Geekish

Superhydrophobicity – say what?

superhydrophobicity

With GE’s new Super-Repellent Plastic, self-washing buildings, cheap diagnostic chips, and free-flowing honey jars are possible.

superhydrophilicity

Since 1995

Used in products that defog glass and enable oil spots to be swept away with water. Such materials are already commercialized as door mirrors for cars, coatings for buildings.
The surface can be reversibly switched from being superhydrophilic to being superhydrophobic with a very small change in temperature.

Nanotech Weapons

President Bush Signed the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act s189 in Dec., 2004 authorizing funding for nanotechnology research and development over four years and implementation of a National Nanotechnology Program. The President’s 2007 Budget provides over $1.2 billion for the multi-agency National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). The hope is that the research will channel towards medical and energy projects.

It can also lead to the mass production of weapons with terrible consequences. Federal agencies that participate in the National Nanotechnology Initiative under the auspices of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council include Department of Homeland Security ( includes Transportation Security Administration ), Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Defense.

At an address at the 1995 Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology, Admiral David E. Jeremiah, Vice-Chairman (ret.), U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “Military applications of molecular manufacturing have even greater potential than nuclear weapons to radically change the balance of power.”

A Nano, by definition is a Billionth (10 to the -9th power) (0.000 000 001), a small insect is about 200 microns (10 to the –6th power) ( 0.000 001).

“…this creates a plausible size estimate for a nanotech-built antipersonnel weapon capable of seeking and injecting toxin into unprotected humans. The human lethal dose of botulism toxin is about 100 nanograms, or about 1/100 the volume of the weapon. As many as 50 billion toxin-carrying devices—theoretically enough to kill every human on earth—could be packed into a single suitcase. Guns of all sizes would be far more powerful, and their bullets could be self-guided. Aerospace hardware would be far lighter and higher performance; built with minimal or no metal, it would be much harder to spot on radar. Embedded computers would allow remote activation of any weapon, and more compact power handling would allow greatly improved robotics. These ideas barely scratch the surface of what’s possible.” CRN (Center for Responsible Nanotechnology)

“The future cannot be predicted, but it can be invented.
-Hungarian scientist and author Dennis Gabor

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MRI Lie Detection Threats To Private Thought

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows researchers to create maps of the brain’s network actions as they process thoughts, sensations, memories, and motor commands. Cool technology to help diagnose and gather information about diseases and disorders like Alzheimer’s.

It can also be used to analyze your brain activities and tell whether you are lying. It is the new age lie detector and apparently, you cannot fool it. Talk about Orwellian 1984 stuff! The uses of fMRI’s are not approved for legal purposes yet. I wonder if it assesses other cognitive processes at the same time you are being scanned for deception. Is there any guarantee the changes in brain activity being monitored are the only due to truth vs. lying or could something else alter these and thus innocent individuals could appear guilty, or guilty individuals could appear innocent.

There are handheld scanners being developed Britton Chance, a professor emeritus of biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania, has developed one that records brain activity as fMRI lie detection. The January 06 issue of Wired magazine has an interesting article that delves into this subject.

Chance states the next step

”is to develop a system that can be used discreetly in airports and security checkpoints for “remote sensing” of brain activity. […] “It would certainly represent an invasion of privacy”

Talk about Thought Police. In the realm of Civil Rights and this administration’s record, I do believe there is cause for concern that this technology’s development will be more along the spying aspect than the medical research lines.

sign thought police propaganda

Follow the DNA – A Road to Commonality

The Genographic Project, a five-year project to track human genetic material (DNA) started by the National Geographic Society, IBM, geneticist Spencer Wells, and the Waitt Family Foundation shows that all humans descended from an African ancestor about 60,000 years ago. they have gathered DNA samples from all over the world and charted movements using the genetic markers.

“When DNA is passed from one generation to the next, most of it is recombined by the processes that give each of us our individuality.
Some parts of the DNA chain remain largely intact through the generations, altered only occasionally by mutations which become “genetic markers.” These markers allow geneticists like Spencer Wells to trace our common evolutionary timeline back through the ages.” National Genographic Project

Any of us can purchase their kit, send in our genetic material for anaylisis, and become part of the data. Their site states that it is completely anonymous using your kit ID numbers and that there is no record or database of who purchased the kit that links the purchasers with the results.

The projects website has a nice atlas of the human journey, information on genetics, and more. I site worth visiting. Broaden your view of Homo sapiens, and how we all really are connected.