TechKnow 128: Designer drugs & tapping mobile phone data

March 15, 2014 3:00PM ET

Dangerous new drug trends, how companies collect and use mobile phone data, and making fake meat

Topics:
Science
Technology
Drugs
(TechKnow/Al Jazeera America)

Join our expert "TechKnow" contributors Phil Torres, Crystal Dilworth, Kosta Grammatis, and Marita Davison as they explore scientific innovations and their impact on our lives. Crystal reports on dangerous chemistry behind synthetic drugs like spice and bath salts. Kosta learns how companies collect, analyze, and use mobile phone data. Plus, Marita learns how Beyond Meat is creating meatless protein that looks and tastes like the real thing.

Turnstyle

Turnstyle Solutions is a consumer analytics company that uses mobile phone data to quantify customer behavior and traffic patterns. By using Turnstyle's hardware, a business can monitor their customers' mobile phones through a wi-fi connection, allowing them to track and analyze foot traffic, dwell times, first time customers, and more. Businesses can then use that information to help them make decisions to maximize profit and better serve their customer base.

Beyond Meat

Beyond Meat is a vegan plant protein designed to look and taste just like real meat. The protein is is made of a blend of soy and pea protein, flours, and fiber and can be prepared and eaten like real chicken. The company's goal is to create a successful plant protein that can fully replace the nutritional value of meat at a more sustainable, lower cost.

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