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Future Pages: The bookmark collection... frequently updated links to other websites on trends, innovation and the future.
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Signs of the Future: The news archive... past postings of items from world media on emerging trends.
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SCIENCE
Top Stories:
First Study Hints at Insights to Come from Genes Unique to Humans - [PhysOrg] Among the approximately 23,000 genes found in human DNA, scientists currently estimate that there may be as few as 50 to 100 that have no counterparts in other species. Expand that comparison to include the primate family known as hominoids, and there may be several hundred unique genes.
Tiny Buckyballs Squeeze Hydrogen Like Giant Jupiter - [PhysOrg] Hydrogen could be a clean, abundant energy source, but it's difficult to store in bulk. In new research, materials scientists at Rice University have made the surprising discovery that tiny carbon capsules called buckyballs are so strong they can hold volumes of hydrogen nearly as dense as those at the center of Jupiter.
TECHNOLOGY
Top Stories:
Bringing Light to Computers - [Technology Review] Researchers at IBM recently announced a nanoscale silicon switch that can direct trillions of bits of data per second within an optical network. The switch could make it possible to incorporate the speed and bandwidth of a telecommunications network into a personal computer, say the researchers. This is an increasingly important goal for engineers as they look for the best design for future multicore machines -- computers with more than one processing center.
A Chemical 'Keypad Lock' for Biomolecular Computers - [PhysOrg] Researchers in New York are reporting an advance toward a new generation of ultra-powerful computers built from DNA and enzymes, rather than transistors, silicon chips, and plastic.
BUSINESS
Top Stories:
'Green Collars' Becoming a Force in U.S. Economy - [International Herald Tribune] No doubt the number of green-collar jobs is growing as homeowners, business and industry shift toward conservation and renewable energy. And the numbers are expected to increase greatly in the next few decades, because state governments have mandated that even more energy come from alternative sources.
Fingerprint Scans Replace Clocking In - [Boston Globe] Employees at a growing number of businesses are starting and ending their days by pressing a hand or finger to a scanner that logs the precise time of their arrival and departure -- information that is automatically reflected in payroll records.
SOCIETY
Top Stories:
DNA Paternity Testing Kit Goes on Sale for 30 Dollars - [PhysOrg] A swab, a consent form, an envelope and a waiting period of three to five business days is all there is to settling paternity issues with the test kit that went on sale Wednesday at some US drug stores.
US Treasury Chief Says Social Security 'Unsustainable' - [PhysOrg] US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that America's Social Security program for the retired is "financially unsustainable" and needs an urgent overhaul. Paulson, speaking after a government panel had completed its annual assessment of the Social Security and Medicare benefits programs, said waves of retiring Americans threaten to soon deplete available funds stockpiled in the two programs.
GLOBAL POLITICS
Top Stories:
The Offshoring of Innovation - [Far Eastern Economic Review] Asia's rise as an important location for innovation offshoring signals a profound shift in the center of gravity in the global economy. The main drivers of this change are global -- mainly U.S. corporations -- who are increasing their overseas investment in research and development, while seeking to integrate geographically dispersed innovation clusters into global networks of production, engineering, development and research. But Asian governments and companies are playing an increasingly active role as promoters and new sources of innovation.
Clinton Era Official Sees Globalization of Power by 6,000 Leaders - [Morning News] t's not just trade and finance that's being globalized these days, it's sheer power - the power of about 6,000 distinguished people to get big things done across national frontiers, says author David Rothkopf. Trouble is, he complains, this "Superclass" isn't helping 2 billion powerless people who get along on $2 a day or less. He warns that unless those 2 billion get a voice, globalization will be in danger.
ENVIRONMENT
Top Stories:
Japan to Reduce Garbage by 60% - [TIME] Japan will urge citizens to carry their own chopsticks instead of using disposable ones and go shopping with their own bags instead of using plastic ones, in a bid to more than halve the garbage it produces.
Lessons from Germany's Energy Renaissance - [Globe and Mail] Solar power will cost next to nothing. The fuel -- the sun -- is free. The price of the photovoltaic cells used to covert sunlight into electricity will plummet. Just give it time. That's the theory of Ian MacLellan, the founder, vice-chairman and chief technology officer of Arise Technologies, a Canadian photovoltaic (PV) cell company. But there's one small hitch: Arise doesn't have time. Enter Germany. The ever-so-generous Germans tracked him down and made him an offer he couldn't refuse -- free money, and lots of it -- as long as Arise promised to build a PV factory on German soil.
THE FUTURE
The Coming Second Life Industrial Revolution? - [Ludwig von Mises Institute] In the field of macroeconomic theory, the Austrian view is distinct from other schools of economic thought due to its emphasis on the role of capital. In attempting to extend the application of Austrian economics to virtual economies, it will be a worthwhile exercise to explore the nature of capital that exists within Second Life and observe how it is evolving.
The Future of Biomedicine: Virtual Humans - [MSNBC] Recently scientists have provided a sneak preview of the future of biomedicine with a range of projects seeking to assemble virtual humans -- or parts of them -- on computers and "labs on a chip." Someday, the descendants of these sophisticated new programs and devices could serve as our stand-ins for clinical tests on drugs, cosmetics and toxic compounds.
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