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SCIENCE
Gene
Found for Cancer's Spread - [Health Central] Researchers
hope the discovery of gene essential to cancer cells' migration
will lead to less-toxic therapies for the disease.
Mars
Radiation Dangerous to Explorers - [Silicon Valley]
Radiation on Mars is so intense that it could endanger astronauts
sent to explore the Red Planet, and it's unlikely that any
extraterrestrial life would survive there, NASA scientists
said.
Zooming
in on the Nanoscale - [BBC] Researchers have created
the highest resolution optical image ever, revealing structures
as small as just tens of billionths of a metre across.
Conquering
Infinity with Chemical Genetics - [BioIT World] At the
precise point where a drug touches a protein inside a cell,
lies the intersection of two dramatically different fields.
On one side, biologists try to understand what is happening
to the cell and its constituents. On the other side, chemists
try to understand why something is happening.
Anorexia
Linked to Mystery Molecule - [New Scientist] Anorexic
women have much higher levels of a mysterious molecule suspected
to affect appetite, researchers have shown for the first
time. The peptide, called CART, could be a candidate for
new appetite-altering drugs, they say.
Stem
Cell Surprise: Blood Cells Form Liver, Nerve Cells -
[Science News] A person's blood could someday provide replacement
cells for that individual's damaged brain or liver, a provocative
study suggests. Human blood contains so-called stem cells
that can be transformed outside the body into a variety
of cell types, according to the report.
Electrospun
Fibers Make Bandages that are Absorbed by the Body -
[Small Times] A new bandage that imitates nature's own healing
process could replace traditional gauze and elastic bandages
within a few years, researchers said. From minor cuts to
gunshot wounds, the bandage, a flannel-like material, stops
bleeding immediately and can be left in place to be absorbed
by the body.
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TECHNOLOGY
Bee-Like
Robot Swarm Wins MIT Prize - [ZDNet] Swarming robots
that can act in concert and mimic the behavior of bees have
netted James McLurkin, a 30-year-old doctoral candidate
in computer science, the annual Lemelson-MIT Student Prize.
Driverless
Taxi Passenger Trials to Begin - [E4 Engineering] Passenger
trials of the world's first driverless taxi service will
begin in Cardiff. The Urban Light Transport system, known
as Ultra, is set to become fully operational in the Welsh
capital in 2005.
Internet
Battle Lines Drawn - [The Register] Internet battle
lines were drawn at an extraordinary meeting in Geneva this
week. The non-descript "ccTLD workshop" hosted
by the International Telecommunication Union on 3-4 March
attracted a stellar cast including ICANN president Stuart
Lynn, ITU secretary general Yoshio Utsumi and leading representatives
of just about every major organisation dealing with the
Internet today.
Sight
Unseen - [Beyond 2000] Blinded seventeen years ago by
the errant hand of a surgeon, Hesham Kamel has nonetheless
excelled in a field that relies heavily on the ability to
produce complex charts and graphs. A PhD student at UC Berkeley's
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences,
Kamel found his research efforts were often hindered by
his reliance on a sighted person who could assist with the
production of graphical elements. About four years ago,
after being forced to miss a deadline when his sighted assistant
was on vacation, he decided to take matters into his own
hands.
What
Your Clothes Say About You - [Wired News] In a move
wireless industry analysts say will infringe on customers'
privacy, clothing designer Benetton plans to weave radio
frequency ID chips into its garments to track its clothes
worldwide.
Humanoid
Robots Wow Japanese - [BBC] Humanoid
robots, some of which can even walk on two legs, dominate
the world's largest robot exhibition, held in Yokohama,
southwest of Tokyo.
Is
Biowire in Your Future? - [MSNBC] The computer industry
always promises us "standards" -- but then proceeds
to deliver hardware and software that just doesn't happen
to work well with that of other manufacturers, or with previous
versions of the same product. It's been a perennial frustration
for consumers,but this time, in the rapidly emerging field
of implantable computers, perhaps the manufacturers are
finally getting wise.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
The
Dangers of War - [The Economist] For a company, the
first casualty of war may be what does not happen. Worrying
constantly about worst-case scenarios for events in Iraq,
many bosses have simply opted for a strategy of paralysis,
postponing big decisions until the uncertainty goes away.
Others would be glad to do nothing, but have to cope with
a collapse in demand partly caused by fear.
The New IT Agenda
- [Fast Company] CIOs and CTOs offer straight talk about
their most strategic investments (and how they justify them).
Rules
of Business Ethics - [Fast Company] Striking
a balance "between integrity and sensibility,"
the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a set of business-ethics
guidelines that it hopes will restore confidence in the
U.S. economy by making it easier for the public to understand
what constitutes unethical behavior and for corporations
to fulfill their moral and legal obligations.
Consumers
in the Mist - [Inc.] For real insights
into your clients, hire an anthropologist.
Mega
Europe - [Business Week] Soon, 10 states
and millions of people in the old Soviet bloc will join
the EU to form a new super-Europe. The question now: Is
bigger better?
A Sinking Feeling for Offshore Corporations
- [Corporate Board Member] In the good old
days -- less than a year ago, in fact -- corporate regulators
and watchdogs cared little about where a company was incorporated.
Then came the Tyco International scandal. Tyco’s Bermuda
registration became the red cape that now infuriates the
bull of public opinion.
War
Sparks Growing Boycotts of US Products - [Advertising
Age] Marketers of some of the world's biggest brands --
including Procter & Gamble Co., Pepsi-Cola Co., Coca-Cola
Co., H.J. Heinz Co., Xerox and McDonald's Corp. -- are going
on the offensive to combat war-related boycotts of American
products in hot spots around the globe.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Warning
on Gene 'ID Cards' - [BBC] The complete genetic makeup
of individuals could soon be scanned and recorded on a smart
card, says a leading scientist.
Give
DPZ a Chance - [Metropolis Magazine] The most prominent
advocates of New Urbanism --architects and planners such
as Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Andres Duany, Peter Calthorpe,
and Stefanos Polyzoides -- were students during the politically
heady 1960s and '70s, and perhaps that's when they learned
to be visionaries and activists. Surprisingly when they
set out to recruit followers, they didn't think to enlist
students. Luckily the students came to them.
The
Rising Soft Power of India and China - [NPQ] Across
the world, millions of people are reveling in the burst
of creativity coming from India and Asia's other cultural
giant, China. As China and India have rejected the grim
socialism of their past and opened up their minds, borders
and markets, a new generation of artists from these countries
have been taking Chinese and Indian pop and fine culture
to new levels of sophistication. They are expressing and
explaining their experience to the world on their own terms,
and an America redefining itself as a multicultural nation
within a globalized world is soaking it up.
Clash
of Civilizations - Or New World Disorder? - [Foreign
Policy Alert] Arnaud de Borchgrave is an Editor-at-Large
for UPI, interviewing heads of state and government and
commenting on the critical challenges of the 21st Century.
As Newsweek's Chief Foreign Correspondent, he covered most
of the world's major news events since joining the magazine
in 1950.
Re-Ordering
the World - [The Economist] It is already clear that
whatever the outcome of the war in Iraq, relations between
the world's most powerful countries have shifted significantly.
How far-reaching will the post-war changes in international
relations be?
Europe's
Population 'to Plummet' - [BBC] Europe's population
is set to shrink, mainly because women are having children
later, researchers suggest. It could lead to a fall of almost
a quarter - or 88 million people - by the year 2100, they
say.
Do
Privacy Fears Allow Terrorism? - [Wired News] If you
don't want the government to do what it must to protect
you from terrorists, you should butt out, said Heather MacDonald,
a lawyer at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think
tank. She made her remarks at the 13th annual Computers,
Freedom and Privacy conference.
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ENVIRONMENT
Changing
the Face of Energy - [BBC] Wind, waves and sunshine
will all play a greater part in heating our homes and supplying
power for industry in the future.
Half
the World Facing Water Shortages by 2025 - [ABC] Half
the world's population will not have enough water by 2025
unless governments lift their development and investment
priorities, a senior official of the World Water Council
said.
How
Hydrogen Can Save America - [Wired] The cost of oil
dependence has never been so clear. What had long been largely
an environmental issue has suddenly become a deadly serious
strategic concern. Oil is an indulgence we can no longer
afford, not just because it will run out or turn the planet
into a sauna, but because it inexorably leads to global
conflict. What we need is a massive, Apollo-scale effort
to unlock the potential of hydrogen, a virtually unlimited
source of power.
Climate
Change Linked to Migratory Bird Decrease - [Science
Daily] Biologists believe that climate change is affecting
living things worldwide, and the latest evidence suggests
that warmer winters may mean fewer migratory birds. New
research shows that as winter temperatures have risen in
central Europe, the number of migratory birds has dropped.
Ultimately, this may also decrease the number of migratory
bird species there.
Composting
Toilets Key to Global Sanitation - [New Scientist] Giving
large sewer systems to communities in the developing world
could be disastrous for them and their environments, sanitation
scientists are telling the World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan.
Their advice flies in the face of United Nations targets
to hook up more than a billion people to sewers in the next
decade.
World
'Needs Green Geneva Convention' - [BBC] The world needs
safeguards to protect the environment that match the Geneva
Conventions, a senior United Nations official says.
In
Water Transfer, Farmers vs. Sprawl - [Christian Science
Monitor] It would be the largest farm-to-city water transfer
in US history. And in a state that is both the nation's
most populous and its most agriculturally productive, the
controversial plan goes to the core of California's identity.
The farm-rich Imperial Valley is being asked to share its
imported water supplies with burgeoning San Diego suburbs.
If it doesn't, the US Interior Department threatens to suspend
the flow of surplus Colorado River water by year end.
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THE FUTURE
The
Future of Life - [KurzweilAI.net] A coming era of personalized
genetic medicine, breakthroughs that radically extend the
human lifespan, nanomedicine, and the merger of our biological
species with our own technology were among the future visions
presented at TIME's "The Future of Life" conference.
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