A NEW FIELD: Atomtronics. “Just as NASA engineers test new rocket designs in computer studies before committing themselves to full prototypes, so physicists will often model matter under various circumstances to see whether something new appears. This is especially true of atomtronics, a relatively new science devoted to creating artificial tailored materials consisting of neutral atoms held in an array with laser beams, or atoms moving along a desired track under electric or magnetic influence.”

The name has a nice 1950s science-fiction resonance, anyway.

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE: Experts fear diseases ‘impossible to treat.’ “Experts say the growth of antibiotic resistance now poses as great a threat to global health as the emergence of new diseases such as Aids and pandemic flu.”

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION still pushing “distracted driver” issue.

While Department of Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood and the National Transportation Safety Board aren’t on exactly the same page when it comes to regulating drivers’ use of cellphones and other personal electronic devices it’s clear that official bureaucratic Washington has decided to control the way Americans act behind the wheel. In December, the NTSB proposed using the power of the federal purse to impel the 50 states to outlaw all cellphone and PED use, including hands-free devices, while driving. At the time Sec. LaHood said he thought that went too far, saying that he didn’t think that hands-free and other devices were necessarily a problem. LaHood did, though, recommend more study. Apparently, in the two months since LaHood made his statement enough study has been done for the DOT, through NHTSA, to release the first phase of voluntary guidelines (PDF) to auto manufacturers concerning devices that cause drivers’ distraction. The guidelines address “visual-manual” distraction, “meaning the driver looking at a device, manipulating a device-related control with the driver’s hand, and watching for visual feedback”, and they call for manufacturers to disable built-in access to social media, the Web, and text messaging while driving, as well as prohibiting any built-in devices that require drivers to use both hands or take their eyes off the road for more than two seconds.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers trade group, representing 12 major automakers, acted like most trade groups do, and avoided ruffling the feathers of those who regulate them.

I have no such concerns. This is a stupid idea, and should be stopped forthwith, and I encourage the GOP Presidential (and Congressional) candidates to make an issue of it. Here’s my earlier column on the subject.

UPDATE: Had the wrong link to my column before. Fixed now. Sorry!

JAY LENO’S MUST-HAVE SUPERCAR.

NANOTECHNOLOGY: Howard Lovy on Balancing Real Risk, Political Risk, and the Risk of Hype.

FISKER UPDATE: Analyst predicts Fisker’s demise; spokesman says that’s premature.

MICHAEL J. HIGDON: A Place in the Academy: Law Faculty Hiring and Socioeconomic Bias.

MICHAEL PATRICK LEAHY: Why Is Santorum Rising? “Romney, for reasons that continue to remain a mystery to me, appears to be following a strategy of actively avoiding the Tea Party movement.” How’s that workin’ out for ya, Mitt?

WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: The Great American Impasse. “Not all the Democrats are celebrating the January unemployment numbers as morning in Obama’s America. Robert Reich, Clinton’s labor secretary and one of Via Meadia’s favorite liberals, notes dourly that most of the hiring is happening in lower-wage sectors. . . . Reich and Romney both get the reality that it is the declining fortunes of the middle class that should worry us. And the relationship between the middle class and government benefits and subsidies is complex.”

DEREK THOMPSON ON BUILDING THE STARTUP STATE. “Here’s a new framework for competitiveness: What if the law were biased, not toward the oil and gas industry or the cotton farmers, but to the creative, the self-employed, and the entrepreneurs?” The problem is, declining industries usually have more political clout than rising ones. Even if Thompson’s approach were viable — with is unclear — it will be very unlikely to be enacted. Which is our economic/legislative problem in a nutshell.

KENNETH ANDERSON: Drones, Privacy, and Air Rights.

FASTER, PLEASE: House Republicans Plan Repeal of Obama Education Regulations.

YOU WOULD, WOULDN’T YOU? “You’d think with her husband’s reelection on the line, Michelle Obama would not go on another vacation. She must really need to get out of the White House. It looks awful for the campaign, which attempts to radiate concern for the economically downtrodden, to have her romping on another luxurious vacation. Aspen, for skiing, after Christmas in Hawaii, and — a while back — summer on Martha’s Vineyard. These selections couldn’t be more precisely chosen to inspire envy. You’d think they’d rein her in… or at least moderate the optics. What’s going on? Are they super-confident of victory in November? Counting on our short memories? Or is getting Michelle away from the White House a big priority?”

CANADA: Campaign against Canadian Keystone XL pipeline driven by US foundation millions. “A Powerpoint presentation obtained by The Daily Caller shows that during a July 2008 meeting, the $789 million Rockefeller Brothers Fund proposed to coordinate and fund a dozen environmental and anti-corporate activist groups’ efforts to scuttle pipelines carrying tar sands oil from Canada to the United States.”

Kind of reminds me of the foundations’ astroturfing of campaign finance “reform.”

IF LIBERTARIANS WERE IN CHARGE, NOBODY WOULD KEEP THE FOOD SAFE BECAUSE IT WOULD BE ALL ABOUT THE MONEY — Oh, wait, that’s what’s going on now: “Federal inspectors knew of serious food safety violations at a Washington state fruit processing plant. It seemed like the kind of thing that the United States Department of Agriculture would jump on. But that’s not what happened. Government whistleblowers tell the KING 5 Investigators that the agency was more concerned about the money Snokist was generating for the USDA than the safety of the citizens it serves.”

SHARED SACRIFICE: Michelle Obama, daughters, vacation in Aspen at billionaire’s ski home.

HOW TO EXTEND YOUR LIFE NOW. First in a series.

QUESTION: So how come we didn’t get all this The Politicians Are Stealing Your Ladyparts!!! hysteria back when the Obama Administration blocked Plan B against the recommendation of the scientists? Oh, right, because it’s only an issue when Republicans are involved. Hacks.

AT AMAZON, top deals on printers.

Also, today only: Boy Meets World: The Complete Series, for $64.99.

TIM CARNEY: Obama’s corporate welfare: No level playing field.

MYSTERIES ABOUND: Pakistan Can’t Seem to Figure Out Why Bin Laden Was Hiding There.

THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEKEND:

Did White House Advisers Raise Red Flags On Solyndra As Early As March 2010?

Another sex scandal in the public schools. If priest-and-preacher scandals say something about organized religion, do these scandals say something about public education?

The importance of Vitamin D.

Is the U.S. government scaring Web businesses out of the country?

Republicans are stealing your ladyparts!!!

All Your Children Are Belong To Us.

Obama is trailing Ron Paul in Iowa. “The president defeats only Newt Gingrich, 51 percent to 37 percent.” So, you know, the strength of the Democratic field is probably overstated. . . .

From Mike Rappaport, thoughts on libertarians and conservatives.

Tom Maguire Fact-Checks Charles Blow, and finds Blow wanting.

Thoughts on Higher Education and the Replication of Hierarchy.

Despite earlier representations, Transportation Department still pushing ban on electronic devices in cars.

Gas Prices Highest Ever For This Time of Year.

Heartland Memo Looking Faker By The Minute.

ADVICE TO MITT: Want to Win Michigan? Show Us Some Passion!

THE BLOG THAT ANSWERS THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Who Is That Hot Ad Girl?