(Video) Shape-Shifting 'Superhero' Material Can Lift 1,000 Times Its Weight
[Tech]
2016/02/11 11:07
Call Wayne Industries! A stretchy new polymer can pack a punch, with a shoelace-size piece able to lift the weight of a liter of soda, its creators say.A new polymer boasts traits that seem pulled straight from the pages of a comic book.The material, developed by University of Rochester scientists, can be triggered to change shape when it comes in contact with body heat, and in the process it l...
WorldRemit Raises $45M to Grow Its Mobile-First Money-Transfer Service Globally
[Investing]
2016/02/11 11:05
U.K.-based fintech startup WorldRemit has raised $45 million from TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. and Silicon Valley Bank. This takes WorldRemit’s total funding to $192.7 million, after the company raised a whopping $100 million almost exactly a year ago.Founded out of London in 2010, WorldRemit is a money-transfer service aimed at helping migrants send money to their families back home....
The World’s First Farm with Robot Farmers to Open in Japan
[Business]
2016/02/11 11:05
Japanese firm to open world’s first robot-run farm. Spread says it will open the fully automated farm with robots handling almost every step of the processJapan has a workforce that is ageing and getting to do physically challenging tasks is getting increasingly harder. Japanese firm, Spread, plans to resolve this problem with technology. Primarily vegetable producers, the company plans to lau...
Life-sized replica of van Gogh’s The Bedroom to rent on Airbnb
[Design]
2016/02/11 11:04
Spend the night in van gogh’s bedroom, available on airbnb in celebration of its upcoming exhibition ‘van gogh’s bedrooms’, the art institute of chicago has created a human-scale replica of the most iconic bedroom in art. beginning today, interested guests can rent the simply furnished, brightly colored space in chicago for only $10/night through airbnb, listed by ‘van gogh’ himself. ‘I...
$100B Mobile Exits as Investments/valuations Peak in 2015
[Investing]
2016/02/10 16:37
It’s hard to call the top of an investment market, but the massive numbers around mobile internet in 2015 have a tale to tell. 102 mobile internet unicorns became worth $1 trillion after adding $130 billion value in Q4 2015, but 4 mobile unicorns died (i.e. dropped below $1 billion). [click to enlarge]There was over $100 billion of mobile internet exits, as consolidation kicked into overdrive...
The SVPER Concept Smartphone
[Design]
2016/02/10 16:37
The SVPER concept smartphone stands out with super aesthetics that are highly focused on minimalism without losing individualism. Most noticeably is the ultra-smooth screen that takes up the entire frontside real estate. In fact, it’s near-frameless. But what about fingerprint ID tech that we waited SO long for? It’s still there, but it works through the screen so the user doesn’t lose valua...
(PDF) BCG - Transformation in Emerging Markets : From Growth to Competitiveness
[Business]
2016/02/10 16:37
Emerging markets have driven growth for many multinational corporations (MNCs) for years, and they will continue to do so. But these are turbulent times as commodity prices plunge, currencies are devalued, and equity markets gyrate. The profitability of many MNCs’ operations is already under attack, and future performance will be challenged by slower macroeconomic growth, increasing costs, and...
Some Of The Numbers Behind Super Bowl 50
[Consumer]
2016/02/10 16:36
The Super Bowl is always packed with on-field impacts, along with a massive economic impact off the field. On Sunday, February 7, the Denver Broncos take on the Carolina Panthers at the Levi’s stadium in Santa Clara, California. 50 years into its history, the Super Bowl is not just about watching a sporting contest or getting together with family and friends, to eat and drink. It’s also about...
New Collar Promises to Keep Aathletes Brains From Sloshing During Impact
[Tech]
2016/02/10 16:36
Could a neck-worn device protect the brains of athletes and soldiers against traumatic injury? That’s the promise of technology that researchers are beginning to test in humans after several years of animal studies.The idea behind such a “collar,” which was originally inspired by studies of animals that tolerate repeated blows to the head, is to slightly increase the amount of blood in the b...
(Video) Hands-On with the 3Doodler Start, a 3D Pen for Kids
[Product]
2016/02/10 16:36
The 3Doodler Start is a 3D pen from WobbleWorks designed specifically for kids.So far it's mostly been adults who've had the fun of using 3D pens, which is ironic given how drawing in mid-air can release your inner doodling child. However, the 3Doodler Start is a 3D pen from WobbleWorks designed specifically for kids. It uses a new eco-plastic, features no hot parts, and is compliant with toy s...
(Video) Implantable Device Translates Thought Into Action for People with Spinal Injuries
[Tech]
2016/02/10 16:36
Medical researchers have produced a device capable of wirelessly controlling artificial limbs or an exoskeleton, and able to be implanted using a simple, relatively non-invasive procedure.Researchers in Australia have built an implantable brain-machine interface (BMI) that may give people with spinal cord injuries the ability to walk again using the power of their own thoughts. Consisting of a...
Edible Weed May Be Half of the $5.4 Billion Pot Business
[Business]
2016/02/10 16:36
Cannabis-infused edibles are about far more than peace, love, and higher consciousness.Peggy Noonan knows a thing or two about marijuana. She was a drug runner between Mexico and the U.S., before earning her living as a dealer in Arizona. Both stints ended badly, with Noonan serving time in a Mexican jail and slapped with federal probation in Arizona. All that feels like ancient history, says N...