3D PRINTED FOOD

Janne Kytannen, co-founder of design studio Freedom of Creation, has visualised a series of 3D printed meals, including pasta, to show how the technology could be applied to home cooking in the future.

http://wgsn-hbl.blogspot.ca/2013/04/3d-printed-food-models-by-freedom-of.html

IVA Intellectual Virtues Academy of Long Beach

IVA is based on an “intellectual virtues educational model,” which is a model aimed at fostering growth in “intellectual virtues.” Intellectual virtues are the personal qualities of a good thinker or learner. They include curiosity, wonder, attentiveness, open-mindedness, creativity, intellectual rigor, intellectual humility, and intellectual courage. Intellectual virtues are sometimes described as “habits of mind,” “thinking dispositions,” or “non-cognitive skills.”  

 Read more by clicking on the link below.
http://www.ivalongbeach.org/about/

Researchers Discover Bacteria That Produces Pure Gold

The gold you see in the photo above was not found in a river or a mine. It was produced by a bacteria that, according to researchers at Michigan State University, can survive in extreme toxic environments and create 24-karat gold nuggets. Pure gold.

http://gizmodo.com/5948739/researchers-discover-bacteria-that-can-produce-pure-gold

UCLA creates transparent solar cell, dreams of current generating windows

Transparent photovoltaics have yet to grace the face of your smartphone, but don't give up hope -- UCLA researchers are working on a new see-through solar cell that's showing potential. Using a new type of polymer solar cell, the team has been able to build a device that converts infrared light into electrical current. Current prototypes boast 4 percent energy conversion efficiency at 66 percent transparency -- not crystal clear, but certainly clean enough to peer through. According to a study in ACS Nano, the technology could be used in "building-integrated photovoltaics or integrated photovoltaic chargers for portable electronics." Translation? It could one day be used to build solar windows or better sun collecting smartphones. Don't get too excited though, the technology still has a ways to go before any of these dreams come to fruition. Still, feel free to head past the break for the team's official press release, or skip to the source to take in the full academic study.

For press release click below.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/22/ucla-creates-transparent-solar-cell/

John Deere Tango E5 Autonomous Mower

You have plenty of machines in your life that require more work from you — the coffee machine, your washer and dryer, etc. — so why not spend your money on one that works for you? The John Deere Tango E5 Autonomous Mower ($TBA) is designed to give you back your weekends by keeping your grass a reasonable length automatically, automatically returning to its charging station when it's low on juice and staying out of your koi pond thanks to some help from a preset boundary wire. So go ahead and spend your grass-mowing time perfecting your martini — your secret is safe with us.

When the Zombies take over...

Arming Yourself for the Zombie Apocalypse: How to Build the Ultimate Survival Shotgun

brought to you by Creek Stewart of Willow Haven Outdoor

 

IRIS

Mimi Zou's IRIS is a biometrics enabled camera controlled by your eye. It understands who you are by looking at your iris signature, and lets you capture exactly what you see by tracking your eye.
http://www.dezeen.com/2012/06/21/iris-by-mimi-zou-at-show-rca-2012/