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(NB. The Wales in the headline isn't Jimbo Wales, one of the founders of Wikipedia. It's Wales, the country on the mid-Western coast of the UK.) You might not yet have heard of Wikipedia GLAM. It's a project targeting galleries, libraries, archives and museums, aimed at "improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics related to the cultural sector". GLAM has just over 30 participants at the moment, such as the Smithsonian Institution in the USA, the Australian Paralympic Committee & National Sport Information Centre, and the National Library of Israel. Intriguingly, GLAM has just notched up its first complete town. The Welsh town of Monmouth (or Trefynwy in Welsh) formally launched itself, over the past weekend, as the World's First Wikipedia Town. The project aims to place ... Continue reading →
Researchers have encoded a form of rewritable memory into DNA. The arduous work involved in building the system is almost as notable as the achievement itself, says Drew Endy of Stanford University in California who led the work, which is published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1. Synthetic biologists have long sought to devise biological data-storage systems because they could be useful in a variety of applications, and because data storage will be a fundamental function of the digital circuits that the field hopes to create in cells. DNA can be programmed to act as a biological data-storage device. Glowimages.com Rewritable biological memory circuits have been made previously, for instance from systems of transcription factors, which can be used to shut gene ... Continue reading →
(This post was prepared in collaboration with Dan Drinkard) Congress now speaks at almost a full grade level lower than it did just seven years ago, with the most conservative members of Congress speaking on average at the lowest grade level, according to a new Sunlight Foundation analysis of the Congressional Record using Capitol Words. Of course, what some might interpret as a dumbing down of Congress, others will see as more effective communications. And lawmakers of both parties still speak over the heads of the average American, who reads at between at 8th and 9th grade level. Today’s Congress collectively speaks at a 10.6 grade level, down from 11.5 in 2005. By comparison, the U.S. Constitution is written at a 17.8 grade level and ... Continue reading →
Here’s a fist bump, boys – or, if you prefer, a bro hug – for some hard-earned progress. In the ultimate competition, the race to stay alive, you’re gaining furiously on the fairer sex. Don't miss these Health stories Who hates cilantro? Study aims to find out To a very vocal online contingent, cilantro is the very worst. On "I Hate Cilantro" websites and Facebook pages they gripe that the herb tastes like soap, mold, or dirt. Cilantro haters not only despise its flavor, they also detest its smell. The dirtiest clean places — and how to clean them up Bioethicist: At-home HIV test raises questions Fear needles? Look away and the pain is less Parents, have you taped the remote? Why you should Between ... Continue reading →
Mr. Putin’s first high-level appointment as president was Igor R. Kholmanskikh, 42, a tank-factory worker from the Urals who is famous for one thing: offering to travel to Moscow with a gang of assembly-line workers to chase antigovernment protesters off the streets. “If the militia, or the police, as it’s now called, can’t handle it, then me and the boys are ready to come out and defend stability,” Mr. Kholmanskikh said during a live television broadcast in December, bringing a broad, happy smile to Mr. Putin’s face. “Of course, within the boundaries of the law,” he added hastily. The Kremlin seized on Mr. Kholmanskikh as a living rebuke to the throng of iPad-toting office workers who had materialized in Moscow, chanting, “Putin is a thief” ... Continue reading →
