NEW NANO PRODUCTS
HIT THE MARKET
Nanotechnology is
churning out new consumer products at a rate of three or four a week,
according to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.
There are now more than
600 nanoproducts in the project's registry, including nanowhitening
toothpaste (containing calcium peroxide nanoparticles), automotive parts
using nanocomposites, and even golf clubs made with nanotech-derived
materials.
The biggest category for
nanoproducts is health and fitness items, such as cosmetics and sunscreens,
which represent 60% of the products in the inventory. Sales of products
incorporating nanotechnology reached an estimated $88 billion in 2007 and
could reach $2.6 trillion by 2014, according to Lux Research.
"Public perceptions
about risks—real and perceived—can have large economic consequences," says
David Rejeski, the project director. "How consumers respond to these early
products in food, electronics, health care, clothing, and cars is a litmus
test for broader market acceptance of nanotechnologies in the future."
SOURCE:
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars,
(alt:
www.wilsoncenter.org/nano).
WILL
SUPER-BUGS OUTLAST US?
Bacteria
may eventually prove to be Earth's greatest evolutionary success story.
While humans scramble to arm themselves with new antibiotic weapons to fight
deadly microbes, we are likely to lose the war in the long run, according to
Lester A. Mitscher, a University Distinguished Professor of Medicinal
Chemistry at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.
Miracle drugs like
penicillin have saved countless lives, especially during World War II, but
the downside is that, because these antibiotics were deemed so safe and
effective, they were overprescribed, giving the target microbes the
opportunity to evolve their way around the weapons aimed at them, Mitscher
notes in the JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS.
Drug-resistant
"super-bugs" like MRSA (Methacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) are
making headlines as hospitals become breeding grounds and patients become
all-too-available victims.
Mitscher urges drug
corporations to develop antibiotics that not only kill the immediate
microbial enemies, but also inhibit their ability to mutate. This would
allow patients' own immune systems to help battle infections. Unfortunately,
he notes, the economics of the pharmaceutical industry has slowed the pace
of antibiotic discovery that could achieve these goals.
SOURCE:
University of Kansas.
|
THE THIRD
ANNUAL PROTEUS "FUTURES" ACADEMIC WORKSHOP, 16-18 SEPTEMBER 2008, AND "CALL
FOR PAPERS"
The United
States Army War College, the National Intelligence University, and The
Global Futures Forum will sponsor the Third Annual Proteus "Futures"
Academic Workshop from 16-18 September 2008 at the Center for Strategic
Leadership (CSL), Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
The
objective of this year’s workshop is to assist in ongoing foresight efforts
by bringing together experts from the military, national security and
intelligence communities, academia, and the private sector to present papers
on global trends that will offer significant challenges and opportunities
for United States and its partners well into the 21st century and to
exchange ideas and showcase studies on "futuring" methods.
For more
information, visit the Proteus
Web site, or
contact Mr. Bill Wimbish, (telephone 717-245-3366); or
Mr. Pat Cohn (telephone 717-245-3196). |
SOLAR ENERGY MAY BE COMPETITIVE IN 10 YEARS
Solar energy
technologies need about a decade more of research and development investment
to become an economically competitive alternative to petroleum, according to
Caltech chemistry professor Harry Gray.
"Solar can potentially
provide all the electricity and fuel we need to power the planet," Gray
says. "The holy grail of solar research is to use sunlight efficiently and
directly to 'split' water into its elemental constituents—hydrogen and
oxygen—and then use the hydrogen as a clean fuel."
The biggest challenge to
meeting this goal is reducing costs enough so that shifting away from fossil
fuels to renewable sources of electricity makes economic sense. The
breakthrough will be when the cost of photovoltaic energy can be reduced to
about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, Gray told a recent meeting of the American
Chemical Society.
SOURCE:
American Chemical Society.
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Americans with low
income and education levels are less likely to have Internet access than
their wealthier, better-educated counterparts, but they spend more time
online when they do have access.
Concerns about an
economic and digital underclass have led activists to urge the government to
subsidize Internet access for poor families; research led by Jeff Prince,
assistant professor of applied economics and management at Cornell
University, suggests that there may be social and economic benefits to such
a policy.
Like affluent Internet
users, low-income families use the Internet for researching products they
may purchase, gathering health information, and reading the news. However,
the lower-income users spend more time communicating (e-mail, chat) and
gaming.
"From the perspective of
an economist, some of these activities benefit not only those partaking in
them, but other members of society as well, making it possibly in the
government's interest to encourage them," says Prince. "For sure they may
use it for things we don't care about, like chat and games, but we also
predict that a decent proportion would use it for things we might think
socially beneficial. We find some argument for a subsidy."
SOURCE:
Cornell University.
EDITOR'S QUERY: WHY ARE YOU HERE?
When I started working
at the World Future Society, one of the first authors I worked with was
Lester Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute and now president of the
Earth Policy Institute. He wrote eloquently and urgently in THE FUTURIST
about the need to make more sustainable choices in our lifestyles.
I took what Brown wrote
to heart when I decided to move to an apartment building that was within
walking distance of the office. I do own a car, but I drive less than 4,000
miles a year. I feel that this choice was a healthy one for myself and is in
some small way contributing to a cleaner future environment—at least in my
own neighborhood.
We at the World Future
Society are looking for other stories about how the study of the future,
membership in the Society, or participation at a conference made a
difference. In short, why are you here, thinking about the future? Why does
the future matter?
Tell us (in about 500
words or fewer) either a personal story or an anecdote out of the history of
futuring that inspired you to take a deeper and more active interest in the
future—a story to help others see the future with new eyes.
This isn't a contest. We
simply believe that stories told by the voices of experience will help show
young people and other potential members exactly why thinking about the
future is so vital to individuals and to the world right now.
TELL YOUR
STORY to editor Cindy Wagner.
or
post a comment.
CLICK OF THE MONTH:
HEALTH CARE INNOVATIONS EXCHANGE (www.innovations.ahrq.gov)
Sharing information,
techniques, and inspiration is vital to the improvement of professional
services. That is the philosophy behind the U.S. Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality's online repository for health-care innovations.
Examples of innovations
described on the new exchange:
* Administrators for the
Iowa Department of Public Health used tools and resources developed by the
Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment to overhaul the
department's substance-abuse services.
* An intensive-care unit
team shares its communications protocol for connecting staff, patients, and
family members in setting daily goals for patients' care and treatment. The
regular communication helps ensure progress toward meeting treatment goals.
* A nursing-home care
model, known as the "Wellspring Model," is described, showing how nursing
homes can come together in a learning collaborative to exchange staff
performance data and conduct group training to enhance resident care.
An excellent resource
for health-care providers, the site allows registered viewers to read
articles and expert commentaries, sign up for the e-mail newsletter, browse
the Innovations Exchange by subject, and participate in topic-specific
discussions.
NEWS FROM THE FUTURIST COMMUNITY
* EXPLORING THE FUTURE
COURSE: FTR–100 Exploring the Future is three-credit-hour course offering a
cross-disciplinary investigation of the future in a changing world. The
course is offered at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland, July 7
through August 12. Section 870 of the course is online, and Section 840 is a
"hybrid" course, led by Stephen F. Steele, incorporating participation in
the World Future Society's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., and online
modules before and after the meeting. (Conference registration and
travel/lodging arrangements are separate from tuition and are the
registrant's responsibility.)
DETAILS and REGISTRATION.
* THE WAY WE WILL BE 50
YEARS FROM TODAY: This new book edited by longtime 60 MINUTES anchor Mike
Wallace is a collection of essays by "60 of the World's Greatest Minds" who
"Share Their Visions of the Next Half-Century." Among the diverse and
esteemed contributors are Internet "father" Vint Cerf, children's rights
advocate Marion Wright Edelman, geneticist and Human Genome Project leader
Francis S. Collins, and World Future Society President Timothy C. Mack. The
just-released book, published by Thomas Nelson, is available for $24.99.
DETAILS:
www.mikewallacebook.com/
ORDER the book:
|
WFS NEWS
55 TRENDS SHAPING
TOMORROW'S WORLD
This special WFS report, prepared by Forecasting International's Marvin J.
Cetron and Owen Davies, is the latest update of an ongoing study four
decades in the making.
Among the trends featured in the report, originally excerpted in the
March-April and May-June 2008 issues of THE FUTURIST: The world's population
will double within the next four decades. Important medical advances will
continue to appear almost daily. The global economy is growing more
integrated. Future seniors will be healthier and wealthier.
55 TRENDS NOW SHAPING TOMORROW'S WORLD
is now available in either print or PDF format for $10 ($9 for Society
members).
DETAILS. |
FUTURIST UPDATE: News &
Previews from the World Future Society is an e-mail newsletter published
monthly as a supplement to THE FUTURIST magazine. Copyright © 2008,
World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, MD
20814, USA. Telephone 1-301-656-8274; e-mail
mailto: info@wfs.org ; Web
site http://www.wfs.org .
Editor: Cindy Wagner,
mailto:cwagner@wfs.org
Senior Editor: Patrick
Tucker, mailto:ptucker@wfs.org
Network Administrator: Jeff
Cornish, mailto:jcornish@wfs.org
Vice President,
Membership/Conference Operations: Susan Echard,
mailto: sechard@wfs.org
To subscribe, enter your
e-mail at
http://www.wfs.org/futuristupdate.htm
To unsubscribe or change
your e-mail address, send an e-mail to
jcornish@wfs.org with "unsubscribe" or "change
address" in the subject line.
Submit feedback: to
cwagner@wfs.org
The WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan scientific and educational association with a
global membership. Regular membership in the Society, including a
subscription to THE FUTURIST, is $49 per year, or $20 for full-time students
under age 25. Professional and Institutional membership programs are also
offered; contact Society headquarters for details:
http://www.wfs.org.
