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SCIENCE
Harmful
Bacteria Shown Up by Nanoparticles - [New Scientist]
A new nanoparticle test for dangerous bacteria such as Escherichia
coli O157:H7 is so sensitive it can detect a single
bacterial cell within minutes. The food industry, medicine
and the fight against bioterrorism could all eventually
benefit from it, researchers say.
Scientists
Resurrect 1918 Flu Genes - [The Australian] Scientists
working in top-security labs say they have recreated pathogens
from the 1918 flu pandemic, the greatest plague of the 20th
century, in a bid to find out why the strain was so extraordinarily
lethal.
As
the World Turns, It Drags Space and Time - [Spaceflight
Now] An international team of NASA and university researchers
has found the first direct evidence the Earth is dragging
space and time around itself as it rotates.
Immune
System in a Bottle Could Help Prevent Flu Vaccine Shortage
- [Science Daily] Picture a honeycomb and each compartment
in the honeycomb is coated with living cells from a person's
mouth, skin or a piece of bone. University of Michigan associate
professor Nicholas Kotov believes that one day, the cells
in those honeycombs can be used to grow spare parts for
our bodies, or even an entire artificial immune system in
a bottle.
Stem
Cells Home in on Brain Cancer - [Nature] Human embryonic
stem cells could be used to seek out and destroy a fatal
form of brain cancer, according to US researchers.
Electric
Currents Boost Brain Power - [Nature] Connecting a battery
across the front of the head can boost verbal skills, says
a team from the US National Institutes of Health.
Lost
Tribe of Little People - [Wired] Scientists are shocked
to learn that human remains found in Indonesia in 2003 belong
to a previously unknown miniature human species that lived
on a south Asian island just 18,000 years ago.
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TECHNOLOGY
Paralysed
Man Sends E-mail by Thought - [Nature] A pill-sized
brain chip has allowed a quadriplegic man to check e-mail
and play computer games using his thoughts. The device can
tap into a hundred neurons at a time, and is the most sophisticated
such implant tested in humans so far.
Vatican
Library Tags Collection - [CNN] It is home to 1.6 million
books, centuries-old manuscripts and the oldest known complete
Bible. Now, librarians at the Vatican Library are using
cutting-edge technology to keep track of the priceless ancient
collection.
Drugs
Delivered by Robots in the Blood - [New Scientist] A
microscopic swimming robot unveiled by Chinese scientists
could eventually be used for drug delivery or to clear arteries
in humans, say researchers.
Segway's
Next Thingamajig - [Popular Science] Three years after
its Human Transporter was supposed to change the world,
Dean Kamen's innovation factory unveils a successor that
just wants to have fun.
First
Silicon Laser Pulses with Life - [Nature] It may be
small, but it could be very influential. Scientists have
created the world's first laser made from silicon. This
is an important step in the effort to build computers that
process information using light, rather than electricity.
The
Internet of Things - [Boston Globe] Technologists at
Ember and a batch of other start-ups on both coasts believe
such ''mesh networks" with their ''radios" --
tiny chips just seven millimeters long and seven millimeters
wide -- will be the next big thing in the high-tech world,
wirelessly ferrying data between hundreds of sensors throughout
homes, factories, and office buildings.
Robots
on the Front Lines - [PC Magazine] iRobot sold 1 million
robotic vacuums into homes and brought the small, unmanned
PackBot robots to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now,
along with new partner John Deere Corporation, the company
is preparing to deliver truck-size robots that can be driven
into combat manned, controlled remotely, or operate autonomously.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Google
Picks Up Satellite Image Firm - [Silicon.com] Search
giant Google has acquired Keyhole, a company specializing
in web-based software that allows people to view satellite
images from around the globe.
Ad
Agencies are Entering Blog Universe, Too - [International
Herald Tribune] Although political blogs have received the
most attention, advertising agencies and communications
professionals are using blogs to create discussion about
ideas within their industries.
Partially
Made In China - [Industry Week] Many U.S. manufacturers
now look to China suppliers for their components and materials.
Most U.S. industries are making China a cog in their supply
chain -- even while many manufacturers in those sectors
are losing sales and profits to the Chinese.
Net
Phone Calls, Free -- And Clear - [Business Week] More
than 12 million Web surfers have downloaded the free Skype
software and registered as users since the program appeared
14 months ago. The software turns a PC equipped with a microphone,
speakers, and broadband connection into a 21st century telephone.
The
Food Giants Go on a Diet - [Business Week] Nutritionists
and other experts say in addition to reduced physical activity,
the factors that have led to the obesity epidemic include
readily available sodas and snacks, growth in the number
of fast-food outlets, supersizing of food portions, and
an increase in the number of high-calorie, high-fat grocery
products.
Volvo
Sees a Three-Seater in Your Future - [MSNBC] Hoping
that cool will convince Americans to make room for environmentally
friendly vehicles, Volvo has unveiled a three-seat car that's
tapered in the back for a more aerodynamic and energy efficient
drive.
Nike
Names New VP of Corporate Responsibility - [Portland
Business Journal] Nike Inc. has named a European executive
its new vice president of global corporate responsibility.
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SOCIETY
Lawmakers
Consider 'Smart' Driver's Licenses - [World Net Daily]
A controversial technology already planned for tracking
consumer products could be used to create "smart"
driver's licenses that emit signals readable from a distance,
according to federal and state government officials contemplating
ways to fight identity fraud.
Chinese
Living in 'Fast Lane' - [People's Daily] Many Chinese
people simply do not think that there are enough hours in
the day. That is the finding of an online survey which shows
that people in China are working and studying longer than
ever before.
Cellphones
Shrinking the Third World - [Seattle Times] Iquitos
and nearby riverside hamlets are among the more remote outposts
in South America's expanding mobile-phone system, part of
a global network that is beginning to penetrate even the
poorest and most undeveloped corners of the world.
Au
Revoir, Les Jobs - [TIME] Moving the workforce to cheaper
lands is all the rage, but that makes unions and politicians
anxious. The French government is trying to stall "offshoring."
But can it really stop jobs from going abroad? And should
it?
Anti-Semitism
is 'Radical Threat' to French Democracy - [Haaretz.com]
A new wave of anti-Semitism in France represents a "radical
threat" to the survival of democracy, according to
a government report.
Religious
Conflict to Continue as the Heart of Christianity Shifts
- [Biblical Recorder] Christians need to prepare for religious
struggles ahead as the center of Christianity shifts. Historian
and author Philip Jenkins points out in his book, "The
Next Christendom," that by the year 2050 the heart
of Christianity will move to the Southern Hemisphere, with
the majority of Christians living in Latin America, South
America and Africa.
Record
for Personal Bankruptcies - [BBC] Personal insolvencies
in England and Wales have hit another record high as interest
rate rises take their toll on already over-extended households.
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GLOBAL POLITICS
MoD
Denies US Missiles Set for UK - [BBC] The Ministry Of
Defence has denied reports that American interceptor missiles
are to be stationed on British soil.
India
Chasing China in Asian Superpower Rivalry for W. Africa
Oil Stakes - [Khaalej Times] Asian giants and economic
rivals India and China are locked in battle to secure stakes
in oil fields and blocks in the new energy haven of West
Africa, officials and analysts say.
Asia's
Great Oil Hunt - [Business Week] As China's economy
expands, so does its thirst for oil, gas, coal, and electricity.
Today, China accounts for 12.1% of the world's energy consumption.
That's second only to the U.S., at 24%, and up from 9% a
decade ago. China's whole modernization strategy is based
on access to abundant supplies of energy.
East
Asia Rising - [IEEE Spectrum] If the 19th century belonged
to Britain and the 20th century to the United States, the
21st century will surely be East Asia's. Already, South
Korea, Taiwan, the eastern industrial areas of China, and
Japan form an increasingly integrated economic bloc that
rivals both Western Europe and the United States. Within
decades, the region will become the world's dominant economic
force.
Russia's
Path to Kyoto - [Business Week] Putin's historic support
for the pact fighting global warming will put it in force,
making the U.S. the odd man out. Here's why he signed on.
The
Direction of U.S. Foreign Policy - [Brookings Institution]
President George W. Bush may have a new presidential term
ahead of him, but he will continue to be dogged by foreign
policy challenges left over from his first four years in
office, including the war in Iraq, the threat of nuclear
proliferation in Iran and North Korea, the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, and a fractured trans-Atlantic relationship.
What
Four More Years With George Bush Might Mean for the World
- [Carnegie Endowment for International Peace] Overall,
President Bush can claim a mandate from the American people,
and it is reasonable for him and his advisors to view the
vote as an endorsement on their policies and priorities.
This will have serious and possibly profound implications
for US policy and for many other countries, particularly
key US allies in East Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
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ENVIRONMENT
Is
China on the Brink of an Ecological Disaster? - [WebIndia]
A team of Sino-US researchers have revealed that the unprecedented
pace at which glaciers in western China are melting serves
as a warning of the ecological strain the country is under
the growing impact of global warming.
Cars,
Not Crops, Should Be Chief Targets in Reducing Greenhouse
Gases, Ecologists Say - [Science Daily] Retiring croplands
and switching to no-till agriculture can contribute in a
modest way to reducing the increase of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere, but doubling fuel efficiencies of cars and
light trucks would achieve much greater results, according
to two Duke University ecologists.
Study
Blames Habitat Loss for Bird Decline - [MSNBC] Almost
30 percent of bird populations on the continent are facing
a “significant decline,” the National Audubon
Society said in its first “The State of the Birds”
report.
Steep
Water Prices in Coming Years Anticipated - [SABC News]
The price of water in Southern Africa could rise quickly
in the next 10 years and this is to affect agriculture and
industrial growth negatively if left unchecked. Small scale
farmers and poor rural communities will be unable to purchase
water in the long run, says David Stephens, a water expert
who has done extensive research on water resource management
in the region.
Love
That Dirty Water (It Can Power Your Home) - [Discover]
A quarter of the people in the world still drink filthy
water and live miles from electrical power; nearly half
the world lacks sewage treatment. Environmental engineer
Bruce Logan and his team at Pennsylvania State University
are working to remedy all three problems at once. They have
created a fuel cell that uses wastewater to generate electricity
-- and spits out pure water in the process.
Buildings
Get Smarter on Energy Use - [MSNBC] Buildings are getting
smarter -- and the next generation of building materials
is expected to do even more. Windows could trap the sun’s
energy to heat hot water. Sensors that measure the carbon
dioxide exhaled by people in a room could determine whether
the air conditioning needs to be turned up.
Salmon
at Risk in Pacific Russia - [BBC] Extreme poverty is
driving Russians in the Pacific region to poach salmon to
unsustainable levels, a UK group says.
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THE FUTURE
The
World in 2020 - [The Guardian] A detailed look at life,
work, society and the state of the world in 2020.
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