Ed Dowding

Category: Science & Technology

Peak Everything

Economist “Did you know?” 2009

YouTube – Economist “Did you know?”.

Biological lego

Thanks to Martin Anazco for linking to this video about creating custom DNA which led me to this: The Registry is a collection of ~3200 genetic parts that can be mixed and matched to build synthetic biology devices and systems. Founded in 2003 at MIT, the Registry is part of the Synthetic Biology community’s efforts ...

The World According to Monsanto

I’ve just been watching ‘The World According to Monsanto’. It’s pretty compelling stuff. As one of the contributors says, “Seed is more powerful than bombs, more powerful than guns” and given that, you’d have thought that we’d be a little more careful about what we do it. 70% of the food in the USA contains ...

I have nothing to fear from a DNA database

It’s tempting to think that DNA databases are OK, because it’s just a way of uniquely identifying someone, just like a long number which no one else has, which is intrinsically linked to you. If you believe that, I can see why you think you may have nothing to worry about. But the problem is ...

Mass dolphin stranding linked to navy exercises

An investigation into the UK’s largest ever mass stranding of common dolphins has identified military activity as the most probable cause – although no single activity can be definitively linked to the stranding. via  New Scientist.

DNA databases require so much regulation that abuse is inevitable.

Anyone who studied a little genetics in high school has heard of adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine – the A,T,G and C that make up the DNA code. But those are not the whole story. The rise of epigenetics in the past decade has drawn attention to a fifth nucleotide, […]. And now there’s a ...

Better models: cars

There are a lot of curious inefficiencies in modern life. We end up owning an awful lot of things which we don’t use very much, but we have them because when we want when we really want them. Lawnmowers, tools for small jobs around the house, washing machines, and cars are just a few things ...

Twitter will not grow much larger than it is now

Why do ideas flourish? What is it about them that makes some great ideas flop, and some bad ideas survive? And vice versa? In very large part the adoption of technology comes down to the ability of the product to capture the interest of the visionaries (early adopters) and pragmatists (early majority). The rest of ...

So much for the green economy…

As the Governmner cancels solar panel grants: Renewable energy companies have accused the government of undermining its own “green” industrial strategy by ending subsidies for solar energy under the low carbon buildings programme (LCBP). The Renewable Energy Association (REA) said it was “astonishing” and worrying that solar grants had been frozen since 26 February although ...

I might have called this all wrong

I’ve just woken from a dream wherein technology saves mankind. But, like Africans and AIDS drugs, I can’t afford it; because I’ve chosen the subsistence solution.

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – Buckminster Fuller The Buckminster Fuller Institute is awarding a $100,000 prize each year for comprehensive solutions that radically advance human well-being and ecosystem health.

STILL not going to America

Visitors To US Now Required To Register Online Starting today, visitors to the US from 35 visa-waiver countries will be required to register online with the Department of Homeland Security in advance. The DHS is asking people to go online for the ESTA program 72 hours before traveling, but they can register any amount of ...

Biggest news of the decade: Body repair 'could be ramped up'

Quite amazing. “A combination of drugs could trick the body into sending its repair mechanisms into overdrive, say scientists. The technique could be used to speed the healing of heart or bone damage, they claim. The bone marrow of treated mice released 100 times as many stem cells – which help to regenerate tissue. ” ...

I'm stunned, or 'Why I'm outta here #874'

It’s tough to know how to react to the two headlines which appeared adjacent on the BBC News website today. Downs’ Syndrome screening seems to be a technology which has backfired. The well meaning people who developed it thought that people would see the quality of life experienced by those with Downs’ Syndrome vs those ...

Left, right, and centering

We have two hemispheres to our brain, and they seem to be quite independent people. Your right brain is a parallel processing device which deals in imagery, the here and now, and the connectedness with all things. The left hemisphere is serial and concerned with the creation of and preservation of identity, placing us within ...

Happiness Hypothesis

I guess it’s not illegal to link to this if someone else is hosting it: http://pathfindercoaching.org/Documents/happiness_hypothesis_haidt_e.pdf I’ve recommended this book before, and will do again, so take the opportunity to grab the summary whilst you can.