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Winds of change: Turbine plans stir second battle of Agincourt  - BBC  French authorities are to hold a public inquiry into plans to build wind turbines near the site of the historic Battle of Agincourt between the French and the English in 1415. Local residents have launched a petition against the plans. All around are beautifully untouched fields awaiting the four wind turbines, half the size of the Eiffel Tower, that have led to an entirely separate battle. Mayor of Agincourt Bernard Boulet says his region was chosen because it is particularly windy. He says farmers will receive tax benefits as part of a wider European initiative to produce cleaner energy.

Frying pan fumes 'kill canaries'  - BBC  Fumes given off by cancer-causing chemicals used to make non-stick frying pans are killing hundreds of pet birds every year, environmentalists say. The Worldwide Fund for Nature says it is hearing reports that many US caged birds are being killed by the fumes. It says the chemicals, perfluorinated compounds, are also contaminating both people and wildlife with grave effects. The chemicals industry says it doubts that birds exposed to ordinary levels of the compounds could die from them. In a report, Causes For Concern: Chemicals and Wildlife, WWF says the compounds, also used in some textiles and food packaging, are among "the most prominent new toxic hazards". Elizabeth Salter-Green, head of WWF's toxics programme, said: "Years ago, coal miners took canaries with them down the pits to detect lethal gases.

New form of matter created in lab  - BBC  Scientists have created a new form of matter saying it could provide a new way to generate electricity. It could be a step closer to an everyday, usable superconductor - a material that conducts electricity without losing any of its energy. "Right now something like 10% of all electricity we produce in the United States is lost. It heats up wires. It doesn't do anybody any good." Superconductors could allow for the development of magnetically levitated trains. Free of friction they could glide along at high speeds using a fraction of the energy trains now use.

Alzheimer's Disease: : 

Biosciences:
2/2/2004: Backing for tissue research drops  - BBC
2/2/2004: Monkeys put a lot of thought into sex - MSNBC
2/2/2004: EU moves to end GM food ban - ABC

Climate, Environment:

Computers:
Devices
2/2/2004: Battle over violent video games heating up - USA Today

Communications
2/2/2004: Phone firms face up to porn  - BBC
2/2/2004: Wi-fi networks step up security  - BBC
2/2/2004: FCC: Satellite services gaining on cable  - CNN  
2/2/2004: RIM picks up Samsung phone support  - C/Net

Technology
2/2/2004: Intel to slash chip prices  - CNN  
2/2/2004: Intel eyes 64-bit chips for desktops  - C/Net
2/2/2004: HP storage packs a protein punch  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Resists not forthcoming for troubled 157-nm litho effort  - El. Engr. Times

PC's
2/2/2004: Portable memory format gets set for launch  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Apple offers iBook repair  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Watch your backup  - C/Net

Internet
2/2/2004: Virulent worm targets Microsoft  - BBC
2/2/2004: Webwise: Get webwise with the BBC's beginner's guide to the internet  - BBC
2/2/2004: MyDoom attack countdown begins  - CNN  
2/2/2004: The Useless Hysteria over Mydoom - Business Week
2/2/2004: MyDoom takes virus crown  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Computer virus experts may learn from disease  - C/Net
2/2/2004: MyDoom virus declared worst ever  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Google faces trademark suit over keyword ads  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Internet engineers planning assault on spam - New Scientist

Miscellaneous
2/2/2004: Microsoft loses round in display patent case  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Linux guidelines get an upgrade  - C/Net

Energy:
2/2/2004: Winds of change: Turbine plans stir second battle of Agincourt   - BBC
2/2/2004: Matsushita unveils next-generation dry cell battery  - El. Engr. Times

Health:
Cardiovascular

Cancer  
2/2/2004: Medical X-rays cause thousands of cancers - New Scientist

Infectious
2/2/2004: Pupils test positive for TB  - BBC
2/2/2004: WHO fears bird flu began in April  - BBC
2/2/2004: Vatican condemns Aids drug firms  - BBC
2/2/2004: New rules to stop spread of BSE  - Nature

Non-Infectious
2/2/2004: More young men smoking cannabis  - BBC
2/2/2004: Cannabis downgraded  - Nature

Miscellaneous
2/2/2004: Frying pan fumes 'kill canaries'   - BBC
2/2/2004: Grapefruit may help weight loss  - BBC
2/2/2004: Lung disease 'timebomb' revealed  - BBC
2/2/2004: Tech's medical marvels  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Grapefruit diet really works, say US scientists - New Scientist

History, Anthropology:
2/2/2004: Ancient Mexican settlement found - MSNBC

Miscellaneous:
2/2/2004: Japanese inventor wins record patent compensation  - BBC
2/2/2004: Meet the inventor of 'CtrlAltDelete'  - CNN  
2/2/2004: Look to tech, not politics  - CNN  
2/2/2004: Rethinking Net campaigns  - C/Net
2/2/2004: U.K. bank sees browserless future
2/2/2004: Verizon plugs into satellite cable  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Briefly: Net tax bill could make smokers pay  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Securing U.S. tech jobs  - C/Net
2/2/2004: E-publishing seeing steady growth  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Lessons from developing-world companies  - NY Times
2/2/2004: What will be made in China  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Parsing Dean  - C/Net
2/2/2004: Plants to dig out landmines  - Nature

Neurosciences:
2/2/2004: Why children turn away when they're asked questions  - BBC
2/2/2004: Mood ring measured in megahertz  - Wired News

Physics and Astronomy:
2/2/2004: New form of matter created in lab   - BBC
2/2/2004: Online spacewatcher discovers asteroid  - CNN  
2/2/2004: New matter could lead to better superconductors  - CNN  
2/2/2004: Cold gas experiment bodes well for high temp superconductors  - El. Engr. Times
2/2/2004: Fermions chill out  - Nature
2/2/2004: Condensate research heats up - PhysicsWeb

Prolongevity

Robotics:

Space:
2/2/2004: Space Travel: Bringing Costs Down To Earth - Business Week
2/2/2004: Cosmic Log: Challenger memorial on Mars - MSNBC
2/2/2004: NASA seeks second opinion on Hubble - MSNBC
2/2/2004: Private-enterprise moonshot set - MSNBC
2/2/2004: Complacency doomed Columbia - MSNBC
2/2/2004: Stalling Moon probe to get new software - New Scientist
2/2/2004: New form of matter created in lab - New Scientist
2/2/2004: Life once existed on Mars, Australian scientists say - ABC
2/2/2004: Yeast is latest visitor to space station - New Scientist

Technology:
2/2/2004: New conductor guides data along the fiber-optic route  - C/Net