Alaska

More land for drilling sought

The federal governments wants 387,000 more acres available for oil and gas drilling in Alaska, a proposal criticized by environmentalists.

The move announced Wednesday is part of a proposed Bureau of Land Management amendment to a 1998 development plan for the northeastern region of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

Environmentalists said the plan would endanger lands rich in sensitive wetlands and wildlife habitats.

Originally, 87 percent of the 4.6 million acres in the region along the state’s North Slope was to be made available for oil and gas development leases. The new plan would open about 96 percent.

Chicago

New stem cell lines available

Scientists at a private Chicago fertility clinic say they have isolated 12 new stem cell lines from genetically flawed human embryos — an advance that could help research into cures for devastating inherited diseases.

The cell colonies came from unused embryos donated by couples who underwent prenatal genetic screening at Reproductive Genetics Institute, clinic president Yury Verlinsky said Wednesday.

The embryos had gene mutations for two forms of muscular dystrophy, certain blood diseases and a cause of mental retardation — seven diseases in all.

Because of stem cells’ unique properties, isolating and studying the cells from those embryos could help researchers better understand genetic diseases and develop new treatments or cures, experts said.

Sweden

World military spending soars

World military spending surged during 2003, reaching $956 billion, nearly half of it by the United States as it paid for missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terror, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a prominent European think tank.

The United States led the world in defense spending, accounting for 47 percent of the total, followed by Japan with 5 percent and Britain, France and China, with 4 percent each.

The 2003 rise in defense spending coincided with a decrease in the number of conflicts worldwide, which fell to 19, the second-lowest since the think tank began issuing the reports 35 years ago.