via The Independent

Scientists have begun putting genes from human beings into food crops in a dramatic extension of genetic modification.

…Japanese researchers have inserted a gene from the human liver into rice to enable it to digest pesticides and industrial chemicals.

via New Scientist

A self-replicating 3D printer that spawns new, improved versions of itself is in development at the University of Bath in the UK.

Now Adrian Bowyer hopes to change that by making the first 3D printer capable of fabricating copies of itself, as well as a wealth of everyday objects…

Better still, the machines could evolve to be more efficient and develop new capabilities, says Bowyer.

via Nanodot

The first periodic report for the U.S. National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel was presented at a PCAST meeting.

View the slides.

MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld gave a provocative talk last night at the Future Salon on personal fabrication and digital-physical interfaces. He has set up fabrication labs all around the world, and you will be suprised at the results. Gershenfeld envisions a not-to-distance future in which individuals or communities have the ability to fabricate materials and goods at the nano-scale. Rather than receiving a package in the mail, the design can be emailed to you, and the item created in your home. Or better yet, you will design it yourself, and email the design to your friends. This could lead to a new paradigm of open-source hardware, and a shifting notion of materialism and consumerism. How this will affect the digital divide is unknown - it remains to be seen whether the emergence of this technology will lead to a ‘fab lab in everyone’s home.’ Gershenfeld also has some interesting ideas regarding venture capital and microfinance.

Also check out Gershenfeld’s book When Things Start to Think

The Fab Lab @ MIT’s Center for Bits & Atoms

Personal Fabrication @ MIT’s Media Lab

Gershenfeld’s presentation @ O’Reilly Emerging Tech Conference

More links on fab labs

many new books, articles, feeds and links added to almost every page…

new rss2.0 feed address: acceleratingtechnology.com/feed

the old rss2.0 feed and other feeds (rss0.92, atom & rdf) are still active

from Yahoo

If you think video games are engrossing now, just wait: PlayStation maker Sony Corp has been granted a patent for beaming sensory information directly into the brain.

“The pulsed ultrasonic signal alters the neural timing in the cortex,” the patent states…

…Sony’s technique could be an improvement over an existing non-surgical method known as transcranial magnetic stimulation.

View the patent on the US PTO site

Also see this article