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SCIENCE
Earth's
Best View Of The Stars - [Science Daily] Australian
researchers have shown than a ground-based telescope in
Antarctica can take images almost as good as those from
the Hubble Space Telescope, at a fraction of the cost.
Extreme
Impersonations - [Science News] Frigid atomic clouds
mimic neutron stars, exotic superconductors, and the newborn
universe.
China's
Space Managers Seek Approval For New Heavy Lift Launcher
- [Space Daily] China's space program is expecting government
approval this year to build a new and more powerful rocket
that will serve as the nation's vehicle to explore the moon,
state media said.
Beating
Drought - [ABC News] Someday down the road water may
become so scarce in America's Southwest that it will be
more valuable than oil, and that has unleashed a flurry
of activity among scientists who think the best way to save
water may be to do away with the soil.
Body
Clocks 'Hinder' Space Travel - [BBC] Researchers think
the human body clock could hinder space exploration.
Human
Genome Hits Halfway Mark - [BBC] Four years after publishing
a draft of the human genetic sequence, researchers have
hit the halfway mark in producing the "gold standard"
version.
U.S.
Researchers Invent Antenna for Light - [BBC] Researchers
said they have invented an antenna that captures visible
light in much the same way that radio antennas capture radio
waves. They say the device, using tiny carbon nanotubes,
might serve as the basis for an optical television or for
converting solar energy into electricity once properly developed.
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TECHNOLOGY
The
Future of Affection - [BBC] The shiny, wipe-clean future
we are headed for may seem like a cold and uninviting place,
but if existing technology is any guide then feelings and
emotions are going to play a big part in this hi-tech world.
IBM
Begins RFID Tracking of Medical Waste - [inSourced]
Now a Japanese company and IBM are teaming up to track medical
waste as it leaves hospitals. Kureha Environmental Engineering
Co. Ltd., a leading waste management company, will begin
testing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to ensure
that medical waste reaches its proper disposal point.
Computer
Worm 'Sniffs' Out Passwords - [New Scientist] The first
computer worm to eavesdrop on network traffic after it infects
a computer has been discovered by security experts. The
SDBot.UJ scans passing traffic on a network-linked machine
for passwords and financial data.
Code
Created for Shape-Shifting Robots - [New Scientist]
Robots that change shape and even split into smaller parts
to explore unfamiliar terrain could soon be feasible thanks
to new algorithms designed to enable such metamorphic tricks.
NIST
Unveils Chip-Scale Atomic Clock - [PhysLink] The heart
of a minuscule atomic clock -- believed to be 100 times
smaller than any other atomic clock -- has been demonstrated
by scientists at the Commerce Department’s National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), opening the
door to atomically precise timekeeping in portable, battery-powered
devices for secure wireless communications, more precise
navigation and other applications.
Press
“Print” for Body Parts - [The Economist] Rapid
prototyping: Advances in three-dimensional printing are
opening up a number of new medical applications for the
technology.
Flying
Robot Being Developed for Security, Disaster Relief
- [CNEWS] Seiko Epson Corp. is developing a flying robot
that looks like a miniature helicopter that its makers hope
will be used for security, disaster rescue and space exploration.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
High-Tech
Job Market has Lost 400,000 Jobs - [San Francisco Chronicle]
The U.S. information tech sector lost 403,300 jobs between
March 2001 and this past April, and the market for tech
workers remains bleak, according to a new report.
Do
It Yourself - [The Economist] Many people complain about
companies outsourcing work to low-wage economies: but how
many notice that firms are increasingly outsourcing work
to their own customers?
Oil's
New High May Persist - [Christian Science Monitor] War
in Iraq. Instability in Venezuela. Civil unrest in Nigeria.
Governmental wranglings in Russia. With so much uncertainty
in so many of the world's leading oil-producing countries,
energy prices continue a seemingly inexorable rise - provoking
new speculation that the world may be heading into a period
of permanently higher prices.
Intel's
Future: That's Home Entertainment - [ZDNet] Intel wasn't
kidding when it said it was interested in consumer electronics.
Web
Sites Now Serve as Key Performance Indicators - [Destination
CRM] An increasingly important component of customer satisfaction
is the quality of experience a user has when visiting a
Web site.
Hip-Hop
Tycoon Jumps into Banking - [San Francisco Chronicle]
Georgia Oliver plunged into debt when she was stricken with
Crohn's disease in 2000. Oliver, 43, moved to San Francisco
from Arkansas to make a fresh start a couple of years ago,
but her mountain of bills barred her from getting a credit
card. She turned for help to an unlikely source: hip-hop
mogul Russell Simmons, who has a new venture far afield
from his existing music and clothing empires.
Tech's
Future - [Business Week] With affluent markets maturing,
tech's next 1 billion customers will be Chinese, Indian,
Brazilian, Thai... In reaching them, the industry will be
deeply transformed.
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SOCIETY
Declining
Population Puts Heavy Burden on EU's 'Social Model'
- [EurActiv] Newly released world population figures underline
fears that ageing populations in the EU are leading to mounting
pressure on Member States' social security, pensions and
health systems.
Gritty
'Street Lit' Makes Noise in the 'Hood - [Christian Science
Monitor] At the table of Harlem book vendor Sidi Ib, novels
featuring prostitution, drug dealing, and violence are common.
Mr. Ib likes to help aspiring African- American writers,
and tends to carry a large selection of books that are part
of a new genre that goes by names such as "hip-hop
fiction" and "street lit."
China
Offers Parents Cash for Girls - [World Press Review]
China is offering to pay couples a premium for producing
baby girls to counter an alarming gender imbalance created
by the country's one-child population control policy.
Fact
Sheet on the Continued Thickening of Government - [The
Brookings Institution] The past half century has witnessed
a slow, but steady thickening of the federal bureaucracy
as Congress and presidents have added layer upon layer of
political and career management to the hierarchy. The past
six years have been no different.
A
Jolt With a Difference: Cafés, Co-ops, Small Roasters,
and Religious Groups are Fueling the Popularity of Fair
Trade Coffee, Which Pays Small Growers a Living Wage
- [Boston Phoenix] Can a cup of coffee change the world?
For embattled small-scale farmers like 28-year-old Carlos
Reynoso, whose colleagues cultivate coffee beans in the
western highlands of Guatemala, the daily choices of US
consumers have a big impact.
Colleges
Embrace Homeland Security Curriculum - [USA Today] Homeland
security has become a hot topic in American culture, and
higher education has been jumping on the bandwagon. Hundreds
of community colleges, four-year universities and postgraduate
programs have begun offering degrees and certificates in
emergency preparedness, counterterrorism and security.
Gap
Between Haves, Have-Nots Expands Over Decades - [USA
Today] Over two decades, the income gap has steadily increased
between the richest Americans, who own homes and stocks
and got big tax breaks, and those at the middle and bottom
of the pay scale, whose paychecks buy less.
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GLOBAL POLITICS
The
Idea of the Nation State Is Fatally Flawed - [Global
Policy Forum] One of the most over-used and least useful
concepts for understanding the modern world is that of "failed
states."
Six
Ways Out of an Economic Crisis - [The Globalist] Industrialized
economies across Europe and in other parts of the world
are struggling to stay competitive in the global arena.
How can they best accomplish this goal? Martin Hüfner
outlines six models that countries can pursue to reform
their economies -- and the advantages and disadvantages
each model presents.
What
Went Wrong in Iraq - [Foreign Affairs] Although the
early U.S. blunders in the occupation of Iraq are well known,
their consequences are just now becoming clear. The Bush
administration was never willing to commit the resources
necessary to secure the country and did not make the most
of the resources it had. U.S. officials did get a number
of things right, but they never understood -- or even listened
to -- the country they were seeking to rebuild. As a result,
the democratic future of Iraq now hangs in the balance.
Russia’s
Quagmire - [Boston Review] There are more than 80,000
Russian troops from the regular military and the Interior
Ministry in Chechnya and some 20,000 from the FSB, or approximately
one soldier for every eight men, women, and children who
remain within its borders. Supported by armor, attack aircraft,
helicopters, bombers, and artillery, Russian military units
face fewer than 5,000 Chechen fighters.
Europe
as the World’s New Moral Center? - [The Globalist]
A big debate is underway around the world about the United
States failing in its long-time role as the global moral
center of gravity. Who will takes its place? Peter Goldmark
is nominating Europe, arguing that it implements more just
and sustainable environmental and economic policies.
China
Wakes Up and Alarms the World - [Le Monde Diplomatique]
People used to talk about "the day when China wakes"
as if that nation were a brooding menace threatening the
planet. The day has come and it is time to ask what effect
China’s impressive awakening is likely to have on the
world market.
Europe's
Economy Pulled to the East - [New Zealand Herald] The
tail does not wag the dog, or at least not as a rule. But
there are signs that policies in the new EU member states
will have an important impact on the "old" EU
countries.
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ENVIRONMENT
SUVs
Blamed for Boom in Sahara Dust Storms - [MSNBC] Dust
clouds from the Sahara Desert have grown tenfold over the
last half century and threaten the global climate -- but
don’t blame the camels.“Toyota-ization,”
or the increasing numbers of four-wheel drive vehicles speeding
over the sand, has become a major factor exacerbating the
problem, a British expert said.
Africa
Pitches Battle Against Locusts - [ABC News] North and
west African countries are standing shoulder to shoulder
in the fight against giant swarms of locusts marauding through
the desert states, threatening food supplies for millions
of the world's most impoverished people.
Blair
Issues Global Warming Threat - [The Guardian]
Prime Minister Tony Blair has issued a dire warning about
"alarming and unsustainable" global warming. He
said changes would happen within the "lifetime of my
children certainly, and possibly within my own".
Judge,
Lawyers Trek into Amazon in Pollution Lawsuit - [MSNBC]
After a decade of court battles, lawyers on Wednesday took
a lawsuit by Ecuadorean Indians against ChevronTexaco into
the Amazon forest.
Pesticide
'Time Bomb' in Poor Nations - [Business Day] Huge stockpiles
of toxic chemical waste derived from pesticides are a time
bomb threatening much of the developing world, the United
Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warns.
Extinct
Species May Signal Doom for Others - [ABC News] More
than 6000 species of butterflies and other insects will
also be wiped out when listed endangered species go extinct,
scientists predict.
'Ghost
Bugs' Could Help Cut Pesticide Use - [New Scientist]
Bacterial "ghosts" could be a new way to treat
plants with pesticides. These empty shells of bacterial
cells can be filled with chemicals and will stick to leaves
and stems even after heavy rain.
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THE FUTURE
Life
Caching - [trendwatching.com] Human beings (fueled by
a need for self-worth, validation, control, vanity, even
immortality) love to collect and store possessions, memories,
experiences, in order to create personal histories, mementoes
of their lives, or just to keep track for practical reasons.
And with the experience economy still gaining ground --
with consumers more often favoring the intangible over the
tangible -- collecting, storing and displaying experiences
is ready for its big moment.
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