Over the last decade, as DNA-sequencing technology has grown ever faster and cheaper, our understanding of the human genome has increased accordingly. Yet scientists have until recently remained largely ham-fisted when they’ve tried to directly modify genes in a living cell. Take sickle-cell anemia, for example. A debilitating and often deadly disease, it is caused by a mutation in just one of a patient’s three billion DNA base pairs. Even though this genetic error is simple and well studied, researchers are helpless to correct it and halt its devastating effects.
A few weeks ago David Carr profiled Kevin Kelly on page 1 of the New York Times Business section. He wrote that Kelly's pronouncements were "often both grandiose and correct." That’s a pretty good summary of Kevin Kelly's style and his prescience. http://www.edge.org/conversation/the-technium
Hayes has devoted the past fifteen years to studying atrazine, a widely used herbicide made by Syngenta. The company’s notes reveal that it struggled to make sense of him, and plotted ways to discredit him. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/02/10/140210fa_fact_aviv
In Mike McQueary, some see a hero who brought down a monster. Others see a liar who railroaded a legend. At the upcoming trial that will close the book on the Jerry Sandusky scandal, Joe Paterno's former protégé will have the final word. http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/10542793/the-whistleblower-last-stand
Nate Weiner is neither a journalist nor a publisher. He’s a developer bent on changing publishing, and he’s built the platform to do it. With 10 million users, Pocket is the largest save-for-later service on the market. But more than market share, what sets Pocket apart is its ability to…
Meetings are such a fixture in our work lives that we constantly hear the same advice: have an agenda, keep it short, don’t invite too many people. However, despite the commonality of this well-meaning advice, research from Harvard suggests that half of all meetings are unproductive. http://99u.com/
TEAR GAS IS A GOOD TEACHER. It taught me that what they say is true: Awful conditions can bring out the best in people. It taught me that one can get used to almost anything, including a sensation of choking, and of impending death. It taught me to savor the simple pleasure of fresh air.
Tear gas even taught me something about a subject I have studied for many years as an academic: social media. It was June 2013 and I was in the middle of the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul. After each volley of tear gas, protesters would pull out their phones and turn to social media to find out what was happening, or to report events themselves. Twitter had become the capillary structure of a movement without visible leaders, without institutional structure. Without even a name.
A few weeks ago David Carr profiled Kevin Kelly on page 1 of the New York Times Business section. He wrote that Kelly's pronouncements were "often both grandiose and correct." That’s a pretty good summary of Kevin Kelly's style and his prescience. http://www.edge.org/conversation/the-technium
Hayes has devoted the past fifteen years to studying atrazine, a widely used herbicide made by Syngenta. The company’s notes reveal that it struggled to make sense of him, and plotted ways to discredit him. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/02/10/140210fa_fact_aviv
In Mike McQueary, some see a hero who brought down a monster. Others see a liar who railroaded a legend. At the upcoming trial that will close the book on the Jerry Sandusky scandal, Joe Paterno's former protégé will have the final word. http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/10542793/the-whistleblower-last-stand
Meetings are such a fixture in our work lives that we constantly hear the same advice: have an agenda, keep it short, don’t invite too many people. However, despite the commonality of this well-meaning advice, research from Harvard suggests that half of all meetings are unproductive. http://99u.com/
Nate Weiner is neither a journalist nor a publisher. He’s a developer bent on changing publishing, and he’s built the platform to do it. With 10 million users, Pocket is the largest save-for-later service on the market. But more than market share, what sets Pocket apart is its ability to…
On December 18th, the Public Broadcasting Service’s flagship station WNET issued a press release announcing the launch of a new two-year news series entitled “The Pension Peril.” The series, promoting cuts to public employee pensions, is airing on hundreds of PBS outlets all over the nation. It has been presented as objective news on major PBS programs including the PBS News Hour.
The 2014 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index spotlights major declines in media freedom in such varied countries as the United States, Central African Republic and Guatemala and, on the other hand, marked improvements in Ecuador, Bolivia and South Africa.
1 Finland
2 Netherlands
3 Norway
4 Lux
5 Andorra
6 Liecht
7 Denmark
8 Iceland
9 NZ
10 Sweden
46 US (33 in 2013)
What if front pages were selected by newspapers’ readers instead of their editors? At NewsWhip, we’re always interested in the news stories people are choosing to share – and how those stories differ from the normal news stories editors put on the front pages of big newspapers. So we ran a little…
It is with sadness I read that one more J.P. Morgan banker died.
One thing is that Ryan was the head at the program trading desk. Meaning he over saw all of the trades and was familiar with all of the software (trade platforms) that these trades were done in. This job works closely with guess what? That’s right the London desk and who died last week in London? The one who jumped off the 33rd floor. What was his post? Head of IT and trade platforms meaning he had access to info that Ryan would have.
They knew each other and uncovered something they were about the same age and these hits happen when two big announcements by JPM. One they are out of commodities and two the wholesale selling of their HQ downtown.
Europe’s largest banks are finally putting hundreds of billions of dollars of unwanted assets up for sale amid mounting competition among buyers and regulatory pressure. A wave of deals could be a boon to the region’s economy if the banks free up capital to increase lending. Banks led by London-based Barclays…
George Soros is 84 today. His career is remarkable both for its longevity and its returns – his Quantum fund has generated $39.6 billion in profits over the last four decades, making Soros the most successful hedge fund manager in history. How has Soros managed to stay at the top for so long?…
Imagine Fed Governor Rip van Winkle started his nap at the beginning of 2007 and just woke up to find that inflation is close to the Fed’s objective and the unemployment rate is at its 30-year average. You could forgive him for expecting the federal funds rate to be close…
The dollar is stronger today following the slightly hawkish stance of the FOMC Minutes, which hinted at the potential for an earlier-than-expected hike in interest rates. Nothing is likely to happen any time soon though, and equities liked that idea in continuing their positive trend, with the S+P regaining its…
Paul Oyer, an economist at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, is the author of “Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I Learned From Online Dating,” published last month by Harvard Business Review Press. Through his own experience, Mr. Oyer became intrigued by the economics at work in the online dating marketplace. His book explores how knowledge of economic concepts can help narrow Cupid’s aim. Mr. Oyer’s personal strategy turned out to be a winning one: he met his current partner online.
Greek debt tracker As the government in Athens haggles with its lenders over economic reforms,Greece is running out of money. Here is what it owes in the upcoming months. http://www.ft.com/ig/sites/2015/greek-debt-monitor/
Commerce knits the modern world together in a way that nothing else quite does. Almost anything you own these days is the result of a complicated web of global interactions. And there's no better way to depict those interactions and the social and political circumstances that give rise to them…
Group of 20 finance ministers need to find ways to boost productivity growth or risk seeing the world economy to slip into an extended period of low growth, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said. The widespread drop in productivity may “presage the beginning of a new low-growth era,”…
Chinese economic growth slowed to the lowest level since 1999 last year, expanding 7.7%. Policymakers have recognized the need to rebalance economic growth and are now slowly transitioning away from a credit and export driven economy to one driven by consumer growth. Some argue that the recent crackdown on shadow banking and the money market rate spikes are…
THE founders of the internet were academics who took users’ identities on trust. When only research co-operation was at stake, this was reasonable. But the lack of secure identification is now hampering the development of e-commerce and the provision of public services online. In day-to-day life, from banking to dating,…
One reason for global market weakness is investors’ fears that emerging market economies may be heading for a broad crisis, sparked by higher U.S. interest rates and slowing growth in China. Much of the analysis in the last few days has focused on why these nations are less exposed to…
China's banks disbursed the most loans in any month in four years in January, a surge that suggests the world's second-biggest economy may not be cooling as much as some fear. Chinese banks lent 1.32 trillion yuan ($217.6 billion) worth of new yuan loans in January, beating a 1.1 trillion…
The yuan has recently been something of a safe haven among emerging-market currencies, yet market participants have learned from a bloody lesson over the past week that it is no longer an easy, one-way bet. A sharp fall of both the onshore and offshore yuan against the greenback made the…
The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) economy has shown signs of overheating despite a sharp slowdown in economic growth, suggesting that, constrained by the supply of labor, its potential growth rate might have fallen significantly from its past level. With the priorities of the PRC’s authorities shifting from raising economic growth…
Shanghai's over-the-counter equity market was almost deserted on a weekday morning last week. Two cleaning ladies swept the floor of a trading hall devoid of brokers or computers, while a woman at an information desk ate breakfast and talked on her mobile phone. During four visits this year to the…
Why We’re Losing The War On Cancer [And How To Win It] [Avastin, Erbitux, Gleevec … The new wonder drugs might make you think we’re finally beating this dreaded scourge. We’re not. Here’s how to turn the fight around.]
WHO Warns of 'Tidal Wave' of Cancer The globe is facing a "tidal wave" of cancer, and restrictions on alcohol and sugar need to be considered, say World Health Organization scientists. It predicts the number of cancer cases will reach 24 million a year by 2035, but half could be…
Mushrooms have been valued for thousands of years for their healing properties. They’re packed with nutrients and many varieties are thought to help macrophages more effectively target bacteria, viruses and cancer cells. Shiitake mushrooms, in particular, have well-documented anti-cancer qualities. In addition to helping the immune system function more effectively,…
This is simply one of my most favorite cancer fighting super-foods. Turmeric is popular spice that is found in curries, etc. It contains enormous anti-inflammatory properties that can act as a natural 'fire extinguisher' to quench inflammation. Inflammation provides cancer cells an advantage to grow, thus anything we can do…
Oats contain a type of soluble fiber called beta glucan, which has numerous documented health benefits. It helps lower cholesterol levels and improves cardiovascular health. It also has been shown to help the immune system respond to bacterial infections, and may lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes and breast…
Carrots come in a wide variety of colors in addition to the typical orange, and each type has a different balance of antioxidants. The blend of nutrients in carrots can help improve cardiovascular health, and a limited body of research suggests that, yes, carrots may be good for your ocular…
The Olympics officially began yesterday, but the defining image of the games so far is the issues surrounding Sochi’s readiness. Athletes, journalists and tourists have been sharing their experiences publicly on social media, and #SochiProblems has become the default hashtag for exposing deficiencies in hospitality, accommodation failures and the endless parade of…
Despite all the criticism, the games in Sochi will take place, and they will most likely be deemed a triumph, a validation of Putin’s leadership, unless of course disaster strikes in the form of terrorism or some other tragedy. http://www.nytimes.com
Norway itself is a Winter Olympics marvel: With only five million people, it has won 303 Winter Olympic medals, far more than any other country on the planet. To find a country smaller than world-leading Norway on the all-time Winter Olympics medal table, you have to travel down to Croatia,…
Ukraine's economy is in urgent need of assistance will Russia with Putin as leader help them out ? Vladimir Putin holds brief talks with Viktor Yanukovich at Sochi Games as Ukraine awaits Russian bailout amid uprising. Viktor Yanukovich, who has been battling anti-government protesters since he rejected a trade deal…
Amid continued debate over whether or not Sochi is prepared to host the 2014 Olympics (here are 15 alarming signs that Russia might not be ready) reporters from around the world are starting to check into local hotels — to their apparent grief. Some journalists arriving in Sochi are describing appalling…
CERN scientists are planning a next-generation circular collider with a circumference of 80 to 100 kilometres which will be much more powerful than the Large Hadron Collider which discovered the ‘God particle’.
CERN is now initiating an exploratory study for a future long-term project centred on a circular collider with a circumference of 80 to 100 kilometres.
In the future, Netflix will know exactly what you want to watch, even before you do. You won’t have to spend all that time browsing through endless lists of shows on your television. That’s according to Neil Hunt, Netflix’s chief product officer. It’s just one of many predictions for the…
Two years ago, I asked a college-bound 18-year-old what kind of job she’d like to have after earning her degree. “I don’t know,” she told me, adding, “I don’t think it’s been invented yet.” Turns out, she was probably right. Though the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects health care and construction jobs…
FedEx is one of the largest courier services in the US. It benefited hugely by the increasing trend of e-commerce which greatly increased the demand for courier packages. With the expansion it benefits not only with larger sales revenue but also Economies of Scale which result in a greater profit…
Richard McGuire, head of rates strategy at Rabobank, warns in a weekly note to clients that the groundwork is being laid in Europe for a crisis accelerant down the road. ... Friday, Germany's constitutional court refrained from issuing a ruling on the legality of the European Central Bank's Outright Monetary…
I'm as big a believer in the transformational power of cloud computing as anyone you'll meet. Smartphones, which are constantly seeking and retrieving data, don't make sense without the cloud, and any business that isn't racing to push its data and software into someone else's data center is, in my…