Category: Analysis

Impact Lab > Analysis
Analysis, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

Light completely stopped for 1 minute inside a crystal

This breakthrough could lead to the creation of long-range quantum networks.

University of Darmstadt scientists in Germany have stopped light for one minute. Light is usually the fastest thing in the known universe and travels at 300 million meters per second, but was stopped dead still inside a crystal for one full minute. This effectively creates light memory, where the image being carried by the light is stored in crystals. Beyond being utterly cool, this breakthrough could lead to the creation of long-range quantum networks — and perhaps, tantalizingly, this research might also give us some clues on accelerating light beyond the universal speed limit.

 

 

Continue reading… “Light completely stopped for 1 minute inside a crystal”

Analysis, Education, Historical Perspectives, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

15 innovations that will alter the face of higher education

High schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions will create early-college/dual-degree courses better aligned to the college curriculum.

The higher education landscape has been profoundly transformed in roughly 50-year intervals. During the early 19th century, the colonial colleges were joined by several hundred more religiously founded institutions. The mid-19th century saw the rise of public colleges, culminating in the Morrill Act of 1862. The turn of the 20th century witnessed the emergence of the modern research university as well as the articulation of the Wisconsin Idea, that public universities should serve the public, as well as the appearance of extension services. The 1960s saw the transformation of normal schools into comprehensive universities, the rapid proliferation of community colleges, the end of legal segregation in higher education, and sharply increased federal aid to colleges and universities.

 

 

Continue reading… “15 innovations that will alter the face of higher education”

Analysis, Science & Technology News

4D printing: The new human bionics

Skylar Tibbits, an architect who heads up the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT.

The essence of human identity is increasingly in the hands of a new generation. We are entering a future where our biology is becoming self-defined, assembled, manufactured, and increasingly unique. For one, advancements in new materials technology are leading to potentially game-changing innovations. When combined with rapid improvements in 3D printing techniques, the applications for human biology become manifold.

 

 

Continue reading… “4D printing: The new human bionics”

Analysis, Economy, Globalism, Latest Trend

The world is seeing less crime, so where have all of the burglars gone?

The number of violent crimes has fallen by 32% since 1990 across America as a whole.

The capital of Estonia, Tallinn, does not look like a den of thieves. On a summer afternoon, herds of elderly tourists—American, Japanese, British—wander between the gift shops and sip lagers at pavement cafés beneath the gothic town hall. In a park, teenagers chat and smoke cigarettes in the sun.

 

 

Continue reading… “The world is seeing less crime, so where have all of the burglars gone?”

Analysis, Business, facebook, Internet, Latest Trend

Facebook’s power footprint growing and moving east

A breakdown of power usage at Facebook’s data centers during 2012, from the company’s annual sustainability report.

In 2012, Facebook’s data center energy use grew 33 percent, as the company installed tens of thousands of servers in its new company-built data centers. The growth of the company’s power usage is disclosed in the company’s latest sustainability report, which also documents the company’s move to reduce its computing footprint in Silicon Valley, even as it boosts its reliance on leased space in northern Virginia.

 

 

Continue reading… “Facebook’s power footprint growing and moving east”

Analysis, Business, Internet, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Which industries get the most customer service complaints?

Only 44% of the top 25 online retailers responded to customer service requests from social media within 24 hours.

Social media and the internet have made it much easier for people to vent about bad service to a potentially large audience. If you make a customer unhappy these days you can count on their other 5,000-some friends hearing about it, too.  Twenty-five percent of people who have a negative customer experience share their thoughts on social networks. (Infographic)

Continue reading… “Which industries get the most customer service complaints?”

Analysis, Animals, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News, Sealife

Dolphins use whistles to call each other by individual names

Dolphins have individual signature whistles.

Humans use particular vocal labels for objects and for people. These are called words, and names. There are many animals that use sounds to convey information such as a wolf’s howl.  Some creatures, such as parrots and dolphins, can learn specific vocal labels. And wild dolphins are known to have particular, individual signature whistles. Scientists at Scotland’s St. Andrews University wanted to know: can these whistles be used as labels?

 

 

Continue reading… “Dolphins use whistles to call each other by individual names”

Analysis, Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

The negative effects of vitamins: Study

Study raises more questions about the health benefits of vitamins.

A new Biology Letters  paper raises more questions about the benefits of vitamins as a health supplement. High doses of dietary antioxidants such as vitamins are claimed to slow the process of cellular aging by lessening the damage to proteins, lipids and DNA caused by free radicals. Some research has found that the longevity of mice could be extended by administering particular vitamin supplements, despite the supplements’ limited effectiveness in reducing free radical damage. However, the opposite was found to be true in voles in a new study.

 

Continue reading… “The negative effects of vitamins: Study”

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.