Wouldn't it be loverly if you could swallow a huge honking forkful of chocolate cheesecake filled with microscopic nanomachines that could transform the 25 grams of fat in that single bite into the caloric and nutritional equivalent of bok choy? Well, that's not the precise example offered in Future Body, one of five tapes in the eye-opening, often mind-boggling Science of the Impossible series, but I'm trying to think outside of the strictly scientific box (their suggestion was more along the lines of nanomachine-filled yogurt eaten to effect cellular repair) to the practical applications here. This wide-ranging survey of current research melding human and machine touches on a number of new and potential applications in several different areas, including medical, military (G. I. Robocop?), and--in the case of Cindy Jackson--good old human vanity. Jackson, who decided she wanted the facial features of various supermodels and actresses, has spent about $100,000 to suffer the kind of torture--broken jawbone, etc.--you can get for free from guys named Vinnie. Viewers will see a paralyzed man with a spinal cord injury pick up and move an object with the help of electrical stimuli to the nerves in his arm and hand, discover that finger bones can be grown in a petri dish, and hear speculation about adding a third computerized lobe to the human brain (which will no doubt lead to some strange phone conversations--"yep, Bob, we sold exactly urgh urgh urgh uh...damn, Bob, can I call you back? That's the third time my brain's crashed this morning; I hate Windows to the Mind Version 2.765"). More newsmagazine than documentary in approach (i.e., scattershot tidbits as opposed to coherent whole), Future Body is nevertheless thought-provoking and could be a decent discussion starter on medical, social, religious and ethical issues relating to humanity's increasingly cyborgian nature. The other titles in this series (series price: $59.98), which originally aired on the Discovery Channel, are: Aliens: Where Are They?, Can We Reach the Stars?, Facing Doomsday and Invisible Forces. Recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
Science of the Impossible: Future Body
(1997) 52 min. $14.98. Discovery Communications (dist. by Unapix/Miramar). PPR. Color cover. ISBN: 1-57523-555-2. Vol. 14, Issue 5
Science of the Impossible: Future Body
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