Pete Bethune, a former oil exploration engineer, is so committed to proving biodiesel is a viable alternative to fossil fuel that he and two other Earthrace crew members underwent liposuction. Together they stripped more than 2.5 gallons of fat from their bodies, which produced almost two gallons of fuel - enough to go 9 miles under optimum conditions.

One small step for two men, one giant leap for our future robot masters. We remain blazing toward the advent of robots that can kill people and generate fuel by eating their flesh.

Around the World in a Boat Fueled by Human Fat | Autopia from Wired.com

First, it would be easier to create and release this highly destructive virus from the genetic data than it would be to build and detonate an atomic bomb given only its design, as you don't need rare raw materials like plutonium or enriched uranium. Synthesizing the virus from scratch would be difficult, but far from impossible. An easier approach would be to modify a conventional flu virus with the eight unique and now published genes of the 1918 killer virus.

Bill Joy is still wrong. Now Ray Kurzweil is wrong too.

Creating a virus is non-trivial. This isn't something we need to worry about terrorists doing. The sky is not falling.

UpdateL The Daily Show crew does not agree with me.

Recipe for Destruction^WIgnorance^WFear - New York Times

Jeremy wrote:
] As big pharmaceutical companies have become even larger, they
] have concentrated on drugs with blockbuster potential
] rather than devote time to drugs with smaller markets.
]
] [Hmmm ... Where have I heard that story before?]

Much like their power broker brethren in the media business, they lack a feedback mechanism. They are making blockbuster drugs because they do not know what else to make.

Now, we can empower the people with tools. Let them track themselves. This may be a way help get the drug companies obtain real information about how people work. As the double edged sword usually goes, there are reasons this is a touchy subject.

People should have the freedom to make choices involving their health care. That includes its research and development process, even if only in the form of input. The development of drugs should not stop once they have hit the market. Its time to learn some more lessons from software.

RE: Is Biotechnology Losing Its Nerve?