WFS - Tibs--THE FUTURIST

A magazine of forecasts, trends, and ideas about the future
July-August 2007 Vol. 41, No. 4

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Tomorrow in Brief
edited by Cindy Wagner

Research in the Virtual Marketplace
Market-research firms are increasingly following consumers into virtual communities such as Second Life, reports strategic business futurist Joyce Gioia-Herman. By using focus groups, questionnaires, and other tools online, researchers overcome the real world's physical limitations for quickly gleaning information on dispersed and diverse populations. Participants can also be paid for their feedback through e-Rewards and other forms of cyber payment valuable to users. Increasingly, social-science researchers, activists, and conference organizers may also find new opportunities by pursuing participants in virtual worlds.

Source: The Herman Alert (March 21, 2007), published by The Herman Group, 4057 Battleground Avenue, Greensboro, North Carolina 27410. Web site www.hermangroup.com

Nanoscale Electric Generators
A nanogenerator that draws energy from ultrasonic waves, mechanical vibrations, or even the flow of blood could keep future nanodevices running smoothly. A team led by materials scientist Zhong Lin Wang of Georgia Tech has developed an array of zinc oxide nanowires on a novel "zigzag" plate electrode. When flexed by stimuli from the environment, the nanowires produce small electrical charges. Unlike traditional sources of power, such as batteries, the new generator would be small enough to fit on nanodevices and made of nontoxic materials that make them usable for biomedical devices implanted into the body.

Source: Georgia Institute of Technology, Research News and Publications Office, 75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100, Atlanta, Georgia 30308. Web site http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu

Acid Oceans Imperil Shellfish
Mussels, oysters, and other shellfish will take longer to build to build their shells in the future, due to the increasing acidity of oceans, warn researchers at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology. By 2100, mussels will be 25% slower in their calcification process, and oysters will be 10% slower. The impacts will be both financial, in terms of less seafood available, and environmental, as the shellfish are important to shoreline ecosystems. Ocean acidity is increasing due to the rising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Source: Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Rijksstraatweg 6, Nieuwersluis, Netherlands. Web site www.nioo.knaw.nl

Faster, Animal-Free Drug Testing
A new technique for quickly predicting a new drug's potential toxic effects promises to help speed up the drug-approval process. The technique, developed by a company in England, combines testing on human cell cultures with advanced computer modeling, enabling researchers to analyze how genes change in reaction to a drug's toxicity. The technique will also reduce the use of animals for drug testing, according to the company, SimuGen. New drugs can take as much as 15 years to reach market, and the late detection of toxicity is a major reason many new drugs fail, says SimuGen chief scientist Quin Wills.

Source: SimuGen, 2 Oakington Business Park, Dry Drayton Road, Oakington, Cambridge, CB24 3DQ, United Kingdom. Web site www.simugen.co.uk

Petroleum-Free Clothing
Synthetic fabrics are going green. One new fabric, Ingeo, is extruded from a polymer created by fermenting the sugars derived from corn or other locally available crops, such as rice or sweet potatoes. Blended with cotton or other natural materials the same way petroleum-based polyesters are, the fabric is colorfast, wrinkle- and odor-resistant, and biodegradable. Since corn is also sought after for meeting the world's growing demands for food and alternative fuels, Ingeo developer NatureWorks LLC is investigating other natural sources for its synthetics, such as corn and sugarcane residue, grasses, wheat, and rice straw.

Source: NatureWorks LLC, 5305 Minnetonka Boulevard, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440. Web site www.natureworksllc.com

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