The Plan to Mine Outer Space

Written by Michael Awada on . Posted in Business, Technology

asteroid speculation

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.

Asteroid and Moon Mining

Written by Michael Awada on . Posted in Business, Technology

moon mining

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.

Neuroprosthetics: Paralyzed No More

Written by Michael Awada on . Posted in Science

paralyzed no more

One in fifty people in the United States is suffering from some form of paralysis. According to the New York Times, they have gotten this way predominantly from a spinal cord injury or a stroke. Doctors have been hard at work trying to let these people live a normal life once again. A new wearable exoskeleton has given paraplegics with strength in their arms the ability to walk once again. While a huge step, it does nothing for those who have lost communication between their arms and their brain. A huge step towards reestablishing that connection took place this week. A field called neuroprosthetics could be the promising wave of the future.

Mutant Fish And How We Can Stop Them

Written by Michael Awada on . Posted in Science

gulf oil spill

Everyone remembers the horrific BP oil spill of 2010. At first, there was widespread panic about how we could possibly clean up all of the oil in the most vital fishing port in the United States. We were exposed to unbelievably sad photos of various creatures covered in gunk. We were then informed by the media that the clean-up efforts were going extremely well, and that we were nearing conditions similar to what they were prior to the oil spill. Since that time, the non-gulf public has gone about living their lives and eating their seafood, but what most don’t realize is that the problem is far from over.

The $30 Million Domain Name

Written by Michael Awada on . Posted in Business, Domains

In a shining example of the importance of an exact keyword domain name for a business, it has been confirmed that the domain name PrivateJet.com has been sold for just over $30 Million USD. PrivateJet.com is one of the most premium pieces of online real estate around; not only is a private jet one of the most expensive and luxurious things you can own, there are over 300,000 Google searches for that term per month.

The Tupac Hologram and the Future of Telepresence

Written by Michael Awada on . Posted in Music, Social Media, Technology

tupac hologram

Tupac Shakur is one of the greatest musicians, lyricists, and performers of all time, and to see him seemingly alive and kickin’ sixteen years after his tragic death is definitely worthy of the world spotlight. The epic performance of Tupac and Snoop Dogg at Coachella in California will live on in history for a number of reasons, but what it really did was shed some light on one of the coolest forms of future technology that could be in our living rooms soon. Holograms and Telepresence are about to become a major part of the way we live our everyday lives. We are nearing an age where will be able to trick ourselves into thinking people and objects are there that aren’t.

Potential HIV Cure Uncovered

Written by Michael Awada on . Posted in Science, Social Media

cure for aids

Many remedies for diseases have been tested on animals, and this has been the cause of much uproar amongst animal rights activists. Even with evolving technology, this is still the most effective method to date. It’s no doubt sad to see animals have to deal with this, but this kind of experimentation leads to incredible breakthroughs.

Astounde covered a story last month of how scientists had perhaps unlocked the code to combatting seven different types of cancer, as well as lymphoma and leukemia. The treatment effectively stopped the growth of cancerous human tumors that had been implanted in mice. Official human trials are slated for the near future. Another breakthrough of similar significance occurred this week.

Goodbye Gravity: The Future of Hover Technology

Written by Michael Awada on . Posted in Gadgets, Technology

hover

Humans have been grounded for most of their existence. From Nostradamus and beyond, humans have dreamed of sprouting wings and touching the clouds. When the Wright brothers first got off the ground and into the air in 1903, the course of human histroy changed forever. Now you’re considered an oddity if you haven’t floated up above the clouds and seen the Earth from a stratospheric perspective.


The initial taste of flight has spawned an incredible addiction for many human beings. The limits of what our bodies can handle are being pushed to the extreme; we are discovering new ways of getting airborne. In the future, we will take off vertically from a standstill. Gravity may become a thing of the past. Here are a few examples of how this hover technology is making it’s way into our lives today and in the future.

Medical Breakthrough: The Beatless Heart

Written by Michael Awada on . Posted in Science, Technology

Heart complications have been plagued humanity since the dawn of time. 300,000 people with heart disease die each year. Options to fix various heart conditions have been severely limited. Even with advancements in heart transplant science, the supply of available organs cannot come close to meeting the demand. There are currently over 100,000 patients waitlisted to receive an annual supply of 2,200 hearts. That means that only 2.2% of people who need a heart will get one.

beatless

Normally the human heart pumps blood throughout our system using a set of cardiac muscles. These muscles subconsciously squeeze and push blood through each of our four chambers in a coordinated fashion. Each muscular squeeze allows for efficient blood circulation through the body, and can be heard as a beat.