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Title: Studio 360: Making Better People
Author: Kurt Andersen
Format: Original Recording
Length: 37 mins
Language: English
Release date: 09-01-12
Publisher: WNYC New York and Public Radio International
Genres: Radio & TV, Great Interviews
Summary:
Nearly a decade after the human genome was decoded, scientists are only now beginning to understand its implications. One of the leading thinkers in this field is the biotech entrepreneur Gregory Stock. A biophysicist by training, his 2002 book Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future makes the case that full-scale genetic engineering is on the way whether we like it or not.
Next, Ted Berger is trying to build a microchip that can remember things for us. He teaches biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California, and his goal is to create a device that can take over for the hippocampus of the brain, translating thoughts into long-term memories. But thats a complicated task. If theyre not transformed the way the hippocampus transforms them, Berger explains, then you cant store them. Thats what it boils down to."
Then, Charlie Neumann is a scientist at a design company. After a gruesome accident destroys his leg, he becomes obsessed with creating a prosthetic limb superior to his old biological ones stronger, smarter, and better-looking. Eventually, he severs his other leg to get a matched pair.
After that, biotech entrepreneur Greg Stock tells Kurt Andersen he thinks technology may allow humans to break free of their natural life span. We are like a dying animal, he says, we are stuck to our bodies and yet our minds can soar.
Next, everything were able to do today to enhance humans from genetic engineering to artificial limbs simply improves on the base model we were born with. But for some people, that doesnt go far enough. They think we shouldnt be stuck with the factory-installed settings in our DNA. And they're not satisfied with a lifespan that tops out at 100 years.
The, we humans are pretty hot stuff the most highly evolved species on the planet, or so we like to think. This parable by science-fiction writer Terry Bisson suggests otherwise. To some space aliens who think theyve seen it all, were not just primitive. Were gross.
And finally, Neil Harbisson is a painter, a musician, and a cyborg. Born with a rare form of colorblindness, Harbisson can only see the world in grays. In 2004, he collaborated with a scientist to create a device called the Eyeborg, which he wears everywhere even in his passport picture. (He argued to the authorities that it was part of his body, not a removable item like glasses.) [Broadcast Date: September 1, 2012]
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