News & Previews from the World Future Society March 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)

In This Issue: •  Becoming an Expert on Expertise •  Bandages Made from Bacteria? •  Global Warming Will Bring More Droughts •  Syphilis Epidemic Warning for China •  Click of the Month: Ethical Markets •  News from the Futurist Community

BECOMING AN EXPERT ON EXPERTISE As subject-matter specialists become ever more narrow in their specialties, researchers at Florida State University want to know more about the nature of "expertise." Do you become an "expert" through experience, or is it all about having "know-how"? These are not simply academic questions--the U.S. Office of Naval Research has awarded a grant to the university's Center for Expert Performance Research to understand more about what goes into making those split-second judgments and life-or-death decisions that we increasingly rely on "experts" to make in all fields, and perhaps most critically in the military. "We're working to understand the knowledge and thought processes that enable certain people to outperform others in high-stress jobs," explains Laura Hassler Lang, associate professor of education. "This research will focus on the acquisition and maintenance of adaptive skills, which are crucial to modern warfighting. Modern military personnel must be able to rapidly acquire and modify skilled performance to meet the demands presented by current and future wars." DETAILS: Florida State University, http://www.fsu.edu/news/2007/02/05/expert.grant/ BANDAGES MADE FROM BACTERIA? Bacteria isn't something you'd normally want to find in your surgical stitches, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has now approved the use of sutures made from bacteria modified by DNA technology. The TephaFLEX Absorbable Suture, manufactured by Tepha Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is made of materials that break down in the body after they have been used to hold soft tissue together to heal wounds from a deep cut or surgical incision. Recombinant DNA technologies use living material to create the necessary chemicals more easily than through standard industrial methods. SOURCES: Tepha Inc., http://www.tepha.com, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01560.html BRING YOUR HOPES AND VISIONS TO WFS ANNUAL MEETING A thousand futurists from the world overSweden, Australia, Mexico, and all places in betweenand from every sector of societybusiness, government, nonprofits, and academiawill bring their hopes and visions to the World Future Society's 2007 annual conference. "WorldFuture 2007: Fostering Hope and Vision for the 21st Century," will be held July 29-31 at the Hilton Minneapolis hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bring your own hopes and visions to share with like-minded men and women at this exciting event! And expand your conference experience by participating in one of about a dozen preconference courses or the all-day symposium on Nanotechnology: Innovation and Opportunities. REGISTER by February 28 and save $150 off the on-site registration fee: https://www.wfs.org/2007regform.htm LEARN MORE: http://www.wfs.org/2007main.htm SPONSOR A STUDENT: A donation of $100 will allow a young futurist to attend WorldFuture 2007: https://www.wfs.org/donateol.htm GLOBAL WARMING WILL BRING MORE DROUGHTS Water-stressed regions of the world--such as southwestern United States, Mexico, North Africa, the Middle East, and Australia--should prepare for even more droughts in the future, according to climate models used by the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Rainfall patterns in places like the Mediterranean are already changing due to long-term alterations in solar energy output, which has increased surface warming, as well as the presence of growing levels of greenhouse gases. The NASA model projects decreases of rainfall in the subtropics, where water issues are already a growing problem, but increased precipitation in the western Pacific, along the equator, and in parts of southeast Asia. SOURCE: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/warm_drought.html SYPHILIS EPIDEMIC WARNING FOR CHINA Syphilis has made a comeback in China and is now rapidly spreading, warns Myron S. Cohen of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Medicine. Total incidence of syphilis in China grew from less than 0.2 cases per 100,000 people in 1993 to 6.5 cases per 100,000 in 1999. Even more alarming is the fact that these infections are not exclusively sexually transmitted, but also increasingly spread from pregnant mother directly to fetus. By 2005, the rate of congenital syphilis in China had reached 19.68 cases per 100,000 live births, an average yearly rise of nearly 72% since 1991. According to Cohen, several social and economic forces in China have contributed to the growing epidemic, including increasing premarital sexual activity and the growing costs of health care. "This report helps to demonstrate the openness with which China is trying to approach epidemics of infectious diseases," he says. "The data we now have provides important clues as to where the authorities in China should put their resources." SOURCE: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan07/chinasyphilis.htm ********************************************* GLOBAL WARMING AND THE ENERGY TRANSITION Don't miss the special February 2007 edition of FUTURE SURVEY (Vol. 29, No. 2), compiled by editor Michael Marien. This mini-guide is the first edition of what will be a twice-yearly special focus on a critical area of our future. The February issue focuses on climate change and energy policies that could help alleviate the multiple crises ahead. Each issue of FUTURE SURVEY features a compilation of abstracts of the best recent books, articles, and reports. PRE-ORDER February 2007 issue of FUTURE SURVEY: http://www.wfs.org/fsurv.htm JOIN WFS COMPREHENSIVE PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP (includes subscription to FUTURE SURVEY): http://www.wfs.org/member.htm#comprehensive ********************************************* CLICK OF THE MONTH: ETHICAL MARKETS http://www.ethicalmarkets.com/ Going green is good business, and futurist Hazel Henderson's Ethical Markets portal offers a wealth of news and resources for those earnestly endeavoring to build a cleaner, safer, fairer future. Together with Henderson's latest book, ETHICAL MARKETS: GROWING THE GREEN ECONOMY, and the new PBS television series of the same name, the Web site supports a multimedia, multidimensional, and multinational approach to a green economy--even including job listings. ORDER ETHICAL MARKETS from the Futurist Bookshelf:  NEWS FROM THE FUTURIST COMMUNITY •  MINNESOTA LOSES TWO FUTURISTS: The World Future Society has sadly learned that Earl C. Joseph, founder of the Minnesota Futurists (the first WFS chapter), died February 23, 2007. He was 80 years old. The Minnesota chapter also suffers the loss of Allen Jaisle, an active member and a consultant and entrepreneur in the eco/environmental arena, who died February 21 at the age of 64. DETAILS: http://www.mnfuturists.org •  "FUTURING" AVAILABLE IN MORE LANGUAGES AROUND THE WORLD: Translations of FUTURING have recently been published in Korean, Mongolian, and coming soon in Arabic. Author and Founding President Ed Cornish acknowledged the contributions of Society members Youngsook Park in Korea, Manlaibaatar Zagdbazar in Mongolia, and Dr. Hasan Charif in Lebanon: "These dedicated members have helped make FUTURING and the value of foresight available to more of humanity." Do you know of a publisher interested in producing a translation of FUTURING? Please contact WFS Business Manager Jeff Cornish, mailto:jcornish@wfs.org DETAILS: http://www.wfs.org/futuring.htm •  NEW WFS WEB SITE AND SPECIAL FEATURES: The World Future Society's homepage (http://www.wfs.org) just got a new look, and the staff will be adding new features and easy-to-find links to all the future news and support you need. Be sure to check out the new blog by Society President Tim Mack, who has just posted his second "issue." Since, as Tim says, "I learn more when I listen than when I talk," he is especially anxious to receive your feedback. President's Web Log: http://www.wfs.org/blog2.htm FUTURIST UPDATE: News & Previews from the World Future Society is an e-mail newsletter published monthly as a supplement to THE FUTURIST magazine. Copyright © 2007, World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. Telephone 1-301-656-8274; e-mail mailto:info@wfs.org; Web site http://www.wfs.org. Editor: Cindy Wagner Assistant Editor: Patrick Tucker Network Administrator: Jeff Cornish Webmaster: Sarah Warner Vice President, Membership/Conference Operations:  Susan Echard To subscribe, enter your e-mail at http://www.wfs.org To unsubscribe or change your e-mail address, send message to Jeff Cornish, mailto:jcornish@wfs.org. Submit feedback: http://www.wfs.org/fbmar07.htm The WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY is a nonprofit, nonpartisan scientific and educational association with a global membership. Regular membership in the Society, including a subscription to THE FUTURIST, is $49 per year, or $20 for full-time students under age 25. Professional and Institutional membership programs are also offered; contact Society headquarters for details: http://www.wfs.org.