Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

Boku currently lets cell phone owners pay for things through carrier billing in over 60 countries. Usually these transactions are for small things--items like apps, ringtones, small-scale online purchases--perhaps because that's all users are comfortable with, unsure of how big their cell phone bill will be at the end of the month

Google's getting into hardware to take on Apple . And Apple could be planning a smaller iPad, to edge out Amazon's Kindle Fire

To the ancient Mayans, it was the food of the gods. Nineteenth-century Cubans used it as an aphrodisiac. In the 20th century American culinary authority Fannie Farmer recommended its “stimulating effect” for “cases of enfeebled digestion.” Throughout history people have prized cocoa--the defining ingredient of chocolate--a tradition that endures in our modern era.

The placenta is unique among organs--critical to human life yet fleeting.

Waste Ventures is transforming garbage-and-recycling collection in the developing world into sustainable communities, and a growing business.

One in seven people in the world is malnourished. But the solution isn't producing more food

In the developing field of spintronics, physicists are designing devices to transmit data using the inherent axial rotation, or spin, of electrons rather than their charge as is used in electronics. Weak coupling of electron spin to electrical currents, however, makes gaining this level of control difficult

Had enough of having multiple pairs of glasses lying around for different activities?

Inspired by the power of stories, two former journalists have enlisted high fashion for a higher cause. A new jewelry company called Altruette sells charm bracelets representing different nonprofits that receive 50% of profits from every purchase--typically between $155 to $175 per charm. Each gold or silver pendant (there are about 30) has a unique design and a unique story.

Can social media drive social change? 25-year-old Tammy Tibbetts is trying to figure that out through She's The First, a non-profit dedicated to helping girls around the world to become the first in their family to graduate

The AutoTram, which uses an innovative charging system to allow the most charges in the fastest amount of time, is a result of a series of experiments about the best way to power public transit. Is it a bus?

Building off its incredible success funding entrepreneurs in the developing world, the microloan company has turned its eye toward America, where it is giving loans in cities like New Orleans and Detroit. Microfinance platform Kiva has proven many times over that people are willing to give $25 microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries .

The Gates Foundation is bringing stronger, hardier versions of staple crops to the developing world. Do the good motives outweigh the issues with GM food

Usually, we're trying to keep plastic out of water sources, but it turns out that a little bit of plastic can go a long way in making contaminated water safer to drink. Most of the time, we want to make sure plastic stays out of water. It never biodegrades and is destroying our oceans and marine wildlife

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from Triumph Of The City by Edward Glaeser. Published by arrangement with The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Copyright