Australia: Sherlock Holmes: ‘A study in copyright’
It´s the kind of puzzle that might have amused Sherlock Holmes himself.
Now that copyright protections have expired on nearly all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales about the pipe-puffing detective in the deerstalker hat, are writers free to depict the character in new mysteries without seeking permission or paying license fees? ...
The Australian
Poland: Leia Display Systems designs ‘Star Wars’ hologram phone
A Polish firm named after a character from George Lucas’s Star Wars film series aims to create the world’s first hologram phone.
Leia Display Systems, which takes its name from sharpshooting hero Princess Leia, is working on a gadget that will create a live 3-D image of callers as they engage in telephone conversations.
The caller will sit in front of a special camera that contains two lenses, and a hologram machine will then beam the image onto a water-vapour screen. ...
The News
Hawaii: Fast-moving erosion threatens Hawaii coastal homes
Alice Lunt didn’t worry too much when she saw waves splashing close to her home on Oahu’s North Shore on Christmas Eve. She had seen the ocean edge close before. But before dawn, a neighbor woke her with a call.
“Everything was washing away,” she remembered the neighbor saying. ...
The Garden Island
Siberia: US scientists hail a ‘Siberian microorganism’ that can double the speed of cellulose digestion
Found in Kamchatka’s Valley of the Geysers, it promises a scientific breakthrough, say experts.
‘Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the US have discovered that an enzyme that can digest cellulose almost twice as fast as the current leading component cellulase enzyme on the market,’ reported Renewable Energy Magazine. ...
Siberian Times
UAE: Western Culture In Abu Dhabi Breeds Exploited Workers
For years, major sporting events have been hosted in the superbly wealthy Gulf States. Now, renowned Western cultural institutions are following suit. But these high-minded museums and cultural organizations are encountering a familiar problem.
In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the French Louvre, the American Guggenheim and other branches of imported high culture are envisioned as a massive hub of Western refinement on Saadiyat Island, also known as “Happiness Island.”...
Suddeutche Zeitung via Worldcrunch
Japan: Researchers find damage-free way to observe internal cell structures
Japanese scientists say they have developed the world’s first method to observe a live cell without damaging its internal structure.
The researchers said the procedure, using free-electron X-ray laser technology, will help advance an understanding of intracellular phenomena, such as the mechanism of cell division. ...
The Asahi Shimbun
Sweden: ‘Extend compulsory schooling’: government
The government wants to extend Swedish compulsory education to ten years, in certain cases eleven, in hopes of boosting the numbers of students who go on to high school. ...
The Local
*Image of Sherlock Holmes Museum via Shutterstock.