The number of Americans who lack access to basic necessities like food and health care is now higher than it was at the peak of the Great Recession, a survey released Thursday found. And in a finding that could worsen fears of U.S. decline, the share of Americans struggling to put food on the table is now three times as large as the share of the Chinese population in the same position.
Continue reading… “19% of Americans struggle to put food on the table”
Nanotubes contribute to another breakthrough.
Will the wonders of carbon nanotubes never cease? Engineers have now used everyone’s favorite cylindrical übermolecules to create artificial muscles that can contract and twist, in a manner not unlike like the muscles found in elephant trunks and squid tentacles. The upshot? Researchers say these tiny little motors could soon be used to propel microscopic nanobots throughout your bloodstream.
In nanoscale engineering, the term “artificial muscle” is used to refer to materials that can change their shape in response to stimuli. The mechanical movements created by these muscles have potential applications in everything from cancer therapies to portable electronics…
A Dramatic transformation.
It’s conventional wisdom that women wear make-up to appear more beautiful, but according to a new study, there’s another effect: they appear more competent.
Here’s the intriguing study by Pyschology professor Nancy Etcoff and colleagues…
Monopolies are a unbeneficial to overall businesses world.
The pace and power of web-fueled innovation is stunning. One day we’re swearing by Outlook, the next, we can’t live without Gmail. These changes exemplify the beauty of the Internet — the possibility that greener pastures are but a click away.
On the other hand, the list of tech innovations that could have been is quite long. Before we get into those, a few caveats…
Continue reading… “Why no one company will ever Monopolize the Internet”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Would you buy a product that was advertised as “Naturally grown, completely organic, printed food?”
Professor Holger Hermanns with his prototype wireless bicycle braking system.
Wireless gear-shifting for bicycles has been around for the past few years. Now someone has developed a wireless braking system. Created by computer scientists at Germany’s Saarland University, the current prototype still looks a little boxy, but it does do away with cables and brake levers. According to computer algorithms that would normally be used in control systems for aircraft or chemical factories, the system should offer 99.999999999997 percent reliability – that means it would fail three times out of a trillion braking attempts.
Not even a college degree is going to help much.
Is this the New Normal? Incomes have fallen since the new millennium began and aren’t expected to catch up until 2021, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of economists’ forecasts.
Continue reading… “Wages remain stagnant and won’t catch up until 2021”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk[/youtube]
Today kids think the world revolves around them. They think that texting trumps face-to-face conversations and that print magazines are actually iPads.
Continue reading… “Baby plays with a magazine like it’s an iPad: video”
Focusing on money and possessions can take a toll on couples’ happiness and stability.
Married couples who are materialistic may have more money, but they also have more relationship problems, according to a new study.
Continue reading… “Materialistic couples have more relationship problems: study”
Behold nature and its wonders! Tobias Lunchbreath understands that true happiness lies in the Oreo-fueled cycle of life.
Crowdsourcing for innovation.
Numerous studies demonstrate that 70-80% of all new products fail. Lack of relevance, lack of differentiation, inappropriate pricing and muddled messaging all factor into a brand’s struggle when launching a new product.
However, the ultimate judgment of new products falls to consumers, who, ironically, are often absent from the development process. That development stage stands the greatest chance of generating transformative new ideas early on, before the brand has made a significant investment…
Where do passwords go when you die?
I have pretty secure passwords, as much to keep would-be miscreants at bay as to keep my friends and family from finding out just how horrible a life I’m living. But according to a study, a full 11 percent of Brits plan to leave their passwords in their will.
There’s some sense to that, actually…
Continue reading… “Will you leave your passwords for your loved ones when you die?”