Mod thy body: Human engineering

We’re never satisfied.

We’ve got to be faster, stronger, prettier, smarter and wiser (although that’s arguable) than the next person. That’s why we Humans are fascinated with modifying and augmenting our bodies; be it with ink on skin, or a pirate’s hook hand, or a chip implanted in the brain, or bones borne from wood.

Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

After all, if the deaf could hear again, if we could help people walk once more, if we could access and manipulate information through a chip in our head – then why not?

For this blog post, we’ll look at how engineers and inventors have improved upon the human body in augmenting reality with digital information and of course, replacing lost body parts.

Don’t forget to check out this week’s cybernetic series at UCreateChange!

Augmenting our reality

Or things that haven’t quite happened yet

Tattoo turns into a computer and phone
This tattoo can morph into phone with a keypad and attached video of the caller. Best of all, it runs on blood by turning glucose and oxygen into electricity.

Get the weather forecast in your contact lens
Contact lenses that display digital information such as Facebook statuses, TV shows, weather forecasts, directions to the nearest toilet and translate what your neighbours are gabbling about.

Games you control with your brain
Tunes into your brain’s electric signals and translate it into actions for your game. Imagine blasting away baddies at the speed of thought!

Getting back to where we were

Or these new arms sure beat my old ones!

Opticgenetics: Light helps people walk again
Blue light and genes of pond scum can help people suffering from Parkinson's disease, depression, and even deafness live their lives again.

Prosthetics with aesthetics
These sleek and stylish artificial limbs make it fashionable to have one. Just don’t lose it deliberately!

Bones from wood
Broken bones were once fixed with metal pieces. Now here’s an eco-friendly alternative –- wood.

Finally, check out Michael Anissimov’s Top 10 upgrades to the human condition. It’s a fanboy wishlist of all the things that he would improve on the human body, which brings us to this question: “What would you improve in your body?”

Transhumanism: improving the human body with technology (by ADDTV)

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