biotechnology

Bamboo products have exploded in the market recently. Bamboo is being used in flooring, textiles and all sorts of household items. Its popularity is based on its reputation as a sustainable material. It's a hardy plant that can thrive without the use of pesticides and in many climates and it grows quickly, so what is cut down can be easily replaced. At least that's what has been assumed.

After a year of working behind the scenes, technology veteran Ray Kurzweil has taken his research on singularity to the next level. Kurzweil, along with NASA's Peter Diamandis and a team of other top technologists, will launch Singularity University for leaders from all backgrounds to study singularity -- the theory that artificial intelligence will someday surpass human intelligence.

Others joining Kurzweil and Diamandis are Pete Worden, director of NASA Ames, Dr. Robert Richards, cofounder of the International Space University, and Google's Dr. Michael Simpson.

Computer-industry giant IBM announced at the Interop conference in New York on Wednesday that it is has established the IBM Center for Social Software (CSS) in Cambridge, Mass. The new facility is part of the company's ongoing Tomorrow at Work program, an initiative IBM says is designed to "anticipate what the next work world will bring -- and prepare for it today."

We all know we have the power to make the world a bit greener – and many feel that includes messing with DNA for environmental improvements, or just better efficiency for our gadgets. Now there’s new hope that DNA could play a major role in making computers run with little or no external power.