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SCIENCE
DNA
Damage Could Be a Start to Aging, Study Suggests - [USA
Today] Gray hair -- or no hair -- wrinkles and creaky joints
are obvious reminders that you're not getting any younger.
Scientists in Sweden say aging begins in a more fundamental
way -- in the accumulation of tiny changes to a mysterious
genetic component in cells called mitochondrial DNA.
Chromosomes
Reveal Surprise Human-Chimp Differences - [New Scientist]
Humans and their closest relatives, chimpanzees, may be
more different than geneticists have realised.
Baby
Breaks Sperm-Storage Record - [Nature] A test-tube baby
has been born from sperm that was frozen for 21 years. The
success marks the longest time that sperm has been kept
on hold before use, doctors say.
Antibiotics
Linked to Huge Rise in Allergies - [New Scientist] The
increasing use of antibiotics to treat disease may be responsible
for the rising rates of asthma and allergies. By upsetting
the body's normal balance of gut microbes, antibiotics may
prevent our immune system from distinguishing between harmless
chemicals and real attacks.
Finding
Your Inner Genius - [ABC News] Amid the Gothic architecture
of the University of Sydney in Australia, Snyder directs
a place called The Centre for the Mind.
Misfolded
Proteins Behind Many Diseases - [Boston Globe] Susan
Lindquist, director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical
Research, has devoted her professional life to better understanding
how and why proteins misfold.
Tiny
Bugs Retrieved from Glacial Deep Freeze - [New Scientist]
Ice retrieved from the base of a Greenland glacier has yielded
over 15 new species of bacteria -- and they are minute,
even for microbes.
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TECHNOLOGY
'World's
Smallest' RFID Reader Supports a Magic Touch - [ZDNet
UK] Near Field Communication could take RFID out of the
logistics chain and into film and music posters, and a UK
vendor is now backing the emerging technology with a new
reader.
Future
of Visual Gadgets Rolled Out - [The State] A television
sewn into your shirt sleeve. A dashboard screen to monitor
the kids in the back seat. A 3-D computer monitor sharp
enough to make a hardcore gamer's heart stop -- or help
a surgeon start one.
Puckish
Robots Pull Together - [Nature] The frictionless conditions
of space are being simulated by air-hockey tables, as a
new generation of intelligent robots is trained to build
space stations and solar arrays.
Quantum
Computers are a Quantum Leap Closer - [PhysOrg] A new
breed of faster, more powerful computers based on quantum
mechanics may be a step closer to reality, report scientists
from Purdue and Duke universities.
'Smart
Bullet' Reports Back Wirelessly
- [New Scientist] A "smart bullet" that can be
fired at a target and then wirelessly transmit back useful
information has been developed by US researchers.
Robot
Servants Coming Closer - [Japan Today] A life now thinkable
only in science fiction stories and animated cartoons will
be realized in 20 years hence -- one robot in one family
which can do general housework, such as cleaning, washing
and staying at home to look after things, and occasionally,
act as an adviser.
Army
Shows Off Alternative Energy Options - [Wichita Eagle]
Hybrid tankers that can power an entire airfield. Electric
chariots that can zip soldiers to their destinations. Fuel
cell-powered all terrain vehicles that can roll along in
near silence. These are among alternative-energy vehicles
being developed by the Army.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Four
Ways to Innovate in Operations - [HBS Working Knowledge]
Innovation in operations -- not to be confused with mere
operational excellence or improvement -- can yield competitive
advantage.
Online
Sales Top $100 Billion - [InSource] According to "The
State of Retailing Online", an annual Shop.org study
conducted by Forrester Research of 150 retailers, 2003 online
retail sales jumped 51 percent to $114 billion. The study
also reported that online sales represent 5.4 percent of
all retail sales.
Stateless
IT - [Infoconomy] How outsourcing is evolving into a
global blend of offshore, near-shore and local IT services.
EU
is China's Biggest Trade Partner - [Washington Times]
After a dramatic jump for the first five months this year,
the European Union has become China's largest trade partner.
The
Mexican Connection - [Industry Week] Although China
-- with its cheap labor -- may be a very attractive plant
location for U.S. manufacturers, when all the costs of an
extended pipeline are calculated, Mexico may still be the
better option.
Nanotech
Risk Put on Insurance Agenda - [ABC] Nanotechnology
presents new challenges for insurance companies, according
to a new report that calls on the industry to get to grips
with assessing the risks of this new technology.
Home
Insurance Need Not Be a Disaster - [The Scotsman] Extreme
weather could triple storm and flood damage claims by 2050,
triggering hikes in insurance rates, a new report claims.
The report, for the Association of
British Insurers, calls for improved flood defences and
tougher regulations on building design to combat climate
change.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
U.S.,
Russia Work with U.N. on Global Nuke Threat - [Wired]
The United States and Russia are working with the U.N. nuclear
watchdog to round up all nuclear material scattered across
the globe to keep it out of the hands of rogue states and
militant groups seeking atomic weapons.
A
Price in Privacy - [International Herald Tribune] What
constitutes the right degree of privacy may be in the eye
of the beholder, but in today's digital age, personal information
is often the price for access to goods and services. That's
why Google's new Internet e-mail service is causing such
a ruckus.
Israel
Lays Claim to Palestine's Water - [New Scientist] Israel
has drawn up a secret plan for a giant desalination plant
to supply drinking water to the Palestinian territory on
the West Bank. It hopes the project will diminish pressure
for it to grant any future Palestinian state greater access
to the region's scarce supplies of fresh water.
Obesity
on the Rise in Developing World - [IOL] Obesity, once
a problem chiefly in the world's richest countries, is increasingly
prevalent among poor and less educated women in developing
nations, a study said.
Coming
Soon, Tamper Proof DNA Wills - [Times of India] A new
study has suggested that implanting human cells in a person's
will could go a long way in ensuring it's authenticity.
According to ABC Science Online, the researchers say that
this could be the first ever document security system that
relies on DNA fingerprinting.
The
Seven-Year-Old Bloggers - [BBC] Weblogs are sometimes
criticised for being the self-obsessed ramblings of people
who have little to say and too much time on their hands
in which to do it. But there are gems out there -- including
many sites created by children.
Sleep
Dreams Can Come True - [CBS] Matsushita Electric Works
will open its "Sleep Room" to the public in Tokyo,
giving the weary a chance to get a scientific take on their
sleep patterns -- and take a nap.
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ENVIRONMENT
Blackout
Gave Cities a Breath of Fresh Air - [New Scientist]
The blackout that left 50 million North Americans without
power in August 2003 had an unexpected benefit -- the air
became cleaner.
Green
Coal to Take On Wind Power - [The Scotsman] Longannet
power station in Fife could become the centre of a multimillion-pound
experiment to prove that coal-fired plants can meet tough
anti-pollution targets.
Designer
Ecosystems Now in Vogue - [CNEWS] We have designer clothes
and designer perfumes. Now we need designer ecosystems --
at least according to a group of scientists writing a report
in the journal Science.
Pollution
in North America Falls - [CNEWS] Pollution in North
America fell 10 percent over three years, but coal-burning
power plants are lagging in improvements among industrial
sources fouling the air, it was reported.
Computer
'Toxic Dust' Linked to Diseases - [CNN] "Toxic
dust" found on computer processors and monitors contains
chemicals linked to reproductive and neurological disorders,
according to a new study by several environmental groups.
London
Smog Could Shave 10 Years Off Lifespan - [Daily Times]
Air pollution in London could reduce the life expectancy
of its residents by as much as 10 years, according to research
published in the Evening Standard newspaper.
New
War on Emissions - [Christian Science Monitor] Once
again, California is trying to change the world. This time
its target is the ever-present automobile, and state officials
announce emissions regulations of unprecedented scope and
significance.
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THE FUTURE
Organizations
of the 21st Century - [Global Business Network] Thomas
Malone has devoted his career to studying the intersection
of technology, work, and organizations, first as a research
scientist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC),
then, for the last 20 years, as a professor at the MIT Sloan
School of Management.
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