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The latest news, from the people who make it happen.
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SARS Identified, but New Warning Issued (News)
By imrdkl
Wed Apr 2nd, 2003 at 11:41:55 AM EST
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has upgraded their travel alert for SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
to a
warning
today (April 2), even though their
press conference
yesterday was slightly upbeat, due to the lack of new cases in Vietnam, and the hope that it is contained there. The
number of cases continues to increase in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada, and the
WHO recommendation
concerns primarily those countries. There also still seems to be some doubt as to whether the virus is truly airborne,
although recent infection trends are unnerving, including an apartment block where nearly half the residents are now
infected in Hong Kong. Indeed, the WHO report states that:
... developments have suggested environmental routes of transmission from a SARS infected person which may be related
to contamination of common systems that link rooms or flats together.
Presumably, these "routes of contamination" include ventilation, as well as water and septic utilities.
Full Story (146 comments, 799 words in story)
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The War Behind Closed Doors (News)
By pb
Wed Mar 26th, 2003 at 04:03:08 PM EST
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PBS (the Public Broadcasting Service) is running an informative Frontline program "The War Behind Closed Doors", which is about America's new foreign policy, what it is, where it came from, who is behind it, and how it shaped the events leading up to the current war with Iraq. The program itself is viewable online, in Windows Media and RealPlayer, along with a wealth of related information. Also, CNN is running a similar story.
Full Story (92 comments, 353 words in story)
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Attend a Protest, Go to Jail (News)
By kpaul
Mon Mar 24th, 2003 at 05:40:18 AM EST
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In the United States, Senator John Minnis has proposed a bill in the Oregon Legislature that would imprison for life those convicted of "terrorism." A minimum of 25 years would be served without the possibility of parole. The definition of terrorism in Senate Bill 742 could include people attending protests where others are disruptive.
Perhaps more importantly, the Oregon bill would also allow law enforcement agencies in that state to disregard ORS 181.575 and ORS 181.850 if they are investigating terrorism. The former stops the collection or maintaining information about the political, religious, social views, associations or activities of any person or group unless part of a criminal investigation. The latter forbids using resources to apprehend people whose only offense is a federal immigration violation.
Full Story (220 comments, 305 words in story)
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Scientists Locate Binge Eating Gene (News)
By thelizman
Fri Mar 21st, 2003 at 08:39:17 PM EST
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A joint Swiss, American, and German working group has discovered a gene believed to be responsible for obesity in people prone to "binge eating". The melanocortin 4 receptor gene is believed to produce a protein which controls hunger impulses in the hypothalamus.
Full Story (85 comments, 187 words in story)
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Microsoft Server Flaw Used Against U.S. Military (News)
By sllort
Tue Mar 18th, 2003 at 06:39:58 PM EST
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The computer security community has a set of rules dictating the flow of information when a security problem is discovered. This process dictates that when a researcher finds a security flaw, a report on the problem is delivered confidentially to the vendor providing the flawed software. The vendor releases an advisory on the flaw and a fix to correct the problem, crediting the researcher.
This works pretty well, except when the "researcher" attacks the U.S. Army instead.
Full Story (75 comments, 501 words in story)
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The geniuses might be brighter after all (News)
By gyan
Mon Mar 17th, 2003 at 12:07:32 PM EST
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According to this article in the London-based Times, researchers have identified a few "bright spots" in the brain that are actively engaged in problem-solving. Furthermore, these bright spots are mostly located in the prefrontal cortex. There is a chance that we could all improve our intellect simply by learning to concentrate more, since subregions of the prefrontal cortex are responsible for attentional control.
Full Story (28 comments, 482 words in story)
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Engineered Babies Save Lives, Destroy Embryos (News)
By imrdkl
Thu Mar 13th, 2003 at 12:52:57 PM EST
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An In-vitro fertilization company in Australia is criticizing the board of a Melbourne hospital for the
long delays
in granting approval for two separate
designer babies during the last two years.
These designer babies are being engineered specifically to provide healing stem cells for a sibling, from their
umbilical cords. Last year, while waiting for a decision from the hospital, a local couple
naturally conceived a genetically-matching son. His stem cells were recently implanted in his dying sister, who is
inflicted with
Fanconi's anaemia,
and her fate should be known within a
few weeks.
The more recent delay has been over another couple's child, who is believed to have sickle-cell anemia. Authorities
have sought opinions from theologians, ethicists, and reproductive scientists while debating yesterday's decision to
approve
the procedure, after a year of discussion and hearings.
Full Story (193 comments, 555 words in story)
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Municipal Elections From Iran (News)
By jjayson
Mon Mar 3rd, 2003 at 11:38:07 PM EST
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This Friday, February 28th, Iranian citizens went to the polling booths for municipal elections for the second time since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Nationwide there were 218,000 candidates in 905 cities and 34,205 villages. The candicates were competing for the ballots of the 41.2 million 15-and-over eligible voters to take one of 112,375 seats. In Tehran alone there are 1,351 people campaigning for just 15 city council seats with 4 million voters.
Many see this election as a referendum of President Khatami's liberal reform agenda, and public support of the reform movement he leads will be gauged by it. However, major party leaders are opting to stay out of these elections, and instead unknowns have taken over the ballots.
Full Story (69 comments, 1603 words in story)
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Diplomat Kiesling to Secretary Powell: Dear Mr. Secretary... (News)
By shinshin
Mon Mar 3rd, 2003 at 02:22:48 AM EST
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John Brady Kiesling, a distinguished career foreign service officer, resigned his post as political counselor at the American embassy in Athens last week to protest President Bush's foreign policy, as reported by Reuters. As a career diplomat, he has served in United States embassies from Tel Aviv to Casablanca to Yerevan. Following is the full body of his resignation letter, perhaps the most elegant statement of dissent over the Republican administration's foreign policy to date:
Dear Mr. Secretary...
Full Story (226 comments, 1119 words in story)
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