gammaraybuster - Slashdot User

Submission + - Sun spot activity at a 1,000 year high

Submitted by Burnhard on Saturday June 30, 2007 @07:13PM

Burnhard writes: A new analysis shows that the Sun is more active now than it has been at anytime in the previous 1,000 years. Scientists based at the Institute for Astronomy in Zurich used ice cores from Greenland to construct a picture of our star's activity in the past. They say that over the last century the number of sunspots rose at the same time that the Earth's climate became steadily warmer.

Submission + - Google tries to sell ads by criticizing "Sicko (blogspot.com)

Submitted by KeepQuiet on Saturday June 30, 2007 @01:07PM

KeepQuiet writes: Philipp Lenssen noticed that Google Health Ad blog team posted a review to bash the new documentary, Sicko, of Michael Moore. It reads "With all the coverage, it's a shame no one focuses on the industry's numerous prescription programs, charity services, and philanthropy efforts." Lauren Turner then tells to health industry companies that "We can place text ads (...) within our ever-expanding content network. Whatever the problem, Google can act as a platform for educating the public and promoting your message."

Submission + - Earth Bacteria Hitch A Ride To The Stars

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09, 2007 @08:02AM

An anonymous reader writes: Space.com has an article on how old rocket stages are carrying bacteria from Earth to interstellar space. The four upper rocket stages were used to boost deep space probes Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Pioneer 10 and New Horizons. The spacecraft were sterilized, but the rocket stages were not, and they now carry the bacteria of the engineers who handled them. If the rocket stages hit a habitable planet, and the bacteria survive the journey, they would be able to reproduce and colonize the planet.

Submission + - In the UK: Genetic screening for superman?

Submitted by

Rmorph

on Wednesday May 09, 2007 @07:01AM

Rmorph writes: "This commentator wonders: How long before we start screening for blue eyes and blond hair?

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6634015.stm /]The BBC is reporting[/url] that the UK Human Fertility and Embryonic Authority has just upped the ante in the Genetic screening stakes — apparently backpedalling on their own rules in order to screen embryos for a "squint" (Previously it was determined that screening should only be used to avoid life threatening conditions).

Dr David King, a molecular biologist, and director of [url=http://www.hgalert.org/]Human Genetics Alert[/url] is quoted as saying "The HFEA has ignored public opinion and has ignored its own rules which say that PGD should only be allowed for serious medical conditions."

Have the floodgates just opened towards for the push to genetically superior humans?

It begs the question, that slashdotters may be able to answer: given that the UK's HFEA is a self-regulating body, what is the situation like elsewhere in the world, where even self-regulation may not be in force? Japan? Russia?
Are there countries where the search for Superbabys has already begun in earnest?"

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