Mitsubishi is taking a unique approach to draw attention to its all-wheel drive vehicles: The automaker broke five Guinness World Records relating to driving in winter conditions.
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Continue reading… “Mitsubishi Breaks 5 Guinness World Records in 24 Hours”
This week the European Parliament backed a proposal to re-write the WEEE directive. WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, and the directive sets requirements for the end-of-life management in the growing electrical and electronic product sector. The re-write attempts to address wide disparities in the success of the existing directive, which requires collection of 4kg/person of WEEE. Currently, Sweden tops the ranking of European nations with 16 kg per person of WEEE collected, while Italy collects only 1 kg per person. The proposed directive attempts to level the playing field for WEEE as well; so that the Italians could satisfy the directive if it is shown that Swedish people purchase 16 times more EEE than Italians. Although this is a stretch, it is only fair that targets be set in relation to actual consumer behavior.
Continue reading… “European Parliament Backs Tough Electronic Waste Recycling Targets”
We often ask questions about the world around us. This list has ten explanations of common, every-day things that you probably did not understand. And if you did understand them you’re far cooler than us. Using this knowledge you can impress your friends, family, or romantic interests, because nothing is more attractive to the other sex than knowing how random things work.
Continue reading… “10 Common Phenomena Explained”
The StreetFlyer vehicle, developed by Dr. Carsten Mehring, is supposed to represent a land version of hang gliding. The rider is suspended in a harness from the top. She steers with her hands and pedals the rear wheel. Mehring asserts that the StreetFlyer could serve physical rehabilitation purposes as it puts limited stress on the user’s limbs. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Get Out On The Streets With A StreetFlyer”
In the future, mushrooms may be as common in cars as they are on pizza.
Believe it or not, scientists who are trying to find more sustainable ways to build car parts believe the answers may be found in things such as mushroom roots.
The newest episode of the PBS series “Nova,” which aired on Wednesday 2/2, focuses on the new discoveries that scientists such as Deborah Mielewski, the technical leader of plastics research at Ford Motor Co., are working on to reduce the carbon tire track that autos leave on the environment…
Continue reading… “In the Future, Your Car May Be Made of Mushrooms”
What happens when you survey 1,000 British parents and 500 children on their leisure activities? You might find out that a quarter of the kids don’t play outside. Or that 12% of adults admit to having ‘no interest’ in the outdoors and 5% thought that trees which don’t lose their leaves during winter are called Carnivores. But wait, it doesn’t stop there. 6% of British adults thought strawberries grew on trees, so it should come as no surprise that 25% of British kids did not know what a mouse looked like.
Yet, oddly, the same surveyed parents do recognise the benefits of outdoor play. The report revealed that 71% of parents think their children are happier when they play outdoors and 92% believe outdoor play is good for their children’s health. So why are they spending twice as much time glued to a computer or TV screen, than being outdoors?
Continue reading… “25% of British Children Don’t Play Outside”
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Dogs sniffed out bowel cancer in more than nine out of 10 cases.
A Labrador retriever has sniffed out bowel cancer in breath and stool samples during a study in Japan.
The research, in the journal Gut, showed the dog was able to identify early stages of the disease.
It has already been suggested that dogs can use their noses to detect skin, bladder, lung, ovarian and breast cancers.
Cancer Research UK said it would be extremely difficult to use dogs for routine cancer testing.
The biology of a tumour is thought to include a distinct smell and a series of studies have used dogs to try to detect it.
Continue reading… “Early Bowel Cancer Detected by Dogs in Japan”
While we’re always using our brains, we’re not necessarily doing much to keep them in good shape. Here are the top ten sites and tools to train your brain and exercise your mental muscles…
Continue reading… “Top 10 Tips and Tricks to Train, Exercise, and Better Your Brain”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xujxUWs-rs&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Hot Wheels have been a popular toy for years, especially with boys. Whether it’s collecting miniature versions of your dream cars, watching them speed along custom tracks, making them crash dramatically, or a blend of all three, there’s always something fun about them. Like most toy brands that have been around for a while, Mattel’s Hot Wheels were due for some revamping, a way to keep up with the times and revitalize a brand so it can compete with newcomers…
Continue reading… “Hot Wheels Video Racer Lets Kids Record Their Stunts”
A study has investigated how the differing fertility rates between religious and secular individuals might affect the genetic evolution of society overall.
In the past 20 years, the Amish population in the US has doubled, increasing from 123,000 in 1991 to 249,000 in 2010. The huge growth stems almost entirely from the religious culture’s high fertility rate, which is about 6 children per woman, on average. At this rate, the Amish population will reach 7 million by 2100 and 44 million by 2150. On the other hand, the growth may not continue if future generations of Amish choose to defect from the religion and if secular influences reduce the birth rate. In a new study, Robert Rowthorn, emeritus professor of economics at Cambridge University, has looked at the broader picture underlying this particular example: how will the high fertility rates of religious people throughout the world affect the future of human genetic evolution, and therefore the biological makeup of society?
Should the government here have this kind of power?
On Thursday Jan 27th at 22:34 UTC the Egyptian Government effectively removed Egypt from the internet. Nearly all inbound and outbound connections to the web were shut down. The internet intelligence authority Renesys explains it here and confirms that “virtually all of Egypt’s Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide.” This has never happened before in the entire history of the internet, with a nation of this size. A block of this scale is completely unheard of, and Senator Joe Lieberman wants to be able to do the same thing in the US…
Continue reading… “Egypt Turns Off Internet, Lieberman Wants Same Option For US”
Questions such as how much fresh water we have left on Earth, where it is located, and how we can access it are all nearly impossible to answer. However, scientists working on understanding and revealing the planet’s surface structure are helping to hone in on an answer. University of British Columbia researchers have created a world’s-first with their new map that outlines how fluid flows through Earth’s various porous surfaces. Information gleaned from the map can help us discover more about water supplies worldwide.
Continue reading… “First-Ever Global Map to Delve Deep Into Earth Surface Helps Reveal Water Supply”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.