All Posts By

Dagmar

Glimpses of the Future – May 2015

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Superdrug Starts Retailing 23andme DNA Testing Kits

UK High Street chemist Superdrug has begun selling 23andme’s DNA exome analysis kit direct to consumers.

British doctors have criticised Superdrug for making the £124.99 cheek-swab test available to the public. Some doctors claim that ordinary members of the public aren’t equipped to interpret the results.

Questioned about this at a lecture in Oxford recently, Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andme, told doctors in the audience that market research clearly indicates that consumers responded responsibility to the DNA results.

The company’s DNA test analyses only 1% of the genome, but this 1% is responsible for 85% of all genetically-related health conditions.

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Glimpses of the Future April 2015

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Children Learn To Write By Teaching Robots

Researchers at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne have developed a new teaching tool called CoWriter based on the pedagogical principle of “learning by teaching.”

When children experience difficulties in writing, they can easily lose confidence, begin to shut down, or even gradually lose interest in the learning process. Eventually, their entire education can be affected.

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Glimpses of the Future March 2015

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Nano-Coating Produces Steel That Is 10x Stronger

An inexpensive new process can increase the strength of metals such as steel by as much as 10 times, and make them much more resistant to corrosion – it is claimed.

If the modified metals pass field testing, the new process could go on to make bridges and other infrastructure last far longer; it could also make cars lighter and therefore more fuel-efficient.

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Micro-Lecture 13 – The Future Of Cars And Road Transport

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In the near future, all new vehicles will be delivered with a rich array of built-in communications and semi-autonomous features. Many existing vehicles will be retrofitted with such systems.
Road-vehicle powertrains will increasingly consist of extended-distance electric drives and hybrid engines (petrol/electric). Hydrogen-powered cars will be produced in the near future, but lack of filling infrastructure will hold back wide-scale adoption. Internal combustion engines will continue to be used for road transport for the next 20 years, but new technologies such as laser fuel-ignition systems (replacing spark plaugs) will yield ever greater economy and fewer greenhouse has emissions.

Micro-Lecture 12 – World Travel in 2030

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What will the travel industry look like in 2030? The internet and other digital technologies have already caused significant disruption to the travel trade, but far more change is to come.
Shifts in the demographics of travellers and a slew of new technologies will, once again, change how people select travel, how they choose destinations and the activities they seek out.

Glimpses of the Future January 2015

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Did An Amazon Robot Pick and Pack Your Package This Christmas?

After many grumbles about the way it treats its human labour, Amazon has revealed that at 10 of its fulfilment centres based across the United Sates, the Kiva robot mobile fulfilment system has been doing the picking and packing this festive season.

Kiva – the maker of the robots which Amazon bought last year says its bots increase productivity by 2-4 times over other picking methods.

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Glimpses of the Future December 2014

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The 3-D Ultrasound Medical Scanner That Runs On Your Smartphone

Imagine that every doctor’s office – perhaps even every pharmacy – had a low cost imaging device running on a smartphone. The scanner would be able to provide instant, real-time pictures inside damaged limbs and inside other parts of the body, significantly reducing the time taken for diagnosis. No referrals, no hospital visits and faster treatments. Read More