Word: compacter
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...viruses led to the discovery of restriction enzymes, the biological scissors that can snip DNA segments at precisely defined locations. That discovery in turn made possible recombinant- DNA technology, which spawned the multibillion-dollar biotechnology industry. And the laser, now the vital component of devices ranging from printers to compact disc players to surgical instruments, was a serendipitous by-product of research on molecular structure...
...Information Age just hasn't been able to meet overexpectations. Some technologies have worked as promised; others haven't. For every success story like compact discs or Nintendo, there are fizzles like picture phones and home computers. And in some glaring instances, the industry has been its own worst enemy. The sale of credit information by companies like TRW and Equifax hurt the market for automated credit services; sleazy, heavy-breathing 900-number telephone services created a mounting backlash against audiotext...
...wild ideas about PCR's applications. Researchers at Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., which recently agreed to pay Cetus $300 million for the rights to PCR, are interested in developing a whole series of DNA identification tags. To foil counterfeiting, for instance, everything from paper currency to designer jeans and compact discs might be laced with DNA markers. Oil carried in tankers and toxic chemicals carried in trucks might similarly be "branded" by molecules of synthetic DNA. With PCR, a spill of unknown origin could then be traced back to the responsible party...
...fact, the scheme merely refines a centuries-old compact. Kuwait was founded in the 1700s by three families. Two continued as lucrative merchants while the Sabahs were charged with protecting the state. Major decisions were a product of consultation. The merchants held the upper hand and set policy; the Sabahs executed it. When the oil began flowing seriously in the 1950s, the Sabahs were suddenly the wealthiest of all, and the power relationships inverted. A succession of farsighted emirs distributed billions of dollars to the populace, and Sabah-generated patronage is still central to the family's power. "These days...
Even the possibility that the 1922 compact might be revised raises hackles in all seven states. Already, fierce controversies over the Colorado are swirling in courts and legislatures. When there is no longer enough of a vital resource to go around, who is entitled to what portion and why? Says California Congressman George Miller: "The heart of the West is water. It's about winners and losers, the future and the past. It's about economics. It will be the most important commodity in dictating the future. It's the most serious confrontation that the West has engaged...