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SCIENCE
Schizophrenia
Gene Discovery Breakthrough - [Sydney Morning Herald]
By creating a genetically modified mouse with schizophrenia,
researchers led by the Nobel laureate Susumu Tonegawa have
identified a gene in people linked to a high risk of developing
the mental illness. Professor Tonegawa said the discovery
was likely to lead to a much needed new class of drugs for
the disease -- the first drugs designed to target its underlying
genetic causes.
Researchers
Discover Heart Defect Gene Mutation - [Health Day] Researchers
have identified another gene that plays a role in the development
of congenital heart defects. The gene, known as GATA4, is
only the second gene that's been identified as a possible
cause of congenital heart defects, one of the most common
birth defects in the United States.
A
Nuclear Time Bomb in Our Genes? - [Telegraph] Imagine
falling ill with cancer and discovering that the underlying
cause could be traced back to something that happened to
your grandfather or grandmother many decades ago. Evidence
of this genetic time bomb, one that enables the effects
of radiation or chemicals to be felt by future generations,
has come from recent research.
Second
Black Hole May Lurk at Milky Way's Heart - [New Scientist]
A middleweight black hole, thousands of times heavier than
the Sun, is dragging young stars towards the monster black
hole known to sit at our galaxy's centre, astronomers suspect.
The discovery could help explain how the monster grew so
fat in the first place. There is good evidence that most,
if not all, large galaxies harbour a supermassive black
hole. The one at the centre of the Milky Way is about three
million times as massive as the Sun.
Gene
Discovered That Affects Operation of Circadium Rhythm
- [InPharm] Removing a gene that helps control the body's
internal clock dramatically changes patterns of sleep, activity
and feeding in mice, researchers at University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have discovered. Their
findings could explain why some species, including humans,
function more efficiently at certain times of the day.
An
Odd, New Subatomic Particle, the “Pentaquark”,
Has Been Found - [The Economist] The pentaquark, which
has been dubbed “theta-plus”, was found by a collaboration
at the SPring-8 accelerator in Hyogo, Japan. The collaborators
found the particle in three-year old data, after they were
told what to look for by Dmitri Diakonov, a theoretician
at the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, in Russia.
Solar
System Similar to Ours Found -
[MSNBC] An international team of planet hunters have found
the closest thing yet to a solar system similar to our own
out in space; a Jupiter-like planet orbiting its parent
star in a Jupiter-like orbit.
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TECHNOLOGY
Bad
Breaks Fixed Fast by Bone 'Printer' - [New Scientist]
Shattered bones could soon be replaced by segments of artificial
bone that can be "printed" within hours. The artificial
bone is strong enough to bear weight, and would slowly be
replaced by new bone.
Nanotech
for New Organs - [Scientific American] Scientists have
taken what may be a key step toward creating human organs
such as livers and kidneys. Taking their cue from the body's
own vascular system, researchers from M.I.T. and Harvard
Medical School constructed a microscopic device capable
of supplying oxygen and nutrients to organ cells.
Australian
Rat-Robot Hybrid Paints Pictures - [ZDNet UK] Two laboratories
decided to collaborate in an attempt to bridge the gap between
biological and artificial systems, to produce a machine
capable of matching the intelligence of even the simplest
organism -- one that will over time evolve, learn, and express
itself through art, according to Professor Steve Potter.
IBM
Debuts Privacy Language for ID Management
- [Silicon Valley] With concerns about identity management
apparently popping up at every turn in the IT industry,
IBM unveiled a purpose-based data authorization language
to help businesses automate privacy policies across applications
and systems.
High
Street Debut for Net Phones - [BBC] Citizens of a leafy
suburb on the outskirts of London will soon be able to report
graffiti, broken streetlights and abandoned cars to the
local council via kiosks in the street. The street-based
information booths in the Surrey borough of Kingston-Upon-Thames
allow citizens to ring the council's call centres directly.
All calls made via the kiosks will be routed via the internet
rather than over the traditional telephone network.
Research
Firm Says Wi-Fi Will Go Bye-Bye - [Silicon Valley] Emerging
technology researchers say Ultrawideband (UWB) will eventually
beat out the current Wi-Fi wireless networking standard
and make Bluetooth go the way of the sabertooth. Meanwhile,
according to West Technology Research Solutions, (WTRS),
the open standard ZigBee protocol will enable every system
in the house to talk to each other.
Gladiator-Style
'Wars' Select Out Weak Programs - [New Scientist] Computer
scientists have found the ultimate way to debug their programs
- let them compete against other programs in a gladiator-style
tournament.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Broadband
Access for Scandinavian Flights - [PC Pro] The testing
is over. Scandinavian Airlines -- SAS -- is to provide airborne
Internet access for its passengers. The company has deemed
trials of the service to be a success and will begin rolling
out wireless networking for all its long-distance flights.
Online
Media to Spur IT Boom - [Computer Weekly] Apple's iTunes
has sold more than five million tracks legally online in
its first eight weeks. By attacking online music distributors
the industry has been trying to stifle the very market opportunity
it craves. Now it is putting together
a plan to take advantage of this market. Sony Music, EMI
and Universal are busy forming partnerships and licensing
deals for legitimate online services.
McDonald's
Serves Up Wireless Web Access - [c|net] Would you like
Internet access with your fries? McDonald's is convinced
that, for many people, the answer is yes. However, even
as it expands the number of restaurants offering wireless
Internet access, company executives admit they are still
trying to figure out the dollars and cents that will make
the move add up.
Gillette,
Wal-Mart Drop Plan for Radio ID Chips
- [Boston Globe] Customers at the Wal-Mart store in Brockton
won't be getting miniature radio transmitter chips with
their Gillette Mach 3 razors, after all. Boston-based
Gillette Co. and giant retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have
backed away from plans to test the controversial chips at
the Brockton Wal-Mart store.
This
May Be the End of the Options Era - [Business Week]
Microsoft's move to ditch stock options in favor of restricted-stock
grants, combined with a FASB ruling, could push the rest
of techdom to abandon them, too.
Gulp!
Yahoo and Overture Are Only The Beginning
- [Business 2.0] The tech industry is poised for a major
eat-or-be-eaten phase. Who dines, and who's bait? The answers
will reshape the IT landscape -- and dictate much about
the future of jobs and investment.
Buzz
Without Bucks - [Fast Company] Smart companies are discovering
that you don't need big budgets to deliver a big message.
By cleverly cultivating buzz, small businesses with tiny
budgets can level the playing field with established giants.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
First
Designer Baby Born in Europe - [Newsfox] Europe's first
'designer baby', named Jamie, has been born in England.
According to Jamie's parents and doctors, he was selected
as an embryo in order to be able to help his four-year-old
brother, who is suffering from a rare form of anemia. Jamie's
umbilical cord can supply the stem cells for his brother's
therapy. Because the genetic selection of an embryo is not
allowed in Great Britain, the procedure was carried out
in the United States.
UN
Wants Poor Nations to Use Wireless Internet
- [SABC News] Wireless Internet technology may help poor
nations leapfrog into the future if they can get assistance
to harness the new technology, Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General,
said. Wireless Internet access has "a key role to play
everywhere, but especially in developing countries and countries
with economies in transition," Annan said in a message
to a UN conference on the rapidly growing phenomenon known
as Wi-Fi.
Developing
World Faces Cancer Crisis - [BBC] The number of new
cancer patients in the developing world reach 10 million
per year by 2015 -- and most will have no access to lifesaving
treatment, say experts.
More
Embryo Meddling Sparks Anger - [Wired] Scientists in
the United States have created hybrid human "she-males,"
mixing male and female cells in the same embryo, outraging
fertility experts and anti-abortionists. Dr. Norbert Gleicher
of the Foundation for Reproductive Medicine in Chicago and
a colleague injected male cells into female embryos in research
that they believe could lead to better treatments or cures
for single gene disorders.
World
Bank Poverty Drive a Failure - [Mail & Guardian]
World Bank projects costing hundreds of millions of pounds
and aimed at cutting malnutrition among children in developing
countries have completely failed to make any difference,
according to a report. Save the Children UK claims that
the bank has not only continued with costly but failing
projects in Bangladesh and Uganda but it is planning to
expand, with a scheme billed for Ethiopia. It claims the
money could be better spent.
A
Moment of Truth for the Humanitarian Enterprise - [Foreign
Policy in Focus] No crisis is wholly unique. However the
task of protecting and assisting people in Iraq confronts
the international humanitarian enterprise with challenges
differing in degree, if not in kind, from earlier high-profile
crises. Not only nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), particularly
those based in the U.S., but also the humanitarian apparatus
of the United Nations face vexing dilemmas.
Gaming
'Part of Student Life' - [BBC]
Video games are part of everyday life for US students, but
racing virtual cars or blasting aliens does not detract
from their studies, says a report. About two-thirds of college
students play video games, found a survey by the Pew Internet
& American Life Project think-tank.
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ENVIRONMENT
Reef
Losing Battle With Pollutants - [The Age] Soil sediment
thick with contaminants is settling on the Great Barrier
Reef at an increasing rate, smothering coral and damaging
its capacity to reproduce, marine scientists warn.
Amazon
Deforestation Rate Up 40% in Brazil - [World Business
Council for Sustainable Development] The deforestation rate
in Brazil's Amazon, the world's largest jungle, jumped 40%
last year, sparking alarm among environmentalists and a
promise by the government to launch emergency measures.
US
'Has Frontier Mentality' on Oceans - [BBC] In a telling
indictment of US marine policy, a group of influential Americans
say their country has lacked the imagination to care properly
for its oceans.
Superweeds
Fear from GM Crops - [Guardian] Scientific evidence
shows that GM oilseed rape is expected to cross with five
wild British plants, probably creating "superweeds"
which are resistant to herbicides. Maps produced to show
the distribution of five wild species demonstrate that GM
oilseed rape grown almost anywhere in the UK would contaminate
native plants.
U.S.
CO2 Emissions Will Rise Absent Strong Policy - [ENS]
Voluntary measures will not be enough to reduce U.S. carbon
dioxide emissions, finds a new report released by the Pew
Center on Global Climate Change. Without a mandatory carbon
cap, U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide -- widely believed
to be a leading contributor to climate change -- are likely
to rise across a wide range of possible energy futures,
according to the study.
Highest
Levels of Air-Borne Pollution in London for Seven Years
Alarm Scientists - [Independent] Air pollution in London
has reached its highest level for seven years. Scientists
from King's College London said they were "alarmed"
at levels of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and
PM10 particulates from exhaust fumes over the past six months.
UN
Launches Online Ocean Atlas - [BBC] The UN is publishing
an online atlas of the world's oceans to combat their unsustainable
exploitation. It says the continuously updated atlas will
provide data on over-fishing, coastal habitat destruction
and pollution.
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THE FUTURE
The
Whole Wide World (audio) - [Transom.org] The Whole Wide
World decodes the riddles of the new race, the new map,
the post-Cold War 21st Century system known as "globalization,"
through the voices of artists, economists, refugees, and
historians and plain folk. Hosted by Christopher Lydon,
the seven-part series encompasses trends that could kill
us -- viruses, habitat collapse, starvation, terrorism and
war -- and also the technologies, cultural connections that
could rescue us. Each program features voices both famous
and obscure, such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, psychologist Steven
Pinker, novelist Zadie Smith, and prophetic political scientist
Samuel P. Huntington.
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