In The News

China Soups Up Internet Censoring Filters

Anick Jesdanun April 14, 2005
According to a recent US study, China is the most successful country in the world – that is, in terms of Internet censorship. The Chinese government uses a multilayered approach, employing thousands of public and private censors to remove online content deemed too sensitive. The system is so advanced that while references to Tibetan independence are entirely removed, for instance, general...

Your Family Tree Is About to Grow

Simon Avery April 13, 2005
All humans share genetic markers with indigenous peoples around the globe. Geneticists, like Spencer Wells, are able to map these connections as a result of small genetic mutations which occur as a gene is handed down from generation to generation. Now, in partnership with the National Geographic Society and IBM Corp, Wells has started the Genographic Project, which will solicit genetic data from...

Deadly Flu Strain Shipped Worldwide

Rob Stein April 13, 2005
Health officials worldwide are scrambling to secure a potentially lethal sample of the flu virus sent to over 3,700 laboratories for testing. As part of routine quality control procedures, scientists often order flu samples from private biotechnology companies in order to certify their laboratories. These samples are usually innocuous and safe for testing. As a scientist in Winnipeg, Manitoba...

Poverty – Not Ideology – Must be World Bank's Focus

David Dickson March 24, 2005
When Bush administration-favorite Paul Wolfowitz was nominated last week to head the World Bank, much of the international community recoiled in shock. Many critics fear Wolfowitz's lack of economics credentials and his ideologically charged reputation make the neo-conservative unfit to head the World Bank. Yet David Dickson argues that Wolfowitz can prove the world wrong for crying, "...

Tsunami's Legacy Includes Airborne Toxins

Ochieng' Ogodo March 3, 2005
A recently released United Nations report details the environmental consequences of the South Asian tsunami. Sewage, asbestos, and oil have contaminated groundwater throughout the region. The ecological disaster has spread to Somalia, whose coastline has long been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste by other nations. Evidence now shows that the tsunami stirred up this nuclear waste,...

Pan-Asian Biotech Federation Formed

February 23, 2005
The global technological center of gravity seems to be slowly shifting away from the developed world towards Asian countries like India. Recognizing that their scientific prowess commands increasing respect on the world stage, leading biotech associations across the continent joined together this month to accelerate Asian scientific development. At the recent BioAsia 2005 conference in Hyderabad...

'Global warming real' say new studies

Reuters February 18, 2005
The Kyoto Protocol, part of an international effort to protect the earth’s climate, came into force this past Wednesday. A day later, a team led by Tim Barnett of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography unveiled fresh evidence detailing the very real effects of global warming. By focusing on ocean temperatures rather than the atmosphere, scientists have found what they claim is indisputable...