And congratulations go to God
Time Magazine published its Inventions-of-the-Year Issue, and the best invention of the year was a dog. Make sure you send God a note of congratulations. Oh, the "inventors" are Korean scientists? Can't God file a "prior-art" claim? (No, I'm not a creationist, quasi-creationist ID-er, or anything like that)
Seriously, though, I am not hopeful for the future when this is the invention of the year. A Pitt Scientist that was working with this same team abruptly broke with them because of what he described as the compromised ethics of the same Dr. Hwang that is hailed in the Time article. The guy from Pitt didn't have a problem with cloning humans, but the manner in which the donor eggs were obtained.
Time did spotlight some other inventions that were, in my opinion, much more promising really for improving humanity. These include:
The Life Straw, a personal water purification tool. It costs about $3 and can potentially save the lives of the SIX THOUSAND PEOPLE WHO DIE EVERY DAY FROM WATERBORNE ILLNESSES. This invention is up there with Plumpy'nut as the best ideas anyone has brought to market ever.
The Hybrid Assistive Limb from the University of Tsukuba. This is a robotic exoskeleton for people with compromised or limited mobility. It is expected to have a pricetag of $14K-$16K when it is commercialized, but I would have to think that is relatively inexpensive compared to much of the costs incurred to accomodate mobility problems in the home (lift chairs or even elevators, railings and shower chairs, "little rascals" scooters, etc.).
Seriously, though, I am not hopeful for the future when this is the invention of the year. A Pitt Scientist that was working with this same team abruptly broke with them because of what he described as the compromised ethics of the same Dr. Hwang that is hailed in the Time article. The guy from Pitt didn't have a problem with cloning humans, but the manner in which the donor eggs were obtained.
Time did spotlight some other inventions that were, in my opinion, much more promising really for improving humanity. These include:
The Life Straw, a personal water purification tool. It costs about $3 and can potentially save the lives of the SIX THOUSAND PEOPLE WHO DIE EVERY DAY FROM WATERBORNE ILLNESSES. This invention is up there with Plumpy'nut as the best ideas anyone has brought to market ever.
The Hybrid Assistive Limb from the University of Tsukuba. This is a robotic exoskeleton for people with compromised or limited mobility. It is expected to have a pricetag of $14K-$16K when it is commercialized, but I would have to think that is relatively inexpensive compared to much of the costs incurred to accomodate mobility problems in the home (lift chairs or even elevators, railings and shower chairs, "little rascals" scooters, etc.).
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