Analysis, Latest Trend, New Viewpoints, People Making a Difference, top 10

Top 10 questions the Pew Research Center has tackled in the past 10 years

pew research

The Pew Research Center was established by The Pew Charitable Trusts ten years ago to bring together several of Pew’s information initiatives. The new organization had a unique mission to offer nonpartisan, non-advocacy information to decision-makers and the public. The Center has amassed a large body of work over the past decade. For their tenth anniversary, here’s a look back at some of our most important findings.

 

Continue reading… “Top 10 questions the Pew Research Center has tackled in the past 10 years”

Analysis, Energy, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News, Solar Power, Wind Power

Wildpoldsried, Germany produces 500% of its energy from renewable sources

wildpoldsreid

Wildpoldsried produces 500% more energy than it needs.

Wildpoldsried, Germany, a Bavarian village of about 2,600 residents, is leading the way in Germany’s extraordinary renewable energy transformation. The village has invested in a holistic range of renewable energy projects over the past 17 years that include 4,983 kWp of photovoltaics, five biogas facilities, 11 wind turbines and a hydropower system. As a result, the village has gone beyond energy independence – and it now produces 500% more energy than it needs and profits from sales of the surplus power back to the grid.

Analysis, Business, government, Latest Trend, Money Talk

U.S. intends to make public drug company payments to doctors despite calls for delay

doctors payments

The database is part of the government’s “Open Payments” program.

Scores of doctors’ groups have called for postponement, but the Obama administration intends to stick to its 30 September deadline for making public a database detailing payments and gifts from the drug industry to US physicians, a spokesperson for the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said on 15 September.

 

 

Continue reading… “U.S. intends to make public drug company payments to doctors despite calls for delay”

Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Latest Trend, People Making a Difference, Robots, Science & Technology News

Should Robots Have Their Own Bank Accounts?

House-Bot-2

Typical house-bot shopping on a budget

Futurist Thomas Frey: The year is 2027 and Winston, a newly born house-bot charged with doing a number of domestic chores including cleaning, meal prep, laundry, and building maintenance, has been programmed to not only perform the work, but also restock supplies once they reach a certain level.

 

Continue reading… “Should Robots Have Their Own Bank Accounts?”

Alternative Transportation, Science & Technology News

New Yorkers propose high-speed gondolas to ease congestion

gondola

The East River Skyway

If you have ever commuted between Brooklyn and Manhattan, you’re already familiar with the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s overcrowding problem. But what if you could skip the train entirely? A radical new proposal suggests that New Yorkers try a high-speed gondola over the East River instead.

 

 

Continue reading… “New Yorkers propose high-speed gondolas to ease congestion”

Analysis, Animals, Brain, Science & Technology News

A mouse with a human speech gene learns faster

mouse

The humanized gene actually improved the animal’s behavior rather than messing up the system.

According to a new study, mice that receive a human version of a speech and language gene display accelerated learning. Don’t expect these findings to lead to a rush of smarter, “uplifted” animals—though they might just reveal something new and fascinating about the evolution of human speech and language.

 

Continue reading… “A mouse with a human speech gene learns faster”

Analysis, Culture, Human Behavior, Latest Trend

Pew report finds Millennials are avid readers and library users

millennials reading

Forty-three percent of Millennials say that they read a book in some format (print, audiobook, or ebook) every day.

Lisa Peet:  In September, the Pew Research Center Internet Project issued a new report on the library habits of Americans under 30. “Younger Americans and Public Libraries” examines the ways Millennials engage with libraries, and how they see libraries’ roles in their lives and communities. The good news is that young people are reading as much as older adults, and are even more likely to have read a book in the past 12 months. Also, their library use is holding steady. Nonetheless, the report warns, their levels of engagement vary in a number of ways.

 

 

Continue reading… “Pew report finds Millennials are avid readers and library users”

Analysis, App, Business, Great Videos, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

LittleBits’ BitLab is an app store for hardware

bitlab

LittleBits has just announced something called the BitLab, a contest merged with a crowd sourced technology system that allows inventors to create new LittleBits blocks, upload them, and have them made and sold by the company. The system also includes a hardware development kit that allows anyone access to LittleBits’ custom magnetic snap-together leads. (Videos)

 

 

Continue reading… “LittleBits’ BitLab is an app store for hardware”

Analysis, Business, Economy, Latest Trend, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

Micro-payments between connected devices could enable a new layer of the economy

micropayments

Many of us now receive payments as well as make payments.

Ross Dawson: Last week I gave a keynote on The Future of Banking to a group of the most senior risk leaders in a major bank, sharing some provocative ideas on how the banking landscape may change in the years to come.

 

 

Continue reading… “Micro-payments between connected devices could enable a new layer of the economy”