Archive by date | June 2011

China plans new icebreaker

China plans new icebreaker

China will start building a new icebreaker later on this year and the vessel is expected to be in operational in polar expeditions in 2013, Chen Lianzen, deputy director of the State Oceanic Administration of China, announced last week in a national polar-expedition working conference in Beijing.

Latest briefs in US stem cell lawsuit filed

Latest briefs in US stem cell lawsuit filed

Proponents and opponents of US government funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research have filed what may be their final arguments to the judge who shut down the research for 17 days last August and September. Briefs were filed today by both sides in Sherley et al. v. Sebelius, the landmark lawsuit challenging the legality of government support for the controversial research. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, adult stem cell reseachers James Sherley and Theresa Deisher, argued in this brief that government funding of the research “inevitably” creates an incentive for more embryos to be destroyed. They write: “Each time  … Read more

Serious games: playing for a better world

Serious games: playing for a better world

The late US political scientist Clark Abt helped launch a movement with his 1970 book “Serious Games,” which explored ways in which games could be used to promote education and solve problems. More than four decades later, it would appear that serious games are at last coming into their own as a field of research and development. The next question is whether they will live up to their potential.  Read more

Underground lab getting a new parent with the Energy Department?

Underground lab getting a new parent with the Energy Department?

DUSEL, the underground lab proposed for the Homestake mine in South Dakota, was orphaned by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in December, when its board balked at the huge costs of building and operating the lab. On Tuesday, physicists advising the Department of Energy (DOE) learned what it would cost if their agency were to become the surrogate parent. Jay Marx of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena presented the advisory panel with the results of a committee charged with evaluating the costs of the DOE going it alone at Homestake. The committee Marx co-chaired looked at the costs  … Read more