2009 October | Lynda Resnick's Blog

Archive for October, 2009

Stem Cells on eBay: Could This Be the Future of Science?

Lynda Resnick's Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday Pick of the Week: Science Commons
Why It’s a Gem: Eliminating red tape and developing new protocols makes sharing research easier than ever – which puts all cures within closer reach

Researchers around the world are hard at work on cures for most every ailment and disease. But until now, there was no system – let alone incentive – for sharing their discoveries, leaving researchers working independently in their own silos, possibly duplicating the same mistakes as their colleagues around the globe. It wasn’t unusual for decades to pass before any significant progress was made on a study.

But that’s all changing. Just as parent organization Creative Commons has made sharing artistic endeavors both easy and profitable, Science Commons is using that same open-access model to enable the scientific research community to both find and share their studies, thereby enabling an approach to sharing data that just might revolutionize the scientific world. My interview with John Wilbanks was a fitting way to cap off Open Access Week. (more…)

LEGO-Style Homes Fuse Innovation and Environmental Design

Lynda Resnick's Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday Pick of the Week: HIB-System
Why It’s a Gem: DIY homebuilding comes of age with a LEGO-like solution that’s as simple as it is environmental

Most every kid who has played with LEGOs has dreamed of living in a house of her own construction. Now that dream has come closer to reality, with the innovative design from Germany’s HIB-System, a company that produces wooden tongue-in-groove building blocks that most anyone can assemble into the house of their dreams, minus the bumpy green lawn and plastic pine tree.

After building more than 100 homes in Germany using this system, HIB has now come to the United States, where it hopes to make a splash in the eco-competition being held in Greensburg, Kans., a town devastated by a tornado in 2007 and now looking to rebuild its community with affordable, sustainable housing. While the HIB system still requires some help from construction professionals such as plumbers and electricians, the overall frame of the home can be done in just a few days by one person, and with the building blocks weighing no more than 55 pounds each, you can even forego the traditional heavy machinery. Welcome to the new age of DIY.
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