In the news this week…

• The continuously reconfigured human brain.
• Nanotechnology and energy.
• Digitizing academic libraries.
• Innovative housing in a high-price market.
• China extends its reach.
• Water for sale.
• Future trends, future markets.

We also highlight…

A. Aneesh’s book, Virtual Migration: The Programming of Globalization… Aneesh describes virtual migration as a “transnational virtual space" where workers are connected globally through computer screens — a software-mediated world.

The website of Trends… A weblog on emerging technologies that are shaping the future.

Audio clip from A World of Possibilities … A report on the current state of desalination — turning saltwater into freshwater — in a world of diminishing resources.

David Forrest

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SCIENCE

Top Story: Rewiring The Mammalian Brain: Neurons Make Fickle Friends – [Science Daily] A discovery by researchers at the Brain Mind Institute of the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) shows that the brain rewires itself following an experience. The research further shows that this process of creation, testing, and reconfiguring of brain circuits takes place on a scale of just hours, suggesting that the brain is evolving considerably even during the course of a single day.

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TECHNOLOGY

Top Story: A Cautionary Tale: Nanotechnology and the Changing Face of the Electric Utility Industry – [RedOrbit] In 1968, Swiss watch manufacturers controlled 80 percent of the world market in high quality watches. By 1973, their market share had plummeted to less than 25 percent and they were forced to lay off 50,000 watchmakers. The reason for the sudden reversal of fortune was quartz technology — a new, disruptive technology which ushered in an era of cheap, reliable electronic watches. The story serves as a poignant reminder of the power of technological change. It is very relevant to the electric utility industry because nanotechnology — a new emerging set of technologies has the potential to revolutionize the electric utility industry in much the same fashion as quartz technology changed the "timepiece" industry.

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BUSINESS

Top Story: University of California System Joins Google Book Project – [International Herald Tribune] The University of California is joining a Google book-scanning project, throwing the weight of about 100 academic libraries behind an ambitious venture that is under legal attack for alleged copyright infringement.

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SOCIETY

Top Story: High Prices Force Creative Housing – [Yahoo! News] Some are buying homes with friends or siblings. Others barter for rent — or live in buildings where residents share occasional meals, childcare and sometimes a car. In particularly pricey areas, such as Manhattan, still others are living in "dorms for adults."

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GLOBAL POLITICS

Top Story: China Poised to Dominate Influence in Asia – [Boston Globe] With the United States preoccupied with war and nuclear threats in the Middle East, China is emerging as the great new power of 21st century East Asia — and pulling longtime American allies into its embrace.

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ENVIRONMENT

Top Story: Water Attracts Investors as Potential Liquid Gold – [International Herald Tribune] Everyone knows that there is a lot of money to be made in oil. But a group of big businesses is discovering that there may be even greater profit in a more prosaic liquid: water.

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THE FUTURE

Top Story: How to Profit from Imagining the Trends of Tomorrow – [Star-Telegram] Those who cater to the needs and wishes of senior citizens in the later years of the 21st century will have to offer a much different array of goods and services than they provide today, says futurist Glen Hiemstra in his enthralling look at some of the most important trends of today will play out in years to come.

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FEATURED BOOK

Virtual Migration: The Programming of Globalization

by A. Aneesh

Resource Page

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FEATURED LINK

Trends – Glimpsing into the future of technology experiences.

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AUDIO CLIP

Sipping Seawater: Desalination in a Thirsty World – [A World of Possibilities] As freshwater sources shrink, scientists seek new ways to turn saltwater into drinking water. A wide ranging exploration, from the Persian Gulf to California, of the potential and pitfalls of desalination.