Contents of the Current Issue
Back Issues
Online Indexes:
Index of News Articles
Reprints/ Permissions
Writer's Guidelines
Send a Letter to the Editor
 |
edited by Cindy Wagner
 Modeling Our Minds
Modeling human
thought processes could help the military prepare for future wars. At Sandia
National Laboratories, scientists are developing cognitive
technologies--using machines to help humans function better and creating
models of human cognition to help machines interact more naturally with
users. Potential applications include training military personnel and
improving terrorist threat detection. Wars have become massively more
complex in terms of data processing, and, more so than in previous
generations, "influenced primarily by individual human beings rather than
technology or bureaucracy," says Russ Skocypec, senior manager of Sandia's
Human, Systems, and Simulation Technologies Department.
Source: Sandia
National Laboratories, Media Communications, P.O. Box 5800-0165,
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185. Web site
www.sandia.gov.
Sunspots as Prediction Tool
Farmers in
eastern Africa may soon have a new tool for predicting bad weather.
Unusually heavy periods of rainfall in eastern Africa over the past century
have occurred approximately one year ahead of peak periods of sunspot
activity, notes paleoclimatologist Curt Stager of Paul Smith's College.
Sunspots--increases in the sun's energy output--occur in regular 11-year
cycles. Sunspot patterns could thus provide a valuable tool for forecasting
the heavy rainfalls that often lead to flooding in the region, as well as
outbreaks of diseases due to mosquitoes that thrive in wet conditions.
Source: Paul
Smith's College, P.O. Box 265, Paul Smiths, New York 12970. Web site
www.paulsmiths.edu.
Plastic Blood
A sterile,
synthetic blood made up of millions of plastic molecules and resembling
hemoglobin may one day be used as a temporary blood substitute in emergency
situations. Developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield in
England, the plastic blood can be used with any blood type; it contains iron
atoms that help transport oxygen through the body. Unlike donated blood,
which has a shelf-life of just 35 days and must be refrigerated, the plastic
blood can be stored for months at room temperature, making it a suitable
emergency resource for ambulances and the armed forces.
Source: University of Sheffield, Media Team, Western Bank, Sheffield,
Yorkshire S10 2TE, United Kingdom. Web site
www.shef.ac.uk.
Guilt-Free Food Indulgence
Trends shaping
the food industry resemble those shaping society at large, such as a desire
for extreme experiences and hybrid products, according to the Institute of
Food Technologists. Restaurants and grocers are offering more exotic or
unusual products combined with the familiar, such as orange blossoms in
yogurt, or Japanese-influenced lox wrapped in seaweed. These "extreme"
luxury foods also pack more nutrients, reducing the guilt of indulging
consumers' food pleasures.
Source: Institute of Food Technologists, 525 West Van Buren, #1000, Chicago,
Illinois 60607. Web site
www.ift.org/cms/
 Save the Snakes!
The endangered
timber rattlesnake is getting a high-tech helping hand from a team of Purdue
University researchers in veterinary medicine, forestry, and natural
resources. Once found in abundance in Indiana, the snakes are now hard to
find, victims of habitat loss and human persecution. Researchers are
implanting radio transistors in the rattlesnakes so biologists can monitor
how their movement through their habitat is affected by logging, climate,
and other variables. The goal is to create land-use management strategies
that will benefit the species. "There's medical research being done now
using other reptile venom for treatment of diseases such as diabetes," lead
researcher Steve Thompson points out. "If an animal becomes extinct, we will
never know the uses we might have found for it."
Source: Purdue
University News Service, Engineering Administration Building, 400 Centennial
Mall Drive, Room 324, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907. Web site
www.purdue.edu .
To order the print edition of the
November-December 2007 issue of THE FUTURIST or to become a
member of the World
Future Society ($49 per year).
COPYRIGHT © 2007 WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda,
Maryland 20814. Tel. 301-656-8274. E-mail info@wfs.org. Web site
http://www.wfs.org. All rights
reserved. |
