zCyl - Slashdot User

Submission + - Owner of MySpace sued by families of abused girls

Submitted by

shawnmyers

on Thursday January 18, 2007 @11:18PM

shawnmyers writes: "The Fort Worth Star Telegram is reporting that Four families have sued News Corp. and its MySpace social-networking site after their underage daughters were sexually abused by adults they met on the site, lawyers for the families said Thursday. The law firms — Barry & Loewy LLP of Austin, and Arnold & Itkin LLP of Houston — said families from New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and South Carolina filed separate suits Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging negligence, recklessness, fraud and negligent misrepresentation by the companies. "In our view, MySpace waited entirely too long to attempt to institute meaningful security measures that effectively increase the safety of their underage users," said Jason A. Itkin, an Arnold & Itkin lawyer. ++++ Of course I am sure that Myspace's view, is that the parents waited entirely too long to attempt to institute meaningful security measures that effectively increase the safety of their underage users."

Submission + - New Unpatented Cancer Drug

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 18, 2007 @08:56PM

An anonymous reader writes: New Scientist is running a story about a new cancer drug that activates cell death in cancer tumors by activating cell apoptosis (the process in which cells die) by turning on the mitochondria normally inactive in cancer cells. Interestingly the drugs used in this treatment have been used for years to treat rare metabolic disorders, so they aren't covered by any existing patents. This might slow down their development, but raises hopes about relatively cheap drugs to combat many different forms of cancer. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10971?DCMP=N LC-nletter&nsref=dn10971

Journal Journal: Army Establishes Psyops Branch 3

Journal by Philip K Dickhead on Thursday January 18, 2007 @07:36PM

"Effective 16 October 2006, Psychological Operations was established as a basic branch of the Army, pursuant to the authority of Section 3063(a)(13), Title 10, United States Code."

That is the substance of General Order 30 (pdf) issued by Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey on January 12, 2007.

Submission + - Terror suspect to be trialed by coerced testimony

Submitted by on Thursday January 18, 2007 @05:32PM

An anonymous reader writes: From Sydney Morning Herald, it seems that the "US Defence Department has drafted a manual for trying detainees at the Guantanamo Bay jail that would allow terror suspects to be imprisoned, convicted and executed on the basis of hearsay evidence or coerced testimony". Is this the way democracy should work? Isn't it hypocritical?

Submission + - The birth of quantum biology

Submitted by

Roland Piquepaille

on Thursday January 18, 2007 @02:29PM

Roland Piquepaille writes: "Just when you finally have grasped the concept of quantum mechanics, it's time to wake up and to see the arrival of a nascent field named quantum biology. This is the scientific study of biological processes in terms of quantum mechanics and it uses today's high-performance computers to precisely model these processes. And this is what researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) are doing, using powerful computer models to reveal biological mechanisms. Right now, they're working on a "nanoswitch" that might be used for a variety of applications, such as targeted drug delivery to sensors. Read more for additional references and a picture showing how a protein could be used as a nanoswitch."

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