There is a jump in the number of computer science enrollments.
Computer science enrollments have increased for the third year. This ends the decline in enrollments that followed the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000-2001. But it could be years before enrollments reach the high of the dot-com booms.
Continue reading… “10% Increase in Computer Science Enrollments”
Over 44,000 trade mark files have gone missing in India.
Justice Muralidhar of the Delhi High Court on April 7 asked the government to reform the Trade Mark Office. This was after an investigation revealed that the office had lost 44,404 trade mark registrations without even realizing.
Continue reading… “Growing Concerns Over Problems with the Indian Trade Mark Office”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Sometime over the coming months you can expect to see a version of the following help wanted ad:
“Help Wanted: Full-time aerial drone drivers needed to help manager our growing fleet of surveillance, delivery, and communication drones. We are also looking for drone repair techs, drone dispatchers, and drone salesmen.”
Tajikistan’s Council of Ulema is set to issue a fatwa banning a so-called SMS-divorce, the state religious committee have announced. The move comes amid growing complaints that some Tajik men – working as migrant laborers in Russia – divorce their wives by sending a mobile-phone text message or just making a phone call.
Sunni Islamic traditions allow men to divorce their wives by merely saying “talaq,” an Islamic term for a declaration of divorce. Tajik religious leaders, however, insist that ending a marriage is not such a simple matter…
Continue reading… “Authorities In Tajikistan Plan Ban On Divorce By Text Message”
Last week there were used battleships for sale on e-bay, this week we’ve got used space shuttles. But not going as cheaply as the warships and not being turned into pots and pans either.
NASA has been trying to flog these space shuttles for a while now; they have already been marked down from $42M to $28M. And it looks like they may have finally found a new, earth-bound, home.
Continue reading… “Sold to the Highest Bidder: 3 Used Space Ships”
Scientists from the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan cultivated embryonic stem cells in a test tube and added proteins to coax them into developing. They had wanted it to form a recognizable organ, but were stunned to find that over 10 days, the stem cells had formed an embryonic eye:
Professor Yoshiki Sasai, lead author said: “What we’ve been able to do in this study is resolve a nearly century-old problem in embryology, by showing that retinal precursors have the inherent ability to give rise to the complex structure of the optic cup.”
Continue reading… “Scientists Created Embryonic Eye in Test Tube”
Pink Tentacle has a post about Pluto-kun, created by Japan’s Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation in the 1990s. The helium-voiced fellow stars in a “pro-nuclear PR cartoon entitled ‘Pluto-kun, Our Reliable Friend.’ The aim of the animated film, which features the company mascot Pluto-kun, is to dispel some of the fears surrounding plutonium.”
Continue reading… “Meet Pluto-kun, the World’s Cutest Plutonium Mascot”
Futurist Thomas Frey: I often get asked the question, “How do you become a futurist?”
When I get this question, I know that the person asking is secretly thinking that being a futurist is one of the coolest professions of all times, which it is. And they want some concrete process for becoming a futurist, which there isn’t one.
Continue reading… “Creating Holes in the Fabric of the Future”
Health officer talks to factory workers.
The biggest danger to Chinese workers is not workplace accidents, but occupational disease. There are potentially 200 million workers in China that are under the threat of contracting an occupational disease according to a senior trade union official.
Continue reading… “200 Million Chinese Workers in Danger of Occupational Disease”
The bubble that has taken the place of housing is the higher education bubble.
Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder, hedge fund manager and venture capitalist has a special talent for making money. He also has a talent for making people mad.
Girls are reaching puberty earlier than any generation in history.
Doctor’s don’t completely understand why girls are maturing faster than ever. Girls are hitting puberty earlier than any other generation in history.
Continue reading… “Doctors Aren’t Sure Why Girls Are Reaching Puberty Earlier”
Remember a few years ago when everyone decided that using algae as a biofuel feedstock would be the best thing ever? Well, progress on that front is moving so slowly that companies have realized that that might not be where the money is. But there is still all this algae lying around. So, instead, a handful of ambitious biofuel and algae production startups have decided to put their product into every segment imaginable–we’re talking about putting algae in your makeup, your protein supplements, and even your medication. Now Aurora Algae has unveiled its mysterious-sounding A2 Product Portfolio–a series of algae-based oils and powders that will be used in the biofuel, food, aquaculture, neutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. What will happen when all the products you use have everyone’s favorite sea vegetable added to them?
Continue reading… “In the Future, Everything Will Be Made of Algae”