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Category: Future
The architecture and interior design of a residential care home serving autistic people were specially designed to make the patients more comfortable. A look inside the award-winning facility.
FORT MACKAY — Figuring out which way the winds are blowing is a piece of cake in the hamlet of Fort MacKay, Canada. Just follow the direction of the fumes. On this cold February morning, with temperatures below -20 °C (-4 ºF) in the northern part of Alberta, the columns rising from the chimneys of […]
Here is a preview of our exclusive newsletter to keep up-to-date and stay inspired by Smart City innovations from around the world.
Both born with the incurable disease of cystic fibrosis, 35-year-old Nicolas and Damien Delmer are desperately sick. With the life they have left, they’re working for the right to die the way they want.
GENEVA — Drones are increasingly hovering over our heads. In the past six months, dozens of them were seen flying in France over sensitive Parisian sites, military installations and nuclear power plants. And with the threat of terrorist attacks, these machines are a real source of concern for the military and the police, and not […]
The French great-nephew of the Hungarian-born inventor of the ballpoint pen is writing his own chapter in innovation with a design of a super-light electric car that is turning heads.
Here is a preview of our exclusive newsletter to keep up-to-date and stay inspired by Smart City innovations from around the world.
The Solar Impulse flight aims to show that clean technologies exist. Masdar City, the plane’s departure site near Abu Dhabi, was set to be the city of the future. What’s left of this dream?
-OpEd- BOGOTA — As unlikely as it may sound, many of the countries we closely associate with planning and foresight are turning their attention to Colombia for inspiration on how to address the parallel problems of industry pollution, energy production and food security. The South American country boasts enviable geographical and climatic conditions, exceptional biodiversity and above all, a varied and preponderant farming sector. Together these factors are sparking talk about what some call the “new economy” or “bioeconomy.” This new way of looking at economic growth may help rectify the serious environmental harm done by the excesses of the […]
This 53-year-old German encryption coder helped the U.S. whistleblower stay one step ahead of the NSA. Now, he’s getting financial support from some big players to expand his work.
Here is a preview of our exclusive newsletter to keep up-to-date and stay inspired by Smart City innovations from around the world.
Animals have many of the characteristics of the brilliantly useful machines scientists would like to create: flexibility, adaptability, instinctive intelligence …
Growing old doesn’t necessarily have to mean leaving a beloved home. A growing market of technology-related services for senior citizens is helping them to keep their beloved independence.
As an internationally renowned cryptography expert, American Bruce Schneier used to be a welcome visitor everywhere. But that’s no longer the case. “I used to be popular with the National Security Agency,” he says. “They used to invite me to their seminars, they listened to my advice. But it’s over. I was very critical after […]
Here is a preview of our exclusive newsletter to keep up-to-date and stay inspired by Smart City innovations from around the world.
MARSEILLE — Have you met Pepper? This four-feet-tall emotion-reading robot is expected to hit stores soon in Tokyo, where technology lovers will be able to acquire one for the equivalent of $1,650. The child-faced robot, the latest invention of French start-up Aldebaran, was created to “live alongside humans.” But household chores such as vacuuming or […]
A hard European retort to an attitude that extends from Silicon Valley to the White House, which says that the United States’ dominance in new technology should give it free license abroad.
BEIJING — Over the past two months, China has green-lighted the importation of three varieties of genetically modified corn and soybean from the United States. Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Agriculture has also renewed the expired safety certificates of the country’s own genetically modified crops. While that’s good news for the industry, it may be premature […]
Here is a preview of our exclusive newsletter to keep up-to-date and stay inspired by Smart City innovations from around the world.
MEDELLIN — Crimes being committed by some of Colombia’s 38,000 convicts on prison leave have become an almost “daily headache,” with some returning to a life of lawlessness despite wearing electronic tags or bracelets. The need to keep closer tabs on prisoners who have been granted leave has led two prison authority (INPEC) employees and […]
Scientists are increasingly revising the idea of human nature as inherently competitive and violent. A documentary explores the possibility of a prehistoric “utopia,” when people lived without cruelty or war.
Western medicine had abandoned the use of viruses with the advent of antibiotics. But now promising, non-chemical options are emerging in the fight against bacterial infections and some types of cancer.
Technology has transformed the world of prosthetics. But are all the bells and whistles, and the hefty price tags they require, really what ordinary patients need?
LAUSANNE — She’s seen me naked. How can I leave her? He brought me so much. How can I tell him I’m leaving? I spent so much time finding the right one. Now we’re supposed to just split up? And yet things were clear from the start: This was always going to be a temporary […]
BOGOTA — The significance of Uber goes well beyond its specific function, which is to connect willing drivers with people who need to move around in a safe, comfortable and punctual manner. The deeper message of the controversial digital application — and others like it — is in the changing way labor and service markets […]
In China, there is no shortage of economic commitment to research and technical advancement. But state graft and insider favors drive the process rather than a pure pursuit of innovation.
With its programs aging, Russia has announced that it’s pulling out of the International Space Station in 2020. Where does that leave space exploration for the rest of the world?
And it will happen sooner than you think…
What used to be simple outdoor fun is now considered real child therapy in our hyper-connected world.
He’s coined everything from the PowerBook to Blackberry to your kitchen mop. There’s a method to his magic.
Most carmakers know that the real money isn’t in the car itself but in its parts and components, which are increasingly high-tech. Those who invest in development will win the revenue game.
The “devs” who code our digital world are so rarefied and vital they can dictate their own terms. Companies do anything to recruit them, but like birds, they tend to fly. A look at this singular species.
Categories
The Blurry Future Of Google Glass
Though Google’s new technology was once hailed as revolutionary, product disappointment has set in and technology watchers are predicting that Google Glass is doomed.
Why do our hands wander toward our faces: stroking chins, scratching eyebrows, rubbing noses? German researchers have discovered the neurology and psychology at play.
Categories
Eradicating AIDS Is Within Our Grasp
French researchers have made significant discoveries that lead them to believe that a vaccine is imminent. It would target the protein that allows the HIV virus to multipy.
Another so-so summit on the climate, and another set of tepid, if not useless, commitments to curb emissions. If the governments can’t get it together, the people must act on their own.
A recent study shows overwhelming agreement that it’s unnecessary to offer pre-school children digital training. And nearly all parents agree on strict limits to screen time as kids get older.
BEIJING — “Innovation” has become a favorite word for Chinese headline writers. From individuals to private firms and even public institutions, everybody and everything aims to be an innovator. Though the OECD Economic Outlook 2014 predicted that China will probably become the country in the world which invests most in Research and Development (R&D) within […]
Despite strong opposition, Egypt has just approved the contruction of coal-fired energy plants that are still years away from operation. Meanwhile, it’s nowhere on harnassing wind and solar energy.