I want to live forever

Slate has: How To Talk When You Can't Speak

Besides the cheap shot at the end regarding stem cells which the article doesn't even mention if stem cell research could help, or if anything has even been theorized or tried, or even if we're talking about embryonic stem cells (it is Slate after all), the rest is fascinating. I thought Futurama was silly with their talking heads in jars of liquid, but we keep heading down those lines where we might have the potential to outlive our bodies in some manner. Also interesting is the theory that the brain needs to stay active or it loses some of its ability, I think alzheimer's disease research is pointing this way too. Keep your mind active!

Stretching for news

Hugh Hewitt (scroll down) posts the biography of Rony Abovitz in relation to the Eason Jordan story:

Rony Abovitz, M.S., Chief Technology Officer & Vice-President

Mr. Abovitz has twelve years medical device development experience in the area of orthopedic, neurological, and cardiovascular surgery. Prior to co-founding Z-KAT, Mr. Abovitz worked on projects such as the development and testing of nitinol AAA stent-graft implants (acquired by Medtronic AVE) and the development and testing of orthopedic implants (joints and trauma). Mr. Abovitz led ZKAT.s development and acquisition of technology portfolio which includes MAKO's more than 120 patents worldwide. He has a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Miami. Mr. Abovitz is also a member of the University of Miami Advisory Panel for Biomedical Engineering and has been a guest lecturer on computer assisted surgery.

You have to love guys like this, the industry seems to have quite a few. People who aren't afraid to strike out on their own and make a go of it.

We've attempted to use nitinol wires a few times. It never worked out for us. What we really needed was a polymer. I know this is really stretching for news, but its the only thing I've seen in a while related to medical devices.