New Analyses Bolster Central Tenets of Evolution Theory

When scientists announced last month they had determined the exact order of all 3 billion bits of genetic code that go into making a chimpanzee, it was no surprise that the sequence was more than 96 percent identical to the human genome. Charles Darwin had deduced more than a century ago that chimps were among humans' closest cousins.

But decoding chimpanzees' DNA allowed scientists to do more than just refine their estimates of how similar humans and chimps are. It let them put the very theory of evolution to some tough new tests.

If Darwin was right, for example, then scientists should be able to perform a neat trick. Using a mathematical formula that emerges from evolutionary theory, they should be able to predict the number of harmful mutations in chimpanzee DNA by knowing the number of mutations in a different species' DNA and the two animals' population sizes.

Read the full article.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/25/AR2005092501177.html

Arctic ice 'disappearing quickly'

The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk for a fourth consecutive year, according to new data released by US scientists. They say that this month sees the lowest extent of ice cover for more than a century. The Arctic climate varies naturally, but the researchers conclude that human-induced global warming is at least partially responsible. They warn the shrinkage could lead to even faster melting in coming years. "September 2005 will set a new record minimum in the amount of Arctic sea ice cover," said Mark Serreze, of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Boulder, Colorado.

Read full article.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4290340.stm

Free Talk on Meditation in New York City

M Speaks on Meditation
Come  and meet M, a Yoga and Meditation master from India. He will be in New York City on Saturday 1st October 2005 at 6.30 pm at the Community Church of New York at 40 E 35 Street (between Park and Madison Avenues) in the Assembly Hall.

To find out more visit:  http://www.universalquest.com/m.html

Planet X? - Distant object found orbiting Sun

Astronomers have found a large object in the Solar System's outer reaches. It is being hailed as "a great discovery".

Details of the object are still sketchy. It never comes closer to the Sun than Neptune and spends most of its time much further out than Pluto. It is one of the largest objects ever found in the outer Solar System and is almost certainly made of ice and rock. It is at least 1,500km (930 miles) across and may be larger than Pluto, which is 2,274km (1,400 miles) across. The uncertainty in estimates of its size is due to errors in its reflectivity. It might be a large, dim object, or a smaller, brighter object. Whatever it is, astronomers consider it a major discovery. In 2004 scientists discovered Sedna, a remote world that is 1,700 km across.

Read the article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4726733.stm

Japanese scientist develops first 'female' android

It was bound to happen, and who better than the Japanese to accomplish it – the first human looking android robot. Like some fantasy science-fiction concept out of a Manga or Anime comic book, a Japanese scientist is  well on the way to creating the perfect companion – to a male scientist that is – a beautiful Japanese female robot with silicone skin that mimics human behavior and has over 30 sensory receptors. And his greatest challenge – to fool people into thinking that his Robots are human. I wonder if Asimov would be jumping for joy or rolling in his grave...From the BBC article (click to see the picture – quite amazing!! - looks like a Stepford Wife!)

Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot yet devised - a "female" android called Repliee Q1.

She has flexible silicone for skin rather than hard plastic, and a number of sensors and motors to allow her to turn and react in a human-like manner. She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like a human. She even appears to breathe. Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University says one day robots could fool us into believing they are human.
Repliee Q1 is not like any robot you will have seen before, at least outside of science-fiction movies. She is designed to look human and although she can only sit at present, she has 31 actuators in her upper body, powered by a nearby air compressor, programmed to allow her to move like a human.

Read the full article.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4714135.stm

EU: Thousands of vitamin products threatened by ruling

An interesting article from the Independent in the UK:

Campaigners for Britain's millions of vitamin and supplement users have reacted with dismay to a ruling that could sweep up to 5,000 products off the shelves. The European Court of Justice has rejected British health food industry claims that the proposed Food Supplements Directive, coming into force on 1 August, breaches EU rules. Yesterday's decision means some 300 nutrients and nutrient sources in the UK will be banned unless they can obtain inclusion on a 'positive' list -- a move that supplement manufacturers say requires excessive levels of testing and red tape. Among the vitamins and supplements facing a ban are boron, important for healthy teeth and bones; sulphur, important for healthy skin; and 1,000mg Vitamin C tablets...

Read the full article at: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article298799.ece

A film on the life of the Buddha

With Buddhism’s popularity on the rise around the world as a way of living spiritually in a secular, scientific age, it was only a matter of time before talk of a movie on his life would arise. Bertollucci’s “Little Buddha” was the last brave effort at retelling this story on the silver screen using a modern tale of reincarnation to weave in the story of the making of the “Buddha”. In more recent years, Karen Brown’s wonderful biography, just called “Buddha”, made a real impression on me with its casting Buddha in a very post-modern context as a man very much of his time during the Axis Age (around 500BC, as humans settled down to urban civilizations, philosophers began discussing the self and the purpose of life around the world – Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, the Upanishadic Sages and Elijah were all contemporaries.) Brown managed to beautifully present a life lived in questioning and doubt leading to an amazing spiritual awakening of compassion and universal consciousness. Let’s hope the movie can imbibe of some of that intelligence and perspective.

This is from the London Times of 23 July:

More than a decade ago an epic film about Buddha was abandoned after it provoked such threatening protests in India that the director needed police protection. Now the Anglo-Indian director Shekhar Kapur, is embarking on his own ambitious project, with a possible role for Richard Gere, a devout Buddhist. Although the film has yet to be cast, reports suggest that Brad Pitt and Aishwarya Rai, the former Miss World and star of Bride & Prejudice, might also be involved.

The film will tell the story of the man who appeared to have everything — a royal title, looks and the most beautiful girls — but who felt that something was missing and went on to attain enlightenment. Some 2,500 years after his death, Buddha looks likely to be brought to life on the big screen as the film-makers have secured the blessing of the Dalai Lama. The film has a big budget — up to about £70 million, it is believed — funded entirely by the Indian billionaire industrialist Bhupendra Kumar Modi. In India it is not unusual for a sole person to back a film. In this case, he is supporting one of the industry’s leading directors. After making the critically acclaimed Bandit Queen, Kapur directed Elizabeth, which was nominated for seven Oscars and 12 Baftas, and made a star of Cate Blanchett.

Read the full story....http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1704639,00.html