weblog #12 China's Panda Diplomacy With Taiwan

According to China's Panda Diplomacy With Taiwan, Beijing has sent two pandas to Taiwan as a present.

Sending the pandas to Taiwan may seen friendly, but people all know that there are much more motives and reasons why Beijing and our president would agree with this lovely present. Besides, putting the wild animals in cases in the zoo is actually not doing them any good. Main land China is claiming its sovereignty and our president Ma is trying to show friendliness.

Talk about something more practical. How much money did the government spent to greet the two guests? How much money can the zoo earn from them? How much money does it need to feed them? How many people can they attract, after almost everyone has seen them? To be honest, I am not interested in these two animals at all, although I am really an animal lover. I have seen pandas on TV and pictures for a lot of times. In addition, they are not as new as penguins or koala bears. Therefore, I do not think the panda storm will last long.

Come along with this news, the two sides of the strait began direct daily flight on Dec. 15, which took the two pandas. Finally people come and go freer than before, but there may be many problems coming along, and that is another article.

weblog #11 First Face Transplant Performed in the U.S.

According to First Face Transplant Performed in the U.S., Cleveland Clinic surgeons have performed the nation’s first near total face transplant.

In this case, the recipient of the facial transplant surgery was suffering from facial damage. If not for the surgery, no one could imagine what would happen on the woman. Many people may think that it sounds like a plastic surgery, but, in my opinion, the surgery was done not for good looking but for medical purpose. The series of the surgery had been done in China and France. Later on, similar surgeries were done in these two countries.

Nevertheless, there is something that might be troublesome. The rejection of the foreign tissue transplanted from another body. Recipients have to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives, but it may be risky if the effectiveness decreased.

Medical technology is now improving fast conspicuously. As a result, people are able to live longer and longer. After human-to-human organ transplant, now scientists are doing research on animal-to-human organ transplant. Scientists implant human genes into animals’ cells and then gene manipulated animals would be born. These animals’ will carry organs that are genetically similar to humans’ organs. Afterward, scientists are hoping to transplant the organs to humankinds as soon as possible. However, there are some moral issues that are still under discussing.

weblog #10 Google updates search index with old magazines

According to Google updates search index with old magazines, Google has added a magazine rack to its Internet search engine.

Google has been extending its business domain ambitiously. After trying to buy , this time it turns to books. They cooperate with libraries and publishers after the copyright problem was solved. I think the program is really a beneficial idea. It will make us easier to find information without looking through piles of books. Of course if they extend the program to more books and magazines or even research paper, it will be so much more convenience for researchers and students to do their work.

The other service they provide is the newspaper online. It may be useful, but there are already many similar services on different websites, so I wonder how it will be different from those on serving.

As to the pictures, it looks like the same idea of the newspapers. However, one reason why it is different I thought of is that pictures usually has right of portrait which keeps people from spreading and celebrities who have the right can made a lot of money by selling their own pictures to publishers.

There are some other problems. Some of the magazines already have their own websites. Would Google buy them, too? And how will other search engines react?

weblog #9 Lots of TV and Web harms kids' health

According to Lots of TV and Web harms kids' health, exposure to media sources makes children more prone to a range of health problems including obesity and smoking.

After televisions are invented, people are getting more and more used to staring at screens for a long time and teenagers are the most group which is accepting those information. Research were conducted which revealed that watching TV would make kids become stupid. When computers emerged, the condition has more chance to happen. People keep staying in front of screens longer and longer. Some of them even get addicted to it. I think I am maybe addicted to screens, too. I could sit on the sofa and watch TV for a whole day or use the computer until my eyes are sore.

However, my grade was not too bad but I think I am not a person that can do critical thinking. I can think of practical things when others are dreaming but I cannot give any opinions after I watched a movie or read a book. I have been thinking this for a while.
Maybe it is because I watched too much TV so I am not able to think more. Then I made a decision. I will not have TV in my house after I have children. In this way, we can do many more meaningful things instead of getting stupid and fat.