MP3 Paul Zak tells us about oxytocin, a chemical messenger that accounts for why some people are generous, trustworthy, and faithful and others aren’t. His book The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity …
Read the full story »Your phone is already equipped with what you need to protect yourself. You just don’t have access to that information. Deep in the guts of a phone’s circuitry, we found that components actually gather radiation-related …
Eric Jackson – “We think of Google and Facebook as Web gorillas. They’ll be around forever. Yet, with the rate that the tech world is moving these days, there are good reasons to think …
Western powers that led the space race for the past 55 years now face stiff competition from China. A Chinese Long March 3B rocket successfully lifted off to carry the country’s 12th and 13th global …
Climate researchers are producing some of the fastest growing datasets in science. Five years ago, the amount of information generated for the Nobel Prize-winning United Nations International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report …
MP3 One of the important differences between animals and robots is that animals are the product of evolution – a couple of billion years of mutation, variation and selection. Robots, on the other hand, …
Like it or not, knowing how to make use of online tools without being overloaded with too much information is an essential ingredient to personal success in the twenty-first century. But how can we use …
Online communities are among the most popular destinations on the Internet, but not all online communities are equally successful. For every flourishing Facebook, there is a moribund Friendster — not to mention the scores of …
The future looks bright, a gleaming utopia of sky-spanning cities run for us by benign, sentient machines. The future looks grim, a wasteland of failed — even hostile — technologies and the depleted resources they …
Foreign carmakers in China say Beijing is pressuring them to produce dedicated new brands so their local partners can gain technical know-how, but experts warn the strategy could backfire. The government, keen to boost the …
Chemists have devised a better method of coating fabrics with a water-repellent, “self-cleaning” coating. Many such “super-hydrophobic” coatings have been made before, but a report in the journal Langmuir describes coated fabrics that are far …
Smart vehicles, home security systems and web-connected appliances are becoming part of what’s known as the “Internet of Things,” a growing network of objects creating and exchanging data without people directly involved. Things are getting …
Researchers reporting in the journal Cell have devised a new and improved method for producing genetically modified animals for use in scientific research. The method relies on haploid embryonic stem cells (haESCs) instead of sperm …
For years scientists have been trying to figure out how much plastic trash may be adrift in the planet’s oceans, but new research suggests their estimates may have drastically underestimated the problem. Oceanographer Giora Proskurowski …
The worst part of traveling is getting stuck on a massively lengthy flight, especially if you’re in a window seat next to a crying baby, a snorer, or that anxious passenger who won’t stop shaking …
The city of Detroit is set to lose a quarter of its personnel under the latest budget proposal from Mayor Dave Bing’s office. The massive layoffs are part of an overall austerity plan to balance …
Intel Corp. said that PCs with chips from its new generation of processors, featuring a revolutionary design, will be available this week. The new generation, code-named “Ivy Bridge,” is the first to be made with …
The Arctic Ocean could open for regular commercial shipping within the next five to 10 years, according to a Canadian polar scientist who conducted research for the International Polar Year Conference. But while that may …
U.S. health regulators said consumer products that use nanotechnology may have unknown effects on the human body, and advised food and cosmetic companies to further study the safety of these tiny particles. The U.S. Food …
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably …
Planetary Resources, a new startup staffed by self-described “commercial space pioneers” may be looking to extract raw resources in space. A sparsely-detailed press release hinted at the company’s mission. “The company will overlay two critical …
Robots are being developed all the time to do what we wish and to go where we can’t. This week, inventor Bill Stone told attendees at NASA’s Astrobiology Science Conference in Atlanta that he intends …
Scientists have created artificial genetic material that can store information and evolve over generations in a similar way to DNA – a feat expected to drive research in medicine and biotechnology, and shed light on …
At the end of last year, IBM predicted that by 2017 limited forms of mind reading would “no longer [be] science fiction.” Along similar lines, though, in 1933 Nikola Tesla said he would soon be …
MP3 People around the world spend an estimated 3 billion hours playing computer games every week. That might seem like a colossal waste of time, but scientists are starting to harness some of that effort …
As an era of easy money and easy growth comes to a close, China in particular will cool down. Other major players including Brazil, Russia, and India face their own daunting challenges and inflated expectations. …
Co-creation is about bringing together the people who have most at stake in a relationship and working collaboratively to find answers and breakthroughs. As a new tool for marketers and brand managers, it is fast …
The goal of strategy is to choose the course of action that ensures success and survival. In a world of rapidly accelerating change, today's strategy quickly becomes obsolete. We must be ever more aware of the future we are planning for, since that future will quickly be upon us. Strategic foresight has a serious intent: to improve our understanding of the range of possible futures, and to use that understanding to inform action.
Innovation Watch offers a continuous scan of trends and emerging futures, and explores the question, "What's next?" Results are shared here, and are provided as RSS feeds.
David Forrest helps businesses, governments, and other organizations develop strategies for a radically different future. You can reach him by email here
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