Ray Kurzweil does a great job of finding the most interesting things that will shape our lives in the future. I have subscribed to his e-mail list for a long time. If you are interested in the future read his books. Ok I am a little wary of the article promising room temperature superconductors. Weren't they supposed to be here already ;)
Today his list e-mail items was particularly good. Go to Ray's site and sign up KURZWEILAI.NET NEWSLETTER
6 Billion Bits of Data About Me,Me, Me!
New York Times June 3, 2007
Soon we will all be able to
decipher our own genomes for as
little as $1,000, scientists...
Eating Radiation: A New Form of Energy?
Technology Review May 29, 2007
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In a bizarre alternative to
photosynthesis, some fungi transform
radiation into energy to use as food
for growth--with the role of
chlorophyll taken by melanin, a
chemical also found in human skin.
The fungi might be used as a biofuel
to be grown in high-altitude...
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See-Through Transistors
Technology Review June 4, 2007
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Researchers at Purdue University
and Northwestern University have
made flexible, see-through
transistors using zinc-oxide and
indium-oxide nanowires. The
transistors could be an important
step toward bright, flexible, and
completely see-through...
40% efficient solar cells to be used for solar electricity
Physorg.com June 1, 2007
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Scientists from Spectrolab, Inc., a
subsidiary of Boeing, have recently
published their research on the
fabrication of solar cells that
surpass the 40% efficiency
milestone—the highest
efficiency achieved for any
photovoltaic device....
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Single spinning nuclei in diamond offer a stable quantum computing building block
Harvard University Gazette May 31, 2007
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Physicists at Harvard University
have found that individual carbon-13
atoms in a diamond lattice can be
manipulated with extraordinary
precision to create stable quantum
mechanical memory and a small
quantum processor, also known as a
quantum register, operating at room
temperature. The finding brings
quantum information systems into the
realm...
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Forget the Big Bang Theory
On Point Radio May 31, 2007
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Renegade physicists are making a
new case that there is no beginning
and no end to the Universe....
Switchable hologram promises memory boost
NewScientist.com news service May 31, 2007
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A device that stores holograms
using a liquid crystal film
controlled electronically has been
created by researchers in Singapore.
They hope that future versions could
be used to store large amounts of
digital data in small areas, for
rewritable memory, or to manipulate
living cells with...
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Embedded nanowires could control tissue growth
NewScientist.com news service June 1, 2007
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A new way of embedding silicon
nanowires in cells could one day
allow scientists to control how
living tissues grow using electrical
stimulation. If the technique works,
it would represent a new way of
controlling differentiation of stem
cells to form specific tissues and
inserting genes into specific
organelles within the cell....
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Chassis chief predicts 'plug 'n go'
trucks in near future
Trucking Online May 28, 2007
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Medium-duty work trucks powered
mainly by electricity may be only
five to 10 years away, with the
development of more efficient and
cost-effective battery storage....
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=6864&m=21949
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Discovery raises hopes for levitating trains
Toronto Star May 31, 2007
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University of Sherbrooke physicists
have discovered a "quantum
oscillation signature" that may be
the key to figuring out what causes
electrons in some special metals to
switch to superconducting behavior.
With that insight, they expect to be
able to tweak the structure at the
microscopic level to trigger
superconducting at room...
