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SCIENCE
Liftoff
for Aurora - [Cosmiverse] Step by step, the European
Space Agency¹s new Aurora space exploration programme
is beginning to take shape. This ambitious programme, started
by ESA in January 2002, sets out a strategy over the next
30 years for Europe¹s robotic and human exploration
of Mars, the Moon, and even beyond to the asteroids.
Biological
Potential Seen for Mars - [MSNBC] Mix Mars rock, water,
and a heat source. What do have? Perhaps a suitable environment
to support Martian life.
Life
On Venus May Be Microbe Clouds - [Houston Chronicle]
Venus is considered the most inhospitable of planets, a
barren inferno where surface temperatures approach 900 degrees
Fahrenheit and the atmosphere is composed of metal-eating
acids. But the second planet from the sun actually may be
harboring life.
'Collective
Stomach' Drives Wasp Society - [New Scientist] The mystery
of how social wasps, not terribly smart as individuals,
build and maintain a complex nest that lasts many generations
may have been solved. A new mathematical model suggests
that one key factor drives their behaviour: the amount of
water in the nest.
Boost
for Brain Stem-Cell Implants - [Nature] A simple protein
shake coaxes human neural stem cells from fetuses to develop
into proper neurons when implanted into live animals' brain
or spinal cord. The technique jumps an important hurdle
on the path to stem-cell therapies.
MIT's
Superarchive - [Technology Review] A digital repository
will revolutionize the way research is shared and preserved.
Ancient
Protein and DNA Sequences Found in Same Fossil - [Space
Daily] For the first time in the world, researchers at the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, along with collaborators
at the University of Oxford, Harvard University, and Michigan
State University have uncovered two genetically informative
molecules from a single fossil bone.
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TECHNOLOGY
A
New Start for Gene Therapy? - [Washington Times] Gene
therapy has always been controversial, mostly because it
got off to a promising start and then floundered for almost
a decade. But it's now the "comeback kid" of biotech,
and is involved in more than 600 clinical trials in 20 different
countries.
VISA
Voices Biometrics Support - [Information Week] Technologists
have predicted for years that biometric technology--fingerprints,
voiceprints, eyeball scans--will become commonplace, replacing
relatively insecure passwords and personal-identification
numbers. Visa International last week said it took a major
step toward mainstreaming biometrics technology.
Snakes,
Robots, and the War on Terrorism - [Cosmiverse] It's
mighty daunting to be called a "brilliant young innovator"
whose "work and ideas are apt to change the world...a
visitor from the future, living among us here and now."
Talk about pressure. But that's exactly what MIT's Technology
Review Magazine called Howie Choset, mechanical engineer
and roboticist at Carnegie Mellon University, when they
named him one of their TR100's - this year's august group
of 100 innovators under the age of 35.
Wireless
Web Disappoints in Delivery - [IT Analysis] You might
have thought it would never happen, but here it is, the
first official count of the number of Internet pages served
on mobile phones and wireless devices. The data has been
gathered and analysed by the Mobile Data Association, on
behalf of O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone. It makes for
disappointing reading.
Plenty
of Room in the Air - [Mechanical
Engineering] Research is currently under way on a spectrum
of revolutionary concepts and technologies, for civilian
and military air vehicles and the airspace system, that
will enable a bold new era of aviation and mobility.
Altavista
Makeover: A Better View - [Wired] AltaVista is out to
prove that troubled Internet companies can have second acts.
In a bid to recapture its former status as the Web's top-ranked
search engine, the Palo Alto, California, company rolled
out a dramatic overhaul of its site and indexing methodology.
Robot
Guard-Dragon Unveiled in Japan - [New Scientist] A home
"guard dragon" robot has been unveiled in Japan.
The four-legged robot can sense smoke and alert its owners
to a smouldering fire - via a howl or a mobile phone text
message.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
E-Commerce
in an Uncertain Economy - [MicroEnterprise Journal]
Bargains, loyalty programs and security enhancements are
the themes that are currently resonating with online consumers,
according to the results of a recently released Internet
market research study. Forrester Research released the results
of its 2002 North America Retail and Media Mail study, and
the findings are both intriguing and alarming.
Amazon
Looking for Perfect Fit with Online Clothing Store
- [USA Today] Amazon.com began selling clothes, shoes and
accessories from more than 400 brands at a new "store,"
a sure fit for the top Internet's retailer's strategy of
selling everything and anything online. The new online apparel
store, which was in test mode for a week, debuts ahead of
the crucial holiday season and is the second major store
launch for Amazon this year, after it started an office
products store with Office Depot in September.
Biotech
Battle Boils - [Washington Times] Agricultural groups
are urging the Bush administration to file a complaint with
the World Trade Organization against the European Union's
moratorium on approvals of new genetically modified crops.
Making
Creativity Work - [Business 2.0] When you're in the
business of ideas, you have to find a way to mix genius
with discipline. Here's how.
It's
'Merge, Buy, or Die' in Telecom
- [Business Week] Although even the strongest players carry
enough debt to make them questionable suitors, sweeping
consolidation seems inevitable.
China
to Seek Increased Globalization
- [Korea Times] China's globalization policies will pose
opportunities as well as concerns for South Korea, according
to a Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
report published Friday. In its report analyzing China's
16th Communist Party Congress, the KIEP predicted that Chinese
companies will increase overseas investment and exploit
new export markets.
Accountants
Regroup After 'Year of Hell' - [BBC] Thousands of accountants
are converging in Hong Kong for their five-yearly global
congress, in the hope of salvaging a professional reputation
in tatters.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Killing
Probes the Frontiers of Robotics and Legality - [Guardian]
The US was accused last night of summarily executing the
six alleged al-Qaida members killed in Yemen on Sunday by
the first act of what experts say could be a new age of
"robotic warfare".
The
New Push for E-Government - [Business Week] From Washington,
D.C., to Washington State to your hometown, Net-based efficiencies
are luring more and more entities online.
Europe
Lacks Moral Fibre, Says US Hawk - [Guardian] Richard
Perle, a leading Pentagon adviser on Iraq, launched an extraordinary
tirade against Europe which he accused of losing its moral
direction and providing succour to Saddam Hussein.
Library
Filtering Debate Heats Up - [Wired] Both sides of the
library filtering debate were eager for their day in court
upon hearing that the Supreme Court would weigh in on the
touchy issue. The court's decision to hear a Justice Department
appeal defending the Children's Internet Protection Act,
represents the third time the justices will hear arguments
pitting free speech against attempts to shield children
from online smut.
Teachers
Mainely Happy with Tech - [Wired] When Maine Gov. Angus
King unveiled his plan to put a computer in the hands of
every seventh-grader in the state, some thought the idea
was as loony as trying to catch a laptop in a lobster trap.
Teachers in particular were concerned. After all, they would
be expected to use the machines with their students -- many
of whom knew more about computers than they did.
China
Welcomes Business Into the Party - [BBC] China's Communist
Party has officially thrown out its half-century of loathing
for businesspeople by changing its charter to let them join.
The change marks the wildfire growth of a market economy
in China, and the party wants to make sure the evolution
of market forces does not challenge its power base.
China
Seeks Dialog with NATO - [BBC] According to Nato officials,
China has approached the Atlantic alliance with the aim
of opening up a continuing strategic dialogue between Nato
and Beijing. Chinese diplomats recently held talks in Brussels
with the alliance's Secretary General, Lord Robertson.
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ENVIRONMENT
Nations
Vote to Protect Minke, Bryde's Whales - [ENS] Countries
in favor of conserving minke whales and Bryde's whales won
two votes at the meeting of Parties to the UN Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today,
turning down proposals by Japan to transfer these two species
to a lower level of protection under the treaty.
Region
Should Plan for Climate Change, Report Says - [Columbia
Earth Institute] "As the New York metropolitan region
moves forward after the September 11 tragedy, we should
pay attention to opportunities to minimize our vulnerability
to climate change," states Cynthia Rosenzweig, a climate
scientist with the Columbia Earth Institute and a principal
author of the newly released Metro East Coast (MEC) report,
Climate Change and a Global City: The Potential Consequences
of Climate Variability and Change.
Biotech
Corn Mixes with Beans - [USA Today] News this week of
the government's hold on 500,000 bushels of soybeans contaminated
with corn bioengineered to produce medicines represents
the nightmare scenario the world of plant-made pharmaceuticals
has feared: A bioengineered food plant had gotten within
a hair's breath of entering the U.S. food supply.
U.S.
States Combat Climate Change on their Own - [ENS] With
the U.S. federal government dragging its feet on addressing
the Earth's warming climate, some states are not waiting
for the feds to tell them what to do. State action on the
issue has been intensifying in the past few years, according
to a new report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
Canada
Pursues Micro Fuel Cells - [Space Daily] A first in
Canada, the Alberta Research Council (ARC) reached a milestone
in the technical development of its own version of solid
oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. ARC scientists are developing
a proprietary micro solid oxide fuel cell (µ-SOFC)
source of energy for small-scale portable applications such
as laptops or personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Cost
of Electricity 'Must Rise 15% to Fight Global Warming'
- [Independent] Electricity bills and petrol prices should
rise by more than 10 per cent to force homeowners and motorists
to contribute to the cost of fighting global warming, Britain's
premier scientific body recommends today.The Royal Society
said that the climate-change levy on businesses, which has
been criticised for penalising manufacturing industry, should
be replaced by a wider carbon tax that covers households
and motorists.
What
Could Help Prevent Oil Spills? - [Christian Science
Monitor] Anthony Palmiotti is director of continuing education
at the SUNY Maritime College, New York. Mr. Palmiotti holds
an unlimited tonnage merchant marine license and teaches
oil spill cleanup at the college. Palmiotti was interviewed
by Ben Arnoldy, The Christian Science Monitor's online producer.
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THE FUTURE
Global
Foresight Workshop Conference Proceedings - [Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars] On May 20-21,
2002 the Wilson Center's Foresight and Governance Project
held a workshop on global foresight with support from NASA.
The conference was the first effort in a series designed
to stimulate governments and other concerned parties to
think about possible goals that could be achieved over a
long time period (30-50 years) and with a proactive approach
to governance. (text, video and audio)
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