Science & Technology News – Page 501

Agriculture, Analysis, Food, Great Videos, Plant Life, Science & Technology News

New LED light technology sheds light on the future of food

July 23, 2014

LED growing lights, delivering sunlight whatever the weather.

This century, the challenges of growing enough food to feed the world have grown more severe. We need to feed more people with limited agricultural land and resources. We need to make better use of land, light and logistics for an increasingly urban population. And we need to incorporate zero-waste and low-energy technologies into the task of food production. (Video)

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Analysis, Robots, Science & Technology News

‘Uncanniest valley’ – when robots know us better than we know ourselves

July 22, 2014

Robots don’t judge. Humans do.

Japanese roboticist Mashahiro Mori coined the term “uncanny valley” in 1970 to describe the strange fact that, as robots become more human-like, we relate to them better—but only to a point. The ”uncanny valley” is this point.

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Latest Trend, New Viewpoints, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

When Everyone Becomes Blackmailable

July 22, 2014

Futurist Thomas Frey: On a recent driving trip, my wife and I became immersed in the audio version of one of Tom Clancy’s last novels titled, “Threat Vector.” Without giving away too much of the plot, a Chinese super-geek villain has hatched a plan to hack into our most secure networks and blackmail people with their darkest secrets to subversively cause chaos and disruption for the American government.

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Business, Great New Product, Science & Technology News

Imprint Energy is developing flexible, printed batteries for wearable devices

July 22, 2014

Ultrathin zinc-polymer battery.

Imprint Energy is developing flexible, rechargeable batteries that can be printed cheaply on commonly used industrial screen printers. The California startup has been testing its ultrathin zinc-polymer batteries in wrist-worn devices and hopes to sell them to manufacturers of wearable electronics, medical devices, smart labels, and environmental sensors.

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3D Printer, Business, Science & Technology News

Mcor Technologies improves their paper-based, full-color 3D printer

July 22, 2014

Mcor Iris 3D Printer

Most people think 3D printing involves a machine that either extrudes molten plastic, in a way similar to how a hot glue gun works, or think of one of the larger industrial level 3D printers manufactured by 3D systems or Stratasys. These huge machines print objects in a variety of materials, but come with price tags that are only affordable for a select few.

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Analysis, Energy, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

Generating electricity from jumping water droplets

July 21, 2014

This process can generate small amounts of electricity.

Last year, MIT researchers discovered that when water droplets spontaneously jump away from superhydrophobic (water-repelling) surfaces during condensation, the droplets can gain electric charge in the process.

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Analysis, Science & Technology News

Mobile and beacons will power travel in the future

July 21, 2014

Mobile tech will help squash millions of annoyances we encounter with traveling.

Our lives have the potential of becoming completely automated because of beacons. The tiny transmitters will seamlessly give companies information about us that help them provide better service; control real-time opportunities for us to save or enjoy; and simplify the exchange of funds. They will remove the many steps we go through to get something done today. Steps which are so engrained in us that we don’t yet even realize how much they are interrupting our lives. Traveling in particular is full of millions of annoyances that beacons, sensors, and other advances in mobile tech will soon help to squash. Just imagine a 36-hour business trip:

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Alternative Transportation, Ecological Products, Photo Perspectives, Science & Technology News

Nimbus – a retro-futuristic off-roading electric SUV

July 21, 2014

Nimbus microbus

The Nimbus is a funky little hybrid that looks like a retro-styled SUV, but its actual story is even more intriguing. The Nimbus concept car is a microbus that can take electric hybrids off-road. The concept comes from Brazilian designer Eduardo Galvani who claims it offers a greater driving range and better fuel economy than any hybrid currently on the market. (Pics)

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Analysis, Business, Energy, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Project proposals nearly double California’s energy storage target

July 21, 2014

Energy storage

On paper, California’s push to transform the market for grid-scale energy storage is working even better than expected.

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Alternative Transportation, Analysis, Globalism, Science & Technology News

China expected to become a world leader in high speed rail while the U.S. stands by

July 18, 2014

A maglev train at the Pudong International Airport.

High-speed rail (HSR) will connect not only cities, states and countries in the future, but also far-reaching continents. In about 15 to 20 years from now, one could travel seamlessly from London, UK to Beijing, China and even have a detour within the Gulf countries using the global high-speed rail network. In the next 15 years, while UK would have built its new HSR2 that covers 332 kilometers, China will have completed over 25,631 kilometers of high speed track to seamlessly move people in its country.

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Great New Product, Science & Technology News

Bag2Go – ‘smart’ luggage that will text you when it gets lost

July 18, 2014

Bag2Go

It can take hours or even days to hear from someone at an airline to tell you where your lost luggage has ended up — if it ever turns up at all. Wouldn’t it be easier to hear from the luggage itself?

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Analysis, Health & Fitness, Insects, Science & Technology News

Mutant worm created that can’t get drunk

July 18, 2014

Genetically engineered worms could ultimately lead to anti-drunk pills for humans.

A team of researchers recently made a genetic tweak to worms’ brains that made it impossible for them to get drunk. More specifically, the scientists modified the worms’ genes so that a molecular channel that binds alcohol to their brains would no longer work. And humans have a similar molecular channel.

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