New Technology

While the world has been debating whether we live on a flat plain or a globe, technology has been developing at a rapid pace behind the scenes. Below are a few examples of New Technology that will change your worldview.

The first two technological advancements come from the far east. China has developed the first agricultural formula that changes desert sand into fertile land. So far they've been able to grow corn, tomatoes, sunflowers and other vegetables on over two hundred hectares of sand. This amazing feat was achievable by mixing sand, water and a paste made from natural substances found in the cell walls of plants. The substances (which are not named) are extracted from the plant wall and combined with other ingredients. Once the paste is combined with sand it has the ability to retain water, nutrients, and oxygen. All the necessary ingredients for growing crops.



The second big advancement to come out of China builds upon research that's already twenty years old. China has successfully cloned the first primates. They cloned two Macaque monkeys inside a lab. Although these Macaques are amazing and China is celebrating a groundbreaking achievement. They were not the first to clone a mammal. The first cloned animal was a sheep named Dolly. Dolly, the sheep was cloned in 1996 by a research team from Edinburgh, Scotland. The research team in China is building upon their achievements. The big difference between Dolly and the Macaques is that Macaque monkeys are primates the same as humans. This brings up big ethical questions on how close we are to cloning humans and what regulations are in place if some rogue research team actually tries it.



Next on our list is a relatively unknown device called EyeDetect. This machine has better accuracy than the polygraph and doesn't require tape and wires to be attached to the skin. EyeDetect is a high-resolution infrared camera designed to capture pupil dilation, blink rate, and focal fixation to register if you're lying or telling the truth. This non-intrusive test can tell with over 85% accuracy if a person is lying in thirty minutes. It can also give an estimation of whether they're being deceptive in five minutes. Consider this... the polygraph was invented almost one hundred years ago. This is the first successful invention since that time to actually give it competition. Since EyeDetect isn't 100% accurate it would be better utilized in conjunction with the standard polygraph to give an almost 100% accuracy rate.




Last is a device that looks eerily similar to the devices used in the 2005 action, science fiction film The Island to grow clones. There is an artificial womb that was used to grow a lamb. This device basically needs the fertilized egg and some nutrients fed through a tube to grow a full sized animal. A group of students came up with a concept incubator following that same premise. It's the incubator that looks exactly like the ones used in the film...except smaller. Is art copying science or is science being masked as art. Make your own decision. Below are videos of both the artificial womb and concept incubator. One thing I can say for sure is we're living in interesting technological times.  

Emerging Technology

Its been a busy few months since the video dropped. I've been keeping odd hours and the days are all starting to blend together like a badly mixed Margarita. I guess its the price for chasing success....work long hours and get little rest. To combat the rigors of daily life I took a few weeks off to celebrate my birthday in Thailand. I'll write about that experience next time. 

While most of us are trying to figure out ways to make our lives easier. There are a few ingenious men and women who have achieved that goal. A few individuals made life easier for themselves by developing technology that can help all of mankind. Below are some emerging technologies that will change peoples perception...on what can and cannot be done. There was a wise man who said the "impossible" doesn't exist. Impossible problems are only impossible until the right mind provides an acceptable solution. (I'm paraphrasing a quote from Nikolai Tesla.)

Concept Plastics take the old adage..."One mans trash is another mans treasure." to a whole new level. The Colombian based company builds new low cost homes from discarded plastic that isn't being recycled. The waste plastic is melted down then remolded into Lego style bricks. The bricks are cut into various sizes, which are then built into homes. Their goal is to make housing affordable for all families while helping the environment.



The media is always talking about how expensive raw materials and energy costs are to manufacture almost anything. The Solar Sinter Project, provides a solution by utilizing the most abundant energy source on Earth...sunlight. The engineers took a 3D printer and refurbished it with solar panels and glass molding machinery. Sunlight is used for raw energy and to power the device. Sand is used as the building material to produce glass objects created using 3D the printing process. 

This device is only a concept project meant to get a dialog started on how people think about energy and resources. All that aside...its a pretty cool toy. Who doesn't want an authentic crystal sand castle...or glass sword?

Last but by far the most interesting is the Bioo Lite. This amazing little gadget uses a houseplant to charge your phone. I know you're thinking..."This dude is crazy". You are correct....I am. BUT I'm also speaking the truth. Bioo Lite, uses the natural process of plant photosynthesis to provide electricity to your phone. What makes it so amazing is all you need is a phone, USB cable and a plant. 

The technical aspects and materials used in the Bioo Lite are explained in the video. So far the Bioo Lite is one of the most environmentally safe way to generate electricity. By the way, the plant is not damaged by charging the phone and no plants were harmed in the making of this video.   

The Darkside of Seedless Fruit

 First off…all fruit contain seeds naturally. The purpose of the fruit is it to hold seeds and hopefully be consumed, digested and excreted to a new location. This germination symbiotic relationship happens in all areas of nature. Most commonly with bees and flowers. Seedless fruit is genetically modified fruit and has no place in nature.

The modifications are secret and patented by big named corporations. At first people assumed the fruit was created for convenience. Who wants to be seen spitting out the seeds of an orange or watermelon in public right? That tiny vanity made a niche market for companies to make a mutant fruit that has no seeds. It also took away the ability of the consumer to grow their own fruit. Say you brought a delicious bag of apples and decided you would grow some for yourself. With seedless fruit its not possible.

Seedless fruit takes away the ability to be self-sustaining. It makes you the consumer more dependent on the grocery stores for survival. When I was a kid almost all my aunts and neighbors had gardens where they would grow fruits and herbs. Everyone knew how to grow their own food and went to the grocery store only for necessities. Now most people use the grocery store for their only means of sustenance.

I’m not saying to stop eating seedless fruit, although if you eat natural its definitely more healthy. The only way to get naturally grown fruits these days is from local markets. If you buy it from a grocery store, it costs almost triple the price of the gen-mod foods… so it can be expensive. 

What I am saying, is for a fruit to be seedless it has to be genetically engineered. Its sterile, infertile and the lasting effects from its consumption are still being debated by scientists. So if you are what you eat, and you’re eating sterile and infertile food…what will happen to you?