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SCIENCE
Genes
Organize Male, Female Brain Differently - [Better Humans]
More than 50 genes have been linked to the organization
of female and male brains, refuting 30 years of scientific
theory that sexuality is entirely determined by hormones.
Nano-Velcro
Binds Faster than Strongest Glues - [Nature] Researchers
estimate that nano-velcro would be about 30 times stronger
than conventional epoxy adhesives. It would bond most solids
together so powerfully that the materials themselves would
break before the pads of hooks came apart.
Breathing
Rust - And New Life into Bug Science - [Christian Science
Monitor] Iron lungs may be the answer. To the problem of
nuclear pollution, the demand for new energy sources, the
mystery of Earth's earliest life, and the search for life
in space. A family of tiny iron-breathing critters discovered
by Derek Lovley, professor of microbiology at the University
of Massachusetts, Amherst, is redefining what scientists
have believed possible.
Puberty
Gene Spotted - [Nature] The discovery of a gene that
initiates puberty could speed the production of new fertility
treatments.
German
Team Finds Secret of Mummies' Preservation - [Yahoo
News] A German research team has unravelled the mystery
of how the ancient Egyptians mummified their dead, using
sophisticated science to track the preservative to an extract
of the cedar tree.
Photosynthesis
Puzzle Solved - [BBC] A complete molecular-scale picture
of photosynthesis -- how plants convert sunlight to chemical
energy -- has been obtained, offering new insights into
animal metabolism as well.
Multiphoton
Microscope Observes Cell Membrane Action - [Science
Daily] Cell membranes can assume a variety of shapes as
they morph to engulf materials, expel others and assemble
themselves into tissues. A team of biophysicists from Cornell
University, the National Institutes of Health and the W.M.
Keck Foundation has been able to watch the sacs, or vesicles,
reshaping themselves under the light of multiphoton three-dimensional
microscopy.
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TECHNOLOGY
Yahoo
Mail Delivers New Spam Measures - [CNET] Yahoo launched
new antispam tools for its Web-based e-mail service as part
of an ongoing effort to curb the Internet's most reviled
by-product.
Octopus
Eyes Open New Electronic Vision - [Christian Science
Monitor] Ask any aquarium curator, and you'll discover just
how much an octopus likes to explore its environment. A
master escape artist whose soft body can contort itself
through the smallest of openings, the octopus is the brainiest
of animals without backbones, and it has keen eyesight.
Those attributes attracted Albert Titus, a University of
Buffalo professor, to study how an octopus sees, and to
mimic that structure and function in a silicon chip called
the o-retina.
Students
Fight E-Vote Firm - [Wired] A group of students at Swarthmore
College in Pennsylvania has launched an "electronic
civil disobedience" campaign against voting machine
maker Diebold Election Systems.
China
Grid Project Goes Live - [InfoWorld] Chinese Ministry
of Education and a dozen universities work on grid project
that will connect up to 200,000 students in 100 schools
across the country.
File-Swapping
Pioneers Set their Sights on Phoning for Free - [International
Herald Tribune] Two Swedish entrepreneurs and a team of
Estonian programmers who wrote the file-sharing application
called Kazaa have created a way to allow people to make
high-quality phone calls over the Internet without having
to pay a penny.
The
Future of Talking Computers - [CNET] A future in which
conversational computers predominate has been a staple of
computer science chit-chat since the 1940s, when Alan Turing
set out to build a machine that would respond like a human
to typed messages.
New
Typeface to Help Dyslexics - [Wired] Dyslexics who have
trouble reading words online and in print may soon find
relief in a new typeface being developed by a Dutch designer.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Telstra
Unveils Aussie Online Music Store - [The Register] Australian
telco Telstra is to open the continent's first online music
service sometime before Christmas.
Security
Threats Outpace Net Usage Growth - [Internet News] Internet
security breaches and fraud attempts have outpaced the "impressive"
growth of Internet usage with the U.S. being the biggest
target by attackers, according to statistics released by
Verisign.
Coke
to Roll Out Cholesterol-Reducing Orange Juice - [FOX
News] Soft drink maker Coca-Cola Co., which is battling
rival PepsiCo Inc. for control of the growing health drinks
market, said it was preparing to launch a cholesterol-reducing
orange juice.
Cinemas
Set for 'Digital Revolution' - [BBC] Music, sport and
musicals will all be regularly beamed into cinemas by the
year 2008, a report has predicted.
The
New Trend in Offshore Outsourcing - [CNET] Providers
of business process outsourcing (BPO) services move beyond
call centers and routine data-crunching tasks toward higher-end
services.
Established
Firms Need the Courage to Disrupt - [Boston Globe] Perhaps
the most daunting challenge for executives is responding
to an emerging technology or new product that could disrupt
their core business.
Kraft
Foods Partners with Rainforest Alliance on Sustainable Coffee
Initiative - [ENN] Kraft Foods has announced a new partnership
with recognized international conservation leader, the Rainforest
Alliance, to support the development of sustainable coffee
production in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and Central America.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Internet
Scammers Go 'Phishing' - [CBS] The phishing e-mail contains
a way to connect to what looks like a genuine Web site,
but clicking on that link leads to a counterfeit site.
Big
Screens Open Windows on World - [Wired] An Austrian
firm is developing a giant video-conferencing system that
will be deployed in public spaces in London and Vienna next
year, allowing people in the two cities to meet and talk
eye-to-eye. Standing in front of the 10-foot-high, cylindrical
TV screen is like looking directly into the heart of a foreign
city, its inventors say.
Teachers
Get £50,000 Home-Loan Help - [BBC] Teachers in
London are to get interest-free home loans of up to £50,000
in an effort to prevent them moving elsewhere, the government
has announced.
Record
Number of Women Childless - [FOX News] Anne Hare and
her husband made a momentous decision three years ago: They
would not have children. It's not that they don't like kids,
she says. They simply don't want to alter the lifestyle
they enjoy.
Indian
Police Force Flash Mobs Out of Bombay
- [IOL] Flash mobs will not be seen again on the streets
of the Bombay in India following a police crackdown on public
gatherings, organisers said.
Poverty
'Surged' After Bali Bombing - [BBC] Hundreds of thousands
of people were impoverished as a result of the bombs that
killed almost 200 people in Bali in October 2002, a new
report says.
Israel
Defiant in Wake of UN Vote Against Barrier - [Christian
Science Monitor] A 144 to 4 approval of the measure signals
widespread condemnation of the wall.
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ENVIRONMENT
More
Than 15,000 Species Under Threat - [Discovery Channel]
An international team of scientists detected more than 15,000
different species of fish in a census of the world's seas,
but they warned that many are under threat from over-fishing.
World's
Wading Birds Are Vanishing Fast, Experts Warn - [National
Geographic] Having reviewed the latest available data, ornithologists
from 20 countries who attended last month's International
Wader Study Group conference suggested half of all waders
are in decline, with just 16 percent bucking the downward
trend. They said well over 100 species were now at risk,
with 23 of them classed as "globally threatened."
States
Take the Lead on Global Warming - [Christian Science
Monitor] Ten states are set to up the environmental ante,
suing administration for tighter energy controls.
New
Definition of Waste Sets Precedent in Western Water Policy
- [ENN] For most of the year, several of the nation's biggest,
richest, and most politically influential water agencies
have been squabbling over the best way to divide California's
share of the Colorado River -- the lifeblood of the Southwest.
Businesses
Urged to Clean Up PC Junkyards - [CNN] With an estimated
20 million PCs becoming obsolete each year, small companies
need to quickly adopt recycling programs that will help
prevent America from becoming a computer "junkyard,"
according to the Information Technology Solution Providers
Alliance (ITSPA).
Retreating
Arctic Ice Caps Could Affect Global Climate - [VOA]
U.S. satellite observations show a continuing retreat of
the North Pole ice cap, as the Arctic warms. Scientists
say the shrinking ice cover feeds global warming, but is
also enhanced by it in a vicious cycle. Small changes can
have a big impact on our lives.
Big
Brother At Your Tailpipe? Agency Calls for Smog Sensors
- [San Francisco Chronicle] For now, authorities rely on
smog checks, the California Highway Patrol and other motorists
to catch drivers who violate anti-smog regulations. Under
a regional plan approved by state regulators, a camera would
photograph the license plates of vehicles whose emissions
are too high.
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THE FUTURE
The State
of the World's Children 2003 - [UNICEF] The State
of the World’s Children 2003 reports on child participation
-- the ‘right’ of all children to have their opinions
taken into account when decisions are being made that affect
them. The report showcases examples of meaningful child
participation from every region of the world. With photos
and artwork by children.
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