Bigelow Aerospace plan to build bases on the moon.
One day, a rocket carrying more than a dozen privately built probes touches down on the moon. The robots burst from the vehicle in a race to beam back high-definition video and other data while roving the surface of Earth’s nearest natural satellite. The people of Earth watch a broadcast of the race as the rovers roam (or stall) in the lunar dust. (Videos)
The DLS that consists of a carbon foam supporting an exfoliated graphite layer.
MIT has developed a new material structure that generates steam by soaking up the sun. The structure — a layer of graphite flakes and an underlying carbon foam — is a porous, insulating material structure that floats on water. When sunlight hits the structure’s surface, it creates a hotspot in the graphite, drawing water up through the material’s pores, where it evaporates as steam. The brighter the light, the more steam is generated.
Continue reading… “New spongelike material converts solar energy into steam”
3D printing could help mend broken bones.
One of the 3D printing health applications of 3D printing discussed the most is the manufacturing of bespoke scaffolds that could be used to mend broken bones. It’s promising, but it has been held back by the difficulties in printing materials that are strong, flexible and can encourage the regrowth of healthy bone in the same way as current methods, such as bone grafts.
Continue reading… “Researchers develop new process that raises prospects of 3D printed bone grafts”
(Some) people have grown taller
People are getting taller and they are also fatter than ever and live longer than at any time in history. And all of these changes have occurred in the past 100 years, scientists say.
Continue reading… “How humans have changed over the past 100 years”
The U.S. Air Force has deployed two of its most advanced long-distance surveillance drones to Japan.
Japan has been the world’s playground for design innovation for decades. But now it may become ground zero for the future of something far more hostile: military drones.
Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a hot new buzzword. Its purpose and definition are grossly misunderstood. When some people hear the term IoT they immediately associate it with a refrigerator reminding us to order milk or our Fitbit wearable device tweeting how we just ran 4 miles. Neither of those uses are very compelling to most of us which makes it hard to fathom how experts can predict that by 2020 there will be greater than a one trillion dollar market that vendors will be trying to claim a piece of.
Continue reading… “The future impact of the Internet of Things can’t be underestimated”
Cellphone lane
There are slow lanes, fast lanes, and bike lanes. And now, at least for a little while, there’s a lane for cellphone users.
Continue reading… “Cellphone users get their own lane on the sidewalk”
LED growing lights, delivering sunlight whatever the weather.
This century, the challenges of growing enough food to feed the world have grown more severe. We need to feed more people with limited agricultural land and resources. We need to make better use of land, light and logistics for an increasingly urban population. And we need to incorporate zero-waste and low-energy technologies into the task of food production. (Video)
Continue reading… “New LED light technology sheds light on the future of food”
Robots don’t judge. Humans do.
Japanese roboticist Mashahiro Mori coined the term “uncanny valley” in 1970 to describe the strange fact that, as robots become more human-like, we relate to them better—but only to a point. The ”uncanny valley” is this point.
Continue reading… “‘Uncanniest valley’ – when robots know us better than we know ourselves”
The 13 states that raised their minimum wages on Jan. 1 have added jobs at a faster pace than those that did not.
The Department of Labor released new data that suggests that raising the minimum wage in some states might have spurred job growth, contrary to what critics said would happen.
Continue reading… “Job growth is faster in states that raised minimum wage”
Futurist Thomas Frey: On a recent driving trip, my wife and I became immersed in the audio version of one of Tom Clancy’s last novels titled, “Threat Vector.” Without giving away too much of the plot, a Chinese super-geek villain has hatched a plan to hack into our most secure networks and blackmail people with their darkest secrets to subversively cause chaos and disruption for the American government.
The traditional fee-for-service approach to medicine that can lead to overtreatment and unnecessary medical tests and procedures.
The country’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans say they are spending more than $65 billion annually, about 20 percent of the medical claim dollars they pay, on “value-based” care that rewards better outcomes and keeps patients healthy. This is the latest blow to fee-for-service medicine.
Continue reading… “Blue Cross makes a $65B bet on value-based medical care”