- Social:
National Science Foundation
Program Manager in the Office of Cyberinfrastructure at the National Science Foundation and Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at George Mason University
PROFILE
Marc Rigas
Guest
FROM Marc Rigas
To the Point
Will Today's Disability Be Tomorrow's Super-ability? Prosthetic devices have reached the point where they don't just help people in need. They can make them as fit -- or fitter -- than everyone else. South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius , an amputee with question-mark-shaped carbon fiber prosthetics below his knees, may qualify for this summer's Olympic Games. Is that fair to competing runners? Neural implants are helping to cure mental deficiencies. Will they also be used to enhance the functions of "normal" brains? How long will it be before human beings can decide to transcend biology? What are the practical obstacles and the ethical issues?
Recommended
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?