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Top Stories in Science
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December 2005 Issue |
| [D] Defence and security |  |
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Environmental refugees By 2010 the world will probably need to cope with as many as 50 million people escaping the effects of creeping environmental deterioration. UN experts say the international community urgently needs to define, recognise and extend support to this new category of 'environmental refugee.' Problems of rising sea levels, expanding deserts and catastrophic flooding have already contributed to large permanent migrations and could displace hundreds of millions. Unlike victims of political upheaval or violence, environmental refugees do not have access through governments and international organisations to such assistance as financial grants, food, tools, shelter, schools and clinics. [D][E]
Water security Water is expected to become a major cause of international tension. By reducing glaciers and snow, which provide a natural reservoir, global warming will cause water shortages in many areas of the world. The consequences according to Scripps Institute are serious for California, the Canadian prairies, western South America, central Europe and much of Asia. USGS scientists predict, from an ensemble of 12 global climate models, that rainfall will increase 10 to 40 percent in eastern equatorial Africa, the La Plata basin and high latitude North America and Eurasia by the year 2050. They also predict 10 to 30 percent decreases in runoff in southern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and mid-latitude western North America. Two other new studies also predict that southern Africa is likely to become much drier. [D][C][E]
Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) The European Commission has launched the pilot phase of GMES to improve response to natural catastrophes. The GMES emergency management service will strengthen capacity to predict and respond to natural and man-made disasters. The land monitoring and marine services will provide information on land use and cover, and on the condition of the seas. [D][E][R]
Tsunami risk GPS measurements of land movements in the area of the December 2004 tsunami indicate that further big earthquakes are likely in the coming decades with the risk of causing more tsunamis. [D][R]
AIDS epidemic The total number of people living with HIV has reached its highest level, an estimated 40.3 million, according to the AIDS Epidemic Update 2005 report. The survey warned that growing epidemics are underway in eastern Europe, Central Asia and east Asia and that the spread of HIV/AIDS is intensifying in southern Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly two-thirds of the new infections, taking the number of cases there to an estimated 25.8 million. [D][H]
Pandemic flu vaccine Health ministers have internationally agreed actions to speed up production of a pandemic flu vaccine. Countries will share information and expertise to fast-track development and production and will make sure supplies meet demand. Ministers also agreed to work with the World Health Organization to develop and test methods for early containment of a flu outbreak. [D][G][H]
Anthrax antitoxin A new anthrax antibody engineered by scientists at the University of Texas protects and defends against inhalation anthrax without the use of antibiotics and other more expensive antibodies. In animal tests, the high-affinity antibody successfully eliminated both anthrax bacteria and its deadly toxins. It is not yet clear how the antibody works as an antitoxin, but it could provide the first successful treatment for late-stage anthrax infection, even for an anthrax strain that has been designed to resist antibiotics. [D][G][H]
Rail transport security X-ray screening and body scanners are among technology being tested to boost security on the UK rail network, according to the UK government. Scanners that can screen for weapons and explosives will be trialled at some stations. Advanced CCTV incorporating pattern recognition software to search for suspicious behaviour has been tested on the London Tube, but has unfortunately proved unreliable so far. [D][R]
Submarine communications In the past, submarines had to sacrifice some degree of stealth whenever they needed to communicate to the outside world. In today's military context of network enabled capabilities and network centric warfare, a submarine needs to be a persistent cooperative network node functioning at speed and depth, and without sacrificing inherent stealth. Creating this capability involves various new approaches for communicating between deep submarines and communications satellites. [D][A][I][T]
Defence procurement EU defence ministers have agreed to open up billions of euros of military spending to cross-border competition. From July 2006, EU states that sign up to a voluntary code of conduct will post defence orders of over 1 million euros on an internet site and accept bids from any other EU state. Currently more than half of the 30 billion euro annual arms procurements in the EU are closed to competition. [D] |
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| [A] Aeronautics and space | |
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Blended wing A blended wing plane is much more aerodynamic than a normal plane. This means it could use 20 percent less fuel and should also be much quieter for people on the ground because the engines sit on top of its wings. But the absence of a tail makes it much harder to control aircraft pitch, yaw and roll. NASA engineers believe they are now getting close to the best configuration. Wind tunnel tests have shown that their latest blended wing design copes successfully with the situation where the aircraft approaches maximum lift and then lift suddenly drops, as can happen when an aircraft hits turbulence. [A][E][P][W]
Quieter aircraft NASA's Quiet Technology Demonstrator 2 has confirmed in flight tests a number of concepts for reducing aircraft noise, including new engine nozzle chevron designs. [A][E][P][W]
Bee flight The longstanding problem of how honeybees fly has finally been solved. Honeybees use a wing stroke pattern that is less efficient than the broader strokes and slower flapping of fruit flies and other insects. This enables a bee to generate more lift when it needs to carry a heavy load, such as nectar or larvae. The researchers filmed hovering bees at 6000 frames per second, and plotted the unusual pattern of wing beats. The wing sweeps back in a 90 degree arc, then flips over as it returns, beating at 230 times a second. The team made a robot to scale to measure the forces involved. The work may help engineers design rotating propellers or more stable and manoeuvrable aircraft. [A]
Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher The heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA has achieved its second successful launch, lifting more than 8 tonnes into orbit. This is a world record load for a commercial launch. The rocket is designed to carry a maximum payload of nearly 10 tonnes. [A][P]
ESA space goals Nations have approved objectives for the future ESA programme. These include: the ExoMars mission to put a lander on Mars to explore for biological activity; cooperation on possible human missions to the Moon and Mars; the next phase of a programme to monitor the health of the Earth, including building Cryosat 2 to replace the ice-monitoring probe lost on launch in October; and, implementing the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) programme to improve environmental monitoring and policy making. Ministers have not backed a proposal to look into the feasibility of joining forces with Russia on its new crewed spaceship, the Clipper. [A][R]
Mars Express Data from the OMEGA spectrometer onboard Mars Express unambiguously reveal the presence of specific surface minerals that show substantial quantities of liquid water must have been stably present in the early history of Mars. The Mars Express MARSIS radar has provided direct information about the deep subsurface of Mars. First observations from MARSIS, obtained from only three passes close to the surface, include buried impact craters, probing of layered deposits at the north pole, and hints of the presence of deep underground water-ice and possibly of liquid pooling in a crater 250-kilometre-wide buried between 1.5 and 2.5 kilometres below the surface. Using its lowest transmitter frequency, the radar should be able to penetrate down 5 km below the surface. However, this has so far been prevented by the Martian ionosphere. All of the measurements have to be carefully corrected for ionospheric dispersion effects, which vary with solar activity. [A][R]
Huygens Mission ESA has published the main results from the Huygens mission to Saturn's giant moon, Titan. The images of Titan's surface reveal an extraordinary world, resembling Earth in many respects, especially in meteorology, geomorphology and fluvial activity. The images show strong evidence for erosion due to liquid flows, possibly of methane. Huygens enabled studies of the atmosphere and surface, including the first in-situ sampling of the organic chemistry and the aerosols below 150 km. These confirmed the presence of a complex organic chemistry in both the gas and the solid phase, which reinforces the idea that Titan is a promising place to observe chemical pathways involving molecules that may have been the building blocks of life on Earth. [A][R]
Asteroid samples On its second attempt, Japan's Hayabusa space probe has touched down on the asteroid Itokawa and collected samples of material. It will not be certain how much material has been gathered until the craft returns to Earth in 2007, but the collection process, which included firing a metal ball into the asteroid's surface to stir up material, was apparently completed without problem. As well as providing information about the composition of the solar system at the time it was formed 4.6 billion years ago, the samples could provide valuable knowledge about asteroid composition and structure useful for any future plan to deflect a celestial object on a collision course with Earth. [A]
Spacecraft leak detection Even tiny leaks in a spacecraft are serious if they are not found quickly. When a 1 mm-wide breach occurred on the International Space Station in January 2005, it took astronauts a week to locate and patch it, by which time the station's air pressure had dropped so much that some onboard instruments were in danger of failing. In future, astronauts may be able to pinpoint leaks just seconds after they occur by using sensors that detect ultrasonic vibrations in the spacecraft's walls. [A][R]
Lunar living A future base on the Moon will have to contend with the problem of lunar dust. Ideas have been proposed for fusing the dust into large clumps or into a glassy platform using microwaves or the Sun's rays focused through optical fibres. [A][M][P] |
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| [U] Unmanned vehicles and robotics | |
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Unmanned aircraft systems Unmanned aircraft are moving into new military roles, from large strategic reconnaissance platforms to soldier-level hand-launched planes. Small hand-launched unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), such as the Raven UAS, are now being deployed by US forces in Iraq. The challenges and possible way forward for future UAS R&D is described in the latest update of the DOD Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap. [U][A][T]
Robotic heart surgery Combining robotically assisted coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) with stented angioplasty is a promising way to treat extensive coronary artery disease with minimally invasive surgery. A powerful computer interface allows surgeons to sit at a console with full vision of the operative field inside the patient. The robotic arms, with interchangeable instruments at their tips, precisely follow the surgeon's hand movements. After robotic surgery, patients stayed in the hospital an average of only two and a half days, compared with five or six days for conventional CABG surgery, and were back to work in a week or so, compared with the usual 6 to 12 weeks. [U][H][V] |
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| [P] Propulsion and energy | |
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Hybrid rocket space plane According to the New Scientist, an aerospace company based in California has announced plans to build a spacecraft that will carry both tourists and astronauts into orbit. Called Dream Chaser, it is based on a small, plane-like craft called the HL-20 that NASA developed in the 1980s as an alternative to the space shuttle. The HL-20 was in turn based loosely on a Soviet space plane called the BOR-4 that flew successfully to orbit several times. The craft will be four times smaller and eight times lighter than the shuttle, with room for six crew and passengers. Rather than using cryogenic fuels, the plan is to use "hybrid" rockets that burn liquid nitrous oxide and solid rubber. The company believes it can scale hybrid rockets up to the size needed. [P][A]
Future shipping Experts predict that the volume of world trade will triple by 2020, particularly with expansion of trade with China. Almost all of this trade will travel by sea. Ships will become bigger, but their size is constrained by the capacity of container ports to handle them. There is also demand for faster ships to transport high value cargo. The rising cost of energy means that minimising fuel consumption is important. This could open the way for all electric ships. [P][E][M]
Nanopropulsion In the future, nano-sized robots might swim inside channels in the body - in the spine, heart or lungs, for example - to take images or deliver drugs. However, the modes of locomotion that are efficient at the macroscale perform poorly at the microscale. Physicists in Israel have proposed a new mode of propulsion, which consists of two spherical elastic bladders that exchange volumes of material with each other during each swimming stroke, pushing and pulling each other along. This resembles the wriggling motion of certain protozoa and a microorganism known as Euglena. They calculate that this locomotion should outperform bacteria and other biological organisms that move by beating a flagellum. [P][H][N][S]
Energy options The UK government recently published an international review on modelling options for achieving a low carbon future. One finding is that target-based approaches like Kyoto need to be supplemented by active government policies to stimulate innovation across the full chain from R&D to large scale commercialisation. Although low carbon technologies will have great value, the return for investors is too uncertain to stimulate the degree of risky technology and investments that is needed. The UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has also published a special report on the technology and engineering challenges of various energy options. [P][E]
Carbon emissions The growth of Chinese imports into the US boosted the total emissions of carbon dioxide from the two countries by over 700 million metric tons between 1997 and 2003, according to scientists at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The findings imply that the US is indirectly responsible for even more carbon dioxide emission than widely perceived. The US and China are the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, accounting for 25 percent and 15 percent of emissions respectively. Because Chinese manufacturing relies heavily on coal and less-efficient technologies, manufacturing a product in China creates more greenhouse-gas emissions on average than manufacturing it in the US. [P][E]
Kyoto protocol Even though the US does not participate in the Kyoto protocol, around 30 percent of the US population lives in states, counties or cities that have adopted carbon emission policies similar to those of the global initiative, according to a study at the University of Vermont. Together, these regions are equivalent to 16.9 percent of global GDP, a slightly larger share than Japan, the world's second largest economy. However, although this looks promising, it is not clear how these state policies will be enforced. [P][E]
Refrigeration efficiency In the US, 320 billion kWh of electricity are used annually by water chillers that cool buildings, according to NIST. This is equivalent to 920,000 barrels of oil a day. Improving refrigeration efficiency could therefore make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Research at NIST has found that as much as 1 percent of this energy can probably be saved by adding small amount of additives to refrigerants. [P][E][M]
Carbon sequestration The UK and Norway have signed an agreement that could result in carbon emissions being stored in depleted oil fields in the North Sea. Norway has a world lead in offshore geological storage of carbon dioxide through its Sleipner project. [P][E]
Laser fusion Researchers at Lawrence Livermore have experimentally validated theoretical projections for the plasma and X-ray environment necessary to achieve thermonuclear ignition. The results indicate that the US National Ignition Facility (NIF) is on target to achieve thermonuclear ignition when it becomes fully operational in 2009. The NIF is a 10-story building in which 192 high-power UV laser beams are focused on a deuterium-tritium fuel capsule inside a gold-plated cylinder (hohlraum) a few millimetres long. The 192 laser beams will enter a hohlraum through a hole at each end, heating the interior of the hohlraum and creating X-rays that ablate and implode the capsule to ignition. [P][M][O] |
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| [M] Materials, structures and surfaces | |
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Gas storage materials Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), sometimes referred to as crystal sponges, are scaffolds made up of metal hubs linked together with struts of organic compounds. They have a very high internal surface area, giving them great potential for storing gases such as hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide, and they can be made in large quantities from low-cost ingredients. Researchers at Michigan University have now shown that one MOF, which they dubbed MOF-177, can absorb 140 percent of its weight of carbon dioxide at room temperature and reasonable pressure (32 bar). This absorption is over twice that obtained with porous carbon and nine times better than using an empty tank. Meanwhile, researchers at NIST are using neutron diffraction to study how MOFs work in capturing hydrogen. [M][E][P]
Covalent organic frameworks Rigid plastics are normally synthesised by rapid reactions that randomly cross-link polymers. However, if the reaction is made to proceed more slowly, the materials can crystallise in an organised fashion and produce covalent organic frameworks (COFs). These lightweight rigid polymers may be useful for storing hydrogen fuel. [M][P]
Super-compressible nanotube films Foam-like nanotube films made using a high-temperature furnace have proved to be super-compressible. Testing showed the films can be squeezed to 15 percent of their regular size, forming regular folded structures throughout the films. The thickness of the nanotube foams decreased slightly after several hundred cycles, but then quickly stabilised and remained constant, even up to 10,000 cycles. The foams are unusual in being extremely strong, with a compressive strength of 12 to 15 megapascals, and at the same time very flexible. In contrast, typical low-density flexible foams, such as latex rubber and polyurethane, have a compressive strength of about 20 to 30 kilopascals. Nanotube foams could have applications as cushioning pads, energy absorbing coatings and damping layers, and for solid lubricating coatings for aerospace applications. [M][A][N]
Nonlinear optical material Third-order optical nonlinearities occur when three photons enter a material and interact, producing a fourth photon. Materials with third-order nonlinear responses are required for all-optical networks and devices in which light waves, rather than electronics, perform switching, routing, amplification and other functions. Swiss and US scientists have reported a strong candidate material, which has an extraordinarily high optical nonlinearity relative to its small molecular mass and which is suitable for assembling into a robust solid-state material. [M][O]
High temperature superconductivity Unlike low-temperature superconductors, which are metals, high-temperature superconductors (HTS) are insulators in their normal state, even though half of their conducting electron states are empty and even if they are also doped to add extra conduction states. Whilst, low temperature superconductors have an energy gap produced by electron-phonon interactions that bind electrons into Cooper pairs, HTS have a "pseudogap" that was not thought to involve electron-phonon interactions. Now, however, physicists have found a pseudogap in a very different material, a manganite material that is not a superconductor and that is metallic and not an insulator. The material exhibits colossal magnetoresistance, a phase change that is thought to result from electron-phonon interactions. These results not only show that pseudogaps are not a unique feature of HTS but might indicate that electron-phonon interactions do in fact play some role in causing high temperature superconductivity. [M]
Growing blood vessels Starting with bits of skin, scientists have grown new blood vessels and successfully implanted them into two patients. In the six months since the operations, the new vessels have worked well. The growth process starts with immature cells called fibroblasts taken from a patient's skin. These cells provide mechanical strength and are grown into sheets of cells in lab dishes. Each sheet is rolled into a tube and then seeded with endothelial cells taken from the lining of one of the patient's blood vessels. The endothelial cells prevent the blood clotting in the vessel. The researchers hope that, within about 5 years, this technology will be used routinely for coronary-bypass surgery. [M][H]
Growing cartilage Scientists from Imperial College London have successfully converted human embryonic stem cells into cartilage cells, offering hope that this method could be used to grow replacement cartilage for transplantation. [M][H] |
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| [E] Environment, transport and marine | |
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Climate modelling The predictions from climate modelling are becoming increasingly apocalyptic. Simulations conducted by scientists at the Lawrence Livermore using a coupled climate and carbon cycle model are predicting that if humans continue to use fossil fuels as at present for the next several centuries, median air temperatures will soar by at least 14.5 degrees C. [E][C][P]
Forests and global warming Up to a quarter of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are due to deforestation. The government of Papua New Guinea has raised the proposal of a post-Kyoto mechanism to reward developing nations for preserving their tropical forests. Forest still cover more than 30 percent of the world's land surface, and the carbon stored in forest biomass, deadwood, litter and soil together is roughly 50 percent more than the carbon in the atmosphere. More than half of the forest is located in the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, US and China. An ESA demonstration programme has shown that remote sensing from satellites provides a viable way to monitor the state of the world's forests. [E][R]
Forests and global warming Forests affect climate in three ways: they absorb carbon dioxide; they evaporate water, which redistributes heat globally; and they are dark and absorb sunlight, increasing warming. The net result, according to US climate modelling, is that growing more tropical forests appears to reduce global warming but growing more forests in temperate regions could make global warming worse. [E][R]
Arctic sequestered carbon A three-year study of soils in northwest Greenland found the amount of organic carbon stored in the soils is around ten times greater than estimated by earlier work, which only looked at the top ten inches of soil. According to the new estimates, more than 8.7 billion tonnes of carbon are held in the polar semidesert, a 623,000-square-mile treeless Arctic region that is 20 - 80 percent covered by grasses, shrubs and other small plants, and 2.1 billion metric tons is held in the adjacent polar desert, a 525,000-square-mile area where only 10 percent or less of the landscape is plant covered. As the Arctic warms and the depth of the permafrost is lowered, this carbon can convert into carbon dioxide. [E][P]
Permian extinction Analysis of molecules found in rocks from the Dolomites has led researchers at Imperial College to conclude that the Permian mass extinction was probably caused by huge quantities of poisonous gas emitted from the volcanic eruptions that caused the greatest ever outpouring of basalt lava over vast swathes of land in present day Siberia. They believe that the gas killed all the land vegetation worldwide and this led to massive soil erosion that blocked out light and soaked up oxygen in the ocean, resulting in the mass extinction of marine species as well as land species. [E]
Ancient climate record In-depth analysis of the air bubbles trapped in the “EPICA Dome C” ice core from East Antarctica has extended the greenhouse gas record back to 650,000 years before the present. This 210,000-year extension encompasses two full glacial cycles and confirms the stable relationship between Antarctic climate and the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane during the last four glacial cycles. The analysis highlights the fact that today’s rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, at 380 parts per million by volume, is already 27 percent higher than its highest recorded level during the last 650,000 years. In the future it may be possible to push to record back still further into the past. Some ice in Antarctica is believed to be at least 2 million years old. [E][P]
Weakening Gulf Stream Research at the University of Illinois has estimated that unless action is taken to stop global warming, there is a 45 percent chance that the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic will shut down completely in this century. Their models showed a probability of at least 25 percent that the circulation will shut down within 200 years even with very vigorous intervention to reduce climate change. Previous studies have estimated that the risk to the Gulf Stream was much less serious. [E][C][D][P]
Weakening Gulf Stream Measurements by the UK National Oceanography Centre indicate that the flow of heat north from the point where the Gulf Stream divides into two currents (at around latitude 40 degrees north) has fallen by 30 percent since 1992. The researchers say that a similar decline emerges from previously unanalysed data collected by NOAA in the same region of the Atlantic. The study has revealed that one of the two areas of sinking water that drive the ocean circulation seems to have partially shut down. The area west of Greenland still seems to be functioning as normal but the area east of Greenland seems to be sending only half as much deep water south as before. These changes are so big that they should have cut oceanic heating of Europe by about one-fifth – enough to cool the British Isles by 1 degree C and Scandinavia by 2 degrees C. It is possible that this cooling has been masked by global warming. [E][P]
Greenland ice sheet Satellite images show that, after decades of stability, a major glacier draining the Greenland ice sheet has dramatically increased its speed and retreated nearly five miles in recent years. Melting of the Greenland ice sheet could be a factor in weakening the Gulf Stream. The ice sheet also contains enough water to raise sea levels by 5 to 6 metres. [E][R] |
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| [R] Remote sensing and sensor systems | |
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Wireless monitoring of glaciers Wireless sensor networks are spurring a revolution in environmental monitoring - for crops, rivers, volcanoes, animals and glaciers. Sensors implanted at the bottom of glaciers are helping to understand what factors determine the rate of ice movement. The weight of the ice can be so great that the sediment layer is compressed to the point that it begins to flow downhill, with the glacier riding on top. This sub-glacial sliding may be important to the stability of the West Antarctica ice sheet, which holds a volume of water equivalent to a sea-level rise of 6 metres. [R][E][I][T]
Radar survey Using airborne radar, British and US scientists have produced a remarkable map of the underside of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). This will help in estimating how stable the ice sheet is in the face of global warming. [R][E]
TeraHertz paintmeter Researchers at Osaka University have developed a system that uses teraHertz pulses to remotely measure the thickness and wet-to-dry transition of paint layers. Conventional thickness meters, used in painting industrial products such as car bodies, use methods that such as ultrasonics, eddy-current testing and electromagnetic testing that are all based on contact measurements. [R][O][S]
Isotope ratio mass spectometry Measuring isotope ratios, such as the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 or of nitrogen-15 to nitrogen-14, can be used to track the source of illegal drugs or counterfeit bills, and of explosives and biological warfare agents. Research at the University of Utah has shown that isotope ratios can also be used to measure the rate of metabolic activity in bacterial cells. If this technique works for mammalian cells, it may be valuable for finding aggressive tumours and for studying eating disorders. [R][D][H]
Evaluation of arteries A new spectroscopic imaging technique can provide exact information about the state of plaque in arteries and identify any plaques likely to rupture, triggering blood clotting and arterial blockage. The technique uses time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TR-LIFS) to measure how long molecules in the plaque take to relax after being excited by a laser pulse. In trials on 353 plaque areas in the carotid arteries of 50 patients, the technique was 97 percent effective in identifying the high-risk plaques. Used via an intravascular catheter, the technique could allow minimally invasive evaluation of arteries and selection of the best form of intervention. [R][H]
Imaging inside living organs Using two-photon laser-scanning microscopy, researchers can now look deep inside living lymph nodes and watch the interaction of immune cells. Watching these interactions has never before been possible, even in cell cultures. Using this new technique, researchers at UCSF have found that regulatory T-cells control the destructive action of rogue autoimmune cells and have clarified the role of the antigen-presenting dendritic cells in preventing autoimmune attacks. The hope is that the technique can eventually be used to diagnose immune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, and to develop better therapies involving T cell interactions. [R][H][O]
Imaging the immune system The development of immunotherapy against cancer has been impeded by the long time required to evaluate how well a treatment is working. Now, researchers at UCLA have developed an imaging technique using positron emission tomography (PET) that reveals in real time how the immune system initially recognises cancer and mobilises to fight it. As well helping in cancer immunotherapy, the PET imaging should also help in studying autoimmune and immune deficiency disorders. Clinically, it might enable a patient's response to cancer treatments to be measured much more quickly and without the need for invasive biopsies. [R][H]
Tracking implanted cells Dutch researchers have shown that MRI can be used to track dendritic immune cells labelled with magnetic nanoparticles. For immunotherapy against cancer, the dendritic cells are first exposed to proteins from a patient's cancer cells and are then reinjected into the patient so that they can train the patient's immune system to attack the tumours. The MRI tracking now makes it possible to determine much more clearly and accurately whether the injected cells are successfully reaching the lymph nodes, where their training of killer T-cells takes place. [R][H][N]
Tracking implanted cells US researchers have used MRI to track mesenchymal bone marrow stem cells to monitor their effectiveness in repairing damaged heart tissue. Research on animals whose hearts had been injected with adult stem cells showed that heart function was restored to its original condition within two months, and more than 75 percent of dead scar tissue disappeared, having been replaced with healthy-looking heart tissue. MRI can not only give a better understanding of how the therapy works, but can also be used to monitor clinical treatment of patients. [R][H][N] |
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| [S] Sensor devices | |
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Cancer screening Strands of DNA,engineered so that they give a burst of fluorescence after they adhere to cancer proteins, may provide a way to easily detect a wide variety of cancers before symptoms become apparent. US researchers have found that the cancer biomarkers can be detected even in extremely low concentration. [S][H][O]
New microscope Physicists in Switzerland and Germany have made a new type of optical microscope that can produce images without capturing light from the sample. The new device relies on measuring changes in the properties of a gold nano-particle placed next to the sample. A gold nanoparticle can function as a nano-antenna that is very sensitive to slight changes of the dielectric constant in its surroundings. [S][N]
Ultra-sensitive microscope A team at Stanford University has designed the first microscope sensitive enough to track the real-time motion of a single protein down to the level of its individual atoms. The microscope uses infrared light to trap and control the forces on a functional protein, allowing researchers to monitor the molecule's every movement in real time with an accuracy of 0.1 nm. This is about ten times finer than was previously possible. It represents a major advance that opens up the field of single-molecule biophysics. The microscope has already enabled the researchers to settle some of the fundamental arguments over how DNA-RNA transcription occurs, and to look at general processes involved in protein folding and misfolding. [S][G]
Electron pulse imager By replacing the standard electron gun filament on an electron microscope with a 20 nanometre-thick gold photocathode, Swiss researchers have developed a way to track the passage of an electron in a nanostructure on a time scale of ten picoseconds and a spatial resolution of 50 nm. The gold photocathode is illuminated by an ultraviolet mode-locked laser, generating a beam of electron pulses each containing fewer than ten electrons. The electrons excite the sample, and the emitted light is collected and analyzed to recreate the surface morphology and to trace the path the electrons follow through the sample. The wide energy range of the electrons in the beam can excite materials, such as diamond or silicon, that will not luminesce with laser techniques. [S][N] |
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| [O] Optoelectronics, optics and lasers | |
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Optical vortex filter A new optical device, called an optical vortex coronagraph, might enable astronomers to view extrasolar planets directly by "nulling" out the light of the parent star. The device is a helical-shaped mask, which deflects light that is along the axis of the mask but does not affect the off-axis light from the nearby planet. In laboratory trials, light from mock stars has been reduced by factors of 100 to 1000. [O][R][S]
Superlens technology UK and Russian scientists have made a material that has a negative permeability at visible wavelengths. The material consists of an array of pairs of tiny gold nanopillars on a glass substrate. Negative permeability has previously been demonstrated at terahertz, microwave and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum but never before in the visible. The material could lead to superlenses and other new optical devices such as nanolasers. A superlens could greatly improve the quality of medical diagnostic imaging and other technologies, and allow smaller electronic device geometries to be achieved using optical lithography. The team has not yet observed negative refraction with the material, but they have seen other behaviour, such as optical impedance matching where reflection from the sample is totally suppressed. [O][J][M][N][S]
Negative refraction Negative refraction has been observed in the near infrared by researchers at Purdue using a metamaterial with an array of gold nanorods, each about 100 nm wide and 700 nm long. The material had a refractive index of -0.3 at around 1.5 micron wavelength. It was too absorbing to be used as an infrared superlens. [O][M][N][S]
DNA-based optical devices Optical devices made from fish DNA, which is abundantly available from fish waste, could outperform other polymer-based devices, according to US researchers. They believe the material could be used to make optical waveguides, modulators and light-emitting diodes. The DNA has low optical loss over a broad range of wavelengths and its electrical resistivity is a factor of 1000 to 100,000 lower than that of other polymers. [O][M]
Nanotube light source in 2003, scientists at IBM obtained light from a carbon nanotube by passing a current through it. Now, together with researchers at Duke University, they have found that suspended single-walled carbon nanotubes can be very bright sources of infrared light suitable for optical communications. With a 3 milliamp current, a nanotube produced a hundred thousand times more photon flux than a large area LED. The scientists believe the emission is due to bending of the conduction and valence bands at the interface between the suspended and supported regions of the fibre. It is possible to tune the emission wavelength, producing either near infrared or visible light, by using nanotubes with different diameters. [O][J][N]
Photonic crystals Fluorescent patches on the wings of African swallowtail butterflies work in a very similar way to high emission light emitting diodes (LEDs), research at Exeter University has found. The wing scales on these swallowtails act as 2D photonic crystals, infused with pigment and structured in such a way that produces intense fluorescence. [O][M]
Slow light Researchers at Harvard have demonstrated guided, slow light in an ultracold medium. The highly dispersive medium was achieved by tailoring the motion of atoms inside an elongated magnetic trap through their absorbing light from two pump laser beams in a process called recoil-induced resonance. The probe laser beam could be variably slowed down to 1500 metres/second by adjusting the pump beam, and could also be amplified or attenuated, depending on the dispersiveness. This process can be used as a switch for light or as a waveguide, and it may be possible to study slowed single-photon light pulses, which could enhance the chances of making an all-optical transistor. [O]
Holographic memory A holographic memory disc, about the size of a DVD, is expected to go on sale in 2006. Holography allows a million bits of data to be written and read in parallel with a single flash of light, and this enables data to be read and written 10 times faster than with a normal DVD, according to the disc's developers. A disc is currently able to hold 300 gigabytes of data and, theoretically, it may be possible store up to 1.6 terabytes on a DVD-sized disc, and to read data at 120 megabits per second. [O][C][I][K] |
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| [I] IT, communications, networking and secure systems | |
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Internet governance The US and other nations have reached an agreement over the future governance of the internet. The deal maintains US control of the internet, through the non-profit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) based in California. It sets up an Internet Governance Forum (IGF) for an initial five-year term. The IGF will hold talks on all internet issues, including problems such as spam and computer crime. It will build on the existing structures of internet governance, but will have no concrete powers. The accord preserves the unique role of the US government in ensuring the reliability and stability of the internet. [I]
Network inoculation Current methods for combating computer viruses involve a delay whilst experts analyse a new virus and produce a fix, which is then promulgated over the network. This delay means that a rapidly spreading virus can cause widespread damage. Mathematicians in Israel have proposed a different strategy. They suggest building into the internet a network of "honeypots" - computers armed with software that can trap and identify new viruses, then rapidly generate and broadcast a countermeasure to all the other honeypots via a dedicated secure shadow network. Each honeypot would then inoculates all the computers connected to it with the countermeasure to protect them before the virus reached them. The key to the scheme is having the encrypted shadow network that a virus cannot exploit. [I]
Software attack According to the SANS Institute, computer criminals have shifted their focus away from bugs in operating system software, such as Microsoft's Windows platform, to focus on flaws in individual software packages such as software backup programs and anti-virus software. Buffer overflow bugs have been reported with most leading anti-virus programs over the past year. This type of bug can be used to overwrite key portions of a computer's memory, causing a system to crash or to rewrite key information. [I][D]
Chaos-based encryption European researchers has demonstrated that chaos can be used to encrypt and send data in a commercial fibre-optic network over 120km. Chaos-based encryption has the attraction that it is compatible with installed optical fibre and with wavelength division multiplexing. [I][O] |
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| [K] Knowledge, information and technology management | |
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Open source Led by Linux, open source software is steadily gaining ground as it becomes proven in more enterprise environments. A study of 300 companies by managed hosting provider Rackspace found that Linux was now deemed 'better' than Windows for the majority of a set of 12 core business applications. [K][C][I][T]
Digital news Television is going through major changes in the ways in which news is collected, transmitted and received. Broadband and mobile phones mean the people increasingly want news on demand, not through newspapers and prime-time evening news. Digital cameras also mean that citizens are partly taking over from professional journalists as providers of news stories. After terrorist attacks this year from London to Bali, some of the most striking footage broadcast was shot on mobile phones and video recorders of commuters or tourists caught up in the incidents. Blogging is also having a strong impact on journalism. [K][I][V]
Telehealthcare Internet-based cognition therapy for sufferers of panic disorder may be just as effective as face-to-face methods, according to an Australian study. Panic disorders involve recurrent panic attacks. These can involve a sudden rush of fear or intense anxiety and physical symptoms such as racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, light-headedness or nausea. [K][H][I]
Telehealthcare The direct and indirect costs of anxiety disorders have been estimated at $42 billion a year in the US. Ten percent of those costs come from missed work days and other workplace costs. Researchers have found that telephone-based care for people with generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder significantly improves their symptoms of anxiety and depression and their quality of life. It also reduces missed workdays and emergency costs. [K][H][I]
Master data management The business and IT challenges associated with the ongoing management of master data have plagued companies for years. Enterprise resource planning and enterprise data modelling were supposed to have solved this problem. Now the hope lies in the emerging technology of master data management (MDM). To work, MDM needs to be provide a real-time control centre for data definitions and to exploit the broad availability of high-quality bandwidth to drive master data to the relevant applications. [K][C][I][T]
Ajax Asynchronous Javascript and HTML (Ajax) is transforming complex web applications, making them as instantly responsive as those running on the desktop. This responsiveness is achieved by the application calling its server for data 'behind the scenes' without being prompted by the user. [K][I][T]
Flat intelligence networks Operations such as those in Iraq require that action can be taken flexibly at local level. This creates the need for a flat intelligence network that takes advantage of all the inputs and provides better access to vital information, enabling users to pull or receive intelligence information directly related to their level and their needs. The hurdles in developing and implementing the flat network involve solving both technological and human issues. [K][C][I][R][T][V]
Signal extraction Researchers at Case Western Reserve have created statistical techniques that improve the chances of detecting a signal in large data sets. At its core is the idea of posing the problem in terms of a "hypothesis-based testing" paradigm to detect statistical disorder in the data. According to the researchers, the new techniques has wide applications, from searching for the "needle in the haystack" in particle physics or finding a new galaxy in astronomy, to monitoring transactions for fraud and security risk, identifying the carrier of a virulent disease among millions of people, or detecting cancerous tissue in a mammogram. [K][C][R][X] |
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| [C] Computing, supercomputing, modelling and simulation | |
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Josephson quantum computing A Josephson junction normally behaves like an inductance. However, in the 1980s, theorists predicted that a Josephson junction would behave like a capacitor if it was small enough. Now, two teams of physicists have observed this effect. The result could prove a breakthrough for quantum computing, because quantum bits (qubits) held on Josephson capacitors can be read out without disturbing their state. In addition, exploiting the Josephson inductance and Josephson capacitance together could make possible new types of quantum 'band engineered' electronic devices, such as low-noise parametric amplifiers. [C][J][N]
Bubble quantum computer A new idea has been proposed for building a quantum computer using an array of electron bubbles. An electron bubble can be made by injecting a fast electron into superfluid helium. When the electron slows to a halt after numerous collisions, it creates a cavity or bubble about 3.8 nm across by repelling nearly 700 atoms of helium around it. Many of these bubbles can be formed and can be caged using a device called a linear quadrupole trap, which traps the electrons in a line, and a set of conducting rings, which create a voltage "valley" for each bubble. The electron spin in each bubble can hold a qubit, and because the electron interacts very weakly with the background helium, it is highly isolated. This means that it should be able to maintain quantum coherence long enough to perform major calculations with a large array of bubbles. [C]
Quantum entanglement NIST researchers have succeeded in coaxing six ions into a state in which their nuclei are collectively spinning clockwise and counterclockwise at the same time. Such states, because they are superpositions of opposite overall properties that are relatively easy to verify, could be useful for a fault-tolerant quantum computer. They are also more sensitive to disturbance than other types of superpositions and this may be useful for quantum encryption. They might also be used to improve precision instruments, such as atomic clocks or interferometers that measure microscopic distances, and to make better magnetic field sensors and frequency sensors. [C][I][R][S]
Multiple quantum entanglement For the purpose of quantum computing or communication it might be advantageous if multiple quantum bits (or qubits) of information can be encoded in a single pair of entangled particles. Physicists at the University of Illinois have produced a pair of photons that are entangled not just in terms of polarization, but also in energy, momentum, and orbital angular momentum. [C][F][O]
Computer games The computer games industry is changing as the cost of developing new games rises. The current cost of console games development is between $3m and $6m per title. This could rise to $10m for games for forthcoming consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, and even as high as $20m. This may favour the large American publishers, according to a report from research firm Screen Digest. [C][K][V]
Computer gaming addiction A new study indicates that computer gaming can become an addiction in the same way as alcohol and drugs. This form of addiction may be particularly difficult to treat. Computers are now an integral part of life and addicted gamers cannot simply abstain from using them, as they might abstain from alcohol or drugs. [C][H][K] |
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| [W] Whole life engineering, manufacture and testing | |
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Creativity and design The UK government has published a report on the importance of creativity and design in business performance, and on fostering greater creativity in companies. The report contains a model of how creativity and design are linked to business performance, and conceptual models of the relationship of arts, science, design and R&D. Chapters of the report deal with creativity and design in the UK, with how creativity and design can raise business performance, with ways of fostering creativity, and with the roles of government. Governments could use the power of public procurement to demand more creative solutions to problems. [W][K][T][X]
Concurrent design ESA's concurrent design facility uses concurrent engineering and simulation to investigate and plan potential future space missions and to test their technical feasibility. [W][A][C][T]
Ultra-fine machining Researchers at Cardiff University have demonstrated that parallel sided holes as small as 22 microns in diameter can be drilled in conducting materials such as stainless steel using electro-discharge machining (EDM). Although lasers are able to make small holes, these taper and are of poorer quality compared to holes produced with the EDM process. The technology could be valuable for medical applications and for creating smaller electronic systems. [W][H][J][O]
Material testing MIT researchers have developed a way to test the mechanical properties of hundreds of different polymer materials in a few days, making it possible to try a large range of combinations to identify those with interesting properties. The technique exploits robotic deposition of thousands of small spots of material on a glass slide. Each spot is then tested automatically using nanoindentation. [W][M] |
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| [X] Systems, complexity and risk | |
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Epidemic risk From studying the statistics of eight diseases ranging from measles to monkeypox, biophysicists at Berkeley have explored how, in an epidemic, a lot of people do not infect anyone. Instead, just a tiny number of superspreaders produce the epidemic. The researchers developed a mathematical model to predict disease dynamics arising from superspreaders, which showed that depending on circumstances, a viral outbreak can either fizzle out or explode. [X][D][H]
Complex interactions Globalisation, specialisation and new technologies mean that work in developed economies is increasingly dominated by interactions, according to McKinsey. Jobs that involve participating in interactions rather than extracting raw materials or making finished goods now account for more than 80 percent of all employment in the US. And jobs involving the most complex type of interactions—those requiring employees to analyze information, grapple with ambiguity, and solve problems—make up the fastest-growing segment. This shift towards interactions requiring complex tacit knowledge that cannot be automated or outsourced, requires companies to think differently about how to improve performance, and about their technology investments. [X][K][W]
Holistic innovation According to an EU report, harnessing the full potential of genomics and biotechnology requires a holistic approach, blending disciplines such as bioscience and nanotechnology, and cutting across research, innovation, trade, health, social dialogue and consumer affairs. [X][G]
Humanity's dilemma In his final speech as president of the Royal Society, Lord May of Oxford observed that humanity is locked in a momentous social experiment, described by game theory as the prisoner's dilemma. Humanity faces great dangers, particularly from climate change, loss of biological diversity, and new and re-emerging diseases. Many of these threats are not yet immediate, yet their non-linear character is such that we need to be acting today. The dilemma is whether people and nations can find the means to co-operate for the common well-being of all rather than pursuing narrow self-interest. Unless all countries act in equitable proportions, the virtuous will be economically disadvantaged whilst all suffer the consequences of the sinners' inaction. Many people, he said, are retreating from the complexity and difficulty of these dangerous times by embracing the darkness of fundamentalist unreason. [X][D][E][H][P][T]
Environmental quality The European Environment Agency has published its third five-yearly report on environmental quality, which now covers 31 countries, and also a report on climate change. Global warming and climate change pose a massive problem for Europe, along with partly related problems of land and water resources, and preserving biodiversity and marine ecosystems. Just tackling easily visible problems by regulation and technological innovation will not suffice for the future. Coherent, integrated, flexible, long-term measures are needed, with innovation and market reform. Many problems Europe faces are deeply rooted in its use of land, its economic structure and way of life, its growing consumerism and the appetite for mobility and tourism. Encouraging behavioural change amongst Europe's consumers will need provision of better information and other awareness-raising measures. Market-based instruments through taxation, removing damaging subsidies and encouraging eco-innovation, must be used to move manufacturing, energy, transport and agriculture towards more sustainable economic activities. [X][A][D][E][T][X][W] |
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| [V] Virtuality and human-machine interface | |
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Touch-screen Physicists in France have developed a new way form of "touch-screen" technology that relies on detecting the sound waves that are produced when a solid object is tapped by a finger. The technology could be used to make virtual keyboards and intelligent shop windows, and may also have applications in security and education. [V][M]
Simulator training Training simulators can help reduce accidents in the construction industry. Construction workers are three times more likely to be killed and twice as likely to be injured as workers in other occupations, and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are most affected by construction accidents. The main hazards in construction work include working at height, excavation work and moving loads, all of them connected in some way with the use of specific machinery and equipment. Simulator training can help workers become familiar with equipment in a safe environment. [V][C][K]
Human-system integration The littoral combat ship (LCS), due to enter service with the US Navy in 2007, is comparable in size to a frigate, but will require less than half the crew of a frigate to carry out its missions. The advances in total system integration of the ship, its crew and the wider network system are far-reaching, and place a premium on advanced human interfaces and crew training. [V][D][E][K][T][U][X] |
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| [B] Brain research and human science | |
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Hearing A team of Spanish and American neuroscientists has discovered neurons in the mammalian brainstem that focus exclusively on new, novel sounds. The circuits are quite sophisticated in their ability to tune out complex repetitive patterns of sound. Their discovery may explain how humans and other animals are adept at ignoring ongoing, predictable background sounds. [B][V]
Visual memory Until now it has generally been assumed that people with a high capacity of visual working memory had greater available memory in the brain. However, a study at the University of Oregon has demonstrated that what matters is the brain's ability to filter out irrelevant information. The researchers used a new technique for measuring brainwaves to record the effects as objects popped into the minds of their subjects on a moment-by-moment basis. They found that subjects differed systematically, and dramatically, in their ability to keep irrelevant items out of awareness. But, although having a lot of seemingly irrelevant information coming to mind may cause poor visual memory, it may assist people in being imaginative. [B][K]
Effects of meditation Using a well-established psychomotor vigilance task, researchers have found that meditation seems to be uniquely effective in immediately improving visual acuity, particularly in overcoming the effects of sleep deprivation. None of the subjects tested was experienced at meditation. Other research using MRI has found that, over a period, meditation actually increases the thickness of the cortex in areas involved in attention and sensory processing, such as the prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula. The researchers compared 15 meditators, with experience ranging from 1 to 30 years, and 15 non-meditators. [B][V]
Post-traumatic stress disorder It is estimated that after experiencing severe trauma, about one-third of people go on to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, a mental illness characterised by anxiety, flashbacks and panic attacks. A study of twin soldiers has now shown that smokers are twice as likely to suffer PTSD compared with non-smokers. The study examined the health records of 6744 pairs of male twins who had served in the US military during the Vietnam era, about half of whom were identical twins. Nicotine stimulates the dopaminergic neurological pathway, which is associated with reward and fear and is implicated in stress and addiction. [B][D][H]
Controlling fear and anxiety Researchers have identified a protein that the brain uses to trigger fear. The gene, known as Stathmin or Oncoprotein 18, controls both learned fear and innate fear, and is highly concentrated in the amygdala, a key region of the brain that deals with fear and anxiety. Mice lacking the gene, become daredevils of a sort. The findings may have general implications for the study of anxiety disorders and could lead to drugs to treat conditions such as phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. The team has previously identified another gene that affects learned fear but not innate fear. Together these findings support the view that anxiety is a spectrum of disorders with multiple subclasses, each of which may have a unique molecular signature requiring distinctive approaches to therapy. [B][G]
Insomnia US data indicates that about 10 percent of people suffer from dysfunctional sleep that impairs daytime performance. In most cases this insomnia occurs night after night for months or years, and there is a huge market for drugs to treat insomnia over long periods. Benzodiazepines are used as short term sleep medications, but can cause daytime sleepiness, cognitive impairment, and poor coordination, and can be addictive. Newer drugs mimic benzodiazepines by binding to a cell-surface structure known as the GABA receptor. GABA is a neurotransmitter that inhibits brain cells from firing, and by enhancing GABA's action, benzodiazepines and their mimics counteract a state of hyperarousal that may contribute to insomnia. Researchers are now looking at drugs that target GABA receptors in different ways, and at drugs that mimic melatonin. [B][H][T]
Ageing brain Experiments on rats have shown that still "sharp" older brains store and encode memories differently than younger brains by harnessing a different neurochemical mechanism to bring about synaptic change. If this proves to apply to human brains, it could lead to the development of new preventive treatments and therapies that exploit the way that older brains are actually working, and that can help to maintain high performance into later retirement. [B][H]
Stoke injury Researchers at the University of South Florida have found that human umbilical cord blood cells administered to rats two days following a stroke greatly curbed the brain's inflammatory response, reducing the size of the stroke and resulting in greatly improved recovery. The rats' inflammatory response peaked 48 hours after the brain stroke, and it was then that the intravenous delivery of the cells appeared most beneficial. The result is very surprising and important because it suggests that the time window for treating stokes is much longer than previously supposed. The researchers believe that the neurons do not die quickly, as previously supposed, but may succumb to apoptosis over a few days. If this can be prevented, stroke injury might be greatly reduced. [B][H]
Chronic fatigue syndrome Researchers might have found evidence that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a real neurological condition. A pilot study found that patients with CFS had a set of proteins in their spinal cord fluid that were not detected in healthy individuals. These proteins might give insight into the causes of CFS, and could be used as markers to diagnose patients with CFS. [B][H][G] |
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| [H] Healthcare and medicine | |
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Noise and health A German study has found that chronic environmental noise may increase the risk of heart attack, particularly for people with cardiovascular disease. The researchers compared over 2,000 heart attack patients with over 2,000 control patients admitted to trauma and general surgery departments in all 32 hospitals in Berlin between 1998 and 2001. The findings suggest that, as noise level rises, there is a threshold above 60 decibels (the level in a large noisy office) beyond which the risk increases rapidly and then flattens off at higher noise levels. Workplace noise appeared to affect men but not women, but general environmental noise, such as chronic exposure to traffic (a busy street has a noise level of 75-85 db), affected both sexes, apparently increasing the risk of heart attack by nearly 50 percent for men and by about three times for women. The researchers believe that, depending on other stress factor, chronic noise may be increasing psychological stress and anger, leading to physiological changes in the body such as increased levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. [H][E][W]
Hospital noise Since 1960, average daytime hospital sound levels around the world have risen from 57 decibels to 72, according to US researchers, raising the risk of medical errors. Some studies even indicate that excessive noise can slow the pace of healing and contribute to stress and burnout among hospital workers. Much of hospital noise falls in the human speech frequency range, making oral communication more difficult. This can force doctors and nurses to speak even louder to be heard, further boosting the noise level and increasing the risk of serious misunderstanding and of errors in automated voice-activated systems that hospitals are increasingly using. [H][E][W]
Treating malaria The most severe form of malaria is caused by the single-celled parasite Plasmodium falciparum. UK researchers have identified an enzyme that the parasite depends on to gain entry to blood cells in its victim, and have shown, in principle, that at drug designed to impede this enzyme could provide a radically new approach for treating malaria. [H][D][E]
Metabolic syndrome Studies on mice show that when fat cells increase in size, as they do during the development of obesity, the cells progressively lose receptors for the hormone leptin. In mice with a high level of leptin receptors, all surplus calories were burned off as heat, and the mice did not get fat even if grossly overfed. Conversely, mice with a low level of leptin receptors readily became obese. This finding may explain why overweight people find it very hard to lose weight permanently. Boosting leptin receptors may also provide a way to treat metabolic syndrome. [H]
Biopacemaker In guinea pig experiments, scientists have fused cells taken from lungs with heart muscle cells to create a biological pacemaker, whose cells can fire on their own and naturally regulate the muscle's rhythmic beat. This is one of several approaches being pursued to enable electronic heart pacemakers to be replaced by biopacemakers. [H]
Tumour metastasis Primary tumours send out chemical signals to assist the development of secondary tumours, according to US scientists. Initially, growth factors released by the primary tumour trigger the production of an adhesive protein called fibronectin on the surface of cells at the target site. Then a second tranche of growth factors is released to encourage bone marrow cells to zero-in on the same site. Once there, they cluster in groups, forming a support structure which stabilises the malignant cells that arrive later to begin forming a secondary tumour. The researchers have shown that it is possible to block the migration of bone marrow cells by using antibodies. This might provide a way to prevent tumours from spreading. [H]
Dental vaccine A vaccine against tooth decay, developed by Portuguese researchers, has been successfully tested on rats. Dental caries is primarily caused by a group of related oral bacteria known as the mutans streptococci, notably Streptococcus sobrinus and Streptococcus mutans. [H]
Lethal infections Many people carry the bacterium Streptococcus A harmlessly on their skin and in their nose and throat. However, Strep A can cause lethal bloodstream infections, toxic shock syndrome and necrotising fasciitis. UK researchers have found that this happens because the bacterium can destroy a molecule called IL-8 that alerts the immune system, thereby inhibiting the body's immune response. [H]
Stem cell therapy Stem cells derived from human heart tissue develop into multicellular, spherical structures called cardiospheres that express the normal properties of primitive heart tissue, according to research at Johns Hopkins. Cells grown in the laboratory from these cardiospheres and injected into the hearts of mice following a lab-induced heart attack migrated straight to damaged tissue and regenerated, improving the organ's ability to pump blood throughout the animal's body. The findings could potentially offer patients use of their own stem cells to repair heart tissue soon after a heart attack, or to regenerate weakened muscle resulting from heart failure. [H][G] |
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| [G] Genomics, biotechnology and bioinformatics | |
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Stem cell differentiation Salamanders, zebrafish, and other organisms are capable of regenerating entirely new body parts. However, this feat is nothing compared to the freshwater flatwork planaria, which is able to completely regenerate itself from just a minute fragment of its body. The regeneration process depends on stem cells in the adult planaria known as neoblasts. It has now been shown that 240 of the worm's 1065 genes are involved in some aspect of this regeneration, and that 85 percent of these genes are found in the genomes of other organisms, including humans. Planaria may therefore provide a powerful system in which to study stem cell differentiation and how this responds to environmental clues. [G]
MicroRNA New research shows that microRNAs influence the evolution of genes far more widely than previously supposed. Through the course of evolution, some genes are trying to preserve beneficial microRNA sites and others are evolving in order to avoid developing harmful sites. The majority of protein-coding genes are affected by microRNAs, either at a functional level or an evolutionary level. An emerging idea is that microRNAs often act to reduce the quantity of protein a gene produces without shutting it off altogether. For example, as immature muscle cells stop dividing and become mature muscle cells, microRNAs are activated and dampen genes that are no longer needed at such high levels in the mature muscle. [G]
Electrically reading DNA Researchers at Arizona State University have developed the technology to wire single molecules into an electrical circuit and to directly read the biological information in the molecule. This could be a breakthrough for detecting DNA mutations. The researchers found that a base pair mutation, such as substituting an A for a G, can cause a significant change in the conductance of the molecule. Automating the process could allow many different DNA sequences to be analyzed at once. [G][S]
Dog genome An international research team has announced the completion of a high-quality genome sequence of the domestic dog, together with a catalogue of 2.5 million specific genetic differences across several dog breeds. Comparing the human, mouse and dog genomes has revealed a common set of genetic elements, representing about 5 percent of the human genome, that are preferentially preserved among all three genomes. Some of these elements are crowded around just a small fraction of the genes and these clusters may give critical insight on how genomes work. The leading causes of death in dogs are a variety of cancers, many very similar biologically to human cancers. Future studies to locate disease genes in dogs can be much narrower in scope than comparable human studies. This is because, despite a long history of restrictive breeding, individual breeds have maintained a large amount of genetic variability. [G][H]
Growing new arteries Some people can grow new arteries in response to an arterial blockage, whilst others cannot do this. Being able to grow new femoral arteries is particularly important because vascular disease in the legs leads to disability and sometimes to gangrene and amputation. Experiments in mice have pinpointed that the difference lies in the action of a gene called MMP2 that turns on in response to arterial blockage. Factors in vascular disease, such as cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension, may block the expression of MMP2, but this is not yet clear. The hope is to eventually find a clinical treatment that turns on arterial regrowth in patients where this does not happen naturally. [G][H]
Cell signalling Scientists at Yale have completed the first comprehensive map of the proteins and kinase signalling network that controls the operation of the cells of higher organisms. The map, which was made using yeast cells, should also apply to human cells and should be of immediate use for understanding human development from the fertilised egg to full grown organism, and for drug discovery. [G][H]
Ageing It has been known for years that an extra copy of the SIR2 gene can promote longevity in yeast, worms and fruit flies, and it has been supposed that SIR2 protects against ageing. However, new research suggests that SIR2 may actually promote ageing. Researchers found that deleting the SIR2 gene in yeast resulted in a dramatically extended lifespan. This was up to six times longer than normal when the SIR2 deletion was combined with caloric restriction and/or a mutation in one or two genes, RAS2 and SCH9, that control the storage of nutrients and resistance to cell damage. They conjecture that SIR2 and possibly its counterpart in mammals, SIRT1, may block the organism from entering an extreme survival mode characterised by the absence of reproduction, improved DNA repair and increased protection against cell damage. Organisms usually enter this mode in response to starvation, and its evolutionary purpose may be to enable the organism to live until better times, when off-springs have a better chance of surviving. [G][H]
Gene swapping Research at the University of Bath has shown that bacteria may evolve primarily by acquiring useful genes from related bacteria rather than through mutation. They compared a strain of E. coli to its ancestor Salmonella from which it diverged around 100 million years ago. They found that the E. coli had only one new metabolic gene that was likely to have arisen through mutation. In contrast it had as many as 32 genes in its metabolic network that it had pirated by horizontal gene transfer from near relatives. These included the genes that enable it to counter antibiotics. Horizontal gene transfer is the bacterial equivalent of sex, with two cells engaging in conjugation for the swapping of genes. [G][H]
Nutritionally enhanced rice Iron deficiency is one of the developing world’s most debilitating and intractable public health problems. It affects nearly 2 billion people. More than half of the developing world’s children between 6 months and 2 years of age are iron-deficient during the critical period of their growth when brain development occurs. Researchers in the Philippines and US have now shown that a new variety of rice developed to have higher levels of iron and other micronutrients may provide a solution. [G][E][H]
Technology regulation The European Commission has tabled a proposed regulation on advanced therapy medicinal products, which aims to provide a single, integrated European regulatory framework for gene therapy, somatic cell therapy, and tissue engineering. [G][H][M] |
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| [N] Nanotechnology and molecular technology | |
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Nano-factories Researchers at UCSF have genetically modified E. coli to incorporate a light sensitive gene that can be switched with light to activate chemical processes. The aim is to develop “nano-factories” in which minuscule amounts of substances are produced at locations precisely defined by light beams. As a demonstration of the technology, the researchers produced a "living camera" in which a dense bed of the bacteria acted as a photographic film with an image resolution of 100 megapixels per square inch. [N][G][O][S]
Self-assembly Theoretical work at Princeton, using optimisation methods and computer simulation, suggests that it may be possible to produce desired configurations of nanoparticles in a radically different way, by manipulating the manner in which the particles interact with one another. The modelling shows how nanoparticles can self-assemble on a honeycomb lattice, the 2D analogue to the 3D diamond lattice, and do this with non-directional bonding - unlike the directional covalent bonding of diamond. Whilst the work is controversial and not yet confirmed experimentally, it could have radical implications for producing new nanostructured materials. [N][M]
Nano-construction Scanning tunnelling microscopes (STMs) can be used to build nanostructures atom by atom. Researchers at IBM have shown that this assembly can be speeded up by incorporating a specially designed molecule on the STM's tip that can quickly gather a load of atoms and can place them as a clump. [N][M][S]
Molecular motors In nerve cells, molecular motors transport cargo, such as vesicles filled with neurotransmitters, by moving in steps of around 10nm along filaments of the cell's cytoskeleton. Amazingly, the motors are able to move cargo over distances of many centimetres, and even over a metre in the case of the axons that connect the spinal cord to the toes. Molecular motors are tiny and strongly affected by thermal noise, so that they frequently fall off their filament and can diffuse away into the surrounding aqueous solution. Researchers at Max Planck have developed a theory to explain how the long distance transport can be achieved by a team of motor molecules. Any motor that unbinds from the filament will stay close to that filament as long as the cargo and filament are still cross-linked by at least one bound motor. The theory predicts that seven or eight molecules are enough to travel over centimetre distances and that a cargo pulled by 10 motors has an average walking distance of about 1 metre. [N][B]
Flow in nanotubes Experiments have shown that liquid flows through a membrane containing an array of carbon nanotubes four to five orders of magnitude faster than conventional theory predicts. The researchers think such high velocities are possible because of a frictionless surface at the carbon-nanotube wall. They also found that the flow rate of a fluid did not decrease as the fluid viscosity increased. [N][M]
Electrowetting in nanotubes Caltech researchers have shown that it is possible to drive liquid mercury through a carbon nanotube by applying a potential. This was previously believed to be impossible due to the metal's high surface tension. The researchers believe that metal-filled nanotubes could have applications in nanolithography, nanoprobes and the production of continuous one-dimensional metal nanowires with unique electrical and magnetic properties. [N][J][M][S]
One-dimensional water When the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) is scanned over a surface, even a tiny drop of water from damp air can cause the tip to stick to the surface. Korean researchers developing a more sensitive atomic force microscope (AFM) were surprised to find that a thread of water just a few molecules thick and tens of molecules tall formed between the tip and the surface, and that as the tip was progressively raised above the surface, the force gradient instead of changing continuously, jumped in steps. As well as helping to understand the properties of one-dimensional water, the results are important because biological cells use one-dimensional columns of water to transport ions through their membranes. [N][M][S] |
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| [J] Microelectronics, MEMS and spintronics | |
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Molecular electronics US researchers have found how to make single-molecule switches operate predictably and stably. The switches are in the form of a "hairbrush" with "bristles" of stiff, stringy molecules known as oligo phenylene-ethynylenes (OPEs) anchored to a gold base. The OPEs can be tailored to have a variety of physical, chemical, and electronic characteristics. The researchers studied the switches with a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM). Depending on the polarity of the STM probe tip, the electrostatic force either pulled the molecule up normal to the base (ON-state) or repelled it so that it tilted sideways (OFF-state). The molecule's interaction with the gold base produces higher electrical resistance in the OFF-state. By suitably designing the molecules and their environment, the states can be made to remain stable and can be read back for hours. [J][N]
Spintronics A report by the EPSRC reviews progress in spintronics and current UK spintronics research. [J][T]
Plastic electronics Researchers at Ohio State have invented a new organic polymer tunnel diode and have combined two of the diodes to form a simple logic gate that works at 1.5 volts and room temperature. Plastic electronics could be useful in smart cards and other memory devices, allowing them to be more flexible and to run on less power. [J][M]
Power dissipation Applying rapid thermal processing directly on gate insulators can reduce chip leakage current and correspondingly the power consumption. Researchers have found that the direct tunnelling current is reduced by 10,000 to 100,000 times. [J]
Silicon laser By using ion bombardment to alter the silicon lattice structure, researchers at Brown University have achieved directly pumped laser emission from silicon. The news follows demonstrations earlier this year of silicon lasers that relied on either the Raman effect or rare-earth doping to achieve optical gain. At present, the laser emission is too weak to be useful and requires cooling to liquid nitrogen temperature. However, the researchers note that the external efficiency is comparable to that of optically pumped solid-state lasers in their early days. [J][N][O]
Silicon hybrid laser Researchers at UCSB have developed a novel laser by bonding optical gain layers directly to a silicon laser cavity. This hybrid laser offers an alternative to silicon Raman lasers and is an order of magnitude shorter. The laser is optically pumped, operates in continuous wave mode, and only needs 30 mW of input pump power. [J][O] |
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| [F] Fundamental science | |
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Molecular positronium Positronium is an artificial atom made of matter and antimatter: | ||