In a speech on Monday at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, President Obama presented a vision of a new era in research financing comparable to the Sputnik-period space race, in which intensified scientific inquiry, and development of the intellectual capacity to pursue it, are a top national priority. The president laid out an ambitious plan to invigorate the country’s pipeline for innovation, from grade-school classrooms to corporate, government and academic research laboratories. Mr. Obama’s plan includes fulfilling commitments dating from the Bush administration to double the budgets of the National Science Foundation, the science office of the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. But he is also seeking increases in direct federal investment in medical and energy research, and he would make permanent what has been a sporadic research and experimentation tax credit offered to companies that push beyond the quest for quarterly profits to pursue breakthroughs. Over all, he described his initiative as ‘the largest commitment to scientific research and innovation in American history, receiving hearty applause from the scientists and observers who packed the halls at the National Academy headquarters for the group’s annual meeting. Mr. […]
LONDON — Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may protect men against prostate cancer and other urological complaints, as well as reducing the risk of heart attacks, U.S. researchers said on Sunday. A large clinical study following 2,447 men aged between 40 an 79 year for over 15 years found those taking statins were less likely to develop prostate cancer, compared to men who did not take the medicines. Just 6 percent of men on statins were diagnosed with prostate cancer, with non-statin users three times more likely to develop the disease, Mayo Clinic researchers reported at the American Urological Association meeting in Chicago. Their long-term analysis also found men on statins were less likely to suffer benign prostate enlargement or erectile dysfunction. ‘In recent years, it has been suggested that statin medications may prevent development of cancer. However, until now, there has been limited evidence to support this theory,’ said Rodney Breau of the Mayo Clinic. ‘Our research provides evidence that statin use is associated with a threefold reduced risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer.’ But the scientists said their findings were still preliminary and further randomised clinical studies would be needed to prove that statins […]
Let’s hope commentators and business experts who believe hybrid car sales are down because gas is cheap (for the moment) are wrong. I hope my fellow Americans are more forward-thinking in the major purchases than whether gas is $2.00 or $4.00/gallon. It may be just above $2.00/gallon right now. But we all know as soon as U.S. and world demand rises, pulled from the doldrums as countries come out of the recession, gas is going right back up to where it was. People should buy hybrids because they use the technology of the future and because they are (overall) easier on the environment, not because Americans are only concerned about gas prices. I’ve heard the stories about hybrids needing new, very expensive, batteries every so often. I also know some people say recycling these powerful batteries puts just as much strain on the environment as using a gas engine. Sorry, I don’t believe it. I still think hybrids are to greenies as oil is to OPEC–the sine qua non. But auto experts say gas prices are the only thing driving hybrid sales: U.S. auto sales last year fell 18 percent to 13.2 million, […]
The indigenous people of Alaska have stood firm against some of the most extreme weather conditions on Earth for thousands of years. But now, flooding blamed on climate change is forcing at least one Eskimo village to move to safer ground. The community of the tiny coastal village of Newtok voted to relocate its 340 residents to new homes 9 miles away, up the Ninglick River. The village, home to indigenous Yup’ik Eskimos, is the first of possibly scores of threatened Alaskan communities that could be abandoned. Warming temperatures are melting coastal ice shelves and frozen sub-soils, which act as natural barriers to protect the village against summer deluges from ocean storm surges. ‘We are seeing the erosion, flooding and sinking of our village right now,’ said Stanley Tom, a Yup’ik Eskimo and tribal administrator for the Newtok Traditional Council. The crisis is unique because its devastating effects creep up on communities, eating away at their infrastructure, unlike with sudden natural disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes or hurricanes. Newtok is just one example of what the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns is part of a growing climate change crisis that will displace […]
How we laughed at the Japanese. We ridiculed their humourless engineers, with white coats and polyester trousers. We scoffed at their boring little cars with fake-wood dashboards and engines that sounded as if they were made of plastic. Well, we interrupt history – and the recession – to bring you the man who is shaping the future of motoring. He’s Japanese. And he likes a laugh. ‘My dream car is a Lamborghini. If I won the lottery, I’d buy one,’ said Yutaka Matsumoto. The tall, 50-year-old general manager of strategy at Toyota is driving around his firm’s headquarters in down-town Tokyo in a supercar for the 21st century. It’s not a sporty Italian, but an affordable four-door saloon that offers emission-free – and conscience-free – motoring. ‘If I use this car for commuting in Tokyo, I can travel at up to 60mph but there are no emissions whatsoever,’ he said. Matsumoto is behind the wheel of Toyota’s first plug-in hybrid car. It has an electric and a petrol engine but differs from the Prius – the popular hybrid Matsumoto’s team also developed – because its battery can be recharged from a normal socket in less than two […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
