In The News

Invisible Export – A Hidden Cost of China's Growth: Mercury Migration

Matt Pottinger December 20, 2004
When an American hockey player suffered symptoms from mercury contamination, he never expected that he might have power plants half way across the world in China to blame. With its growing appetite for energy, China is finding its many coal-burning power plants hard at work generating the much needed electricity power – as well as huge amounts of air pollutants like sulfur dioxide and mercury....

US Visa Rules Deter Chinese researchers

Catherine Brahic December 14, 2004
Heightened security measures surrounding US visa applicants have weakened the collaborative relationship between American and Chinese scientists, as a recent opinion poll of graduate students in China showed. Stricter rules regarding research in the United States have produced a climate in which foreign admissions to graduate schools have decreased greatly, with the largest drop among Chinese...

The Patent Controversy

Rajeev Dhavan December 10, 2004
As India's Parliament rushes through the Third Patents Amendment, the important social justice and equity issues are being ignored, says the author in India’s newspaper, The Hindu. The pressure to pass this law before January 1, 2005 came from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the US, which hold the implicit threat of retaliation and non-compliance under WTO provisions. However, argues...

Asian Nations Seek Private Funds for "Virtual Institute"

Mary Charlotte Fresco December 6, 2004
Science and technology ministers from ASEAN member nations have decided to seek private funding for the Virtual Institute of Science. Originally funded by the ASEAN Foundation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the program has struggled to maintain momentum since its launch in May 2004. The Institute could potentially become an important method of pooling...

Asia Holds the Key to the Future of GM Food

John Feffer December 2, 2004
Most media coverage of genetically modified (GM) food has centered on disputes between Europe and the United States. "But it is in Asia that the new techno-food will live or die," writes John Feffer. Asia is home to the largest consumer market, as well as the greatest number of farmers in the world. And it must now choose between accepting America's confidence in the safety and...

Is America Losing Its Edge?

Adam Segal November 17, 2004
The long-standing pre-eminence of US technology and innovation worldwide may now face a challenge, as the changing face of the global marketplace takes its toll. As US trade and development has expanded overseas, partner nations have taken advantage of this access. Particularly in Asia, nations are making large strides in research and development (R&D) and other scientific technology. Budget...

Galileo, Fusion Energy Propel India, EU "Strategic Partnership"

Siddharth Varadarajan November 9, 2004
In talks that were finalized on Monday, India and the European Union (EU) agreed to work together on the Galileo satellite global positioning system and on long-term fusion energy research. India has been careful to state that it will invest capital in proportion to the benefits that it receives from these projects, but the decision to collaborate is not simply a good money investment. By...