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Time Magazine's Best Inventions of the Year for 2008
When Time Magazine releases its annual list of the best inventions of the year, it's a high note for the invention community. The extra attention highlights the innovative progress made by those who "think outside of the box." We at InventHelp® always enjoy the release of the list. For us, it's like a mini Oscar party. This year's list had all of the excitement, controversy and surprises that we've all come to expect from Time.
Read more articles from the November 2008 issue of InventHelp's newsletter for inventors |
It's clear as you read through the list that Time's definition of invention is broad and encompassing. More than a "better mousetrap," the inventions in Time's list range from Montreal's new public bicycle system to sound-enhanced food to Google's floating data center. In honor of this special time of year when inventions are in the spotlight, InventHelp presents our picks from Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2008.
This year's winner was a controversial one that sparked a lively debate. Just how much would you want to know about your genetic makeup? Scientists are banking on the idea that many people want to know what kind of conditions, diseases and personality traits they're likely to manifest. That's where 23andMe, a consumer gene-testing service, comes in.
For $399, 23andMe tests a sample of your saliva to rate your likelihood of exhibiting more than 90 traits ranging from baldness to blindness. The engineers behind this idea feel that if more people knew what types of conditions or diseases they were susceptible to, they could take more proactive measures to slim their chances of developing those conditions. For example, if a woman is predisposed to heart disease, she could improve her diet and exercise more to counteract that likelihood.
But, critics worry that employers and even romantic partners could use this genetic profile as a basis for discrimination. What if your partner wanted to see your likelihood of developing certain diseases before getting serious? Could an otherwise qualified applicant be denied a job purely on the basis of their genetics? Another argument is that it's immoral to charge people for this type of information because the research is still in its infancy. An infinitesimal fraction of our 20,000 genes are known to cause disease, and environmental factors aren't considered in the profile.
Still, controversy and discussion are two powerful tools that propel science forward. For this reason and many others, the Retail DNA Test is Time Magazine's 2008 Best Invention of the Year.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg – there are still 49 other amazing inventions on Time's list!
Reflecting our nation's newfound "green" love, a few electric cars made the list of the top inventions. The unique body stylings and high gas-mileage capacity of the Aptera earned it accolades. The all-electric model gets a whopping 120 miles per charge, and the hybrid gets 300. The Tesla Roadster, another electric car, earned a spot on the list for its speed and sexiness. Celebrities like George Clooney joined a long wait list for the car, which was finally delivered this year after a series of setbacks. Chevy's version of the electric car, the Volt, also made the cut.
Other inventions on the list: Bionic Contact Lenses, which allows wearers to view "floating" maps and data on the lens; the Speedo LZR Razor, made famous by Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps; TX Active, nicknamed "smog-eating cement"; and Purshade, an SPF 45 sunscreen for crops.
This InventHelp writer could wax eloquently about other inventions in Time's list, but for brevity's sake we've highlighted just a few here. To see the full list of inventions, visit Time.com.
InventHelp is already looking forward to next year's list. We love to keep up on what's happening in the world of inventions! Although there are quite a few invention lists out there, Time is one of our favorites for its creative and unusual picks. Many of our readers are undoubtedly working on new inventions. Good luck, keep at it and we'll hope to see you someday on a "best of" invention list!
Back to November 2008 Newsletter
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