In the tradition of printed newspapers, most news websites reserve the prime real estate “above the fold” for their biggest headlines. Since late May, however, sites including the Financial Times and the Economist have instead been greeting visitors with a text box warning them that they are being tracked.
The notifications explain to readers that the publications have placed a cookie in their browsers—a bit of code that allows the sites to record what pages they visit. Cookies are hardly unusual: many websites (including Technology Review’s) place a half-dozen in visitors’ machines. What is unusual is that a website would bother to tell anyone. Continue reading Privacy Laws Turn Europe into Economic Laboratory→
The warship survived the first blast of wind it encountered on its maiden voyage in Stockholm Harbor. But the second gust did it in. The sinking of Vasa, on August 10, 1628, took place nowhere near an enemy. In fact, it sank in full view of a horrified public, assembled to see off their navy’s—and Europe’s—most ambitious warship to date. The 220-foot, triple-deck, 64-gun leviathan, elaborately adorned, had been rush-ordered for King Gustav Adolf’s war against Poland. But before it faced an opposing ship or fired a single shot, Vasa slipped beneath the waves.
Europe’s next elite research centers could be built in the poor regions in the south and east of the continent but managed by prestigious research institutions in, say, the United Kingdom, Germany, or Sweden. That’s one of several ideas now under discussion in the European Parliament to bolster research and innovation in areas where they haven’t thrived, in hopes of accelerating economic development. Continue reading Europe mulls plans to boost research in poorer regions→
Argentina is nationalising its science output, following last month’s nationalisation of energy company YPF. Only this time, the benefits should be international. On 23 May the house of representatives, Argentina’s lower house, approved a bill that would require the results of all scientific research conducted at the Argentina’s National System for Science and Research or by researchers funded by it to be made freely available in an online depository. Continue reading Argentine legislators approve open access law→
Journalist covering global development by way of science and technology.
