November 2015
TUBE TRAVEL MAY BE NEXT STEP IN TRANSPORTATION
Image courtesy of listverse.com


Tesla Motors' Elon Musk's futuristic vision of a passenger capsule transportation system is one step closer to reality. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), the company developing the tube-transport-in-a-vacuum system, announced it will begin construction on a five-mile test track in Quay Valley, California, sometime next year at a cost of about $100 million.  The company says it now has about 400 "team members" on the project and is in the process of acquiring the necessary permits to begin selecting builders. 

HOSPITAL FARMS PROVIDING HEALTHIER PLANT-BASED FOODS TO PATIENTS
St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has partnered with the Rodale Institute to improve the food on their hospital menus. And they mean business. The hospital, part of a six-campus network, now runs a 10-acre organic farm that produces tens of thousands of pounds of produce -- 30 varieties of fruits and vegetables -- that are served to patients and sold at weekly farmers markets on several hospital campuses.

"Our mission is to provide great healthcare and part of that is educating patients about the benefits of a plant-based, organic diet," says Ed Nawrocki, a St. Luke's Hospital administrator. "One of the best ways to do that is to lead by example and show them how delicious produce grown on our farm tastes." 
THE PERILOUS AGE OF BACKYARD SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY IS HERE
Leading international  scientists are calling for a moratorium on gene editing following the publication in April of a paper by Chinese researchers about their attempts to edit the DNA of a human embryo. 
 
The topic dominated the covers of many major publications recently -- from Wired, to The Economist and MIT Technology Review.
 
"The technique is revolutionary, and like all revolutions, it's perilous...and  could allow genetics researchers to conjure everything anyone has ever worried they would-designer babies, invasive mutants, species-specific bioweapons, and a dozen other apocalyptic sci-fi tropes. It brings with it all-new rules for the practice of research in the life sciences. But no one knows what the rules are-or who will be the first to break them."
-- Wired

Vivek Wadhwa, a fellow at Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University, and a distinguished fellow at Singularity University, noted in the Washington Post that "we  are entering an age of backyard synthetic biology that should worry everybody."
Read More

FROM THE BLOGS
FAQ: Talking to Educators About Teaching the Future
By Peter Bishop
I had lunch with a colleague today who made a generous contribution to Teach the Future.  As a result, she earned the right to designate a teacher for coaching on teaching the future.  She is close to her daughter's high school, and wants to designate someone, but does not know how to approach the teacher or the principal with this opportunity.  "Who is this for?" she asked.  "Is it for a specific subject?  Or for a specific type of teacher?"  Excellent questions.  Despite having presented and written a lot about Teach the Future over the last six months, I realized that there was no one place that says how a person from the community could be talking to educators (principals or teachers) about Teach the Future.  So that's what this blog is about-an FAQ of sorts.

Saurage Research is a full-service marketing research firm. Which means we not only provide the answers - accurate, usable data - but we package it in a way that you can understand it. And act on it. We've been around since 1987, providing relevant revelations to grateful clients in many industries. We've helped advertising agencies redirect foundering campaigns. We've helped business-to-business clients define and reach new customers. We've helped energy companies tap into new markets and have given healthcare companies a shot in the arm.


To find out how we can help you with your marketing research needs email us at [email protected] or call us at 1-800-828-2943.
Curated by Pamela McConathy Schied, MS, Futures Studies in Commerce, College of Technology, University of Houston; Principal, Foresight Communications Group,  [email protected].
Visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

IN THIS ISSUE
  BULLETS

Cancer Cure?
One of the most highly valued private biotech startups of all time ($3 billion) has no revenue, no market presence to speak of, 140 employees, and is betting on a scientific idea that's not universally accepted-that cancer is caused by rare and powerful cancer stem cells.
technologyreview.com


What the Corporation of 2050 Might Look Like
Using a common tool of futurists, the scenario, Futurist Stowe Boyd crafted several scenarios of what the corporation of 2050 might look like. He calls them " stories about the future that don't need to be true, but help us think about the future in a structured way." He started with several forces that are likely to have a major impact on the world of business by that time -- economic inequality, climate change and "artificials" (AI and robots). He concluded that in order "for our children and grandchildren to live happy, meaningful lives, and for civilization to prosper and evolve, one of his scenarios, the Human Spring, must occur. Soon."
 medium.com
 

Architect/Artist Designs Amazing Tent That Collects Water and Stores Solar Energy
Jordanian-Canadian architect, designer and artist Abeer Seikaly was recently given the Lexus Design Award for designing a multipurpose tent inspired by snake skin and traditional cultural skills such as weaving. With refugees in mind, she designed the tent to be weatherproof, strong, but lightweight for easy transport. Solar energy can be collected from the fabric and stored in a battery for use at night. Seikaly reports the tent is currently under development and in the prototype stage. 
 1millionwomen.com
 

What 25 Futurists are Blogging About
If you follow these 25 blogging futurists, be warned! You may experience a shift in how you currently think about the future. One thing is certain, change is ahead, whether you want it or not. The worlds of work, health, education, relationships, technology and many other areas are on the cusp of major disruption. 
lonemind.com

Germany's Second Largest City Vows to be Car-Free in 20 Years
Hamburg, Germany is quickly constructing pedestrian and cycle paths connecting the city's existing green spaces with a goal of covering 40 percent of the city over the next 15-20 years. City leaders say global warming and rising sea levels are motivating them to do their part in lowering CO2 emissions. The paths also offer the health benefit of enabling its population to be more physically active.
 inhabitat.com

The 3D Future of Healthcare Gets FDA Boost
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the country's first prescription drug manufactured using 3D printing. Doctors are already using customized, 3D printing to create implants for patients with injuries and are exploring a wide range of other applications, such as printing human tissue and even whole organs. Three years ago, for example, one newborn received a 3-D-printed splint to keep his airway from collapsing.  
wapo.st
UPCOMING EVENTS
WISDOM 2.0 CONFERENCES
Bringing together over 2,400 people from 20 countries, Wired magazine says the Wisdom 2.0 conference series is "Where the technology and contemplative communities... hash out the best ways to incorporate these tools into our lives -- and keep them from taking over."

Wisdom 2.0 Main Event
February 20-22, 2016
San Francisco, CA
Wisdom 2.0 addresses the great challenge of our age: to not only live connected to one another through technology, but to do so in ways that are beneficial to our own well-being, effective in our work, and useful to the world.

June 5-8, 2016
New Orleans, LA
The IABC World Conference heads to fabulous New Orleans next year, hosting its annual assembly with over a thousand top communication professionals from around the World. 
QUICK LINKS