Latest Inventions

posted by admin on Aug 16

Hello Again - and what a great time to be at the fore-front of the latest inventions and technology!

Almost every day, there is an announcement about something great to advance our thinking or challenge our current ways of thinking - the future looks so different - if only we would make the change!

Looking back over time Adam Park takes us through his top 10 Tech Milestones That Changed The World for a glance at the past - and hopefully they can take us places in the future!

Add to this some of the following technological information here from Susan, as she details her best 25 Startups Revolutionizing Biotechnology. Even small things can make a huge difference!

Staying with the prefix ‘bio’ - take a look at the amazing advances and technology involved with Mike’s great article on: Massive Future MRI Machine Promises to Unravel the Secrets of Human Biochemistry! Great stuff!

Moving on to inventions today - read on if you want to know about something new: Coming Soon to a Classroom Near You: 10 Things To Know About Robot Teachersby the converted Erin Lenderts! Now I’m not sure if these will ever really take over in mainstream schools - but the idea for smaller groups or adult learners could really be a good thing!

And, if you ignore all the adverts at the top - scroll down to a very thorough article by Rick Cole as he reviews the difference between to very similar in-car technologies: Garmin vs TomTom. Worth a peak if you are considering a sat nav in the future.

And finally - How to use Twitter in a way I hadn’t really thought off: Sharons719 offers us 50 “Healthy” Ways to Use Twitter. Very interesting!

And on that note - get back outside and enjoy the nice weather before winter sets in!

posted by admin on Jul 16

In no particular order, this months articles all seem to have a numbers theme!

There are 100 amazing these, 50 free those and 5 more of something else!

All listed like the articles they will lead you to - you have the choice as to what you want to hop on the links for to have a more in-depth look into. They all tell you roughly what area they cover - so you can go from there.

And I hope you can use some of these well researched links…….

1) Rose King offers a massive energy listing with her huge article on: 100 Amazing Lectures to Follow the Future of Energy.

2) Suzane Smith helps us to modify our design work or school work with: 70 Awesome Open Source Tools for Graphic Designers.

3) Alvaro Cramton geeks it up with: Top 50 Computer Science Blogs.

4) Leonard Gilhooley sees through all this with these great images to see the unseen with: 5 Sites With Free & Interesting X-Ray Photos.

5) Diane Laine chirps and tweets out about her social networking research with: 5 Twitter Users Every Info Junkie Should Follow.

6) Alex Carson offers us teachers a huge resource pool with his massive listings of: 100 Great Tech Talks for Educators.

7) Engelbert Hudson brings us back to routine with our monthly injection of apps - but this time for study with: 25 Excellent iPad Apps for Scripture Study.

So, there must be something for everyone in that bunch!

If not, then join us next month for the next Latest Inventions Blog Carnival.  We are always on the lookout for great articles - and the odd apps listing.  Whether it’s science, space, medicine or some gadget just for fun - if it’s new or a great research article - then send it in right here to share with all my readers.

posted by admin on Jul 11

If you farmland is flooded - how can you still grow crops?

Well there is one solution that will no doubt help millions of people all across the globe in these times of climate change and rising sea levels - a floating farm!

Many communities around the world inhabit wetland areas and have developed raised housing and methods of transport and livelihoods that make the most of existing circumstances - but growing crops on water?

That really is something quite amazing - and sustainable!

The Idea:
Well, areas of India and Bangladesh for example have annual flooding - but it’s lasting longer and longer these days - and coming when it’s not expected, ruining crops and homes, and leaving farmland underwater and families without anyway to feed themselves.

So, why not farm on the water itself?  Well it’s not as difficult as you might think, and as this is only a temporary solution it doesn’t need to be highly advanced and permanent.

Basically you can build up layers of floating vegetation mixed with fertiliser and stabilizers and you have a raised bed for growing anything.  And as long as you tether it to your home or river bank - you can grow your crops! 

Even if the water levels rise again - your crops do too, so they are not destroyed!  And when the water finally falls back to earth - your crops are already on a bed of fertile compost!

When the water level falls, you can transplant your seeds back into the now fertile soil (enriched with sediment from upstream) and grow them to maturity.  Maybe you could even sell the excess at a local market increasing your income.

The Implementation:
A small charity called Practical Action is working with communities in Bangladesh and has already helped hundreds of families do just this.

Their solutions are simple and cheap to construct for the local communities as they are made from local ‘ingredients’ and are not huge in size.  For example they base their ‘raised beds’ on an initial layer of water hyacinths strengthened with a layer of bamboo strips on top, then bound in place by a further layer of water hyacinth on top so the roots create a sturdy platform.

On top of this solid base is a layer of animal dung and earth - both plentiful in the area - in which to grow the actual crops.  And watering them is not a problem!

The Future?
This is already a lifeline to so many people in Asia, but it could help with innovations across the globe.  If the future is to bring more flooding and adverse weather to many countries - it’s great to know that there are people out there already working on the solutions.

Some of these recent inventions in areas that are already experiencing problems can be the basis for future inventions and inventors to plan for similar scenarios.  Planning for crops that can grow on water could lead to new crops, new farming methods and new lifestyles.

It could also be the first step towards living on water and building flood resistant homes, crops and energy stations!

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posted by admin on Jun 16

This edition is all about medical technology and advances - and there have been plenty sent in this month……

Lets start small with Peggy Stoppelmoor well researched article on 25 Ways Nanotechnology is Revolutionizing Medicine. and we can only get bigger from there, can’t we?

Just a short one from Glory Scott comes next with a few impressive links about How To Learn About Xray Technology for Free, and then another 2 quickies by Heather Sanders highlighting the technology needed for Everything You Need to Know About Radiology Technology and Top 50 Medical Technology Blogs.

Whoopie Patterson comes in here with her list of 10 Essential Web Tools for Research Scientists if you are already researching the next medical advances - and you might even be able to get yourself a grant from it!

And maybe the health-care professional out there may want some web tools too to help keep their CPD on the move - so take a peek at John Laugherton short piece on 10 Essential Webtools for Healthcare Professionals.

Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without some apps now would it?

So let’s join Elisha Knackwood with her Top 25 Android Apps for Your Health and Happiness -and Melissa Seyfried with hers: 5 Excellent iPhone Apps for Health & Medical Reference.

Feel Better Now?

posted by admin on Jun 6

Imagine holding up a box of LEGO to a screen - and seeing a 3D image of the fully assembled model!

That is exactly what you can do right now, not just with that one ‘toy’ brand but with dozens of others - and the technology doesn’t just stop at games and gadgets - this new world of imaging could be appearing right in front of you in the street!

Soon, we won’t have to just guess what things will look like when made, we won’t have to guess where that repair store is on a busy high street - and you won’t even have to take your chances in a new restaurant without seeing the reviews of it’s past customers!

Augmented Reality (AG) - although first invented in 1968 by Ivan Sutherland - was truely brought to life in 1999 with the use of software that detected and reacted to ‘markers’ for image tracking.  Then it was developed the following year as a great way to bring text books to life with 3-dimensional images being more helpful than flat pictures - and basically - why stop there?

AG has been used for years on the TV - and watching the football teams pop up on screen as the players ‘warm up’ is a classic example; and showing the ’finish line’ over the river in a boat race is another ‘everyday’ use.  But we didn’t want an inanimate object - we wanted to be in charge of the images.

Initially driven by sales of merchandise, these AG software packages allowed consumers to ‘play’ with their gadget before buying it so to speak.  They could see images of their preferred product and even turn it around to see it from all angles before spending any money - even comparing the finished product to a similar one.

This is a huge step forward from the AG systems that need head mounted displays (HMD’s) to work.  Think back to when we thought that seeing computer information on the inside of your glasses was amazing - now it looks like you don’t even need the glasses!

The Future:
Well, think about films where computer screens seem to be on a whole table, the wall or even ‘floating’ in mid air and you can use your hands to move sections of it.  This could be coming very soon.

There are currently people working on whole room set-ups (spatial displays) that will allow you to overlay certain images into the space given - say for example looking at a new bathroom suite in your actual bathroom - try before you buy type of thing!  A new kitchen, lounge, office suite - the list is endless once you think about it.  But obviously it will have scientific uses first, like designing new hospitals, spaceships and whole environments maybe?

It is already being used in manufacturing - where the HMD’s contain step by step instructions that are triggered by the component parts and medical breakthroughs are also allowing layers of the human body to be seen simultaneously by surgeons to complete operations faster and safer.

So rather than a virtual reality - where you step into a computer generated world - this new reality is where the computers move into your world, and hopefully improve it!

However, I can imagine a hacker getting in to one of the programs and then a HMD AG fan could find New York City with wild animals or even aliens around every corner!

Source: BBC Focus Magazine.