Is this be the future of wheat?
This is not the best photo, but it is pretty damn mind-blowing. What you see here is Jerry Glover, National Geographic Emerging Explorer, holding the root system of a single perennial wheat plant. The photo was taken by Scientific American editor Mariette DiChristina at the Compass Summit in Palos Verdes, California.
Continue reading… “The roots of perennial wheat”
North Dakota has plenty of jobs…but ya gotta live there too.
Psst! Wanna job? There’s a place in the United States that actually can’t get enough people to hire.
The catch? You have to live in North Dakota … kidding! Actually its a bit worse: you have to live in camps in North Dakota đ
Continue reading… “North Dakota: Where the jobs are”
Energy beneath our feet.
New research from SMU’s Geothermal Laboratory, funded by a grant from Google.org, documents significant geothermal resources across the United States capable of producing more than three million megawatts of green power — 10 times the installed capacity of coal power plants today…
The knowledge has availed itself.
The Copiale Cipher is a 105-page handwritten document that was composed sometime in the late Eighteenth Century. It has 75,000 characters, both symbols and Roman letters. Until recently, it was indecipherable. But now linguists using translation programs have decoded the first sixteen pages. Hereâs how they did it…
Continue reading… “Linguists crack mysterious 300-year old coded manuscript”
Is the IQ up or down today?
IQ, the standard measure of intelligence, can increase or fall significantly during our teenage years, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust, and these changes are associated with changes to the structure of our brains. The findings may have implications for testing and streaming of children during their school years…
An amazing view!
Soon you’ll be able to see the world from Lady Liberty’s vantage without ever visiting New York. The Statue of Liberty is getting a sweet 125th birthday gift: five webcams that will broadcast sweeping panoramas 24 hours a day…
Continue reading… “Big mother is watching: Statue of Liberty gets panoramic webcams”
Custom printed crab homes.
Hermit crab homelessness is reaching critical levels, leaving many of these fine clawed fellows without a shell of their own.
Now, thanks to 3d printers and our tireless search for new things to print out, thereâs a solution: custom printed hermit crab shells! The printed shells will last longer, look cooler and are sure to stir up feelings of jealousy among other hermit crabs. If only we could print houses for homeless humans!
Continue reading… “Printing new homes for Hermit Crabs”
A new DARPA solicition seeks “swarming robot space vampires” (in JWZ’s evocative phrasing) to disassemble and harvest valuable components from decommissioned satellites before they’re decommissioned, to use as spare parts for the stuff that’s still functional…
A Few Companies Have Power Over Most of the Real Economy
The idea that the few dominate the many will not come as news to those gathered either to occupy wall street or to occupy everywhere. But up until now it has been just an intuition that a few corporations control the world.
Not any more. A team of Swiss mathematicians just proved that out of over 43,000 transnational corporations (TNCs), relatively few control almost 80% of the global economy. Find out who has the power below…
Continue reading… “Proof of global domination by a few corporations”
Synthetic Biology Could Change the World.
Daisy Ginsberg is an artist and designer currently exploring the frontiers of possibility in the emergent field of synthetic biology. She just gave what was by far one of my favorite talks at this year’s Poptech conference; she discussed the potential boons and pitfalls that products of synthetic biology may yield in coming years. To showcase the nascent field’s unpredictable future, she pointed to E. Chromi, a bacteria that she and a handful of Cambridge students genetically programmed to secrete colorful pigments when it comes into contact with designated toxins.
Think bacteria that could change color to expose contaminants in groundwater, air pollution in cloud cover — perhaps most strikingly, it can even change the color of your poop if it comes into contact with toxins in your digestive system. This great video details the genesis of the bacteria…
Continue reading… “New synthetic bacteria can detect air pollution & color-code your poop”
A continuous rhythm of 60 BPM causes the brainwaves and heart rate to synchronise with the rhythm.
Sound therapists and stress specialists worked with the band Marconi Union to develop âWeightlessâ, the most relaxing song ever…
Continue reading… “Scientists develop the most relaxing tune”
The stimulus didn’t work. The bank bailouts didn’t work. Homeowner assistance and refinancing didn’t work. So could the key to solving the US housing crisis be letting foreigners buy real estate for visas?
Continue reading… “Should we let foreigners buy homes for Visas?”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, youâll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.