I'm back

I have been buried at work for the last month and took a hiatus, but am now ready to roll again, mucho posts in the next few days.

Up first, Next Big Future's summary of 2008's key advances in technology and developments to watch over the next year or so:

Computers, Robotic and Communication Developments to Watch in 2009 and a Little Beyond

DNA/biotech/synthetic biology, nanotechnology topics are here
Energy and transportation

New Longevity Drugs Coming Soon?

From Wired.com

Cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease: All have stubbornly resisted billions of dollars of research conducted by the world's finest minds. But they all may finally be defied by a single new class of drugs, a virtual cure for the diseases of aging.

In labs across the country, researchers are developing several new drugs that target the cellular engines called mitochondria. The first, resveratrol, is already in clinical trials for diabetes. It could be on the market in four years and used off-label as an all-purpose longevity enhancer. Other drugs promise to be more potent and refined. They might even be cheap.

"It's going to revolutionize western medicine," said Doug Wallace, a pioneer of mitochondrial medicine at the University of California at Irvine. "All the things that are common for an aging society, and nobody worried ...

Read the rest of the story

Super Soldier Program

Maybe we can join the military when we turn 70 and get rejuvenated, like in Old Man's War.

We are investing billions into a super soldier program, which is seeking to achieve transhumanism within a few decades. Gene therapy also holds some great promise to enable average people to gain the ability to perform at or above human maximum.

Augmented Reality

Imagine a world that can be overlayed on the existing reality - the possibilities are nearly endless.

Augmented Reality from Wikipedia

Augmented Reality discussion

Everybody Dies!

Continuing in the vein of global catastrophic risk, here a list of top 10 world ending disasters, apparently written by some guy who didn't want his name associated with it.

Will Robots Replace Humans?

Video from HowStuffWorks with a phd from Georgia Tech, basically stating that we are just emerging from the infancy of robotics to the toddler stage and that huge advances will come in the reasonably near future.

Respirocytes: A Mechanical Articificial Red Blood Cell

Respirocytes are hypothetical robotic red blood cells that, if injected into the bloodstream, would allow humans to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath or sit at the bottom of a swimming pool for hours at a time.

Abstract: Molecular manufacturing promises precise control of matter at the atomic and molecular level, allowing the construction of micron-scale machines comprised of nanometer-scale components. Medical nanomachines will be among the earliest applications. The artificial red blood cell or "respirocyte" proposed here is a bloodborne spherical 1-micron diamondoid 1000-atm pressure vessel with active pumping powered by endogenous serum glucose, able to deliver 236 times more oxygen to the tissues per unit volume than natural red cells and to manage carbonic acidity. An onboard nanocomputer and numerous chemical and pressure sensors enable complex device behaviors remotely reprogrammable by the physician via externally applied acoustic signals. Primary applications will include transfusable blood substitution; partial treatment for anemia, perinatal/neonatal and lung disorders; enhancement of cardiovascular/neurovascular procedures, tumor therapies and diagnostics; prevention of asphyxia; artificial breathing; and a variety of sports, veterinary, battlefield and other uses.

Wikipedia entry for respirocytes here

Ahead of the curve careers and megatrends

Marty Nemko of USA Today looks at "6 megatrends" from the perspective of a career seeker. Pretty interesting list, but definitely not comprehensive.

The 6 Megatrends
Growing healthcare demand
The increasingly digitized world
Globalization, especially Asia's ascendancy
The dawn of clinical genomics
Environmentalism
Terrorism