Powerful things come in tiny packages.
A gentleman’s relish is the true water of life. A nice shot of semen allows a man to pass on a genetic code through the ages, offering the closest thing to eternal life humans are ever likely to achieve. But such wonders aren’t straightforward. In fact, semen is a wonderfully complex secretion, rich in evolutionary history and packed full of healthy chemicals. And actually, there’s far more to it than sperm alone…
Continue reading… “The Truth About Semen”
The researchers used a set of modified tires set on top of the concrete.
Thanks to researchers from Toyohashi University of Technology, the dream of having electric cars without limited range is one step closer to reality. The group showcased an experiment with the ability to send up to 60 watts through almost four inches of solid concrete. Although the technique they are using isn’t exactly new, they did manage to squeeze out between 80 and 90%t efficiency is.
Continue reading… “Japanese researchers transmit electricity through solid concrete”
This plot shows the discovery as seen in one of the LHC detectors.
In Geneva, scientists using the Large Hadron Collider have announced the discovery of a new subatomic particle to very high confidence that is consistent with what we expect the Higgs particle to look like.
Continue reading… “Higgs particle discovery”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0I7h6Uucnc[/youtube]
The first real-time brain-scanning speller will allow people in an apparent vegetative state (unable to speak or move) to communicate, according to Maastricht University scientists. (video)
Continue reading… “Mind-reading speller allows vegetative-state patients to communicate”
Intel’s goal is to build chips that work more like the human brain.
The most extraordinary computing machine is the human brain. It carries out tasks as a matter of routine that would fry the circuits of the most powerful supercomputers on the planet: walking, talking, recognizing, analyzing and so on.
Continue reading… “Intel’s neuromorphic chip design that works more like the human brain”
Washington State University Professor Grant Norton
Most batteries today are lithium ion batteries, and employ carbon as the anode. Other materials perform much better than carbon, and could substantially increase battery capacity. Tin anodes could potentially triple energy density, and silicon anodes might be able to hold 9 times as much charge as carbon. Such advances could lead to tablet computers and laptops that run for days before battery depletion, and to miniature, battery powered UAVs able to remain aloft for up to an hour.
Powerful new power options.
Irrigation canals are the blood vessels of agriculture, delivering water throughout America’s farmland. Pretty soon, they may well deliver a bit of electricity too, thanks to the Hydrovolt micro-generator.
The Hydrovolt C2, designed and built by the same-named Washington state company, is a compact car-sized device that sits on a irrigation canal’s floor and utilizes the steady, uninterrupted flow of water to power its turbine, which is situated perpendicular to the flow, like a paddle boat wheel. As the wheel turns, it cranks an on-board generator that produces a charge. The device is neutrally buoyant so it can generate power on the water’s surface as well, without impeding the flow or affecting the water quality.
Continue reading… “Hydrovolts tap canal currents for 12 kW of power apiece”
Johnson & Johnson’s Zytiga is kind of a big deal. The FDA approved its use last year for advanced prostate cancer patients who had already received chemo but whose cancer had still metastasized. Prostate cancer is typically treatable for the 200,000 American men who contract it annually, as long as it is caught before it spreads…
Continue reading… “Science may have just beaten Prostate Cancer”
Would you use a tongue-controlled MP3 grill?
Ever since Zeon took a hammer to my boombox, I haven’t been able to rock out to my favorite New Kids on the Block tunes at work. Aisen Caro Chacin’s invention may prove to be an acceptable alternative. Her tongue-controlled MP3 player uses the palate to carry sound to the ears…
Continue reading… “Play-a-Grill lets you hear music through your teeth”
Solar wins again.
If you like the idea of getting free energy from the sun, but don’t want to deal with the complications of installing a solar array on your roof, Umbrosa has created a lovely backyard sun shade that does double-duty—turning those rays into electricity.
As umbrellas go the Eclipse’s design is striking, but it isn’t really an umbrella at all…
Continue reading… “Stylish Sun Shade Is the Easiest Way To Harness Solar Power For Your Home”
Charcoal for sale in an African market.
Xipamanine is a sprawling, labyrinthine marketplace in the heart of Maputo, Mozambique’s capital. On the street outside, tinny music blares and a bustling throng mills around. Inside, a series of winding corridors leads you through a maze of colorful booths that boast a wide variety of wares: shoes, stereo equipment, coconuts, toys, tomatoes, rugs, seeds, nuts, goats, and charcoal. Lots of charcoal.
You can buy it wholesale, in a gigantic sack with a month’s worth of cooking fuel, for about $20. An entire open air section of the market is dedicated to storing these bags; they’re stacked in imposing dust-covered piles….
Continue reading… “How deadly charcoal is bought and sold in an African market”
This magnified image from a transmission electron microscope reveals details of the unexpected nanosheet structure of the nickel-molybdenum-nitride catalyst, seen here as dark, straight lines.
Hydrogen gas offers one of the most promising sustainable energy alternatives to limited fossil fuels. But traditional methods of producing pure hydrogen face significant challenges in unlocking its full potential, either by releasing harmful carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or requiring rare and expensive chemical elements such as platinum…
Continue reading… “Low-Cost nanosheet catalyst discovered to split hydrogen from water”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.