(Helmholtz
Association) Medical implants, complex interfaces between brain and machine or
remotely controlled insects: Recent developments combining machines and
organisms have great potentials, but also give rise to major ethical concerns.
(New
Scientist) LIFE in virtual reality could soon get a whole lot tastier – now a
digital simulator can transmit the taste of virtual food and drink to the
tongue. This might mean that gamers and VR explorers will be able to sample
something of the food appearing on their VR headset or computer screen.
Community: So maybe one day we’ll be
able to taste the concoctions on Top Chef, eliminating the need for judges. I’m
really upset with them for choosing Nicholas over Nina in Season 11.
(Singularity
Hub) Most … new health monitors strap to your wrist to record heart rate and
activity. But Heapsylon’s Sensoria smart socks are a little different and
may provide a clue to which way the wind blows—in the near future, more fitness
trackers and health sensors may be embedded in clothing or attached to the skin.
(Singularity
Hub) Most … new health monitors strap to your wrist to record heart rate and
activity. But Heapsylon’s Sensoria smart socks are a little different and
may provide a clue to which way the wind blows—in the near future, more fitness
trackers and health sensors may be embedded in clothing or attached to the
skin.
(Singularity
Hub) Medtronic recently announced they’ve successfully implanted a …
Micra TPS pacemaker, into the heart of an Austrian patient. The device,
roughly the size and shape of a multivitamin, is a tenth the size of
a traditional pacemaker and 30% smaller than the Nanostim pacemaker.
(Singularity
Hub) In a recent paper…, [Carnegie Mellon biomedical engineer Christopher]
Bettinger documents that an edible battery made from the pigment of cuttlefish
— sea creatures related to squid — can discharge 10 microamperes of
electricity for a period of five hours, with an ideal performance of 24 hours,
as long as something ingested is likely to remain in the body.
(The
Telegraph) An artificial heart that can give patients up to five years of extra
life has been successfully implanted for the first time. The heart, powered by
watch-style batteries that can be worn externally, was put into a patient at
Paris’s Georges Pompidou Hospital. It uses a range of “biomaterials”, including
bovine tissue, to reduce the likelihood of the body rejecting it. Unlike
previous artificial hearts, created mainly for temporary use, the design by the
French Carmat biomedical firm is intended to replace a real heart for as many
as five years.
(LiveScience)
Nine years ago, Dennis Aabo Sørensen severely wounded his left arm in a
fireworks accident, and had to have it amputated. Now, a bionic hand has
restored his ability to feel, the first time this has ever been done… "I
could feel things that I hadn't been able to feel in over nine years,"
Sørensen, who lives in Denmark, said in a statement.