Free Republic

[I lover science! The one thing I would add is that the tech advances that make these sorts of inventions possible came from the free market. That’s why we can all afford smart phones and computers. Get the government out of medical stuff and these sorts of things could be more widely available.]Future Transhumanist Tech May Soon Change The Definition Of DisabilityBy Zoltan Istvan Radical technologies around the world may soon overhaul the field of disability and immobility, which affects in some way more than a billion people around the world. MIT bionics designer Hugh Herr, who lost both his...

Bionic penguins take to the water – and the skies 17:15 21 April 2009 by Colin Barras Video: The flexibile necks of these bionic penguins steer the robots as well as making them look realistic (Image: Festo) The graceful robotic penguins in the video above were unveiled by German engineering firm Festo this week. Using their flippers, the mechanical penguins can paddle through water just like real ones, while larger helium-filled designs can "swim" through the air. The penguins are on show at the Hannover Messe Trade Exhibition in Germany. Each penguin carries 3D sonar developed by EvoLogics in Berlin,...

Segway Inventor Builds Bionic Arm Tuesday , December 09, 2008 FOX NEWS The man behind the Segway scooter has a new invention: bionic arms for wounded soldiers. Called the "Luke Arm" after the prosthetic hand sported by Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" movies, Dean Kamen's device is lightweight, self-contained and fully capable of picking up grapes, baby bottles, even electric drills. ... snip The Luke Arm has four fingers and an opposable thumb, and was designed to be controlled by muscular movement in the wearer's remaining limbs. But thanks to neurological advances in "targeted renervation" by Dr. Todd Kuiken...

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2007 – A new prosthesis under development will give servicemember amputees more flexibility and help them better perform their military jobs if they choose to stay on active duty. Army Spc. Charles Parker looks on as Sven Zarling, from Otto Bock International, demonstrates the capabilities of a prototype of a prosthesis designed to give above-the-knee amputee servicemembers mobility they need to remain on active duty if they choose. The prosthesis uses a microprocessor to control the knee’s hydraulic functions and can anticipate the wearer’s actions and make changes in real time. Photo by Fred W. Baker...

(AP) WASHINGTON In the 1970s TV show "The Six Million Dollar Man," the strapping young astronaut got a bionic eye. A U.S. company had hoped that next year that might be your grandmother. Not so fast, a federal advisory panel said Friday. A tiny telescope designed to be implanted in the eyes of some elderly patients should not receive Food and Drug Administration approval, the panel recommended on a 10-3 vote. The FDA's ophthalmic devices panel recommended against the pea-sized bionic device for safety reasons, spokeswoman Heidi Valetkevitch said. The first-of-its-kind device is called the Implantable Miniature Telescope. The telephoto...

Solar Cell Implant May Restore Some Sight for the Blind CHICAGO-Ophthalmologists at Rush University Medical Center implanted Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR) microchips in the eyes of five patients to treat vision loss caused by retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The implant is a silicon microchip 2mm in diameter and one-thousandth of an inch thick, less than the thickness of a human hair. Four patients had surgery Tuesday, January 25. The fifth patient is scheduled for a later date. Rush principal investigator Dr. John Pollack performed the surgeries with Dr. Kirk Packo, Dr. Pauline Merrill, Dr. Mathew MacCumber, and Dr. Jack Cohen. All...

Culture Neal Pollack Behold the MonsterWhen the story of my life is finally told by someone other than myself, I hope my biographer’s research includes interviews about the events of the week just concluded, which has been one of the most extraordinary in my long and decorated career as a field reporter. Indeed, as I stare at the ceiling of this military field hospital, desperately wanting to scratch my left leg but somehow prevented by the full-body cast that is now my prison, I both moan at and exult in the extremes of human behavior that I have beheld. Acts...