Posts

According to CNET.com’s coverage, “SpaceX or Blue Origin could beat NASA to the moon—especially with a boost from the US government.” We may be able to develop the moon and then use it as a developed site to leap on to Mars, for much less time and money than anyone is currently planning. President Donald Trump has proposed a remarkably bold Moon-Mars Development Project with a goal of landing Americans on the moon in 2024 and Mars by 2034....

The Colombian woman is just the latest piece of evidence to emerge suggesting that the causes of Alzheimer’s disease are far more complex and heterogeneous than previously understood. Despite a brain scan that revealed more amyloid-beta plaque deposition than many of her doctors had ever seen, her cognitive abilities were only mildly impaired. Which is why, even as the list of failed treatments continues to grow, many in the field have found cause for renewed optimism....

It wasn’t long before I saw his other side. He is the coldest person I’ve ever met. He never had a good word to say about anyone, not even a Serb. He seemed to see people as pawns in a great strategic game, as abstractions, as objects to be controlled and manipulated, not as flesh-and-blood humans. After destroying the power of a Serbian ally in Croatia, he told me with satisfaction, “Babic wanted to be a big shot....

In the next six months Latvia is set to join both NATO and the EU. When it does, the financial largesse of Western Europe and the United States will rain down, to the tune of more than $500 for each man, woman and child in this country of 2.5 million. Where that money ends up and how it is spent is part of the Corruption Bureau’s work–and right now it’s focused squarely on the port city of Ventspils, a one-man fiefdom of ex-communist Mayor Aivars Lembergs....

Emergence of the rival shape, which coincided with last week’s annual gay studies conference, has angered the school’s gay and lesbian community. “We see it both as an attack on gays and on this symbol,” says Sheila Allen of the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Students Association. Harvard students not allied with either group are tired of their campus being turned into a geometric battleground. The backlash has produced another faction making its mark: SEXs (Students Exasperated by Excessive Symbolism)....

Here’s a recap of the year’s biggest shifts within the financial crypto landscape, and what to watch for in 2022. Adoption by the Traditional Financial Sector Major financial firms began to adopt crypto, driven by the millions of customers demanding it. One by one, the nation’s largest banks announced different ways they would integrate digital currencies into their offerings, in many cases also adopting technologies to provide them the computing power to record and validate huge volumes of transactions on a blockchain....

Of course. The party would be attended by a raucous collection of Indians and Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Brits, Australians and Zimbabweans. Yet while it was taking place in America, no Americans would be there–not because of any ethnic or national discrimination or Iraq war pique. No, call it willful ignorance. Americans have about as much use for cricket as Eskimos for sun hats. If ever America gets around to deciding on an official national sport, you can be pretty sure it won’t be cricket....

The weapon a nerve poison called sarin–symbolized Armageddon. At least that’s the role the poison plays in the apocalyptic teachings of a 40-year-old cult leader who last week became Japan’s most wanted man. “Venerated Master” Shoko Asahara. whose followers greet him by kissing his big toe, says sarin will be a primary weapon in the “final world war,” set to begin as early as 1997. Thousands of police raided outposts of Asahara’s empire and allegedly turned up truckloads of chemicals that could be used to make....

They had hoped to have those images out of Basra weeks ago. They even had plans to fly in TV crews to film it. But that city proved a tougher nut than they anticipated. There were reports from southern Iraq of retribution against Iraqis who were filmed beating on Hussein posters and celebrating his imminent demise. Fear, the Coalition argued, was keeping people in check. Officials here tried to lower expectations as troops headed into Baghdad early this week....

NORTON: Incredible. It started off exciting and only got more so. When I was a medical student, people tried to convince me not to go into cancer medicine. Their reason was that they thought a cancer cell was so aberrant, with so many things wrong with it, that we’d never find a successful drug to attack it. But what we’ve been hearing here all week is direct proof that these people were wrong....

Human genetic engineering, also known as gene therapy, is based on the premise that our genes are the defense and healing system of our body. It is our genes that protect our body from the assaults of nature; it is our genes that repair the damage caused by disease and restore us to health; it is our genes that, when they function abnormally, bring on not only such traditionally understood “genetic” diseases as sickle cell anemia and Huntington’s disease, but also contribute to cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and mental illness....

Eisner heard them, sort of. In a late-day deal with the board, Eisner agreed to relinquish his role as chairman but stay on as the company’s CEO. In a certain sense, this was a dramatic step. For years, Eisner had been Mr. Disney, ruling over every inch of the House that Walt Built with an iron fist. But some observers said the new arrangement wasn’t really addressing the core problem, pointing out that Eisner’s replacement as chairman would be former Senate majority leader George Mitchell, an Eisner pal....

“I think there is an Osama bin Laden look-alike,” Gen. Hamid Gul, the influential former head of Pakistan’s intelligence service (ISI) told the BBC. It is a sentiment widely shared within Arab countries. “[The tape] is a sort of high-tech gimmick,” the general continued. Gul, who told NEWSWEEK in September that he believed the attacks were an Israeli-engineered coup attempt against the U.S. government, suggested that the Bush administration had released the tape because of “a pervasive sense of guilt” for the bombing campaign in Afghanistan....

The average sea level rise along the coast of Bangladesh has been 3.8-to-5.8 millimeters a year over the last 30 years, according to a recent study. And that continues. In fact, without changes to global behavior, Bangladesh would see annual economic costs due to global warming equal to 2 percent of its Gross Domestic Product by 2050, widening to 9.4 percent by 2100. The people most impacted would be the poorest Bangladeshis....

The Tetrapleura tetraptera tree, commonly known as the Aidan tree, is found in rainforests in West Africa. The tree stands about 80 feet tall and grows a fruit that belongs to the pea family. The fruit emits a strong odor and is often used as a spice in Nigerian and other West African dishes. The fruit is commonly sold in markets for its medicinal properties. Aidan fruit is known for its antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties....

To see how this might work, check out Worktrack, a product of Aligo, a Mountain View, Calif., producer of “mobile services.” The system is sold to employers who want to automate and verify digital time-logs of their workers in the field. The first customers are in the heating and air-conditioning business. Workers have cell phones equipped with GPS that pinpoint their locations to computers in the back office. Their peregrinations can be checked against the “Geo Fence” that employers draw up, circumscribing the area where their work is situated....

Only use enough to cover your beard. Do not use more than needed as it will waste the cream. Beard oils are moisturizers and leave-in conditioners. However, beard oils only make the beard soft and do not work as straightening agents. For very curly beards, using silicone cream is recommended. Use a fine-tooth comb to make sure the silicone cream gets down to the roots of the hair follicles. Using a larger-toothed comb or a brush may not give the appearance of completely straight hair as the cream may not be applied to each individual hair....