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SCIENCE
Genome
Scan Shows Human-Chimp Differences - [Nature] Genes
involved in smell and hearing are significantly different
between humans and chimpanzees, researchers have discovered.
The finding could be a starting point for understanding
what separates us from our closest relative.
SARS
May be Mammal-Bird Merger - [Nature] The SARS virus
looks like a dangerous mix of bird and mammal viruses, say
researchers in Canada. The genetic merger may have fuelled
its leap from animals into humans.
Modified
Poliovirus Targets Brain Cancer Cells - [Scientific
American] Under normal circumstances, being injected with
the poliovirus would be considered a bad thing. But for
a patient suffering from brain cancer, that could one day
be an effective means of treating the disease.
Sound-Detecting
Hair Cells Grown in Lab - [New Scientist] The sound-detecting
hair cells of the inner ear can be grown in the lab from
embryonic stem cells, US scientists have shown. The work
raises another possible alternative to cochlear implants
for treating deafness.
Stomach
Pacemaker Stimulates Weight Loss - [Better Humans] A
stomach implant that uses electrical pulses to reduce feelings
of hunger is helping obese people lose weight safely and
without major surgery.
Prion
Proteins May Store Memories - [Nature] Mystery proteins
called prions, which can flip between two different shapes,
might help in laying down memories, according to US researchers.
UCLA
Neuroscientists Pinpoint Midlife Crisis in Brain Circuitry
as Key to Brain Aging and Onset of Alzheimer's Later in
Life - [Science Daily] A novel model of human brain
aging developed by a UCLA neuroscientist identifies midlife
breakdown of myelin, a fatty insulation coating the brain's
internal wiring, as a possible key to the onset of Alzheimer's
disease later in life.
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TECHNOLOGY
Biodegradable
Particles Mimic White Blood Cells, Target Inflamed Tissue,
New Study Finds - [Science Daily] Scientists have developed
biodegradable polymers that can mimic the ability of white
blood cells to target inflamed blood vessel walls, according
to a new study led by Ohio University researchers.
First
Private Rocket Ship Goes Supersonic - [New Scientist]
The first piloted and rocket-powered craft to have been
developed by a private company made its maiden flight over
the Mojave desert in California.
Sony's
Qrio Robot Learns How to Jog - [Japan Times] Sony Corp.'s
child-size walking robot already knows a few hip dance steps
and can kick a miniature soccer ball. Now, it can jog --
a new trick developers say is ingenious because it requires
the machine to jump off the ground, even for a fraction
of a second.
Invasion
of the Centibots - [Mercury News]
When Randy Gobbel joined SRI International a year ago, one
of the coolest things about his new job in the Engineering
Building was the little red robots wandering the halls.
Why
Your Next Phone Call May Be Online - [Wired] It started
as a geek-out for corporate penny-pinchers. But now making
phone calls using voice over Internet protocol is resonating
with consumers. VoIP startups are promising cheap -- sometimes
free -- calls to anywhere in the world.
Identity
Crisis - [Wired] How to have a national ID card that
doesn't threaten civil liberties.
Microsoft
Aims to Make Spammers Pay - [BBC] A group of researchers
at Microsoft think they may have come up with a solution
that could, at least, slow down and deter the spammers.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Google
Expands Operation to India - [BBC] The popular internet
search engine, Google, is planning to open a research centre
in India, reports say.
Coke
Enters the Music Business - [Wired] Coca-Cola is launching
an Internet music download service in Britain, the first
consumer brand to jump into Europe's crowded Internet music
market.
`India
Rising' - Will it Ride the Demographic Wave? - [Hindu
Business Line] With a surplus of working age people vis-à-vis
current G-6 biggies such as the US and Japan, India could
benefit from low labour costs, and even become one of the
three richest economies! For this fairy-tale scenario to
materialise, however, concerted efforts to develop human
capital have to begin now.
Japan
Inc. Pleads for Foreign Workers - [Asia Times] While
unemployment remains at record levels, the acute labor shortage
in certain sectors has led businesses here to put pressure
on the government to relax restrictions on foreign workers
to boost Japan’s productivity and industrial activity.
Why
Boston Covets its Role as Biotech Hub - [Christian Science
Monitor] Prediction of 100,000 new jobs in the industry
spurs competition to be the next 'Silicon Valley.'
He
Supplies Ammunition to Fight Commercialization of Science
- [Boston Globe] For 20 years, Sheldon Krimsky has been
sounding the alarm about how corporate interests may corrupt
the academic mission.
India:
The Next 5 Years - [rediff.com] What will India be like
in five years time? If everything goes according to plan
-- in India that's an extremely big if -- the Indian economy
should have undergone a transformation. At
one level, the changes will be one of scale -- the economy
will simply be much bigger than it is currently. At another
India should, truly, have become a knowledge economy and
an even bigger player than it is today on the global stage.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
U.N.
Summit Calls for Wired World - [Wired] More than 170
countries approved an ambitious call to extend the Internet
and the benefits of information technology to the poorest
corners of the world, but dodged some of the difficulties
of doing so.
Developing
Nations Bristle at U.S. Control of Internet - [Seattle
Times] Key decisions on Internet issues, such as domain
names and addresses, now reside in a private agency spun
off from the U.S. government — and the United States
wants to keep it that way. But if countries do not think
their concerns are adequately heard by the Internet's key
decision-makers, a U.N. official warned, they may create
conflicting national policies and even set up their own
networks within their borders.
Are
Charitable Foundations Real Catalysts for Change? -
[Christian Science Monitor] At a time of year when people
traditionally assess how they can help those in need, charitable
foundations would also do well to ask themselves some searching
questions: Are they still valuable institutions -- or have
they outlived their usefulness? Is the spirit of charitable
foundations still willing, but the structure weak?
N.Y.,
Microsoft Sue Spammers - [Mercury News] New York Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer and lawyers for Microsoft said they
have sued some of the world's most prolific spammers, seeking
to shut them down and to get damages of at least $20 million.
AIDS
Moves Beyond ‘High Risk’ Groups in India -
[Reuters] Densely populated India has become a key battleground
in the fight against AIDS. While the virus is far from under
control among high-risk drug users and sex workers, it is
now also on the rise among the wider population and in rural
areas.
Peru's
Latest Tool in the War on Drugs: Land Ownership - [Christian
Science Monitor] It's all part of a new stage in Peru's
drug-eradication effort, started last month. Thousands of
farmers will be given title to their land as a way to formalize
the economy in the country's vast drug-growing regions.
China
Has Serious Job-Loss Problems, Too - [International
Herald Tribune] In recent years, the shock therapy of China's
economic restructuring has caused huge layoffs at old, unprofitable
state-owned factories, while an overpopulated countryside
has too little usable land and too many farmers.
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ENVIRONMENT
Climate
Change 'Will Harm Health' - [BBC] The health of millions
will be damaged if world temperatures continue to rise as
a result of climate change, says the World Health Organization.
UC
Davis Mistakenly Ships Biotech Seeds - [SiliconValley.com]
Researchers at one of the most prestigious agricultural
schools in the country said they shipped a small number
of genetically engineered tomato seeds they thought were
naturally grown to fellow scientists during the last seven
years.
Europe's
Last Wild Reindeer Herds in Peril - [New Scientist]
Europe's last remaining population of wild reindeer is in
peril. Its survival is being threatened by the building
of dams, mountain cabins and hydroelectric schemes across
their natural habitat in southern Norway.
Saltier
Oceans a Sign of Global Climate Change - [Sify News]
Tropical ocean waters have dramatically become saltier over
the past 40 years while oceans closer to Earth's poles have
become fresher -- relatively rapid oceanic changes that
scientists say may be altering the fundamental planetary
system that cycles fresh water around the globe.
Scientists
Begin Measuring Pollution in Human Bodies - [SFGate]
Davis Baltz shops for organic food and otherwise tries to
live as healthy as he can. So he was shocked to learn that
the pollutants collecting inside his body sounded much like
a Superfund cleanup site: pesticides, flame retardants and
other nasty, man-made chemicals turned up in a recent test.
Kerry
Calls for New Environmental Plan to Curb Asthma - [ENN]
Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry said that he
would combat growing asthma rates by applying clean air
laws to farms and taking steps to improve indoor air quality.
Re-Insurer
Counts Cost of Global Warming - [ABC] The world's biggest
re-insurance company, Munich Re, has attributed a sharp
increase in weather-related disasters around the world to
global warming.
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THE FUTURE
Future
Flight: You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet - [ABC] As a hundred
years of human flight is celebrated, aeronautic engineers
are looking to a future of private space tourism, 1,000-passenger
jet-liners, personal flying machines and executive jets
making supersonic speed around the globe.
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