Blood donations could one day become unnecessary, after the discovery of a way to grow potentially unlimited supplies of blood in the lab.

An American team has found a way to turn the parent cells of other types, human embryonic stem cells, into functional oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

The research, which appears in the journal Blood, was carried out by Advanced Cell Technology, Worcester Massachusetts, and its collaborators at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Illinois, shows for the first time that the oxygen-carrying capacity of these blood cells is comparable to that of normal blood transfusions.

And it should be easier to ensure that blood created this way is free of contamination by disease agents.

"Limitations in the supply of blood can have potentially life-threatening consequences for patients with massive blood loss," said Dr Robert Lanza, Chief Scientific Officer at ACT, and senior author.

"Embryonic stem cells represent a new source of cells that can be propagated and expanded indefinitely, providing a potentially inexhaustible source of red blood cells for human therapy. We can currently generate 10 to 100 billion red blood cells from a single six-well plate of stem cells. "

The breakthrough by a team that includes Dr Shi-Jiang Lu raises the prospect of mass-producing supplies of the "universal donor" blood type O-negative, which can be safely transfused into any patient, whatever their blood group, he said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has been using its border checkpoints to collect information on citizens that will be stored for 15 years, raising concern among privacy advocates, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the collection is part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats, the report said, citing a Federal Register notice the agency issued last month.

Officials said the disclosure is among a series of notices to make the department's data gathering more transparent, the newspaper reported.

A notice by Customs and Border Protection, a DHS agency, said it does not perform data mining on border crossings to search for patterns that could signal a terrorist or law enforcement threat, according to the Post.

But it states that information may be shared with federal, state and local governments to test "new technology and systems designed to enhance border security or identify other violations of law," the Post reported.

A DHS spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the report.

Information on international air passengers has long been collected this way but Customs and Border Protection only this year began to log the arrivals of all U.S. citizens across land borders, the Post said.

Privacy advocates raised concerns about the expanded collection of personal data and said safeguards are needed to ensure the system is not abused.

A senior aide to Vice President Cheney is the leading contender to become a top official at the Energy Department, according to several current and former administration officials, a promotion that would put one of the administration's most ardent opponents of environmental regulation in charge of forming department policies on climate change.

F. Chase Hutto III has played a prominent behind-the-scenes role in shaping the administration's environmental policies for several years, the officials said, helping to rewrite rules affecting the air that Americans breathe and the waters that oil tankers traverse. In every instance, according to both his allies and opponents, he has challenged proposals that would place additional regulations on industry.

The move to elevate the domestic policy adviser to the post of assistant secretary for policy and international affairs signals the administration's determination to resist new environmental protections, environmentalists said.

The assistant secretary is the "primary advisor to the Secretary and the Department on energy and technology policy development," conducts overseas negotiations on energy issues such as climate change, performs environmental analyses, and "leads the Department's international energy initiatives," according to the agency's Web site.

Hutto did not respond to several requests for an interview. Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride would not comment on the matter, saying the office does not discuss pending nominations, but she confirmed that Hutto has helped shape administration policies on an array of issues, including proposed protections for endangered right whales and whether to regulate carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Three students from the elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology who found a way to hack into Boston's transit system to get free rides can talk publicly about the security flaw, a court ruled on Tuesday in a decision hailed as a victory for academic freedom.

The students from the university, regarded as one of the world's top science and engineering schools, raised the ire of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority with a paper demonstrating how someone could work around flaws in Boston's "Charlie Card" automated fare system.

They had planned to present the paper, which showed how anyone could take thousands of free rides on subways and buses, at a hackers conference in Las Vegas this month.

The MBTA sued to block that presentation, contending that it would violate U.S. laws on computer fraud. MBTA officials said they wanted to stop the students from publicly exposing the security flaws before the transit authority had a chance to review them.

U.S. District Court Judge George O'Toole in Boston federal court found that presenting an academic paper would not violate computer fraud laws.

"We need academic freedom and an ability to talk about these things, without fearing legal consequences," said Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, which helped to defend the students.

Zimbabwe's parliament will open next week, officials say, despite no deal being reached on power-sharing.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which won a majority in March's parliamentary election, says it is not opposed to the opening of parliament.

But it said it would oppose any move by President Robert Mugabe, leader of the Zanu-PF party, to appoint a cabinet.

The two parties have been trying to thrash out a deal to share power, but have so far failed to agree terms.

Parliamentary clerk Austin Zvoma told state TV that parliament would be convened on Monday or Tuesday.

"The preparations for the swearing in of members of the seventh parliament [since independence] are at an advanced stage," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

Power dispute

The Zanu-PF party lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since 1980 - taking 97 seats to the MDC's 109.

But the main MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, will rely on the backing of an MDC breakaway faction to preserve its majority.

A cabinet is usually formed shortly after parliament reopens, but the MDC is adamant Mr Mugabe should not be allowed to form a government.

MDC spokesman Tapiwa Mashakada told Reuters such a move would be "against the letter and spirit" of an agreement both sides had signed to hold power-sharing talks.

Mr Tsvangirai finished ahead of Mr Mugabe in the first round of presidential elections, which were also held in March.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein issued a statement Tuesday morning saying she broke her ankle while "on a walk" with Rep. Ellen Tauscher last weekend in Lake Tahoe and will skip the Democratic National Convention next week in Denver.

Feinstein, 75, says she's following doctor's orders.

"My doctor has advised me not to travel in the short-term, and so, regretfully, I am unable to attend what will surely be an historic convention in Denver," Feinstein said in a statement.

She broke her left ankle.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and the White House are at odds over whether to station a U.S. Navy ship in the Black Sea to demonstrate U.S. support towards an embattled Georgian military and government, two defense officials told McClatchy Newspapers.

The White House believes putting a ship like the USNS Comfort would showcase the Bush administration's support for Georgia and signal U.S. concern that Russia has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Georgia.

Pentagon officials call the move unnecessary.

Indeed, military officials don't believe Georgia requires that much humanitarian aid. Last week, the U.S. military sent a 12-member assessment team to determine how much humanitarian aid Georgians need.

In addition, the USNS Comfort would take weeks to arrive. Instead, two military officials said they believe air support is enough. Air Force and Navy aircraft are sending supplies daily.

“That is all they need right now,” a senior defense official said. The official asked for anonymity to speak candidly.

To send the USNS Comfort, a destroyer or any other major vessel, the Bush administration must obtain permission from Turkey under the Montreux Convention, an international treaty that regulates naval passage in the Black Sea. So far, Turkey has refused, the officials told McClatchy.

The White House is frustrated, the officials said; the Pentagon is unperturbed.

Throughout the Georgian conflict, Pentagon officials have resisted the use of U.S. weapons, troops and ships as a political message to Russians. The Marine Corps would like to withdraw 17 trainers who were in Georgia to train Georgian troops for duty in Iraq. But the White House has insisted that the rainers remain in Tbilisi to placate political concerns that the Bush administration would be seen as abandoning their allies if the troops were evacuated. The USNS Comfort is currently docked in Baltimore. Naval officials said it could be ready to leave as early as Friday, if Turkey approves its entry into the Black Sea. But it would be five weeks before it arrived.

Months earlier, Turkey approved the U.S. military sending the USS McFaul, a destroyer, and the USS Dallas, a submarine, to the Black Sea for a training exercise. The military is stocking those ships with humanitarian aid, in case defense officials decide to carry out the training exercise, naval officials said. For now those ships are docked in Greece.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran's attempted satellite launch was a failure that fell far short of claimed successes, U.S. security officials said on Tuesday, but an analyst said the test still marked progress toward a potential weapon.

"The attempted launch failed," a U.S. intelligence official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The vehicle failed shortly after liftoff and in no way reached its intended position," the official said. "It could be characterized as a dramatic failure."

A U.S. defense official gave a similar characterization of the test as unsuccessful.

But Charles Vick, a senior analyst for GlobalSecurity.org research group, said Iran appeared to have succeeded in igniting the second stage of its booster rocket and gained data that will help it perfect its launch system. The technology could also be used to develop a rocket capable of carrying nuclear weapons that could strike Europe or China, he said.

He based his assessments of the test on photographs, public reporting and earlier analyses.

"They're not there yet and that's to be expected but this is a step forward that has implications strategically," Vick said.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co said it would close 12 percent, or 92, of its company-owned U.S. stores and cut 600 full- and part-time jobs as the U.S. economic downturn put more pressure on the company.

"In the current economic condition, people are driving less and it obviously affects every facet of the U.S. auto industry, including how often they replace tires or buy new cars," Goodyear spokesman Keith Price said on Tuesday after the announcement.

"The current economic condition further impacted the stores, but they were not performing well before this year. And we don't expect them to perform well," Price said. Goodyear owns 742 stores in the United States.

Goodyear, the largest tire maker in the United States by sales, said it would take after-tax charges of about $30 million in connection with the closings, half of which would be recorded in the third quarter.

The company said the closings would enable it to eliminate $9 million in annual losses.

In July, Goodyear said it was confident it would be able to navigate the near-term economic challenges, especially in North America. At that time, the company said second-quarter net income rose to $75 million, or 31 cents per share, from $56 million, or 26 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 6.5 percent to $5.24 billion.

President Nicolas Sarkozy is travelling to Afghanistan to support French troops a day after one of the deadliest attacks on French forces abroad.

Ten French soldiers were killed and 21 injured in an ambush by Taleban fighters east of the capital, Kabul.

Mr Sarkozy said France was committed to the fight against terrorism, and the mission in Afghanistan would continue.

France plans to send in 700 troops by the end of August, bringing its presence in Afghanistan to 2,600.

The French news agency AFP reported that Tuesday's deaths brought to 24 the number of French troops killed in Afghanistan since 2002.

The BBC's Emma-Jane Kirby, in Paris, says news of the deaths will provoke anger in France, where two-thirds of people say they are opposed to French involvement in the conflict.

The loss of life is thought to be the heaviest suffered by the French military since 58 paratroopers were killed in Beirut in 1983.