<\/p>\n
Volume 10, Number 15\n08\/01\/2007<\/strong>\nEdited by John L. Petersen\njohnp@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/a><\/p>\nSee past issues in the Archives<\/a><\/p>\nIn This Issue:<\/span><\/p>\nPunctuations<\/strong>\u00a0– John L. Petersen\nTAI Presents:\u00a0<\/strong>Dr. Dennis Bushnell on September 11, 2007\nThe Singularity Summit\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 September 8 & 9, 2007\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 entries accepted September 4 through October 30, 2007\nFuture Facts<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– From Think Links\nThink Links<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– The Future in the News\u2026Today\nA Final Quote<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\nPUNCTUATIONS<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 John L. Petersen, editor<\/p>\nIt\u2019s interesting to think about how this world might change in the face of the multi-faceted, global disruption that appears on the horizon. That\u2019s specifically what we\u2019re trying to do here at TAI in our project to build a \u201cstrategy for the future of humanity\u201d, for which I\u2019m now running around chasing funding. If the paradigm changes, the thinking is obviously going to change \u2013 but what do you do about the left over \u201cstuff\u201d \u2013 like tanks and armored personnel carriers. Do you just trash it all, or is there a better, more benign use for such things?<\/p>\nIt might be hard to dream up the plowshares equivalent to a big artillery piece, but there are some major icons of the old (present) world that just might be adaptable. Tony Judge just checked in from Europe with a fascinating, provocative, irreverent, and rather humorous proposal:\u00a0From ESCHELON in NOLEHCE<\/strong>: Enabling a Strategic Conversion to a Faith-based Global Brain.\u00a0http:\/\/www.laetusinpraesens.org\/musings\/nolehce.php<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0I commend it to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/span>\nAir Force Association Building, 4th Floor\n1501 Lee Highway\nArlington, VA 22209\nRSVP:\u00a0Ken@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\nDr. Dennis Bushnell<\/strong>\u00a0is the Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center. With over 43 years experience as Research Scientist, Section Head, Branch Head, Associate Division Chief and Chief Scientist, his specialties include Flow Modeling and Control across the Speed Range, Advanced Configuration Aeronautics, Aeronautical Facilities and Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion. In fact, he is a Renaissance thinker who speaks from a unique \u2013 and uniquely informed \u2013 perspective. Join us on September 11, 2007 at 5:00pm to hear Dr. Bushnell describe the future he sees us rapidly approaching. Free and open to the public. Seating is limited; please RSVP.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
See past issues in the Archives<\/a><\/p>\nIn This Issue:<\/span><\/p>\nPunctuations<\/strong>\u00a0– John L. Petersen\nTAI Presents:\u00a0<\/strong>Dr. Dennis Bushnell on September 11, 2007\nThe Singularity Summit\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 September 8 & 9, 2007\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 entries accepted September 4 through October 30, 2007\nFuture Facts<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– From Think Links\nThink Links<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– The Future in the News\u2026Today\nA Final Quote<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\nPUNCTUATIONS<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 John L. Petersen, editor<\/p>\nIt\u2019s interesting to think about how this world might change in the face of the multi-faceted, global disruption that appears on the horizon. That\u2019s specifically what we\u2019re trying to do here at TAI in our project to build a \u201cstrategy for the future of humanity\u201d, for which I\u2019m now running around chasing funding. If the paradigm changes, the thinking is obviously going to change \u2013 but what do you do about the left over \u201cstuff\u201d \u2013 like tanks and armored personnel carriers. Do you just trash it all, or is there a better, more benign use for such things?<\/p>\nIt might be hard to dream up the plowshares equivalent to a big artillery piece, but there are some major icons of the old (present) world that just might be adaptable. Tony Judge just checked in from Europe with a fascinating, provocative, irreverent, and rather humorous proposal:\u00a0From ESCHELON in NOLEHCE<\/strong>: Enabling a Strategic Conversion to a Faith-based Global Brain.\u00a0http:\/\/www.laetusinpraesens.org\/musings\/nolehce.php<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0I commend it to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/span>\nAir Force Association Building, 4th Floor\n1501 Lee Highway\nArlington, VA 22209\nRSVP:\u00a0Ken@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\nDr. Dennis Bushnell<\/strong>\u00a0is the Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center. With over 43 years experience as Research Scientist, Section Head, Branch Head, Associate Division Chief and Chief Scientist, his specialties include Flow Modeling and Control across the Speed Range, Advanced Configuration Aeronautics, Aeronautical Facilities and Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion. In fact, he is a Renaissance thinker who speaks from a unique \u2013 and uniquely informed \u2013 perspective. Join us on September 11, 2007 at 5:00pm to hear Dr. Bushnell describe the future he sees us rapidly approaching. Free and open to the public. Seating is limited; please RSVP.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
In This Issue:<\/span><\/p>\nPunctuations<\/strong>\u00a0– John L. Petersen\nTAI Presents:\u00a0<\/strong>Dr. Dennis Bushnell on September 11, 2007\nThe Singularity Summit\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 September 8 & 9, 2007\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 entries accepted September 4 through October 30, 2007\nFuture Facts<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– From Think Links\nThink Links<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– The Future in the News\u2026Today\nA Final Quote<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\nPUNCTUATIONS<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 John L. Petersen, editor<\/p>\nIt\u2019s interesting to think about how this world might change in the face of the multi-faceted, global disruption that appears on the horizon. That\u2019s specifically what we\u2019re trying to do here at TAI in our project to build a \u201cstrategy for the future of humanity\u201d, for which I\u2019m now running around chasing funding. If the paradigm changes, the thinking is obviously going to change \u2013 but what do you do about the left over \u201cstuff\u201d \u2013 like tanks and armored personnel carriers. Do you just trash it all, or is there a better, more benign use for such things?<\/p>\nIt might be hard to dream up the plowshares equivalent to a big artillery piece, but there are some major icons of the old (present) world that just might be adaptable. Tony Judge just checked in from Europe with a fascinating, provocative, irreverent, and rather humorous proposal:\u00a0From ESCHELON in NOLEHCE<\/strong>: Enabling a Strategic Conversion to a Faith-based Global Brain.\u00a0http:\/\/www.laetusinpraesens.org\/musings\/nolehce.php<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0I commend it to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/span>\nAir Force Association Building, 4th Floor\n1501 Lee Highway\nArlington, VA 22209\nRSVP:\u00a0Ken@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\nDr. Dennis Bushnell<\/strong>\u00a0is the Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center. With over 43 years experience as Research Scientist, Section Head, Branch Head, Associate Division Chief and Chief Scientist, his specialties include Flow Modeling and Control across the Speed Range, Advanced Configuration Aeronautics, Aeronautical Facilities and Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion. In fact, he is a Renaissance thinker who speaks from a unique \u2013 and uniquely informed \u2013 perspective. Join us on September 11, 2007 at 5:00pm to hear Dr. Bushnell describe the future he sees us rapidly approaching. Free and open to the public. Seating is limited; please RSVP.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Punctuations<\/strong>\u00a0– John L. Petersen\nTAI Presents:\u00a0<\/strong>Dr. Dennis Bushnell on September 11, 2007\nThe Singularity Summit\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 September 8 & 9, 2007\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 entries accepted September 4 through October 30, 2007\nFuture Facts<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– From Think Links\nThink Links<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– The Future in the News\u2026Today\nA Final Quote<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\nPUNCTUATIONS<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 John L. Petersen, editor<\/p>\nIt\u2019s interesting to think about how this world might change in the face of the multi-faceted, global disruption that appears on the horizon. That\u2019s specifically what we\u2019re trying to do here at TAI in our project to build a \u201cstrategy for the future of humanity\u201d, for which I\u2019m now running around chasing funding. If the paradigm changes, the thinking is obviously going to change \u2013 but what do you do about the left over \u201cstuff\u201d \u2013 like tanks and armored personnel carriers. Do you just trash it all, or is there a better, more benign use for such things?<\/p>\nIt might be hard to dream up the plowshares equivalent to a big artillery piece, but there are some major icons of the old (present) world that just might be adaptable. Tony Judge just checked in from Europe with a fascinating, provocative, irreverent, and rather humorous proposal:\u00a0From ESCHELON in NOLEHCE<\/strong>: Enabling a Strategic Conversion to a Faith-based Global Brain.\u00a0http:\/\/www.laetusinpraesens.org\/musings\/nolehce.php<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0I commend it to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/span>\nAir Force Association Building, 4th Floor\n1501 Lee Highway\nArlington, VA 22209\nRSVP:\u00a0Ken@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\nDr. Dennis Bushnell<\/strong>\u00a0is the Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center. With over 43 years experience as Research Scientist, Section Head, Branch Head, Associate Division Chief and Chief Scientist, his specialties include Flow Modeling and Control across the Speed Range, Advanced Configuration Aeronautics, Aeronautical Facilities and Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion. In fact, he is a Renaissance thinker who speaks from a unique \u2013 and uniquely informed \u2013 perspective. Join us on September 11, 2007 at 5:00pm to hear Dr. Bushnell describe the future he sees us rapidly approaching. Free and open to the public. Seating is limited; please RSVP.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nPUNCTUATIONS<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 John L. Petersen, editor<\/p>\nIt\u2019s interesting to think about how this world might change in the face of the multi-faceted, global disruption that appears on the horizon. That\u2019s specifically what we\u2019re trying to do here at TAI in our project to build a \u201cstrategy for the future of humanity\u201d, for which I\u2019m now running around chasing funding. If the paradigm changes, the thinking is obviously going to change \u2013 but what do you do about the left over \u201cstuff\u201d \u2013 like tanks and armored personnel carriers. Do you just trash it all, or is there a better, more benign use for such things?<\/p>\nIt might be hard to dream up the plowshares equivalent to a big artillery piece, but there are some major icons of the old (present) world that just might be adaptable. Tony Judge just checked in from Europe with a fascinating, provocative, irreverent, and rather humorous proposal:\u00a0From ESCHELON in NOLEHCE<\/strong>: Enabling a Strategic Conversion to a Faith-based Global Brain.\u00a0http:\/\/www.laetusinpraesens.org\/musings\/nolehce.php<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0I commend it to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/span>\nAir Force Association Building, 4th Floor\n1501 Lee Highway\nArlington, VA 22209\nRSVP:\u00a0Ken@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\nDr. Dennis Bushnell<\/strong>\u00a0is the Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center. With over 43 years experience as Research Scientist, Section Head, Branch Head, Associate Division Chief and Chief Scientist, his specialties include Flow Modeling and Control across the Speed Range, Advanced Configuration Aeronautics, Aeronautical Facilities and Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion. In fact, he is a Renaissance thinker who speaks from a unique \u2013 and uniquely informed \u2013 perspective. Join us on September 11, 2007 at 5:00pm to hear Dr. Bushnell describe the future he sees us rapidly approaching. Free and open to the public. Seating is limited; please RSVP.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
It\u2019s interesting to think about how this world might change in the face of the multi-faceted, global disruption that appears on the horizon. That\u2019s specifically what we\u2019re trying to do here at TAI in our project to build a \u201cstrategy for the future of humanity\u201d, for which I\u2019m now running around chasing funding. If the paradigm changes, the thinking is obviously going to change \u2013 but what do you do about the left over \u201cstuff\u201d \u2013 like tanks and armored personnel carriers. Do you just trash it all, or is there a better, more benign use for such things?<\/p>\n
It might be hard to dream up the plowshares equivalent to a big artillery piece, but there are some major icons of the old (present) world that just might be adaptable. Tony Judge just checked in from Europe with a fascinating, provocative, irreverent, and rather humorous proposal:\u00a0From ESCHELON in NOLEHCE<\/strong>: Enabling a Strategic Conversion to a Faith-based Global Brain.\u00a0http:\/\/www.laetusinpraesens.org\/musings\/nolehce.php<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0I commend it to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/span>\nAir Force Association Building, 4th Floor\n1501 Lee Highway\nArlington, VA 22209\nRSVP:\u00a0Ken@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\nDr. Dennis Bushnell<\/strong>\u00a0is the Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center. With over 43 years experience as Research Scientist, Section Head, Branch Head, Associate Division Chief and Chief Scientist, his specialties include Flow Modeling and Control across the Speed Range, Advanced Configuration Aeronautics, Aeronautical Facilities and Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion. In fact, he is a Renaissance thinker who speaks from a unique \u2013 and uniquely informed \u2013 perspective. Join us on September 11, 2007 at 5:00pm to hear Dr. Bushnell describe the future he sees us rapidly approaching. Free and open to the public. Seating is limited; please RSVP.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\n\n<\/span>\nAir Force Association Building, 4th Floor\n1501 Lee Highway\nArlington, VA 22209\nRSVP:\u00a0Ken@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\nDr. Dennis Bushnell<\/strong>\u00a0is the Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center. With over 43 years experience as Research Scientist, Section Head, Branch Head, Associate Division Chief and Chief Scientist, his specialties include Flow Modeling and Control across the Speed Range, Advanced Configuration Aeronautics, Aeronautical Facilities and Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion. In fact, he is a Renaissance thinker who speaks from a unique \u2013 and uniquely informed \u2013 perspective. Join us on September 11, 2007 at 5:00pm to hear Dr. Bushnell describe the future he sees us rapidly approaching. Free and open to the public. Seating is limited; please RSVP.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nDr. Dennis Bushnell<\/strong>\u00a0is the Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center. With over 43 years experience as Research Scientist, Section Head, Branch Head, Associate Division Chief and Chief Scientist, his specialties include Flow Modeling and Control across the Speed Range, Advanced Configuration Aeronautics, Aeronautical Facilities and Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion. In fact, he is a Renaissance thinker who speaks from a unique \u2013 and uniquely informed \u2013 perspective. Join us on September 11, 2007 at 5:00pm to hear Dr. Bushnell describe the future he sees us rapidly approaching. Free and open to the public. Seating is limited; please RSVP.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nThe Singularity Summit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity<\/p>\nThe Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\nPeter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\nFor further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
The Singularity Summit 2007 will be held on September 8th-9th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets for the two-day event can be purchased online for the extremely low price of $50, which even includes two lunches, a Saturday night reception, and extensive audience participation. The theme is “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.” Some of the fascinating questions to be explored include: “What are the major challenges to achieving advanced AI? What are the benefits and dangers? How far are we from self-improving AI? How should we prepare for this potentially powerful innovation?”<\/p>\n
“Advanced AI has the potential to impact every aspect of human life. We are in a crucial window of opportunity where we have temporary but powerful leverage to influence the outcome,” said Tyler Emerson, chair of the summit and executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Only a small group of scientists are aware of the central issues. It is essential to expand discussion of this critical 21st century issue, which is why I have created the summit.”<\/p>\n
Peter Thiel, PayPal Cofounder, Clarium Capital President, and Facebook’s initial investor, will MC the summit and also present his new ideas on financial markets and the Singularity. “It’s clear that the term ‘AI’ means a lot of different things,” said Thiel. “It’s one of these terms that has been bandied about a great deal, and has been misused a lot. It has been predicted for a long time that AI is right around the corner, and it’s taking longer than many people thought it would, with many disappointments along the way. However, it’s clear that there’s a massive set of issues happening, and people who don’t think that there’s something important going on are living in a delusional fantasy, and need to wake up.”<\/p>\n
For further information, please see:\u00a0http:\/\/www.singinst.org\/summit2007\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNote from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Note from John Petersen: This promises to be a rather extraordinary event that parallels the interests of many FUTUREdition readers. The program line-up is superb, the subject is important, San Francisco is nice . . . and it\u2019s certainly affordable. I, for one, will definitely be attending.<\/p>\n
\nThe Buckminsterfuller Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/challenge.bfi.org\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEach year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Each year a distinguished jury will award a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a solution that has the potential to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth\u2019s ecological integrity. The Buckminsterfuller Challenge sponsored by the Institute bearing his name seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that will exemplify the \u201ctrimtab principle\u201d. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change. Entries accepted from September 4 \u2013 October 30, 2007. For further details, please contact the Buckminsterfuller Institute at\u00a0challeng@bji.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or by telephone at 718-290-9283.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n\nRFID hacking \u2013 five tales of how easy it is.<\/li>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees.<\/li>\nA bionic hand has been created with thumb and fingers that can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles.<\/li>\nScientists have discovered a way to levitate ultra-small objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nINSTITUTIONAL CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
The Millennium Project\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law<\/span><\/p>\nThe Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
The Millennium Project \u2013 (Millennium Project website \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/mpflyer-2007.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Millennium Project publishes the annual \u201cState of the Future\u201d report, an extraordinary overview of global prospects for civilization which includes futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, ethics, human and international development \u2013 what the educated person should know in the global era. The print edition is an executive summary of the 6,000 page CD covering 15 major global issues. It may be ordered at\u00a0http:\/\/www.acunu.org\/millennium\/sof2007.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWith Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
With Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/27\/technology\/27maps.html?ex=1187323200&en\n=cd9181f3bc89d77d&ei=5070<\/strong><\/a>\nWith the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos. In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other. They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.<\/p>\nOnline Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Online Contracts with the Force of Law \u2013 (Money \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/money.cnn.com\/magazines\/business2\/business2_archive\/2007\/08\/01\/100138810\/\nindex.htm?postversion=2007080209<\/strong><\/a>\nEven this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales – and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry. Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract – and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process.<\/p>\n\n\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\nIs Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nNEW REALITIES<\/p>\n
Is Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions?\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat<\/p>\n
Is Dark Energy Lurking in Hidden Spatial Dimensions? \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/space.newscientist.com\/article.ns?id=dn12261<\/strong><\/a>\nThe mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable \u2013 a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory.<\/p>\nA Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
A Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat \u2013 (New England Journal of Medicine \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/full\/357\/4\/328<\/strong><\/a>\nOscar is a two-year old cat who lives on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/em>\u00a0The third floor is the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone<\/p>\n\nGENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\nMaking Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
GENTICS\/HEALTH TECHNOLOGY<\/p>\n
Making Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind?\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease?\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart<\/p>\n
Making Mice Fat or Thin with an Injection \u2013 (Diabetes Health \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.diabeteshealth.com\/read\/2007\/07\/30\/5339.html<\/strong><\/a>\nStressed mice get fat, according to a study done at Georgetown University Medical Center. Stress activates a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to bind to its receptor, called Neuropeptide Y Receptor (Y2R), in fat tissue, causing the fat cells to swell in both size and number and leading to apple-shaped obesity and metabolic syndrome. By injecting mice with NPY, the researchers were able to generate fat in mice wherever they wanted it. And by injecting Y2R blocker into the mice’s abdominal fat, they were able to shrink the fat accumulation by 50% in two weeks and eliminate the metabolic syndrome. Eventually using an NPY injection might build fat in wrinkled lips and using a Y2R injection might melt away human fat without surgery.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Who\u2019s Minding the Mind? \u2013 (New York Times \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/07\/31\/health\/psychology\/31subl.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&\npagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1186093413<\/strong><\/a>\nNew studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there\u2019s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there\u2019s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like \u201cdependable\u201d and \u201csupport\u201d \u2014 all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. More fundamentally, the new studies reveal a subconscious brain that is far more active, purposeful and independent than previously known. Goals, whether to eat, mate or devour an iced latte, are like neural software programs that can only be run one at a time, and the unconscious is perfectly capable of running the program it chooses.<\/p>\nNew Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
New Molecular Switch for Genes \u2013 (The Scientist \u2013 July 26, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news\/home\/53431\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers have created a molecular switch that can reversibly turn any mammalian gene on or off and control its level of expression. Scientists have traditionally used three technologies to suppress gene expression, but all have limitations. But by combining the main elements of these three techniques into a single gene regulation system, they bring down expression to undetectable levels.<\/p>\nThe Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
The Future of Medicine: Insert Chip, Cure Disease? \u2013 (Univ. of Florida \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2007\/07\/24\/brain-chip\/<\/strong><\/a>\nResearchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his thoughts. The initial goal of the \u201cneuroprosthetic\u201d chip designed to be implanted in the brain is to correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.<\/p>\nStem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Stem Cells May Mend a Broken Heart \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 29, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12376-stem-cells-may-mend-a-broken-heart.html\n<\/strong><\/a>A study done on mice shows that stem cells play a limited, but significant role in repairing damaged hearts. However, it remains unclear whether it is heart cells that are doing the repair, or cells from elsewhere in the body. The most important question now is: can you identify the new pool of heart cells? Are they pre-existing immature cardiac muscle cells? Or are they [stem cells] from the heart or elsewhere in the body?<\/p>\n\nDISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
DISCOVERIES ENABLED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nStar Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Star Soon to Become Supernova \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/5204676.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA star on the brink of exploding as a spectacular supernova has been glimpsed by international astronomers. The star flared up suddenly last February, briefly becoming 1,000 times brighter than normal. RS Ophiuchi is close to destroying itself in a nuclear explosion called a type 1a supernova. These are among the brightest phenomena in the Universe, radiating five billion times as much light as the Sun<\/p>\n\n\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\nAntique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Antique Engines Inspire Nano Chip\nBuilding a Better Search Engine\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health?\nThe RFID Hacking Underground<\/p>\n
Antique Engines Inspire Nano Chip \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 24, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/technology\/6912023.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nThe blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. The energy-efficient nano computer is inspired by ideas about computing first put forward nearly 200 years ago.<\/p>\nBuilding a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Building a Better Search Engine \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19109\/?a=f<\/strong><\/a>\nPowerset, Inc., based in San Francisco, is on the verge of offering an innovative natural-language search engine, based on linguistic research at the Palo Alto Research Center. Attempts have been made at natural-language search for decades, but Powerset says it has solved some of the fundamental technological problems that have existed with this kind of search.<\/p>\nAre Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Are Your Cell Phone and Laptop Bad for Your Health? \u2013 (AlterNet \u2013 July 31, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.alternet.org\/healthwellness\/58354\/<\/strong><\/a>\nFor years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots and Luddites, they’re starting to get backup from the scientific community. A growing number of scientists, along with a diverse collection of technology critics, are pointing out that our bodies constantly generate electrical pulses as part of their normal functioning. They maintain that incoming radiation from modern technology may be fouling those signals.<\/p>\nThe RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
The RFID Hacking Underground \u2013 (Wired \u2013 May, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.wired.com\/wired\/archive\/14.05\/rfid.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNext-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. The downside is that using cheap technology, hackers can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.<\/p>\n\n\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\nClues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<\/p>\n
Clues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat<\/p>\n
Clues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice \u2013 (Washington Post \u2013 July 16, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/07\/15\/AR200707\n1500882.html?hpid=topnews<\/strong><\/a>\nA three-foot increase in sea level could turn at least 60 million people into refugees, the World Bank estimates which is why ice sheet modelers are working furiously to try to unravel the mystery of how these sheets accumulate and lose mass. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior.<\/p>\nSun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Sun’s Activity Rules out Link to Global Warming \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12234?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12234<\/strong><\/a>\nDirect satellite measurements of solar activity show it has been declining since the mid-1980s and cannot account for recent rises in global temperatures, according to new research. The findings debunk an explanation for climate change that is often cited by people who are not convinced that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.<\/p>\nThe Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
The Truth Is, We Can’t Ignore the Sun \u2013 (Telegraph \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/opinion\/main.jhtml?xml=\/opinion\/2007\/07\/15\/do1508.xml<\/strong><\/a>\nThe BBC report (in the link directly above) argues that while the sun had a significant effect on climate during most of the 20th century, its influence is currently dwarfed by human effects. It says that all known solar influences since about 1990 are downward and because global temperature has increased since then, the sun is not responsible. No. The research could prove the contrary. Using the global temperature data endorsed by the Inter-national Panel on Climate Change, one can reach a completely different conclusion. (FUTUREdition suggests you read both articles and draw your own conclusions.)<\/p>\nPolar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Polar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12256-polar-bears-deserting-\nunstable-ice-to-give-birth.html<\/strong><\/a>\nPregnant polar bears build snow dens to protect new cubs from the Arctic winter. The researchers found that between 1985 and 1994, 62% of polar bear dens were built on sea ice \u2013 but that number dropped to 37% between 1998 and 2004. Pregnant females foraging offshore in summer must wait up to a month longer than they did just 10 years ago for new sea ice to form so they can travel to denning areas on land. Alternatively, they must swim ever greater expanses of open water to reach suitable land, or they must den on ice that may not be stable enough to survive the winter.<\/p>\nCalifornia’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
California’s Attack of the Jumbo Squid \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/environment.newscientist.com\/channel\/earth\/dn12315?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn12315<\/strong><\/a>\nFerocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California’s central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame. Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Ni\u00f1o event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence. The findings offer a striking look at how multiple human-induced environmental changes are affecting ocean ecosystems.<\/p>\nMighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Mighty Lake Superior Mystifies Scientists \u2013 (AOL News \u2013 July 29 ,2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.aol.com\/story\/_a\/mighty-lake-superior-mystifies\/20070729134609990001?\nncid=NWS00010000000001<\/strong><\/a>\nSomething seems amiss with mighty Superior, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes, which together hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Over the past year, its level has ebbed to the lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Its average temperature has surged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region’s air temperature during the same period. That’s no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.<\/p>\nAlarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Alarm over Indian Glacier’s Hasty Retreat \u2013 (International Herald Tribune \u2013 July 17, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/2007\/07\/17\/news\/glacier.php<\/strong><\/a>\nAt nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains. Water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the Chorabari Glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out – scientists call it the snout – a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the River Ganges. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 27 meters, or 90 feet, from where it is now. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 262 meters further away<\/p>\n\n\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\nLazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nAUGMENTED\/ARTICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\n
Lazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand<\/p>\n
Lazy Robots Look More Natural on the Move \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12264-lazy-robots-look-more-natural-on-the-move.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTo make a robot to move more gracefully, \u201cmake it as lazy as possible\u201d. Humans naturally minimize the energy used by our muscles. By applying the same energy-minimizing criteria to direct the way a computer model of a robot moves, researchers are able to produce motions with the robot that look very natural.<\/p>\nMilestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Milestone for Unique Bionic Hand \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 17 July, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/scotland\/edinburgh_and_east\/6901231.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nA highly functional bionic hand created by a Scottish inventor has gone on the market. The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. Among others, Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it.<\/p>\n\nENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\nExfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\n
Exfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm”\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria\nStar Battery\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel<\/p>\n
Exfoliation Produces Lighter, Cheaper Solar Cells \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12257<\/strong><\/a>\nAn ultra-thin solar cell that could provide a cheaper, lighter alternative to existing devices has been made by replacing the relatively thick semiconductor substrate normally used in solar cells with a thin “wafer-bonded” substrate. Replacing the regular, thick indium phosphide substrate in solar cells with a very thin layer of the same material on top of a cheap, oxidized wafer of silicon \u2013 the wafer-bonded substrate \u2013 could reduce manufacturing costs by up to half.<\/p>\nOur First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Our First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant \u2013 (EcoGeek \u2013 July 13, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.ecogeek.org\/content\/view\/798\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that comes from cellulose instead of sugar. This is good because most plants don’t have a lot of sugar, but all plants have lots of cellulose. So, instead of using food crops, (like corn and sugar cane which have lots of sugar) to create fuel, we can use any crops, like mown grass clippings, fallen tree limbs or corn stalks (instead of corn ears) to create ethanol.<\/p>\nThe Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
The Dark Side of Biofuels: Horror in the ‘Brazilian California’ \u2013 (Worldpress \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/print_article.cfm?article_id=2994&dont=yes<\/strong><\/a>\nBrazil is staking its claim as a great emerging power thanks to the leadership it maintains in biofuel production. The price of this ambition is paid by the environment and by the cane cutters, who are the invisible characters in this story. Behind a great deal of “politically correct” jargon lurks a reality poised to destroy the Amazon, a reality that destroys millions of young bodies while it promises lucrative business to investors. The very name biofuels seems to be destined to foment confusion; its opponents prefer to the term “agrofuels” because the term refers to agriculturally produced energy.<\/p>\nTwo Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Two Bacteria Better than One in Cellulose-fed Fuel Cell \u2013 (PhysOrg \u2013 July 27, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news104757951.html<\/strong><\/a>\nNo currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers.<\/p>\nGreenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Greenbox: Captures Carbon Dioxide to Make Biodiesel<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 (Treehugger \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2007\/07\/greenbox_captur.php<\/strong><\/a>\nIt sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. \u201cThrough a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil.<\/p>\nMIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
MIT Duo See People-powered “Crowd Farm” \u2013 (MIT News \u2013 July 25, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2007\/crowdfarm-0725.html<\/strong><\/a>\nTwo graduate students at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. The so-called “Crowd Farm,” would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity. Their proposal took first place in the Japan-based Holcim Foundation’s Sustainable Construction competition this year.<\/p>\nBlended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Blended-Wing Boeing Completes First Test Flight \u2013 (Aero Gizmo \u2013 July 30, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.gizmag.com\/go\/7694\/<\/strong><\/a>\nManufacturers like Boeing are moving beyond the “tube with wings and a tail” design in the push to improve fuel economy and the environmental impact for the next generation of jets. Inspired by “flying wing” designs from earlier decades like 1988’s B-2 Stealth bomber, the company has been collaborating with NASA to test the viability of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft, using a flat, wide body that tapers out to thin wing-tips and aims to strike an effective middle ground between the tube and flying wing designs.<\/p>\nJapan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Japan’s Hybrid Train Hailed as the Future of Rail Travel \u2013 (Independent \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.independent.co.uk\/world\/asia\/article2823100.ece<\/strong><\/a>\nLooking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds. Designed and run by the transport giant, Japan Rail, each 180-million-yen train is powered by a super fuel-efficient diesel engine and lithium-ion batteries that recharge every time the brakes are applied, a system that cuts power, noise and emissions by up to 60%.<\/p>\nMaking Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Making Gasoline from Bacteria \u2013 (Technology Review \u2013 August 1, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biztech\/19128\/<\/strong><\/a>\nThe biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum. To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy.<\/p>\nStar Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Star Battery \u2013 (ZPEnergy \u2013 August 4, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/zpenergy.com\/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2495<\/strong><\/a>\nAccording to Yury Zaitsev, an expert with the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Star Battery will dramatically change the way energy is both harnessed and stored. Yury says that the same material which generates almost 50% efficiency, can also be made into a ultracapacitor with nine hundred times the storage capacity of a car battery. These developments are made possibly, because of a process where gold nano-particles are imbedded into silicon, vastly improving their performance compared to tradition solar cells.<\/p>\nBurning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Burning Saltwater for Fuel \u2013 (EarthPulse \u2013 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.earthpulse.com\/src\/category.asp?catid=14\n<\/strong><\/a>This fascinating video clip reports on inventor John Kanzius who has discovered that saltwater can be burned using radio waves. The heat generated can be converted to mechanical energy and used to run machines.<\/p>\n\n\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nGLOBAL EPIDEMIC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWorld Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
World Losing Fight Against Aids \u2013 (BBC News \u2013 July 23, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/asia-pacific\/6911736.stm<\/strong><\/a>\nLast year, 2.2 million people in the developing world had access to the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus, compared with less than 300,000 people three years ago. But the ratio is that for every one person able to access drug therapy, six new people get infected. And in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies such as condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.<\/p>\n\nNANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
NANOTECHNOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\nNanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Nanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation<\/p>\n
Nanotubes Strengthen Artificial Muscles \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 14, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientisttech.com\/article\/dn12262<\/strong><\/a>\nBest known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a “space elevator” capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.<\/p>\nManaging the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Managing the Effects of Nanotechnology \u2013 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars \u2013 no date)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.nanotechproject.org\/file_download\/30<\/strong><\/a>\nDue to the unique nature of NT and the weakness of existing statutes, new laws may be appropriate to manage the potential risks of NT. This research paper explores evidence relevant to examining that question. Further, it is an excellent summary of the current state of nanotechnology research and industry.<\/p>\nScientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Scientists Reveal Secret of Levitation \u2013 (ABC News \u2013 August 7, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2007\/08\/07\/1998155.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nScientists have discovered a ground-breaking way of levitating ultra small objects, which may revolutionize the design of micro-machines by manipulating so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. Now British scientists say they can reverse the Casimir force to cause an object to repel rather than attract another in a vacuum, enabling micro or nano machines to run smoother and with less or no friction at all. The researchers stressed that the practice is possible only for micro-objects.<\/p>\n\n\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
\nTERRORISM, SECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF WARFARE<\/span>\n\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit<\/span><\/p>\nRobot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Robot Air Attack Squadron Bound for Iraq \u2013 (Associated Press \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20070715\/D8QD61V80.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe Reaper, a jet fighter powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. But there’s no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. “hunter-killer” drones, in aviation history’s first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.<\/p>\nCurrent Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Current Nuclear Threat Worse than During Cold War \u2013 (RIA Novosti \u2013 July 20, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/en.rian.ru\/russia\/20070719\/69294610.html<\/strong><\/a>\nThe risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia’s early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in a congressional testimony Wednesday that “the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident” still existed. “Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode and the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War.”<\/p>\nGotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Gotham\u2019s Sky Spies \u2013 (US News and World Report \u2013 July 15, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.usnews.com\/usnews\/news\/articles\/070715\/23cctv.htm<\/strong><\/a>\nPlans to network together thousands of private and public video surveillance cameras in New York City have been in the works for years. By the end of the year, the system may be a reality. When complete, it will incorporate 1,000 public and 2,000 private cameras, electronic license plate readers, and a 24-hour command center to monitor the many tireless electronic eyes. The system will also include remote-controlled movable barriers that could be used to isolate or redirect traffic in the event of an emergency. The new system carries an estimated price tag of $8 million for the first year.<\/p>\nPlague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
Plague of Bioweapons Accidents Afflicts the US \u2013 (New Scientist \u2013 July 5, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn12197-plague-of-bioweapons-accidents-\nafflicts-the-us.html\n<\/a>Deadly germs may be more likely to be spread due to a biodefence lab accident than a biological attack by terrorists. There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the US working with putative bioweapons germs, 10 times more than before the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. Plague, anthrax and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are among the bioweapons some experts fear could be used in a germ warfare attack against the US. But the public has had near-misses with those diseases and others over the past five years, ironically because of accidents in labs that were working to defend against bioterrorists. Even worse, they may be only the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\nU.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
U.S. Spy Satellite Declared Loss, to Drop from Orbit \u2013 (Reuters \u2013 August 2, 2007)<\/span>\nhttp:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/nm\/20070803\/sc_nm\/lockheed_satellite_dc
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