It wouldn’t be surprising if the 21st century became known for its expanded understanding of the human brain. From magnetic scans that pinpoint different brain regions to the discovery and treatment of neurological disorders, scientists have demonstrated that the brain is a highly plastic organ capable of learning new things well into the later stages of life.
Cosmonauts found traces of sea plankton and microscopic particles on outside of ISS.
ITAR-TASS, a Russian press agency, is reporting something so surprising that it’s hard to believe: Cosmonauts have found microorganisms on the exterior of the International Space Station. Russian scientists are shocked by this discovery and can’t really explain how it is possible.
Continue reading… “Cosmonauts find sea plankton on outside of International Space Station”
Solar is now the fastest growing segment in the energy business in the U.S.
The energy storage era is upon us. States like California and New York have adapted energy policies that will make it possible to economically deploy storage systems, while technology advancements have boosted performance and trimmed costs. For the first time in history it will become feasible to store electric energy.
Technology can help by giving educators detailed data on students and the ability to customize teaching materials.
It may sound logical to Design a textbook or lecture with the average student in mind. But the educational neuroscience professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, L. Todd Rose, argues that doing so means that the lesson is designed for nobody.
Continue reading… “Students should own their educational data: L. Todd Rose”
New laser device allows researchers to read blood sugar levels without a blood sample.
Researchers at Princeton University have developed a way to use a laser to measure people’s blood sugar, and, with more work to shrink the laser system to a portable size, the technique could allow diabetics to check their condition without pricking their fingers to draw blood.
Andy Thomas creates “audio life forms” from bird sounds.
The sound of chirping and singing birds can be enough to inspire a feeling of peace and tranquility. Australian multimedia artist Andy Thomas specializes in creating “audio life forms” and such dulcet tones have inspired something more in him: curiosity about what they might look like as sound-driven 3D animations. (Video)
Continue reading… “Bird sound used to create beautiful 3D animations”
Transparent solar cell.
Developed by researchers in Michigan State University, a new material, called a transparent luminescent solar concentrator, can be used to cover anything that has a flat, clear surface. Transparent solar cell technology has been attempted before, but the energy the cells produced was poor and the materials they were made out of were highly colored.
Google Glass medical applications have already gotten more interesting.
Google Glass wasn’t necessarily designed for medicine, but that use continues to be a hot topic of conversation among medical technologists and the investors who love them.
Continue reading… “Inventor of Google Glass envisions big things for the wearable in medicine”
Manipulations of a neurotransmitter could give criminals more prison time within a shorter-length sentence.
Oxford University’s Rebecca Roache has some thoughts about how we could treat our criminals differently. She envisions a future where we can use chemicals to manipulate an inmates sense of time. Through these chemicals, a criminal could be made to feel like she or he is spending 1,000 years in jail, even though the person might only be in jail for days or months or a year.
Continue reading… “Future biotechnology could make prisoners think they are in jail for 1,000 years”
Caesar Augustus died two thousand years ago, on August 19, 14 AD. He was Rome’s first emperor, having won a civil war more than 40 years earlier that transformed the dysfunctional Roman Republic into an empire. Under Augustus and his successors, the empire experienced 200 years of relative peace and prosperity. Here are 40 maps that explain the Roman Empire — its rise and fall, its culture and economy, and how it laid the foundations of the modern world.
The death of newspapers is sad, but the threatened loss of journalistic talent is catastrophic.
By Clay Shirky: The Roanoke Times, the local paper in my family home, is a classic metro daily, with roots that go back to the 1880s. Like most such papers, it ran into trouble in the middle of last decade, as print advertising revenue fell, leaving a hole in the balance sheet that digital advertising couldn’t fill. When the 2008 recession accelerated those problems, the Times’ parent company, Landmark, began looking for a buyer, eventually selling it to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Media Group in 2013. The acquisition was greeted with relief in the newsroom, as Buffett had famously assured the employees at his earlier purchases “Your paper will operate from a position of financial strength.” Three months after acquiring the Times, BH Media fired 31 employees, a bit over a tenth of the workforce.
Continue reading… “The end of the printed newspaper”
One hundres dollars goes further in some states than others. A map released by the Tax Foundation, via Elliot Turner, shows the relative value of $100 in every state compared with the national average using the data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Continue reading… “How much $100 is worth in every state: Map”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.