MIT News: Jan/Feb 2012

TR: Jul/Aug 2006 PDF issue

Technology Review: July/August 2006

It's Not Too Late: Special Report on Energy

The energy technologies that might forestall global warming already exist. Cleaner coal, smarter nuclear, bioengineered ethanol, and more.

The Messenger

The best scientists, scrutinizing atmosphere, ice, earth, and sea, say global warming is approaching a tipping point. But we still have time to keep it from reaching catastrophic levels.

The Oil Frontier

Don't expect the scarcity of fossil fuels to drive us toward alternative energy sources anytime soon: we're getting smarter about finding and extracting oil.

The Dirty Secret

Better technologies exist for extracting coal, a major source of carbon dioxide emissions. The challenge is getting people to adopt them.

The Best Nuclear Option

The U.S. Energy Department's fuel-recycling initiative could be a distraction from a more achievable goal: reviving today's nuclear industry and averting some carbon emissions in the short term.

Redesigning Life to Make Ethanol

Genetically engineered organisms that more efficiently produce ethanol from cheap and abundant sources of biomass, such as agricultural waste, could make it cost competitive.

It's Not Too Early

We know where we must go eventually. Why not head there now?

The Un-Coal

By investing in energy efficiency, we could vastly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and save money.

Seeing Your Pain

Learning to consciously alter brain activity through MRI feedback could help control pain and other disorders.

Homo Conexus

A veteran technology commentator attempts to live entirely on Web 2.0.

From the Editor

The Alternative

Catastrophic climate change is not inevitable. We possess the technologies that could forestall global warming. Why can't we use them?

28 Years Ago in TR

Energy from the Sea

Are we ready for a 19th-century idea?

Photo Essay

Brazil's Bounty

Life is sweet for the world's leading ethanol exporter.

Reviews

Is Defeating Aging a Dream?

A panel of independent scientist and technologists reviews criticism of Aubrey de Grey's antiaging proposals.

The Terabyte Zone

A thousand gigabytes of hard-drive space is a blessing. But how will we manage that much data?

Vinge's Singular Vision

Cyberfiction's founder returns with a preview of our virtual future.

Notebooks

DOE's Blurred Nuclear Vision

A consistent strategy is the key to a successful nuclear future.

Technology Design or Evolution?

The two processes for building complex systems are very different.

Engineering Biology

The time is now for developing biology into a full-fledged engineering field.

Q&A

Seth Lloyd

Is the universe a quantum computer?

Hack

Lego Mindstorms NXT

A simple but versatile robotics platform for hobbyists and educators.

Demo

Biology and the Engineer

Subra Suresh is borrowing tools from physics to understand nanoscale changes in diseased cells.

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