Tribe.net. Local Connections ... http://alife.tribe.net/thread/ae7398f4-6192-4f56-8be7-9eade9363215#68ce846f-4e08-4547-9d3b-8bb45e79fa11 2006-09-06T07:03:14Z 2006-09-06T07:03:14Z

I don't think it's new at all. Since Plato (and probably before) people have drawn a distinction between body and soul.

... 2006-09-06T07:03:14Z sarah http://alife.tribe.net/thread/ae7398f4-6192-4f56-8be7-9eade9363215#2096c155-a8c6-4bdc-b004-ad8a8862bfc4 2006-09-03T10:22:41Z 2006-09-03T10:22:41Z

You state that the boundaries between artifical and organic life have become so blurred. Obviously you are right but what (if any) do you think the raminfications of this are on society? Is it just a matter of finding new words to describe this hhybrid state or do you think it's actually affecting the way people are thinking about themselves, their interactions and their environments.

sarah 2006-09-03T10:22:41Z Nina http://alife.tribe.net/thread/ae7398f4-6192-4f56-8be7-9eade9363215#bfbeead0-3d98-40c0-957d-56425a0a87ac 2006-04-24T18:31:28Z 2006-04-24T18:31:28Z

Here's another interesting story about possible hybrid life: taken from April 7, 2006 The Week( vol 6 issue 253): "Scientists have created superstrong artificial muscles that work like the real thing, says Discovery News. The muscles, 100 times stronger than ours, would be used in such technologies as robots and medical implants. Developed by Ray Baughman at the NanoTech Institute in Dallas, the two different types of synthetic muscles can use methanol, alcohol, or hydrogen for fuel, so that machines could one day run without a cord or battery power. One type of artificial muscle has a nickel titanium alloy that shrinks in response to the heat produced by its fuel; when it shrinks the muscle contracts. The other type expands in response to its fuel, and the muscle flexes. Baughman says artificial muscles could change the nature of physical labor. 'In the future,' Baughman says, 'the humanoid robot sitting next to you at the bar may be drinking alcohol in order to go to work the next day.'"

Nina 2006-04-24T18:31:28Z Emiglio http://alife.tribe.net/thread/ae7398f4-6192-4f56-8be7-9eade9363215#c91c5443-2a48-46da-8a75-e7fded315483 2005-11-03T05:38:35Z 2005-11-03T05:38:35Z

The distinction between artificial and organic life has become so blurred, that we now need terms to define hybrid forms of life, both artificial/electronic and organic. For example, look at the recent hybrid cellborg discovery. Ravi Saraf, a University of Nebraska chemical engineer created a hybrid sensor which incorporates microorganisms into an electronic device, fully merging microbe and machine for the first time. The breakthrough is the first "cellborg" in what might become an array of devices. The bioelectronic device swells and contracts in response to how much water vapor is in the air. It’s called a cellborg humidity sensor, and it is at least four times more sensitive than those that are solely electronic. It even works even when its biological parts are long dead. In the past, researchers have programmed bacteria to behave like biological computers or created electronic circuits that respond to glowing bacteria as a way to detect chemicals, but in those cases, the line separating microbe and machine was still distinct. The study was detailed in the Oct. 21 issue of the journal Angewandte Chemie. From an article by Ker Than of LiveScience... http://www.livescience.com/technology/051027_cellborg_sensor.html

Emiglio 2005-11-03T05:38:35Z