Just posts this time...Sigh

• The Truth About Autism: Scientists Reconsider What They Think They Know - [Some autistics are leading a nascent civil rights movement, fueled by neuropsychological researchers who are taking a fresh look at the nature of autism. The condition, the researchers say, shouldn't be thought of as a disease to be eradicated. The autistic brain may not be defective, but simply different -- an example of the variety of human development. They've found that previous measures of autistic intelligence were severely flawed, that autistic brains are highly efficient in some tasks -- even superior in some intelligence tests.] - This is a very important article and I am glad to see that others are beginning to understand that aspies and auties like myself aren't diseased, were different. A huge distinction! I like how I think! I don't want to be cured!
• The Encyclopedia of Life, No Bookshelf Required - [Scientists are building a Web site called the Encyclopedia of Life, dedicated to documenting all species on Earth. Spearheaded by Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson with $50 million initial funding, the first 30,000 pages will be introduced on Thursday this week. Within a decade, they predict, they will have the other 1.77 million.] - Neat idea! I like online references.
• Future Blogger - [MemeBox has announced the public beta release of Future Blogger, a blogging community dedicated to exploring the future. Visitors can post their thoughts, predictions and scenarios. Community ratings then determine page ranking for posts. The site's Future Scanner also aggregates and organizes information about the future by year and category.]
• The Future of Universal Water - [Futurist Peter von Stackelberg of research and consulting firm Social Technologies has released a report on the future of on providing clean water to the world. Less than 2% of the planet's water store is fresh, and much of that is threatened by pollution, he says. "By 2025, about 3.4 billion people will live in regions that are defined by the UN as water-scarce." He suggests ideas for technological advances in three major areas that will be critical for the hydrological future: desalination of seawater or brackish groundwater, purification of water containing chemical or biological contaminants, and conservation to cut demand.]
• Researchers demonstrate smallest possible carbon nanotube - [Researchers in Japan have synthesized the smallest (0.4 nm diameter) single-walled carbon nanotube by using thermal decomposition of ferrocene molecules inside larger commercial-grade nanotubes.] - What I find amazing is they have actually imaged the darn thing. We are so close to actually "seeing" the atoms themselves, if we haven't already!

• Breakthroughs in nanotechnology on edge of 'knowledge frontier' - [University of Missouri scientist Kattesh Katti has discovered how to make gold nanoparticles using gold salts, soybeans and water, an alternative to production methods using toxic chemicals. The new process could allow medical researchers to expand the use of gold nanoparticles for drug delivery and other purposes.]