LIFE FOR HACKERS
Computer hackers in the US could be jailed for life under a new act passed by the House of Representatives last week. The sentence would be given to hackers convicted of 鈥渒nowingly鈥� causing or attempting to cause death or serious injury. Advocates worry that hackers could commit terrorist acts by making computer systems open dams and so trigger floods, for example. The stiff sentences are part of a general overhaul of US computer security laws, but the Senate will have to approve the act before it becomes law.
GENE CRACKDOWN
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Biotech patents are being handed out far too freely to labs and companies that do not deserve them. An international panel convened by Britain鈥檚 Nuffield Council on Bioethics is calling on patent offices worldwide to clamp down on the granting of dubious gene patents before they seriously hinder medical research. Genes identified by surfing genome databases should not be patentable, says the report. Nor should genes associated with diseases, which do not meet the criteria for invention, says panel member Martin Bobrow, a medical geneticist at the University of Cambridge.
PEDAL POWER RULES
More than 100 million bicycles were made in 2000, nearly 2.5 times the number of cars. In the mid-1960s, production of the green machine almost fell behind the car. But since then, bike output has risen fivefold while car output has only doubled, says Washington-based think tank the Earth Policy Institute. The Chinese buy most, with the European Union next. Sweating a long way behind are the Americans, who buy fewer than 2 million bikes a year.