clipped from www.cnn.com Doomsday clock pushed back 1 minute The symbolic Doomsday Clock has been moved back a minute, reflecting the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' more optimistic view of the world's chances of avoiding catastrophic threats such as nuclear attacks. The clock is now set at six minutes to midnight, with midnight representing a nuclear apocalypse, according to the group, which is based in Chicago, Illinois. The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 and had been adjusted only 18 times before Thursday, the group said. The closest it has been to midnight is two minutes, from 1953 to 1960, after the Soviet Union and the United States stepped up testing of thermonuclear devices. The farthest has been 17 minutes, from 1991 to 1995, after the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Members of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announce the adjustment of the 'Doomsday Clock' in New York on Thursday.