Future technology

Analysis and Comment (7)

Vnjd7956-1368395194
Sunrise at Sellafield: could thorium-powered reactors be a new dawn for nuclear energy? Phil Noble/PA Archive/Press Association Images

Nuclear futures: thorium could be the silver bullet to solve our energy crisis

By Robert Cywinski, University of Huddersfield

The only source of energy that can meet global demand while avoiding greenhouse gas emissions is nuclear power. But our perception of nuclear power is coloured by issues of safety, radiotoxic waste, and…
93n2t4bx-1360727827
No-one knows what the iWatch will look like … or if it even exists. Yrving Torrealba

The iWatch, Dick Tracy and the kitchen sink

By John Lenarcic, RMIT University

If rumours are true about its forthcoming product release – the iWatch – Apple is inadvertently paying homage to the comic strip legend Dick Tracy. The fictional 1940s police detective with the ridiculously…
Xcpfgjvk-1354150857
We have the technology … but have we discussed its possible impacts? fdecomite

Four visions, three dimensions: the future of 3D printing

By Thomas Birtchnell and John Urry, Lancaster University

Chances are you’ve heard about 3D printing – or additive manufacturing as it’s otherwise known: a process that turns computer-aided designs into three-dimensional, real-world objects with a range of uses…
Zkfyffjb-1351134692
Reaching a stage where humans become something other than human could be undesirable. v i p e z

People plus: is transhumanism the next stage in our evolution?

By Katina Michael

Inviting artificial intelligence into our bodies has appeal – but it also carries certain risks. I have often wondered what it would be like to rid myself of a keyboard for data entry, and a computer…
7h9jybns-1346646969
Samsung is a major player in technologies that will deliver future telecommunications services. Robert Schlesinger/EPA

Sorry, Apple: Samsung is winning the war on 4G platforms

By Sung-Young Kim, University of Auckland

In light of the much-publicised dispute over handset design patents between Apple and Samsung, many commentators have cast Samsung as the “fast-follower”, while Apple is pushing at the frontier of innovation…

Research Briefs (4)

A step toward spider silk synthesis

Technische Universität München

Researchers have taken a significant step forward in the quest to produce synthetic spider silk. Spider silk has five times…

Participants (51)