|
Unexpected consequences...
When Australian researchers transferred
a naturally occurring gene for a protein causing pest resistance
from the common bean to the pea, the resulting pea plants
were highly resistant to pea weavils. But the project had
unexpected consequences. New Scientist reports that
the protein structure expressed in the pea was subtly different,
causing allergic lung damage in mice. Lead scientist Paul
Foster of the Australian National University in Canberra
thinks this may be the first time a GM food has produced
an allergic reaction in mice. Foster cautions that all new
GM foods should be evaluated for potential health effects.
Sky's the limit...
NASA is offering big prizes for new ideas.
The "space-elevator games" -- a recent competition
to design an elevator from Earth to space -- attracted teams
from industry and universities to vie for a pair of $50,000
prizes. One prize was offered for speed in climbing a 16
story tether, the other for tether strength. While the first
prize was not awarded, NASA says there were significant
breakthroughs. The second prize was awarded to a tether
weighing less than a penny that can withstand a 1,700-pound
force. Prize events tend to attract unconventional participants.
Brant Sponberg, manager of the NASA program, says winners
often come out of right field.
The tipping point...
With the onslaught of
global competition, Fortune magazine asks, "Can
Americans compete?" It says Americans will have to
adapt to prevent the United States from becoming a poorer,
rather than a richer country. Companies like Coca-Cola,
Procter & Gamble, and Texas Instruments do most of their
business and employ more workers in other nations. Many
American brands are owned by non-U.S. companies. And many
American companies now manufacture their products outside
of the United States. American workers are increasingly
exposed to global labor competition. How should the U.S.
deal with this challenge? Fortune explores the issues
and offers some answers. But it says there are no guarantees.
Domestic partnering...
The Middletown Journal says that
while only 9 percent of adults in the United States were
single and living alone fifty years ago, 44 percent of adults
today have never been married. Some 11 million US households
now have unmarried partners -- a tenfold increase since
the 1960s -- and nearly a quarter of unmarried women live
with partners. For those who do choose to marry, the divorce
rate is 60 percent.
Homeless in their own country...
The Population Reference Bureau says that
at least 25 million people in 40 countries have been displaced
by conflict or environmental disasters -- including six
million in Sudan; two million in the Democratic Republic
of Congo; one million in Iraq; and a million in the United
States in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. While the
world has found ways to help refugees, there are few programs
to assist internally displaced persons, who are often left
vulnerable and unprotected in their own country.
Chemical jeopardy...
Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy
Institute, says pollution of the Songhua river with benzene
may well be China's equivalent of Hurricane Katrina. Levels
of the carcinogenic chemical were measured at more than
100 times national safety levels 130 km upstream from Harbin,
a city of approximately four million people. Government
officials cut off water supplies, and anticipated that the
city could be without water for four days. Other major centers
in China also depend on the Songhua river for their water.
David Forrest
we welcome your comments and feedback at mail@innovationwatch.com
SCIENCE
Technique
Offers New View of Dynamic Biological Landscape - [Science
Daily] A new technique for analyzing the network of genetic
interactions promises to change how researchers study the
dynamic biological landscape of the cell.
Scientists
Discover Secret Behind Human Red Blood Cell's Amazing Flexibility
- [Science Daily] Ateam of UCSD researchers describe a mathematical
model that explains how a mesh-like protein skeleton gives
a healthy human red blood cell both its rubbery ability
to stretch without breaking, and a potential mechanism to
facilitate diffusion of oxygen across its membrane.
Gigantic
Apes Coexisted with Early Humans, Study Finds - [Live
Science] A gigantic ape standing 10 feet tall and weighing
up to 1,200 pounds lived alongside humans for over a million
years, according to a new study.
Timid
as a Mouse? Not These Genetically Altered Rodents -
[NewsFactor] These mice know no fear -- well, at least not
much, anyway. Born without a gene that controls their ability
to react with appropriate fear to impending danger, the
mutants become rodent daredevils, according to a new study.
GM
Pea Causes Allergic Damage in Mice - [New Scientist]
A decade-long project to develop genetically modified peas
with built-in pest-resistance has been abandoned after tests
showed they caused allergic lung damage in mice.
Laser
Activates Gene Therapy in Rats’ Eyes - [New Scientist]
Laser light has been used to remotely control gene therapy
in rats. This mechanism will help make gene therapy more
effective by allowing the precise time and location at which
new genes are activated to be controlled, meaning specific
tissues can be targeted while healthy tissues are left alone.
Womb
Needed For Proper Brain Development - [Science Daily]
The brains of babies born very prematurely do not develop
as well as those who are carried to full-term, according
to new research presented at the annual meeting of the Society
for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C.
TECHNOLOGY
Futurists
Pick Top Tech Trends - [Wired] In an age of rapid-fire
change, contemplating the future is downright headache-inducing.
Investors who plan strategies over multiple years or decades
recognize that today's must-have technologies are probably
destined for tomorrow's waste bins. But there's no scientific
method for identifying their replacements.
Satellite
Dish Rules Update Will Speed Broadband - [silicon.com]
New planning regulations will allow householders to use
a wider range of antennas and satellite dishes to access
digital and broadband services.
'Robocops'
Patrolling Streets of Brussels - [Channel 4 News] Belgium's
latest addition to the fight against crime is a robot featuring
a camera which alerts police if it sees anything suspicious.
Robowatch patrols the streets of Brussels 24 hours a day
and allows officer to talk to anyone present through a special
microphone on its head.
Going
Mobile with Personal Navigation - [PC Magazine] Gone
are the maps of yesterday and in their place are e-mapping
Web sites and cars with integrated GPS (Global Positioning
Systems). Many tech companies are taking note of the emerging
trend and have begun to roll out customizable software and
products for navigating on the go.
MIT
Speeds Up Robotic Muscles - [News-Medical.net] Currently,
robotic muscles move 100 times slower than ours. But engineers
using a new theory could boost those speeds -- making robotic
muscles 1,000 times faster than human muscles -- with virtually
no extra energy demands and the added bonus of a simpler
design.
Space-Elevator
Contests Lure With Big Money, NASA Glory - [National
Geographic] In the space-technology race, NASA is welcoming
some dark horse candidates. The space agency's prize competitions
inspire enthusiastic entrants from around the U.S. -- most
recently in a contest to design an elevator from Earth to
space.
Library
of Congress Plans World Digital Library - [MSNBC] The
U.S. Library of Congress is kicking off a campaign to work
with other nation’s libraries to build a World Digital
Library, starting with a $3 million donation from Google
Inc.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Innovation
as a Team Sport - [Business Week] Tom Kelley begins
by breaking down the process of innovation and debunking
the notion that it is somehow magical and the stuff of individual
genius. "Innovation is a team sport," he says,
then proceeds to lay out the 10 personas, or types of people,
who bring their talents to a winning team.
R&D
Going Global - [E-Commerce News] "New advancements
in R&D are changing the environment," a spokesman
for Herndon, Va.-based Apptix said. "This trend is
not only changing the way that American companies are doing
business, but also changing the lives of employees in India,
who are faced with collaboration with their westernized
counterparts."
'India
is an Agent of Change' - [rediff.com] Infosys and its
Indian brethren are rewriting the rules of global competition
in the software and tech-services industries with their
use of highly skilled but low-cost Indian talent.
Is
America the World's 97-lb. Weakling? - [Fortune] In
the relentless, global, tech-driven, cost-cutting struggle
for business, America isn’t ready -- here’s what
to do about it.
Internet
Entrepreneur to Take on Traditional Journalism - [New
Zealand Herald] The American internet entrepreneur who has
single-handedly siphoned tens of millions of advertising
dollars from newspapers in the United States by creating
a wildly popular online alternative for classified listings
warned this week that he intends to launch a similar challenge
to the relevance of traditional journalism.
The
Hazards of Imitating Excellence - [The Conference Board]
In a 2001 paper pointedly titled "In Search of Excellence:
Fads, Success Stories, and Adaptive Emulation," two
Cornell University researchers remind us that our natural
urge to shun failure and imitate success can also be hazardous.
They blame a chronic fascination with business success stories
for the tendency of corporate management theories to rise
and fall in wildly faddish (not to say foolish) cycles.
Masters
of Their Domains - [Business 2.0] They call themselves
domainers. They make their living buying and selling domain
names and turning their Web traffic into cash -- lots of
it. They have gathered in Delray Beach for a trade show
called Traffic that this year boasts 300 paying attendees.
SOCIETY
Trend
Watcher Reports Moral Transformation - [Arizona Republic]
It's a turbulent time in the world of business. Prestigious
firms are under scrutiny for their practices, and corporate
highfliers are going to court and sometimes to jail. Yet
it's a time when people are seeking ways to incorporate
spiritual practices and moral values into their workaday
lives.
Society
And Marriage – What Are Global Changes? - [Innovations
Report] Specialists of the Institute of Comprehensive Social
Studies (Modern University for the Humanities) have carried
out detailed analysis of changes in the matrimonial relations
structure in the world since 1950 to 2000.
Has
Marriage Lost its Luster? - [Middletown Journal] Conservative
social scientists reference grim statistics to project the
moral decay of the American way of life. They call for stricter
divorce laws and constitutional amendments limiting marriage
to heterosexual couples. Others argue the relational freedom
that sprang from the sexual revolution and women's movements
of the 1960s and '70s transformed an institution traditionally
driven by economics and obligation into one defined by fulfillment
and friendship.
Don't
Trust Anyone Over ... 90? - [Tucson Citizen] take a
moment to journey forward to 2046, when 79 million baby
boomers will be 82 to 100 years old. Thanks to lifestyle
habits and medical advances, they probably will be the healthiest
group of elderly in history. Thanks to extended employment
spans, they will be the wealthiest. Thanks to their huge
voting bloc, they will be the most powerful. So just what
kind of America will be forged by this crowd of geriatric
goliaths?
Benched
Science - [Science News] Increasingly, judges decide
what science -- if any -- a jury hears
How
Global will the English Language Remain? - [Yemen Observer]
While he hails the growth of a multi-lingual Internet, David
Crystal makes a strong plea for the documentation and revitalization
of the minority languages. The key language theme for the
21st century, in his view, is the maintenance of language
ecology by any means.
IRS
Audits Church for Anti-War Sermon - [OMB Watch]
The pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA
announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is conducting
a formal examination of the church's tax-exempt status,
due to an anti-war, anti-poverty sermon delivered two days
before the 2004 presidential election. Conservative and
liberal religious organizations alike have criticized the
IRS action, which they see as further evidence of an emerging
trend -- beginning with last year's audit of the NAACP --
to treat criticism of incumbents on issues as partisan electoral
activity.
GLOBAL POLITICS
Iranians
Admit Receiving Nuclear Warhead Blueprint from Disgraced
Pakistani Expert - [Guardian] International suspicion
of Iran's nuclear programme heightened when it was revealed
that Tehran had obtained a blueprint showing how to build
the core of a nuclear warhead.
The
Economics Fueling the French Riots - [Business Week]
It's becoming quite clear how unsustainable a system is
that actually fosters sky-high youth unemployment -- and
not just in France.
The
Plight of Internally Displaced Persons - [Population
Reference Bureau] At least 25 million people in some 40
countries worldwide have been forcibly displaced within
their own countries by violent conflict or environmental
disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes. But these populations
-- known in the international community as internally displaced
persons (IDPs) -- don't receive the attention or services
accorded refugees who leave their countries because of persecution.
Crime
and Migration - [The Globalist] The end of the Cold
War prompted an international outbreak of organized crime,
with ethnic factions recruiting smart and talented criminals
to increase their profits. In “Give Us Your Best and
Brightest," Devesh Kapur of the Center for Global Development
and John McHale uncover some of the more seedy aspects of
globalization as international networks of organized crime
grow.
Hemispheric
Disturbances in the Americas - [The Globalist] There
is no easy solution for Washington to repair its troubled
relations with Latin America -- or for the countries in
the region to regain confidence in the motives of the United
States. Aliza Hochman argues that President Bush could begin
to repair relations by addressing restrictive U.S. agricultural
policies and she warns that the mutual act of playing to
the gallery does nothing to repair serious rifts.
The
Global Sweep to Mop Up the World's Oil Resources - [Yale
Global] China is prowling the globe in search of energy
sources. Oil executives and diplomats have signed a flurry
of deals, from Canada to Kazakhstan. The scramble has triggered
unease in Washington, where American conservatives worry
about China's growing economic muscle, but has sparked an
unprecedented engagement with Africa.
Dubai:
The Next Big Thing in Outsourcing? - [Business Week]
Dubai has kicked off an effort to land some of the outsourcing
work that is heading to countries with low labour costs
like China and India. But instead of trying to compete head-to-head
against those giants, the country is positioning itself
as a place where companies can place their more senior or
more qualified employees who may not want to live in Bangalore
or Mumbai.
ENVIRONMENT
New
Close-Up on Arctic's Climate Changes - [Christian Science
Monitor] The Arctic has long been viewed as the canary in
the coal mine for global warming. Now, say many researchers,
the canary not only is teetering on its perch; it may have
reached the tumbling point.
India
Unlikely to Agree to Kyoto Caps - [Reuters] India is
unlikely to agree to any emission caps in the next phase
of the Kyoto Protocol because of its expanding energy-hungry
economy, but analysts say developed nations will continue
to pile pressure on the nation. Asia's third-largest economy
and home to about a sixth of humanity has some of the most
polluted cities in the world, many of them continually shrouded
in eye-stinging smog of noxious fumes from cars and industry.
EU
States Lose Grip on Climate Change Targets - [EU Observer]
Further efforts are needed to tackle climate change, the
UN has warned in a fresh report, with greenhouse gas emissions
in many EU states rising instead of decreasing.
PM
'Convinced' on Nuclear Future - [BBC] Tony Blair is
believed to be convinced over the need for nuclear power
to tackle the UK energy crisis.
Water
Builds the Heat in Europe - [BBC] Water vapour rather
than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the main reason
why Europe's climate is warming, according to a new study.
Deforestation
Slowing - [BBC] The speed of global deforestation is
showing signs of slowing down because of new planting and
natural forest extension, according to new figures.
China:
'This is our Katrina' - [news24.com] An 80km-long slick
of highly toxic benzene surged down a river into one of
China's biggest cities on Thursday, leaving up to four million
people without public water services.
THE FUTURE
Report
from the Futurists - [Fast Company] Futurists who have
tired of being relegated to the second string are organizing
to advocate for the value of futures studies.
subscribers receive additional
information...
click here to subscribe
|
