China is now one step closer to become the top economic and military superpower in the world: their Beidou geo-positioning system is now fully armed and operational.
But why is this important?
Continue reading… “China has its own GPS now—and it’s better than yours”
What good advice does your future self have to offer?
In an episode of the popular sitcom “30 Rock,” television CEO Jack has a hallucinatory encounter with his future self, from whom he receives life advice that helps him avoid major mistakes.
Most of us would also like to know which choices and decisions we make as young people will benefit us later on — or come back to haunt us. Although there’s no way to step into our own futures, we can get a very good sense of what mistakes younger folks should avoid. We can ask our “future selves”: our elders…
Continue reading… “Six tips from your future self”
Purdue associate professor of biological sciences Zhao-Qing Luo, at right, and graduate student Yunhao Tan look at the growth of Legionella pneumophila bacteria in a petri dish.
Bacteria are able to build camouflaged homes for themselves inside healthy cells — and cause disease — by manipulating a natural cellular process.
Purdue University biologists led a team that revealed how a pair of proteins from the bacteria Legionella pneumophila, which causes Legionnaires disease, alters a host protein in order to divert raw materials within the cell for use in building and disguising a large structure that houses the bacteria as it replicates…
Continue reading… “How bacteria build homes inside healthy cells”
Top Secret for years after the project was completed.
In the 1970s, during the heights of the Cold War, more than 1,000 engineers worked on a project so secret that they couldn’t tell their wives and children decades after it was over.
In September 2011, the project – a series of spy satellites so advanced that it could see objects about 2 feet wide from space (mind you, this was in the 1970s before the ubiquity of computers so the satellites were built with slide rules), was declassified and with it, the stories of the men who kept their secret for 45 years…
Continue reading… “Secrets of the Hexagon Spy Satellite”
Two heads are not always better than one.
Two-headed creatures are rare and somewhat uncomfortable to behold, but they are not unheard of in the natural scheme of things…
Continue reading… “Two-headed cyclops pig born in China”
Sexy videos provide numerous negative influences for girls.
Sexy video clips have a more negative influence on girls than on boys, says Dutch pop professor Tom ter Bogt. Ter Bogt investigated the influence of sexy video clips on the thoughts, behaviour and self-image of 13 to 16 year old children. After viewing the clips, girls felt that outward appearance was more important, they were less satisfied with their own appearance, and they became less resolute in denying permissive sex…
Continue reading… “Sexy video clips affect girls more than boys”
Hear no pandemic, see no pandemic, speak no pandemic.
The US government has approached the scientific journals Nature and Science in order to censor data on a lab-made version of bird flu, because it could potentially be used as a weapon. That’s not cool!
According to the Guardian, the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) asked the journals to publish redacted versions of studies carried out by two research groups…
Continue reading… “The US Is Trying To Censor Scientific Journals”
Genes determine a lot of things about your life.
Do you prefer to run in packs or operate as a loner? Your answer is determined by your genes, a new study claims. It’s a big shift in social behavior theory, since scientists previously thought the environment determined social behavior.
For example, scientists thought that where food was sparsely spread around, primates would live in large groups to more efficiently forage. But according to the new findings, which were published in the journal Nature, primates will behave the way their genes tell them to, regardless of food availability.
It’s evidence for genetic determinism—the idea that our genes dictate our behavior. But it seems wrong, right? I know I tend to go with the behavior that helps me to avoid hunger most effectively. But Nicholas Wade in The New York Times sums it up thusly…
Continue reading… “Why genetic determinism is bad for humans”
Change your permissions and change your Facebook life.
fPrivacy is a Chrome plugin that lets you granularly opt out of stalker-esque Facebook app permissions like “Post to my wall” or “Access profile info” whenever the app authorization dialog appears. Woohoo!
Creator Chad Selph made the extension because Facebook apps have been too grabby for far too long — taking an all or nothing approach to permissions…
Continue reading… “fPrivacy lets you control Facebook app permissions”
Did you think that quantum physics is complicated? Try the quantum theory of It may help you understand the former or make your brain explode forever. But, if you are a nerd, it will make you smile…
Continue reading… “The fascinating quantum theory of pixels”
Alcohol may never look the same again.
This is what champagne looks like through a microscope. About twenty-five years ago, Michael Davidson, a scientist at Florida State University, started putting alcoholic beverages under his microscope and taking beautiful pictures of what he saw. The results are lovely, especially after a few shots…
Continue reading… “Microscopic views of Alcoholic Drinks”
Everything’s going digital these days — even cheating.
Educators are on the lookout for new kinds of cheating as students gain access to sophisticated gadgets both at school and at home. Kids are finding new ways to get ahead when they haven’t studied, from digitally inserting answers into soft drink labels to texting each other test answers and photos of exams.
Continue reading… “Students find high-tech ways to cheat”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.