A final word in the stem cell debate.

From Wired.
Dr. Mahendra Rao, the head of the stem cell group at the National Institute of Aging's Laboratory of Neurosciences is stepping down. But this is not the end of Doctor Rao's contribution to stem cell research so much as it is a new beginning. He is leaving the government funded NIH, for a job with the biotech company Invitrogen. And thus he leaves behind the constraints and regulations of the President's controversial executive order on stem cells. No longer will DR. Rao be limited to the minuscule outdated pre-2001 embryonic stem cell lines for his research. Dr. Rao lists that as his primary reason for leaving the NIH behind for the private sector.

Like many scientists, Dr. Rao speaks to the potential of embyrionic stem cells. "embryonic stem cells are the only cells that don't die spontaneously. That means they don't senesce -- they don't age in culture. You can keep them going pretty much forever. That told us that there are cells within the human body that don't age or that carry the secret of immortality".

If our government continues to place hurdles in the way of our researchers, because of differences in philosophy or superstition, then private companies will be there to pick up the ball. But it's not just finding a home for promising scientists in a field that is unpopular with the current administration that is the problem. There is also the matter of supporting those that would choose to enter the field of embryonic stem cell research.

Dr. Rao states, "Labs that explore technologies we would like to use in the stem cell field, just like you would in the cancer field, for example, have shied away because it's just not worth their while, every thing's much more difficult. Not just policy, but it's also the patent situation. The other big problem is that when you're making career choices you want stability, knowing the field will be around and it will be supported and it's not clear how much support there is from the government."

It's unfortunate, that something this important to Humanity as a species, is falling prey to a short sighted administration and knife sharpening patent lawyers. What we have before us is potentially the master key to unlock the secrets of aging, regenerative medicine, disease cures, and even early human development.

But even if such a discovery is made right now, due to FDA regulations, people could wait as long as a decade to reap the benefits. Dr. Rao seems very concerned at the potential backlash of an impatient public. But I'm not a believer in the public sitting around gnashing their teeth dying of disease while the FDA undertakes a ten year double blind safety study. They are much more likely to simply head off to Thailand.

Someday perhaps, Gilgamesh will return to the city with the plant that makes old men young. And if so, it will because of people like Dr. Rao and companies like Invitrogen.



This post signals one more ending and new beginning. This will be the final entry in the old and dust covered METAHumans blog. However, I am the founding contributor to Memepunks, a new blog about "The latest news in cutting edge science, Internet weirdness, paradigm shifts, and disruptive business models". And of course I'll be Op-Eding and entertaining on my own site. Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll stick around and enjoy the ride.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

A Tale of Two Cities

Rarely do you see an entire town or nation state advancing the paradigm. But there are two such places that recently popped up on the radar. These two locations definitely warrant closer inspections. One is half way around the world, and the other is right here in Michigan.

Wired recently featured a story on developments in Singapore. In many places around the world, including the United States, investors are trepidacious when it comes to biotech research. Political climates, poor return on investment, and lack of understanding have made funding groundbreaking biotech research an unpopular enterprise. But while the rest of the world plays it safe, Singapore is grabbing the bull by the horns.

Until recently Singapore has probably been best known in the media for it’s harsh legal system. But the city state has come into the public eye recently for it’s determined involvement in biotech research. Singapore has put more than 2 billion dollars into research. And they have recently built a 300 million dollar dream facility called Biopolis. Featuring state of the art technology, 2 million square feet of floor space, and all the comforts of home, Biopolis is the research center of the future.

Singapore is not only providing a location for researchers, but also funding for projects that are too ambitious to succeed elsewhere. They have already recruited more than 4000 researchers from all over the world. With the budget of an entire nation state, and the willingness to fund projects that other investors simply refuse to, we may soon see some very fundamental breakthroughs in biotech from a country that was formerly best known for it’s canings.

Singapore has already recently reported on a new potential gene based cure for asthma, as well as a new procedure to safely preserve human stem cells. Singapore may very quickly become the new biotech capital of the world. Bio-conservative countries like the United States may soon sit up and take notice, when a stream of cures and treatments come trickling out of the small determined island south of Malaysia. And perhaps, that is just the wake up call we’ll need to get our own biotech fields moving again. It is said, “He who dares, wins” . And Singapore is daring to do what the rest of the world will not.

The other city I want to draw your attention to is Grand Haven, Michigan. Grand Haven is the first city in the United States to have complete wireless internet coverage. Every square inch of the city, and 15 miles off of it’s coast now have WiFi coverage and broadband access. Eventually as the technology gets cheap enough, and the demand high enough, WiFi cities will be the norm instead of the exception. But for now, not only is Grand Haven leading the way, they are the only city to accomplish it.

A WiFi city opens up new possibilities for information access, computer integration, and communication. Google is only a keystroke away from anywhere in Grand Haven. Every business can now provide internet access to their every customer. Stepping stones like this take us one step closer to future technologies like Augmented Reality. In the mean time, city wide WiFi supports new opportunities in education, business and entertainment. I’m happy to say that of all the high tech metropolises in this country, the first place to step up and get this done is a small unassuming city in my home state of Michigan. Kudos, Grand Haven!

The axis of the earth sticks out visibly through the centre of each and every town or city. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

More to come…

The Voice of Reason

On Tuesday, Ronald Reagan Jr. appeared at the Democratic National Convention. He delivered a short speech on embryonic stem cell research. The full text of his speech can be read here, from the Indystar.com. This was quite a breakthrough both in politics and media awareness. We got to see a well respected political pundit and the son of a United States President speak his mind about stem cell research on national television, in Prime Time.

His speech went a long way toward making stem cell research a voting issue, although not necessarily a political one. With the national television exposure, he made sure that this issue would be very difficult for the average American to glance over any longer. Bringing a very under exposed difference in the candidates to the forefront of voter awareness. It would not surprise me if embryonic stem cell research became a featured point of contention the first time Bush and Kerry meet to debate on television.

This speech needed to be made, and it’s something that Kerry supporters should have been stressing from day one. November fast approaches. And in this time of partisanship, politicking, and campaign ads, one of the most important issues of the election was brought to our attention by a courageous, driven and knowledgeable self proclaimed “unelectable atheist”. Well, unelectable or not, when we start seeing the fruits of our scientific labors in the form of cures brought about by embryonic stem cells, his words may in retrospect be looked back on as the seminal speech of the twenty first century.

And, should we fail, how will we feel if, a few years from now, a more enlightened generation should fulfill the promise of embryonic stem cell therapy? Imagine what they would say of us who lacked the will. – Ronald Reagan Jr.

More to come...

SuppleMental

What makes us who we are? How do we hold on to that in the face of disease and decay? And are we capable of becoming more? These are questions that cognitive neuroscientists are dealing with on a daily basis. Cognitive neuroscience is a burgeoning field of study that seeks to understand the biology of thought. Right now, The basic goal of most neuroscientific research is to increase our general understanding of how the brain functions, and to develop treatments or cures for neurological ailments. Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, psychological disorders, even mental impairment and ADHD may some day fall beneath the sword of scientific research.

Betterhumans.com reports on a group of Washington University researchers who may be laying the groundwork to grow new synapses within the brain. And scientists all over the world are finding new ways to attack Alzheimer’s with everything from chemical compounds to implanted stem cells. But this is not where the ground gets treacherous. Everyone seems to be in favor of curative medical research to keep our brains functioning longer, or to correct diseases or damage. The real question which we will be faced with soon is what lies beyond simple repair and maintenance. The possibility of augmentation looms near on the horizon.

One of the everyday erroneous conventions that most of us still take as truth is the old adage that humans use only 10 percent of our brains. This thought has always coexisted uneasily in my mind with all of the legitimate biological information we now possess about the most mysterious of our organs. Scientific American today dispelled that myth via an article by Barry L. Beyerstein of the Brain Behavior Laboratory at Simon Fraser University. The truth is much more complicated. Can we augment our brains? Undoubtedly. But to what extent and in what form that augmentation takes remains to be seen.

Even now there are a plethora of drugs available that may be able to improve our cognition. A WebMD article references some psychopharmaceuticals that can improve your memory. USA Today also mentions some “smart pills” available on the market. Science Blog.com talks about how choline supplements can have a dramatic effect on the learning potential and memory of children. Adage.com even brings to our attention a dog food that promises to produce smarter pets! Bruce Sterling in his speculative fiction novel Distraction writes;

“Cognition will become an industry soon. A massive, earthshaking, new American industry. Someday, the biggest ever.” And in this case, life is once again emulating fiction.

But the application of enhanced cognition creates controversy. New Scientist in February reported that James Watson, co-discover of DNA said “If you are really stupid, I would call that a disease” and advocates genetic screening to detect the lower 10 percentile of IQ. The Stanford School of Medicine reports on a meeting arranged by the National Science Foundation and the New York Academy of Science. The meeting raised questions about the effects of augmentative neuroscience on us as individuals, and on society as a whole.

In June The Nation ran an article which presented all sides of the neuroscience debate. Some feel that a fine line needs to be drawn between enhancement and therapeutic uses of the technology. Others urge a cautious approach, creating a field of neuroethics, where each technological possibility would be debated and examined before being presented to the public. The thoughts which most closely echo my own come from Dr. James Hughes.

… "There's better and worse. More life is good. More smarts is good," says James Hughes, who teaches health policy at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and is author of the forthcoming book "Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future."

"Sometimes I think I'm arguing for the plow" - a simple dramatic upgrade in human technology, Professor Hughes says. In 100 years, he predicts, "we'll have currently unimaginable cognitive abilities on tap" through technology…

As controversial as this topic is, my take on it is very simple. Do the research. Give us the tools and the choice that goes with them. If humanity as a culture had the opportunity to choose to be smarter, I think you would see exactly how clear cut this issue would become. At some level all of us want the ability to exceed our current limitations. And if I could improve my own life by improving my intelligence, I would do it in a heart beat. Mankind has been getting smarter since the dawn of time. Compare our mental faculties now with where they were a thousand years ago, or a hundred. There is nothing unethical about seeking self improvement. Indeed I believe that is at the core of what makes us human.

You’ll find that as we make ourselves smarter, rather than becoming distanced, we will become empowered. And as much as we want for ourselves, we want more for our children and the generations that follow. We can accomplish so much now as we are, think of what we will be capable of in a better, smarter future. Rather then debate whether or not we should take steps to increase our own intelligence, let us take the logical step and move forward and see where it takes us. I applaud the visionary neuroscientists that are currently planting the seeds that may some day grow into real life Flowers for Algernon. I’m on board folks…sign me up.

I say evolve and let the chips fall where they may. - Tyler Durden, Fight Club

More to come…

The Root of the Stem Cell Debate

I saw a National Academy of Science video today (don’t worry, I link to it later), and now I just HAVE to talk about embryonic stem cells. First, a primer as to what exactly embryonic stem cells are. Basically, they are unspecialized cells derived from human egg cells used in In Vitro fertilization. You can read about them in more detail here. The controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells stems (pun intended) from our distinguished presidents ruling banning government funding for research in new cell lines. Practically crippling American research.

In an attempt to minimize some of the flak our President is getting in the stem cell debate, the current administration is seeking to develop a distribution and development center for the existing 19 stem cell lines allowed for government funded research. Both Reuters and Wired covered Washington’s new initiative. As you can guess, this half hearted gesture was not well received by scientists seriously involved in embryonic stem cell research.

This should not be a political issue, this is a question of science, plain and simple. President Bush needs to come up with a better justification for limiting one of the most promising medical technologies in human history than his addlebrained reasoning that embryonic stem cells make baby Jesus cry. Mr. President, that dog don’t hunt. We are at the same stage now in stem cell research where we were in the 1940s with rocketry. And it doesn’t seem to occur to anyone on the anti-stem cell side of the fence, that the whole rest of the world doesn’t share their opinions on morality. All they are doing by limiting our research in this field is putting our country behind researchers in South Korea, India, and anywhere else where common sense prevails over religious dogma. If we don’t do this, for whatever reason, some one else will.

Boston.com has an article beseeching advocates of embryonic stem cell research to speak their minds and be heard. In his article, Scott Kirsner says “I'm concerned that supporters of scientific progress here and elsewhere throughout the country have been too quiet.”
Too Quiet indeed. He also mentions that Ronald Reagan Jr. will be speaking at the Democratic National Convention. Since his fathers death from Alzheimer’s Ron has become quite vocal about the need for stem cell research. And I’ll only have one thing to say about Mr. Reagan when he gets up and talks about shifting our political paradigm toward more stem cell research. The same thing I said about his father when he’d give a speech about the Soviets, or taxes. “You tell ‘em Ronny!”

And now without further ado, the simplest and best argument I’ve seen to put the politics to the wayside, and get on with the science. This Video. It comes from PNAS.org. Both rats were deliberately crippled, and given identical surgical spinal scaffoldings to repair their damaged spinal cords. The only difference is that the second rat’s scaffolding included stem cells.
We are standing on the edge of possibility.

Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination. ~John Dewey, The Quest for Certainty, 1929

More to come...

Man Machine Interface

There has been some talk this month about the development of brain-computer interfaces. Forbes had an article referencing the research involving monkeys moving a cursor on a computer screen, using only their minds. The Tri-Valley Herald had an article about a Boston researcher who developed a “functional MRI” to translate test subjects thoughts into moving a cursor through a maze. It has been months since Cyberkinetics began their pilot study of the “BrainGate Neural Interface System”. Which uses an implanted electrode grid to issue computer commands. Results of their study are expected to be published later this year. But the most promising experiment looks like it’s happening at Washington University in St. Louis. Betterhumans featured a story on these scientists who utilized epilepsy monitoring electrodes already implanted in patients to get computer input directly from the brain.

"To put this in perspective," says researcher Eric Leuthardt, " the previous EEG-based systems are equivalent to a 1908 Wright brothers airplane in regards to speed of learning to achieve control. Right now with our results we're flying around in an F-16 jet."

Since Case and Bobby Quine first donned their electrode rigs, and delved into cyberspace, speculative fiction has been rife with various computer-brain interfaces. But we are now starting to see some real world development of this technology. The applications for quadriplegics and amputees alone make this research worth the price of admission. Thought controlled prosthetics and computers could give them a quality of life not imagined possible as little as ten years ago.

But the if something like this were to ever become commonplace, it would have far reaching implications for society as a whole. No more keyboards or mice or remote controls. We would no longer need steering wheels or numeric keypads. By using some wireless Brain-Computer Interface, every electronic device we encounter would only be a thought away. And by doing away with other input sources, you could make everything from your home stereo to your office PC an unobtrusive and almost invisible part of life.

I addition to removing the dials, buttons, switches and keys from our lives, it would have more of an effect than simply making this more of a “Nice Place to Live”. Eliminating clunky hardware interfaces would increase creativity, and allow people of all conditions the same power of input into our communications and productivity. And eventually, breakthroughs like this could lead to humans interacting in a much more direct way, without the middle man of verbalizing.

Although I may never end up with a “datajack” or a “trode-rig”, it looks like for the generation that follows, it’s not science fiction anymore.


Neuromancer didn’t predict the future. Neuromancer created the future. If you would understand the past twenty years’ technological advance and retreat, this book is required reading. – Corey Doctorow

More to come...

Neo-Luddite Media

Neo-Luddite Media

I ran across a Wired article today. It talks about a recent report from the Erosion Technology and Concentration action group. In short, it contends that Nano-Biotech research could lead to tiny genetic monsters converting the entire world to a bunch of “green goo”. Borrowing a page from Drexler and Joy and the “grey goo” scenario, the people at ECT believe that in the presence of such obvious danger, research into nanotech and biotech should be regulated out of existence. Maybe some one should tell them that Dr. Drexler has since recanted of sorts.

“An obsession with obsolete science-fiction images of swarms of replicating nanobugs has diverted attention from the real issues raised by the coming revolution in molecular nanotechnologies, We need to focus on the issues that matter—how to deal with these powerful new capabilities in a competitive world.” Dr. K Erik Drexler said recently.

Dr. Drexler is a pioneer of nanotech, and founder of the Foresight Institute. He wrote one of the premier books on nanotech; Engines of Creation.

The alarmist rhetoric that comes from people like the ETC is a sign of the times I guess. There seems to be a Luddite trend in current media. Just this weekend I went to see I, Robot. Where the anti-technology hero saves the world from an army of soulless robots and a fascist A.I.. And not long ago I sat through Godsend, where a grieving family was given a clone of their recently dead young son. Of course things went horribly awry and people died.

And let us not forget Michael “frightened” Crichton, who has made a career of making people nervous and scared about new science. All of his novels and films seem to have the same premise. Here is a new technology, look how it turns out to be terrible and we are nearly destroyed, maybe we never should have unleashed this scientific horror. Nanotech in Prey, cloning in Jurassic Park, even time travel in Timeline.

As fear mongering like this becomes more and more prevalent, we are less and less likely to pursue import technologies. Look at all the starving people of the third world, that could actually eat if not for the bum wrap given to genetically modified food. Yes we need to understand that new innovations can be dangerous. But steps can be taken to account for and minimize the risks, and then we proceed with their development. If we don’t, the price we’ll end up paying will be scientific stagnation, just to get imagined safety from some imagined fears. (I own two transgenic fish, and to date, niether has tried to kill me. Although I'm sure they talk about it amongst themselves quietly.)

I had quite enough of the Dark Ages in European history class. Given a choice, I’ll take the Renaissance.

Overcome fear, behold wonder. — Æschylus (525-456 BC)

More to come...

First "official" post

As my first official post, I should probably get some links out there. Some things to get you started when looking at Transhumanism on the web.

First off, the big one. "Transhumanist Central" if you will. The World Transhumanist Association. This site has an excellent FAQ that is well worth reading if you are at all interested in Transhumanism.

The sibling organization to the WTA, the Extropy Institute is another place where you will find a great all around FAQ and more information on Transhumanism than you'll know what to do with.

Betterhumans is a news site that I frequent with a Transhumanist slant. They keep a pretty close eye on scientific developments, covering everything from anti-aging treatments to computer-neural prosthesis. Sort of like CNN for Transhumanism.

If you want a good place to exchange ideas, let me recommend both the mailing list, and the IRC chat room at SL4. A lot of very interesting memes circulate through that group.

For some fun reading of a possible Transhuman future, try Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. In fact, Corey Doctorow is such a nice guy, he'll let you download his book for free.

And let us not forget one of the most useful tools we have today...Google. try searching for Transhumanism, Posthuman, and Singularity.


A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Confucius

More to come...

And so it begins

Well here we go…

First off what is this blog all about, and why is it here? Well the primary reason for this small corner of the web is to keep the Transhumanist meme moving. A “meme” is basically an idea with legs, something that’s spread around from person to person, place to place. As far as I know, there is no one in the Michigan area getting the Transhumanist meme out. So I’m doing my part to keep it moving.

Now incase you have no idea what I’m talking about, here it is in a nut shell. Transhumanism is a philosophical offshoot of Humanism. It agrees with the basic concept of Humanism, that humanity’s destiny is set squarely on our shoulders, and that through improving ourselves by modifying our culture and training our minds, we can achieve a great deal. But Transhumanism goes a step further. It takes the next step down the logic path of modern Humanism. Through the use of technology; Genetics, computers, prosthetics, nanotechnology, etc. we can become something MORE than human.

Stunning scientific breakthroughs are happening more and more every day. And they will change the way we live, die and everything in between. Transhumanism is the only school of thought that not only takes into account all of the advancements we are seeing in science and technology, but plans on them.

The more people that embrace the idea that the human condition is a mid point, and not and end point, the faster and farther we will move forward toward a Post-Human condition. If we are indeed looking at a future where we live lengthened life spans, increase our intellects, and find new and exciting ways to communicate and shape our world through technology… well, I for one am getting in on the ground floor.

“Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.” –Hamlet

More to come…