Gadgets that make it possible to spy on spouses, children, clients and bosses are more popular than ever. Few realize it is rarely legal to do so.
Category: Future
Google is at the Frankfurt auto fair for the first time. What does this mean for German car industry? Will the Silicon Valley giant position itself as a partner or competitor?
Having built one of the world’s most successful algorithmic trading companies, Israeli entrepreneur Kalkstein now is putting his mathematical wizardry to saving lives.
Arcangelo Ricciardi’s rise in the world of chess seemed too sudden. And it was. Caught using hidden mini webcams to defeat international chess masters, his board is tipped.
The MIT-educated activist and scientist travels the world to condemn the effects of multinationals on the environment. Her recent project in Bern was the 3D modeling of oceans.
NSA-style monitoring of our ever-more digital lives is beyond even George Orwell’s disturbing vision. It’s also less effective in tracking the true enemies of the state.
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Rich in counterintuitive observations, the study of evolution is often misunderstood. We focus here on widespread ideas that happen to be patently false.
The U.S.-based Seasteading Institute is pursuing the notion of “startup governments” and the opportunity for like-minded people to live in shared offshore communities. Could man-made island colonies be our future?
The so-called Silicon Age of IT may soon give way to an era of see-through clarity to help usher in ever more wearable technology and the Internet of Things.
Paris-based big data whiz Rand Hindi wants to put his technology savvy to work to free us from our growing enslavement to the digital masters.
GENEVA — The specks of green and blue light splashing down from above alter the atmosphere along this riverside walkway completely. The illumination is smooth and complex, with colors that change in rhythm — a sharp contrast to the rigid lamppost light that used to shine along Geneva“s 800-meter long Seujet wharf. The made-to-measure public […]
A four-kilometer underground road leads to the Salanfe dam, in the Swiss Valais canton. Making this uncommon installation work is a constant struggle. And for the passengers, the journey through the dark and freezing tunnels is a long way from your local
Prosopagnosia, or facial blindness, seriously complicates the lives of people it affects. Sufferers often feel guilty. They also learn to develop coping strategies.
Humans aren’t the only living beings able to perceive the emotions of others and respond to them. When it comes to empathy, animals and people are more alike than not.
-OpEd- 

How important is intellectual property in the digital age? Not very, if the business strategies of industry luminaries like PayPal’s Elon Musk and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg are any indication. Musk, the multi-talented entrepreneur behind PayPal, and more recently Tesla cars and SpaceX, has made it clear he considers Tesla’s impressive lead in battery and […]
Remember Gattaca? The superb film describes the contrasting fates of two brothers, one of whom was genetically optimized at birth. A few years later, in another movie, The Island, a community of prisoners discovers one day they are nothing but clones of super-privileged people and that their sole purpose is to provide fresh organs as […]
What did Pompeii look like before Mount Vesuvius erupted? And what was on the famous Herculaneum scrolls? Modern technology can provide answers.
STUTTGART — Experts are hailing it as a global novelty, and inventors are celebrating it as the “innovation of an era.” The new euro coins that will be released in spring 2016 have a ring of blue plastic minted into them, and the oddity is expected to make them a desirable export. Coins are typically […]
Slow food, slow journalism, slow photography … Just when the world seemed to be getting faster and faster, some folks decided to cool things down. The Italians were the first to put on the brakes when a protest against the opening of a (fast food) McDonald’s in Rome, in 1986, morphed into the Slow Food […]
One of the poorest countries in the world is nevertheless setting big goals for itself and looking to richer countries for help. A 10-year, $70 billion plan aims to produce clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We can now have sexual relations without making contact with other humans. But do the 3D helmets, connected devices and animated dolls represent a real sexual revolution, or are they just sophisticated toys?
Stories for humans, like water for fish…
CAIRO — A woman carried her son as she pleaded with the doctor in charge of Nasser Institute Hospital’s blood bank for a few bags of blood to save his life after a serious car accident. The doctor turned her away, saying that the boy’s rare blood type was not available. Salma Khattab, whose father […]
PARIS — If you believe mankind has grown decadent and that we should look to nature for an example of modesty and self-control, you would be in for a surprise. Because when it comes to bad behavior — be it thievery, infidelity or even drug abuse — the animal kingdom knows few bounds. Take sex, […]
Severe heat doesn’t just threaten the physically vulnerable such as babies and the elderly. It also poses a serious risk to those suffering from anxiety.
DANIA BEACH — On the stage are two large furry creatures — one pink, one green — examining, then admiring, a human-sized box that reads “Thwaxo’s strangely demented space fudge.” In the background is the soundtrack of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. An astronaut then enters and approaches a microphone. “Before I begin my […]
It gives new meaning to the concept “community policing.” The explosion of smartphones is allowing people to fight crime from their pocket, wherever they may be. We take a look at five crime-fighting apps from around the world: ITALY: STANDING UP TO THE MAFIA Addiopizzo, a citizen’s organization founded a decade ago on the Italian […]
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PARIS — Some figures will make your head spin. Since the end of World War II, the number of inhabitants on the planet has increased nearly three-fold. And in that time, people used more resources than were consumed during the entire history of mankind prior to 1945. Even more alarming is how quickly consumption continues […]
Can bug by-products help satisfy the world’s growing appetite for animal proteins? The French founders of Ynsect think so.
After a devastating leak and allegations of working with oppressive regimes, the Milan technology firm’s founder responds to the critics.
CAIRO — With its densely populated coasts and low-lying agricultural areas, Egypt is one of the most vulnerable countries to rising sea levels. According to World Bank data, a one-meter rise in the sea level would inundate a quarter of the Nile Delta and force 10.5 million people from their homes. Rising sea waters would […]
After doing business with both Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and China, Brazil’s space program is going back to where it started: NASA.
A Swiss group has unveiled new white solar panels intended to blend in better with the country’s architecture.
French scientists have discovered how flags, made of the right material, can be an alternative to wind turbines.
-Essay- SAO PAULO — It’s the future here, writing with a warning to brace yourself. How I would love to tell you that in 35 years you’ll be able to go back in time, fix your mistakes and change history. Sadly, you won’t be able to do that. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in […]
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For Argentina, and other Latin American countries, this is a golden opportunity.
Some film distributors are choosing to release movies directly online without theater screenings. Because of cinema regulations, this new model is forbidden in France — for French movies — but foreign films are another matter.