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SCIENCE
Gene
Therapies Get Safety Boost - [BBC]
Scottish scientists believe they have found a way to target
gene therapy more precisely -- avoiding the need for potentially
harmful higher doses.
Earth
Sows its Seeds in Space - [Nature] The Earth could be
scattering the seeds of life throughout our Galaxy. Microbes
could ride on specks of dust, powered by the Sun's rays,
says William Napier, an astronomer at the Armagh Observatory
in Northern Ireland.
Enzymes
Stitch Together Non-Natural DNA - [Nature] Researchers
have found new ways to string together artificial DNA bases.
The techniques could aid the creation of altered genetic
material for applications in medicine and technology.
Fungi
Revived the Earth after Impact - [Red Nova] The catastrophe
that extinguished the dinosaurs and other animal species,
65 million years ago also brought dramatic changes to the
vegetation.
Did
Cracking Continent Trigger a Deep Freeze? - [Nature]
The Earth might have been sent into an ice age by the break-up
of a supercontinent 750 million years ago, creating a global
snowball.
'Life
Chip' Ready for 2009 Mars Missions
- [Nature] A miniature laboratory that can spot a tell-tale
chemical signature of life is ready to be part of a 2009
Mars mission.
New
Massive Subatomic Particle Created - [New Scientist]
A new type of exotic particle appears to have been created
fleetingly at an accelerator in Germany, reveal physicists.
The particle, comprised of five quarks, is only the second
type of "pentaquark" seen since the first was
reported in summer 2003. And already its properties are
puzzling theorists.
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TECHNOLOGY
Cheap
3D Scanner Nearing the Desktop - [New Scientist] Ever
fancied taking your favourite possessions with you into
the virtual world? Spiral Scratch, a start-up company in
Liverpool, UK, has come up with a cheap device that generates
a three-dimensional computer representation of any object
it scans.
UA
Scientists Are Developing 'Self-Assembling' Solar Cells
- [University of Arizona] Photovoltaics -- the high-tech
approach to converting sunlight directly into electricity
-- could be low cost and widely practical if based on organic
"self-assembling" thin film technologies, say
scientists at the University of Arizona.
Batteryless
Implant Measures Blood Pressure in Heart - [New Scientist]
Miniature sensors similar to those that trigger airbags
in cars might soon be implanted in the hearts of people
suffering from a kind of heart disease. The sensors would
make it easy for doctors to measure blood pressure inside
the heart, which at present involves repeated operations.
First
Robot Moved by Muscle Power - [New Scientist] A silicon
microrobot just half the width of a human hair has begun
to crawl around in a Los Angeles lab, using legs powered
by the pulsing of living heart muscle. It is the first time
muscle tissue has been used to propel a micromachine.
Science
Closes in on Perfect Lens - [BBC] New designer materials
could eventually lead to "perfect lenses" for
optical devices, able to focus on features smaller than
the wavelength of light.
Testing
of Robot Brain Surgeon Begins - [Betterhumans] Testing
has begun for a prototype robot that its inventors say can
perform more accurate and precise brain surgery while allowing
surgeons to hear, see and feel what they would during conventional
surgery.
Car
Thieves Could Be Stopped Remotely - [New Scientist]
Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got
a great catch. But he is in for a nasty surprise. The car
is fitted with a remote immobiliser, and a radio signal
from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the
thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start
it again.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Is
High Tech the Answer to Safer Beef? - [Fortune] If an
animal has mad cow, how do you trace others that might be
infected? A St. Paul company called Digital Angel thinks
it has the answer.
Microsoft:
Proposed EU Fine is Too Harsh - [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
Microsoft Corp. accused the European Union of going too
far in seeking a record fine of about $615 million against
the software giant for alleged antitrust abuses, saying
it was being penalized for behavior permitted in the United
States.
Virtual
Dummy to Try on Clothes - [BBC] Sweaty battles with
tight jeans in cramped fitting rooms could be consigned
to history if new technology developed by Toshiba hits the
shops.
Google
Rolls Out Local Search System - [BizReport] Online search
engine leader Google Inc. is introducing a new system designed
to make it easier for people to find things closer to their
homes, paving the way for the company to make more money
selling ads to small businesses.
Offshoring:
The Argument Rages On - [Fortune] "We've lost manufacturing.
Now we may lose white-collar work. I'm just a tech writer,
not a political theorist, but it's hard to imagine that
these sorts of changes won't have dramatic economic, political,
and social impact." That was the conclusion of [David
Kirkpatrick's] column of June 4, 2002. How soon the controversial
seems obvious.
Wal-Mart
Starts Selling Songs Online - [ZDNet UK] Wal-Mart Stores,
the world's largest retailer, says that it has officially
launched its online music store, which it began testing
in December.
Online
Game Sales Surpass $1 Billion in U.S. - [Mercury News]
Online gaming on video game consoles gathered momentum in
2003, with U.S. retail sales of online games exceeding $1
billion.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
S.F.
Library Officials Grilled on Plan to Put Trackers in Books
- [San Francisco Chronicle] San Francisco library officials
hosted a public forum to take up the thorny issue of radio
frequency identification tags, small, paper-thin devices
that the city's library system wants to put in books to
improve inventory control.
China
Cracks Down on Blogs - [News24.com] China is targeting
blogs -- diary-style personal pages for internet users --
in its latest attempt to censor the increasing popularity
of the Internet in the country, a rights group said
Muscle
Building Gene Therapy Might Build Superathletes, Scientist
Warns - [San Francisco Chronicle] Gene injections in
rats can double muscle strength and speed, researchers have
found, raising concerns that the virtually undetectable
technology could be used illegally to build super athletes.
Women's
Work: Globalization's Mixed Blessings - [International
Herald Tribune] Globalization has drawn millions of young
women into the work force throughout the developing world.
While women's emerging role as wage earners has been empowering,
these new jobs do not offer a viable way out of poverty,
according to a report by Oxfam International, a global relief
agency.
World
Pension Problems Growing - [UPI] Japan's pension problems
of the last 10 years are a good indicator of what other
aging countries will be facing in the near future. However,
the effect in the United States will probably be less severe
as it is not aging as rapidly as some other developed countries.
China's
Hip-Hop Dance Craze - [CNN] In a rented hall in Beijing,
a group of teenagers are taking turns to display their dance
moves. Some are doing handstands along to those familiar
western hip-hop beats.
Third
World's Brain Drain - [Halifax Herald] The brainpower
of entire countries has diminished because of a shortage
of the right vitamins, and slipping nutrients into people's
food seems to be the only solution, a new UN survey says.
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ENVIRONMENT
Insect
Deaths Add to Extinction Fears - [Nature] Ecologists
have unveiled strong evidence that huge numbers of the world's
species are disappearing. A survey of British wildlife suggests
that insects -- thought to be among the most resilient species
-- are suffering similar extinction rates to larger, better-studied
animals.
Vibrating
Pedal Says 'Ease Off Gas' - [New Scientist] A vibrating
accelerator pedal that tells motorists when to slow down
could save them a substantial amount of money in fuel bills.
Whistle
Blown on Illegal CFC Trade - [BBC] The border between
Afghanistan and Pakistan, already a key route for the heroin
trade, is being used for a new type of smuggling -- chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs).
Dust
Bowl Caused by Ocean Highs and Lows - [Nature] The devastating
US drought of the 1930s was caused by unusual sea surface
temperatures, according to new climate research. The work
could help predict future dry spells, and demonstrates that
tiny changes in ocean temperature can have a massive impact
on the land.
Prize
for Pollution-Eating Nano-Sands - [MineBox] CSIRO research
has found unusual properties in ilmenite sand from the
Murray Basin that could be harnessed to remove heavy metal
and
radioactive pollution from mine drainage, industrial waste
streams, and ground water.
Bush,
Kerry, and Green Differences - [Christian Science Monitor]
As George Bush and John Kerry circle each other warily in
the early days of the presidential campaign, focusing mainly
on war and economic recovery, there's another issue that
could make the key difference in a close race.
Blair's
Drive to Cut Global Warming Hit as CO2 Emissions Rise
- [The Independent] The Prime Minister's desire to put Britain
at the forefront of the battle to cut global warming is
expected to receive a dramatic setback when figures show
that CO2 emissions in the UK rose last year.
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THE FUTURE
EARTHscope.com
- Interactive geo-stories about the state of the Earth,
our communities, and possible futures. The EARTHscope is
a new tool for displaying the profound, yet often invisible
trends affecting global and local communities. It allows
partner organizations to publish their information as engaging
geo-stories: downloadable presentations that combine dynamic
maps with supporting graphics, imagery, sound, and text.
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