Lifeboat Foundation

• Second Livestock is a unique application of virtual reality (VR) that could change animal husbandry and livestock farming.
• Developed by design professor Austin Stewart, this VR free-range farm world is a safe haven for chickens.

Free-range livestock is going to the next level, thanks to a unique, if seemingly silly idea that has recently gone viral. Second Livestock is a free range world for chickens in virtual reality (VR). And yes, just like most of VR’s current applications, it actually works like a game — a massively-multiplayer one full of chickens and with no AI bots.

Scientists’ ability to create organisms through synthetic biology is getting easier and cheaper fueling the start of a new era in biology. Synthetic biology has already lead to some innovations such as lab-grown meat, advancement in medicine, and even helping to bring back extinct species.

The price of lab-grown meat keeps dropping.

Future of farming? Driverless tractors and drones attempt to grow crops without humans setting foot on the land in a world first…

Drones are also being used to monitor the crops so agronomists don’t have to enter the field to carry out their observations.

Continue reading “Hands-free farming: Autonomous tractors and drones grow cereal crops” »

• The UN will be using the blockchain Ethereum to distribute funds from the World Food Program to more than 10,000 people in Jordan this summer.
• The computer network is making humanitarian giving simpler and more secure than ever.

Technology has the power to improve people’s lives — and not just by supplying flying cars to millionaires. The computer networks that brought us Bitcoins are advancing in ways that will make humanitarian giving simpler and more secure than ever.

A win win, assuming it can be manufactured en mass and at a reasonable price.

A University of Central Florida (UCF) chemistry professor has invented a revolutionary way to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from air by triggering artificial photosynthesis in a synthetic material — breaking down carbon dioxide while also producing fuel for energy.

Continue reading “New artificial photosynthesis process converts CO2 in air to fuel” »

Vomit.

It might be wise to look away now if you are eating or have a weak stomach, but scientists have discovered that ingesting bogies is good for teeth, and overall health.

Scientists at a number of universities including Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say parents should not discourage their children from picking their noses because they contain ‘a rich reservoir of good bacteria.’

Continue reading “Eating bogies is good for teeth and overall health, scientists conclude” »

Soylent green anyone?

The startup, whose products are popular among busy Silicon Valley techies, has issued four recalls in the last 18 months.

Orchard owners say they need automation because seasonal farm labor is getting harder to come by.