It started life as the emblem of the British anti-nuclear movement but it has become an international sign for peace, and arguably the most widely used protest symbol in the world. It has also been adapted, attacked and commercialised.

Gerald Holtom, a designer and former World War II conscientious objector from West London, persuaded DAC that their aims would have greater impact if they were conveyed in a visual image. The "Ban the Bomb" symbol was born.

BBC NEWS | Magazine | World's best-known protest symbol turns 50

Arthur C. Clarke, a writer whose seamless blend of scientific expertise and poetic imagination helped usher in the space age, died early Wednesday in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he had lived since 1956. He was 90.

Arthur C. Clarke, 90, Science Fiction Writer, Dies - New York Times

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — An aide said science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke has died.

Rohan De Silva says Clarke died early Wednesday [March 18th 2008] after suffering from breathing problems. He was 90.

Clarke is the author of more than 100 books, including 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke dies at 90

British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died in Sri Lanka at the age of 90.

a legend

BBC NEWS | UK | Writer Arthur C Clarke dies at 90

Roy Scheider, who has died at the age of 75, was one of Hollywood's most iconic stars of the 1970s.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Obituary: Roy Scheider

Authorities in Afghanistan have sentenced a 23-year-old journalism student to death for having downloaded and shared copies of a report criticizing the oppressive treatment of women in some Islamic societies.

Afghanistan: death sentence for downloading, distributing report on oppression of women - Boing Boing

jpeg of the under sea cables/internet backbone

SeaCableHi.jpg (JPEG Image, 1703x1037 pixels)

A third marine cable has been snapped, compounding global net woes caused by two broken lines on Wednesday.

BBC NEWS | Technology | New cable cut compounds net woes

Scientists in Maryland today said they had built from scratch an entire microbial chromosome, a loop of synthetic DNA carrying all the instructions that a simple cell needs to live and reproduce.

The feat marks the first time that anyone has made such a large strand of hereditary material from off-the-shelf chemical ingredients. Previous efforts had yielded DNA strands less than one-twentieth the size, and those pieces lacked many of the key biological programs that tell a cell how to stay alive.

On the basis of earlier experiments, the researchers believe the new, full-length loop would spontaneously "boot up" inside a cell, just as a downloaded operating system can awaken a computer -- a potentially historic event that would amount to the creation of the first truly artificial life form.

Synthetic superbugs, here we come! Everyone got their space suits ready?

Md. Scientists Create Full Chromosome of Synthetic DNA - washingtonpost.com

While there is increasing evidence that the euro-area economy is slowing, most of the factors that are contributing to the bleak outlook in the United States are not present on the Continent, according to the governor of the Bank of France, Christian Noyer.

During an interview, Noyer also said he did not expect any "strong shocks" from French banks as they report their 2007 earnings, despite the constant stream of major losses by banks in the United States.

Noyer was at pains to stress that consumers and financial institutions in France and the rest of the euro zone appeared relatively insulated from the effects of the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market across the Atlantic.

Christian Noyer sees 'partial decoupling' of US and EU economies - International Herald Tribune