In The News

Other Nations Hope to Loosen U.S. Grip on Internet

Victoria Shannon November 15, 2005
In countless contexts and from every corner of the world, the internet is hailed as a revolutionary force, breaking down traditional barriers of class and nation with an inexorable flow of information. As its accessibility increases, the internet becomes more and more a tool of democracy and international cooperation. But this leveling playing field cannot smooth over an underlying reality: the...

Top Advisory Panel Warns of an Erosion of the U.S. Competitive Edge in Science

William J. Broad October 13, 2005
Is the US losing the ability to compete globally in the areas of science and technology? Experts convened on October 12 under the auspices of the National Academies, the nation’s premier science advisory body, to answer this pressing question. Sponsored by a bipartisan group in Congress, the panel announced that without a substantial effort to address the issue, the US “could soon loose its...

How "Scientific" Are the Millennium Development Goals?

David Dickson September 22, 2005
In the years following the announcement of the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), much ink was spilled in debating the feasibility of the lofty aims. Recently, Amir Attaran, an analyst of development policy, incited much debate when he issued a scathing critique of the MDGs on the grounds that many of the development targets rested on hazy data. The strongest proponents, including...

The Railway Across the Roof of the World

Jonathan Watts September 21, 2005
They said it couldn't be done. The miles-high terrain of the Kunlun Range seemed no place for a railroad, yet the Chinese government forged ahead with plans for a route to the furthest reaches of Tibet. The 48-hour journey from Golmud to Lhasa, along the soon-to-be completed rail line, represents an opportunity for growth as well as a potentially dangerous expansion of China's...

Invisible Earth

Annalee Newitz August 31, 2005
Technology giant Google has recently extended its global reach. It's new product, Google Earth, is a 3-D mapping program that allows users to view any point on the planet at the click of a mouse. With detailed satellite photos, Google Earth is touted as a tool not just for education, but also for communication; special features include comments "tagged" to specific locations, as...

Enduring an IT Eclipse

A. Sheshabalaya August 30, 2005
In recent years, Bangalore has outpaced Silicon Valley in the global innovation race. This is not a temporary blip, writes author Ashutosh Sheshabalaya, but a fast-evolving reality to which the American IT industry must adapt for the long haul. While offshoring is hardly a new phenomenon, it was previously restricted to back-office support functions. This is no longer the case: IBM and Hewlett...

Wiki-mania

Rory O'Connor August 12, 2005
Wikipedia – the free online encyclopedia that allows anyone to create or modify its contents – is revolutionizing information technology. Drawing more traffic than the websites of The New York Times and USA Today combined, Wikipedia has seen explosive growth in merely two years, becoming one of the 50 most-visited websites in the world. In addition to its use of open-source technology, what...