5 Numbers that will define the next century. Just this year, 83 million more people are alive than last year. That’s like adding a country the size of Germany. By 2100, there will be 11.2 billion of us. By the same year, average life expectancy will increase to 83 years. By 2050, two thirds of people will live in urban areas. Global solar energy consumption jumped by 664% between 2010 and 2015 and is continuing to rapidly grow. About 50% of US jobs are at risk of being lost to automation.
SpaceX successfully relaunches rocket. The first-stage booster, which was previously used on a mission 11 months ago, helped send a telecommunications satellite into orbit from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Traditionally, rockets are expendable - their various segments are discarded and destroyed during an ascent. SpaceX aims to recover Falcon first-stages and fly them multiple times to try to reduce the cost of its operations.
Online calculator accurately predicts risk of heart disease and diabetes. An online metabolic calculator developed by a University of Virginia School of Medicine doctor and his research partner at the University of Florida predicts patients' risk of developing heart disease and diabetes more accurately than traditional methods. The tool's creator hopes it will prompt patients to make lifestyle changes that would spare them the suffering and expense of avoidable illnesses.
Legos and origami inspired next generation materials. The team of researchers from Tianjin University of Technology and Harvard University started designing a basic unit, kind of like the classic 2-by-4 Lego brick, but instead of making them in different colors, gave them different mechanical properties. A stiff one, a soft one, etc. Once designed, the team was able to create larger and more elaborate structures the same way their children were creating multi-colored ships and robots.
Panda personality plays role in breeding. Apparently humans are not the only ones looking for a perfect match. Personality traits, such as exploratory ability, aggressiveness, excitability, fearfulness and general activity, may play a large part in the mating behaviors of the giant panda--and breeding successes or failures may depend on whether a bear's disposition is complementary to that of its prospective mate.
