SCIENCE
Top Story: Gene Clue to Longevity Uncovered - [BBC] Studies have shown that severe calorie restriction markedly extends lifespan in mice and many other species - but the reasons for this remained elusive. But now US research on nematode worms, published in Nature, has uncovered a gene linked to this unusual effect. In the future, the find could lead to drugs that mimic the consequences of calorie restriction but negate the need for severe fasting regimes.
Web watch... most
recent articles
TECHNOLOGY
Top Story: Student Creates Garment With Bacteria-trapping Nanofibers - [Science Daily] Fashion designers and fiber scientists at Cornell have taken "functional clothing" to a whole new level. They have designed a garment that can prevent colds and flu and never needs washing, and another that destroys harmful gases and protects the wearer from smog and air pollution.
Web watch... most
recent articles
BUSINESS Top Story: Social Lending Gains Net Interest - [BBC] Pouring your cash into the far reaches of the world wide web may sound like a crazy idea. Lending cash to others online can cut out the middleman. After all, the internet has seen its fair share of nasties from phishing e-mails posing as a bank to key logging software pinching our passwords and personal information, all in an effort to steal our identity and cash. But now there is a wave of sites trying to convince people that the web is the place for their money.
Web watch... most
recent articles
SOCIETY Top Story: Japanese Find Sleep, Shelter in Cyber Cafes - [IOL]
Takeshi Yamashita does not look like a homeless person. From his carefully distressed jeans to his casual-cool navy striped T-shirt, he is every bit the trendy Tokyoite. Yet the 26-year-old has been sleeping in a reclining seat in an Internet cafe every night for the past month since he lost his steady office job and his apartment. It's cheaper than a hotel, offers access to the Internet and hundreds of Manga comic books, and even has a microwave and a shower where he can wash in the morning before heading off to one of his temporary jobs ranging from cleaning to basic office work.
Web watch... most
recent articles
GLOBAL POLITICS Top Story: Does It Matter Anymore if the U.S. Has a Cold? - [International Herald Tribune] The seemingly countervailing trends - deceleration in America, full speed ahead abroad - have led some economists to wonder whether the United States and the rest of the global economy are going their separate ways. Some even suggest - shudder - that changes in the global economy have made the United States a less-central player.
Web watch... most
recent articles
ENVIRONMENT Top Story: U.N. Raises Doubts on Biofuels - [Associated Press] Biofuels like ethanol can help reduce global warming and create jobs for the rural poor, but the benefits may be offset by serious environmental problems and increased food prices for the hungry, the U.N. said Tuesday in its first major report on bioenergy. In an agency-wide assessment, the U.N. raised alarms about the potential negative impact of biofuels, just days after a climate conference in Bangkok said the world had both the money and technology to prevent global warming blamed in part on greenhouse gas emissions.
Web watch... most
recent articles
THE FUTURE Top Story: AI Will Surpass Human Intelligence After 2020 - [ITWorld] Vernor Vinge is a retired San Diego State University professor of mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is well-known for his 1993 manifesto, "The Coming Technological Singularity," in which he argues that exponential growth in technology means a point will be reached where the consequences are unknown. Vinge still believes in this future, which he thinks would come anytime after 2020.
Web watch... most
recent articles
| 
