Socrates

The First 3D Printed Jaw Implant

by Socrates
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Belgian researchers have created a 3D-printed titanium lower jaw implant which has transformed the life of a pensioner whose jawbone had been completely destroyed by disease. The 83-year-old woman suffered from a severe infection known as osteomyelitis but now, thanks to modern technology, she has a new jaw and a new lease on life.   Video Transcript: This titanium jaw implant promises to revolutionise bone replacement surgery. In a surgical first, Belgian doctors say an implant like this was used on an 83-year-old woman last summer. The woman’s lower jawbone had been destroyed by osteomyelitis infection but within hours of the four-hour operation she was able to eat and talk. Doctors from Belgian company Biomed, the medical research unit of Hasselt University, used an MRI machine to scan a copy of her jawbone. Metal manufacturers LayerWise fed the image through [...]

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Eric Boyd on Singularity 1 on 1: DIY Transhumanism

by Socrates
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Last week I went to visit Eric Boyd at HackLab.TO. While visiting I took the opportunity to interview Eric for my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast. Eric is the president of HackLab.TO, one of the co-founders of StumbleUpon and a regular public speaker on topics such as cyborg, transhumanism, electronic jewelry and hacking. In the past, I have lacked the proper equipment to do an on-site audio or video recording without having to borrow it from my friends or my very generous brother-in-law. Fortunately, though, last week I got the biggest anonymous donation ever received at Singularity Weblog. (Thank you anonymous donor.) The money allowed me to purchase a brand new Canon VIXIA HF G10 (aff) camcorder as well as a Fujifilm X10 (aff) photo camera, and thus equipped I headed to HackLab.TO. During our conversation we discuss issues such as: Eric’s early interest in technology; his [...]

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HackLab.TO: Toronto’s Hacker Collective

by Socrates
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When Eric Boyd invited me to visit HackLab.TO I got very exited. I have always had a fascination with hackers and love visiting their creative space because these guys are always pushing the envelope and often point the way for things to come. In the past, I have lacked the proper equipment to do an on-site audio or video recording without having to borrow it from my friends or my very generous brother-in-law. Fortunately, though, last week I got the biggest anonymous donation ever received at Singularity Weblog. The money allowed me to purchase a brand new Canon VIXIA HF G10 (aff) camcorder as well as a Fujifilm X10 (aff) photo camera, and thus equipped I headed to HackLab.TO. About HackLab.TO HackLab.TO is a community space with a diverse membership, including artists, computer programmers, web designers, and hardware hackers. It is inspired by the [...]

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Robotic Octopus Arm: the First Step on the Way to Soft-Robot Revolution

by Socrates
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From Reuters, Feb. 17: A soft-bodied robotic octopus arm has been created by scientists in Italy. The waterproof limb is designed to mimic an octopus appendage as a model for underwater rescue robots of the future. British surgeons believe the technology could also be applied to an endoscope that can perform surgery. Report by Jim Drury: Transcript: This robotic octopus arm isn’t just a fancy gadget. It’s part of a project to create a full-bodied synthetic sea creature which could be used to save people trapped underwater. The arm was built by scientists at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna near the coast of Tuscany. Professor Cecilia Laschi heads the team. Cecilia Laschi, Associate Professor of Biorobotics at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna: “The usual robotic vehicles that you use in the sea cannot usually go very close to the bottom. Instead the [...]

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Space Junk: A Little Spring Cleaning Is Our Only Way Out

by Socrates
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There are over 5,000 tons of scattered space junk floating around in orbit above the Earth’s atmosphere. Those debris, numbering over 12,000 and steadily climbing, pose a serious hazard to the growing number of manned and non-manned  space missions and cost substantial amount of money and resources to identify, track and classify. Thus, dealing with space junk and cleaning up Earth’s orbit from it, is the smart thing to do both in terms of space-flight safety and in terms of economizing scarce space resources. More importantly, if we are to ever leave our cradle planet and explore and eventually colonize the galaxy, we must have a safe trajectory on our way out. Thus, a little spring cleaning of our planet’s orbit from the ever growing numbers of space junk is really our only way out. The Swiss Space Center at [...]

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The Man Who Prints Houses: a Documentary about Enrico Dini

by Socrates
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The Man Who Prints Houses is a documentary about Enrico Dini. Dini is a robotics expert. He is also a self-styled ‘stone alchemist’: able to mimic the process of how rock forms under the seabed. Combining these two skills, he has developed a groundbreaking new construction technique based on the principle of 3D-printing. Enrico’s dream is to one day see houses of any shape and size printed robotically in solid stone – but as we all know, dreams can come at a price… Enrico Dini is on a quest to revolutionise the way we view construction. But with his family life in tatters, and his business on its knees – has he sacrificed too much for the greater good? The Man Who Prints Houses is a poignant, funny and awe-inspiring documentary that delves into the troubled mind of a genius intent [...]

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Cost of Living: Short Sci Fi Film by Bendavid Grabinski

by Socrates
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Cost of Living is a short science fiction indie film written and directed by Bendavid Grabinski. The movie is 9 minutes long and features actors Brandon Routh as Silas, Bret Harrison as Jerry and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the computer voice. Cost of Living played at a number of film festivals last year and became available on-line only recently. I find that the movie is both funny and gripping – a feat accomplished without any expensive special effects or fancy decor. The actors deliver inspired performances and the humor is dark, witty and detached – just like the computer-generated-voice reverberating over the loudspeakers throughout the film. The movie has a great soundtrack and audio effects so make sure you have the sound on and up when you’re watching it. Enjoy! Synopsis: Two young security guards at an unusual corporation have a bad night. [...]

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Steven Kotler on Singularity 1 on 1: Get Off the Couch and Change the World

by Socrates
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Yesterday I interviewed Steven Kotler on Singularity 1 on 1. Together with Peter Diamandis, Steven is the co-author of Abundance: The Future is Better than You Think. Abundance is a book that provides both hope and inspiration in an ocean of doom and gloom. Its main message being that the future can and, most likely, will be better than we think. Impossible?! Check out the interview to see why you are probably wrong. During our conversation with Steven Kotler we discuss issues such as: running a dog shelter for special needs dogs; the story of how Steven got his first writing job and eventually published articles in Maxim, Wired, GQ, Popular Science and other periodicals; his first novel; environmental degradation, global warming and biodiversity; the neuroscience behind out cognitive biases such as why we are local optimists but global pessimists; environmentalism [...]

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