>> HELLO AND WELCOME TO TALKING POINTS.

I'M DAVE KELLY, DIRECTOR OF ADVANCED MEDIA PRODUCTION

AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

TODAY WE'RE GOING TO EXPLORE THE WORLD OF FUTURE TECHNOLOGY:

FLYING CARS; ROBOTS THAT CARE OF ALL OF OUR DRUDGERY WORK;

AND BIOMEDICAL SOLUTIONS THAT ENABLE US

TO LIVE TO 150 YEARS OF AGE.

I HOPE WE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION.

MY GUEST TODAY IS DR. DAVID STOUT.

DR. STOUT IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL

AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING.

WELCOME, DAVID, AND THANK YOU

FOR JOINING US ON TALKING POINTS.

>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DAVID, FOR LETTING ME COME HERE

AND TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE INNOVATIONS OF TOMORROW.

>> WELL, I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED.

I SHOULD NOTE FOR BENEFIT OF THE AUDIENCE

THAT THIS IS YOUR SECOND APPEARANCE ON TALKING POINTS.

IN THE FIRST APPEARANCE WE TALKED EXCLUSIVELY

ABOUT BIOMEDICAL ADVANCES.

BUT TODAY WE'RE GOING TO START

WITH THAT THEN WE'RE GOING TRANSITION TO AUTOMATION

AND ROBOTICS, AND THEN MOVE ON TO TRAVEL,

AND FINISH UP WITH COMMUNICATIONS

AND ENTERTAINMENT.

BUT LET'S GO AHEAD AND PICK UP THE THREAD

ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING.

FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR THOSE

WHO ARE CURRENTLY HAVING TO UNDERGO CHEMOTHERAPY,

AND RADIATION, AND SO FORTH FOR CANCER TREATMENTS.

IN THE FUTURE THERE WILL BE A PILL

WITH A NANOPARTICLE INVOLVED.

THAT NANOPARTICLE WILL BE ABLE TO TRAVEL THROUGH THE BODY

AND SEARCH AND DESTROY CANCER CELLS OR PRECANCEROUS CELLS.

AND, AGAIN, IT WILL HELP FOLKS TO AVOID THE TOXICITY

OF CHEMOTHERAPY AND ALL THE RIGORS OF RADIATION.

HOW SOON WILL IT BE WHEN THAT BECOMES A COMMON OCCURRENCE

IN TERMS OF CANCER TREATMENT AND HOW DOES

THAT TECHNOLOGY ACTUALLY WORK?

>> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

AND DEFINITELY I AGREE WITH YOU, DAVID,

THAT IT IS DEFINITELY A HUGE FUTURE.

AND A VERY, VERY BRIGHT FUTURE AS WELL.

FOR EXAMPLE, YOU ASKED THE QUESTION

ABOUT WHEN IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN.

WELL, IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING TODAY.

THERE ARE A LOT OF CLINICAL TRIALS THAT THE FDA, THE NIH,

HAS ACTUALLY BEEN PROPOSED AND AGREED UPON

WHERE YOU TAKE THIS PILL AND YOU HAVE THESE LITTLE,

WHAT WE CALL "NANOBOTS," THAT GO AND THEY SEARCH AND DESTROY.

AND THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND IT ACTUALLY IS VERY SIMPLE.

YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR MOLECULE THAT YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR,

WHAT WE CONSIDER LIKE A HONING SIGNAL, AND--

AND WHAT THAT HAPPENS IS IT FINDS A PARTICULAR BIOMARKER,

OR A SPECIFIC LOCATION THAT A CANCER CELL MIGHT HAVE,

AND IT FINDS IT, IT SEARCHES FOR IT, AND THEN IT DESTROYS.

AND THEN WHEN IT DESTROYS IT, IT KEEPS ALL

OF THE OTHER HEALTHY CELLS AROUND IT QUITE HEALTHY

AND IT DOESN'T KILL IT.

SO THE TOXICITY OF CHEMOTHERAPY

AND RADIATION THERAPY WILL DEFINITELY BE IN THE PAST,

I WOULD SAY, HOPEFULLY, IN THE NEXT TEN TO 15 YEARS.

>> WELL, THAT'S GREAT.

AND THAT'S REALLY WELCOME NEWS AFTER THESE MANY YEARS

OF CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIATION TREATMENTS THAT ARE EFFECTIVE

IN MANY WAYS, BUT ARE ALSO QUITE TOXIC, AS WE'VE JUST DISCUSSED.

WELL, LET'S TALK ABOUT ANOTHER BIOMEDICAL KIND

OF ADVANCEMENT THAT'S JUST COMING ALONG NOW,

AND THAT'S THE, I GUESS, IMPLANT OF ELECTRODES INTO THE BRAIN

TO HELP RESTORE SHORT-TERM MEMORY FOR PEOPLE

THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED BRAIN DAMAGE OR HAVE HAD ALZHEIMER'S.

HOW DOES THAT WORK?

>> AGAIN, THIS IS A HUGE BREAKTHROUGH.

AND THIS HAS JUST OCCURRED JUST IN THE PAST FEW YEARS.

IT WAS ACTUALLY A GROUP THAT'S ACTUALLY HERE

IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THAT'S LEADING THIS INNOVATION.

AND THE WAY IT REALLY WORKS IS THEY USE COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY,

AS WELL AS ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY.

AND THEY KIND OF SYNERGIZE IN PUTTING TOGETHER.

WHEREAS A COMPUTER SCIENTIST OR A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER,

THEY TRY TO FIND SPECIFIC ALGORITHMS OR KIND OF SONGS

OR PATTERNS THAT HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

AND WHERE MEMORY COMES INTO PLAY.

AND THEN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER CREATES AN ELECTRODE

OR ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT TO READ THESE PARTICULAR SIGNS

AND THESE PARTICULAR WAVES IN THE BRAIN.

AND THEN THE COMPUTER PROGRAMMER SAYS, "OKAY,

LET'S CREATE A COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM

THAT LEARNS THESE PARTICULAR PATTERNS IN THE BRAIN."

AND SO IF SOMEONE LOSES THAT MEMORY WE HAVE THE ABILITY

TO KIND OF IMPLANT THIS CHIP IN THE BRAIN AND THAT IMPLANT,

THE CHIP IN THE BRAIN,

WILL LEARN THAT PARTICULAR PATTERN IN THE BRAIN.

AND THEN IT IF LOSES THAT MEMORY IT WILL BE ABLE TO REGENERATE

THAT PARTICULAR PATTERN.

AND THAT'S REALLY HOW THE MIND REALLY WORKS IS LOOKING

AT THESE SIGNALING PATTERNS.

AND SO WE ARE JUST COMING OF AGE OF LEARNING

OF THESE NEW SIGNALING PATTERNS.

>> AND SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SIGNALING PATTERNS,

FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND -- AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG --

BUT FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, IT'S A SERIES OF ELECTRICAL IMPULSES

THAT HAVE TO BE TRANSLATED AND TRANSCODED A NUMBER OF TIMES

ACROSS THE NEURAL NETWORK.

AND IF THERE'S SOME KIND OF A GAP OR CORRUPTION

IN THAT NETWORK, THOSE SIGNALS DON'T GET TRANSLATED.

IS THAT HOW IT WORKS?

>> YES. THAT'S DEFINITELY HOW IT WORKS.

AND SO WHAT WE'RE ULTIMATELY DOING IS CREATING A BRIDGE

BETWEEN THESE TWO ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS.

>> THAT'S IT.

>> AND WHEN WE CREATE THOSE BRIDGES THOSE --

THOSE MEMORIES CAN FLOW FREELY THROUGHOUT THE BRAIN.

>> AND SO THIS WILL BE EFFECTIVE FOR ALZHEIMER'S --

FOLKS THAT SUFFER FROM ALZHEIMER'S --

AND ALSO, APPARENTLY SOLDIERS THAT COME BACK

FROM THE WAR THEATER AND HAVE TROUBLE WITH PTSD

AND OTHER THINGS BECAUSE OF BRAIN INJURY OR BRAIN TRAUMA.

THIS WILL HELP IN THOSE CASES?

>> YES. WE'VE FOUND OUT -- WE'VE NOTICED --

IN THE PAST TEN YEARS OF SOLDIERS COMING BACK

THAT THEY HAVE SOMETHING CALLED TBI, OR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY.

AND THIS IS KIND OF A SMALL LOSS OF MEMORY DUE

TO SOME TRAUMATIC INJURY THAT HAS OCCURRED AROUND THE BRAIN.

THIS IS AN EXPLOSION THAT'S AROUND THEIR BRAIN

OR SOME TRAUMATIC SYSTEM THAT'S OCCURRED WHERE THEY'VE LOST

THAT SIGNALING PATHWAY.

AND SO WE ARE ABLE TO CREATE THOSE BRIDGES

THAT HAVE ULTIMATELY BEEN LOST.

AND WHEN WE DO THAT, HOPEFULLY WE CAN HELP THOSE SOLDIERS KIND

OF REMEMBER A LOT

OF THE MEMORIES BEFORE THAT INJURY OCCURRED.

>> SO, GOOD NEWS ON THAT FRONT.

>> DEFINITELY.

DEFINITELY GOOD NEWS.

>> ALL RIGHT.

WELL, LET'S TALK ABOUT LONGEVITY FOR A MOMENT BECAUSE I TEASED

IN THE OPENING THAT WE'RE GOING TO LIVE TO 150 YEARS IF WE'RE

AROUND IN TIME TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME

OF THESE NEW ADVANCEMENTS.

WHY WOULD LONGEVITY INCREASE

BECAUSE OF THESE BIOMEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS?

WHAT ARE THOSE ADVANCEMENTS THAT ARE GOING

TO ENABLE THE LONGER LIFES, LONGER LIFESPAN?

>> WELL, THERE'S QUITE A FEW OF THEM.

ONE BIG ONE THAT'S MAKING A LOT

OF PUBLIC NOTICE IS SOMETHING CALLED 3D PRINTING.

AND SO ONE OF THE BIG REASONS THAT A LOT

OF PEOPLE WILL DETERIORATE AND ULTIMATELY PASS ON IS

BECAUSE THEIR BODY JUST KIND OF GIVES OUT.

AND AS THEIR ORGANS, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING FOR MANY,

MANY YEARS AND THEY ARE ABLE TO RECREATE THOSE CELLS AGAIN.

AND SO, IF WE, AS HUMANS, AND ENGINEERS HAVE BEEN ABLE

TO FIND A WAY OF FINDING A NEW ORGAN

OR TO REGENERATE THOSE CELLS DEGENERATING IN AN ORGAN AGAIN,

WE CAN LIVE A LITTLE BIT LONGER.

AND SO, 3D PRINTING HAS COME TO PASS

WHERE THEY'VE ACTUALLY CREATED HUMAN BLADDERS, HUMAN CANCERS,

AND ACTUALLY HUMAN TISSUES.

A GROUP ON THE EAST COAST HAS BEEN DOING THIS

FOR THE PAST FIVE TO SIX YEARS.

AND NOW THE KEY AT NOW IS NOW THAT WE CAN CREATE THIS ORGAN,

DO WE HAVE THE ABILITY FOR THAT ORGAN

TO DO [INAUDIBLE] CONTINUOUSLY?

AND I THINK THAT IN THE FUTURE -- WE'RE TALKING MAYBE SEVEN,

EIGHT YEARS -- WE'LL ACTUALLY SEE SOME FDA APPROVED FROM --

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION APPROVED --

CLINICAL TRIALS OF USING THESE 3D PRINTING TECHNIQUES,

WHICH WOULD BE GREAT.

SO IF YOU SAY, "HEY, I HAVE, YOU KNOW, MY BLADDER'S STARTING

TO GIVE OUT," YOU GO TO A DOCTOR

AND A DOCTOR GIVES YOU A PRESCRIPTION

AND THAT PRESCRIPTION SAYS,"GO TO A 3D PRINTING COMPANY."

YOU WAIT TWO OR THREE DAYS LATER

AND THEN YOU HAVE THIS NEW BLADDER.

THAT WOULD BE EXCELLENT.

THAT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA

AND YOU COULD DEFINITELY LIVE A LITTLE LONGER.

>> WELL, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE GETTING TO THE POINT

WHERE WE'RE TREATING THE HUMAN BODY ALMOST LIKE A USED CAR,

WHERE WE CAN GET NEW PARTS AND REPLACE THE OLD PARTS

WITH THE NEW PARTS WHICH EXTENDS THE LIFE OF THE BODY.

IS THAT KIND OF AN ANALOGY THAT WORKS HERE?

>> OH, MOST DEFINITELY.

IF YOUR MUFFLER, YOU KNOW, IS MAKING CRAZY SOUNDS YOU WANT

TO GO TO A MECHANIC AND GET THAT FIXED.

IF YOUR HEART'S NOT PUMPING CORRECTLY

OR IF YOUR BLADDER'S NOT HOLDING ITS, WHEN IT'S, YOU KNOW,

ITS URINE, THEN, OF COURSE,

WE'RE GOING TO NEED SOMETHING NEW.

AND SO I BELIEVE THAT THE FUTURE WILL DEFINITELY BE: ALL RIGHT,

WHEN AN ORGAN DOESN'T WORK OR SOMETHING HAPPENS,

WHY DON'T WE CREATE A NEW SYSTEM USING 3D PRINTING TECHNIQUES

TO ULTIMATELY REPLACE THAT MALFUNCTION?

>> ALL RIGHT.

AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT IMPROVEMENTS WE'VE TALKED

ABOUT PROSTHETIC ADVI -- DEVICES AS WELL -- REPLACEMENT OF LIMBS,

AND THE USE OF, I GUESS, TECHNOLOGY,

AND THE NANOPARTICLES THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TO IMPROVE,

QUOTE UNQUOTE, IMPROVE THE BODY, MOVING TOWARD WHAT WE REFERRED

TO IN THE 1970'S AS THE BIONIC MAN.

AND THEN LATER IN THE, WHAT WAS IT,

THE 90'S WE HAD BOURNE IDENTITY WITH JASON BOURNE

WHO WAS THIS SORT OF HUMAN ANDROID HYBRID.

AND WE HAVE A LOT OF MOVIES AND TELEVISION FILM --

TELEVISION PROGRAMS -- THAT HAVE SIMILAR CONCEPTS.

ARE WE ACTUALLY MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION WHERE WE'RE,

WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO RE-ENGINEER THE HUMAN BODY,

IN SOME CASES TO PROVIDE SUPER STRENGTH AND SUPER RESILIENCE,

AND AN ALMOST INVINCIBLE PHYSIOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION?

>> WELL, I -- I AGREE WITH THE POINT AND THE NOTION

THAT WE ARE DEFINITELY MOVING TOWARDS THIS CONCEPT

AND THIS IDEA THAT WE'RE GOING TO KIND OF REPLACE A LOT

OF THE THINGS OR A LOT OF THE PARTS THAT ARE BROKEN.

I DON'T AGREE -- I MEAN, I DON'T SAY THAT I DON'T AGREE --

BUT I, I DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS A SUPER HUMAN.

FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH RIGHT NOW THAT'S GOING

ON THAT INSTEAD OF, IF SOMEONE HAS A HEART ATTACK,

OR SOMEONE HAS A PROBLEM, OR SOMETHING OCCURS,

WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO INCREASE IN SPEED THE PROCESS OF FIXING

THAT PARTICULAR ORGAN, OR FIXING THAT PARTICULAR ARM,

OR THAT LIGAMENT ITSELF.

AND SO THAT'S ALREADY OCCURRING RIGHT NOW.

AND I BELIEVE WHERE THE FUTURE IS GOING IS

THAT WE'RE JUST GOING TO ENHANCE WHAT WE CONSIDER WHAT MOTHER

NATURE HAS DONE AND KIND OF SPEED UP THE PROCESS.

SO NOT MAKING A SUPER HUMAN, BUT MAKING THAT HUMAN TURN

OVER AND FIX A LOT FASTER.

>> ALL RIGHT.

WELL, ON THE SAME NOTE, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CONCERNED

ABOUT AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS AND HOW THESE TERMINATORS,

AS WE'VE SEEN IN THE MOVIES, ARE COMING TO GET US.

AND RAY KURZWEIL, WHO'S A FUTURIST, WROTE A BOOK IN 2005

AND IT'S TITLED THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR:

WHEN HUMANS TRANSCEND BIOLOGY.

AND IN THE BOOK HE REFERENCES WHAT HE REFERS

TO AS A "TERMINATOR MOMENT."

AND I'M JUST GOING TO READ SOMETHING HERE,

"AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE RISE

OF COMPUTERS WILL OUTPACE OUR ABILITY TO CONTROL THEM.