There are plenty of reasons to hate our government, from low quality cheese handouts to an embarrassing lack of prisoner-fueled gladiatorial events, but at least they have no problem telling scientists to stop sucking the creme filling from grants and start building robot arms. Darpa, the funds-holding financier of many military project, has put out a challenge to modern prostheticists to build a fake arm with, "enough finesse to pick up a raisin or to write in longhand. It needs to be sensitive enough for the wearer to demonstration to do day-to-day tasks in the dark. And the limb will have to be strong enough to lift 60 pounds at a time."

REPLACEMENT ARM, GOOD AS NEW [DefenseTech]

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