Hi All,   Just some of the News Briefs at http://www.spectrum.ieee.org
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ANTHRAX/SARS DECIPHERED
In one-two punches, on 30 April and 1 May scientific teams reported they
had decoded the genome of the anthrax bacterium used in the 2001
bioterrorist attacks against targets in the United States and the genome of
the SARS virus. Both analyses focused on comparing the disease's genomes
with genes from related species, in order to zero in on what makes anthrax
and SARS so infectious and deadly. 

  

EE UNEMPLOYMENT
Joblessness among U.S. electrical engineers soared to 7 percent in the
first quarter of this year, surpassing the national jobless rate of 5.8
percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's a marked
jump from last year's EE unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, and may
represent a historic shift in engineering employment. In the past, U.S.
engineers and scientists have typically enjoyed lower jobless rates than
average. 

  

COLUMBIA REPORT
 A group investigating the 1 February breakup of the Space Shuttle Columbia
produced a "working scenario" on 6 May. It concluded that
superheated gases penetrated the shuttle's left wing through a small hole
in its leading edge. In less than 15 seconds, the gases melted the wing
from the inside out, sending the spacecraft spinning out of control. The
gases were allowed in by damaged thermal panels on the wing. What caused
the damage that allowed the gases in? "We were careful not to say the
foam caused a hole in the shuttle. But that's not to say we don't believe
that," said the panel's chairman, retired U.S. Navy Admiral Harold
Gehman [right]. "The board is certainly suspicious that foam had
something to do with it." 



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