Researchers studied 75 people at a manufacturing company where each day for a week 20 to 30 people were allowed to bring their dogs to work.
Bringing a dog to work could come with practical difficulties, but a trial at an American company suggested it improved people’s job satisfaction.
Water strider inspires super-buoyant material.
Among the lightest solid materials in existence are Aerogels, and they are created by replacing the liquid component of a gel with a gas – this results in their extremely low density, and has earned them the nickname of “frozen smoke.” Now, scientists have created a new type of aerogel that is inspired by the feet of the water strider. The material is reportedly so buoyant, that a boat made from one pound (454 grams) of it could carry about 1,000 pounds (454 kg) of cargo.
Continue reading… “Insect inspires super-buoyant aerogel”
Altaeros Energies floating wind turbine.
Altaeros Energies has developed a floating wind turbine that’s a cross between a traditional windmill and a blimp in an effort to harness strong high-altitude winds. After some successful tests, the Altaeros team is confident that this new levitating wind turbine will be a viable clean energy option for remote villages and military sites.
Continue reading… “Floating wind turbines will harness high altitude winds”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzTZ0WmwahM[/youtube]
If your friend owes you money, lacking cash is no excuse if he’s got an iPhone. Just like sending contact information with the Bump app, you can now transfer money the same way with Bump Pay. The free app asks for your email address when it’s initially opened. You and your iPhone-wielding friend bump hands; when you feel the vibration, the money’s a-moving.
Continue reading… “Bump Pay – an app that lets you pay your friends by bumping iPhones”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EgVHdTuE10[/youtube]
ET3, a licensing organization, holds a patent to Evacuated Tube Technology or ETT and say that with their tubes, you will eventually be able to get you from New York to Beijing in 2 hours and from New York to London in less than an hour.
Continue reading… “Evacuated Tube Technology – rewriting the rules of high speed travel”
According to a new Nielsen report, there is a big shift happening right before our eyes: Smartphones now account for 50% of all mobile phones in the United States.
Continue reading… “Fifty percent of mobile phone owners in the U.S. have smartphones”
Is this the face of feeling?
Sooner than later, robots may have the ability to “feel.” In a paper published online March 26 in Advanced Functional Materials, a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demonstrated that a nonoscillating gel can be resuscitated in a fashion similar to a medical cardiopulmonary resuscitation…
Robo-readers are computers programmed to scan student essays and spit out a grade.
High school students in the U.S. are terrible writers, and one education reform group thinks it has an answer: robots.
Continue reading… “Robo-readers: new helpers for teachers in the U.S.”
No-hour work week.
The 9 to 5 workday is outdated. Happy workers are more healthy and more creative, so it’s time to start giving our workers the leeway to be happy (because otherwise they work all the time). The secret: Treat them like people.
Continue reading… “The 9 to 5 is dead – redesigning work for the modern economy”
Dialect regions as defined by the Atlas of North American English.
Lately, there has been a lot of discussion over whether the American public is becoming more and more politically polarized and what this all means for the future of our democracy. You may have wrung your own hands over the issue. But even if you have, chances are you’re not losing sleep over the fact that Americans are very clearly becoming more polarized linguistically.
Continue reading… “A changing accent shows how language parallels politics”
Denver Zoo’s poop-powered tuk-tuk.
One thing a zoo has plenty of is poop. And the Denver Zoo is no exception. They decided the best way to deal with it was to convert a little three-wheeled truck to use zoo poop as fuel. (Video)
Continue reading… “The Denver Zoo’s truck powered by poop”
Watching a tragedy movie caused people to think about their own close relationships, which in turn boosted their life happiness.
People enjoy watching tragedy movies like “Titanic” because they deliver what may seem to be an unlikely benefit: tragedies actually make people happier in the short-term.
Continue reading… “Watching tearjerkers actually makes people happier: Study”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.