[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/6792724[/vimeo]
What if power came at a cost to the individual?
The average American consumes 3383kwh of energy per year. That’s equivalent to leaving the light on in 4 rooms for a whole year. The simple flick of a switch allows us to power appliances and gadgets 24/7 without a thought to where it comes from and the cost to the environment.
Continue reading… “Blood Lamp”
Is you plant smiling or dying?
If you’ve been using Koubachi’s iOS app to remember when it’s time to water your plants, the company’s new wireless sensor will give your greenery an even better fighting chance of survival if you’re lacking a green thumb.
Whereas the app used your location, the local soil conditions, and the type of plant to make an educated guess as to when it needed watering, misting, or fertilization. Koubachi’s new Wi-fi plant sensor takes the guesswork out of the equation, automatically measuring moisture, temperature, and light…
Continue reading… “Wi-fi sensor gives your dying plants a voice to plead for help”
You can extract your own DNA with drinking water, salt, dish soap, alcohol, food coloring, and your own spit! This NOVA/PBS-made video shows you how.
I’ve been writing about DNA for more than a decade, and I just realized that until this video, I’ve never actually seen DNA. And there it is, in the form of a white string in a plastic cup. Pretty freaking neato…
Continue reading… “How to extract your own DNA using household items”
You and I may grumble when people nearby talk loudly on their cell phones, but that’s not enough for one man in Philadelphia.
He decided to take matters into his own hands and jam them phones!
Continue reading… “Annoying People Talking on Their Cell Phones? Jam ‘Em!”
Associate professor Christopher Hayes and graduate student Christina Beck researching.
What if bacteria could talk to each other? What if they had a sense of touch? A new study by researchers at UC Santa Barbara suggests both, and theorizes that such cells may, in fact, need to communicate in order to perform certain functions…
Continue reading… “Bacteria communicate by touch, new research suggests”
I got this tower, see…
From Lists of Note, the 10 Commandments for Con Men as set out by Victor Lustig a con-legend who once took $5K off Al Capone and sold the Eiffel Tower…
Continue reading… “10 commandments for con artists”
Those of us who merely watched the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake on screens got to witness something amazing: the resiliency and resourcefulness of the Japanese people. And we’re still seeing it as Japan prepares for future earthquakes. Here’s one example. Youichi Sakamoto invented a foundation structure that raises buildings on air pockets as soon as an earthquake starts…
Continue reading… “Inventor proposes levitating buildings on air cushions during earthquakes”
Scan your food and stay safe with your smartphone.
If you’ve ever suffered from any kind of food poisoning you’d understandably see the genius in this little device. Engineers at UCLA have created a prototype scanner that attaches to your smartphone camera and checks out that great looking burger to make sure you’re in the clear from E. coli.
The phone attachment essentially turns your phone into portable fluorescent microscope that light up the harmful bacteria like a Black Sabbath poster under a black light…
Continue reading… “Smartphone sensor scans food for E. coli”
Print your own Jefferson.
According to The Creators Project, the Smithsonian has over 137 million pieces in its collection, but only enough room to display about 2 percent of them. So it’s turning to 3D printing to share as much as it can.
Working with a company called Redeye, who specializes in 3D scanning and rapid prototyping, the Smithsonian hopes to clone many of their pieces so they can be lent to other museums around the world, and safely included in traveling exhibitions…
Continue reading… “The Smithsonian turns to 3D printing to share their collection”
Blood samples.
You probably know your blood type: A, B, AB or O. You may even know if you’re Rhesus positive or negative. But how about the Langereis blood type? Or the Junior blood type? Positive or negative? Most people have never even heard of these.
Yet this knowledge could be “a matter of life and death,” says University of Vermont biologist Bryan Ballif…
Continue reading… “Blood mystery solved: Two new blood types identified”
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”
An oral breakthru!
Georgia Tech has developed the Tongue Drive System, in which a stud in the tongue acts as a mouse against a pad attached to the roof of one’s mouth. The device gives unprecedented control to paralyzed computer users.
The new dental appliance contains magnetic field sensors mounted on its four corners that detect movement of a tiny magnet attached to the tongue…
Continue reading… “Tongue drive system”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.