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Science, Health, and Related Policies

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Recent News Stories

• Where does Barack Obama stand on technology issues?
  Beta News--The second of our four-part series examining the positions of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on technology policy. [Read more]
• McCain, Obama Agree to Overlook Transportation
  Wired--For better or worse, the presidential campaign has kicked into high gear and both Barack Obama and John McCain. We're disappointed to see neither candidate considers transportation a top-tier issue. [Read more]
• Sullivan discusses energy policy
  Tulsa World--First District Congressman John Sullivan said Wednesday that the U.S. energy policy should be based on entrepreneurship and technology rather than regulatory measures such as so-called "cap-and-trade" legislation. [Read more]
• The Candidates Are Monitoring Your Mouse
  Business Week--More and more politicians are capturing personal data to target voters. Privacy advocates are worried. [Read more]
• Industry Groups Sue Over Polar Bear Rule
  CBS News--Five industry groups have sued the Interior Department over a rule to protect the polar bear that they say unfairly singles out business operations in Alaska for their contribution to global warming. [Read more]
• Changes to Endangered Species Act Called Bad Science
  LIVE Science--Changes that the Bush administration is proposing to make to Endangered Species Act regulations just aren't sound science, various scientists and conservation groups say. [Read more]
• California Moves on Bill to Curb Sprawl and Emissions
  N.Y. Times--California, known for its far-ranging suburbs and jam-packed traffic, is close to adopting a law intended to slow the increase in emissions of heat-trapping gases by encouraging housing close to job sites, rail lines and bus stops to shorten the time people spend in their cars. [Read more]
• Santa Barbara County panel OKs offshore oil drilling
  L.A. Times--In a largely symbolic act, the county Board of Supervisors votes 3 to 2 to support offshore oil extraction. [Read more]
• Fighting HIV-AIDS One Syringe at a Time
  Washington Post (Opinion)--Rep. Jose Serrano on the fight against HIV/AIDS. [Read more]
• Curbing health insurance abuse
  L.A. Times (Opinion)--A bill requiring state review before insurance companies deny or rescind healthcare coverage to customers deserves to make it to the governor's desk and to be signed into law. [Read more]
• Towards a National Technology Policy
  CIO Insight--A final excerpt from a conversation with Vint Cerf (a member of SEA's Board of Advisors). [Read more]
• Does Silicon Valley Face an Innovation Crisis?
  N.Y. Times--Judy Estrin (a member of SEA's Board of Advisors), who has built several Silicon Valley companies and was the chief technology officer of Cisco Systems, says Silicon Valley is in trouble. [Read more]
• Comcast to cap monthly consumer broadband
  CNET--Starting October 1 customers of Comcast's residential data services will have an invisible barrier on their monthly data usage. [Read more]
• Misconduct verdict for fusion researcher upheld
  New Scientist--Nuclear engineer Rusi Taleyarkhan, who claimed to have achieved nuclear fusion by popping bubbles in a solvent, has been formally reprimanded for research misconduct by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. [Read more]
• Study outcome won't sway company on eye drug
  Washington Post--What does a company do when there's anecdotal evidence that two of its drugs are equally effective in treating a leading cause of blindness in the elderly, one costing patients $60 per treatment and the other $2,000? In the case of Genentech Inc., nothing. [Read more]
• Researchers Report Advances in Cell Conversion Technique
  N.Y. Times--Biologists at Harvard have converted cells from a mouse’s pancreas into the insulin-producing cells that are destroyed in diabetes, suggesting that the natural barriers between the body’s cell types may not be as immutable as supposed. [Read more]
• H.I.V. Is Spreading in New York City at Three Times the National Rate, a Study Finds
  N.Y. Times--The virus that causes AIDS is spreading in New York City at three times the national rate according to a study released on Wednesday by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. [Read more]
• Xcel to Disclose Global Warming Risks
  N.Y. Times--One of the country’s largest builders of coal-fired power plants will give investors detailed warnings about the risks that global warming poses to its business under a deal with New York’s attorney general. [Read more]
• Hackers prey on Iraq vulnerable to cybercrime
  USA Today--Computer usage has grown, and sensitive data could be snatched. [Read more]
• As Biomass Power Rises, a Wood-Fired Plant Is Planned in Texas
  N.Y. Times--One of the country’s largest builders of coal-fired power plants will give investors detailed warnings about the risks that global warming poses to its business under a deal with New York’s attorney general. [Read more]
• Gray Is The New Green
  Forbes--Tom Casten has the money and the know-how to generate huge amounts of clean power without bothering with costly solar and wind energy. [Read more]
• The Next President's Homework Assignment
  Forbes--Nationwide, 39% of fourth graders tested at or above proficient in math, up from 31% in 2003. Progress? A little. But in science, fourth graders improved only one percentage point in the same period. [Read more]
• 7 Years to Climate Midnight
  Washington Post--The world may have only seven years to start reducing the annual buildup in greenhouse gas emissions that otherwise threatens global catastrophe within several decades. That means that between Inauguration Day in January 2009 and 2015, either John McCain or Barack Obama will face the most momentous political challenge of all time. [Read more]
• McCain Outlines Technology Policy
  Broadcasting & Cable--McCain opposes net neutrality, but echos the FCC's open access guidelines. [Read more]
• Senate, House should approve energy bill
  Denver Post (Opinion)--The Denver Post on why Congress should pass the relabeled "Gang of 16" energy bill. [Read more]