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SCIENCE
Rust-Breathing
Bacteria: Miracle Microbes? - [National Geographic]
They breathe rust, clean up polluted groundwater, generate
electricity, and may harbor clues to the origins of life.
That's a lot for one family of microscopic bugs, but don't
be surprised when Derek Lovley wows the world with another
wonder from the Geobacter genus of bacteria.
Nanotubes
Could Build Superior Joints - [Betterhumans] Self-assembling
nanotubes built from chemicals that make DNA could provide
the basis for new artificial joints that beat those made
with titanium.
Eureka
Moments Brain-Mapped - [Betterhumans] Researchers have
uncovered brain processes linked to creative "eureka"
moments, a discovery that helps provide a physiological
basis for insight and intuition.
Anti-Stroke
Drug Eases Alzheimer's Symptoms - [Nature] People with
Alzheimer's disease may benefit from taking a popular cholesterol-lowering
medication, scientists announced.
Parkinson's
Disease Gene is Found - [BBC] Scientists have identified
a gene which causes some cases of Parkinson's Disease. The
findings could open up new avenues of research into other
genetic factors which cause or predispose people to develop
the disease.
Fat
Stem Cells Heal Broken Skulls - [New Scientist] For
the first time, stem cells purified from fat have been used
to heal an injury in a living animal. Michael
Longaker of Stanford University in California and his team
showed in mouse experiments that so-called adipose-derived
adult stromal (ADAS) cells purified from a rodent's belly
fat could be coaxed to heal a skull fracture too large to
mend by itself.
Genome
Reveals Limb Number Recipe - [BBC] Scientists have discovered
a genetic basis underlying the evolution of fewer limbs
in animals by studying threespine sticklebacks, the journal
Nature says.
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TECHNOLOGY
The
Porous Internet and How To Defend It - [E-Commerce Times]
"Because of the way TCP/IP works, it's an open network,"
Columbia University assistant professor Angelos Keromytis
told the E-Commerce Times. "Other network technologies
don't have that problem. They have other issues, but only
IP is subject to this difficulty with abuse."
Robots
May Fight for the Army - [Wired] Lightweight, super-strong
robots will lead human soldiers into battle within 10 years
-- at least according to iRobot. The
robots, called small unmanned ground vehicles, or SUGVs,
will detect the presence of chemical and biological weapons,
identify targets for artillery and infantrymen, and ferret
out snipers hiding inside urban buildings.
Talking
to Your Car Becoming Natural - [BBC] Voice recognition
systems have come a long way in the last decade and are
used in places like call centres, home PCs and even mobile
phones.
New
Blu-Ray Video Disk is Made of Paper - [New Scientist]
A new type of Blu-Ray digital video disk made largely from
paper has been developed by Sony and Toppan Printing in
Japan. The two companies say such paper-based disks will
be cheaper to make and less environmentally harmful.
Wrappers
Smarten Up to Protect Food - [New Scientist] Unwrapping
your shopping to find you have bought mouldy bread, rotten
strawberries and sour milk could soon become a thing of
the past - thanks to a range of emerging "active
packaging" technologies.
Virtual
Future for Ancient Relics - [BBC] A 3D scanning technique
being tested at the British Museum could pave the way for
virtual museum displays.
Spray-On
Electronics Move Closer to Reality - [C|NET Asia] If
recent research projects bear fruit, it won't be too many
years before magazines play videos and semiconductors roll
out of inkjet printers.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
HSBC
Offers Islamic Pension Fund - [BBC] HSBC is launching
an Islamic law-compliant pension fund targeted at the UK's
two million Muslims.
Google
to Sell Trademarked Keywords - [MSNBC] Google plans
to stop limiting sales of trademarks in its popular keyword
advertising program, a high-stakes gamble that could boost
revenue but also create new legal problems for the company.
McDonald's
to Expand Wi-Fi Access - [MSNBC] McDonald's Corp. the
world's largest fast food company, is expected to announce
plans to expand the number of restaurants that have Wi-Fi
wireless Internet access, the Wall Street Journal said.
Job
Exports: Europe's Turn - [Business Week] Norwich Union
is as British as fish and chips. A unit of Aviva PLC, a
London financial-services group, it's the country's No.
1 insurer, boasting a workforce of 30,000 spread across
Britain. But hundreds of those people will lose their jobs
in the next few months, and other vacant positions will
go unfilled, as Norwich Union shifts 3,700 customer service
and back-office jobs to India.
Greenspan:
Companies Must Restore Trust - [MSNBC] In light of the
corporate scandals of recent years, companies need to work
harder than ever to restore trust in the operation of the
nation’s financial markets, Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan said.
Energy
an Issue on U.S.-Mexico Border - [Silicon Valley News]
Manufacturers, businesses and government institutions along
the U.S.-Mexico border need to implement energy efficiency
measures to help meet growing power demands, according to
a report issued by the Western Governors' Association. "New
electricity generating capacity in Mexico is expected to
meet the increased industrial demand and population growth
only through the next three years," the report said.
Denmark
Tops E-Business Rankings - [BBC] Denmark is the best
place in the world for e-commerce with its Nordic neighbours
not far behind, an Economist Intelligence Unit report has
found.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
EarthLink
Uncovers Rampant Spyware and Trojans - [Computer Weekly]
Internet service provider EarthLink and Webroot Software
released a report that said an average of almost 28 spyware
programs are running on each computer. Trojan horse or system
monitoring programs were found on more than 30% of all systems
scanned, raising fears of identity theft.
Questions
over Blair-Bush Relationship - [Scotsman] Tony Blair’s
visit to the White House will no doubt offer another high
profile display of Anglo-American unity in troubled times.
But behind the carefully choreographed
smiles and handshakes, questions are being asked as never
before as to whether the lustre has finally worn off his
carefully cultivated friendship with George Bush.
Satellite
Radio May Be 'Shock Jock' Haven - [SanLuisObispo.com]
If traditional radio decides Howard Stern is too hot to
handle, satellite radio is waiting. Even if the prince of
"shock jocks" stays where he is, the two nationwide
satellite radio companies hope the Stern controversy can
help them become the radio equivalent of cable TV -- a popular
destination for racy, raunchy, unregulated content.
Web
Kidney Sale Investigated - [BBC] Detectives are to investigate
a woman from mid Wales who is planning to sell a kidney
to an American man for £30,000 via a website.
India
Implements Computerized Voting - [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
For decades, millions of illiterate Indians voted by pressing
their thumbprints on ballot cards. This year, they'll just
press a button. And so will everyone else.
Nigeria's
Other Export - [The Economist] THE market in Benin City
sells just about everything: ladies' pants and bras, plastic
bags, padlocks and second-hand clothes known locally as
“fairly used”. But this city in south-eastern
Nigeria also thrives on a less wholesome trade: people-trafficking.
Hip-Hop
Speaks to the Reality of Israel - [World Press Review]
People call it “glocalization,” the rising appearance
of artistic hybrids that blend the global and the local.
Globalization is not something one-sided, the spreading
of a homogenizing Western culture: There is a constant synthesis
blending global and local elements. In recent decades, hip-hop
has pushed this process everywhere. In Israel, you will
find hip-hop groups that follow American patterns. But their
language, lyrics, and musical idiosyncrasies are determined
by the political and cultural situation in this land.
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ENVIRONMENT
Amazon
Deforestation Continued in 2003 - [CNN] Ranchers, soybean
farmers and loggers burned and cut down a near-record area
of the Amazon rainforest last year, but the government announced
that it had managed to slow the rate of destruction.
Biotech
Acres Increase - [Iowa Farmer Today] Iowa farmers plan
to plant 89 percent of their soybeans with biotech varieties,
according to USDA’s Planting Intentions Report. Last
year, 84 percent of the beans planted were biotech varieties.
Arctic
Melt May Dry Out US West Coast - [New Scientist] Cities
and towns along the west coast of the US could be suffering
from a serious water shortage by 2050, thanks to global
warming. As Arctic sea ice melts, annual rainfall may drop
by as much as 30 per cent from Seattle to Los Angeles, and
inland as far as the Rocky Mountains.
Mass
Seal Hunt Sparks Outrage - [CNN] Canada is once again
at the center of an environmental row as it begins the largest
seal hunt in more than half a century.
Researchers
Turn Manure into Crude Oil - [MSNBC] A University of
Illinois research team is working on turning pig manure
into a form of crude oil that could be refined to heat homes
or generate electricity.
Weighing
the Results of PC Recycling - [ZDNet] With Earth Day
just around the corner, Dell and other PC companies are
stepping up their efforts to recycle old computing gear
that businesses and consumers have been sitting on for years.
By
Looking Back, Scientists See a Bright Future for Climate
Change Forecasting - [The Earth Institute] Dake Chen
at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
used more than a century of climate data to test an improved
model of ENSO, the El-Niño/Southern Oscillation that
scientists believe is behind climate change in many parts
of the world.
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THE FUTURE
A
Post-Privacy Future for Workers - [Business Week] Faith
Popcorn, professional futurist and founder of marketing
consultancy BrainReserve in New York, doesn't pull her predictions
out of thin air: She uses surveys of 5,000 consumers a year
and of experts worldwide to reach her conclusions. Then
she stirs in a quite a bit of imagination. And lately, her
imagination has been cooking up some thoughts about how
the workplace will change in the future.
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