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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:
'Asbestos Warning' on Nanotubes - [BBC] Carbon nanotubes, the poster child of the burgeoning nanotechnology industry, could trigger diseases similar to those caused by asbestos, a study suggests. Specific lengths of the tiny fibres were found to cause "asbestos-like" inflammation and lesions in mice.
Tasmanian Tiger DNA 'Resurrected' - [BBC] A fragment of DNA from the Tasmanian tiger has been brought back to life. Australian scientists extracted genetic material from a 100-year-old museum specimen, and put it into a mouse embryo to study how it worked.
TECHNOLOGY
Top Stories:
Crowdspring Develops a Virtual Marketplace for Artists - [BetaNews] The Web 2.0 concept has impacted the creative sector yet again with Crowdspring, a marketplace for graphic design, illustration, and art professionals.
Tiny Robot Replicates Grasshopper's Long Leaps - [CBC] Taking their cue from leaping insects like the grasshopper and flea, Swiss roboticists have built a tiny robot with spring-powered legs, capable of jumping 27 times its own size.
BUSINESS
Top Stories:
Ten Reasons Gen Xers Are Unhappy at Work - [Business Week]
Corporations really need folks in their 30s to early 40s, but there is a tentative relationship at best between that cohort and Corporate America.
US City to Charge Polluting Firms - [BBC] New rules have been passed in the San Francisco Bay Area that will require businesses to pay fees for the amount of carbon dioxide they emit. Backers say the move sets an important precedent for the rest of the US.
SOCIETY
Top Stories:
Congress Alarmed At Cyber-Vulnerability Of Power Grid - [Forbes] Last June, the Department of Homeland Security leaked a video documenting a disturbing experiment. Using only digital means, researchers hacked into a power plant's generator and caused it to cough and shake before shutting down in a cloud of black smoke.
Bush Signs Genetic Anti-Discrimination Bill - [Mercury News] President Bush signed legislation to protect people from losing their jobs or health insurance when genetic testing reveals they are susceptible to costly diseases. Broadly embraced in Congress, the anti-discrimination measure aims to ensure that advances in DNA testing won't end up being used against people.
GLOBAL POLITICS
Top Stories:
Japan Passes Law to Allow Military Use of Space: Official - [PhysOrg] Japan passed a new law Wednesday allowing the use of space programmes for defence, an official said, reversing a decades-old policy amid increasing concern about military threats in the region.
China Unveils New Jumbo Jet Company: Report - [Agence France Press] China unveiled its own jumbo jet maker in Shanghai on Sunday, state press reported, in a move that could eventually rival Airbus and Boeing. The new company, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC), will be responsible for researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing a made-in-China large passenger aircraft, Xinhua news agency said.
ENVIRONMENT
Top Stories:
Vast Cracks Appear in Arctic Ice - [BBC] Dramatic evidence of the break-up of the Arctic ice-cap has emerged from research during an expedition by the Canadian military. Scientists travelling with the troops found major new fractures during an assessment of the state of giant ice shelves in Canada's far north.
Methane Rise Points to Wetlands - [BBC] Higher atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas methane noted last year are probably related to emissions from wetlands, especially around the Arctic. Scientists have found indications that extra amounts of the gas in the Arctic region are of biological origin.
THE FUTURE
New Era of Tough Times Ahead - [International Herald Tribune] The demise of a decade of low inflation and steady growth, mourned by the Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, means tough times are ahead for most financial assets.
Nissan to Sell Electric Car in U.S. and Japan by 2010 - [International Herald Tribune] Nissan Motor plans to sell an electric car in the United States and Japan by 2010, raising the stakes in the race to develop environmentally friendly vehicles. The commitment is the first by a major automaker to bring a zero-emission vehicle to the U.S. market. Nissan also expects to sell a lineup of electric vehicles globally by 2012.
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