|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
© Newswise.
|
|
Chimeras
Chimeras An Excerpt from the Article Greek mythology defines a "chimera" as an animal with the forepart of a lion, the middle or a goat, and the tail end of a serpent - a melding of species. Most people have no problem contemplating a chimera as a mythological creature; indeed I read and enjoyed the Greek myths in junior high school. But driven by NBIC (the coming together of the previously disparate fields of Nanotechnology, Biology and medicine, Information sciences, and Cognitive sciences), a different form of chimera is already very much a reality. Unlike the mythological chimera, today's chimera is a combination of mouse and human - a mouse body with a human brain!! Actually, this is not the first real chimera on the scene. For example, pigs with human blood running through their veins have been born. There are also sheep whose livers are 80% human (those livers are being considered for eventual human liver transplant stock). And we've already seen mice whose brains are 1% human. Also, many humans are already technically chimeras after having their heart valves replaced with those from pigs. The above is excerpted from an article written by Jeff Harrow, Principle Technologist at the Harrow Group. Mr. Harrow's full report can be read at http://www.futurebrief.com/jeffharrowchimera016.asp About Jeff Harrow Jeff, now Principal at The Harrow Group, was the chief technologist for the Corporate Strategy Groups of both Compaq and Digital Equipment Corporation. As the author and editor of the Web-based multimedia technology journal and Webcast originally known as the "Rapidly Changing Face of Computing", Jeff has shared his fascination with the trends of contemporary computing and the technologies that drive them with tens of thousands of people globally for nearly twenty years. His new journal, The Harrow Technology Report, available on the Web at http://www.TheHarrowGroup.com, continues and significantly expands on this tradition. Jeff is the co-author of a book, "The Disappearance of Telecommunications," and his commentaries on technology have been carried in numerous electronic and traditional media around the globe including Discover Magazine, United Press International, NanoNews-Now, and many others. He has also been interviewed on technology futures for TV programs, such as the History Channel's "Modern Marvels," and is an ongoing judge for Disney's Discover Magazine "Innovation Awards." Jeff has numerous patents issued and on file in the areas of network management and user interface technology, and he is a commercial pilot. He brings these and other technological interests together to help people "look beyond the comfortable and obvious," so that they don't become road-kill on the Information Highway. About Future Brief Quantum physics, terrorism, Moore's Law, global warming, increasing human migration, incurable deadly viruses, ever more sophisticated surveillance, the list goes on and on. We speak of "global community", but can forget that community-building has always been a painful experience in human history. The reward potential is balanced by the risk potential. Neither should be ignored. Scientists today speak of the "NBIC convergence" - the interaction of advances in nanotechnology, biotechnology, the information sciences, and the cognitive sciences. Future Brief takes one step back and looks at the greater convergence of the accelerating changes in science and technology with the equally rapidly accelerating changes in society and politics. Future Brief is an organic, growing resource center. What you see now is only a beginning. Our purpose is not only to provide commentary, but also to provide services to those with an interest in global convergence. This convergence is of critical importance to all of us today and to those who will follow us in the future. We can either choose to deal constructively with it now or be forced to deal with it abruptly following a global catastrophe. We opt for the former. Future Brief is an integral part of the work of New Global Initiatives, Inc., an American firm with a global perspective and global operations based in Bethesda, Maryland. However, New Global, as we're called informally, sees Future Brief as a collaborative effort with others sharing similar concerns and interests. Your participation in this site's development is not simply welcomed, it is genuinely encouraged. If you have ideas or recommendations, let us know. Not only is our global community changing, it is changing at an accelerating pace. If you don't keep up, you will fall behind. Linear thinking will not suffice in an exponentially changing world.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||