MIT Technology Review 2014-01

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Chips New DNA 3-D Printing
Inspired by Tests for Makes
the Brain the Unborn Batteries
Feature p52 Reviews p72 Demo p84
VOL. 117 NO. 1 | JAN/FEB 2014 | $5.99 US
Population growth and climate change
will make it harder to feed the world. We need to overcome
our fears of genetically modified food.
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MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
VOL. 117 | NO. 1 TECHNOLOGYREVIEW.COM
From the Editor
nothing answered until we sprayed advances in molecular biology, and
with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), new genome engineering tools allow
a bacterium commonly used as a geneticists to edit plant DNA, making
pesticide in organic farming. We changes exactly where they want
bought fertilizers with fish emulsions, on chromosomes in order to create
which did better than the farm’s desirable traits. The new technologies
own manure and compost. Raising are far more sophisticated than the
birds, we began by feeding them transgenic techniques used in the first
unadulterated cracked corn, but they genetically modified crops, where genes
didn’t grow large enough for sale, from one species were transferred into
and soon we were driving to Santa another, as the Bt genes expressing a
Rosa Feed and Game every month toxin poisonous to bugs were inserted
to purchase organically certified bird into corn and soybeans. With luck,
feed, whose supplemental ingredients we may be able to increase yields
(including vitamins and a range of sufficiently to feed the nine billion
proteins and amino acids), when listed people who will be alive in 2050 and
on the sides of the sacks, were longer design crops that can tolerate heat,
i grew up on a farm on the north than a small boy’s hand. drought, and new patterns of plant
Coast of California in the 1970s. It Outside the very poor world, all disease.
had been a sort of commune, and after farming is like this: it is industrial. But we’ll need to accept genetically
my parents bought the property, the That’s because even organic farmers are modified foods. Today, most GM corn
hippies stayed on as farm workers frightened of the blights and diseases and soybeans feed animals or go into
and the place retained the style of the that can destroy a harvest or covey, and biofuels. No genetically modified
counterculture. Stewart Brand’s Whole they think about nothing more than varieties of rice, wheat, or potatoes are
Earth Catalog, with its tools and ideas increasing the yield from their land. widely grown, although we will need
for the back-to-the-land movement, As David Rotman, the editor of MIT these crops to feed the world. But while
was the farm’s almanac. Technology Review, argues in “Why scientists now understand how to affect
My father, who worked in San We Will Need Genetically Modified traits in plants, only large companies
Francisco, had intended the farm to Foods” (page 28), the concerns of can afford the expense of developing
be a weekend retreat, like an English farmers are becoming more acute. GMOs, and such corporations have
country home; but my mother wanted The Green Revolution increased crop shied away from genetically modifying
to live there and grow things. We yields by introducing more productive wheat, rice, potatoes, and vegetables
raised free-range game birds for the crop varieties. “But for at least the because they fear that consumers will
restaurants of San Francisco. There past decade, increases … seem to have reject the results.
were three vegetable gardens and slowed. Yields of wheat, for example, But perhaps the new order of
an orchard. Everything was sternly are growing at roughly 1 percent GMOs, where plant geneticists
organic. annually; they need to increase nearly accelerate the traditional work of
Except of course it wasn’t. By 2 percent annually to keep up with plant breeders, will seem less freakish
even the mid-’70s what was called food demand over the long term. to consumers than transgenic crops
“organic” was conditional: if you met Agricultural experts warn that yields do now. Perhaps, too, the new crops
various standards set by an industry’s will have to improve for other crops will seem greener: high-yield, disease-
marketing association, then you as well if we are to feed a rapidly resistant, hardy GMOs will allow
were an organic farmer, although growing population—and yet rising farmers to use pesticides and fertilizers
those standards were far from the temperatures and other effects of global less, which is truer to the organic
natural methods the founders of climate change will make this tougher ideal. Back in the 1970s, if my mother
organic farming had imagined. In to achieve.” and I could have chosen not to bathe TI
T
the vegetable gardens, we tried using Fortunately, Rotman explains, our vegetables with biochemicals, we O VI
D
other insects for pest control, but recent genomic breakthroughs, would have done so. UI
G
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Now Boarding.
It’s easy to fi nd all your development boards & accessories at our dev kit headquarters. newark.com/devkits
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MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
VOL. 117 | NO. 1 TTEECCHHNNOOLLOOGGYYRREEVVIIEEWW..CCOOMM
CCoonntteennttss
Front BigDog, the size of a BBaacckk
St. Bernard, likes to run
2 From the Editor just about anywhere. BBUUSSIINNEESSSS RREEPPOORRTT
p38
8 Feedback
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10 Brainy Chips
Want a smarter smartphone? RREEVVIIEEWWSS
Ask a biologist.
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A safer robot is a better robot. g geenneettiicc ssccrreeeenniinngg wwiillll ppuutt
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12 Good Crops
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GMOs will ultimately ease
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UPFRONT
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15 Computers Read Your Face BByy DDaavviidd TTaallbboott
They can know what you’re
8822 TThhee GGeeooppoolliittiiccss ooff
feeling. Will that be useful?
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What works for natural gas ssoollvvee gglloobbaall wwaarrmmiinngg,, bbuutt
could work for heat power too. wwiillll eeffff oorrttss ttoo ddeeppllooyy iitt ssppuurr
iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall ccoonnflfl iicctt??
19 Captcha-Busting Software
BByy EEllii KKiinnttiisscchh
A challenge for that test that
tells you from a bot.
DDEEMMOO
20 Twitter Goes Global
January/February 2014
Microblogging conquers the 84 Printing Batteries
world, language by language. New tools could get lithium-ion
28 | Why We’ll Need Genetically Modifi ed Foods technology into novel places.
21 Biomanufacturing’s Twist
By Mike Orcutt
The technology has always Climate change makes feeding the world harder.
required living cells, until now. Biotech crops could help. By David Rotman
29 YEARS AGO
22 Fitness-Tracking Foibles
A test of three new wristbands 38 | The Robots Running This Way 88 Selling Privacy Short
suggests they’re not yet fi t. Robots that move like living creatures are now headed We’ve been trading our privacy
for convenience for decades.
24 The iPad’s Secret for the world’s toughest terrain. By Will Knight
A new breed of high-
performance screens is here. 46 | The Continuous Productivity of Aaron Levie
Plus: To Market The CEO of the online fi le-sharing service Box wants to
reshape entire industries. By Ted Greenwald
Q&A
52 | Thinking in Silicon
26 Danah Boyd ON THE COVER:
Dear parents: Please stop Microchips modeled on the brain may excel at tasks Illustration by Justin Metz
fretting about social media. that baffl e today’s computers. By Tom Simonite for MIT Technology Review
4
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MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
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MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
VOL. 117 | NO. 1 TECHNOLOGYREVIEW.COM
Feedback
Five Most Popular Stories
MIT Technology Review Volume 116, Number 6
1 2 3 4 5
The Decline The Real A Tale of Two Drugs Driverless Cars So Far, Smart
of Wikipedia Privacy Problem Are Further Away Watches Are
Unlike MDs, who under-
Than You Think Pretty Dumb
So often people say I would not allow my per- stand the inevitability of
things like “Companies sonal belongings to be death, most patients opt The author has a test drive Smart watches seem like
are moving away from rummaged through and for any and all medical with BMW and Mercedes- prime Apple territory—an
the traditional hierarchi- analyzed in order to dis- interventions. Since the Benz and comes away existing technology that no
cal structures and toward cover what I might be cost is borne by future singing their praises and one else is doing right and
open collaboration,” yet missing in my life. Likewise, taxpayers, and since their writing off Google. Yet that needs a heavy dose of
when it actually happens I do not want anybody doctors pad their incomes Google has logged thou- design and simplifi cation.
in a big and obvious way, or anything rummaging no matter what the out- sands of incident-free —ctbowers
people are close to panic. I through my digital life in come, their bias toward miles, while BMW’s proto-
think some people actually order to serve me a “bet- treatment, however futile type may or may not have I’d like to have a few simple
prefer having somebody ter” ad. —KennethJ and shortsighted, is logical. braked to avoid a collision. ways to control the watch
clearly in charge. —wcordell2 And the reason Google is without having to touch
—MaxGain Io wf daitscghu—stin, a aw ceo, manbdin baetifound - The cost of developing a written off ? Because the icto; fnotrr oinl smtayn mceu,s Ii’cd wlikheil eto
There is no other website dlement—as my friends, drug through FDA approval lidar is ugly. —tuariki1 working out on a rowing
as sanctimoniously fake as colleagues, and even for sale is $1.2 billion. With It seems inevitable that machine. One idea would
Wikipedia. The site is not “elders” commodify and such an enormous, risky fully autonomous vehicles be to have sensors that
an exemplar of democratic publicly detail their every cost up front, is there any will be introduced in some could identify the move-
principles . Quite the oppo- breath and step. Many are question why drugs are part of the world, and once ments of each fi nger, and
site. It has one of the most in complete ignorance that so expensive, especially they’re on the road some- let you program what each
bizarre arbitrary authoritar- their lives are being algo- drugs which will have thou- where, the benefi ts will be of those movements con-
ian bureaucracies I’ve ever rithmized. —mena_nut sands, and not millions, of impossible to deny. trols. That’s a watch I’d like
seen. —Decimizer patient-purchasers? —CBDunkerson to have. —jdrulon
—R Sweeney
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