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The evolving brain...
Geneticist Bruce Lahn and colleagues at
the University of Chicago, have estimated that changes in
two genes regulating brain growth in humans -- the microcepahalin
and ASPM genes -- occurred about 37,000 and 5,800 years
ago, respectively. If these dates are correct, this roughly
corresponds in the first instance to the emergence of art,
music and tool-making; and in the second to the emergence
of written language, agriculture, and urban settlement.
While the connection between genetic and cultural evolution
is highly speculative, it is clear that the human brain
continues to evolve.
Machine intelligence...
Shane Legg and Marcus Hutter at the Swiss
Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Manno-Lugano have
proposed a standard IQ test to measure the intelligence
of robots, learning systems, and software agents. There
is still no consensus in the AI community on how such a
test should be implemented, but Blay Whitby -- an expert
in human and artificial intelligence at the University of
Sussex in Brighton, England -- says it would mark a significant
milestone. "This," he says, "is a very important
-- perhaps the most important -- issue to be resolved for
the future of AI."
Yet another software upgrade...
Business managers are more reluctant to
pay for software upgrades, CIO Asia says. "Years of
endless -- and regular -- software re-releases have soured
many corporate executives on the virtues of upgrading. In
some cases, corporate customers have found that much-ballyhooed
releases are hardly upgrades at all -- merely tweaks and
fiddles to perfectly good programs." Upgrades often
come with unwanted features; they may make other systems
and products inoperable; and they can trigger additional
costs in computer equipment upgrades and employee retraining.
In the end, customers may have little choice. Vendors stop
supporting older software versions, and in the future more
upgrades will be installed automatically over the Internet.
The new hacker...
Hackers are now competing for control of
infected computers, The Christian Science Monitor
reports. When the Zotob worm was released in August, seven
variants appeared within a few days -- five of them designed
to remove competing versions. It was a case, the paper says,
of "dueling viruses." Hacking has become much
more sophisticated. Networks of compromised computers are
now being leased and sold as platforms to distribute spam
and spread viruses.
Personal Tech Pipeline reports that
admission systems at American universities and colleges
are being hacked by prospective students. Their motive was
to find out if they had been accepted by the school. Harvard
Business School was hacked by 119 applicants, Stanford Graduate
School of Business by 41, and MIT by 32. All of these applicants
have been rejected.
An 80/20 rule?...
A UN report says 20 percent of the world's
population controls 80 percent of its resources, and disparities
are increasing. Young people account for almost half of
the unemployed, and there are millions of working poor.
Even in developed nations like Canada, Britain and the United
States, there is a wide gap between rich and poor. Violence
is commonly associated with this inequality, the report
says. "The violence associated with national and international
acts of terrorism should be viewed in the context of social
inequality and disintegration."
Back to the future...
The World Business Council for Sustainable
Development reports that the Swedish firm Wallenius Wilhelmsen
has designed a massive 21st-century sailing ship that can
carry cargo on the open ocean without using fossil fuel.
Powered by large sails, and generating electricity from
sunlight and wave action, the proposed vessel opens new
options for international shipping. While it is only a concept
today, the company says the ship could be built by 2025,
using technologies that are currently in development.
Man or machine?...
In a collection of ten articles, Popular
Science magazine examines a future where technology,
pharmacology, genetic modification, and tissue engineering
will be used to enhance and re-engineer the human body.
The result? One of the articles predicts brain implants
that communicate with machines; microchip implants that
bypass damaged brain tissue; genetically enhanced vision
that sees more than hues of red, green and blue; artificial
implantable lungs and kidneys; drug delivery systems, implanted
in the chest, that respond to changes in body chemistry
or temperature; and cellphones implanted in teeth.
David Forrest
we welcome your comments and feedback at mail@innovationwatch.com
SCIENCE
Famine
Increases the Risk of Schizophrenia - [New Scientist]
Babies born during famine have more than double the risk
of developing schizophrenia later in life, according to
a study based on the 1959-1961 famine in China. The findings
show that starvation experienced during the critical stages
of early gestation alters brain development, producing mental
health consequences years later in adulthood, the researchers
say.
Nasal
Spray Clears Alzheimer’s Brain Plaques - [New Scientist]
A new nasal vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease has cleared
plaques from the brains of affected mice and will be tested
in humans in 2006.
NASA
Scientist Finds World With Triple Sunsets - [NASA Jet
Propulsion Laboratory] A NASA-funded astronomer has discovered
a world where the sun sets over the horizon, followed by
a second sun and then a third. The new planet, called HD
188753 Ab, is the first known to reside in a classic triple-star
system.
Smart
Bio-Nanotube - [Medical News Today] By combining one
natural component of a cell with the synthetic analog of
another component, researchers at the University of California,
Santa Barbara, have created a nanoscale hybrid they call
the "smart bio-nanotube": a novel structure that
could one day become a vehicle for ultra-precise drug or
therapeutic gene delivery.
Genes
Show Signs Brain Still Evolving - [ABC News] The human
brain may still be evolving. So suggests new research that
tracked changes in two genes thought to help regulate brain
growth, changes that appeared well after the rise of modern
humans 200,000 years ago.
What
If…? Exploring Alternative Scientific Pasts - [New
Scientist] There is no shortage of tantalising what-ifs:
what if Newton had carried out his threat to quit science?
What if Darwin hadn't sailed on the Beagle? What if Einstein
hadn't found a job that allowed him so much time to daydream?
Scientists
Make Nerve Stem Cells - [BBC] The world's first pure
nerve stem cells made from human embryonic stem cells has
been created by scientists at the Universities of Edinburgh
and Milan. It is hoped the newly-created cells will eventually
help scientists find new treatments for diseases such as
Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
TECHNOLOGY
Ear
Biometrics May Beat Face Recognition - [New Scientist]
A new type of ear-shape analysis could see ear biometrics
surpass face recognition as a way of automatically identifying
people, claim the UK researchers developing the system.
Energy-Beam
Weapons Still Missing from Action - [MSNBC] For years,
the U.S. military has explored a new kind of firepower that
is instantaneous, precise and virtually inexhaustible: beams
of electromagnetic energy. “Directed-energy” pulses
can be throttled up or down depending on the situation,
much like the phasers on “Star Trek” could be
set to kill or merely stun.
'Robo-Doc'
to Treat Seriously Ill - [BBC] An intelligent computer
system which can imitate doctors' decisions about treatment
for intensive care patients is being developed by scientists.
It will monitor patients' vital signs and then evaluate
and administer drugs - a job now done by specialist medics.
The
Next Giant Leap in Space Exploration - [Red Nova] In
laboratories around the country, NASA is supporting the
burgeoning science of nanotechnology. The basic idea is
to learn to deal with matter at the atomic scale -- to be
able to control individual atoms and molecules well enough
to design molecule-size machines, advanced electronics and
"smart" materials.
Recipe
for D-I-Y DNA Decoding Revealed - [Scientific American]
A thousand dollars can buy a lot of things. Scientists hope
to soon add an individual's genetic sequence to that list.
Full-genome DNA decoding, estimated to now cost $20 million,
could soon be done for about $2.2 million, experts say,
and will continue to drop in price as researchers develop
new ways to conquer the task.
IQ
Test for AI Devices Gets Experts Thinking - [New Scientist]
How do you tell just how smart your robot is? Give it a
universal IQ test, researchers suggest. Traditional measures
of human intelligence would often be inappropriate for systems
that have senses, environments, and cognitive capacities
very different from our own.
Intel
Tries To Spur Wireless Cities Momentum - [Information
Week] What if you could watch news on your cell phone while
waiting for the subway in the morning? Or how about an emergency
worker accessing and sending medical data in real-time using
a handheld? It's mostly pie-in-the-wireless-sky at the moment,
given the lack of wireless infrastructure in most cities.
They're the kind of applications, though, that are drivers
behind Intel's Digital Communities initiative.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Would
You Stick to a Budget in a Virtual Life? - [Seattle
Post-Intelligencer] For roughly a decade, people have used
role-playing online games to conduct parallel lives. Raise
another family. Start a new business. Build your own city.
It's all possible in these virtual worlds. Now, some economists
and social scientists say these Internet worlds could be
a new type of laboratory to study economic behavior, such
as how consumers respond to inflation.
China
Hopes to Repeat India's Outsourcing Success - [CIOL]
China's outsourcing companies are aiming to replicate the
success of their Indian rivals to attract a larger share
of US companies seeking to diversify business beyond India.
The
Once & Future Consultant - [Fast Company] Dave Ulrich
was one of the world's top management gurus until he gave
it all up three years ago to run a Mormon mission in Quebec.
Now he's heading back to business with a fresh eye -- and
some fresh ideas.
Version
Therapy - [CFO Asia] Why a growing number of business
managers are just saying no to software upgrades.
The
21st-Century Organization - [cfo.com] Productive professionals
make big enterprises competitive, yet these employees now
increasingly find their work obstructed. Creating and exchanging
knowledge and intangibles through interaction with their
professional peers is the very heart of what they do. Yet
most of them squander endless hours searching for the knowledge
they need -- even if it resides in their own companies --
and coordinating their work with others.
India's
Mini-Multinationals Make Waves in Western Markets -
[International Herald Tribune] In the first eight months
of this year, Indian companies paid $1.7 billion - more
than quadruple the tally for all of 2001 - for 62 overseas
companies, according to the accounting firm KPMG.
Why
a Booming Economy Feels Flat - [Christian Science Monitor]
A boom in corporate profits has not yet created a job market
that makes workers feel secure, economists say. Hiring hasn't
skyrocketed. Worse, wages are stagnant. This paycheck squeeze
may prove more worrisome than soaring oil prices and concerns
over a housing bubble. Some experts worry that wage stagnation
may prove more permanent this time, because of an increasingly
global market for labor.
SOCIETY
Mega-Trends:
Convenience Food and Health to Double in Ten Years -
[Food Navigator] Ten mega trends stretching from age to
individualism will determine the success and shape of any
new products to hit the market in the near future, claims
market analysts Datamonitor.
College
Admissions Routinely Hacked By Impatient Applicants
- [Personal Tech Pipeline] A number of prestigious colleges
and universities across the country have discovered they
are being hacked at an alarming rate. But the reasons behind
the security breaches at the likes of Harvard and Stanford
aren't the usual kinds of motives we've seen by cybercriminals
and identity thieves. In fact, the hackers in these cases
could be described as overanxious and even enterprising
students.
Psychologists
Warn of Video-Game Violence - [ABC News] Shooting down
the bad guys may no longer be such a good thing. According
to a study done by the American Psychological Association,
violence depicted in video games can cause children to behave
in a way that is angry and aggressive.
Hacker
Underground Erupts in Virtual Turf Wars - [Christian
Science Monitor] Turf wars are emerging among hackers. Besides
infiltrating computer systems, the viruses are now also
designed to kill any other competing viruses in those systems.
Today’s
“Mega-Cities” are Overcrowded and Environmentally
Stressed - [Environmental Magazine] The world is rapidly
urbanizing, and it’s not at all clear that our planet
has the resources to cope with this relentless trend. And,
unfortunately, most of the growth is occurring in urban
centers ill-equipped for the pace of change.
It's
About Body Piercings, Sex, Film and Popcorn - [Economic
Times] There is nothing wrong with either BPOs or those
who work there. Except that do we have to lose our Indianess
to gell with the BPO culture? It’s not just Harsimran
morphing into Harry or Samyukta becoming Sam. There is something
more insidious. It is a willingness to dump one’s culture
for some money. When was the last time that you heard a
Yankee or a Brit or a French changing their names to suit
a foreign culture.
Is
Pop Culture Good for Your Brain? - [The Age] A new book
says that everything we thought was making us stupid --
computer games, reality TV -- is actually making us smarter.
But is electronic culture really brain food? Or do new technologies
flatter us with the illusion of progress, and push us further
away from real human interaction and meaning?
GLOBAL POLITICS
Will
Urbanization in Developing Countries in 2030 Be Less Pronounced
than Model Projections? - [Innovations Report] A new
model indicates that, on the global scale, the proportion
of individuals living in towns and cities will be 49.2%
by 2030, compared with 60.8% estimated by a UN model. This
means that the urban population could amount to one billion
fewer people than predicted.
China,
India Challenge US for Access to World's Oil - [STLToday]
Iran, Sudan, Venezuela, Syria - nations shunned by the United
States as nuclear threats, insurgent havens or human rights
violators - are increasingly being wooed by China and India
in a race for oil and influence that is challenging Washington
on the energy and security fronts.
Supporting
Social Entrepreneurs - [South Africa Info] Ashoka -
Sanskrit for "the active absence of sorrow" -
is a global organisation working to support and provide
a network for social entrepreneurs in their quest to cure
social ills. It's been hard at work in South Africa since
1990.
Nepal
and the Asian Transformation - [Kantipur Online] Asia’s
share in the global economy is expected to rise from about
24 per cent in 2002 to about 50 per cent in 2050 –
the same as that in 1820 before Asia succumbed to economic
stagnation, foreign intervention and outright conquest.
A continent, for long subdued, is free and ready to reclaim
its rightful place in the world.
Mexicans
Take Over Drug Trade to US - [ABC News] In the largest
reorganization since the 1980s, senior US officials say,
Mexican cartels have leveraged the profits from their delivery
routes to wrest control from the Colombian producers. The
shift is also because of the success authorities have had
in cracking down on Colombia's kingpins.
'Half
Asian Children' in Poverty - [BBC] Nearly half of Asia's
1.3bn children live in poverty, denied basic needs, says
a new report.
India has the largest number of poor children in Asia, with
80% of its 400m young severely deprived, it says.
So
Few Rule over 80 Percent of Global GDP - [Manila Times]
Despite unprecedented economic growth especially in Asia,
20 percent of the world’s population controls 80 percent
of global wealth, and inequalities in income and opportunity
persist and in many cases are getting worse, a UN report
said.
ENVIRONMENT
Green
Power the Wave of the Future on High Seas - [World Business
Council for Sustainable Development] Roughly 14,000 years
after the ancient Egyptians began using sails to navigate
reed boats along the Nile, an Oceanic transport giant from
Sweden is betting that the future of modern-day shipping
rests on a return to good old-fashioned wind power.
A
Fresh Threat to Coral Reefs Surfaces - [Royal Gazette]
A report from Britain's Royal Society, timed to influence
this week's G8 summit in Scotland, has pointed up a new
danger to coral reefs worldwide, and a local scientist confirms
that increased levels of acidification have also been found
in Bermuda's waters.
'Ecosystem
Services': A Vital Term in Policy Debates - [World Business
Council for Sustainable Development] Walter Reid, Robert
Watson and Harold Mooney defend the use of the term 'ecosystem
services' as an essential way of communicating to policymakers
the importance of the benefits that people receive from
ecosystems.
We're
All Global Warmers Now - [Reason] Anyone still holding
onto the idea that there is no global warming ought to hang
it up. All data sets -- satellite, surface, and balloon
-- have been pointing to rising global temperatures. In
fact, they all have had upward pointing arrows for nearly
a decade, but now all of the data sets are in closer agreement
due to adjustments published in three new articles in Science.
Nuclear
Waste in Space? - [Space Review] There are three good
reasons to send nuclear waste into space. First, it is safe.
Second, space disposal is better than the alternative, underground
burial. Third, it may finally open the door to widespread
utilization of space.
Back
to the Future - [Economist] What could be more logical,
Josh Donlan of Cornell University suggests, than introducing
endangered Old World mammals into the New World, thus saving
them from extinction while returning wild America to something
like the state it was in before Homo sapiens took up residence?
Arctic
Summer Could be Ice-Free by 2105 - [Live Science] If
the current warming trends continue in the Arctic, the region
may have ice-free summers within 100 years, a new report
concludes. The Arctic hasn't been without ice for a million
years. But documented melting is accelerating and scientists
don't know of any natural way to slow it. Scientists expect
2005 to be the warmest year on record, globally.
THE FUTURE
The
Future of the Body - [Popular Science] In this special
issue, PopSci explores the breakthroughs that will make
it possible to manipulate the body in novel (and sometimes
disturbing) ways.
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