Bill would give president emergency control of Internet

Translation: If your company is deemed "critical," a new set of regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over your computers or network.

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DNA swap could cure inherited diseases

The prospect of a human baby with three biological parents has moved closer after scientists created monkeys using a technique that one day could stop children from inheriting severe genetic diseases.

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The technique is controversial, however, because the children it creates would inherit genetic material from three parents. The mother and father would contribute most of their child’s DNA but a small amount would come from a second woman donating healthy mitochondria.

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Artificial life will be created 'within months' as genome experts claim vital breakthrough

The first artificial lifeform is likely to be a simple man-made bacterium that proves that the technology can work.

But it will be followed by more complex bacteria that turn coal into cleaner natural gas, or algae that can soak up carbon dioxide and convert it into fuels.

They could also be used to create new vaccines and antibiotics.

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Conservatives Now Outnumber Liberals in All 50 States, Says Gallup Poll

At the same time, more Americans nationwide are saying this year that they are conservative than have made that claim in any of the last four years.

Ouch.

Read more unless you're over at Fox News.

Building block of life found on comet

The amino acid glycine, a fundamental building block of proteins, has been found in a comet for the first time, bolstering the theory that raw ingredients of life arrived on Earth from outer space, scientists said on Monday.

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The brutal truth about America’s healthcare

They came in their thousands, queuing through the night to secure one of the coveted wristbands offering entry into a strange parallel universe where medical care is a free and basic right and not an expensive luxury.

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In the week that Britain's National Health Service was held aloft by Republicans as an "evil and Orwellian" example of everything that is wrong with free healthcare, these extraordinary scenes in Inglewood, California yesterday provided a sobering reminder of exactly why President Barack Obama is trying to reform the US system.

Healthcare is a basic right, not a luxury.

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Senators exclude end-of-life provision from bill

Key senators are excluding a provision on end-of-life care from health overhaul legislation after language in a House bill caused a furor.

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A health care bill passed by three House committees allows Medicare to reimburse doctors for voluntary counseling sessions about end-of-life decisions. But critics have claimed the provision could lead to death panels and euthanasia for seniors.

Reality is fiction. Education is ignorant. Fear sells.

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Are we on the brink of creating a computer with a human brain?

Instead, most neuroscientists believe that our feelings of self-awareness, pain, love and so on are simply the result of the countless billions of electrical and chemical impulses that flit between its equally countless billions of neurons.

So if you build something that works exactly like a brain, consciousness, at least in theory, will follow.

In fact, several teams are working to prove this is the case by attempting to build an electronic brain.

Fascinating.

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Teenage Wasteland

Loved it.

Rest in Peace John Hughes

Let's look at his legacy. The man either wrote or directed (or did both) some of my all time favorite films, including FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, SIXTEEN CANDLES, WEIRD SCIENCE, PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES, UNCLE BUCK, PRETTY IN PINK, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION, THE GREAT OUTDOORS, DUTCH and HOME ALONE.

Thank you, Mr. Hughes. Rest in peace.

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For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics

The rising stature of statisticians, who can earn $125,000 at top companies in their first year after getting a doctorate, is a byproduct of the recent explosion of digital data. In field after field, computing and the Web are creating new realms of data to explore — sensor signals, surveillance tapes, social network chatter, public records and more. And the digital data surge only promises to accelerate, rising fivefold by 2012, according to a projection by IDC, a research firm.

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Britain To Put CCTV Cameras Inside Private Homes

As an ex-Brit, I’m well aware of the authorities’ love of surveillance and snooping, but even I, a pessimistic cynic, am amazed by the governments latest plan: to install Orwell’s telescreens in 20,000 homes.

£400 million ($668 million) will be spend on installing and monitoring CCTV cameras in the homes of private citizens. Why? To make sure the kids are doing their homework, going to bed early and eating their vegetables. The scheme has, astonishingly, already been running in 2,000 family homes. The government’s “children’s secretary” Ed Balls is behind the plan, which is aimed at problem, antisocial families. The idea is that, if a child has a more stable home life, he or she will be less likely to stray into crime and drugs.

It gets worse. The government is also maintaining a private army, incredibly not called “Thought Police”, which will “be sent round to carry out home checks,” according to the Sunday Express. And in a scheme which firmly cements the nation’s reputation as a “nanny state”, the kids and their families will be forced to sign “behavior contracts” which will “set out parents’ duties to ensure children behave and do their homework.”

Wow.

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