Sunday, February 7, 2016

S4 Med Tech

Radical Medical Technologies

Below are four topics students submitted for this blog.  I found these particularly compelling to investigate relative to technological advancements, social implications, and ethical controversies.  


This week is a puzzle challenge.  Number your responses 1.2.3.4. 
Match the topic statement to the picture.  
Research the links.  Share a point you read about each topic.
Comment about what you consider the pro's and con's 
or ethical implications of each topic, along with your opinion.


Genetic Literacy Project             Qualcomm's Chips              medGadget             Patients Benefit 



                                                            
Write thoughtful detailed responses based on your research. 
100 Points this week. Everyone completes. Authors will receive blog passes for a different week. 


35 comments:

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    3. 1 . CRISPR - This had me confused how I read this article about CRISPR. This one was to take out DNA diseases out of us and switch it with a new DNA code like combined the two strands of RNA into one fragment that Jinek could program. He could make guide RNA with whatever genetic letters he wanted; not just from viruses but from, as far as they could tell, anything. In test tubes, the combination of Jelinek's guide RNA and the Cas9 protein proved to be a programmable machine for DNA cutting. Compared to TALENs and zinc-finger nuclease, this was like trading in rusty scissors for a computer-controlled laser cutter. The progress of this will come of line and will have time to figure out what we can do more with this project.

      2 . Neuromorphic chip - When I read the article that this chip has a process sensory data such as images and sound and to respond to changes in behaviors to indicate with your phone and other electronics but this chip well did something different. Say your smartphone could learn to anticipate what you want next, such as background on someone you’re about to meet or an alert that it’s time to leave for your next meeting, and this Neuromorphic chip can do that for you. But the sheer heat generated by all those components is limiting how fast other chips can be operated, especially in power-stingy mobile devices. That could halt progress toward devices that effectively process images, sound, and other sensory information and then apply it to tasks such as face recognition and robot or vehicle navigation .

      3. Nanomedicine - This had me because Nanomedicine will be BIG to tumor cells because these guys would capture them and destroy them and that will be helpful to keep so many people alive in time sake, and with Wrigley's Doublemint gum coupled with carbon nanotubes to let through blood cells and it has a bigger cause too. And this is it as a new nano-materials are suited as building blocks in carriers for diagnostic markers, drugs, and novel forms of therapeutic functionality, as well as for more durable and biocompatible implants. This will not only improve the diagnostic and therapeutic efficacy of medical treatment, but simultaneously limit the negative side-effects of drugs and surgical procedures. But I figured this technology will be expensive to have inside of you though I would think this will be worth it to have inside of you.

      4 . Artificial Wombs - I am not intrigued what I just read was creepy. One of the paragraphs that i have read got myself thinking about how would the baby's organs would develop in the Artificial womb it would have to Apply such a system to fetuses delivered in the middle of pregnancy would constitute real partial ectogenesis. Furthermore, since bypassing the developing, not fully functional organs, stands to improve survival substantially, and might even decrease the costs of extreme premature birth, the movement of the technology.The last item i have to say is that would they use the chemicals use to protect the fetus so the mammal be transferred from the uterus of its own mother to that of a surrogate, but gradually investigators are reproducing the endometrium–the cell layer of the uterus that contains and nourishes the pregnancy as a cell culture, or an in vitro model. The convergence of these technologies will make it possible to transfer a developing human into a system that includes the placenta and umbilical cord and supplies all consumables oxygen and food, and removes all waste, directly through the blood.

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  2. 1. CRISPR This was a very interesting topic, just the thought of being able to modify the very instructions for life. Being able to permanently immunize some one for diseases or cancer, The big con of it is, if it falls in the wrong hands, we might have a crisis on our hands.

    2.Neuromorphic chip This chip may be a big leap for artificial intelligence software, (maybe siri will actually be useful!) We may end up with some intelligent, sentient software, that hopefully doesn't turn into skynet anyway, the pros of this would be, smarter phones, and all sorts of robotic creations, However the cons are that computer viruses could use this to get credit card credentials

    3.Nanomedicene This was a fantastic article because we may be able to cure cancer or make a giant leap in medicine and surgeries.

    4.Artificial wombs This is a very interesting but, a creepy thought, I believe the pros outwwigh the cons though The cons are that women won't have to go through the pain and process of childbirth, the cons are, moral issues for the most part from what i researched.

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  5. 1)CRISPR: This technology seems to be a great idea because it allows us to get rid of all of the terrible diseases and disorders that plague humanity. However I think that CRISPR should be limited to this and this only because modifying things like hair color or facial features would be extremely time consuming and not necessary at all. Not only can this be applied to humans, we can also possibly create bacteria or other microorganism to destroy viruses and deadly bacteria as another way to combat it. In the article, Genome Editing, tests for CRISPR were done on E.coli and other bacteria and we could edit them to help us rather than harm us with sicknesses.

    2)Neuromorphic Chip: In the article, IBM’s Rodent Brain Chip, IBM created a machine that combined the power of multiple advanced processors to make a chip the equivalent of a rodent’s brain. This is great because with how fast technology is being compacted to be smaller and smaller it won’t be long until we can make something as powerful as our own brain that may be even smaller than our own. There is also the controversy whether or not this will lead to humanity’s downfall, for example, the article, Qualcomm’s Chips, states that even though neuromorphic chips aren’t as powerful as our own brain they are far more superior to any current computers. this puts his technology to an extreme advantage for when we implement them into robots and machines which allows them to be faster, smarter and learn efficiently.

    3)Nanomedicine: Nanomedicine is fantastic technology that I already see implemented at hospitals. For example, the Medgadgets article shows a metal that seeks out and destroys tumors in your body. I have seen something similar but on a nanorobotics scale. However, most of these technologies shown can make people uncomfortable because it involves inserting a foreign device into their body. This can lead to complications on the patient's part and we would be reverting back to older procedures.

    4)Artificial wombs: It is great that something like this is possible and that it could lead to a lower infant mortality rate as said in the Genetic Literacy Project article. On the other hand, it does not seem that this is a technology that is coming soon at all because in the article, Sci-Fi Idea With 3 Major Problems, it speaks about how no one is working on this so the technology is completely dead as long as no one is working on it.

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  6. 1) CRISPR is an amazing program that would help solve many different diseases. By using RNA sequences, they can replace different gene mutations with the correct genes that are supposed to be there. This could be the breakthrough that helps cure diseases like cancer or others by attacking the source of the problem. The main problem with this field is the amazing power that can be harnessed from it. Grounds haven’t really been established on what is OK as this power could create designer babies, invasive mutants and bioweapons that could wipe out an entire species. While this technology seems great, maybe this is something best left alone.

    2) Neuromorphic Chips seem like an amazing technological breakthrough as it allows for a much more intelligent AI. With the example they gave about moving action figures, it shows how these chips would allow the robots to learn, creating the possibility for more interactive version of the personal assistants on phone or they mentioned improved Roombas that could learn and remember your floor plan. The only problem with this kind of brain-like chip is the potential danger that hackers can pose. While viruses and hacking has already been a problem on electronic devices, this could be much worse when these chips are somewhat self-aware. Beside the obvious robot uprising that is possible, scrambling the ‘brain’ could lead to disruptive and possibly dangerous conclusion depending on the device.

    3) Nanomedicine seems to have large benefits and retrospectively little costs. Improved diagnostics from these would allows for detection of diseases at earlier stages, allowing for treatment to be started earlier. Also, with nanobots, surgery on fragile tissue could be possible without cutting the whole person open. They could probably insert the bots through a small cut or other orifices.

    4) Artificial Wombs are an interesting piece of technology as it eliminates the need for a woman's uterus for about half of the pregnancy. If this technology progressed, it might allow infertile women as well as homosexuals to have a baby without needed a surrogate mother. They would only need a donated egg. Currently, this technology would be a way for women to abort babies without totally destroying it. They would be able to transfer the baby instead of kill it. However, while it is great to look forward to the future, it currently is difficult as they have not been able to replicate the placenta’s processes, which is why it is about halfway where they can transfer the fetus. Overall, it seems like a process that would be great to see but at this moment, seems like Sci-fi.

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    1. More on the nano-medicine, this could also cause worry within the public as people are not always as trustful of technology as they could be. While it could be the most amazing way to cure diseases, it could also be a point of distrust between patient and doctor.

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  7. 1. CRISPR - Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat, "This process provides a quick response and destruction of viral DNA, acting as a molecular vaccine." This article used lots of big words, and was hard to follow. But in assumption this process assists scientists in eliminating mutated genes, genes that can cause diseases or defects. Pros, no more diseases and defects in birth. However, this tech makes me feel a bit uneasy. The only Con I see is completely biased, things never end up well when humans play God.

    2. Neuromorphic Chips - Qualcomm Technology Inc has created a chip that can find similarities in things, like objects and images, and categorize them as such. It can even recognize objects it has not seen before. Basically, a smarter computer chip. And the article talks about how this chip could be put in phones, to make smartphones even smarter. I don't see any real cons of this tech, it doesn't take any more power than regular chips. It's not breaking any boundaries, like growing babies for instance. I think this tech is pretty neat, and hope to see it advance in the future.

    3. Nano medicine - 3D printed micro-fish that swim in your blood stream, that released drugs in certain areas of your body. People are actually making this, this could be a thing. Pros? Obviously this makes injections obsolete, however won't the fish have to refuel? What if you need a different drug? Would doctors just put more fish in you? Other than ridding the world of injections I don't see how else this tech could make the world better. It just has too many complications.

    4. Artificial Wombs - Ladies and Gentlemen... we have seen the future. My thoughts on a "Synthetic Womb?" To be blunt, it's kind of gross. However it's really smart too, this would prevent almost every problem that is relevant for birth. The article estimates that by the time I am 76 years old, almost %70 of child births will use an Artificial Womb. On the contrary, human birth is not just the production of a baby, it is a very emotional experience for the parents. I think there will still be lots of people wanting natural births, rather than an artificial one.

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  8. 1. Neuromorphic chip: “What does a neuro-synaptic architecture give us? It lets us do things like image classification at a very, very low power consumption,” says Brian Van Essen, a computer scientist. The neuromorphic chip can change the way machines think. The chip can have machines think differently based on the environment around them.

    2. CRISPR: CRISPR is, in my opinion, an amazing thing in medicine. The fact that this technology might be able to get rid of cancer and other diseases is amazing. Many people will be saved.

    3. Artificial Wombs: This is an amazing feat of technology because some mothers die during childbirth, thus killing the baby. Now, the mother can safely give birth to newborn babies without the risk of the baby dying.

    4. Nano Medicine: The technology of Nano Medicine is mindblowing. The fact that the technology for machines smaller than blood cells is mindboggling. If CRISPR can cure diseases like cancer, then it is insane that we can prevent them.

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  9. Neuromorphic chip: the little side menu to the NM-Chip says that “this isn't a chip but more of a brain” and “ It has the ability to adapt to its surroundings” Which means in away that we have created AI or Artificial Intelligence! “These “neuromorphic” chips—so named because they are modeled on biological brains” this is great for the future or it could be scary, we could have robots like bender from futurama or robots like bender from futurama… the reason why i say that is, humanity's downfall will always be its creativity, we create thinking robots, they'll realise that humans are a sickness to the world or think of as irrelevant and dispose of us, or or we can create intelligent robots that will want to help us as a whole.

    Nanomedicine: this is a great idea, humans giving out medicine and a nano level - celluar that can fight and cure a human being, it most likely be faster and can cure more diseases for humans!” a nanotechnology approach to solving a long existing limitation of certain cancer drugs. While many meds attack tumor cells…” this very citation basically means that this will help cure cancer instead of attacking it. it's not a vaccine it's a straight up cure. THe only issue is see with this is that now we will have little Machines inside of us that can be possibly hacked and which could kill us or endanger us and everyone around us!

    Artificial Womb: this is a bit weird… Artificial humans what would we call them, synths? they would be segregated by the church do to the fact they weren't made the fun way, it's rude to those Synths don't deserve the disrespect like the african americans and indians and the chinese got, its rude to put another race that isn't white below us!

    Crispr: The idea behind this is great but the results may be even worst, I mean if we genetically evolve something, it becomes bad some times, ever heard of the GMO movies, there zombies created from eating genetically modified organisms! this could go bad really quickly!

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  10. 1. CRISPR is a very interesting new technology that could change the way we live. People could choose all the traits that are decided by genes, effectively allowing parents to possibly choose what their children would look like, and even make sure babies won’t ever get some diseases before they’re even born. While researching CRISPR, I read that we’ve actually known about CRISPR since the 1980’s and weren’t able to implement it until 2014 because we didn’t have the technology. Since we’ve been able to implement it in animals such as mice, we could soon see it becoming a thing in larger animals and even humans, although there are ethical issues with it that we haven’t gotten past yet.

    2. A Neuromorphic chip brings us one step closer to having actual AI technology. By being more like a brain than a microprocessor, the chip can evaluate its surroundings and decide what to do in a situation. The chip is much smaller and requires less power than what we’ve previously needed to do similar things. This could make it the future of computing. The chips can process sensory data and respond to it in ways that it wasn’t actually specifically programmed to do.

    3. Nanomedicine could quickly attach to detrimental cells in our bodies and eliminate them, stopping many diseases, including cancer. The medicines can quickly target tumors and other things and stop them, so they could prove a very good fighter of many diseases we haven’t been able to treat yet.

    4. Artificial wombs could be important to research sciences and possibly even clone many animals or bring back animals that have gone extinct. However, artificial wombs have many problems, including the fact that no one has really been working on them for a while. Also, while scientists may be able to create the womb itself, they don’t understand enough about other processes to be able to recreate them enough to make it all actually work.

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  11. 1. CRISPR: This device that allows us to remove genes from people and or other organisms could be amazing since it could end our problems with genetic diseases that we pass down to our children. They are able to cut out the gene combination that causes the disease to happen, or even block it out entirely. They have already used it to reverse mutations that cause blindness too. This new device could open many new doors medically and also in a career field. Now people are going to want different colored hair and maybe even the military would like some bioweapons created using this. Though there could be consequences to this though we have yet to see what they may be and what will cause them.

    2. Neuromorphic Chips: These chips are literally made to be like a brain so it can recognize situations and actions, it is a big step towards artificial intelligence. These chips could be able to track individuals vital signs and actually change doses based on what it decides will help them more. These are chips that could possibly make human like decisions and interact as if they were one. Basically they can learn. Though it will take lots of research and testing before it can be actually used. I think this is going to be awesome this could help take such a big workload from people if it were to work out. It might even be able to see medical patterns we cannot.

    3. Nanomedicine: Is helping with many ways to diagnose issues faster. These extremely small medicines and instruments could be a key to finding out some of the medical problems of today. These nanomachines can detect and localize disease processes. It can also target specific diseased organs for more effective treatments. I believe that this will most definitely be revolutionary find in medicine and will be able to fix many of our problems, maybe even cancer.

    4. Artificial Wombs: With this technology it is possible to allow a fetus to survive when removed from the mother after only 22 weeks, first tested on goat fetuses. Being able to create human life artificial could in time allow us to control the amount of babies are born. Though sometimes it could be a risk to take the fetus out since the body will get too used to it being there. Though this would be pretty amazing except for it takes away from the experience of being human in my opinion. Also religious people may have an issue with this since they are “fake” babies.

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  12. CRISPR: The concept behind this idea is pretty extraordinary. The intention of this goal might be a noble concept however the results may not be. CRISPR is technology used to insert, replace, or take out DNA from the human body. The original intention of this was to remove sicknesses, solve world hunger, and provide clean energy for everyone. The only part that is bad about this is that it can be used against us. If it falls into the wrong hands then people could potentially do some pretty bad things with it. Also people might get greedy and only use it for themselves. Also i this were to be used on the human body, there is an extreme risk that the operator could accidentally destroy your DNA that is vital for your body. There are big risks to this but it could most definitely be a great project if used right.

    Artificial Wombs: Me personally, I think that this is a bit weird and bizarre. I don't think I really like it but that's probably a bit bias since we have never really tried it and we having been doing it the natural way forever. I feel like giving birth to a child is one of the most important moments in both of you lives; even if the child doesn't remember it. It helps develop a bond between child and mother and also you probably won't have the same kind of bond if your baby is born in a machine. The only time I would probably allow this is if the mother or child would die if it doesn't happen.

    Neuromorphic chip: I personally think that this is pretty cool. It's basically a chip that functions similar to that of a human brain. This allows machines to act sort of independently and to be aware of their surroundings. I think this would be a great idea as long as we are able to control what the machines could do. If machines had a brain similar to a humans and were independent then that could possibly cause some trouble. Other than that I do really like this idea.

    Nano Medicine: This is very nice and seems like a huge benefit to us all. Having medicine at a near molecular level can help make our medicines much better. Also this is a big help since it can be much easier to find and identify sicknesses and disease inside our bodies. The only problem I personally have with this naturally is that it seems a little weird that little tiny robots are inside you body. Other than that it seems like it could help a lot of people.

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  13. 1. CRISPR - This is kind of freaky, but in a really cool way. I have always thought of the possibilities if DNA editing was a thing, but I have never really believed it would be able to happen so quickly. Based on how research is going, there is a chance that people will have full control of DNA by the time I am an adult. This is revolutionary. For starters, there will be no more risk of disease. With DNA editing, it will be fully possible to give someone the ability to be immune to all kinds of diseases. Theoretically, people could start to create genomes that will produce super humans. I do not mean that they will have super powers, but they will become much more indestructible than anybody alive today. The one thing I am unsure of is if I would be willing to partake in this. On one side, it seems so cool and useful to be able to have power of human traits. However, it makes people less human. It makes them more of an expected product than a unique person that has qualities nobody else has.

    2. Neuromorphic Chip - This invention is very interesting to me. It is really cool to imagine technological machines having the ability to learn. Scientists could start to create robots that will slowly perfect whatever they are made to do. There will be easy ways to program a robot to do something, considering it just needs to be shown how to do it. Also, they could then provide functions that are on the spot. If a machine has a routine that gets interrupted by some freak thing, it will not just stop functioning. It will learn how to deal with the problem, and overcome it. It is a really cool idea of automating machines. Still, there are some cons to this. There is the obvious, sci-fi idea of robots taking over. A machine could teach itself how to work against people, and it will slowly become immune to countermeasures. It is similar to how viruses in the body can become stronger, since it builds up immunities to forces brought in to stop them. It can be cool to see where this chip goes and how it will be effectively used.

    3. Nanomedicine - This is a cool piece of technology. I feel like the pros of this would definitely outweigh the cons. For one, nanomedicine could make it so much easier to take care of serious health issues that are hard to gain access to. This is because there is not really any place that nanomedicine could not reach. It could also fight viruses that are immune to other medicines that are just not strong enough. Some cons of this are that the nanomedicine could alter humans in ways we may not expect. Who knows how it could affect different people with completely different conditions. Also, it could create problems that people have never had by having tons of nanomedicine inside of their body. It is just a crazy thought that I hope becomes widely spread after getting rid of any huge problems with it.

    4. Artificial Wombs - This scientific advancement scares me. It just is not normal to have everybody being created in a machine. Sure, it still starts in a similar way, but I am just not comfortable with the idea of a room full of babies being “grown”. I have become too accustomed to how it is and how it has been, which is having babies grow in actual wombs. Also, I feel like my parents would not have as strong of a connection/bond with me if I had been born in an artificial womb. It is like if I just was given a baby after nine months of starting the process. It is almost like nobody is really born. They are just put in a bubble for the first nine months of their lives. I understand the pros of this technology, such as having no complications that can normally come up during birth, giving people a way to not go through pregnancy, and providing an easier way to deal with problems a baby may have. Still, it just seems wrong. Pregnancy and birth has always just been a part of humankind, and introducing artificial wombs as the main form of birth is just making us less human.

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  14. 1. Number 1 matches with the Crispr. The crisper is a gene editing technique that stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. What the crisper does is that it allows scientists to change the DNA of an living things by deleting or adding genes. This technique can be used for good by taking away genetic disease and birth defects, but it could be used for money if it's in the wrong hands. One problem I see is that people will want to change what their children looks like and what traits they have which means that people will start to become less unique.

    2. Number 2 matches with Neuromorphic chips. Neuromorphic chips allow for machines to adapt to their surroundings. The neuromorphic chip will allow phones to alert you about someone before you meet them, alert you when to leave for work or for a meeting. This can happen as they are designed to memory data. I think this is a really cool how the chip can process these things and how it will advance AI programs. The only problem I can see is that by letting chips/machines to adapt to their surroundings is that the chances of AI becoming self aware get higher.

    3. Number 3 Matches Nanomedicine. Nanomedicine is using technology to stop diseases in the human body. These nanomedicines can stop negative effects of drugs, find diseases in early stages, and can rebuild tissues. In my opinion this is one of the best things to happen to medicine as it will allow for doctors to find diseases a lot faster and will help treat them faster too. It will also will help if your tissue is broken.The only problem I can see is the price and how safe it is. The nanomedicine may have some problems and could accidently do something it shouldn’t. Also the price is a huge factor some hospitals might not be able to afford nanomedicine as it could be really expensive.

    4. Number 4 matches with artificial wombs. Artificial wombs are artificial environments for fetus from fertilization to birth. Today it is possible for us to remove a fetus from a mother after around 22 weeks and put them in uterus environments. Artificial wombs will also allow for gay couples and transgenders to have their own children without surrogates. Artificial wombs can also could stop abortions which a lot of people don’t agree with as we could remove the fetus from a mother and keep it alive. In my opinion I think artificial wombs are a good idea as it could help people who want a baby, but can’t and could help solve abortions by allowing the fetus to live without it’s mother.One problem I can see with artificial wombs is a population increase which can be a good, but is also a bad thing. Another problem is that if a artificial womb makes a mistake it could trigger a mutation by accident. Also artificial wombs could make a baby have less connection to it’s mother. My final opinion is that artificial wombs is a good idea that will probably become popular with people as it advances and becomes more safe.

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  15. 1. CRISPR - Scientists are now able to manipulate the code for life that we didn’t even know existed 22 years ago. This process has the potential to be a great good or a great evil. Because once you start messing with the very thing that makes us who we are, you cannot go back. Manipulating the gene code could enable scientists to eradicate genetically-inherited diseases saving millions of lives. They could also correct abnormalities in the gene code that could lead to harmful birth defects. Overall, it has a great potential to help the medical world in a way that was not even imaginable a few decades ago. However, these very same scientists have also acknowledged that there could be dangerous implications of genetic manipulation. In a conference, they determined that “cloning or otherwise messing with dangerous pathogens should be off-limits.” But that does not mean that everyone will follow the rules. A greater understanding of genetic science could lead to new genetically based pathogens that could attack the very DNA, opening up a new realm of biological warfare and terrorism. Scientists could also begin to manipulate the gene pool so that parents could have the exact children that they want. This would shrink the gene pool and lead to less diversity within the human population. I am not quite sure how I feel about CRISPR at this point.

    2. Neuromorphic Chip - I had no knowledge of what a neuromorphic chip was. Apparently, it is a silicon chip, modeled after a biological brain, that powers every part of the electronic device. The chip allows the machine to “learn.” It can adapt to situations and process the world around it. This could bring about a new generation of robots. It doesn’t even have to be used solely for robotics, it could be used to enhance AI software to make it more intelligent and responsive. The way that these chips work is the most fascinating part to me. The chips are designed to function as neurons. Neurons are an incredibly complex communication system within the body so it will undoubtedly be difficult to recreate this in an artificial model considering that the human brain contains approximately 100 billion neurons. However, the fact that the technology is built based on neurons also opens up the future opportunity of creating an entire system of these neuromorphic chips that could interact to perform more intricate tasks than a machine currently can. So the complexity of this technology design is both its pro and its con.

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    1. 3. Nanomedicine - Nanomedicine has advanced incredible amounts in recent years. It has allowed for more precisely targeted treatments. One such example is the nanocapsules being developed by the North Carolina State University. This technique has helped solve the problem of the medicine being absorbed by the tumors themselves before it can begin to take effect. These capsules use enzymes and proteins to create a web that protects the medicine from nearby cells. This targeted delivery could potentially eliminate the need for treatments such as chemotherapy and the harmful effects that it can have on non-infected cells. There are a couple of problems with nanomedicine as it is implanting a foreign object into the body. If something goes wrong, it could potentially poison the patient. Or if it malfunctions, there would not be a simple way to stop treatment if it is already inside the body. For example, with chemotherapy if something happens and the doctor needs to stop the treatment, they can stop administering the radiation. The same cannot be done for an object that becomes part of the body.

      4. Artificial Wombs - I am amazed at how close we actually are to this possibility becoming a reality. Scientists have already cut the the time it takes for a viable baby to exit the womb in half. The technology is amazing but this statement right here is what scares me: “At some point, an in vitro fertilized egg could be planted directly into the artificial womb, with no need for a natural uterus even for the early stages.” This idea could be used for good, such as in the case of pregnancies that could potentially endanger the life of the fetus or the mother. But there are other cases that could had worse invocations of this technology. I worry that the implications of this technology could lead people to believe that there are no consequences of intercourse. This could potentially lead to an increased spread of diseases and an increased dependence on these artificial wombs. Overall, cool medical technology but I’m personally not a fan.

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  16. 1. CRISPP - CRISPP is a sort of gene splicing technology. It involves putting in or replace DNA to remove diseases by editing people's DNA to make them immune to tons of dessies, hell maybe all diseases. To imagine a world without disease, that is the beginning to worldwide utopia. The possibilities don’t end there, we could program certain traits in people to make them better at what they do, such as fire fighters strongers and detectives smarter. That's just the beginning of human DNA coding.

    2. Artificial wombs - Honesty, I think anything that would lower infant mortality rate is has a thumbs up in my book. I can think of few things that is worse than having you newborn dieing from birth. Synthetic wombs, as explained by the Genetic Literacy Project, are pods that replicate the female womb, but more controllable and safe for the child and it’s development.

    3. Nanomedicine - It’s medicine on the microlevel, if you couldn't have guessed that. It could help us diagnose and detect illnesses in the body far sooner than normal modern day medicines. Unlike DNA coding amd artificial wombs, nano medicines seem to be much more universally ethical and exapted.

    4. Neuromorphic Chip - The Neuromorphic chp is a computer chip that allows for extremely smart AI's. It acts more like a brain than a microprocessor, it evaluates its situation and basically calculates what it wants to do. Id say the biggest controversy is the age old sci fi scare of the A.I getting too smart and doing something we don't want it to do. Other than that it's a bright new technology worthy of further research

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  17. S4 Med Tech

    Actually I liked the puzzle challenge, I think we should do it for every weeks blog.

    1) CRISPR = Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat also known as CRISPR, CRISPR technology which can be used to destruct viral DNA and it can act as vaccine as mentioned in the article “This process provides a quick response and destruction of viral DNA, acting as a molecular vaccine.” I think it’s huge step in future med technology as people with major diseases can be treated, like some rare cancer. Cons are that if we would take out all diseases than our body wont be immune to common diseases and our body would get weaker.

    2) NEUROMORPHIC CHIP = Lets starts with a straight up fact from article “Neuromorphic chips attempt to model in silicon the massively parallel way the brain processes information as billions of neurons and trillions of synapses respond to sensory inputs such as visual and auditory stimuli.” It's really good to see how are we advancing, and this quote also shows how Neuromorphic chip works like brain and can do what a brain can, and from last blog we did about cars I think this can be used in self Driving Cars. I like that fact how it also adapts according to its surroundings, this can be beneficial as if install that chip in Robots they complete the task without our help. Cons are that if that comes in hand of an evil genius than he can probably use it for some bad purposes.

    3) NANOMEDICINE = Well there were a lot of articles on that site, so i chose the one that sounded interesting to me. I think it’s very useful as it can destroy tumor cell as said in the article “In Florida, the team presented pre-clinical findings of how silicon naphthalocyanine was used to destroy ovarian tumors in laboratory animals, seemingly without side effects and without the cancer returning.” (Single Injectable Agent Spots Tumors and Destroys Them). But the their might be a consequence that we dont know yet.
    4) ARTIFICIAL WOMB = Well I think its more like a Imagination than the reality as “The idea of the artificial womb would be less far-fetched if we knew more about the organ we were trying to replicate.” as mentioned in the article and I also read that no one is working on this tech anymore, and when Dr Liu tested it on mice she formed deformed mice, and we Definitely don’t want that with humans

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  18. 1.) CRIPSPR is a super tiny robot that can change the genetic composition of cells. This is a crazy device that would be awesome for curing diseases, and in general promoting a longer life span. On the other side, if used improperly or in the hands of someone will ill intent, it can hurt somebody, give them diseases, or even kill them. Another use of it is to change the genetic makeup of a baby so it can grow up to be healthy. This technology is very cool, but it can be risky.

    2.) This Neuromorphic brain chip is basically IBM’s chip that works like a rodent’s brain.
    This thing can change itself based on its surroundings, and has made leaps and bounds into the world of artificial intelligence. This device will be able to make artificial intelligence much smarter, and be able to be used more efficiently. On the other hand, it might think for itself, and we all know where that goes.

    3.) I found a couple examples of Nanomedicine in which one of them transports medicine through the body in a very tiny capsule. This would be very good for people who have some sort of blockage in their bodies that is preventing medicine from getting to them. But the downside is that it could be possible very expensive, and require lots of time to develop.

    4.) Developing a baby in an artificial womb just seems like a bad idea in general. It could be a way to make a baby without any defects, but that child will probably have a horrible life. They won’t have any family, they probably won't even be developed right. I bet you 50% of children that would come out of a vat would be serial killers.

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  19. 1. CRISPR: This is a technology that allows scientist to take out or change genes in the human genome. I do not think it is a good idea, however, to mess with this kind of technology. Humans have been around for thousands of years, and they have done just fine without messing with genes. We have evolved basically perfectly, and everything is in perfect balance. Messing with the genes could totally throw off that balance, and have totally unforeseen consequences. Even if we do extensive testing with animals, humans are different. There is a reason we evolved to be the most dominant creature, because we are so much more complex. Our brain can comprehend so much more than any animal, and it is so much more complex. Getting into CRISPR is in my opinion getting into technology that we simply do not understand.

    2. Neuromorphic Chip: This technology is fascinating to me. It is cool to imagine technological machines being able to learn. Scientists could start to make robots that will improve their ability to do whatever they are made to do. There will be simple ways to program robots, because all they will need is to be shown how to do it. If a machine has a process that gets messed up by some unknown anomaly, it won't cease functioning. It will learn how to deal with the issue, understand it, & never have it happen again. There are also some cons to this technology, however. There is the well known issue of machines taking over the world. A machine can teach itself to work against humans, & it will start to become immune to human attempts to fight back. It is kind of like how viruses can become stronger by building up immunities to measures brought in to cease them. It will be interesting to see where this chip will be used, & what ways it will be used.

    3. Nanomedicine: I think nanomedicine will be a huge improvement in the medical industry once we finally get it perfected and usable. It will allow doctors to reach even the smallest, hardest places to get in the human body. We will no longer need to make huge cuts that take forever to heal, just holes small enough for these little nanobots to get in. The downsides, however, to such a technology, are simply that we do not know enough about how it works yet. Will there be a big effect on the body if too much nanomedicine is used? Nobody really knows, and nobody wants to be the one to find out either. Overall, though, I think nanomedicine is a great idea as long as you can get it figured out.

    4. Artificial Wombs: I do not think using an artificial womb is a good idea for similar reasons that I do not like CRISPR. Humans were made to be born from a real mother, it has worked like that for thousands of years, and there is no reason that it will not continue to work. I feel there may be developmental problems with children artificially born. They will not have the experience of a real, natural mother, which I think is an essential part of growing up. Technology is cool, but I believe we should focus efforts on other cool, more useful technologies. Also, having children born from artificial wombs would give a lot of power to any company that makes babies. They will be able to control the entire population, which is not a power anyone should ever have.

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  20. 1. CRISPR: This is a technology that allows scientist to take out or change genes in the human genome. I do not think it is a good idea, however, to mess with this kind of technology. Humans have been around for thousands of years, and they have done just fine without messing with genes. We have evolved basically perfectly, and everything is in perfect balance. Messing with the genes could totally throw off that balance, and have totally unforeseen consequences. Even if we do extensive testing with animals, humans are different. There is a reason we evolved to be the most dominant creature, because we are so much more complex. Our brain can comprehend so much more than any animal, and it is so much more complex. Getting into CRISPR is in my opinion getting into technology that we simply do not understand.

    2. Neuromorphic Chip: This technology is fascinating to me. It is cool to imagine technological machines being able to learn. Scientists could start to make robots that will improve their ability to do whatever they are made to do. There will be simple ways to program robots, because all they will need is to be shown how to do it. If a machine has a process that gets messed up by some unknown anomaly, it won't cease functioning. It will learn how to deal with the issue, understand it, & never have it happen again. There are also some cons to this technology, however. There is the well known issue of machines taking over the world. A machine can teach itself to work against humans, & it will start to become immune to human attempts to fight back. It is kind of like how viruses can become stronger by building up immunities to measures brought in to cease them. It will be interesting to see where this chip will be used, & what ways it will be used.

    3. Nanomedicine: I think nanomedicine will be a huge improvement in the medical industry once we finally get it perfected and usable. It will allow doctors to reach even the smallest, hardest places to get in the human body. We will no longer need to make huge cuts that take forever to heal, just holes small enough for these little nanobots to get in. The downsides, however, to such a technology, are simply that we do not know enough about how it works yet. Will there be a big effect on the body if too much nanomedicine is used? Nobody really knows, and nobody wants to be the one to find out either. Overall, though, I think nanomedicine is a great idea as long as you can get it figured out.

    4. Artificial Wombs: I do not think using an artificial womb is a good idea for similar reasons that I do not like CRISPR. Humans were made to be born from a real mother, it has worked like that for thousands of years, and there is no reason that it will not continue to work. I feel there may be developmental problems with children artificially born. They will not have the experience of a real, natural mother, which I think is an essential part of growing up. Technology is cool, but I believe we should focus efforts on other cool, more useful technologies. Also, having children born from artificial wombs would give a lot of power to any company that makes babies. They will be able to control the entire population, which is not a power anyone should ever have.

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  21. 1. CRISPR- This article was about where one DNA was to take out DNA diseases out of us and switch it with a new DNA code like combined the two strands of RNA into one fragment that Jink could program which may lead to get technology. This could make guide RNA with whatever genetic letters he wanted it to do or not just from viruses but from as far as they could tell us anything. In test tubes, the combination of Jelinek's guide RNA and the Cas9 protein proved to be a programmable machine for DNA cutting. Compared to Talents and zinc-finger nuclease.

    2. NEUROMORPHIC CHIP- What I really like about this technology is cause your able to learned from the machines and also Scientists could make the robots more better and improve more on their ability to do whatever they want as anything with this Neuromorphic Chip.

    3. NANOMEDICINE- What I really like about this is cause it's the next generation of Medicine that could save a human being without any surge with it also it could prevent a good vacation. The one good thing about it is because you can send these little tiny devices within someones body, how cool is that and also it could help save life towards other people. The bad news about it cause no one knows how to used it yet and that scares my first because it could lead to too much dose or nanomedicine within the device and could lead a problem with the person.

    4. Artificial Wombs- I do not think using an artificial womb is a good idea for similar reasons. Humans were made to be born from a real mother and it has worked like that for thousands of years from ages to ages and there is no reason that it will not continue to work. I feel there may be developmental problems with children artificially born. They will not have the experience in real life plus natural mother, which I think is an essential part of growing up. Technology is cool, but I believe we should focus efforts on other cool, more useful technologies. Also, having children born from artificial wombs would give a lot of power to any company that makes babies and I believe that if this technology was able to control the whole state or country.

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  22. 1. CRISPR- The concept of genetically modifying the human DNA stands to be a very interesting one, but this technology could serve to be useful as long as we, as a society, can learn to be moderate with our usage of this technology and not follow it off the deep end. Learning how to remove physical or potentially even mental illnesses is a very noble goal, but many GMOs can have unplanned consequences. Plants that can resist weeds and pests poison themselves, grapes with different flavors modified in might be unhealthy or otherwise backfire, and playing around with a science as complex and nuanced as genealogy in human test subjects is a possible threat to the subject as well as a potential slippery slope of human experimentation. This would be a field to trek cautiously in.
    2. Neuromorphic chip- This is a very important step on the way to full, sentient AI that can think on the same level people do. With the ability to recognize images and sounds that are not entirely identical, and now the neuromorphic chips that can compress this massive operation to a relatively minor scale, we can progress to the point where robotic AI can recognize and classify more and more radically different stimuli. Once robots can classify on the level as a human, we can develop robots that can ask itself "why" instead of just "what", "who", "where", and "when". At that point, robotics would be so complicated and intellect to be sentient, a very interesting scenario I would love have happen in my lifetime. However, considering the complexity of robotics and technology in general, I am somewhat doubtful.
    3. Nano medicine- Nano medicine, and medicine in general, is a field we as a society should put more effort and focus in. Being able to enter the bloodstream of any citizen and scan them from the inside out for possible disease and then dispense the necessary medicine is an astronomically helpful and powerful tool to combat sickness and death. The cost of production may be expensive, but a medical tool to beat all medical tools may just be worth the cost.
    4. Artificial wombs- Artificial wombs would be in my opinion, a vast improvement from human wombs. The thought of being mass produced scares many people instinctively, especially in a society that already verges on overpopulation and a loss of identity through corporate toil, but the benefits of having a baby born without the possibility of alcohol, diet, posture, or any other amount of factors potentially hurting the child is astronomical. Unfortunately, however, this ideal birthing situation has a multitude of problems that plague it by nature. The human body is extremely complex, and machines can not copy them perfectly, at least with the technology we have now. Babies born this way could be born disfigured or deformed, despite intentions to the contrary. Even if the baby was perfect, where would it go? The mothers might not return to pick up their babies every time, and a delivery system could not help the babies who's mothers are dead or unreachable. Most of these babies would have to be placed in orphanages or killed, and all of the (likely expensive) technology and time spent making the baby would be lost. Not to mention the fact that somebody has to control these facilities. Whether these wombs and womb facilities are owned by the government, and thus need to be funded through taxes, or owned by companies that could use the power given to them by being the producers of children for malicious or monetary gains.

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  23. 1. CRISPR We have used it on foods to make them invulnerable to fungi which is needed to feed billions of people around the globe. The use of this technology could stop many diseases like malaria which is good but that could affect all of earth since mosquitoes spread Malaria and they are eaten by many creature so should we change our DNA u am not really sure since it could be used in a bad way but it could get rid of many diseases and make human kind a powerful species but since it will be in the control of humans it will be used badly so I don't think we should it much only in whats necessary.

    2. Neumorphic chip seems cool but I think it will take a couple of years for them to perfect and to put into a smartphone the thought of putting something equal to a brain into a smartphone is pretty crazy also scary but the possibilities are endless having some capabilities of the internet without actually being connected would be very useful. The fact that these chips could learn though is pretty frighting though also it could backfire in the future kind of like sky net from the terminator.

    3. Nano medicine a very impressive technology could detect diseases in the early stages, can target specific areas of the body, and heal tissue within the body much quicker it seems amazing honestly. I see nothing but positives in the technology hopefully it can be released to public quickly and hopefully it will also be affordable.

    4. Artificial wombs are useful in many situations such as counties with low population rates and new people will be needed to keep the infrastructure going. It could also help make the baby more healthy and to be immune to diseases it could be used for people who are infertile. The only problem is some bad person getting it and making an army.

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  24. 1. CRISPR We have used it on foods to make them invulnerable to fungi which is needed to feed billions of people around the globe. The use of this technology could stop many diseases like malaria which is good but that could affect all of earth since mosquitoes spread Malaria and they are eaten by many creature so should we change our DNA u am not really sure since it could be used in a bad way but it could get rid of many diseases and make human kind a powerful species but since it will be in the control of humans it will be used badly so I don't think we should it much only in whats necessary.

    2. Neumorphic chip seems cool but I think it will take a couple of years for them to perfect and to put into a smartphone the thought of putting something equal to a brain into a smartphone is pretty crazy also scary but the possibilities are endless having some capabilities of the internet without actually being connected would be very useful. The fact that these chips could learn though is pretty frighting though also it could backfire in the future kind of like sky net from the terminator.

    3. Nano medicine a very impressive technology could detect diseases in the early stages, can target specific areas of the body, and heal tissue within the body much quicker it seems amazing honestly. I see nothing but positives in the technology hopefully it can be released to public quickly and hopefully it will also be affordable.

    4. Artificial wombs are useful in many situations such as counties with low population rates and new people will be needed to keep the infrastructure going. It could also help make the baby more healthy and to be immune to diseases it could be used for people who are infertile. The only problem is some bad person getting it and making an army.

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  25. 1) CRISPR is a prokaryotic immune system that confers resistance to foreign genetic elements such as plasmids and phages, and provides a form of acquired immunity. CRISPR spacers recognize and cut these exogenous genetic elements in a manner analogous to RNA interference in eukaryotic organisms. CRISPRs are found in approximately 40% of sequenced bacterial genomes and 90% of sequenced archaea.

    2) Neumorphic systems containing electronic analog circuits to mimic neuro-biological architectures present in the nervous system. In recent times it has been used to describe analog, digital, and mixed-mode analog/digital VLSI and software systems that implement models of neural systems . The implementation of neuromorphic computing on the hardware level can be realized by oxide-based memristors, threshold switches and transistors.

    3) Nano medicine the application of nanotechnology in view of making a medical diagnosis or treating or preventing diseases. It exploits the improved and often novel physical, chemical and biological properties of materials at nanometre scale.

    4) Artificial wombs is a device that would allow for extracorporeal pregnancy or extrauterine fetal incubation (EUFI) by growing an embryo or fetus outside of the body of a female organism that would normally internally carry the embryo or fetus to term

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  26. 1: Number one matches up with genome editing. This is the idea that we genetically modify the human genome by cutting out genes we done want, including mutations such as sickle sell. The pros are that we can modify what we want in order to increase the survival of humans. The cos are that it would take extraordinary precision and other techniques and would be difficult not to remove other genes accidentally. Also it will increase the overpopulation of society.

    2: Number two matches up with the neuromorphic chip. This is a chip modeled after the brain that can learn how to function with what it has not encountered before. This could be a revolutionary technology that could potentially be used in smartphones to increase their capability. The one con is that the robots may become so smart that they slay humanity and take over the world.

    3: Number three matches up with nano medicine. This is the idea that we can make microscopic medicine that can go into specific parts of the body to eliminate certain diseases or conditions, and potentially cancer cells. Pros are that it will be a solution to many dangerous diseases and damage to the body. The cons are that it could interfere with things it was not intended to, such as cause allergic reactions or remove or damage unintended cells.

    4: Number four matches up with artificial wombs. This is the concept o developing babies in a more stable, artificial environment them what would be with their mothers. The pros are that it would eliminate damage caused by regular birth, get rid of problems dealing with pregnancy, and it would be easier to detect and fix birth defects. It would be difficult to simulate the features unique to the mother in which affect the baby, it is unethical and that society would stir up more problems relating to it.

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  27. 1: Number one matches up with genome editing. This is the idea that we genetically modify the human genome by cutting out genes we done want, including mutations such as sickle sell. The pros are that we can modify what we want in order to increase the survival of humans. The cos are that it would take extraordinary precision and other techniques and would be difficult not to remove other genes accidentally. Also it will increase the overpopulation of society.

    2: Number two matches up with the neuromorphic chip. This is a chip modeled after the brain that can learn how to function with what it has not encountered before. This could be a revolutionary technology that could potentially be used in smartphones to increase their capability. The one con is that the robots may become so smart that they slay humanity and take over the world.

    3: Number three matches up with nano medicine. This is the idea that we can make microscopic medicine that can go into specific parts of the body to eliminate certain diseases or conditions, and potentially cancer cells. Pros are that it will be a solution to many dangerous diseases and damage to the body. The cons are that it could interfere with things it was not intended to, such as cause allergic reactions or remove or damage unintended cells.

    4: Number four matches up with artificial wombs. This is the concept o developing babies in a more stable, artificial environment them what would be with their mothers. The pros are that it would eliminate damage caused by regular birth, get rid of problems dealing with pregnancy, and it would be easier to detect and fix birth defects. It would be difficult to simulate the features unique to the mother in which affect the baby, it is unethical and that society would stir up more problems relating to it.

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  28. 1. CRISPR (clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a prokaryotic immune system that confers resistance to foreign genetic elements such as plasmids and phages, and provides a form of acquired immunity. The cost for it would be pretty high, but all of these challenges the morality of this, even if it is very beneficial to the patients.

    2. Neuromorphic chips are fast pattern-matching engines that process the data in the memory. In theory, these chips promise to enable systems that can perform several tasks, such as computer vision, data analytics and machine learning. The ultimate goal is to realize true AI.

    3. Nanomedicine has the potential to enable early detection and prevention, and to drastically improve diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of many diseases. While some cons would be somewhat costly and issues of toxcity, it would be beneficial in the sense that it help victims of disabling injuries and requires minimal invasive surgery.

    4. Artificial wombs seem to be part of our future, and coming fast. From transplants within transgender women to entirely technological devices, artificial births don't seem to me impossible. Probably the main problem with this is the social impact in society, if it is morally right to do this.

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  29. Neuromorphic chip- editing genomes. Genetically modifying the gene to get rid of ones we don't want seems a lot like a good idea, but is the body really gonna except that? If one was to get rid of a gene that had a deadly cancer cell, wouldn’t that cause a domino effect with other cells that depend on that one, much like the food chain, without one the others wouldn't survive. Overall i think it's a bad idea but one that is worth testing, just not on animals. Animals are awesome.
    Nanomedicine- seems pretty cool, , detecting diseases before it gets worst sound pretty cool really.
    Artificial womb- seem to be a new technology with the idea of an embryo externally growing rather than internally. Sounds quite creepy, a lot like The Governor from The Walking Dead.
    CRISPER- seems like an internal medical equipment. As far as i’ve read it doesn't really seem like there's a “bad thing” about this one, i mean it was used on food, that we consume. I don't see a bad thing about this one.

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  30. Neuromorphic chip- editing genomes. Genetically modifying the gene to get rid of ones we don't want seems a lot like a good idea, but is the body really gonna except that? If one was to get rid of a gene that had a deadly cancer cell, wouldn’t that cause a domino effect with other cells that depend on that one, much like the food chain, without one the others wouldn't survive. Overall i think it's a bad idea but one that is worth testing, just not on animals. Animals are awesome.
    Nanomedicine- seems pretty cool, , detecting diseases before it gets worst sound pretty cool really.
    Artificial womb- seem to be a new technology with the idea of an embryo externally growing rather than internally. Sounds quite creepy, a lot like The Governor from The Walking Dead.
    CRISPER- seems like an internal medical equipment. As far as i’ve read it doesn't really seem like there's a “bad thing” about this one, i mean it was used on food, that we consume. I don't see a bad thing about this one.

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