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The mystery of being human...
Science Daily reports new evidence
that primitive structures in the human brain may play a
much more significant role in learning than previously believed..Learning,
researchers say, results from interactions between the primitive
brain and the more advanced cerebral cortex. Autism and
schizophrenia may result from an imbalance between the two
systems.
The Washington Post reports that
while woman have two X chromosomes, and one is turned off
before birth, some genes in the inactivated chromosome continue
to function. The number of genes that avoid inactivation
varies widely from woman to woman. This may explain genetic
differences between women, researchers say.
Artificial intelligence...
A researcher at the University of Reading
has developed a new programming environment called "Perspex"
that is based on geometrical structures, rather than a series
of computer instructions. It works like a neural network.
Dr. James Anderson says, "Any existing computer program
can be compiled into a network of these neurons." The
new approach could allow us eventually to create robots
with minds that learn and function like our own -- including
the ability to perform global reasoning or strategic thinking.
Field of dreams...
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos recently bought
a large tract of ranch land in rural Texas, where he plans
to build a spaceport. The new venture -- called Blue Origin
-- aims initially to send passengers to the edge of space.
Its mission, reported by USA Today, is to "facilitate
an enduring human presence in space." A number of other
high-tech entrepreneurs -- including PayPal founder Elon
Musk, video game developer John Carmack, and Microsoft co-founder
Paul Allen -- have launched similar aerospace ventures.
The graying generation...
A vibrant Irene Sinclair, 96, is the new
model for Dove ads in England. She is the poster girl for
a graying generation, and a sign that companies are beginning
to pay more attention to senior consumers. While Dove's
focus on seniors is still the exception rather than the
rule, a few other companies are following suit. It's just
good business. Frederic Sierriere, head of the SeniorStrategic
consulting agency in France, says seniors are "the
market of the future." The Christian Science Monitor
reports UN Population Fund projections that the proportion
of the European population over 65 will grow from 12 percent
today to 28.5 percent in 2050.
The balance of power...
David Rothkopf, a visiting scholar at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has written
a new book on the American power elite -- Running the
World: The Inside Story of the National Security Council
and the Architects of American Power (New York: Public
Affairs, 2005). Foreign Policy has published an excerpt
from the book, which describes the tensions between the
old guard (supporters of the policies of former President
George H.W. Bush) and the new guard (supporters of the policies
of the current President). Rothkopf calls them "traditonalists"
and "transformationalists." While the outcome
of the battle is still unclear, he says, it will have great
consequences for the world.
A new hazard...
Science News reports that nanomaterials
may pose a new hazard to human health. Researchers at NASA's
Johnson Space Center in Houston have found that carbon nanotubes
create significant lung damage in laboratory animals, and
in a few cases have actually caused death. Based on current
allowable levels, they say, workers exposed to these materials
could receive comparable doses, adjusted for body size,
within 17 days.
Nanomaterials have been shown to have other
negative effects. A research team at the National Institute
of Occupational Safety and Health in Morgantown, West Virginia,
has observed heart and aortic artery damage in mice exposed
to carbon nanotubes. Researchers in Japan and the United
States have reported increased susceptibility to blood clotting
in rabbits exposed to carbon nanospheres.
Deep uncertainty...
A Scientific American article examines
the problem of setting priorities, and defining an optimal
course of action, when we are paralyzed by lack of clarity
about the future, and complex challenges that are not well
understood. The authors have developed new methods for dealing
with "deep uncertainy" -- finding strategies that
can cope with a broad range of possible outcomes. "Our
approach," the authors say, "is to look not for
optimal strategies, but for robust ones. A robust strategy
performs well when compared with the alternatives across
a wide range of plausible futures." To test the approach,
they have used it to evaluate alternative strategies for
sustainable development.
David Forrest
we welcome your comments and feedback at mail@innovationwatch.com
SCIENCE
Alzheimer's
Plaques Imaged in Living Brains - [New Scientist] The
hallmark of Alzheimer's disease -- amyloid plaques in the
brain -- can be detected in living mice using a new technique
based on magnetic resonance imaging. The finding raises
the possibility that people without overt symptoms could
one day be diagnosed and treated early.
Primitive
Brain Is 'Smarter' Than We Think, MIT Study Shows -
[Science Daily] Primitive structures deep within the brain
may have a far greater role in our high-level everyday thinking
processes than previously believed, report researchers at
the MIT Picower Center for Learning and Memory.
Einstein's
Science Genius Wasn't Just About IQ - [Boston Globe]
No one can say whether he was truly the smartest man alive.
There certainly were other smart scientists at work at the
same time, but Einstein did have a unique vision, a gift
for identifying the most important problems in physics,
and a dogged determination to keep pursuing them.
Super
Telescopes in Space and on the Moon - [Space.com] NASA’s
sweeping Moon, Mars and beyond agenda demands a sustained
ability to build, deploy, rescue, repair, support and upgrade
large and complex systems. In mounting this exploration
assault, both human and robot can work together to anchor
super-optical systems far from Earth, as well as on that
nearby celestial mountaintop -- the Moon.
X
Chromosome May Show Gender Differences - [Washington
Post] Women get more work out of hundreds of genes on the
X chromosome than men do, and that might help explain biological
differences between the sexes, a new study says. The results
imply that women make higher doses of certain proteins than
men do, which might play out in gender differences in both
normal life and disease, researchers said.
Mars
Colonies Coming Soon? - [National Geographic] As rovers
and orbiters continue to scour Mars for more signs of water
and the potential for extraterrestrial life, space scientists
and enthusiasts are champing at the bit to put humans on
the red planet.
Gene
Silencing Breakthrough Raises Hope for ALS Treatment
- [Daily News Central] Swiss scientists have succeeded in
silencing the genetic mutation that causes inherited cases
of amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as "Lou
Gehrig's disease," in experiments conducted with mice.
Experiments using RNA interference in transgenic mice (mice
bred to express the human ALS gene) substantially delayed
both the onset and the progression rate of the fatal motor
neuron disease.
TECHNOLOGY
Artificial
Antenna Helps ’Cockroach Robot’ Scurry along Walls
- [Innovations Report] Can a robot learn to navigate like
a cockroach? To help researchers find out if a mechanical
device can mimic the pesky insect’s behavior, a Johns
Hopkins engineering student has built a flexible, sensor-laden
antenna. Like a cockroach’s own wriggly appendage,
the artificial antenna sends signals to a wheeled robot’s
electronic brain, enabling the machine to scurry along walls,
turn corners and avoid obstacles.
Robot
on Wheels to Keep Pace with People - [The Australian]
Pal and Chum look a little bit like first-graders on wheels,
chatting up a storm and racing around the room. For Hitachi
Ltd., Japan's biggest electronics conglomerate, they are
the next generation of humanoid robots.
Robot
Finds Life During Practice for Mars - [MSNBC] A robot
laden with sensor equipment has detected life on the arid
terrain of the Chilean desert, a first for rover-based systems.
Nobody was surprised to find life there, but with the harsh
conditions and sparse biological activity, the feat is likened
to finding microbial creatures on Mars if any exists there.
Towards
a Truly Clever Artificial Intelligence - [Innovations
Report] A pioneering new way of creating computer programs
could be used in the future to design and build robots with
minds that function like that of a human being, according
to a leading researcher at The University of Reading.
Pentagon
Invests in Unmanned 'Trauma Pod' - [ABC News] The Pentagon
is awarding $12 million in grants on Monday to develop an
unmanned "trauma pod" designed to use robots to
perform full scalpel-and-stitch surgeries on wounded soldiers
in battlefield conditions.
IBM
Takes New Approach to Spam - [CIO Today] New technology
developed by IBM helps filter and block spam by analyzing
the true origin of an e-mail. Dubbed FairUCE (fair use of
unsolicited commercial e-mail), the new technology uses
identity management capabilities built into a network.
A
Bold Venture: Creating an 'Electronic Town Square' with
Blogs
- [Technology Review] At the News & Record, a
93,000-daily circulation newspaper in Greensboro, reporters
and editors are asking tough questions about the paper itself.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
West
Texas County Abuzz as Bezos Plans Spaceport - [USA Today]
Even skeptical locals, who've become wary over the years
of city slickers with big ideas for their town, perked up
when Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos made his pitch -- a spaceport
for commercial travel into the beyond.
Like
the US, Mexico Feels Wal-Mart Era - [Christian Science
Monitor] Since a consolidation in 1997, Wal-Mart de Mexico
SA, or Walmex, the Mexican extension of its Arkansas-based
parent, has steadily gobbled up everything in its path,
posting soaring numbers -- sales increased 10.5 percent
last year -- and pouring piles of cash into growth with
trademark intensity. Today, Walmex runs 411 retailers and
285 restaurants, is Mexico's largest private employer, and
has the second-highest market capitalization of any company
on Mexico's stock exchange.
Asia’s
IP Boom - [Red Herring] Asian countries, often derided
as technology thieves and copycats, are filing international
patents in record numbers, according to figures released
by the U.N.’s World Intellectual Property Organization
in Geneva. The United States still
tops the list of countries putting in new patents, but South
Korea and China are gaining ground. Chinese inventors filed
1,782 of the 120,000 patents of 2004, a 38 percent increase
over the year before. South Korea boosted its patent count
by 20 percent over 2003 with 3,521 applications.
India
is 'the Market to Reckon With' for Boeing and Airbus
- [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] India has become a major
battleground for The Boeing Co. and Airbus, both of which
see the world's second-most-populous country as the best
market for airplanes after the United States and China over
the next two decades. By 2020, the shortage could be more
than 10 million workers, according to the Washington trade
group, which has more than 14,000 companies as members.
How
to Battle the Coming Brain Drain - [Fortune] Older workers
are retiring in droves. How do you prevent their crucial
knowledge from leaving with them?
Worker
Shortage in the Making? - [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
The United States faces a severe shortage of skilled workers
if current employment and job training trends continue,
the National Association of Manufacturers said.
Spain
Investing Heavily in Brazil - [ABC News] Analysts said
the United States should take notice of the effort by Spain
to woo Brazil. While no one expects Spain to surpass the
United States as Brazil's biggest foreign investor, the
Spanish push is likely to pay off with greater access to
Brazil's markets.
SOCIETY
Admakers
Turn to Europe's Rising Gray Set - [Christian Science
Monitor] As baby boomers hit middle age, advertisers are
waking up to the fact that there is a lot of money to be
made from European consumers nearing retirement age.
How
Workers See Their Future - [Scotsman] Over the next
20 years the number of people aged over 60 still in work
is set to double, new research showed. A survey of 1,200
adults showed that 22% believed they would be working well
into their 60s by the year 2020, more than double the present
number.
Guys
Just Wanna Be Girls - [J-Marketing] Over the past several
decades, Japan's trend-conscious urban youth have spawned
subcultures known at bosozoku (biker gangs), "yankees"
and "teamers." Writing in Aera, Yukiko Hayami
-- a journalist who specializes in reporting on youth culture
-- introduces a flamboyant new breed; the first, she says,
in which guys mimic the style and makeup of gals.
How
the Lines Between Races are Blurring - [Globe and Mail]
When the Saloojee family gathers for dinner, their table
turns into a miniature United Nations. The parents and their
three sons are Indians. The daughters-in-law have Romanian,
British and Egyptian backgrounds.
Bad
Medicine - [Red Herring] A study published in the leading
academic journal PLOS Medicine reports that 15 percent of
all drugs sold worldwide are fakes and pose serious health
problems for millions of people suffering from AIDS and
other illness. The total market in counterfeit medicines
is worth $35 billion annually and over half of purchased
drugs are fakes in some parts of Africa and Asia.
Dead-End
Jobs in Delhi - [C|NET] More than 50 percent of BPO
worker respondents to a survey said the main reason for
leaving a position was that it is a dead end job. Such dissatisfaction
contributes to an attrition rate in Indian call centers
that is as high as 40 percent, according to the story.
Michigan
May Require Online Dating Checks - [Boston Globe] Some
lawmakers say that, as online dating becomes more popular,
users need better protection from predators. Twenty-six
million people visited dating sites in January, according
to the Internet research firm Nielsen/NetRatings.
GLOBAL POLITICS
China
Goes Fishing - [Asia Times] China is fast becoming a
formidable sea power of the other marine variety. It doesn't
yet have monstrous aircraft carriers capable of delivering
awesome fire power in the world's seven seas, but there
is a huge fleet of small fishing trawlers flying Chinese
flags that sail the ocean blue.
European
Exchange -- Making the Most of Europes Emerging Markets
- [onrec.com] In May 2004 it suddenly became possible for
a national of any member state of the European Union to
work anywhere across almost the entire continent. An international
job market stretching from the Atlantic Coast in Ireland
up to the Balkans and down to the Mediterranean has opened
up. The legal barriers have gone, but the concern for many
employers is that the language barrier still remains.
A
Wolf(owitz) at Asia's door? - [International Herald
Tribune] The World Bank plans to sell $15 billion in debt
this year. With its AAA credit rating, it hopes to scoop
up more of the money flowing from Asia into U.S. Treasuries.
Such a move would lower the World Bank's borrowing costs
and enable it to increase its debt sales if needed to accelerate
development and poverty-reduction efforts. Skepticism toward
Wolfowitz could limit Asian demand.
UN,
Jimmy Carter Say Time Is Ripe to End Hunger - [National
Geographic] "Millions of people die annually of hunger
and hunger-related diseases, and many millions more suffer
needlessly where famine is preventable," Jimmy Carter,
39th President of the United States and 2002 Nobel Peace
Prize laureate, told National Geographic News.
Muslim
Groups Push for a 'Counter-Jihad' - [Moscow Times] The
e-mail messages from Muslims began moments after release
of a religious edict condemning al-Qaida. They came from
every corner of the world. Soon they were tumbling in too
fast to handle.
Inside
the Committee that Runs the World - [Foreign Policy]
The inner circles of the U.S. national security community—members
of the National Security Council (NSC), a select number
of their deputies, and a few close advisors to the president—represent
what is probably the most powerful committee in the history
of the world, one with more resources, more power, more
license to act, and more ability to project force further
and swifter than any other convened by king, emperor, or
president.
Israel
in NATO? - [The Globalist] The Middle East peace process
still has many hurdles to overcome. Yet, there is already
talk from Washington that Israel should join NATO. At first
sight, that seems an outlandish suggestion. Christoph Bertram,
the Director of the Berlin-based German Institute for International
Affairs and Security, provides a European perspective.
ENVIRONMENT
Canada's
Shrinking Ice Caps - [Science Daily] Recent research
conducted by NASA scientists has revealed that Canada's
ice caps and glaciers have important connections to Earth’s
changing climate, and they have a strong potential for contributing
to sea level rise.
EU
Ministers Want Tough Post-Kyoto Emissions Target - [New
Zealand Herland] European Union environment ministers on
Thursday proposed developed nations make sweeping cuts in
their greenhouse gas emissions in the years following 2012,
when the first period covered by the Kyoto Protocol ends.
UN
Effort Aims to Bring Safe Water to Billions - [Voice
of America] Earth may be unique in the universe for its
abundance of water, amounting to 70 percent of its surface.
But the image recalls the old sailor's lament, "Water,
water everywhere, but not a drop to drink," for the
vast majority of it is salty and unfit for consumption.
Nano
Hazards: Exposure to Minute Particles Harms Lungs, Circulatory
System - [Science News] Nanomaterials, the current darlings
of industry, are showing up in products ranging from cosmetics
to electronics. However, new animal studies indicate that
inhaling these microscopic spheres and tubes could cause
big trouble, especially for workers who manufacture and
handle them.
Battle
To Save Great Barrier Reef - [CBS News] Leaf through
the latest tomes on the status of coral reefs worldwide
and a grim picture emerges. Because of overfishing, soil
and nutrient runoff from land, and climate change: A fifth
of the reefs - among the planet's most productive habitats
- have been destroyed and are not recovering. Another quarter
face the threat of imminent collapse from human activities.
Another quarter are said to face long-term collapse.
Editors
on the Future of Energy - [MSNBC] Experts generally
agree that our current reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable.
Clean energy sources like wind and solar power -- not to
mention still-unproven hydrogen technology -- are gaining
popularity, especially in Western Europe. But even as prices
approach $50 a barrel, the alternatives don't yet make enough
economic sense to replace oil.
Now,
Bioengineered Trees are Taking Root - [Christian Science
Monitor] Scattered across at least seven provinces in China
are more than 1 million common poplar trees with an uncommon
bite. They can kill the insects that nibble their leaves.
Their unusual defensive system is a genetically engineered
bomb: Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, a naturally
occurring toxin inserted into the tree's DNA. Other such
transgenic species, such as the larch and walnut, are in
the works, Chinese researchers report.
THE FUTURE
Shaping
the Future - [Scientific American] Scientific uncertainty
often becomes an excuse to ignore long-term problems, such
as climate change. It doesn't have to be so.
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