Five Interesting Things: Today’s Scan Hits
Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today.
- A group of DIY biologist and entrepreneurs are attempting to develop plants that glow, in research to be conducted in a citizen biotech lab and funded by Kickstarter. The plants might eventually serve as useful light sources; in the shorter term the project is expected to raise awareness of DIY biotech and test regulatory boundaries.
- Tweaks to “Iron Man III” show how Chinese market power will increasingly shape global products and the actions of multinational companies.
- GE is rapidly adopting additive manufacturing (i.e. 3D printing) processes for fabricating a variety aerospace components. Additive manufacturing processes can enable more cost effective fabrication for small batch production, and can dramatically reduce the waste of expensive alloys and metals during fabrication.
- Scientists from the University of Manchester in the UK have developed a “graphene paint” that generates electricity from sunlight. This paint could eventually be used to help power buildings and houses.
- Ambrose Evans-Pritchard rounds up some of the negative economic and demographic factors that may impede China’s growth in the coming decades.