Promising HIV Vaccine Results -- Bio, Soc
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I just thought this was cool. Scientists say this experimental AIDS vaccine is "the most promising in 20 years," and they've doubled the number of people in the experiment worldwide from 1,500 to 3,000.
Personally, I find such developments interesting from a scientific as well as a humanitarian point of view. Gregory Stock has already explained in Redesigning Humans how ordinary scientific research in a variety of areas is creating "dual-use" technologies that will one day permit "human augmentation" -- thus enabling the creation of de facto superhumans.
Imagine the kinds of technological strides humanity is going to make in coming years because of the pressures to deal with calamities such as AIDS and emerging pandemics (such as avian flu). The kind of research and funding these challenges are generating, as well as the scientific initiatives of philanthropists such as Bill and Malinda Gates, will almost inevitably drive the creation of augmented humans as a side effect -- first people who have had their obvious genetic defects eliminated, but eventually individuals who are clearly superior and/or different from the common run of humanity.
Not that something like this would create any challenges...
It's an interesting time to be alive.
I just thought this was cool. Scientists say this experimental AIDS vaccine is "the most promising in 20 years," and they've doubled the number of people in the experiment worldwide from 1,500 to 3,000.
Personally, I find such developments interesting from a scientific as well as a humanitarian point of view. Gregory Stock has already explained in Redesigning Humans how ordinary scientific research in a variety of areas is creating "dual-use" technologies that will one day permit "human augmentation" -- thus enabling the creation of de facto superhumans.
Imagine the kinds of technological strides humanity is going to make in coming years because of the pressures to deal with calamities such as AIDS and emerging pandemics (such as avian flu). The kind of research and funding these challenges are generating, as well as the scientific initiatives of philanthropists such as Bill and Malinda Gates, will almost inevitably drive the creation of augmented humans as a side effect -- first people who have had their obvious genetic defects eliminated, but eventually individuals who are clearly superior and/or different from the common run of humanity.
Not that something like this would create any challenges...
It's an interesting time to be alive.
posted by Ralph Cerchione | Sunday, November 13, 2005
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