From Big Questions Online, against neurotrash: is human uniqueness really nothing more than a neurological phenomenon? The Evolved Apprentice: Kim Sterelny on two framing ideas about human evolution. A look at the 5 strangest things evolution left in your body. The next stage in evolution — a machine consciousness able to manipulate time and space — is just around the corner; the catch is humans will no longer be in charge (and more). From The Futurist, a review of How to Defeat Your Own Clone: And Other Tips for Surviving the Biotech Revolution by Kyle Kurpinski and Terry Johnson. A review of Biology Is Technology: The Promise, Peril, and New Business of Engineering Life by Robert H. Carlson. Neither models nor miracles: Ars Technica takes a look at synthetic biology. The obscure Enlightenment philosopher and doctor La Mettrie is the man who said we are machines. Can we be happy forever in robot bodies? Zombies, human sonar, and transhumanism: An interview with Katalin Balog. AIs, superflies, and the path to immortality: To thoroughly solve the “limited healthspan” problem will probably require generally intelligent Artificial Biologists, capable of deeply comprehending the structure and dynamics of biological networks in a way the human mind cannot. A review of Long for This World: The Strange Science of Immortality by Jonathan Weiner (and more and more) and The Youth Pill: Scientists at the Brink of an Anti-Aging Revolution by David Stipp (and more).
