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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Volume 10, Number 3 See past issues in the Archives<\/a><\/p>\n In This Issue:<\/span><\/p>\n Future Facts<\/span><\/a> – From Think Links <\/p>\n <\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span> <\/p>\n INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/p>\n Wonders of the World: The Buildings of 2006 Wonders of the World: The Buildings of 2006 <\/span>— (Business Week — December 18, 2006)<\/span> Indian Economy to Overtake UK <\/span>— (BBC — January 24, 2007)<\/span> Online Bank Heist Casts Light on Shady World of Hackers<\/span> — (International Herald Tribune — January 24, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n NEW REALITIES<\/p>\n Why Do Good? Brain Study Offers Clues Why Do Good? Brain Study Offers Clues<\/span> — (Forbes — January 22, 2007)<\/span> Satellite Prepares to Go Super-Cold<\/span> — (BBC — February 4, 2007)<\/span> Theory Stretches the Limits of Composite Materials <\/span>— (SPX — February 1, 2007)<\/span> Physicists Find Way to ‘See’ Extra Dimensions <\/span>— (Physorg — February 2, 2007)<\/span> No Big Bang? Endless Universe Made Possible by New Model <\/span>— (Physorg — January 30, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n GENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\n Scientists Get Closer to Depression’s DNA Scientists Get Closer to Depression’s DNA<\/span> — (Forbes — February 1, 2007)<\/span> Anti-Cancer Chicken Eggs Produced <\/span>— (BBC — January 14, 2007)<\/span> Scientists Reverse vCJD Signs <\/span>— (BBC — February 1, 2007)<\/span> Deadly Super-Bugs are Talking about You<\/span> — (AP — February 1, 2007)<\/span> Cheap, Safe Drug Kills Most Cancers<\/span> — (New Scientist — January 20, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n NANOTECHNOLOGY<\/p>\n Fantastic Voyage: Departure 2009 <\/span>— (Wired — January 18, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n GLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/p>\n Pandemic Flu May be Only Two Mutations Away Pandemic Flu May be Only Two Mutations Away <\/span>— (New Scientist — February 1, 2007)<\/span> Deadly H5N1 May be Brewing in Cats <\/span>— (New Scientist — January 24, 2007)<\/span> World Braced for Huge Surge in Bird Flu Cases<\/span> — (Guardian — February 4, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\n Chips Push Through Nano-Barrier Chips Push Through Nano-Barrier <\/span>— (BBC — January 27, 2007)<\/span> Virtual Reality Spreading in Business World<\/span> — (AP — January 17, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\n Global Risks are Outpacing Ability to Mitigate Them Global Risks are Outpacing Ability to Mitigate Them<\/span> — (GCC — January 13, 2007)<\/span> Sea Level Rise Outpacing Key Predictions <\/span>— (New Scientist — February 1, 2007)<\/span> Experts Slam Upcoming Global Warming Report<\/span> — (AP — January 29, 2007)<\/span> Humans Blamed for Climate Change <\/span>— (BBC — February 2, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n TERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/p>\n Is It Anthrax or Just White Powder? Is It Anthrax or Just White Powder? <\/span>— (MIT Technology Review — January 29, 2007)<\/span> India in Aerospace Defense Plan<\/span> — (BBC — January 28, 2007)<\/span> Street-Fighting Robot Challenge Announced <\/span>— (New Scientist — January 24, 2007)<\/span> China Confirms Satellite Downed<\/span> — (BBC — January 23, 2007)<\/span> Latest Revision Signed to Space Operations Doctrine<\/span> — (AFNS — February 2, 2007)<\/span> Russia’s Putin, India Call for Weapons Free Space<\/span> — (AFP — January 25, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICS<\/p>\n A Prosthetic Arm That Acts like a Real One<\/span> — (MIT Technology Review — February 2, 2007)<\/span> CONTACT AND THE EXPLORATION OF SPACE<\/p>\n Moon Has Iron Core Moon Has Iron Core<\/span> — (National Geographic — January 11, 2007)<\/span> Space Commercialization Contracts Signed<\/span> — (UPI — February 1, 2007)<\/span> China’s Space-Weapon Test Could Endanger Astronauts and Satellites<\/span> — (ABC — February 5, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n DEMOGRAPHICS AND SOCIAL CHANGE<\/p>\n Homo Futurus: How Radically Should We Remake Ourselves? Or Our Children? Homo Futurus: How Radically Should We Remake Ourselves? Or Our Children? <\/span>— (Huffington Post — January 30, 2007)<\/span> Why are There So Many Single Americans? <\/span>— (International Herald Tribune — January 21, 2007)<\/span> Polls: Wealth is a Top Priority for Today’s Youth <\/span>— (CNN — January 22, 2007)<\/span> Does Evolution Select for Faster Evolvers? <\/span>— (Physorg — January 29, 2007)<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/a>A FINAL QUOTE…<\/p>\n We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming. -Wernher von Braun<\/em><\/p>\n A special thanks to Bernard Calil, Ken Dabkowski, Neil Freer, Ursula Freer, Humera Khan, KurzweilAI, Sher Patterson-Black, Diane C. Petersen, John C. Petersen, the Schwartzreport, Joel Snell and Matthew W. Sollenberger our contributors to this issue. If you see something we should know about, do send it along – thanks. Volume 10, Number 3 2\/12\/2007 Edited by John L. Petersen johnp@arlingtoninstitute.org See past issues in the Archives In This Issue: Future Facts – From Think Links Think Links – The Future in the News\u2026Today A Final Quote FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS DID YOU KNOW THAT… India could overtake Britain and have the world’s fifth […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[46],"class_list":{"0":"post-26390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-futuredition","7":"tag-newsletter"},"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26390"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26390\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n2\/12\/2007
\nEdited by John L. Petersen
\njohnp@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThink Links<\/span><\/a> – The Future in the News\u2026Today
\nA Final Quote<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
\n
\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nIndian Economy to Overtake UK
\nOnline Bank Heist Casts Light on Shady World of Hackers<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.businessweek.com\/innovate\/content\/dec2006\/id20061218_890213.htm<\/a>
\nGreen architecture has become glamorous, and even economical. The cycle of innovation for sustainable building technologies is now staggeringly short, given how long it takes to complete a building. We are close to the tipping point at which green design becomes the default option for smart building.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/south_asia\/6294409.stm<\/a>
\nSigns of an economic boom are everywhere in India’s cities. If trends continue, India’s economy may then surpass the US and be second only to China’s by mid-century. Within 15 years Indians should, on average, be four times richer than today, buying five times as many cars, and the country will burn three times as much crude oil to power its growth, putting yet more strain on the world’s resources.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/01\/24\/business\/hack.php<\/a>
\nComputer experts have traced a $1 million online bank heist in Sweden to a Russian hacker known only by his colorful sobriquet – the Corpse – in one of the more brazen Internet banking crimes of recent memory. As the extent of the fraud became known this week at the Scandinavian bank involved, attention shifted to the Russian-made virus behind the crime and the darker world of Russian programming, where talented minds still struggle to find legitimate outlets for the computer skills.<\/p>\n
\n
\nSatellite Prepares to Go Super-Cold
\nTheory Stretches the Limits of Composite Materials
\nPhysicists Find Way to ‘See’ Extra Dimensions
\nNo Big Bang? Endless Universe Made Possible by New Model<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.forbes.com\/forbeslife\/health\/feeds\/hscout\/2007\/01\/22\/hscout601147.html<\/a>
\nPeople may not perform selfless acts just for an emotional reward, a new brain study suggests. Instead, they may do good because they’re acutely tuned into the needs and actions of others. Scientists say a piece of the brain linked to perceiving others’ intentions shows more activity in unselfish vs. selfish types.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/6328787.stm<\/a>
\nOnly 4% of the Universe is made up of ordinary matter that we can see. The rest is dark energy (73%) and dark matter (23%). Their influence can be detected indirectly, but scientists do not understand their nature. Planck, a satellite due to be launched in 2008 could provide new information on dark energy, but it will depend on what this mysterious quantity is.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.spacemart.com\/reports\/Theory
\n_Stretches_The_Limits_Of_Composite_Materials_999.html<\/a>
\nIn an advance that could lead to composite materials with virtually limitless performance capabilities, a scientist has dispelled a 50-year-old theoretical notion that composite materials must be made only of “stable” individual materials to be stable overall.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news89651914.html<\/a>
\nPeering backward in time to an instant after the big bang, physicists have devised an approach that may help unlock the hidden shapes of alternate dimensions of the universe. A new study demonstrates that the shapes of extra dimensions can be “seen” by deciphering their influence on cosmic energy released by the violent birth of the universe 13 billion years ago.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news89399974.html<\/a>
\nA new cosmological model demonstrates the universe can endlessly expand and contract, providing a rival to Big Bang theories and solving a thorny modern physics problem.<\/p>\n
\n
\nAnti-Cancer Chicken Eggs Produced
\nScientists Reverse vCJD Signs
\nDeadly Super-Bugs are Talking about You
\nCheap, Safe Drug Kills Most Cancers<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.forbes.com\/forbeslife\/health\/feeds\/hscout\/2007\/02\/01\/hscout601500.html<\/a>
\nDepression may spring, at least in part, from genes on a specific region of chromosome 15. According to new research, about 10 percent to 15 percent of people suffer from severe depression at some point in their lives, and 3 percent to 5 percent have recurrent episodes. Women are twice as likely as men to become depressed.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/6261427.stm<\/a>
\nScientists have developed genetically modified chickens capable of laying eggs containing proteins needed to make cancer-fighting drugs. Some of the birds have been engineered to lay eggs that contain miR24, a type of antibody with potential for treating malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Others produce human interferon b-1a, which can be used to stop viruses replicating in cells.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/health\/6314877.stm<\/a>
\nSymptoms of prion diseases, such as the human form of mad cow disease vCJD, can be reversed, a study of mice suggests. Experts found memory and behavior problems could be tackled by stopping production of the proteins corrupted in such diseases.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.livescience.com\/humanbiology\/070201_ap_germ_communication.html<\/a>
\nDo germs communicate? Many scientists think so and are betting the chatter may hold the key to developing the next generation of drugs to fight killer superbugs. The conventional wisdom has long been that the carpet-bombing approach is the best way to fight infection. But as evidence of bacterial bonding has mounted in the past decade, researchers are now focusing on antibiotics that will break down the lines of communication.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/channel\/health\/mg19325874.700
\n-cheap-safe-drug-kills-most-cancers.html<\/a>
\nIt sounds almost too good to be true: a cheap and simple drug that kills almost all cancers by switching off their “immortality”. The drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), has already been used for years to treat rare metabolic disorders and so is known to be relatively safe. It also has no patent, meaning it could be manufactured for a fraction of the cost of newly developed drugs.<\/p>\n
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/news\/technology\/medtech\/0,72448-0.html?tw=wn_index_1<\/a>
\nAn international team of scientists is developing what they say will be the world’s first micro-robot – as wide as two human hairs – that can swim through the arteries and digestive system. The scientists are designing the 250-micron device to transmit images and deliver microscopic payloads to parts of the body outside the reach of existing catheter technology.<\/p>\n
\n
\nDeadly H5N1 May be Brewing in Cats
\nWorld Braced for Huge Surge in Bird Flu Cases<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn11086-pandemic
\n-flu-may-be-only-two-mutations-away.html<\/a>
\nThe difference between a flu virus that kills millions, and one that kills only a few comes down to just two amino acid changes, researchers say. The finding could allow scientists to stay one step ahead of an H5N1 flu pandemic by screening for the specific mutations that would enable it to spread.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/mg19325883.800?DCMP
\n=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19325883.800<\/a>
\nBird flu hasn’t gone away. The discovery, announced last week, that the H5N1 bird flu virus is widespread in cats in locations across Indonesia has refocused attention on the danger that the deadly virus could be mutating into a form that can infect humans far more easily. In the first survey of its kind, scientists have found that in areas where there have been outbreaks of H5N1 in poultry and humans, 1 in 5 cats have been infected with the virus and survived.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/observer.guardian.co.uk\/uk_news\/story\/0,,2005565,00.html<\/a>
\nThe number of cases of the deadly bird flu virus is increasing around the world as scientists struggle to combat the disease that is now threatening to jump species and infect humans. The news comes as Britain confirmed its first ever case of H5N1 in a farm in Suffolk. More than 160,000 birds will now be slaughtered as the country’s farming industry goes on high alert for more outbreaks.<\/p>\n
\n
\nVirtual Reality Spreading in Business World<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6299147.stm<\/a>
\nThe next milestone in the relentless pursuit of smaller, higher performance microchips has been unveiled. Chip-makers have announced that they will start producing processors using transistors with features just 45 nanometers wide. Shrinking the technology that underpins the basic building blocks of chips will make them faster and more efficient.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2007\/TECH\/01\/15\/virtual.reality.ap\/index.html<\/a>
\nLong a darling of the military, aviation and video-game industries, virtual reality is being embraced by more businesses as the falling cost of computer power makes it more affordable. Manufacturers of farm equipment, car seats, mufflers and other products have joined automakers and aircraft manufacturers in using the technology to speed up and improve product design, train workers and configure factories and stores.<\/p>\n
\n
\nSea Level Rise Outpacing Key Predictions
\nExperts Slam Upcoming Global Warming Report
\nHumans Blamed for Climate Change<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.greencarcongress.com\/2007\/01\/world_economic_.html#more<\/a>
\nA new, major environmental report highlights a growing disconnect between the power of global risks to cause major systemic disruption and our ability to mitigate them. Many of the 23 core global risks explored in the report have worsened over the last 12 months, despite growing awareness of their potential impacts, according to the report. In addition to specific risk mitigation measures, institutional innovations may be needed to create effective responses to a complex risk landscape.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn11083
\n-sea-level-rise-outpacing-key-predictions.html<\/a>
\nPredictions of how much sea-levels would rise due to climate change, made by a key UN report in 2001, were conservative, say researchers on the eve of the release of the new update of the report. Satellite data shows that levels have rose by an average of 3.3 millimeters per year between 1993 and 2006. The 2001 IPCC report, in contrast, projected a best-estimate rise of less than 2 mm per year.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2007\/TECH\/science\/01\/29\/climate.report.ap\/index.html<\/a>
\nClimate scientists have recently issued a grim forecast for the planet that warns of slowly rising sea levels and higher temperatures. But that may be the sugarcoated version. Early and changeable drafts of their upcoming authoritative report on climate change foresee smaller sea level rises than were projected in 2001 in the last report. Many top scientists reject these rosier numbers.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/6321351.stm<\/a>
\nGlobal climate change is “very likely” to have a human cause, an influential group of scientists has concluded. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said temperatures were probably going to increase by 3.2-7.2F by the end of the century. It also projected that sea levels were most likely to rise by 28-43cm, and that global warming was likely to influence the intensity of tropical storms.<\/p>\n
\n
\nIndia in Aerospace Defense Plan
\nStreet-Fighting Robot Challenge Announced
\nChina Confirms Satellite Downed
\nLatest Revision Signed to Space Operations Doctrine
\nRussia’s Putin, India Call for Weapons Free Space<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biotech\/18113\/<\/a>
\nWhen a patient is admitted to the hospital with signs of a dangerous systemic bacterial infection, or when a post-office worker finds white powder in a suspicious-looking envelope, the ability to quickly identify potential pathogens is important. To accomplish that, a team of researchers is developing a microfluidic chip that performs fast DNA sequencing to rapidly identify bacteria. The goal is a device simple enough to use in airport and other security screening.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/south_asia\/6307875.stm<\/a>
\nIndia says it plans to build an aerospace defense command aimed at preventing possible attacks from space. The head of India’s air force outlined the plans saying it would protect both Indian territory and assets, claiming that India was an aerospace power with “trans-oceanic reach” and it was vital that it should be able to exploit space.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn11021?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn11021<\/a>
\nA contest to build a robot that can operate autonomously in urban warfare conditions, moving in and out of buildings to search and destroy targets like a human soldier, was launched in Singapore recently. The country’s Defense Science and Technology Agency is offering $652,000 to whoever develops a robot that completes a stipulated set of tasks \u2013 yet to be revealed \u2013 in the fastest time possible.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6289519.stm<\/a>
\nChina has confirmed it carried out a test that destroyed a satellite, in a move that caused international alarm. It is the first known satellite intercept test for more than 20 years. Several countries, including Japan, Australia and the US, have expressed concern at the test, amid worries it could trigger a space arms race.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.spacewar.com\/reports\/Latest_Revision_Signed_To_Space_Operations_Doctrine_999.html<\/a>
\nThe Air Force chief of staff has approved the latest revision to Air Force Doctrine Document 2-2, Space Operations, outlining the operations of space power. This space operations doctrine has been updated significantly since the previous publication of AFDD 2-2 in 2001. It describes the integration of space power across the range of military operations. Specifically, it recommends a command and control construct for space operations found to be extremely effective in recent operations.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.spacemart.com\/reports\/Russia_Putin_India_Call_For_Weapons_Free_Space_999.html<\/a>
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Thursday for a “weapons free outer space”, after China staged a satellite-destroying weapons test. China has confirmed that it recently tested a satellite-destroying weapon but insisted its space program posed no threat to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biotech\/18134\/<\/a>
\nA new technique that capitalizes on remaining nerves allows amputees to intuitively control their prosthetic limb, providing them with a much better level of control than traditional prosthetics. One of the first patients to undergo the procedure was able to use her new arm within a few days of her operation, becoming four times as fast on movement tests as she was with her traditional prosthetic.<\/p>\n
\n
\nSpace Commercialization Contracts Signed
\nChina’s Space-Weapon Test Could Endanger Astronauts and Satellites<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/news.nationalgeographic.com\/news\/2007\/01\/070111-moon-core.html<\/a>
\nA new moon-rock study suggests the satellite has an iron core. The findings add weight to the theory that the moon formed from debris thrown off when a Mars-size object collided with a young Earth.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.spacedaily.com\/reports\/Space
\n_Commercialization_Contracts_Signed_999.html<\/a>
\nNASA says it has signed a space commercialization contract with several US corporations. The agreements are designed to facilitate the commercialization of low-Earth orbit as capabilities are developed to transport goods and people to orbital destinations.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Technology\/print?id=2841745<\/a>
\nWhen the Chinese government destroyed one of its weather satellites in a military test, it sent a chill through the U.S. military. And engineers say it had a serious side effect — it increased the amount of orbiting space junk by about 10 percent. That could mean danger – to other satellites, and even, possibly, to astronauts on the International Space Station and future space shuttle flights.<\/p>\n
\n
\nWhy are There So Many Single Americans?
\nPolls: Wealth is a Top Priority for Today’s Youth
\nDoes Evolution Select for Faster Evolvers?<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/rj-eskow\/homo-futurus-how-radica_b_39990.html<\/a>
\nIntelligence? Physical appearance? And are these politically left\/right questions? Futurists see a conflict forming over our dominion over the human body, and over the choices we make about our biological future – and that of our children. Some call it a clash between “bioliberals” and “bioconservatives,” and frame it as a debate over individual rights. When it comes to transforming one’s own body they may be right, but it gets thornier when children are involved.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/01\/21\/america\/web.0121singleWIR.php<\/a>
\nThe news that 51% of all women live without a spouse might be enough to make you invest in cat futures. But consider, too, the flip side: about half of all men find themselves in the same situation. As the number of people marrying has dropped off in the last 45 years, the marriage rate has declined equally for men and for women.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2007\/EDUCATION\/01\/22\/materialistic.youth.ap\/index.html<\/a>
\nNew polls show that the obsession with material things is growing — and that being rich is more important to today’s young people than in the past. UCLA’s annual survey of college freshman, released last Friday, found that nearly three-quarters of those surveyed in 2006 thought it was essential or very important to be “very well-off financially.” That compares with 62.5% who said the same in 1980 and 42% in 1966. Another recent poll from the Pew Research Center found that about 80% of 18- to 25-year-olds in this country see getting rich as a top life goal for their generation.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news89292896.html<\/a>
\nIt’s a mystery why the speed and complexity of evolution appear to increase with time. For example, the fossil record indicates that single-celled life first appeared about 3.5 billion years ago, and it then took about 2.5 billion more years for multi-cellular life to evolve. That leaves just a billion years or so for the evolution of the diverse menagerie of plants, mammals, insects, birds and other species that populate the earth. New studies suggest a possible answer; the speed of evolution has increased over time because bacteria and viruses constantly exchange transposable chunks of DNA between species, thus making it possible for life forms to evolve faster than they would if they relied only on sexual selection or random genetic mutations.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\njohnp@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"