In the News
Academic rebellion
 Science is revolting! A revolution is underway and the battles are taking place on the Microsoft Office frontline. Science, the journal of the America Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), is ditching support for Microsoft format office documents. In its notice to authorsit advises that:
“Because of changes Microsoft has made in its recent Word release that are incompatible with our internal workflow, which was built around previous versions of the software, Science cannot at present accept any files in the new .docx format produced through Microsoft Word 2007, either for initial submission or for revision. Users of this release of Word should convert these files to a format compatible with Word 2003 or Word for Macintosh 2004 (or, for initial submission, to a PDF file) before submitting to Science.” There is also a warning that Microsoft Word 2007 is no longer acceptable in revision documents because of problems with incompatibilities with Equation Editor. But, it is not just hefty Science magazine, Naturehas also weighed into the battle: “We currently cannot accept files saved in Microsoft Office 2007 formats. Equations and special characters (for example, Greek letters) cannot be edited and are incompatible with Nature’s own editing and typesetting programs.” Thanks to An Antic Dispositionfor bringing the S and N issues to our attention. But, is this the only evidence of a rebellion? Certainly not. While Science and Nature are ditching the various Microsoft proprietary formats for technical reasons but staff and studentsat Imperial College London are truly up in arms over the imposition their institution makes on them to use Microsoft products. The Software Freedom for Imperial College is hoping to persuade IC to implement a college-wide policy that ensures students are not coerced into purchasing M$ products in order to complete their studies. At present, many tutors and professors ask for Word format files, Powerpoint presentations, and Excel spreadsheets. All of which are infinitely more expensive than the Open Source equivalents of these Office products which are widely available and widely accepted in many quarters. The movement also hopes to discourage the use of Microsoft products for email attachments and to preclude Microsoft’s awful winmail.dat (workaround here). They want IC to ensure that all web services are standards-compliant and fully functional in all major web browsers, not just the dreaded IE. And finally, they want to see the use of free and open source software for services when high quality and reliable alternatives exist. Several top universities have already made the move to OS and ditched Microsoft either completely or partially. In fact, IC is the only one of the Top 20 academic centres of excellence around the world that still uses a proprietary web server that is not 100% standards compliant. This resulted, according to the site in 313 errors during testing compared to University of Cambridge: 0, University of Oxford: 0, MIT: 0, and Yale University: 1 error. SFIC hopes to negotiate with IC to rectify the problems. The main issue is probably inertia, even within academic science, Word, Powerpoint, Internet Explorer, Outlook, are all considered pretty much standard the world over. There are viable and better, free alternatives to almost all Microsoft products, such as Thunderbird email, Firefox, Safari, and Opera web browsers, OpenOffice etc etc as well as countless non-proprietary server systems. More Kids 'On Track' at School -- 1 in 4 Gifted -- According to Census
This January 2007 press release is for "A Child's Day: 2003,"the "third examination of children's well-being and their daily activities based on the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)". Topics include education, child care arrangements, and participation in sports. Features highlights of the report, and link to the full report, detailed tables, and podcasts related to the report. From the U.S. Census Bureau. Comprehensive Fibroid Center
Information on fibroids, "round muscle growths that develop within the uterus (womb). Fibroids are almost always benign (non-cancerous)."Covers the different types of fibroids, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment (including myomectomy and hysterectomy). From the Comprehensive Fibroid Center of the University of California, San Francisco, a medical center "devoted to serving the specific needs of women with uterine fibroids." Eating Foods With 'Weak Estrogens' May Help Reduce Lung Cancer Risk
Eating vegetables and other foods that have weak estrogen-like activity appears to reduce the risk of developing lung cancer in smokers - as well as in non-smokers, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Marriage And Fatherhood Linked To Lower Testosterone Levels
Marital status and paternal responsibility may have a significant effect on levels of testosterone and other hormones in men, according to two new studies. Hormone levels differ significantly not only between fathers and non-fathers, but also between single men and men involved in long-term marital relationships. Monogamously married men had significantly lower morning and afternoon testosterone levels compared to their single counterparts of similar age. NARA Interagency Working Group
In 1999 "in accordance with the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act ... President Clinton established the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group (IWG). The group is ... directed to locate, inventory, recommend for declassification, and make available all classified Nazi war criminal records ... to the public."This site provides extensive finding aids to documents from various government agencies, bibliographies, glossaries, Holocaust timelines, and related documents. From the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regar
This commission established in February 2004 "is charged with assessing whether the Intelligence Community is sufficiently authorized ... to identify and warn in a timely manner of, and to support United States Government efforts to respond to ... the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction [WMD]."The site features a FAQ, the commission's report submitted to the president on March 31, 2005, and related material. Nanotube Dermatology
The process by which carbon nanotubes repair themselves has now been explained and modeled in detail. These tubes, sometimes only a nanometer or so in width but microns in length are among the toughest but also flexible materials known. And when they develop a tear, whether through irradiation or the application of extreme heat or strain, they are able to sew themselves back up without any leftover stitches or imperfections. Placeblogger: Get Your Local Fix
The local rag is great for news of street potholes and who's on the police blotter. But a new blog aggregator aims to help you find local blogs to get your neighborhood news. Plus: Tutorial: Converting HTML to XHTML In Monkey Bites. Wildlife of Tasmania: Tasmanian Devil
Fact sheet about this Australian mammal, which "cannot be mistaken for any other marsupial. Its spine-chilling screeches, black colour, and reputed bad-temper, led the early European settlers to call it The Devil."Includes a FAQ, images, video and audio clips, and information about Devil Facial Tumour Disease affecting the Tasmanian devil population. From Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.
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