The Future of Everything

Heart attacks, burns, strokes, disease and just plain-old aging can devastate human tissues. But, emboldened by new understandings about the building blocks of life, engineers are applying their unique skill sets to creating replacement parts for the body. It sounds like magic, says host and bioengineer Russ Altman, but it’s anything but. From synthetic mortars holding the biobricks of life togeth...

For years, cancer treatment was confined to three flawed strategies. You could cut it out with a scalpel, you could burn it out with radiation, or you could kill it with chemicals. “Today, we are amid a renaissance in cancer treatment,” says Stanford bioengineer Jennifer Cochran. “We are creating designer proteins and using them to deliver drugs or to harness the immune system to help stop this ki...

Manu Prakash is a bioengineer, a physicist and an inventor, who has developed a $1.50 foldable microscope and the 20-cent “paperfuge” that are democratizing biosciences in parts of the world where resources are scarce and electricity is nonexistent. Prakash’s passion flows from his deep love and understanding for how physics operates in the microscopic realm, in which bacteria, parasites and virus...

From weaponized anthrax to killer strains of bird flu, we often hear only the worst of the worst when it comes to the microbes who share our world. The truth, however, is far from horrific. Bacteria do far more good for us than bad, and most viruses are harmless. In this episode, host Russ Altman, professor of bioengineering, talks to infectious disease expert David Relman about his studies of one...

As a founding member and former chair of the Department of Bioengineering, possibly no one has enjoyed a better purview on the recent remarkable advances in biotechnology than Stanford's Russ Altman. From genome editing to synthetic biology to cloning, the ethical challenges of the field are almost as great as the therapeutic upsides, and advances often outpace our ability to contend with the ethi...

The vast distances and extreme conditions of outer space make the prospects for remote control of exploratory vehicles extremely challenging, if not impossible. Stanford professor of aeronautics and astronautics, Marco Pavone, says the solution is to apply what we’ve learned about autonomous vehicles here on Earth to the mysterious reaches of space. From vehicles that hop to swarms of robots to Ge...

On the eve of the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, medical doctor and bioengineer Russ Altman and Stanford anesthesiologist Audrey Shafer reflect on the enduring relevance of the book many call the first science fiction novel. From artificial intelligence to stem cells, climate change to organ transplantation, Frankenstein’s monster seems more relevant tha...

Living in quake-prone California, Russ Altman is no stranger to the impending threat of natural disaster, but watching a devastating hurricane season in full force, he's wondered whether there’s anything society can do to better prepare for — or even lessen— the impact of severe storms. Geophysicist and engineer Jenny Suckale says that, while there is much we do not know about the future, there ar...

As a bioengineer, Russ Altman has long marveled at intersection of biology and engineering that is modern robotics. Recently, he found himself wondering: what’s the next big thing in this intriguing field? Mechanical engineer Allison Okamura says that robots that incorporate the sense of touch — either to understand the world around them or to provide better feedback to humans — are stretching bou...

If you’ve ever flown coast to coast or around the world, perhaps you wonder, as “Future of Everything” host Russ Altman did recently, whether engineers know how to design small drones for purposes like delivering goods and/or performing services in urban airspaces. But as Stanford mechanical engineer David Lentink explains, the physics of flight change unfavorably when aircraft get small. That's w...

From his perch at Stanford, nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley, Russ Altman wonders whether the silicon-based electronics of which we Earthlings are so proud have the right stuff to help us explore the extreme environments of space? Not really, says Debbie Senesky. She works at the intersection of aerospace and electrical engineering to develop new semiconductor materials that can survive the...

In the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford’s Russ Altman and Euan Ashley discuss wearable technology, data and the extraordinary challenges when diagnoses elude physicians and their patients. Ashley is a professor of medicine (cardiovascular) and by courtesy, of pathology at the Stanford University Medical Center. Listen to more episodes of the Future of Everything with host, bioengineering...

In the Future of Everything radio show, Kwabena Boahen discusses the evolution of computers and how the next big step forward will be to design chips that behave more like the human brain. Boahen is a professor of bioengineering and electrical engineering, exploring in his lab how these chips can interface with drones or with the human brain. “It's really early days,” he says. Connect With Us: Epi...

Getting lost seems to be a thing of the past, thanks to the ubiquity of Global Positioning System. Our phones and devices simply tell us where to go — and how long it will take to get there. But what are the risks? In the Future of Everything radio show, aeronautics and astronautics professor Per Enge discusses the accuracy of the system, how to keep the signals safe, and how systems will continue...

Getting a good night’s rest can be a struggle for many. Yet good “sleep hygiene” is critical to normal brain function and remaining healthy. Listen to bioengineering professor Russ Altman discuss the importance of rest with Emmanuel Mignot, the Craig Reynolds Professor of Sleep Medicine at Stanford School of Medicine. He discusses the phenomenon of narcolepsy in humans and dogs and some of its “bi...

In the Future of Everything radio show, Amy Zegart explains just how worried we need to be about cyber threats. Among the threats: the security of our nation and the safety of our children. “The cyber threat landscape is changing at the speed of cyber,” she says. “And our responses are changing at the speed of government. So there's a velocity problem.” Zegart, co-director of Stanford’s Center for...

In the Future of Everything radio show, Pamela J. Hinds, professor of management science & engineering, discusses how multinational companies can get the most from a work force operating across borders and time zones. Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering...

What’s most likely to go viral? Where do online trolls come from? How do recommendation engines work? What do fitness apps tell us about the world? In the Future of Everything radio show, Jure Leskovec, Stanford associate professor of computer science and Pinterest chief scientist discusses the power of social media. Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Websit...

In the Future of Everything radio show, bioengineer Russ Altman and food entrepreneur Pat Brown discuss the creation of a better meat. Brown, a Stanford professor of biochemistry, emeritus, devoted years to formulating meat from plant products that tastes and feels just like the real thing. Here’s how. Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with...

In the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford’s Russ Altman and John Dabiri discuss renewable energy and technologies that are inspired by nature. Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simpl...

Jennifer Dionne, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, talks about improving solar cells, creating invisibility, and how light could be used for less invasive medical procedures and cancer detection. Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering...

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: "Adding to the Senses with guest David Eagleman" David Eagleman, an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, discusses sensory addition through wearable technology. Originally aired on June 3, 2017, on SiriusXM. Recorded at Stanford Video. Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of...

On the Future of Everything radio show, bioengineering professor Drew Endy discusses what's next for the bio-economy. The question, he says, is, how do we get smarter at designing living systems? And the opportunity? “To focus attention on the fundamental tools by which people tinker and observe how biology is working.” Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Web...

At a live taping of The Future of Everything, a SiriusXM radio program hosted by Stanford bioengineering professor Russ Altman, two Stanford engineering professors discussed their contributions to two of the tech world’s most cutting edges: artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. Computer scientist Fei-Fei Li and mechanical engineer Chris Gerdes spoke about their work pushing the boundari...

In the Future of Everything radio show, Oussama Khatib, a computer scientist and director of the Stanford Robotics Lab, discusses a future in which robots and humans work together to solve some of the most difficult challenges facing humanity. Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with...