Book excerpt: As Star Trek celebrates its 50th anniversary, the futuristic tools of Kirk, Spock, Scott, and McCoy continue to come to life. This book merges Star Trek scientific lore—how the science of the time informed the implementation of technology in the series—and the science as it is playing out today. Scientists and engineers have made and continue to develop replicators, teletransporters, tractor beams, and vision restoring visors. This book combines the vision of 1966 science fiction with the latest research in physics, biotechnology, and engineering.