The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity

Guest Post: Top 10 Innovations at TEDMED

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by Alexandra Carmichael on November 10th, 2009

This is a guest post written by Alexandra Carmichael. She is a co-founder of CureTogether, a Health 2.0 company that brings patients with hundreds of conditions together in overlapping data communities. Alexandra is currently an advisor on the Biotech/Medical Board of the Lifeboat Foundation, a guest blogger at The Quantified Self, and a prolific Tweeter on topics of health and chronic conditions @accarmichael.

I spent last week in San Diego for TEDMED, the medical version of the TED conference. It was an incredible experience for me, almost overwhelming at times with the quality and number of amazing people there. Singularity Hub wrote a preview of the event a few weeks ago.


I spent last week in San Diego for TEDMED, the medical version of the TED conference. It was an incredible experience for me, almost overwhelming at times with the quality and number of amazing people there.

Here are my top 10 takeaways:

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1. Disability to Super-Ability – Mullins, Kamen, Angle

Three incredible stories, told back to back, left the audience in tears and on the edge of their seats.

mullins

Prosthetically augmented athlete Aimee Mullins gave a moving account of how being “disabled” has affected her life in a positive way. She reframed our thinking: “Adversity isn’t an obstacle to get around, it’s part of our life. We adapt.”

Dean Kamen spoke of his passion to build prosthetics for war veterans that are ultimately better than real limbs, imparting super-ability to the wearers.

iRobot co-founder Colin Angle continued the story of augmented reality by demonstrating how robots will become caregivers for elders like his mother. “In 2030, every person under 65 will be responsible for the care of a person over 65,” Colin said. “Can robots help with this?”

Saving lives, restoring functional living: these are inspiring applications of robotics and engineering. I highly recommend watching these three TEDMED talks when they are released.

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Will Fat Secret Become Wikipedia of Nutrition with New API?

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by Aaron Saenz on September 2nd, 2009
Fat Secret's new API is up and running.

Fat Secret's new API is up and running.

One day we are told that eating fats makes us fat. The next day we learn that carbs are made from pure evil, and that fats are angel tears. It’s hard to keep track of all the nutritional information that is constantly bombarding you from TV, print, and the Internet, but up and coming website Fat Secret is willing to try. It has been compiling information from the USDA, users, and brands to form a comprehensive database for everything food and exercise related. Earlier in August, Fat Secret launched their free API, set to allow almost anyone access to their data for quick and easy reference. It’s Wikipedia meets weight loss and it could change the way we perceive nutrition.

Fat Secret is onto something. We desperately need a resource that reviews, consolidates, and analyzes nutritional information. Not just because such a resource would be trustworthy. The open access, the ability for any website to provide a link and retrieve the correct data, is a valuable tool which will help everyone from doctors to dieters. Right now, who can you ask if you need to know the calories in a cup of almonds? Do you trust that source? If I jog 10 miles one day, how much more food should I eat? Can you find that answer quickly?

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Wireless Health Monitoring System for under $200

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by Aaron Saenz on August 25th, 2009

If you want to live forever you better start figuring out how your body is doing today. A&D Medical, a San Jose based company, and their Life Source products should allow anyone with a pulse to monitor their health via wireless connections. Their combo kit, which monitors activity, weight, and blood pressure, is now available for under $200 at Amazon! This puts the most basic indicators of health at almost anyone’s disposal.

Need a better health monitoring system?

Need a better health monitoring system?

Those indicators will be transmitted via wireless connection to be stored and analyzed online. Using software form Life Source, you just log on, and watch how the little graphs change from day to day. There’s even a way for you to share your information with others so that an elderly patient can be observed by their caretakers, or so that weight loss buddies can encourage one another. After all, living forever would be boring if you did it by yourself.

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Blue Zones – Places In the World Where People Live to 100 and Stay Healthy

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by Keith Kleiner on July 20th, 2009

They are called blue zones – places in the world where people live longer and healthier than anywhere else on earth.  Several of these blue zones exist, and in each of these places people living to 90 or even 100 years is common.  And they aren’t just living long either – these people are living healthy – without medication or disability (see video later in this post).

blue-zones

Lead Photo For National Geographic Feature Story On Blue Zones

Five blue zones have so far been identified and thoroughly researched by journalist Dan Buettner in a partnership with National Geographic during more than five years of on-site investigation.  So what is the secret to longevity and health underlying these fascinating communities?  Do they possess modern technology, do they take massive amounts of supplements, do they run on treadmills, do they have special genes?  As you may have guessed, the answer is none of these.

The five blue zones are as follows:

  • The Italian island of Sardinia
  • Okinawa, Japan
  • Loma Linda, California
  • Costa Rica’s isolated Nicoya Peninsula
  • Ikaria, an isolated Greek island

Its Lifestyle, Stupid!

So lets cut to the chase instead of building up the suspense any further.  After more than five years of investigation, what has Buettner discovered about why people in these places are living so long?  The secret is lifestyle.  Quite simply, these people live a lifestyle that includes a healthy diet, daily exercise,  and a low stress life that incorporates family, purpose, religion, and meaning.  Sure we can go into more detail, and we will, but at a high level it really is this simple.   Check out this video:

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