Zimbabwean rivals sign power sharing deal

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai today signed a power sharing deal in the county's capital, Harare.

Speaking to crowds of people celebrating the deal, Tsvangirai said that "this unity government will let businesses flourish so our people can work and provide for their families with pride." He also said that "I've signed this agreement because I believe it represents the best opportunity for us to build a peaceful and prosperous democratic Zimbabwe."

Mugabe also spoke after the deal. "Let us be allies," he said. "People will want to see if what we promise is indeed what we strive to do ... We are committed. I am committed. Let us all be committed."

Despite the agreement, there was some tension at the protest, with supporters of the two parties throwing stones at each other.

The deal means that Tsvangirai is now the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, acting as the head of the council of ministers. Mugabe remains the president of Zimbabwe, meaning that he is still the chair of the cabinet.

The cabinet contains sixteen seats from  Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, while Mugabe's Zanu-PF has fifteen seats. The MDC also controls the police while Zanu-PF controls the armed forces.

The agreement also requires press freedom in Zimbabwe.


Zimbabwiske rivaler inngår pakt

Målform: Bokmål - Dato: 16. september 2008 - Oppdater siden - Rediger artikkelen - Flere nyheter

Zimbabwe:  Zimbabwes president Robert Mugabe og opposisjonsleder Morgan Tsvangirai inngikk i går en maktfordelingsavtale i landets hovedstad Harare.

Under en tale til feirende folkemengder sa Tsvangirai at «denne koalisjonsregjeringen vil la næringslivet blomstre, så folket vårt kan arbeide og forsørge sine familier med stolthet». Han sa også at han «signerte denne avtalen fordi jeg mener den gir den beste muligheten for oss å bygge et fredelig og suksessrikt demokratisk Zimbabwe».

Mugabe ga også en tale etter paktinngåelsen. «La oss være allierte,» sa han, «Folket vil ønske å se om vi kommer til å gjennomføre det vi lover. […] Vi er dedikerte. Jeg er dedikert. La oss alle være dedikerte.»

Avtalen betyr at Tsvangirai nå er Zimbabwes statsminister, en posisjon Mugabe har holdt siden 1980 (han har siden 1987 også vært president). Tsvangirai er nå leder av ministerrådet, mens Mugabe som president er leder for regjeringa.

Regjeringa har seksten medlemmer fra Tsvangirais parti Movement for Democratic Change og femten fra Mugabes Zanu-PF. MDC kontrollerer politistyrken, mens Zanu-PF kontrollerer militæret.

Pakten har også et krav om pressefrihet i Zimbabwe.


Zinaida Greceanii nominated Moldovan Prime Minister

President Vladimir Voronin of Moldova today signed a decree nominating Zinaida Greceanii as prime minister. Under the constitution, Ms Greceanii has 15 days from the date of the decree to submit her government's program and a list of executive members to parliament. 52 of the 101 MPs must endorse her proposals.

Zinaida Greceanii was born in 1956 and graduated from the Chisinau-based Financial and Economic College and the Moldovan State University, specialising in economics. Since 1994, she has held various posts at the Finance Ministry. Ms Greceanii began in the office of the deputy head of the budget's elaboration and analysis general directorate. She was the department's minister from 2002 till 2005, when, by presidential decree, she was made deputy prime minister.


Nombran a Zinaida Greceanii como nueva Primer ministro de Moldavia

21 de marzo de 2008Chisinau, Moldavia —

El Presidente de Moldavia, Vladimir Voronin, firmó el viernes el decreto por el cual se nombra a Zinaida Greceanii como Primera Ministra del país.

De acuerdo con la constitución, Zinaida Greceanii deberá someter al Parlamento las actividades de su nuevo programa de gobierno y la lista completa de ejecutivos que conformarán su gabinete, en un periodo de quince días después de su designación. El Parlamento dará su voto de confianza al gobierno si cuenta con la aprobación de al menos 52 de los 101 representantes.

Zinaida Greceanii nació en 1956 y se graduó del Instituto de Finanzas y Economía de Chisinau y de la Universidad del Estado de Moldavia, en la especialidad de economía. A partir de 1994, ha tenido diversos cargos de responsabilidad en el Ministerio de Finanzas.

Greceanii comenzó su actividad en la oficina del jefe adjunto para la elaboración del presupuesto y análisis de la dirección general hasta llegar al puesto de ministra, cargo en el que fue nombrada en 2002 y en el que se mantuvo hasta 2005. Ese año, Zinaida Greceanii fue nombrada en el puesto de diputado primer ministro de Moldavia, en virtud de un decreto presidencial.


German Parliament votes yes on EU constitution; French referendum may vote no

The German Bundesrat ("federal council") voted to approve the European Union's drafted constitution on Friday. Only the government of the state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania  abstained from voting. All of the other 15 states voted to approve the treaty. A French referendum to be held on Sunday is hovering on the edge of rejecting the constitution.  If it does, and if the Netherlands rejects it next week as expected, that could destroy the chances of the constitution's acceptance.

All 25 member states of the European Union have to approve the constitution for it to take effect.  France's support is considered key.  The most recent poll on Friday indicates 48% in favor and 52% against.

Supporters say that it will unify Europe, break down internal barriers, and give the EU more strategic power in the world against American interests and other growing international alliances.  Germany strongly supported the bill to prevent future European wars, and because Germany has the largest population in the EU which would give it certain political advantages.

Opponents in France are concerned about the possible effect on their country's already double-digit rate of unemployment, as lower-paid foreign workers enter the country and increase competition.  They also worry about a decline of national sovereignty and lack of democratic control over European institutions.

Former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who led the committee that drafted the constitution, pleaded for its acceptance.  On Friday he made a speech in the German Bundesrat, saying, "The day after tomorrow, I hope with all my heart, the French will in their turn ratify the constitution in a referendum.  Ratification by Germany and France would mark an historic step forward for the future of the constitution and for Europe."

Rejection would be a major setback for the French leadership under President Jacques Chirac, who is pushing acceptance of the constitution.

Nine nations have already ratified the constitution, including Germany.  No countries have rejected the constitution so far.


Deutscher Bundesrat ratifiziert die EU-Verfassung

Berlin (Deutschland), 27.05.2005 – Zwei Wochen nach dem Bundestag hat heute der Deutsche Bundesrat und damit die Bundesrepublik Deutschland als neuntes EU-Mitglied die neue EU-Verfassung verabschiedet.

Die Abstimmung erfolgte fast einstimmig mit einer Ausnahme: Die Regierung von Mecklenburg-Vorpommern enthielt sich der Stimme. Der Verfassungsvertrag tritt nur dann in Kraft, wenn er von allen 25 EU-Ländern angenommen wurde. Am kommenden Sonntag erfolgt das Referendum in Frankreich.


Niemcy ratyfikowały konstytucję europejską

Niemcy jako 9 kraj Unii Europejskiej zaaprobowały Traktat Konstytucyjny. Wczoraj traktat został przyjęty przez Bundesrat. Do zakończenia procesu ratyfikacji potrzebny jest jeszcze tylko podpis prezydenta.

Niemiecki minister spraw zagranicznych Joschka Fischer uważa, że konstytucja to "optymalny kompromis" oraz zaznaczył, iż "lepszy Traktat Konstytucyjny nie powstanie".

Wśród 16 krajów związkowych od głosu wstrzymała się jedynie Meklemburgia-Pomorze Przednie z powodu sprzeciwu współrządzących postkomunistów z PDS.


'Earth-based life can survive in hydrogen-rich atmospheres': MIT professor Dr Seager tells Wikinews about her research on organisms thriving in oxygen-less environment

In May, a study was published in journal Nature Astronomy, conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Dr Sara Seager and other researchers, showing single-celled organisms like Escherichia coli (E. coli) and yeast can thrive in both 100% hydrogen gas and helium atmospheres.  Wikinews discussed the findings with Dr Seager to know more about her research.

Life has not been observed in any habitat other than Earth, which has an oxygen-rich environment.  While Earth's atmosphere is dominated by nitrogen gas, oxygen is essential for advanced living organisms.  Some species of microorganisms do not require oxygen for metabolism, called anærobic organisms, such as methanogens which rely on carbon-dioxide while releasing methane.

Researchers used Escherichia coli strain K-12 and Saccharomyces cerevisiæ strain S288C for this experiment.  The two microorganisms were kept in four different environments: one being 100% air, and the other three being anærobic environments: 100% H2, 100% He, and 80%-20% N2-CO2.  The environments were kept in at 28° Celsius.  The researchers made sure the anaerobic experiment environments were anoxic, and had installed oxygen sensors to report fluctuation in the oxygen level.  They monitored growth of E. coli using optical density measurement, and they used a hæmocytometer for yeast.

The study reported the organisms were reproducing normally in both 100% H2 and 100% He environment.  However, the sigmoid-shaped growth curve was not on par with 100% air.  E. coli and yeast switch from ærobic respiration, which uses oxygen, to anærobic respiration and fermentation.  Both processes are less efficient and do not produce as much energy as ærobic respiration.

E. coli in an 80%-20% N2-CO2 environment had slower growth rate as CO2 dissolves and makes the liquid medium acidic.  Such reduction in growth rate was not observed for yeast cultures, which can thrive in acidic environments.  However, yeast's growth rate in 100% air was far greater than in the other three media.  The likely reason for this significant difference was lack of oxygen for non-respiratory purposes, the research reported.  Oxygen is essential for synthesis of biochemicals such as heme and sterols, which are important for yeast.  In atmospheres lacking oxygen to produce these chemicals, yeast fungi have stunted growth rate.

With this discovery, Dr Seager said scientists can now observe even more planets to study for habitable life.

"There's a diversity of habitable worlds out there, and we have confirmed that Earth-based life can survive in hydrogen-rich atmospheres.  We should definitely add those kinds of planets to the menu of options when thinking of life on other worlds, and actually trying to find it", Professor Seager said.

A rocky planet with expanded hydrogen-rich atmosphere should be easy to detect using the emerging technologies.  Hydrogen and helium gas have very low density.  Dr Seager said, "It's kind of hard to get your head around, but that light gas just makes the atmosphere more expansive [...] And for telescopes, the bigger the atmosphere is compared to the backdrop of a planet's star, the easier it is to detect."

The research paper noted rocky planets which have radius below 1.7 times Earth's radius (Earth's radius is roughly 6360 km) can support a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, if water were to react with Iron.

The research paper reported E. coli releases a number of gases when it lives in hydrogen-based atmosphere including ammonia, methanethiol, dimethylsulfide, carbonyl sulfide, carbonyl disulfide and nitrous oxide.  These gases can serve as biosignature gases which can help astronomers detect and study potential life on exoplanets.

Confirming life can thrive in atmospheres that do not have oxygen, Seager said "Astronomers should keep an open mind as to which planets are worth searching for life".

With NASA's James Webb Telescope scheduled to be deployed next year, the paper suggests researchers could observe smaller exoplanets that orbit small red-dwarf stars.

What prompted your interest in studying the survival of single-celled organisms in hydrogen gas environments?

((Sara Seager))  We wanted to show to astronomers that life can [survive] in hydrogen gas environments because planet atmospheres dominated by hydrogen are the easiest to study with current techniques (as opposed to N2 or CO2-dominated atmospheres).

((WN))  What led you to conduct this research?

((Sara Seager))  It's one of my life's goals to find signs of life on exoplanets.  We'd hate to have missed something just because we were too narrow minded.

When I and others write proposals to use the upcoming telescopes (including the James Webb Space Telescope and the extremely large telescopes now under construction: ELT, TMT, GMT) we want to be able to point to evidence that hydrogen atmospheres shouldn't kill or destroy life.

((WN))  When did the team start working on this study?

((Sara Seager))  About three years ago.  However we started working in earnest about 2 years ago.

((WN))  Could you explain — in very simple terms — what you've done and what you saw?

((Sara Seager))  We grew microorganisms E. coli (a 'Prokaryote') and yeast (a more complex 'Eukaryote') in atmospheres other than air, including molecular hydrogen (and also helium and a carbon dioxide/nitrogen mixture).  We saw that life could grow and thrive in these other atmosphere types.  Although, the microbes grew more slowly than they would in air, i.e.  with oxygen.

((WN))  What activities did this study involve?

((Sara Seager))  Custom-made sealed bottles with E. coli and yeast growing in them.

((WN))  Which activity took the most time and attention?

((Sara Seager))  The custom equipment was the most time consuming.

((WN))  Were there any challenges the team faced while conducting this experiment?

((Sara Seager))  Hydrogen gas is considered unsafe in large quantities.  Although we only used small amounts there were safety regulations that made our work challenging.

((WN))  What is the most fascinating aspect of this discovery?  How is it going to affect future space exploration?

((Sara Seager))  That E. coli, a simple single-celled organism, can produce so many different gases.  Proving to the astronomy community that life can survive and thrive in a hydrogen-dominated environment will enable astronomers to jump-start the search for life because hydrogen-dominated planet atmospheres are easiest to study.

((WN))  Were you surprised by the results?

((Sara Seager))  No, and the biologists on my team and elsewhere are not surprised either.  Hydrogen is not known to be toxic to life.  And, the life was not gaining energy from the atmosphere but rather from the "broth", the liquid culture the microbes were living in.

One thing I was personally surprised about is the diversity of gases produced by E. coli; this lowly life form can give us scientific hope that a range of interesting gases might also be produced by simple microbial-type life on exoplanets.

((WN))  How would you define what a 'biosignature gas' is and what is its advantage in looking for life in exoplanets compared to other forms[?]

((Sara Seager))  A "biosignature gas" is one that is produced by life, can accumulate in a planetary atmosphere, and be detected with remote space telescopes.  It is a "sign" of life, not foolproof evidence of life.

Exoplanets are so so so far away.  We can barely study their atmospheres at all.  Looking for gases that don't belong in a given atmosphere is the main way we can hope to search for signs of life beyond our solar system.

An example is oxygen on Earth.  Oxygen (O2) fills our atmosphere to 20% by volume.  Without plants and photosynthetic bacteria, there would be no oxygen.  If there is an alien civilization with the kind of telescopes we are hoping to build, and they can see oxygen in our atmosphere, they will know oxygen is a highly reactive gas and shouldn't be present.  The aliens might infer there is life producing the oxygen.

The alternative is SETI — search for extra terrestrial signatures by way of mostly radio signals.  That requires intelligent life intentionally sending us a signal.  In the search for biosignature gases we can rely on simple single-celled life.

((WN))  Did your team also investigate the growth pattern of the bacteria in other biosignature gases?

((Sara Seager))  No.

((WN))  There are a few microbes on Earth known to thrive in hydrogen-rich environments.  Why did you decide to investigate yeast and E. coli for this experiment?

((Sara Seager))  Hydrogen-rich environments on Earth are incredibly rare and not well known.  We decided to do a simple experiment to communicate clearly to astronomers that live can survive and thrive in hydrogen environments.

((WN))  If there are planets with hydrogen-dominant atmosphere which can host life — will they have ultra-violet protection layer like the ozone gas?  If not, how will it affect the evolution of the life of these single-celled bacteria?

((Sara Seager))   No.  The organisms may have to develop UV resistance like some life on Earth has.

((WN))  In the experiment, the study reported yeast had "a substantially lower maximal cell concentration in the pure hydrogen-gas environment".  What could be the reason for that?

((Sara Seager))  Even though life can survive without oxygen, life reproduces more with oxygen.

((WN))  The research paper talks about systems with hydrogen gas in abundance in the atmosphere.  Do you suspect microorganisms might be living in some of those systems?

((Sara Seager))  On Earth, yes, in niches.

((WN))  Are there habitats on Earth that might hint at what life on a hydrogen-rich atmosphere planet might look like?

((Sara Seager))  Not really.

((WN))  Should this change our search for life on other planets?  If so, how?

((Sara Seager))  This should open up — continue to push — astronomers on what kinds of planets might be habitable.  We will have so few planets to search for life around, even with our upcoming sophisticated telescopes, that we want to keep options open.

((WN))  What are some of the ways to detect microscopic alien life on an exoplanet?  Or is it beyond the limitations of physical instruments?

((Sara Seager))  Currently beyond limitation.  Future telescopes will be able to search for gases that might be linked to microbes.

((WN))  Are there any candidate exoplanets or satellites which meet the above description to be potential hosts for life?

((Sara Seager))  There is a list, but we do not know enough about the exoplanets, we need more information.

((WN))  Are some categories of exoplanets more likely to support hydrogen-based lifeforms?

((Sara Seager))  Super Earths.  We know hot Jupiters and giant exoplanets have hydrogen/helium atmospheres but they are too hot beneath the atmospheres for life to survive.

((WN))  Can you describe the kind of planet that would likely have such an atmosphere?

((Sara Seager))  Planets are born with hydrogen in their atmospheres; even Earth had a tiny amount in its atmosphere.  Past calculations (that is theory, not observation) show the scenarios under which a planet can have a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere.  It can outgas if it is made of building blocks that have H-containing minerals.  Or some planets can capture an H/He from the planetary nebula while the planet is forming, then even if they lose some H and He it might be maintained from outgassing from the interior.

((WN))  How massive do the exoplanets have to be, so there is enough atmosphere available to support hydrogen-based life?  I suspect below a threshold, the planet's gravitational pull might be too weak, the planet may lose its atmosphere.

((Sara Seager))  Correct.  We know very little about exoplanet atmospheres; forthcoming observations are needed to learn more.

((WN))  Will the yeast and E. coli survive in a very thin atmosphere or in vacuum?

((Sara Seager))  Probably not.

((WN))  Does E. coli or yeast consume hydrogen gas for their survival?

((Sara Seager))  No.

((WN))  How many hydrogen gas-dominant exoplanets or satellites have been discovered?  How common are they?

((Sara Seager))  Rocky planets with hydrogen-gas dominated atmospheres haven't been discovered yet because we can't yet observe and study rocky planet atmospheres.

((WN))  Can we predict the category of the host stars where the planets may support life?

((Sara Seager))  We cannot.

((WN))  What are some of the adverse effects of living in a high concentration of hydrogen gas for E. coli and yeast?

((Sara Seager))  To my knowledge, none.

((WN))  How did you ensure the gas concentration remained stable throughout the experiment?

((Sara Seager))  Sealed bottles.

((WN))  Were [the microbes] taken out of the bottles for [counting]?

((Sara Seager))  Yes, with a needle so that air would not enter the bottles.

((WN))  The growth curve of 100% helium and 100% hydrogen gas environments were nearly the same.  What does that suggest?

((Sara Seager))  That the life we studied can probably survive in any type of non-poisonous atmosphere if it has energy, nutrients, and liquid.

((WN))  What's the significance of learning that microorganisms can survive and grow in a 100% hydrogen atmosphere?

((Sara Seager))  We used a pure 100% hydrogen atmosphere as a proxy for a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere (as atmosphere[s] are unlikely to be pure anything).

The significance is for astronomers.  In our further search for life on exoplanets (once the next-generation telescopes are available to us) we will look for signs of life by way of gases in exoplanet atmospheres that might be produced by life.

Rocky planets with hydrogen atmospheres will be easier to study than atmospheres with nitrogen (N2) or carbon-dioxide atmospheres because hydrogen is a light gas and creates an expansive atmosphere.

I should note that we don't have any rocky planets yet known with hydrogen atmospheres, but they are theorized.  Nor do we have a large number of rocky planets with accessible atmospheres at all.  So this whole sentiment is somewhat in the future.

((WN))  What can we infer from the growth curve of the bacteria in 80% nitrogen gas, 20% carbon dioxide environment?

((Sara Seager))  This atmosphere was used as a control and was not intended to have meaning on its own.

((WN))  How do you think next year's James Webb Telescope will set the course of astrobiology for years to come?

((Sara Seager))  Webb is poised to answer some of your above questions relating to rocky exoplanet atmospheres.  Webb has a small chance to find biosignature gases, but there are really only a small pool of planets available for study.

((WN))  Are there any future plans to follow up on this study?  Perhaps in different physical environments and with different microorganisms?

((Sara Seager))  My team is not planning on follow-up work.

((WN))  What lies ahead in this field of research?

((Sara Seager))  Observations with Webb, and with other telescopes now under construction.


富氫大氣中的生命：專訪麻省理工教授塞格博士

5月，《自然天文學》（Nature Astronomy）雜誌上發表了一項由麻省理工學院教授薩拉·西格（Sara Seager）博士和其他研究人員進行的研究，顯示大腸桿菌（Escherichia coli）和酵母菌等單細胞生物可以在100%氫氣和氦氣兩種大氣中茁壯成長。英文維基新聞與薩拉博士討論了這一發現，以了解更多關於她的研究。

除了地球之外，還沒有在任何生境中觀察到生命，因為地球的環境富含氧氣。雖然地球的大氣層以氮氣為主，但氧氣對高級生物體是必不可少的。有些種類的微生物不需要氧氣進行新陳代謝，稱為無氧生物，如甲烷菌，它們在釋放甲烷的同時依靠二氧化碳。

研究人員使用大腸桿菌菌株K-12和釀酒酵母（Saccharomyces cerevisiæ）菌株S288C進行該實驗。這兩種微生物被保存在四種不同的環境中：一種是100％空氣，和其他三種是厭氧環境：100％H 2，100％He和80％-20％N 2 -CO 2。這些環境都保持在28°攝氏度。研究人員確保厭氧實驗環境是缺氧的，並安裝了氧傳感器來報告氧水平的波動。他們使用光密度測量法監測大腸桿菌的生長，並使用血細胞儀檢測酵母菌。

研究報告指出，生物體在100% H2和100% He的環境中都能正常繁殖。但是，其乙字形生長曲線與100%空氣不相上下。大腸桿菌和酵母菌從利用氧氣的ærobic呼吸轉換到ærobic呼吸和發酵。這兩個過程的效率都較低，而且產生的能量也不如ærobic呼吸多。

大腸桿菌在80%-20%N2-CO2的環境中，由於CO2的溶解，使液體培養基呈酸性，因此生長速度較慢。酵母菌培養物沒有觀察到這種生長速度的降低，因為酵母菌可以在酸性環境中茁壯成長。然而，酵母菌在100%空氣中的生長速度遠大於其他三種培養基。研究報告稱，造成這種顯著差異的可能原因是缺乏用於非呼吸目的的氧氣。氧氣是合成血紅素和甾醇等生化物質的必要條件，這些物質對酵母菌很重要。在缺乏氧氣產生這些化學物質的大氣中，酵母菌真菌的生長速度受阻。

西格博士說，有了這一發現，科學家們現在可以觀察到更多的行星，研究是否有可居住的生命。

「外面有各種各樣的宜居世界，我們已經證實了基於地球的生命可以在富含氫氣的大氣中生存。我們在考慮其他世界的生命時，一定要把這類星球加入到選項菜單中，並實際嘗試尋找生命，」塞格教授說。

利用新興技術應該很容易探測到具有擴大的富氫大氣層的岩石行星。氫氣和氦氣的密度很低。塞格博士說：「這有點讓人難以接受，但那些輕盈的氣體只是讓大氣層更加膨脹[...]而對於望遠鏡來說，與行星恆星的背景相比，大氣層越大，就越容易被探測到。」

研究論文指出，如果水與鐵發生反應，半徑低於地球半徑1.7倍（地球半徑約為6360公里）的岩石行星可以支持富含氫氣的大氣層。

研究報告稱，大腸桿菌生活在氫基大氣中時，會釋放出一些氣體，包括氨、甲硫醇、二甲基硫化物、羰基硫化物、二硫化碳和一氧化二氮。這些氣體可以作為生物特徵氣體，幫助天文學家探測和研究系外行星上的潛在生命。

塞格確認生命可以在沒有氧氣的大氣中茁壯成長，他說：「天文學家應該對哪些行星值得尋找生命保持開放的態度。」

隨着美國太空總署的詹姆斯·韋伯望遠鏡計劃於明年部署，該論文建議研究人員可以觀測到圍繞小型紅矮星運行的較小的系外行星。

是甚麼促使你對研究單細胞生物在氫氣環境中的生存感興趣？

Sara Seager 我們想向天文學家證明，生命可以在氫氣環境中生存，因為以氫氣為主的行星大氣層是目前技術最容易研究的（而不是以N2或CO2為主的大氣層）。

WN 是甚麼原因促使你進行這項研究？

Sara Seager 我一生的目標之一就是在系外行星上尋找生命的跡象。我們不願意因為我們的心胸太狹窄而錯過一些東西。

當我和其他人寫提案使用即將到來的望遠鏡（包括詹姆斯·韋伯太空望遠鏡和現在正在建造的超大型望遠鏡。ELT、TMT、GMT），我們希望能夠指出氫氣層不應該殺死或毀滅生命的證據。

WN 團隊是甚麼時候開始進行這項研究的？

Sara Seager 大約三年前。然而我們大約在2年前開始認真工作。

WN 你能不能用很簡單的語言解釋一下，你做了甚麼，你看到了甚麼？

Sara Seager 我們在空氣以外的大氣中，包括分子氫氣（以及氦氣和二氧化碳／氮氣混合物）中生長出微生物大腸桿菌和酵母。我們看到，生命可以在這些其他類型的大氣中生長並茁壯成長。雖然，微生物的生長速度比在空氣中（即有氧氣的情況下）要慢。

WN 這項研究涉及到哪些行動（Activities）？

Sara Seager 訂製的密封瓶中生長着大腸桿菌和酵母菌。

WN 哪項活動花費的時間和注意力最多？

Sara Seager 訂製設備是最耗費時間的。

WN 在進行這個實驗的時候，團隊有沒有遇到甚麼挑戰？

Sara Seager 大量使用氫氣被認為是不安全的。雖然我們只使用了少量的氫氣，但安全條例使我們的工作充滿挑戰。

WN 這一發現最吸引人的地方是甚麼？它將如何影響未來的太空探索？

Sara Seager 大腸桿菌，一個簡單的單細胞生物體，能產生如此多不同的氣體。向天文學界證明生命能夠在以氫氣為主的環境中生存和發展，將使天文學家能夠迅速啟動對生命的探索，因為以氫氣為主的行星大氣是最容易研究的。

WN 你對這個結果感到驚訝嗎？

Sara Seager 不，我的團隊和其他地方的生物學家也不感到驚訝。氫氣對生命沒有毒性。而且，生命不是從大氣中獲取能量，而是從「broth」中獲取能量，即微生物所處的液體培養物。

我個人感到驚訝的是大腸桿菌產生的氣體的多樣性，這種低級的生命形式可以給我們帶來科學的希望，外星球上簡單的微生物型生命也可能產生一系列有趣的氣體。

WN 你如何定義甚麼是「生物特徵氣體」（Biosignature gas），與其他形式相比，它在尋找系外行星生命方面有甚麼優勢？

Sara Seager 「生物特徵氣體」（Biosignature gas）是指由生命產生的，可以在行星大氣層中積累，並能被遠程空間望遠鏡探測到的氣體。它是生命的「標誌」，而不是生命的萬能證據。

系外行星離我們是如此如此之遠。我們根本無法研究它們的大氣層。尋找不屬於特定大氣層的氣體，是我們希望在太陽系以外尋找生命跡象的主要方法。

一個例子就是地球上的氧氣。氧氣充滿了我們大氣層20%的體積。沒有植物和光合細菌，就沒有氧氣。如果有一個外星文明擁有我們希望建造的那種望遠鏡，他們能看到我們大氣層中的氧氣，他們就會知道氧氣是一種高反應性的氣體，不應該存在。外星人可能會推斷有生命在製造氧氣。

另一種選擇是SETI──通過主要是無線電信號的方式尋找地外信號。這需要智慧生命故意向我們發送信號。在尋找生物特徵氣體的過程中，我們可以依靠簡單的單細胞生命。

WN 你的團隊是否也調查了其他生物特徵氣體中細菌的生長規律？

Sara Seager 沒有。

WN 地球上有一些微生物已知在富氫環境中茁壯成長。為甚麼你決定在這個實驗中研究酵母菌和大腸桿菌？

Sara Seager 地球上富含氫氣的環境是非常罕見的，也不為人所知。我們決定做一個簡單的實驗，向天文學家清楚地傳達，生命可以在氫氣環境中生存和發展。

WN 如果存在以氫氣為主的大氣層的行星，可以容納生命──它們是否會有像臭氧氣體一樣的紫外線保護層？如果沒有，會對這些單細胞細菌的生命進化產生怎樣的影響？

Sara Seager 不，生物體可能要像地球上的某些生命一樣，發展出抗紫外線的能力。

WN 在實驗中，研究報告稱酵母菌「在純氫氣環境中的最大細胞濃度大大降低」。這可能是甚麼原因呢？

Sara Seager 儘管沒有氧氣，生命也能生存，但有了氧氣，生命的繁衍更多。

WN 這篇研究論文談到了大氣中含有大量氫氣的系統。你是否懷疑微生物可能生活在其中一些系統中？

Sara Seager 在地球上，是的。（On Earth, yes, in niches. ）

WN 地球上是否有可能暗示富含氫氣的星球上的生命是甚麼樣子的棲息地？

Sara Seager 不見得。（Not really）

WN 這是否應該改變我們對其他星球生命的探索？如果是，如何改變？

Sara Seager 這應該會繼續推動天文學家對甚麼樣的行星可能適合居住。即使有了我們即將到來的先進望遠鏡，我們可以在周圍尋找生命的行星也將是如此之少，所以我們要保持選擇的開放性。

WN 有哪些方法可以探測到外星球上的微觀外星生命？還是超出了物理儀器的限制？

Sara Seager 目前已經超出了限制。未來的望遠鏡將能夠搜索可能與微生物有關的氣體。

WN 是否有任何符合上述描述的候選系外行星或衞星可以成為生命的潛在宿主？

Sara Seager 有一個列表，但我們對系外行星的了解還不夠，我們需要更多的訊息。

WN 某些類別的系外行星是否更有可能支持氫基生命體？

Sara Seager 超級地球。我們知道炎熱的木星和巨大的系外行星有氫/氦大氣層，但它們的大氣層下太熱，生命無法生存。

WN 你能描述一下甚麼樣的星球會有這樣的大氣層嗎？

Sara Seager 行星的大氣層中天生就有氫，即使是地球的大氣層中也有極少量的氫。過去的計算（即理論，而非觀測）顯示了行星在哪些情況下可以擁有以氫氣為主的大氣層。如果它是由具有含H的礦物的構件組成，它可以出氣。或者有些行星可以在行星形成的時候從行星星雲中捕獲一個H/He，那麼即使它們損失了一些H和He，也可能會從內部保持出氣。

WN 多大質量的系外行星才會有足夠的大氣層支持氫基生命？我懷疑低於一個閾值，行星的引力可能太弱，行星可能會失去大氣層。

Sara Seager 正確。我們對系外行星的大氣層知之甚少；需要即將進行的觀測來了解更多。

WN 酵母和大腸桿菌能在很稀薄的大氣中或真空中生存嗎？

Sara Seager 可能不能。（Probably not）

WN 大腸桿菌或酵母菌的生存是否需要消耗氫氣？

Sara Seager 不需要。

WN 已發現多少顆以氫氣為主的系外行星或衞星？它們有多常見？

Sara Seager 由於我們還不能觀測和研究岩質行星大氣，所以還沒有發現氫氣為主的岩質行星。

WN 我們能否預測行星可能支持生命的宿主星的類別？

Sara Seager 我們不能。

WN 生活在高濃度的氫氣中對大腸桿菌和酵母菌有哪些不利影響？

Sara Seager 據我所知，沒有

WN 在整個實驗過程中，你是如何保證氣體濃度保持穩定的？

Sara Seager 密封瓶。

WN 是否將微生物從瓶中取出來進行計數？

Sara Seager 是的，用針，這樣空氣就不會進入瓶中。

WN 100%氦氣和100%氫氣環境的生長曲線幾乎相同。這說明了甚麼？

Sara Seager 我們研究的生命很可能在任何類型的無毒大氣中生存，如果它有能量、營養物質和液體。

WN 學會了微生物可以在100%的氫氣環境中生存和生長有甚麼意義？

Sara Seager 我們用100%純氫大氣作為氫氣為主的大氣的代表（因為大氣不可能是純甚麼的）。

其意義在於對天文學家來說。在我們進一步尋找系外行星上的生命時（一旦下一代望遠鏡為我們所用），我們將通過系外行星大氣中可能由生命產生的氣體來尋找生命的跡象。

具有氫氣大氣層的岩石行星將比具有氮氣或二氧化碳大氣層的行星更容易研究，因為氫氣是一種輕質氣體，並且會產生一種擴張性的大氣。

我應該注意到，我們還沒有任何已知的具有氫氣大氣層的岩石行星，但它們是理論上的。我們也根本沒有大量的岩石行星具有可獲取的大氣層。所以，這整個感想有些在未來。

WN 從細菌在80%氮氣、20%二氧化碳環境下的生長曲線可以推斷出甚麼？

Sara Seager 這種空氣是作為對照，並不打算有單獨的意義。

WN 你認為明年的詹姆斯·韋伯望遠鏡將如何確定未來幾年天體生物學的發展方向？

Sara Seager 韋伯望遠鏡已經準備好回答你上述有關岩石系外行星大氣層的一些問題。韋伯望遠鏡有很小的機會找到生物特徵氣體，但實際上只有一小部分行星可供研究。

WN 未來是否有計劃跟進這項研究？或許在不同的物理環境和不同的微生物中進行？

Sara Seager 我的團隊不打算進行後續工作。

WN 這個研究領域的前景如何？

Sara Seager 用韋伯望遠鏡和正在建造的其他望遠鏡進行觀測。


2006 Nobel Prize in chemistry for insight into cells

Roger D. Kornberg of Stanford University won the 2006 Nobel Prize for chemistry "for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription". Kornberg's prize-winning work explains how information encoded in genes is used to produce the proteins that keep cells functioning.

Eucaryotes are a multi-celled organisms, such as animals, plants and fungi, which have their genetic material stored in nuclei within their cells. In order to use their genetic information, eukaryotes must extract bits of the coded information. This occurs via the formation of messenger RNA, which consists of copies of a particular gene within the DNA strand. Protein biosynthesis takes place when proteins are built from the information transcribed with the messenger RNA. Eucaryotic transcription is vital for life. If the transcription is interrupted, as can happen when cells are exposed to certain toxins, the cells will die.

Kornberg documented eukaryotic transcription with snapshots of the process in action. He created the snapshots by crystallizing cellular material partway through transcription, and exposing them to x-rays that produced patterns revealing the intermediate structures. Kornberg's work is vital for our understanding of life at the molecular level, and may lead to novel drugs and medical treatments.

Kornberg's father Arthur Kornberg won the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 1959 for explaining how organisms make DNA from amino acids.


Chemie-Nobelpreis an US-Biochemiker

Stockholm (Schweden), 04.10.2006 – Die Königlich Schwedische Akademie der Wissenschaften hat am Mittag den Träger des Nobelpreises für Chemie 2006 bekannt gegeben. Der Preis geht an den US-amerikanischen Biochemiker Roger Kornberg für seine Studien über die molekulare Grundlage der Transkription in Eukaryoten. Kornberg, geboren 1947, ist Medizin-Professor an der Stanford University in Stanford, Kalifornien. Der Preis wird am 10. Dezember in Stockholm verliehen und ist mit 1,1 Millionen Euro dotiert.

Kronberg gehört zu den Chemikern, die wesentlich zur Erforschung der Grundprozesse des Lebens beigetragen haben. Sein Forschungsgebiet ist der Transkriptionsprozess, mit dem auf molekularer Ebene die in der DNS (also auf den Chromosomen) gespeicherten Informationen ausgelesen und anschließend innerhalb der Zelle zur Produktion von Proteinen benutzt werden. Der genetische Code des Zellkerns wird auf diese Weise (durch Transkription) spiegelbildlich umgeschrieben und in Form der so genannten Messenger-RNS „ausgegeben“. Dazu muss die als Doppelhelix vorliegende DNS zunächst aufgetrennt und ausgelesen werden. Dies geschieht durch spiegelbildliche Reproduktion der Basensequenz auf dem DNS-Strang. Diese Kopien (messenger-RNA, kurz mRNA) verlassen nun den Zellkern und liefern den Produktionszentren von Proteinen innerhalb der Zelle die Information, welche Aminosäuren in genau welcher Reihenfolge verkettet werden sollen, um ein bestimmtes Molekül zu erzeugen. Am Ende des Prozesses stehen große Eiweißmoleküle, eben die Proteine, die die Stoffwechselprozesse des Körpers aller Lebewesen mit Zellkern und Zellmembran – Eukaryonten oder Eukaryoten genannt – steuern. Die besondere Aufmerksamkeit Kronbergs galt dabei einem Enzym, das diesen Prozess der Weitergabe von Information überwacht, der RNA-Polymerase. Wie im wahrsten Sinne elementar das einwandfreie Funktionieren dieses Prozesses ist, der von der RNS-Polymerase überwacht wird, zeigt das Beispiel „Knollenblätterpilz“: Sein Gift blockiert genau dieses Enzym, die RNA-Polymerase. Der Transkriptionsprozess kommt zum Erliegen. Innerhalb weniger Tage führt das Gift dieses und anderer Pilze zum Tode.

So ungewöhnlich komplex der Forschungsgegenstand an sich schon ist, so außergewöhnlich waren auch die Methoden, mit denen Kronberg den Einzelheiten dieses biochemischen Grundprozesses nachspürte. Aus den stofflichen Bestandteilen der an dem Prozess der Transkription beteiligten Moleküle stellte Kronberg Kristalle her und fotografierte sie mit Hilfe von Röntgenstrahlen. Durch diese so genannten „Schnappschüsse des Lebens“ war es Kronberg im Jahr 2000 gelungen, die chemischen Reaktionen auf engstem zellulären Raum fotografisch abzubilden und damit zugänglich für die Forschung zu machen. Er eröffnete so bahnbrechende Einblicke in die Welt der biochemischen Grundprozesse in jeder einzelnen Zelle von ein- und mehrzelligen Lebewesen – also eigentlich fast aller Lebewesen.

Diese wissenschaftliche Leistung wurde vom Nobelpreiskomitee für preiswürdig befunden, das schon 1959 den Vater des diesjährigen Nobelpreisesträgers für Chemie für eine Leistung im gleichen Fachgebiet mit der höchsten wissenschaftlichen Auszeichnung geehrt hatte: Arthur Kronberg hatte den Prozess der Vervielfältigung der im Zellkern liegenden DNA erforscht. Diese Vervielfältigung ist notwendig, damit bei der Zellteilung beide Tochterzellen über die gleichen Erbinformationen verfügen.


2006 Nobel Prize in physics awarded for microwave map of the universe

John C. Mather of NASA and George F. Smoot of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shared the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physics for "their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation."

The Nobel Prize Committee cited the physicists for their work on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) project. COBE revealed fluctuations in faint microwave signals from space that are thought to be remnants of the Big Bang.

Although the precise origin of the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background is not yet clear, they may represent clumps in the very early universe that led to the galaxies seen today.

Prior to the COBE map of the universe, it was unclear why the universe contained stars and galaxies rather than an evenly distributed dust cloud. Theorists had predicted that a sensitive measurement of microwaves from the sky would reveal minute temperature fluctuations, which represent variations in the density of matter in the early universe. The denser portions served as seeds for galaxies that formed later. COBE was the first experiment sensitive enough to confirm the predicted temperature variations encoded in the map of the microwave background.

The initial discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson led to their award of the 1978 Nobel Prize in physics. Although they measured the approximate temperature of the universe to be about 3.5 kelvins, their ground-based microwave telescope could not pick out the detail available to COBE.


Amerikanen winnen nobelprijs natuurkunde

De Amerikanen John C. Mather en George F. Smoot hebben de Nobelprijs voor de Natuurkunde 2006 gewonnen. Zij ontvangen de prijs voor hun onderzoek naar kosmische achtergrondstraling (Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB)).

De CMB is het oudste licht in de ruimte, en is ontstaan 380,000 jaar na de oerknal. Onderzoek hiernaar moet beter inzicht geven hoe het heelal is ontstaan.

Mather is een 60-jarige ruimte-natuurkundige voor NASA en Smoot is een 61-jarige natuurkunde professor aan de universiteit van Californië, Berkeley. De twee werkten in 1989 samen aan de lancering van de NASA Cobe sateliet, die de eerste gegevens over CMB registreerde.

De twee ontvangen naast 10 miljoen Zweedse kronen (1.2 Miljoen Euro), een medaille en een diploma.


2007 Intel Developer Forum Taipei Autumn starts with Mobility and Internet Experience

2007 Intel Developer Forum Taipei, held at Taipei International Convention Center, started at October 15-16. With the great technology trends of wireless networking, this time, Intel Global led Navin Shenoy, Anand Chandrasekher, Shmuel Eden, and Gadi Singer talked about the WiMax, productive quantity of 45nm technology, and the development of mobile technology.

Forecasting the WiMax Forum by Taipei Computer Association (TCA) next week, Intel Taiwan invited Mei-yueh Ho (Chairman of Council for Economic Planning and Development) to introduce M-Taiwan and the future of WiMax in Taiwan.

"Not only WiMax, laptop manufacturers will respect on functions such as compatible with High-Definition Videos, power saving, hardware mobilization. In the future, UMPC should be conjuncted with GPS, PDA, and laptop computer and it should mainly have lots of useful functions such as entertainment, mobility, performance, and wireless communication. This is the future object what manufacturers should do." Navin Shenoy mentioned.

"The mobile platform of UMPC will not 'Windows only', with the participation of Asianux by Red Flag of China, HAANSOFT of Korea, and Miracle Linux of Japan, the UMPC competition will be in a great change. So not only Asianux platform, but Ubuntu will be available in the future." Gadi Singer remarked after the showcase of non-Windows UMPC.

After the Opening Keynote, the VIPs summarized topics on 45nm fabs, UMPC, and mobility. Intel predicted that the development of microchip will take effect on the trend of UMPC, it needs the integration on software and hardware contributors and WiMax technology. With the sequences above, the mobility of UMPC will be speed up.


2007英特爾科技論壇 行動運算與網路經驗話題 為大會揭開序幕

在台北國際會議中心進行的英特爾科技論壇，今日起一連兩天正式登場，隨著無線網路的技術發展，有著大幅的轉變，這次，英特爾的行動平台技術專員，包括納文‧薛諾（Navin Shenoy）、阿南德‧詹垂瑟克（Anand Chandrasekher）、山繆‧伊甸（Shmuel Eden）、佳迪‧新格（Gadi Singer）等人，在開幕的主題演講中，就集中火力解析WiMax與行動應用的發展，當中亦包含45奈米製程技術的產量分析。

在行動運用的主題中，為了要幫下週的WiMax論壇暖身，也邀請了何美玥來介紹M化台灣的計畫背景，與WiMax的整合展望，此外，薛諾在開場中，對於未來的WiMax與硬體相關開法做了展望，薛諾表示，未來的行動應用，除了WiMax技術，當然，筆記型電腦的廠商也會重視功能導向，像是高畫質影像的支援，電力消耗的修正問題，以及硬體隨身化的可能，而在隨身化部分，他也表示，GPS應該不單是GPS，PDA也不應單是PDA，未來的隨身電腦，將會是一種多機一體，娛樂、網路、行動、效能兼具，這是未來硬體廠商需要努力的目標。

事實上，不只硬體廠商，新格也表示，往常微型電腦通常只會以視窗系統為主，在未來，以Linux為底的微型電腦，也會中國中科紅旗、日本Miracle Linux和韓國Haansoft等廠商開發的「Asianux」系統與其聯盟，而有重大的改變，進而使得Linux為底的微型電腦，會出現有包含Asianux與Ubuntu的不同平台，但基本上，提供的基本功能大致上會相同。

另外在隨後的記者會簡報中，與會貴賓也針對UMPC、45nm製程進行匯整，根據上午的專題演講，英特爾預估，晶片的趨勢也將會影響到UMPC的發展，當中也需要有軟體方面的整合，以及最新一代的無線網路技術─WiMax，對於行動力才會有大幅的提升。


2007 Taipei IT Month: Gaming industry battle from high-definition AV market to recreation and sports

As the 2007 Taipei IT Month went to the 6th day yesterday, different & multiple marketing battles took place in it. In fact, not only laptop and desktop computers, but also the gaming industry. They battled from high-definition AV-medias to applications on recreation and sports not only in Taiwan but evidently in Japan while some new gaming platforms launched recently.

Recently, partners from Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 launched and announced several games for different gamers. But following to the upgrades, on some gaming platforms and FPD manufacturers promoted their products on Full HD and HDMI features, gaming developers should change plans to upgrade their tools to fulfill requirements on upgraded platforms.

As Wii became another hot topic besides on Xbox 360 & PS3 and was focused by some consumers after Nintendo launched Wii started from Wii Sports, "XaviXPORT", a sports gaming platform imported to Taiwan on October and spoken by movie star Jackie Chan, became a strong contingent for Wii.
According to Heng Leong Hang Co., Ltd., a sales manager was interviewed by Rico Shen who said: "Currently, companies from gaming industry often considered on sense of AV-medias, this firmly brought profits for platform companies. However, health condition for several modern people may go bad to worse if they don't realize the importance and concepts on healthy. For example, some gaming companies with small-business scale in Japan had considered an important factor with 'enjoyment and healthiness', that's why some similar platforms battled in the recreation and sports industry. The best practice is a battle recently between Wii Sports & XaviXPORT."

It can't be ignored that the gaming market brought opportunities for developers. But currently in the presence, a multiple battle from the gaming industry competed not only "what a consumer will buy" but also in the FPD markets and recreation & sports industries.


遊戲產業大比拼 從高畫質市場延伸到休閒與生活應用

資訊月的競爭如火如荼，展覽中凸顯了多樣化的市場轉變，事實上，除了桌上型與筆記型電腦外，遊戲產業在資訊月的競爭，因為部分遊戲平台的問世，進而從高畫質市場，延燒到休閒與生活上的應用。

近期，新力PS3與微軟Xbox360的合作廠商，都相繼推出各種不同的遊戲，有的甚至一次就直接推出不同平台的版本，讓不同的玩家族群可以採購。

但隨著遊戲機的硬體規格提昇，以及顯示器業者大打HDMI與Full HD的高畫質功能之下，各家軟硬體廠商的產品開發進而漸漸地吃重，以滿足相關的需求，進而演變成遊戲主機業者的「硬體規格戰」。

在Wii甫推出，就以運動遊戲打先鋒，引起消費者注意後，近期由港星成龍代言的運動遊樂器平台「XaviXPORT」，就成為Wii的頭號勁敵。

根據台灣恆隆行表示，現在的遊戲產業，大多會注重影音感官的享受，這些確實為硬體廠商帶來商機，不過，隨著現代人生活觀念的問題，健康狀況就有可能亮紅燈，以日本為例，部份中小型遊戲廠商，就會考量到「享受兼顧健康」的要素，因此才會有類似的平台出現的情形，其中，Wii和XaviXPORT的競爭，就是最好的示範。

遊戲市場為業者帶來商機，這點不容被忽視，不過遊戲產業的多方面競爭，以現今的角度而言，已經不是單純「消費者想買什麼」的競爭，反而是延伸到顯示器相關市場，甚至是運動休閒產業，因此，遊戲產業的競爭，現在已經成為多元化的局勢。


2008 Google Developer Day focuses on Internet APIs in Australia

Google Developer Day 2008 took place on June 18 at the Wharf 8 Venue Complex in Sydney, Australia. This is the fourth event after Japan, China, and Taiwan. Thirteen Google Developer days have been scheduled for 2008. About 650 local developers participated in this conference.

Internet APIs on websites and enterprises was emphasised at this event, in addition to discussions on Google Apps Engine, Google Maps, and Android.

Alan Noble, Engineering Director of Google Australia and New Zealand, hoped potential talents and developers can be discovered in this conference, and also commented about the Internet era to local media: "Developers took hold of the notion that the web itself is truly the platform of the future - an open playing field where anyone can build innovative applications."


2008年Google開發者日澳洲站 網路API多層面應用獲重視

2008年Google開發者日，第四站進軍澳洲雪梨的Wharf 8，這場約有近650位工程師參與這項盛會。

相較於日本站的「在地化」、中國站的「理論化」，以及台灣站的「社群化」，這回，澳洲站的主題則較偏向「應用化」，除了Google Apps Engine、Google Maps、Android仍是程式設計師互相交流的重點，商業應用、網站應用，以及網路開發工具，則是澳洲站中，炙手可熱的焦點。

此外，Google紐澳區程式開發總監Alan Noble，在接受媒體訪問時，除了希望藉由這項活動的舉行，發覺澳洲當地的潛力程式設計師，他更語出驚人地表示：「一個開放式的網路平台，將會出現眾多創新的應用程式，因此，開發者的程式設計觀念，將立足下一個網路世代。」


2008 Google Developer Day makes its inception in Taiwan

Last Saturday June 14, 2008 Google Developer Day made its first appearance in Taiwan at the Taipei International Convention Center. Approximately 1,000 developers participated in this conference.

Unlike the first two Developer Days held in China and Japan, this event focused more on demonstrations of "OpenSocial" and "Google App Engine".

Kai-fu Lee, Founding Chairman of Google China, proposed the theory on different generations and leaders on the Internet.

Li-feng Chien, Engineering Director of Google Taiwan, commented about the theory to Wikinews Journalist Rico Shen:


2008年Google開發者日 台灣第一次

2008年Google開發者日，14日在台灣舉行第三站，地點選在台北國際會議中心進行。主辦的Google台灣表示，雖然在去年11月就曾試辦過地方性的活動，但台灣參與此項全球性活動，卻是第一次。

在中國站提及的開放社群，也獲得台灣地區程式開發者的高度重視，此外，台灣站也有進行Google App Engine的實機模擬展示，以測試離線運作的目標。

台灣站的廠商展示中，FunP、揪團網也都分別展示了結合Google Maps的相關API所形成的互動式網站。

日前在中國站，Google全球副總裁李開復曾提出網路時代的角色分野理論，對此，Google台灣工程師簡立峰表示：「台灣的網友雖然在部份議題上，有非常活躍的互動，但在社群的向心力與意識上，明顯較其他國家來得薄弱，因此，不管扮演的角色如何，社群意識將決定網路發展的重要關鍵，當然，不只在台灣。」


2008 Google Developer Day starts from Yokohama, Japan

2008 The 2nd-annual Google Developer Day started its tournament in Pasifico Yokohama, Japan as its first stage. According to Google, this programmer-based event is similar to Google I/O, the largest programming event which is only available in USA and held earlier on May 28 & 29 in San Francisco, California.

Takuya Oikawa, Software Engineer of Google Japan, analyzed the future trend on programming and redefined the "3C". "There are three key features to drive on the next generation programming, that is, 'Client' [user-oriented], 'Connectivity', and 'Cloud Computing'," stated Oikawa.

Fumitoshi Ukai, the Software Engineer of Google Japan, has pointed out the importance of Google App Engine, and performed a SWOT analysis using the Sichuan earthquake as an example, and said: "The failure or success of Cloud Computing will be determined by three critical factors - ability of offline computing, language support, and quotas of databases."

After the Japan Stage, 2008 Google Developer Day will be held in China, Taiwan, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil during the month of June. The Europe Tour of Google Developer Day will kick off from London, England on September 16.


2008年Google開發者日 日本掀開巡迴序幕

2008年Google開發者日，昨（10）日起，開始進行全球巡迴，日本橫濱太平洋會展中心（Pasifico Yokohama）則是這項活動的全球巡迴首站。

日本的開幕場次中，及川卓也首先針對下世代網路發展趨勢進行分析，並重新詮釋「3C」的架構，他表示，未來，除了使用者（客戶端，Client）導向外，網路的連通性（Connectivity）、雲端運算（Cloud Computing）等，都是影響下世代網路開發的重要關鍵，進而衍伸出三項重要的產物─Google Gears、Android、Google App Engine。

當中，Google軟體工程師鵜飼文敏在提及App Engine的重要時，就以四川大地震為例，分析資料庫容量對雲端運算帶來的利弊，並指出，離線運作、語言支援程度、資料庫容量，將有可能決定雲端運算的成效。

而在日本站結束後，這項全球性活動，目前將確定在中國、台灣、澳洲、墨西哥、巴西等地進行，歐洲地區的首場，將要等到9月16日，從倫敦揭開序幕。


2008 SecuTech Expo starts in Taipei, Taiwan for grasping global security industry

The 11th-annual SecuTech Expo & Asian Security Week, organized by New Era International Inc., starts with topics from security devices, information security, and fire & safety on April 16 to 18. 750 companies form 20 nations participated in this fair and more then hundred security experts grasped for the safety & security industry in Global Digital Surveillance Forum, Asia-pacific Information Security Forum, Asian Manufacturer Club and Annual Summit, and Annual Summit for Industrial and Environmental Safety in Taiwan.

In the Industrial Safety and Security Device areas, products related to CCTV and digital surveillance was progressively respected by industrial executives, and before the main show of the "SecuTech Award" announcements, most of participants manufactured security products in conjunction with IT security applications. By the way of the Asia-pacific Information Security Forum, several experts from IT industry did forecasts and analyzed crisis on global IT security.

New Era International Inc., the show organizer, scheduled to promote the "SecuTech" brand to Vietnam by holding the "SechTech Vietnem" first time at Vietnam Exhibition Fair Centre (VEFAC) in Hanoi, Vietnam. And also, this fair was confirmed to move to the TWTC Nangang for more spaces to showcase the security industry worldwide including Taiwan.


2008台北國際安全博覽會 為安全領域把關

由紐奧良文化主辦的「2008年台北國際安全博覽會」，結合安全設備、資訊安全、消防安全等主題，今（16）日在台北世貿一館登場，20國、750家廠商與數百位安全產業菁英，齊聚本次盛會，並在工業安全年會、亞太資訊安全論壇中，為安全領域進行把關。

消防安全與安全器材展區，在電子產業的大力支持下，數位與閉路監控的議題，較往年更受到矚目，並且，在先前公佈的「安全器材創新獎中」，獲獎的參賽單位，一半以上都結合了資訊科技方面的相關應用，此外，在資訊安全論壇中，資訊產業也趁勢，分析了全球網路安全所面對的問題與未來的可能。

主辦的紐奧良文化，為了要強打「SecuTech」的品牌，也已經宣佈將於11月中，在河內的越南會展中心（Vietnam Exhibition Fair Centre）舉行首屆「越南安全博覽會（SecuTech Vietnam）」，並且，在明年4月，將這項三合一盛會，轉往規模更大的台北世貿南港館，讓更多（安全業界）廠商可以在南港館，展現最新的安全技術。


30,000-year-old Austrian statue traced to stone from Italy

In findings published on Monday in Scientific Reports, scientists from the University of Vienna and Vienna Natural History Museum, Austria found the stone used to carve the Venus of Willendorf came from northern Italy, hundreds of miles from its origin, on the other side of the Alps.

The 30 thousand-year-old sculpture is one of the oldest examples of human art.  It stands about 4.3 inches (11 cm) tall.  Like many prehistoric statuettes, it shows a female figure with a large stomach and breasts.  However, while most of these other examples were carved from ivory or bone, the Venus is made of a stone called oolite, a type of limestone.  Scientists believe it was carved by people of the Gravettian culture, probably with flint tools.  Scientists named it after Venus, the Roman goddess of love.

Scientists compared rock samples from as west as France and as east as Ukraine to microscopic views of the Venus.  Because oolite is a sedimentary rock formed by layers of silt and other materials building up over time, it is possible to discern individual grains and bits of shell that make up the stone.  One of the tiny shell fragments in the statue came from a creature that lived during the Jurassic period, though the stone itself would have been harvested and carved much later.

Unlike previous examinations of the Venus, which evaluated only the exterior of the work, scientists used computed tomography to look inside the statue without damaging it.  The scan showed the Venus had little resemblance with oolites near Willendorf, but that it was almost identical to those from Lake Garda in Italy, on the other side of the Alps and the Danube river, over 350 miles (563 km) away.  A less possible site of origin is in Ukraine, over 1,600 kilometers (994 mi) east of where the statue was found in 1908, in Wachau, Austria.

Lead author Gerhard Weber speculated the stone may have moved during a migration: "When the climate or the prey situation changed, [people] moved on, preferably along rivers," he said.

The scientists say these findings have implications for the way prehistoric humans in and around the Alps traveled from place to place.

The study was funded by the state of Lower Austria.


Wykazano, że kamień użyty do wyrzeźbienia Wenus z Willendorfu pochodzi z miejsca odległego o setki kilometrów od miejsca jej znalezienia

Według artykułu opublikowanego w poniedziałek, 28 lutego 2022 roku, w czasopiśmie Scientific Reports, naukowcy z Uniwersytet Wiedeńskiego i Muzeum Historii Naturalnej w Austrii odkryli, że kamień użyty do wyrzeźbienia Wenus z Willendorfu pochodzi z północnych Włoch, znajdujących się setki kilometrów od miejsca jej odkrycia po drugiej stronie Alp.

Figurka licząca 30 tysięcy lat jest jednym z najstarszych przykładów sztuki ludzkiej. Ma około 11 cm wysokości i jak wiele prehistorycznych statuetek przedstawia kobiecą sylwetkę z dużym brzuchem i piersiami. Jednak gdy większość z tego typu przedstawień jest wyrzeźbiona z kości, ta Wenus wykonana została z kamienia zwanego wapieniem oolitowym. Naukowcy uważają, że rzeźba została stworzona przez ludzi kultury graweckiej, prawdopodobnie za pomocą narzędzi krzemiennych.

Naukowcy porównali próbki skał pobranych z wielu stanowisk rozciągających się od Francji do Ukrainy z obrazami mikroskopowymi Wenus. Ponieważ oolit jest skałą osadową utworzoną przez stopniowo nagromadzone warstwy mułu i innych materiałów, możliwe jest odróżnienie pojedynczych ziarenek i kawałków, z których składa się kamień. Jeden z maleńkich fragmentów muszli znalezionych w posągu pochodził od stworzenia, które żyło w jurze, chociaż sam kamień został zebrany i użyty do rzeźbienia znacznie później. W przeciwieństwie do poprzednich badań Wenus, w których oglądano tylko zewnętrzną stronę dzieła, naukowcy wykorzystali tomografię komputerową, aby zajrzeć do wnętrza figurki bez jej uszkodzenia. Skanowanie wykazało, że materiał, z którego stworzono Wenus w niewielkim stopniu przypomina wapienie oolitowe w pobliżu Willendorfu, ale jest prawie identyczny z tymi z Lago di Garda we Włoszech, po drugiej stronie Alp i Dunaju, w odległości ponad 563 km. Mniej prawdopodobne miejsce pochodzenia znajduje się na Ukrainie, ponad 1600 km na wschód od miejsca, w którym oryginalnie znaleziono posąg. Główny autor badań, Gerhard Weber, spekulował, że kamień mógł się przemieścić podczas ludzkich migracji, które najczęściej odbywały się wzdłuż rzek z powodu zmian klimatu lub wahań dostępności zwierzyny. Naukowcy twierdzą, że te odkrycia mają wpływ na to, jak widzimy wędrówki prehistorycznych ludziy w Alpach i mogą wskazywać na znaczną mobilność ludzi kultury graweckiej

Badanie zostało sfinansowane przez kraj związkowy Dolna Austria.


700 new forms of life discovered in Antarctic sea

At first glance, the Weddell Sea in northwest Antarctica may not appear to be teeming with life. Far below the surface there, though, an international team of scientists together with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) reported finding at least 700 new species.

The new species identified include carnivorous sponges, free-swimming worms, and 674 species of isopod crustaceans and molluscs. The species were found at depths between 2,500 feet to 20,000 feet (750–6,350 meters). Isopods, one of the most diverse orders of crustaceans, accounts for 585 of the new species discovered.

"The Antarctic deep sea is potentially the cradle of life of the global marine species. Our research results challenge suggestions that the deep sea diversity in the Southern Ocean is poor. We now have a better understanding in the evolution of the marine species and how they can adapt to changes in climate and environments," said Angelika Brandt, a professor at the Zoological Institute and Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg and head researcher of the team who made the discovery.

The international team discovered the new species through three expeditions, between 2002 and 2005, with the research vessel Polarstern. The project was called the Antarctic benthic (the lowest level of the ocean) deep-sea biodiversity project (ANDEEP). At least 14 research groups joined the effort to map the biodiversity of the sea-floor landscape, the continental slope and at different water depths.

"The isopods, ostracods (seed shrimp) and nematodes, which are poor dispersers, include many species currently known only from the Southern Ocean," the report says. The team's findings were published yesterday in the leading scientific journal Nature. The contributors were from the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, the United States, Russia and Switzerland.

Angelika Brandt et. al.. First insights into the biodiversity and biogeography of the Southern Ocean deep sea. Nature, 2007; 447: 307-311.


اكتشاف 700 نوع جديد من الحياة في أنتاركتيكا


715 exoplanets discovered by Kepler telescope

On Wednesday, NASA announced the confirmed discovery of 715 new exoplanets orbiting just over three hundred stars; this confirmed using data from the orbiting Kepler telescope. Scientists made the discoveries by analyzing data from the first two years of the Kepler Telescope's operation, from May 2009 to March 2011.

These findings have nearly doubled the total number of known exoplanets. It is also the largest number of exoplanets ever confirmed at once, exceeding any previous discovery by a factor of 20. In addition to vastly increasing the number of known exoplanets, it has now been established that solar systems with multiple planets are common, and approximately Earth-sized exoplanets are relatively common.

Nearly all the newly discovered planets are smaller than Neptune; with several only 2.5 times the diameter of Earth, and located within their star's habitable zone. Significant planets found include Kepler-296f, which is twice the size of earth and may have liquid water on the surface, although it is also possible it could be more similar to Neptune. Most of the planets, however, are too close to their star and thus too hot to be in the habitable zone.

The number of exoplanets confirmed via the Kepler telescope has increased nearly fourfold with this discovery.

The findings are to be published in the The Astrophysical Journal on March 10. It is expected many more planets will be confirmed as scientists continue to examine the Kepler mission's data.


Espace : 715 nouvelles planètes extrasolaires

Publié le 12 mars 2014   À l'aide d'observations réalisées par le télescope spatial Kepler, une équipe de la NASA annonce la découverte de 715 nouvelles exoplanètes. Cela fait en sorte de presque doubler le nombre de planètes extrasolaires connues, considérant que seulement environ un millier avaient déjà été confirmées avant cette annonce.

Les scientifiques ont pu établir quelques caractéristiques physiques de ces dernières dont leur taille, leur température approximative, leur orbite et, dans plusieurs cas, leur composition. Cela a permis de découvrir 4 exoplanètes ayant des caractéristiques favorables à la vie, soit une température similaire à la notre et une distance adéquate, permettant donc à l'eau d'être liquide et à la vie d'exister.

Ces découvertes laissent présager d'autres nouvelles concernant les exoplanètes. Le nombre de planètes découvertes ainsi que le nombre de celles encore inconnues est tellement grand qu'on peut espérer trouver des planètes ayant des conditions encore plus favorables à la vie que celle trouvées récemment, surtout avec l'entrée en fonction du télescope spatial James-Webb, prévue en 2018.


A battle between AMD and Intel takes place at 2007 Taipei IT Month

On the third day of the 2007 Taipei IT Month in Taiwan yesterday, notebook computers and desktop computers built with AMD's Phenom processor and Intel Penryn processor openly battled for the consumer-market after each company launched their quad core processors.

Intel with partners like Acer, Genuine, ASUS, and Lenovo promoted their desktops with Core 2 Quad and notebooks with Centrino Duo, even though Intel didn't plan to exhibit in IT Month. Intel's Taiwan division is holding two road shows for DIY experts. One was on December 1 while the second will be on December 8.

AMD, on the other hand, put on a showcase for IT Month with a "Bee Movie" booth-style exhibit at halls 1 and 3 of the Taipei World Trade Center. AMD's subsidiary company ATI showcased HDMI and Full HD with a demonstration of a new graphic card named "Radeon HD2000".

As the two rivals postured over factors like performance and high-definition, Wikinews reporter Rico Shen interviewed some of their partners. BenQ and Micro-Star International both said: "No matter whether the consumer chooses a computer with AMD or Intel, the consumer should consider it based on functionality and practically before purchasing. For example, some low-price notebook computers (EeePC, OLPC) were launched before the show because notebook computer manufacturers had considered and evaluated what a consumer really want. Sincerely, I recommend a consumer not be fooled by a its price but to consider its functionality first!"


2007資訊月 英特爾與超微較勁之際 廠商建議消費者應以個人需求為優先考量

同樣是知名處理器廠商，也都是國際展覽的常客，英特爾與超微，這兩家的策略不盡相同，各經銷商與電腦廠商的戰火，因為四核心電腦商品在資訊月銷售的關係，展開一場激烈的拼搏。

首先是沒有參與展覽，確有安排週邊活動的英特爾，雖然有捷元、宏碁、明基、華碩等大廠，在展場中銷售搭配Intel Core 2 Quad的桌上型主機與搭配Centrino Duo的桌上型電腦，但英特爾也特別選在這兩週的週末，先後舉辦「型男靚女選拔賽」與「超頻大賽」，讓英特爾處理器的愛好者可以互相切磋與交流。

反觀這次參展的AMD，除了週邊配合漫畫電影「蜂電影」，擺設黃色系的蜜蜂圖樣攤位，加上近期發燒的「HDMI」話題，旗下的ATI也藉由Radeon HD2000的促銷活動，想要在高畫質市場大展身手，並在台北世貿三館的「四核心主題館」展區，大打最近上市，搭載Phenom處理器的Spider平台電腦，對戰火力不輸給英特爾的Core 2 Quad。

雖然許多資訊業界大推兩大處理器廠商的最新產品，但某廠商在接受訪問時則表示：「先不要論處理器如何，當消費者需要採購或換機的時候，仍需要考量到使用上的基本需求，以近期熱門的低價電腦為例，那些產品的上市，也代表廠商對於消費者的基本需求有一定的認知，有鑑於此，價格固然重要，但仍須以自身的需求為優先，以免花大錢做冤大頭。」


Agriculture's impact on human evolution clarified

University of Chicago, Illinois biologists Dr. Benjamin Voight, Dr. Sridhar Kudaravalli, Dr. Xiaoquan Wen and Dr. Jonathan Pritchard have identified regions of human DNA showing the strongest marks of natural selection within the last 5,000 to 15,000 years.

They found that many recent genetic changes are related to the development of agriculture.  In particular, the genes for digestion of milk into adulthood occurred only after some level of domestication of animals.  Most mammals drink milk only in infancy.

The work may shed light on the genetic factors involved in various human medical conditions, including high blood pressure and alcoholism.

The Chicago finding also contradicts the tacit assumption of much social science that human evolution "ground to a halt" in the distant past.  Even evolutionary psychologists have tempered their claims based upon this assumption.

The study is based upon DNA changes found in three populations examined by the HapMap project: Africans, East Asians and Europeans.

The study has been published in PLOS-Biology.


L'impact de l'agriculture sur l'évolution est clarifié

À l'Universitée de Chicago, des biologistes de l'Illinois Dr. Benjamin Voight, Dr. Sridhar Kudaravalli, Dr. Xiaoquan Wen et Dr. Jonathan Pritchard ont identifés des régions de l'ADN humain qui montre des marques profondes de sélections naturelles dans les dernières 5000 à 15000 dernières années.

Ils montrent que de nombreux changements génétiques sont liés au développement de l'agriculture. En particulier, les gènes pour la digestion du lait chez les adultes ne sont apparus qu'après la domestication des animaux. La plupart des mammifères ne boivent du lait que dans l'enfance.

Ce travail doit apporter de la lumière sur les facteurs de développement génétique dans différentes situations médicales, en incluant la haute pression sanguine et l'alcoolisme.

L'université de Chicago a aussi contredit l'acceptation tacite de nombreuses sciences humaines qui déclarent sur l'évolution humaine  "s'est temporairement arrêtée" dans un passé plus ou moins proche. Même certains psychologistes évolutionnaire ont tempéré leurs ardeurs basées sur cette prétention.

L'étude est basé sur des changements d'ADN trouvés dans trois types de population examinée par le projet HapMap : Afrique, Asie de l'est et Européens.

L'étude est publié dans PLOS-Biology.


DNA-spår kastar nytt ljus över den neolitiska revolutionen

Nejamin Voight, Sridhar Kudaravalli, Ziaoquan Wen och Jonathan Pritchard vid universitetet i Chicago har funnit att många yngre genetiska förändringar är relaterade till den neolitiska revolutionen då jordbruk utvecklades. Till exempel utvecklades de gener som tillät vuxna att konsumera mjölk först efter att domesticeringen nått en viss nivå. De flesta däggdjur dricker bara mjölk under barndomen.

Biologernas arbete kan komma att få betydelse i tolkningen av genernas betydelse för många av människans medicinska villkor, bland annat högt blodtryck och alkoholism.

Reslutaten i Chicago motsäger också det tysta antagandet att den mänskliga utvecklingen avstannade någon gång i en avlägsen forntid.

Deras studie baserar sig på förändringar i DNA hos populationer i Afrika, Östasien och Europa inom ramen för HapMap-projektet och har publicerats i PLOS-Biology.

Denna artikel är en kort telegramartikel. Vet du mer om ämnet den beskriver kan du hjälpa till med att utvidga den.

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• Teknik och forskning
 • Biologi

• neolitiska revolutionen
• DNA

Händelser 9 mars • mars • 2006 • kvartal 1 • vecka 10
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Airborne laser successfully destroys ballistic missile

The United States Missile Defense Agency have announced that their airborne laser system has successfully shot down a ballistic missile for the first time. In a test on Thursday the "Airborne Laser Testbed" (ALTB), a modified Boeing 747-400F, detected a boosting short-range missile and tracked it using a low-energy laser. A second low-energy laser was used to measure and compensate for atmospheric disturbance, before the aircraft's High Energy Laser was used to destroy the target.

The missile was liquid-fuelled and said to be "threat-representative", possibly similar to a Scud. It was launched from sea, and shot down by the ALTB within two minutes. In a second test less than an hour later, a solid-fuel missile launched from a ground location was also successfully hit by the High Energy Laser, but deliberately not destroyed. A similar missile was destroyed on February 3.

In a press release announcing the successful tests the Missile Defense Agency said: "The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers, and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies."

The ALTB is described as a "pathfinder" for the use of directed energy in missile defense. It is designed to operate at high altitudes above the clouds, and to detect and destroy ballistic missiles soon after launch whilst they are still in their boosting phase. The aircraft is provided by Boeing, the main laser by Northrop Grumman, and the control systems by Lockheed Martin.

"Through its hard work and technical ingenuity, the government-industry team has produced a breakthrough with incredible potential," stated Greg Hyslop, vice president of Boeing Missile Defense Systems. He said that the experiment had "made history".

The US has been working on the program since 1996, and has faced numerous problems in that time. The megawatt-class High Energy Laser is known as the chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL), and consists of six modules, each as large as an SUV. The sheer weight of chemicals needed was almost too much for the 747 jet. The laser also had problems with accuracy due to atmospheric conditions.

February's tests were originally scheduled to be carried out in 2002. The amount spent getting the project to this stage has also risen from a planned US$1 billion to $7.3 billion. Last year, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates cut the program back to a single jet for research, suggesting it would not see actual deployment.

“The reality is that you would need a laser something like 20 to 30 times more powerful than the chemical laser in the plane right now to be able to get any distance from the launch site to fire,” Gates told Congress. "So, right now the [jet] would have to orbit inside the borders of Iran in order to be able to try and use its laser to shoot down that missile in the boost phase."

Gates also raised concerns at the large number of planes that would be required, and the ensuing cost. However, he said that directed energy weapons still had potential for missile defense.


Бортовой лазер успешно уничтожил баллистическую ракету

Американское агентство по противоракетной обороне объявило, что их бортовая лазерная система успешно сбила баллистическую ракету с первого раза. При испытаниях в четверг бортовой лазерной системы, усовершенствованный боинг 747-400F зафиксировал запуск ракеты ближнего радиуса действия и отслеживал её, используя низкоэнергетический лазер. Второй низкоэнергетический лазер был использован для замера и компенсации атмосферных возмущений до того, как находящийся на борту самолёта высокоэнергетический лазер был использован для уничтожения цели.

Ракета была жидкотопливная и как сообщалось, «представляла угрозу» подобно обычной Scud. Она была запущена из моря и была сбита лазером в течение двух минут. На вторых испытаниях, проводившихся менее чем час спустя на твёрдотопливной ракете, запущенной с наземной площадки, цель также была успешно сбита высокоэнергетическим лазером, но преднамеренно не была полностью уничтожена. Аналогичная ракета была уничтожена 3 февраля.

В пресс-релизе агентства по противоракетной обороне об успешных испытаниях сообщалось: «Революционное использование направленной энергии весьма привлекательно для противоракетной обороны и потенциально возможна атака множественных целей со скоростью света на расстоянии в сотни километров одновременно с низкой стоимостью за попытку перехвата по сравнению с существующими технологиями».

Данная лазерная система описывается как «наводящая» для использования направленной энергии в сфере противоракетной обороны. Она предназначена для работы на больших высотах над облаками для обнаружения и уничтожения баллистических ракет вскоре после запуска, пока они ещё находятся на стадии запуска. Самолёт был создан компанией Boeing, основной лазер компанией Northrop Grumman, а системы управления Lockheed Martin.

«Благодаря напряжённой работе и технической изобретательности командой правительства и промышленников был совершён прорыв с невероятным потенциалом», — заявил Грег Хайслоп, вице-президент подразделения противоракетных систем Боинга. Он сказал, что эксперимент «вошёл в историю».

США работали над программой с 1996 года, сталкиваясь с того времени с многочисленными проблемами. Высокоэнергетический лазер мегаваттного класса известен как химический кислородно-йодный лазер и состоит из шести модулей, каждый величиной с автомобиль. Необходимое количество чистых веществ по массе слишком много даже для 747 jet. У лазера также есть проблемы с точностью из-за состояния атмосферы.

Февральские испытания первоначально планировалоась провести ещё в 2002 году. Сумма, потраченная на проект с начала этого этапа, возросла с запланированного 1 миллиарда долларов до 7,3 миллиардов. В прошлом году министр обороны США Роберт Гейтс сократил программу до одного воздушного судна для исследовательских целей, заявив, что не видит фактического её применения.

«Реальность такова, что вам потребуется что-то вроде лазера в 20-30 раз мощнее сегодняшнего химического лазера на самолёте, чтобы иметь возможность быть на любом расстоянии от места запуска до точки, откуда можно открыть огонь», сообщил Гейтс конгрессу. «Таким образом, сейчас [Jet] мог бы находиться на орбите в пределах границ Ирана для того, чтобы иметь возможность попытаться и использовать лазер для сбивания ракет на стадии запуска и разгона».

Гейтс также выразил озабоченность в связи с требуемым большим числом самолётов и последующими затратами. Вместе с тем, он отметил, что оружие энергетическое оружие направленного действия всё ещё имеет потенциал для противоракетной обороны.

13 февраля 2010 года


Airlines modify flight routes amid North Korea rocket launch plans

Approximately twenty flight routes for various airlines are to be modified to avoid the path of a rocket scheduled to be launched from North Korea later this month, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said yesterday.

Amongst the affected companies are Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines and All Nippon Airways, all of which are to reroute their flight paths between April 12 and April 16, in which time the North Korean government says launch is scheduled, with the specific date being subject to weather conditions.

The North Korean government has stated the launch is to celebrate the 100th birthday of Eternal President of the Republic Kim il-Sung.

A statement from Japan Airlines clarifies four of their flight paths are to be modified in direct response to these rocket launch plans, including three from the Japanese capital Tokyo to the Filipino capital Manila, Singapore, and Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, causing anticipated flight timings to rise by between five and twenty minutes. No modifications to domestic flights are planned for the airline.

All Nippon Airways has stated that five of its flight routes are to vary at this time, with flights between similar locations affected. The flights will be otherwise unaffected, according to the company's statement.


Nordkorea: Abschuss einer Rakete steht offenbar kurz bevor

Pjöngjang (Nordkorea), 12.04.2012 – Die Führung des autokratischen Staates Nordkorea plant offenbar, eine Rakete zu starten. Die Führung in Pjöngjang teilte mit, dass die Rakete ausschließlich friedlichen Zwecken diene; mit ihr solle ein Wettersatellit ins All geschossen werden. Der Westen hingegen verdächtigt Nordkorea, eine Langstreckenrakete testen zu wollen. Auch China und Russland forderten Nordkorea auf, auf den Start zu verzichten. Um die Weltgemeinschaft zu überzeugen, dass das Land mit dem Start wirklich zivile Zwecke verfolgt, wurde der Wettersatellit, den die Rakete transportieren soll, auf einer Pressekonferenz gezeigt. Doch die Rakete kann nicht nur Satelliten transportieren; auch Atomsprengköpfe könnten mit der Rakete befördert werden.

Indes haben viele Fluggesellschaften ganz andere Sorgen: Sie fürchten, dass eventuell herabstürzende Trümmerteile ihre Maschinen beschädigen oder gar zum Absturz bringen könnten. Daher leiten viele Fluglinien ihre Flugzeuge weiträumig um.

Diese Befürchtungen hält Nordkorea für nicht gerechtfertigt. Das Land, in dem ein Großteil der Bevölkerung Hunger leidet, fährt indes mit der Betankung der Rakete fort, die sich auf einer Raketenbasis an der Westküste des Landes befindet. Der für heute geplante Start wurde jedoch aufgrund des schlechten Wetters verschoben.


Ракета Северне Кореје спремна за лансирање

8. април 2012.Пјонгјанг-   (Beta-AP) - Северна Кореја поставила је сва три дела ракете дугог домета у позицију за лансирање, чиме је потврдила да неће одустати од спорне акције која је наишла на међународну осуду.

Агенција АП била је међу страним новинским агенцијама којима је дозвољено да „из прве руке“ посматрају припреме за лансирање ракете у Сателитској станици Тончхан-ри на северозападу Северне Кореје.

Пјонгјанг је прошлог месеца објавио планове за лансирање комуникационог сателита средином априла, у част обележавања стогодишњице од рођења оца нације, Ким Ил Сунга.

Инжињери су у недељу појаснили да ће сателит кружити око Земље, како би прикупио корисне податке за метеоролошке службе и оне који раде на побољшању усева.

САД, Јапан, Британија и друге западне земље тражиле су од Северне Кореје да откаже лансирање ракете дугог домета, упозоривши је да ће тиме бити прекршене резолуције УН и обећање Пјонгјанга да ће се уздржати од нуклеарних и ракетних активности.


An interview with Jimbo Wales

Conflict-of-interest editing on Wikipedia

Just five years ago, when Jimbo Wales founded Wikipedia, the project's goal of 100,000 articles [1] seemed ambitious.  Yet today, the project, now one of the top 25 websites in the world according to Alexa, is nearing closer 1,000,000 articles in English, and 3.5 million articles across all languages.  This week, we interviewed Jimbo Wales.

Color-free version

Wikinews: Raul654 asks: "Recently, there were revelations about organized attempts by US Congressmen to whitewash their articles. What is your take on this, as well as earlier reports of Corporate astroturfing?"

Jimbo Wales: The question is invalid.  There were no revelations of organized attempts by US Congressmen to whitewash their articles.  Not any evidence of "corporate astroturfing" of which I am aware.  There was evidence that some congressional staffers edited Wikipedia in inappropriate ways.  But the internal evidence of the type and style of these edits do not suggest "organized attempts".

WN: Nichalp asks: "Budget permitting, are there any plans to increase the number of Wikipedia servers, specifically into the less developed countries?"

JW: We are always buying new servers.  There are no specific plans to add servers in less developed countries, but we have looked into it as a possibility.  We are particularly interested in doing so if it helps increase access and reduce costs for those users.

WN: An anonymous reader asks: "How much of a role do you feel the Wikipedia community (and the communities of its sister projects) should have in the running of the Wikimedia Foundation? Do you see an increasing separation of the organization from the projects? If so, do you regard that as beneficial or a potential problem?"

JW: The community has always been and will always be absolutely crucial to the running of the Wikimedia Foundation. We are increasing the community input and activity in the foundation through a new series of committees to delegate things to community members which have traditionally been handled by me or the Board. I do not see any increasing separation of the organization from the projects, quite the opposite.  I consider the increasing integration of the community and the foundation as overwhelmingly beneficial.

WN: ALoan asks: "English Wikipedia is approaching 1 million articles, but less than 1 in a thousand are Featured articles. The list of featured articles English Wikipedia should have has few featured articles, and recent surveys of articles chosen at random show that many articles are poorly written. How can we get from here to an encyclopedia of well-written articles? Or should we not worry too much about coverage and content?"

JW:  We should be tightly focused on the quality of our coverage and content. The goal of Wikipedia is to create and distribute a freely licensed high quality encyclopedia. The path to that goal will require us to be flexible and thoughtful. The first steps will come soon with the article review system, which will initially be used simply to gather data. After we have data, we can begin to work on how we will focus our attention to improve quality.

WN: GeorgeStepanek asks: "You've said that 'Wikimedia's mission is to give the world's knowledge to every single person on the planet in their own language.' But very few of the wikipedias in the languages of third-world countries are seeing as much activity as the first-world language wikipedias. Do you have any ideas on how this could be turned around?"

JW:  I am a believer in outreach. I would like for the Foundation to raise money specifically to pay one or more minority language co-ordinators. The goal would be to reach out in a more organized way to professors and graduate students and expat communities who have good Internet access, to seed projects for languages where the majority of speakers have poor internet access.

WN: Jacoplane asks: "How do you feel we will be able to reach Wikipedia 1.0? The tools currently available for vetting our articles are crude at best. The Featured article process seems too slow, and the article validation feature seems to have died a quiet death. Are you planning a big push on this front?"

JW:  Isn't that the same question as the quality question?  The article validation feature has not died a quiet death at all.

WN: Quadell asks: "Most important decisions on Wikimedia projects are handled with consensus. However, we sometimes have to deal with legal issues, especially related to copyright law. For instance, we as a community may need to decide whether to consider a certain use "fair", or how to deal with conflicting copyright claims. Dealing with this through consensus is problematic, since we can't do something illegal even if there is widespread misguided support for it. In general, how can we as a community deal with these issues?"

JW:  I don't think there is any real problem with this. The community is strongly in support of following the law. I don't know of any particular cases of widespread misguided support for something illegal. In particular cases, there can of course be [dis]agreement, but I have never seen anyone in the community argue that we should not listen to the advice of our legal team.

WN: Raul654 asks: "Where do you see Wikipedia in 10 years?"

JW:  I don't know. My favorite answer to this is to say, the real question is: where will the world be after 10 more years of Wikipedia. :)  Seriously, I think we'll eventually see a tapering off of new article creation in the large language wikipedias as more and more "verifiable" topics are covered. At this point, most changes will be expansions and updates and quality improvements to existing articles.  But in 10 years, it seems likely to me that many languages which are now quite small will have very large Wikipedia projects. Our community will continue to become more diverse as more and more people worldwide come online.

WN: Kevin Myers asks: "The values reflected in certain Wikipedia policies (anti-censorship, neutral point-of-view) are problematic in cultures where freedom of expression is limited, as the blocking of Wikipedia in mainland China and arguably the Muhammad cartoons controversy attest.  As Wikipedia expands internationally, do you foresee Wikipedia becoming increasingly controversial in countries where "Western values" are seen as a potential threat?"

JW:  I don't think that neutrality and objectivity are really controversial among most people of the world. It is true that the leadership in some places does not value these things, and may actually work against these things, but we can not deviate from our goals to accommodate them.

WN: On a similar topic, Vsion asks: "Are there currently any efforts being undertaken by the Foundation to address the People's Republic of China's blocking of Wikipedia or to alleviate its effect?"

JW:  Beijing-area Wikipedians are working to have the block lifted. Our position is that the block is in error, even given China's normal policies. Wikipedia is not propaganda, it is basic information. We expect that the block will be lifted.

WN: David.Monniaux asks: "The Foundation receives daily accusations of libel from semi-well-known people who have an entry on Wikipedia or are mentioned in some Wikipedia entry. What do you propose? Would a strict application of the rule of citing controversial claims suffice, in your opinion?"

JW:  Yes. I think that our current systems do a good job of addressing these sorts of complaints, although it is very time-consuming for us here in the office. What really works wonders is a very strict application of the rule of citing controversial claims particularly relating to biographies of living persons. The new policy on biographies of living persons is a very strong step in the right direction.

WN: Tony Sidaway asks: "In the past six weeks the number of userboxes on English Wikipedia has risen from 3500 to 6000 and, despite your appeals for restraint, the number pertaining to political beliefs has risen from 45 to 150. Can the problem of unsuitable userboxes still be resolved by debate?"

JW:  My only comment on the userbox situation is that the current situation is not acceptable.

WN: Larsinio asks: "How can Wikipedia effectively explain to the public its open-contribution model without simultaneously worrying the public about inaccurate information?"

JW:  I think we do a reasonably good job of that. The best thing is to point to our overall quality while at the same time pointing out that we are currently a work in progress. Over time, this answer will change as we move toward '1.0'. At that time, we can point to '1.0' for those who are made nervous by the live editing.

WN: Rob Church asks: "Do you consider the encyclopedia to be 'finished'? Do you think it ever can be?"

JW:  Nothing is ever finished. Human knowledge is always growing.

WN: Raul654 and Pavel Vozenilek both asked, "What kind of cool new features/announcements can we expect to see in the next year or two?"

JW:  I think this question is too hard for me to answer. I almost never "announce" anything, and features are developed publicly by the community. I think other people have a better idea than I do what will happen in the next year or two. :) Ask Brion [Vibber].

WN: Celestianpower asks: "If you had not founded Wikipedia, and had just been referred to it by a friend, how active a contributor do you think you would be?"

JW:  [I] dream fondly of such a scenario.  I might actually get to edit articles then. Instead of spend the morning (this morning) documenting transactions and taking phone calls.

WN: OpenToppedBus asks: "The last fundraising drive was less successful than had been anticipated. Do you see a shortage of money holding back Wikipedia/Wikimedia in the short-to-medium-term, and are there any plans to bring in income from sources other than individual donations?"

JW:  The last fundraising drive was more successful than had been anticipated, by a long shot. It was the most successful fund drive in our history.  [Regarding a quoted goal of $500,000], Mav wrote something like that somewhere, in a scratchpad kind of way. That number was just a placeholder and had nothing to do with me or the official view of the foundation.  He's apologized repeatedly for it.

WN: Thryduulf asks: "What is your single greatest wish for Wikipedia?"

JW:  I would have to just point back to our original goal: a freely licensed high quality encyclopedia for every single person on the planet.  That's what I remain focused on daily.


Interview mit Jimmy Wales: Wie geht es weiter mit Wikipedia?

Saint Petersburg (Vereinigte Staaten), 28.02.2006 – Das folgende Interview ist eine Übersetzung eines Artikels aus der englischen Ausgabe von Wikinews. Vor fünf Jahren, als Jimmy Wales Wikipedia gründete, erschien das Ziel des Projekts,  100.000 Artikel zu erreichen, als sehr ehrgeizig. Inzwischen ist Wikipedia (laut Alexa) eine der 25 meistbesuchten Webseiten auf der Welt und nähert sich 1.000.000 Artikeln in der englischen Ausgabe und 3,5 Millionen Artikeln in allen Sprachausgaben von Wikipedia zusammen. Das Interview wurde am 15. Februar 2006 geführt.

Jimbo Wales: (JW) Die Frage lasse ich nicht gelten. Es gab keine Enthüllungen über organisierte Versuche von Kongressabgeordneten, ihre Artikel reinzuwaschen. Ebensowenig wie Versuche von Unternehmen, in dieser Weise Einfluss zu nehmen, soweit mir bekannt. Es gab Belege, dass einige Leute aus dem Mitarbeiterstab von Kongressabgeordneten Wikipediaartikel auf unangemessene Weise bearbeiteten. Aber die interne Auswertung der Art und Weise, wie diese Artikel editiert wurden, erbrachte keine Hinweise auf ein „organisiertes Vorgehen“.

JW: Wir kaufen ständig neue Server. Es gibt aber keine besonderen Pläne, Server in weniger entwickelten Ländern zu installieren, aber wir haben dies als eine Möglichkeit erwogen. Wir sind speziell daran interessiert, wenn es so gelingt, jenen Benutzern auf diese Weise den Zugang zu erleichtern und Kosten zu verringern.

JW: Die Community ist immer und wird immer ein absolut entscheidender Bestandteil beim Betrieb der Wikimedia Foundation bleiben. Wir steigern den Input und die Aktivitäten durch die Community in die Wikimedia Foundation durch eine neue Reihe von Arbeitsgruppen, die Dinge an Benutzer delegieren. Das wird traditionell von mir oder der Führungsebene so gehandhabt. Ich sehe eigentlich keine wachsende Trennung der Organisation von den Projekten, ganz im Gegenteil: Ich betrachte die wachsende Integration der Community und der Foundation als überaus nutzbringend.

JW:  Wir sollten uns sehr auf die Qualität unserer Berichterstattung und unserer Inhalte konzentrieren. Das Ziel von Wikipedia ist es, eine frei lizenzierte und qualitativ hochstehende Enzyklopädie zu schaffen und zu verbreiten. Der Weg zu diesem Ziel wird uns abverlangen, beweglich und ideenreich zu sein. Die ersten Schritte werden bald mit einem neuen Prüfsystem für Artikel gemacht werden, das zunächst einfach genutzt werden soll, um Daten zu sammeln. Nachdem wir die Daten haben, können wir damit beginnen einen Plan auszuarbeiten, wie wir unsere Aufmerksamkeit auf die Erhöhung der Qualität richten können.

JW:  Ich glaube an die Außenarbeit. Ich würde für die Foundation das Ziel aufstellen, Geld speziell zu dem Zweck aufzubringen, Sprachkoordinatoren für kleine Minderheitensprachen zu finanzieren. Das Ziel würde darin bestehen, auf eine besser organisierte Weise Professoren und Doktoranden zu erreichen und Communities zu verbreitern, die gute Internetzugänge besitzen, um Projekte für Sprachen anzustoßen, in denen die Mehrheit der Sprecher nur über unzureichende Zugänge zum Internet verfügen.

JW: Ist das nicht gleiche Frage wie die nach der Qualität? Das Feature der Artikelbewertung ist in keiner Weise einen stillen Tod gestorben.

JW: Ich glaube nicht, dass es ein reales Problem damit gibt. Die Community hält sich sehr streng an die Gesetze. Ich kenne keinen speziellen Fall einer verbreiteten irrtümlichen Unterstützung für etwas Ungesetzliches. In besonderen Fällen kann es natürlich Meinungsverschiedenheiten geben, aber ich habe nie jemanden in der Community getroffen, der so argumentiert hätte, dass wir den Ratschlägen unseres juristischen Beirats keine Beachtung schenken sollten.

JW:  Weiß ich nicht. Meine Lieblingsantwort darauf ist, dass die tatsächliche Frage lautet: Wo wird die Welt nach zehn weiteren Jahren Wikipedia stehen? :)  Ernsthaft: Ich denke, wir werden schließlich in den großen Wikipedia-Sprachausgaben ein langsames Nachlassen der Erstellung neuer Artikel feststellen, sobald mehr und mehr „überprüfbare“ Themen erledigt sind. An diesem Punkt werden die meisten Veränderungen aus Erweiterungen und Updates sowie Qualitätsverbesserungen bei vorhandenen Artikeln bestehen.  Aber es scheint mir wahrscheinlich, dass in zehn Jahren viele Sprachausgaben, die jetzt noch ziemlich klein sind, große Wikipediaprojekte werden. Unsere Community wird sich differenzieren, wenn immer mehr Menschen weltweit online gehen.

JW: Ich glaube nicht, dass Neutralität und Objektivität von den meisten Menschen auf der Welt wirklich kontrovers betrachtet werden. Es ist wahr, dass die Führung in einigen Ländern diese Dinge nicht schätzt, und sie mögen tatsächlich gegen diese Dinge angehen, aber wir können nicht von unseren Grundsätzen abgehen, um uns dem anzupassen.

JW:  Wikipedianer in der Pekinger Region arbeiten daran, diese Blockade aufzuheben. Unsere Position ist, dass die Blockade ein Irrtum ist, sogar wenn man die normale Politik Chinas in Rechnung stellt. Wikipedia ist keine Propaganda, es ist grundlegende Information. Wir erwarten, dass die Blockade aufgehoben wird.

JW:  Ja. Ich glaube, dass unser gegenwärtiges System gut funktioniert, wie wir mit solchen Beschwerden umgehen, obwohl es für uns hier im Büro sehr zeitaufwändig ist. Was wirklich wunderbar funktioniert, ist eine sehr strikte Anwendung der Regel, dass kontroverse Standpunkte zitiert werden, besonders im Zusammenhang mit Biografien lebender Persönlichkeiten. Die neue Politik im Umgang mit lebenden Personen ist ein sehr wichtiger Schritt in die richtige Richtung.

JW:  Mein einziger Kommentar zur Situation der Benutzerseiten ist, dass die gegenwärtige Situation inakzeptabel ist.

JW: Ich glaube, wir machen hier einen ziemlich guten Job bei dieser Sache. Das Beste ist es, auf unsere überwiegend gute Qualität hinzuweisen, während zur selben Zeit darauf hinzuweisen ist, dass wir gegenwärtig an der Weiterentwicklung [der Qualität] arbeiten. Mit der Zeit wird sich diese Antwort ändern, sobald wir zur [Version] 1.0 übergehen. Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt können wir diejenigen auf [Version] '1.0' hinweisen, die durch die Möglichkeit jederzeitiger Editierung beunruhigt werden.

JW:  Nichts ist jemals zu Ende. Menschliches Wissen wächst unaufhörlich.

JW:  Ich denke, diese Frage ist für mich zu schwierig zu beantworten. Fast niemals kündige ich irgendetwas an, und die Features werden öffentlich durch die Community entwickelt. Ich glaube, andere Leute haben eine bessere Vorstellung als ich, was in den nächsten ein, zwei Jahren passieren wird. :) Fragen Sie Brion [Vibber].

JW:  [Ich] träume stolz von einem solchen Szenario. Ich würde mich wohl wirklich daran machen, Artikel zu editieren, anstatt den Morgen (diesen Morgen) damit zu verbringen, Überweisungen zu dokumentieren und Telefonanrufe entgegenzunehmen.

JW:  Die letzte Spendenaktion war erfolgreicher als angenommen, auf lange Sicht gesehen. Es war die erfolgreichste Spendenaktion in unserer Geschichte.  [In Betrachtung eines offiziell ausgegebenen Ziels von $500.000] schrieb Mav so etwas Ähnliches in einer Art handschriftlichem Kommentar. Diese Ziffer war nur ein Platzhalter und hatte nichts mit mir oder dem offiziellen Ziel der Foundation zu tun. Er hat sich mehrfach dafür entschuldigt.

JW: Ich würde nur auf unser ursprüngliches Ziel verweisen: eine frei lizenzierte, qualitativ hochstehende Enzyklopädie für jede einzelne Person auf diesem Planeten. Das ist es, worauf ich mich jeden Tag konzentriere.