Missile defence is go
The Pentagon decided last week to press ahead with its controversial missile defence system despite the misgivings of the US General Accounting Office. The GAO鈥檚 report says only half of last year鈥檚 tests on the system succeeded, and that the ground-based interceptor missile has not been tried at all under realistic conditions. Nonetheless, the system will be declared operational at the end of September, just weeks before the presidential election.
No vote for e-voting
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Two more votes of no confidence in e-voting were issued this week. On 30 April California banned one type of touch-screen voting machine from the US elections in November, and decertified others. On the same day, Ireland dropped plans to use e-voting machines in June local elections.
Bad for baby?
Prozac can affect pregnancies, an expert panel appointed by the US National Toxicology Program concluded last week. Its report says women who take the drug are more likely to have shorter pregnancies and lighter babies.
Attack of the Sasser worm
Computers at Spain鈥檚 national courthouse, the Taiwan post office and the European Commission are among over a million machines that have been affected by the latest computer worm which struck on 1 May. Sasser spreads via unprotected computers linked to the internet, causing them to periodically shutdown and reboot.
World Trade Center fallout
People subjected to high levels of dust and pollution from the World Trade Center attacks have developed coughs, wheezes and respiratory disorders, says a study released on Monday by the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The study looked at firefighters, rescue workers and others at the scene. Pregnant women exposed to the pollution were also twice as likely to have small babies.