The internet could soon be made obsolete. The scientists who pioneered it have now built a lightning-fast replacement capable of downloading entire feature films within seconds. At speeds about 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection, ‘the grid’ will be able to send the entire Rolling Stones back catalogue from Britain to Japan in less than two seconds. The latest spin-off from Cern, the particle physics centre that created the web, the grid could also provide the kind of power needed to transmit holographic images; allow instant online gaming with hundreds of thousands of players; and offer high-definition video telephony for the price of a local call. David Britton, professor of physics at Glasgow University and a leading figure in the grid project, believes grid technologies could ‘revolutionise’ society. ‘With this kind of computing power, future generations will have the ability to collaborate and communicate in ways older people like me cannot even imagine,’ he said. The power of the grid will become apparent this summer after what scientists at Cern have termed their ‘red button’ day – the switching-on of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the new particle accelerator built to probe the origin […]
WASHINGTON — Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond. Among combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers’ mental health. The stress of long and multiple deployments to Iraq is just one of the concerns being voiced by senior military officers in Washington as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior Iraq commander, prepares to tell Congress this week that he is not ready to endorse any drawdowns beyond those already scheduled through July. President Bush has signaled that he will endorse General Petraeus’s recommendation, a decision that will leave close to 140,000 American troops in Iraq at least through the summer. But in a meeting with Mr. Bush late last month in advance of General Petraeus’s testimony, the Joint Chiefs of Staff expressed deep concern about stress on the force, senior Defense Department and military officials […]
For years, Johnson & Johnson obscured evidence that its popular Ortho Evra birth control patch delivered much more estrogen than standard birth control pills, potentially increasing the risk of blood clots and strokes, according to internal company documents. But because the Food and Drug Administration approved the patch, the company is arguing in court that it cannot be sued by women who claim that they were injured by the product - even though its old label inaccurately described the amount of estrogen it released. This legal argument is called pre-emption. After decades of being dismissed by courts, the tactic now appears to be on the verge of success, lawyers for plaintiffs and drug companies say. The Bush administration has argued strongly in favor of the doctrine, which holds that the F.D.A. is the only agency with enough expertise to regulate drug makers and that its decisions should not be second-guessed by courts. The Supreme Court is to rule on a case next term that could make pre-emption a legal standard for drug cases. The court already ruled in February that many suits against the makers of medical devices like pacemakers are pre-empted. More than 3,000 women […]
BANGKOK — For all the talk of urgency in fighting climate change, negotiators are putting off the hard part in drafting the next global treaty until the US election, diplomats and environmentalists say. All three major candidates seeking the keys to the White House in January support tougher action on climate change than President George W. Bush, who rejected the Kyoto Protocol as one of his first acts in office. Five days of marathon negotiations in Bangkok ended late Friday with a work plan to draft a treaty, by the end of next year, on how to fight climate change once Kyoto’s commitments to curb harmful gas emissions run out in 2012. ‘We’re all looking forward to moving ahead more swiftly in 2009 when finally there is a US administration that recognises the urgency of climate change,’ said David Mittler, a climate adviser at environmental group Greenpeace. ‘The world community has to make it clear that they expect the US to join in a real, climate-saving agenda… to ensure a world that still has things like coral reefs and farmers in Africa who are not made refugees,’ he said. Bush argues that Kyoto is unfair […]
The Bush administration’s reason for opposing a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products defies logic. According to a spokeswoman, the White House fears that FDA oversight could make the public think that regulated tobacco products are safe. But if tobacco products aren’t safe, why should they remain unregulated? Short of an outright ban, FDA control is the best way to minimize the danger of cigarettes and other tobacco products that are marketed ever more creatively to the public. A House committee voted 38-12 on Wednesday to advance a bill that would give the FDA authority over the sale, advertising, and distribution of tobacco products. It would provide for stronger warnings on cigarette packs; require the removal of harmful ingredients; prohibit misleading health claims; and enforce the law on sales to minors. The FDA could ban candy-flavored cigarettes, for example, or vending machine sales where a consumer’s age can’t be checked. Because a similar bill passed a Senate committee last year, the House vote was a major step closer to regulation, which former FDA commissioner David Kessler called for back in 1995. Opponents are increasingly isolated. The bill has 218 House and […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
