Nanomedicine. 19/25. Applications.
the improvement of therapy: homo sapiens refined
Can be used nano-scale technologies to combat health?
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Letter Of Interest Template Sorority
While governments, industry and scientists, particularly in OECD countries, are quick to highlight the potential contributions of nanotechnology in the remediation of reduced health, are also ready to point out that advances in "converging technologies", nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, neurotechnology and cognitive sciences-will respond to perceived health as less than optimal. Is within the scope of technologies for improving human performance that convergence may have greater impact and higher profits.
Technological convergence will theoretically possible to refine the structure, functioning and capabilities of human brains and bodies. It is not, in this view, simply remove the disabilities or cure disease, but producing bodies stronger, faster, exceeding the performance of more healthy and athletic bodies today, the brain remodeling to retain more information and to communicate directly with computers, artificial limbs or other brains. An example is the implantation of artificial neurons, already approved by the FDA for clinical use, to replace neurons damaged by Parkinson's disease. The device allows you to download updated software, a computer directly to the implant ex vivo in cuerpo.49 For now, these devices are reserved for those suffering from a disease in the near future will be more difficult to distinguish between what constitutes a disease and what merely is a less than optimal health, or to distinguish between therapy and refinement or improvement.
a grand finale, the new refined body created by converging technologies may extend human life span well beyond a century. According to the U.S. government, technologies converging at the nanoscale "improve human performance" in the workplace, in playgrounds, in classrooms and in the battlefields. Downloadable intelligence, memory, downloadable hiperdesempeño bodies that require a revised definition of our species, Homo sapiens. Or maybe the new technological realities we create the need for a new classification for once and for all (Homo sapiens 2.0), which describes the fraction world population that can pay for its refinement by technological convergence. Although relatively few people can afford to pay a full upgrade package, some enhancements, which are possible with the converging technologies will penetrate deeper into society and "naturalize" to that people consider necessary corrections, the same way we now consider the glasses increase. At the same time, there will be a corporate bid to define and expand the range of "health condition" is often treatable, dress up campaigns to "raise awareness the public "- in order to create or expand markets for new refinements available. The practice of promotion to create market conditions to be treated is known as traffic enfermedades.50 Certain personality traits (say, shyness), features (such as strength or height "average"), cognitive features (an intelligence "normal ") are deemed undesirable and correctable (and gradually unacceptable). The line between enhancement and therapy, which is already blurred, will be lost completely. The effect is a shift in the perception of what is "normal" and the creation of what Dr. Gregor Wolbring, biochemical and researcher in health issues at the University of Calgary, called a "capability gap" .51 Just as the digital divide, the skills gap distances mark the boundary between North and South, between rich and poor everywhere.
ethical debate about what it means to be human and how to preserve our humanidad.52
* Magnetic Stimulation transcranial (TMS for short English): This is a procedure that stimulates areas of the brain from the outside, through the use of an electromagnetic field. The TMS can help reveal the roles of active parts (or off) of the brain, but is considered as a potential treatment for brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease or depression.
The use of magnetic fields to stimulate (or off) different parts of the brain has led investigators to discover that the "normal" people can dramatically increase your brain power. A recent study conducted by Professor Allan Snyder at the Centre for the Mind, a joint venture between the Australian National University and the University of Sydney showed that transcranial magnetic stimulation of left temporal lobe improved the ability of participants to guess the number of items were shown on a computer screen. The ability subsided one hour after the estimulación.62 Is it much so that workers consume brain stimulation instead of coffee on their breaks? Is something considered brain stimulation needed to maintain a competitive edge in the job? How much brain expansion is enough?
sleep deprivation: They are not intended to help those suffering from insomnia and other sleep disorders. In fact, they are designed to make it sustainable deprivation. The U.S. military at the forefront of research on sleep deprivation and already funded dozens of projects, including studies on the potential use of TMS to reduce the need for dormir.63
* Laser Eye Surgery
: In some cases, is now possible to restore the perfect 20-20 poor vision through corrective surgery. Millions of surgeries are performed every year (for 2005 were calculated as 1.6 million U.S. only) .65 And the number of surgeries is growing, and is expected to continue increasing. Since most people do not feel that prescription glasses are an "upgrade" option, should we consider the potential social impacts of generalized perfect vision (or vision beyond perfect)? The New York Times recently noted that in the past five years, the academy U.S. navy has provided corrective eye surgery, free of charge, to all midshipmen (the eye can benefit from it) .66 Less than 30 percent of the class of 2006 refused to undergo surgery (the number of denials is decreasing every year .) An unintended consequence is that referred to the Naval Academy was unable to meet its share of submarine officers in any of these five years. Traditionally, the submarines are the second most promising option for those items that do not have perfect vision. Aviation-first choice for naval officers, and requiring perfect vision, "is now the most viable option for most. As these and other more extreme improvements become popular among the general population, what we can expect social corners? How will we deal with these impacts had not anticipated?
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