On SF
Charlie Jane Anders @ io9: Is "Sense of Wonder" Just a Code for Returning to Childhood? (my answer: no way!)
Nancy Kress: SF is Dead - Again
Ben Bova: Science is so important to us, yet so unappreciated
Written Word
Wired Science lists science fiction novels that feature memory alteration
SF Signal interviews CJ Cherryh about her new novel Regenesis.
Jo Walton @ Tor.com reviews Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go
From A Sci-Fi Standpoint reviews James E. Gunn's 1962 novel, The Immortals.
Actually the Immortals appear very little in the book, primarily at the beginning, and play a relatively small role. As you read on, you find that the book is really all about issues relating to medicine and its role in society, and especially about its differential availability to those at various economic levels. Indeed, the hunt for the Immortals is really a metaphor of sorts for the privileged status of the ultra-rich who have access to the best, most cutting-edge medical care.
In a BBC interview, author Peter F. Hamilton (Night's Dawn) talked a bit about genetic engineering:
PFH: The genetic technology that hopefully will cure Spina Bifida one day could also be used to create viruses that could just wipe us out completely.
But does that mean you should stop researching genetics? We laugh, we hold politicians and the political process in contempt, but the societal structure of international law and order does actually hold that off.
Movies
What do you call a movie that is set in the very near future, explores biotechnology that is almost-but-not-quite-yet possible, but doesn't otherwise use any science fictional tropes? What if it's a bit too speculative to be considered true realism, but too realistic to quite be SF? I don't really have an answer (speculative bioethics?), but there are a couple of recent films that seem to fit the bill: My Sister's Keeper (watch the trailer at Genetics and Health) and The Baby Formula.
According to SciFi Wire, Warner plans to remake the BBC's Primeval as a big-screen movie.
Warner and Goldsman will transplant the action to the United States and ramp up the spectacle.Because battling dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures clearly just isn't actiony enough. BBC-America will show season 3 of Primeval beginning tonight, and SciFi is currently airing season 1 on Friday nights.
Center for the Study of Science Fiction has video of Forrest J. Ackerman on Mad Scientists in the Movies
Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go is being made into a movie starring Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield. It is being filmed in the UK and there is no word on whether the spectacle is bing
At SciFi Scanner Christine Fall writes about Sleep Dealers and new technological advances that may help allow scientists to translate brain activity into images.
Miriam at The Oyster's Garter compares Vampire ecology in Twilight vs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
CHUD.com reviews The Gene Generation, recently released on DVD. Bottom line: be very glad you didn't pay to see this movie in the theater.
Live Science: Can You Have Bones Like Wolverine?
ComputerWorld asks "Do sci-fi films get advanced tech right?" including genetic engineering.
Television
Science Not Fiction has a series of posts reviewing the science of each Fringe episode.
Popular Mechanics also has a series of posts reviewing the science of Fringe.
Also at Popular Mechanics: Dollhouse's Memory Science Mixes Fact With Fiction
Annalee Newitz @ io9: Five Brain-Maanipulating Technologies That Prove Dollhouse Exists Right Now
If you are interested in the science of Eleventh Hour, check out the regular Eleventh Hour posts at Science Not Fiction and Genevieve Valentine's posts at Tor.com.
Also Åsa Karlström has an article about the depiction of biophysicist Dr. Jacob Hood at LabLit.com
Tags:science fiction, biology
Posts
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