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Yahoo Finance Plus We Have the Technology: 10 Ways You Can Hack Your Body
1/101. Upgrade your memory
Last fall, DARPA announced plans to develop a “wireless, fully implantable neural-interface medical device” to help victims of traumatic brain injury. These chips, called Restoring Active Memory (RAM — yes really), aim to identify how the brain stores memories and then replicate them digitally. Soon, you may no longer have an excuse for forgetting your spouse’s birthday. (Illustration: Lawrence Livermore Labs.)
![<p>Another DARPA initiative, called <a href="http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2015-01-19" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Neural Engineering System Design" class="link ">Neural Engineering System Design</a>, aims to create a high-speed interface that will enable digital devices to communicate with up to a million neurons at a time. This could allow for much higher resolution visual and auditory signals to reach optic or cochlear implants, or enable EEGs to collect brain wave data using thousands of channels instead of 100. <i>(Illustration: DARPA)</i></p>]()
2/102. The broadband brain
Another DARPA initiative, called Neural Engineering System Design, aims to create a high-speed interface that will enable digital devices to communicate with up to a million neurons at a time. This could allow for much higher resolution visual and auditory signals to reach optic or cochlear implants, or enable EEGs to collect brain wave data using thousands of channels instead of 100. (Illustration: DARPA)
![<p>Last June, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33571412" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:surgeons in the UK installed the first “bionic” retina" class="link ">surgeons in the UK installed the first “bionic” retina</a> in a patient suffering from age-related macular degeneration. The device receives signals from a camera embedded in a pair of glasses, sending a partial image to a receiver attached to the optic nerve. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/former-google-life-sciences-unit-renames-itself-verily-231151551--finance.html" data-ylk="slk:Verily;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;" class="link yahoo-link">Verily</a> (formerly Google’s life sciences division) is developing a smart contact lens that <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/google-is-testing-a-smart-contact-lens-perhaps-73573057870.html" data-ylk="slk:measures the glucose levels in your tears;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;" class="link yahoo-link">measures the glucose levels in your tears </a>and another that automatically corrects presbyopia — meaning you’ll no longer need your cheaters to read <i>Yahoo Tech</i> on your smartphone. <i>(Photo: Google/AP)</i></p>]()
3/103. Bionic eyes
Last June, surgeons in the UK installed the first “bionic” retina in a patient suffering from age-related macular degeneration. The device receives signals from a camera embedded in a pair of glasses, sending a partial image to a receiver attached to the optic nerve. Meanwhile, Verily (formerly Google’s life sciences division) is developing a smart contact lens that measures the glucose levels in your tears and another that automatically corrects presbyopia — meaning you’ll no longer need your cheaters to read Yahoo Tech on your smartphone. (Photo: Google/AP)
![<p>Bionic ears, too? You heard that right. In 2013, researchers at <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/80/19M40/index.xml?section=topstories" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Princeton" class="link ">Princeton </a><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/80/19M40/index.xml?section=topstories" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:cooked up" class="link ">cooked up</a><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/80/19M40/index.xml?section=topstories" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:a 3D printed ear" class="link "> a 3D printed ear</a> made from cartilage and electronics that could pick up frequencies a million times higher than human ears. Until that’s ready for prime time, we’ll have to make do with devices like Doppler Labs’ Here Active Listening — <a href="https://www.hereplus.me/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:a $200 earbud" class="link ">a $200 earbud</a> that lets you <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/these-earbuds-let-you-control-your-worlds-volume-120529459719.html" data-ylk="slk:filter out frequencies you don’t want to hear;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;" class="link yahoo-link">filter out frequencies you don’t want to hear</a>, like elevator music or a crying baby. <i>(Photo: Princeton)</i></p>]()
4/104. Super hearing
Bionic ears, too? You heard that right. In 2013, researchers at Princeton cooked up a 3D printed ear made from cartilage and electronics that could pick up frequencies a million times higher than human ears. Until that’s ready for prime time, we’ll have to make do with devices like Doppler Labs’ Here Active Listening — a $200 earbud that lets you filter out frequencies you don’t want to hear, like elevator music or a crying baby. (Photo: Princeton)
![<p>Blow out your kneecap or break your hip? Here, let us print you a new one. So far, doctors have used 3D printing techniques to create replacement <a href="http://www.courant.com/hartford-magazine/healthy-living/hc-hm-transitions-3d-printer-joint-replacement-20150926-story.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:knees" class="link ">knees</a>, <a href="http://3dprint.com/59617/3d-printed-hip-replacement/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:hip joints" class="link ">hip joints</a>, <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/first-3d-printed-lower-jaw-implant/21383/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:jawbones" class="link ">jawbones</a> — even <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/medical-first-3-d-printed-skull-successfully-implanted-woman-n65576" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:skulls" class="link ">skulls</a> (shown here) — and successfully implant them into humans. So if those tired old bones start aching, you can just order up some new ones. <i>(Photo: University Medical Center, Utrecht)</i></p>]()
5/105. 3D-printed bones
Blow out your kneecap or break your hip? Here, let us print you a new one. So far, doctors have used 3D printing techniques to create replacement knees, hip joints, jawbones — even skulls (shown here) — and successfully implant them into humans. So if those tired old bones start aching, you can just order up some new ones. (Photo: University Medical Center, Utrecht)
![<p>Researchers are working on similar 3D-printing technology to <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/40th-anniversary/organs-made-to-order-863675/?no-ist" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:grow" class="link ">grow</a><a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/40th-anniversary/organs-made-to-order-863675/?no-ist" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:hearts," class="link "> hearts, </a><a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/40th-anniversary/organs-made-to-order-863675/?no-ist" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:lungs," class="link ">lungs, </a><a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/40th-anniversary/organs-made-to-order-863675/?no-ist" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:kidneys, and livers" class="link ">kidneys, and livers </a><a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/40th-anniversary/organs-made-to-order-863675/?no-ist" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:in the lab" class="link ">in the lab</a>, using a recipient’s own stem cells to ensure perfectly compatible replacements. Though lab-grown human transplants are still many years away, this technique could eventually supplant contributions from organ donors as a way to prolong human lives. <i>(Image: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzWQYUVCpZqtN93H8RR44Qw" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Dnews" class="link ">Dnews</a>)</i></p>]()
6/106. Lab-grown organs
Researchers are working on similar 3D-printing technology to grow hearts, lungs, kidneys, and livers in the lab, using a recipient’s own stem cells to ensure perfectly compatible replacements. Though lab-grown human transplants are still many years away, this technique could eventually supplant contributions from organ donors as a way to prolong human lives. (Image: Dnews)
![<p>In June 2014, researchers at <a href="http://www.jhuapl.edu/prosthetics/scientists/mpl.asp" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Johns Hopkins" class="link ">Johns Hopkins</a> attached the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/technology/a-bionic-approach-to-prosthetics-controlled-by-thought.html?ref=technology&_r=1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:first mind-controlled artificial arms" class="link ">first mind-controlled artificial arms </a>— prosthetics that could respond directly to signals from the brain — to a 59-year-old double amputee. The devices contain more than 100 sensors, which could theoretically restore physical sensations to the limbs. Last May, Icelandic prosthetic manufacturer <a href="http://www.ossur.com/about-ossur/news-from-ossur/1396-ossur-introduces-first-mind-controlled-bionic-prosthetic-lower-limbs-for-amputees" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Ossur produced a similar smart replacement for legs" class="link ">Ossur produced a similar smart replacement for legs</a>. <i>(Photo: Ossur)</i></p>]()
7/107. Digital arms and legs
In June 2014, researchers at Johns Hopkins attached the first mind-controlled artificial arms — prosthetics that could respond directly to signals from the brain — to a 59-year-old double amputee. The devices contain more than 100 sensors, which could theoretically restore physical sensations to the limbs. Last May, Icelandic prosthetic manufacturer Ossur produced a similar smart replacement for legs. (Photo: Ossur)
![<p>Self-proclaimed biohackers are implanting electronics under their skin. Why? Apparently, tattoos and piercings are just not painful enough. Subcutaneous <a href="http://io9.gizmodo.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-getting-magnetic-finger-imp-813537993" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:magnets inserted in one’s fingers" class="link ">magnets inserted in one’s fingers</a> allow their owners to detect minute magnetic fields (and, presumably, rescue small metallic objects from tight spaces). <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/biohackers-are-implanting-led-lights-under-their-skin" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:LED lights implanted in the fatty tissue of the epidermis" class="link ">LED lights implanted in the fatty tissue of the epidermis</a> don’t do anything practical, but look cool in a Robocop kind of way. <i>(Photo: Motherboard)</i></p>]()
8/108. Magnetic fingertips and glow-in-the-dark skin
Self-proclaimed biohackers are implanting electronics under their skin. Why? Apparently, tattoos and piercings are just not painful enough. Subcutaneous magnets inserted in one’s fingers allow their owners to detect minute magnetic fields (and, presumably, rescue small metallic objects from tight spaces). LED lights implanted in the fatty tissue of the epidermis don’t do anything practical, but look cool in a Robocop kind of way. (Photo: Motherboard)
![<p><a href="http://www.eksobionics.com/ekso" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Ekso Bionics" class="link ">Ekso Bionics</a>’ wearable, battery-powered exo-skeleton (shown here) can restore mobility to people who have limited control over their lower extremities. Cyberdyne’s Hybrid Assistive Lab (HAL) suit, which allows <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/real-life-iron-man-exoskeleton/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:healthy people to carry up to ten times more weight" class="link ">healthy people to carry up to ten times more weight</a> than they normally could, is already in use in Japan. Yes, the company took its name from the evil corporation that enslaves humanity in the “Terminator” movies. We hope they were just being ironic. <i>(Photo: Ekso Bionics)</i></p>]()
9/109. Super-human strength
Ekso Bionics’ wearable, battery-powered exo-skeleton (shown here) can restore mobility to people who have limited control over their lower extremities. Cyberdyne’s Hybrid Assistive Lab (HAL) suit, which allows healthy people to carry up to ten times more weight than they normally could, is already in use in Japan. Yes, the company took its name from the evil corporation that enslaves humanity in the “Terminator” movies. We hope they were just being ironic. (Photo: Ekso Bionics)
![<p>Instead of putting technology into different organs in your body, some companies want to put your organs into tech. For example: Australian startup <a href="http://humaitech.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Humai Tech" class="link ">Humai Tech</a> hopes to take your brain, freeze it after you die, and (at some future date) pop it back into a cybernetic organism with all of your memories and personality intact. Its goal is to achieve the first brain-to-cyborg transfer by the year 2045. Death: That’s so 20th century. <i>(Photo: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die/<a href="http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/391821-blu-ray-review-lurid-60s-classic-brain-wouldnt-die/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shock Til You Drop" class="link ">Shock Til You Drop</a>)</i></p>]()
10/1010. Digital immortality
Instead of putting technology into different organs in your body, some companies want to put your organs into tech. For example: Australian startup Humai Tech hopes to take your brain, freeze it after you die, and (at some future date) pop it back into a cybernetic organism with all of your memories and personality intact. Its goal is to achieve the first brain-to-cyborg transfer by the year 2045. Death: That’s so 20th century. (Photo: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die/Shock Til You Drop)
Forty years ago, the Bionic Man and Woman were just cheesy TV shows; tomorrow, they could be your neighbors. Over the last few years, the ability to augment our bodies using technology has grown at a mind-blowing rate. Thanks to tech, our future selves will likely be smarter, stronger, more mobile, and possibly immortal.
Most of these technologies are being developed to help people with critical medical needs; in the future, though, they could become optional upgrades for healthy humans. Some of these devices are still years away, but some are here today.
We have met our robotic overlords, and they are us. Here’s what your future body may look like.
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