Green tea contains antioxidant chemicals that may help ward off the cell damage that can lead to disease.
Over time, elderly adults who regularly drink green tea may stay more agile and independent than their peers, according to a Japanese study that covered thousands of people.
Continue reading… “Green tea the secret to healthy old age: study”
The Electric Car is making new inroads in the UK.
Back in July of 2011 we heard about reports of plans for a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations across the UK. Wind energy utility Ecotricity was installing charging stations in rest areas up and down the nations highways. Now CEO Dale Vince—who was interviewed in a live chat about building a wind energy empire—just posted on his blog that phase one of the Electric Highway is complete, and he is predicting that 2012 may just be the year of the electric car…
Continue reading… “Phase one of UK’s Nationwide Electric Car Charging Network complete”
Lighting up new options for fluorescent recycling.
Lots of people know that they shouldn’t be throwing away batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, and other pieces of household hazardous waste (HHW). But what should you be doing instead? Today, many large businesses collect such waste for recycling; our pals over at Earth911 have a searchable list of American HHW recyclers. The UK company reVend has recently teamed up with IKEA to make it even easier—at two flagship stores in the UK, they’ve rolled out “reverse vending machines” for spent bulbs and batteries.
It’s stupid simple: you put your light bulb in a hole in the machine, a video camera identifies the bulb so the machine can sort it, and you receive a reward voucher for a free cup of coffee…
Continue reading… “UK Company ReVend Revamps Fluorescent Light Bulb Recycling”
Dr Mohamed Saafi and David McGahon have developed a smart paint that can detect microscopic faults in large structures.
Researchers have developed a ‘smart paint’ able to detect tiny faults before damage can occur, and at a fraction of the cost of current methods.
Continue reading… “Researchers develop ‘smart paint’ that monitors structural damage”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoPr9byMxgw[/youtube]
Fresh herbs taste better than their dried counterparts, and there is no denying that garden-fresh veggies are preferable to ones that have spent the past several days in a truck or on a supermarket shelf. People who are lucky enough to live in warmer climates can keep the fresh greens coming year-round, if they plant a garden. For those of us in colder regions, however, things get a bit more challenging come winter. We can rig up indoor herb gardens on windowsills or using full-spectrum fluorescent lights, but that can sometimes get a little complicated. If you can justify its price, however, there is an alternative – the Urban Cultivator. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Urban Cultivator compact garden”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQIMGV5vtd4&hd=1[/youtube]
Researchers at GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania have been working with nano quadrotors since at least 2010, managing to get them to fly aggressively, build a tower structure and now — fly in perfect formation.
Continue reading… “Swarm of nano quadrotors fly in formation: Video”
Seattle tops the list of top techiest cities in the U.S.
As part of the annual America’s Favorite Cities survey, Trave l + Leisure readers ranked 35 major cities on qualities such as microbrews, live music and street food. Readers also judged how tech-savvy the locals seem, and the reliability of wireless coverage; we combined the two sets of results to come up with our list of the techiest cities.
Continue reading… “Top 10 techiest cities in America”
The elevator at the AquaDom in Berlin travels up the middle of the 82-foot tall aquarium.
To ride an elevator it usually just involves pushing a button and zoning out until the ding for your floor. Pay attention on these elevators or risk missing out on one of the most thrilling rides of your life (even if it only lasts 30 seconds). From climbing to a scenic overlook in rural China to an ascent up an American icon, these vertical feats of engineering are about way more than getting from point A to point B. (Pics)
Continue reading… “8 amazing elevator rides you need to see to believe”
Longtime users show no sign that they have tired of posting on Facebook.
No ” Facebook fatigue.” A survey released shows that people who have used the social networking site over a long period – since its founding in 2004, say – show no sign that they have tired of posting pictures, updating weekend plans or just relaying random thoughts.
Continue reading… “No sign of ‘Facebook fatigue’ for longtime users”
Some perfectly functional middle-agers still turn to the drugs of their youth.
A burned-out Baby Boomer using hard drugs way into middle age may conjure images of addiction, destruction and death.
Continue reading… “Study finds some still dabble in hard drugs after 50”
The lenses sit directly on the eyeball, and have been engineered using nanoscale techniques to work as a focusing device that pairs with a pair of hi-tech glasses.
Innovega, a company in the U.S. says, contact lenses which focus 3D screens directly into people’s eyeballs could be on sale as early as 2014. The tiny ‘screens’ sit directly on users’ eyeballs and work with a pair of lightweight glasses with a built-in translucent screen.
Continue reading… “Virtual reality contact lenses could be here by 2014”
A picture of me speaking at yesterday’s TEDxReset in Istanbul.
Futurist Thomas Frey: Yesterday I was honored to be one of the featured speakers at the TEDxReset Conference in Istanbul, Turkey where I predicted that over 2 billion jobs will disappear by 2030. Since my 18-minute talk was about the rapidly shifting nature of colleges and higher education, I didn’t have time to explain how and why so many jobs would be going away. Because of all of the questions I received afterwards, I will do that here.
Continue reading… “2 Billion Jobs to Disappear by 2030”