[kosko]

(06-11-2012 05:29 PM)Blackhawk Wrote:  

(06-11-2012 03:51 PM)kerouac Wrote:  

I like how Stem Cell research is less controversial

That's because in 2009 liposuction fat from adults was discovered to have large amounts of stem cells. The controversial aspect was using human fetuses as a source of stem cells, killing them in the process. Stem cells from liposuction fat? No ethical issues.

(06-11-2012 03:53 PM)Andy_B Wrote:  

As for the auto industry... I dunno.

Google's forays into self-driving cars could be a real game changer in the auto industry.

Currently every major city is clogged with idle cars parked everywhere being stored while not in use by their owners.



We've already seen non-ownership options like CityCarShare prove themselves profitable. If instead of needing two drivers to deliver a car to a customer the car simply drove itself to you, this could be a major game changer. Why own a car and store it 23 hours a day unused? Why pay for parking until you need it later when you can just let it go and call another car on your cell phone when you're done?

We would probably see a large drop from the current level of sales to far fewer, but more robust, cars sold to service providers whose goal would be to keep them moving 24 hours a day making money, with secondary uses like package and mail delivery when not being used as human transport.

Science Fiction writers have been predicting this change over since the 1950s. But Google seems hellbent on making the investment to bring it about today.

Why not just take the Subway or Train instead since in these dense Cities where Car-share programs are most successful they generally already have adequate transit?

The trends for younger people is growing away from cars. It is becoming more normal to bike, walk, take the train to work and stuff.