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SCIENCE
Out-of-Body
Experience Clues May Hide in Mind - [CNN] Neurology
researchers in Switzerland report the case of a woman who
described "floating above her own body and watching
herself" while she was undergoing testing and treatment
for epilepsy. The strange experience only occurred when
one particular part of her brain, the angular gyrus in the
right cortex, was stimulated with an electrode. And it happened
every time the angular gyrus was stimulated.
Gene
Therapy Found to Reverse Muscular Dystrophy - [QXHealth]
Researchers have proven that gene therapy can reverse the
pathological features of muscular dystrophy in an animal
model. Before, gene therapy had only been able to prevent
further muscle-wasting in mice.
Parasites
May Sap Male Longevity - [New Scientist] Males suffer
more parasitic infections than females, which could help
explain why they die earlier, say Scottish researchers.
New
Evidence Boosts Universe Theory - [Discovery] After
20 years of searching, U.S. astrophysicists said Thursday
they have detected for the first time a polarization of
the cosmic microwave background, a finding that supports
the cosmic inflation theory that says that following the
Big Bang the universe expanded rapidly.
24-Hour
Genome Dawns - [Nature] Sequencing
the first human genome took more than ten years. Yours may
take only 24 hours. Budding biotech firms are poised to
make instant genomes a reality.
Human-Chimp
DNA Difference Trebled - [New Scientist] We are more
unique than previously thought, according to new comparisons
of human and chimpanzee DNA. It has long been held that
we share 98.5 per cent of our genetic material with our
closest relatives. That now appears to be wrong. In fact,
we share less than 95 per cent of our genetic material,
a three-fold increase in the variation between us and chimps.
New
AIDS-Fighting Chemicals Identified - [UPI] Medical scientists
for the first time have identified human proteins that may
stifle AIDS by keeping HIV from breeding in the body. Not
only might this help explain why some people infected with
HIV can remain healthy for decades, but synthetic versions
of this protein also could lead someday to new AIDS-combating
treatments.
NASA
Reveals New Plan for the Moon, Mars and Outward - [Space.com]
To boldly go, the timeless and optimistic Space Age theme,
looks to have been reclaimed from a NASA lost-and-found
drawer as long-range planners prepare to reveal a new roadmap
for robotic and human missions to deep space, SPACE.com
has learned.
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TECHNOLOGY
Intel Outlines
Silicon Radios at IDF - [vnunet] Intel will integrate
silicon radios into future Intel chips to offer wireless
radio communication capabilities to any device powered by
them.
Building
Nano Sized DNA Structures - [Space
Daily] A new method to make very small patterns of DNA molecules
on surfaces has been developed by chemists at the University
of California, Davis, and Wayne State University, Detroit.
The technique could allow faster and more powerful devices
for DNA sequencing, biological sensors and disease diagnosis.
Robots
to Invade Europe - [ZDNet] Technological improvements
and falling prices could soon see robots doing many household
chores from cutting the grass to cleaning windows, with
Europe one of the fastest growing markets, said a UN report.
Robots
Powered by the Ocean Itself - [Cosmiverse] They call
them "gliders," but these move through water instead
of air. Two new robotic gliders -- autonomous underwater
vehicles powered by changes in their own buoyancy or by
different temperature layers in the ocean -- will be tested
operationally off Southern California this winter. Both
gliders were developed with support from the Office of Naval
Research.
European
Project Creates X-Ray of the Future - [Deutsche Welle]
German scientist Alfred Zinn is part of an international
group of scientists working and living together to develop
a pioneering new camera with implications for Earth and
space in less than five months.
Justice
Near At Hand as Cops Get Space Vision - [Space Daily]
Detectives will soon be solving gun crimes and murder cases
far faster using a simple handheld device that instantly
confirms whether a suspect has recently fired a gun, and
overcoming delays at the Lab which often enable suspects
to get away.
A
Solid Future for Lighting - [Economist] Over the next
decade, incandescent bulbs and fluorescent tubes are likely
to give way to illumination based on solid-state semiconductors.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Bid to Widen ASEAN Group - [The Age] Malaysia, saying
East Asia remains under threat of another financial crisis,
has pushed for ASEAN approval to hold talks between the
grouping's 10 nations and China, Japan and South Korea,
the region's biggest economies.
Old
Boy Network's Power Exposed - [Nature] Cliques of well-connected
businessmen can easily corrupt or distort corporate board
decisions, but now a team of scientists say they can assess
how much power old-boy networks have over boardroom meetings.
Climate
Related Perils Could Bankrupt Insurers - [ENS] Climate
change is causing natural disasters that the financial services
industry must address, a group of the world's biggest banks,
insurers and re-insurers warned. They estimated the cost
of financial losses from events such as this summer's devastating
floods in central Europe at $150 billion over the next 10
years.
Why
the Roaring '90s are Dead and Gone - [CNET] The world
of venture capital and entrepreneurship has changed dramatically
over the past decade and not just in the obvious ways.
Win
a Job Not a Cruise - on TV - [Wired] The battered Argentine
economy has spawned a new type of television game show:
Instead of competing for frost-free refrigerators or Caribbean
cruises, contestants vie for jobs. In Argentina, where unemployment
has jumped to a record 21.5 percent, Recursos Humanos (Human
Resources) is aired every evening at 7 p.m. and gets twice
the ratings as the soap opera it replaced.
Recycling
Option on Dell Exchange Now Available for Consumers
- [Social Funds] Dell has begun offering U.S. consumers
the option to recycle their used computers through www.dellexchange.com.
Through the new Dell Exchange option, consumers can recycle
any desktop or notebook computer from any manufacturer.
Is
Management Possible? - [Business 2.0] At a time of mounting
uncertainty in the world, making decisions becomes harder
than ever. That doesn't mean you get to stop trying.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Demography
as Destiny - [Fox News] Frey is a demographer and research
scientist at the University of Michigan's Population Studies
Center, who studies how population is shifting within the
United States. As the results from the 2000 census have
come in, Frey has produced a series of authoritative, provocative,
and eye-opening essays on how America is changing. Much
of his material is available on his website.
Australia
Ends Tariffs for Poor Nations
- [Radio Australia] Australia has announced that it will
eliminate all trade tariffs and quotas it levies on the
world's 50 poorest countries.
Annan
Says World Losing War on Hunger - [Stuff] Declaring
Iraq was not the only issue on the agenda, UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan has warned governments they are falling behind
on their millennium vow to fight hunger and AIDS and broaden
education.
All
the World's an MIT Campus - [Wired] For about $27,000
a year, elite students can earn a degree at MIT, one of
the most prestigious schools in the nation. And now the
rest of the world can access MIT's curriculum on the Web
for free, no tests or admissions essays required. MIT posted
a sampling of 32 classes in 17 departments on its OpenCourseWare
(OCW) website, a pilot offering to the public.
It's
My DNA, and I'd Like to Keep It That Way - [Business
2.0] What are the privacy consequences once personal information
starts going digital?
Superiority
Complex - [Atlantic] Know thyself," the Greek sage
advised. But of course this is nonsense. Truly happy people
live by the maxim "Overrate thyself." They are
raised by loving parents who slather them with praise. They
stride through life with a confidence built on an amazing
overestimation of their own abilities. And they settle into
an old age made comfortable by the warm glow of self-satisfaction.
Each of these people is a god of self-esteem, dwelling on
a private Olympus.
A
Lost Generation of Job Seekers? - [Business Week] The
young and those in mid-career are bearing the brunt of layoffs.
And new jobs are harder to find, as older workers delay
retirement.
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ENVIRONMENT
Glacial
Melting Takes Human Toll - [Common Dreams] The entombment
of a Russian village under 3 million tons of ice and mud
from a collapsing glacier is a sign of the gradual yet vast
climatic changes sweeping the world's mountainous regions,
scientists say. The disaster on the slopes of the Caucasus
Mountains left more than 100 people missing and at least
nine dead. Researchers maintain that the avalanche is part
of a subtle chain of events that has transformed once-frozen
mountains and is altering the course of nearby human settlements
in unexpected, and sometimes disastrous, ways.
Arctic
Pollution Causing Polar Bears to Change Sex - [Independent]
Polar bears, Arctic foxes and Inuit peoples are under threat
from man-made toxins such as polychlorinated byphenyls (PCBs)
that build up in the food chain, new research reveals. Some
scientists believe the PCBs are leading to "gender-bender"
polar bears in Norway and Greenland, after the discovery
of a number of female bears which had both male and female
sexual organs.
Farming,
Logging, Development Affect Climate, Too - [CNN] Cutting
trees, building cities and growing crops have profound effects
on the climate in addition to human activities that release
greenhouse gases, a new NASA study reports.
World's
Seas Awash with Sewage - [ENS] All governments should
back wastewater emission targets as a key step towards cleaning
up the world's seas and reducing the number of people at
risk of disease due to lack of basic sanitation services,
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) urged at
the release of a new report at its headquarters in Nairobi.
Endangered
Species List Grows - [CBS] There are 11,167 other plants
and animals threatened with extinction, according to the
World Conservation Union's 2002 Red List of Threatened Species,
an increase of 121 since 2000.
Trend
Toward Coal-Fired Power Plants Blackens America's Future
- [Free Lance-Star] No longer considered a fuel of the past,
smoky, dirty coal is beginning to replace natural gas as
a power-plant fuel in parts of the country where electrical
companies are unable to obtain long-term contracts for gas
at affordable prices.
Tree
Farms Won't Halt Climate Change - [New Scientist] The
Kyoto Protocol to halt climate change is based on a scientific
fallacy, according to the first results of CarboEurope,
a Europe-wide programme that has pioneered research into
the carbon budget.
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THE FUTURE
The
Hydrogen Experiment (Adobe Acrobat file) - [Worldwatch]
In Reykjavik, Iceland, scientists, politicians, and business
leaders have conspired to put in motion a grand experiment
that may end the country's -- and the world's -- reliance
on fossil fuels forever. The island has committed to becoming
the world's first hydrogen economy over the next 30 years.
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