NEW POLYESTER HOLDS PROMISE AS LUBRICANT

New polyester holdspromise as lubricant
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A newly developed lubricant could improve the performance, capacity and longevity of hard drives used widely in computers, music players, video recorders and other devices, researchers say.
Lubricant coats and protects the polished disc surface that spins thousands of times per minute as data are magnetically recorded, retrieved and erased on the drive by a head that flies back and forth dozens of times per second.
But today's standard lubricant, called perfluoropolyethers, is reaching its limits as disc drives spin faster and hold more data. In some cases, centrifugal forces are causing the lubricant to ripple. In others, the material flies off the spinning disk.
The new lubricant, called sterically hindered polyester, is based on inexpensive and abundant materials. It acts like a solid material when it's cast in very thin films and has very good adhesive properties, said its creator, Wei Xiao, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois.
"Solving the problem forced us to make a completely new kind of polyester," said James Economy, a University of Illinois professor of material science and engineering.
Besides hard drives, the polyester also could find use in other applications, such as mining and even automobile engines.
Samples of the new material have been sent to the industry-sponsored Center for Magnetic Recording Research for real-world testing. Xiao reported her findings last month an American Chemical Society meeting.
Catholic Church donatesto stem-cell opposition
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Roman Catholic Church and the wealthy evangelical Christian Howard Ahmanson Jr. have emerged as the biggest financial backers of the campaign against a California ballot measure that would fund stem-cell research and cloning projects.
Each contributed $50,000 last week to separate campaign groups, bringing the total to $125,000 combined.
Proposition 71 on the Nov. 2 ballot directs the state to borrow $3 billion to pay for the controversial research that scientists say is being hindered by the Bush administration.
Supporters have amassed about $12 million, including a contribution of 22,400 shares of biotechnology giant Amgen Inc. worth more than $1.3 million.
The contribution was made by wealthy venture capitalist William Bowes Jr., the founding chairman of Amgen. All told, venture capitalists have contributed more than $3 million to the pro-71 campaign.
Human embryonic stem cells are created in the first days after conception and ultimately turn into all the cells, tissues and organs that comprise the human body. Scientists hope to harness this power to create replacement cells and tissues to treat a wide range of ailments, from diabetes to spinal cord injury.
But many conservatives oppose stem cell research because it destroys embryos.
IT hiring is up overall inU.S., but down in the West
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The number of information technology workers overall increased 2 percent in the United States in the first quarter of this year, but the West Coast -- including Silicon Valley -- saw a decline, according to a tech industry report.
High-tech jobs grew to 10.5 million in the first quarter, compared with 10.3 million for the same period last year, according to the Information Technology Association of America.
The Northeast added 5 percent, the South gained 4 percent and the Midwest edged up 2.6 percent. The West lost 0.7 percent.
"I think it's a reflection of the fact that we still have not seen Silicon Valley and other parts of the West recover from the downturn," said Harris N. Miller, ITAA president.
The report said it's unlikely the situation will improve this year. Hiring managers said they will try to fill about 270,000 fewer IT jobs over all of 2004 than they did in 2003.
Companies are being cautious because of the general economic climate, the increasing cost of providing benefits and the savings from sending jobs outside the United States, Miller said.
The results were drawn from a national telephone survey of 500 people who oversee IT hiring in their organizations.
The calls took place between Feb. 24 and March 23, and the margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Associated Press
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.