Science & Technology archives: July-August 2004

• 31 August 2004
  

  "State health officials are expanding their early warning system for a bioterrorist attack by employing the help of rabbits, squirrels, mice and other critters. As part of the state's biological-warfare defense, state veterinarians recently began monitoring unusual small-animal deaths for evidence of tularemia, plague or other diseases that could be caused by lethal agents. 'We're hopeful we'll be on the cutting edge, that we would find out (about an attack) before there would be any infection of humans,' said Dr. Mira Leslie, the state Department of Health's public-health veterinarian. Small animals likely would show symptoms and die faster than humans after being exposed to a lethal biological agent, Leslie said." Rather than waiting for people to get sick, a group of researchers is using small animals to monitor for biological attacks. Learn more in the Seattle Times.

• 30 August 2004
  

  "Thirty-five years after computer scientists at UCLA linked two bulky computers using a 15-foot gray cable, testing a new way to exchange data over networks, what would ultimately become the Internet remains a work in progress. University researchers are experimenting with ways to increase its capacity and speed. Programmers are trying to imbue Web pages with intelligence. And work is underway to re-engineer the network to reduce spam and security troubles. All the while threats loom: Critics warn that commercial, legal and political pressures could hinder the types of innovations that made the Internet what it is today." As the internet approaches its 35th birthday, researchers are still working to improve it and wrestling with a variety of other challenges. Learn more at CNN.com.

• 27 August 2004
  

  "Few would have thought that when Crick and Watson unraveled DNA, it would help in making a tool to fight spam. But computational biologists at IBM's TJ Watson Research Center have devised an anti-spam filter based on the way scientists analyse genetic sequences. Called after Feng Shui character Chung-Kwei, the formula automatically learns patterns of spam vocabulary and has proved to be 96.5% efficient. In tests, the filter only misidentified one message in 6,000 as spam...Instead of looking at strings of protein, Chung-Kwei uses Teiresias to identify strings of character sequences which appear in spam, but never in non-spam mail." Researchers are using an algorithm originally used to analyze DNA to combat spam. Learn more at the BBC.com.

• 26 August 2004
  

  "They're spun thousands of times a second. They're so sinewy and commonplace, they hardly get noticed. And yet for decades, spider webs have stumped researchers. No one has been able to create anything nearly as lightweight and flexible (not to mention waterproof) that is also many times as strong as steel. And visions of using spider's silk to make rip-proof clothing, from children's garments to military uniforms, have remained just that: visions. But researchers are now closing in on understanding how spiders make silk, which may give them the key to creating a synthetic version. Spider's silk is one example of how advances in biotechnology and synthetic chemistry are fueling rapid growth in animal-based products. Nature is teaching scientists how to produce everything from better laundry detergent to rustproof paint." Scientists are trying to develop synthetic animal-based products. Learn more about some of these fascinating projects in the Christian Science Monitor.

• 25 August 2004
  

  "For a glimpse of what post-human athletes may look like beginning in the 2012 or 2016 Olympics, take a look at an obscure breed of cattle called the Belgian Blue. Belgian Blues are unlike any cows you've ever seen. They have a genetic mutation that means they do not have effective myostatin, a substance that curbs muscle growth. A result is that Belgian Blues are all bulging muscles without a spot of fat, like bovine caricatures of Arnold Schwarzenegger...Gene therapy goes to the heart of an issue that will turn our species upside down in the coming decades. We are beginning to understand our own operating system - genes - and we're gaining the ability to try to 'improve' our genetic endowment. If we do so, the ramifications could be as enormous as when our ancestors first crawled out of the slime to live on land." In this intriguing editorial, Nicholas Kristof explores the consequences of genetic alteration and whether it is really possible to "design" better humans. Read the editorial in the New York Times.

• 24 August 2004
  

  "At the end of a winding country road lined with hedgerows and tidy brick homes sits a new prefabricated building chock-full of monitors and filters. Its sole purpose is to guard and nurture vials of precious, potentially life-giving cells, called stem cells, that will soon occupy a squat green Thermos here. When it starts accepting cells a few months from now, the UK Stem Cell Bank will become a sort of citadel for what is perhaps the most promising medical technology of the last 50 years, which many believe is likely to yield cures for devastating diseases from diabetes to Parkinson's. But the government-funded British cell bank is also a symbol: Although embryonic stem cell technology started in the United States, the scientific epicenter is shifting overseas, particularly to Britain, where politicians and regulators have given their unabashed support to the research - albeit under strictly monitored conditions." A report in the International Herald Tribune examines how stem cell research in Britain is surpassing that in the U.S.

• 23 August 2004
  

  "Smart bombs. Smart drugs. Smart cards. And now...smart bricks. Equipped with electronic sensors, these clay-fired building blocks could make homes and office towers far more 'intelligent' than today's versions - and, quite possibly, safer. For example, smart-brick technology might have helped firefighters change their rescue tactics as the World Trade Center teetered toward collapse on 9/11. The technology also could provide early warnings for hidden stresses, such as those that caused a Paris airport terminal to fall down in May. It might broadcast hidden damage in the aftermath of an earthquake or from floods from a storm such as hurricane Charley. The difference between a regular brick and a smart brick is a compartment on one side of the smart brick. Inside, researchers have stuffed advanced wireless electronics - sensors, signal processors, a wireless communication link, and a battery, all packaged in one compact unit." Soon "smart bricks" could make buildings stronger and safer. Learn more in the Christian Science Monitor.

• 20 August 2004
  

  "'Assume nothing' is a good motto in science. Even the humble pendulum may spring a surprise on you. In 1954 Maurice Allais, a French economist who would go on to win, in 1988, the Nobel prize in his subject, decided to observe and record the movements of a pendulum over a period of 30 days. Coincidentally, one of his observations took place during a solar eclipse. When the moon passed in front of the sun, the pendulum unexpectedly started moving a bit faster than it should have done. Since that first observation, the 'Allais effect', as it is now called, has confounded physicists. If the effect is real, it could indicate a hitherto unperceived flaw in General Relativity—the current explanation of how gravity works." Could Einstein be wrong? The subject is raised at Britain's Economist.

• 19 August 2004
  

  "In the mid-1980s, neuroophthalmologist Joseph Rizzo III was researching retinal transplants to restore blind people’s vision. One day, removing a lab animal’s retina, a tissue-thin membrane that lines the back of the eyeball’s interior, he had an epiphany. 'The moment I made the cut, I said to myself, ‘What in the hell are you doing?’' Rizzo recounts. He realized he was cutting nerve connections that are actually spared in many forms of blindness...Rizzo conceived of a retinal prosthesis—an implant that would take a wireless signal from a video camera, bypass the light receptors, and stimulate the healthy nerve cells directly to feed the image to the brain." Read more on this breakthrough at MIT's Technology Review.

• 18 August 2004
  

  "Scientists are planning to take the pulse of the planet - and more - in an effort to improve weather forecasts, predict energy needs months in advance, anticipate disease outbreaks and even tell fishermen where the catch will be abundant. Forty-nine countries have agreed to participate in a 10-year project to collect and share thousands of measurements of the Earth, ranging from weather to streamflow to ground tremors to air pollution, Conrad C. Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Tuesday. 'The Earth needs a full-body scan, and that is what we're talking about,' Lautenbacher said at a briefing on the project." It's a huge task, but the primary obstacles are expected to be bureaucrats and office politics. Read more at My Way News.

• 17 August 2004
  

  "Behind the public face of nanotechnology — the press releases, science fiction novels and environmental doomsday reports — a debate has been evolving and swirling for the past decade around a fundamental question: Can tiny machines build things useful to humans by moving molecules or even individual atoms?...This isn't a debate of concern only to those in the ivory tower of academia." The debate among nanotechnologists may be one we hear little of now, but it has long term implications for all of us. Read more at Better Humans.

• 16 August 2004
  

  "The days of doctors making house calls may seem like ancient history for most patients in North America, but in October, three astronauts and a Canadian doctor will test the latest concepts in long-distance house calls using a unique underwater laboratory. The ability to conduct long-distance health care such as telemonitoring and telerobotic surgery could be key to maintaining the wellness of future spacefarers and responding to medical emergencies on the International Space Station, the moon or Mars. Techniques will be tested on a simulated patient during the upcoming seventh mission of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) project.'" Read about the the world's only permanent underwater habitat and research laboratory at Science Daily.

• 13 August 2004
  

  "Humanity has the hardware in hand to halt the rise in heat-trapping greenhouse gases it pumps into the atmosphere and forestall the worst effects of global warming projected for the end of this century. The goal could be achieved within the next 50 years by more widespread use of a portfolio of at least 15 approaches - from energy efficiency, solar energy, and wind power to nuclear energy and the preservation or enhancement of 'natural' sinks for carbon dioxide such as rain forests, or the conservation tillage techniques on farms worldwide, say two Princeton University researchers in a study published Friday." Amid growing concerns about the effects of global warming, a recent study conducted by Princeton indicates that we could easily combat the phenomenon by drawing on existing technologies. Learn more in the Christian Science Monitor.

• 12 August 2004
  

  "Capturing sunlight to make enough hydrogen fuel to power cars and buildings has been brought a step closer by a British research company. Hydrogen Solar says it has managed to convert more than 8% of sunlight directly into hydrogen with fuel cell technology it has specially developed. For an energy source to be commercially viable, it must reach an efficiency of 10%, which is an industry standard. Hydrogen power, a renewable energy, has the potential to replace fossil fuels...The Tandem Cell technology developed by Hydrogen Solar uses two photocatalytic cells in series which are coated with a nano-crystalline - extremely thin - metal oxide film. The key to the process has been the advances in novel coatings brought about by recent developments in nanotechnology." Although its potential has been discussed for decades, advances in nanotechnology are helping to make the promise of hydrogen power more feasible. Learn more at the BBC.com.

• 11 August 2004
  

  "A delicate material that could let spacecraft reach distant planets by harnessing the Sun's rays has been unfurled successfully in space for the first time. The Japanese Institute of Space Astronautical Science tested two solar sail deployments launched aboard an S-310 rocket on 9 August. It is the first time a solar sail deployment has ever been tested in space. By reflecting photons from Sun, the metallic solar sails should theoretically receive momentum in the opposite direction to propel a spacecraft forward. By gliding along, building up ever more speed, spacecraft should be able to reach distant space targets in record time. But finding a material that can be unfurled to cover a large area while remaining lightweight and sturdy enough has proven difficult. The designs tested by the Japanese space agency employed a reflective polyimide resin only 0.0075 millimeters thick." Learn more about this "solar sail" in the New Scientist.

• 10 August 2004
  

  "Giant tsunamis, super volcanoes and earthquakes could pose a greater threat than terrorism, scientists claim. Global Geophysical Events, or 'Gee Gees,' as they are nick-named, are not being taken seriously enough, they say. The global community needs to monitor these risks, and develop strategies to cope in the face of a catastrophe...Since 9/11 we have become acutely aware of the threat of terrorism. Governments worldwide are battening down the hatches and ratcheting up the security. But, in terms of grave threats, are we really looking in the right direction? Giant walls of water that can devastate coastal cities, volcanoes so big that their ash crushes houses 1,500km (932 miles) away, giant earthquakes and asteroid impacts. These are very rare events and, if we are lucky, nothing like them will happen in our lifetimes.But in the longer term, Gee Gees may be our undoing if we do not take action." Some scientists believe that natural disasters pose the greatest threat to mankind. Learn more at the BBC.com.

• 9 August 2004
  

  "Terrible, horrible things can be done to this millimeters-thick patch of shimmering material crafted by chemists at NanoSonic in Blacksburg, Virginia. Twist it, stretch it double, fry it to 200°C, douse it with jet fuel—the stuff survives. After the torment, it snaps like rubber back to its original shape, all the while conducting electricity like solid metal. 'Any other material would lose its conductivity,' says Jennifer Hoyt Lalli, NanoSonic’s director of nanocomposites.The abused substance is called Metal Rubber, and, according to NanoSonic, its particular properties make it unique in the world of material chemistry." A small company has developed a material that has both the flexibility of rubber and the conductivity of metal. Many believe that this new "smart skin" could have countless commercial and industrial applications. Learn more in Popular Science.

• 6 August 2004
  

  "Japanese scientists have developed a new kind of assisted reproduction for animals, in which one species can create another. They implanted tissue from trout embryos into salmon embryos; and when the salmon became adults and mated, they produced trout. The researchers suggest this could be a way to improve the chances of endangered species, they say in Nature. It could also help secure supplies of bluefin tuna for sushi restaurants. The radically new technique involves both surrogate mothers and surrogate fathers...As details of the technique have only just been published, it's difficult to judge how widely it might be applied." Scientists believe that they might be able to engage in assisted reproduction of endangered species through cell swapping, a technology that allows cross-breeding of species. Learn more about this cutting-edge technology at the BBC.com.

• 5 August 2004
  

  "If the manual of life is encoded in our DNA, where do we look to find the blueprint of consciousness? This was a subject that fascinated Francis Crick, who, along with James Watson, discovered the double-helix structure of DNA 50 years ago. Engrossed in the mysterious relationship between mind and body, Crick later felt impelled to turn his attention from matter to mind and from biology to philosophy — but he persisted in believing that one day, consciousness could be explained in biological terms, using the tools of neuroscience. Crick questioned the hypothesis that there was a line dividing the functioning of the body and mind — he preferred to approach the question of consciousness through neurobiology." Narayani Ganesh discusses the search for a science of human consciousness in a fascinating editorial published in The Times of India.

• 4 August 2004
  

  "As Joseph Mabry waited for the machine nicknamed 'robo doc' to roll into his hospital room, the recovering kidney surgery patient was in no mood for a faceless drone. 'I had just had surgery, so I was feeling kind of down,' he says. But when Mabry, a bus operator from Baltimore, saw his doctor's face on the flat-screen TV atop the robot's body, he perked up. 'I didn't expect to look up and see my doctor's face,' says Mabry, 47. 'It felt pretty good.' Over the next few days, he saw the robot often and left Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University Hospital a fan of the technology. Robo doc may be the face of tomorrow's medicine. It's being tested in five hospitals across the nation by InTouch Health, a California-based heath-care technology firm, to see whether the doc-in-a-box can give quality care." More and more medical care could come to rely on robotic technology. Learn more in USA Today.

• 3 August 2004
  

  "Last summer, on the site of 35 former hat factories where toxic mercury was once used to cure pelts, city officials in Danbury, Conn., deployed a futuristic weapon: 160 Eastern cottonwoods. Dr. Richard Meagher, a professor of genetics at the University of Georgia, genetically engineered the trees to extract mercury from the soil, store it without being harmed, convert it to a less toxic form of mercury and release it into the air...In laboratories around the country, researchers are using detailed knowledge of tree genes and recombinant DNA technology to alter the genetic workings of forest trees, hoping to tweak their reproductive cycles, growth rate and chemical makeup, to change their ability to store carbon, resist disease and absorb toxins." Scientists are engineering trees to be even more beneficial to the environment. Learn more in the New York Times.

• 2 August 2004
  

  "Genetically engineered crops do not pose health risks that cannot also arise from crops created by other techniques, including conventional breeding, the National Academy of Sciences said in a report issued yesterday. The conclusion backs the basic approach now underlying government oversight of biotech foods, that special food safety regulations are not needed just because foods are genetically engineered. Nevertheless, the report said that genetic engineering and other techniques used to create novel crops could result in unintended, harmful changes to the composition of food, and that scrutiny of such crops should be tightened before they go to market." A recent report indicates that genetically engineered crops are safe for consumption. Learn more in the New York Times.

• 30 July 2004
  

  "Design automation systems tailored to the task of genetic engineering could prove to be double-edged tools. While they represent a central thrust of the emerging synthetic biology movement, they also can lead to the accidental or deliberate creation of pathogenic biological components. One expert in the field, Harvard University genetics professor George Church, compared the potential misuse of synthetic biological designs with the danger posed by nuclear weapons. But there is one important difference, in his view — it is much harder to build a fusion device than to genetically engineer a pathogen. And the complexity of biological processes also increases the danger of accidents." Although genetic engineering holds the promise of many potential benefits, some scientists worry that it could also be used in devastating ways. Learn more in the EE Times.

• 29 July 2004
  

  "Psychosurgery. Brain implants. Mind control. The stuff of movies — as in The Manchurian Candidate, which opens Friday — or a glimpse of the future? Maybe both, says neurologist Jay Lombard of the Brain Behavior Center in Nyack, N.Y., who was science adviser for the film. The political thriller stars Denzel Washington as Maj. Bennett Marco, a Gulf War veteran who is tormented by dreams that suggest he was surgically brainwashed during the war. When a sergeant from his unit emerges years later as a candidate for vice president, Marco attempts to find out the truth about his dreams and the candidate. 'If you look at where things are heading in neuroscience,' Lombard says, 'it's not that far a stretch.' The future of neuroscience is under study this year by the President's Council on Bioethics. Opponents of 'neuromarketing,' the study of consumer choice using brain scans, have raised alarms about the possibility of the advertising industry using science to sell people unneeded or harmful products." Learn more in USA Today.

• 28 July 2004
  

  "Supercomputing had its heyday in the 1980s. The field attracted many of the best minds in computer science, as start-ups and established companies vied for the prestige of creating the fastest computer in the world. Interest in these high-powered beasts waned in the 1990s, as computing talent was drawn to the internet. This has been changing in recent years. The ability to build powerful computers cheaply, combined with growing commercial demand for high-end computing power, is creating a renaissance in the field of supercomputing. These days, it is not necessary to design and build a supercomputer from scratch. Existing commercial components can be cheaply bolted together to create a very powerful system." It is becoming increasingly easy to build powerful supercomputers, which is changing the face of supercomputing. Learn more in The Economist.

• 27 July 2004
  

  "The anti-aircraft battery and rocket launcher at Xiangshan aim straight into a flight path that cuts over the northwestern corner of the Chinese capital. As Li Ruqing proudly shows off the weaponry, he casts an eye across the courtyard at a padlocked shed where chemical-tipped shells and missiles are stacked at the ready. 'There is a 30 percent chance we use them tonight,' he says. Li, finger on the trigger, is no madman. Nor does he run some suburban gunnery range for China's air defenses. He's a 'weather modifier' -- his weapons disperse chemicals into the sky and his targets are waterlogged clouds." The practice of "cloud seeding" is becoming common in China and officials are hoping to use the technique to cool cities and prevent blackouts this summer. However, some drought ridden regions are accusing other towns of "stealing" their rain. Learn more in Yahoo News.

• 26 July 2004
  

  "Display cases at the Center for Inquiry hold snake oil and other murky cure-alls, fortune-telling tools and a bug-eyed alien in repose. Intriguing mysteries to some, to the center they are something else: byproducts of a public too willing to turn a blind eye to science. For years the center and its determined hoax-busters have taken on crop circles and ghost sightings — any and all things paranormal. But equally important as proving what isn't true, chairman Paul Kurtz says, is proving what is. That's why, as the center undertakes a major four-year expansion, there is a special focus on getting the public to get science. 'The United States is the leading scientific and technological power on the planet, with amazing breakthroughs, yet the general public is basically illiterate about science,' said Kurtz, 78." Although it has largely focused on dispelling urban legends, the Center for Inquiry is making a more serious effort to educate the American public on a variety of issues. Learn more in Yahoo News.

• 23 July 2004
  

  "A few months ago, an air scrubber in an Intel Corp. chip plant failed, shutting down operations while it was fixed. A sensor in the machine could have predicted the failure, but it had been several weeks since an engineer with a handheld device had checked that sensor on his quarterly rounds of about 4,000 such devices. It won't happen again, Intel spokesman Kevin Teixeira says. That scrubber is now part of a wireless network of sensors checked every five minutes -- by 'smart dust.' A new type of technology, smart dust is also referred to as 'motes' or simply 'sensor networks.' It basically involves networks of tiny devices that sense conditions or movement, transmit data and control equipment. The technology is showing up everywhere from factories to trucks to office buildings." "Smart dust" could soon transform industries as well as every-day life. Learn more at the Globe and Mail.

• 22 July 2004
  

  "As it is, you don't leave home without it. In a world of cashless payment, why not simply make your cell phone a wallet? Japan has long been phasing out the hassle of coins and bills with microchip-laden 'smart cards,' which let people make electronic payments for everything from lunch to the daily commute. But even smart cards could be on their way out, their plastic presence overtaken by virtual-wallet technology now available in the everyday cell phone. Other nations, led by South Korea, already have so-called mobile commerce payment schemes in place that let people punch keys on their cell phones so that the devices trigger transactions. But a series of phones going on sale this summer in Japan are the world's first with an embedded computer chip that you can fill up with electronic cash." A Japanese company is working to allow customers to use their phones like credit cards, transforming the ubiquitous phones into electronic wallets. Learn more in USA Today.

• 21 July 2004
  

  "When Karen Coveler and her husband began trying to have a child, she told her obstetrician that she wanted to take all the DNA tests she could to determine whether she was at risk of passing on a genetic disease to her child. Based on her Ashkenazi Jewish background, Ms. Coveler was offered 10 tests, all of which were negative, and went on to have a normal pregnancy. It was not until her son, Benjamin, was born that she discovered he was deaf. And it was not until a few weeks later that she learned a simple blood test could have alerted her to that possibility even before conception...Ms. Coveler says she would not trade Benjamin for the world. But she is one of many people demanding to know why screening tests for certain genetic conditions, including deafness, mental retardation and breast cancer, are not being offered to them - even, in some cases, when they ask." As more genetic tests are made available, healthcare providers struggling with how to use them. Learn more in the New York Times.

• 20 July 2004
  

  "The days of new doctors practicing on real patients may be numbered. Today, many doctors in training are making their first diagnoses — and their first mistakes — on plastic, wires and computer circuits rather than flesh and blood. These virtual patients come in different shapes and sizes, much like the real ones. Some are almost lifelike mannequins with plastic ears and hair, veins that can be injected, eyes that can move and interchangeable genitals. They can't be hurt or killed, even though they have a pulse, a beating heart and lungs that breathe. The most sophisticated can be programmed to simulate every imaginable medical crisis and then respond as a doctor works on the 'patient'...Students sometimes get so caught up in a training scenario that they are upset if a monitor shows the patient has died." New technologies are allowing new doctors and medical students to practice on artificial patients. Learn more in USA Today.

• 19 July 2004
  

  "First it was 'gray goo,' the threat of self-replicating machines populating the planet. Now an environmental think tank is raising the specter of 'green goo,' where biology is used to create new materials and new artificial life forms. In its report, published on July 8, the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, or ETC, said that the risks from green goo demand the most urgent foresight and caution. 'With nanobiotech, researchers have the power to create completely new organisms that have never existed on Earth,' said the ETC release accompanying its report...But even without an apocalyptic vision, many are wary of the threats posed by nanotechnology. Swiss Re, the world's second largest re-insurance firm warned in a May report that the unknown risks of toxicity or pollution associated with nanoparticles are unacceptable." A new report argues that there may be tremendous environmental risks associated with nanotechnology. Learn more in Wired News.

• 16 July 2004
  

  "In many countries, biotechnology and food are uneasy bedfellows. The wholesale rejection of genetically modified crops by consumers in much of Europe might have been expected to cause caution among firms interested in turning an honest buck from agricultural biotech. But as proponents of genetic modification are wont to point out, GM is as old as agriculture itself—for what is selective breeding for better plants and animals if it is not a form of genetic modification? One way to get around consumer suspicions while taking advantage of modern genetic technology might be to do the actual genetic modification the old-fashioned way, by mating selected sires with selected dams, but to use biotech to decide which sires and dams to mate together." A US company is taking a novel approach to using biotechnology in food production. Learn more in the Economist.

• 15 July 2004
  

  "The scientists and engineers spearheading the creation of artificial beings and bionic people are responding to the magnetism of the technological imperative, the pull of a scientific problem as challenging as any imaginable. Fascinating scientific puzzle though it is, the creation of artificial beings is also expected to meet important needs for society and individuals. Industrial robots are already widely used in factories and on assembly lines. Robots for hazardous duty, from dealing with terrorist threats to exploring hostile environments, including distant planets, are in place or on the drawing boards...Tales about artificial beings have sparked fascination and fear for centuries; now the tales are turning into reality." Robots have always been a source of fascination and as they do more and more "human" tasks people are reacting in a variety of ways. Learn more at MSNBC.com.

• 14 July 2004
  

  "A mission to smash into a space rock to deflect it and study its structure has been given priority over five other potential asteroid projects by the European Space Agency. The slam-bang 'Don Quijote' mission would help scientists figure out how to deflect or destroy any asteroid in the future that might be found to be on a collision course with Earth. Scientists don't know enough about asteroid insides to predict how one would respond to attempts to nudge it off an Earth-impact course or turn it into harmless dust. While no asteroids are currently known to be on track to hit the planet, experts say a regional catastrophe is inevitable in the very long run -- over millennia. And run-ins with small asteroids that could incinerate a large city occur ever few thousand years." European scientists are developing a project that they hope will provide insights into defend the Earth against asteroids. Learn more at CNN.com.

• 13 July 2004
  

  "The collapse of the Earth's magnetic field, which both guards the planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to have started in earnest about 150 years ago. The field's strength has waned 10 to 15 percent, and the deterioration has accelerated of late, increasing debate over whether it portends a reversal of the lines of magnetic force that normally envelop the Earth...A reversal could knock out power grids, hurt astronauts and satellites, widen atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing to the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals that rely on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a navigation aid. But experts said the repercussions would fall short of catastrophic, despite a few proclamations of doom and sketchy evidence of past links between field reversals and species extinctions." Scientists believe that the Earth's magnetic field is slowly reversing polarity. They are less sure, however, what the consequences might be. Learn more in the New York Times.

• 12 July 2004
  

  "One of today's more promising growth engines could come from an industry that harks back to beanbag chairs and Jimmy Carter. Companies promoting solar power and other alternative-energy concepts are rapidly attracting venture funding, research grants and, just as important, the interest of many of the tech industry's deep thinkers and influential figures. 'We have a huge energy issue in this century, and it will not be solved by policy. The only real solution is technology,' said Jim Plummer, dean of Stanford University's School of Engineering. 'The alternative is to shut down our economy.' U.S. concerns about energy are probably greater today than at any time since the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s." As energy prices soar, many companies are researching possible alternative energy sources. Learn more at News.com.

• 9 July 2004
  

  "For years, scientists have been listening for faint whispers of E.T. phoning anyone in electronic earshot. Now, some researchers are hearing sounds almost as exciting - the staccato of hammers, the crackle of arc welders, and the rumble of construction equipment - that signal the building of huge new telescopes to help answer an old question: Are we alone in the galaxy? The answer to that question looms closer, thanks to boosts in funding, facilities, astronomical discoveries, and advances in technology. Researchers say within a few years they'll be able to conduct far more exhaustive searches for civilizations beyond our solar system." Although it is often scorned, the search for extra-terrestrial life is coming into vogue again. And thanks to new technologies, we may soon know if there is other intelligent life out there. Learn more in the Christian Science Monitor.

• 8 July 2004
  

  "So many pharmaceutical companies in Asia are racing to produce anti-H.I.V. drugs, a leading AIDS organization is warning, that, on the continent, where the infection is rapidly spreading, widespread misuse could create epidemics from drug-resistant strains of the virus. At least 27 Asian companies are manufacturing anti-H.I.V. drugs that are becoming increasingly available in Asia and elsewhere, the organization said. Yet anti-H.I.V. drugs from only three companies meet the World Health Organization's quality standards; those from the 24 other companies have not been reviewed by the organization or have not met its standards." Some scientists worry that the reckless production and misuse of new AIDS drugs in ASIA could fuel a drug-resistant strain of the virus. Learn more in the New York Times.

• 7 July 2004
  

  "Sitting in stationary traffic is, at best, a Zen experience. Drivers mired in a jam learn to cede control to the powers that be, becoming at one with the universe as they breathe in the mind-numbing fumes all around. At worst, it is an ongoing battle for sanity. But now, according to several groups of researchers in America and Germany, there is something that drivers can do to take back control over the roads. Get adaptive cruise control. And, of course, use it. Adaptive cruise control (ACC), as its name suggests, is a modified version of traditional cruise control. It employs radar to monitor the road ahead of a vehicle, automatically adjusting that vehicle's speed to maintain a safe distance from the one in front." A new form of cruise control could, potentially, put an end to traffic jams. Learn more about this promising development in the Economist.

• 6 July 2004
  

  "Internet download speeds could be improved dramatically by mimicking Darwin's evolution to 'breed' the best networking strategies, say computer scientists. Transferring popular data across the internet repeatedly can be inefficient and costly, so networking companies have developed ways of temporarily storing, or 'caching', data at different locations to reduce costs and increase download speeds. But figuring out where to store data and for how long is a complex problem. One solution might be to have caches 'talk' to each other repeatedly, but this is inefficient as it takes up a lot of bandwidth. To tackle the challenge, Pablo Funes of US company Icosystem and Jürgen Branke and Frederik Theil of the University of Karlsruhe in Germany used 'genetic algorithms.'" Learn how software developers are using evolutionary science in the New Scientist.

• 5 July 2004
  

  "Sitting at the bottom of the food chain, the planet's plant life feeds everything from cattle to human beings in one way or another. With that in mind, a team of researchers have built a map of how much plant-derived resources we humans need to survive using a decade's worth of satellite observations and some handy computer models. 'Plant life is the primary food source for all the life on Earth,' said Marc Imhoff, a lead researcher on the study at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. 'It's like the biofuel of the planet.' Imhoff and his colleagues found that the global population consumes about 20 percent of the world's plant life annually, which includes agricultural products for food and lumber for fuel, paper and other goods. While it may not seem like a lot some conservation researchers believe it’s a hefty amount." Using satellite imagery, scientists have mapped the world's plant life and some of their findings are alarming. Learn more in Space.com.

• 2 July 2004
  

  "The countries planning to build Iter, the world's biggest nuclear fusion reactor, must choose a site urgently, a Russian scientist says. Professor Yevgeny Velikov, who has been working on nuclear fusion since 1978, said it was important to decide the site in the next three months. The countries of the Iter Consortium are deadlocked over whether to build the reactor in France or Japan. Professor Velikov said a commercial fusion reactor could open in 30 years. Iter - the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor - will be the largest global science and engineering project of the next decade, apart from the International Space Station." Construction on the world's biggest fusion reactor is set to begin soon. Yet, to the dismay of many, the project is being delayed for political reasons. Learn more at the BBC.com.

• 1 July 2004
  

  "Cloning creates potentially dangerous abnormalities in embryos, researchers have warned at a German conference. Scientists from Cornell University in New York, US, found cloned mice embryos had significant development problems. Far fewer problems were seen in embryos fertilised using conventional methods of assisted reproduction, such as IVF. The team told the European Fertility Conference in Berlin its study on rodents offered further proof that reproductive cloning was unsafe...Other experts said the findings added to the body of evidence which indicated reproductive cloning was too dangerous to pursue." New scientific evidence is indicating that cloned embryos are inherently unstable and lead to genetic birth defects. In light of these findings many scientists are calling for a ban on reproductive cloning. Learn more in the BBC.com.

  
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