Yearly Archives: 2012

Headlines at 21st Century Tech for September 21, 2012

Today is the traditional start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere so it seems fitting that headlines this week focus on stories about climate...

Urban Landscapes Update: Creating a 21st Century House That Gives It Occupants a $0 Energy Bill

What is the ideal home? For most North Americans it is a single residential unit surrounded by a lawn and garden similar to the...

Space Update: Star Trek Technology May Be Feasible

In a recent blog about advances in rocketry I described warp drives as pure science fiction. My exact words were "warp engines remain purely...

Robotics Update: A Robot for Small Business Arrives on the Scene

In 2011 sales of robots reached 166,028 units, an increase of 38% with the automotive industry the biggest purchaser. That year it was estimated...

Technology and War – Part 2: Biomedical Advances and the Military in the 21st Century

Biomedical Advances from Past Battlefields It seems appropriate to begin this discussion on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, often called the bloodiest...

Agriculture Update: GMO Crops – Acceptable, Not Acceptable, Label, Don’t Label – the Controversy Continues

What's wrong with modifying corn by introducing a gene from another plant into its DNA to make it drought resistant? What's wrong with modifying rice...

Climate Change Update: Deforestation in the Tropics Has More Unintended Consequences Than Previously Thought

In Africa, South America and Southeast Asia agricultural demand has lead to deforestation that is climate altering. We've known that deforestation and forest degradation...

Energy Update: Ever Heard of Piezoelectricity? Electricity from Your Feet!

Piezoelectricity is energy produced from pressure. The energy gets generated when an automobile, a truck or a train passes over a surface in which...

Headlines at 21st Century Tech for September 14, 2012

Welcome to this week’s 21st Century Technology headlines. Each week I select a few interesting stories about technological innovation that can help us tackle...

Robotics Update: Maybe We’ve Been Designing Robotic Arms Using the Wrong Model

Is there a better model than the human hand for grasping things? Look around the animal kingdom and consider other options. Two immediately come...

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