Digitized bodies, virtual spectacles

The magnitude of recent advances in biomedical technologies has contributed to a significant shift in the common perceptions of the human body. This visual revolution has been achieved through the combination of prosthetic science, simulation technologies, genomics, informatics, biomedical engineering and—most importantly—advanced visualization techniques that include entirely new vectors of bodily image enhancement. Digital manipulations have contributed to a dramatic change in the relationship(s) between humans and machines and even those between humans themselves. While the theoretical, ethical and practical features of these developments permeate practically every aspect of our daily lives and have extended our understanding of communication with respect to the human body, the consequences for the future are obscure.