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Innovation
Although it’s often described as the Amazon of China, Alibaba has a radically different business model that does not rely on inventory management.
An unexpected ancient manufacturing strategy may hold the key to designing concrete that lasts for millennia.
5mins
“There’s a sense of crisis today that we did not have in the 1980’s or 90’s” — economist Tyler Cowen on progress in America.
John Templeton Foundation
The authors call it "wildly theoretical" — but let's take a look, anyway.
The new documentary “Make People Better” leans toward a different narrative about gene-editing than we've heard before.
While Costco warehouses may remind shoppers of Walmart, this membership-only retailer has a business model that more closely resembles Amazon or Netflix.
Million Stories
2023 will see an "arms race" in mixed reality hardware and software. This truly will revolutionize our society.
Some solar cells are so lightweight they can sit on a soap bubble.
The shift from steam to electricity was inevitable — but some foresaw it earlier than others.
It will be able to produce 22 million pounds of cultivated meat annually.
We might be dining on insect-based Christmas pies with robot-harvested algae on the side.
Lithium-ion batteries pose challenges for our transition toward renewable energy. Sodium-sulfur batteries might be a solution.
Ada Lovelace’s skills with language, music, and needlepoint all contributed to her pioneering work in computing.
Some analysts predict that Amazon's revenue will double over the next five years.
Million Stories
Shouldn't "flight mode" be obsolete?
Even lifelong technologists and AI researchers like myself were genuinely surprised by the speed and impact of generative AI.
Once water gets more than about 200 feet deep, building on the sea floor is out of the question.
It’s like radar, but with light. Distributed acoustic sensing — DAS — picks up tremors from volcanoes, quaking ice and deep-sea faults, as well as traffic rumbles and whale calls.
Retired astronaut Ron Garan believes that before we can begin solving our problems, we must understand our interrelatedness through the "orbital perspective."
Nuclear fusion has long been seen as the future of energy. As the NIF now passes the breakeven point, how close are we to our ultimate goal?
The most important events in history have nothing to do with politics or wars.
The AI is helping Twitter users plot movies, design meal plans, and more.
For decades, cinemas have earned more from concessions than ticket sales. But can their current business model survive in the streaming age?
Million Stories
Wizbang innovations capture the public’s imagination, but thoughtful, incremental development is often more valuable to those in need.
A group of prominent scientists shares how research has changed them.
6mins
Pessimism sounds smart. Optimism sounds dumb. Don’t fall for it, says Wired’s Kevin Kelly.
John Templeton Foundation
Inequality should be measured in terms of the time it takes for us to earn the money to buy the things we need. And everyone is getting wealthier.
Synthetic milk is not a sci-fi fantasy; it already exists.
Bend it. Stretch it. Use it to conduct electricity.