1) Cybernetic Enhancement
2) Genetic Enhancment
3) Neither

Cybernetics is less of a moral gray area, so probably that. Also, should this be rephrased as a poll?

[edit] spoke too soon [/edit]

theres already some sorts of genetic stuff going on, parents are either not far from, or already have the ability to pick if they want a boy or a girl... scary stuff that is... like gataca!

And I'm also pretty sure there are some cybernetics...

Yep. Both are in their infancies.

Yeah it's funny; both of these things already do exist in primitive forms... like choosing the gender of your child, or enhancing your senses (cochlear implants for the deaf and some prototype retinal stuff for blind people) or even interfacing your brain with a computer.

So I guess it's really a moot question then. Though I'd have to agree with Masq that people are going to be more open to the idea of cybernetics than to genetic engineering.

Cybernetics is easier than changing genetics (besides choosing between a boy and a girl during pregnancy, like hardcore stuff, like growing humans with claws and sharp teeth and laser vision), so it will come first, but eventually genetic enhancements will take over because they are permanent from generation to generation, and ultimately more fun

Besides, genetic enhancements have been around for thousands of years. There's a whole race of people who have become so powerful through genetic engineering and transcended so much mentally and physically that most people don't even believe they still exist. They're called Ninjas, and they're watching.

Meh, once we have nanotech it'll make both of them obsolete. I mean, why design crap to enhance ourselves if all we have is the restrictive framework of protein-based wet chemistry to work with?

My nanotube muscles >> your genetically enhanced muscles

Cybernetic, I think, will progress first, because genetic enhancements will be so unpredictable and will take perhaps decades to understand their full effects. Speculation, of course.

Personally I'm looking forward to cybernetics more. Cause I want a huge robotic arm that can crush things, big things. Or have a laser in it.

Like it has been said before, both are already in use, if only in limited quantities. So, in that sense it's not a strictly valid question.

It should be noted, however, that modifying human genes with modern methods so that the changes are hereditary is not legal or is never practiced in great many countries. Well, of course cybernetics, like artificial pacemakers, aren't hereditary either...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670033847/102-7362023-7682517?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance

My coworker was reading that.

I /so/ read that as "enchantment"

Genetic. They'll turn us all into FURRIES

Hehehe

Furries, you say?

*injects human brain cells into a mouse while laughing madly*

Oh, wait...

I thought Michael J Fox was dead. :S

Maybe it's his brain they put into the mouse?

Oh yeah, they must have replaced his blood with that crazy stuff they used to make zombie dogs.

So like, zombie human Michael J Fox mouse attack?

That's the best movie idea I've heard in years.

BLARGH

dude what bird wears aviator goggles

that's like fish wearing scuba gear. wtf

Then what do they do with the mouse? Kill it? Those bastards. Wouldn't it be the height of irony for them to create a sel-aware mouse only to destroy it?


I know that's not gonna happen. It just seems to me like they're wanting to do this experiment, but they're afraid of the results.

I wouldn't count that as genetic enhancement, that's just finding a sperm cell that has either XX or XY.

Cybernetics are going to boom before genetic enhancements, DARPA is already working on (and apparently just a few years away from) neural implants to improve memory and create a very limited telepathic ability in soldiers. Thanks to robotics, we'll have within the next 2 to 3 years artificial muscles that react to the same electronic signals that our own muscles react to. Thanks to new diamond manufacturing techniques, we'll have the option of nearly indestructible joints and limited bone options.

Diamonds are hard but they aren't strong. They wouldn't be ideal for joints, they would shatter too easily. Titanium alloys are considerably stronger, lighter, cheaper and easier to manufacture.

Basic cybernetic enhancements are already possible, but I voted for genetic since I believe their enhancements will be more noticable in a shorter period of time. This is ruling out politics and morals, however.

Plus you could get rich by murdering people and stealing their joints. :p

Synthetic limbs are approching the cybernetic stage, the latest versions now have near real-time motion, instead of the "rotate wrist... open hand... close hand...". I also know of a bionic eye, although the resolution sucks, that was implanted into a blind guy so he could see for the first time. Cochlear (sp?) implants have been around for a while. It's just a matter of time until we're learning Matrix style

Titanium has glass like properties and can shatter if stress is applied properly. Diamond has virtually no friction, that's why many bioengineers are excited by the idea of diamond joint. The "indestructible" part comes from the fact that they would not wear down with age, like our current joints, not in a "you cannot destroy this joint so don't even try" way.

Like I said, just a matter of years before DARPA's neural implants are around...

Genetic.

Really? I've never heard of that. Source?


I'll give you that, but I've never heard of it having "virtually no friction." Diamond just tends to be very smooth. You should be able to polish most metals to be just as smooth (for practical purposes anyway).


I suppose that's true, but when properly lubricated I wouldn't think it would matter much. Shrug.

By the way, I'm not trying to contradict you, I'm just really interested.

Skunkworks by Ben Rich. The Skunkworks had to develope completely new machinery to form titanium because it was brittle in ways they didn't expect, their drills and saws were shattering sheets of the metal.

From my understanding, diamond-on-diamond friction is extremely low, fairing better than many polished metals that are lubricated. Does anyone have any more information on this? I just had a professor explain diamond joints, I don't have a text book or anything that covers diamond friction versus metal friction. The professor just went through that diamond doesn't change structure under friction or heat (at least nothing that's not extreme) and so wear and tear associated with joints would not happen.

Amorphous metals sound like they're pretty promising as far as high-strength/low-weight stuff (like enhanced bones+joints) is concerned; if they can get around the whole "shatters like glass" part. Maybe by adding some nanotubes in with the mix...

Anyways, yeah, no shortage of futuristic materials to work with for improving our frail little bodies.

Wtf is enchancement? Make up your mind! :p

Anyway, I think we will have cybernetic enhancements first.

Current cybernetic technology is extremely primitive. We have a very low success rate with producing implants that can interface with the human brain. The retina and cochlea vary from individual to individual. By using implantation early in the formative years of development they can learn to use these senses almost as effectively as a human with natural components.

A lot of parents refuse these implants because of blind and deaf "culture". They think because the child is born this way, he or she deserves to suffer for the rest of their lives. If they can't get the implant when they're very, very young, they can never get the implant. I think refusing this kind of treatment should qualify as child abuse.

Detecting muscle impulses is much simpler because all of us have the same basic neuromuscular structure. I can't remember exactly if they tap into the neuron ending or if they use epidermal electrodes to pick up the signal. The rest of it is just robotics and controller programming.

Genetics... i dun want crap like GATTACA happening though

you mean finding a sperm cell that has either X or Y.

I have to agree. Coming from a school where 1,200 students are deaf, I can say that many of them feel this way. And, sorry GrndAdmThrawn, but I have to say that it is bull****. Yeah, sign language is cool. Deaf culture is cool. So is music. So is not getting hit by a car because you can hear it coming. So is not getting mugged because you can hear the thief approaching. Hearing people at least have an opportunity to experience both deaf and hearing culture.

Hey Kirby, answer me this. Would you like to be stuck in a wheelchair the rest of your life because you like the crippled community?

That's for a specific aerospace application. I doubt joints would be the same. You're machining from a block of titanium, there shouldn't be any shattering. Also, was it pure titanium or a titanium alloy? There are a lot of different ways to strengthen, weaken, lighten, etc, titanium.


Well, yeah, that's true. They're so damn hard that there wouldn't be any significant wear. Not to mention that it would probably be lubricated anyway. However, strength and weight may be issues. May, I'm just speculating.

But yeah, either way, we're not exactly short on superawesome materials for cybernetic enhancements.