Three myths about genetically modified crops

GM crop technologies have seen dramatic uptake in the past 20 years.

It can be hard to see where scientific evidence ends and dogma and speculation begin in the debate over genetically modified (GM) foods and crops. In the almost 20 years since they were first commercialized, GM crop technologies have seen dramatic uptake. Advocates say that they have increased agricultural production by more than US$98 billion and saved an estimated 473 million kilograms of pesticides from being sprayed. But critics question their environmental, social and economic impacts.

 

 

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IBM makes world’s smallest movie ever

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSCX78-8-q0[/youtube]

The world’s smallest movie made by IBM Research has carbon monoxide atoms being moved around on a copper surface with a scanning tunneling microscope. The 250-frame stop-motion film, entitled “A Boy and His Atom,” uses discrete atoms to draw a stick-figure-like boy that bounces on a trampoline and plays catch with an individual atom “ball.”

 

 

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Getting around the peak car conumdrum

New breakthroughs in connecting cars to the cloud (and eliminating the need for car ownership) show what a better future for cars might look like.

The global automotive industry is on a run by all accounts. Globally, sales are surging. Advances in hybrids, electric vehicles, and even conventional petrol engines are delivering eye-popping mileage gains.

 

 

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Internet sales tax will force small businesses to abide by tax codes in 9,646 different jurisdictions

Every business could face 46 separate audits (from the 45 states that collect sales taxes plus the District of Columbia).

Legislation on internet sales tax could subject small online businesses to up to 46 state audits. And since sales taxes vary among thousands of tax jurisdictions across the country, the chances that auditors will find mistakes—and slap the business owners with penalties—are very good. If truth-in-advertising requirements applied to legislation, says Heritage Action’s Dan Holler, the Marketplace Fairness Act would be renamed the Tax Audits from Hell Act of 2013.

 

 

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MOOC mania – more action in 1 year than the last 1,000 years

MOOCs are a powerful force for good.

Where did all of the MOOC mania come from? It came faster than Facebook and it’s here to stay. In just a year MOOCs emerged from a unique mix of entrepreneurial spirit, a few leading US Universities, supported by not-for-profits and venture capital. It’s an ecosystem that can take an idea and support it through to a sustainable business. That’s impressive.

 

 

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Can scientific breakthroughs lead to faith?

Leading scientists employ science itself in arguments for believing in a kind of supernatural.

Science and religion has had a relationship that has always been vexed. Most scientists are nonbelievers, convinced that there is no deity, or at least that there is no convincing evidence of one. Even those who are believers, like Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, see their religion and their science as largely separate. (“If God is outside of nature, then science can neither prove nor disprove his existence,” he once wrote.)

 

 

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Twice as many entrepreneurs are over the age 50 as are under 25

Vivek Wadhwa: During the mid-1990s, cardiologist and researcher David Albert had the idea to develop a handheld device that displays an electrocardiogram. He believed that this would save lives by providing immediate information to patients wherever they were. In those days, even the most powerful handheld computers didn’t have the needed capabilities. So Albert dropped the idea because it was impossible.

 

 

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Lenify – a redesigned stretcher to protect the injured

It’s important to move victims as little as possible after they have had an accident. A secondary injury could be worse than the first. Danny Lin, a student at Art Center College of Design, in California, has a new take on the classic stretcher. His Lenify design breaks into three pieces, allowing first responders to slide head, body and leg sections under the patient in turn, minimizing how much they have to adjust. (Video)

 

 

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Google sees spike in government requests to remove content

In the Transparency Report’s latest edition, Google has revealed that the final six months of 2012 saw an increase in government requests to remove content — often YouTube videos. Google received 2,285 such requests (compared with 1,811 during the first half of 2012) that named a total of 24,179 pieces of content for removal (compared with 18,070 in the preceding period).

 

 

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Google’s Futurist Ray Kurzweil is working on a search system that can understand your emotions

Futurist Ray Kurzweil

Futurist Ray Kurzweil has some ambitious plans for search at Google. Kurzweil joined Google at the end of last year as director of engineering and he became famous for creating the first text-to-speech software. He’s also been called “the ultimate thinking machine.”

 

 

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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.