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Biotech

Could Colorblindness Cure Be Morally Wrong? 981

Posted by timothy from the don't-forget-deaf-culture dept.
destinyland writes "One in 12 men suffers from colorblindness, though '[t]he good news here is that these folks are simply missing a patch of DNA ... which is just the kind of challenge this Millennium is made for. Enter science.' But NPR's Moira Gunn (from Biotech Nation) now asks a provocative question. Is it wrong to cure colorblindness? She reports on an experiment that used a virus to introduce corrective DNA into colorblind monkeys. ('It took 20 weeks, but eventually the monkeys started distinguishing between red and green.') Then she asks, could it be viewed differently? 'Are we trying to 'normalize' humans to a threshold of experience?'"

Comment Use an obnoxious name and password. (Score 1) 695

by chris_sawtell (#28179707) Attached to: Keeping a PC Personal At School?

Call your lappie some exotic female name so the login screen says Welcome to Linux on Samantha, or whoever

Tell the nuisances who want to use your computer that the guest login name is ROOTER

and the passphrase is "is going to catch AIDS"

That fact will get around the dorm. before you can say Jack, and you won't have any more problems.

Let us know if that doesn't work please.

Comment I am going from NZ to Europe in about 6 months. (Score 1) 1002

by chris_sawtell (#26311087) Attached to: Overzealous AirTran Boots 9 Passengers Off

I will attempt to avoid the whole of the airline industry if I possibly can, but if not, please be assured that there is absolutely no way whatsoever that I will be on a US aircraft or passing through US airspace. It's just too inconvenient, and frankly, dangerous.

Sorry folks, but the behaviour your government and its servants on the international scene is just the pits and I'd much prefer to put my travel dollars into a country which is actually a responsible member of the family of nations.

Comment Re:XP Linux MacOS (Score 1) 823

by chris_sawtell (#26232365) Attached to: Configuring a Windows PC For a Senior Citizen?

Daybot:: You must be Yet Another Opinionated and Ignorant Yankee who does not know that there are many English patois, of which yours is but one . There are more English speakers in the rest of the world than there are in the US. I assure your there is nothing whatsoever wrong with Domini's ability to spell. Didn't you notice the .za domain?

Comment Re:pop caps lock off (Score 1) 823

by chris_sawtell (#26232155) Attached to: Configuring a Windows PC For a Senior Citizen?

No! Re-map it to CTRL which is what it should be. At 66 I'm junior senior, and that mis-placement of the control key on the PC keyboard almost drove me insane.

And yes, my main current complaint about computers is that the text size is always too small, and fixing it always breaks the aesthetics of the window and desktop. Is it not possible for the box to be sized around the text? KUbuntu is as bad as all the rest in this regard.

Yes /. you are just as bad as all the others. Please oh please fix that.
Sci-Fi

Submission + - seti

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "Arecibo loses funding, may close by 2011. The New York Times (11/20, Chang) reported that the Arecibo radio telescope's annual budget has been "slashed to $8 million from $10.5 million," which will decrease the amount of time that the telescope is operational. "A quarter of its staff was laid off last year," and Arecibo, which is located in Puerto Rico, could possibly be completely closed in four years, according to the "National Science Foundation (NSF), which pays for the operation of the telescope." This comes after "a review panel for the foundation's astronomy division two years ago" suggested cutting Arecibo's financing by 25 percent as a way to pay for new facilities. There has been "[a]n outcry" in response to the "decision, particularly from planetary scientists" who argued that the panel "overlooked Arecibo's role in cataloging potential dangers from asteroids." The Times notes that in Arecibo's favor is the fact that it "may be much cheaper to keep...open" than dismantle, which "could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.""
Graphics

How To Request Better ATI Linux Support 192

Posted by kdawson from the worth-a-try dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Michael Larabel, the editor of Phoronix, has outlined some strategies for contacting ATI's customers (OEM/ODM/AIBs) to seek ATI Linux fglrx driver improvements. He opines that contacting ATI or AMD directly is the 'wrong approach.' He also states, 'I know for certain that at least one major OEM would like to see improved Linux support but is afraid that the Windows support would then be at risk.' Michael cites examples from the past where Lenovo had sought improved Linux display drivers, which resulted in several new features last year. He provides links to the feedback pages for a number of the vendors to whom ATI actually does listen."
Science

World's Largest Tropical Glacier Vanishing 462

Posted by Zonk from the no-rest-for-the-chilly dept.
Socguy wrote with a link to a CBC article about the rapidly disappearing Peruvian glacier known as the Quelccaya ice cap. The world's largest tropical glacier was a hot topic this past Thursday at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Glaciologist Lonnie Thompson, and a team of Ohio state scientists, produced the stunning news that Quelccaya and similar formations are melting at a rate of some 60 metres per year. While polar ice caps have commanded attention in the discussion of global warming to date, these tropical caps are crucial to the well-being of ecosystems relying on an influx of mountain stream fresh water.

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