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Science & Policy News
February 2006
Seed Magazine, February 28, 2006 Mathematical Uncertainty: Are today's most advanced mathematical proofs impossible to solve?: The inability of the mathematical community to verify some proofs threatens to undermine the old idea of mathematical certainty. Read
more Let the Doping Begin: Olympians on Steroids are just giving people what they want: The ongoing campaign against the use of anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs by elite athletes has been characterized by numerous moral and medical claims that are incoherent, hypocritical or false. Read
more DNA 'could predict your surname': Forensic scientists could use DNA retrieved from a crime scene to predict the surname of the suspect, according to a new British study. Read
more Web Services Upend Old Ideas About the Little Guy's Role: The second-generation Internet technologies — combined with earlier tools like the Web itself and e-mail — are drastically reducing the cost of communicating, finding things and distributing and receiving services online. That means a cost leveling that puts small companies on equal footing with big ones. Read
more Anti-aging Drugs on Horizon: As the science of preventing aging pushes further forward, researchers discuss the likely economic fallout. Read
more US troops taught Iraqi gestures: The US military has funded a computer game to teach its troops how to use and decipher Iraqi body language. Read
more Warming and winter sport on collision course: Global warming is reducing mountain snow pack and shifting the actual periods of winter and, so, adversely affecting winter sports, athletes, ski resorts and, even the future locations of Winter Olympics. Read
more 'Sleeping on it' best for complex decisions: Complex decisions are best left to your unconscious mind to work out, according to a new study, and over-thinking a problem could lead to expensive mistakes. Read
more Poultry, Not Wild Birds, Most Often Carries Deadly Avian Flu to Africa: The lethal strain of H5N1 bird flu found in Nigeria this month probably got there in poultry and not through the movement of wild birds, according to migratory-bird experts and several lines of circumstantial evidence. Read
more Ethiopian Development Raises Birth Rate: Development projects designed to improve maternal and child welfare in Africa may incur unexpected costs associated with increases in family size if they do not include a component of family planning. Read
more Crafting a Smarter, Gentler Cell Phone: Engineers are working hard to make more polite phones -- ones that know when to be quiet and when to interrupt. The idea is that tomorrow's cell phones will be able to learn your routines and respond accordingly. Read
more Experts disagree about the origins of the recent outbreak of avian flu in Nigeria. Listen
to NPR Self-cleaning bathroom on the way: Scientists in Australia have developed an environmentally friendly coating containing special nanoparticles that could do the job of cleaning and disinfecting for us. Read
more A Plug for the Unplugged $100 Laptop Computer for Developing Nations: One of the more interesting technology sessions at Davos, Switzerland this year was Nicholas Negroponte's presentation of a $100 laptop computer intended for developing countries. Read
more Rwanda fired up by methane plans: The the reservoirs which are the source of Rwanda's hydro-power are drying up. Hopes of a solution come from a surprising source - the bottom of Lake Kivu, where there are an estimated 55 billion cubic metres of methane gas.
Evangelical Leaders Join Global Warming Initiative: Despite opposition from some of their colleagues, 86 evangelical Christian leaders have decided to back a major initiative to fight global warming, saying "millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors." Read
more Weapons of Business Destruction. How a tiny little "patent troll" got BlackBerry in a headlock: NTP, a one-man Virginia firm, armed with nothing but patents, currently threatens to bring down BlackBerry and with it the sanity of millions of e-mail addicts. Read
more Governor asking $25 mil to lure high-tech talent: Arizona is looking to create a massive pool of money to recruit and retain some of the smartest technology talent in hopes that the investment will produce new companies and high-wage jobs. Read
more Behind Bush's New Stress on Science, Lobbying by Republican Executives: President Bush's proposal to accelerate spending on basic scientific research came after technology industry executives made the case for such a move in a series of meetings with White House officials, executives involved said Wednesday.
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