SCIENCE

Molecular Basis for Mozart Effect Revealed – [New Scientist] New research has revealed a molecular basis for the "Mozart effect" – the observation that a brief stint of Mozart, but not other music, may improve learning and memory.

Chemists Teaming to Develop Mars-Life Finder – [Spaceflight Now] The same cutting-edge technology that speeded sequencing of the human genome could, by the end of the decade, tell us once and for all whether life ever existed on Mars, according to a University of California, Berkeley, chemist.

Autism Link to Male Sex Hormones – [BBC] Autism may be linked to hormone levels circulating in the developing foetus, research suggests.

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Help Mend Broken Hearts – [BBC] Stem cell therapy might help repair ailing hearts, a clinical trial suggests.

Charred Remains May Be Earliest Human Fires – [New Scientist] Archaeologists in Israel may have unearthed the oldest evidence of fire use by our ancestors. The site, on the banks of the Jordan River, dates to about 790,000 years ago. There are older sites in Africa, but the evidence from these is much more hotly contested.

Spinach Pigments Proposed as Blindness Cure – [New Scientist] A truly extraordinary cure for some forms of blindness is being proposed. The idea is to add light-absorbing pigments from spinach to nerve cells in the retina, to make the nerve cells fire when struck by light.

NASA: Proposed Spaceship Would Be Propelled by Nuclear Fission – [Billings Gazette] To boost future spaceships to distant moons and planets, the Bush administration is turning to nuclear power, long a no-no for a nation nervous about anything to do with radioactivity.

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TECHNOLOGY

In Gadget-Loving Japan, Robots Give Hugs, Therapy – [CNN] The elderly patients suffer from severe dementia, but their faces light up when they see the dog-shaped robot, swaddled in soft clothing, waddle around the hospital floor. Some clap; others break into feeble smiles. Urged by nurses, a few cautiously reach out and touch it.

A ‘Perfect Storm’ Brewing in Robotics – [MSNBC] Researchers in robotics have traditionally faced two debilitating obstacles: terribly expensive parts and difficulty attracting funding from anyone outside of a small corps of true believers. But the field could be in line for a major jolt.

Boeing: Robot Plane Drops Bomb in Successful Test – [USA Today] A robotic plane deliberately dropped a bomb near a truck at Edwards Air Force Base, marking another step forward for technology the U.S. military hopes will one day replace human pilots on dangerous combat missions.

Search Engines Rise to Next Level – [Seattle Times] The mind-boggling speed and reach of Internet search engines mask a severe limitation: They are powered by words alone.

Coming Soon: Seat by Seat Subtitles – [New Scientist] Film subtitles that can be tailored to suit small sections of an audience could go on general release at the end of 2004. The system can produce on-screen subtitles for the whole audience, or can instead provide individuals with text on personal mini-screens that only they can see.

Particle Physicists Rescue Rare Vinyl Recordings – [New Scientist] Classic audio recordings preserved on a warped and damaged records could yet be rescued for future generations using an optical analysis technique originally developed to keep track of subatomic particles.

Robotic Bollards to Take Control – [BBC] Robotic bollards that can quickly move across a carriageway to close off lanes have been developed by US engineers.

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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Microsoft’s Long-Playing Business Record – [C|NET] The antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s activities lasted nearly half a decade, but by the time regulators finally came to a landmark conclusion, Microsoft had already established its position and the rival product was all but defunct.

Pop-Up Retail – [Trendwatching.com] If new products can come and go, why can’t the stores that display them do the same? Well, you guessed it, retail outlets increasingly do.

Business Goes Quantum – [Nature] One of the most secure methods of quantum cryptography has been used commercially – for a single transaction, at least. On 21 April, Austrian scientists used the technique to transfer a 3,000 (US$3,500) donation to their lab.

Web Sales of Songs Threaten Big Labels – [Baltimore Sun] A year after Apple Computer Inc. launched its iTunes Music Service, the online music industry is selling songs by the millions — and that may not bode well for the major record labels. Online services account for a fraction of overall music sales, but they’re growing rapidly.

Reebok Gets Anti-Sweatshop OK – [Nashua Telegraph] An anti-sweatshop group gave Reebok International its stamp of approval after it verified that the shoe and apparel maker had implemented standards protecting workers at its footwear factories around the world.

Barnes & Noble.com Fined for Customer Data Leak – [Internet News] New York-based online bookseller Barnes & Noble.com (Quote, Chart) has been slapped with a $60,000 fine after a flaw exposed sensitive customer data on its Web site.

Osaka Emerges as Japan’s Robotic Hub – [The Straits Times] Backed by thriving research into ‘next-gen’ robots, the city hopes to lure foreign firms to the industry.

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SOCIETY AND POLITICS

The Burden of Immortality: Slowing the Aging Process Gives Birth to Ethical, Sociological Questions – [SFGate] Scientific researchers and drug manufacturers envision a golden age in which men and women supplement their diets with "magic bullets" to slow the aging process and ward off a slew of age-related diseases.

Internet2 Used for File-Swapping – [ZDNet UK] A new file-trading network has sprung up on Internet2, the university network that offers researchers and students a way to communicate at blazing speeds while avoiding the ordinary Internet’s data traffic jams.

New Hacking Tool: Chocolate – [ZDNet] A survey of office workers in London found that almost three quarters would reveal their network-access password in exchange for a bar of chocolate.

Class Dismissed – [Mother Jones] Laid-off teachers, 40-child classes, axed electives, and pay-to-play sports:Is Oregon the future of public education in America?

Job Anxiety is Real — And It’s Global – [Carnegie Endowment for International Peace] Two changes in the past decade have produced a huge global oversupply of labor and intense competition for an expanding array of jobs. First, the Cold War’s end threw millions of workers, who formerly produced only for the socialist bloc, onto the global labor market. And second, that market has become integrated by technological change that now permits outsourcing of service as well as manufacturing jobs.

In the Pipeline – [The Economist] China’s economic boom has produced a growing hunger for energy that only foreign supplies can satisfy. Energy strategists in Beijing now see great promise in the former Soviet Union. Unfortunately, so too does China’s old rival, Japan.

China’s Might: Deterrent or Threat? – [New Perspectives Quarterly] The rearming of China, once billed as the most significant threat to United States power and world order, receded from world attention with the dual wars against terrorism and Iraq.

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ENVIRONMENT

Local Taboos Could Save the Seas – [New Scientist] The island nations of the south-western Pacific are considering allowing citizens to reclaim legal control of their local seas, in the hope they can use their traditional knowledge, customs and laws to protect fish stocks and biodiversity.

World’s Marine Life is Getting Sicker – [New Scientist] For years, apparent increases in illness among marine creatures, from whales to coral, have left marine scientists with the uneasy suspicion that the seas are increasingly plagued by disease. Now, US researchers have uncovered the first good evidence that they are right.

Technology Should Drive Global Warming Standards, Report Says – [SFGate] The technology already exists to cut vehicles’ greenhouse gases sharply as required by a precedent-setting California law, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Most Americans Live in Bad Smog Areas – [MSNBC] More than half the nation’s population lives in counties — many in California — with hazardous smog levels, according to a report released Thursday by the American Lung Association.

Eco-Friendly Construction Can Pay Off – [Houston Chronicle] In the Boston area, Genzyme Corp. has officially opened its $140 million, 300,000-square-foot headquarters. Construction has started on a $53 million, 160,000-square-foot science laboratory, the Biosquare Research Building D. Both are among a growing crop of "green" projects.

Global Warming Behind Soaring Child Asthma – [New Zealand Herald] Poor and minority children are likely to develop asthma at worsening rates due to global warming and air pollution, United States environment experts predict.

The Paper Chase – [Environmental Magazine] While many futurists predicted that we’d be enjoying the paperless office around this time, Americans are still at the epicenter of a paper blizzard. Were you under the impression that the electronic age would free us from all that? According to The Myth of the Paperless Office, a company’s use of e-mail causes an average 40 percent increase in paper consumption.

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THE FUTURE

Trading in a Cloud of Electrons – [Business Week] Futurist Paul Saffo talks about fundamental changes the Web has wrought in business and culture — and what’s next.