Obama Addresses Questions About Science

The British science journal Nature posed 18 questions related to science and policy to the two presidential candidates, but received written answers only from Democrat Barack Obama. Nature prints his answers, along with statements on the topics from Republican John McCain when they could be found from other sources. Among the issues, appointing a science advisor, how to address climate change, and what to teach children about evolution.

Google to Fund World-Saving Ideas

Google has announced a project to solicit ideas that can have a positive impact on humanity, and to fund those it deems most promising. The project, dubbed 10^100 (10 to the hundredth power), will dole out up to $10 million to the winning idea or ideas. As CNN reports, Google is open to any sort of idea that helps people in some way, from providing food and shelter to promoting clean energy.

Gluing the Internet to Everything

Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, says the next step in the online evolution is to “glue the Internet platform to the evolved client platform.” In other words, he tells Technology Review, he wants everything from desktop PCs to mobile phones to car dashboards to provide the same Web-based services.

Nanotech Could Help Fight Drug-Resistant Tumors

Cancers that grow resistant to drugs pose a problem for patients, but identifying the genes responsible for the resistance is offering scientists new ways to combat the problem. The Discovery Channel reports that one scientist at Pennsylvania State University is using basketball-shaped nanoparticles to target resistant cells. The particles carry small snippets of RNA that can turn off the genes, making the cells once again vulnerable to drugs.

Push Toward Hydrogen Cars Continues

Mass produced cars fueled by hydrogen will not be widely available to the public for at least 10 years, but automakers are increasing their efforts to develop the vehicles. The New York Times reports that Honda is planning to lease about 200 custom-made FCX Clarity cars in California over the next three years, and Shell and other companies are installing hydrogen fueling facilities at some gas stations. Other car companies are working on prototypes, but all are facing the chicken-and-egg problem of creating a market for the cars while building a fueling infrastructure to support it.

First U.S. Carbon Auction Held

A group of 10 Northeastern states is holding the first U.S. auction of rights for power plants to emit carbon dioxide. Reuters reports that the results of Thursday’s auction will be given to the bidders on Monday, and released to the public in October. The auction is offering 12 million permits to emit one ton of carbon per permit. Plants that cut emissions can sell their permits to other plants for a profit.

System Will Track Groups that Try to Help

There are plenty of organizations, both non-profit and for-profit, that strive to fight poverty and improve health around the world, but it can be hard for donors or investors to tell if they’re really doing any good. Now a group of foundations has come up with an online database, the Portfolio Data Management System, that focuses on these “social entrepreneurs” and tries to measure what they do. BusinessWeek reports that the idea is to provide for these private groups the same information regulatory filings provide for publicly traded companies.

Rhode Island Looks to Offshore Wind for Power

Rhode Island has selected a New Jersey firm, DeepwaterWind LLC, to build a wind farm off its coast. The Associated Press reports that the project, which will cost between $1 billion and $2 billion, could generate 15 percent of the state’s energy needs in the coming decade. If the project ultimately receives regulatory approval, it could be the first offshore wind farm in the United States.

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National Academy Advises Candidates on Science

The National Academy of Sciences has issued a report advising the presidential candidates on how to deal with science-related issues. According to Ars Technica, the NAS says that most major issues for government, including climate, healthcare, and intelligence gathering, have some science and technology components. The group is calling for the next president to appoint a personal science advisor in his early days in office.

Obama Reveals Science Advisors

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is right on top of the science advisor issue. The campaign told Wired that the candidate is getting science advice from five noted scientists, including Nobel laureates Harold Varmus and Peter Agre. The magazine says Republican nominee John McCain has ignored repeated requests to identify his science advisors.

Software Teases Out Campaign Spin

Obama is a master of political spin, while McCain gave it to them straight during his convention speech, according to a computer scientist who claims his software can detect spin in political speeches. New Scientist reports that David Skillicorn of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, has developed an algorithm to analyze word usage in a speech. Among his assumptions: “I” is more honest than “we” and action verbs tend to indicate greater levels of spin.

FDA Issues Rules on Genetically Altered Animals

The Food and Drug Administration is issuing regulatory guidelines on the genetic engineering of animals, which experts say should help spur development in a potentially huge field. The Washington Post says the rules will let biotech companies know what the FDA expects to know about the development of bioengineered animals, from which snippets of DNA are being inserted into their genome to what is done with their bodies when they die. Biotechnologists hope to improve animals for food, as well as use them to produce medically useful substances.

Rural America Lagging in Broadband Access

Individuals and businesses in rural parts of the country are stuck with slow dial-up connections to the Internet because access providers don’t find it economically feasible to provide broadband access in sparsely populated areas, BusinessWeek reports. Only 38 percent of households in rural America have high-speed Internet connections, compared to 57 percent in cities and 60 percent in suburbs. Now a group called Connected Nation is trying to boost broadband availability, following the model of old rural electrification programs.

U.S. Exports Harmful E-Waste, Report Finds

Your old computer monitor may be contributing to pollution in Asia, according to a report from the federal Government Accountability Office. The GAO report found that many U.S. electronics recyclers are shipping cathode ray tubes overseas in violation of Environmental Protection Agency rules, and that other potentially toxic electronic waste is not even regulated, PC World reports.

Chemists Promise Photosynthesis in Lab as Fuel Source

Chemists are working on an artificial version of photosynthesis that could be used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen, which could then be used to power fuel cells. Nature says they’re optimistic—one MIT professor guarantees he’ll have a device for cheaply producing hydrogen in less than five years. A cheap source of hydrogen could revolutionize energy supply the professor, Dan Nocera, claims.

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