====== Science & Future ====== ===== Plastic Surgery: ===== ==== Facts: ==== - ~40.000 Austrians are operated on yearly, USA: ~5.500.000 - 9 out of 10 patients are female - In Austria, cosmetic surgery on patients younger than 16 is forbidden, from 16-18 you need your parent's consent and the operation must be preceded by psychological counselling === Pros === - Ability to reconstruct damaged body parts (e.g. Face) after an accident - new looks may boost your self-esteem === Cons === - procedures can produce unwanted results - trust is mistakenly placed in dodgy practitioners - often expensive ==== Zhang Yiyi: ==== The chinese writer Zhang Yiyi is planning to undergo ten operations to become a Shakespeare look-alike. The costs for these surgeries are around $150.000. Many Chinese simply think of him as an attention seeker, while others believe he has the right to spend his money the way he wants. He will become the most famous cosmetic surgery patient since Michael Jackson. ===== Genetic Engineering: ===== Genetic engineering is the process of manually adding or editing DNA to an organism. The goal is to add one or more new traits that are not already found in that organism. Genes are the chemical blueprints that determine an organism's traits. Moving genes from one organism to another transfers those traits. Through genetic engineering, organisms are given new combinations of genes—and therefore new combinations of traits—that do not occur in nature and cannot be developed by natural means. ==== Designer Babies: ==== The term „Designer Baby“ refers to the use of genetic engineering to ”modify“ a baby to fit the image of its parents. Positive Effects of this include correction of birth deformities and immunity against various illnesses. For instance, parents can choose to “scan” embryos created via in vitro fertilization (IVF) for sex or diseases, a process known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. But there are also ethical questions to solve. One of many concerns is if we let parents think they are actually choosing and controlling their child's outcome, then we set up potentially tyrannical expectations over what the child will do or be. Also, new diseases may be introduced accidentally and there is the possibility of a dystopia where superior humans look down on those without gene modifications. ===== A Day in the Life of 2100: ===== in 2011, Michio Kaku published a book titled “Physics of the Future“. In the book, he tries to predict what life will be in the year 2100. In his mind, technology in 2100 is far more advanced than what we have today. A few examples are: - Robots are used in private homes for cooking, cleaning, or as doctors - A headset allows you to control various aspect of your home telepathically (e.g. regulating the temperature, open/close windows, or controlling robots). - Electric cars have taken over as fossil fuels are not available any more, the cars can drive themselves and ride on magnetic tracks. - Identification cards are not needed anymore, as bodyscanners can identify you. - Quantum computers are used instead of conventional computers. Despite the technological progress, some things have not changed. People still go out on dates or with friends, play football, or take walks. Life expectancy is very high, as the aging process has been slowed down and humans have been genetically programmed to live longer. One of the drawbacks is that this technology has not been fully tested yet, and one has no idea how long he will live. Also, the change in climate (rising temperature etc.) that is taking place right now has not been stopped. As a result of this, sea levels have risen and Cities like New York that are situated near water now need to be protected (a massive Dam has been built around Manhattan to prevent water from flooding it). In 2000, TIME magazine also published an article about what life will be like in the future. Although there are some ideas that have made it into the real world, most of the things described are not going to be part of our lives by 2025.