According to the Hindustan Times, India will put a man on the moon by 2020. [slashdot]

OK, so I’m being deliberately provocative. I can’t help it, there’s just something too shiny and happy about the coverage of Gannett’s decision to restructure its newsroom to take advantage of “crowdsourcing” (which is another way of saying, to get better tips). I’m actually happy that a big publisher is beginning to embrace participatory journalism.

Australia’s Federal Tourism Minister has floated the idea of covering portions of the Great Barrier Reef with a shade cloth. Portions of the reef naturally shadowed are healthier than those exposed to direct sunlight, probably an effect of higher water temperatures. More evidence that in the world of 2050 there will be no such thing as nature: nature will be another human-managed resource.

A quick note to potential fiction contributors: Futurismic will be closing to submissions next Saturday, November 18th. The webform will be shut down at that time, and we’ll remain closed until mid-January or possibly February. There’s still a week or so, then, if you have something you’d like to send. Meanwhile, check here for an update on the slushpile. Thanks!

A possible key to preventing the effects of aging may be calorie restriction. There’s some speculation here on how this might be a factor in developing life extension procedures.