Crossposted from Our Technological Future.

Crucial immune cells derived from stem cells.

For the first time human embryonic stem cells have been coaxed into becoming T-cells, suggesting new ways to fight immune disorders including AIDS and the “bubble boy” disease, X-SCID.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are an attractive source of human T-cells for research and therapy because ESCs can be genetically manipulated with relative ease and can be grown in large quantities.

T-cells are crucial to the working of the immune system. If these cells are destroyed or absent – as occurs during HIV infection and X-SCID, respectively – the body cannot fight off infections. But despite their importance, much about human T-cell function is unknown because the cells are difficult to analyse with standard tools of genetic engineering.

'Virgin birth' stem cells bypass ethical objections.

"VIRGIN-BIRTH" embryos have given rise to human embryonic stem cells capable of differentiating into neurons. The embryos were produced by parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction in which eggs can develop into embryos without being fertilised by sperm. The technique could lead to a source of embryonic stem (ES) cells that could be used therapeutically without having to destroy a viable embryo.

Human eggs have two sets of chromosomes until fertilisation, when the second set is usually expelled. If this expulsion is blocked but the egg is accidentally or experimentally activated as if it had been fertilised, a parthenote is formed (see Diagram).

Because some of the genes needed for development are only activated in chromosomes from the sperm, human parthenotes never develop past a few days. This means that stem cells taken from them should bypass ethical objections of harvesting them from embryos with the potential to form human lives, say Fulvio Gandolfi and Tiziana Brevini of the University of Milan, Italy.

This is valueable research. Stem cells will be able to boost our health immensely.

Say goodbye to cumbersome organ transplants and functionally limited artificial prosthesis. With these babies, we can regrow our diseased/damaged/missing limbs and organs.

Science might even find a way to give us periodic stem cell injections using cells that have our own DNA but are younger than the cells in our body. That way, we would progressively grow younger, instead of older. And the concept is fairly simple.

Is immortality around the corner?

The possibilities boggle the mind.

Also see this post about super regenerative mice.

Crossposted from Our Technological Future.

The self-driving Golf that would give Herbie a run for its money.

...

But now German car giant Volkswagen has turned fiction into reality by unveiling a fully automatic car which really can drive itself - and at speeds of up to 150mph.

It can weave with tyres screeching around tricky bends and chicanes, and through tightly coned off tracks - without any help or intervention from a human.

...

The GTi has electronic 'eyes' that use radar and laser sensors in the grille to 'read' the road and send the details back to its computer brain. A sat-nav system tracks its exact position with pin-point precision to within an inch.

The car can then work out the twists and turns it has to negotiate - before setting off at break-neck speed through a laid out course on a test track.

On a race circuit, it drove itself faster and more precisely than the VW engineers could manage - and can accelerate independently up to its top speed of 150mph.

...

The astonishing prototype was developed initially to help Volkswagen engineers test their vehicles.

But in an age when rapidly advancing technology and the Big Brother State is increasingly taking responsibility away from the driver - with the onward march of electronic speed limiters, collision avoidance systems, cruise control, satellite navigation, and pay-as-you-drive road tolling - the self-driving robot car is not such a distant prospect.

And many of the elements which make up its engine will be making their way into showroom cars within just a few years - just as sat-nav, collision avoidance sensors and anti-lock brakes have done in recent years.

A Volkswagen spokesman said: 'It really is a self-driving Golf. It steers, brakes and accelerates. And it races through handling courses independently. It can accomplish this at full performance and at the limits of its capabilities.'

...

The computer calculates where and at what speed the GTi has clearance between the cones. The GPS satellite enables navigation to within less than an inch.'

Crossposted from Our Technological Future.

BP, Caltech to devise 'nanorod' solar cells .

Energy giant BP plc and the California Institute of Technology have teamed up in a research program that will develop a new type of solar-cell technology called nanorods.

In the five-year, multi-million dollar program, BP (London) and Caltech (Pasadena, Calif.) will explore a concept based on growing silicon by creating arrays of nanorods, as opposed to the more convention method of casting ingots and cutting wafers.

Nanorods are small cylinders of silicon said to be 100 times smaller than a human hair. A solar cell based on an array of nanorods will be able to absorb light along the length of the rods by collecting the electricity generated by sunlight more efficiently than a conventional solar cell, according to claims made by BP and Caltech.

The program will also investigate uses of nanotechnology to create designer solar cell materials — such as nanorods and nanowires — in order to change the conventional paradigm for solar cell materials.

...

Not long ago, solar energy was considered a niche market. Now, solar-cell vendors are scrambling to expand their capacities to meet huge demand from homes and businesses worldwide. Companies that have recently announced new and massive solar-cell production plants include Energy Conversion Devices, Evergreen Solar, Sharp, SunPower and Suntech.

...

Indeed, solar is here today, but the technology is at about three times the cost of conventionally generated electricity However, thanks to advances in conventional and thin-film technologies, some believe that the cost of solar will be on par with that of conventional electricity within 10 years.

Crossposted from Our Technological Future.

GM has built a revolutionary car called the Hy-wire. It's an amazing piece of machinery.

It has no pedals, but is entirely hand-operated. It rides on a fuel cell, and the engine is a flat block which basically forms the bottom of the car. The body of the car can be modified in half an hour.

You've gotta see the movieclip (gets interesting from 1:15) to believe it: The Next Generation Of Cars.

The GM Hy-wire, appropriately named for its technology, incorporates the features first envisioned in the AUTOnomy concept vehicle at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit and the Geneva Motor Show. Hy-wire was introduced to the public at the Paris Motor Show last year.

“ The fact that we developed Hy-wire as a driveable concept vehicle in just eight months (from its introduction in Detroit) shows our commitment to this technology and the speed at which we are progressing,” said Rick Wagoner, GM’s president and CEO.

“ With AUTOnomy, GM shared a vision. Hy-wire accelerates our progress with a functional proof of concept which strengthens our confidence in our ability to gain marketplace acceptance of production fuel cell vehicles.”

Crossposted from Our Technological Future.

Synthetic Blood Vessels Not Such a Stretch.

The rapidly advancing world of regenerative medicine just got wilder as a team of researchers has reported a better technique for growing starter arteries for people with vascular disease who need replacements.

The synthetic blood vessels could eventually be used in patients undergoing heart surgery to have their hardened or blocked arteries removed and replaced with prosthetics or grafts that would allow the regeneration of a new artery.

...

In recent years, specialists called tissue engineers have begun to figure out how to help patients grow new tissues and even entire organs to replace ailing and failing parts such as blood vessels, skin, cartilage, bone, stomachs, bladders and even hearts. The process involves seeding specially shaped artificial scaffolds with human cells such that the body eventually grows a functional new body part around the implant.

The trick with tissue engineering is to come up with synthetic parts that can withstand the mechanical strain of doing the body's work while also biodegrading slowly as the body rebuilds the real thing.

With blood vessels, experts already have shown that it is possible to make synthetic arteries that work in the lab.

...

The new work is important because the team, at Virginia Commonwealth University, was able to create grafts that include elastin, which makes it so the cells seeded into the synthetic artery are much more likely to recognize and interact properly with the body. Elastin also makes the synthetic artery strong enough to work much more like our original blood vessels. The body's elastic fibers, found in nearly all organs and tissues, are made of elastin.

Engineering electrically conducting tissue for the heart.

Patients with complete heart block, or disrupted electrical conduction in their hearts, are at risk for life-threatening rhythm disturbances and heart failure. The condition is currently treated by implanting a pacemaker in the patient's chest or abdomen, but these devices often fail over time, particularly in infants and small children who must undergo many re-operations. Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have now taken preliminary steps toward using a patient's own cells instead of a pacemaker, marking the first time tissue-engineering methods have been used to create electrically conductive tissue for the heart.

...

Cowan's team, including first author Yeong-Hoon Choi in Children's Department of Cardiac Surgery, obtained skeletal muscle from rats and isolated muscle precursor cells called myoblasts. They "seeded" the myoblasts onto a flexible scaffolding material made of collagen, creating a 3-dimensional bit of living tissue that could be surgically implanted in the heart.

...

When the engineered tissue was implanted into rats, between the right atrium and right ventricle, the implanted cells integrated with the surrounding heart tissue and electrically coupled to neighboring heart cells. Optical mapping of the heart showed that in nearly a third of the hearts, the engineered tissue had established an electrical conduction pathway, which disappeared when the implants were destroyed. The implants remained functional through the animals' lifespan (about 3 years).

Crossposted from Our Technological Future.

Reprogramming Biology.

We are developing the tools to reprogram the processes involved in disease and aging, says Ray Kurzweil in his article, "Reprogramming Biology," in the July 2006 Scientific American and available free in an extended Web version.

...

He also cites accelerating progress in turning specific genes off by blocking the messenger RNA; adding beneficial genes to patients' bodies; activating and deactivating enzymes, to increase good cholesterol, for example; regrowing our own cells, tissues and even whole organs; capturing stem cells out of the bloodstream, to create new heart cells, for example; using nanoparticles that recognize and destroy cancer cells; and understanding and even reprogramming the brain.

Kurzweil is also optimistic about radical life extension. "I expect that within 15 years, we'll be adding more than a year each year to remaining life expectancy. So my advice is: take care of yourself the old-fashioned way for a while longer and you may get to experience the remarkable century ahead."

The New Human.

By 2020, virtual reality will allow for a full-immersion sensual encounter involving all five senses, says Ray Kurzweil in "The New Human," an interview in the July 2005 issue of Playboy.

"You'll feel as though you're really with that person.... The whole idea of what it means to have a sexual relationship will be different.

"Computers used to be remote: now they're in our pockets," says Kurzweil. Next, they'll make their way into our clothing, our body, and our brain. "You can't point to a single organ for which we haven't made enhancements or started work on them." The latest FDA-approved neural implant even allows you to "upload software from outside the patient.

Ray Kurzweil has been making predictions for a long time now. So far, he just keeps on being right. He's got a good track record.

His models, which are basically exponential extrapolations of technologies, seem to be quite reliable when it comes to looking into the future. That's why I choose to take him seriously.

Crossposted from Our Technological Future.

Bird flu vaccine protects ferrets, maybe people.

A lab-engineered bird flu vaccine protected ferrets against several strains of H5N1 avian influenza, offering the possibility of making a vaccine ahead of any pandemic, U.S.-based scientists said on Wednesday.

But it may be tricky to test it in humans, reported Elena Govorkova and colleagues at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

The animals were protected even though they did not show the usual antibody response -- a measure of immune system reaction often used to gauge vaccine effectiveness.

The findings suggest it may be possible to stockpile a vaccine ahead of a pandemic of H5N1 influenza, the researchers report in this week's issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, something that experts believed was not possible.

Crossposted from Our Technological Future.

Independent robots team up for search task.

A team of autonomous flying and ground-based robots have successfully cooperated to search for and locate targets in the streets of an urban warfare training ground in the US. The system could help in search and rescue efforts and military operations – and even has the potential to include humans in the team.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, US, tested their system of team-working bots at a realistic urban warfare training ground at the US Army's Fort Benning base.

They hid bright orange boxes in the streets between buildings. An autonomous robot aircraft with a wingspan of 2.5 metres, and four autonomous ground vehicles in the form of modified model monster trucks, called Clodbusters, then set out to pinpoint the boxes’ locations.

Both types of bot carried GPS sensors and looked for the targets using colour video cameras. The Clodbusters used stereo cameras to judge distance, while the plane used a single camera. The robo-team members stay in touch via radio or Wi-Fi.

New Robot Has Powerful Cling.

A novel, walling-climbing robot could cut thousands of dollars off building inspection fees and one day work to survey urban war zones, where corners, rooftops and building materials thwart otherwise capable robots.

The City Climber rover, being developed by Jizhong Xiao and his team at the City College of New York, uses a vacuum chamber to get vertical. The robot is part of a project that aims to automate mandatory building inspections.

Robot soccer World Cup kicks off.

A football tournament played by teams of robots has kicked off in Germany.

The 10th annual RoboCup, being held in Bremen, will see more than 400 teams of robots dribbling, tackling and shooting in an effort to become world champions.

Machines compete in 11 leagues including those designed for humanoid and four-legged robots.

The organisers of the tournament hope that in 2050 the winners of the RoboCup will be able to beat the human World Cup champions.

"RoboCup 2006 is the first step towards a vision," said Minoru Asada, president of the RoboCup Federation.

"This vision includes the development of a humanoid robot team of eleven players, which can win against a human soccer world champion team."

Also see Robotic Nation.

Crossposted from Our Technological Future.

Welsh scientists creating portable lung.

SCIENTISTS at a Welsh university are working on a "next generation" artificial lung using futuristic nanotechnology.

The "portable lung" being developed at Swansea University has the potential to save millions of lives across the world.

It also promises to save the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds.

...

The device, a blood/air mass exchanger, integrates with the body's respiratory system and is designed to breathe for conscious, mobile patients whose lungs are damaged or diseased.

As a portable device, it will allow patients to recover outside intensive care units, offering them a better quality of life and saving the NHS money.

The unit could also be taken to patients in emergency situations allowing their damaged lungs to "rest" as the artificial unit takes over. It could be used by military medical units to keep alive soldiers affected by chemical weapons which often target the lungs.

Cheap Drinking Water from the Ocean.

A water desalination system using carbon nanotube-based membranes could significantly reduce the cost of purifying water from the ocean. The technology could potentially provide a solution to water shortages both in the United States, where populations are expected to soar in areas with few freshwater sources, and worldwide, where a lack of clean water is a major cause of disease.

The new membranes, developed by researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), could reduce the cost of desalination by 75 percent, compared to reverse osmosis methods used today, the researchers say. The membranes, which sort molecules by size and with electrostatic forces, could also separate various gases, perhaps leading to economical ways to capture carbon dioxide emitted from power plants, to prevent it from entering the atmosphere.

The carbon nanotubes used by the researchers are sheets of carbon atoms rolled so tightly that only seven water molecules can fit across their diameter. Their small size makes them good candidates for separating molecules. And, despite their diminutive dimensions, these nanopores allow water to flow at the same rate as pores considerably larger, reducing the amount of pressure needed to force water through, and potentially saving energy and costs compared to reverse osmosis using conventional membranes.