Part of the series on Cyborgs

Cyborgology Bionics / Biomimicry Biomedical engineering Brain-computer interface Cybernetics Distributed cognition Genetic engineering Human ecosystem Human enhancement Intelligence amplification Theory Cyborg theory Postgenderism Centers Cyberpunk Cyberspace Politics Cognitive liberty Cyberpunk Cyborg feminism Crypto-anarchism Extropianism Morphological freedom Singularitarianism Transhumanism

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A cyborg is a cybernetic organism (i. Bionics (also known as biomimetics, biognosis, Biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering) is the application of biological Biomimicry (from Bios, meaning life and mimesis, meaning to imitate is a relatively new science that studies Nature, its models systems processes and Biomedical engineering ( BME) is the application of engineering principles and techniques to the medical field A brain-computer interface (BCI sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain-machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the Structure of Complex systems especially Communication processes control mechanisms and Feedback Distributed cognition is a theory of Psychology developed in the mid 1980s by Edwin Hutchins. Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct Human ecosystems are complex cybernetic systems that are increasingly being used by Ecological Anthropologists and other scholars to examine the ecological Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the Human body through natural or artificial means Intelligence amplification ( IA) (also referred to as cognitive augmentation and machine augmented intelligence) refers to the effective use of Cyborg theory was created by Donna Haraway in order to criticize traditional notions of feminism -- particularly its strong emphasis on identity rather than affinity Transgenderism is a Social movement seeking Transgender rights and affirming transgender Pride. Cyberpunk is a Science fiction genre noted for its focus on " High tech and low life. Cyberspace &mdash from the Greek el Κυβερνήτης (el kybernētēs steersman governor pilot or rudder &mdash is the global domain of electro-magnetics accessed Cognitive liberty is the freedom to be the absolute Sovereignty of the individual ’s own Consciousness. Cyberpunk is a Science fiction genre noted for its focus on " High tech and low life. Donna Haraway (born September 6, 1944 in Denver Colorado) is currently a professor and chair of the History of Consciousness Program at the Crypto-anarchism is an Ideology that expounds the use of strong Public-key cryptography to enforce Privacy and individual freedom. Extropianism, also referred to as extropism or Extropy, is an evolving framework of values and standards for continuously improving the human condition Morphological freedom designates a proposed Civil right of a Person to either maintain or modify his or her own body, on his or her own terms through Singularitarianism is a Moral philosophy based upon the belief that a Technological singularity — the technological creation of smarter-than-human Intelligence Transhumanism (sometimes symbolized by >H or H+) a term often used as a synonym for " Human enhancement " is an international intellectual Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the Structure of Complex systems especially Communication processes control mechanisms and Feedback e. , an organism that has both artificial and natural systems). The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. Manfred Clynes (born August 14, 1925) is a scientist inventor and musician ^[1] D. S. Halacy's Cyborg: Evolution of the Superman in 1965 featured an introduction by Manfred Clynes, who wrote of a "new frontier" that was "not merely space, but more profoundly the relationship between 'inner space' to 'outer space' -a bridge. . . between mind and matter. "^[2] The cyborg is often seen today merely as an organism that has enhanced abilities due to technology,^[3] but this perhaps oversimplifies the category of feedback. Technology is a broad concept that deals with a Species ' usage and knowledge of Tools and Crafts and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt Feedback is a circular causal Process whereby some proportion of a system's output is returned (fed back to the Input.

Fictional cyborgs are portrayed as a synthesis of organic and synthetic parts, and frequently pose the question of difference between human and machine as one concerned with morality, free will, and empathy. Fiction is the telling of stories which are not real More specifically fiction is an imaginative form of Narrative, one of the four basic Rhetorical modes. Fictional cyborgs may be represented as visibly mechanical (e. g. the Borg in the Star Trek franchise or Amber from the game Project Eden); or as almost indistinguishable from humans (e. The Borg are a fictional pseudo- race of Cyborgs depicted in the Star Trek franchise For the anime see Dirty Pair. Project Eden is a Video game for the PC and PlayStation 2 released For the anime see Dirty Pair. Project Eden is a Video game for the PC and PlayStation 2 released g. the "Human" Cylons from the re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica). The Cylons are a fictional race of bio-mechanical beings appearing in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series The Battlestar Galactica Science fiction franchise which began as a 1978 TV series, was "reimagined" in 2003 into a TV miniseries These fictional portrayals often register our society's discomfort with its seemingly increasing reliance upon technology, particularly when used for war, and when used in ways that seem to threaten free will. The question of free will They also often have abilities, physical or mental, far in advance of their human counterparts (military forms may have inbuilt weapons, amongst other things). Real cyborgs are more frequently people who use cybernetic technology to repair or overcome the physical and mental constraints of their bodies. While cyborgs are commonly thought of as mammals, they can be any kind of organism. Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 3 Individual cyborgs 4 Social cyborgs 5 Cyborg proliferation in society 5.1 Medicine 5.2 Military 5.3 Marine Cyborgs 5.4 In Sports 5.5 In Fiction 5.6 Cyborgs in Art 6 List of Known Cyborgs 7 See also 8 References 9 For further reading: 10 External links

Overview

According to some definitions of the term, the metaphysical and physical attachments humanity has with even the most basic technologies have already made them cyborgs. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus ^[4] In a typical example, a human fitted with a heart pacemaker or an insulin pump (if the person has diabetes) might be considered a cyborg, since these mechanical parts enhance the body's "natural" mechanisms through synthetic feedback mechanisms. For other uses see Pacemaker (disambiguation A pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the heart's natural pacemaker An insulin pump is a medical device used for the administration of Insulin in the treatment of Diabetes mellitus, also known as continuous subcutaneous Diabetes mellitus (ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz or /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtəs/ /məˈlaɪtəs/ or /ˈmɛlətəs/ often referred to simply as diabetes ( Ancient Greek: grc Feedback is a circular causal Process whereby some proportion of a system's output is returned (fed back to the Input. Some theorists cite such modifications as contact lenses, hearing aids, or intraocular lenses as examples of fitting humans with technology to enhance their biological capabilities; however, these modifications are no more cybernetic than would be a pen, a wooden leg, or the spears used by chimps to hunt vertebrates. A contact lens (also known simply as a contact) is a corrective, cosmetic, or therapeutic lens usually placed on the Cornea A hearing aid is an electroacoustic body-worn apparatus which typically fits in or behind the wearer's Ear, and is designed to amplify and modulate sounds An intraocular lens (IOL is an implanted lens in the Eye, usually replacing the existing crystalline lens because it has been clouded over by a Cataract ^[5] Cochlear implants that combine mechanical modification with any kind of feedback response are more accurately cyborg enhancements. A cochlear implant (CI is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of Sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing

The prefix "cyber" is also used to address human-technology mixtures in the abstract. This includes artifacts that may not popularly be considered technology. Pen and paper, for example, as well as speech, language. Speech refers to the processes associated with the production and perception of Sounds used in Spoken language. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them Augmented with these technologies, and connected in communication with people in other times and places, a person becomes capable of much more than they were before. This is like computers, which gain power by using Internet protocols to connect with other computers. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks Cybernetic technologies include highways, pipes, electrical wiring, buildings, electrical plants, libraries, and other infrastructure that we hardly notice, but which are critical parts of the cybernetics that we work within. Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the Structure of Complex systems especially Communication processes control mechanisms and Feedback

History

The concept of a man-machine mixture was widespread in science fiction before World War II. As early as 1843, Edgar Allan Poe described a man with extensive prostheses in the short story "The Man That Was Used Up". Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, " The Man That Was Used Up," sometimes subtitled " A Tale of the Late Bugaboo and Kickapoo Campaign," is a Short story and Satire by In 1908, Jean de la Hire introduced Nyctalope (perhaps the first true superhero was also the first literary cyborg) in the novel L'Homme Qui Peut Vivre Dans L'eau (The Man Who Can Live in Water). Jean de La Hire (pseudonym of Adolphe d'Espie de La Hire) (1878-1956 was the prolific French author of numerous popular Adventure Novels, which Le Nyctalope is the name of a lesser-known Fictional Superhero who appears in a Book series of Novels written by French Writer A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do Edmond Hamilton presented space explorers with a mixture of organic and machine parts in his novel The Comet Doom in 1928. Edmond Moore Hamilton ( October 21, 1904 - February 1 1977) was a popular author of Science fiction stories and novels during the mid-twentieth He later featured the talking, living brain of an old scientist, Simon Wright, floating around in a transparent case, in all the adventures of his famous hero, Captain Future. The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain Captain Future was both a Science fiction magazine and a fictional character In the short story "No Woman Born" in 1944, C. L. Moore wrote of Deirdre, a dancer, whose body was burned completely and whose brain was placed in a faceless but beautiful and supple mechanical body. Catherine Lucille Moore ( January 24, 1911 – April 4, 1987) was an American Science fiction and Fantasy

One of the earliest uses of the term was by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Manfred Clynes (born August 14, 1925) is a scientist inventor and musician Kline in 1960 to refer to their conception of an enhanced human being who could survive in extraterrestrial environments:

For the exogenously extended organizational complex functioning as an integrated homeostatic system unconsciously, we propose the term ‘Cyborg'. A superhuman is an entity with intelligence or abilities exceeding normal human standards An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a Planet beyond the Solar System, orbiting around other Stars As of September 2008 312 Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline^[6]

Their concept was the outcome of thinking about the need for an intimate relationship between human and machine as the new frontier of space exploration was beginning to take place. History First orbital flights The first successful orbital launch was of the Soviet unmanned Sputnik A designer of physiological instrumentation and electronic data-processing systems, Clynes was the chief research scientist in the Dynamic Simulation Laboratory at Rockland State Hospital in New York. Physiology (from Greek grc φύσις physis, "nature origin" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the mechanical physical New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous

However this may not have been the earliest use. Five months earlier the New York Times had printed:

A cyborg is essentially a man-machine system in which the control mechanisms of the human portion are modified externally by drugs or regulatory devices so that the being can live in an environment different from the normal one. ^[7]

A book titled Cyborg: Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable computer was published by Doubleday in 2001. The Doubleday Publishing Group is the fifth largest Book Publishing company in the world Some of the ideas in the book were incorporated into the 35mm motion picture film Cyberman. Cyberman is a 2001 documentary movie about Steve Mann, inventor of the EyeTap.

Individual cyborgs

Generally, the term "cyborg" is used to refer to a man or woman with bionic, or robotic, implants. Bionics (also known as biomimetics, biognosis, Biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering) is the application of biological In Medicine, a prosthesis (plural prostheses) is an Artificial extension that replaces a missing Body part.

In current prosthetic applications, the C-Leg system developed by Otto Bock HealthCare is used to replace a human leg that has been amputated because of injury or illness. In Medicine, a prosthesis (plural prostheses) is an Artificial extension that replaces a missing Body part. The C-Leg is a Microprocessor -controlled Knee Prosthesis, developed by the Otto Bock Healthcare company that enables moderately active In common usage the human leg is the lower limb of the Body, extending from the Hip to the Ankle, and including the Thigh, the The use of sensors in the artificial C-Leg aids in walking significantly by attempting to replicate the user's natural gait, as it would be prior to amputation. ^[8] Prostheses like the C-Leg and the more advanced iLimb are considered by some to be the first real steps towards the next generation of real-world cyborg applications. Additionally cochlear implants and magnetic implants which provide people with a sense that they would not otherwise have had can additionally be thought of as creating cyborgs. A cochlear implant (CI is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of Sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing In Body modification, an implant is a device placed under the human skin for decorative purposes

In 2002,under the heading Project Cyborg, a British scientist, Kevin Warwick, had an array of 100 electrodes fired in to his nervous system in order to link his nervous system into the internet. Kevin Warwick (born 9 February 1954 Coventry, UK is a British scientist and professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading With this in place he successfully carried out a series of experiments including extending his nervous system over the internet to control a robotic hand, a form of extended sensory input and the first direct electronic communication between the nervous systems of two humans. ^[9]

Social cyborgs

More broadly, the full term "cybernetic organism" is used to describe larger networks of communication and control. Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the Structure of Complex systems especially Communication processes control mechanisms and Feedback For example, cities, networks of roads, networks of software, corporations, markets, governments, and the collection of these things together. A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status A corporation can be considered as an artificial intelligence that makes use of replaceable human components to function. People at all ranks can be considered replaceable agents of their functionally intelligent government institutions, whether such a view is desirable or not.

Cyborg proliferation in society

Many people could be making the transition to cyborg sooner than they thought. Applied Digital Solutions leads in the development of the human implant RFID chip. This small, rice sized chip has been marketed to help track medical records and keep credit information safe and convenient ^[10]. Although there is a large community that is critical of this technology, RFID technology has done well in the past as a tracking chip in the industrial world (RFID's reduction for out-of-stock study at Wal-Mart, RFID radio), and for tracking pets and endangered wildlife (USDA Bets the Farm on Animal ID Program). This in effect turns all chipped people or organisms into cyborgs, which is also a source of discomfort to some. The critics of this movement claim that chipping people is an invasion of privacy ^[11] and some even go as far as seeing chipped people as a sign of the incoming Revelation, or “the mark of the beast” ^[12], as it is quoted in the Christian Bible that only those scarred with the mark of the beast on the hand or head will be able to buy and sell in the world.

Medicine

In medicine, there are two important and different types of cyborgs: these are the restorative and the enhanced. Restorative technologies “restore lost function, organs, and limbs” ^[13]. The key aspect of restorative cyborgization is the repair of broken or missing processes to revert to a healthy or average level of function. There is no enhancement to the original faculties and processes that were lost.

On the contrary, the enhanced cyborg “follows a principle, and it is the principle of optimal performance: maximising output (the information or modifications obtained) and minimising input (the energy expended in the process)”. ^[14] Thus, the enhanced cyborg intends to exceed normal processes or even gain new functions that were not originally present.

Although prostheses in general supplement lost or damaged body parts with the integration of a mechanical artifice, bionic implants in medicine allow model organs or body parts to mimic the original function more closely. Michael Chorost wrote a memoir of his experience with cochlear implants, or bionic ear, titled "Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human. Michael Chorost (born 1964 is an American writer teacher and Cyborg. " Jesse Sullivan became one of the first people to operate a fully robotic limb through a nerve-muscle graft, enabling him a complex range of motions beyond that of previous prosthetics. Jesse Sullivan is best-known for operating a fully robotic limb through a nerve-muscle graft making him one of the first non-fictional Cyborgs His Bionic arm By 2004, a fully functioning artificial heart was developed. An artificial heart is a prosthetic device that is implanted into the body to replace the biological Heart. The continued technological development of bionic and nanotechnologies begins to raise the question of enhancement, and of the future possibilities for cyborgs which surpass the original functionality of the biological model. The ethics and desirability of "enhancement prosthetics" have been debated; their proponents include the transhumanist movement, with its belief that new technologies can assist the human race in developing beyond its present, normative limitations such as ageing and disease, as well as other, more general incapacities, such as limitations on speed, strength, endurance, and intelligence. Transhumanism (sometimes symbolized by >H or H+) a term often used as a synonym for " Human enhancement " is an international intellectual Opponents of the concept describe what they believe to be biases which propel the development and acceptance of such technologies; namely, a bias towards functionality and efficiency that may compel assent to a view of human people which de-emphasises as defining characteristics actual manifestations of humanity and personhood, in favour of definition in terms of upgrades, versions, and utility.

One of the more common and accepted forms of temporary modification occurs as a result of prenatal diagnosis technologies. Prenatal testing is Testing for diseases or conditions in a Fetus or Embryo before it is born Modern parents willingly use testing methods such as ultrasounds and amniocentesis to determine the sex or health of the fetus. The discovery of birth defects or other congenital problems by these procedures may lead to neonatal treatment in the form of open fetal surgery or the less invasive fetal intervention. A congenital disorder is a disease or disorder that is present at birth Open fetal surgery is an invasive form of Fetal intervention in the treatment of Birth defects where the pregnant Uterus is opened up for direct surgery Fetal intervention involves In utero surgical treatment of a Fetus.

A brain-computer interface, or BCI, provides a direct path of communication from the brain to an external device, effectively creating a cyborg. A brain-computer interface (BCI sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain-machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal Research of Invasive BCIs, which utilize electrodes implanted directly into the grey matter of the brain, has focused on restoring damaged eye sight in the blind and providing functionality to paralysed people, most notably those with severe cases, such as Locked-In syndrome. Locked-In syndrome is a condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body

Retinal implants are another form of cyborgization in medicine. The theory behind retinal stimulation to restore vision to people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa and vision loss due to aging (conditions in which people have an abnormally low amount of ganglion cells) is that the retinal implant and electrical stimulation would act as a substitute for the missing ganglion cells (cells which connect the eye to the brain). ^[15]

While work to perfect this technology is still being done, there have already been major advances in the use of electronic stimulation of the retina to allow the eye to sense patterns of light. A specialized camera is worn by the subject (possibly on the side of a their glasses frames) the camera converts the image into a pattern of electrical stimulation. A chip located in the users eye would then electrically stimulate the retina with this patten and the image appears to the user. Current prototypes have the camera being powered by a hand sized power supply that could be placed in a pocket or on the waist. ^[16]

Currently the technology has only been tested on human subject for brief amounts of time and the amount of light picked up by the subject has been minimal. However, if technological advances proceed as planned this technology may be used by thousands of blind people and restore vision to most of them.

Military

The "cyborg soldier" often refers to a soldier whose weapon and survival systems are integrated into the self, creating a human-machine interface. A notable example is the Pilot's Associate, first developed in 1985, which would use Artificial Intelligence to assist a combat pilot. The push for further integration between pilot and aircraft would include the Pilot Associate's ability to "initiate actions of its own when it deems it necessary, including firing weapons and even taking over the aircraft from the pilot. (Gray, Cyborg Handbook).

Military organizations' research has recently focused on the utilization of cyborg animals for inter-species relationships for the purposes of a supposed a tactical advantage. DARPA has announced its interest in developing "cyborg insects" to transmit data from sensors implanted into the insect during the pupal stage. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new Technology The insect's motion would be controlled from a MEMS, or Micro-Electro-Mechanical System, and would conceivably surveil an environment and detect explosives or gas. ^[17] Similarly, DARPA is developing a neural implant to remotely control the movement of sharks. The shark's unique senses would be exploited to provide data feedback in relation to enemy ship movement and underwater explosives^[18].

Other proposals have integrated the mechanical into the intuitive abilities of the individual soldier. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have set out to "create an exoskeleton that combines a human control system with robotic muscle. The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley "^[19] The device is distinctly Cyborgian in that it is self-powered, and requires no conscious manipulation by the pilot soldier. The exoskeleton responds to the pilot, through constant computer calculations, to distribute and lessen weight exerted on the pilot, allowing hypothetically for soldiers to haul large amounts of medical supplies and carry injured soldiers to safety.

Marine Cyborgs

The term “cyborg” not only applies to humans, but to animals as well. Some of the best examples of such animal cyborgs come from the ocean, but such research is relatively new. Technologies used range from simple radio transmitters attached for tracking purposes, to extremely complex surgically implanted electrodes used to record and manipulate behavior. One of the more fictionalized representations of a marine cyborg includes Jones, a cyborg dolphin from William Gibson’s Johnny Mnemonic. William Ford Gibson (born March 17 1948 is an American - Canadian writer who has been called the "noir prophet" of the Cyberpunk subgenre Jones is one of the more extreme examples, sporting a purely mechanical head piece, while most real world examples go unnoticed. Most “enhancements” added to marine organisms by humans are small or implanted directly into the skin, and are created as to not disrupt their natural behavior patterns. DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is experimenting with surgically implanted electrodes in shark brains to learn more about their behavior in hopes of being able to control some aspects of it. Shark behavior is still a largely unstudied subject in the biological sciences and the use of such electrodes might provide biologists a vast amount of information in short periods of time. With data collected from the experimentation DARPA engineers hope to decode the signals that the sharks are receiving in order to remotely manipulate such behaviors in the future. The shark’s natural ability to sense weak magnetic and electrical fields is of particular interest to the military, as they hope to use this to their advantage in future campaigns, to see and feel everything that a shark does as it glides through the ocean.

In Sports

Main article: Cyborgs in sports

The cyborgization of sports has come to the forefront of the national consciousness in recent years. The cyborgization of sports has come to the forefront of the national conscious in recent years Through the media, America has been exposed to the subject both with the BALCO scandal and the accusations of blood doping at the Tour de France levied against Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis. The Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative also known as BALCO was an American company led by founder and owner Victor Conte. have been allegations of doping in the Tour de France since the race began in 1903 Lance Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson September 18 1971 is an American professional road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam Team Astana Floyd Landis (born October 14 1975 is an American cyclist, currently suspended from competition who was stripped of overall victory in the 2006 Tour de France But, there is more to the subject; steroids, blood doping, prosthesis, body modification, and maybe in the future, genetic modification are all topics that should be included within cyborgs in sports. A steroid is a Terpenoid Lipid characterized by a Carbon skeleton with four fused rings generally arranged in a 6-6-6-5 fashion Blood doping is the practice of boosting the number of Red blood cells (RBCs in the circulation in order to enhance athletic performance

The most commonly used steroid in sports is anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids, or anabolic-androgenic steroids ( AAS) are a class of Steroid hormones related to the hormone Testosterone. These are synthetically created to function like male hormones. Athletes use it to enhance their strength and performance beyond their natural means. They increase the amount of testosterone in the body, which promotes muscle and bone growth in the body. They also make it possible for an athlete can workout for longer periods of time than they naturally can.

Blood doping usually refers to three forms of adding red blood cells to the blood stream. Red blood cells are the most common type of Blood cell and the Vertebrate body's principal means of delivering Oxygen to the body tissues via the Blood The first form of blood doping is called homologous transfusions, in which the red blood cells from another person of the same blood type as the athlete are concentrated and frozen for a later transfusion when the athlete is going to start an event. The other form of blood doping is autologous. Autologous transfusions are when an athlete takes red blood cells out of their body before a competition and transfuse them back in their body right before the competition. The other form of blood doping is done through the injection of a hormone called erythropoietin. Erythropoietin (ɨˌɹɪθɹoʊˈpɔɪɨtɨn /ɨˌɹɪθɹoʊˈpɔɪtən/ or /ɨˌɹiːθɹoʊ-/ or EPO is a Glycoprotein Hormone that controls Erythropoietin increases the production of red blood cells in the blood stream. All of these forms of blood doping are used to increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the Blood doping is mainly used in endurance sports such as cycling and cross-country skiing because the extra oxygen carrying capacity through blood doping gives the athlete more endurance. Cycling is the use of Bicycles or - less commonly - Unicycles Tricycles Quadricycles and other similar wheeled Human powered vehicles Cross-country skiing (also known as XC skiing) is a Winter sport popular in many countries with large snowfields primarily Northern Europe,

The most common forms of prosthetics and enhancement we see in sports today are prosthetic legs and Tommy John surgery. Tommy John surgery known by doctors as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (or UCL) is a surgical procedure in which a Ligament in the This has resurrected many careers in Major League Baseball, actually allowing pitchers to throw harder than ever before. Some prime examples are Eric Gagné, Kerry Wood, and John Smoltz. Éric Serge Gagné ( IPA:) (born January 7 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977 in Irving, Texas) is an American Baseball player John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967 in) is a Major League Baseball Pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. "I hit my top speed (in pitch velocity) after the surgery," says Wood, the Chicago Cubs' 26-year-old All-Star. The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. "I'm throwing harder, consistently. " Gagne went from an average pitcher to being hall of fame eligible, winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2002, by tying the National League record for most saves in a season, and the National League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year in 2002 and 2003. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League ( NL) is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball In Baseball, the Cy Young Award is an honor given annually to the best Pitcher in Major League Baseball (one each for American and National In Major League Baseball, the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award, first awarded in, is a distinction given to the top Relief pitcher in each league at the end of

As of now, prosthetic legs and feet are not advanced enough to give the athlete the edge, and people with these prosthetics are allowed to compete, possibly only because they are not actually competitive in the Ironman event among other such -athlons. Prosthesis in track and field, however, is a budding issue. Prosthetic legs and feet may soon be better than their human counterparts. Some prosthetic legs and feet allow for runners to adjust the length of their stride which could potentially improve run times and in time actually allow a runner with prosthetic legs to be the fastest in the world. One model used for replacing a leg lost at the knee has actually improved runners' marathon times by as much as 30 minutes. The leg is shaped out of a long, flat piece of metal that extends backwards then curves under itself forming a U shape. This functions as a spring, allowing for runners to be propelled forward with by just placing their weight on the limb. This is the only form that allows the wearer to sprint.

In Fiction

Main article: Cyborgs in fiction

In 1966, Kit Pedler, a medical scientist, created the Cybermen for the TV program Doctor Who, based on his concerns about science changing and threatening humanity. Cyborgs are a prominent staple in the Science fiction genre This article summarizes notable instances of cyborgs in fiction. Dr Christopher Magnus Howard Pedler ( 1927 - 27 May 1981) was a British medical scientist Science fiction Author and writer on science The Cybermen are a Fictional race of Cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British Science fiction television Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The Cybermen had replaced much of their bodies with mechanical prostheses and were now supposedly emotionless creatures driven only by logic.

The Metal Gear Solid series of games has a recurring character known as the "Cyborg Ninja" who is a person wearing a biomechanical exo-suit and wielding a high-frequency blade. is a stealth-action Video game directed by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published The cyborg ninja suit has been donned by multiple characters, most recently by the character Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 4. (commonly abbreviated to MGS4) is a stealth action Video game. He became the cyborg ninja due to an incident which has not yet been specified, but left Raiden with only his head and spine in working order and the lower part of his face severely damaged. His cyborg ninja suit contains artificial organs, blood (which is white), and muscle tissue similar to that used in Metal Gear RAY and Gekkos.

Isaac Asimov's short story "The Bicentennial Man" explored cybernetic concepts. Isaac Asimov (c January 2 1920 &ndash April 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as, was a Russian The Bicentennial Man is a Novella in the Robot Series by Isaac Asimov. The central character is NDR, a robot who begins to modify himself with organic components. An organic compound is any member of a large class of Chemical compounds whose Molecules contain Carbon. His explorations lead to breakthroughs in human medicine via artificial organs and prosthetics. Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the In Biology, an organ ( Latin: organum, "instrument tool" from Greek όργανον - organon "organ instrument By the end of the story, there is little physical difference between the body of the hero, now called Andrew, and humans equipped with advanced prosthetics, save for the presence of Andrew's artificial positronic brain. Asimov also explored the idea of the cyborg in relation to robots in his short story "Segregationist", collected in The Complete Robot. " Segregationist " is a Science fiction Short story by Isaac Asimov. The Complete Robot is a collection of Science fiction Short stories by Isaac Asimov written between 1940 and 1976, which

The 1972 science fiction novel Cyborg, by Martin Caidin, told the story of a man whose damaged body parts are replaced by mechanical devices. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Cyborg is the title of a Science fiction / Secret agent novel by Martin Caidin which was first published in 1972 Martin Caidin ( September 14, 1927 &ndash March 24, 1997) was an American author and an authority on Aeronautics and This novel was later adapted into a TV series, The Six Million Dollar Man, in 1973, and its spin-off, The Bionic Woman in 1976. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U The Six Million Dollar Man is an American Television series about a fictional Cyborg working for the OSI (which was usually said to refer The Bionic Woman is an American television series which spun off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Caidin also addressed bionics in his 1968 novel, The God Machine.

In 1974, Marvel Comics writer Rich Buckler introduced the cyborg Deathlok the Demolisher, and a dystopian post-apocalyptic future, in Astonishing Tales #25. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc For the US Representative from Minnesota, see Rich T Buckler. Deathlok (also referred to as Deathlok the Demolisher) is a Fictional Cyborg published by Marvel Comics. A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society Astonishing Tales was the name of an Anthology Comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1970-1976 Buckler's character dealt with rebellion and loyalty, with allusion to Frankenstein's monster, in a twelve-issue run. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a Novel written by the British author Mary Shelley Deathlok was later resurrected in Captain America.

The 1982 film Blade Runner featured creatures called replicants, bio-engineered or bio-robotic beings. Blade Runner is a 1982 American Science fiction Film, directed by Ridley Scott. A replicant is a bioengineered or biorobotic being created in the film Blade Runner (1982 The Nexus series — genetically designed by the Tyrell Corporation — are virtually identical to an adult human, but have superior strength, agility, and variable intelligence depending on the model. The Tyrell Corporation is a fictional Megacorporation from the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade Runner. Because of their physical similarity to humans a replicant must be detected by its lack of emotional responses and empathy to questions posed in a Voight-Kampff test. The Voight-Kampff machine or device is a fictional tool originating in Philip K Dick's Science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? A derogatory term for a replicant is "skin-job," a term heard again extensively in Battlestar Galactica. The Battlestar Galactica Science fiction franchise which began as a 1978 TV series, was "reimagined" in 2003 into a TV miniseries In the opening crawl of the film, they are first said to be the next generation in robotics. The crawl also states genetics play some role in the creation of replicants. The original novel makes mention of the biological components of the androids, but also alludes to the mechanical aspects commonly found in other material relating to robots.

The 1987 science fiction action film RoboCop features a cyborg protagonist. Action movies are a Film genre where action sequences such as fights, Shootouts Stunts Car chases or explosions either take precedence RoboCop is a 1987 Cyberpunk film directed by Paul Verhoeven. The film features Peter Weller, Dan O'Herlihy, Kurtwood After being killed by a criminal gang, police officer Alex Murphy is transformed by a private company into a cyborg cop. The transformation is used to explore the theme of reification and identity. Identity is an Umbrella term used throughout the Social sciences to describe an individual's comprehension of him or herself as a discrete separate entity There are cyborg kaiju in the Godzilla films such as Gigan and Mechagodzilla. is a Japanese word that means "strange beast" but often translated in English as " Monster. Etymology Name "Godzilla" is a combination of two Japanese words and. Film and TV appearances In Godzilla vs Gigan, Gigan is summoned to Earth by the Nebula M Space Hunter aliens, he was paired with Showa The original Mechagodzilla was created as a weapon of destruction by the Simians.

Although frequently referred to onscreen as a cyborg, The Terminator might be more properly an android. The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction / Action film directed and co-written by James Cameron. An android is a Robot designed to resemble a human usually both in appearance and behavior While it has skin and blood (cellular organic systems), these serve mainly as a disguise and are not symbiotic with the machine components, a trait of true cyborgs. This article is about the biological phenomenon for other uses see Symbiosis (disambiguation The term symbiosis (from the Greek The endoskeletons beneath are fully functional robots and have been seen operating independently, especially during the future segments of the Terminator movies. The T-1000 (which is said to be made completely of a liquid metal) of Terminator 2 is definitely an android. The T-1000 is a fictional Android Assassin featured as the main Antagonist in Terminator 2 Judgment Day. Terminator 2 Judgment Day, commonly abbreviated as T2, is a 1991 action / Science fiction film directed co-written The Terminator Cameron Phillips seen in the 2008 TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is of a previously unseen model, and is once again referred to on screen (including once by another Terminator) as a cyborg. Cameron Phillips is a Fictional character on the FOX Television series Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which is a spin-off Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles is an American Science fiction Television series produced by Warner Bros

One of the most famous cyborgs is Darth Vader from the Star Wars films. Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader is a fictional character in George Lucas ' Science fiction saga Star Wars. Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, a famous Jedi turned to the Dark Side. See also Darth Vader Anakin Skywalker (often called Ani by his friends and loved ones is the main Protagonist / Antagonist and The Jedi are members of a fictional monastic order in the ''Star Wars'' galaxy, created by George After a furious battle with his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin is left for dead beside a lava flow on Mustafar, and is outfitted with an artificial life support system as well as robotic arms and legs. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Fictional character in the Star Wars universe. General Grievous, Lobot, and Luke Skywalker are the three other most prominent cyborgs in the Star Wars universe. General Grievous is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe and was the chief antagonist in Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the This is a list of minor characters in the fictional Star Wars universe who are part of the Rebel Alliance. Luke Skywalker is the main protagonist of the Star Wars universe portrayed by Mark Hamill in the films Star Wars Episode IV

In Akira Toriyama's manga and anime series Dragon Ball', a scientist named Dr. Gero created several cyborgs, including villain Cell, sibling cyborgs Android 17 and Android 18, as well as Android 20, who was built from Gero himself. born on April 5 1955 in Kiyosu, Aichi, Japan, is a widely known and acclaimed Japanese manga artist known mostly for his creation of ˈmɑŋgə is the Japanese word for Comics (sometimes called komikku コミック and print Cartoons In their modern form manga date from shortly (anime in Japanese, A cyborg is a Cybernetic Organism ( ie, an organism that has both artificial and natural systems

A direct brain-to-computer interface is a valuable, but expensive, luxury in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's novel Oath of Fealty. Laurence van Cott Niven (born April 30, 1938 Los Angeles California) is a US Science fiction author. Jerry Eugene Pournelle (born August 7, 1933) is an American Science fiction Writer, Essayist and Journalist An Oath of fealty, from the Latin fidelitas ( Faithfulness) is a pledge of Allegiance of one person to another

In the manga and anime series Ghost in the Shell, Motoko Kusanagi lived in a world where the majority of adults are cyborgs and can connect wirelessly to the Internet for real-time communication and data research. is a Japanese Cyberpunk Manga created by Masamune Shirow, and first published in 1989 in Young The most common augmentation in the series were artificial brains called cyberbrains.

Bruce Sterling in his universe of Shaper/Mechanist suggested an idea of alternative cyborg called Lobster, which is made not by using internal implants, but by using an external shell (e. Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American Science fiction author, best known for his novels and his seminal work on the Mirrorshades The Shaper/Mechanist universe is the setting for a series of Science fiction short stories (and the novel Schismatrix) written by the author Bruce g. a Powered Exoskeleton). A powered Exoskeleton is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of a skeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the ^[20] Unlike human cyborgs that appear human externally while being synthetic internally, a Lobster looks inhuman externally but contains a human internally. The computer game Deus Ex: Invisible War prominently featured three clans of Omar, where "Omar" is a Russian translation of the word "Lobster" (since the clans are of Russian origin in the game). Deus Ex Invisible War is a first-person Computer and video game developed by Ion Storm Inc This is a list of organizations within the world of the futuristic Cyberpunk Computer game Deus Ex Invisible War.

[Mercedes_Lackey[2]. In the "Brainships" Universe started by the "The Ship who sang", these brainships can be seen as the ultimate cyborgs. A human body at the bare minimum encased in the strongest materials available in that universe, controlling spaceships with the capability to cross universes combined with full body sensored androids linked to the human brain in the brainship, even enabling full bodely interaction baring creating offspring.

Cyborgs in Art

Art has become a successful way to make people aware of the concept of Cyborgology. Because the word itself has a connotation of science fiction, people tend to believe that cyborgs exist only in the imagination of writers and artists. Some artists, like Isa Gordon, focus their work on cyborg awareness and the concept of merging humans and machines.

There are many types of art that work towards creating awareness about cybernetic organisms (or cyborgs). These can range from paintings to installations. Some artists who create such works are Motohiko Odani, Nick Lampert, Patricia Peccinin, Jenifer Gonzalez (who has an article on the book The Cyborg Handbook by Chris Hables Gray), and Orlan and Stelarc (who appear on the book The Cyborg Experiments by Zylinska).

Artists using cyborgs as subjects: Nick Lampert: http://www.machineanimalcollages.com/ Patricia Peccinini: http://patriciapiccinini.net/ Simbiotica and Oron Catts: http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/ Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle: http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/moving_pictures/highlights_15a.html

Man-machine hybridization is even beginning to manifest in the artistic process itself, with computerized drawing pads replacing pen and paper, and drum machines becoming nearly as popular as human drummers. This is perhaps most notable in generative art/music. Composers such as Brian Eno have developed and utilized software which can build entire musical scores from a few basic mathematical parameters. ^[21]

List of Known Cyborgs

• Randall Schmidt - Left ear hearing surgically enhanced with titanium parts.
• Kevin Warwick - Had a chip implanted to his arm for a while. Kevin Warwick (born 9 February 1954 Coventry, UK is a British scientist and professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading

See also

References

For further reading:

• Balsamo, Anne. Technologies of the Gendered Body: Reading Cyborg Women. Durham: Duke University Press, 1996.
• Caidin, Martin. Cyborg; A Novel. New York: Arbor House, 1972.
• Clark, Andy. Natural-Born Cyborgs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Crittenden, Chris. "Self-Deselection: Technopsychotic Annihilation via Cyborg. " Ethics & the Environment 7. 2 (Autumn 2002): 127-152.
• Franchi , Stefano, and Güven Güzeldere, eds. Mechanical Bodies, Computational Minds: Artificial Intelligence from Automata to Cyborgs. MIT Press, 2005.
• Flanagan, Mary, and Austin Booth, eds. Reload: Rethinking Women + Cyberculture. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 2002.
• Gray, Chris Hables. Cyborg Citizen: Politics in the Posthuman Age. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 2001.
• Gray, Chris Hables, ed. The Cyborg Handbook. New York: Routledge, 1995.
• Grenville, Bruce, ed. The Uncanny: Experiments in Cyborg Culture. Arsenal Pulp Press, 2002.
• Halacy, D. S. Cyborg: Evolution of the Superman. New York: Harper & Row, 1965.
• Halberstam, Judith, and Ira Livingston. Posthuman Bodies. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.
• Haraway, Donna. Simians, Cyborgs, and Women; The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge, 1990.
• Klugman, Craig. "From Cyborg Fiction to Medical Reality. " Literature and Medicine 20. 1 (Spring 2001): 39-54.
• Kurzweil, Ray. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. Viking, 2005.
• Mann, Steve. "Telematic Tubs against Terror: Bathing in the Immersive Interactive Media of the Post-Cyborg Age. " Leonardo 37. 5 (October 2004): 372-373.
• Mann, Steve, and Hal Niedzviecki. Cyborg: digital destiny and human possibility in the age of the wearable computer Doubleday, 2001. The Doubleday Publishing Group is the fifth largest Book Publishing company in the world ISBN 0-385-65825-7 (A paperback version also exists, ISBN 0-385-65826-5).
• Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell. is an internationally renowned Manga artist born Masanori Ota (太田 まさのり Ōta Masanori) on November 23, 1961. is a Japanese Cyberpunk Manga created by Masamune Shirow, and first published in 1989 in Young Endnotes, 1991. Kodansha ISBN 4-7700-2919-5. is the largest Japanese publisher headquartered in ( Bunkyo) Tokyo.
• Mitchell, William. Me++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 2003.
• Muri, Allison. The Enlightenment Cyborg: A History of Communications and Control in the Human Machine, 1660–1830. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006.
• Muri, Allison. Of Shit and the Soul: Tropes of Cybernetic Disembodiment. Body & Society 9. 3 (2003): 73–92.
• Nishime, LeiLani. "The Mulatto Cyborg: Imagining a Multiracial Future. " Cinema Journal 44. 2 (Winter 2005), 34-49.
• The Oxford English dictionary. 2nd ed. edited by J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. Oxford: Clarendon Press; Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Vol 4 p. 188.
• Rorvik, David M. As Man Becomes Machine: the Evolution of the Cyborg. Garden City, N. Y. : Doubleday, 1971. The Doubleday Publishing Group is the fifth largest Book Publishing company in the world
• Rushing, Janice Hocker, and Thomas S. Frentz. Projecting the Shadow: The Cyborg Hero in American Film. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
• Smith, Marquard, and Joanne Morra, eds. The Prosthetic Impulse: From a Posthuman Present to a Biocultural Future. MIT Press, 2005.
• The science fiction handbook for readers and writers. By George S. Elrick. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1978, p. 77.
• The science fiction encyclopaedia. General editor, Peter Nicholls, associate editor, John Clute, technical editor, Carolyn Eardley, contributing editors, Malcolm Edwards, Brian Stableford. Malcolm John Edwards (born 1949) is a British editor and critic in the Science fiction field 1st ed. Garden City, N. Y. : Doubleday, 1979, p. The Doubleday Publishing Group is the fifth largest Book Publishing company in the world 151.
• Warwick, Kevin. I,Cyborg, University of Illinois Press, 2004.
• Yoshito Ikada, Bio Materials: an approach to Artificial Organs. (バイオマテリアル: 人工臓器へのアプローチ)

External links

• The Cyborg Database
• Top Ten Cybernetic Upgrades Everyone Will Want by Michael Anissimov
• Rangeresqe Military Cyborgs
• Are you a cyborg? by Alexander Chislenko
• Border Crossings: Cyborgs
• Cyberman reviews
• Cyborgblog
• Cyborg Fantasies
• Futures wiki, Cyborg
• The open-source Electroencephalography project; The open-source programmable chip Electroencephalography project; wiki; WikiCities wiki
• Stelarc FROM ZOMBIE TO CYBORG BODIES - Extra Ear, Exoskeleton and Avatars
• TransVision: Transhumanism Conference, 2004
• Wetware Technology
• World Transhumanist Association
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