How driverless cars will help the poor, the elderly and the disabled
The Tesla crowd may get a full driverless experience before anyone else, but unlike iPhones, Spotify, and Trader Joe’s, autonomous technology won’t just help those who are already pretty well-off. Instead, the opportunity and independence promised by our driverless future will do the most for Read More...
Education for all: free courses offered by 200 universities around the world
Massive Open Online Courses, also known as MOOCs, are on the rise. In the past six years or so, close to 800 universities have created more than 8,000 MOOCs. In just the past three months, over 200 universities have announced 600 of such free online courses, teaching a wealth of different subjects Read More...
How to keep your brain sharp, even if you aren’t a ‘super-ager’
As we age, our brain’s grey matter—the stuff we rely on for seeing, hearing, processing emotion, exerting self-control, learning information, and much more—shrinks and degrades. Well, not for everybody. Scientists have recently discovered a rare group of people above the age of 80 that have a Read More...
Investors turn focus on China’s drive for sustainability
Global investors are increasingly hesitant to invest in companies with a traditional growth model that fails to incorporate the principles of sustainability. Recognizing this trend, China is getting ready to shed off its Read More...
‘For us, the land is sacred’: the defenders of the world’s forests
Of the many thousands of participants at the Bonn climate conference which begins on 6 November, there will arguably be none who come with as much hope, courage and anger as the busload of indigenous leaders who have been criss-crossing Europe over the past two Read More...
The big stories behind small seeds: this man wants to save them all
The modern farm-to-table movement has renewed interest in heirloom fruits and vegetables. But long before the trend, John Coykendall has been on a mission to preserve rare heirloom seeds and document their Read More...
The growing business of defensive urban design
Rob Reiter has a quick answer for people who ask him about how expensive it is to install his products: “It’s not a quarter as expensive as if they don’t do anything and something happens.” He’s talking about Read More...
The world’s tallest wind turbine has been built in Germany
The taller a wind turbine is, the more efficient it is. In fact, for every three feet increase in turbine height, annual energy output increases up to 1 percent. With that in mind, a German company has built the world’s tallest wind turbine, standing at 178 meter (584 ft). The single turbine is Read More...
Innovative children’s toys teach kids how to code
Toymakers are creating everything from board games to wooden logic puzzles to teach children—as young as three years old—how to code. What makes these toys especially intriguing is that they aren’t simply teaching kids by using a computer, but are instead encouraging them to interact with the Read More...
These greenhouses generate electricity and grow food at the same time
Greenhouses that grow food are good. Solar panels are great. Put them together, and you have a match made in heaven. In California, researchers have created ‘smart greenhouses’ that can capture solar energy for electricity without reducing plant growth. These innovative solar greenhouses Read More...