The Age Of Living Machines (how Biology Will Build The Next Technology Revolution)

By (author) Susan Hockfield; By (author) Hockfield Susan
Short description/annotation
From the former president of MIT, the story of the next technology revolution, and how it will change our lives.
Description

A century ago, discoveries in physics came together with engineering to produce an array of astonishing new technologies: radios, telephones, televisions, aircraft, radar, nuclear power, computers, the Internet and a host of still- evolving digital tools. These technologies so radically reshaped our world that we can no longer conceive of life without them.

Today we are on the cusp of a new convergence, with discoveries in biology coming together with engineering to produce another array of almost inconceivable technologies. These next-generation products have the potential to be every bit as revolutionary as the twentieth century’s digital wonders: Virusbuilt batteries. Protein-based water filters. Cancer- detecting nanoparticles. Mind- reading bionic limbs. Computer-engineered crops. These few examples illustrate the promise of the technology story of the twenty-first century to overcome some of the greatest humanitarian, medical and environmental challenges of our time.

Review quote
"... entertaining and prescient..."
Review quote
"Your amazing guide to the future of biology is the former president of the Aladdin''s cave that is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology."
Biographical note
Susan Hockfield, Ph.D., president emerita and professor of neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the first woman and first life scientist to lead MIT. She is a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.