Innovation Watch Newsletter 1.16
August 24, 2002

SCIENCE

Bacteria Defies Last-Resort Antibiotic - [Nature] US doctors have reported the first case of a new 'superbug' that is completely resistant to the antibiotic vancomycin, one of the last lines of defence against bacteria. Further outbreaks of infection are expected.

Pufferfish Yields Human Gene Clues - [Silicon Valley] Sequencing the genes of the pufferfish is yielding clues to the more complex human genetic makeup. While pufferfish, or Fugu, is a delicacy in Japan, it has interested scientists because it has the smallest genome of any vertebrate.

Stem Cell Discovery Raises Prospect of Treating Disorders in the Womb - [Independent] The prospect of treating genetic disorders in three-month-old foetuses came a step closer with a study showing gene therapy might be possible inside the womb of a pregnant woman.

Genetic Beeline - [The Times] The first insect to have its genome mapped will be the honey bee. Why? Because bees live in societies that rival our own in complexity, meaning that the data gathered could teach us more about the roots of our behaviour and could benefit human health.

Tiny Particle Could Put a Big Hole in Physics Theories - [USA Today] A research team once again is raising doubts about a venerable physics theory. At Brookhaven National Lab in Upton, N.Y., the international "Muon g-2" team released results that may expose a flaw in the so-called Standard Model of particle physics, a foundation of scientific thought for more than 30 years.

Anti-Gravity Research on the Rise - [New Scientist] Researchers around the world are opening their minds to the possibility that the phenomenon of anti-gravity is not just science fiction.

Scientists Identify Gene That May Trigger Violence in Abused Children - [Guardian] Scientists have identified a gene that plays a role in the cycle of violence in men abused in childhood. The discovery could explain why some survive unhappy childhoods, and go on to normal lives, while others turn to violence, crime or antisocial behaviour.

Remote-Controlled Robot Searches Caves, Transmits Video - [CNN] Dashing past waiting troops, a new ally in the battle against al Qaeda speeds forward -- "Packbot." It's the United States Army's first battlefield robot, intended to check the trails ahead and send back pictures.

Honey, Who Shrank the Circuits? - [Wired] While nanowires have been around for many years, scientists had no way of mixing different materials together within one wire. Until now.

Emergency Vehicle Alert Cuts Car Stereos - [New Scientist] An invention intended to help emergency vehicles cut through traffic has run into trouble. The device, called the Warn-Tone, has been developed by British firefighter James Hutchison. It warns drivers an emergency vehicle is coming before they hear its siren by cutting in on their radios and CD players.

Computer Hacking Becoming Easier: Experts - [Economic Times] Computer vandals toting nothing more than a Sega game device, handheld computer, or even a compact disc can slip into offices and launch 'phone home' attacks via remote computers under their control, speakers at a US hackers convention said.

Chip Trio Allows Glimpse into Cell - [c|net] Collaborating engineers from IBM, Sony and Toshiba have wrapped up the design for the inner workings of a mysterious new chip called the "Cell." The new multimedia processor, touted as a "supercomputer on a chip," is well on the way to completion, IBM says. The chip could end up inside the PlayStation 3 game console, and elements of its design are expected in future server chips from IBM.

Lining Them All Up in Quantum Land - [Space Daily] Material scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison have built a semiconductor based device that can trap individual electrons and line them up, an advance that could bring quantum computing out of the gee-whiz world of scientific novelty and into the practical realm.

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BUSINESS

Microsoft Breaking with Licensing Tradition - [The Register] These are critical times for Microsoft Corp. The company deliberately broke its software licensing model with the introduction of the unpopular Licensing 6.0, Gavin Clarke writes.

Amazon Accounting Move Hits Profits - [AP Wire] It seemed like a surprise move for a company that was finally shedding its image as an unrepentant money-loser. Internet retailer Amazon.com, which posted its first quarterly profit last year, announced last month it would voluntarily adopt a stricter accounting method for its stock option reporting - a change that only hurts its bottom line.

Mini-Crashes Could 'Vaccinate' the Stock Market - [New Scientist] As Wall Street's sneezing fit continues, and the rest of the world can't shake off its cold, researchers are considering preventative medicine. Their idea is to "immunise" the stock market with a dose of minor downturns. If it works, a few jabs at the right time and place could make devastating crashes a thing of the past.

WorldCom Missing Another $3.3 Billion - [c|net] Bankrupt telecommunications giant WorldCom said Thursday an internal audit of its books back to 1999 has revealed another $3.3 billion in accounting errors, bringing the total disclosed in the scandal to more than $7 billion.

The Sage Seizes on Energy's Distress - [Business Week] Warren Buffett is scooping up prime assets at a discount.

A Two-Way Race to Certify Financial Statements - [Washington Post] As top executives race to meet federal deadlines requiring them for the first time to swear that their financial statements are true, government regulators are themselves scrambling to figure out a system to monitor whether corporate America is complying with the new rules.

How to Get Bad News to the Top - [Fast Company] There's been a lot of bad news in business lately. And almost all of it is a result of leaders who ignore bad news -- until it turns into worse news. It turns out that what you don't know -- and don't even want to know -- can and will hurt you.

China Increases Censorship of Internet - [NewsMax] Strict new rules on Internet publishing in China went into effect. Authorities moved to silence dissent and political criticism ahead of this year's 16th Communist Party Congress, when an entire generation of leaders will step down.

U.S.-Israel Pact to Sidestep War Crimes Court - [CNN] The United States and Israel plan to sign an agreement protecting each others' troops from possible prosecution by the U.N. war crimes court, State Department officials told CNN on Friday.

Goodbye to Silicon Fen - [Guardian] Why doesn't Cambridge University understand the link between intellectual freedom and prosperity?

Japan Switches on National ID System - [New Scientist] Japan launched its first national and computerised personal identification system, giving 11-digit ID numbers to nearly all of its 126 million people.

Romania Shuns EU Over U.S. Immunity - [CNN] Romania has struck a deal with the United States to prevent U.S. peacekeepers from falling under the jurisdiction of a new war crimes court.

Peacebuilding: Putting Principles into Practice - [OECD Observer] Achieving peace from conflict depends on building respect and working together to forge agreement and new institutions. It can be done.

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ENVIRONMENT

Car Recycling Scheme Stalled - [BBC] Britain is being forced to explain to the EU why it has missed a deadline on implementing new rules on the recycling of old cars.

'Eco-City' Title Elusive in Japan - [Japan Times] Nagoya may have taken the No. 1 spot in a recent contest ranking the nation's municipalities on their environmental initiatives, but its overall score illustrates that many hurdles remain before any Japanese city can truly be called eco-friendly. An environmental organization network held the nation's first-ever "eco-city" contest to rank municipalities on how far environmental considerations are integrated into policies and how involved citizens are in planning and implementing policies.

Saving the Planet Has Become a PR Stunt for the West - [The Times] The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg could be the summit that ends all summits. Not because it has any chance of succeeding in its Olympian aims of ending deprivation in the world while protecting its environment, but because most analysts expect it to be such a dire failure that few people will want to repeat it.

U.N.: Asian Smog Threatens Millions - [MSNBC] A two-mile thick cloud of pollution shrouding southern Asia is threatening the lives of millions of people in the region and could have an impact much further afield, according to a United Nations-sponsored study.

Environmentalists Paint a Dirty Picture - [Russia Journal] Traffic policemen at Moscow's intersections face the same risk of dying of oncological diseases as rescue workers at Chernobyl during the first few days after the catastrophe there in 1986, experts at Russia's Green Party say.

Forests Fall Silent with Acid Rain - [BBC] Birds could disappear from North American forests because of acid rain. Scientists have found that the pollutant is leading to a decline of one species at least.

Scientists Shocked at GM Gene Transfer - [Guardian] Weeds have become stronger and fitter by cross-breeding with genetically modified crops, leading to fears that superweeds which are difficult or impossible to control may invade farms growing standard crops. Two separate teams, one working on sunflowers in the US and the other on sugar beet in France, have shown weeds and GM food crops readily swapping genes.

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THE FUTURE

Rebooting Civilization II - [Edge] On July 21, Edge held an event at Eastover Farm which included the physicists Seth Lloyd, Paul Steinhardt, and Alan Guth, computer scientist Marvin Minsky, and technologist Ray Kurzweil.