The SETI Delusion
Every year or two, there seems be some discovery announced that lets the mainstream media breathlessly speculate ...
Science Is Unlocking the Full Potenti...
Archeology reveals that music has been present in every culture since the very beginning of humanity. The latest...
3D Media Finally Goes Mainstream
After decades of false-starts and disappointments, 3D media finally seems to be moving into the mass market. Movies,...
Service Robots Are Closer Than You Th...
Robots have made an enormous impact on global productivity. But virtually all of that impact has happened on the...
The Transformation of the Modern Airliner
published on: Oct 15, 2010
Since the mid-1950s airliners have flown at roughly the same speeds, been constructed mostly of aluminum, and been fueled by a standardized jet fuel...
Alien Invasion: The Growing Threat from Invas...
published on: Sep 15, 2010
Giant hybrid pythons, forest-choking kudzu, ill-tempered Africanized bees, nearly indestructible fire ants, and voracious zebra mollusks. These are...
Beware of the I.P. Trolls
published on: Jun 15, 2010
Increasingly, intellectual property issues involving patents on software and business methods, as well as trademarks and copyrights, have become...
Machines That Can See
published on: May 15, 2009
Since the earliest days of computing, researchers have dreamed of machines that could mimic seeing the world as people see it. In that case, they'd...
Managing the Sensory Environment for Fun and ...
published on: Apr 15, 2009
Recent research has revealed how the physical environment can impact our decision making, productivity, and overall happiness. What are the threats,...
The Pre-Fab Building Boom
published on: Sep 15, 2008
For decades, pre-fab building technology has played an important, but peripheral, role in commercial and residential construction. But now, new...
The Pet Economy Roars Ahead
published on: Oct 15, 2007
Americans now spend $41 billion a year on their pets — more than the gross domestic product of all but 64 countries in the world. What are the...
Our Plastic Future
published on: Aug 15, 2007
As we strive to make products increasingly durable, lightweight, and environmentally friendly, plastics are becoming an increasingly important part...
Genomic Technologies Emerge as the Answer to ...
published on: Nov 15, 2006
Since the earliest times, hunger and malnutrition have stalked the earth. But, in the past 150 years, famine has essentially been eradicated in the...
The Time for National Missile Defense Is Comi...
published on: Apr 15, 2006
Despite its many scientific and political detractors, the idea of a national missile defense system remains extremely popular with voters. How did...
The Patent Epidemic
published on: Mar 15, 2006
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that our system for protecting intellectual property is broken. Rather than encouraging innovation, our patent...
The Need for Speed and the Supersonic Boom
published on: Dec 15, 2004
By 2010, ultrafast corporate jets will transport executives across the country or across the ocean in half the time of today's flights. How will...
Space: The Final Economic Frontier
published on: Sep 15, 2004
As strange as it may sound, space exploration — which has represented a cash "black hole" for government for nearly 50 years — may be one of the...