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February 10th, 2012 at 12:26 pm »
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Photo of me demonstrating an unuual thermoelectric generator
with NY Times Correspondent Matthew Wald
Futurist Thomas Frey: On Wednesday I was invited to speak on a panel at the 2012 National Electricity Forum, an event sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, in Washington DC.
February 9th, 2012 at 11:28 pm »
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UCLA neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in
human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain.
Ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New UCLA research may one day help you improve your memory.
UCLA neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in human patients by stimulating a [...]
February 9th, 2012 at 11:16 pm »
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3D printing goes medical.
3d printing continues to take us boldly into the brave new world of the 21st century, and not surprisingly medical applications are at the top of the innovation ladder, since replacement parts are always in demand.
Recently, an entire mandible was created in a 3d printer by mixing titanium with the printing compound, [...]
February 8th, 2012 at 7:37 am »
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The Peoria Carp Hunters began as ordinary aerial bowfishermen — people who shoot arrows at fish jumping out of the water. But when they saw that their efforts were not reducing the numbers of Asian flying carp, an invasive species in the United States, the heroes took more extreme measures. Watch and wonder at the [...]
February 7th, 2012 at 10:17 am »
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Boost your brain power with some cranial current.
Transcranial direct current stimulation can make your brain work better. DARPA proved it can make you better at video games, the U.S. Air Force has shown it cuts drone remote-pilot training in half, and Harvard researchers have used it to treat depression. So what is this magical device [...]
February 7th, 2012 at 8:55 am »
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Can science detect hit songs?
Obviously, there’s a lot of money to be made from hit pop songs. But can you predict or even make which songs will make it ot the top of the charts?
Bring in the scientists! Artificial Intelligence researcher Tijl De Bie and colleagues analyzed 50 years’ worth of hit songs on Britain’s [...]
February 6th, 2012 at 9:34 am »
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People with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene.
A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers, who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms [...]
February 5th, 2012 at 11:45 pm »
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Lighting up new options for fluorescent recycling.
Lots of people know that they shouldn’t be throwing away batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, and other pieces of household hazardous waste (HHW). But what should you be doing instead? Today, many large businesses collect such waste for recycling; our pals over at Earth911 have a searchable list of American [...]
February 4th, 2012 at 1:04 pm »
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I just learned about Ferrofluid today. It can do some amazing things, like this video shows. After the jump is a second video explaining HOW ferrofluid works.
From the YouTube descriptioin:
A steel sculpture with changing magnetisation is coated with ferrofluid.
The fluid is pulled in the direction of increasing flux density and forms peaks, which become smaller [...]
February 4th, 2012 at 12:30 pm »
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It’s called “Circus Galop” or “Death Waltz”, and it’s used to test the performance of player pianos. No single person has ever played it…so far. But if we can put a man on the moon, surely we can genetically engineer a superhuman species that can perform it…
February 3rd, 2012 at 12:34 pm »
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Leet in action.
You are most likely familiar with numbers being used to implicate letters, phrases or even symbols. In SMS (txting) shortcuts, for instance, 2 can also be used for “to”, 4 can mean “for” and the 8 spells “eat” in gr8, meaning great. This is called SMSish or textese or simply SMS language.
When numbers [...]
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:05 pm »
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Big sound using age old principles.
I know I’ve been all about the old-fashioned-looking iPhone speakers lately, most of which are electricity-free. And 3D printing. So I’m jazzed the two have come together with this 3D printed iVictrola Gramophone dreamed up by Schreer Design and manufactured by Shapeways.
Check. It. Out. (video after jump…)
February 2nd, 2012 at 8:57 pm »
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Chemistry Professor Robert Zoellner
Admittedly, I did spend my childhood playing with explosives. But I certainly never had as much success as 10-year-old Clara Lazen (not pictured), who accidentally created a new energy storing molecule, tetranitratoxycarbon, that could be used as an explosive…
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:36 am »
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Standing tall in with award winning architectural innovation.
Interface Studio Architects won TreeHugger’s Best of Green prize in 2010 for their gritty urban work. They demonstrated a paradigm-busting playfulness with their frenetic Granary project. They write: “We believe that creativity and innovation are triggered by limitations.”
But clearly, when there are no limitations, they go a bit wild and [...]
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:30 am »
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Reality is a delicate art.
Jenine Shereos’s delicate leaf sculptures look like the real thing from a distance, but they’re actually made of hair. She made them by stitching the hairs together on a backing, then dissolving that backing in water…