Who Gives a Gigabyte?

A fiber optic communications system has been developed that allows a single fiber to carry as much information as the entire worldwide data traffic on the Internet.

Researchers are developing a growing selection of artificial body parts, a wide range of which are already available.

""Smart materials"" that can sense changes in heat, pressure, and light are being used in a range of everyday devices such as exercise equipment, barbeque grills, and downhill skis.

Laser scalpels are being used in a growing range of new surgery, including the ""sculpting"" of the cornea in the eye in order to correct near- and farsightedness.

Which new technologies will change our lives the most in the years ahead? Introducing today's brave new world of gene therapy, quantum computation, designer drugs, and recyclable cars, Who Gives a Gigabyte? surveys the exciting range of technological wonders reshaping our world?as well as those soon to come?and offers simple, engaging explanations of what they are and how they work.

Scientific American senior editor Gary Stix and journalist Miriam Lacob combine their skills to take readers on a wonderfully lucid and fast-paced tour of the most important recent developments in genetics, medicine, cybernetics, telecommunications, robotics, micromachines, environmental cleanup, and more.

Information from the Human Genome Project is being used to develop a new breed of drugs that will be tailored to an individual's genetic makeup and cause fewer side effects. Based on interviews with today's leading technology developers as well as extensive research of the scientific literature, Who Gives a Gigabyte? explains in plain English what the new technologies are, how they work, how they will most likely evolve in the near future, and how they will affect our lives in the next century. Focusing on areas that are most important to today's consumer, the book explores:

Computing: venturing beyond the proverbial information superhighway, this $500 billion industry is really just beginning to take flight, as perpetual advancements in object-oriented programming and dataencryption promise to enrich, simplify, and completely transform the whole face of human communication and commerce. Telecommunications: using fiber optics, satellites, and wireless networks to boost Third World countries right into the twenty-first century, the global communications network is considered the world's most costly and important technical achievement to date. Laser beams: finding unforeseen new uses in digital DVD players, surgical instruments, and military surveying equipment, researchers are also discovering ways of using lasers to produce pharmaceuticals and treat infertility. Bioengineering materials: encouraging natural tissue regeneration, supplementing the functions of damaged organs, and replacing worn-out joints, this exciting new area of technology aims to offer remarkable tools against the ravages of aging and disease. Alternative energy sources: responding to the reality of our dwindling natural resources, promising advances for conserving fossil fuels and curtailing pollution include wind turbines, photovoltaic cells, and solar panels.