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Holograms, bio-sensors will change how you shop: Intel

“Imagine buying a watch at home online using a hologram 3D display that allows you to ‘try’ it on. Or imagine having a nut allergy, going to the grocery store, and having which products to avoid highlighted. Technical innovation and falling costs mean holograms will likely be used by retailers in the next decade to personalize the shopping experience and create a virtual environment, said chip giant Intel’s futurist Brian David Johnson in an interview. Last month, MIT researchers released their findings in the journal Nature that showed how to build an optical chip that cost only about $10 and can produce color holographic-video displays.” Continue reading →

British company turns human ashes into vinyl records

“A company called ‘And Vinyly’ — rhymes with ‘And Finally’ — will now process your cremated remains into a 12-inch vinyl record that includes 24 minutes of the music of your choice. For a fee of about $4,600, decedents can will for their ashes to be included in the pressing of 30 vinyl records to be distributed to friends and loved ones. A person’s ashes are delivered to a pressing plant in London and added to raw vinyl. Then the vinyl is pressed into a 24-minute record, 12 minutes per side. Leach said that most people struggle not with the price — which is actually less than a traditional burial — but with what music or sounds they want to choose.” Continue reading →

EU planning to ‘own and operate’ spy drones and an air force

“The European Union is planning to ‘own and operate’ spy drones, surveillance satellites and aircraft as part of a new intelligence and security agency under the control of Baroness Ashton. The controversial proposals are a major move towards creating an independent EU military body with its own equipment and operations, and will be strongly opposed by Britain. The use of the new spy drones and satellites for ‘internal and external security policies’, which will include police intelligence, the internet, protection of external borders and maritime surveillance, will raise concerns that the EU is creating its own version of the US National Security Agency.” Continue reading →

More than 1,000 escape in Libya prison break organized by area residents

“More than 1,000 inmates, mostly common law offenders, escaped during a prison riot and attack on Saturday in the restive Libyan city of Benghazi, a security official told AFP. ‘There was a riot inside Al-Kuifiya prison, as well as an attack from outside. More then 1,000 prisoners escaped. Special forces called in as reinforcements were given orders not to fire at the prisoners,’ he said, asking not to be named. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan confirmed the incident, without giving the number of fugitives. ‘Residents of the area carried out the attack because they don’t want the prison near their homes,’ he said.” Continue reading →

Australian firm launches ‘anti-shark’ wetsuits

“An Australian research firm Thursday launched what is being touted as the world’s first anti-shark wetsuit, using new discoveries about the predators’ eyesight to stave off or evade an attack. The blue-and-white ‘Elude’ range, designed for divers and snorkellers, uses research about sharks’ perceptions of light and their colour blindness to essentially ‘hide you in the water column’, Anderson said. The ‘Diverter’ — mainly for surfers — is based on what sharks perceive as danger signs in nature, with a bold black and white banding patten to imitate an ‘unpalatable food item’, according to UWA researcher Shaun Collin.” Continue reading →

French farmer’s industrial snail-slime harvesting process to feed cosmetic industry

“The French have long appreciated snails on a plate with butter and garlic. But one rural snail farmer believes the humble molluscs have more to offer alive than dead. Louis-Marie Guedon says the mucus secreted by snails are full of collagen, glycolic acid, antibiotics and other compounds that regenerate skin cells and heal cuts. He is busy turning the innovation into France’s first industrial-scale snail mucus extraction operation with a target to harvest 15 tonnes of it next year. He has secured three supply contracts with local cosmetics labs and a Paris company that mixes cosmetics for some of the biggest names in consumer beauty products.” Continue reading →

Inside TimeSpace, the New York Times’ new startup accelerator

“The program is the first experiment of its kind by the owner of the country’s second largest newspaper. It’s goal is to infuse the 162-year-old Times Company, battered, bruised and barely profitable thanks to digital disruption, with some of that sweet innovation nectar startups are known for. In exchange, the startups get access to decision makers, lawyers, and editorial staff at the New York Times, with a little prestige and credibility to boot. The unspoken hope is that the entrepreneurial spirit will rub off on the slow-moving Times Company like osmosis.” Continue reading →

Girl Scouts auction off plantation amid financial troubles

“The camp in South Carolina is one of dozens of Girl Scout camps in 28 states that have closed, been sold or are for sale as chapters across the United States face financial struggles. The realignment that took full effect in 2009 consolidated local councils. It reduced their number by two-thirds, eliminated staff jobs and set new Girl Scout priorities for building leadership skills. Girls Scouts has about 2.3 million youth and about 800,000 adult members nationwide. The organization is struggling with plummeting membership, a dearth of adult volunteers, declining cookie sales and a pension fund that is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.” Continue reading →