Emerging Technologies, Stephanie Meyer, Twilight
In Communication, Engagement on November 19, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Stephanie Meyer, blockbuster movies and emerging technologies
If you are a teenager, or have teenage kids, you are probably keenly aware that the movie of Stephanie Meyer’s best-seller “Twilight” opens this weekend. (At least, if you live in the US—readers elsewhere have a few more weeks of nail-biting anticipation to go.)
Being something of a cynical opportunist when it comes to blogging, I’ve been wracking my brains for a plausible link between the movie and emerging technologies.
Trouble is, I haven’t read the book, and it’s one of those scary ones that is thick enough to build houses with!
So, I compromised, and asked my thirteen-year-old daughter Bethany—and long-time fan of the Twilight series—to write the blog for me ☺
Nanotechnology, G20, World Economic Forum, Global Agenda Councils
In Nanotechnology, Policy on November 15, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Do emerging technologies have a place at the table?
As world leaders congregate in Washington DC this weekend for the G20 summit on the global financial crisis, discussions will be informed in part by what has been described as the “biggest brainstorming on the global agenda that has ever taken place.” I mention this because a small but nevertheless significant part of that brainstorm involved nanotechnology.
The brainstorm in question was the inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda, organized by the World Economic Forum and held in Dubai last weekend. The summit brought together “the 700 most knowledgeable people related to 68 global challenges” (WEF’s words) to address two questions…
Science Progress, Synthetic Biology, Synthetic Chemistry
In Ethics, Policy, Synthetic Biology on November 13, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Looking back to chart a course to the future
This coming lunchtime*, former New York Times columnist Denise Caruso will discuss the promise and pit-falls of synthetic biology with Center for American Progress senior fellow and former Washington Post science reporter Rick Weiss. Given the track record of both participants, I’m anticipating a stimulating and spirited discussion, which will draw on Caruso’s just-published article on an overview and recommendations for anticipating and addressing emerging risks from synthetic biology.
But rather than focus on Denise’s piece [which as you would expect from a talented writer, speaks quite eloquently enough for itself], I thought I would provide a slice of back-story to synthetic biology. And to do this, I want to use a rather good paper published last year by Brian Yeh and Wendell Lim (of the University of California San Francisco)…
