Is the Staples Center Safe?; Bush's Plan to Increase Size of U.S. Military; Genetics and Human Variation; Gadgets of 2006
Is the Staples Center Safe?
The Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles is a busy, high-capacity, multi-use venue, with a capacity to seat up to 20,000 people. If the smoke evacuation system has never been tested or proven, as city documents suggest, is the venue's safety compromised?
Bush's Plan to Increase Size of U.S. Military
President Bush said Tuesday that he plans to expand the size of the U.S. military to meet the challenges of a long-term global war against terrorists. After warnings that sustained deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have stretched the armed forces to near breaking point, Bush instructed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to come up with a plan to increase ground forces though the president gave no estimates about how many troops could be added.
Genetics and Human Variation
Are human beings as unique as snowflakes? Not quite, but new research shows humans may have a lot more individuality than originally thought -- in fact, the genetic codes of people can vary by as much as 10 percent. This challenges conventional wisdom in genetics that any two humans are 99.9 percent similar in content and identity. The discovery of this genetic variation comes from Dr. Steve Scherer and colleagues at the Center for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children at the University of Toronto. His work is expected to change the fundamental way geneticists approach disease and the study of evolution. Larry talks with Dr. Scherer, who joins us from studios at the University of Toronto, about his work and its implications.
Gadgets of 2006
Larry Mantle talks with Wired magazine Products Editor Mark McClusky about the hottest new gadgets of 2006.