|
SCIENCE
Evidence
Mounts for Mysterious New Class of Black Holes - [Scientific
American] Astronomers have found further evidence for the
existence of what you might call the Goldilocks category
of black holes -- not too large, not too small, but intermediate
in mass. They have also discovered that these elusive objects
may be stranger than anyone had imagined.
Canadians
Tackle New Genome Frontier - [National Post] During
the race to sequence the human genome -- the blueprint of
life -- Canadian scientists sat uncomfortably on the sidelines.
But now that research has progressed to unravelling the
proteins created by the body's 30,000 genes, Canada has
scurried to the front of the pack.
Martian
Gullies Could Harbor Biology - [MSNBC] New spacecraft
imagery shows apparent signs of water seeping into what
look to be young, freshly cut gullies and gaps in the Martian
surface. Given that water is the elixir of life, could Mars
biology cuddle up to such wild and wet features, not just
in the long ago, but even today?
Parallel
Universes - [Scientific American] Not just a staple
of science fiction, other universes are a direct implication
of cosmological observations.
New
'DNA Chip' Rapidly Detects, Identifies Dangerous Pathogens
- [Science Daily] Detecting pathogens, whether from natural
diseases or biological weapons, is about to get faster and
more convenient, thanks to a new technique that can sense
harmful DNA and immediately alert a doctor or scientist.
Custom-designed loops of DNA emit light in the presence
of a specific creature's DNA.
Adult
Stem Cells Tackle Multiple Sclerosis - [New Scientist]
Treatment with adult stem cells has cured mice suffering
with a form of multiple sclerosis, say Italian researchers.
Almost a third of the mice recovered completely from paralysis
of their back legs, and the rest all showed substantial
improvement.
Prozac
Could Be the Key to Cancer - [icBirmingham] Prozac,
the anti-depression drug taken by half a million people
in the UK, has been hailed as a potential cure for cancer.
Scientists from the University of Birmingham have found
that, used in the right quantity, the drug causes some types
of cancer cells to self-destruct.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TECHNOLOGY
Robotic
Houseflies to Take Flight Within Five Years - [Daily
Californian] The science fiction fantasy of flying robots
the size of houseflies may become a reality within five
years, if UC Berkeley researchers have their way.
Smart
Robot Autos Tough It Out - [Wired News] American off-road
vehicles will tackle some daunting homeland terrain: the
asphalt jungles, clay embankments and alkali wastelands
separating Los Angeles from Las Vegas. The ground is navigable
-- the daunting part is that these vehicles must do it entirely
without human help.
Building
a Bigger Search Engine - [Wired News] Like SETI@Home,
LookSmart's Grub screensaver runs in the background or when
the computer is idle. But instead of searching for signs
of intelligent aliens, Grub crawls the Net to build an index
for Web searches.
Solar
Cells Become Thinner and Cheaper - [Physics Web] Researchers
in Germany have created a new type of very thin solar cell
that could provide a cheaper alternative to existing solar
cells.
Mini
Robot Planes Deployed In Iraq - [Discovery Channel]
Marines in Iraq are gathering intelligence using a miniature
aircraft that flies autonomously, relays information in
real time and fits into a super-sized golf bag, according
to the Office of Naval Research, which helped to develop
the new plane.
IBM
Pushes Autonomic IT - [vnunet] IBM has taken its vision
of autonomic IT past the planning stage with a series of
product launches and business partner initiatives which
it hopes will make self-healing computer systems a reality.
The
Body Electric - [Business 2.0] Biologists are making
big advances in simulating human cells and organs. The ultimate
step? A computer model of the entire body.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Corporate
Governance Reforms Divide City - [Guardian] A split
emerged between industry and investment institutions over
the Higgs report, designed to prevent Enron-style scandals
in the UK.
Investor
Outrage Reaches Record Levels - [The Street] This spring
will serve as a litmus test of shareholder outrage, kicking
off the first season of annual meetings since investors
learned of stunningly big executive payouts at the likes
of GE and Tyco. Such revelations have sparked growing indignation
against the backdrop of a three-year stock slump, prompting
shareowners to brandish a record number of reform proposals.
The
Airlines' New Deal: It's Not Enough - [Fortune] The
big airlines concede the world has changed.
The
New Normal - [Fast Company] After 36 months of corrections,
recession, and scandal, we're ready for a break. The bad
news is that the end of the bear doesn't signal the start
of the next bull. The world has figured out that this downturn
isn't a blip in an otherwise unfettered march to untold
prosperity, says Roger McNamee. "The '90s are over."
Wi-Fi
Means Business - [Business Week] The up-from-the-streets
movement is catching on in the corporate world. Will the
new wireless networks pay off?
Have
They No Shame? - [Fortune] Their performance stank last
year, yet most CEOs got paid more than ever. Here's how
they're getting away with it.
Technology
Spending - [Darwin] Want a new strategic competitive
weapon on your side? Think about tech investments -- now.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Europe`s
Growing Pains - [UPI] When 40 European leaders lined
up for a family photo at the end of a historic enlargement
summit in Athens, it provided a snapshot of what the EU
may look like in the not too distant future. If this sounds
far-fetched, or downright scary, think again. A European
Union stretching from the Atlantic to the Urals and from
the frozen wastes of Lapland to the arid fields of Anatolia
is fast becoming a reality.
U.S.
Buys Latin Americans' Personal Data - [Seattle Times]
Over the past 18 months, the U.S. government has bought
access to data on hundreds of millions of residents of 10
Latin American countries -- apparently without their consent
or knowledge -- allowing myriad federal agencies to track
foreigners entering and living in the United States.
Were
Baghdad's Antiquity Thieves Ready? - [Business Week]
They may have known just what they were looking for because
dealers ordered the most important pieces well in advance.
World
Bank Urges Lower Trade Barriers
- [USA Today] Global poverty can be cut in half by 2015
if rich countries lower trade barriers and increase foreign
aid, the World Bank said.
Why
Hussein's Fall Won't be a Berlin Wall for Arab World
- [Christian Science Monitor] An outside force, the US,
is driving Iraq's change, presenting different challenges.
Half
of All Hospital Drug Injections are Wrong - [New Scientist]
Half of all drug injections given intravenously in hospitals
are done wrongly, a new study reveals, with a third of these
being potentially dangerous.
Technology
Shapes New Journalists - [Silicon Valley] Armed with
$15,000 in satellite phones and computers, Preston Mendenhall
calls himself a "one-man band'' who writes stories,
snaps photographs and shoots video in combat zones.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENT
U.S.
Moves to Cut Diesel Pollution - [MSNBC] The Bush administration
proposed reductions of more than 90 percent in non-highway
diesel engine pollution blamed for thousands of premature
deaths, heart attacks and respiratory ailments.
Passengers
Face 'Green Tax' on Airline Fuel - [Independent] Britain
took the first step on the road to taxing air travel for
its contribution to global warming when the Treasury published
a document discussing the idea.
New
Tech Needed to Control Climate Change - [UPI] Major
reductions in carbon emissions from the energy sector will
control global warming despite what skeptics say about climate
uncertainties, a new study concludes.
Study
Finds Hybrid Cars Greener than Hydrogen Cars - [ENN]
Hybrid cars, which combine electric motors with small petroleum
engines, will outpace the environmental benefits of hydrogen
fuel cell cars until at least 2020, according to a university
study.
Climate
Changes May Increase Extreme Rain/Snow Events In California
- [Science Daily] Increasing carbon dioxide levels in the
atmosphere may lead to a rise in the number of annual extreme
precipitation events in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which
in turn could increase the frequency of flooding in California,
a NASA-funded study finds.
Nor
Any Drop to Drink - [The Economist] A United Nations
report says the world’s fresh water is being used up
fast. But much can be done to ensure that nobody goes thirsty
in future.
Jojoba
Oil Could Fuel Cars and Trucks - [New Scientist] An
oil frequently found on your bathroom shelf may prove a
viable alternative to diesel fuel for cars and trucks. Early
tests show that jojoba-fuelled engines kick out fewer pollutants,
run more quietly and for longer, and perform just as well
as diesels.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE FUTURE
Scenarios
- [Centre for Future Studies] Here are some examples of
the scenarios that help companies and organisations to rehearse
the future and so plan for it in a more coherent and effective
way.
|
