INFO FLOW CONTINUES TO GROW 

In the 16th century a well-educated person was only exposed -- during his entire life time, to the same amount of information contained in a single edition of the New York Times.

Information is being created in a few more countries today -- 190 -compared to less than 50 known in those days. A thousand times more scientific information is being produced now than then. Where once upon a time effective work could only be done during daylight hours, progress was limited, in northern winter climates especially. Electricity erased the night. Through telegraph to satellite transmissions, collaboration started to take mere days and weeks, not months and years, as when Newton sent his papers via sailing ships.

Because fast-as-light data transmission now produces both questions and answers, sometimes within the hour, research, development and innovation are accelerated. As the world globalizes, the 168-hour week speeds up things by at least the factor of another magnitude. Work completed on a project during daytime here can be received by a colleague on the other side of the globe as he awakes. He adds to it while you sleep. His contribution allows you to fill in and complete the project before coffee break. Why are things moving so fast?

Many technological developments, some very interesting and some even earth-shattering, are flashing through my computer screen every day. One column a week hardly delivers a taste of the action. Following are but FIVE technological tidbits (out of several dozen) received one recent morning:

FROM AUSTRALIA: A DESIGNER DRUG MAY FOIL THE FLU.

A patent just published in Canberra describes a new designer drug that could slow down and perhaps terminate annual influenza epidemics. World-wide, the flu is more than a nuisance, it is serious. A 1989 flu epidemic in Britain killed 25,000 people. This drug, with low toxicity, appears to prevent new strains as well as previously prevalent types. Flu virus mutations have been the bane of scientists for decades as the flu virus appears to change on whim. This designer drug was developed by several Australian scientists. Biota Holdings of Australia hold the intellectual rights and have licensed pharmaceutical company Glaxo of Britain to further test and develop the product commercially.

FROM BRITAIN -- A BLACK BOX FOR MOTORISTS.

Recording devices for automobiles, similar to those carried in commercial aircraft to record flight operations and performance for post-crash investigations, are under development by European scientists. The cost of placing these devices on all cars in Britain (about C$200 per vehicle), just about equals what insurers pay out annually for crash damage. The device, being developed under the European Community Drive Program, is called DRACO (Driving Accident Coordinating Observer). The memory unit continually stores the last 100 seconds of driving time, three "crash" seconds and the 10 seconds following the accident.

FROM THE U.S.A. -- A DIAMOND HARDER THAN DIAMOND.

Those expensive sparklers flaunted around the world by DeBeers may have a competitor: a diamond made up mainly of carbon-13 maybe the hardest material ever made. Ordinary diamonds are composed of 99 percent carbon-12 and one percent carbon-13. Now General Electric's R&D center in Schenectady, in New York has reversed the proportions of diamond isotopes. These diamonds contain, per cubic centimetre, more atoms than any known material. Their use in electronic circuits could be revolutionary.

FROM JAPAN - A COMPUTER THAT LETS YOU SING.

Karaoke may get worse. A computer that will let people who can only hum, sing, has been developed by NEC. Previous electronic keyboards required at least some talent and keyboard skills. Now you just hum. The machine tries to match the humming sound with the computer memory and then comes up with the real sound. Apparently you have to be really tone deaf before the device can't find a match. Like the brain it uses neural networks to teach the unit what you are trying to convey with that off-key humming. The devices have already mastered Enka, traditional popular Japanese songs reminiscent of George Gershwin. Possibilities look promising for getting non-musical adults and children interested in music, even those who still can't carry a tune after years of trying.

FROM GUATEMALA - ELECTRICITY IN THE JUNGLE WITHOUT WIRES.

To a home a hundred miles from a power line, how do you turn on the lights? The same way we do, by throwing a switch ... if you have a solar power unit like those being introduced in rural communities in Guatemala. It's much cheaper than to string wires and poles across the country. Just as TV is less expensively delivered to distant points via satellite than by stringing cable. Mexico has installed a solar-powered generating station in Santa Maria Magdalena, which also uses a windmill, and a supplementary diesel generator with batteries to store power for use during windless evenings.

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