/ News
#4 Avatar Technology Digest / 3D Bioprinting, Boot-like exoskeleton, BMI, 3D printed bionic arm etc.
1) Russia-based company called 3D Bioprinting Solutions headed up by Vladimir Mironov, recently printed the first ever Thyroid (thAЙроид) Gland of a mouse, which could then be transplanted into a living mouse in order to further evaluate its capabilities.
The printer used to construct the thyroid, works by using stem cells taken from the living organism via its fat cells. It then mixes these cells with a hydrogel, placing them down via an extruder, layer-by-layer. Once the cells take shape, the hydrogel dissolves, leaving the organ.
http://3dprint.com/54159/3d-printed-thyroid-mouse/
2) American researchers at the University of North Carolina can improve the way humans walk without using an external power source. A boot-like exoskeleton that fits into a regular running shoe reduces the energetic costs of walking by about 7 percent. In short, it makes walking less tiring without resorting to a battery pack or a motor — something that could really come in handy for people who have trouble walking, or military personnel in remote areas.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/1/8326143/mechanical-exoskeleton-makes-walking-easier
3) A team of researchers from the University of Houston has developed an algorithm that enabled a man whose right hand had been amputated to grasp objects using a bionic hand controlled by his thoughts.
The new technique is non-invasive, capturing brain activity via a scalp 64-channel active EEG. The scalp EEG was then fitted to a 56-year-old man whose right hand had been amputated and a high-tech bionic hand fitted to the remaining stump. After being told to observe and visualize himself controlling the hand, he was able to grasp the various objects using his thoughts with an 80 percent success rate. The researchers claim this is the first time grasping has been demonstrated using EEG-based brain-machine interface (BMI) control of a multi-fingered prosthetic hand.
http://www.gizmag.com/bionic-hand-eeg-bmi-control/36829/
4) Researchers at the Imperial College London and the Houston Methodist Research Institute are one of many teams investigating the approach of directly delivering nucleic acids, the building blocks of all living organisms, to selected cells by injecting them through the cell’s membrane. The exciting aspect of this method is that it could be used not only for regrowing blood vessels (in itself a big achievement), but perhaps also to one day genetically reprogram cells to carry out specific functions.
http://www.gizmag.com/silicon-nanoneedles-cell-reprogramming/36805/
5) That’s almost all for today. In addition wed like you to watch our next video where a 7 year old girl gets a newly 3D printed bionic hand. Faith Lennox lost her hand when she was nine-months-old due to her position in the womb at childbirth that cut off blood flow to her left forearm. Prosthetic limbs can cost thousands of dollars but this one cost just around 50 and weights only 400 grams.
TV Presenter: Olesya Yermakova
Video: Igor Kryzhanovsky
Editor: Alexander Sokolkov
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9O_hg1vPnw
/ About us
Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.