TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| GM protest outside Parliament About 60 people have gathered outside Parliament House in Perth to protest against the introduction of genetically modified crops in WA. abc.net.au |
Researcher: Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin ROME (AP) -- A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus. Experts say the historian may be reading too much into the markings, and they stand by carbon-dating that points to the shroud being a medieval forgery.... hosted.ap.org |
Bone Drugs Taken by Some Women May Lower Breast Cancer Risk, Studies Say Two new studies suggest that bisphosphonate drugs taken to prevent bone loss may help fight breast cancer. feeds.nytimes.com |
Why are so many terrorists engineers? Why is it that so many Islamic terrorists have studied engineering?Whatever else Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is – privileged young Nigerian, pious introvert and all the other details in those journey-to-jihad profiles – he is also a graduate in mechanical engineering from University College London. That slots the Detroit plane bomber into a gruesome tradition: Islamist terrorists who trained as engineers.There are plenty more. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Mohamed Atta, 9/11 mastermind and ringleader respectively: both engineers. Imam Samudra, plotter of the Bali nightclub bombings: an engineer. Kafeel Ahmed, who tried to bomb Glasgow Airport in 2007: an MPhil in aeronautical engineering from Belfast.That link is more than coincidental. Analysing data on 284 jihadis from across the Muslim world, Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog found that 69% had been to university – which, if borne out generally, suggests al-Qaida is better educated than the British workforce. And 44% went into engineering, with Islamic studies a distant second at 19%. Put another way, engineers in Muslim countries were between three and four times more likely to become violent extremists than other graduates.Why? It's not just a case of being handy with explosives – sadly, terrorist bombs are relatively easy to make. And it isn't simply because engineering is a very popular degree in developing countries – nearly 60% of graduate Islamic radicals in the west are also engineers. The link has something to do with economics. A good student in Cairo, say, might expect to go on to a well-paid job – yet graduate employment across the Middle East is hard to find. Frustrated ambition is often a catalyst for radicalisation – just ask Jean-Paul Marat. But that wouldn't explain why leftwing extremists tend to be trained lawyers instead.Gambetta and Hertog point to a huge US survey in which nearly half of engineering students described themselves as both rightwing and religious – a higher proportion than any other faculty. Being a God-fearing conservative means something different in Kansas than Karachi, of course, but even so, it's a striking finding. And in a week when politicians are raising the old spectre of ethnic profiling, a little questioning must be a good thing.Global terrorismPsychologyAditya Chakraborttyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Experts: Cold snap doesn't disprove global warming Beijing had its coldest morning in almost 40 years and its biggest snowfall since 1951. Britain is suffering through its longest cold snap since 1981. And freezing weather is gripping the Deep South, including Florida's orange groves and beaches.... hosted.ap.org |