THE AUTHORITY ON THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY September/October 2007 The iPhone, www.technologyreview.com Cracked Open p30 Can a Pill Extend Life? p78 MIT NEWS Ellen Swallow Richards pM12 Contents Volume 110, Number 5 Features 47 The TR35 Technology Review presents its seventh class of outstanding innovators under the age of 35. These driven, creative people will alter the state of medicine, computing, communications, and energy. Their work represents the future of technology. 78 The Enthusiast A controversial biologist at Harvard claims he can extend life span and treat diseases of aging. He just may be right. By David Ewing Duncan 84 Essay: Letter to a Young Scientist In this excerpt from his newly released memoir, the famous biologist tells By James Watson Cover illustration by Oliver Hibert of his role in determining the structure of DNA. 7 Contributors Hack Reviews Letters 8 30 The iPhone 98 Higher Games 10 From the Editor Apples phone sets a new standard, Its been 10 years since IBMs Deep but not with wholly unique hardware. Blue beat Garry Kasparov in chess. Forward By Daniel Turner What did the match mean? By Daniel C. Dennett 19 Mapping Censorship When it comes to Internet censorship, Q&A 100 Electric Cars 2.0 China and Iran top the list 32 Alieu Conteh Plug-in hybrids could bring gas-free 20 Shopping Search How an African entrepreneur put commutes. But will they get made? A cell-phone service guides users to cell phones in Congo By Kevin Bullis nearby bargains—sometimes By Jason Pontin 102 Patent Law Gets Saner 20 Portable Hurricane The U.S. Supreme Court has sent a Machine will help Florida update its Notebooks clear message to “patent trolls.” building codes for storms By Scott Feldmann 36 Protecting Security and Privacy 21 Nano Curry The ubiquitous computational Demo Encased curcumin could be a drug devices of tomorrow will pose risks. 21 Seeing Signs of Diabetes By Tadayoshi Kohno 104 Illuminating Silicon Optical devices made of silicon Molecular tracers spot the disease 36 The Future of Manufacturing could transform communications 22 Silicon-Based Spintronics Self-assembly is the key to building networks and computing. First-of-its-kind computing prototype complex nano devices. By Kate Greene By Babak A. Parviz 22 Self-Healing Plastic A material repairs itself multiple times 37 Cells by Design From the Labs 24 Wireless Recharging What synthetic biology most needs is 108 Nanotechnology MIT researchers send power two a better way to synthesize DNA. By J. Christopher Anderson 109 Biotechnology meters with no wires 110 Information Technology 24 Invisible Ink from Xerox Cartridge works in standard printers Photo Essay 5 Years Ago in TR 26 Featured Startup: Vlingo 38 Body Parts, New and Improved Companys voice-recognition Amputee athletes are getting faster 112 Please Dont Give Me a Break! interface unlocks the mobile Web and stronger. Catching up with Max Levchin And more ... By Emily Singer By Michael Patrick Gibson 2 CONTENTS TECHNOLOGY REVIEW september/october 2007 TechnologyReview.com Whats New on Our Website technologyreview.com/tr35 technologyreview.com/prostheses lar biolo gist who discovered the anti- Learn more about the TR35 honorees This issue of the magazine features a aging gene sir2 more than a decade on our website. See Josh Bongards beautiful photo essay on amputee ath- ago, and Christoph Westphal, CEO robots explore new terrain in com- letes who use a range of new, sophis- and cofounder (with Sinclair) of puter simulations (p. 74), or toy with ticated prostheses (p. 38). Online, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, the article a virtual nanogenerator based on youll i nd video of the athletes in is an excellent technical introduc- Xudong Wangs research (p. 72). action. See Rudy Garcia-Tolson cycle tion to this exciting i eld of research. Youll also i nd mini- documentaries using a prosthetic knee, and watch about the TR35 Innovator of the Hugh Herr easily attach, adjust, Year, David Berry, and Humani- and walk on his powered ankle. tarian of the Year, Tapan Parikh. technologyreview.com/sirtuins This issue features a proi le of David Sinclair, a controversial Harvard biolo gist who is testing drugs to i ght aging (p. 78). Online, weve posted an explanation of the science technologyreview.com/iphone behind antiaging genes and how a This month, Technology Review new class of compounds might acti- takes the Apple iPhone apart and vate them. Written by Sinclair and explains whats inside (p. 30). Check several of his colleagues, including out our website for an animated Leonard Guarente, the MIT molecu- look at the phones hardware. Think Smart. ThinkFire. Maximize the value of your inventions. If you believe your patents have signifi cant value, h inkFire can help you realize it. As the leading intellectual property strategy fi rm, h inkFire partners with patent owners of all sizes to sell or license their inventions. We charge no upfront fees. We get paid when you do. h inkFire has achieved more than $1.5 billion in sales, licenses and judgments for patent owners worldwide. TECHNOLOGYwww.thinkfi REVIEW september re.com/october 2007 For more information contact csommers@thinkfiTECHNOLOGYREVIEW re.com. .COM 3 Editor in Chief and Publisher Corporate Advertising Sales China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Jason Pontin and Thailand Chief Financial Offi cer Senior Vice President and Herb Moskowitz Rick Crowley Director of Advertising Sales Editorial [email protected] Chief Operating Offi cer Maureen Elmaleh 852-28-38-87-02 Editor James Coyle [email protected] David Rotman 212-419-2823 Japan Executive Assistant Deputy Editor Shigeru Kobayashi Nate Nickerson Leila Snyder New York and Northeast [email protected] 813-3261-4591 Art Director Manager of Information Technology Johanna Zottarelli-Duffe Lee Caulfi eld Colby Wheeler [email protected] 212-419-2824 South Korea S. Y. Jo Chief Correspondent Marketing [email protected] David Talbot New England and Midwest Senior Vice President, Business 82-27-39-78-40 Senior Editor Development and Marketing Barry Echavarria [email protected] Erika Jonietz Kathleen Kennedy Taiwan 603-924-7586 Keith Lee Senior Editor, MIT News Senior Graphic Designer [email protected] Alice Dragoon Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Matthew Bouchard 886-2-25-23-82-68 Clive Bullard Biotechnology and Marketing Communications Manager [email protected] Life Sciences Editor Stephanie Corner Emily Singer 845-231-0846 Advertising Services Sales and Marketing Coördinator [email protected] Information Technology and Amy Lammers Northwest and Southwest 617-475-8004 Computer Science Editor Patrick Viera Advertising Services Coördinator Kate Greene [email protected] Media Kit Nanotechnology and David A. Schmidt 415-659-2982 www.technologyreview.com/media Materials Science Editor Kevin Bullis Consumer Marketing Northwest Steve Thompson Technology Review Associate Editor Circulation Director [email protected] One Main Street, 7th Floor Katherine Bourzac Heather Holmes 415-435-4678 Cambridge MA 02142 Copy Chief Fulfi llment Manager Tel: 617-475-8000 Linda Lowenthal Tina Bellomy France Fax: 617-475-8043 Philippe Marquezy Copy Editor Customer Service Coördinator [email protected] Larry Hardesty Karen Stallone 33-1-4270-0008 Research Editor Jessica B. Baker Finance Germany Michael Hanke Editorial Assistant Accountant [email protected] Michael P. Gibson Letitia Trecartin 49-511-5352-167 Assistant Designer Angela Tieri Board of Directors Europe Reid Ashe, Jerome I. Friedman, Anthony Fitzgerald Editorial Intern Elizabeth A. Garvin, Robert M. mail@afi tzgerald.co.uk Erica Naone Metcalfe, Theresa M. Stone, 44-1488-680623 Production Consultant Sheila E. Widnall, Ann J. Wolpert James LaBelle Contributing Editors Relaunch Fund Simson Garfi nkel, Mark Williams Millennial Patron Robert M. Metcalfe TechnologyReview.com Centennial Patrons Vice President, Online Steve Kirsch, DuWayne David Foucher J. Peterson Jr. Managing Editor Rachel Ross Customer service and subscription inquiries the authority on the future of Graphic Designer Technology Review, Inc., Conrad Warre National: 800-877-5230 technology, identifi es emerging technologies and analyzes their impact International: 386-447-6352 Web Producer for technology leaders. Technology Review publishes Technology Review www.technologyreview.com/ Brittany Sauser customerservice magazine (the oldest technology magazine in the world, founded in Web Copy Editor Permissions: 978-750-8400 1899) and the daily website TechnologyReview.com; it also produces Nell Beram Reprints: 717-399-1900 x118 live events such as the Emerging Technologies Conference. Technology Web Developers MIT Records: 617-253-8270 Shaun Calhoun, Michael Callahan, (alums only) Review is an independent media company owned by the Massachusetts Sarah Redman Institute of Technology. The views expressed in our various publications De Technologia non multum scimus. Scimus autem, quid nobis placeat. and at our events are often not shared by MIT. 4 TECHNOLOGY REVIEW september/october 2007 Wherever in the world you compete, Michigan can give you the upper hand. 342 IN A SERIES OF THOUSANDS ePrize is the model for innovation and Internet success. Michigan helped them break the mold. If you thought you needed a West Coast zip code to make it on the web, think again. Case in point: ePrize — a globally successful interactive promotion company that works with the world’s top brands. Not only did ePrize fi nd a great creative talent pool here with some of the best colleges and universities on the planet, they also found a great place to call home in Pleasant Ridge, Michigan. Hot clubs, great restaurants, year-round sports and recreation, friendly tree-lined neighborhoods and a world-class arts community. ePrize also found fi nancial and economic incentives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to put their Internet business out in front. As Josh Linkner, founder and CEO of ePrize, put it…“All the production, all the technology, all the innovation, is happening right here in Michigan.” So is it time to move your entrepreneurial company to Michigan? Absolutely.