In The News

Falling Short on Skills

Nayan Chanda December 13, 2010
Technology has boosted industrial efficiency. Industrial growth, full employment and economic recovery require engineers, mechanics and a host of other highly skilled workers. Millions of jobs go unfilled in China, the US, Germany, India and other nations because managers in health-care, biomedical, aeronautical, energy, communication and other industries can’t find workers skilled in math,...

A Quick Fix for Climate Change?

Michael Richardson November 8, 2010
Spewing particles into the skies to block sunlight, releasing chemicals into the oceans to encourage plankton growth and carbon absorption, are just two examples of how geoengineering technologies might ease impacts of climate change. The interventions, still being tested, would be temporary and costly, warns Michael Richardson, senior research fellow with the Institute of South East Asian...

The Perils of American Stupidity

John Berthelsen November 3, 2010
Science and education deliver prosperity. Yet some populist US politicians denounce education as elitism, a stance that invites comparisons with the Cambodia's Khmer Rouge and its vilification of intellectuals. John Berthelsen rejects the comparison in the Asia Sentinel, yet expresses alarm: “[T]he impulse to banish knowledge as a means of securing political power is a dangerous strategy...

Google Invests in Cycle-Powered Monorail

Holger Dambeck October 26, 2010
As the world’s largest search engine, Google could have an edge in detecting newest trends and technologies. The company hosts occasional contests in search of innovative ideas that improve the world – allowing users to select among the finalists, then issuing prizes and investing in the projects. The latest award for a cycle-powered monorail by the name of Schweeb anticipates declining fossil...

China’s Chokehold On Rare-Earth Minerals Raises Concerns

Michael Richardson October 8, 2010
Following a boating mishap in the East China Sea, China swiftly banned exports to Japan of rare-earth materials, essential in high-tech manufacturing. China holds the largest reserves of the minerals required to manufacture cell phones, smart bombs, wind turbines and other high-tech products. In recent months, industries reliant on rare earths have encountered increasing delays, quotas and price...

Germany Leads With Its Goal of 100 Percent Renewable Energy

Daniel Boese September 7, 2010
Germany is demonstrating steady progress in unshackling itself from fossil fuel dependence by converting to renewable energy sources. Polls show that more than 80 percent of the nation favors development of homegrown wind, sun and geothermal energy alternatives and escape from importing the bulk of oil, gas or uranium from foreign sources. In economic terms, Germany is an early adopter. The large...

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Moving From South Asia to US

Donald G. McNeil Jr. August 26, 2010
People travel around the world with unprecedented speed and frequency, carrying germs as they go. Recently, H1N1 – otherwise known as swine flu – swept through many countries, devastating a normally healthy group: 18-40 year olds. Now, a new mutation in some bacteria, a gene labeled by scientists as NDM-1, is resistant to almost all antibiotics. First detected in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh...