Why
It is clear from the astounding explosion of knowledge, we now know about the history of the universe, of the birth of the solar system, and what is the biochemistry necessary for life. The progression of life that finally produced our human society became understandable. And the almost unfathomable eons of time that were needed to integrate the pieces into what we find around us in this marvelous earth we are on. It was all there. And thus, so are we.
What’s Coming
Over the past few decades science progress has accelerated as discoveries in one field of science have opened the door for progress in other fields. Such fertilization promises yet further scientific advances. Below are some of these advances:
DNA Manipulation
Scientists in the field have found a technique to zero in exactly on a bad sequence in the DNA macromolecule and replace that unwanted DNA sequence in the genome with a synthetic, advantageous sequence. This new advance is called CRISPR/cas, which is short for "Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/ CRISPR-associated (Cas) Genes".
Human Organ Growth in Animals
A day old pig embryo is edited and that gene in the pig embryo which would grow into a pancreas is cut out. A human stem cell is inserted into the pig embryo in place of the removed pig gene and the embryo is placed back in the pig, the idea being that the human stem cell will grow into a human pancreas inside the pig.
Human Organs Printed on Demand
Researchers at a North Carolina hospital have announced that, using a printer, they have printed ear, bone and muscle structures and successfully implanted them into animals.
What’s Coming
Over the past few decades science progress has accelerated as discoveries in one field of science have opened the door for progress in other fields. Such fertilization promises yet further scientific advances. Below are some of these advances:
DNA Manipulation
Scientists in the field have found a technique to zero in exactly on a bad sequence in the DNA macromolecule and replace that unwanted DNA sequence in the genome with a synthetic, advantageous sequence. This new advance is called CRISPR/cas, which is short for "Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/ CRISPR-associated (Cas) Genes".
Human Organ Growth in Animals
A day old pig embryo is edited and that gene in the pig embryo which would grow into a pancreas is cut out. A human stem cell is inserted into the pig embryo in place of the removed pig gene and the embryo is placed back in the pig, the idea being that the human stem cell will grow into a human pancreas inside the pig.
Human Organs Printed on Demand
Researchers at a North Carolina hospital have announced that, using a printer, they have printed ear, bone and muscle structures and successfully implanted them into animals.
The system involves a custom-designed 3D printer. So, sometime in the future if you need a new organ, just have one printed and overnighted to you via FedEx.
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Nanoscience and nanotechnology involve the ability to see and to control individual atoms and molecules. Progress in nanotechnology research and development has provided a whole new set of research tools and brand new materials. Smaller and smaller sensors have been developed that can be placed directly within the body where measurements have never before been viable. Thus nanotechnology promises non-invasive monitoring of blood oxygen levels in specific organs and in tissues to ascertain their moment-to-moment condition.
In other fields some examples are newly engineered products such as airplane bodies made with nanomaterials whose atoms have been carefully arranged to make them extraordinarily robust and new fabrics endowed with nanofibers that keep stains from setting.
DNA Data Storage
DNA storage offers the possibility of creating the highest-density, large-scale data storage scheme ever invented. Capable of storing 215 petabytes (215 million gigabytes) in a single gram of DNA, the system could, in principle, store every bit of datum ever recorded by humans in a container about the size and weight of a couple of pickup trucks.
Energy
In the broadest terms, you might agree that just about every process in our entire modern civilization, at the bottom line, requires energy. Our society, worldwide, depends so very completely on continuously available and extremely reliable energy sources of all kinds to maintain our modern lives. And it certainly is true that all future civilizations will also acutely require dependable sources of energy. And all these energy needs, both now and certainly in future times, will be constantly increasing. But is there a solution to the ever-increasing need for more energy? Let’s examine a technique, in the research phase for decades of struggle, and now still struggling in the research phase – and that is, nuclear fusion.
Here are some comparisons of energy output using quantities of the various fuels as input that are used today in power generating plants to produce an output power of 1000 MWe for one year. (MWe are units which incorporate plant efficiency into the energy unit MW, megawatts):
Coal - 2 million tons
Oil - 1.3 million tons
Fission - 30 tons
Fusion - 0.6 tons
Nuclear fusion for energy generation promises to provide abundant energy far into the future for the entire human population on the earth. And the consequences of a successful research outcome will change the entire culture of the world. So the effort to continue all research efforts is so very worthwhile. The advantages of nuclear fusion are just too great to ever give up.
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Nanoscience and nanotechnology involve the ability to see and to control individual atoms and molecules. Progress in nanotechnology research and development has provided a whole new set of research tools and brand new materials. Smaller and smaller sensors have been developed that can be placed directly within the body where measurements have never before been viable. Thus nanotechnology promises non-invasive monitoring of blood oxygen levels in specific organs and in tissues to ascertain their moment-to-moment condition.
In other fields some examples are newly engineered products such as airplane bodies made with nanomaterials whose atoms have been carefully arranged to make them extraordinarily robust and new fabrics endowed with nanofibers that keep stains from setting.
DNA Data Storage
DNA storage offers the possibility of creating the highest-density, large-scale data storage scheme ever invented. Capable of storing 215 petabytes (215 million gigabytes) in a single gram of DNA, the system could, in principle, store every bit of datum ever recorded by humans in a container about the size and weight of a couple of pickup trucks.
Energy
In the broadest terms, you might agree that just about every process in our entire modern civilization, at the bottom line, requires energy. Our society, worldwide, depends so very completely on continuously available and extremely reliable energy sources of all kinds to maintain our modern lives. And it certainly is true that all future civilizations will also acutely require dependable sources of energy. And all these energy needs, both now and certainly in future times, will be constantly increasing. But is there a solution to the ever-increasing need for more energy? Let’s examine a technique, in the research phase for decades of struggle, and now still struggling in the research phase – and that is, nuclear fusion.
Here are some comparisons of energy output using quantities of the various fuels as input that are used today in power generating plants to produce an output power of 1000 MWe for one year. (MWe are units which incorporate plant efficiency into the energy unit MW, megawatts):
Coal - 2 million tons
Oil - 1.3 million tons
Fission - 30 tons
Fusion - 0.6 tons
Nuclear fusion for energy generation promises to provide abundant energy far into the future for the entire human population on the earth. And the consequences of a successful research outcome will change the entire culture of the world. So the effort to continue all research efforts is so very worthwhile. The advantages of nuclear fusion are just too great to ever give up.
