[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3A_lpEO0t8&hd=1[/youtube]
Kuraray Living and Hokkaido University have been working together to create a soft washable fabric woven with carbon nanotube coated fibers that produces heat when electricity is applied. So when it’s perfected, your electric blanket could get a lot less bulky.
Continue reading… “Heated farbric using carbon nanotube coated fibers”
Top internet firms are spying on smartphone users.
An investigation revealed on Sunday shows internet giant Facebook is accessing smartphone users’ personal text messages .
Continue reading… “Facebook spies on smartphone users’ text messages”
Apple store tops the list.
The retailing industry has been challenged for the past few years. There are signs that 2012 will not be any different. One key metric used to judge the health of a store is annual sales per square foot. Research company RetailSails recently ranked U.S. stores based on this metric.
Continue reading… “Top 6 most profitable stores in the U.S.”
Baca Architects ‘amphibious’ home
An “amphibious” home has been granted full planning permission and is set to be built on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire. The residential home designed by Baca Architects is an architectural feat that overcomes the threat of flooding by becoming a “free-floating pontoon” during a flood situation. “In an extreme flood, a 1 in 100 year event, the house can rise over 2.5 meters [8.2 feet],” Richard Coutts, director of Baca Architects. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Amphibious house floats above floods”
Kamagasaki, Japan. A slum in Nishinari-Ku one of 24 wards in Osaka, with a density of 30,000 people in every 2000 meter radius. Source: Androniki Christodoulou
Booming urban populations have seen poverty on the rise in some of the world’s biggest cities. Of the 3.49 billion people that now live in cities, 827.6 million are slum dwellers, according to a UN Habitat Report. Global slums can be vastly different in nature…
Continue reading… “A satellite tour of the world’s biggest slums”
Tech companies in Silicon Valley and in tech hubs across the United States are at war against each other, to find and hire quality talent that is in short supply. The competition is particularly fierce among startups, which means that it’s ever so important to make the right decisions when hiring your next rock star.
Here are six tips to set you on the right course…
Continue reading… “Six tips on how to hire the right person for your startup”
Badgermin ain’t afraid to play nothin’!
David Cranmer is an eccentric maker of sculptures and musical instruments, such as the Furby Gurdy. By combining the musical abilities of the badger and the aesthetic appeal of a theremin, he has created the future of music. Watch a video of a performance after the jump…
Continue reading… “The Badgermin is a Stuffed Badger Theremin”
A wireless medical device can move through the bloodstream controlled by a magnetic field.
Eventually, implantable medical devices will be able to dispense drugs, get rid of blood clots and perform micro-surgeries inside our bodies. But powering these devices could be problematic. The point is to have minimally invasive gadgets keeping tabs on our health, cutting patients open to swap out their batteries is not an ideal situation. (Video)
A graph charts the relative proportions of different types of bacteria on shoes (odd-numbered columns) and cell phones (even-numbered columns).
There are whole communities of microbes living on your cell phone and your shoes. The microbes are as distinctive as the germs on your fingers and in your mouth.
Continue reading… “What creatures are living on your smartphone?”
Taga
Cycling parents usually have to give up their two-wheelers when their first baby arrives, but the Taga could change all that – it’s a a bike that doubles as a stroller! The multitasking bike can be easily switched from a bicycle to a stroller in 20 seconds flat. Designed so that the child is placed in front of you, in between your arms – rather than behind or to your side – the Taga offers an increased level of control and safety for green parents who want to keep their carbon footprint low. (video)
Continue reading… “Taga transforms from bike to stroller in 20 seconds”
Tabasco tastes better in space.
That bottle of Tabasco may just be the secret sauce for interplanetary travel. That’s right, Tabasco.
Turns out that after spending some time in space, astronauts’ taste in food change…
Continue reading… “Tabasco: Secret sauce of space travel”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Five years ago was the beginning of 2007. George Bush was President, Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor of California, Barack Obama wasn’t very well known, and Saddam Hussein had just been executed in Iraq.
Continue reading… “The 5-Year Pipeline”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.