<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?><!-- Copyright (C) 1996-2012 - EWEEK.COM -->
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>Global Challenges - RSS Feed</title>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com</link>
<description>Global Challenges news - RSS Feed</description>
<language>en-us</language>
<lastBuildDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:37:43 -0500</lastBuildDate>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:37:43 -0500</pubDate>
<item><title>Telehealth: A Prescription for Improved Health Care</title>
<pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2011 08:32:40 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Telehealth-A-Prescription-for-Improved-Health-Care/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[New telehealth solutions are enabling the medical community to save lives while cutting costs and eliminating the need to painfully and expensively transport patients.   -  Telehealth solutions, which equip
doctors to communicate and collaborate with other medical providers, are
providing health care professionals and patients with a new tool to combat
sickness and disease. 
In addition, telehealth solutions bring
experts to rural areas or poverty-stricken regions...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Telehealth-A-Prescription-for-Improved-Health-Care/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Government Project Dedicated to Increasing Biofuel Efficiency</title>
<pubDate>Wed, 04 May 2011 07:22:45 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Government-Project-Dedicated-to-Increasing-Biofuel-Efficiency/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The Department of Energy has just unveiled a $30 million project dedicated to making biofuels cheaper and more efficient. The Plants Engineered To Replace Oil (PETRO) project aims to make crops like soybeans and corn easier to convert into fuel, while reducing the displacement of food crops by biofuel crops.   -  Biofuels promise to reduce
our dependency on fossil fuels and find useful ways to
reuse waste products, but the expense of such alternative fuels inhibits
them from becoming more widespread. Now, the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced
Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has unveiled a ...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Government-Project-Dedicated-to-Increasing-Biofuel-Efficiency/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Harvesting Water from the Air</title>
<pubDate>Fri, 29 Apr 2011 06:53:37 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Harvesting-Water-from-the-Air/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Fog-harvesting devices bring clean water supplies to people in rural, arid areas. Now, a student at MIT has improved the technology behind these devices, which could soon be used worldwide.   -  While the world's water crisis is driving
energy-efficient technologies, it's also encouraging new inventions for
harvesting clean water. An innovative device from an MIT student could soon be
used in water-starved areas to harvest liquid from fog. 
Shreerang Chhatre, an MIT graduate student, wa...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Harvesting-Water-from-the-Air/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Cyber-Threats Spike, but IT Lagging </title>
<pubDate>Fri, 29 Apr 2011 06:43:09 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Cyber-Threats-Spike-but-IT-Lagging-/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The number and severity of cyber-attacks are on a swift uptick, but IT's response is lagging and the problem is only getting worse.   -  Cyber-attacks are skyrocketing and vulnerabilities are multiplying, yet IT security
defense measures are growing at much slower rates.
Dire
predictions were made in the latest McAfee report on the global software
security scene, which claims that major blackouts around the world have already
be...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Cyber-Threats-Spike-but-IT-Lagging-/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Smart Parking Reduces Traffic and Carbon Emissions</title>
<pubDate>Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:47:32 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Smart-Parking-Reduces-Traffic-and-Carbon-Emissions/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[High-tech parking solutions, including road sensors and mobile phone apps, help drivers to find vacant spaces more quickly and cities to enforce parking regulations more easily. Such systems are now being installed in major cities including Los Angeles and Fort Worth, Texas.   -  Recently at Smarter Technology, we wrote about high-tech
solutions for  predicting
traffic flow and reducing automobile congestion. While these services bring
fewer cars to the busiest roads, other programs are helping to get cars off the
roads altogether. New smart-parking tools are helping dri...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Smart-Parking-Reduces-Traffic-and-Carbon-Emissions/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Water Crisis Fuels Energy Innovation</title>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:24:05 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Water-Crisis-Fuels-Energy-Innovation/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[With rising water scarcity and growing concerns about contamination, many start-up companies are focused on solving the water crisis often with an energy-reducing slant.   -  Were all familiar with the common ways of reducing carbon
footprints: drive cars less often, recycle bottles and cans, and turn off the
lights. As it turns out, turning off the water faucet might be even more
important than turning off the lights. 
Wastewater systems currently consume three perc...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Water-Crisis-Fuels-Energy-Innovation/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Inexpensive Eye-Tracking System Offers Hands-Free Computer Control</title>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:28:38 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Inexpensive-EyeTracking-System-offers-HandsFree-Computer-Control/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[While eye-tracking systems to control computers do exist, such systems are too expensive for most disabled persons to afford. Now a team of students has created an inexpensive version built into a tablet computer, on which users can access anything from solitaire to Skype without the use of their hands.   -  Disabled persons who do not have use of their hands or
fingers have difficulties functionally using computers and cell phones.
Eye-tracking systems do exist, but are usually too expensive for most to
afford, particularly in remote areas of the world. Now, a team of students has
designed an  inex...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Inexpensive-EyeTracking-System-offers-HandsFree-Computer-Control/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Group Seeks to Knock Out Rare Diseases</title>
<pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:50:01 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Group-Seeks-to-Knock-Out-Rare-Diseases/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[An international consortium plans to collaborate on research to cure rare diseases by 2020.   -  For the
millions affected by rare diseases (30 million alone just in the United States, according to
RareDiseases.us), a new consortium is a boon for their future. 
Specifically,
the group will take aim at a major problem associated with rare diseases. That
problem: With some rare diseases affe...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Group-Seeks-to-Knock-Out-Rare-Diseases/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Smarter Solutions for Residential Energy</title>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:43:20 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Smarter-Solutions-for-Residential-Energy/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A lab devoted to power usage in residential homes is developing some interesting innovations, including ways to control electronics remotely.   -  Most energy research is focused on large-scale projects such as
power plants and renewable sources of energy. For smaller-scale energy
consumers, such as residential homes, there is a lot of potential research that
has gone largely untapped. Now, a German laboratory is dedicated to these
studyin...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Smarter-Solutions-for-Residential-Energy/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>European Technology Competition Applies IT to Social Problems</title>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:57:55 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/European-Technology-Competition-Applies-IT-to-Social-Problems/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A European Commission competition aims to get researchers working together to solve grand challenges by applying information and communications technologies to social problems.   -  Imagine a payout worth more than $1 billion over 10 years. … That's the level of funding at stake as six European research teams compete for two spots in the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagships program.
The program's goal is to bring together teams of researchers from across Europe to ...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/European-Technology-Competition-Applies-IT-to-Social-Problems/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Nanotech Breakthrough for Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria</title>
<pubDate>Wed, 06 Apr 2011 06:56:35 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Nanotech-Breakthrough-for-AntibioticResistant-Bacteria/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A new microbial agent can be injected into the body to treat drug-resistant bacteria, like MRSA. The breakthrough could someday be commercially added to consumer products like lotion and deodorant.   -   
Recently, nanotechnology advances allowed for the
construction of a
paintlike coating that could kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Now,
similar technology is behind the creation of an injectable way
to kill such microbes. 
In creating the tool, researchers from the Institute
of Bioenginee...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Nanotech-Breakthrough-for-AntibioticResistant-Bacteria/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>IT Boosted by Tablets Despite Global Turmoil</title>
<pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2011 08:41:04 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/IT-Boosted-by-Tablets-Despite-Global-Turmoil/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Analysts have revised upward their forecasts for IT growth in 2011 based on skyrocketing sales of touch-screen tablets. This optimism comes despite economic softening in Japan and the Middle East.   -   
Global turmoil, especially in Japan and
the Middle East, could not dampen analysts' projections of
increased IT spending in 2011. The projections are higher even than was
predicted last year.
The worldwide forecast for IT spending at Gartner (Stamford, Conn.) was
boosted by $200 billion, fro...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/IT-Boosted-by-Tablets-Despite-Global-Turmoil/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Converting the Sun's Energy in a Natural Way</title>
<pubDate>Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:24:04 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Converting-the-Suns-Energy-in-a-Natural-Way/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Research into artificial leaves is heating up. The goal is to produce a commercially viable solution that mimics the photosynthesis process in leaves to convert solar energy directly into fuel.   -  Hoping to duplicate the incredibly useful conversion of
sunlight to energy in common tree leaves, MIT chemist Daniel Nocera has developed
a prototype solar-powered device the size of a playing card that can break
water down into hydrogen and oxygen. 
According to Nature,
this new  quot;artifici...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Converting-the-Suns-Energy-in-a-Natural-Way/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>Demand Grows for Digital Compasses, Supplies Stable</title>
<pubDate>Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:37:49 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Demand-Grows-for-Digital-Compasses-Supplies-Stable/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Japan's earthquake has slowed or stopped electronics manufacturing in many facilities especially automotive electronics but digital compass makers claim to be keeping up with growing demand for location-based services in vehicles, smartphones, personal navigators and touch-screen tablets.   -  Digital
compass makers are hustling to avert a global shortage that could stunt sales
of popular navigational electronics in vehicles, touch-screen tablets and nearly
all smartphones, but automotive electronics manufactured near the stricken
nuclear reactor in Japan are on indefinite hold.
Near...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/Demand-Grows-for-Digital-Compasses-Supplies-Stable/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
<item><title>A Social Net for Plug-in Electric Vehicles</title>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:37:28 -0400</pubDate>
<link>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/A-Social-Net-for-Plugin-Electric-Vehicles/?kc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Early electric vehicle adopters might get help finding charging locations from altruistic friends.   -  When WiFi
hotspots first appeared on the scene, some groups actively sought out open
access sites and compiled lists documenting their locations. Those lists served
as a great resource to a traveler in search of connectivity.   
A similar
process seems to be occurring with charging locations fo...]]></description>
<guid>http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Global-Challenges/A-Social-Net-for-Plugin-Electric-Vehicles/?kc=rss</guid>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>

