Breakthrough Thinking – Page 67

Analysis, Animals, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff

Cow collar texts ranchers when animals are sick or in heat

February 14, 2012

Even cows can benefit from having a mobile device. A new collar being developed for cattle ranchers could send cow health updates to farmers’ cellphones. The device could help ranchers save money in the long run, monitoring the health of their animals and prevent accidental deaths.

The Silent Herdsman collar will track the movements of the cow using the same type of sensors found in Wii devices. That data is relayed to the rancher via a cellphone using a variety of technologies including 3G. This technology could also send farmers instant notification if their animals are in heat, going into labor or in distress.

Researchers also hope to determine which movements the sensor will pick up to determine when cows are in heat…

Continue reading… “Cow collar texts ranchers when animals are sick or in heat”

Breakthrough Thinking, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Medical Breakthrough, Nanotechnology, New Discoveries

New nano-material combinations produce leap in infrared technology

February 15, 2012

ASU engineers are working on technological advances that promise to help enhance infrared photodetection used in sophisticated weapons and surveillance system, industrial and home security systems, medical diagnostics and night vision equipment for law enforcement and driving safety.

Arizona State University researchers are finding ways to improve infrared photodetector technology that is critical to national defense and security systems, as well as used increasingly in medical diagnostics, commercial applications and consumer products…

Continue reading… “New nano-material combinations produce leap in infrared technology”

Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Global Warming, Green Friendly, New Viewpoints

How to start your own hybrid car rental company

February 14, 2012

Ali Salman of Simply Hybrids

In 2007, Ali Salman was a Vice President of Marketing at Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car in LA. He was becoming dismayed at how dirty the beaches were and how smoggy the skyline was near his home in Orange County. He began to get upset and thought someone should do something to improve the water and air quality in southern California. He then remembered the Chinese proverb: “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

He took that message to heart and decided to open up his own green business, a car rental company called Simply Hybrids. Five years later, business is booming and growing at an annual rate of 26%. TreeHugger spoke with Mr. Salman about his hybrid car rental business and how he got to where he is today…

Continue reading… “How to start your own hybrid car rental company”

Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Entertainment, Food

Eating an edible Helium Balloon looks like the most fun you can have at a fancy restaurant

February 14, 2012

The chefs at Alinea, very probably the best restaurant in Chicago, have cooked up a super fun dish that’ll brighten up any dinner table: an edible helium balloon. Yep, the entire balloon is edible, right down to the string which is “obviously dehydrated apple”.

Continue reading… “Eating an edible Helium Balloon looks like the most fun you can have at a fancy restaurant”

Breakthrough Thinking, New Discoveries, New Inventions, Science & Technology News

Electrical engineers build ‘No-Waste’ laser

February 12, 2012

Smaller and more efficient plus.

A team of University of California, San Diego researchers has built the smallest room-temperature nanolaser to date, as well as an even more startling device: a highly efficient, “thresholdless” laser that funnels all its photons into lasing, without any waste.

The two new lasers require very low power to operate, an important breakthrough since lasers usually require greater and greater “pump power” to begin lasing as they shrink to nano sizes. The small size and extremely low power of these nanolasers could make them very useful components for future optical circuits packed on to tiny computer chips, Mercedeh Khajavikhan and her UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering colleagues report in the Feb. 9 issue of the journal Nature…

Continue reading… “Electrical engineers build ‘No-Waste’ laser”

Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Globalism, government, Green Friendly

German post offices to cash in on e-waste

February 12, 2012

Sending e-waste to better destination.

Mobile telephones and personal computing devices have taken a lot of business out of the post office. Personal letters and corporate mailings now largely have been replaced by digital-age communications.

But the post office may get the last laugh. In Germany, the post office plans to make a good business by collecting old mobile phones, household electronic devices, used printer cartridges, and any other e-waste that is small enough to fit in an A4-size envelop (the size of a flat sheet of standard paper)…

Continue reading… “German post offices to cash in on e-waste”

Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Current Events, Economy, Historical Perspectives, Money Talk

Crowdtilt Launches To Become The “Kickstarter For Any Group”

February 10, 2012

Kickstarter has spawned a whole new generation of funding potential.

Inherently, we like doing things in groups, as it makes our experiences more social. It’s not about what we’re doing so much as who we’re doing it with that makes our experiences enjoyable. Group messaging took off two years ago, overrunning SXSW, as a better way to keep groups of people engaged; Kickstarter has grown like a week thanks to the power of the crowd lending legs to fledgling projects that need quick capital to get off the ground.

A new startup launching today called Crowdtilt is taking a page out of Kickstarter’s book, riffing on “crowdfunding,” but instead choosing to call itself “groupfunding” or a “Kickstarter for groups of friends.”

Continue reading… “Crowdtilt Launches To Become The “Kickstarter For Any Group””

Analysis, Animals, Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Education, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives

Scientist Catches Bear-Eating Snake in the Act

February 10, 2012

22.6-foot reticulated python, shot by Kekek Aduanan (in hat) on June 9, 1970. Photo by Thomas N. Headland

Earlier this week a team of scientists from several universities and the US Geological Survey released a study documenting the dramatically declining numbers of small and medium-size mammals in Florida – including raccoons, opossums, white-tailed deer, bobcats, rabbits and foxes. These population drops all occur in the same areas where pythons and other large, non-native snakes have taken up residence after escaping from one stop or another in the wildlife trade supply chain.

Anyone who’s even heard only the most basic facts about constrictor snakes knows that they’re formidable predators and take down prey by grasping it in their powerful jaws, coiling their bodies around it, and squeezing until it suffocates. Devouring bunnies and possums isn’t even the half of it, though. These big snakes aren’t shy about going after much larger, more dangerous game, too. Like men. And bears…

Continue reading… “Scientist Catches Bear-Eating Snake in the Act”

Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Latest Trend, New Viewpoints, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

Dismantling of our Power Industry Infrastructure

February 20, 2012

Photo of me demonstrating an unuual thermoelectric generator
with NY Times Correspondent Matthew Wald

Futurist Thomas Frey: On Wednesday I was invited to speak on a panel at the 2012 National Electricity Forum, an event sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, in Washington DC.

Continue reading… “Dismantling of our Power Industry Infrastructure”

Analysis, Brain, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries

Memory strengthened by stimulating key site in brain

February 9, 2012

UCLA neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in
human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain.

Ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New UCLA research may one day help you improve your memory.

UCLA neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain. Published in the Feb. 9 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, the finding could lead to a new method for boosting memory in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease…

Continue reading… “Memory strengthened by stimulating key site in brain”

Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Viewpoints

3D Printing For Fun And Medical Applications

February 9, 2012

3D printing goes medical.

3d printing continues to take us boldly into the brave new world of the 21st century, and not surprisingly medical applications are at the top of the innovation ladder, since replacement parts are always in demand.

Recently, an entire mandible was created in a 3d printer by mixing titanium with the printing compound, and an elderly woman got a new lease on life thanks to the 3d printing of this replacement part. Here’s the scoop…

Continue reading… “3D Printing For Fun And Medical Applications”

Animals, Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, DIY, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior

Battling invasive carp with improvised weapons

February 8, 2012

The Peoria Carp Hunters began as ordinary aerial bowfishermen — people who shoot arrows at fish jumping out of the water. But when they saw that their efforts were not reducing the numbers of Asian flying carp, an invasive species in the United States, the heroes took more extreme measures. Watch and wonder at the weapons and armor that they have devised to battle our piscine foes….

Link -via Say Uncle