Russian cosmonauts have discovered something remarkable clinging to the outside of the International Space Station: living organisms. The microscopic creatures appeared during a space walk intended to clean the vessel’s surface, and were allegedly identified — incredibly — as a … Continued
Understanding how information is encoded and transmitted is a crucial part of understanding our modern world. Scientists have discovered a second code hiding within DNA. This second code contains information that changes how scientists read the instructions contained in DNA … Continued
This week’s edition of FutureTense on ABC Radio National focused in renewable energy with particular emphasis on the very exciting developments in human created artificial photosynthesis which seems to genuinely offer the opportunity to reduce human impact on the planet … Continued
At the edge of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth, Lima, Peru, receives almost no rainfall. About 700,000 people have no access to clean water for drinking or bathing. Another 600,000 of the city’s 7.5 million … Continued
The first quarter of 2014 was another big one for the U.S. solar industry, with 74 percent of all new electricity generation across the country coming from solar power. The 1,330 megawatts of solar photovoltaics (PV) installed last quarter bring … Continued
A pair of skyscrapers by Milan office Boeri Studio are nearing completion in the Italian city, featuring as many trees as could be planted in a hectare of forest. The first project born from this concept is now nearing completion in the Isola area … Continued
This summer in the Bahamas, researchers will test new technology that helps humans get one step closer to communicating with dolphins using a series of whistles that dolphins can easily reproduce. An underwater computer called the CHAT interface will broadcast artificial whistles … Continued
Technology is changing at a rapid pace, so much so that it’s challenging to grasp. While there is little uniformity in technology, there are some trends worth noting that have spurred tangent innovation, including speed (a shift from dial-up top … Continued
The use of wood in multi-storey buildings is an art form almost completely buried a hundred years ago. Reinforced concrete structures became the norm worldwide. In recent years, however, the sustainability debate has brought a renaissance to wood and an … Continued
Some of the most famous cities in history were never built. These 10 Utopian cities may have been failures, but they expressed our ideas about what the future of human civilization could look like. And many ideas contained in them … Continued
The University of Southern California is testing a giant 3D printer that could be used to build a whole house in under 24 hours. Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis has designed the giant robot that replaces construction workers with a nozzle on … Continued
Scientists have created a molecular communications system for the transmission of messages and data in challenging environments where electromagnetic waves cannot be used — such as tunnels, pipelines, underwater, within the body, and in biomedical nanorobots. “We believe we have sent … Continued
BM just unveiled its annual 5 in 5 — five predictions about technology innovations that IBM expects will change the way we work, live and play within the next five years. This year’s IBM 5 in 5 explores the idea that everything will learn … Continued
Our current trajectory suggests that the world system will realise a decline in living standards. There needs to be a shift in the global economy that moves away from wellbeing measures based on GDP, and which embraces new meaningful measures … Continued
he advent of 3-D printing brought on a number of innovations worthy of news coverage. Printers have created prosthetic hands, action figures, food, even blood vessels, simply by depositing layer after layer of different kinds of ink. Now a handful of … Continued
Australia has been listed in the top two countries best prepared to handle an uncertain future in a new report published in Fast Company. The detailed report can be found here: http://www.fastcoexist.com/3016024/the-59-countries-that-are-most-prepared-to-handle-an-uncertain-future
NESTA, a charitable foundation in London has collaborated with a number of other partners to explore how those who live in London in 10 years will actually live. They created 25 “imaginary Londoners” whom they describe in some detail here: … Continued
The 21 September 2013 Economist contains an article exploring just how serendipitous science research can be. A group of scientists at Michigan Technological University lead by Lyon King were exploring how to create fuel for very small rockets (details of … Continued
The World Future Society (with whom the futures foundation will have much closer links from 2014 – watch this space) has just published a list of 20 predictions for trends and breakthroughs likely to impact your work, your investments and … Continued
This week’s Economist magazine has a fascinating article about the increasingly sophisticated ways in which scientists are attempting to both understand how the human brain actually works and to simulate this in a computer. The entire article can be accessed … Continued