Resveratrol activates ancient stress response at 1,000 times lower doses

http://www.scripps.edu/news/press/2014/20141222schimmel.html

A step toward a potential anti-aging drug

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-step-toward-a-potential-anti-aging-drug?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=a0174ace0d-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6de721fb33-a0174ace0d-281903081

India Plans the World's Largest Solar Power Plant

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/12/28/india-plans-the-worlds-largest-solar-power-plant.aspx

The First Prototype of Google’s Self-Driving Car

Only 25 mph top speed? Not impressive...but this one should be on the market in just a few years:

http://time.com/3644661/google-self-driving-car-prototype/?xid=newsletter-brief

Utilities fighting back against solar customers

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/22/3605710/new-mexico-utility-charge-solar-owners-30-a-month/

Chinese solar panels hit with a anti-subsidies, anti-dumping tariffs

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/12/20/us-deals-major-blow-to-chinese-solar-manufacturers.aspx

I would think this is ultimately good news for US manufacturers, though not as much for consumers in the short term.

Solar With Batteries to Hit $1 Billion in U.S. by 2018

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-18/solar-paired-with-batteries-to-reach-1-billion-in-u-s-by-2018.html?cmpid=yhoo

Multiferroic heroics put instant-on computing in sight

http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/12/multiferroic-heroics-put-instant-computing-sight

In one aspect of vision, computers catch up to primate brain

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/computer-neural-networks-identify-objects-like-primate-brain-1218

Could ibuprofen be an anti-aging medicine?

http://www.buckinstitute.org/buck-news/could-ibuprofen-be-an-anti-aging-medicine

Minnesota could supply more than 50 percent of its power needs through renewable energy by 2030

http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2014/12/18/report-sees-bright-future-for-renewable-energy-in-minnesota/

More on the Skype language translator (with video)

http://www.wired.com/2014/12/skype-used-ai-build-amazing-new-language-translator/

Evidence Of Life On Mars?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/16/life-on-mars_n_6337610.html

How Scientists Are Building Tiny Microscopic Motors

https://screen.yahoo.com/scientists-building-tiny-microscopic-motors-140000866.html

Graphene can be made magnetic

http://gizmodo.com/a-little-lead-can-make-graphene-magnetic-1671641756

AT&T made predictions in 1994 that have come true

http://news.yahoo.com/live-future-t-imagined-1994-161500780.html

I'm especially amused by the claim that voice translation is "still clearly in the future"...on the same day Skype becomes available to do exactly that. :-)

Skype now allows real-time voice translation into another language

Another step in the loss of translation jobs:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/15/7393665/skype-translator-features

A.I. learns to identify images

http://www.wired.com/2014/12/deep-learning-renormalization/

Engineers have doubled the efficiency of a prominent solar cell technology

http://phys.org/news/2014-12-persistent-solar-cell-issue.html

Blu-Ray Disc Can be Used to Improve Solar Cell Performance

http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2014/11/blu-ray-disc-can-be-used-to-improve-solar-cell-performance.html

U.S. Solar Jumps 41% With Home Systems Surpassing 300 Megawatts

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-12-09/u-dot-s-dot-solar-jumps-41-percent-with-home-systems-surpassing-300-megawatts

Why Solar Panels Are Going on the Country's Biggest Rooftops

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/12/10/why-solar-panels-are-going-on-the-biggest-roofs-in.aspx

Quantum Teleportation Reaches Farthest Distance Yet

http://www.livescience.com/49028-farthest-quantum-teleportation.html?cmpid=558756

Alternate energies causing gradual death spiral for utilities

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2014/12/08/report-energy-efficiency-could-cost-u-s-utilities-48-billion/

New drug can heal spinal cord injuries

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30254698

Australian researchers achieve 40% solar efficiency

http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-technology/unsw-researchers-set-world-record-solar-energy-efficiency

Robotic-leg prosthetic allows amputees to walk normally

http://www.kurzweilai.net/robotic-leg-prosthetic-allows-amputees-to-walk-normally?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b7e5a5230c-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6de721fb33-b7e5a5230c-281903081

Stephen Hawking voices concerns about artificial intelligence

http://www.livescience.com/48972-stephen-hawking-artificial-intelligence-threat.html?cmpid=558754

Levitating magnetic gear system results in zero wear and friction

http://portal.uc3m.es/portal/page/portal/actualidad_cientifica/noticias/magdrive_levitating

Solar Power’s Stunning Growth: U.S. Generation up 100 Percent This Year

http://breakingenergy.com/2014/12/01/solar-powers-stunning-growth-u-s-generation-up-100-percent-this-year/

Why battery technology hasn't improved much in decades

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/its-2014-why-is-my-battery-stuck-in-the-90s-104166984299.html

The Cheetah robot runs and maneuvers on batteries alone

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/mit-engineers-high-hopes-cheetah-robot-060838533.html

Will the Technological Singularity Arrive, and Will it Be a Good Thing or Bad?

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/11/artificial-intelligence-singularity-theory

The Uplifting Promise and Depressing Reality of Space Travel

This could be, if only we put more than a fraction of 1% of our budget into NASA:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/wanderers-short-film_n_6244990.html?fb_action_ids=10204015258754626&fb_action_types=og.likes

But watching this video of what the upcoming Orion is supposed to do is depressing:

http://www.universetoday.com/116785/cool-nasa-animation-beautifully-details-every-step-of-orions-first-launch/

How painfully little has changed in 50 years! It's like watching a sad remake of a classic.