In this issue: IRRATIONAL FEARS LEARNING FROM MOSQUITOES CAMERA TOSSING CRIMEWEAR PIGS IN SPACE iSCHOOL And much much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _, _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Keeping brains healthy since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 15 - May 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free monthly newsletter about new ideas, innovations and trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit the website at http://brainmail.nowandnext.com Tell the world about brainmail - forward this to a friend. ------------------------------------------------------------ > Irrational fears 2,978 people were killed by terrorists on 9/11. That same year 701,142 people died of heart disease, 553,768 died of cancer, 101,537 died from accidents, 30,622 committed suicide and 17,330 other people were murdered in the US. Ref: Scientific American Mind (US) > Armed but less dangerous A study by the Human Security Centre (Canada) says that the level of ongoing-armed conflict is 40% down on 1992 and the number of deadly conflicts (wars leading to 1,000 or more deaths) is down 80%. Military coups are also down 60% since 2004 and the body count from genocides declined by 80% between 1989-2001. Ref: Atlantic Monthly (US) > Learning from Mosquitoes How can Mosquitoes puncture your skin and remove blood without causing any pain? The answer is the use of a jagged proboscis. A company called Lightnix in Japan has borrowed this idea and created a pain free needle for diabetics. The needle is jagged and is designed to snap off and dissolve inside the body. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > List of the disappeared Here's a list of things that are disappearing: inheritance, wiring, doorbells, warehousing, punctuation, timed work, street directories, commuting, receptionists, street trees, public parks, dinner parties, music shops, newsprint and fixed telephone lines. Ref: Australian Financial Review (Aus) > Fad of the month: camera tossing Camera tossing is the art of setting your digital camera shutter to open for a couple of seconds and then either throwing the camera in the air or spinning it 360 degrees on a cord. Believe it or not the results are rather good. Look at cameratoss.blogspot.com Ref: The Times (UK) > Word detective: Crimeware No, not Tommy Hilfiger. Crimewear is the term used to describe types of software used by cybercriminals to steal information. Everytime you visit certain websites the programs secretly and silently record your typing thus recording passwords and other information. Ref: New York Times (US) > The Raj in reverse According to the Hindustan Times the British Government is seriously thinking about sending thousands of British civil service government jobs to India. Meanwhile, some Indian companies have started to outsource jobs to - you guessed it - Britain. Ref: Hindustan times (India) > Older workers wanted BMW has established a factory in Leipzig (Germany) that is specifically designed to attract workers aged-45 plus. Ref: Economist (UK) > Pigs in space If people can live in high-rise buildings why not animals? A Dutch architect called Winy Mass has suggested that skyscrapers could be built to house pigs thus bringing agriculture into urban areas and partially solving human overcrowding. Critics will probably call these concentration camps for animals but it's certainly a lateral (vertical) solution. Ref: Doorsofperception.com (UK) > Rope trick Smart Rope is a prototype climbing rope that comes with embedded sensors. If the rope is under too much strain it sends an alert to a handheld receiver. Also useful for boat owners and lorry drivers. Ref: Time (US). > Word detective: Onna-otaku Onna-otaku are Japanese she-nerds - women that love gadgets read comics like Boy's Love and play with action figures. Ref: Wired (US) > iSchool Schools in the US are using iPods to podcast lessons. One teacher is using iPods to teach Spanish vocabulary while students in another class are making podcasts to attract prospective students to their school. Ref: Firstcoastnews.com (US) > Myface Riya.com is a website - currently in beta testing - whose mission is to help users find their face on the Internet. Spooky. Ref: Trendcentral.com (US) > Personalised petals Speaking Roses is a florist with a difference. The company prints personal messages and even images on roses, flower and plants. Ref: Aquarius (UAE) > Innovation then and now According to Tom Kelly (Ideo) Innovation in the nineties was characterised by disruptive technologies that could unseat industry incumbents. In the early noughties innovation is about developing processes that can propagate idea centric corporate cultures. Ref: BusinessWeek (US) > Just think it A team at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Japan) has designed a system that allows people to move a cursor on a computer screen -just by thinking about it. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > A bitter taste Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine (US) claim that a gene variant that is responsible for people liking bitter tastes may also be responsible for people becoming alcoholics. Ref: American Journal of Human Genetics (US) > Word detective: Boomerang migration We've heard of Boomerang Kids (kids that leave home but come back again). Now there's Boomerang Migration. This is the term used to describe the reverse trend of people returning to their native countries because there's more opportunity back home. Ref: Washington Post / futurewire.blogspot.com (US) > Green offices The idea of a daily siesta is being brought up-to-date in Japan as busy urbanites seek instant relaxation. The nascent sleep and relaxation industry includes everything from oxygen therapy to colour therapy. For example, Anubis (a 'relaxation salon' in Osaka) offers an office worker a 25-minute catnap in specially designed sleep capsules while the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company in Tokyo has placed a vegetable garden on top of its headquarters to promote employee welfare. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Big opportunity If the non-profit sector were a country it would be the fifth largest economy on earth according to a study by John Hopkins University (US) Ref: Newsweek (US) > They're watching you (again) German scientists have developed a computer that can tell whether you're in a bad mood. A webcam watches physical gestures while a special glove measures heartbeat and blood pressure. If you are found to be stressed the computer responds with soothing sights and sounds. Ref: The Times (UK) > The cold war A company called Ice House America is set to shake up the ice market in the US by selling ice at half price. Interesting but hardly the hottest idea around. What does make this idea cool though is the fact that the ice comes from vending machines that make their own ice onsite and use a technology to stop individual cubes from freezing together. Ref: kreinest.com > Fast batteries Toshiba is working on a battery for hybrid cars that will recharge in about 60-seconds. Ref: Business Week (US) > Word detective: DNA tourists Tracing where your family came from by looking at registrars of births, marriages and deaths is so last year. If you want to find out where you ancestors came from several thousand years ago you need the services of a company like DNAPrint who will track you back to ancient civilisations and migration patterns. Ref: The Times (UK) > Dumb and dumber Volvo has added a heartbeat sensor to its new S80 flagship model. Apparently research found that Volvo buyers were worried about personal safety so the new device can identify the heartbeat of an intruder hiding in your car. Maybe someone should design something that can detect whether designers of such gadgets have got a brain. Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (Aus) > Cutting edge idea Engineers at Edinburgh University (UK) have transferred the technology used to cut undersea cables in North Sea oilfields to create an alternative to medical saws. The high-powered water jets have the advantage of not creating heat and obviously don't go blunt. In theory healing times should be reduced also. Ref: The Times (UK) ------------------------------------------------------------ : STATSHOTS In the US 31% of African-American families have either nil or negative net worth. Ref: Harper's (US) In 1990 there were 50 regional trade agreements around the world. By 2005 this number had increased to 250. Ref: McKinsey Quarterly (US) The market for organic food in the US is worth around US $15 billion. That's about half the turnover of McDonald's. Ref: Fast Company (US) There are more Wal-Mart employees in the US (1.3 million) than high school teachers. Ref: The Economist (UK) Over 75% of toys at a recent US toy fair contained a microchip Ref: Columbus Ledger Enquirer (US) 1,300,000 people were caught trying to get into the US illegally from Mexico in 2004. Ref: The Atlantic Monthly (US) In the UK 30% of food spend is now outside the home compared to 20% 15 years ago. Ref: Hospitality Trends (US) The number of children in Japan aged 5-9 years old that own mobile phones is predicted to double to 64% by the end of 2007 Ref: Australian Financial Review (Aus) A survey in the UK says that 63% of girls aged 15-19 think that being a glamour model is the ideal profession Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (Aus) According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' School Census there has been a 22% increase in the number of children attending private schools over the past ten years. Ref: The Australian (Aus) 23% of motorists that carry a gun in their car in the US make rude gestures through their windows compared to 16% that do not pack a firearm in their vehicle. Ref: New Scientist (UK) Since 1978 sales of air conditioning units in China have risen from 200 to 48 million. Ref: The Guardian (UK) There are now 691 billionaires on the planet compared to 423 ten years ago. 388 of these are 'self-made'. Ref: Forbes (US) A Gallup survey in the US says that the political views of 71% of 13-17 year-olds are "about the same" as their parents. Ref: Atlantic Monthly (US) According to Google the average Briton now spends 164 minutes every day surfing the Internet versus 148 minutes watching TV. But they would say that wouldn't they? 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