In The News

Rebels Hijack Gaddafi's Phone Network

Margaret Coker, Charles Levinson April 18, 2011
As protests surge, autocratic governments immediately shut down communications. The story of how skilled expatriates moved in to restore phone and internet services for Libya reads like a high-tech spy thriller. A Libyan-American telecom executive, 31 and raised in Alabama, organized a team of techie friends to assist in reopening communications for rebel forces. “[T]he network has enabled rebel...

Multitude of Species Face Climate Threat

Carl Zimmer April 8, 2011
Biologists monitoring Earth’s loss of biodiversity predict a sixth great mass extinction could be underway. Overfishing, overhunting, deforestation, development and climate could be behind some eerie changes: polar bears losing ice; whales, fish and birds adjusting migration patterns; butterflies hatching from pupae earlier, mountainside animals and plants forced to move to new heights....

China "to Overtake US on Science" in Two Years

David Shukman April 6, 2011
With a growing economy and rising surplus, China has invested heavily in education and R&D. "Chinese spending has grown by 20% per year since 1999, now reaching over $100bn, and as many as 1.5 million science and engineering students graduated from Chinese universities in 2006," reports David Shukman for the BBC News. A study by the UK's national science academy compares the...

Spanish Scientists Search for Fuel of the Future

Virginie Grognou April 6, 2011
Countries that don’t have massive oil or natural-gas reserves may soon be able to construct their own biofuel reserves. Spanish and French scientists, working for the small firm Bio Fuel Systems, or BSF, are researching a new alternative fuel – based on algae mixed with carbon dioxide. Like solar energy, the process of growing algae requires wide open space. “[T]he idea is to reproduce and speed...

In a Borderless World, Innovation Reigns Supreme

Ashok Bardhan April 4, 2011
Economists and policymakers recognize that investment in research and development – by government or industry – contributes to innovation, employment and higher living standards. In pursuit of bigger markets and lower costs US firms started the trend of relocating manufacturing and services overseas, and now R&D activities follow, explains economist Ashok Bardhan. The transfers raise...

Saudis Focus on Nuclear, Solar Energy

David Hope April 1, 2011
Nations that cling to petroleum as a leading energy source should take notice: The nation with the largest oil reserves is diversifying its energy sector, developing nuclear and solar sources. Within two decades, Saudi Arabia anticipates using most of its oil for domestic purposes, reports David Hope for UPI. A limited supply of water in the country requires desalination for consumption, which...

US Products Help Block Mideast Web

Paul Sonne, Steve Stecklow March 31, 2011
As protests rage in the Middle East, some software companies help the young protesters in circumventing censorship and others assist the dictators in exerting control. Global media reports show forces in Bahrain, Libya, Syria and Yemen arresting and attacking unarmed protesters with teargas, while outspoken bloggers are jailed. This Wall Street Journal article identifes the Western firms that...