Svalbard Global Seed Vault
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, or “doomsday vault,” on a remote Norwegian island in the Arctic Circle took its first deposits in March 2008. The vault’s builders had spent some $7 million and 12 months blasting a tunnel and three chambers into the mountainside’s hard permafrost. To be stored within? Treasure.
Continue reading… “‘Doomsday vault’ keeps over 800,000 plant species on ice”
Contour crafting
3D printing has incredible potential to overhauling manufacturing. The same principles could upend building construction too.
Continue reading… “How contour crafting will change construction”
This recyclable cardboard desk is assembled without any glue or fasteners and costs only $65.
If you are looking for a cheap and sturdy standing desk. There are many DIY options. But if you have always wanted to have some cardboard furniture in your home or office (and who hasn’t?), try one of the standing desks from Chairigami.
Continue reading… “Chairigami – cheap, sturdy cardboard standing desk”
The geometry of the plastic sheets and placement of the holes interact with sound waves to make it (and objects beneath it) appear as if they are not there.
Duke University engineers have demonstrated the world’s first three-dimensional acoustic cloak using a few perforated sheets of plastic and extensive computation. The new device reroutes sound waves to create the impression that both the cloak and anything beneath it are not there. (Video)
Continue reading… “3D acoustic cloak makes objects undetectable with sound”
Sheerwind
“What if you could scoop the air? Scoop it and move it downward, amplifying its kinetic energy along the way, concentrate it to a single point of intensity, the way a magnifying glass concentrates sunlight to a single incendiary point?”
Continue reading… “The future of wind power”
Tiny ultrasonic device
The less invasive a surgical procedure is, the better. Less invasive surgeries reduce patient discomfort, foster faster recoveries, and limit the risk of infection. Problem is, you have to get your eyes on a problem to solve it.
Continue reading… “Tiny ultrasonic chip will travel the arteries and heart to image blockages”
Would you delegate all of your decisions to someone else?
Would you pay someone in the Philippines to answer your email for you — even your personal messages? Or hire strangers on the internet to plan your spouse’s big birthday party? Or throw meat, vegetables, and butter into a blender and call it dinner?
Continue reading… “Should your life be automated so you can work harder?”
Physicists create a device that binds photons together to form “light molecules.”
A vacuum chamber the size of a shoebox has made history in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard physicist Ofer Firstenberg has created a new form of matter: a pair of photons, stuck together.
Continue reading… “Physicists turn light into matter”
In the fourth quarter of 2013 was the turning point in which the U.S. mobile industry started making more money off of data than from voice. Data became a bigger revenue source for carriers than voice services. From this point on data will be the primary growth driver for the U.S. mobile industry, while voice will recede in the rearview mirror.
Continue reading… “Data becomes major revenue driver for U.S. mobile industry”
2004 DARPA Grand Challenge
Fifteen vehicles left a starting gate in the desert outside of Barstow, Calif., to make history in the DARPA Grand Challenge on March 13, 2004, a first-of-its-kind race to foster the development of self-driving ground vehicles. The goal of the race was to autonomously navigate a 142-mile course that ran across the desert to Primm, Nev. The longer-term goal was to accelerate development of the technological foundations for autonomous vehicles that could ultimately substitute for men and women in hazardous military operations, such as supply convoys.
Continue reading… “The DARPA Grand Challenge 10 years later”
Diamond sample containing the hydrous ringwoodite.
The Earth’s transition zone is the part of the Earth that exists between the upper and lower mantle. Scientists often theorize what lies in the transition zone. Many believe that the transition zone contains a lot of water, but there was no proof to support that idea. A group of geologists from the University of Alberta uncovered a water-containing gem that finally confirms this theory: there is water, possibly massive oceans of it, deep beneath the Earth’s surface.
Continue reading… “Discovery of water-containing gem points to vast oceans beneath the Earth”
Will 10,000 hours of practice make you an expert?
Can you become an expert at anything with 10,000 hours of practice? The widely touted theory, highlighted in a 1993 psychology paper and popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, says that anyone can master a skill with 10,000 hours of practice. There’s even a Macklemore song about it, so that makes it real.
Continue reading… “Myth that 10,000 hours of practice can turn anyone into expert has been debunked”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.