Bionic Bug Podcast

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 23. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on September 30, 2018. Just a quick intro today before we get to Bionic Bug. I spent the last few days visiting Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I met with a number of scientists and experts to talk about nanotechnology, synthetic biology, additive manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. I also had the opportunity to visit the National Ignition Facility. The facility contains the world’s largest laser. The laser focuses its energy on a spherical target consisting of hydrogen smaller than a pea to compress the fuel and induce fusion. The target is heated to more than 100 million degrees Celsius—hotter than the center of the sun. Scientists then measure different outputs of the experiment and use this to support research on fusion and ensure the effectiveness of our nuclear stockpile. Each use of the las