Every year, Time magazine releases a list of what it considers the top 50 inventions of the year. A few of this year’s inventions you may have heard of already such as the iPad but many you probably haven’t. Some of the inventions on this list include the Looxcie, Amtrak’s beef powered train, a Malaria proof mosquito, faster growing salmon and a semi-supervised algorithm for sarcasm identification.
Looxcie
Looxcie was invented by a man who was tired of dealing with a video camera while trying to record a children’s birthday party. Instead of being stuck behind the camera, it would be possible to participate in events while capturing the moments on video at the same time. Looxcie is a Bluetooth enabled video camera that you wear over you ear which uses a smart phone as the view finder. You line up the camera with what you want to video, put your phone away and enjoy the moment while still recording.
Amtrak’s Beef Powered Train
In the spring of 2010, Amtrak announced test run of its first biodiesel train. The Heartland Flyer Train which runs from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas will operate on 20% biodiesel for a year. This biodiesel is not made from plant products but rather from beef byproducts.
Malaria Proof Mosquito
Scientists at the University of Arizona have engineered a mosquito that is unable to transmit Malaria. This new breed of mosquitoes is immune to infection from the Plasmodium parasite which causes Malaria in humans. A change in the genetic code of the mosquito reduces the life span of the insect and does not allow the parasite time to mature. The change also impacts the immune systems and surprisingly blocked all parasite development inside these mosquitoes.
Semi-Supervised Algorithm for Sarcasm Identification
Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have developed a software tool is designed to spot sarcastic sentences in product reviews. 66,000 reviews of 120 products were examined for clues on sarcasm in product reviews. Using this information, an algorithm was created in which a small number of sarcastic sentences are used to teach the computer how to recognize sarcasm. When tested on Amazon product reviews and Tweets, the software recognized the sarcastic remarks 77% of the time.
Faster Growing Salmon
Three pounds of feed is needed to grow one pound of salmon making this a very bad fish for farming. A new genetically engineered salmon has changed this. A growth hormone from the Chinook Salmon combined with DNA from an ocean pout keep the salmon growing all year. AquAdvantage Atlantic salmon grows to size in 16 to 18 months instead of 30 months like a regular farmed Atlantic salmon.
These are just a few of the top 50 best inventions of 2010 according to Time magazine. You can read the whole list here.
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