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Not junk...
Researchers at Emory University in the United
States have found that a sequence of 'junk' DNA -- genetic
code with no apparent function -- influences social behavior
in voles. The sequence affects brain receptors for the hormone
vasopressin. It is longer in monogamous than in polygamous
vole species. By genetically modifying prairie voles, they
created two different strains of animals -- one with a longer,
and the other with a shorter genetic sequence. Males with
the longer version had more vasopressin receptors in parts
of the brain associated with social behavior and parenting,
and were more likely to form pair bonds and nurture their
young. The scientists speculate that such differences could
account for human personality traits like shyness, and might
even play a role in autism and social anxiety disorders.
The next big thing...
The RFID market is forecast to grow from
$1.95 billion to $27 billion over the next ten years. The
technology is being used for security/access control, toll
collection, animal tracking and automobile immobilization,
among many other applications. Tagging of consumer goods
will contribute significantly to future growth.
In praise of slowness...
Speakers at this year's global TED -- Technology,
Entertainment and Design -- conference in Oxford said it's
time to slow down. Carl Honore, author of the book In
Praise of Slowness, says he found himself speed-reading
bedtime stories to his son. Technology has contributed to
the problem, he says. A department at software vendor Veritas
has made Fridays e-mail-free, and that is now their most
productive day of the week. A recent study, Honore says,
found that e-mail distractions have reduced workers' effectiveness
by the equivalent of 10 IQ points.
Barry Schwartz, author of the book The
Paradox of Choice, says choice may immobilize us. Schwartz
says his local supermarket offers 175 salad dressings, 40
toothpastes, 75 ice teas, 230 soups, and 285 kinds of cookies.
Faced with so many options, he says, we're also more likely
to regret the choices we make.
The future of Africa...
Vanguard reports on a conference
of U.S. experts on Africa, held this January, and sponsored
by the US National Intelligence Council. The conference
looked at challenges facing Africa over the next 15 years,
and described possible outcomes. Most of the continent will
become more marginalized, participants said, and the performance
of African countries will diverge significantly, based on
structural differences.
"South Africa, Africa's oil producing
states, and a handful of other African countries committed
to governance reforms have the best chance of attracting
international investment needed to compete and survive,"
Vanguard reports. Others are unlikely to reverse
their current downward trend. Traditional powers like France
and the United States will gradually disengage, conference
participants concluded, while China and India are expected
to play a larger role on the continent in the future.
Changing the world...
Wired reports that US President Bill
Clinton will host a meeting of private and public sector
leaders later this year, to explore ways for the private
sector to help solve world problems. Participants will be
required to make binding commitments, to be accomplished
before the next annual meeting. "If we did one of these
every year at the opening of the U.N. ... and these commitments
were made and kept for a decade," Clinton says, "I
think it would change the world." He expects 500 to
1,000 people to attend.
Imagining the future...
Sierra magazine profiles six innovators
from the United States and Canada who are using technology
to raise environmental awareness and solve environmental
problems. Working in industry and universities, with diverse
backgrounds, significant records of accomplishment, and
boundless imaginations, they're making a real difference
by thinking out of the box.
Solving world problems will require not
just technology, but also social innovation. The global
TED conference -- held in Europe for the first time this
year -- brought "authors, musicians, playwrights, and
pioneers in technology and science" together to talk
about social issues and brainstorm about the future.
David Forrest
we welcome your comments and feedback at mail@innovationwatch.com
SCIENCE
Prehistoric
Bones Point to First Modern-Human Settlement in Europe
- [National Geographic] Scientists have confirmed that bones
found in the Czech Republic represent the earliest human
settlement in Europe.
First
North Americans Few in Number - [CBC] The first humans
to cross the Bering Strait land bridge and colonize North
America thousands of years ago were part of a group that
numbered about 200 people, new research shows.
Harvard
Project to Scan Millions of Medical Files - [Boston
Globe] Harvard scientists are building a powerful computer
system that will use artificial intelligence to scan the
private medical files of 2.5 million people at local hospitals,
as part of a government-funded effort to find the genetic
roots of asthma and other diseases.
Chandra
Shows Saturn's Rings Sparkling With X-rays - [Spaceflight
Now] Chandra X-ray Observatory images reveal that the rings
of Saturn sparkle in X-rays. The likely source for this
radiation is fluorescence caused by solar X-rays striking
oxygen atoms in the water molecules that comprise most of
the icy rings.
Even
Identical Twins Grow Apart Genetically - [MSNBC] Identical
twins grow apart, genetically, as the years pass, a team
of European and US researchers reported. Their study of
identical twins shows the genetic code itself does not change,
but rather chemical changes after birth alter the way the
gene is expressed, a process known as epigenetics.
Role
Reversal: Planet Controls a Star - [Space.com] In a
reversal of roles, a planet has gravitationally bullied
its star to rotate in step with the planet's orbit.
Rodent
Social Behavior Encoded In Junk DNA - [Science Daily]
Researchers traced social behavior traits, such as monogamy,
to seeming glitches in DNA that determines when and where
a gene turns on. The length of these repeating sequences
-- once dismissed as mere junk DNA -- in the gene that codes
for a key hormone receptor determined male-female relations
and parenting behaviors in a species of voles.
TECHNOLOGY
Hey
Google, Map This! - [Wired] HousingMaps, created by
Paul Rademacher, a 3-D graphic artist from Santa Clara,
California, is just one of several innovative hacks giving
users new ways to use information since Google launched
its maps service. Google Maps offers detailed maps of nearly
anywhere in the United States or Canada on which users can
quickly zoom in or out.
Mobiles
for Under $30 Out Next Year - [C|NET] The GSM Association
is calling for industry types to lend a helping hand as
it tries to take the mobile revolution to all parts of the
developing world -- by offering very low price handsets.
Windows
to Become RFID-Friendly - [ZDNet UK] Microsoft wants
to boost the uptake of the wireless tracking technology
by giving readers and tags plug-and-play compatibility.
How
to Distinguish GM Crops from Space - [foodnavigator]
NASA satellite technology could soon be used to help food
producers distinguish between GM (genetically modified)
crops and non-GM crops, opening the door to greater acceptance
of GM food.
Fingernails
Store Personal Information - [Physics Web] Secure optical
data storage could soon literally be at your fingertips
thanks to work being carried out in Japan. Yoshio Hayasaki
of Tokushima University and colleagues have discovered that
data can be written into a human fingernail by irradiating
it with femtosecond laser pulses. Capacities are said to
be up to 5 mega bits and the stored data lasts for 6 months
-- the length of time it takes a fingernail to be completely
replaced.
RFID
Industry Worth $27 Billion By 2015 - [Industry Week]
By 2015, according to a report from Research and Markets,
the RFID market will be valued at $26 billion. Considering
that the 2005 market is at $1.95 billion, that's quite a
growth spurt.
'Most
Wired' Hospitals Have Lower Patient Death Rates, Study Finds
- [Information Week] The 100 "most wired" US hospitals
have an average risk-adjusted mortality rate 7.2% lower
than less IT-savvy hospitals, according to a new study released
by the American Hospital Association.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Personal
Stamps Again Push Envelope - [San Diego Union-Tribune]
Now anyone can join the ranks of George Washington, Dr.
Seuss and Elvis and get their images on a US postage stamp.
A 50-day trial sale last summer of vanity postage generated
2.7 million personalized postage stamps. Now the Postal
Service and Stamps.com have teamed again -- this time, on
a yearlong trial of customized postage stamps. More vendors
are expected to be licensed as part of the test.
Sisterhood
Is Digital - [Fast Company] Anita Borg is a living legend
among computer scientists. She is also leading a worldwide
movement to redesign the relationship between women and
technology. Some of the world's most powerful technology
companies are finally paying attention.
E-Learning
Poised for Higher Growth in India - [CXO Today] Though
e-learning as a concept is still in its nascent stages in
India, the competition in this space is heating up as NIIT,
Tata Interactive Systems, Mentorix compete for a larger
chunk of the global e-learning pie. Hurix Systems Pvt. Ltd,
a major player in the e-learning sector discussed its plans
for the forthcoming years.
The
Collapse of Big Media: Starting Over - [Wilson Quarterly]
It’s premature to write an obituary, but there’s
no question that America’s news media -- the newspapers,
newsmagazines, and television networks that people once
turned to for all their news -- are experiencing what psychologists
might call a major life passage. They’ve seen their
audiences shrink, they’ve had to worry about vigorous
new competitors, and they’ve suffered more than a few
self-inflicted wounds -- scandals of their own making.
Merrill
Lynch Pushes Global Warming Bubble - [FOXNews] Merrill
and the environmental activist World Resources Institute
issued a joint report on global warming-related “investment
opportunities” entitled, “Energy Security and
Climate Change: Investing in the Clean Car Revolution.”
Competition
Can Sometimes Get Unhealthy - [Boston Globe] Competition
is often celebrated as the lifeblood of free enterprise.
But a pair of managing directors at Mercer Management Consulting
argue that certain forms of competition are wasteful.
Too
Much Cash, Too Little Innovation - [Business Week] Tech
companies aren't just rich these days -- they're filthy,
stinking rich. At a time when many corporations are loaded
with cash, tech outfits look particularly flush. The 80
tech players in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index
have a total of $229 billion in cash and equivalents on
their balance sheets -- more than twice what they had at
the end of 1999.
SOCIETY
Mobile
Video: The Last Eyeballs - [InternetNews] The few crumbs
of spare attention anyone has left over from the barrage
of daily media will soon be eaten up by "video snacks,"
little chunks of content delivered to cell phones to fill
those awkward moments when no one is calling, texting or
e-mailing us.
Atheists
Gather to ‘Push Back’ - [MSNBC] The attendees
of the “All Atheists Weekend” came together to
discuss what they call the rise of fundamentalism in the
US and the blurring of lines between church and state.
GTD:
A New Cult for the Info Age - [Wired] A holy book for
the information age is turning stressed-out worker bees
into members of an unlikely new cult obsessed with keeping
an empty inbox. To converts, popular time-management manual
Getting Things Done is a way of life and its author, personal
productivity coach David Allen, leader of their flock.
Online
Résumé Can Attract Identity Thieves and Other
Crooks - [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] Increasingly,
online résumés are being accessed not just
by legitimate employers but by offshore criminals out to
steal identities or bring low-level recruits into international
crime rings.
Shanghai
Suffers as Car Culture Takes Hold - [International Herald
Tribune] As people in this richest of Chinese cities have
grown more and more affluent, they have also displayed a
growing passion for the automobile; in Shanghai, as in much
of China, getting rich and growing attached to cars have
increasingly gone hand in hand.
Time
to Switch Off and Slow Down - [BBC] For a wired world
accustomed to having nearly unlimited information and the
boundless choices of online shopping, it seems almost heretical
to suggest that the infinite possibilities of the modern
world leave us less satisfied instead of more.
A
Deepening Divide - [TIME Asia] Japan likes to think
of itself as one giant middle class. But wrenching economic
and social shifts are splitting the nation into ranks of
haves and have-nots.
GLOBAL POLITICS
Why
Nigeria May Become a Failed State...How to Salvage the Situation
- [Vanguard] Geography, decisions by governments past and
present, the presence of trained professionals, the strength
of civil society groups promoting democracy, and the capabilities
of the local police and security forces all have the potential
to decisively affect the performance of individual African
countries in the next 15 years.
Growing
Pains of Beijing Architecture - [China Daily] The city
of Beijing wakes from a short slumber. It shakes off yesterday's
dust and immediately braces for impact. An army of workers
salute and in real time architects, designers and demolition
troops swivel in for another round of expansions. They are
battling against time and space and they are winning.
What
Will Canada Look Like in 15 Years? - [Toronto Star]
Canada today resembles a marathoner who has run with quiet
competence to near to the head of the pack but who now is
seized by doubt about whether he can sustain the pace --
indeed, whether he might have to drop out entirely.
Bill
Clinton Plans Private Summit on Global Woes - [Wired]
Former US President Bill Clinton says he is intent on finding
ways the private sector can solve some of the world's most
pressing problems from poverty to terrorism. As host of
a meeting in New York later this year of private and public
sector leaders, Clinton said in an interview with Reuters
there are plenty of problems governments simply cannot address.
India,
China Decry Moves to 'Divide' Developing Nations at WTO
- [Hindustan Times] India and China have expressed concern
over attempts by some developed countries to "divide"
developing nations at WTO negotiations on key issues like
agriculture and services reached a critical stage.
Suddenly
Washington Needs The UN - [Business Week] The Bush Administration
seems to have decided it has a big stake in the U.N.'s health
and performance. Bush & Co. want a reformed UN to take
on key tasks such as running Iraqi elections, supervising
possible sanctions against Iran and North Korea, and keeping
peace in Kosovo.
Gorbachev
Says Russia Safe From Dictatorship Under Putin - [Mosnews]
Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the U.S.S.R.,
said he fully supports President Putin’s policies,
Interfax reported.
ENVIRONMENT
Climate:
Ocean Warming Supports Models - [Washington Times] Clear
evidence of human-produced warming in the oceans verifies
some of the most important predictions of climate models,
suggesting it is time for action instead of argument about
the existence of greenhouse warming, according to a paper
by Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists.
The
$20,000,000,000,000 Question - [OpenDemocracy.net] The
global financial community is waking up to the risk of climate
change, and the opportunities arising from doing something
about it. But a smarter regulatory framework is urgently
needed. Nick Robins of Henderson Global Investors asks whether
political and business leaders can rise to the challenge.
Climate
Change 'Threatens to Evict African Plants' - [SciDev]
Climate change could drastically alter the distribution
of thousands of plant species across Africa, say scientists.
Pollution
Poisons China's Progress - [Global Policy Forum] More
than 100 factories occupy what were once unbroken fields
of rice and cotton. Even the Petro China station, boasting
30 gasoline pumps, reflects a sense of abundance. But in
this corner of northern China, about 60 miles east of Beijing,
prosperity has come at a fearful cost.
EU
Cracks Whip Over Environment - [BBC] The European Commission
has issued a final warning to several EU member states for
failing to comply with EU rules on the environment. The
warning is the final step before the Commission launches
a case at the European Court of Justice.
Carbon
Leaching Out of Siberian Peat - [Geotimes] A study of
96 watersheds in western Siberia is showing an alarming
trend: If temperatures in the region and throughout the
Arctic continue to rise, by the end of this century, land
surface that is covered by permafrost will be halved —
leaching carbon into the area’s water system. Such
a permafrost loss could dramatically affect the global climate
cycle.
Earth's
Innovators - [Sierra] Some people think outside the
box. Some don't think about boxes at all.
THE FUTURE
Leading
Brains Take On Big Ideas - [BBC] Luminaries from the
worlds of technology, entertainment and design gather in
Oxford to share their thinking about our future.
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