Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Choosing Simplicity In this article, Duane Elgin provides an overview of the shift toward more sustainable and compassionate ways of living. Simplicity is not about a life of poverty and sacrifice but about a life of purpose and satisfaction. This is important because a sustainable future for the Earth will require much more than a surface change to a different style of life; it requires a deep change to a new way of life. (04/16/03) Human Genetic Code Completed CNN World -- An international consortium of scientists announced Monday that it has completed the map of the human genetic code to an accuracy of 99.99 percent and said the accomplishment opens a new era for biology and medicine. The group announced in 2000 that it had completed a rough draft of the code, and the new report said the sequence is now "essentially complete" and freely available on computer databases to scientists all over the world. Already, the group said, the computer databases carrying the sequences are getting more than 120,000 visits a day. "After three billion years of evolution, we have before us the instruction set that carries each of us from one cell egg to adulthood to the grave," said Dr. Robert Waterston, of the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, an organization of 18 institutions that participated in the project. (04/16/03) Toshiba Unveils Innovative Fuel Cell WIRELESS NewsFactor -- Toshiba has introduced a prototype fuel cell designed to power portable computers by eliminating dependence on rechargeable batteries. The innovative, small form-factor energy cartridge eventually could be used on handhelds, such as PDAs and mobile phones, as the Japanese electronics giant shrinks it even further. In its current configuration, the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) delivers from 12 to 20 watts of power and provides up to five hours of notebook PC operation with a single cartridge of fuel. Commercial availability is slated for next year. (04/15/03) Heimlich maneuvers into AIDS therapy CNN Health -- Dr. Henry Heimlich, inventor of the famous anti-choking maneuver, is working with doctors in several African countries to begin human tests of a controversial AIDS therapy in which patients are deliberately infected with malaria. The method has drawn the ire of the medical establishment, but Dr. Heimlich, the 83-year-old head of the Cincinnati-based Heimlich Institute, believes that using a curable form of the mosquito-borne disease to induce high fevers can stimulate the immune system to fight off HIV. His research on the topic has lead to partnerships with African doctors who are launching trials of the technique. (04/16/03) Solar Cells Improve CNN Technology -- Every minute, the sun bombards Earth with enough energy to supply its power needs for a year. Yet only two one-hundredths of a percent of all the electricity fed into the U.S. grid originates from sunlight. The world still largely relies on diminishing supplies of environmentally unfriendly and politically destabilizing fossil fuels. Despite decades of research, it's still cheaper to burn coal than get power from the sun. But photovoltaic technology is improving efficiency and lowering costs for solar power, and experts believe the development will in the next few years drive solar adoption far faster than any government incentives or environmental concerns. ... The most futuristic approach involves arranging nanosize semiconductors in a matrix of plastic-like materials that are expected to be much less expensive to produce. Nanosys is working on nanorods that are just 7 nanometers by 60 nanometers in a polymer. Because of their size -- a nanometer is about 10,000 times narrower than a human hair -- nanorods are arranged by chemical reactions. "The manufacturing of nanocomposite solar cells is more like the production of photographic film, which is done in extremely high volumes ... with miles of precisely engineered materials per day at extremely low costs," Empedocles said. (04/16/03) Dying for a Cigarette CNN National -- A bouncer at a trendy Manhattan nightclub was stabbed to death after he tried to enforce New York's tough new anti-smoking law, officials said Monday. Police said the bouncer was stabbed in the early hours of Sunday morning in the Guernica club on the Lower East Side after asking one of two brothers in the club to put out a cigarette. After an argument with the men, the bouncer tried to eject them and was stabbed in the stomach "with an unknown sharp object," police said. The bouncer, 6-foot-6 Dana "Shazam" Blake, 32, died of his injuries. The two brothers, Jonathan Chan, 29, and Ching Chan, 31, of Manhattan's Chinatown face charges of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest, police and prosecutors said. (04/16/03) Commonly Used Molecule may be Hazardous New York Times: Environment -- Since World War II, perfluorinated acids have become incorporated into many brand-name chemicals because they repel water and oil and are resistant to heat and chemical stress. Used in the manufacturing process of Teflon and Gore-Tex, they are released as breakdown products from Stainmaster, Teflon and the original formulation of Scotchgard. They are also used to make polymers for aircraft and electronics. Scientists say the properties that make the chemicals attractive to industry — their chemical stability and resistance to high temperatures — may potentially have serious effects on the environment. Perfluorinated acids do not degrade. They are widely distributed — showing up in the Arctic, in food samples and in almost all human blood samples that have been tested. No one has found that the chemicals have a toxic effect on humans, but early research on animals shows that at least some perfluorinated acids in high doses have the potential to be toxic. (04/16/03) 6:03:00 AM

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