LISTENING

Paul Hawken writes: What happens when we don't listen? The main reason medical patients file malpractice suits is not because they believe their physicians are incompetent, but because they feel the doctors don't listen. The failure of communication leads to disappointment, anger, and frustration. That can lead to hostility and arrogance on the part of the practitioner, which inflames the patient's anger further. If this keeps up, the patient reaches for a lawyer. The resentment that results when people are not listened to, especially those in need or suffering arises everywhere. Listening is as different from hearing as a live animal is from a fur coat. Listening is generosity. Listening is consciousness. Listening is alive. Functionally, listening allows us to see a world we don't know, to understand experiences we haven't had, to reframe or drop a belief long held. It creates distinctions and it is from these distinctions that we create new possibilities. (07/03/02)

One Billion Sold! Hamburgers? No, Computers

BBC News -- One billion personal computers have been sold across the world, according to hi-tech consultancy Gartner Dataquest. And the number of computers is set to explode in the next few years, reaching the two billion mark in by 2008. The greatest growth is expected to be in areas such as China, Latin America, eastern Europe and India, predicts Gartner. "With over half the world's population residing in Asia Pacific, we can expect a significant contribution from this region towards the next billion PCs sold," said Gartner Dataquest's Ian Bertram. (07/03/02)

Plants That Fertilize Themselves

Published Thursday in Nature, the report's findings suggest that it may be easier than previously imagined to design plants that are able to make their own nitrogen fertilizer. The disovery was made by scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory (SL) in Norwich, UK.  Scientists have reported the discovery of a plant gene that is essential in controlling the interactions between plants and microorganisms that enable them to establish intimate associations of benefit to both partners. The roots of many plants are able to form intimate relationships with particular fungi living in the soil. These so-called arbuscular mycorrhizal associations are a symbiosis -­ a partnership of benefit to both partners. (07/03/02)

Three Dimensional Security

ENERGY SCIENCE NEWS -- Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a new technology that provides 3-D holographic imaging that can rapidly identify hidden weapons—even non-metallic weapons—through the clothing of airline passengers. ... Concealed weapons made of plastic, ceramics, and metal can be detected with the holographic imaging system called the Personal Security Scanner. The holographic imaging system offers distinct advantages over surveillance systems that rely on metal detectors or X-ray imaging. Metal detectors cannot screen for plastic or ceramic weapons. The holographic imaging system can identify metallic and nonmetallic guns concealed under clothing, and also has the potential for detecting plastic explosives. (07/03/02)

Cars That Repair Themselves

With a bang, the fender is dented and has to be replaced. Wouldn't it be nice if the dent could simply -- presto! -- disappear? Such "intelligent" materials are already being developed, relate Andreas Lendlein and Steffen Kelch in an overview of the field in Angewandte Chemie. Shape-memory polymers work like this: After an undesired deformation, such as a dent in the fender, these plastics "remember" their original shape. Heating them gives their "memory" a boost -- the dent could thus be removed with a hair-dryer. (07/03/02)