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DaVinci Speakers

Currently browsing posts found in March2005


All You Can’t Eat

March 31st, 2005 at 11:43 pm » Comments (0)

Even a slight decrease in calories may lead to longer lifespans.



‘Bionic Eye’ to Reverse Blindness

March 31st, 2005 at 11:33 pm » Comments (0)

A “bionic eye” may one day help blind people see again, according to US researchers who have successfully tested the system in rats.



World’s First Space Hotel

March 31st, 2005 at 11:29 pm » Comments (0)

For his next hotel enterprise, Robert Bigelow is looking beyond the bright lights of Las Vegas—beyond Earth’s atmosphere, in fact. He is actively engaged in an effort to build the planet’s first orbiting space hotel.



World’s Newest Musical Instrument – Drum Head

March 31st, 2005 at 9:55 am » Comments (0)

Drum|head is a cybernetic percussion instrument, a performance device, using a human head as the percussion instrument – the face responds appropriately and a sound is generated. The video is hilarious.



Taxidermist turns Pets into Pillows

March 31st, 2005 at 12:09 am » Comments (0)

A US taxidermist has come up with a strange way to keep the memory of dead pets alive – cushions made from their fur.



Does Language Matter More?

March 31st, 2005 at 12:04 am » Comments (0)

Seth Godin: In the old days, you’d go down to the American Express office and talk to a real person. They would use eye contact and hand motions and could gauge your responses in order to make themselves understood.



Most Chinese want ‘a Foreign Wife’

March 30th, 2005 at 11:39 pm » Comments (0)

Nearly 63 per cent of Chinese citizens would like to marry a foreigner, according to a new survey.



Brain-building Protein Identified

March 30th, 2005 at 11:29 pm » Comments (0)

A protein that’s key to determining the developing brain’s size and shape could be used to manipulate stem cells to rebuild the organ in adults.



The World’s Most Sensitive Scale

March 30th, 2005 at 11:16 pm » Comments (0)

The world’s most sensitive scales can now detect a cluster of xenon atoms a billion, trillion times lighter than a gram.



In Three Years Yahoo Stock Climbs 346%

March 30th, 2005 at 11:08 pm » Comments (0)

Since 2001, Yahoo’s aggregate revenues have more than quadrupled, to $3.6 billion, and its market valuation has more than tripled, to $43 billion. Profits reached $840 million in 2004.



Digitizing the Movie Industry

March 30th, 2005 at 10:53 pm » Comments (0)

As co-owner of Landmark Theatres, a chain of 60 cinemas he purchased two years ago, Mark Cuban is building the first all-digital theater empire. His goal is nothing less than to take the film out of the film industry.



Buying Lingerie for Dead Relatives

March 30th, 2005 at 7:49 am » Comments (0)

Black lace bras, see-through panties, and wedding dresses are among the racier paper offerings on sale ahead of the Ching Ming festival, during which believers burn likenesses of items their late loved ones would like in heaven.



Generic Sperm Available on the Net

March 30th, 2005 at 12:00 am » Comments (0)

A website which supplies sperm to single women and lesbians who want to have a baby claims that it has found a way around Britain’s new laws overturning donor anonymity.



A Dying Craft, or a Dying Business?

March 29th, 2005 at 11:50 pm » Comments (0)

Dan Gillmor:
I now take it for granted that newspapers are trapped — highly profitable businesses that can’t or won’t take the kind of risks that will be crucial to survival.



Electric Acupuncture Drops Blood Pressure

March 29th, 2005 at 11:45 pm » Comments (0)

Acupuncture combined with low levels of electrical stimulation can lower blood pressure by up to 50% in animals, suggesting that it could be a good drug-free intervention for treating hypertension.



The One-Minute Lithium-Ion Battery

March 29th, 2005 at 11:35 pm » Comments (0)

Toshiba Corporation today announced a breakthrough in lithium-ion batteries that makes long recharge times a thing of the past. The company’s new battery can recharge 80% of a battery’s energy capacity in only one minute.



World’s First Optical Networking Chip

March 29th, 2005 at 11:30 pm » Comments (0)

A San Francisco start-up has beaten Intel in the race to build fibre optics directly into a silicon chip.



Brazil Leading the Free Software Movement

March 29th, 2005 at 11:25 pm » Comments (0)

Since taking office two years ago, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has turned Brazil into a tropical outpost of the free software movement.



The Aftermath of India’s New Patent Law

March 29th, 2005 at 11:10 pm » Comments (0)

India is facing the aftermath of a new patent law that bans making cheaper copies of new patented drugs.



Hypnotist Blamed for Causing Revolution

March 29th, 2005 at 9:41 am » Comments (0)

A hypnotist has been blamed for starting a violent revolution in Kyrgyzstan.



Real-World Advice for the Young

March 29th, 2005 at 9:35 am » Comments (0)

Rich Karlgaard: Our country spends $900 billion a year on education of all kinds–or about 8% of GDP. What do we get for it? Less and less. Our K-12 schooling has slipped out of the world’s top ten ranking. Our colleges are supposedly the best, but a deeper look into this claim is scary.



Testing Stun Guns on Pigs

March 29th, 2005 at 9:22 am » Comments (0)

A professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison plans to study whether stun guns alone can kill pigs – or whether other medical factors must be at play – as part of an effort to understand why 70 people have died in North America since 2001 after being shocked by Tasers.



Curing Obesity through Sterility

March 29th, 2005 at 9:14 am » Comments (0)

California is the first state in the Union to offer state-funded vasectomies to men who have been diagnosed as obese.



Photovoltaics Made with Titanium Foil

March 29th, 2005 at 9:04 am » Comments (0)

A company called Daystartech has released a new type of photovoltaic cell which, unlike almost all the cells currently in use, does not include silicon.



30 Second Bone Density Test

March 29th, 2005 at 1:39 am » Comments (0)

The accuDEXA® Bone Mineral Density (BMD) Assessment System makes possible a better future for millions by providing a quick, convenient, and economical aid in determining fracture risk.