Results tagged “congress” from 60 Second Science

France offers "zen-zones" on its high-speed trains, Vienna just ordered public transit users to keep the phone on silent, and more and more U.S. states are banning cell phone use while driving.

Emirates Airlines, though, is giving obsessive communicators another place to gab: coach. Beginning in March, the airline rolled out technology designed to let users operate cell phones at low enough levels to avoid completely futzing up the plane's navigation and ending the conference call with a bang.

Now in the U.S., we look at the Arab world and say, "You can take your excessive freedoms and shove it. We're on a banning spree."

Continue reading 'Congress on cell phones in planes: "We have the technology, but it'd be reaaaaal annoying."' >

Just a note to say that Internet law scholar John Palfrey and friends have begun a campaign to get Lawrence Lessig to...campaign. For Congress. They want the man behind the alternative copyright system, Creative Commons, and the book/online social movement, Free Culture, to run for a seat, rather than merely criticizing Congressional decisions (which he does quite well—his blog shows him to be a master of the political flame).

Continue reading 'In other election news...' >

Yes, Dr Robert Jarvik invented an artificial heart. But should he be the face of Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor? Congress isn't so sure.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has asked Mr Jarvik to answer questions regarding his job as poster boy for the pill.

In the hot seat, Jarvik will probably be questioned about his medical credentials--he is not licensed to practice medicine nor is he a cardiologist--as well as his athleticism. In the ads, Jarvik appears to rowing a shell when in fact body doubles from Lake Washington Rowing Club were hired to do the work.

“He’s about as much an outdoorsman as Woody Allen,” said a longtime collaborator, Dr. O. H. Frazier of the Texas Heart Institute. “He can’t row.”

Continue reading 'Congress questions Lipitor's spokesman and his sportsmanship' >

The House Education and Labor Committee just passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act (PDF), and now it's up for a House vote. Wow, sounds like a really great act. I mean, there's "Opportunity" AND "Affordability." Those are two things that are great in college. But many educators are worried that most of the opportunities to make college affordable are only going to be available if they crack down on peer-to-peer file sharing networks and come up with alternatives.

Continue reading 'College students just want their P2P; Congress says, "Nope!"' >

So I know the blog is called 60secondscience.com, but you should spare 120 seconds for this bad boy. Senator Chris Dodd's staff put together an interview with AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein. Klein is now in Washington to lobby against granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies for tapping our phones.

Continue reading 'Learn about AT&T wiretapping in under two minutes' >

Illinois Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill) has announced his plan to introduce legislation aimed at reigning in superbugs causing hospital infections, including the infamous methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. Durbin's legislation would require hospitals to follow federal infection control guidelines and report their infection rates to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a a report released last night by the Chicago Tribune online.

Continue reading 'Congress takes on superbugs' >