lunes, 2 de marzo de 2009

Review nº 24

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.nytimes.com
Date of publication: November 19, 2008


Review nº 24: Article ‘Drawing the Line on Drug Testing’


Drug addiction and alcohol consumption among teenagers are nowadays the most concerning worries of parents, schools and the whole society. But does the schools have right to test students on substance consumption and monitor their behavior at home? This controversial issue is dealt with in the article ‘Drawing the Line on Drug Testing’ published in The New York Times newspaper.
As many otherAmerican parents, Lynn Evelyn supports what’s called “suspicion-based testing”. That is, testing students if they appear to be impaired at school. In the course of a year the testing for drugs or alcohol have showned a reduction in positive results. But though she thinks that is a school’s right and responsability, she claims that more testing is an invasion of privacy. This has put her at odds with many shool officials of Basking Ridge that want to implement a random drug screening program. This program would test 15% of the students of Ridge High, (her daughter’s school), to monitor their behavior when they are not in school. Mr Gillikin, the school counselor, is surprised with the amaizing results that other schools have obtained with this method.
For Ms Evelyn this is parent’s responsibility, and she claims that the bigger problem is alcohol, not drugs. However, since 2002 it is a rule that schools randomly test students participating in sports and clubs. It has been implemented in 7% of the nation’s high and middle schools. New Jersey has taken an aggressive approach, which has reduced grately the positive results. In the case of Ridge High, any students wanting to play a sport, join a club or get a parking permit – about 80% of the students – would have to consent to random testing or would not be able to participate. The testings would be done once a week. Students testing positive would not miss school, nor would results appear on their transcripts. They would have to take part in counseling with their parents and miss two weeks from their team or club. Mr Gillikin also acknowledges that a school committee could find no academic research indicating that random testing reduces student drug use. Even more, a 2007 report by the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended against testing because there has been little research on the effectiveness, and it can bree “distrust and suspicion” among students, school officials and parents. On the other hand, Ms Evelyn has unearthed a forgotten 2005 study done here, in which a substance abuse was identified but it was alcohol. The report said, it was particularly a problemamong athlets. Indeed, the district’s surveys of Ridge High students over the last decades have found the rate of alcohol abuse to be two to three times the rate of drug abuse. Asked about this, Mr. Gillikin said that they created a coaches, manual on alcohol and drug use to teach student-athletes healthy decision-making. He also said that they should perfect the random drug testing system first and then maybe take on alcohol.
I agree with the claims of Ms Evelyn that “this problem is a parent’s responsibility, not the school’s”. And also in what respects to random testing, when she says: “Any more testing is an invasion of privacy”. In contrast I disagree with Mr Gillikin, because he is making the blind eye to the main problem of the district that is, in fact, alcohol abuse. And also because random testing has not being proved to effectively reduce drug abuse.
To sum up, this article explains the pros and cons of drug testing at schools. The new method can be concidered invasive and useless. In my opinion monitorin students at school is necessary but selecting them randomly creates a sense of disgust and distrust among those who do not consume alcohol or drugs.

Review nº 23

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.nytimes.com
Date of publication: November 19, 2008


Review nº 23: Article ‘Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing’


Multiple studies and researches have depicted Internet as corrupting, addictive and even isolating young people and children. Now a new study has been carried out which claims exactly the opposite, that Internet helps young people in the development of their technological skills among other things. This topic is developed in the article ‘Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing’ from The New York Times newspaper.
All those hours teenagers spend socializing on the Internet are not bad thing. In fact, this gives them the technological skills and literary needed to succeed in the contemporary world. The study describes new-media usage but does not measure its effects. There has been some confusion about what kids are actually doing online. Teens usually have a ‘full-time intimate community’ with whom they communicate in an always-on mode via mobile phones and instant messaging. They also use new media to explore new romantic relationships, through interactions causal enough to ensure no loss of face if the other party is not interested. While online socializing is ubiquitous, many young people move on to a period of tinkering and exploration, as they look for information online, customize games or experiment with digital media production. The most intense Internet use is called “geeking out”, in which young people delve deeply into a particular area of interest. New media also allow for a degree of freedom and autonomy.
I think this is true that young people develop multiple skills when using internet. And also that this skills will help their successful development in the modern world. But I think it is also true that the use of new media without a close parental control can produce a kind of addiction on them. Some teenagers cannot live withouth their cellphones near them, and others are all day long connected to internet. I think that parents should instruct themselves about the use of these new technologies in order to understand what their children do when they are using them.
In conclusion, this article explains all the good aspects of Internet and new technologies use on teenagers. And it also advices parents to inform themselves about them so that they can understand what their children do with them and how they learn form technology.

Review nº 22

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Date of publication: Tuesday November 18, 2008


Review nº 22: Article ‘New research tells us we judge people on their looks. Watch out for Father Christmas and Gordon Brown’


Could it be possible to do what we have always been told not to do? Is it possible to judge people on their looks? Though we are always told not to judge people on their looks a new research states that we can, in fact, judge people based on their appearance. This topic is developed in the article ‘New research tells us we judge people on their looks. Watch out for Father Christmas and Gordon Brown’, published in The Guardian newspaper.
Scientists have discovered that men with rounded faces, soft jawlines, thin eyebrows, bright eyes, small nostrils, large mouths, thin lips, a warm, bright complexion and no facial hair are considered the most trustworthy. The research must have been restricted to white male faces, otherwise things would probably have been frightfully complicated. Even within this restricted group, results are fairly confusing. We have to think carefully about our own often misplaced perceptions of people based on facial characteristics. The research is not actually telling us people are untrustworthy because of the way they look, just that we assume they are untrustworthy.
I agree with the writers opinion about such kind of research. It seems to have been among a selected group of people with similar features, or else it would be considered very discriminating. Apart from that we can see from the authors point of view that such researchs are not as thrustworthy so as to believe blindy on their statements. This may be due to the fact that it seems to be based in very subjective opinions rather than scientific serious research.
In conclusion, this article is an invitation to reflectionate on the assumptions people do based only on others’ physical appearance, or the way they dress and talk. I think that it is only by face to face interactions that we will come to have a hint of how trustworthy people can be. We can not judge the innerself based only on physical appearence.

Review nº 21

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.nytimes.com
Date of publication: November 14, 2008


Review nº 21: Article ‘Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage’


Same-sex marriage has become an issue of heated debate all around the world. Religious groups defending marriage between man and woman protest against gay marriage, whiel gay people fights for their right to getting marriaged. This issue is discussed in the article ‘Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage’ from the New York Times newspaper.
Frank Schubert, the chief strategist for Proposition 8, which defines marriage as between man and woman, was rising money to intensify the campaign to ban same sex marriage. It rised more than $5 million, including a $1 million donation from Alan Ashton, the grandson of a former president of the Mormon Church. It ultimately won with 52% of the vote. The California measure, Proposition 8, was to many Mormons a kind of firewall to be held at all costs. The campaign was first approached by the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco a few weeks after the legalization of sam-sex marriage in May. The other religious groups that joined the campaign included Catholics, evangelical Christians, conservative black and Latino pastors, and myriad smaller ethnic groups with strong religious ties. The group is known as Protect Marriage. Though Mormons were the last major group to join the campaign, the made up more than 80% of the volunteers. Their tasks ranged from “wakers” assignedd to knock on doors; to “sellers”, who would work with undecided votersd later on; and to “closers”, who would get people to the polls on Election Day. Leaders were acutely conscious of not crossing the line from being a church-based volunteer effort to an actual political organization. By mid-October oppponents were still effectively rising money. The response was Mr Schubert desperate e-mail message to the three top religious members of his executive committee. On October Mr. Ashton donated $1million he said he was following his personal beliefs and the direction of the church. Even with the Mormons’ contributions Proposition 8 strategists had to distance themselves from “more extreme elements” opposed to rights for gay and lesbians. To that end, the catholic group rejected efforts by some groups to include a ban on domestic partnership rights. But the “Yes” side also initially faced apathy from unconcerned voters. To counter that, advertisements for the “Yes” campaign also used hypothetical consequences of same-sex marriage, painting the specter of churches’ losng tax exempt status and people. This campaign was denounced by opponents as dishonest and divisive, but the passage of Proposition 8 has led to second-guessing about the “no” campaing, too, as well as talk about a possible ballot measure to repeal the ban. The legality of the same-sex marriages performed from June to Election Day is also questioned.
This article shows the capacity that major religious groups have when joining to fight for a common issue like the protection of marriage. As Michael Otterson, the mormon director of public affairs said: “ it was a matter of standing up for what the church believes is right”. Supporters to same-sex marriage and opponents to it had the same rights to fight for their beliefs. Mormons stated that “It was not their goal in this campaign to attack the homosexual lifestyle or to convince gays and lesbians that their behaviour is wrong – the less we refer to homosexuality, the better”.
To sum up, this article deals with a very controversial issue such as same-sex marriage versus traditional religious marriage. That is the encounter of two opposite groups, religious groups versus gay people. Neither group is wrong on their campaigns because both have rights to fight for their own rights and beliefs. But there is a sense that gay rights will never come to an agreement with religious trends of thought.

Review nº 20

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Date of publication: Monday November 10 2008


Review nº 20: Article ‘The power of speech’


Daniel Everett has experienced a radical change in his life as almost any other man or woman has ever experienced. He went to the Amazonia with the intention to convert the Piraha tribe to Cristianity. Instead, he learned to speak their unique language and ended up rejecting his faith, losing his family and picking a fight with Noam Chomsky. This shocking story of life is depicted in the article ‘The power of speech’ published in The Guardian newspaper.
Yet Everett’s life could be a more dramatic example of enlightenment and destruction than any fictional encounter with a drastically different culture. Thirty years living with the Piraha, an Amazonian tribe, destroyed his evangelical faith in God, wrecked his marriage and stranged him from two of his three children. It also dismantled his intellectual framework and set him on a collision course with the reknown linguist Noam Chomsky. Everett first went to live with the Piraha tribe in the late 70’s with the intention of converting them to Christianity. Instead, he learned to speak their language. Everett studied for a doctorate in the 80’s and took advice from Chomsky whose theories he adopted. Gradually, however, as he spent more time with the Piraha, he came to doubt Chomsky’s claims fo “universal grammar”. Chomsky had recently refined his theory to argue that recursion – the linguistic practice of inserting phrases inside others – was the cornerstone of all languages. Everett argued that he could find no evidence of recursion in Piraha. The Piraha exist almost completely in the present, absorved by the daily struggle to survive, they do not plan ahead. This culture of living in the present has shaped their language. Chomskyites rushed to defend universal grammar and academics cast doubt on Everett’s view of the Piraha. After he first arrived in the Amazon, Everett realized Piraha were rarely violent, but intensely rejected any kind of coercion. Crucially, he came to see his religion fundamentally coercive. Everett translated the Book of Luke, read it to the Piraha and they were utterly unmoved. By 1985, he had privately lost his faith. Religion should produce peaceful, strong, secure people who are right with God and right with the world. The Piraha already had all these qualities that he tried to tell them they could have. Only until the late 90’s he was able to communicate his family his loss of faith, as they are all ‘committed’ Christians his marriage broke up, and two of his children cut off all contact. Nowadays Everett has remarried and has not visited the Piraha since January 2007. Everett, however, is worried about the future of the tribe because outsiders try to impose their values and materialism on them.
This incredible story reflects the difficulties that an open-minded person may find when trying to show different perspectives that contradict the thoughts and believes of narrow-minded people. One example of this is provided by Everetts words when he refers to Chomsky’s attitudes towards his discoveries: “I’m not denigrating his intelligence or his honesty but I do think he is wrong about this and he is unprepared to accept that he is worng”. He also says: “If you can find evidence that I am making 19th-century claims, I will be shocked and disappointed in myself”, when referring to his story of his life with the Piraha. In this respect I agree with him when he says: “It’s wrong to try and convert tribal societies”. I think that if the Spanish conquerors would have understood that our history and may be our lifestyles would be different.
In conclusion, the whole article well worth be read and spread around. Everett discoveries should be taken into account and seriously investigated. May be what our develop civilization do not understand is what only his understanding did, life is simple and no matter what religion or believes you have as long as you live it being “right with God and right with the world”.

Review nº 19

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Date of publication: Friday October 31 2008


Review nº 19: Article ‘Light drinking in pregnancy may be good for baby boys, says study’

As a pregnant woman you are strongly adviced not to smoke or drink alcohol to help your baby grow up healthy. But researchers found that light drinking during pregnancy has no ill effects and may benefit baby boys. This topic is developed in the article ‘Light drinking in pregnancy may be good for baby boys, says study’, from a publication in The Guardian newspaper.
Boys born to mothers who drank lightly during pregnancy are better behaved and score more highly in tests at the age of 3 than the sons of women who abstained. Light drinking is defined as one to two units a week, or on occasion. The study also found that girls born to light drinkers were 30% less likely to have emotional and peer problems. But doctors were not completely certain that children’s better performance was not linked to their family background. Although it has always been clear that heavy drinking can seriously damage babies, scientists have not had good evidence either to prove or disprove that light drinking does any harm. The British National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence states that it is best not to drink at all for the first three months on the grounds of a risk of miscarriage, but thereafter occasional drink will not harm the foetus. Moreover, the list of food, drinks and activities to avoid is really long.
In my opinion, a study base on 3-year-old children cannot be absolutely certain even more if the origin of their behaviour is not clearly identified. I agree with the idea that light drinking after the first three months of pregnancy won’t harm the foetus. But I do not think that only alcohol could determine children’s behaviour or could have different effects according to their gender.
This article gives strong healthy recomendations of when and how much alcohol a pregnant woman can drink in order to avoid harming her baby. It also describes some possible benefits of alcohol on children, based on a researche in 3-year-old children. But though light drinking of alcohol may not be dangerous, there are many other factors which will affect the development of the baby while the mother is pregnant.

Review nº 18

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.economist.com
Date of publication: October 30th 2008


Review nº 18: Article ‘The oldest conundrum’

The oldest occupation since ancient times, prostitution, also represents the oldest problem in history. Although this occupation has evolved throughout time, it is a very slow process that takes place in unequal terms from country to country. This issue is discussed in the article ‘The oldest conundrum’ from a publication of The Economist newspaper.
When the Netherlands legalised brothels 8 years ago, politicians thought that would stop the bad things associated with sex trade. Dutch believed the buying and selling of sexual services would become a freely undertaken transaction, in which the state would only be a regulator and tax-collector. From 1999 Sweden began penalising people who patronise prostitutes, while treating people who sell their bodies as victims. But neither policy is better than the other. In Amsterdam the link between prostitution and organised crime has proved durable. The policemen who patrol Amsterdam’s red-light district reckon that more than half the ladies posing in windows are there against their will. All that helps to explain why the Swedish experience is finding imitators in several countries. In Sweden, the number of streetwalking prostitutes fell about 40%. Moreover, a sex-workers’ association in Sweden says the law makes life dangerous for those who ply their trade secretly. Fear of prosecution reduces the chances that clients will report the exploitation of under-age girls or boys. But Norway and Italy are considering the Swedish-style penalties for buying sex. In Europe, then, things are moving towards tighter regulation. In the U.S., trading sex is a misdemeanour, with the exceptions of Rhode Island and Nevada. So if residents of San Francisco vote for “Proposition K”, which would bar police from taking action against sex workers, it will be a landmark in American history. Supporters say it will transform the role of the police, instead, advocates fo a “no” vote say that if the hands of the police are tied, they will be unable to deal even with the most obvious cases of abuse. But for liberals in search of success stories, New Zeland appears to provide more promising evidence. Since 2003, sex workers are allowed to ply their trade more or less freely, either at home, in brothels or on the street. A study published by the government in May, informed that more than 60% of prostitutes felt they had more power to refuse clients; only about 1% of women in the business were under the legal age of 18; and only 4% said they had been pressured into working by someone else. One big difference with other countries is that brothels are usually run by the sex workers themselves. According to polls, people are sure the number of prostitutes has risen. In many case, from the prostitutes’ point of view, the New Zealand system was the fairest.
This article describes the different attitudes and policies taken in first world countries about prostitution. Some situations seem better for the sex workers than others. In my opinion the government information is not very much reliable because they tend to change the results to their favor. One prove is the opinion given by people in the streets. That is the case of New Zeland, where “people are shure the number of prostitutes has risen” in opposition to the lowered percentages given by the government.
In conclusion, this article explains the situation of prostitution in developed European countries like the Netherlands and Sweden, and the successful policy of New Zeland in relation with new American policies in this field. In my opinion, sex workers deserve a fair treatment by police forces as well as protection by the law in any place they are.

Review nº 17

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.nytimes.com
Date of publication: October 29, 2008


Review nº 17: Article ‘ Women Buying Health Policies Pay a Penalty ‘

Is it really true that men and women are equals? It seem to be only in theory because when it comes to put it in practice one gender usually has more benefits than the other. As is the case of American men when paying health policies. This issue is discussed in the article ‘ Women Buying Health Policies Pay a Penalty ‘ from a New York Times publication.
There is striking evidence that in America has emerged a widespread gap in the cost of health insurance, as women pay much more than men of the same age for individual insurance policies providing identical coverage. Women’s advocacy groups have raised concerns about the differences, and members of Congress have begun to question the justification for them. As a consequence of the declining economy, people are shopping for individual health insurance policies because they have lost jobs that provided coverage. Insurers say they have a sound reason for charging different premiums: women ages 19 to 55 typically use more health care, especially in the childbearing years. But women still pay more than men for insurance that does not cover maternity care. Most state insurance pools, for high-risk individuals, also use sex as a factor in setting rates.
The facts described in this article are unfair for women. Because though I think that paying more for maternity care might be reasonable, it is not fair to pay more than men for the same kind of insurance which does not cover maternity care. So that I agree with a Democrat representative of California who said: “ if men coul have kids such disparities would probably not exist”.
To sum up, the article describes differences settled in base to gender. In this case American men pay less than women for health insurance services. It seems that there will always be differences between genders, and usually women are the ones who recieve less benefits. I think although time goes by these differences are quite difficult to overcome and I hope this situations can change in the near future.

Review nº 16

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.nytimes.com
Date of publication: October 27, 2008


Review nº 16: Article ‘Love, Sex and the Changing Landscape of Infidelity’

Suppose you have been unfaithful to your spouse and you are asked to answer an anonymous questionnair about infidelity, would your admit it? Researchers claim that pople usually lie when answering this kind of questions, especially women. This topic is developed in the article ‘Love, Sex and the Changing Landscape of Infidelity’ from a New York Times publication.
Surveys conducted in person about infidelity, are likely to underestimate the real rate of adultery, because people are reluctant to admit such behaviour. Meanwhile, surveys appearing in sources like women’s magazines may overstate the adultery rate, because they suffer from selection bias: the respondents select themselves and may be more likely to report infidelity. New studies suggest that marital infidelity appears to be on the rise, particularly among older men and young couples. Notably, women, especially younger women, appear to be cheating on their spouses nearly as often as men. Theories vary about why more people appear to be cheating. Among older people, a host of newer drugs and treatments are making it easier to be sexual, and in some cases unfaithful. In younger couples, the increasing availability of pornography on the Internet, which affects sexual attitudes and perceptions of ‘normal’ behaviour, may be playing a role in rising infidelity. The fidelity gap may be explained more by cultural pressures than any real difference in sex drives between men and women. Unfaithful men are viewed as virile, while women are considered promiscuous. And historically, women have been isolated, giving them fewer opportunities to be unfaithful. But today, new means of communication like cellphones and the fact that women work outside home, appear to be allowing them to form more intimate relationships out of marriage. One good new is the fact that couples appear to be spending slightly more time together and married people also appear to have the most active sex lives.
Personally, I do not believe very much on surveys based on questionnairs because people may lie. That is why I agree with the idea that people are reluctant to say the truth especially in what respect to personal matters such as infidelity. At this respect I believe men always exaggerate and women tend to lie. I also think that the causes and consequences exposed about infidelity nowadays may be true. I think women as well as men are being more unfaithful to their couples and they admit it. But I agree with the idea that ‘ a vast majority of people still say adultery is wrong’, otherwise people wouldn’t get married or establish any kind of sentimental commitment with their couples. I think love and fidelity still exist.
In conclusion, this article reveals interesting facts about infidelity and its causes and consequences. The latests seem to be good ones because although infidelity is rated to be increasing, married couples appear to have a more active sexual life with their spouses. And more importantly, most people still believe adultery is wrong and remain being faithful.

Review nº 15

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Date of publication: Sunday October 26 2008


Review nº 15: Article “ ‘Fear of pain’ causes big rise in caesareans”

Giving birth to her child is the most wonderful moment of every woman’s life. Some people argue that it is important to deliver the baby naturally instead of having a caesarean, but there are times when this procedure is necessary for medical reasons. The article “ ‘Fear of pain’ causes big rise in caesareans” published in The Guardian, deals with a British debate about the rise in caesareans operations.
Caesarean reates in many London hospitals are notably high. Some choose in advance that they will have the operation while others are given it in an emergency. There are people who regard how a woman gives birth as a barometer of her womanliness. Now one of Britain’s leading midwives has reignited the debate about caesarians. She claims that an increasing number of women under 40 are less prepared to undergo the physical trauma of childbirth than their predecesors. While any woman can request the procedure, there should be good clinical reasons or psychological reasons. Silverton, this midwife, believes caesareans have come too easy to obtain, especially the procedures that are planned in advance. While acknowledging that labour is ‘unbelievably painful’, Silverton pointed out that the pain is temporary and that she doubted the ‘medical reasons’ given by doctors for approving caesareans. She listed a series of dangers that this procedure has for the mathers, like ‘the risk of infection, the effect on subsequent fertility and the effect on their ability to look after a newborn baby when they are post-operarive’. Many experts agreed, as they argued about Silverston’s comments. They claimed that the safety of caesareans has improved significantly in the past 20 years. One doctor claimed that ‘what matters the most is that we care very badly for women in labour, which makes them frightened’. Dr Maggie Blott insisted: ‘There isn’t any evidence to support Silverston’s view’. Natural births and planned caesareans now involve the same risk that the mother will die.
In relation with this debate I agree with the opinions given by both positions. First, I think Silverton is right in saying: ‘A caesarean is a major abdominal surgery’ and I also agree with her claim that many women do not ‘realise that’. On the other hand I agree with the opinion of the doctors that ‘It’s very wrong to blame women for the caesarean rate being so high’, because this operation has to be previously analysed by doctors before its assignation. It is also true that ‘caesarean sections can be life-saving’ that is one of the main reasons for its existence and application. Long ago mothers died while delivering their children because this operation was unknown.
To sum up, the article presents a debate about the choice of giving birth a child naturally or having a caesarean section. Both procedures have their justifications and benefits and even bad consequences. But what cares is that a woman is not less or more woman for delivering her baby having a caesarean section or naturally. Quoting one mother’s opinion: ‘what’s important is that you’ve got a safe, healthy baby, not how you got it’.

Review nº 14

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.economist.com
Date of publication: October 23rd 2008


Review nº 14: Article ‘If looks could kill’


It seems that in a few years the reality described in the story “The Minority Repor” by Philip Dick will come true. Since new sophisticated surveillance technology is being improved, in a few years sciencs fiction films will be our real life. But that, as perfect as it seems, may be dangerous. This topic is discussed in the article ‘If looks could kill’ from The Economist newspaper.
As monitoring surveillance cameras is tedious work, many people would like to develop intelligent computerised surveillance systems. The need for such systems is stimulating the development of devices which can both recognise people and objects and also detect suspicious behaviour. Human gaits, for example, use special object-recognition software to lock onto particular features of a videa recording and follow them around, correlating those movements with consequences, such as the throwing of a bomb, allows the creation of computer models reasonably reliably. Some intelligent surveillance systems are able to identify the context in which behaviour is probably threatening. As object-and motion-recognition technology improves, researchers are starting to focus on facial expressions and what they can reveal. The Human Factors Division of America’s Department of Homeland Security is running what is called Project Hostile Intent. This is a system that scrutinises fleeting “micro-expressions”, easily missed by human eyes. As terrorists are trained to conceal emotions what is said by researchers fhat is even better, because accentuate micro-expressions. However, signals which seem to reveal hostil intent change with context. Supporters of this technology argue that it avoids controversial racial profiling because only behaviour is studied. This is a sticky issue, because cultures, and races, express themselves differently. That could resut in a lot of false positives and consequent ill-will. Another programme called Future Attributable Screening Technology or FAST, is being developed as a compliment to Project Hostile Intent. An array of sensors, at a distance of a couple of meters, measures skin temperature, blood-flow patterns, perspiration, and heart and breathing rates. In a series of tests a number of “innocents”, though, were snagged too. The result of using “pre-crime” technology will inevitably be that too many innocents entangled, but supporters argue that human security agents will always remain the final arbiters.
This article features the new systems of surveillance technology being developed, which in short will be used. I personally agree to the specialists who argue that many false positives can put innocents on trial and this will lead to a state of social scare spread al around. But supporters argue that human security agents will take the last decisions.
To sump, new and more intelligent and precise surveillance technologies are really needed nowadays and so that they are being created. But it can be dangerous if we overrelay on computers to analyse human behaviour, because innocents could be taken as criminals.

Review nº 13

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.economist.com
Date of publication: October 23rd 2008


Review nº 13: Article ‘Gender bending’

For many people homosexuality comes in the genes, but how could it be? A scientific research sustains that not only can this be true, but also that the genes which make some people gay make their brothers and sisters fecund. This investigation is presented in the article ‘Gender bending’ published in The Economist.
The evidence suggests that homosexual behaviour is partly genetic. Studies of identical twins suggested that relatives of those who are gay gain some advantage which allows genes predisposing people to homosexual behaviour to be passed on collaterally. Other idea based on evidence that male homosexuals are more likely to come from large families, is that genes for gainess bring reproductive advantage to those who have them but are not actually gay themselves. Australian scientists have come up with a twist on this idea, they suggest the advantage accrues not to relatives of the opposite sex, but those of the same one. They think that genes which cause men to be more feminine and women more masculine, confer reproductive advantages as long as they do not push the individual possessing them all the way to homosexuality. Other evidence show that homosexuals tend to be “gender atypical” in areas beside their choice of sexual partner. Data also suggests that having a more feminine personality might give a heterosexual male an advantage. The explanation is that machomen will provide the sperm needed to make sexy sons, but the more feminised phenotype makes a better carer and provider therefore, an ideal husband. Data referring to masculinised women suggest they tend to have more sexual partners than highly feminised women do. Scientists tested this idea by doing a twin study, they were asked to answer anonymous questionnaires about their sexual orientation, their gender self-identification and the number of opposite-sex partners they had had. The study showed that heterosexuals with a homosexual twin tend to have more sexual partners than heterosexuals with a heterosexual twin.
This article is about studies done to know if homosexuality comes in the genes. Very interesting data was recollected, such as that the possibility of having fecund relatives would sustain homosexuality and that the same gene which may make some people gay may make their siblings fecund. But as some of the investigations are based on anonymous questionnairs, I do not relay very much on that kind of information because many other factors may be involved.
In conclusion, scientific research claims that homosexuality might come in the genes. But personally though the article give reasons these are not very clear. I beleive that the choice of sexual orientation is very personal and depend on multiple other factors.

Review nº 12

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.economist.com
Date of publication: September 25th 2008


Review nº 12: Article ‘Mobile madness’

Do cell phones cause cancer? That is the question that this year users have been making, and up to now it remains without a determined answer. A five-year scientific research called Interphone has been carried out, but its results are still difficult to be established. The article ‘Mobile madness’ from The Economist, deals with this public uncertainty.
Mobile phone users are more confused than enlightened, with reports alterning between alarming claims and soothing reassurances about the use of cell phones and the possibility of getting cancer out of it. A study called Interphone began in 2000 and ended in 2006, with scientists working in 13 countries, it has still to come to a settled conclusion. The results of nine of the 13 single-country studies have been made available, and the consequence is a farrago of misinformation. Some findings were so counter-intuitive that it has led most of the people involved to acknowledge serious flaws in the study’s design. One problem was what statisticians call selection bias. The study was done interviewing people who had had the cancer of interest about their past use of mobile phones. The research then approached a number of healthy people in order to compare both groups. The problem here was that the definition of a “regular mobile-phone use” was itself questionable. Another flaw is that those interviewed about their mobile use a decade earlier will have been using analogue, not digital, handsets, leading to a different pattern of exposure and therefore of potential risk. The recall bias flaw means that asking people about past behaviour, and relying on the accuracy of their memories is not very reliable. The Interphone researchers are split into three camps; one believes any increased incidence of tumours shown in the study is purely the result of the biases; another thinks it really has found increased risks of certain tumours and wants to call for precautionary measures; a third group is just keeping quiet.
This article follows the saga of an investigation to find out whether or not mobile phones are damaging people’s brains. But scientists have not reached to a conclusion due to many flaws in the recollection and reliability of the information obtained.
In conclusion, follow-up studies analysing prospective as well as retrospective data are more likely to be trustful though they would take longer to come to a conclusion.

Review nº 11

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.guardian.co.uk.
Date of publication: Wenesday September 10 2008


Review nº 11: Article ‘The long game’

What will the government do with you once you get older enough to stop working? The actual population of Europe seems to be getting older than in previous years. There are more older people than younger population hanging around, but they have to face the problem of monetary assisstance. This social problem is discussed in the article ‘The long game’ published in The Guardian newspaper.
In these days, the older population of the U.K. is increasing. There are more pensioners than children in the U.K., they constitute nearly 20% of the population. By 2050 there are expected to be 50 times as many. Similar figures can be found throughout the developed world. Some scientists believe that ageing slows above 100 years. The “old“ are no longer a homogenous population, they include: the young old (60-80); the middle old (80-100); and the oldest old (100-120). These are radically different phases of life. For many health and economic reasons, the quality of life of the young old has improved. However, the functional problems of the middle old and oldest old are not being addressed, resulting in a poor quality of life. Now, we tend to regard the age of retirement as the watershed between adulthood and old age, and a woman who retires at 60 would be expected to live another 25 years. This creates economic problems, both for the individual and the state. Due to that, many old people are already having to work as voluntary carers. But according to a survey, their quality of life is appalling, and one has to ask whether we are extending life beyond what is sensible and humane. Death is currently preceded by about 10 years of chronic disease or disability. If we do nothing about it, it will swallow up our health service, then our economy, and eventually ourselves.
This article reveals a different reality of European societies, in comparison with ageing in non-developed countries like Argentina. Their populations, especially the British population, is getting older. “there are more pensioners than children” says the author. And this fact has some negative consequences on the economy of the country, as well as on their personal economy and their lifestyle.
To sum up, on the one hand, it is very nice for some people to live longer, but at what cost? Living longer involves suffering the deterioration of our minds and bodies for longer periods and so we become a burden for the economy of our countries. But it does not means that older people should be let aside, the solution to some extent, could be to find some kind of work according to their capacities after the age of retirement. So that they would remain being productive and supporting themselves for longer periods.

Review nº 10

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.economist.com
Date of publication: September 4th 2008


Review nº 10: Article ‘The world in a test tube’


Global warming is considered the task of the new age and the problem of our era. But although much is being said about a new technology to deal with it, there is no technology available yet. This issue is discussed in the article ‘The world in a test tube’ published in The Economist newspaper.
Nothing about global warming is simple, even the meteorological models of the largest supercomputers do not help. Unfortunately, the technology of climate change is no simpler than anything else. Climate change is too important and complex to deal with zealotry and taboos. First, there is the problem of the running down of hydrogen for cars and the cost of the hydrogen-based vehicles. Producing hydrogen form natural gas creates a lot of carbon dioxide. So, for the next few decades, technological pragmatism will rule motoring, first hybrid powertrains will combine an electric motor with a conventional engine. Soon there will be “plug-in” hybrids, which can be recharged from the mains, they, in turn, are a bridge towards all-electric vehicles. This plan is not expensive and can use existing infrastructure. Some ideas are so fantastic that scientists and policymakers have been reluctant even to discuss them because there is a risk of becoming devastating in future time. But no reason should stop research as insurance, only research can tell which are the risks of any geo-engineering. The solution to climate change will probably involve an array of technologies.
This article exposes many of the current problems and possible solutions of globla warming. But as the author says: “The solution to climate change will probably involve an array of technologies” instead of only one particular kind of technology. It is true because the problems are so diverse that they need different solutions.
In conclusion, global warming affects us all and it concerns to the whole global society the discussion of the problem and the study of the possible solutions. Mean while, scientist and policymakers of each country have the main role in the discussions and investigations.

Review nº 9

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.economist.com
Date of publication: August 21st 2008


Review nº 9: Article ‘Facing the truth’

Some people believe that your eyes are the mirror of your soul, and what about your face? In the article ‘Facing the truth’ from The Guardian, a research made by American scientist about this topic is explained. It concluded that the shape of your face betrays how aggressive you are, especially if you are a man.
Physiognomy has predicted that person’s character could be seen in his face. Dominance and trustworthiness also show up. This also suggests that in men it is also possible to look at someone’s face and read his predisposition to aggression. The theory claims that aggressiveness is predictable from the ratio between the width of a person’s face and its height. During puberty, when sex hormones are reshaping people’s bodies, man are exposed to testosterone, which is also known ot make people aggressive. The thesis was tested looking at the ice hockey, which is famous for the aggressiveness of their players, measuring the amount of time a player spends off the ice in the penalty box. The researchers measured the facial ratios of the players and investigated their penalty records. In contrast, aggression was not predictable in women students from the shapes of their faces. The biological signal of aggressiveness is a benefit to the aggressive individuals because he will not have to get into fights in order to prove it, the fear induced by his face should be enough by itself.
In this article an interesting feature of facial appearance is depicted. The study proves that men can be identified as aggressives by the shape of their faces, but in the case of women nothing was proved. I agree with this investigation because, as well as in animals, nature gives men the possibility of protecting themselves by providing them with particular physical features. As men are physically stronger than women, they have usually been involved in physical violent situations. So it is also natural that women do not need these particular facial features because they are supposed not to be involved in such situations.
In conclusion, to face the truth means to accept that many features of our character are predictable form the shape of our faces, especially men’s aggressiveness. So women can take this information to chose better the face of the man they want as a partner.

Review nº 8

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.guardian.co.uk.
Date of publication: Thursday July 31, 2008


Review nº 8: Article “ ‘Oil from algae’ promises climate friendly fuel “

Although it is widely known that nowadays new sources of energy are needed, the problem is who and how are they going to be obtained. The article “ ‘Oil from algae’ promises climate friendly fuel “ from The Guardian newspaper, states that a new biofuel has been created from algae. It does not pollutes the environment and seems to be promising.
A company in San Diego claims to have developed liquid fuel made from plants which would be a sustainable version of oil, called “green crude”. This company uses single-celled organisms such as algae to produce a chemical mixture from which it is possible to extract fuels for cars or airplanes. When it is burned, the fuel only releases into the air the carbon dioxide absorbed by the algae during its growth. Algae are seen by many experts as promising a source of green fuel in the future because they are the world’s most abundant form of plant life. And via photosynthesis, they are extremely efficient at using sunlight and carbon dioxide from the air to make organic material. The resulting gasoline is completely compatible with consumer’s cars. An added advantage is that their gasoline does not have contaminants that are contained in standard crude oil. There is no need to use valuable farmland to grow the algae, it uses non-arable land and non-potable water. A U.K. scientist claim that algae con easily be grown in open ponds, but these results in very low-density blooms and are therefore an inefficient way to produce lots of fuel. At this respect, some photobioreactors are being tested. Byproducts other than oil can also be obtained, such as products for animal feed.
This article describes a new source of biofuel obtained from algae and it results to be promising because it does not contaminates the environment. At this respect I am in favor of this kind of experiments and I think governments and societies should support them. And as the author says “ algae were responsible for creating the long-chain hydrocarbons ... that formed crude oil” I think it well worth to be investigated as the most natural source of energy.
In conclusion, although many sources of energy are being tested, such as this new “green crude”, yet no sources have been created in large scale. So this issue should be taken into account more seriously in order to make it true in short time and not to keep it stored in a laboratory as another futuristic experiment. Basic to this is the economic support of governments.

Review nº 7

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Date of publication: Wednesday July 30 2008


Review nº 7: Article ‘The gender trap’

Appearance will many times define a person, but the problem arises when gender and appearance do not match. Especially when you participate in single gender events like a sport competition and you have to submit yourself to testings in order to prove which is your sex. This topic is discussed in the article ‘The gender trap’ from The Guardian newspaper.
During this year, Beijing Olympics competitors whose sex is in doubt will be submited to examination. The sex of any athletes will be determined by a special laboratory which will undergo blood tests to examine their sex hormones, genes and chromosomes. The aim is to protect fairness at the games while also protecting the rights of people with abnormal sexual development. Sex testing was introduced in 1968 at the Olympic games in Mexico City, after the masculine appearance of some competitors in female events. However many geneticists criticised the tests because examining chromosomes is not always certain. It is thought that one in 1000 babies are born with an “intersex” condition, term for people with chromosomal abnormalities. It may be physically obvious from birth or it may remain unknown to people all their lives. Transexuals, who have had a sex change from male to female, can compete in women’s events in the Olympics, as long they wait two years after the operation.
The article exposes some sexual conditions which can put in doubt the danger of athletes in sports competitions and the testing proves that officials use to determine their sex. It also presents some particular cases of athletes who discovered their unusual sexual condition after the examinations or cases of fraud when men competed as women.
To sum up, even with advanced scientific examinations of genes, hormones and chromosomes gender is not certain to be determined. But for the fairness of the game, I think they sould be undergone.

Review nº 6

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.nytimes.com
Date of publication: July 27 2008


Review nº 6: Article ‘Working Long Hours, and Paying a Price’

Nowadays working people, particularly those who work in first world countries, seem to be addicted to work. But there are many reasons for this to happen, and this is the topic been dealt with in the article ‘Working Long Hours, and Paying a Price’ from the New York Times.
In the last two decades many salaried employees have experimented an increase in their working hours. The most highly paid workers are twice as likely to work long hours as the lowest paid. American workers have been ambivalent about working hours, while in the previous centuries workers demanded shorter work hours, today some employees are drawn to challenging, demanding work and the outsize financial rewards that can follow. But in spite of that most of them said they loved their work. A professor of economics sustains that people convinced themselves that this is what they should do while living in a world of conspicuous consumption. Still long days at work are very hard for employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle, causing problems like obesity and also due to neglected personal issues, employees are unlikely to perform at their peak. Some managers are already trying to do something about it. For example, in Sprint Nextel employees are allowed to fill prescriptions at work and help with travel planning. There are also incentives to stay active at work, like covered pathways between buildings. Other companies pay for consultants emphasized the inefficiency of multitasking, the need for adequate sleep, exercise and a healthy diet, and the importance of scheduling time for restorative personal priorities.
The article talks about the current exhausting situation of salaried American employees at work and provides some ideas to companies so that they can cope with them. Quoting the author: “There’s a view that the longer you work, the better you are” ... “But that’s not true at all”.
In conclusion, working long hours under stressful conditions has negative consequences for the workers’ mental and physical health. This causes a reduction in their performance at work, so managers must help employees to get more done in less time.

Review nº 5

Article ‘The moment of truth’

Although the choice of religion is supposed to be a private personal right for every human being, in many parts of the worlds this right is under threat. This issue is profoundly developed in the article ‘The moment of truth’ from a publication of The Economist newspaper.
The article begins depicting the case of a Jewish New Yorker who after having experimented with several creeds and lifestyles, one day while reading the Koran he realized his religious faith was on the Islam and he converted to it. This life-changing moment can be gradual, but quite commonly things come to the head in a single instant. This instant can be triggered by a text, an image, a ceremony or some private realisation. In the west it is generally taken for granted that people have a saved right to follow their own religious path, and indeed to invite, but not compel, other people to join them. America for example, promotes religious liberty, but this is very much the exception, not the rule, in human history. In most human societies, conversion has been seen as an act whose consequences are as much social and political as spiritual. That is why conversion is becoming a hot international topic. Conversion will never be seen as a purely individual matter when one religiously-defined community is at war or armed stand off with another. And in any situation where religion and authority are bound up, changes of spiritual allegiance cause shock-waves, as was the case during the reign of the Ottoman empire, or during the Soviet Union times, or in former territories of the British empire. And in many ways religious freedom is receding, not advancing, as in India where people who changed their faith often hide it for fear of losing their rights to state jobs and university places.
This article deals with a reality that is usually hidden to the rest of the world by their countries of origin. Religious matters are quite debatable nowadays especially in the occidental hemisphere but in the east things are quite different.
To sum up, religion has been, is and will always be matter of worldwide controversy. And as people need a faith in which believe, oppresive regims will use religion to try to manipulate and control their communities.

Review nº 4

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.economist.com
Date of publication: July 24 th 2008


Review nº 4 : Article ‘The brave new world of e-hatred’

Though some people claim internet is bound to bring people closer together, nowadays this massive information media is used to spread violence and hatred all around the world. This is the topic of the article ‘The brave new world of e-hatred’ from The Economist newspaper.
Years ago modern means of communication were thought to be the hope to establish new bonds of friendship between people divided by culture, political boundaries and distance. But the latest trends on internet are absolutely opposite to that thought. Governments use their official websites to boast about their achievements and to argue about territory, symbols or historical rights and wrongs. Much more disturbing is the way in which skilled young students are using technology to stoke hatred between countries, races or religions. In America, for example, rednecks can find lots of material on the web with which to fuel and indulge their prejudices like “suicide-bomber” games which pit the contestant against Muslims, or “Border Patrol” that invites you to shoot illegal Mexican immigrants crossing the border. The earliest internet forums for nationalist spats, which were relatively innocent by today’s standars, have moved to user-generated reference services like Wikipedia, whose elaborate moderation rules put a limit to acrimony. But e-arguments also led to hacking wars. A darker development is the abuse of blogs, social networks, maps and video-sharing sites to publish incendiary material and form hate groups, there are around 8.000 sites like these. But there are also groups of friendship between different communities like Greeks and Turks or Israelis and Palestians. On the other extreme are niche networks that unite extremists whose activities are hard to regulate when they go global. Although these online communities are small sized, it does not mean they are unimportant, the power of nationalist message can be amplified with blogs, online maps and texts messaging, creating fresh layers of falsehood. Spreading hatred on the web has become far easier since the sharp drop in the cost of producing, storing and distributing digital content together with the sheer ease of aggregation.
This article reveals the unappropriate uses of modern means of communication to create violence, hatred and fear among people, especially youngsters. As the author says: “ it has never been easier to propagate hatred and lies”. It also calls the attention to those “with better intentions” to make use of the net to try to do something about this situation.
In conclusion, though these rather small virtual communities seem harmless, too much harm is being created through them. For example, minority persecutions and increasing discrimination and violence among people from all around the world. So that I agree with the author in the fact that those who have better intentions should do something. And as users, we must be very careful in getting engaged in those falsehoods. I think young people need more criteria to think objectively about their violent lines of thought.

Review nº 3

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.economist.com
Date of publication: July 17th 2008


Review nº 3: Article ‘Food for thought’


In the era of junk food doctor Gomez-Pinilla gives a strong recomendation of eating healthy. It means that eating vegetables, fruit and fish will help us to develop our bodies and minds healthier. This view is not new but within the article ‘Food for thought’ from a publication of The Economist, this doctor also explains some properties of those kind of food and the risks of overeating them.
These days children are force-feeded by their pushy parents with Omega-3 oils at every opportunity because they are supposed to make children brainier. But there are many other nutrients which have proven cognitive effects not only in childhood but throughout a person’s life. Professor Fernando Gomez-Pinilla has analysed more than 160 studies of food’s effects on the brain, and he concludes that some foods can enhance congnitive abilities, protect the brain from damage and counteract the effects of ageing. Their effects are so profound that even the mental health of entire countries are linked to them. One of the needed nutrients is folic-acid which helps ward off the cognitive decline of ageing and depression, they are found in spinach, orange juice and Marmite. Antioxidants, like vitamin E, protect against the general effects of ageing and are found in vegetable oils, nuts, green leafy vegetables, and berries. Antioxidants can also protect the synaptic brain membranes, where the central parts of learning and memory take place. In this account, Omega-3’s benefits include improved learning and memory, and resistance to depression and bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, attention-deficit disorder and dyslexia. It is found in oily fish such as salmon, walnuts and kiwi fruit.
This article is of public interest if we want to have a better life style and be informed of how to provide a healthy diet to our children. As the author says: “ Eating well, then, is one key to a healthy brain. But a word of warning – do not overeat”, that will undo all the good work of antioxidants, for example.
In conclusion, this article explains the benefits of eating healthy food like vegetables and fruits throughout our lives. Surely if we follow the doctor’s advice we would not need extra vitamin tablets or chemically altered food to keep our minds and bodies healthy. But the author also warns about the risks of overeating that food. Finally, I give a last advice quoting the author: “ why not put the Nintendo brain trainer away tonight, and eat your way to intelligence instead?”.

Review nº 2

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.nytimes.com
Date of publication: May 20, 2008


Review nº 2: Article ‘Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain’

Is it true that wisdom comes with age? An American scientific research found out that elderly wisdom is not an urban myth but a real feature of older people.
The article ‘Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain’ from a New York Times publication, explains that not remembering names is not a sign of brain power declaining but all the contrary. Ageing brain is simply taking in more data and trying to sift through a clutter of information, often to its long-term benefit. Some brains deteriorate with age, but for most ageing adults much of what occurs is a gradually widening focus of attention that makes it more difficult to latch onto just one fact. In studies made where subjects were asked to read passages which were interrupted with unexpected words, adults 60 and older worked much more slowly than college students. That results indicate that elder people are taking the extra information and processing it. When both groups were later asked questions for which the out-of-place words might be answers, the older adults responded much better than the students. Such tendencies can yield big advantages in the real world, where it is not always clear what information is important, or will become important.
This article is quite interesting because it would help many elderly people to understand and overcome the changes that their mind will experience. Because as the author states “Although that can be frustrating, it is often useful”. And as professor Jacqui Smith said “there is a word for what results when the mind is able to assimilate data and put it in its proper place – wisdom”. So contrary to general thought getting older is a mental advantage.
To conclude, yes, it seems to be true that wisdom comes with age as the American research has reciently found out. The alarming forgetting of single items is not always a sign of memory problems, but a sign of the natural development of elderly people’s brains. It is not other thing that the so far unproved process of getting wiser with age.

Review nº 1

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.nytimes.com
Date of publication: May 18, 2008

Review nº 1: Article ‘ One Country’s Table Scraps, Another Country’s Meal ‘

As Argentinians we are quite aware of the problems that every housewife has to deal with in order to ensure a dish of food every day for her family. But it seems that people in first world countries are not very conscious of the problems which people in poor countries have to face. These problems are usually related to lack of economic sources to buy food or shortage of food. In the article ‘One Country’s Table Scraps, Another Country’s Meal‘, published in the New York Times, the author deals with the issue of wasting food in countries such as The United States. He also informes about the multiple ways of saving edible food from been discarded in order to donate it to Food Banks.
One point remarked in the article is the fact that Americans generate roughly 30 million tones of food waste each year. About 2% of that food waste ends up in landfills which produces methane, a major source of greenhouse gases. Other important fact mentioned is that in the same country, a group of more than 200 food banks reports that donations of food are down, but the number of people showing up for food has increased 20%. European countries are also part of the problem, such is the case of England and Sweeden. Britons tose away a third of the food they purchase. As a contrast, countries such as Africa and India suffer the lack of food. The main cause of the problem is the lack of technology and infrastructure to maintain the products edible, as well as multiple environmental factors like humidity or insect infestations. The Department of Agriculture of the US estimated that recovering just 5% of the food which is wasted could feed 4 million people a day. Fortunately, in many mayor, including New York, food rescue organizations are working with cafeterias and restaurants. They collect excess food that was never served each day. For food that isn`t edible, many states and cities are offering programs to donate it to livestock farmers or to compost it. There are also efforts to cut down on the amount of food that people pile on their plates.
In my opinion, the information published in the article, as well as the different measures taken to fight against the current food crisis should be put in practice among the rest of the first world countries. In this way they could help to fight the current food crisis. For that reason I agree with Jonathan Bloom, who started a blog to track the issue, when he says “eliminating food waste won’t solve the problems of world hunger and greenhouse gas pollution. But it could make a dent in his country and wouldn’t require a huge amount of effort or money”. I think that this problem must be fought not only by the governmental institutions or ONG organizations, but also by everyone because it is also a matter of education and consciousness. We need to change our eating habits and help those who have less. That is why I also agree with Mr Bloom when he says “ the fundamental thing that he’s fighting against is ‘why should I care? I paid for it’”, especially now that “the rising prices are really an answer to that”.
Finally, I consider that the article well worth reading because the information presented can be quite useful and can be used as an example to copy in the rest of the countries. In that way each of us could do a little in order to make a better world for all of us.

Reading report nº 6

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Date: May, 6th
Title: Can we create life?
Source: www.guardian.co.uk Date of publication: Sunday April 27 2008


Vocabulary:
Pushy: adj unpleasantly competitive or forceful: excessively aggressive or forceful in competing or dealing with others (informal).
Sprinter: noun participant in short swift race: an athlete or cyclist who takes part in a short race run or cycled at a very high speed.
Assortment: noun collection: a collection of various kinds
Hurdle: noun 1difficulty or obstacle: a difficulty or obstacle that has to be overcome 2barrier for runner to jump over: one of a number of light barriers over which runners have to jump in some track-and-field events horseracing 3fence used in horse race: a fence of intertwined branches or wattle that horses jump over in a race, or a race over fences of this type
Germ: noun 1microbiology microorganism: a microorganism, especially one that can cause disease 2microbiology cell: the smallest element in an organism such as a spore or a fertilized egg that is capable of growing into a complete adult or part 3beginning: the first sign of something that will develop
Breeding: noun 1 upbringing: somebody's upbringing, education, and training in manners and other social skills, especially an upbringing that produces polished manners and self-assurance 2 ancestry: somebody's family or ancestry3 reproduction: the mating and producing of young (often used before a noun)4 genetics development of improved specimens: the development of new types of plants or animals with improved characteristics 5 energy reactor's fuel production exceeding consumption: production of fissionable material in a breeder reactor in quantities in excess of the fuel it consumes
Coil: verb1 wind something into loops: to wind something into a series of connected loops, or form a series of connected loops 2 curve or bend: to move in a curving, sinuous way
Daunting: adj disheartening: likely to discourage, intimidate, or frighten somebody
Scratch: v. 1. To make a shallow cut or mark with something sharp. 2. To use the nails or claws to dig or scrape at. 3. To rub (the skin) to relieve itching. 4. To strike out or cancel ( for example, a word) by or as if by drawing lines through. n. 5. A mark or wound produced by scratching. adj. 6. Done haphazardly or by chance. 7. Assembled hastily or at random. 8. From the very beginning. Informal. 9. Meeting the requirements.
Chunk: n. 1. A thick mass or piece. 2. Informal. A substantial amount.
Mycoplasma: noun minute organism like bacterium: a microorganism of a genus considered to be the smallest known living cells. Some species cause respiratory diseases in animals and human beings.
Regarded by some as primitive bacteria, they need sterols such as cholesterol for growth.
Oversight: n. 1. An unintentional omission or mistake. 2. Supervision.


Main Ideas

Designer babies are not possible now and it’s highly likely that they won’t be possible in the future either.
If some parents want a child with special habilities it would not depend only on the selected genes but also on many environmental factors that can or cannot work.
Another problem would be that the embryo will have an assorment of the genes that the parents have.
And another hurdle is that the embryo would then have to be implanted in the woman’s womb and there is only a 40% chance of success or even less.
Nowadays it is possible for parents who carry a genetic disease to reduce the chance that a child will be born with.
One way is choosing the type of sperm that is used to fertilise the egg.
Another way is screening embryos for a particular genetic disease or chromosome disorder so that only embryos free from it are replaced.
It is currently illegal to alter an embryo’s genes even though, the changed gene is transmitted to future generations.
Gene silencing is a technique used to create “knockout” mice to study the effects of genes. Artificial DNA is introduced into mouse embryonic stem cells to silence one particular gene.
But very few genes have single effects and altering one can have deadly consequences.
Building a new organism from scratch is possible.
The technique is called synthetic biology and it combines scienceand engineering to build new biological functions and systems.
Many people are extremely concerned by the possibilities of bio-error that artificial life creates.

Personal reaction

In spite of our persistent dream of genetic perfection our knowledge of, and ability to, alter DNA remains rudimentary. But could we in some nearer future create our children as we imagine them?
Designer babies are not possible now and it’s highly likely that they won’t be possible in the future either. Even if an embryo were to be selected which had some especificgene, this would not assure the ability expected. It will depend on many external factors also. And the embryo will also have an assortment of the genes that the parents have. So they might have to screen many embryos before they found one that have the expected gene; then it would have to be implanted in the woman’s womb, which only has a 40% change of success. Some techniques are nowadays used to manipulate genes but are not safer.
This article compares the current procedures and technologies available to scientific investigation, with large scale projects as the creation of human life or designer babies. But these projects are seen as almost impossible to be curried out.
In conclusion, the idea of designing our future children as we want them to be, is really far away from possibility in the near future.

Reading report nº 5

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Date: April, 24th
Title: Biologists join the race to create synthetic life
Source: www.guardian.co.uk Date of publication: Sunday April 20 2008


Vocabulary:
Outline: n. 1. a. A line marking the outer boundaries of an object or figure. b. Shape; contour. 2. A style of drawing in which objects are delineated in contours without shading. 3. A short description, account, or summary. v. out·lined out·lin·ing 4. To draw an outline of. 5. To give the main features of; summarize.
Audacious: adj. 1. Fearlessly daring. See synonyms at adventurous. 2. Arrogantly insolent; impudent.
Stripping: strip v. stripped strip·ping1. a. To remove the covering from. b. To undress. 2. To deprive, as of honors or rank; divest. 3. To remove all excess detail from. 4. To dismantle piece by piece. 5. To damage or break the threads of ( for example, a screw) or the teeth of (a gear). 6. To rob or plunder. strip“per n. strip n. 1. A long narrow piece. 2. A comic strip. 3. An airstrip. 4. A narrow space or area, as along a highway.
Reassemble: v.1. to fit the parts of sth together again after it has been taken apart.2. to meet together again as a group after a break.
Accelerating: ac·cel·er·ate v. ac·cel·er·at·ed ac·cel·er·at·ing1. To make or become faster. 2. To cause to occur sooner than expected.
Microbes: n. 1. A microorganism.
Soak Up: v 1. To make thoroughly wet by or as if by being immersed in liquid; steep. 2. To absorb. 3. To be immersed. 4. To penetrate or permeate; seep. n. 5. The act or process of soaking. 6. Slang. A drunkard.
Churn Out: n. 1. A vessel or device in which cream or milk is agitated to make butter. v. 2. a. To agitate or stir (milk or cream) in a churn. b. To make (butter) by churning. 3. To shake or stir vigorously. See synonyms at agitate. 4. To produce in an abundant and automatic manner: churns out four novels a year.
Tailor: n. 1. One who makes, repairs, and alters garments. v. 2. To make (a garment). 3. To make or adapt for a particular purpose.
Circuitry: n. pl. cir·cuit·ries1. The design of or a detailed plan for an electric circuit. 2. Electric circuits collectively.


Main Ideas

Synthetic biology is the most audacious, and controversial, scientific idea of the 21st century.
The new discipline involves stripping microbes down to their basic constituents so they can be reassembled and manipulated to create new life forms.
It also poses dangers like the possibility of creating deadly pathogens.
The major biotechnology companies that sell these DNA segments are careful to try to monitor their sale.
Scientists are now learning how to design life.
This project has brought scientists to the cusp of a new industrial revolution in which new fuels, drugs, medical treatments and sensors can be created from biological materials.
One idea is the creation of organisms that could soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into hydrocarbon biofuels; so it can help in the fight against global warming.
Engineering life is not new, it is the basis of the biotechnology and GM crops industries. Scientists can produce a microbe that can be tailored to do all sorts of different tasks.

Personal reaction

As new technologies and scientific procedures are developed, more and more science fiction kind of experiments are tested. And scientists are supposed to work for the sake of humankind in order to do our lives easier.
Researchers in London promote synthetic biology. The new discipline involves stripping microbs down to their basic genetic constituents so they can be reassembled and manipulated to create new life forms. However, some researchers warn that synthetic biology also poses dangers.
This article deals with a new way of scientific research called synthetic biology. This procedure can help to create multiple biological materials, and could also help in the battle against global warming.
In conclusion, nowadys technological advances can help to create procedures never imagined before. These procedures must be carefully tested before implementing them in serious investigations.

Reading report nº 4

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Date: April,15th
Title: Stem cell advances could help childless couples
Source: www.guardian.co.uk Date of publication: Tuesday April 15 2008


Vocabulary:
Bill: n. 1. A statement of charges for goods or services. 2. A list of particulars, such as a theater program or menu. 3. The entertainment offered by a theater. 4. A public notice, such as an advertising poster. 5. A piece of legal paper money. 6. A bill of exchange. 7. a. A draft of a law presented for approval to a legislative body. b. The law enacted from such a draft. 8. Law. A document containing a formal statement of a case, complaint, or petition. v. 9. To present a statement of costs or charges to. 10. To enter on a bill. 11. To advertise by public notice.
Amendment: n. 1. Improvement. 2. Correction. 3. a. Formal revision, as of a bill or constitution. b. A statement of such a revision: The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.
Table: v. ta·bled ta·bling5. To put or place on a table. 6. To postpone consideration of; shelve.
Gametes: n. 1. A reproductive cell, especially a mature sperm or egg capable of participating in fertilization.
Tissues: n. 1. A fine, very thin fabric, such as gauze. 2. Thin translucent paper used especially for packing or wrapping. 3. A soft absorbent piece of paper used as toilet paper or a handkerchief. 4. A web; network. 5. Biology. a. A group of cells that are similar in form or function. b. Cellular matter in general.
Contentious: adj. 1. Quarrelsome. See synonyms at argumentative. 2. likely to cause disagreement between people
So-Called: adj. 1. So named, called, or designated, often incorrectly.
CysTic Fibrosis: n. 1. A hereditary disease of the exocrine glands, usually resulting in chronic respiratory infections and impaired pancreatic function. Also called mucoviscidosis.
Designer Baby: a baby created artificially
Thorough: adj. 1. Complete in all respects. 2. Painstakingly careful.


Main Ideas

Within 5 to 15 years it will be possible to make artificial sperm and eggs from other cells.
This will be possible using stem cell technology.
In Britain is a contentious human fertilisation and embryology bell passing through parliament.
The main ethical issue is to ensure that the science can continue.
As previous attempts to create sperm cells in mice have faild, there is still much basic scientific work required before this technique would be ready for use in human fertilisation.
This procedure is incredibly complicated.
Using it to help same-sex couples have children would be more difficult.
Another potentially contentious issue is the germ-line engineering.
It might be used to cure genetic diseases by correcting mutations, but is could also potentially allow parents to produce a “designer baby”.
The Catholic Church said the p otnetial uses and abuses of the fiel needed more debate.

Personal reaction

In this report British scientists claim that within 5 to 15 years it will be possible to make artificial sperm and eggs from other cells using stem cell technology. Therefore, infertile couples and post-menopausal women will be treated, and it could also potentially allow same sex couples to make designer babies.
About this issue a human fertilisation and embryology bill is being discussed by parliament. It will allow research in the area as long as any resulting human embryos are destroyed at 14 days old. But scientists stressed that much basic work is required before this procedure could be ready for use in human fertilisation because the proves done with mice gave as result animals that were born with deformities and died within months.
Another contentious issue is the germ-line engineering that would consist on making sperm and eggs in the laboratory then changing the DNA. It might be used to cure genetic diseases as cystic fibreosis as well as to produce a designer baby. Although none of these manipulations is possible at present, the Catholic Church said the potential uses and abuses of the field needed more debate.
In my opinion, I agree with the Church claim because such scientific procedures can have good applications to help childless and ill people, but it can also be used to the genetic manipulation of human embryos. This can lead to profound ethical issues so as to deliberate if those can be concidered human or not.

Reading report nº 3

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Date: April, 8th
Title: High-Tech Crime Is an Online Bubble That Hasn’t Burst
Source: www.nytimes.com Date of publication: April 7, 2008


Vocabulary:
Storefronts: n. 1. The side of a store facing a street. 2. A room in a commercial building at street level.
Savvy: Informal. adj. sav·vi·er sav·vi·est1. Well informed and perceptive; shrewd. n. 2. Practical understanding. v. sav·vied sav·vy·ing3. To understand
Murky: murk: n. 1. Partial or total darkness; gloom. -- murkily adv. -- murkiness n. -- murky adj.
Shilling: n. Slang. 1. One who poses as a satisfied customer to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle. shill v.
Skip to next paragraphBidders: bid v. bade or bid bid·denor bid bid·ding1. To command; direct. 2. To utter (a greeting or salutation). 3. To invite to attend; summon. 4. past tense and past participle bidn. 5. a. An offer of a price. b. The amount offered. 6. An invitation. 7. a. The act of bidding in card games. b. The number of tricks declared. c. A player's turn to bid. 8. An earnest effort to gain something. bid“dern.
Glean: v. 1. To gather grain left behind by reapers. 2. To collect bit by bit.
Teaser: tease v. teased teas·ing1. To annoy; vex. 2. To make fun of. 3. To arouse hope, desire, or curiosity without affording satisfaction. 4. To coax. 5. To disentangle and dress the fibers of (wool). 6. To raise the nap of (cloth). 7. To brush or comb (the hair) toward the scalp for a bouffant effect.
Outsourcing: outsource: v. (business) to arrange for sb outside a company todo work or provide goods for that company. n : Outsourcing
Nonprofit:adj. (of an organization) without the aim of making a profit.
Elusiveness: e·lu·sive adj. 1. Tending to elude. 2. Evasive; slippery. e·lusively adv. e·lusive·ness n.
Parlance: n. 1. A particular manner of speaking; idiom: legal parlance.
Herder: herd n. 1. A group of animals, as domestic cattle kept or living together. 2. A large number of people; crowd. v. 3. To come together in a herd. 4. To gather, keep, or drive in or as if in a herd. herd“er n. -- herds“man n.
Covertly: cov·ert adj. 1. Concealed, hidden, or secret. 2. Sheltered. n. 3. A covered shelter or hiding place. 4. Thick underbrush affording cover for game. - cov“ert·ly adv.
Convene: v. con·vened con·ven·ing1. To meet or assemble formally. 2. To convoke. See synonyms at call.

Main Ideas

In Paris the cybercrime industry operates through savvy sellers who are shilling credit card numbers.
Credit card numbers are seeked in auctions through spyware.
Electronic crime is maturing, criminals are adopting convencional approaches and outsourcing to specialists.
The speed with which it is developed is astonishing.
In The United States victims have reported losses of $239 million to online fraud in 2007, which are recorded by the FBI.
The most common frauds were fake e-mail messages and phony Web pages.
Judges remain reluctant to order much jail time for computer crime.
A case in point is Owen Thor Walker, an 18-year-old hacker who pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
Walker had been investigated by the FBI since 2006.
The judge would concider community detention and work release or some home detention because the teenager suffers a mild form of autism.
In Europe a cybercrime forum has been held to develop guidelines for closer international cooperation between law enforcement and Internet service providers.
Dutch high-tech crime police unit has identified about 25 people involved in these crimes.
Years ago cybercrime was a speciality but now there is no crime where there are no digital components built in.
A British Corporate IT Forum is pressing for a single confidential channel through which cybercrimes could be reported.

Personal reaction

This article is about the astonishing speed with which the electronic crime is developing and the necessity for more tough legislation and punishment for these crimes. Cybercrime affects all countries in the world, to Eric Loermans, chief inspector of a Dutch high-tech crime police unit, “there is no crime anymore where there are no digital components built in”. In the US alone, victims reported losses of $239 millions to online fraud in 2007. In Paris bidders seek credit card numbers in auctions through spyware to sell them later.
Electric crime is maturing and criminals are adopting supermarket-style pricing and outsourcing to specialists who might act as portfolio managers or computer technicians. For this reason the FBI investigates these crimes and many companies are pressing for a single confidencial channel through which corporate security chiefs could report cybercrimes.
In my opinion, this sort of crime is extremely sophisticated and elusive that is why ilt is quite difficult to catch these criminals, but I also believe that more extrict controls, legislation and punishments are needed to combat cybercrime.

Reading report nº 2

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Date: April, 3 rd
Title: Single Mothers in China Forge a Difficult Path
Source: www.nytimes.com Date of publication: April 6, 2008


Vocabulary:
Freewheeling: adj 1.Free of restraints or rules, as in organization or procedure.2.Heedless; carefree.
Outcast: n. 1. One that has been excluded from a society.
Albeit: conj. 1. Even though; although.
Rearing:rear: v.1. To care for (children or a child) during the early stages of life. 2. To lift upright. 3. To build; erect. 4. To breed or raise: reared cattle. 5. To rise on the hind legs, as a horse.
Kept at bay: n. 1. A deep prolonged bark, as of a hound. 2. Held at a safe distance: kept trouble at bay. 3. Cornered by and facing pursuers: bring quarry to bay.
Leeway: n. 1. The drift of a ship or aircraft to leeward of the course being steered. 2. A margin of freedom or variation; latitude. See synonyms at room.
Peasants: n. 1. A member of a class made up of agricultural workers, including small or tenant farmers and laborers on the land. 2. A country person; rustic. 3. An uncouth, crude, or ill-bred person; boor.
Vagrant: n. 1. One who wanders from place to place without a permanent home or livelihood. 2. One who lives on the streets and constitutes a public nuisance. adj. 3. Wandering from place to place; roving. 4. Moving in a random fashion.
Taunted:taunt: v. 1. To provoke or deride in a jeering manner. n. 2. A jeer or gibe.
Plight: n. 1. A difficult or adverse situation.
Pool: n.1. A fund containing all the money bet in a game of chance or on the outcome of an event. 2. A grouping of resources for the common advantage of the participants. 3. An agreement between competing business concerns to establish certain controls for common profit. 4. Any of several games played on a six-pocket billiard table. In this sense, also called , pocket billiards. v. 5. To put into a fund for use by all. 6. To join or form a pool.
Hasty: adj. hast·i·er hast·i·est1. Marked by speed; rapid. 2. Done or made too quickly to be accurate or wise; rash: a hasty decision.
Unravel: v. 1. To separate (entangled threads). 2. To separate and clarify the elements of (something baffling); solve. See synonyms at solve.
Balk: v. 1. To stop short and refuse to go on. 2. To refuse to proceed, as out of doubt or moral principle. 3. Baseball. To make an illegal motion before pitching, entitling any base runner to advance. n. 4. A hindrance, check, or defeat. 5. Baseball. An act of balking.


Main Ideas

The case of Lei Gailing, a single mother . She became pregnant when she was 33.
She refused to marry to her not stable boyfriend.
That decision made her a social outcast.
Today Ms Lei is 41 and she has no regrets for marrying to an old man in order to give a better life to her son.
She describes her marriage as an abusive relationship, but she goes on for her son.
In Chinese society, the issue of single motherhood and the right to hukou, or residency permit, are entering slowly to the public arena.
China lacks of a broad current of thought about women’s rights.
Women’s choices are monitored and supervised by others.
Although there is no official statistic, the number of single mothers in China is raising fast.
This is of great significance in what respects to Chinese tradition.
There is an emerging generation of single mothers who are professionals.
Ms Xie Jing case, she chosed to have the baby alone because of her fiancé’s ambivalence.
As her quality of life wasn’t so bad she didn’t want to stay with another person just for the sake of being together.
She lives with her parents and lies about her son’s father, who was kept at bay until the boy turne 18.
She discovered that children born outside of marriage had right to apply for hukou in Shanghai but people were still mean to her.
Each province and major city has some leeway in how it applies those rules, but poor, undereducated mothers has limited choices.
Zhong Yu, 23, case. She concidered getting an abortion, but although it is legal widespread and free she couldn’t afford the hospital fees.
She decided to keep the child no matter how hard her life will be.
Ms Lei had also few resources when her child was born, so she decided to carry her son with herself to look for a work in the capital.
In 2006 her case drew the interest of a Chinese journalist and men began contacting her with marriage inquiries.
She got married for convinience with a 60-year-old man out of mutual needs.
Their hasty pact quickly unraveled after the marriage. The man balked at registering the boy and was mean and cold to them.

Personal reaction

This article reports the situation in which single mothers in China live nowadays. The social reality and traditions of this oriental culture are very different to those from our occidental culture, the development in technology and science did not take place in their customs.
Women are closely monitored and supervised by the others. So that, for single mothers life is full of problems, they are concidered a social outcast. In many cities working class mother s without much education, money or standing their choices are limited. They do not have access to the right of hukou, or residency permit, and as a concecuence their children cannot have access to education and even to a place in society.
Having an abortion or getting married are the two abeilable options for this girls. But although abortion is legal and free, the hospital fees are quite expensive and many women do not want to get married just for the seek of having a husband. So that I think it is unfair to live in such a situation. Mothers have right to keep their babies and the society and the government should offer them protection and facilities to fulfil their basic needs no matter what culture they belong to.

Reading report nº 1

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Date: April,20th
Title: First British human-animal hybrid embryos created by scientists
Source: www.guardian.co.uk Date of publication: Wednesday April 2 2008


Vocabulary:
Breakthrough: n. 1. An act of overcoming or penetrating an obstacle or restriction. 2. A major success that permits further progress, as in technology.
Pave way: v. paved pav·ing1. To cover with pavement. 2. To make progress easier.
Hollowed-out: adj. hol·low·er hol·low·est1. Having a cavity or space within. 2. a. Deeply concave. B. Sunken; indented: hollow cheeks. 3. Without substance or character. See synonyms at vain. 4. Devoid of truth; specious. 5. Having a deep reverberating sound. N. 6. A cavity or interior space. 7. An indented or concave surface or area. 8. A void. 9. Also hol·ler v. 10. To make hollow.
Scarcity: if there is a scarcity of sth, there is not enough of it and it is difficult to obtain it SYN shortage.
Semolina: n. 1. Gritty coarse particles of wheat left after bolting and used for pasta.
Caution: n. 1. Careful forethought to avoid danger or harm. 2. A warning or admonition. V. 3. To warn.
Granted: v. 1. To consent to the fulfillment of. 2. To accord as a favor. 3. a. To bestow; confer. B. To transfer (property) by a deed. 4. To concede; acknowledge. N. 5. The act of granting. 6. a. Something granted. B. A giving of funds for a specific purpose. 7. a. A transfer of property by deed. B. The property so transferred. C. The deed of transfer.
Scrutiny: n. pl. Scru·ti·nies1. A close, careful examination.
Tizz: also tizzy: n. pl. Tiz·ziesSlang. 1. A state of nervous confusion; dither.
Deemed: deem v. 1. To judge; consider; think.


Main Ideas

Britain’s first human-animal hybrid embryos have been created.
The permission was gained in January to create “cytoplasmic hybrids”
The embryos were produced by inserting human DNA from a skin cell into a hollowed-out cow egg.
The embryos are expected to grow for six days and then extract stem cells from them.
The human fertilisation and embryology bill has faced condemnation from Catholic bishops.
Catholics object to the idea of creating life for the purposes of research.
John Burn, head fo the Institute of Human Genetics at Newcastle University said: ‘It`s never going to be anything other than a pile of cells... It gives us the tools to find out... how can we better understand the disease processes’.
The research has not yet been published, but scientists urged caution in interpreting the results.
This approach is likely to provide stem cells for research without the use of human eggs or normal human embryos.
The aim of the research is to advance human health
Using the nucleus from a very early embryonic cell might be easier to reprogramme than an adult cell.
For some people the research did not seem convincing because the embryos didn’t survive.

Personal reaction

Scientists are playing God, they seem to have created hybrid embryos out of human-animal embryos, but to what extent can science research go ?
Britain’s first human-animal hybrid embryos have been created. It is a crucial step towards a supply of stem cells that could be used for investigating debilitating and untreatable conditions. Catholics object to the idea of putting human and animal DNA in the same entity and to the notion of creating life for the purposes of research. But some people think that as the embryos did not survive, there is no convincing success in the research.
This article describes a new scientific method to obtain stem cells from an hybrid embryo created from human-animal cells. Scientifics are waiting for governmental approval to begin their investigations. The Catholic church as well as other scientists reject the project.
To sum up, as new technologies and procedures are developed new scientific testings are also being carried out, most of them based on experiments of ‘Frankenstein proportion’.