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‘Would it be considered adultery if I gave the remote control to someone other than my husband?’
There are women who do not even know what an orgasm feels like. Others must ’squeeze’ a stud, like a lemon, to get one. And, let’s face it, how many males are real studs?… The solution is found in the invention of Dr. Stuart Meloy, an anesthesiologist and pain specialist in Winston-Salem.
4 years ago, he was looking for a new device to treat crippling
chronic pain of the lower back and legs, but in the end, he found a part of the spinal cord that could be electrically stimulated to trigger an instant orgasm. The resulting device could bring pleasure to his female patients. Orgasmotron brings orgasms at the push of a button.
“A remote-control device that pleasures women at the click of a button,” said Meloy.
The device is used for the treatment of “female orgasm dysfunction,” and looks like a box the size of a hand, with two thin wires attached to the nerves in woman’s spine centers connected to sexual pleasure. Women who use the device feel as if their clitoris and vagina are being really stimulated.
“One woman asked me, ‘Would it be considered adultery if I gave the remote control to someone other than my husband?’. Some volunteers also report fleeting episodes of clenched foot muscles, probably a result of electrical pulses leaving the spine and stimulating nearby motor nerves. And when the device’s pulse intensity is cranked up to maximum, some women find their vaginal and rectal muscles squeezing rhythmically in time with the pulses, even before the orgasmic finale,” said Meloy.
Men are not neglected by these studies. Meloy has used the device on impotent men, and the subjects got an erection and had powerful ejaculations. Just one thing: orgasms do not come cheap: Orgasmatron costs around $12,000. more>>>
Armies want to give the power of life and death to machines without reason or conscience
* Noel Sharkey
* The Guardian,
The deployment of the first armed battlefield robots in Iraq is the latest step on a dangerous path - we are sleepwalking into a brave new world where robots decide who, where and when to kill. Already, South Korea and Israel are deploying armed robot border guards and China, Singapore and the UK are among those making increasing use of military robots. The biggest player yet is the US: robots are integral to its $230bn future combat systems project, a massive plan to develop unmanned vehicles that can strike from the air, under the sea and on land. Congress has set a goal of having one-third of ground combat vehicles unmanned by 2015. Over 4,000 robots are serving in Iraq at present, others in Afghanistan. And now they are armed.
Most robots currently in combat are extensions of human fighters who control the application of lethal force. When a semi-autonomous MQ-1 Predator self-navigated above a car full of al-Qaida suspects in 2002, the decision to vaporise them with Hellfire missiles was made by pilots 7,000 miles away. Predators and the more deadly Reaper robot attack planes have flown many missions since then with inevitable civilian deaths, yet working with remote-controlled or semi-autonomous machines carries only the same ethical responsibilities as a traditional air strike. more>>>
A university in Devon is preparing to find out if a baby robot can be taught to talk.
Staff at the University of Plymouth will work with a 1m-high (3ft) humanoid baby robot called iCub.
Over the next four years robotics experts will work with language development specialists who research how parents teach children to speak.
Their findings could lead to the development of humanoid robots which learn, think and talk.
The project is believed to be the first of its kind in the world and typical experiments with the iCub robot will include activities such as inserting objects of various shapes into the corresponding holes in a box, serialising nested cups and stacking wooden blocks. more>>>
A company based in Calgary, Alberta, called Immersive Media Corp. is trying to achieve exactly this type of immersive experience with a new camera and software technology. When watching a video filmed with the Immersive Viewer (IMViewer) system, users can control the scene, seamlessly moving the perspective up, down, sideways, or even behind the original frame. more>>>
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that living human nerve cells can be engineered into a network that could one day be used for transplants to repair damaged to the nervous system. They report their findings in the February issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery.
“We have created a three-dimensional neural network, a mini nervous system in culture, which can be transplanted en masse,” explains senior author Douglas H. Smith, MD, Professor, Department of Neurosurgery and Director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at Penn.
Although neuron transplantation to repair the nervous system has shown promise in animal models, there are few sources of viable neurons for use in the clinic and insufficient approaches to bridge extensive nerve damage in patients. more>>>
Top scientist Neil Turok at Canada’s Perimeter Institute to share insight on deepest mysteries of the cosmos
The evidence that the universe emerged 14 billion years ago from an event called ‘the Big Bang’ is overwhelming. Yet the cause of this event remains deeply mysterious. In the conventional picture, the ‘initial singularity’ is unexplained. It is simply assumed that the universe somehow sprang into existence full of ‘inflationary’ energy, blowing up the universe into the large, smooth state we observe today. While this picture is in excellent agreement with current observations, it is both contrived and incomplete, leading us to suspect that it is not the final word. more>>>
* 14:21 27 February 2008
* NewScientist.com news service
* Tom Simonite
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The ’silicon womb’ compared to conventional IVF (Image: Anecova)
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The ’silicon womb’ compared to conventional IVF (Image: Anecova)
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Detail of the silicon womb (Image: Anecova)
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Detail of the silicon womb (Image: Anecova)
Trials of a “silicon womb” that holds test-tube embryos inside the womb to expose them to more natural conditions will shortly begin in the UK. Researchers say the new device may produce better quality embryos and reduce the need to harvest so many eggs from infertile women.
In standard IVF, eggs harvested from a woman are fertilised in the lab and allowed to develop in an incubator for 2 to 5 days. The healthiest embryos are chosen to be transferred into the uterus.
The new device allows embryos created in the lab to be incubated inside a perforated silicon container inserted into a woman’s own womb. After a few days, the capsule is recovered and some embryos are selected for implantation in the womb (see image, top right)
Embryos incubated in the lab must have their growth medium changed every few hours to provide new nutrients and get rid of waste. The new device provides a more natural environment.
The silicon capsule is about 5 millimetres long and less than a millimetre wide. Its walls are perforated with 360 holes, each around 40 microns across. After embryos have been loaded inside, the ends are sealed and the container is connected to a flexible wire that holds the device inside the uterus (see image, lower right). A thread trails through the cervix to allow it to be recovered later on.
The device was developed by Swiss company Anecova, which has so far only conducted a small trial in Belgium. more>>>
y Dallas Weaver
February 20, 2008
Jon Healey correctly points out that the debate over intellectual-property theft is complex because we are often dealing with “non-real properties.” These properties cost nearly nothing to produce, and an infinite number of people can use the same property at the same time. And yet, we still want to treat them as if they were “real” property.
Significantly, some of these non-real properties have major effects on human welfare. Take, for example, the formula for “oral rehydration therapy,” a mixture of salt, sugar and water. Although it could potentially be copyrighted, it has saved more lives in the Third World than almost anything else. The world is lucky that this formula is in the public domain, not copyrighted and subject to use charges that people who need it couldn’t afford. more>>>
By Dave Bullock Write to the Author
02.26.08 | 9:00 PM
LOS ANGELES — Researchers at UCLA made headlines this month by developing a nanoscale crystal that traps roughly 80 times its volume of carbon dioxide. This particular crystal has excited proponents of carbon-capture technology for its ability to absorb CO2 and nothing else, but the process that head researcher Omar Yaghi and his lab used to develop the compound is potentially much more significant.
Yaghi’s lab employs automation techniques frequently found in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry to rapidly test crystal samples on a scale not previously possible, which has led to an avalanche of new discoveries. At one point, the technique was yielding so many potentially useful compounds that Yahgi had to ask his students to stop so they could publish their findings. Possible uses for crystals that can selectively absorb specific molecules are numerous, including military applications and hydrogen-fuel storage for green vehicles. more>>>
By the middle of the century, the inventor Ray Kurzweil suggests in his 2005 book The Singularity Is Near, human beings will live in perpetual clouds of nanobots, molecule-sized robots that spend each moment altering our micro-environments to our precise preferences. Over the longer term, he imagines that nanotechnology—the manipulation of matter at the molecular level—will let us change our shape and appearance, become immortal, and transfer our minds with ease between far-flung planets.
By contrast, the thriller writer Michael Crichton describes nanobots running amok in his 2002 novel Prey. With his signature mix of tech savvy and paranoia, Crichton imagines the tiny automatons forming “nanoswarms,” clouds that visually mimic human beings in order to infiltrate and destroy us—sort of microscopic, sentient super-kudzu. more>>>
Preparing groundwork for an exascale computer is the mission of the new Institute for Advanced Architectures, launched jointly at Sandia and Oak Ridge national laboratories.
An exaflop is a thousand times faster than a petaflop, itself a thousand times faster than a teraflop. Teraflop computers —the first was developed 10 years ago at Sandia — currently are the state of the art. They do trillions of calculations a second. Exaflop computers would perform a million trillion calculations per second.
The idea behind the institute —under consideration for a year and a half prior to its opening — is “to close critical gaps between theoretical peak performance and actual performance on current supercomputers,” says Sandia project lead Sudip Dosanjh. “We believe this can be done by developing novel and innovative computer architectures.”
Ultrafast supercomputers improve detection of real-world conditions by helping researchers more closely examine the interactions of larger numbers of particles over time periods divided into smaller segments. more>>>
By Darren Waters
Technology editor, BBC News website, in San Francisco
Computers the size of blood cells will create fully immersive virtual realities by 2033, leading inventor Ray Kurzweil has predicted.
Exponential growth in processing power and the shrinking of technology would see the development of microscopic computers, he said.
“We will see a billion-fold increase in the price-performance of computers in the next 25 years,” he said.
“Virtual will compete with reality,” he told the Game Developers Conference.
Pea-sized computer
Mr Kurzweil said it was possible to accurately predict the growth and change in computing power by looking at how it had developed over the last 50 years.
“There will be a 100,000-fold shrinking of computer technology over the next 25 years,” he said.
“Today you can put a pea-sized computer inside your brain, if you have Parkinson’s disease and want to replace the biological neurons that were destroyed by the disease.”
He said a billion-fold increase in computing performance and capability over the next 25 years coupled with the 100,000 fold shrinking, would lead to “blood cell-size devices… that can go inside our bodies and keep us healthy and inside our brain and expand our intelligence”.
He said the blood cell computers would be able to “produce full immersion virtual reality from inside the nervous system”. more>>>
This is a promo for RACING HEART, which is currently in pre-production as I try to find funding for it. It’s a really good, inspirational story that I think a lot of people will be able to relate to.
So, if you have anywhere from $1 to $10,000, I am currently looking for benefactors to help give this piece the professional touch it deserves.
A Feature-Length Documentary Film Proposal:
Racing Heart
“A Story of Two Brothers Who Dare to Dream”
After resisting the Communist uprising in the 1970’s, Boula Thammavongsa and his wife were for forced to flee Laos with their two young boys. They desperately wished a better life for their sons, Pon and Chan. After the boys spent the majority of their childhoods’ living in a refugee camp in Thailand, the United States granted their family entry into the U.S.A.
Grappling with the loss of their father at an early age, a new language, their identity with two cultures, and economic obstacles, “The Brothers” are living the quintessential American Immigrant story – with a twist: They dream of building a racing team that gets sponsored and takes home trophies.
In their quest for glory and a better life for their own children, The Brothers must overcome overwhelming obstacles to triumph and make their unique â€American Dream’ come true.
Project Goal:
According to Wikipedia, the concept of the “American Dream” dates back to the 16th century. Over the centuries millions of immigrants from the world over have come to the USA in search of greater opportunity, freedom, and prosperity. The American Dream is a thread of hope that weaves this great nation of many separate colors and cultures together.
The thematic goal of this film is to use The Brothers’ story to celebrate multiculturalism, diversity, and inspire the audience to live their unique dream. In these trying times of economic uncertainty, an encouraging tale such as the Brothers’ is needed to lift spirits and inspire.
This will be accomplished by finding the right combination of producing partners and distribution alliances that can help get this story told, launch it into the festival circuit, and ultimately find viable distribution channels.
Proposal Goals:
Obtain funding for the full realization of the project goal. Find producing partners and distribution alliances.
Background:
Greg Hawkins is owner of United States Systems. In 2002 Pon and Chan came to him looking for extra work. They proved to be hard workers and quickly earned his respect. They kept quiet about their street-racing activities, but when they made the decision to build a legit racing team they asked Greg to become their first sponsor. The Brothers are his best workers so Greg decided that US Systems would become their first sponsor.
I’m Greg’s newphew, Chris Williamson, a Final Cut Pro Editor and firsttime filmmaker. When I heard of Greg’s decision to sponsor The Brothers’ team I saw it as an opportunity to tell a great story.
My wife Stephanie first made the connection between The Brothers arrival in American and my own family history when she heard Greg mention that their story is not far off from my ancestors’. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants herself.
I then realized this great commonality among the many sub–cultures in America…most of our ancestors came here in search of a better life in â€the land of opportunity’. I want to express homage to their sacrifice and hard work by telling a modern day tale of immigrants trying to make it in America today.
It also makes a statement of solidarity at a time when polarizing political divisions underscore the issue of immigration in America. It will serve as an inspirational reminder of why many of us are here in the first place.
Current State of the Project:
Greg Hawkins provided the initial funding to get the project underway. I followed the brothers from June to September of 2007. In that time I attended six racing events with them in several cities and pre-interviewed many of those closest to them.
Our knowledge of The Brothers situation and access to it is complete. We have experience from which to create a plan and the inspiration to see the project through to completion. Funding adds production value allowing the filmmakers to tell the story with maximum impact and benefit to the audience.
Treatment: (In Progress)
The filmmakers have procured permission from the subjects to paint a picture of the Brothers’ character through moving images and interviews with those closest to them. We will briefly explore the circumstances surrounding their arrival into the United States.
Many Americans struggle with identifying with two differing cultures and we’ll explore how the Brothers deal with this in their own way. We will document the life of their multicultural family (Pon’s spouse and Chan’s girlfriend are Cambodian and Filipino, respectively). We will explore how this affects their relationships (e.g. Chan is Buddhist and his girlfriend Jocelyn is Catholic and they wish to be married).
Throughout the exploration and documentation of the aforementioned sub-themes, we will follow The Brothers as they overcome personal, technical, and financial obstacles to build a winning race team. This will entail following them throughout the 2008 racing season as they work on their car, find sponsorship, and attend track meets in their effort to take home a trophy.
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