Feature post: Next Nature – Fly like a bird, cooking apes, shoes that mend themselves and anthropomorphobia #design #nextnature #geekgirl

Fly like a bird, cooking apes, shoes that mend themselves and anthropomorphobia, public enemy number one. Welcome to another issue of the Next Nature newsletter, from the website http://www.nextnature.net/, which explores the nature caused by people.

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CONTENTS

-NANO Supermarket Call for Entries
-Next Nature Book Reviews + Discount
-Blog Highlights
-Next Nature Internships

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NANO SUPERMARKET CALL FOR ENTRIES

After two successful years touring the globe, the NANO Supermarket is now entering its second edition. Next Nature is calling upon designers, technologists and artists to submit their speculative nanotech products for the supermarket’s next round. A selection of the most innovative products will be shown in the physical exhibition space, and featured in the accompanying catalog. The best product overall will win a € 2500 prize. (some kind of money!)

Nanotechnology is an important emerging technology  – it radically intervenes with our sense of what is natural – yet most people are still relatively unaware of its consequences. The Next Nature NANO Supermarket is a physical “supermarket” that features debate-provoking visions on nanotech products that could be expected to hit the shelves between now and 2020.

For more information and examples of past products, please visit http://www.nanosupermarket.org

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BLOG HIGHLIGHTS

What is Next Nature?

In this snappy video from the 2011 Next Nature Powershow, Koert van Mensvoort answers the question: Just what is Next Nature?

11 Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design

In this 11-part series, we examine how designers can successfully integrate human-like forms and behavior into their work. Learn how to inspire with anthropomorphic design inspire, instead of confusing, irritating, or offending.

Apes Like Cooked Food and What that Means for Human Evolution

Humans are the only ape that cooks, but our ape relatives also naturally prefer cooked to raw food. Learn the surprising implications of cooked food for the evolution our super-charged brains.

Essay: Anthropomorphobia

Has fear of the uncanny valley become a major cultural affliction? This essay discusses how products are behaving more like people, and how people are quickly turning into products.

Protocell Shoe Mends Itself

If you’re tired of mending rips in your shoes, Rachel Armstrong has the (speculative) shoe for you. Using organic, semi-living cells, these shoes can sense and repair damage.

Fly Like a Bird? Get Human Birdwings

Engineer Jarno Smeets dreams of flying like a bird. Using accelerometers and a wiimote, Jarno is creating a pair of giant “wings” to propel a human into the sky.

Playing with Pigs

Ever wanted to play tag with a pig? Students at the Utrecht School of Arts have designed Pig Chase, an iPad game that allows players to remotely interact with piglets.

Fake Leaf is Twice as Efficient as the Real Thing

With a new “bionanodevice,” researchers have combined proteins from bacteria with nano-scale wire to create a “leaf” that generates electricity from solar energy and CO2.