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SCIENCE
Synthetic
Life: Biologists are Crafting Libraries of Interchangeable
DNA Parts and Assembling Them Inside Microbes to Create
Programmable, Living Machines - [Scientific American]
Drew Endy is one of a small but rapidly growing number of
scientists who have set out in recent years to buttress
the foundation of genetic engineering with what they call
synthetic biology. They are designing and building living
systems that behave in predictable ways, that use interchangeable
parts, and in some cases that operate with an expanded genetic
code, which allows them to do things that no natural organism
can.
Scientists
Find New Type of Gene in Junk DNA - [Hindustan Times]
Researchers from Harvard Medical School in the United States
said that within junk DNA in the yeast genome they have
discovered a new class of gene. Unlike
other genes, the new one does not produce a protein or enzyme
to carry out its function. But when it is turned on, it
regulates a neighbouring gene.
Life
Goes On Without 'Vital' DNA - [New Scientist] Researchers
revealed that they had deleted huge chunks of the genome
of mice without it making any discernable difference to
the animals. The result is totally
unexpected because the deleted sequences included so-called
"conserved regions" thought to have important
functions.
Dog's
Verbal Tricks Probe Origin of Language - [New Scientist]
A word-learning pet dog has given scientists clues that
some animals may have the comprehension necessary for language,
even though they cannot actually talk.
Mutant
Human Stem Cell Lines Created - [New Scientist] Human
stem cell lines from genetically flawed human embryos have
been created by US scientists. The
team that produced the mutant lines at the Reproductive
Genetics Institute in Chicago believes the cell lines will
help shed light on genetic diseases and could be used to
test new treatments.
Learning
New Language Helps Reduce Brain Decay - [Telegraph]
Learning a foreign language can help protect the brain against
the ravages of ageing, according to a study.
'Fidelity
Gene' Found in Voles - [BBC] A
single gene can turn the Don Juan of voles into an attentive
home-loving husband, Nature magazine has reported.
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TECHNOLOGY
Borrowing
From Biology to Make Nano Railroads - [Space.com] Living
cells contain tiny transport systems made from a pair of
proteins that act much like railroad tracks and railroad
cars. Researchers from the University of Washington and
Sandia National Laboratories have co-opted the proteins
for use in track networks that can be integrated into nanotechnology
devices to shuttle tiny amounts of materials around.
Watch
a Movie on a Mobile Phone - [Today Online] Watch a movie
on your television set with images so clear, you think you're
in a cinema. If you can't figure out the plot, call up the
synopsis on your screen. And if you get bored, switch to
another channel and start shooting monsters or window-shopping.
Wireless
Ways To Track Your Tumi - [The Feature] Wi-Fi and RFID
amp up the efficiency, and hopefully the accuracy, of airport
baggage handling.
First
Quantum Cryptography Network Unveiled - [New Scientist]
The first computer network in which communication is secured
with quantum cryptography is up and running in Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
The
First Nanochips - [Scientific American] As scientists
and engineers continue to push back the limits of chipmaking
technology, they have quietly entered into the nanometer
realm.
Alzheimer's
Patients to Trial MS Labs Life-Blog Gadget - [The Register]
SenseCam, a hardware research project developed at Microsoft's
Cambridge labs, may find a use in the treatment patient
suffering from short-term memory loss.
Clothes
Launder Own Fabric - [Nature] Catalytic cotton chows
down on dirt.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Fear
of Phishing Hits E-Commerce - [The Register] Concerns
about falling victim to phishing scams are eroding US consumer
confidence in online banking and e-commerce. A survey points
to fears about online fraud based on widespread misconceptions
about the minimal impact of phishing in overall fraud losses.
McDonald's
Pulls Further Away from Mass Marketing - [AdAge] Declaring
that mass marketing no longer works and that "no single
ad tells the whole story," Larry Light, McDonald's
CMO Larry Light said the company was moving to 'brand journalism'
techniques.
Measure
Seeks to Ban State Outsourcing - [Boston Globe] A budget
provision that landed on Governor Mitt Romney's desk will
test the depth of the governor's feelings on a sensitive
political issue: outsourcing jobs.
The
Big Money for Big Projects - [HBS Working Knowledge]
There is nothing small about the research practiced by Harvard
Business School professor Benjamin Esty. He studies the
financing of some of the largest projects in the world:
the Eurotunnel, Hong Kong Disneyland, and the Airbus A380,
to name three. Not only are the projects big, but so are
the financing requirements -- typically north of $500 million.
Bush's
Best-Laid Budget Plans Go Awry - [Government Executive]
President Bush promised to maintain a balanced budget and
pay down the federal debt, but he has failed to do either.
During his term, the nation has gone from enjoying a $236
billion surplus to confronting a $477 billion deficit. The
federal debt has ballooned from $5.7 trillion to $7.1 trillion.
And annual nondefense discretionary spending has swollen
from $319 billion to $433 billion.
The
Anti-CEO - [Conference Board] Many people picture the
head of a company as the clear-eyed captain who pilots his
ship through stormy seas into calm waters and a safe haven.
Ricardo Semler, who heads a Brazilian company named Semco,
has another view: He believes it is his duty to roil the
waters and even poke a few holes in his craft, to get his
crew thinking of other options. In other words, Semler is
a disruptive rather than a soothing influence, and he likes
it that way.
Cracking
China - [Chief Executive] In a new book, Procter &
Gamble tells how it brought consumerism to an untapped market.
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SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Bush-League
Lysenkoism: The White House Bends Science to its Will
- [Scientific American] In February his White House received
failing marks in a statement signed by 62 leading scientists,
including 20 Nobel laureates, 19 recipients of the National
Medal of Science, and advisers to the Eisenhower and Nixon
administrations.
Importance
of Ending Ageism Increases as Life Expectancy Continues
to Lengthen - [The Mature Market] The census bureau
estimates that by 2050 approximately 25 percent of Americans
will be over the age of 65. Yet our culture has done little
to eliminate the one accepted prejudice that could relegate
a quarter of our population to second-class citizenship
– Ageism.
Mobiles
Build Interactive Cities - [Nature] Technophiles could
soon use mobile phones to create and access interactive
city guides. A four-week trial of the latest technology
has just begun in London.
Is
the Future of E-Mail Under Cyberattack? - [USA Today]
For years, consumers and corporations raved about e-mail's
potential. Now they're fretting about its future.
Sweeping
Stun Guns to Target Crowds - [New Scientist] Weapons
that can incapacitate crowds of people by sweeping a lightning-like
beam of electricity across them are being readied for sale
to military and police forces in the US and Europe.
China
Slams US Report on Taiwan - [BBC] A Chinese general
has criticised a US Pentagon report that speculated on China
and Taiwan's military balance.
UN
Seeks Homes for Millions of Refugees - [ABC News] The
United Nations is marking World Refugee Day by calling on
countries to resettle millions of refugees, especially from
Asia and Africa, and to break down barriers that have sometimes
led to a hostile welcome.
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ENVIRONMENT
Inventor
Has Idea for Tired Truckers - [Washington Times] An
inventor and his financial backers showed off a truck battery
that allows drivers to take their mandated rest with no
idling and no emissions.
Nanotechnology
Improving Energy Options - [UPI] Nanotechnology could
help revolutionize the energy industry, producing advances
such as solar power cells made of plastics to environmentally
friendly batteries that detoxify themselves, experts told
United Press International.
Splicing
of Human Genes into Plants Regains - [San Francisco
Chronicle] Biotechnology companies are quietly pushing to
splice more human genes into food crops after the practice
was nearly abandoned last year, a Washington-based advocacy
group says.
Farmers
Hit by Water Pollution Crackdown - [Independent] Thousands
of English farmers may have to stop farming next to rivers,
lakes and other water bodies in the biggest crackdown on
agricultural pollution.
Peat
Bogs Harbour Carbon Time Bomb - [New Scientist] The
world’s peat bogs are haemorrhaging carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere, accelerating global warming, warns a UK
researcher.
Brazil
Launches DNA Bank for Endangered Plants - [SABC News]
Brazil has opened a DNA bank to preserve the genetic material
from its endangered plant life. The Science and Development
Network says its goal is to help protect rare plants threatened
by extinction in a country which is poor in economic terms
but rich in a great variety of plant species -- a goal that
a biodiverse country such as South Africa could well emulate.
Kyoto
Protocol: EU Plan for Carbon Trading Clears Key Hurdle
- [Space Daily] European Union ambitions to start trading
in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions next year to help meet
targets under the UN's global warming pact cleared an important
hurdle here, the European Commission said.
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THE FUTURE
"Aristotle"
(The Knowledge Web) - [Edge] With the knowledge web,
humanity's accumulated store of information will become
more accessible, more manageable, and more useful. Anyone
who wants to learn will be able to find the best and the
most meaningful explanations of what they want to know.
Anyone with something to teach will have a way to reach
those who what to learn. Teachers will move beyond their
present role as dispensers of information and become guides,
mentors, facilitators, and authors. The knowledge web will
make us all smarter. The knowledge web is an idea whose
time has come.
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