The Senate just agreed to end debate on the financial regulatory reform bill, 60 to 40. Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined the Democrats in voting for the measure; Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Russ Feingold (D-Mich.) chose to vote against the measure. (Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) returned from his home state to vote with the yeas.)
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has promised votes on “germane” amendments this afternoon — including Sen. Sam Brownback’s (R-Ky.) amendment exempting auto dealers from Consumer Financial Protection Agency rulings, and Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Carl Levin’s (D-Mich.) secondary amendment to it, imposing the Volcker Rule banning proprietary trading at federally insured banks.
Reid said on the floor that “in the best of all worlds” the final vote on Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) bill would come today. A number of major amendments remain in flux, and it is not clear what changes will be made in conference committee, where the House and Senate regulatory reform bills will be merged.
While it has been known for some time that cruciferous vegetables are cancer fighters, scientists have been working to find which compound actually does the work. This has lead to the discovery of several different compounds and their effects on cancer cells.
In the current study, published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, the compound investigated is one called sulforaphane, extracted from broccoli and broccoli sprouts. The researchers found that, in both cell cultures and rodents, sulforaphane targeted and killed cancer stem cells and prevented new tumours from starting. They believe this may be an effective means of treating or preventing breast cancer.
These researchers believe that working on the cancer stem cells is the key when it comes to controlling cancer. The authors report that recent studies have built evidence toward the theory that many cancers are actually driven and sustained by a relatively small proportion of cancer stem cells.
“This research suggests a potential new treatment that could be combined with other compounds to target breast cancer stem cells. Developing treatments that effectively target the cancer stem cell population is essential for improving outcomes,” said Dr Max Wicha, lead researcher for the study.
Think electric cars are great? Well, they’ve been great for the better part of a century now — a fact that most people seem to be unaware of. Before Big Oil got its greasy paws in a death-lock stranglehold around our puny little necks, electric cars were the way of the future. Everyone from Ferdinand Porsche to your garden variety backyard inventor saw the simple beauty of the electric drivetrain.
Witness the above 1920 Milburn as a great example of this. While doing a bit of lazy Internet surfing last weekend, I stumbled upon a post over at Plugin Recharge! highlighting this beauty of an antique car with features that would be considered modern even by today’s standards.
Climatewire: The nuclear industry has found some environmental allies to sell it to utilities.
At the Nuclear Energy Institute conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, environmentalists and progressives pitched in to dismiss lingering fears about safety. The industry, on the verge of building its first new plants in the country in 30 years thanks to federal support, also fared well in the new bill by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), which includes tax incentives, expanded regulatory risk insurance, a $54 billion loan guarantee fund and an expedited licensing process (E&E Daily, May 13).
There’s no more Three Mile Island; no one’s lost their life to nuclear,” said Progressive Policy Institute President Will Marshall. “Nuclear energy’s been decoupled from the nuclear arms race. And now we have climate change.”
“There’s a cognitive dissonance in the progressive and environmental community around people’s desire to see action to slow global warming and the reality that renewable fuels are pretty far off in the future in terms of their ability to displace baseload generation now,” Marshall added.
Stewart Brand, author of the 1968 counterculture classic “Whole Earth Catalog” and the new “Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto,” explained his conversion in a worldwide context.
Environmentalists would much rather see China resorting to nuclear instead of coal-fired power to fill its exploding demand, he said. “Poverty is green,” he said. “The five-sixths of us who are getting out of poverty are getting out of a low-material lifestyle and using more material. Any person who wants to hold them back will be sorely disappointed.”
Brand also prophesied that mainstream environmental groups would soon follow his lead. While groups like the Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund “cannot suddenly say they are for nuclear because they’ll lose two-thirds of their membership, there is movement.”
Brand claimed that since former Greenpeace leader Patrick Moore began working with NEI in 2007, Greenpeace itself has toned down its anti-nuclear rhetoric.
“It’s not pro-nuclear, but it’s backing off of being anti-nuclear,” he said.
No new nuclear possible in Calif., PG&E responds
At least one utility official urged restraint. Peter Darbee, CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric, pointed out that California has two strikes against nuclear: a law prohibiting any new plants until the construction of a permanent waste repository, and a loading order for utilities that prioritizes energy efficiency and renewables over conventional energy resources.
“California is a very heterogenous environment,” he said. “Let’s move ahead with nuclear in those areas where there’s uniform support for it. Let’s begin in areas where there’s the least resistance and have a successful experience.”
“If the legislation changed and we had a good track record, we’d look at nuclear, but I think that’s some years down the road,” he added. “Given the order they’ve laid out and the companies that have jumped out to take a look at nuclear, let them move ahead and demonstrate that we in America can do this and do this well.”
Brand responded with a call for optimism. “Jerry Brown’s probably going to be governor again,” he said of the California Democratic gubernatorial candidate, currently the state’s attorney general. “He’s got an open mind about nuclear. Pretty soon we should be able to go to governors and say, ‘Let’s do it all. Nuclear, hydrogen, plug-ins, small and barge-mounted reactors.’”
He dismissed concerns of nuclear weapons proliferation and radioactive waste disposal.
Dry cask storage is “a pretty good place to keep the stuff for 50 to 100 years while we think about it, whether to reprocess it or use it in fourth-generation plants,” he said, referring to on-site, cement-encased storage. As for permanent storage, he advocated a deep-underground repository like the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the site 2,150 feet underneath the New Mexico desert that has been storing medium-level radioactive waste since 2004.
“When you’re done, you pour some concrete on top of the whole mess and walk away,” he said. “Any idiot who wants to dig down 3 miles in the future is welcome to any messes they might encounter.”
Ford Mondeo facelift spy shots – Click above for high-res image gallery
Earlier this year, we reported that Ford will be giving its European-market Mondeo a slight facelift in order to keep things fresh until the all-new global Fusion/Mondeo replacement arrives around 2014. The next-generation car, reportedly being developed in America as you read this, will be practically the same in all markets, building on the automaker’s “One Ford” global product strategy. We’ve already seen the first implementations of this in the 2011 Fiesta and 2012 Focus, so we have relatively high hopes about what the next-gen Fusion/Mondeo will have in store.
In the meantime, our spies have caught a mostly uncovered Mondeo prototype hanging out near Der Nürburgring, sporting revised headlamps and a trapezoidal lower grille, much like what we’ve already seen on the new Focus. Out back, revised taillamps (possibly with LEDs) are on hand, showing that Ford’s new C-segment stunner has had a lot of influence on the sedan’s rear, as well. Our spies indicate that the revised Mondeo will share many of its powertrains with the new Focus, including new EcoBoost offerings. Expect the production model to make its official debut later this year at the Paris Motor Show.
One of the plagues of using Google’s Android platform was the inability to install Android apps and games to the SD Card versus internal memory storage; with the official announcement of Android 2.2 this feature will come standard. By default, apps will continue to be installed on internal memory storage, however a quick visit to the list of applications in the Settings menu offers one touch to move the app to SD Card. Thus they are playable just fine from the SD Card. Now user storage for apps and games will only be limited to the storage of the SD Card purchased.
Having debuted in Japan in 1997 and introduced to the rest of the world in 2001, the Toyota Prius came to dominate the segment, even though it wasn’t the first hybrid to be mass-produced. Available for sale in 40 countries and regions with the largest markets being Japan and North America, total units moved stands in excess of 1.6 million units, with the 1 million unit mark having been surpassed in May of 2008.
Given the massive success of its predecessor, the 2010 (and most noted) Prius, came to market amidst the high expectations of consumers, critics, and the media. In lieu of incorporating new technologies such as a lithium-ion battery pack or plug-in capability however, Toyota decided to focus on more subtle changes in design, and increases in power and fuel-efficiency.
Make the jump to read more and to view our high-res image gallery (at the bottom of the post).
Review: 2010 Toyota Prius:
2010 Toyota Prius Specifications:
Base Price: $22,800.
Price as Tested: $31,360.
Engine: 1.8L 4-cylinder – 98-hp / 105lb-ft of torque. Total output with hybrid system – 134- hp.
Our main gripe with the exterior design is that it still strikes an uncanny resemblance to a cheese-wedge, as was the case with the previous generation model. Though it may seem that automakers love awkward and unattractive designs when it comes to hybrid and electric vehicles, they serve primarily to maximize efficiency and fuel-economy through enhanced aerodynamics. This is especially evident in the new design; it is more aerodynamic than its predecessors, reducing the drag coefficient to 0.25 Cd. An underbody rear fin also serves to stabilize the car when traveling at higher speeds.
The new vehicle is bigger in all dimensions and lacks the horizontal bar across the rear window that had posed visibility issues in the previous generation’s design.
Although the car sits at the same overall height as the previous Prius, the roof profile has been altered by way of an adjustment which moves the roof-top back 3.9 inches. This further emphasizes the cheese-wedge-like design, but is tremendous for aerodynamics. While the wheelbase retains its dimensions, the overall length of the car is increased by 0.6 inches, largely in part due to the front cowl being moved forward.
The most notable changes however, come in the form of the new grille and headlamps that are included in the augmented front fascia.
While the Prius is certainly not the best looking hybrid on the road, in keeping its distinctive shape, it still seems to attract tree-huggers and those who wish to garner the tree-hugger image. Oh and it still stands popular with those Hollywood actors that want to portray the “I care about mother nature” image.
Review: 2010 Toyota Prius
Interior:
Powertrain aside, the most significant changes to the 2010 Prius are on the vehicle’s interior. The new design provides for a much more quiet, roomy, and better equipped interior featuring advanced standard and optional features such as a solar-paneled moonroof, four driving modes, Intelligent Parking Assist (IPA) and steering wheel touch controls with instrument panel display.
One of the most blatant design changes you will notice is the relocation of the hybrid energy display and fuel-economy bar graph to the top of the dash. The smaller and less-colorful display makes it somewhat cumbersome to view information; even more so when you factor in the fact that your eyes must be diverted from the road and to the center of the dash to view your driving statistics.
We tested out the Prius IV (available in II, III, IV and V), which included leather seats, navigation, JBL audio system, Bluetooth connectivity, back-up camera, and the really interesting solar-roof option. The system employs the use of an electric fan to draw air from the outside, into, through, and back out of the cabin as the cabin temperature reaches 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The cabin temperature is lowered to be consistent with the exterior, so that reentering the vehicle is more comfortable.
All in all, the 2010 Prius offers a much more refined, comfortable, and ergonomic design than that of generations past. The available features and higher quality of materials contribute to an overall feeling of great comfort. Our only real bone to pick with the interior is with the driver-seat; it is impossible to find a comfortable driving position in this car, and while the tilt/telescoping steering wheel contribute to diver comfort, it’s still not perfect.
Notable interior features on the 2010 Prius include; remote keyless entry system with Push Button Start, 60/40 split rear bench seat with adjustable headrests, and Lane Keep Assist; a feature which detects lane markers of certain roads and tightens torque on the steering wheel to keep the car centered, and emits a warning tone to alert the driver.
Review: 2010 Toyota Prius
Performance:
Toyota says that the patented Hybrid Synergy Drive system employed in the current generation Prius is 90% newly developed, offering significant improvement over previous models. The lighter transaxle reduces torque losses by as much as 20% over previous models, and the inverter has a new direct cooling system that not only reduces size, but also weight. When taken together, the transaxle, inverter, and motor are 20% lighter than before.
The ’10 Toyota Prius derives its power from a 1.8 liter 4-cylinder engine with VVT-i that produces 98-hp and a maximum torque of 105lb-ft. That engine comes mated to two electric-motors which when working together, combine for a net output of 134- hp, a 24 hp improvement over last year.
Despite this added power, fuel-economy has improved. With the outgoing model garnering an EPA-certified rating of 46 mpg, the incoming model is rated at 50 mpg. During our test drive, we averaged 49 mpg.
Review: 2010 Toyota Prius
One major feature of the Prius is EV-Drive mode, which allows you to drive solely on battery power during lower speeds for approximately 1 mile. However, that means you’ll have to accelerate really slow and drive even slower, which might end up bothering drivers behind you.
Sooner or later, you’ll find yourself late to work or a date and that’s where the Prius’s Power Button comes in handy; One press of the Power Mode button will increase sensitivity to the throttle input to provide for sportier drive. 0-60 mph in the Prius comes in 9.8 seconds with a top speed of 112 mph; compared to 103 mph on the previous version.
The last mode, Eco Mode (a mode we never recommend using unless you want to be completely bored with life), is designed to help you achieve the best fuel-economy during your trip.
Though nothing is a substitute for a standard gasoline powered car, the new engine and hybrid system is much quieter and much more refined than in the past. The car also feels more stable and more secure than previous generations and its current rival, the 2010 Honda Insight.
Review: 2010 Toyota Prius
Overall:
Does the 2010 Prius still deserve to hold the crown? Absolutely. MSRP starts at $22,800 for the Prius II and ranges all the way up to $28,070 for the Prius V. While this may be a slight premium over the price of the Honda Insight (starting MSRP $19,800) the Prius leads in fuel-economy (the Insight gets an EPA rated 40/43 mpg), performance, and general bang-for-the-buck. The car has many positives, except the cheese-wedge design.
Though Google TV was cool (when it worked), the big news of the day was the official announcement of Android 2.2, also known as “Froyo.” Featuring some cool changes across the platform, the Android 2.2 SDK is available now, with retail availability sometime in the future.
Among the improvements:
External storage for applications. Finally, Google announced the upcoming availability of external storage for applications. Barring the Incredible and its built-in 8 GB of storage, app storage has always been an Achilles’ heel in the Android platform.
OTA application installation. This is just cool. Instead of perusing through the Android Market on the phone, you can do so from your computer, and click a button to initiate an OTA download to your phone.
iTunes streaming. Google purchased Simplify Media, a company that pushes iTunes content to your phone. If the demo was any indication, the application is quite nice – simply open and click “all” to stream the songs to your device.
“Cloud to device messaging.” If you’re using Chrome on your computer, and you need a map, you can send it to your phone and it will automatically pop up in Google Maps. No text message directions – it’s the real deal.
Changes in updating of apps. Android 2.2 adds the option of updating all apps in one swoop versus individually. Additionally, Froyo adds the ability to have your apps update automatically.
Just-in-time compiler. Makes the device much faster – two to five times faster, to be exact.
Check out the official Google video below for a great rundown of the new features in Android 2.2!
Greenwire: A large rotating cyclone of cold water is pushing into the southern body of the Gulf of Mexico’s Loop Current and now appears likely to destabilize or even sever the current and the oil it contains from its connection to Florida, scientists said today.
While the BP PLC oil spill has begun to enter the current, a powerful stream that could transport a small part of the slick to the Florida Keys in about a week, there are also signs that less oil — at least on the surface — has taken the turn south that was feared.
Over the past weeks, small ocean flows spinning off the body of the Loop Current, known as cyclones or eddies, have pushed and prodded the Gulf slick. In particular, one counterclockwise eddy east of the oil’s main body has determinedly dragged the crude toward the main current, resulting in its current entrainment (Greenwire, May 18).
However, imagery today has shown that, while filaments of oil have escaped into the current, “the main pool of oil is remaining up there in the eddy” and not progressing south, said Mitch Roffer, an oceanographer at the scientific consulting firm ROFFS.
More importantly, Roffer said, satellite shots this morning showed that an eddy farther south along the Florida coast is expanding in size and strength. That cyclone appears likely to destabilize or even sever the Loop Current, greatly reducing the oil threat to the Florida Keys and beyond, he said.
“If it forms, it’s going to pull a lot of the oil away from Florida,” Roffer said. There are no guarantees, he added, “but it looks very likely that this is forming.”
Such a beheading is common to the current, which becomes more unstable as it pushes deeper into the Gulf of Mexico. Typically, a forceful counterclockwise cyclone near southwest Florida “punches through the Loop Current,” severing the flow from its connection to the Atlantic, said Nan Walker, the director of the Earth Scan Lab at Louisiana State University’s School of the Coast and Environment.
“It looks like that kind of scenario is imminent,” Walker said.
After a severing, the warm rotating water of the Loop Current’s head — called a “ring” — begins to flow west toward Texas. But the ring can dawdle, too, and sometimes reattaches with the main current. Such fluctuations defy forecasting and remain an active area of research (Greenwire, May 5).
“At this stage, it’s a watch and waiting game,” Walker said.
Loop rings tend to survive for about six months as they drift toward Texas, said Frank Muller-Karger, a professor of biological oceanography at the University of South Florida. Scientists have little idea how much oil could be captured by such a ring and pulled westward.
Even if the large southeastern eddy does not sever the current, it could capture oil that would have otherwise made its way to the Florida Keys, said Villy Kourafalou, a Gulf of Mexico modeler at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
‘Impossible to predict’
It is too soon for East Coast residents to breathe a sigh of relief, however. Oil is still bobbing 120 miles off Tampa’s coast, captured in the northern eddy, and before the Loop Current expires — if it does — it could still surge north and entrain more of the oil, Walker said. Or it could be caught in a ring and flow westward.
The oil tendrils — which federal officials have called a “sheen” — are extremely visible on satellite imagery, suggesting to Walker that there is heavier oil present in the northern eddy than has been suggested. The government may be employing some “wishful thinking” when they call it a sheen, she said.
Also, there is little certainty about how much oil has been captured by the Loop Current in deeper waters. Since much of the oil has been broken up by dispersants and is unlikely to reach the surface, it will tend to spread sideways through the Gulf, Muller-Karger said.
“Just the same we see at the surface, where the oil is being entrained into the Loop Current, I can imagine that the same thing is happening at depth, that oil is being entrained and moving around and spreading with these currents,” he said. “Now what the impact is? It’s impossible to predict.”
“Based on the size of the plume and the estimates that we’re hearing of what is being injected at the bottom, this is a very large problem,” Muller-Karger added.
The deep ocean is not a complete unknown, and oceanographers are working with the government to model how the oil may be spreading, Kourafalou said.
“We know that there are counterflows and counter-rotating eddies … and we know that circulation is much slower,” she said. “Some data sets exist and have allowed the study of basic underlying dynamics. What does not exist is a comprehensive, sustained, observational system.”
While the Loop Current may be headed toward a severing, that will not stop oil from slowly spreading across the Gulf, especially when the hurricanes begin to hit, Walker said. Some of the oil is almost certain to affect countries like Cuba and Mexico, Muller-Karger added.
“This is a problem,” he said, “that we’ll have to deal with for years, as opposed to months.”
Cynthia Nixon — Sex And The City’s resident gay — has a bone to pick with Newsweek over a controversial article that question homosexuals’ ability to play straight characters.
Openly gay columnist Ramin Setoodeh has been under fire from the acting community after he singled out Glee star Jonathan Groff and Will & Grace’s Sean Hayes — currently nominated for a Tony for his performance in Broadway’s Promises, Promises — for portraying straight men in an article published earlier this month.
Nixon, who is engaged to her girlfriend Christine Marinoni, argues that Setoodeh’s “cruel” comments is a step back for gay rights.
“I think it’s horrible, I think it’s so horrible. And I think it’s really, really terrific that there has been such an enormous response and so much back and forth and discussion about it and people trying to explain to this gentleman why they’re so upset about what he wrote,” SATC’s Miranda Hobbs told MTV.com.
“I just feel like it’s hard enough to encourage people to come out of the closet like it’s not going to damage their careers. It’s not even like he’s just negative, he’s making fun of people in a really cruel way. It’s really set us back ten years.”
Noah gets an Evo 4G at Google I/O 2010 and unboxes it. America’s first WiMax phone runs Android with HTC Sense and is on Sprint – $199 on contract, available June 4.
There’s plenty to get excited about in Android 2.2 AKA Froyo, but HTC offered some not very surprising reassurance to people who bought their most recent handsets, including the Droid Incredible, the EVO, the Desire, or, soon, the myTouch Slide—you will probably get Froyo! Android Central reached out to HTC and got this response: More »
[JURIST] A petition was filed in a Pakistani court Wednesday challenging the pardon [JURIST report] of Interior Minister Rehman Malik [official profile] by President Asif Ali Zardari [official website]. The challenge alleges that under Article 45 of the Pakistan Constitution [text], presidential pardons can only be sought after all other legal remedies have been exhausted. Zardari issued the pardon on Tuesday after the Lahore High Court refused to throw out Malik’s 2004 conviction. Malik was not present in Pakistan when he was convicted and sentenced to serve three years in prison. Last December, a Pakistani court issued an arrest warrant [JURIST report] for Malik related to the corruption charges after the Supreme Court [official website] struck down an amnesty order [JURIST report] that would have granted him immunity. The Supreme Court ruled [order, PDF] that the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) [text], which granted immunity to Zardari and 8,000 other government officials, was unconstitutional.
The court began hearing [JURIST report] the legal challenge to the NRO late last year. The NRO was signed [JURIST report] by former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] in 2007 as part of a power-sharing accord allowing former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto [BBC profile] to return to the country despite corruption charges [JURIST report] she had faced. The ordinance also applies to similar charges against politicians who were charged but not convicted of corruption between 1988 and 1999.
In the few short weeks since her nomination to the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan has been transformed from a relatively-obscure political figure into practically a household name. And rightfully so. Supreme Court Justices have more of an impact on American life than most other people serving in our nation’s government, largely because they serve lifetime appointments. And being a Supreme Court Justice an achievement and an honor that only 111 other Americans–only three of them women– have ever obtained.
At first, there was one. One rumor to rule them all. According to this rumor, the myTouch Slide would be hitting store shelves on June 2nd.
And then.. another was born. The sky darkened and the sun fell black; according to this second rumor, the myTouch Slide would be reaching stores not on June 2nd, but June 16th.
Turns out, they’re both sort-of-right. Hurray!
T-Mo has just officially announced that the myTouch’s QWERTY-packin’ brother, the myTouch 3G slide, will be launching at T-Mobile stores, t-mobile.com, and a handful of authorized dealers on June 2nd. Come June 16th, it’ll be made available at all of the dealers/outlets that didn’t get in on the first run, with T-Mo firing up a marketing campaign focusing on the device at that time.
As predicted, the Slide will come in three colors: Black, White, or Red. Props to T-mobile for not dubbing these colors “Ghostly White”, “Butt-spank Red” or any of those other nonsense names generally associated with hue variants. Expect to drop $229.99 out the door, with a $50 mail-in rebate bringing the final price down to $179.99 on a 2-year contract.
Bill Gross, the co-chief investment officer of Pimco and manager of the firm’s Total Return Fund, told Reuters that “fiscal tightening momentum” is increasing in almost every corner of the world.
That comes as financial markets are exhibiting “a mini-relapse of a flight to liquidity as hedge funds and other leveraged positions are liquidated to preserve capital,” Gross said.
When Walgreens, the nation’s biggest drugstore chain, announced last week that personal genomics tests would join diet soda and pregnancy tests in its aisles, we gave some reasons that might not be such a great thing. We weren’t the only ones concerned: The Food and Drug Administration said it would investigate the tests, and now Congress is involved. It opened an investigation into personal genomics tests yesterday.
House Committee on Energy and Commerce, chaired by Rep. Henry A. Waxman, just sent out official requests for information to the big three personal genomics companies—23andMe, Navigenics, and Pathway Genomics.
Waxman’s interest was piqued by the move—quickly rescinded last week after the FDA objected—by Pathway to sell its DNA-collection kits in Walgreen’s drugstores. The letters ask the companies for information on, among other things, how they analyze test results to determine someone’s risk for any disease or drug response, and how accurately the DNA tests identify genetic risks [Newsweek].
That’s important because while sequencing someone’s genome is a rather objective task, interpreting it is not. The companies have been loath to divulge how they do the latter part, which is what Waxman’s committee wants to know. (Check out the DISCOVER Magazine feature in which our reporter has her DNA analyzed by three different companies.)
Walgreens has now delayed the introduction the Pathway tests onto its shelves. So has CVS, which planned to offer the same product beginning in August.
The kits would allow buyers to send a saliva sample to Pathway, based in San Diego, for analysis. The company’s testing fee would be based on the information the consumer wants. Pathway says its testing allows buyers to learn whether they are at risk for a range of diseases, including breast cancer and Alzheimer’s. But questions have been raised about whether most consumers would be able to interpret the results [UPI].
Meanwhile, across the country from Washington D.C., another personal DNA testing argument is in full force. On Tuesday we brought you the story that UC Berkeley will ask incoming freshmen this fall to give a DNA sample, which the university says it will use for simple tests to determine alcohol metabolism or lactose intolerance. The program is voluntary and anonymous, but the Center for Genetics and Society, also of Berkeley, cited the Walgreens case as more reason to argue the university ought to stop the program.
This sounds like a bit of a publicity stunt by prosecutors at the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone, but it could very well work.
Prosecutors want to subpoena Miss Campbell to testify over claims she was given the “large” diamond by Taylor after a 1997 dinner hosted in South Africa by former president Nelson Mandela.
The one Taylor is accused of giving to Miss Campbell, 39, is said to be among those he obtained from rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone and took to South Africa to sell for weapons. It is alleged to have come from mines in Sierra Leone which were seized in a campaign of terror.
Blood diamonds, sometimes referred to as conflict diamonds, are diamonds mined in rebel-held regions of Africa used to fund war.
I just don’t see how her testimony could be very important unless he told her about the source of the diamond. But I don’t know the facts of the case very well, and I suppose there could be some non-celebrity reason to make her testify.
The Maximum Garden House doesn’t have a lot of garden. In fact, it doesn’t have any garden at all because the building takes over the entire property plot. That’s why the architects moved the garden to the walls and roof. More »
So you may or may not have heard of WiiBrew but if you have a Wii you should have. For me it’s been the best app ever for the Wii. It will let you run free Homebrew games and run apps like an FTP server, website manager, emulators for SNES, NES, Sega, PSX, even run Linux on your Wii.
I think I wrote an article similar to this before but no doubt the downloads don’t work. Since there is new apps and info about WiiBrew I figure it’d need a new post. So below are a list of links for how to get it all setup. I’ve done this with all the links provided and it all worked good. The only application you really need at first from WiiBrew.org is the Homebrew Browser. It’ll allow you to navigate through a huge list of Homebrew apps and games right on your Wii.
While it has been known for some time that 
There’s no more Three Mile Island; no one’s lost their life to nuclear,” said Progressive Policy Institute President Will Marshall. “Nuclear energy’s been decoupled from the nuclear arms race. And now we have climate change.”
When Walgreens, the nation’s biggest drugstore chain, announced last week that personal genomics tests would join diet soda and pregnancy tests in its aisles, we 
