Can SWIFT, the global financial services provider, succeed in doing what Microsoft and other tech titans famously failed to achieve? It is exploring an initiative that could provoke a sea change on the Internet that is so significant and so widespread in scope that the digerati say it could mirror the shift from mainframes to the personal computer.Read more

Every year since 2000, the World Economic Forum has chosen 25 to 50 startups as Technology Pioneers. To be selected, companies must be developing exceptional innovations and have the potential to bring about long-term changes to business and society.  This year’s class includes LivingPlanIT, a European company that is developing an operating system for cities of the future. Read more

Fans of "The Sound of Music" will remember the scene in which Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp daughter, radiantly sings "I am 16, going on 17." But in real life, actress Charmian Carr, who played the teenager in the 1965 movie, hasn't felt radiant for the past two decades. Now a grandmother, Carr has long suffered from severe clinical depression. Medications not only failed to help but also produced debilitating side effects.Read more

By Jennifer L. Schenker

Today's smartphones are actually tiny computers, complete with operating systems, storage, and--in many cases--direct access to internal company networks. That makes them an increasingly attractive target for hackers and scam artists.
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In 1824, English stone mason Joseph Aspdin invented Portland Cement in his kitchen and patented what has remained the primary material used in concrete ever since. Trouble is, global demand for cement;a $130 billion annual business;is skyrocketing but the process used to make it already produces an estimated 5 percent of the world's man-made carbon dioxide emissions. It took 184 years, but now another English company, Novacem, has come up with a different formula;one that actually absorbs more carbon than it releases.
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Curious to know what the Roman Colosseum looked like when it was first built? Soon you'll be able to stand in front of today's remnants, point your mobile phone camera at the building, and see an interactive 3D reconstruction on your phone's screen. Same for the demolished Berlin Wall: Take a shot of the Brandenburg Gate and presto, you're whisked back to 1989 with an ugly concrete fence blocking your view.
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Water scarcity is one of the biggest problems on the planet. There isn't enough clean drinking water to go around, yet an estimated 25% to 30% of treated water is lost through leaks in aging distribution networks. Such losses cost water utilities an estimated $14 billion annually, according to the World Bank. Enter TaKaDu, an Israeli start-up.Read more

Every year since 2000, the World Economic Forum has chosen  anywhere from 25 to 50 startups as Technology Pioneers. To be selected, companies must be developing life-changing innovations and have the potential to bring about long term changes to business and society. They must also demonstrate visionary management, show signs of becoming enduring market leaders, and offer proven technology. Click  to read about the Class of 2011.Read more