In this issue:

FOOD FUTURES
MICRO-SIZE ME
PRINT ON DEMAND
ONE HUMP OR TWO?
LIQUID COAL

And much, much more...

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     / __ )/ __ \/   |  /  _/ | / /  |/  /   |  /  _/ / 
    / __  / /_/ / /| |  / //  |/ / /|_/ / /| |  / // / 
   / /_/ / _  _/ ___ |_/ // /|  / /  / / ___ |_/ // /___ 
  /_____/_/ |_/_/  |_/___/_/ |_/_/  /_/_/  |_/___/_____/ 

                      *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 

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  Brainmail email issue 34 - December 2007
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  Brainmail is a free snack-sized newsletter dedicated to 
  current and future trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe go to    
  http://brainmail.nowandnext.com 
  
  Tell the whole world about brainmail
  forward this to a couple of friends.

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  > 'Tis the season for attention-demanding tasks
  If you're feeling 'humbuggy' this Christmas do something
  that demands intense concentration. Research by a Canadian
  professor of psychology has found that people have better
  focus and are better at attention-demanding tasks when
  they are in a sombre or miserable mood. Conversely, people
  that are joyous and happy are better at tasks that require
  a high level of creativity.
  Ref: The Times (UK)
  
  > Food futures
  A restaurant called La Connivance in Paris allows the laws
  of supply and demand to dictate the price of a meal. When an
  order is placed, a computer instantly adjusts the price
  according to demand. Diners can either pay the price set
  when the order is taken or play futures by agreeing to pay
  the price when they finish their meal.
  Ref: MindSet by John Naisbitt.
  
  > Disappearing paper
  Xerox has invented erasable paper. The material changes
  colour when it is exposed to light via an inkless printer
  with any text disappearing after 24 hrs so it can be
  reused.
  Ref: Time (US)
  
  > Face recognition
  NEC has developed a form of face recognition technology
  that can tell who is driving a car from outside the
  vehicle. A camera 'reads' the face of the driver and then
  compares this data with information about who is supposed
  to be driving the vehicle based on information from the
  licence plate or micro chipped national identity cards.
  The technology is already being used by the Chinese
  government to check the identity of people passing between
  Hong Kong and the Shenzhen border.
  Ref: Trend Hunter (Canada)
  
  > They're watching you
  A Danish company called iMotions is developing software
  that tracks facial expressions, thereby helping companies
  to test visual stimuli such as print ads, direct marketing
  material and packaging design. The technology builds on
  methods used by the CIA to spot facial expressions and
  detect emotional signals from subjects and could, in
  theory, be used to manipulate customer responses to
  websites or stores.
  Ref: Red Herring (US)
  
  > Antibiotic resistant ready-meals
  We've seen anti-bacterial chemical compounds incorporated
  into everything from granite worktops, steel kitchen
  knives, plastic chopping boards and plastic rubbish bags
  so why not antibiotic resistant ready-to-eat meals? A
  scientistic called Hua Wang at Ohio State University (US)
  is already working on such an idea.
  Ref: The Times (UK)
  
  > Spy fly in the sky
  A team of scientists funded by the US Defence Advanced
  Projects Agency has developed a spy plane slightly larger
  than the size of a housefly. The 3cm 'plane' features a
  surveillance camera and an on-board chemical detection
  sensor.
  Ref: MIT Technology Review (US)
  
  > Micro-size me
  One way to weigh less is to eat less, so it's interesting
  to see a Chicago-based restaurant called Minnies offering
  slimmed-down, bite-sized portions of traditional
  favourites like burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. 
  The idea isn't new - it's just cocktail party food - but
  offering it in a retail environment is certainly novel.
  Ref: Springwise.com (Neth)
  
  > Is bamboo the new cotton?
  US$10m of bamboo textiles were sold in the US last year
  and bamboo fibre is fast becoming the material du jour for
  a host of products ranging from flooring to baby clothes.
  Ref: Business 2.0 (US)
  
  > Scrap-booking trend 
  What's the most popular craft in America? The answer is
  scrap-booking and it's a US$2.6 billion business that's
  enjoyed by 12% of all US households. No surprise then that
  Martha Stewart has jumped onto the bandwagon and has
  wheeled out a range of tasteful upmarket paper craft
  accessories to embellish what is often rather unkindly
  referred to as a trailer park aesthetic.
  Ref: The Economist (UK)
  
  > A story that unfolds
  One problem with pills that are easy to swallow is that
  they can pass through the body too fast for the medication
  to have a lasting effect. One solution, proposed by a
  small Jerusalem based company called Intec Pharma, is an
  'accordion pill' that unfolds and thus becomes anchored
  inside the stomach. Clever stuff.
  Ref: Business 2.0 (US)
  
  > Unacceptable behaviour
  According to a poll, the most shocking public behaviours
  in Britain include nudity (37%), wearing a hoodie (12%),
  displays of affection (11%), breast feeding (10%), having
  a bad ringtone (8%), arguing (8%), drinking alcohol (7%),
  dropping litter (3%) and smoking (2%).
  Ref: The Times (UK)
  
  > Print on demand
  A company called Ondemandbooks.com has created a machine
  that prints books almost instantaneously. The book 'ATM'
  prints a 300-page book in around 3 minutes for around US$3
  per copy
  Ref: Time (US)
  
  > Who wrote it?
  A group of researchers at the University of Adelaide (Aus)
  has developed a statistical approach that can be used to
  identity whether a written work is the product of a
  specific author. The technique uses what's called
  inter-word spacing - the frequency and specific placing of
  certain words throughout a text - to identify a signature
  that is unique to each author.
  Ref: Prospect (UK)
  
  > Sideways books
  This has got to be one of the silliest inventions of all
  time. A company called Bed Books has published a series of
  books in horizontal versions. The idea is that sideways
  text is easier to read when you're lying down in bed.
  Barking mad.
  Ref: The Times (UK)
  
  > One hump or two?
  An African company (Vital Camel milk) is attempting to
  sell camel milk in Europe. The pitch is that camel milk
  has 10 times more iron that cow's milk, although whether
  people will swallow this fact remains to be seen.
  Nevertheless, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
  predicts that camel milk products will be a US$10 million
  market by 2016.
  Ref: Business 2.0 (US)
  
  > Food for thought
  The total number of overweight people on the planet has
  overtaken the number of underweight and malnourished
  people for the first time in history. There are now over 1
  billion overweight people (out of a global population of
  6.5 billion) compared with 800 million people that do not
  have enough to eat.
  Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK).
  
  > Hidden value
  An 8% rise in reported street crime in the UK maybe the
  result of people walking around with more goods on their
  person. The average Briton now carries goods worth GBP
  £851 according to a study by Zurich insurance. Top of the
  list are Londoners who carry around £1,043 worth of
  MP3players, jewellery, cash, phones and watches, while
  students walk around with goods worth £690. Surprisingly,
  even the unemployed manage to carry £630 of goods about
  their person
  Ref: The Guardian (UK)
  
  > Liquid coal
  The practice of liquefying coal (essentially turning solid
  coal into a liquid) dates back to the 1920s but at US$45 a
  barrel the technique has not been economically feasible -
  until now. The technique allows cars, trains and even
  planes that were built to consume oil to be run on coal
  instead. In China there are US$25 billion worth of liquid
  coal investments already in the pipeline.
  Ref: Red Herring (US).
  
  > Robot relationships
  A scientist has predicted that humans will one day marry
  robots. In a paper entitled 'Intimate Relationships with
  Artificial Partners', David Levy writes: "Trends in
  robotics and shifting attitudes on marriage are likely to
  result in sophisticated robots that will eventually be
  seen as suitable marriage partners".
  Ref: ananova.com (UK)
  
  > VC stats
  According to a report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the
  National Venture Capital Association (US) the three
  sectors that attracted the most investment in 2006 were
  software, biotechnology and telecommunications.
  Ref: Red Herring (US)
  
  > New teeth technology
  Toothbrush maker Oral B has launched a new hi-tech
  toothbrush with built-in "satnav". The brush transmits
  information by radio to a separate LCD display telling you
  where you should brush. Do we really need this?
  Ref: Daily Mail (UK)
  
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: STATSHOTS 
  
  In China 12 million people have credit cards out of a
  population of 1,300 million.
  Ref: The Economist (UK)
  
  In the 1850s and 1860s the British army spent more money
  fighting the Maoris in New Zealand than it did fighting
  the whole of the Crimean war (1853-1856).
  Ref: Conde Nast Traveller (UK)
  
  Global gambling revenue is estimated to be US$82 billion
  and it is predicted that this figure will increase by over
  50% by 2010.
  Ref: New Scientist (UK)
  
  Trade between India and China was worth US$2 billion a
  year in the year 2000. By the end of 2007 the figure was
  approximately US$2 billion per month.
  Ref: The Economist (UK)
  
  Last year 177 men in the UK had cosmetic surgery to reduce
  the size of their breasts.
  Ref: Harper's (US)
  
  64% of Americans prefer shopping in real stores to their
  online equivalents.
  Ref: Red Herring (US)
  
  Before the year 2000, no Indian company had made a major
  foreign acquisition. By 2007 there were more than 100.
  Ref: The Economist (UK)
  
  83% of children aged 8-18 own a video game player.
  Ref: New Scientist (UK)
  
  In 2008, healthcare spending will represent 10.8% of global GDP.
  Ref: The Economist (UK)
  
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: QUOTE OF THE MONTH
  
  "To make an apple pie from scratch, 
  you first need to invent the universe" 
  
  Carl Sagan

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: STILL HUNGRY?

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 www.nowandnext.com (and yes, that's free too).

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