In a controversial study released 40 years ago, recent research supports the conclusions of that study: The world is on track for disaster. So says Australian physicist Graham Turner, who revisited perhaps the most groundbreaking academic work of the 1970s,The Limits to Growth.
Continue reading… “Limits to growth: 40 year old prediction of ‘collapse’ still on track”
Last night saw the announcement of the 2012 nominees for science fiction’s prestigious Hugo Award. It’s a particularly fine ballot, reflecting a record number of nominating ballots (wisdom of the crowds and all that). Included on the ballot are our own moderator Avram (as part of the team that publishes The New York Review of Science Fiction) and one of my all-time favorite books, Among Others. Also noteworthy: the much-deserved John W Campbell Award nomination (for best new writer) for the fabulous Mur Lafferty, a nomination for the indispensable Science Fiction Encyclopedia, Third Edition, a nomination for IO9’s Charlie Jane Anders’s story Six Months, Three Days, and a fourth nomination for much-favored Fables graphic novels…
Continue reading… “2012 Hugo Award nominees announced”
The upcoming Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, which will be attended by many latinamerican heads of state as well as Barack Obama, is set to be an historic debate over the legalization of drugs and the end of the war on drugs. Jamie Doward writes in the Guardian…
Continue reading… “Latin American leaders, Obama to discuss ending the war on drugs”
Distances are typically documented using specific measurement terms like inches, feet, and even miles. But when someone asks you how far it is to the mall, you’ll usually respond with a measurement of time instead of an exact number of miles…
Continue reading… “Why we often measure distances in time”
Most of our childhoods were spent alternatingly dressing up like superheroes and playing with action figures in their likeness. Now you can combine the two by actually getting your own head on the body of your favorite superhero, like Batman or Superman, on one of these custom action figures.
All you’ve got to do is send Personalised Superhero Action Figures two photos of yourself—one portrait and one profile—and the company will use them to make your noggin into an action figure…
Continue reading… “Now you can turn yourself into a Batman Action Figure”
Imidacloprid is in a lot of commonly used products.
The likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honeybee colonies since 2006 is imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)…
Continue reading… “Use of common pesticide, Imidacloprid, linked to Bee Colony Collapse”
If you can’t code, you are a prisoner to those who can.
Mexican entrepreneur Cristian Castillo thinks avoiding investors is important.
Castillo, co-founder of instaDM, a messaging service for Instagram, doesn’t consider himself a coder, but can hack his ideas into early-stage products.
He already has made a few apps that have gained traction…
Continue reading… “This is why entrepreneurs should learn to code”
Don’t ya just wanna cuddle em?
Imagine a tyrannosaur weighing one and a half tons, completely covered in soft, downy plumage. Even its tail is fluffy with feathers. Though we’ve known for a while that many dinosaurs were covered in feathers, a group of Chinese researchers have now provided direct evidence that gigantic, deadly tyrannosaurs might have looked a bit like wuffly birds. Three nearly complete, well-preserved fossils give us a glimpse of tyrannosaurs the way we’ve never seen them before…
Continue reading… “Hard evidence that giant tyrannosaurs were cute”
Did you know that Splenda was born as an insecticide? It’s true!
Splenda is not natural; it is a chlorinated artificial sweetener. There have been no long-term human studies on the safety of Splenda; however, issues have been raised about Splenda in a new study from Duke University.
According to the study, Splenda “suppresses beneficial bacteria and directly affects the expression of the transporter P-gp and cytochrome P-450 isozymes that are known to interfere with the bioavailability of drugs and nutrients….
Continue reading… “The insecticide now known as Splenda”
Vanilla is a hot commodity at the moment.
At our current rate of consumption, we’re driving vanilla prices sky-high. The price for a kilo of the brown stuff has jumped from $25 to $40 in a single day, which means your summer ice creams might be an even more expensive treat than usual.
Virtually all of the world’s vanilla supplies are grown in Madagascar, Mexico and India. But in the last year, Mexico’s yield has dropped by a staggering 90 per cent, reports Management Today. In fact, India’s yields are struggling too, leaving Madagascar as pretty much the sole source…
Continue reading… “A worldwide vanilla shortage is making ice cream a luxury”
Now your dogs weight won’t impede his mobility. Is that a good thing?
With news that more and more pets are joining the growing ranks of the obese (spurred by too much processed food, sedentary culture and architecture) it’s only a matter of time before someone thought of designing a stairlift for these unfortunate animals, just like their human counterparts.
In a country where observers are predicting over half of its dogs will be obese by 2022, the Daily Mail reports that a UK-based insurance company is prototyping a device that will help pudgy pets climb stairs, which they’re calling “Stair Lift of the Dog 2022″…
Continue reading… “World’s first stairlift for obese pets”
The worlds biggest mouth doesn’t hold a candle to some of these crazy sex world records.
From an 82-year-old prostitute to a 500 people orgy and the world’s gang bang record, meet some of the weirdest sex world records you may not see in the Guinness Book…
Continue reading… “10 Bizarre Sex World Records”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.
