Birds evolving faster in Americas, study says - Technology & Science
The rate of evolution of birds appears to be accelerating, particularly in North and South America, says new research based on a genetic family tree of every bird species known to man. Using a genetic map of 9,993 bird species, a team of researchers — including scientists at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University — found that the rate of bird diversification is increasing, particularly in North America, parts of Asia and South America. "We find that birds have undergone a strong increase in diversification rate from about 50 million years ago to the near present," the scientists say in a study published in the journal Nature today. Based on previous studies, the researchers expected to reach the opposite conclusion and find that the rate at which new bird species proliferate would diminish over time, in part as a result of human impacts on natural habitats. "Perhaps birds are special," said Mooers in a statement. Changing climate may play a role, researchers say
Print - 110 Predictions For the Next 110 Years
· People will be fluent in every language. With DARPA and Google racing to perfect instant translation, it won't be long until your cellphone speaks Swahili on your behalf. · Software will predict traffic jams before they occur. · Climate-controlled jackets will protect soldiers from extreme heat and cold. · Nanoparticles will make chemotherapy far more effective. · Electric cars will roam (some) highways. · Athletes will employ robotic trainers. · Bridges will repair themselves with self-healing concrete. · Digital "ants" will protect the U.S. power grid from cyber attacks. · Scrolls will replace tablets. Your Car Will Be Truly Connected As we branch out as a species, it's quite reasonable to think that we'll send 3D printers to other planets to print habitats for humans prior to our arrival. — Dave Evans, Chief Technology Officer and Resident Futurist, Cisco Systems · Your genome will be sequenced before you are born. 10 Things That Will Remain the Same · Passwords will be obsolete.
10 Futuristic Materials
Lifeboat Foundation Safeguarding Humanity Skip to content Switch to White Special Report 10 Futuristic Materials by Lifeboat Foundation Scientific Advisory Board member Michael Anissimov. 1. Aerogel protecting crayons from a blowtorch. This tiny block of transparent aerogel is supporting a brick weighing 2.5 kg. Aerogel holds 15 entries in the Guinness Book of Records, more than any other material. Carbon nanotubes are long chains of carbon held together by the strongest bond in all chemistry, the sacred sp2 bond, even stronger than the sp3 bonds that hold together diamond. “Metamaterial” refers to any material that gains its properties from structure rather than composition. We’re starting to lay down thick layers of diamond in CVD machines, hinting towards a future of bulk diamond machinery. Diamonds may be strong, but aggregated diamond nanorods (what I call amorphous fullerene) are stronger. Transparent alumina is three times stronger than steel and transparent. inShare28 Materials
How to sail around the world for free: Five ways to live the dream
You don't have to be a wealthy yacht owner to sail into the sunset. CNN takes a look at five ways to travel the globe for free. Many private yacht owners offer free food and board for volunteer crew members. "It's not necessary to have sailing qualifications, it's more important to have the right attitude," said Kylie Gretener of findacrew.net. When 84-year-old Alaskan Jo Ryman Scott (pictured) and her 86-year-old husband, Dick, joined a yacht in Greece recently, they had no previous sailing experience. But they were able to help out with some of the cooking and cleaning and had great stories to keep the crew entertained. Queen Sofia of Spain (left) -- pictured with Princess Letizia of Spain (right) and daughter Princess Leonor of Spain -- surely has no trouble finding nannies to look after her grandchildren. Greenpeace is just one environmental organization advertising for volunteers on its research vessels. Open seas Volunteer as crew Be a companion Care for kids Cook up a storm Be a friend
57 startup lessons
I am a cofounder of RethinkDB — an open-source distributed database designed to help developers and operations teams work with unstructured data to build real-time applications. There are already very good lists of startup lessons written by really talented, experienced people (here and here). I’d like to add another one. People If you can’t get to ramen profitability with a team of 2 – 4 within six months to a year, something’s wrong. Fundraising If you have to give away more than 15% of the company at any given fundraising round, your company didn’t germinate correctly. Markets The best products don’t get built in a vacuum. Products Product sense is everything. Marketing Product comes first. Sales Sales fix everything. Development Development speed is everything. Company administration Don’t waste time picking office buildings, accountants, bookkeepers, janitors, furniture, hosted tools, payroll companies, etc. Personal well-being Thanks to Michael Glukhovsky for reviewing this post.
