Information Age Overload – Every Day Average Person Produces Six Newspapers Worth of Information

Information_Overload

We receive 5 times more information today than we did in 1986.

If you think that you are suffering from information overload then you may be right – a new study shows everyone is bombarded by the equivalent of 174 newspapers of data a day.   The growth in the internet, 24-hour television and mobile phones means that we now receive five times as much information every day as we did in 1986.

Astronauts Could One Day Reach Mars by Riding Asteroids

asteroids-space-taxi-mars-travel

In 2005, Japan’s unmanned Hayabusa spacecraft (illustration) successfully landed on an asteroid.

Getting to Mars is going to involve building a huge spacecraft and loading it up with tons of fuel and radiation shielding. Unless, that is, we could just tag along with a spacecraft that’s already headed in that direction, like an asteroid.

 

 

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Leaderless Ants Create Super Efficient Transport Networks

leaderless ants

Argentine ants connect three nests in an empty arena via the shortest possible network.

Ants are able to connect multiple sites in the shortest possible way, and in doing so, create efficient transport networks, according to a University of Sydney study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.  The research also revealed the process by which the ants solve network design problems without the help of a leader.

 

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Anti-Crime DNA Sprays

DNA spray sign

New Ways To Use DNA

Jantine sez, “January 10th I received this letter from my district officials saying they;ve installed DNA spray in the area I live in. I’ve posted the letter, pic of the sign and some translated excerpts on my blog for the time being.”

Dear resident, to reduce the number of hold ups, the shopping streeds in West will be equipped with DNA-sprays from january 2011 onwards. The DNA-spray is an extra means beside the camera surveillance which district West in our effort to improve the safety in the shopping area…

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Chinese Develop Gait-Biometrics Surveillance

gait tech wiki note

Another way to be under surveillance.

A confidential United States embassy dispatch released by Wikileaks provides details about a new technology developed by the Chinese Academy of Science to identify people by their gait.

The technology is designed to be deployed beneath existent flooring. From there it measures pedestrian pace and walking pressure to create a unique biometrics profile which can be used to identify and track the movements of individuals without their knowledge…

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The Water-Scraper Habitat

water-skyscraper-2

Visions of water dwellings.

Taking advantage of the 71% of the Earth covered in water, the “Water-Scraper” is a partially submerged, self-contained habitat. A combination of tidal, solar and wind sources generate power for the floating behemoth while garden acreage just above the water line produces food for the structure’s inhabitants.

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‘Doomsday’ Asteroid Could Crash Into Earth on April 13, 2036

asteroid

Russian scientists held a meeting 14 months ago to look at launching an operation to knock the Apophis asteroid off course

An asteroid travelling at 23,000mph could crash into Earth on April 13, 2036 killing millions and causing global chaos, scientists claim.  In a plot line taken straight from a science-fiction film, astronomers in Russia are predicting that the 300-yard-wide Apophis will slam into the planet in 25 years’ time.

 

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Amazing Discovery – Glass Melts When it Gets Ultracold

melt-glass

Quantum fluctuations may melt glass when it gets too cold.

Anyone who’s seen enough old Sesame Street episodes or been to enough Renaissance Fairs knows that when glass gets hot enough, it turns to liquid. Applied heat pumps energy into the solid pieces of glass, getting their molecules jiggling. As the heat dissipates, the glass becomes cool and solidifies again.

 

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Hospitals Shifting From Smoke-Free to Smoker-Free Workplaces

doctor smoking

Smoking habit could cost you your job if you work at a hospital.

Smokers now face another risk from their habit: it could cost them a shot at a job.  More hospitals and medical businesses in many states are adopting strict policies that make smoking a reason to turn away job applicants, saying they want to increase worker productivity, reduce health care costs and encourage healthier living.

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