“CONCRETE has been a high-tech material since Roman times, when it was discovered that adding volcanic ash to the mix allowed it to set under water. Similarly, the Romans knew that adding horsehair made concrete less liable to shrink while it hardened, and adding blood made it more frost-resistant. In modern times, researchers have added other materials to create concrete that is capable of conducting electricity. It heats up when a voltage is applied, making it possible to build runways and drives that clear themselves of snow. Bill Price of the University of Houston now has an ambitious plan to make concrete with an even more unusual property: he wants it to be transparent.”
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Continue reading… “Transparent Concrete”

Call For Papers – February 22-23, 2002. The End of Natural Motherhood Bioethics Conference.

To be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sponsored by the Ethics Center at Oklahoma State University. Featured Speakers: Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends; Thomas Murray, President of the Hastings Center; Rosemarie Tong, Center for Professional & Applied Ethics, UNC-Charlotte. “We invite submissions for presentation at this conference, on the topics of ectogenesis/artificial womb technology, genetic engineering, and the impact of reproductive technologies on social relationships and values. We strongly encourage essays on the topic of ectogenesis/artificial womb technology.”
Continue reading… “Artificial Womb and Designer Babies”

There’s a battle brewing between the power companies and the telecom companies. The battle is over creating an industry standard for the delivery of high speed Internet to homes and offices.

Long used by utility companies to activate street lights, powerline communications will first arrive in consumer homes this summer as equipment vendors roll out gadgets designed to allow networking of PCs, fax machines, and other devices through the electrical outlets inyour home.
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Continue reading… “Internet Access Through Your Electrical Outlets”

A building could look sturdy but in fact be near collapse. Researchers at University of California, Berkeley think it’s possible for smart walls to detect hidden cracks that could cause a structure to tumble during larger quakes. Using a small sensor called the “Smart Dust Mote” walls will soon be able to write their own bills of health. More Here
Continue reading… “Smart Dust Mote – Walls With Brains”

Immune cells vs. invaders: it’s a war going on in every healthy human body. When the combatants travel to space, say NASA scientists, curious things happen.

In space, these cells don’t work the way they do on the ground. T-cells, for example, don’t multiply properly; there aren’t as many of them as there should be. They can’t move well. They don’t signal each other as effectively. Overall, they seem less able to destroy invading germs.
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Continue reading… “Cell Wars in Space”

The FTC said a massive 42 per cent of its 204,000 complaints for 2001 involved stolen identities, placing the problem at the top of the list.
The FTC said up to 750,000 other US citizens will have their identities stolen this year for the purposes of accessing credit card accounts, securing loans and cashing cheques.
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Continue reading… “Wanna Buy a New Identity?”

A team at the University of the West of England has created a slug-sucking robot, powered by methane.

“Slugbot” trundles around picking up slugs. The robot arm then dumps the creatures into an internal compartment.

“Further research is being continued by the team based on Slugbot’s self sustaining energy autonomy, this time using plant material rather than dead slugs.”
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Continue reading… “Wacky Technology of the Week Award – Robotic Slug Sucker”