Two things before we jump into this week’s issue.
First, I’d like to welcome two new patrons on Patreon. Eric joined on a Transhuman level and Steve joined as a Posthuman. Thank you both for your support! You can join them on Patreon if you would like to support the newsletter, too.
Second — I have started working on a series of meetings on biotech and its impact on manufacturing, food production, medicine and more. I’m looking for people interested in joining the team and help with organising the events — from looking for speakers to managing social media and…
This is a special issue for two reasons. First, it’s the pi issue (314). Second — it’s been six years since the first issue of H+ Weekly has been sent. I did not expect back then, sitting in the cafe of Google Campus in London, that six years later I will be still preparing this newsletter every week for over 600 people. And I did not miss a single week.
Thank you for being here and reading this. Here’s to the next years of learning what new scifi things become a reality! 🥂
Now, back to business.
This week —…
More Than A Human
Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests
By counting blood cells and footsteps in three large cohorts in the U.S., the U.K. and Russia, researchers have estimated that if everything goes well, humans can live up to 120–150 years.
Quest for prosthetic retinas progresses toward human trials, with a VR assist
This artificial retina does not require any cameras or extensive wiring to work. It uses an…
More Than A Human
The Rise of Neurotechnology Calls for a Parallel Focus on Neurorights
Chile has started working on a bill to protect the right to personal identity, free will, mental privacy, equitable access to technologies that augment human capacities, and the right to protection against bias and discrimination. To my knowledge, this is the first initiative in the world that aims to distribute new enhancement technologies fairly and safely…
More Than A Human
Can Machines Control Our Brains?
With the advancements in brain implants and brain-computer interfaces, some people are afraid this will enable true mind control via a chip inside the head. But the real science and research say that the biological obstacles of mind hacking are far greater than the technological challenges, as this article from Quanta Magazine explains.
Robotic ‘Third Thumb’ use can alter brain representation of the hand
Adding…
More Than A Human
Persuading the Body to Regenerate Its Limbs
Some animals have the ability to regrow lost limbs. Some worms can even regrow their entire body after being sliced in half. Many scientists are trying to figure out how this mechanism works to use in medicine. And while many are looking in genes for the answers, Michael Levin explores bioelectricity and how tissues can be persuaded to regrow with electricity.
More than a human
► The Dress That Can Read Minds (3:08)
Pangolin is a 3d printed dress that can read its wearer’s brainwaves and change its shape in reaction to their mental state.
► Biotech: Human Modification and Augmentation (33:52)
In the future biotechnology may allows us repair, modify, or augment humans, but how will this be done? What will these technologies look like and should we embrace them, asks and answers Issac Arthur.
Artificial Intelligence
More Than A Human
Paralympian runner Blake Leeper has been prevented from competing at the Tokyo Olympics, because his two prosthetic legs have been ruled to give him an unfair advantage. Blake Leeper wanted to emulate Oscar Pistorius’s feat of competing against able-bodied runners at the Olympics. …
More Than A Human
Issac Arthur examines what could happen when humanity moves into the future, travelling to other worlds and exploring genetics, AI, transhumanism, and cybernetics, and begins to diverge into a thousand post-human species.
Chinese firefighters received an exoskeleton that aims to help them tackle fires in grasslands and forests. …
More Than A Human
Scientists Completed the First Human Trial of a Wireless High-Bandwidth Brain-Computer Interface
A team from Brown University has shown that a wireless brain-computer interface (BCI) can record brain signals with the same fidelity as a wired device. The study builds on a prototype wireless transmitter designed by Brown engineers in 2014. …
