The East River Skyway
If you have ever commuted between Brooklyn and Manhattan, you’re already familiar with the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s overcrowding problem. But what if you could skip the train entirely? A radical new proposal suggests that New Yorkers try a high-speed gondola over the East River instead.
Continue reading… “New Yorkers propose high-speed gondolas to ease congestion”
The humanized gene actually improved the animal’s behavior rather than messing up the system.
According to a new study, mice that receive a human version of a speech and language gene display accelerated learning. Don’t expect these findings to lead to a rush of smarter, “uplifted” animals—though they might just reveal something new and fascinating about the evolution of human speech and language.
Continue reading… “A mouse with a human speech gene learns faster”
Forty-three percent of Millennials say that they read a book in some format (print, audiobook, or ebook) every day.
Lisa Peet: In September, the Pew Research Center Internet Project issued a new report on the library habits of Americans under 30. “Younger Americans and Public Libraries” examines the ways Millennials engage with libraries, and how they see libraries’ roles in their lives and communities. The good news is that young people are reading as much as older adults, and are even more likely to have read a book in the past 12 months. Also, their library use is holding steady. Nonetheless, the report warns, their levels of engagement vary in a number of ways.
Continue reading… “Pew report finds Millennials are avid readers and library users”
LittleBits has just announced something called the BitLab, a contest merged with a crowd sourced technology system that allows inventors to create new LittleBits blocks, upload them, and have them made and sold by the company. The system also includes a hardware development kit that allows anyone access to LittleBits’ custom magnetic snap-together leads. (Videos)
Continue reading… “LittleBits’ BitLab is an app store for hardware”
Blood cleansing machine.
A new device developed by bioengineers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute uses magnetism to rid the bloodstream of pathogens that are the source of deadly infections.
Continue reading… “Sticky nanobeads strip bacteria and viruses from blood”
Wearables may improve clinical outcomes in the OR.
Healthcare is one of the ripest markets for Google Glass and Glass-based apps. While patient care has become increasingly data-driven, doctors need a way to receive the data while remaining hands-on with patients. (Video)
Continue reading… “Google Glass makes doctors better surgeons: Study”
Many of us now receive payments as well as make payments.
Ross Dawson: Last week I gave a keynote on The Future of Banking to a group of the most senior risk leaders in a major bank, sharing some provocative ideas on how the banking landscape may change in the years to come.
Continue reading… “Micro-payments between connected devices could enable a new layer of the economy”
Instead of putting fun first, Western developers focused too heavily on analytics.
The mobile-gaming gold rush is over, according to Rick Thompson of Signia Venture Partners. But he says the industry can reestablish a stronger, more sustainable model by looking to the East.
Continue reading… “China is years ahead of western mobile gaming”
MIT cheetah robot
Researchers at MIT have developed an algorithm for bounding that they’ve successfully implemented in a robotic cheetah. The robot sprinted up to 10 mph, even continuing to run after clearing a hurdle in experiments done on an indoor track. The MIT researchers estimate that the current version of the robot may eventually reach speeds of up to 30 mph — half the top speed of the natural cheetah, the fastest land animal on Earth. (Videos)
Continue reading… “MIT cheetah robot can run and jump untethered across grass”
Robotics is a transformative technology.
Brookings Institution is a prestigious organization in the nation’s capital. When organizations such as that decides to study civilian robotics, you know that at the very least the organization will present some thought-provoking views.
Continue reading… “The future of robotics: What is a robot?”
By the late 2020s or early 2030s renewables could be competing much more aggressively with the oil market.
Kepler Chevreux, a French investment bank, has produced a fascinating analysis that has dramatic implications for the global oil industry. The investment bank estimates that $100 billion invested in either wind energy or solar energy – and deployed as energy for light and commercial vehicles – will produce significantly more energy than that same $100 billion invested in oil.
Continue reading… “$100B invested in wind or solar will produce more energy than oil”
This portrait was woven using a Jacquard loom.
Before IBM, before punch-card computers, before Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, one of the very first machines that could run something like what we now call a “program” was used to make fabric. The machine was a loom and could process so much information that the fabric it produced could display pictures detailed enough that they might be mistaken for engravings.
Continue reading… “Before we had computers, people programmed looms”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.