via BBC News BBC Science producer Simon Morton recently journeyed to Barcelona where he had a RFID microchip implanted in his arm in order to gain entry into the exclusive VIP Baja Beach Club. The night club offers its VIP clients the opportunity to have a syringe-injected microchip implanted in their upper arms that not only gives them special access to VIP lounges, but also acts as a debit

via treehugger.com At The Futures Lab, we are not really in the cool hunting business although that is not to say that we don't appreciate gadgets in all their shapes, sizes and uses. We did however think this post appropriate, because of its application in unwiring our lives. Sure we have a plethora of wireless devices at our disposal but at this point in time, you still need to plug them

Rajat Pahari, a principal with IDEO's Software Experience, has posted a framework that he has been using to evaluate consumer facing RFID concepts, along with some sample concepts. According to Rajat, "It's rough, it's a first shot, and it's subjective and qualitative. The goal isn't to get precise data of any sort, but to get a quick visual understanding of how viable a consumer application

University of Pittsburgh News Bureau By mixing a salt compound with an hydrocarbon, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have created molecules able to sense their environment. Then they used these molecules to develop self-assembling nanotubes which look like that 'nanocarpets'. These nanostructures can change colors when their environment is modified and can be trained to kill

Forbes.com Here is some interesting data on internet usage, including a study on "Internet Deprivation", where people have been asked to go without internet access for 14 days. Apparently, the study was difficult to carry out in the first place - many declined to take part because they weren't willing to cut themselves off from the Net for such a long time. Nearly half the people surveyed in

Wired It's not unusual for teachers and students to use an online environment like a chat room to meet. A few college professors are taking advantage of Second Life's fully three-dimensional virtual world and are the first to teach classes in a world where the students can fly, change body types at will and build fantastical structures that can float in the sky.

For those of you have heard one of us at The Futures Lab deliver a presentation, you would have no doubt heard us talk about the blending of form and function. That is, aethetics and practicality. Here is a great example that we came across recently: Aesthetics and sound quality are combined in the "loudspeakers and subwoofers concealed behind striking fabrics and artwork" made by Artcoustic.

Wired For most of the millions of people around the world who regularly use instant messaging, the communications tool has largely been a text-only experience in which typed emoticons offer only minimal clues to someone's state of mind. The recent launch of two services -- a brand new, fully three-dimensional chat-room product known as IMVU, and AOL Instant Messenger's new 3-D SuperBuddy