U.S. falls to 5th place in world ranking.
The United States has fallen further down a global ranking of the world’s most competitive economies. The U.S. has landed at fifth place because of its huge deficits and declining public faith in government, a global economic group said Wednesday.
Continue reading… “America drops to 5th place in global ranking”
Google Takeout, the recently launched “data liberation” service that lets you export files, photos and data from Google services like Picasa and Buzz, now includes support for Google Voice.
With the update, users of Google’s Internet-telephony service Google Voice are able to export call history, voicemail messages, greetings, call recordings, phone numbers and text messages…
Continue reading… “Google now lets you export Google Voice data”
Driving ‘home’ has a different perspective.
Does getting home from a trip seem to take less time than getting there? There’s a scientific explanation for that!
NPR’s Morning Edition explains the psychological phenomenon called the “return trip effect”:
Here’s what van de Ven thinks is going on..
The temporary cathedral in New Zealand will use cardboard tubes, as shown in this scale model.
A New Zealand landmark that was destroyed in a natural disaster earlier this year will be resurrected using cardboard.
Continue reading… “Massive New Zealand cathedral to be rebuilt with cardboard”
Researchers say health records of 50,000 women link over-the-counter anti-inflammatories and deaths of fetuses.
Use of common anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen if taken early in pregnancy may increase the chance of miscarriage, a new study suggests.
Continue reading… “Anti-inflammatory drugs double risk of miscarriage”
John Fleming and Tim Maxwell claim they can make ammonia for 75 cents a gallon.
John Fleming of SilverEagles Energy and Tim Maxwell from Texas Tech University, say they have developed a way to make ammonia that is cheap enough so that it could be used as fuel for cars. If their claims turn out to be true, many consumers might consider switching over because ammonia, when burned in an engine, emits nothing but nitrogen and water vapor out the tailpipe. And if that’s not enough incentive, they claim they can make the ammonia for just 20 cents a liter (approximately 75 cents a gallon).
MIT researchers tested the ‘sensing skin’ by attaching it to the underside of a concrete beam, then applying enough force to cause tiny cracks to form in the beam under one patch of the skin.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in 2009, assigned a grade of “D” to the overall quality of infrastructure in the United States, saying that ongoing evaluation and maintenance of structures was necessary to improve that grade. Since then, federal stimulus funds have made it possible for communities to repair some infrastructure, but high-tech, affordable methods for continual monitoring remain in their infancy. Instead, most evaluation of bridges, dams, schools and other structures is still done by visual inspection, which is slow, expensive, cumbersome and in some cases, dangerous.
Continue reading… “‘Sensing skin’ for concrete would detect tiny cracks”
On the left is a mouse embryo soaked in saline solution compared with an embryo on the right washed in Scale.
Scientists may soon be able to see exactly what’s on your mind. They have developed a new chemical which turns brain tissue transparent.
Continue reading… “Scientists create see-through mouse brains”
The idea of offering your product or a version of it for free has been a source of much debate.
Pricing is always tricky. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs don’t give it enough thought. They will often copy the pricing strategy of similar products, base their decisions on pompous statements made by “experts” or rely on broken rationale (we worked hard so we should charge $X).
Free is even trickier and with so many opinions about it, we thought it would be refreshing to take a critical approach and dive deep into why some companies are very successful at employing the model while other companies fail. We’ve looked into economics academic papers, behavioral psychology books and strategies that worked for companies to come up with the key concepts below.
Continue reading… “The complete guide to Freemium business models”
Remember this day, friends. Remember when the cyborg beetles early first took flight in our labs and flew right into their world domination destiny. Look! Even now one of the brood is stealing a quarter, no doubt for financing purposes.
But total world domination won’t happen just yet. First, their human scientist handlers must perfect the way that the tiny piezolectric generators implanted on their backs create energy using nothing but the insect’s own wing flaps.
How’s it going so far? Pretty good for the beetles, reports Discover…
Continue reading… “Cyborg Beetles powered by a wing and a piezoelectric prayer”
Is this what our future will look like?
John Schwartz has a nice piece in today’s New York Times on science fiction as a tool for predicting the future:
What will hit Groupon next?
A private, Chicago-based institution will be the first to put forth a deeply discounted deal on tuition via Groupon.
In an effort to bolster interest in its graduate teaching program,National Louis University will offer would-be teachers a Groupon for nearly 60% off tuition of an entry-level graduate teaching course…
Continue reading… “Groupon offers discount on University tuition”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.