We are entering a new era. I call it "the Singularity." It's a merger between human intelligence and machine intelligence is going to create something bigger than itself. It's the cutting edge of evolution on our planet. One can make a strong case that it's actually the cutting edge of the evolution of intelligence in general, because there's no indication that it's occurred anywhere else. To me that is what human civilization is all about. It is part of our destiny and part of the destiny of evolution to continue to progress ever faster, and to grow the power of intelligence exponentially. To contemplate stopping that -- to think human beings are fine the way they are -- is a misplaced fond remembrance of what human beings used to be. What human beings are is a species that has undergone a cultural and technological evolution, and it's the nature of evolution that it accelerates, and that its powers grow exponentially, and that's what we're talking about. The next stage of this will be to amplify our own intellectual powers with the results of our technology.

Online in full text, from a recent edition of Edge. Also available in streaming audio/video; lasts ~ 9 minutes.

The Singularity: A Talk With Ray Kurzweil | Edge.org

The latest in an annual collection of essays from the UK's National Institute for Medical Research. Includes an essay on the role of science in society; an introduction to stem cells, their production, and their promise; and an essay about the dangers posed by overuse of antibiotics. You can also access the essays from years past, back to 1995. (1997 includes articles on xenotransplantation and the DNA of parisites.)

Mill Hill Essays 2001 | National Institute for Medical Research

Stuart Kauffman, founder of the Sante Fe Institute, published this book in October 2000. Scientific American called his work "deep and challenging." Amazon has 26 sample pages for browsing; take a look.

From the Amazon review: "How can you tell when a scientific theory is revolutionary? As a rule, when a distinguished scientist says he's come up with a fourth law of thermodynamics, he's wrong. Stuart Kauffman may be the exception. ..."

One of Kauffman's key concepts is that of the adjacent possible ... the set of things that are only one step away from actual existence ... a metaphysical idea with real utility.

In this book, Kauffman applies complexity theory to fundamental questions about the origin and nature of life, not just on Earth but in general. But this book is not glossy pop-science; in places the arguments become quite technical and assume the reader already knows the background, vocabulary, etc. (or knows where to find it). To sum it up in a word, though: engaging.

_Investigations_ by Stuart Kauffman

272 pages (April 2002), from Farrar Straus & Giroux; ISBN: 0374236437.

"What's at stake in tomorrow's biotech revolution: a definitive assessment from "a superior mind at work" (Robert Kaplan, Los Angeles Times Book Review)

"In 1989, Francis Fukuyama made his now-famous pronouncement that because "the major alternatives to liberal democracy had exhausted themselves," history as we knew it had reached its end. Ten years later, he revised his argument: we hadn't reached the end of history, he wrote, because we hadn't yet reached the end of science. Arguing that the greatest advances still to come will be in the life sciences, Fukuyama now asks how the ability to modify human behavior will affect liberal democracy.

"To reorient contemporary debate, Fukuyama underlines man's changing understanding of human nature through history: from Plato and Aristotle's belief that man had "natural ends" to the ideals of utopians and dictators of the modern age who sought to remake mankind for ideological ends. Fukuyama persuasively argues that the ultimate prize of the biotechnology revolution -- intervention in the "germ-line," the ability to manipulate the DNA of all of one person's descendants -- will have profound, and potentially terrible, consequences for our political order, even if undertaken by ordinary parents seeking to "improve" their children.

"In Our Posthuman Future , our greatest social philosopher begins to describe the potential effects of our exploration on the foundation of liberal democracy: the belief that human beings are equal by nature."

(As a side note: Fukuyama is now at Johns Hopkins University.)

_Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution_, by Francis Fukuyama

J. Craig Venter, the pioneer scientist who helped crack the human genome, resigned as president of Celera Genomics Group, the company he formed, to make way for someone with more experience developing drugs. ... The move comes as Celera attempts to transform itself from a provider of genetic information into a pharmaceuticals discoverer and manufacturer. Venter has limited experience in the pharmaceuticals business. ... Celera's shares fell 6.46 percent on the news. ... Venter said in a statement he will spend more time in his role as chairman of the board of the Rockville, Maryland-based Institute for Genomic Research, not-for-profit gene research organization he helped start in 1992.

Craig Venter resigns as head of Celera

Columbia University philosophy professor Philip Kitcher latest book is about the role of science in the modern world.

From the publisher: "Noted philosopher of science Philip Kitcher examines the intense debate about the role that science plays in shaping our lives. He examines in particular the sharp divide that separates purists who believe that the pursuit of scientific knowledge is always valuable and necessary, on the one hand, from others who believe that it invariably serves the interest of those in positions of power, on the other. He rejects both perspectives and works out a more realistic image of the sciences -- one that allows for the possibility of scientific truth, but nonetheless permits social consensus to determine which avenues to investigate. He then proposes a democratic and deliberative framework for responsible scientists to follow. Kitcher's nuanced yet controversial analysis and conclusion will be of interest to a wide range of readers interested in the sciences."

(For a review of this book, see the 25 Jan 2002 issue of _Science_:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/295/5555/633a
This is just an abstract page; subscription required for full text. The reviewer seemed to find it a thought-provoking book, but said he disagreed with many of Kitcher's arguments. On one point: "He also questions the claim that there is a basic difference between science and technology, a view I strongly hold.")

_Science, Truth, and Democracy_ by Philip Kitcher

If you're already familiar with the classic _Flatland_ by Edwin Abbott, you'll enjoy this updated, annotated edition. If not, now is the time to check it out. Publisher's Weekly calls it "a math-geek classic!"

Editorial review at Amazon: The product of an agreeably dotty cleric named Edwin Abbott Abbott and first published in 1884, Flatland distills all that the Victorian era knew of higher mathematics--and then some--into a witty, complex novel of ideas.

Ian Stewart, the author of the equally witty sequel, Flatterland --which adds to Abbott's store of science the key discoveries made since--does a superb job of explaining the original book's enigmas, allusions, ironies, implausibilities, and what Douglas Hofstadter would call "metamagical themas." Among other things, Stewart comments on Abbott's comments on such things as the nature/nurture controversy, the fourth dimension and beyond, the role of multidimensional spaces in economic systems, infinite series and perfect squares, celestial mechanics, and other matters close to the hearts of cosmologists and science buffs alike.

Stewart's notes make an entertaining and learned addition to an already classic bit of writing--one that has never been out of print since its first publication. For both devoted Abbott fans and newcomers to his work, this is the edition to have.

The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

That was the first revolution. The second, under way now, is a surge of basic biomedical science toward the private sector, driven by the mobilization of philanthropy and corporate risk capital. ...

In the December 14 issue of _Science_, columnist Donald Kennedy goes on to discuss the ways in which today's science is increasingly dominated and driven by corporate interests. He compares and contrasts with several other points in the history of science. (A letter to the editor in the latest _Science_ references this article.)

A subscription is required for this article.

Enclosing the Research Commons

Everyone should read this brief editorial in the latest _Science_. The author discusses the various synergies that exist when dealing with terrorism and natural disasters. It begins:

Since the September 11 terror attacks, scientists and the policy community have focused on ways in which science might be applied toward reducing the risks or consequences of future attacks. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has appointed a committee under the co-chairmanship of Lewis Branscomb and Richard Klausner to explore the vulnerability of the United States and other Western nations. The committee will do well to consider how mitigating threats from terrorism could also serve to reduce the consequences of natural hazards, for the two are linked in some unexpected ways. ...

May require free registration, but no subscription is required.

Science, Terrorism, and Natural Disasters | editorial in _Science_

Summary excerpted from the Scout report:

Scientists announced Wednesday [December 19, 2001] that they had deciphered chromosome 20, the largest of the three chromosomes to be sequenced thus far. Researchers hope that this latest advance by the Human Genome Project will help explain why some people are more susceptible to diseases such as diabetes or obesity. Also the gene that seems to make some a higher risk for Cruetzfeldt--Jakob Disease, the human version of Mad Cow Disease, is found on chromosome 20.

This page includes links to news coverage from Reuters, AP, and BBC, as well as technical articles published in _Nature_.

Scientists Sequence Largest Human Chromosome