If you go to Tokyo, you may want to check into 9h—Nainawasu in Japanese—a luxury capsule hotel that is 9 stories tall, storing 125 capsules that use Panasonic's environmental and lighting control system. According to Panasonic, their system controls lighting to guarantee "good sleeping." I don't know about you but, to me, "good sleeping" means a large bed, a good duvet, and someone special to spoon with all night. Still, if you want to get close to the experience of hibernation in a deep space vessel, this is the place to go!
There are implants which are purely aesthetic, and then there's the Digital Tattoo Interface concept. It's a blood-powered electronic interface which is embedded under skin to mimic a tattoo, display videos, or act as a phone or computer.
As great as it seems, this concept is seriously creepy because it powers itself by converting the glucose and oxygen found in blood into electricity. Though somehow getting your blood sucked by a gadget is worth it for the endless potential applications. I'd probably just end up using it to tweet, but what would you do first with your implant?
In 2003, we mapped the human genome, the 20,000-ish genes we all share. It cost $3 billion. Today, you can literally spit in a cup, place the saliva in the mail and get a peek at your own.
Services like 23andMe (proponents of the above-mentioned "spit parties") and Navigenics both examine specific snippets of your genome for known severe genetic conditions like diabetes, bipolar disorder and certain types of cancers (as well as goofier stuff like freckling and "food preference").
Meanwhile, a boutique genome mapping company named Knome maps not just snippets of DNA but your entire genome, using a blood sample. When it's ready, they sit you down with a doctor to explain their findings.
This thoroughness comes at a cost, of course. Knome's service will run you the price of a Porsche, while their competitors bill up to only a thousand dollars, often less. And while we can technically map the entire genome, we certainly can't understand everything we see.
Ari Kiirikki, a VP at Knome we met at TEDMED, decodes the future of genomics in this brief Q&A:
Where's genomics now?
The first human genome, completed in 2003, took 13 years and nearly $3 billion to decode. Today, we can sequence and interpret an entire human genome in a matter of weeks for less than $70,000 (our current price is $68,000). New software and other analytical tools have put decades of accumulated scientific research at our fingertips, enabling us to analyze an individual's DNA in order to identify risk for thousands of diseases and other inherited traits and conditions.
What will we be doing in 5 years?
Within 5 years, the cost of sequencing an entire human genome is expected to plummet below $1,000, which will dramatically increase the demand for genetic sequence interpretation. The resulting increase in raw data will enable scientists to make new and important discoveries linking our DNA to health and disease, thereby further increasing the clinical utility of DNA analysis. This will enable us to finally deliver on the promise of personalized medicine by allowing scientists to begin the development medicines and individualized "cocktails" of therapeutics tailored to individual genetic profiles.
In 10?
Ten years from now, sequencing a human genome will cost less than $100. Within the decade, scientists are likely to have unraveled precisely how DNA interacts with our environment to impact our risk for developing disease. Expect DNA sequencing to become a regular part of your annual check-up along with the introduction of new therapeutics that can be prescribed to help delay or completely avoid getting specific diseases that you may be predisposed to.
And now we're stretching it, what about 20?
Every medicine you take will be tailored specifically to your genome. Every newborn child will be sequenced at birth, enabling future generations to use their DNA to guide the management of their health over their entire lifetime. Perhaps most amazingly, your DNA will be fully integrated into your everyday life. Genetics will move beyond the clinic, into a broad range of consumer products—snacks, vitamins, mouthwash, skin creams, dating services, etc., all optimized for your unique genetic profile. -Mark Wilson
I can't speak for everyone here, but I could certainly go for a stick of gum that, instead of being labeled "grape" or "spearmint," simply stated, "You'll enjoy DNA-certified flavor, fatty." [Image: Human chromosomes "painted" by flourescent dyes to detect abnormal exchange of genetic material frequently present in cancer. Chromosome paints also serve as valuable resources for other clinical and research applications.
Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Human Genome Program Report, 1997.]
Women who cope with the stress of infertility treatment by relinquishing control are nearly twice as likely to get pregnant as those who don't adopt this strategy, research from Israel shows.
The findings, say the researchers, suggest that techniques like meditation, which is focused on teaching people to "let go," could help improve women's chances of getting pregnant.
There is increasing evidence that stress and emotional distress can influence in-vitro fertilization (IVF) success, Dr. Nathalie Rapoport-Hubschman of the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva and her colleagues note in the journal Fertility and Sterility. But evidence on the effects of other psychological factors has been inconclusive, they add.
Rapoport-Hubschman and her team theorized that coping mechanisms, rather than traits like anxiety or hostility, might play a role in IVF success. While problem-focused coping is an effective way to deal with situations that are under a person's control, so-called "emotion-focused coping," which can involve humor, denial, relaxation, and letting go, might be a less stressful way to handle infertility treatment, they suggest.
The researchers looked at 88 women undergoing IVF, 21 of whom got pregnant. The only factors that independently influenced IVF success, the researchers found, were a woman's age and whether she had high "letting go" coping levels at the beginning of the study.
IVF treatment is "highly uncontrollable," Rapoport-Hubschman and her colleagues note in their report. "When control is not possible, focusing on and regulating one's associated emotions may be more effective."
Women who don't use this approach may spend more time worrying and thinking about whether or not they will get pregnant, the researchers note; this can affect multiple systems in the body.
"The next logical step would be to test whether meditation, aimed at helping women relinquish control and improve letting go, could have positive effects on reproductive outcomes in women undergoing infertility and IVF treatments," the researchers conclude.
Following new UK government guidelines on surrogacy published last month aimed at improving the rights of surrogacy patients, Ministers are now facing a new legal challenge calling for further changes in the law.
Specialist fertility law firm, Gamble and Ghevaert, have written to Ministers demanding that the current rules, which prevent women who use surrogates from receiving maternity benefits, be changed. At present, only women who themselves go through a successful pregnancy are entitled to paid maternity leave and employment protection - even in cases where they are not the genetic parent. Thus, surrogate mothers are entitled to all maternity benefits. However, no such rights are available for parents who use a surrogate or adopt, leading campaigners to describe the current position as discriminatory.
Natalie Gamble, partner at Gamble and Ghevaert, explained the situation thus: 'The lack of right to maternity leave is tied up with the fact the surrogate mother is regarded as the mother…In any other circumstances you would get maternity leave. Women aren't going to need a whole year. What would make sense is a system where you have some sort of sharing arrangement [for maternity leave]'. She continued, 'We also need to take account of our modern human rights and anti-discrimination laws which do not allow unfair treatment of minority groups, however small they are'. At present, approximately 40 babies are born through surrogacy in Britain each year, mainly due to medical reasons which prevent some women from giving birth themselves.
Surrogacy in Britain is laden with problems. Surrogates in Britain may not receive payment for the service they render, apart from expenses. Furthermore, surrogacy agreements are not legally binding, meaning the surrogate mother has the right to keep the baby she gives birth to, even if the child is not genetically related to her, and she has been paid all expenses. These restrictions have led to couples going overseas to carry through a surrogacy arrangement. However this can also present difficulties; the worst case scenario is that a much-wanted baby is recognised in neither Britain, nor the country of it's birth.
Sharmy Beaumont, aged 33, is one of the few UK women who has become a parent with the help of a surrogate. Beaumont was born with a rare condition which meant her womb could not cope with carrying a child. After learning of this in her twenties, Beaumont contacted Surrogacy UK and was put in touch with her surrogate, Liz Stringer. After a successful surrogate pregnancy and the birth of her baby daughter, Isabelle, Beaumont was forced to take unpaid leave in order to care for her.
She says, 'My work have been understanding and have allowed me some leave to look after Isabelle…However, the fact that parents through surrogacy are not entitled to any maternity benefits to spend time with their babies is unfair and the Government has not recognised this'.
'I love being a mum,' Beaumont concludes, 'but the system is unfair'.
A new software technology is helping to reduce the risk of laboratory errors in infertility treatment, by electronically identifying the sperm, eggs, resulting embryos and other materials used in in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment cycles. Using non-invasive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), IVF Witness(TM) can track a patient's sperm, eggs and embryos during the course of treatment. If the wrong material is introduced in the lab environment, IVF Witness alerts the staff, via visual and audible signals, to help prevent mislabeling of any materials.
While laboratory errors are rare, by creating an automated system to minimize the chance for mix up, IVF Witness safeguards the infertility treatment process and gives patients peace of mind.
The IVF Witness is being used in infertility clinics worldwide, including leading clinics in the UK and United States. Since launching this new technology last year, over 20,000 infertility treatment cycles have employed IVF Witness to ensure the safety and security of patients' genetic material.
IVF Witness uses RFID tags, each containing a microchip that acts as a unique digital fingerprint, safely identifying samples at the outset and tracking them through the fertilization process. Each patient is given an RFID identity card, with a unique identification, that are used with all sample materials for that patient, including Petri dishes and test tubes used in a patient's treatment cycle. The entire system is electronically managed.
"Our aim was to develop a system that automatically tracks a patient's eggs, sperm and resulting embryos during an infertility treatment cycle, to reduce the risk of mislabeling or error," said Bill Brown, President of Research Instruments. "Infertility treatment is a very precise and personal process and IVF Witness helps to maintain the integrity and security of this process for both healthcare providers and patients."
"IVF is difficult enough for patients without the added worry of possible mix ups," said Kevin M. Johnson, MD, Medical Director, Overlake Reproductive Health in Seattle, WA. "We want to offer our patients complete peace of mind and that is why we have invested in the IVF Witness system for both of our laboratories." International Organizations Call for More Safeguards
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) recently pledged to work with patient groups, policy makers and other stakeholders to develop systems to reduce the risk of errors. In the United Kingdom, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK's regulatory body, is supporting the use of electronic witnessing in all IVF clinics. Currently, HFEA requires all IVF clinics to at least 'double witness' the IVF process, with two staff members manually double-checking the labeling and handling of all samples.
According to John Robinson, MD, Scientific Director of Hull IVF Unit in the UK, "IVF Witness, unlike the double witness process, does not require two members of staff to operate. It allows embryologists to work safely and effectively, without frequent interruptions to witness with other colleagues. In effect, it is providing a continual and very robust safety check, independent and additional to the many checks embryologists have to carry out."
"Several infertility practices in the US, and most major IVF clinics in the UK have already installed the IVF Witness, and are pleased with the additional reassurance it brings," added Brown. "Interest has also been considerable in countries such as China, Japan and the Middle East, where IVF Witness has recently been launched."
A bat that was clinging to space shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank during the countdown to launch the STS-119 mission remained with the spacecraft as it cleared the tower, analysts at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center concluded.Based on images and video, a wildlife expert who provides support to the center said the small creature was a free tail bat that likely had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist. The animal likely perished quickly during Discovery’s climb into orbit. Because the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge coexists inside Kennedy Space Center, the launch pads have a number of measures available, including warning sirens, to deter birds and other creatures from getting too close. The launch team also uses radar to watch for birds before a shuttle liftoff.Nevertheless, the bat stayed in place and it was seen changing positions from time to time. Launch controllers spotted the bat after it had clawed onto the foam of the external tank as Discovery stood at Launch Pad 39A. The temperature never dropped below 60 degrees at that part of the tank, and infrared cameras showed that the bat was 70 degrees through launch.The final inspection team that surveys the outside of the shuttle and tank for signs of ice buildup observed the small bat, hoping it would wake up and fly away before the shuttle engines ignited. It was not the first bat to land on a shuttle during a countdown. Previously, one of the winged creatures landed on the tank during the countdown to launch shuttle Columbia on its STS-90 mission in 1998.Bats sure are intriguing creatures.
There has never been a TV series where the animal hero was a bat. Why not? Because people generally hate bats.For many Westerners, bats conjure up eerie visions of vampires and witches. The Chinese see these flying rodents as symbols of good luck. Fortunately, there are people working on behalf of bats - people who study bats; who respect bats; who love bats; who have, on occasion, TASTED bats.No, seriously, although bats look like evil creepy demonettes from hell that want to swoop down and bite us and give us rabies, the truth is that they are generally harmless flying mammals just like us who form colonies, care for their young, go to the mall, etc. Statistically, the average bat is far less likely to be rabid than Abu Azmi. Besides catching insects, bats play a critical role in pollinating certain plants, such as the agave, without which there would be NO TEQUILA.Even vampire bats have their human side. Researcher Ted Fleming told me that sometimes a female vampire bat will return from a successful bloodsucking trip and share her good fortune by "regurgitating to her roost mates."
Many bat species are endangered because of humans, some of whom view bats as actual food. A researcher once told me that in parts of Southeast Asia, bat soup and fried bat are considered tasty treats. In Guam, people have eaten pretty much all the bats. There's a bat shortage! You could become a bat rancher and get rich! Although you would need skilled bat wranglers. He also told me that the Gubu people of Papua, New Guinea (I am not making the Gubu people up), have a big feast wherein they boil up a mess of bats, cook them over coals and then eat them whole, after which they pick little bat teeth out of their mouths. He said that, as a researcher, he actually took a tiny bite of this dish.Incredibly, he did not say that it tasted like chicken!
So we see that bats have really received a "raw deal" from us humans. I think that from now on, we should all remember that bats are our friends, and we should make every effort to be nice to them while remaining at a safe distance! Also, if we go to a restaurant in Southeast Asia, we should make darned sure we know what we are ordering.
The Bats we see around Lavasa are the Megabats.They are also referred to as fruit bats, old world fruit bats, or flying foxes. The megabat, contrary to its name, is not always large: the smallest species is 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) long and thus smaller than some microbats. The largest reach 40 cm (16 inches) in length and attain a wingspan of 150 cm (5 feet), weighing in at nearly 1 kg (2.2 pounds). Most fruit bats have large eyes, allowing them to orient visually in the twilight of dusk and inside caves and forests.Fruit bats are frugivorous or nectarivorous, i.e., they eat fruits or lick nectar from flowers. Often the fruits are crushed and only the juices consumed. The teeth are adapted to bite through hard fruit skins. Large fruit bats must land in order to eat fruit, while the smaller species are able to hover with flapping wings in front of a flower or fruit.Frugivorous bats aid the distribution of plants (and therefore, forests) by carrying the fruits with them and spitting the seeds or eliminating them elsewhere. Nectarivores actually pollinate visited plants. They bear long tongues that are inserted deep into the flower; pollen thereby passed to the bat is then transported to the next blossom visited, pollinating it.Because of their large size and somewhat "spectral" appearance, fruit bats are sometimes used in horror movies to represent vampires or to otherwise lend an aura of spookiness. In reality, as noted above, the bats of this group are purely herbivorous. Some works of fiction are more in line with this fact, portraying fruit bats as sympathetic or even featuring them as characters. For example, in the book series Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel, a fruit bat named Java is one of the main characters in the final book of the series. In Stellaluna, a popular children's book by Janell Cannon, the story revolves around the plight of a young fruit bat who is separated from her mother. In The Winjin Pom, a 1991 puppetry-based tv-series by Richard Carpenter and Steve Bendelack, Frazer is an anthropomorphic fruit bat with a laid-back attitude and a taste for fresh fruits.
Female short-nosed fruit bats have been observed performing fellatio on their partners during copulation. Mating pairs spent more time copulating if the female did so.The video seen here is sexually explicit and was edited and soundtracked by the researchers. Coming back to Lake Dasve, you see a lot of fruit-bats suspended from the trees at the Western end of the lake (see photos!). The best sightings of these fruitbats are towards sunset when they are in their element. They are handsome creatures with a very stylish flight path. If you take the Pontoon boat ride at closing time (5pm), you can have a personalized sighting of our very own Lavasa Fruity Bats! I have spent hours on hours photographing these fascinating mammals. In fact, legend has it that they have a photographic memory! A Weizmann Institute researcher from Israel however, is using bats to help reveal the secrets of human memory.
The Rehovot institute's Interface magazine wrote recently about bat researcher Dr. Nachum Ulanovsky, a neurobiologist who studies the most common Israeli bat species - the fruit bat. He says they are an excellent animal model for human memory not only because of their impressive spatial memory but also due to their highly developed senses and unique behaviors. Bats are being outfitted with sophisticated telemetry equipment transmitting data about the activity of single neurons or networks. These are used as the bats crawl or fly around in Ulanovsky's lab. A US company working with the Rehovot researcher developed the world's first global positioning and telemetry system that weighs only nine grams; as the average fruit bat can carry nine grams of equipment and still fly with ease, it is the perfect bat species for his experiments. To avoid disrupting the bats' natural behavior, Ulanovsky has arranged for the building of a large cave-like room with rough-hewn rocks in the ceiling.
His work, which is partially conducted in collaboration with the Hebrew University, promises to reveal new information not only on human memory but also on hippocampal diseases such as epilepsy and Alzheimer's.
We are opening an outlet at New Years which will serve only desserts - and guess what it is christened - Fruity Bat!
