Miscellaneous
Giant clams could make solar cells more efficient
Giant clams have big blue and green living iridescent cells on their lips. Researchers always wondered why it was necessary for the clams to have living iridescent cells on their only opening. It turns out the cells magnify light so that algae can grow better inside the clams. Light that passes Read More...
Solar hourglass could power 1000 homes
There are never enough ways to produce alternative energy. The latest method comes from Argentinian based designer Santiago Muros Cortés in the form of a solar hourglass. The solar hourglass could potential generate enough electricity to power 1000 homes and would serve as a visual reminder of the Read More...
Manufacturing company looks to hire ex-cons
Nearly 30% of US adults of working age have a criminal record. That number is shockingly high. And while almost one out of three adults have been convicted of a crime, getting a job with a criminal record can be near impossible. Cascade engineering, a manufacturing company in Grand Rapids, Read More...
Ride-sharing is good for the economy
If you haven’t tried Uber or Lyft, you really should. Drivers are nice, the service is quick, and unlike a taxi, everything from hailing to tipping is done easily through your phone. While taxi unions are crying foul at regulators for slashing fares and upping driver numbers, economists want to Read More...
Q&A with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
As a Tibetan Buddhist Sakyon Mipham Rinpoche leads the Shambhala: a worldwide network of meditation and retreat-centres. Shambhala-teaching is based on the principle that everybody is born with an enormous amount of goodness. His name, Sakyong, means ‘king’ or ‘protector of earth’. Rinpoche Read More...
EMDR spells healing
If you’ve experienced trauma that continues to affect your life, you’ll want to know about eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), which is making headlines for healing memories of abuse that have proved resistant to standard therapy. EMDR is an eight-stage treatment in which the Read More...
Solar panel ‘gigafactory’ breaks ground in upstate New York
A gigantic solar panel factory is being built in upstate New York, creating thousands of jobs. The factory called SolarCity will create nearly 1,500 manufacturing jobs, and will employ over 2,000 additional workers in New York to provide solar services in the coming years. SolarCity will cost Read More...
App that lets deaf people make phone calls
A new app called RogerVoice allows those hard of hearing to read what people are saying on a phone call instead of trying to hear the other person’s voice. They can then text their responses into RogerVoice instead of speaking it. What they text is then spoken to the person on the other end of Read More...
Constant connections are ending absence
Absence is ending—but don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing. That’s what Michael Harris explains in his most recent book The End of Absence, published by Penguin Random House. What is absence exactly? In short it’s the time you used to have to be alone with your thoughts that is now taken up Read More...
Ode to Kathryn DiMaria
Sixteen-year-old Kathryn DiMaria prefers motor oil and old jeans to lipgloss and high heels. For the last four years DiMaria has been working on an old car, one she’s remodeling and fixing to her own desires. Her own Pontiac Fiero is now almost done. DiMaria came up with the idea of buying car Read More...