14:19:00.000+01:00

Brain-computer interface for Second LifeWhile recent developments in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology have given humans the power to mentally control computers, nobody has used the technology in conjunction with the Second Life online virtual world — until now.A research team led by professor Jun’ichi Ushiba of the Keio University Biomedical Engineering Laboratory has developed a BCI

Researchers Simulate Photosynthesis, Design Better Leaf

2007-11-11T14:14:00.000+01:00

Researchers successfully simulate photosynthesis and design a better leafUniversity of Illinois researchers have built a better plant, one that produces more leaves and fruit without needing extra fertilizer. The researchers accomplished the feat using a computer model that mimics the process of evolution. Theirs is the first model to simulate every step of the photosynthetic process....

Photorealism, Part Deux!

2007-10-26T14:48:00.000+02:00

A little while ago, I posted How Long Until Photorealistic Virtual Environments?But that was before I had seen this:

HIV Cure Found

2007-10-22T22:41:00.000+02:00

Researchers Knock Out HIVWith the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the HIV virus. The so-called ‘combination therapy’ prevents the HIV virus from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population.To date, it represents the most significant treatment for patients

How Long Until Photorealistic Virtual Environments?

2007-10-16T22:51:00.000+02:00

My guess would be... not long.

Why Can't We Regrow Bodyparts?

2007-10-14T15:28:00.000+02:00

Why can't we regrow bodyparts?Well, as it turns out...We can, in fact, regrow bodyparts.Also see my previous post that is more detailed about the regrowing fingertip story.Here's a link to the original page.

Regrowing Fingers - Tissue Regeneration Technology Already Exists

2007-10-09T19:00:00.000+02:00

A Doctor, a Pig, and a Magical Pixie Dust That Could Regrow Fingers...Spievack had never seen a plane act this way. He got down on his knees for a closer look, and just as he said, "You've got to get rid of this thing," he pointed at the engine, inserting his middle finger directly into the propeller's path. "And that's how I cut my finger off," he says.Over the years, Dr. Stephen Badylak has had