H+ Weekly - Issue #344
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This week - Chile grants "neurorights" to its citizens; gene therapies for brain diseases; a drone with defibrillator saves a life in Sweden; a new cyborg eye brings superhuman vision closer to reality; and more!
MORE THAN A HUMAN
► Achieving Superhuman Vision With The New Cyborg Eye (7:17)
Han from WrySci HX takes a closer look at a recent breakthrough in fabrication techniques that are bringing the dream of building artificial eyes surpassing our biological eyes one step closer to reality.
Worldwide Campaign for Neurorights Notches Its First Win
Thanks to a constitutional amendment that was passed by the National Congress of Chile and signed by the president, the people of Chile are the first in the world to be granted a new kind of human rights—“neurorights”—which advocates say are made necessary by rapid advances in neurotechnology.
ROBOTICS
John Deere's Self-Driving Tractor Stirs Debate on AI in Farming
At CES 2022, John Deere unveiled their new self-driving tractor. It can find its way to a field on its own when given a route and coordinates, then plow the soil or sow seeds without instructions, avoiding obstacles as it goes. A farmer can give the machine new orders using a smartphone app. Self-driving tractors could help save farmers money and automate work that is threatened by an ongoing agricultural labor shortage. But automating more of farming, and adding AI, may also stir debate around replacing workers as well as ownership and use of the data it generates.
Drone carrying a defibrillator saves its first heart attack patient in Sweden
A 71-year-old man from Sweden survived a heart attack thanks to a defibrillator delivered by a drone. “This is an excellent real-world example of how Everdrone’s cutting edge drone technology, fully integrated with emergency dispatch, can minimize the time for access to live-saving AED equipment,” Everdrone CEO Mats Sällström said.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Genetic Therapies for Brain Diseases
This article from Scientific American describes the ups and downs of gene therapies aimed at brain diseases such as Huntington’s disease or spinal muscle atrophy (SMA). Some of them have already been used and saved lives while others have been halted in the clinical test phase.
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