Asbury Park Press, March 28, 2001 Crowe on location in New Jersey BRAND-new Oscar winner Russell Crowe makes the leap from togas to triangles in his latest movie, "A Beautiful Mind," currently being filmed on and around the Princeton University campus. Crowe, who won the best actor award for "Gladiator," portrays John Nash, a mathematics professor who wins the Nobel Prize for his research at the college. At the time, Nash was struggling with schizophrenia. Filming began yesterday and is expected to continue through early next week. Ron Howard is directing.
The fuel cell's bumpy ride... Not long ago, dozens of people from around the world descended upon an idyllic country retreat in Canada for a most energetic pow-wow. ... They then strategised about how to move the energy world beyond the filthy but durable workhorses of today--fossil fuels and internal combustion engines. They agreed that the future belongs to fuel cells, which produce clean energy by combining hydrogen with oxygen without combustion. ...[they] were not wild-eyed greens, but sober technical experts from the world's biggest car companies, energy firms and research laboratories. Indeed, the whole shindig was organised by the new hydrogen division of BP, an oil giant. The reason for their enthusiasm was that, more than 150 years after its invention, the fuel cell is finally about to become a commercial reality. ... Already, it is clear that the electricity industry will be turned on its head by fuel-cell "micropower" units that are about to come on the market. Given the inadequacies of today's battery technology for such things as laptops and mobile phones, it seems likely that tiny fuel cells will transform the market for portable power, too. ... ...A new study by Dr Williams and Joan Ogden and Eric Larson, two colleagues at Princeton, suggests that, after the initial introduction, direct hydrogen fuel-cell cars will offer significantly lower costs and greater benefits to their users, as well as to society as a whole, than rival fuel-cell options. Unfortunately, the initial hurdle is so high that market forces alone may not spur the necessary investments. Dr Williams thinks the direct-to-hydrogen route will fail unless governments embrace zero-emission mandates like the Californian initiative. But if they do that, the Princeton group expects hydrogen fuel-cell cars to be successful. Within 20 years, they argue, the world could then enjoy extremely low vehicle emissions--and consumers would pay no more than they do today for transport. ...
New Scientist, March 24, 2001 Seeing the seeds of cancer An obscure quantum effect promises to revolutionise the way we screen for tumours. Eugenie Samuel reckons it might one day save her life ... Researchers are now testing a magnetic scanner that creates a strange quantum link between atomic nuclei in different parts of the body. The two linked nuclei act as one, synchronising their movements even if they are centimetres apart. But this strange behaviour only occurs when the tissue under scrutiny does not contain any abnormalities. This means that the quantum link can deliver vital information about any developing health problems. Clinical trials of the technique are already under way, promising to detect tumours earlier than ever before, and to tell malignant and benign tumours apart at a very early stage. Quantum effects used to be an odd abstraction, with little relevance to our daily existence. But one day soon, the weird nature of quantum physics might just save your life. The potential of this quantum imaging technique first came to light nearly a decade ago when a group of Princeton University researchers, led by chemist Warren Warren, uncovered a flaw in the 50-year-old theory of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This technology is currently considered the most sensitive way to screen for breast cancers, and is used as a follow-up when suspiciously dark areas of breast tissue show up on mammograms (see "Screen test"). ...
Earth Island Journal, March 22, 2001 The Quiet Campaign for Genetically Engineered Humans We are fast approaching the most consequential technological threshold in all of human history: the ability to directly manipulate the genes we pass on to our children. Development and use of these technologies would irrevocably change the nature of human life and human society. It would destabilize human biological identity and function. It would put into play a wholly unprecedented set of social, psychological and political forces that would feed back upon themselves with impacts quite beyond our ability to imagine, much less control. ... [An] application of genetic engineering changes the genes in eggs, sperm, or very early embryos. This affects not only any children you might have, but also all succeeding generations. It opens the door to the reconfiguration of the human species. The technical term for this application is "germline" genetic engineering (because eggs and sperm are the "germinal" or "germline" cells). Advocacy of germline engineering and techno-eugenics (i.e., technologically enabled human genetic manipulation and selection) is an integral element of a newly emerging socio-political ideology. This ideology is gaining acceptance among scientific, high-tech, media and policy elites. A key foundational text is the book Remaking Eden: How Cloning and Beyond Will Change the Human Family, by Princeton University molecular biologist Lee Silver. Silver looks forward to a future in which the health, appearance, personality, cognitive ability, sensory capacity and the lifespan of our children all become artifacts of genetic manipulation. Silver acknowledges that financial constraints will limit their widespread adoption, so that over time society will segregate into the "GenRich" and the "Naturals." ... |
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