Still no Jetpacks, Though.
Every so often—playing with certain technologies—an iPad, say—I get the feeling that we're actually living in the future as imagined way back when. Here’s something that will definitely qualifiy, if it pans out:
Dentists could soon hang up their drills. [Not true, see below.] A new peptide, embedded in a soft gel or a thin, flexible film and placed next to a cavity, encourages cells inside teeth to regenerate in about a month, according to a new study in the journal ACS Nano. This technology is the first of its kind.
The new gel or thin film could eliminate the need to fill painful cavities or drill deep into the root canal of an infected tooth. …
That said, regenerating a tooth from within would only be useful in a relatively small number of cases. Most cavities would still need to be drilled and filled.
Read the whole thing, then come back and contribute something that makes you stop and go, "Wow, that's magic." (In a Clarkean sense, I guess. Or, if you're of a supernatural bent, in the sense of Larry Niven's converse proposition)
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Aug '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
No jetpacks?
(OK, it's not the kind of jetpack you'd probably dream of, and it's shown to cheesy music, but still... a jetpack... of some sort.)
Jul '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
I think we've become so jaded by technological progress that we've lost our sense of awe.
I think of how amazed I was the first time I saw color television. Or how I gaped at the audacity of a 747. Heck, I remember when Tupperware seemed like magic.
Now, as innovation after innovation gushes forth, there's just no sense of wonderment.
I am, sadly, old enough that I did business before the fax machine existed and in an age where an overseas call was exotic and unreliable.
Now, I take it absolutely for granted that I can argue about moderate Muslims with Claire Berlinski in Istanbul using my wireless laptop in Marin County.
What would it take to amaze me? Perhaps a simple method to reverse the aging process. Or a consumer-friendly way to clone my ancient, beloved bull terrier.
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
It's not a technological advance, but every time I look at one of my cats, I think, "I can't believe such whimsical, delightful, magical creatures exist." They're straight from the perfervid imagination of a childhood dreamworld fantasy, but they're real! If stray cats weren't a dime a dozen, the black market for them among greedy collectors would be worth billions.
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
Ok, Kenneth, what about…robotic exoskeletons for paraplegics?
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
So that's why you're trying to corner the market. Now it all makes sense.
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
Or this year's James Dyson* Award winner Longreach, the life-preserver bazooka? Or the runners up, a vest that does CPR on you, or a life raft that keeps you out of the elements and desalinizes sea water? (All here.)
They're not quite magical, but pretty damn futuristic.
* The vacuum-cleaner guy.
May '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
I'm wary of medical innovations. Researchers often can't predict long-term risks and effects.
Plastics are amazing. From Saran Wrap to PVC pipe to nylon clothing to kevlar helmets, and it's all made from oil... the gooey remains of creatures that lived millions of years ago.
Aug '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
What about geckos? Their feet! (A Tokay gecko can support his whole body mass with one toe, and gecko toes possess the only known self-cleaning adhesive.) Their eyes! (A multifocal optical system allows them color vision even in very low light.) They are little miracles.
The animal world never ceases to amaze. Homo sapiens sapiens, and all the technology he uses to extend himself, included.
Jun '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
"Any technology sufficiently advanced is like magic," -- Arthur C. Clark
May '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
Another amazing discovery, though not an invention, is chalk. Chalk is basically the shells and remains of plankton. When a child draws a single line on the pavement or chalkboard, millions of microscopic organisms had to live and die to create that humble moment. Now try to imagine how many generations were necessary to produce the White Cliffs of Dover.
My favorite technological innovation at the moment is artificial sensory inputs. Though all of our sensory organs (eyes, tongue, skin, etc) are beyond our ability to perfectly simulate, they can all be replaced with rudimentary substitutes which the brain can adapt to use. Last I read about him, that same researcher who enabled blind people to see through their tongues and created an artificial vestibulary system was working on giving soldiers nightvision or infrared without need of goggles and enabling astronauts to feel through their suits.
Aug '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
Read the whole thing,
The author of the article seems to have taken some heat in the article's comments for talking this discovery up a bit more than it deserves, as revitalizing the pulp (soft tissue inside a tooth) is not the same as repairing damage to a tooth's hard tissues (enamel and dentin), which is what fillings do (or rather, fillings at least compensate for the damage).
A five-carbon sugar, xylitol, on the other hand, has apparently shown a limited ability to re-mineralize teeth (by alkalizing saliva). At the very least xylitol is a regular-sugar substitute that's relatively unfriendly to tooth-destructive microbes. Finland and other Nordic countries have been using xylitol as part of dental-health regimens for years.
Xylitol may be useful for helping with cats' dental hygiene -- Claire, take note -- but it can be dangerous around dogs.
Edited on Oct 10, 2010 at 1:33pmJul '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Read the whole thing,
The author of the article seems to have taken some heat in the article's comments for talking this discovery up a bit more than it deserves, as revitalizing the pulp (soft tissue inside a tooth) is not the same as repairing damage to a tooth's hard tissues (enamel and dentin), which is what fillings do (or rather, fillings at least compensate for the damage).
Since my wife makes her living performing root-canal procedures, I am utterly opposed to any new-fangled therapies that purport to heal tooth decay.
Hopefully, the American Association of Endodontists will, via the mechanism of campaign contributions, persuade Congress to ban any such dangerous and un-proven methodologies.
It's the American way.
Jul '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
My favorite invention is the clutch and the sequential transmission.
I'm not given to electronic advances, they seem self-evident.
Jul '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
Curing & pickling do it for me. You take a piece of meat or some fruit and intentionally let it begin to rot just so. Then, it somehow becomes not only tastier, but it actually keeps better as well. Amazing.
Oct '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
I remember my astonishment upon first learning that Sir John Tenniel did not make the face of the Cheshire Cat up out of whole cloth, but that such a breed actually exists!
I still wonder how on earth it occurred to some ancient Egyptian to think "Hey, I know... I'll capture some of these wild animals we have running around here and worship as gods, and breed them to be smaller so they can live in the house." Still, I'm glad they did, otherwise we wouldn't have Abyssinians, for example. :-)
May '10
Re: Still no Jetpacks, Though.
Bill Walsh: Ok, Kenneth, what about…robotic exoskeletons for paraplegics? · Oct 10 at 12:17pm
I was waiting for the Iron Man reference, and it almost skipped right by.
My favorite current, cheap, modern convenience is the pico projector. The only real drawback to the product is that the VGA plug connection is marginal-that is old-fashioned mechanical engineering, where the weight of the plug ballots the contacts; 3M knows better and screwed up on that part. The video plug works fine.