Why Bill Gates Wants 3,000 New Patents - New York Times: "'EXCITING,' 'uninteresting' and 'not exciting' don't seem like technical terms. But they show up a lot in United States patent application No. 20,050,160,457, titled 'Annotating Programs for Automatic Summary Generation.' It seems to be about baseball. The inventors have apparently come up with software that can detect the portions of a baseball broadcast that contain what they call 'excited speech,' as well as hits (what I call 'excited ball') and automatically compile those portions into a highlights reel."

The Next 10 Years is not all "happy, happy, joy, joy" - there is a dark underbelly and patents that stifle innovation are a primary concern. While I don't view Microsoft as the Borg incarnate - a flood of trivial patents (adding and removing white space from documents) do amount to a company seeking hegemony.

Freedom to innovate is the what propels us to a better future - let's work to keep the innovative freedom alive.

Wired 12.02: John Sperling Wants You to Live Forever: "John Sperling Wants You to Live Forever - big dollars for optimal health research"

Extension of Life-Span by Introduction of Telomerase into Normal Human Cells -- Bodnar et al. 279 (5349): 349 -- Science: "Extension of Life-Span by Introduction of Telomerase into Normal Human Cells "

Wired News: Stem Cells Mend Spinal Cords: "Genetically engineered stem cells can help rats� severed spinal cords grow back together, according to a study published Tuesday.
Rats given the treatment, using stem cells taken from rat embryos, could move their legs again after their spines were severed in the lab, said the researchers� report in the Journal of Neuroscience."

Latest Physics News: "NEW SPINTRONIC SPEED RECORD. Spintronics is the science devoted to gaining greater control over digital information processing by exploiting electron spin along with electron charge in microcircuits. "

Surfaces have built-in "fingerprints" (July 2005) - News - PhysicsWeb: "The surfaces of most paper documents, plastic cards and cardboard packages contain unique 'fingerprints' that could be used to combat fraud, according to physicists in the UK. The fingerprint is contained in microscopic imperfections on the surface and can be read by a portable laser scanner. The results could eventually eliminate the need for expensive security measures -- such holograms, chips and special inks -- on passports, identity cards and pharmaceutical packaging "

The Australian: Scientists create working brain cells [ 28jul05 ]: "SWEDISH researchers have created new functioning brain cells from stem cells drawn from the brains of living adults, sparking hope that effective treatments for devastating illnesses like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's could be at hand, media reported overnight."

: "Quantum communication networks show great promise in becoming a highly secure communications system. By carrying information with photons or atoms, which are entangled so that the behavior of one affects the other, the network can easily detect any eavesdropper who tries to tap the system. "

U.S. to announce 'Beyond Kyoto' greenhouse pact - Yahoo! News: "CANBERRA (Reuters) - The world's top polluter, the United States, is set to unveil a pact to combat global warming by developing energy technology aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions, officials and diplomats said on Wednesday. "

InformationWeek > Supercomputing > Japan Plans World's Fastest Computer > July 26, 2005: "Japan wants to develop a supercomputer that can operate at 10 petaflops, or 10 quadrillion calculations per second, which is 73 times faster than the current top-ranked IBM's Blue Gene."

KurzweilAI.net: "Using nanoparticles, in vivo gene therapy activates brain stem cells

University at Buffalo scientists have delivered genes into the brains of living mice with no observable toxic effect.

scientists used gene-nanoparticle complexes to activate adult brain stem/progenitor cells in vivo, demonstrating that it may be possible to 'turn on' these otherwise idle cells as effective replacements for those destroyed by neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's.

In addition to delivering therapeutic genes to repair malfunctioning brain cells, the nanoparticles also provide promising models for studying the genetic mechanisms of brain disease.

The nanoparticles are constructed from hybrid, organically modified silica (ORMOSIL), which allowd for the development of an extensive library of tailored nanoparticles to target gene therapies for different tissues and cell types."

With a Push From the U.N., Water Reveals Its Secrets - New York Times: "Today, more than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Polluted water contributes, each year, to the death of about 15 million children under age 5. By midcentury, between two billion and seven billion people will face water shortages."

The CEO's Tech Toolbox: "But more than ever, loads of gadgets and new technologies can equip CEOs to deal with nearly every contingency, be it personal or business. And with all the tech firepower available -- from smart phones to software that can pinpoint a complex sales pattern that's otherwise imperceptible -- there are fewer excuses for being less than pitch-perfect in song or in business. "

The CEO's Tech Toolbox: "But more than ever, loads of gadgets and new technologies can equip CEOs to deal with nearly every contingency, be it personal or business. And with all the tech firepower available -- from smart phones to software that can pinpoint a complex sales pattern that's otherwise imperceptible -- there are fewer excuses for being less than pitch-perfect in song or in business. "

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