Word: lethalness
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...fact that organisms can survive in extreme - seemingly lethal - conditions is nothing new. Researchers have found creatures living at boiling vents on the floor of the ocean, in desert sands that virtually never see water; fossilized remains of microorganisms have even been found inside of rocks. Antarctic life, however, has always been a more complex matter. Antarctica was once a warmer, wetter land than it is now, but continental migration pushed it from place to place, leaving it - for the current epoch at least - at the bottom of the planet, where it became little more than a frozen desert...
When someone with a terminal illness decides to end his or her life by overdosing on barbiturates, they may hope the drugs will lull them into a peaceful and permanent sleep. But if the drugs have passed their expiration date or lack a sufficiently lethal concentration, the would-be suicide victim may actually survive - risking an array of complications including coma, reduced physical functioning and the opprobrium of disapproving friends and family. Now, in an effort to provide certainty to those contemplating suicide, one of the world's leading euthanasia advocates plans to sell barbiturate-testing kits to confirm that...
...outcome," Nitschke says. But the solution deteriorates slower in a sterile environment, allowing those with painful conditions to "lock it away in the back of the cupboard in case things gets too bad." The extracted sample is then mixed with chemicals from the kit; a color change indicates a lethal solution. (See pictures of suicide in the U.S. Army recruiters' ranks...
...with missiles and machine guns - all without human intervention? The Pentagon thinks the day may be imminent, and it wants to ensure that its technology doesn't get ahead of military doctrine. It wants to be certain that there is always a human making decisions regarding the use of lethal force...
...will be able to drive itself with onboard computers, navigate its way around obstacles while using sensors to beam back images of the surrounding terrain and, ultimately, fire deadly weapons on targets identified by the sensors. This last portion of the MULE's abilities - namely the capability of using lethal force by itself upon enemies - is of particular concern for the Army...