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SCIENCE
Immune
'Invisibility' of Brain Stem Cells Proven - [New Scientist]
Stem cells from the brain do not provoke an immune response
when transplanted to different parts of another individual's
body, suggests a study in mice.
Orphaned
Star Clusters Roam the Universe
- [Spaceflight Now]
US and UK astronomers have discovered a population of previously
unknown star clusters in what was thought to be the empty
space between galaxies.
New
Clues to Identity of First Genetic Molecule - [New Scientist]
You have heard of DNA and RNA, but what about TNA? It resembles
its more famous cousins in almost every respect, except
that it is based on a sugar called threose instead of the
deoxyribose found in DNA and the ribose in RNA.
Infertility
'Will Not Be a Problem in Next Decade' - [Telegraph]
The ability to grow artificial eggs and sperm in the laboratory
will come in around a decade, marking the end of infertility,
a leading expert predicted.
New
Mechanism For Gene Silencing Identified; Discovery Suggests
New Targets For Cancer Therapies - [Science Daily] Humans
are estimated to have some 30,000-70,000 genes, but in any
one of the body's many cell types, most of these genes are
turned off, or silenced, appropriately prevented from doing
their work of protein production. For example, there are
thousands of genes that are active only during embryo development,
their sole purpose to give rise to a perfectly formed fetus.
These genes are found in every cell of the body but remain
silent in healthy adults. Scientists have learned, however,
that in many human cancers these genes associated with embryogenesis
are inappropriately reactivated, causing the explosion of
uncoordinated cell growth that is the hallmark of tumor
formation.
Hot
Spots On Mars Give Hunt For Life New Target - [Science
Daily] Giant hollow towers of ice formed by steaming volcanic
vents on Ross Island, Antarctica are providing clues about
where to hunt for life on Mars.
New
Theory of Time Rattles Halls of Science - [Space.com]
A radical new theory of time and motion has some of the
world's physicists doubting the claim while others laud
the 27-year-old college dropout who came up with it, an
unknown big thinker named Peter Lynds.
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TECHNOLOGY
Reasonable
Computers: The Next Steps in ‘Artificial Intelligence’
- [ABC News] It may still be decades before computers become
"self-aware" and smart enough to do something
evil on their own, like turn against humans. But the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency is hoping that renewed
research and funding could within the next few years lead
to machines that act more like human assistants.
Roboblood
- [US News] Back in June 1996, Chris Phoenix, a former student
of nano-guru Eric Drexler's at Stanford University, posted
a question on the Foresight Institute message boards: "What
about replacing blood with a complex robot?" This innocent
inquiry led to a lengthy collaboration with Robert Freitas
Jr., author of Nanomedicine, the first book-length
technical discussion of the medical application of nanotechnology
and nanorobotics.
Microsoft's
In-House Sociologist - [c|net] Microsoft is keeping
a close eye on newsgroups and other e-mail lists, which
it has identified as the Internet's undervalued "knowledge
management application."
'New
Web Worm Tackles Bugs - [BBC] Another Windows worm is
on the loose, but this one tries to help rather than hinder.
Smartphones
Eat into Handheld Market - [ZDNet UK] Handheld-device
shipments have dropped for the second year in a row, with
blame being laid on the rise of smartphones.
Bionic
Vocal Chords Could Be Promise of Future - [NBC] A miracle
of science could bring the sweetest sound back to those
who no longer have a voice. People who have lost the use
of their voice box because of surgery, illness or accident
may one day be able to restore their original voices through
bionic vocal chords.
The
Sensor Revolution - [Business Week] Soon, sensor networks
will track everything from weather to inventory.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Dial
the World -- For Free - [US News] The Web and E-mail
are second nature to PC owners. Jeff Pulver hopes the same
will soon apply for Internet phone calls. A 40-year-old
pioneer in the field, Pulver is a passionate, fast-talking
crusader trying to sell a skeptical public on the future
of Net telephony. His latest venture is a no-charge service
called Free World Dialup.
China's
Net Survivors Get Rich - [Wired] Daniel Chiang, a survivor
of China's Internet bust, is no longer embarrassed to go
out. In fact, the 45-year-old chairman of China's biggest
listed Internet media firm, Sina.com, says he quite enjoys
meeting his investors now that the company's share price
has risen 19-fold over the past year.
Reinventing
the Consultants - [Computer Business Review Online]
Billion dollar mergers, tens of thousands of job cuts, courtroom
drama and global re-branding campaigns. The recent history
of the former 'big five' IT and business consulting firms
has been an extraordinary one, and it does not look like
becoming any more straightforward.
Monsanto
Seed Price Hikes Spark Anger - [Boston.com] Monsanto
has been struggling to regain favor in the investment community
and said it would raise prices on its hot-selling Roundup
Ready corn and soybeans in the United States to help increase
revenue. The suggested retail price on its Roundup Ready
corn seed would increase on average by about $3 a bag, and
Roundup Ready soybean seed by about $2 a bag.
India
Imports UK Teachers to Train Call Centre Staff
- [ZDNet UK] Retired UK teachers are instructing Indian
call centre workers in British general knowledge, place
names, and accents.
The
Stones' New Tune: Start Me Up, Digitally - [Business
Week] In a breakthrough for pay-per-tune downloading, the
band's entire catalog is now available online. Will other
rock legends join the party?
Power
Loss is a Lesson to Business - [IHT] Disaster planning
gets a more serious review.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Camera-Phone
Makers Ban Own Products - [ZDNet UK] Companies that
make mobile cameras will not allow them inside their own
manufacturing facilities, citing concern over spying. Korean
IT giants like Samsung and LG Electronics may be fiercely
promoting camera-equipped phones to consumers, but are wary
about allowing their use inside company grounds.
E-Voting
System Flaws 'Risk Election Fraud' - [New Scientist]
Software flaws in a leading US electronic voting system
could be used to subvert the outcome of an election, claim
researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Rice University
in the US.
ID
Theft is Soaring, Says Survey
- [Computer Weekly] The number of Americans who fell victim
to identity theft in 2002 grew 81% on last year, and the
number of incidents reported so far this year suggests that
this will continue to grow, according to a survey by Harris
Interactive. More than 13 million
Americans have fallen victim to identity theft or fraud
since January 2001.
Divorce
by Text Will Attract Fines - [ZDNet UK] Malaysia's Islamic
court is to come down harder on husbands who take divorce
into their own hands, including those who use attempt divorce
by text message, according to official news agency Bernama.
Camp
Aims to Beat Web Addiction - [BBC] An innovative new
camp in Germany is trying to get children who spend too
much time on the internet out of their bedrooms and into
the sunshine.
DNA
Codes Inspire 'Genomic Music' - [Discovery.com] A Thai
geneticist, a computer programmer and a music composer together
have created a CD of music based on DNA sequencing.
Philip
Bowring: Turning Point for Globalization - [IHT] The
worm has turned. The early repayment by Thailand of $12
billion borrowed from the International Monetary Fund at
the time of the Asian crisis was not just a technical one
made possible by its now buoyant external financial conditions.
It was a conscious rejection of the neoliberal doctrines
known as the Washington consensus, whose influence reached
their high-water mark following the Asian financial crisis.
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ENVIRONMENT
Many
U.S. Industry Giants Ignoring Global Warming - [ENS]
Most of the nation's largest carbon dioxide emitting companies
are failing to assess, disclose and address the financial
risks posed by climate change, according to a new study
of 20 of the world's largest companies. Unlike many of their
foreign rivals, American industry giants such as ChevronTexaco,
ExxonMobil, General Electric, Southern Company and Xcel
Energy, continue to pursue business strategies that discount
the global warming threat, the report details.
Population
Boom Threatens Wildlife - [Nature] Sheer numbers of
people is the dominant threat to biodiversity, a controversial
new model suggests.
Small
Babies Linked to 9/11 Smoke Plume - [New Scientist]
The pall of smoke and dust that hung over Manhattan after
the September 11 terrorist attack on New York appears to
have caused pregnant women in the vicinity to bear small
babies, according to a new study by US researchers.
Climate
Change Threatens Britain's Crumbling Transport System with
Chaos, Ministers Warned - [Telegraph] Britains roads,
railways and runways will need "major upgrades"
to cope with rising temperatures, the Government's scientific
advisers on climate change have warned.
The
High Cost of Europe's High Temps - [Business Week] As
farmers and others warn of economic disaster, the EU is
searching for emergency funds to help -- but finding little.
Hit
by Heat and Drought, Netherlands is Rethinking its Traditional
Approach to Water - [ENN] For centuries, the Dutch erected
dikes and reclaimed land to keep out the North Sea and prevent
flooding. Now, confronted by record heat and shrinking water
levels, they are breaking tradition to keep water in, instead
of out.
Butterflies
at Risk, Conservation Group Warns - [ABC] South Australia
is in growing danger of losing many of its butterfly species,
according to environmentalists.
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THE FUTURE
The Rosetta
Project - The Rosetta Project is a global collaboration
of language specialists and native speakers working to develop
a contemporary version of the historic Rosetta Stone. The
intention is to create a unique platform for comparative
linguistic research and education as well as a functional
linguistic tool that might help in the recovery or revitalization
of lost languages in unknown futures.
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