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Future Pages: The bookmark collection... frequently updated links to other websites on trends, innovation and the future.
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Signs of the Future: The news archive... past postings of items from world media on emerging trends.
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SCIENCE
Top Stories:
Self-Assembling Nanofibers Heal Spinal Cords - [Technology Review] An engineered material that can be injected into damaged spinal cords could help prevent scars and encourage damaged nerve fibers to grow. The liquid material, developed by Northwestern University materials science professor Samuel Stupp, contains molecules that self-assemble into nanofibers, which act as a scaffold on which nerve fibers grow.
UK's First Hybrid Embryos Created - [BBC] Under the microscope the round bundles of cells look like any other three-day-old embryos. In fact they are hybrids - part-human, part-animal. They were created by injecting DNA derived from human skin cells into eggs taken from cows ovaries which have had virtually all their genetic material removed.
TECHNOLOGY
Top Stories:
Researchers Create Child AI Simulation - [Rensselaer Polytechnic] At the Artificial General Intelligence conference held at the University of Memphis last month, a group of Rensselaer researchers unveiled "Eddie," a simulated four-year-old in the online world of Second Life. Eddie is a code controlled avatar that can hold beliefs and reason at the same level as a four-year-old.
When Roses Won't Do, E-Mail a Fragrance - [New York Times] After satisfying the senses of sight and sound through video streams and music downloads, NTT Communications aims to tap into the sense of smell with a new system that allows users to send fragrances from their cell phones.
BUSINESS
Top Stories:
For Bargain-Basement America, Foreign Investment No Panacea - [International Herald Tribune]
Foreign capital is putting more American businesses in the control of major enterprises based in Europe or Asia.
Neuromarketing Could Make Mind Reading the Ad-Man's Ultimate Tool - [Guardian] Neuroscience and marketing had a love child a few years back. Its name -- big surprise -- is neuromarketing, and the ugly little fellow is growing up. Corporate pitchmen have always wanted to get inside our skulls. The more accurately they can predict how we'll react to stimuli in the marketplace, from prices to packages to adverts, the more money they can pull from our pockets and transfer to their employers' coffers.
SOCIETY
Top Stories:
'Crimeware as a Service' the Next Big Thing - [InfoWorld]
'Crimeware as a service', where criminals use online cybercrime services instead of running their own servers and software, is the latest development in Internet crime, according to a report. The term was coined by security supplier Finjan, in the latest report from its Malicious Code Research Center. Finjan identified that criminals have started to use online cybercrime services instead of having to deal with the technical challenges of running their own servers, installing 'crimeware' toolkits or compromising legitimate Web sites.
Metal Theft Plagues Troubled U.S. Neighborhoods - [International Herald Tribune] Houses are the greatest targets of commodity scavengers in the United States. Neighborhoods depopulated by the rising tide of foreclosures make easy targets. So many houses have been stripped of siding and copper pipes that neighborhoods must be abandoned and turned into green spaces, said Jim Rokakis, treasurer for Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland. "We have to pull out," he said. "There's nothing left."
GLOBAL POLITICS
Top Stories:
Chertoff Pushes Cybersecurity Goals - [PhysOrg] Federal cybersecurity officials are trying to develop an early warning system that alerts authorities to incoming computer attacks targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said
Google, U.N. Unveil Project to Map Movement of Refugees - [Mercury News] Internet search giant Google Inc. unveiled a new feature Tuesday for its popular mapping programs that shines a spotlight on the movement of refugees around the world. The maps will aid humanitarian operations as well as help inform the public about the millions who have fled their homes because of violence or hardship, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which is working with Google on the project.
ENVIRONMENT
Top Stories:
As Prices Rise, U.S. Farmers Abandon Conservation - [International Herald Tribune] Out on the American farm, the ducks and pheasants are losing ground. Thousands of farmers are pulling their fields out of the government's biggest conservation program, spurning guaranteed annual payments for a chance to cash in on the boom in wheat, soybeans, corn and other crops.
As Nanotech Goes Mainstream, 'Toxic Socks' Raise Concerns - [PhysOrg] Nanotechnology is now available in a store near you. Valued for it's antibacterial and odor-fighting properties, nanoparticle silver is becoming the star attraction in a range of products from socks to bandages to washing machines. But as silver's benefits propel it to the forefront of consumer nanomaterials, scientists are recommending a closer examination of the unforeseen environmental and health consequences of nanosilver.
THE FUTURE
Intel Plans to Tackle Cosmic Ray Threat - [BBC] Computer processor manufacturer Intel have revealed details of a patent for protecting future generations of computers from the growing threat of cosmic rays. The company has designed an on-chip cosmic ray detector to try to cope with the particles, which originate in space before sporadically entering the Earth's atmosphere and going through everything they encounter.
Sudden 'Ecosystem Flips' Imperil World's Poorest Regions, say Water Experts - [PhysOrg] Recent outbreaks of toxic algae blooms in Quebec lakes and off Sweden's Baltic Sea coast are prime examples of ecosystem flips, the consequence of nutrients from fertilizers permeating the soil and running off into streams, lakes and oceans.
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