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SCIENCE
Designer
Transplant Drug Shows Promise in Monkeys - [Nature]
A designer drug stops organ transplants being rejected --
without the typical side-effects seen in monkey experiments,
its makers say.
Drug
Improves Brain Structure In Alzheimer's Patients - [Science
Daily] Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have
determined that a medication commonly prescribed for mild
to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) appears to cause physical
improvements in the hippocampus and other brain regions
of patients with the disease.
Unique
Molecular Structure Offers Insight Into Nanoscale Self-Assembly,
Solution Chemistry - [Science Daily] Scientists at the
U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory
and the University of Bielefeld, Germany, have discovered
a new type of hollow spherical vesicles formed by large-scale,
wheel-shaped inorganic molecules.
Ozone
in Arteries Could be Danger Signal - [Health Day] Researchers
say they have discovered ozone-related molecules within
the fatty plaques that clog blood vessels, and their presence
could warn of an impending heart attack or stroke.
Science
Writing is Now Available for Free - [SABC News] Scientific
publishing may never be the same again if a group of crusading
researchers have their way. Just as the Internet transformed
the way the public gets information, the founders of the
non-profit Public Library of Science (PLoS) want scientific
research to be freely available to everyone.
Scientists
Hail New 'Map of Life' - [BBC] Biologists have produced
a detailed map of protein interactions in a complex organism
-- the fruit fly.
Brain
Furrow May Cause Maths Problem - [Nature] Scientists
have homed in on a brain region that leaves some people
struggling with mathematics.
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TECHNOLOGY
Nanomotors
Realise Visionary's Dream - [BBC] One of the ambitions
of nanotechnology, building motors on a molecular scale,
has been realised by scientists in America.
Japanese
Boffins Advance Quantum Computing - [The Register] A
Japanese research team has for the first time successfully
demonstrated one of the fundamental building blocks needed
to construct a viable quantum computer.
Nanoparticles
Clearly Finger the Culprit - [New Scientist] Oil-seeking
nanoparticles could give police the clearest fingerprints
yet, suggests new research.
UK
Houseboat is a Command Center in Global War Against Internet
Spammers - [IHT] This is the unlikely
command center for the Spamhaus Project, one of the leading
groups that is trying to make the world safe from junk e-mail.
World
Drowning in Oceans of Data - [BBC] Growing net, computer
and phone use is driving a huge rise in the amount of information
people generate and use.
Can
Your Razor Blade Spy on You? - [Christian Science Monitor]
Privacy advocates and civil libertarians say the technology
designed for tracking widgets at a very short range can
easily be adapted to tracking and spying on people, just
as software "cookies" now track computer users'
movements online.
Satellite
Remote Control Halts Truck - [New Scientist] A petroleum-laden
truck has been stopped in its tracks by remote-control signals
sent via satellite. The technology is one of a small number
of devices being developed to prevent terrorists being able
to hijack trucks and use them as weapons.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Scanning
for Superiority - [Chief Executive] A graduate student
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has invented
a hand-held electronic device that can instantaneously tell
a consumer whether the manufacturer of a product is a “good
corporate citizen.”
Small-Amount
Purchases Online May Finally Happen - [The Mercury News]
Apple Computer's online music store has won attention for
its stylish ease of use, and deservedly so. Yet one of its
most interesting features has drawn little notice -- the
ability to buy something online that costs less than a dollar.
Brussels
Gives US Notice of $1bn Trade War - [The Guardian] Transatlantic
trade relations sank to a new low after Brussels gave Washington
until March 1 to scrap an illegal multi-billion dollar tax-break
scheme or face sanctions worth $1bn (£600m) in the
next two years.
Managing
With Soul: Combining Corporate Integrity With the Bottom
Line - [Wharton] David Batstone argues that corporations
not only have a moral duty to be good citizens but can also
improve their own commercial prospects in the process of
doing business in an ethical way.
U.S.
Programmers at Overseas Salaries - [Business Week]
Rather than send IT work to India, a Boston startup sought
locals at the same money. The result: plenty of applicants
-- and a lot of questions.
U.S.
Science Leadership at Risk - [The Mercury News] New
census figures show the United States is relying more than
ever on the skills of foreign-born scientists and engineers.
Yet the number of foreigners coming to work in those fields
has recently plummeted -- and Americans are not rushing
in to fill the gap, according to a report from the National
Science Board.
Microsoft
Software in Every Car? - [Wired] First Microsoft set
out to put a computer in every home. Now the software giant
hopes to put one in every vehicle, too.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
A
Continent that's Gearing Up for Globalization - [International
Herald Tribune] Many Europeans seem ambivalent about globalization,
but a report published on Thursday shows that their countries
are generally better prepared than any other region to compete
in a global economy.
US
Urges EU to Lead the Way in Biometric IDs - [ZDNet Australia]
The head of the US Department of Homeland Security has said
he is keen for the US and the EU to push ahead with plans
to incorporate biometric identification data in documents
such as passports.
UK
Plans to Extradite Spammers - [Wired] British lawmakers
plan to use a new tactic to stop the torrent of junk e-mail
spam that floods in from overseas: extraditing the mass-mailers
and bringing them to trial in the United Kingdom.
Inner-City
Peace Building Lessons - [Christian Science Monitor]
Worried about the impact of violence on their children,
community leaders in Weinland Park, an inner-city neighborhood
in Columbus, recently set out to better their children's
chances for success in school and in life.
The
Cloning Clash - [Christian Science Monitor] Does the
world need cloning research? UN members tackle a topic that
leaves many uneasy.
Cellphone
Cameras Ring Warning Bells - [Christian Science Monitor]
As these phones become more and more popular around the
world -- 80 million have been sold since they were introduced
early in 2002 -- people have discovered that, like many
forms of technology, this hip electronic gadget isn't always
so cool.
US
Kids Show Early Signs of Heart Disease - [New Scientist]
Early signs of heart disease have been found in US children.
About one in seven US schoolchildren has three or more risk
factors of "metabolic syndrome" -- a precursor
to heart disease and diabetes.
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ENVIRONMENT
Disappearing
Ink to Boost Paper Recycling - [New Scientist] Recycling
paper could be made simpler by a new disappearing ink that
can be erased from paper by heating.
Ultra-Thin
'Blankets' Cut Reservoir Evaporation - [New Scientist]
Spreading an ultra-thin layer of organic molecules on the
surface of reservoirs could prevent millions of cubic metres
of precious water evaporating each year, according to a
Canadian company that is the first to commercialise the
technique.
Water
Shortages Threaten Africa - [BBC] Scientists and researchers
meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have warned of the
growing threat posed by water shortages across Africa.
Annan
Calls for Expanded Laws Against Environmental Damage in
War - [United Nations] United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan called for tougher international laws to protect
the environment in times of armed conflict.
Climate
Change In The Vineyards: The Taste Of Global Warming
- [Science Daily] A study of the world's top 27 wine regions'
temperatures and wine quality over the past 50 years reveals
that rising temperatures have already impacted vintage quality.
Fishing
Kills a Third of Turtles - [Nature] Nearly one in three
sea turtles may be killed by fishing each year, suggests
a new global study.
Clock
Ticking for Indonesian Rainforest -
[BBC] Today it is estimated around two million hectares
(five million acres) of Indonesian forest are lost every
year - an area equivalent to the size of Belgium.
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THE FUTURE
Deep
Futures: Our Prospects for Survival - [Doug Cocks] What
is the future of humanity? Will we survive this new century
and if we do, how 'well' will we survive into the next millenium?
Renowned futurist Dr Doug Cocks draws upon the ideas of
the future-gazers, and scientists and plots a path into
the near future and beyond.
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