In this issue: DNA JEWELLERY BIOMETRIC PHONES R&D STATISTICS SLOWING DOWN IN JAPAN MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY And much much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _, _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Keeping brains healthy since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 19 - September 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. ------------------------------------------------------------ > Of me to you A company in Japan (Eiwa Industry Co) has launched a range of pendants in which the DNA of a loved one is kept. The cost of a pendant is ´ 50,000 which includes the cost of the DNA extraction. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > R&D funding In 1981 companies with 25,000 or more employees were responsible for 70% of R&D expenditure. By 2001 the figure had fallen to 40% with 25% of spend coming from companies with less than 1,000 employees. Ref: Cnet (US) > Seen to be honest Psychology researchers in the UK have found a positive correlation between honesty and being watched. Nothing surprising about that, except that the research involved placing a picture of watching eyes above an office 'honesty box' for tea and coffee. In cases where the photograph was used the amount of money placed in the box increased by almost 300% compared to boxes without the picture. Ref: New Scientist (UK) > Biometric phones Japanese phone company NTT DoMoCo is launching a range of mobile (cell) phones will built-in biometric identity authentication in response to the rapidly increasing use of mobile phones as payment devices. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Ordering pizza in the future For fans of the video on youtube.com called ordering pizza in the future this will come as no surprise. The European Union is funding the development of something euphemistically called a 'virtual healthcare assistant'. This is essentially an electronic nanny that will send personalised health warnings and advice direct to your mobile phone when you're in a restaurant or a supermarket. Ref: The Times (UK) > Slowing down In Japan analog systems such as vinyl records and wet film photography are enjoying a resurgence of popularity, especially amongst young people. Reasons include the retro design of such objects and the change of pace created by using such technologies. The slowing down trend is even influencing sales of fountain pens, which are increasing at a rate of between 10-40% year-on-year in some stores. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Sandwich course Faced with a recurring problem of non-attendance during exam periods, a school in the UK has come up with the idea of giving away bacon sandwiches if students show up on time. 99.4% of eligible students opted for the incentive. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Don't laugh Why are some women attracted to quiet, silent types of men? According to recent research the reason could be because high levels of testosterone (an indication of fertility) suppress the part of the brain that is responsible for making men smiley, funny and sociable. Ref: The Times (UK) > Hybrid humans? Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany have fused together living human brain tissue with a computer chip. Potential uses for such technology include control systems for artificial limbs. Ref: Journal of Neurophysiology (US) > Sins of the father? In Washington DC 19% of children live in households headed by grandparents and grandparents are raising more than 2.5 million children in the US (up 86% since 1990). Grandparental involvement in child rearing is nothing new but the rapid rise of grandparents as primary care-givers is raising a number of issues. For example, should grandparents be paid child support and should parents who have raised dysfunctional children be allowed to look after their offspring? Ref: New York Times (US) > Word detective: Slivercasting Slivercasting is a term used to describe niche TV shows that are delivered to tiny audiences via broadband - for example a 24-hour needlework channel. The trend is an example of media fragmentation and also fits nicely with long tail theory. Ref: New York Times (US) > Unkind beds The Paramount Bed Co in Japan has introduced a bed for elderly people that is deliberately uncomfortable. The idea is that some beds make people with minor disabilities too comfortable so they never get out of bed. As a result their muscles degenerate and they become permanently bed ridden. The uncomfortable bed is partly a response to a government initiative stressing the importance of rehabilitating elderly people with non-serious medical conditions. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Toothpaste that removes hunger A company in the US has introduced a toothpaste called White Glo Crave Away which allegedly curbs hunger cravings whilst making your teeth glow pearly white. Ref: Iconoculture (US) > Word detective: Blended dogs A blended dog is a dog that's been crossed with another - but probably shouldn't have been. Hence we have labradoodles (a labrador + poodle mash-up), chi-poos (chihuahua + poodle) and peek-a-poos (a Pekinese poodle cross). Ref: The Times (UK) > Molecular gastronomy A fad eating up everything in front of it in culinary circles is molecular gastronomy. The idea is a mash up between science and cookery and the main proponents are Ferran Adria at El Bulli in Spain and Heston Blumenthal at the Fat duck in England. Apart from a knowledge of chemistry and physics key ingredients include a dash of humour. For example, at the Fat Duck customers can eat parsnip cereal with parsnip milk (served from its own cereal box) while at El Bulli you can eat replica Oreo cookies made from black olives. Ref: Saab magazine (Sweden) > Depressive reading A survey by YouGov in the UK has found that almost 90% of people in Britain have suffered from at least one period of depression. Depression costs the UK economy around GB £10 billion a year. Ref: The Times (UK) > Downsides of the DIY media trend Once upon a time anyone couldn't make a record. Most people didn't have a recording studio at home and it took time and money to record a song. Consequently, if you made a record it meant that someone thought it was pretty good. Nowadays anyone can make a record and the only person that needs to like it is the person making it. The same is true with book publishing. Sites like Blurb.com allow anyone to publish a book. This is theoretically great, but it also means an explosion of mediocre content, which then has to be navigated and filtered. Ref: Various including Springwise.com (Netherlands) > Virtue victims Researchers at Columbia University (US) claim that not giving into temptation makes people miserable later in life. The theory (known as hyperopia) says that although people regret vice in the short-term, virtue is regretted more as people get older. Ref: Journal of Consumer Research (US) > Always available A survey in the UK has found that 2% of women and 8% of men would answer their mobile phone during a funeral. 26% of women and 43% of men would also answer their phone during 'intimate moments' with a partner. Ref: The Times (UK) ------------------------------------------------------------ : STATSHOTS In 2001 US companies spent more on civil litigation than research and development. Ref: Washington Post (US). In 1905, 33% of patent applications in the US were to do with bicycles. Ref: RSA Journal (UK) There are currently 1.5 billion devices (approximately) connected to the Internet. By 2012 there will be 14 billion. Ref: Forrester Research (US) People in the UK eat 50% of all the potato crisps (chips) consumed in Europe. Ref: BBC (UK) In 2005 Britain graduated 24,000 engineers. In China the figure was 300,000 while in India the number was 450,000. Ref: Business Week (US) 74% of Chinese believe that a free market is the best way to run the world. In France the figure is 36%. Ref: Harpers (US) The percentage of the earth's surface affected by drought has more than doubled over the last thirty years. Ref: Time (US) By 2007 around 80% of US households with a digital camera will have over 5,000 images stored on their home computer. Ref: Corel (US) By the year 2020, one fifth of American GDP will be spent on healthcare. Ref: The Economic Intelligence Unit (UK) The US congress has mandated that 33% of US military vehicles should be autonomous (unmanned but not remote controlled) by the year 2015. Ref: Harvard Business Review (US) 50% of Latin Americans would accept a dictator if the result was a higher standard of living. Ref: Mckinsey Quarterly (US) 32.3% of the US workforce was a member of a union in 1954. Fifty years later the figure was 12.5% although the absolute number was almost unchanged (15.8 million versus 15.4 million). Ref: Red Herring (US) ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "The future, according to some scientists, will be exactly like the past, only far more expensive" John Sladek ------------------------------------------------------------ : LOVE IT? THEN SHARE IT Do you know someone whose brain is not being fully exercised? Someone that is snacking on media that isn't terribly satisfying. Floss their brain and brighten up their day with a copy of brainmail in their inbox - forward this to a friend. ------------------------------------------------------------ : SUBSCRIBE TO BRAINMAIL Brainmail is a free monthly newsletter about new ideas, innovations and trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit the website at http://brainmail.nowandnext.com ------------------------------------------------------------