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Race to keep a lid on labs creating 'artificial life' amid boom in DIY 'biohackers' -- Rob Waugh  -- Daily Mail (UK)  -- February 8, 2012
Genetic Engineering

The Woodrow Wilson Centre, in Washington, US, warns that there is no way of monitoring labs tinkering with 'synthetic biology' to ensure that anything created is safe.

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A New Weapon Against Nukes: Social Media -- Mike Shuster  -- NPR  -- February 8, 2012

Rose Gottemoeller, acting undersecretary of state for arms control is leading a campaign to discover how new communications tools like twitter can help rid the world of some of the dangers of nuclear weapons.

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Doomsday flu decision time: The story so far -- Debora MacKenzie  -- New Scientist  -- February 6, 2012

Last year, two flu research groups created what could be extremely dangerous viruses through their research into bird flu. Both studies will be censored when they are published, and all similar work has been put on hold – unprecedented actions in biomedical research. Ahead of a World Health Organization meeting to plot a way ahead, New Scientist explains how we have arrived in these uncharted waters.

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Neuroscience the new face of warfare: experts -- Kate Kelland  -- Reuters  -- February 6, 2012
Directed Energy Weapons

Directed energy weapons that use wave beams to cause pain, and electrical brain stimulation that boosts a soldier's combat ability - it may sound like science fiction warfare, but experts say advances in neuroscience mean it's on the horizon. Rapid progress in the ability to map brain activity and manipulate its responses with stimulants could change the face of warfare, a panel of experts said on Tuesday.

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Moon draws growing interest as a potential source of rare minerals -- Brian Palmer  -- Washington Post  -- February 6, 2012
Helium-3

Entrepreneurs are increasingly looking to the moon as a potential source of the rare earth elements and energy sources that will continue to be in demand.

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India's panel price crash could spark solar revolution -- Michael Marshall  -- New Scientist  -- February 2, 2012
Solar Power

Solar power has always had a reputation for being expensive, but not for much longer. In India, electricity from solar is now cheaper than that from diesel generators. The news - which will boost India's "Solar Mission" to install 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022 - could have implications for other developing nations too.

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'Stirling' power for ultra-efficient space probes -- David Shiga  -- New Scientist  -- February 1, 2012
Space Expansion

A new way to use plutonium for power could help NASA explore the solar system, and should be flight tested as soon as possible, a new report says.

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New Risks for Nuclear Plants -- Rebecca Smith  -- Wall Street Journal  -- February 1, 2012
Nuclear Power

Nuclear reactors in the central and eastern U.S. face previously unrecognized threats from big earthquakes, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday. Experts said upgrading the plants to withstand more substantial earth movements would be costly and could force some to close.

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Drones for Human Rights -- Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Mark Hanis  -- New York Times  -- January 31, 2012
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

"Drones are not just for firing missiles in Pakistan. In Iraq, the State Department is using them to watch for threats to Americans. It’s time we used the revolution in military affairs to serve human rights advocacy. "

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Scientists decode brain waves to eavesdrop on what we hear -- KurzweilAI.net  -- January 31, 2012
Brainwave Scanners

Neuroscientists may one day be able to hear the imagined speech of a patient unable to speak due to stroke or paralysis, according to University of California, Berkeley researchers.

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