It's been said that no news is good news. That's incorrect. It turns out that GOOD news is actually good news. Here are some examples.
Item 1
'Nanobodies' promising as anti-cancer medicines
(from KurzweilAI.net)
Researchers are using a new class of extremely small antibodies named "nanobodies" with all the advantages of the conventional antibodies, but are small, very stable, soluble proteins that are much easier and less expensive to produce than conventional antibodies.
The researchers at VIB, Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology have recently begun to evaluate nanobodies as anti-cancer medicines. The first results look promising: in experiments conducted on mice, a tumor with a certain protein on its membrane was successfully counteracted through administration of a nanobody.
The good news:
These nanobodies are able to target tumors in a much more specific way than the anitbodies that are currently used in cancer treatment. Where antibodies often have the unfortunate habit of going after healthy tissues, nanobodies have a one-track mind: they just want to kill cancer. They may also prove useful in treating inflammatory disease as well as heart and vascular diseases.
Item 2
Australia's jobless rate remains 14-year low
Australia's unemployment rate was at 5.6 percent in April, remaining at a 14-year low, according to official figures released Thursday.
The jobless rate was the lowest since December 1989 thanks to an increase in new jobs, said the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The good news:
Speaks for itself. Way to go, Oz.
Item 3
Stem Cell Research Institute Is Launched
(via KurzweilAI.net)
Saying that the frontiers of medical science should not be hemmed in by politics, Gov. James E. McGreevey signed legislation Wednesday to establish the nation's first state-supported stem cell research facility.
Stem cells - found in human embryos, placentas and umbilical cords - can be induced to grow into an array of different types of body tissues, and researchers say they could be useful in treating a variety of ailments. Because harvesting the cells often involves destroying a human embryo, many conservatives and anti-abortion campaigners say it is unethical.
The good news:
As we reported yesterday (item 8) and as we have touched on numerous times in the past few months, stem cell research promises to open up tremendously more effective means of treating injury, degenerative disease, and aging than have ever been available before.
The downside:
There are sticky ethical issues involved that can't be wished away. In navigating these waters, it's important that we learn to make the correct distinctions and avoid hysteria.
Item 4
'Keyhole' colon cancer surgery found to be safe, less painful
A decadelong study comparing conventional colon cancer surgery with ''keyhole'' surgery found identical success rates, disproving fears that tumors would be more likely to return if surgeons did not open up the patient's belly for a full view.
The good news:
More wonderful progress in the ongoing fight against cancer.
The downside:
Is it just me, or does anyone else squirm at the use of the word "keyhole?"
Item 5
Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
On Friday, the reconstituted Corps of Discovery will begin the long slog up the Missouri River. The event is part of the Lewis & Clark bicentennial, which aptly began at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello more than a year ago and will continue to chronologically and geographically follow the intrepid explorers' path over the next three years, from Missouri to the Pacific Coast and back.
The good news:
Look how far we've come. Here's a bit more from the OpinionJournal piece, concerning how much was known about what is now the Western US before the Lewis and Clark expidition: "Jefferson held the common belief that the Rockies were no bigger than the Appalachians. Others believed the American West to be an untouched prehistoric land complete with mammoths."
Today we know far more about the dark side of the moon and the geography of the plant Mars than our recent ancestors did about the western half of the continent they lived on.
The downside:
Obviously, the opening up of the West was not good news for the plains Indians.
Item 6
Networking Is Back
Cisco's CEO said in his keynote speech at NetWorld+Interop that IT spending is on the upswing, and that Investments In IT are helping to improve productivity.
The good news:
The IT-spending drought has been a long and painful one. If companies are starting to spend money on IT infrastructure, this elusive "economic recovery" that we've been reading about is about to hit home for a lot of regular folks who happen to work in the IT field. (Including, here's hoping, Yours Truly.)
The downside:
Not really a downside, but more in the nature of adding a grain of salt: this was a keynote speech at a tech conference, after all. (However, those Cisco earnings are real.)
Item 7
True Romance
It looks like J-1 is in love. After meeting the very fetching and slightly younger Aurora, he changed color and his eight arms became intertwined with hers. Then, the two retreated to a secluded corner to get to know each other better. We're talking about giant Pacific octopuses here.
The good news:
Just warms the heart, doesn't it? Ah...love...
Item 8
Wearable Wireless Displays Are In Sight
via KurzweilAI
Imagine having a 17-inch screen constantly at your disposal that lets you look up information online, check your e-mail or watch a movie--and that isn't attached to a laptop...
scientists and startups alike have figured out how to make tiny wearable screens--with diagonals of less than half an inch--project what looks like a lifesize screen floating in space just a couple of feet from your eyes. These devices permit the wearer to remain totally engaged with their environment, able to see everything around them. The trick is in the magnifying optics on top of the display, which creates the illusion of a large, legible monitor that moves with you when you move your head...
"People have been talking about this kind of thing for ten years," says John Fan, chief executive of Kopin (nasdaq: KOPN - news - people ), which makes these tiny displays. "But now the technology is here and it has the right price point."
The good news:
The big beige box can't disapear fast enough to suit me. And because this will be part of a computer system that can always be with you, it may also replace pen and paper.
The bad news:
Computers and telephones will be harder than ever to get away from as we start wearing our office around with us.
And I don't care what they say about remaining engaged with your environment, this would be dangerous to look at while driving. And people will do it.
But hey, maybe this will be the reason we get smart highways and autodrive cars!
Better All The Time is compiled by Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon. Viva la future, dude!
I think you missed a slight drawback on Item 7, at least from Aurora's point of view:
"She will weaken and die soon after they hatch."
Posted by: Andrew Salamon at May 14, 2004 09:54 AMShe will weaken and die soon after they hatch.
You're right. That's so sad.
But it does give the whole thing a kind of Ryan O'Neal/Ali McGraw spind, doesn't it?
Jeez, I'm old. Let me try that again.
It does give the whole thing a kind of Leonardo Di Caprio/Kate Winslet spin, doesn't it?
Posted by: Phil at May 14, 2004 10:25 AM