The US Army is re-introducing the pack mule; only, it’s in the form of a robot dog. It may soon be hard to justify sending humans into battle or any dangerous situation, including the ocean depths, where an underwater robot can now explore all by itself, or a disaster site, where flocks of robot hummingbirds […]

The flagship US computing expo Comdex this year found computing passé and robotics the thing. No wonder: Toyota is reported to be developing a humanoid nurse, NASA is building a humanoid astronaut, Sony’s humanoid child Qrio has learned to run, and ever-more ways for robots to make their way in the world are being discovered […]

Other therapeutic developments reported last month include: A proposed image-guided technologythat would allow more surgeries to become less invasive; A shape-memory alloy corkscrew for removing clots from stroke victims more effectively than TPA; LED therapyto cure blindness and heal wounds; and Ultrasound to prepare skin to absorb large-molecule drugs, such as insulin, delivered via skin […]

Robots continue their relentless, if sometimes misguided, encroachment in healthcare:   Robot vacuums, it is now being discovered as they proliferate, double as pets and even therapists. Swarms of mini-robots are being developed to function as chemical and biowar sentries. A robot butcher precise enough to double as a robot surgeon starts work in October. […]

Pharmacogenetics–the study of individual, genetic-based reactions to drugs, leading to personalized medicine–is making progress, and posing deep and serious questions about the future of healthcare practice and policy. To the extent that drug ads contain genuine health educational information, the finding that viewers don’t pay much attention is not to be welcomed, argues at least […]