Historical Perspectives – Page 44

Analysis, Big Problems, Education, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

How much radiation are you exposed to on a plane?

October 21, 2011

Radiation is all around you on an airplange.

Since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, you’ve probably heard me and other people talk about the radiation exposure we experience in everyday life. All humans, throughout history, have been exposed to background radiation produced constantly by the natural environment. Then there’s added exposures from modern sources: X-rays and medical scans, living near power plants (both coal and nuclear, and the coal is actually worse), and flying in airplanes…

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Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, Famous Inventor, Historical Perspectives, New Viewpoints, People Making a Difference

‘The Lamplighter’ shines bright for Inventor Art Contest winner Tyler Voorhees

October 21, 2011

The Lamplighter is one of five images in the ‘Jobs of Yesteryear’ series.

As the dust settles on the award ceremonies for the Inventor Art Contest held on Friday, October 14 at DaVinci Institute, ImpactLab took a moment to talk with Best of Show recipient Tyler Voorhees about his work, his future and his studio, Doc’s Lollipops…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Historical Perspectives, Space

NASA To unfurl the largest Solar Sail ever flown in space

October 20, 2011

Come sail away.

In a series of upcoming technology demonstration missions, NASA is hoping to prove that giant solar sails are a practical way to explore the cosmos, even though warp drive engines and rocket powered spacecraft make for better movie fodder.

Starting in 2015, NASA will be launching a series of three experiment driven missions, including one that will confirm the feasibility of using solar sails as a viable means of cheap propulsion. The giant 125×125 foot sail is seven times as large as those previously flown in space, but will one day need to be considerably larger to shuttle astronauts around…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Current Events, Education, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News

Computing building blocks created from bacteria and DNA

October 20, 2011

Biocomputers are one step closer to reality.

Scientists have successfully demonstrated that they can build some of the basic components for digital devices out of bacteria and DNA, which could pave the way for a new generation of biological computing devices, in research published October 18 in the journal Nature Communications…

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Analysis, Animals, Breakthrough Thinking, Culture, Games, Historical Perspectives, New Viewpoints

How Angry Birds conquered casual gaming

October 20, 2011

Angry Birds are everywhere!

For nearly two years, the casual game market has belonged to Angry Birds. The megahit app has been downloaded over 400 million times and boasts 30 million daily active users.

For Rovio, the developers behind the juggernaut, the success of Angry Birds has led to movie deals, increased funding and rumors of IPO plans.

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Analysis, Crazy Stuff, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, Latest News

An iPhone can tell what you’re typing

October 18, 2011

Can you hear it? Well an iPhone will be soon.

In the near future, you might have more to worry about than someone looking over your shoulder—the smartphone beside you could be snooping on what you type. Scientists have programmed phones to spy by feeling. Incredible.

New Scientist reports that the method, although requiring a lot of tweaking before it’s a viable spy toy, can already detect typed words with 80% accuracy…

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Analysis, Animals, Crazy Photos, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

Fascinating turtle facts & pics

October 17, 2011

How much do you know about non teenage mutant ninja turtles?

Dark Roasted Blend has a great article on turtles right now, complete with tons of great pictures and some interesting facts about the creatures. For example:

The rigid shell means turtles cannot breathe as other reptiles do, by changing the volume of their chest cavity via expansion and contraction of the ribs. Instead, turtles breathe in two ways…

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Analysis, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

40% of cancers may be caused by viruses

October 17, 2011

The research study using DNA analysis has shown that viruses could be implicated as the cause of 40 per cent of the 200 forms of cancer.

Up to forty percent of cancers, including brain tumors and leukemia, may be caused by viruses, scientists claim.

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Analysis, Education, Historical Perspectives

Uncharted Territory: Scientists sequence the first carbohydrate biopolymer

October 16, 2011

Does the first carbohydrate biopolymer look like you thought it would?

DNA and protein sequencing have forever transformed science, medicine, and society. Understanding the structure of these complex biomolecules has revolutionized drug development, medical diagnostics, forensic science, and our understanding of evolution and development. But, one major molecule in the biological triumvirate has remained largely uncharted: carbohydrate biopolymers…

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Animals, Historical Perspectives, Science & Technology News

Celebrating 50 years of Space Flight with corn mazes?

October 16, 2011

A corny tribute to NASA.

With what has to be the first crop circles officially confirmed to be related to space travel, NASA is continuing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of manned space flight with a series of complex corn mazes highlighting their achievements…

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Analysis, Animals, Breakthrough Thinking, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Discoveries

The most well-preserved dinosaur skeleton ever found in Europe

March 4, 2013

Look at the details!

Researchers say this specimen is about as close to perfect as fossils come. Unveiled last Thursday by scientists from the Bavarian paleontological and ecological collections in Munich, Germany, the unnamed dinosaur is believed to be 98% complete, and even includes bits of preserved skin.

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Crazy Stuff, Education, Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Human Behavior, New Viewpoints

The teenage plastic surgery boom

October 15, 2011

Teens are vain too?

Here’s a disturbing trend: Between 1996 and 2010 the number of teenagers aged 13-19 having elective cosmetic surgery has increased by 548% – from around 14,000 procedures to 76,841 last year, according to American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The vast majority of these surgeries are rhinoplasty, followed by octoplasty (ear-pinning, typically), breast augmentation, asymmetry correction and reduction, and liposuction…

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