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In the news this week...
- Malformed DNA -- called Z-DNA --
that triggers large deletions and rearrangements
of the human genetic code.
- A robot that harnesses slime mould
to control its movements.
- The emerging trend to
recruit retirees and older workers.
- The growing influence of megachurches.
- Proposed Congressional restrictions
on Internet companies doing business in China.
- China's plans to use sea water
to ease water shortages.
- Implications of the stem cell revolution.
We also highlight...
Eric Chaisson's new book, Epic
of Evolution: The book describes seven stages
in the evolution of the universe -- from the appearance
of particles to the emergence of human culture.
The MIT Open Courseware website:
The site provides free access to educational resources
for more than 1,250 courses. It received more than
one million visits a month last fall, from all over
the world.
An interview broadcast on WAMU, American
University Radio, on the Internet of the Future: Kojo
Nnamdi talks to Esther Dyson and Lee Rainie about
what the Internet could look like in 2016.
David Forrest
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SCIENCE
Top
Story: When
Good DNA Goes Bad: 'Backward' DNA Leads To DNA Breaks Associated
With Leukemia, Study Finds - [Science Daily] When otherwise
normal DNA adopts an unusual shape called Z-DNA, it can
lead to the kind of genetic instability associated with
cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, according to a study
by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson
Cancer Center.
Web
watch... most
recent articles
TECHNOLOGY
Top
Story: Slime
Mould Used to Create First Robot Run by Living Cells
- [The Guardian] Ever worried that the terrifying cyborgs
that fill sci-fi stories might one day become a reality?
Perhaps the latest research by Klaus-Peter Zauner of Southampton
University will cause a stir: the engineer has invented
a robot that is controlled by living cells.
Web
watch...
most
recent articles
BUSINESS
Top
Story: 'Brain
Drain' Coming with Wave of Retirements - [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
Consultant Ernst & Young found that two-thirds of employers
across a spectrum of industries are aware of an impending
brain drain as 76 million-plus baby boomers march toward
retirement, but fewer than a fourth of these companies consider
the issue of strategic importance to their future, and fewer
than 3 percent had tried phased retirement.
Web
watch... most
recent articles
SOCIETY
Top
Story: Megachurches'
Way of Worship is On the Rise - [Christian Science Monitor]
While the phenomenon has developed over decades and represents
only 0.5 percent of all US churches, the rising influence
of megachurches reaches beyond their own congregations.
They are changing the nature of worship and developing networks
that help revitalize other churches and redefine church
ties with other countries.
Web
watch... most
recent articles
GLOBAL
POLITICS
Top
Story: Bill
Would Keep Servers Out of China - [USA Today] Rep. Chris
Smith, R-N.J., is drafting a bill that would force Internet
companies including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to keep
vital computer servers out of China and other nations the
State Department deems repressive to human rights. Moving
servers would keep personal data they house from government
reach. But that also could weaken the firms' crucial Internet
search engines.
Web
watch... most
recent articles
ENVIRONMENT
Top
Story: China
Eyes Sea Water to Ease Shortages - [People's Daily]
China, severely hit by water shortages, will turn to the
ocean as it has announced recently it would utilize directly
around 50 billion cubic meters of sea water each year by
2010. Meanwhile, the country plans to use desalination to
produce 800 million to one billion liters of fresh water
per day by 2010. They altogether will cover about 20 percent
of the demand gap in coastal areas.
Web
watch... most
recent articles
THE
FUTURE
Top
Story: Stem
Cell Research: Science and the Future - [National Public
Radio] Since 1998, when scientists isolated embryonic stem
cells in a lab, questions over how -- and whether -- to
use them have abounded. In Stem Cell Now, bioethics expert
Christopher Thomas Scott explores the possibilities of what
some consider the greatest discovery since nuclear fusion.
Web
watch... most
recent articles
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Featured Book:
Epic of Evolution: Seven Ages of
the Cosmos
by Eric Chaisson
Resource
Page
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Featured Link: MIT
Open Courseware - [MIT] A free and open educational
resource for faculty, students, and self-learners
around the world. Open Courseware supports MIT's mission
to advance knowledge and education, and serve the
world in the 21st century.
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Audio Clip: The
Internet of the Future - [The Kojo Nnamdi
Show] Ten years ago, many people didn't have email,
and companies were just starting to create their own
web pages. Today, the Internet is becoming ubiquitous,
and many people take it for granted. So what will
it look like in 2016?
(February 14, 2006)
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