In The News

AI and Robots Threaten to Unleash Mass Unemployment, Scientists Warn

Clive Cookson February 16, 2016
Almost any task performed by humans could be automated, and development of robots could soon replace most human jobs. Computer scientists Moshe Vardi of Rice University and Bart Selman of Cornell University warned the American Association for the Advancement of Science, that “governments – and society as a whole – were not facing up to the acceleration of AI and robotics research,” reports Clive...

Can We Stop Mosquitoes From Infecting the World?

Cheryl Katz February 15, 2016
The World Health Organization has declared Zika a global emergency, exploring links to mosquitoes and birth defects, though much is unknown. No vaccine or treatment is available, and immediate efforts focus on mosquito control. Researchers have linked the birth defects with Zika and mosquitoes, while some doctors in Argentina question if a larvicide could be the problem. Mosquitoes are “adapting...

Gravity Waves From Black Holes Verify Einstein’s Prediction

Andrew Grant February 12, 2016
Gravitational waves blanket the universe with tremors, as theorized a century ago with Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity and detected in 2015 by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or Advanced LIGO, with giant lasers in Louisiana and Washington states. “The fleeting burst of waves arrived on Earth long after two black holes, one about 36 times the mass...

US Can Meet Paris Climate Deal Goals Despite Court Ruling: White House

February 11, 2016
Almost 200 countries reached an historic agreement in December to reduce carbon emissions. The Obama administration imposed limits on power plants’ carbon emissions, but the US Supreme Court “took the unusual step to delay implementation of the Clean Power Plan until legal challenges to the regulation are completed,” reports Reuters. A Los Angeles Times editorial was blunt, suggesting “What'...

From Iran to Nigeria, Cheap Oil Means Perilous Politics

Fareed Zakaria February 10, 2016
Oil producing nations were long warned to diversify economies. The abrupt fall of oil prices from more than $110 to less than $30 per barrel in the space of a few years is influencing politics and foreign policy. Fareed Zakaria points out that Iran entered serious negotiations for an agreement on ending its nuclear program in summer of 2013. “Iranian officials were predicting that by 2015, Iran’s...

Welcome to the Twenty-First Century

Joschka Fischer February 5, 2016
The world has many troubles including destabilized markets and low oil prices, high debt levels, terrorism and the ongoing refugee crisis for the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. The international order of the 20th century is shifting, and no suitable replacement is waiting in the wings. “Today, the Pax Americana that ensured a large degree of global stability has begun to fray – most...

The Sun Gets Brighter

T.N. Ninan February 3, 2016
Oil prices are dropping and so, too, are the capital costs of solar energy installations. “Solar power is now cheaper than what electricity would cost if based on either oil at $50 per barrel, or its coal equivalent – or for that matter liquefied natural gas,” writes T.N. Ninan for Business Standard. “Solar energy has become the new energy source in many countries in Africa and South America, and...