105166
story
eldavojohn writes
"It might be an uncomfortable subject but parasites are an interesting subject when it comes to evolution. Ever wonder if pocket gophers have lice? Well, they do. And most interesting of all is the evolution of these lice mirroring the evolution of gophers. To study the genes of lice may shed just as much light on evolutionary trees as studying the genes of the actual host the lice has evolved to. The most unsettling result from these studies is that human head lice and human pubic lice (crabs) vary so greatly that they are in two separate genera. There were similarities between our pubic lice and the lice found on gorillas. Scientists came to the conclusion, which they published today in BMC Biology, is just as striking as their earlier one about head lice. But it is hardly the same. We did not get pubic lice from other hominids. We got them from the ancestors of gorillas."
100284
submission
fermion writes:
In the continuing story of corporations attempting to reform education, High Tech High in Redwood City has been shut down two years into a five year project, leaving bewildered parent and students behind. I guess this shows that educating the masses is not as simple as running a corporation. The threat of layoff cannot be used to bring unmotivated kids into line. The pipe dream of stock options cannot be used in place of genuine concern for the child. And the scores on standardized test cannot be fabricated as easily as the numbers in an SEC filing. As much as the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation wants to do good, they and others in the corporate world must discover that educating the populous is not a activity that will bend toward the standard corporate buzz words.
100270
submission
jon_anderson_ca writes:
The CBC reports:
Opposition parties banded together Tuesday to defeat a controversial Conservative proposal to extend two anti-terrorism measures contained in the Criminal Code.
It should be noted that neither of these measures, put in place in December 2001, were ever used.
100212
submission
MilwaukeeCharlie writes:
CIO Magazine is reporting some buzz about Firefox 3.0, due to be released later this year.
Some of the likely new features include:
- Offline support for web apps
- New paradigm for "bookmarks" and "history"
- Built-in database (SQL Lite), used for full-text indexing of the cache
- Support for Javascript 2
100200
submission
daria42 writes:
Ubuntu developers are finalising preparations for the release of the next version — dubbed Feisty Fawn — of the popular Linux distribution in mid-April. Overnight, Ubuntu developer Tollef Fog Heen announced Ubuntu's main software repository had been frozen — with no changes allowed to the code — as developers got ready to issue a fifth major test version ("Herd 5") of the next version of Ubuntu.
100166
submission
daria42 writes:
The battle to control the virtualisation market has heated up with the launch of a white paper from VMware, which accuses Microsoft of anti-competitive practices. In language reminiscent of Microsoft's anti-trust battles in the US and its ongoing struggle with the European Union, VMware claimed that the software giant is "forcing [its] specifications and APIs on the industry", and "trying to restrict customers' flexibility and freedom to choose virtualisation software".
