What American Dream?
There are many in America who don’t like or trust cities, primarily because they harbor a disproportionate number of Democratic voters. They don’t like investments in transit, either, preferring the privacy and freedom of the car. But whether they like it or not, America is changing…
Continue reading… “Young people are giving up on the American Dream of a house in the suburbs”
It’s official. It’s in.
Pantone, official arbiter of the visible spectrum, has declared its selection for next year’s color—a statement of both insane arbitrariness, and great weight in the world of things. So what’ll it be? You’re lookin’ at it!
The above hue is Tangerine Tango (also referred to as “red”), which, as The Color of 2012, must grace one object in your possession, lest you feel like a peasant. It’s… kind of boring? Maybe it’s seeing it on a piece of fabric instead of a shiny computer or vibrant iPhone case, but it’s not really doing much for me here. But Pantone disagrees, duh…
Continue reading… “Official Color of 2012”
An image of the localization of the identified protein in the molecular pump in the vascalature of a plant leaf.
Food prices are soaring at the same time as Earth’s population is nearing 9 billion. As a result the need for increased crop yields is extremely important. New research led by Carnegie’s Wolf Frommer into the system by which sugars are moved throughout a plant — from the leaves to the harvested portions and elsewhere — could be crucial for addressing this problem…
Continue reading… “New discovery on how sugars are moved throughout a plant”
The Force here exists on earth does it?
If confirmed next week, this will be the biggest news in the history of physics since the birth of the Theory of Relativity: CERN scientists may have already found evidence of the existence of the elusive Higgs boson. THE FORCE, dudes.
A respected scientist from the Cern particle physics laboratory has told the BBC he expects to see “the first glimpse” of the Higgs boson next week…
Molybdenite could be a game changer for microchips.
Silicon may need to move over soon as molybdenite has proven its possibilities for being a more versatile material with which to make computer chips. The chips have transistors that are smaller (transistors can be made that are just three atoms thick) and more energy efficient, able to be turned on and off more quickly…
Continue reading… “First Molybdenite microchip!”
More virtual classrooms coming soon!
Some readers may be familiar with Khan Academy, an awesome eLearning platform that offers students, self-starters and everyone in between the opportunity to learn at their own pace by watching instructive videos on subjects that range from arithmetic to physics. The non-profit startup has been growing like gangbusters of late, and now has more than 2,600 videos in its library. To date, Khan Academy has largely focused on math and science learning, but the startup plans to use new funding to expand into the humanities, and develop curricula for a blended physical and virtual academic experience…
Continue reading… “Late Nite Labs to bring virtual science education to campuses”
Solar Impulse
Pictured above is proof that alternative energy sources are a viable way to replace the fossil fuels we have been dependent on for so long. Called the Solar Impulse it’s the creation of Bertrand Piccard, the grandson of Auguste Piccard who invented a pressurized gondola that allowed him to travel 50,000 feet into the air… in 1931.
You can see the pedigree that Bertrand comes from and understand his drive to push limits and explore things previously thought to be impossible. His goal for the Solar Impulse was to create the world’s first solar-powered plane that could travel both day and night, an interesting prospect since there are no solar rays to collect at night…
Continue reading… “Solar Impulse, the first solar-powered plane to fly both day and night”
A new record tower.
If you’re afraid of heights, this may be a story you want to skip. The Guinness Book of World Records recently certified that the tallest tower in the world is indeed the Sky Tree which stands in Tokyo, Japan. A work in progress since 2006, the Sky Tree was constructed to be a radio and television tower while at the same time helping to revitalize tourism after the earthquakes and tsunami the country experienced. Sporting two observation decks, at 1,148 feet and 1,476 feet, tourists are guaranteed to get a spectacular view of the city.
Measuring in at 2,080 feet, the tower cost $440 million to construct. It has thirteen elevators, a restaurant, and shopping. What is interesting is that because it has less than 50% usable floor space, it fell into a different category with Guinness than the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai. It’s because the Sky Tree is technically not a building but a tower, it captured it’s own world record…
Continue reading… “Japan hopes world’s tallest tower will boost tourism”
Dwolla is forever changing the way credit cards are transacted.
Online and mobile payment service Dwolla has announced that all transactions under $10 will have no fee from now on. This is of course great news for small businesses and merchants whose average transaction is below that. Anything above still carries the flat $0.25 fee…
Continue reading… “Dwolla drops fees for transactions under $10 in prelude to larger announcement”
See it. Report it. Right here, right now.
What an amazing new way to get the news from where it is happening to you. Crowdsourcing is becoming the catalyst for all kinds of innovations and this is the one that tops our list today!
Media outlets spend a lot of money, time and effort to dispatch news crews and helicopters to catch breaking news — but often, they arrive too late and wind up covering the aftermath instead of the actual event…
Continue reading… “Rawporter turns everyone into a reporter”
No voice required.
Microsoft plans to release a next-generation Kinect device so accurate it can lip read, sources have told Eurogamer.
Kinect 2 will come bundled with future Xbox consoles, we understand.
The intention is that Kinect 2 will offer improved motion sensing and voice recognition…
Continue reading… “Kinect 2 so accurate it can lip read”
Did Google give up on the planet?
Google is quite a big proponent of renewable energy. They have made all kinds of investments in wind, solar, geothermal, etc. Some are to generate clean energy for their own needs, others are more akin to financing deals to help big wind and solar farms get built. In any case, it is very commendable work and if more big corporations had the long-term vision of Google, the world would definitely be in better shape.
But sadly, one of their most promising clean energy projects has just gotten the axe. Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal which was launched in 2007 via the Google.org Foundation, aimed to drive down the cost of renewable energy via R&D efforts until it was cheaper than coal, the magic point at which adoption would reach escape velocity…
Continue reading… “Google drops ‘Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal’ research project”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.