Last week I was talking about flying cars and griping about why Back to the Future would lie to us… we still don’t have hoverboards. Low and behold those wacky theoretical physicists decided to turn science fiction into reality – voilà, hoverboards coming soon.

Professor Ulf Leonhardt and Dr Thomas Philbin, from the University of St Andrews in Scotland found a way to reverse the Casimir effect, making it repel instead of attract. Soon frictionless nanomachines will having moving parts below your feet to propel you as far away from Biff as your heart desires.

The breakthrough experiment allowed the scientists to levitate an ultra thin mirror between two conducting plates. In the past tests with large magnets allowed some small scale levitation. The problem is that using repulsive forces like magnets requires large amounts of energy. In contrast, these mirrors were floating “by theories that were exploiting naturally smaller amounts of energy produced by the quantum fluctuations of empty space.“

Even though the scientists say we won’t be pre-ordering from Matel just yet, the horizon is finally looking good. Sure, you may look a little strange on your new ride by the time you hit 45, but if your kid wants one he better be sure to know that your getting a spin on it when no one is looking.

[Research Paper, PDF]

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The USA is holding on by its fingernails as the 3rd most innovative country on earth, as The Economist Intelligence Unit study shows:

1. Japan
2. Switzerland
3. U.S.
4. Sweden
5. Finland
6. Germany
7. Denmark
8. Taiwan
9. Netherlands
10. Israel

Why would a country founded on reason and technological advancement consistently lose traction on its competitive advantage: innovation? For several reasons that are commonly misconceived in the popular media:

1. Our biggest worry should NOT be that American manufacturing and its jobs are being exported to foreign countries like China, India and Mexico.

As an example, if GM is forced to close a plant in the US due to costs and move that plant to Mexico do we really suffer? The US loses thousands of jobs and domestic capacities due to layoffs like these, yet should we worry? The answer is no, we are clearly not leaders in manufacturing and haven’t been arguably for the last 40 years. We should not compete in markets where we do not have a decided advantage. I’ve always pictured Globalization as a food chain. The people at the top create the ideas and plan for distribution, the next set of people manufacture physical goods or support the service industry.

When an American factory worker loses a job to a Mexican factory worker, they in turn produce a cheaper car for world export. The global market then distributes profits back to the Americans who’s patents, managerial and marketing skills carried the project. Thus, those Americans are now able to create more high level jobs that young, educated Americans profit from.

Quite simply, the core competency of the USA is to draw entrepreneurs to us from all around the world, implement their innovations through science and retain the royalties to support the economy.

2. Then what countries, if not China, India and Mexico are we competing against?

Our competitors are countries who foster and nurture innovative minds. They are Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Finland. These nations tap into our creative edge and often outshine us in several fields including management, science, and product development.

3. Is there really potential to fall further down the ladder?

You bet your ass, as Chris Money author of “The Republican War on Science” would say. Scientific American’s review of his book said,

“Thomas Jefferson would be appalled. More than two centuries after he helped to shape a government based on the idea that reason and technological advancement would propel the new United States into a glorious future, the political party that now controls that government has largely turned its back on science. Even as the country and the planet face both scientifically complex threats and remarkable technological opportunities, many Republican officeholders reject the most reliable sources of information and analysis available to guide the nation. As inconceivable as it would have been to Jefferson–and as dismaying as it is to growing legions of today’s scientists–large swaths of the government in Washington are now in the hands of people who don’t know what science is. More ominously, some of those in power may grasp how research works but nonetheless are willing to subvert science’s knowledge and expert opinion for short-term political and economic gains.”

In brief, the science that drives innovation, our core competency, is stifled. Topics like creationism send our children years backwards in their classrooms. If they are unable to excel using reasoned scientific findings how much of a chance do you think they will have when American industry leaders begin looking for the next brightest minds?

The ban on funding for embryonic stem cell research has led to a mass exodus of biotech engineers and stem cell scientists to foreign countries with grants in hand.

4. How can the USA strengthen its position as the leader in innovation?

• We need an administration who can distinguish between legitimate research and ideologically driven pseudoscience.
• Create programs that nurture the ideas of brilliant American minds.
• Grants that entice the importation of exceptional international talent; offer options that allow these candidates to stay and keep their research in the US for the benefit of the US.
• We need to fund projects that safeguard American science. Seed Magazine’s article Why the US Should Spring for a New Particle Accelerator says,

“A US-based [Accelerator] would attract thousands of talented scientists and students from around the world. As has happened in the past, when highly talented and motivated scientists from around the world come to the US to work, many will choose to remain and continue contributing to the nation’s technological leadership, which in turn will stimulate domestic economic growth through scientific and technological innovation. Moreover, some of the world’s best scientists undoubtedly will join the nation’s universities to be close to the project, thus enriching the scientific vitality of these institutions. US academic research institutions are recognized for their direct and easy access to the world’s premier research facilities and infrastructure; hosting the [Accelerator] would extend this pattern of success into the 21st century. In short, constructing and operating a world-class facility will create an unparalleled intellectual environment to stimulate innovation and creativity.”

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After six years of being in a vegetative state, a man is brought back to life by an experimental treatment called deep brain stimulation. The treatment uses two electrodes that send impulses to the portion of the brain that regulates consciousness.

He is the first minimally conscious person to be successfully treated. As a victim of a brutal assault, his skull was completely crushed and he has since been kept alive by a feeding tube. He is now able to drink from a cup, watch a movie and has recalled simple phrases such as, “I love you Mommy and Pop.”

The treatment has been attempted in the past on Parkinson’s disease. This time the stimulation was placed in different areas of the brain to drive specific skills like speech. Even though he is showing great promise, he is still described by doctors as having problems retaining new information and remembering day to day events.

Research has led to increasing the exposure to the therapy by up to 12 hours per day. One Japanese scientist, Isao Morita, has designed an implant that sets electrodes into the spinal column for continuous pulses that reach the brain. This type of research brings wonder and hope to those with loved ones who are minimally conscious and in comas.

I can’t help but think of another doctor who more famously used electricity to animate lifeless bodies. Victor Frankenstein’s wish to cheat mortality was considered immoral in its day. The difference is that science throughout the years has updated our views on death. We brought people back from legal death starting in the 19th century with a defibrillator. As far as I’m concerned this technology just goes one step further.

[Forbes]

At the push of a button, any paperback book you desire is printed, trimmed and bound in 3.5 minutes. It is library quality, in any language and is indistinguishable from the ones on the shelf – even if it’s out of print. Sounds like science fiction? It’s not.

The Espresso Book Machine has been installed at the NYC Library and it delivers any of the 200,000 public domain titles by the Open Content Alliance. It has minimal human interaction, resets itself after each print and is small enough to fit in a retail store.

Printed books have never gone out of style. What is finally changing is the outdated notion of publishing and the way that books end up in readers hands. These types of machines used to be well over $1,000,000 yet are now as cheap as $100,000, with that price dropping after every order.

Direct-to-consumer publishing cuts costs associated with shipping, warehousing and overhead by 40%-70%. That same book your picking up for $24.99 at Borders will be more like $7.49 in this new model.

With a connection to Internet databases, virtually any publisher on earth in any language will have the ability to set their book for print at the neighborhood bookstore.

In the past, printing small numbers of copies was expensive and publishers were forced to focus on bestsellers. The new goal should be set on what Chris Anderson calls The Long Tail. If enough small sales in a cost-effective direct-to-consumer environment become effective, they equal out to big profits over time. Suddenly, popularity no longer has a monopoly on profitability.

This allows for more niche audiences to access and purchase titles, just like they do with iTunes, Amazon.com and Netflix.

Video of the machine in action: