(CNN) Bold claims for new battery technology have been around since the invention of the lead-acid battery more than 150 years ago.
But researchers at Manchester University in the UK say their latest discovery involving the new wonder material graphene could be the most revolutionary advance in battery technology yet.
Continue reading… “Graphene can Harvest Energy through Thin Air”
It’s been a fast-paced year for 3D printing, with more capital, more companies, and more big ideas than ever. Behind the scenes, we’ve witnessed no fewer than 50 new ventures raising money in the 3D printing sector. That doesn’t include more than 40 crowdfunding projects on Kickstarter alone.
Continue reading… “The Big Trends in 3-D Printing”
Illustration of reflective panel on building
A new ultrathin multilayered material can cool buildings without air conditioning by radiating warmth from inside the buildings into space while also reflecting sunlight to reduce incoming heat.
Fan Lab
Stanford engineers have invented a material designed to help cool buildings. The material reflects incoming sunlight, and it sends heat from inside the structure directly into space as infrared radiation (represented by reddish rays).
Stanford engineers have invented a revolutionary coating material that can help cool buildings, even on sunny days, by radiating heat away from the buildings and sending it directly into space.
Continue reading… “Stanford Engineers Invent High Tech Mirrors that Beam Light into Space”
In research published in the medical journal Brain, Saint Louis University researcher Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D. and colleagues within SLU, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other academic institutions have discovered a way to block a pain pathway in animal models of chronic neuropathic pain including pain caused by chemotherapeutic agents and bone cancer pain suggesting a promising new approach to pain relief.
Continue reading… “How Scientists Can Turn off Pain Receptors”
Now for something completely out of this world.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has officially announced, this week, it plans to send humans to the red planet – in a future manned mission that will see humans first attempt to land on the surface of an asteroid, and if successful, the later goal being to put those human astronauts on the actual surface of Mars.
“NASA is developing the capabilities needed to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s,” the press release issued by the U.S government-funded space organization read.
Continue reading… “NASA wants to Send Astronauts to Mars by 2030”
Audrey Watters: “The business of ed-tech” is also the “politics of ed-tech.” The business and the politics of ed-tech together dictate almost all the other trends that I’ll cover in this year-end series. MOOCs. Big data. Learning analytics. Privacy. Competency-based education. Buzzwords.
One way to identify the dominant ed-tech trends is to look at what venture capitalists are funding. Another is to look at what government policies are demanding. The state of Maryland, for example, said this year that it would need to invest $100 million in technology upgrades in order to be ready for the new online testing mandated by the Common Core State Standards.
New hardware. New infrastructure. New curriculum. New expenditures. So… who benefits?
Continue reading… “Coding Education & Tech Trends of 2014”
The Federal Aviation Administration recently released a report detailing more than 190 safety incidents involving drones and commercial aircraft. In response, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has vowed to push legislation that would crack down on the commercial use of drones, also called Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). India’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation has already banned all use of drones in the country — even for civilian purposes.
Continue reading… “Ready or Not, Drone Technology will Change Everything”
Article By Heather Wood Rudolph
Alaina Percival never envisioned a career in technology. But after a successful career in marketing and brand management that took her around the world, the 34-year-old quit her job, learned to code, and changed careers. Today she runs Women Who Code, a nonprofit mentoring and education group focused on increasing the number of women in all areas of the technology industry. Percival talks to Cosmopolitan.com about feeling the gender gap in tech and the importance of a good challenge.
Continue reading… “One woman who plans to teach a million how to code”
England’s Cornish Tin Mine
Jamie Doward – A pioneering research project to clean up a flooded Cornish tin mine is using algae to harvest the precious heavy metals in its toxic water, while simultaneously producing biofuel.
If the project, which is at a very early stage, is proven to work, it could have huge environmental benefits around the world.
Continue reading… “Algae used to extract metals from mine tailings”
Over the past year we’ve delved into a variety of different topics on FuturistSpeaker.com and naturally some have been more popular than others. Sometimes it’s the headlines, other times the graphics, but in the end it’s the subject matter and content that will determine which ones rise to the top.
Overall, we’re still finding a pervasive fear over jobs, privacy, and the economy, and a strong desire to understand what comes next. Our confidence in government has plummeted and the newest evil villain is artificial intelligence gone awry.
On the positive side of the equation, both flying drones and robots are hot, even though both have serious downsides. The Internet of Things is gaining in popularity along with its magical junior categories of enchanted objects and smart homes. The sharing economy is becoming a more defined niche and tiny homes are an emerging category that will soon be replaced with 3D printed disposable houses.
Even though Bitcoin hasn’t been a good investment in 2014, it’s been a banner year for cryptocurrencies in general. No, we still haven’t minted any cryptocurrency billionaires just yet, but as national currencies become increasingly dysfunctional, with security holes affecting nearly everyone, new opportunities are just around the corner.
At the DaVinci Institute, our work on Micro Colleges are paving the way for future generations to reboot their careers quickly to better match the emerging talent needs of business and industry.
With that in mind, here are the 2014 columns that attracted the most attention over the past 12 months.
Continue reading… “Top 10 Most Influential Columns by Futurist Thomas Frey in 2014”
PayPal announced several partnerships, recently, aimed towards enabling certain PayPal merchants to be able to accept bitcoin as a form of payment from their customers. This was a significant announcement on multiple fronts as many had wondered if and what PayPal’s foray into the cryptocurrency space would be.
Continue reading… “PayPal, Bitcoin, and the future of digital currency adoption”
According to a new study, the U.S. is quickly losing its appeal to the world’s most talented immigrants. Stanford and the University of Washington researchers have culled a large dataset from LinkedIn and found that the the number of Ph.D.s choosing the U.S. as their home base fell by nearly half (29 percent in 2000 vs. 18 percent in 2012).
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.