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Artificial Muscles Are Key to Robots of the Future New artificial muscles made of plastic that bends and contracts somewhat like biological muscle tissue could give future robots enormous dexterity, and also help paralyzed humans regain mobility. By GSReport Start Date: 2/25/99 Today's robots move by complex combinations of motors, gears and hydraulics. But robots of the future will be far more elegant and efficient, capable of doing more complex tasks while consuming less energy and weighing less. This will be especially important for the success of robotic space exploration, but in a few decades, it might also allow paralyzed humans to regain their mobility. The key, say leading researchers, is the development of artificial muscles. Biological muscle tissue contracts when stimulated by electrochemical nerve impulses, causing movement. The same principle can be applied to artificial muscles. Dr. Yoseph Bar-Cohen of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California is developing artificial muscles based on a simple, lightweight strip of highly flexible plastic that bends when electrical voltage is applied to it. Known as electroactive polymers (EAPs), these strips can be fashioned to activate gripping devices like fingers. Dr. Bar-Cohen says he can foresee a day -- still some decades away -- when electroactive polymers (EAPs) might take the place of non-functional organic muscles in paralyzed people. The result, he says, would be a partially "bionic" person. "My hope is someday to see a handicapped person jogging to the grocery store using this technology," he says. But for now, the goal is to build better space robots. EAP "muscles" will get their first test on a small NASA rover destined to explore an asteroid. All these actuators will do is operate small "window wipers" on a Japanese rover that is being designed for a sample-return mission to an asteroid in 2002. "That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to space applications," Bar-Cohen says. "Electroactive polymers are changing the paradigm about the complexity of robots." He foresees robotic machines as flexible and resilient as insects or small animals, capable of performing extremely complex tasks in the difficult environments of space. [See http://ndeaa.jpl.nasa.gov for further information. GSReport thanks Jeff Rense of Sightings, www.sightings.com, for bringing this story to our attention.] Excelsior, Michael Lindemann's new novel (written under the pen name Michael Paul), depicts a wholly plausible near future in which human cloning is both widespread and widely abused; terrorists have access to target-specific biological weapons; recreational space travel is commonplace; and mounting pressures of global climate change, environmental decline, population growth and civil unrest inspire radical new approaches to urban security. Built by Frontier on a Macintosh on 6/17/00; 11:56:40 AM. Web Comments - Produced by Larry Lowe Served 5764 times since 2/25/99.

NASA: New Hypersonic Propulsion Engine An experiment scramjet engine is being tested for NASA's Hyper-X program, aimed at creating air-breathing aircraft that can fly to the edge of space at Mach 10. Cybernetics Prof Implants Chip in His Own Body Professor Kevin Warwick claimed on Aug 25, 1998 to have become the first human to have a computer chip surgically implanted into his body. Did South Korean Doctors Clone Human Embryo? Researchers in South Korea claimed in December, 1998 that they had cloned a human embryo, but other researchers disputed the claim. New Research Promises Bone, Muscle Replacement New research shows that stem cells from adult bone marrow can be directed to grow into new bone and muscle tissue that can replace similar tissue lost to disease or accident. Huge NSA Encryption Scam Claimed The Swiss firm Crypto AG reportedly designed their widely used encryption devices so that the NSA could decode secrets from many countries. Stem Cells: Hope and Controversy on the Bio-Tech Frontier New research on stem cells might lead to cures for diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and to growing replacement organs from a patient's own tissue. Pig Intestine Has Amazing Medical Properties Recent research shows that tissue taken from the small intestine of pigs has remarkable healing and restorative effects in a wide variety of medical applications. How it works is still not understood. Stem Cells May Allow Regrowth of Liver New research on bone marrow stem cells suggests that it may become possible to regenerate the liver and other major organs. Huge Jump in Internet Use by 2000, Experts Say The number of internet uses has approximately doubled every year for the last 11 years and could reach 300 million by the end of 2000, some experts predict. Race to Clone Humans Now Underway in Earnest Dr, Richard Seed, who says he intends to clone his wife, announced at a London conference on March 30, 1999 that he expects the first human clone to be created within two years.