2011 and 2012 could be technical takeoff years for several super technologies

2011 and 2012 are shaping up to be years where key technologies establish a technical takeoff. J Storrs Hall defines a technical takeoff – Embodies the essential function of the proposed technology – is proof that the concept works – focuses technical effort – is a vehicle for practical experience – attracts financial (etc) resources …

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Researchers propose ‘whole-system redesign’ of U.S. agriculture

Incremental improvements to agriculture have been which have included adoption of two-year crop rotations, precision agriculture technologies, classically bred and genetically engineered crops, and reduced- or no-tillage management systems. US David researchers are recommending innovative agricultural systems such as organic farming, grass-fed and other alternative livestock production systems, mixed crop and livestock systems, and perennial …

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Progress to safer and cheaper vaccines that need no refridgeration and can be swallowed as capsules

University of Central Florida Professor Henry Daniell has been developing a new method of creating vaccines using genetically engineered plants. He has been developing a new method of creating vaccines using genetically engineered tobacco and lettuce plants to fight diseases such as malaria, cholera and dengue or biothreat agents such as anthrax or plague. Currently, …

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Antineutrino Detectors Closer to Helping to Prevent Nuclear Proliferation

On Earth, tens of billions of the sun’s neutrinos pass through an area the size of a thumbtack every second. But most of these particles zip straight through Earth without a single interaction with another bit of matter. Physicists have been working to make detectors small enough to be installed inside nuclear power plants. If …

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Persistence of black holes through a cosmological bounce

Arxiv – Persistence of black holes through a cosmological bounce If the Universe expands and contracts in cycles of Big Bangs and Crunches, some black holes may survive from one era to the next, according to a new analysis. Coley and Carr say that since the mass of primordial and pre-crunch black holes is similar, …

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Self-correcting robots, at-home 3-D printing are on horizon, says Hod Lipson of Cornell

Robots that can self-improve and machines that “print” products at home are technologies soon to become increasingly available, said Cornell’s Hod Lipson Nextbigfuture covered Hod Lipson’s talk in 2010 at the foresight conference. Hod Lipson’s website is here Factory @ Home: The Emerging Economy of Personal Fabrication (103 pages) Robots can observe and reconstruct their …

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