In The News

Recycling Precious Metals

Axel Bojanowski March 3, 2010
Old electronic devices contain a wealth of gold and silver that can often be recovered at a higher rate than most extant mines. But this electronic trash is going to waste. Most developing nations lack the infrastructure to recycle old technology products, while in developed nations most of the precious metals don’t re-enter the production cycle. In the European Union, electronic producers are...

Human Culture, an Evolutionary Force

Nicholas Wade March 2, 2010
There's a gathering scientific consensus that culture has shaped human evolution and that genes and culture co-evolve. This is contrary to the traditional stance, which views culture as a shield against natural selection, slowing the rate of evolution. A notable example is the gene for lactose tolerance. In cultures descended from cattle-rearing folk – like northern Europeans – a greater...

Google’s Lesson: Innovation Has to Be Accompanied by Reliability

Rob Knake and Adam Segal February 22, 2010
The most important lesson of the Google vs. China may not be about Internet censorship, but rather the importance of security and the reliability of products. As Council of Foreign Relations fellows Rob Knake and Adam Segal write, two tensions highlight the main obstacles in maintaining security and reliability amid the globalized model of innovation spanning geography and time. Shifting research...

Broad New Hacking Attack Detected

Siobhan Gorman February 22, 2010
A spate of cyber attacks over the last year and a half has affected around 75,000 computers belonging to 2,500 companies in 196 countries. NetWitness, the firm that discovered the security breaches, revealed that the attacks were directed at both companies – such as Cardinal Health and Merck – and government agencies to steal contact databases, passwords, credit-card data and other sensitive...

Iran to Suspend Google’s Email

Christopher Rhoads, Chip Cummins, and Jessica E. Vascellaro February 11, 2010
On the eve of celebrations, and antigovernment protests, to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iran announced the suspension of Gmail, Google’s email service, along with plans for a new, national email service in its stead. Following last year’s disputed presidential election, activists harnessed social media, both for organizing within the country and broadcasting news outside...

Big Brother 2.0?

Mark MacKinnon February 10, 2010
As western media companies retreat from international reporting, new state-run media outfits from China, Russia, Qatar, and Iran are rushing in to fill the void. Though presented with a slick Western polish, these channels generally project the political perspective of each country’s government. Some fear the growing politicization of the news, with powerful state media battling out national...

Animosity Against English Teachers in Seoul

Jiyeon Lee February 9, 2010
Foreign English teachers in South Korea are coming under attack. The group “Citizens of Right Education” was formed to rid South Korea of unqualified foreign English teachers, involved in criminal or scandalous activities. Meanwhile, the Association for Teachers of English in Korea (ATEK) claims that English teachers have been vilified in the news, frequently presented as being involved in sexual...