What do lotus leaves, moth eyes, and desert beetle shells have in common? They are all underappreciated pieces of nature that fulfill multiple amazing purposes simultaneously. These three natural objects inspired MIT researchers to look at a modern day staple, glass, and modify it to have life changing capabilities. The future applications are endless.
Carlos Slim Helú has been atop the list of the world’s richest men for the last several years. He keeps a low profile, so not a whole lot is really known about him. Astounde did a little research and uncovered some of the lesser known facts about Carlos Slim Helú, the richest man in the world.
He doesn't always make investments, but when he does, he prefers to earn exorbitant profits.
Spending time in the great outdoors is wonderful; the sights, the smells, the tranquility. It really brings you back to the days of our ancestors whose lives were shaped in the plains. The problem is that in the 21st century, we need to stay connected to the outside world. E-mails, sports scores, breaking news; we like to have our cake and eat it too. Those of us without an RV who don’t want to risk killing our car battery have had to suck it up and survive a few days without a smart device. Even resisting those temptations, it’s still nice to have some music to jam out to while in the mountains.
Materials scientists David Toledo and Paul Slusser wanted to make life more convenient for outdoorsmen in the United States, and potentially bring a scarce resource to people in third world countries. They are on the brink of doing just that. Their start-up company, Power Portal, is in the final stages of prototyping on a product called the PowerPot. The PowerPot will be able to create electricity for anyone with a hot surface and a cool liquid inside.
A collaboration of scientists from around the world have reached an unfathomable goal, one that could drastically change the way that we look at computers forever. North American, Australian, and South African scientists have built a crystal about 1 mm in diameter and consisting of only 300 atoms, that will be able to power a computer to do calculations beyond our wildest dreams.
Mowing the lawn can be a pain with the hot sun, allergies, and your neighbor checking you out. We’ve all see the the vacuum cleaner that cruises around your floor cleaning up pet hair and dust, so why not devise something similar for your lawn? A couple of companies have done just that, just in time for summer.
Being able to see and enjoy all of the beautiful colors and various sights in life may be the greatest privilege that we take for granted everyday. Do we ever take the time to ponder what it would be like to live in darkness? Due to macular degeneration (loss of sight during old age) and other ailments, millions of people around the globe have to deal with this unfortunate truth. Millions of people are unable to see the faces of their loved ones, or a comfortingly familiar landmark or sunset.
Finding a cure for blindness has enthralled humanity for thousands of years. Fortunately, there have been several advancements in the field lately. Many involving a form of stem cell therapy, but others as foreign as using algae to revitalize our eyes. Still to this day, scientists have not discovered one definitive stop-gap measure to restore our vision. A major recent breakthrough could help lead us onto that path.
With cameras going digital in the last decade or two, and with memory storage capabilities skyrocketing, people have been accumulating incomprehensible amounts of photos. Many of our photo collections are unorganized, leaving priceless moments unviewed and completely defeating the purpose of ever taking photos to begin with. A gentleman by the name of Matt Richardson has invented the ‘Descriptive Camera’, which prints a description of the photo taken in lieu of the normal picture we are accustomed to seeing. Could this innovation help us to more effectively preserve our memories?
A group of successful and distinguished individuals are starting a company to capitalize on assets floating around in space. The company is called Planetary Resources. They held a press conference describing their aspirations this afternoon. While this won’t happen overnight, the company has an incredible staff with immense experience and desire to succeed, and they are committed to success. Here’s some of the revolutionary ideas from their plan.
Forbes covered a story this week about a dream team of billionaires looking to space for the next gold rush, and potentially trillions of dollars in untapped resources. The group is headlined by Google mainstays Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, along with James Cameron (fresh off his journey to the center of the Earth) and space enthusiast and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis.
Author Brian Caulfield speculates that this group has come together to mine asteroids, looking for precious metals that are essential to the electronics that have come to dominate our world. NASA has already demonstrated the ability to land a probe on an asteroid. A formal announcement of the groups intentions is expected on Tuesday of next week, and you can expect it to be major news.
Mark Cuban is a computer and software magnate. He is the founder of Microsolutions, Broadcast.com, HD Net (the worlds first HDTV network) and 2929 Entertainment. Mark is now one of the sharks on the hit show Shark Tank. He’s one of the most well-known and likeable billionaires out there. Here’s some little known facts about Mr. Cuban!