beyond the matrix

Archive of June, 2007

FBI to restrict student freedoms

Thursday, June 28th, 2007

Submitted by Canada IFP
US university students will not be able to work late at the campus, travel abroad, show interest in their colleagues’ work, have friends outside the United States, engage in independent research, or make extra money without the prior consent of the authorities, according to a set of guidelines given to administrators by [...]

The G(e)nomes of Zurich: Civil Society Calls for Urgent Controls on Synthetic Life*

Thursday, June 28th, 2007

ETC Group News Release - www.etcgroup.org
Follow Syn Bio meeting on ETC Group’s blog
Scientists and industrialists in the controversial new field of synthetic biology (building life-forms from scratch) are meeting in Zurich, Switzerland this week amidst claims that the world’s first entirely human-made organism may be only weeks away from creation. Swiss and international civil society [...]

Huge weight gains reported by patients on prescription drugs

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

By Roger Dobson
Thousands of people who take prescription medicines for everyday conditions are gaining large amounts of weight as an unexpected side effect, scientists have warned.
Researchers, who found that some patients were putting on up to 22lbs in a year, say that the drugs may even be contributing to the nation’s rocketing obesity epidemic.
All of [...]