Weak Signals contributed by Cornelia Daheim
Environmental reasons and increasing chaos from a rising number of cars has led to European cities increasingly banning individual transport. Many European cities have already created designated zones for pedestrians and additi...
Research on Aircrafts Propelled by Alternative Fuels
Great efforts in research aim at developing the usage of alternative fuels in aeronautics. A wide spectrum of classical solutions as plant oils, synthetic fuel, or even radical ones like organic materials may lead to several po...
Less Bias Against Public Transport in Emerging Countries
Increasing public awareness towards sustainable mobility and a broad acceptance for public transportation services in Europe have helped to change the negative perception of it in emerging countries. It is perceived less as the...
Enhanced research on robot swarm intelligence might soon allow robots to communicate and build a system. Cooperation is organized, self-dynamic, and self-contained by intelligent robots. such capabilities are already demonstrat...
An intelligent road-on-vehicle is technically possible and might lead to a safety enhancing infrastructure. Many feature are already technically realised - though not implemented yet. A permanent road-to-car communication could...
Increasing research on enhancing human performance: e.g. modification of biochemical processes in the body, implants for monitoring body status and releasing drugs as well as nanotech-enhanced tissue, bones and brain.
First integrated multimodal supply chains and business-overarching application of intertwined databases enable seamless just-in-time deliveries without stop-overs (e.g. in capital-intensive deposits) across the continent, leadi...
Due to the ageing society and the need for nursing, new forms of living are being established: e.g. elderly people live together in "care-communities" and live in multi generation houses to be taken care of and look after each ...
Due to rising costs, doctors are less often being consulted, but patients medicate themselves. The probability of undetected diseases and risks for overdoses rise.
Mental Health from Retail Stores
Along with the general rising awareness for health and its commercialisation, mental health is becoming a commercial good as well; e. g. brainfood and brain training games were already introduced.
New drugs are continuously introduced. The drug consumption of legal and illegal drugs to improve one´s performance rises (neuro-enhancement). The consumption has already risen immensely: legal forms of amphetamine are given t...
First Side Effects of Nanotechnology-Based Consumer Products
The number of cosmetical and medical products as well as food, that incorporate nanotechnology is rising daily. Risks and side affects of products cannot be foreseen yet; nevertheless, some side effects have already been seen i...
Price Decline in Decoding the Human Genome
The complete decoding of the human genome has been realised, but the procedure is still rather costly. Nevertheless, it is only a matter of time until techniques of decoding the human genome have become fast, cheap and therefor...
Increasing Migration Due To Climate Change
Extreme weather phenomena such as hurricanes, storm floods or droughts are already causing migration, especially in parts of Africa and Asia (e.g. in India about 4 mio. people leave their homes temporarily every year). Besides ...
Research on personalised medicince promises earlier intervention and even prevention of diseases, an improved diagnosis and more efficient drug therapy when treating diseases. It is inter alia based on the results of mapping th...
