Back a couple years ago, embryonic stem cell research was a hot topic, with many posts and comments flying about both for and against.
One ofthe specious arguments often used by those opposed to the funding of said research was statements along the lines of "not one cure has ever been found using embryonic stem cells" - a textbook example of lying by omission, as the statement itself is true, so far as it goes. What gets left out, of course, is that given how recent the discovery of how to reliably culture these cells was, and the need to to basic research, then animal research, then limited human trials before anything can be okayed for general use, of course no "cure" had been developed yet.
For some reason the topic has moved off the back burner, but last week the FDA approved the first human trials involving embryonic stem cells, to be implanted in a small number of paraplegics who have no use of their legs. The primary aim is simply to see if the cells are safe for human use, but there is hope some use of the lower extremities might be restored.
We're still years away, if ever, from seeing wide-spread results. However, if this first trial at least can show the cells are not actively harmful, it will open the door wide to FDA approval to future human trials for a variety of possible applications. It's just another step down a long road, but it's a big step.
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Third-world Venture Capitalist
I first heard about kiva.org maybe two years ago. It was my first exposure to the concept of micro-lending, and I found the concept intriguing ... for various reasons, however, it was never quite intriguing enough for me to join in.
Still, I would poke back every couple of months or so, and look at some of the options, and even created an account last summer ... but still didn't take that last step.
The last couple months, though, the wife and I have talked about it off-and-on, and tonight we finally took the plunge. We both connected to the site, did some research separately, and found some candidates we liked. In the end we contributed $100 in $25 amounts to two separate women in Nicaragua, and $50 to a group of three women in Peru. We also kicked in $10 to help Kiva pay it's bills.
Not a huge amount overall for us, but maybe enough, along with a number of other people around the country and the world, to help some families make a better life for themselves and their families. As an added bonus, it was a nice bonding experience for the evening as well, and something we plan to do on a monthly basis for the foreseeable future. Hopefully we have invested wisely and the loans will be repaid so we can roll them over into more loans.
I encourage anyone who might read this to take a look at Kiva site. The organization has an excellent reputation, and the site is pretty easy to get around. You, too, can become a venture capitalist, just like those guys on Sand Hill road.
Still, I would poke back every couple of months or so, and look at some of the options, and even created an account last summer ... but still didn't take that last step.
The last couple months, though, the wife and I have talked about it off-and-on, and tonight we finally took the plunge. We both connected to the site, did some research separately, and found some candidates we liked. In the end we contributed $100 in $25 amounts to two separate women in Nicaragua, and $50 to a group of three women in Peru. We also kicked in $10 to help Kiva pay it's bills.
Not a huge amount overall for us, but maybe enough, along with a number of other people around the country and the world, to help some families make a better life for themselves and their families. As an added bonus, it was a nice bonding experience for the evening as well, and something we plan to do on a monthly basis for the foreseeable future. Hopefully we have invested wisely and the loans will be repaid so we can roll them over into more loans.
I encourage anyone who might read this to take a look at Kiva site. The organization has an excellent reputation, and the site is pretty easy to get around. You, too, can become a venture capitalist, just like those guys on Sand Hill road.
Monday, January 28, 2008
A memorable event
Twenty-two years ago today I walked into the Flandrau planetarium for a lab associated with a Planetary Science class I was taking. Heading in I noticed there were a number of large televisions set up around the planetarium, and some classes of young school children already arriving, but none of this really registered on me.
Some 90 minutes later I exited the lab classroom back out into the main area, and stepped into chaos - just moments before the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded in large, bright, billowing clouds of smoke for several hundred local first-, second- and third-graders to see on all those thoughtfully provided TVs. I, and many of my classmates, were immediately pressed into service as supplemental emergency crowd control.
It's really the first "I remember where I was" moment in my life. I wasn't born yet when Kennedy was shot, and am too young to recall MLK. I only have vague recollections of the moon landings. I wasn't really into music, so John Lennon's shooting didn't have as much impact on me as it did many of my friends. I do recall the famous Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson pass which led to the phrase "Hail Mary" being introduced to football jargon, but that pales in comparison.
No, for me, Challenger was the first such event. I can recall the images, the noise, clearly, as if it had all happened yesterday, or maybe, at most, last week.
We, as a species, have an imperative to explore. Not everyone possesses this trait ... but enough of us do that there is never a shortage of people willing to take that next step into the great unknown, to see what lies over the next hill, up the next river, across the next ocean. With our geographical frontiers now being largely discovered, many of those looking for new vistas to explore are looking for them internally - how can one improve one's memory, or live longer, or sleep less.
Space remains out there, waiting for us. It's a hideous, harsh, dangerous place, unbelievably cold, filled with cosmic radiation, completely unforgiving. Any little mis-step will kill you. All things considered, our safety record in space exploration has been excellent.
Yet we no longer reach for space. We first landed a man on the moon nearly 40 years ago. The last time a man walked on our moon was over 35 years ago. Our technology has become immeasurably better, yet our goals have become immeasurably smaller.
Twenty-two years ago I had hopes and expectations I might live to see us walk on Mars, pull mineral resources from asteroids. I am older and wiser now, and have no such dreams.
We talk of landing a man on the moon again maybe 10 years from now ... wohoo! Better than nothing I guess, but all it would mean is we would have once again reached the point we were at in 1969. There is speculation of manned lunar bases, treks to Mars. Worthwhile goals in my opinion, and I desperately hope they occur ... but I am a cynic now, and will believe it when it happens, not before.
We can not allow ourselves to be limited to just this one rocky orb circling this one small star in a large, dangerous galaxy. We must find some way to spread out, first to our solar system, then beyond, even if such trips take thousands or millions of years. If we don't, our species will die out, either slowly (through resource depletion and, eventually, the sun's destruction) or quickly (by, say, passing near a super-nova ... who knows, that event could already have occured and we have but years to live) ... and we will disappear from the annals of the universe having left no mark or trace of our existence, other than some odd radio signals which some distant, alien intelligence might one day stumble upon and wonder about.
Kennedy said we needed to go to the moon not because it was easy, but because it was hard. For some reason, we seem to have lost our appetite for achieving the "hard" things, and strive for lower-hanging fruit instead. We need to change that. We need to go back, not just to the moon but beyond it, not just because it is hard, but because it is necessary.
Some 90 minutes later I exited the lab classroom back out into the main area, and stepped into chaos - just moments before the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded in large, bright, billowing clouds of smoke for several hundred local first-, second- and third-graders to see on all those thoughtfully provided TVs. I, and many of my classmates, were immediately pressed into service as supplemental emergency crowd control.
It's really the first "I remember where I was" moment in my life. I wasn't born yet when Kennedy was shot, and am too young to recall MLK. I only have vague recollections of the moon landings. I wasn't really into music, so John Lennon's shooting didn't have as much impact on me as it did many of my friends. I do recall the famous Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson pass which led to the phrase "Hail Mary" being introduced to football jargon, but that pales in comparison.
No, for me, Challenger was the first such event. I can recall the images, the noise, clearly, as if it had all happened yesterday, or maybe, at most, last week.
We, as a species, have an imperative to explore. Not everyone possesses this trait ... but enough of us do that there is never a shortage of people willing to take that next step into the great unknown, to see what lies over the next hill, up the next river, across the next ocean. With our geographical frontiers now being largely discovered, many of those looking for new vistas to explore are looking for them internally - how can one improve one's memory, or live longer, or sleep less.
Space remains out there, waiting for us. It's a hideous, harsh, dangerous place, unbelievably cold, filled with cosmic radiation, completely unforgiving. Any little mis-step will kill you. All things considered, our safety record in space exploration has been excellent.
Yet we no longer reach for space. We first landed a man on the moon nearly 40 years ago. The last time a man walked on our moon was over 35 years ago. Our technology has become immeasurably better, yet our goals have become immeasurably smaller.
Twenty-two years ago I had hopes and expectations I might live to see us walk on Mars, pull mineral resources from asteroids. I am older and wiser now, and have no such dreams.
We talk of landing a man on the moon again maybe 10 years from now ... wohoo! Better than nothing I guess, but all it would mean is we would have once again reached the point we were at in 1969. There is speculation of manned lunar bases, treks to Mars. Worthwhile goals in my opinion, and I desperately hope they occur ... but I am a cynic now, and will believe it when it happens, not before.
We can not allow ourselves to be limited to just this one rocky orb circling this one small star in a large, dangerous galaxy. We must find some way to spread out, first to our solar system, then beyond, even if such trips take thousands or millions of years. If we don't, our species will die out, either slowly (through resource depletion and, eventually, the sun's destruction) or quickly (by, say, passing near a super-nova ... who knows, that event could already have occured and we have but years to live) ... and we will disappear from the annals of the universe having left no mark or trace of our existence, other than some odd radio signals which some distant, alien intelligence might one day stumble upon and wonder about.
Kennedy said we needed to go to the moon not because it was easy, but because it was hard. For some reason, we seem to have lost our appetite for achieving the "hard" things, and strive for lower-hanging fruit instead. We need to change that. We need to go back, not just to the moon but beyond it, not just because it is hard, but because it is necessary.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Showing one's work
Trent Humphries, otherwise known as Framer, the founder of and still (somewhat irregular) contributor to the blog Arizona8th, is running as a Republican candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives from district 26. As such, he has a brand spanking new web site up where he promises to provide regular updates and further details about his views and positions.
It's still a work in progress (links to a couple sections aren't active yet, for example ... presumably those are still under work), but just in the couple days the site has been up he has already added a new page titled Restoring Expectations, an explicit list of what voters can expect from him as a candidate and, should he be elected, as a Representative.
What particularly caught my eye was item #6:
If Trent wins election and carries through on this (and I fully believe he would), this, done right, could be a very important marriage of politics and the internet. Trent would be forced to lay out his positions in careful, reasoned manners for all to see and critique. He would be accountable for his positions, and there would be no chance of "confusion" or "misquoting" in transmitting his views through traditional media, since Trent himself would ultimately be responsible for the content of the blog.
Constituents would have a direct line into the reasoning of their Representative, and could decide for themselves whether they agreed, disagreed, partially agreed, felt Trent overlooked some things about the issue, or even ... in certain, rare cases ... might find Trent had considered something they had overlooked.
Without question, this could be very risky - Trent's thoughts would be out there for all to see, including opponents, and his words could easily be used against him in later races. Still, it's a cutting-edge idea, and one I think should be encouraged of all candidates.
It's still a work in progress (links to a couple sections aren't active yet, for example ... presumably those are still under work), but just in the couple days the site has been up he has already added a new page titled Restoring Expectations, an explicit list of what voters can expect from him as a candidate and, should he be elected, as a Representative.
What particularly caught my eye was item #6:
An expectation of "showing my work." I intend to keep a blog after I am elected to discuss, most if not all of the votes I make and how I came around to that decision. Often, a politician assumes that they vote on an island and will sometimes hope that a particular vote goes unnoticed. I will carefully lay out my arguments, and hope that I am persuasive to my constituents.
If Trent wins election and carries through on this (and I fully believe he would), this, done right, could be a very important marriage of politics and the internet. Trent would be forced to lay out his positions in careful, reasoned manners for all to see and critique. He would be accountable for his positions, and there would be no chance of "confusion" or "misquoting" in transmitting his views through traditional media, since Trent himself would ultimately be responsible for the content of the blog.
Constituents would have a direct line into the reasoning of their Representative, and could decide for themselves whether they agreed, disagreed, partially agreed, felt Trent overlooked some things about the issue, or even ... in certain, rare cases ... might find Trent had considered something they had overlooked.
Without question, this could be very risky - Trent's thoughts would be out there for all to see, including opponents, and his words could easily be used against him in later races. Still, it's a cutting-edge idea, and one I think should be encouraged of all candidates.
Oil opportunities
With fears of a sustained recession widespread, oil prices have continued a recent decline. As I write this, the price per barrel is at $89.37, down $1.20. Prices had briefly cracked $100 per barrel a couple weeks ago.
Still, anything over $80 per barrel is supposed to be sufficient to spur private investment in alternative power research. Traditionally, this has included items like the new solar powersheets which Nanosolar began shipping last month, alternative bio-fuels like ethanol, or wind-power such as the wind turbine farms one sees from I-10 when making the drive out to LA.
In the wind-power arena, however, I can't help but be fascinated by the German company SkySails, which attempts to make what was old new again by harnessing the win to help modern vessels traverse the oceans, much as our ancestors did in the not-so-distant past.
These aren't sails in the traditional sense. Instead, the company attaches massive parachutes to the ships, said parachutes to be used in addition to, rather than in lieu of, standard motive power. We aren't talking about small ships here - the web site claims the devices can be added to cargo ships 320 meters in length (roughly 1000 feet) and weighing many, many tons (more when loaded) . The company claims savings of between 10% and 35% on an annual basis, provides an example video of the device in use and says it will begin major production this year.
I'm suspicious about the claims ... those savings seem high to me when compared to a ship making a lengthy trans-oceanic crossing in the same time as a ship not equipped with the device. I'd want to see some serious numbers crunched before I bought in. Still, the (fanciful) image of a massive, laden container ship para-sailing across the whitecaps seems quite evocative to me.
Still, anything over $80 per barrel is supposed to be sufficient to spur private investment in alternative power research. Traditionally, this has included items like the new solar powersheets which Nanosolar began shipping last month, alternative bio-fuels like ethanol, or wind-power such as the wind turbine farms one sees from I-10 when making the drive out to LA.
In the wind-power arena, however, I can't help but be fascinated by the German company SkySails, which attempts to make what was old new again by harnessing the win to help modern vessels traverse the oceans, much as our ancestors did in the not-so-distant past.
These aren't sails in the traditional sense. Instead, the company attaches massive parachutes to the ships, said parachutes to be used in addition to, rather than in lieu of, standard motive power. We aren't talking about small ships here - the web site claims the devices can be added to cargo ships 320 meters in length (roughly 1000 feet) and weighing many, many tons (more when loaded) . The company claims savings of between 10% and 35% on an annual basis, provides an example video of the device in use and says it will begin major production this year.
I'm suspicious about the claims ... those savings seem high to me when compared to a ship making a lengthy trans-oceanic crossing in the same time as a ship not equipped with the device. I'd want to see some serious numbers crunched before I bought in. Still, the (fanciful) image of a massive, laden container ship para-sailing across the whitecaps seems quite evocative to me.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Now for something completely different
Apropos of virtually nothing I have discussed in this blog, if this technology pans out it will change all our lives unimaginable ways.
That's a pretty big if though. I'll have to remember to check back on this in the summer of 2009.
That's a pretty big if though. I'll have to remember to check back on this in the summer of 2009.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)