The new brain drain

CNN reports...

Two government biologists heavily recruited by Stanford University have decided to work in Singapore instead, saying they will face fewer restrictions on stem cell research overseas.

Read on more here

Wise monk says

Wise monk says : "Be stingy. Save money. You don't know when your car will break down"

Venus, Meet Probe. Probe, Meet Venus

New Scientist has a report on the Venus Express spacecraft that is set to blast off on 9th November. Amongst other things, scientists hope to find out why a planet that has so much in common with earth in terms of physical dimensions and orbiting distance from the sun is devoid of life. Read more here

Joke of the day

A suspect sample of the avian flu virus from dead Romanian birds went missing for at least 24 hours and possibly two days at Heathrow. It was flown in by British Airways but when security couriers arrived to collect the package, it could not be found. BA began an investigation and said there was no health risk.

(Source)

Now, if only, I can do this at work.

Jim Jubak takes on the Fed

Jim Jubak, a columnist for MSN Money , has a very interesting take on the Fed's policy of increasing interest rates to combat inflation. According to him, the Fed has gotten it all wrong this time around. Here's my favorite passage from his article.

"The Federal Reserve is fighting the wrong kind of inflation. The classic monetary remedy for inflation is higher interest rates -- that slows the economy, reducing demand. That, in turn, breaks the spiral of higher wages leading to higher prices leading to higher wages, etc. But the current problem isn't classic wage-price inflation. Wages are going nowhere fast; something else is driving inflation. Take a look at the numbers for the quarter completed in September. The economy, as measured by gross domestic product, grew at a 3.8% rate in the quarter. Consumer prices, measured by the Consumer Price Index, climbed at an annual rate of 4.7%, the highest rate of increase since June 1991.Where did that inflation come from? Certainly not from wage increases. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers' wage costs grew just 2.3% in the last 12 months. That's the slowest growth rate on record, beating out the 2.4% annualized growth rate in wages reported in August. Instead, current inflation is almost all a result of higher energy prices. ".

Black Hole

According to the New Scientist, astronomers are zeroing in on the location of the black hole that is believed to be at the center of our galaxy, the Milky way