science / Top Stories
Winner in Contest Involving Space ElevatorPassenger and cargo travel up and down a 60,000-mile cable is still decades in the future.
New York Times Saturday, November 07, 2009Are drugs laws working? Ask a scientistIt's pleasing to see, in the storm of commentary over Professor David Nutt's sacking as the government's chief drugs adviser, that everyone outside politics now recognises the importance of scientific evidence in devising laws. But a strange reasoning twitch has appeared, in the arguments of politicians and rightwing commentators. Science can tell us about the molecules, they say, about their effect on the body and the risks. But policy is separate: a matter for judgment calls on social and ethical issues. Only politicians, they say, can determine the correct way to send out a clear message to the public. It is not a matter for science.This is wrong. Alongside research into the risks of drugs, lots of work has also been done on the deterrent impact of different laws, classifications and levels of enforcement. As every piece of research has its own imperfections (and nobody has yet conducted a randomised controlled trial on drugs policy) you can make your own mind up about whether you f
Guardian Saturday, November 07, 2009The Dad's Army of British cryonicsIn sleepy Sussex is a group of dedicated cryonicists who believe they hold the secret to eternal life. Simon Hattenstone joins them for a demonstration - but first they need to make sure the hosepipe isn't too leakyIn a bungalow in Peacehaven, by the east Sussex seaside, a 72-year-old man and his 62-year-old wife are planning their future. There's no discussion of anything morbid, like death, because, as far as they are concerned there is no such thing as death. When they stop breathing, they will pass into a state of suspended animation. They will be frozen in a giant flask of liquid nitrogen at almost -200C, which will preserve their brains and organs in as fresh a state as possible until technology has advanced to the stage where they can be revived.Many cryonicists choose to have only their heads frozen - because that contains all the vital matter - and by the time people can be brought back to life it will be easier, and preferable for some, to attach a new body. But Ala
Guardian Saturday, November 07, 2009Patient Money: In Anxious Times, Medical Help for the Mind as Well as the BodyA new law requires that next year big group plans provide the same level of care for mental health as for medical ones.
International Herald Tribune Saturday, November 07, 2009Official Endorses Workplace Clinics for Vaccine DistributionThe official said swine flu vaccine should be distributed through many outlets, to get it to high-risk people quickly.
International Herald Tribune Saturday, November 07, 2009Regarding Tamiflu, Doctors and Patients Face a Question of When to ActThere has been some confusion among doctors about whether to prescribe the antiviral drug Tamiflu for less severe cases.
International Herald Tribune Saturday, November 07, 2009Seattle team wins $900,000 in Space Elevator GamesLOS ANGELES -- A Seattle team has collected a $900,000 prize in a NASA-backed competition to develop the concept of an elevator to space - an idea spurred by science fiction novels.
Seattle Post Intelligencer Saturday, November 07, 2009Prized mushroom collection returns to ChinaBEIJING -- A Chinese scholar persecuted during the Cultural Revolution for smuggling a rare collection of mushrooms out of China before World War II was honored Saturday when the collection was returned more than 70 years later.
Seattle Post Intelligencer Saturday, November 07, 2009West African Giraffes Defy ExtinctionNumbering Only 50 in 1996, Niger Subspecies of Giraffe Swells to 200 Today Thanks to Conservation Efforts
CBS News Saturday, November 07, 2009Law change call for space flightA law
change is needed before Scotland can be considered as a launch site for commercial space flights, Virgin Galactic says.
BBC Saturday, November 07, 2009 1 2
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