Consumer Technology World Brief

3D printers are all the rage now with much discussions happening over the ramifications of being able to print virtually any device and in particular the ability to print homemade weapons such as guns. NASA however has taken a different approach toward the interest in 3D printing with an idea that it can be used to print food. They have announced a grant to develop the world’s first 3D food printer. Most economists believe the current system to produce food is unsustainable and in the near future it is inevitable that food prices will cost more. The idea is to change what we conventionally see as food. The food printer is suggested to be able to utilize proteins, carbohydrates and sugars to create edible food products. One proposed alternative is that it will be able to provide a customized nutrition level on an individual scale based on their personal requirements. One possible application of this concept for NASA is food for long space travel, where food has to stay edible for periods as long as 15-30 years.

A recent innovation of a new imaging sensor could make it possible to eliminate the need to use flash ever again. Created by a team of researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, the new sensor is highly sensitive to both visible and infrared light, which means it could be used in everything from the family Nikon to surveillance and satellite cameras. It’s made of graphene  super strong carbon compound with a honeycomb structure that is as flexible as rubber, more conductive than silicon and which resists heat better than a diamond. The sensor, which is 1,000 times more sensitive to light than the imaging sensors of most of today’s cameras, gets this high photo response from its innovative structure. However this does beg the question of future privacy protection, would this new sensor be a threat to privacy infringement activities in future?

North America Review

Health benefits and taxes for undocumented foreigners emerged on Tuesday as thorny issues in the U.S. immigration debate as the Senate prepared to consider changes to a sweeping bill. The centerpiece of the bill is a provision to grant legal status and a 13-year path to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants, provided they pay fines totaling USD 2,000 and the back taxes they owe. The bill would allow undocumented immigrants to gain temporary legal status within six months. After 10 years, they would be eligible for permanent legal status and could gain citizenship after another three. Its current provisions would require that people applying for legal status pay any back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. This could be an issue as most undocumented immigrants are paid in cash and the employers have little to no incentive to help the workers compile the necessary documents.

A new trend is coming to town – known as micros, also known as “hostel-style” apartments, usually offer less than 200 square feet (18.5 square meters) including private bathrooms, and they typically come furnished, sometimes with built-in beds and other amenities to save space. They also include Internet connections and utilities in the price of the rent. There are no elevators. What micro apartments lack in space they often make up for in proximity to prime locations such as an area rich in restaurants, bars and shops. Not everyone is in favor of the trend. Residents of some conventional homes and apartments worry that micro sprawl could overcrowd their neighborhood infrastructure, adding to traffic congestion and making already scarce parking even harder to find. New York City is experimenting with micro apartments, with the backing of Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Last year, along with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua, launched the adAPT NYC Competition, a pilot program to develop a rental building composed of micro-units.

Asia Review

Activity in China’s services sector expanded in May but at a pace little changed from the month before, the latest sign that the world’s No. 2 economy is struggling to regain momentum. The services sector accounted for 46 percent of China’s gross domestic product in 2012, and the weak growth seen in the survey adds to concerns raised by earlier PMI surveys on the manufacturing sector over the loss of momentum in China. Attention now turns to exports, industrial output and retail sales data for May due later this week, with expectations that these will also confirm the weakness in the economy. China’s annual economic growth slowed to 7.7 percent in the first quarter from 7.9 percent in the previous quarter. The full-year annual growth of 7.8 percent in 2012 was the weakest since 1999.

China launched an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probe in European wine on Wednesday in response to the European Union’s decision to impose duties on imports of Chinese solar panels, as tensions increased between two of the world’s biggest trading blocs. China’s Commerce Ministry said the EU’s duties were imposed despite China making great efforts and showing enormous sincerity in trying to resolve the matter through talks. The ministry said the Chinese government had begun an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probe into EU wines at the request of Chinese wine manufacturers. The EU says it has evidence that Chinese firms are selling solar panels below cost – a practice known as dumping. But the initial duty of 11.8 percent announced on Tuesday by European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht was far below the average 47 percent that had been planned.

Europe Review

German, French, Italian and Spanish car sales fell in May, bringing the crisis-hit European market closer to a two-decade low and dampening manufacturer’ hopes for a recovery this year. Automakers suffering from weak economies and excess plant capacity had taken heart when demand picked up a little in April, suggesting a slide of almost 10 percent in Europe’s first-quarter car sales would not play out in the full year. After five years of contraction, embattled carmakers are desperate for an end to the slump. Many are counting on a regional fall no greater than 5 percent this year, helped by a favorable basis of comparison with the very weak second half of 2012.

European officials are seeking to design a scheme to close troubled banks to complement a contentious new system of supervision in the euro zone led by the European Central Bank. The first leg of this banking union is due to be completed next year when the ECB takes on the supervision of banks. Now negotiations are under way to build the second leg – an agency to close banks with a central fund to cover the costs involved. The Commission will have to tread carefully to avoid its proposal being dismantled by European countries, which must approve it before it becomes law. Designed to secure a level playing field in the euro zone and prevent vulnerable countries having to contain financial problems alone, a European banking union was one of the biggest political commitments made to underpin the euro.