As Published In November/December 2003

The Body Becomes Electric

Formidable Fiber
Nanotube Threads

The day may come when those in need of such protection can don a bulletproof vest no bulkier than a T-shirt. Such robust raiment is possible due to the work of Ray Baughman and colleagues at the University of Texas, Dallas, and Trinity College, Dublin, who have developed carbon nanotube fibers tougher than any similar material found in nature or made by humans. In addition to being three times sturdier than spider's silk, these fibers can conduct electricity, making it possible to manufacture clothes with embedded microsensors that might measure temperature and heart rate.

Web Locator University of Texas, Dallas Nanotube Clothes www.utdallas.edu/dept/chemistry/nanotech Applied Digital Solutions adsx.com University of Southern California www.usc.edu/dept/nbio/ngp/Faculty/berger-tw.shtml

You Are Here
Implantable GPS System

If the work of Applied Digital Solutions bears fruit, you may never have to awaken in an unfamiliar room after being sapped by Big Louie's goon and mutter, "Where am I?" You—or someone who's looking for you—will know exactly where you are, thanks to a GPS-compatible personal location device implanted in your body. Intended not only for those who might be spirited away in the dead of night but also for explorers and mountaineers, the prototype device is about the size of a pacemaker and is recharged via a wireless induction-based system—plugging into a socket is not necessary.

Rebuilding the Brain
Neural Prosthesis

A team of researchers at the University of Southern California is developing a silicon-chip implant intended to mimic the functions of the damaged portion of the brain it replaces. The team, led by Theodore Berger, is focused on the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for storing new memories. In theory, the chip would accept electrical impulses from one part of the brain (in a stroke victim, for example), route those impulses around the damaged portion of the brain, and send appropriately encoded data to yet another part of the brain. The chip, still in the very early stages of development, is being tested with brain matter from rats.