The Most Significant Innovative Technologies for 2014 b4in.org/a5yq We are constantly talking about advancements in technology, but the truth is, very few ever offer significant improvements to our ecosystem and/or lives. Yet every year, some genius folks collaborate to conceive and create a handful of advancements that really do change life as we know it. What are those trailblazing ideas for the first half of 2014? This list features some of the most mind-blowing technologies. 1. A New Map of the Brain For all the immensely profound understandings we’ve had over the years about our biology, the brain continues to remain a mystery. A group of neuroscientists have assembled with this meta-mission, deciding that the first crucial element is to truly understand the brain’s structure. The result is something called brain mapping – a magnificent high-resolution map that literally displays the brain’s structure, down to sections as small as 20 micrometers. Why is this so significant? Expect that with the scientific community now having the ability to really analyze, see, and study the brain, we will become much more sophisticated in knowing how it actually works. This could provide invaluable insight into disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as well as access to a deeper understanding on how the brain helps us move, breathe, think, process, and feel. The world was a very mysterious place until cartographers showed us what it looked like, via detailed maps. Now with the brain map, our consciousness is about to become much clearer as well. 2. Smartphones are Getting Smarter, and More Private In the post-Snowden era, we live in a world wrought with paranoia over personal privacy. Now that the masses are aware of the extent to which we’ve been spied on, watched, and analyzed, things like smartphones no longer feel like innocent modes of communication. They feel like digital leashes; opportunities for prying eyes to know too much about our private lives. New smartphone technologies with names like Cryptophone and Blackphone aim to take back the notion of privacy for cell phone users. The consumer market will soon have full-scale access to these technologies, which transmit minimal private data and information, as compared to our current cellular friends. Governments and advertisers currently have a treasure trove of intimate data via our texts, emails, and phone conversations; Cryptophone and Blackphone aim to ensure this info remains yours and yours alone. 3. 3-D Printing Goes Microscale We’ve all heard the many accolades of 3-D printing for some time now, and recent advancements are taking this technology to the next level. Several materials scientists have recently developed inks made from various types of materials, which, when carefully applied, are now astronomically expanding exactly what we can print in 3-D. This means we’ll no longer be limited to printing traditionally tangible things like boxrs, computer chips, and sunglasses. Rather, these advancements make it conceivable that we can print biological tissues and blood vessels, with life-changing ramifications. This could literally lead to the creation of artificial organs; even cyborg body parts. This obviously opens a gigantic ethical can of worms that will be debated for decades to come, but there’s no denying these new 3-D printing abilities are going to have a massive impact on our lives. 4. Accessible, Realistic Virtual Reality Goggles More b4in.org/a5yq
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 09:36:42 +0000