3D printed meat may be coming sooner than you think

Modern Meadow is developing technology to provide instant meat.

You have probably read about the “Googleburger,” so named because Google’s founder Sergey Brin bankrolled it. Have you heard of Modern Meadow, though? Modern Meadow is developing the technology that will someday in the distant future provide the meat counterpart of instant coffee: instant beef!  For now, it is focusing on synthetic meat made with 3D printers.

 

 

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Replacing batteries with super capacitors: Volvo’s quest to create the ultimate electric vehicle

The battery is the biggest limitation for electric vehicles (EV).  Tesla, General Motors, Nissan and others install heavy batteries that limit vehicle range and performance. The batteries take up as much as 15% of the vehicle’s total weight.

 

 

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Japanese inventor finds solution to global trash problem by converting plastic to oil

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Lg_kvLaAM[/youtube]

This YouTube video about the invention of a plastic-to-oil converting machine went viral and exceeded 3.7 million views. This shows that concern over “the plastic problem” is certainly not going away, despite encouraging bans on and decreases in the use of plastic shopping bags.

 

 

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Electric power without transmission lines

Hundreds of companies are investing in electricity transferred through magnetic fields.

Nikola Tesla, the inventor and rival to Thomas Edison, in the early 1900’s built the Wardenclyffe Tower, a 187-foot-high structure on Long Island, which he said could transmit electricity wirelessly. Financier J.Morgan backed the Wardenclyffe Tower. The project failed, and Tesla ended up broke. (In an earlier experiment in Colorado, Tesla had wirelessly lit up 200 lamps over a distance of 25 miles, but pedestrians witnessed sparks jumping between their feet and the ground, and electricity flowed from faucets when turned on. Oops.)

 

 

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Couples who text together don’t stay together: Study

Too much texting can disconnect couples.

Two researchers who study the societal effects of text messages, Lori Schade and Jonathan Sandberg of Brigham Young University, just released a new study claiming that too much texting can disconnect couples. Their research, published behind a paywall in the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, links too much texting to the stripping of nuance from a relationship.

 

 

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11 major trends in mass energy storage

What are energy CEO’s thinking?

Grid-Scale Energy Storage in North America 2013: Applications, Technologies, and Suppliers, author Chet Lyons spoke with dozens of energy storage CEOs and summarized their thoughts in a recent report. Below is an excerpt of his 311-page report, highlighting eleven common threads shared by energy storage executives.

 

 

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U.S. State Department and Coursera partner to support free education in over 30 countries

The State Departments’ goal is having more foreigners learn English and experience the U.S. education system.

U.S. embassies around the world this fall are hosting weekly discussions for students enrolled in free online courses, called MOOCs, in partnership with Coursera, the Silicon Valley-based platform with over 5 million users. Embassy employees and Fulbright fellows (Fulbright being an academic exchange program sponsored by the State Department) will volunteer to host the discussions. There will be over 30 sites to begin with, in countries like India, China, and Bolivia. Topics include English, science, technology, engineering, business, and U.S. civics.

 

 

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FAA approves using electronics throughout your entire flight

Individual airlines still have to prove to the FDA that in-air electronics during takeoff and landing are safe for their fleet.

The Federal Aviation Administration has finally relaxed the restrictions on in-flight electronics usage. New regulations allow passengers to use e-book readers, play games, and watch videos on devices as long as they are in airplane mode.

 

 

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Lockheed Martin’s SPAN spy rock could be the military’s new secret weapon

The surveillance technology is so small it can fit in a rock.

Lockheed Martin showcased developments in their surveillance technology called SPAN (Self-Powered Ad-hoc Network) at the annual AUSA Army meeting in Washington, D.C. last week. SPAN, a “covert, perpetually self-powered wireless sensor network” that can provide “unobtrusive, continuous surveillance” in units so small they can fit in a rock.

 

 

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Why we have ridiculous standards of beauty In just 37 Seconds

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17j5QzF3kqE[/youtube]

There is the reason that even when a woman is in really great shape, wears a size 4, and is healthy, it is never good enough for them.  All of our logic and intelligence have trouble combatting what we’ve seen as “perfect” day after day.

 

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.