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Total number of posts: 23697
Rwanda: women drumming away the trauma of genocide
For Marta, joining Rwanda's first female drumming troupe, Ingoma Nshya -- a co-operative of formed 10 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi -- has helped her cope with the trauma of losing her husband in the killings. Ingoma Nshya means a new drum or new kingdom. Marta's remarkable Read More...
The Uber effect on electricity
Leon Trotsky said, "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." The same thing might be said about disruptive technologies. The U.S. electric system, for example, may not be interested in disruptive technology, but disruptive technology is interested in it. What Uber and Lyft Read More...
Ultrafast camera to improve vision of self-driving cars and drones
To avoid accidents, self-driving cars and drones need to be able to quickly take in their surroundings even in extreme road conditions and bad weather, but conventional optical cameras aren't quite up to the job. To improve the vision of such vehicles, a team of engineers at the Nanyang Read More...
We need slow science to sow the seeds of future prosperity
A scientist's work is never done. They build on the work of others, and leave their own work for others to build on. Scientific progress is a bit like a tree with deepening roots and growing branches – which sometimes take a long time to bear fruit. Consider “bootstrap” research, Read More...
Bill Gates: The robot that takes your job should pay taxes
As artificial intelligence continues to advance, it's only a matter of time until robots start taking human jobs. Being well aware of this, Bill Gates has a plan that could help displaced workers economically while freeing up labor for work that requires human empathy and understanding. His plan: Read More...
Iowa is creating a wildlife sanctuary to help honeybee populations recover
There’s no understating the crucial role bees play in life. Without them, the world would literally have no fruit, nuts, vegetables or seeds. That’s why there is much reason to be alarmed about the drastic decline in bee populations within the U.S. To reverse this trend, the state of Iowa, Read More...
Libraries and museums team up for bold political statement: Facts are real
At a time where falsehoods disguised under the name ‘alternative facts’ are being perpetuated by the White House, the belief in objective, verifiable facts has actually become a political statement in America. To show the new administration what a real fact looks like, museums, libraries, and Read More...
Seattle to trade traffic signals for stop signs to improve road safety
Traffic signals may make intersections more efficient, but they don’t necessarily make roads safer. Just think about the moment when you approach a traffic signal and the light changes from green to yellow. You can either jump on the gas or jump on the brake, either of which can be dangerous for Read More...
How to be 1 percent better every day
When we want to bring change to our lives, we tend to look for secrets and hacks that will help make everything better instantly. Unfortunately, that’s not how life works. Instead of aiming for radical personal change, the trick is to be patient and focus on improving whatever it is you want to Read More...
The 12 cities with the most trees around the world
There's a global movement to encourage cities to grow more trees and plan more parks. But which ones have the most green space today? To get a clearer picture, MIT's Senseable Lab partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to create Treepedia, a site with interactive maps that show the density Read More...