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Earlier this week, European regulators said that they are investigating the online advertising deal between Google and Yahoo, even though that deal affects only the U.S. and Canadian markets. Such a revelation is a disturbing sign of the globalization of government meddling and the out-of-control use of antitrust as a weapon ...

Nine months after Barack Obama, John McCain has unveiled his own technology plan for America. At last, both candidates can be graded for their long-term friendliness to the tech sector ...

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) came under fire for making a ruling that many consider outside its authority. Without levying a fine, it charged that Comcast violated federal policy when it interfered with a file-sharing application used by consumers. This new plot twist in the Net neutrality story should remind everyone that when it comes to new technologies, government failure is a bigger menace than market failure...

When it comes to the Internet, Republican presidential candidate John McCain recently said that he's "an illiterate who has to rely on his wife for any assistance he can get." In an era where the Internet is playing an ever greater role, does such an admission matter, and does it say anything important about the age gap between McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama?...

More than 200 scientists and longevity activists gathered at UCLA recently to discuss advancements in repairing humans. New technology is making it possible to imagine a world with ever greater life spans, but old world issues pervaded the discussions ...

Personalized medicine is touted as the wave of the future, but recent government action points to problems for Americans looking to join the health revolution. Last week, California's Department of Public Health issued cease-and-desist letters to 13 genetic testing startups, threatening to deny service to consumers curious about their DNA ...

The United States Federal Trade Commission recently began a formal antitrust investigation into Intel's business practices. This action is not simply a problem for Intel, but should serve as a wake-up call for the entire technology industry and anyone who values innovation ...

Last week, President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which will protect individuals from employer and insurance discrimination based on the results of high-tech gene tests. Fighting discrimination is a good idea, but the lack of opposition to GINA points to some potentially serious problems. ...

At last week's UCLA Technology & Aging Conference, representatives from Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Toyota and other big-name firms discussed how technology is reshaping lifestyles for older individuals. However, important policy implications directly connected to these new tools went unspoken. ...

Last week, GlaxoSmithKline announced it will buy Sirtris Pharmaceuticals for US$720 million, giving weight to the claim that antiaging biotech firms can be a good bet. This is good news for Americans, given that a recent Harvard-affiliated study showed that some parts of the country have seen declines in expected longevity. ...

As Americans stretched to pay the tax man this week, California Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Montebello) was working on the sly to institute a new digital tax. Such a move is not only short-sighted, but also could seriously harm the state's competitiveness ...

At last week's Aging in America conference in Washington, attendees were greeted with multiple displays of technology aiming to help older people live better. A technological divide exists between the "oldest old" and the "recently old" baby boomers, but technologies developed for both groups may also be able to help younger generations fight aging...

The Alzheimer's Association recently reported that one out of eight baby boomers is expected to get Alzheimer's disease, creating a total of 10 million victims. This staggering prediction underscores the need for brain health and augmentation, a new market that tech players are fortunately beginning to enter ...

Google's recent announcement that it is creating a home for personal health records online is a natural outgrowth of Silicon Valley's Web 2.0 consumer Internet focus. The question this raises is whether a market-driven system is better for keeping health records than one run by the government ...

This week marked the anniversary of the announcement that the satellite radio firms Sirius and XM plan to merge, yet so far the companies have not been allowed to consummate the marriage. That's because regulators are standing in the way, backed by well-heeled Washington lobbyists out to prove that ridiculous ideas still have an impact if they come with dollar-sign attachments...

The next generation of parents is set to embrace genetic testing of kids for diseases that may occur later in life, according to a study published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics. This is big news given that many medical professionals oppose the practice and there is a movement in Congress to secure genetic privacy. This raises a key question: What is the nature of genetic data?...

At this week's Digital Life Design (DLD) conference in Germany, renowned scientists Craig Venter, Ph.D., and Richard Dawkins wowed the audience with a conversation about genes and information technology. They discussed how evolution is becoming man-made, which brings up a number of interesting issues ...

Hillary Clinton is my friend. On MySpace, that is. If I were going to vote for the first candidate that responded to my social networking "friend" request, it would be her. Of course, that's a silly idea, but with all the hoopla over politicians using new technologies, one might ask: How has Web 2.0 changed the political process? ...

New data released this week shows that human evolution is speeding up -- an interesting development given that many in the scientific community are hopeful that humans can take greater control over the process. At a recent conference in San Diego, scholars discussed how various religious orders may perceive radical life extension, one potential path of human evolution...

Many telecom observers were stunned this week when Verizon announced it would open up its network to "wireless devices, software and applications not offered by the company." This change in policy is good for consumers and worth closer examination, especially on the business side ...