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Top Stories in Science
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June 2005 Issue |
| [D] Defence and security |  |
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Military readiness A report by the UK National Audit Office on the readiness of the UK armed forces has drawn attention to the increasing challenge facing the forces in meeting the wide range of requirements placed upon them, with the need to engage in ever more complex and diverse operations. The report finds that the Ministry of Defence has a good system for reporting readiness and identifying gaps, but also finds that 38 percent of UK forces now have "serious weaknesses" in their state of readiness, with particular problems in naval capabilities. The MoD says that the risks of overstretch are currently "acceptable", but the NAO warns that the problem is likely to worsen and could affect "high-end war fighting skill sets" and over time dilute skills and experience. [D]
Combating natural hazards The UK government is proposing the setting up of an international expert panel tasked with reducing the casualties and damage caused by natural disasters. The panel would provide consensus advice to governments and authorities on reducing the risk from the many natural hazards to populations around the world. Its role would also include identifying gaps in scientific knowledge and addressing how science and technology can be used in new ways to reduce the impact of disasters. The UK is using its chairmanship of the G8 to seek international support for the panel. The proposal follows from a UK government report that also advocates extending the World Meteorological Office (WMO) early warning system to cover other natural hazards, and increasing commitment at national and international level to build national capacity for assessing natural hazards. [D][E][X]
Bird flu The H5N1 bird flu virus may now be spreading directly between humans in north Vietnam, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO). The report identifies worrying changes in the epidemiology of the virus between January and April 2005. The disease is affecting a wider age group, and the latest H5N1 strains show changes that suggest the virus is becoming more infectious to humans and resistant to the antiviral oseltamivir, previously thought effective in fighting the infection. More encouragingly, less than half of those infected are now dying and this suggests that the pathogenicity of the virus may be weakening. Some people infected with H5N1 show no symptoms at all. In Indonesia, a poultry farm worker who twice tested positive for H5N1 has shown no outward symptoms. This is the first identified human case of H5N1 flu in Indonesia. [D][H]
Ebola/Marburg vaccines Fear that Ebola and Marburg haemorrhagic fevers could become more contagious in humans, or could be used as bioweapons, has motivated an intensive search for a vaccine. Attempts to produce vaccines using whole, killed viruses, or viral DNA, have proved disappointing. Now a team of researchers in Canada, France and US have successfully produced vaccines against both diseases by using a completely different, live virus that they have genetically modified to express a surface glycoprotein from either Ebola or Marburg. Tested on macaque monkeys, the two vaccines gave complete protection. [D][G][H]
Combination vaccines US scientists are developing a combination vaccine to protect against pneumonic plague, which is caused by inhaling the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is lethal within three to four days unless treated. The vaccine has successfully protected mice, and tests show that it is also well tolerated by monkeys. The combination vaccine includes a protein called flagellin, which boosts the immune system's production of plague antibodies by a factor of 500,000. The researchers are initially using flagellin for combination vaccines against plague and smallpox, but they believe it might help to boost the efficacy of many vaccines, including against influenza and pneumonia in the elderly. [D][H]
Gulf War Syndrome More than a decade after the first Gulf War in 1991, a detailed comparison of the health of US veterans who were deployed to the Persian Gulf region and US veterans who served elsewhere has found that the health of the two groups is very similar. However, the study, which carried out a detailed series of medical and psychiatric assessments on approximately 2200 veterans, half in each group, did find that the 1100 Gulf War veterans had a 40 times higher incidence of chronic fatigue syndrome and twice the incidence of fibromyalgia syndrome. [D][H]
Space weapons Russia is preparing to put forward a draft resolution to the United Nations General Assembly on measures to ensure that outer space is free of weapons, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry. [D][A] |
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| [A] Aeronautics and space | |
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Care in the air Medical emergencies are the most common reason that airlines have to divert flights, and the growing proportion of elderly passengers means that such emergencies are likely to become more frequent. For the A380, with its ability to carry twice the number of passengers as many of today's planes, up to five percent of flights might need to be diverted. However, the size of the A380 could enable medical care in the air to be provided instead, with appropriate medically-controlled staff and equipment on every long haul flight. [A][H]
Long haul DVT Reports have been mixed over the benefits of wearing flight stockings for preventing deep vein thrombosis on long haul air flights. Now, an analysis of the results of nine comparative trials carried out in the UK and Italy on nearly 2,500 flyers over a two-year period has found that only two of the 1,237 participants wearing the stockings developed DVT compared with 46 of the 1,245 people in the control groups. [A][H]
Concorde successor Japan and France are to work together to develop a successor to Concorde. Companies from the two countries will split an annual investment of $1.84m for research over the next three years, according to Japan's trade ministry. The concept is that the new supersonic airliners should have 300 seats and cut the flight time between New York and Tokyo to six hours. [A][P]
Space weather The most intense burst of solar radiation in five decades accompanied a large solar flare on January 20, shaking space weather theory and highlighting the need for new forecasting techniques. It was an extreme example of a flare whose radiation storms arrive too quickly for prior warning to be given to protect exposed astronauts or spacecraft that might be outside Earth's protective magnetosphere. According to NASA, this event shows that, if humans are to safely explore the solar system, it is not enough just to monitor the Sun. The capability is needed to predict major flares in advance. [A][I][P]
Predicting solar storms Research at NCAR has linked a particular magnetic structure on the Sun with the genesis of powerful solar storms. The work may enable scientists to create more accurate computer models of the solar storms, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and could eventually point the way to forecasting the storms days before they occur. [A][C][I][P]
EU space policy The European Commission has published a communication sketching aspects of the forthcoming European Space Policy. The EU's funding priorities will focus on space applications. Correspondingly, ESA's priorities will focus on the exploration of space, and on the basic tools on which the exploitation and exploration of space depend, namely access to space, scientific knowledge and space technologies. The EU's current priorities are the Galileo satellite navigation system; GMES (global monitoring for environment and security); and long term research into satellite communication technologies in the context of i2010 (the European Information Society in 2010 initiative). [A][D][E][I][M][P][R][U]
Future cosmology NASA's advisory panel on exploring the universe has recommended four major goals for the next 30 years. The first is to investigate the big bang by analysing the cosmic microwave background radiation for evidence of the initial burst of cosmic inflation, and searching for gravity waves produced by the big bang and quantum effects during inflation. The second is to probe how black holes manipulate space, time, and matter. The third is to understand the nature of dark energy, and the fourth is to determine how galaxies, stars and planets were formed. [A][F][R][T]
Water and life on Mars The methane found in Mars' atmosphere could indicate the presence of life on Mars in the form of methane-producing bacteria. However, decomposition of the mineral olivine could be another explanation. US researchers have estimated that there is enough olivine buried in Mars' crust to produce methane at the rate needed to explain the levels found in the atmosphere. When olivine is heated under pressure, it reacts with water and carbon dioxide to create methane and the mineral serpentine. Calculations suggest the necessary conditions for this exist a few kilometres below Mars' surface. The rate of methane production from olivine may have been much higher in the past, and the resulting greenhouse effect could have made Mars warm enough to have had liquid surface water. This aligns with the emerging view of Mars, from the Mars rovers and other observations, that the planet had one or more early pulses of water that at least in some areas were both highly salty and acidic, and that after perhaps half-a-billion years, the climate turned cold and dry. [A][E]
The final frontier The Voyager 1 probe, launched in 1977, is now getting very close to the edge of the Solar System. The craft is now some 14 billion km from the Sun and on the cusp of deep space. NASA scientists believe it is moving through a region known as the heliosheath. This lies beyond the termination shock region, where the solar wind is slowed by pressure from gas between the stars, becoming denser and hotter. [A] |
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| [U] Unmanned vehicles and robotics | |
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Medical robots St Mary's NHS Trust and Imperial College London are piloting a scheme where medical robots will cover ward rounds. The robots are controlled with a joystick from a remote site. The doctor 'driving' the robot can view the patient, ask questions and read patient records, and view X-rays and test results. The patient sees the doctor's image on the robots 'face'. Although the robot does not physically examine the patient it allows face-to-face contact between the doctor and patient, providing immediate access to specialists. [U][H][V]
Robots in 2020 The Prototype Robot Exhibition in Japan has presented a futuristic 2020 world, complete with autonomous household companions, android medics and even robot entertainers. More exotic forms of robot included a modular, reconfigurable robot called M-Tran III. This consists of identical components and can switch between different forms of locomotion, walking on four limbs like an ape or shifting shape to slither like a snake. Another shape-shifting robot, named Koharo, is spherical and by contracting its sides can cause itself to roll along or even leap through the air. [U][P]
Robot skin Robots need to be equipped with much better sensitivity to touch. One approach, developed by researchers at the University of Illinois, uses an array of tactile sensors fabricated from an inexpensive polymer sheet using photolithographic patterning techniques. Each sensor resembles a little drum head about 200 microns in diameter with a tiny bump in the centre. Deposited on the surface of the drum head is a thin-metal strain gauge that changes resistance when stretched. Advanced signal processing algorithms quickly determine which sensors are activated in the array, and classify the shape and texture of the object being touched. [U][M][S] |
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| [P] Propulsion and energy | |
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Micro fuel cell Fuel cells that run on lightweight hydrocarbons such as methanol tend to be too large to power small portable electronics. Now, US researchers have produced a micro fuel cell that runs on propane, which has a higher energy density and is easily liquefied for storing in small devices. [P][I][K][S][V]
Wind farms Migrating birds are unlikely to be seriously affected by offshore wind farms in northern Europe, according to a study of the Nysted wind farm in the Baltic Sea. The study, which is continuing for a further year, has used radar to track migrating ducks and geese passing the Nysted farm, which contains 72 turbines each measuring 69m to the top of the nacelle or hub. The study has shown clearly that most of the birds fly around the Nysted farm, and that the minority that fly through the farm thread a path between the turbines, with less than 1 percent flying close enough to be at risk of collision. The results, which have been welcomed by bird protection organisations, make it more likely that offshore wind farms can be built routinely along migration routes. [P][E][R]
Wind power potential Wind power becomes commercially practical at locations with sustained wind speeds of at least 6.9 metres/second (15 miles per hour) at a height of 80 metres above ground. Researchers at Stanford have compiled a global map of such sites, and from this they conservatively estimate that there are enough locations globally to produce at least 72 terawatts of electric power. In comparison, the world's average demand for electricity in 2000 was a mere 1.6-1.8 terawatts. The map shows that all parts of the world have suitable sites. North America was found to have the greatest wind power potential, particularly in the area of the great lakes and along the eastern, western and southern coasts. [P][E]
Wind power networks As the use of wind power increases and more wind farms are constructed, the problem of ensuring sufficient electricity supply during periods of low wind velocity should reduce because the combined power output from many different locations will average out better. However, if widespread windy weather coincides with low electricity demand, there could be a problem of electricity overproduction. This could happen first in Germany if wind power capacity there is increased beyond the 36 GW envisioned for 2015. [P][E]
Biomass fuel Research at the University of Wisconsin has discovered a way to make a diesel-like liquid fuel from carbohydrates. The process is very efficient, and the fuel produced contains 90 percent of the energy found in the carbohydrate and hydrogen feed. For a carbohydrate source such as corn, the process creates twice as much useable energy as is created at present by using corn to make ethanol. Carbohydrates make up about three-quarters of biomass dried weight. A key issue that has still to be resolved is how to remove the remaining 25 percent efficiently. [P][E]
Carbon sequestration in North Sea The UK government has published a "pioneering plan" to tackle climate change by capturing greenhouse gases from power plants and storing them safely in depleted North Sea oil fields. The aim is for carbon storage to be making a major contribution within a decade. Government funding of £25m for initial work has been announced as part of a £40m UK package to tackle climate change. This funding covers not only carbon sequestration, but also projects for cleaner electricity generation from coal and gas and projects for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. [P][E] |
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| [M] Materials, structures and surfaces | |
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Hydrogen storage Computer modelling indicates that carbon nanotubes "decorated" with titanium should be able to hold eight percent by weight of hydrogen, and to reversibly desorb the hydrogen easily when heated. This could make nanotube materials useful for practical hydrogen storage. [M][P]
Synthetic diamonds Researchers at the Carnegie Institution have produced 10-carat, half-inch thick single-crystal diamonds at rapid growth rates using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process. This includes making colourless single-crystal diamonds, transparent from the ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths. The process uses a standard growth rate of 100 microns per hour, but growth rates in excess of 300 microns per hour have been reached, and 1 mm per hour may be possible. This means that large blocks of diamond should be available at reasonably low cost for a variety of applications, including gems and optics. [M][J][O]
Nanotube water Neutron scattering experiments show that water inside a nanotube has a quite different form to normal water, and does not turn to ice, even at temperatures close to absolute zero. The difference is attributed to the low coordination number of the molecules in nanowater. In liquid water, an average of 3.8 (the coordination number) hydrogen bonds connect a water molecule to its closest neighbours. In ice, four hydrogen bonds connect to its closest neighbours. In nanotube water, the number of hydrogen bonds for the chain water molecules is only 1.86. Understanding water's behaviour in tightly confined spaces controlled by hydrophobic materials is important because this situation is found in nature, for example when tiny roots carry water to plants, and in some membrane proteins, including aquaporin, which controls water flow through cell walls. [M][N]
Promiscuous drug catalyst Salk scientists have discovered a totally new and promiscuously catalytic enzyme that can mix and match biological chemicals to create multitudes of molecules, which could be used as the basis for new drugs. The enzyme, named Orf2, works on small aromatic molecules and changes them by adding a fat-like molecule called a prenyl group. Small aromatic molecules from bacteria and plants are involved in a wide variety of important biological processes. Some are potent cancer-fighting anti-oxidants, while others have antibiotic or anti-fungal properties. Many of these molecules only become active once they have had a prenyl group added. [M][G][H]
Extreme states of matter An improved version of Sandia's Z Machine can now accelerate small plates of aluminium at 10 billion Gs to a record speed of 34 km/sec. The shock waves generated when the plates hit a target create extreme states of matter. The experiments are helping to understand the processes involved in nuclear fusion and also the conditions deep inside the giant planets, Saturn and Jupiter. [M][A][P]
Ageing of paint A new technique has been developed for dating paintings and helping to detect fakes that relies on thermodynamic simulations of how the chemicals in paint deteriorate with age. [M]
Biomimetic nanomaterials By using functionalised nanoparticles to mimic the way that the orange puffball sponge grows its silica fibre skeleton, researchers have catalysed the growth of silica at low temperatures and neutral pH. The silica was amorphous and encapsulated the nanoparticles. The researchers believe the technique could have applications in making nanocomposites, photonic crystals and core-shell quantum dots. They believe it will also work for synthesising metal oxides at low temperatures. [M][N][O]
Tsunami-resistant house An MIT/Harvard team has produced an architectural model for a tsunami-resistant Sri Lankan house that could be built cheaply from local material and would allow a powerful ocean wave to go essentially through and under the house instead of knocking it flat. [M][D][E] |
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| [E] Environment, transport and marine | |
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Climate change policy In advance of the G8 summit in Scotland, the science academies of the world's leading nations, including the UK's Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences, have urged their governments to take prompt action to combat possible climate change. [E][D][P]
Climate change policy In the UK, a group of leading industrialists has written to the prime minister urgently demanding long-term policies to combat climate change. The heads of 12 leading firms say climate change is a huge challenge that needs serious investment by business. But, they say, they are inhibited from investing because they are not sure what the future government policies on climate will be. The letter's signatories include the heads of BP, Shell, HSBC Bank, BAA, John Lewis and Scottish Power. [E][P]
Climate and energy policy In the US, city governments and some major companies are taking the initiative to cut greenhouse gas emissions. In May, more than 140 American cities pledged their cities would meet Kyoto targets and cut emissions by 7 percent. This follows a lead in Canada by Toronto, which is already the "greenest city in North America" and is taking steps that it hopes will lead to a cut in Canada's overall emissions. US companies, such as GE, are concerned from a business perspective that they will fall behind in green energy and environmental technologies. [E][P]
Climate and energy policy A Yale survey of 1,000 adults across the US concluded that 93 percent of Americans want the US government to develop new energy technologies and to require the automobile industry to improve vehicle fuel consumption. Two thirds believe that the current US energy policies and US dependence on imported oil are "very serious" problems. [E][P]
Climate change in Africa Climate change is predicted to have a particularly serious effect in Africa. According to the UN, people in sub-Saharan Africa are most in danger of starvation. A new analysis of Africa's past and future climate shows drought across southern Africa is likely to intensify because of warming of the Indian Ocean. In the Sahel region, which experienced catastrophic droughts in the past, Indian Ocean warming might produce wetter monsoons, but against this, according to research at York University, climate change is likely to cause massive change to the Congo rainforests and this is likely to intensify drought in the Sahel and worsen problems in eastern Africa and the south-west coast area. [E][D]
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment project The report on biodiversity from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment project paints a very gloomy picture of the current rate of species extinction and of the consequential loss of vital ecosystem services, such as the recycling of nutrients, pollination and seed dispersal, climate control, and purification of water and air. [E][X]
Environmental toxins Researchers at Washington State University have found that environmental toxins can alter the activity of an animal's genes in a way that is transmitted through at least four generations after the exposure. Epigenetic changes might play a role in diseases such as breast cancer and prostate disease, whose incidence is increasing faster than would be expected if they were just the result of genetic mutations. [E][G][H]
Active vehicle suspension In a programme that started in 1980, the loudspeaker company Bose has exploited its technology to develop active vehicle suspension that can react in milliseconds. Bose has demonstrated a prototype system, and expects to field a commercial version within five years. [E][A][C][D][M][P][U]
Human-powered hydrofoil The first human-powered commercial hydrofoil, resembling a bizarre cross between a pogo stick and a jet ski, has gone on sale. Riders operate the "Pumpabike" by bouncing up and down on a small platform at the rear of the contraption, whilst holding onto a steering column at the front. [E][P]
Marine antibiotics UK researchers have studied how hundreds of thousands of different microbes and bacteria can live in the same place on the ocean floor. To survive, the organisms have developed quite sophisticated systems to kill their rivals, and these could provide a new generation of antibiotics. One species of a common bacterium that lives in the sea beds of Japan produces a unique antibiotic, abyssomicin C, that can kill MRSA. [E][H] |
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| [R] Remote sensing and sensor systems | |
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Sumatra-Andaman earthquake The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake had predecessors of similar magnitude in the 1950s and 1960s, but they occurred before the advent of computational methods for modelling earthquakes, before GPS allowed precise global positioning, and before sophisticated worldwide networks existed for recording seismic events. Hence, the Earth's oscillations triggered by the quake are providing unique and important data on the composition of the Earth's deep interior. The quake, which was the third most fatal in human history, was equivalent to 100 gigatons of TNT. Fortunately it occurred slowly, lasting possibly up to three hours, and much of the deformation happened more than an hour after the main shock. The structural damage and tsunami could otherwise have been much worse. Adjustments to the Earth's interior or relaxations in the mantle probably triggered the magnitude 8.7 quake on March 28, and further major quakes are likely as the relaxation spreads. [R][C][D][E][I][M][X]
Towed antenna array Research at Boston University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute have developed a cheap towed antenna array for use in coastal security and underwater intelligence gathering. The prototype comprises six hydrophones spaced inside a 30-foot plastic tube. The tube is filled with mineral oil to create neutral buoyancy for towing behind an autonomous underwater vehicle. [R][D][E][S]
Antenna array ground station Information from Earth observation satellites is currently downlinked to 11 metre dish antennas. These are located mainly inside the Arctic Circle, and the sub-zero temperatures create reliability problems and require resident crews to operate and maintain the antennas and their ability to point accurately at the individual satellites. A NASA/Georgia Tech project is aiming to replace these antennas with a network of inexpensive adaptive antenna arrays with no moving parts. For proof-of-principle, the researchers have built adaptive arrays from cheap components, including common PVC piping and aluminium foil. Signals are analyzed using a processing technique that learns to improve its performance by constructively combining scattered and reflected versions of the signal, and by suppressing noise and interference. This processing eliminates the need for costly front-end hardware and precise aiming of the antenna arrays, and allows flexibility in the location of the ground station. [R][A]
Mesosphere radar A new research radar based in Antarctica is enabling scientists to study the mesosphere, the highest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere at the very edge of space. One objective is to test the theoretical prediction that while the lower atmosphere is warming, the upper atmosphere is cooling by as much as 1 degree centigrade each year. The radar will also provide information about the complex waves, tides and other mechanisms that link the mesosphere to the lower regions of the atmosphere. [R][A][E]
Robotic telescope systems Robotic telescopes are fundamentally changing modern astronomy by making it possible to study rapid events. The extreme relativistic nature of gamma ray bursts means that the light from a burst that is emitted over the course of a day arrives at Earth within the span of minutes. NASA's recently launched Swift satellite can locate gamma-ray bursts rapidly, reorient itself autonomously for follow-up observations, and distribute precise positions in seconds to an armada of ground-based telescopes located around the world. Future robotic telescope systems, combining robotic instrumentation with machine learning techniques and massive database technology, will be autonomously recognise important changes in the night sky and make follow up observations without human intervention. [R][A][C][U]
Detecting gravitational waves Einstein's General Theory of Relativity predicts that collapsing binary star systems should be strong emitters of gravitational waves. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has now found what appears to be a binary system of two white dwarf stars orbiting each other only 50,000 km apart. Their orbital period of 321.5 seconds is decreasing at 1.2 milliseconds a year, consistent with the predicted loss of energy from the emission of gravitational waves. The system should therefore be a prime future candidate for detecting gravitational waves directly. [R][A][F][S]
Extrasolar planet more like Earth Astronomers have discovered an extrasolar planet comparable to Earth. It is a rocky world about seven and a half times more massive than Earth, and is the smallest extrasolar planet so far discovered. The planet orbits a star Gliese 876, similar to the Sun and located 15 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Aquarius. The planet is orbiting too close to the star to be cool enough to support oceans or carbon-based life. [R][A] |
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| [S] Sensor devices | |
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Hydrogen sensors Hydrogen sensors will be a critical component in a future hydrogen economy, but they must be cheap and respond quickly to detect leaks that could cause explosions. US researchers have made sensors that look promising, based on nanoparticulate thin film palladium. In the thin film, nanosized palladium particles reversibly form palladium hydride in the presence of hydrogen gas. This makes them swell, forming new electrical connections with their neighbours, and increasing electrical conduction. The effect is reversible and repeatable over hundreds of cycles, has a response time of tens of milliseconds, and detects hydrogen levels as low as 25 parts per million, far below hydrogen's lower explosive limit of around 40,000 ppm. [S][M][N][P]
Velocity profile sensor German scientists have developed a compact, laser-based velocity profile sensor with sub-micron resolution. This will allow much finer measurements of turbulent flow, particularly around turbine blades. [S][A][O][P]
Medical imaging costs The dramatic increase in the use of medical imaging in the US has created concern that diagnostic imaging may now be the chief cause of rising US healthcare costs. However, a study of hospital costs for 17,139 patients admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital between 1996 and 2002 has found that, although the number of diagnostic imaging procedures for this group more than doubled over the period, particularly in computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), imaging cost as a percentage of total costs remained approximately the same. Moreover, every additional $385 spent on imaging was associated with one less day spent in the hospital, thereby reducing other costs. [S][H][R]
Portable holographic camera A portable holography system, developed in Germany, can instantly capture the shape and texture of faces with a resolution of 0.4 mm, so that even skin pores and individual hairs can be visualised. The holographic model produced is used to aid planning of facial surgery and for forensic science investigations. [S][D][H][O]
Ultrasonic imaging probe Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a new three-dimensional ultrasound cardiac imaging probe. Inserted inside the oesophagus, the probe creates a picture of the whole heart in the time it takes for current ultrasound technology to image a single heart cross section. The probe can also be used to image the oesophagus itself and also the rectum, colon and prostate. [S][H][R]
Stimulated emission depletion nanoscopy Researchers at Max Planck have shown experimentally that fluorescence microscopy can achieve nanoscale resolution. Their technique, called Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy, overcomes the diffraction limit. The results indicate that in a STED microscope, the relevant focal fluorescence spot can, in principle, be reduced to the size of a molecule (2-5 nm). [S][G][N][O]
Bragg microcavity biosensor Caltech researchers have developed an ultra-sensitive biochemical sensor based on circular Bragg micro-cavities. They report that the device can measure changes in refractive index down to 5x10-4. [S][G][O]
Photon counters Sensors that detect and count single photons with 88 percent efficiency have been demonstrated by physicists at NIST. The detectors are composed of a small square of tungsten film, 25 by 25 microns in size and 20 nm thick, cooled to 0.1 degrees Kelvin, the superconducting transition temperature of tungsten. The researchers comment that this record efficiency is an important step toward making reliable single photon detectors for use in practical quantum cryptography systems. [S][I][O] |
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| [O] Optoelectronics, optics and lasers | |
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Quantum dot single photon source Scientists from Toshiba Research Europe and the University of Cambridge have developed a semiconductor source of single photons at 1.3 micron wavelength, suitable for optical fibre communications. The device generates single photons on demand when excited by short optical pulses. It is potentially compatible with electrical pumping. The source currently operates at cryogenic temperatures, but the Cambridge team is confident that this can be raised to temperatures practical for commercial use. [O][I][J][N]
"Venetian blind" optical structures Researchers at Stanford predict theoretically that a series of metal strips with gaps between them, rather like an open Venetian blind, can slow the speed of light in much the same way as a uniform slab of glass, excepting that the speed of the light would depend on the dimensions of the strips rather than on the material. If the strips are made much thicker than the gaps between them, the structure should be able to slow down the speed of light much more than any conventional material can. The researchers also predict that light can travel in a "waveguide" mode along the blind, creating almost the same external magnetic fields as is generated by light travelling through a transparent slab with a very low light speed. They propose that these structures could help make tiny optical or optoelectronic devices that are smaller and more efficient. [O][I][J][M][N]
Optical clock By trapping a cloud of 10,000 strontium atoms at a temperature of just 2 micro Kelvin in a one-dimensional "optical lattice", Japanese scientists say they have created a highly stable optical clock with an oscillator frequency of 429 terahertz. This could lead to optical clocks that are accurate to one part in a million trillion. The large number of atoms gives a strong signal, and trapping the atoms in the lattice enhances the stability of the clock by preventing collisions between atoms. [O][A][D][I][R][U][V]
Femtosecond microsurgery US researchers are using femtosecond infra-red laser pulses to sever nerve connections inside the tiny nematode worm C. elegans. The minimal damage caused by the femtosecond pulses enables the nerves to grow back. The researchers hope the technique will allow rapid screening of genes and molecules affecting nerve regeneration and development. [O][B][G][H]
Control of spontaneous emission Scientists at Kyoto University have shown that they can 'inhibit' and 'redistribute' spontaneous emission in photonic crystals. This should enable improvements in the performance of semiconductor lasers, solar cells, LEDs and other optoelectronic devices. [O][J][P][S][V]
Smart solid-state lighting Smart” solid-state light sources now being developed could provide huge energy savings and give sophisticated control of the properties of light, including spectral power distribution, polarization, and colour temperature. This would allow lights to perform new functions, such as adapting their colour to the circadian cycle to mimic the colour changes of natural daylight, allowing a car's lights to imperceptibly communicate information to the car behind it or in front, and growing fruits and vegetables out of season or in climates where they do not usually flourish. [O][E][H][J][V]
Tunable waveguide mirror A new type of wavelength tuning scheme for optical telecoms has been developed at Tokyo Institute of Technology. It outperforms current thermo-optic or electro-optic techniques and could be used in tunable filters, lasers and dispersion compensators, according to the researchers. The tunability extends over a huge wavelength range of 160 nm making it very suited for future ultrawide WDM networks. Called a “hollow waveguide Bragg reflector”, the device consists of a 2 mm-long hollow silicon-slab waveguide that is formed by an air-gap sandwiched between two distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). Each DBR is a multilayer mirror made of 6 pairs of Si/SiO2 layers. In addition, the surface of one of the DBRs features an etched diffraction grating to reflect the light back out of the waveguide. Changing the size of the air-gap using a piezoelectric or MEMS device tunes the peak reflection of the device from 1400 nm to 1560 nm. [O][I][J]
Terabyte DVDs DVDs may be capable of holding almost a terabyte of data, according to a US patents. In the proposed technology, dubbed Articulated Optical Digital Versatile Disc (AO-DVD), sub-wavelength surface bumps would slope at slightly different angles. This could be used to encode up to 100 times more information than in a conventional DVD. [O][M] |
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| [I] IT, communications, networking and secure systems | |
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Cellphones and astronomy The US National Academy of Sciences has expressed concern that proposals to lift the ban on the use of cellphones in aircraft could blind radio telescopes. The cellphones produce radiation at harmonics of their operating frequency, and the second harmonic happens to fall in a frequency band that reveals the molecular signature of newborn and dying stars and is among the 2 percent of frequencies in this part of the electromagnetic spectrum "reserved" for use by radio astronomers. [I][R]
Quantum encryption over wireless The world's first quantum encryption computer network has been expanded to include a wireless link that uses quantum communication codes. The wireless connection was added by QinetiQ to the DARPA Quantum Network, a quantum fibre-optic network buried underground in Massachusetts that links 10 different sites. QinetiQ has already demonstrated a wireless quantum link over 25 km, and researchers hope to extend the range to be able to reach satellites. [I][O]
Bluetooth vulnerability Over the past few years security experts have devised many ways of hacking into Bluetooth communications, but most required the Bluetooth security features to be switched off. This greatly reduced the practical threat. Cryptographers have now discovered a surprisingly easy way to hack Bluetooth-enabled devices even when their security features are switched on. [I]
Vulnerability assessment worms Security experts have discovered a new breed of computer virus that gathers intelligence about the latest weaknesses in computer networks and reports these back to hackers via internet chatrooms. [I]
Ransom-ware A new type of threat to computer users called “ransom-ware” tries to extort money from users by encoding files on their machines and then demanding a ransom for the digital keys to unlock their data. [I]
Multistage virus attack More sophisticated methods of attack are being used to undermine PC defences in order to turn them into drones that hackers can control. By mounting an attack in stages using several viruses, hackers are likely to be able to penetrate many more machines. [I]
Forging digital signatures Cryptographers have found a way to snip a digital signature from one document and attach it to a fraudulent document without invalidating the signature and giving the fraud away. The development means that attackers could potentially forge legal documents, load certified software with bogus code, or turn a digitally-signed letter of recommendation into one that authorises access to private information. The attack was demonstrated for the MD-5 hash function, but may also in the future work for documents signed with the US Government’s gold-standard algorithm SHA-1. [I] |
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| [K] Knowledge, information and technology management | |
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Optimised search Animals use power laws to minimise the time they spend searching for hidden objects, according to researchers in Paris. Their mathematical model of animal searching patterns agrees with previous observations made by biologists and could be used to speed up human searching. The model assumes that foraging animals exhibit two distinct phases of behaviour. First, they move quickly on a single trajectory from one location to another. Then in the second phase they search the new location by moving around more slowly and randomly. [K][R][U][V]
Misinformation and public perceptiion Media coverage of the Iraq War has been characterised by frequent corrections, retractions, and false information. Researchers investigating the effects that those retractions and disconfirmations had on people's memory of war-related events have found that repetition of news stories assisted in the creation of false memories and that corrected misinformation did not change people's beliefs unless they were sceptical of the information to begin with. [K][D]
European e-health system EU health ministers and the European Commission have announced their decision to establish an integrated European e-health system by 2010, ensuring that health systems are interoperable and coherent. They also agreed to work towards projects such as completing the EU health portal, strengthening health threat surveillance, further promoting the use of health cards, agreeing on approaches to best practice and benchmarking, advancing developments supporting the integration and interoperability of health information systems and electronic health records, and addressing the implications of patient and professional mobility. [K][I][H]
Maintaining NASA knowledge The switch from the Shuttle to the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) is likely to be one of the largest single planned transitions NASA, or any US federal agency, has ever undertaken. One of NASA’s major concerns is the premature loss of either skilled expertise in the workforce or industrial capacity to support and sustain the space shuttle for however much longer it will fly. [K][A]
Adult learning Hearing and understanding a second language becomes increasingly difficult with age, but according to research at University College London, the adult brain can be retrained to be able to pick up foreign sounds more easily again like a younger brain. This finding supports the theory that adult learning of languages becomes difficult not because of a change in neural plasticity, but rather because experience with a first language 'warps' perception of the sounds of other languages. [K][B][V]
Women in IT A scheme aimed at getting more girls interested in IT careers and e-skills is being launched by the UK government. Women make up only a fifth of the UK technology workforce. Likewise, only a fifth of students studying IT-related degrees are female. [K][I] |
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| [C] Computing, supercomputing, modelling and simulation | |
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Reconfigurable supercomputer An experimental supercomputer made from hardware that can reconfigure itself to tackle different software problems is being built by researchers in Scotland. They believe that by using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chips instead of microprocessors the machine will be 100 times more power efficient than a conventional supercomputer of similar processing power. The 64-node FPGA machine will need only as much space as four conventional PCs and should deliver 1 teraflop. [C]
LHC Grid The Large Hadron Collider will generate a staggering 15 petabytes of data a year. A worldwide grid of computers will allow the 6000 or more physicists working on the experiments to log on to local PCs and request a data analysis. Moreover, the data covering the 10 to 15 years that the LHC is expected to operate will have to be accessible to physicists at any time. By late 2006, the LHC grid should be running continuously, allowing experiments to start. Although the accelerator will not be running until the summer of 2007, the LHC particle detectors will be operating to see how they respond to cosmic ray particles from space. [C][F]
Graphics processor simulation language The parallel architecture of computer graphics processors means that they can out-perform central processor units (CPU) by an order of magnitude or more for handling mathematical computations that have high processing demands and relatively low input-output traffic. Researchers at Los Alamos have developed a programming language called Scout to exploit this. They say that using graphics processors also makes it easier to display the output of the simulations visually. [C][G][K]
Computer simulation of the human brain IBM and the Ecole Polytecnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) are attempting to create the first computer simulation of the entire human brain, right down to the molecular level. The “Blue Brain” project will involve building a custom-made supercomputer based on IBM’s Blue Gene design. For over a decade, the EPFL researchers have been building a database of the neural architecture of the neocortex, the largest and most complex part of mammalian brains, studying how individual neurones behave electrically and building up a set of rules for how different types of neurones connect to one another. The initial phase of Blue Brain will model the electrical structure of neocortical columns - neural circuits that contain up to 70,000 neurones and that are repeated throughout the brain. [C][B][H][U][V][X]
Simulating biological systems Scientists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have constructed a computer simulation of biological systems that simultaneously models behaviour at the molecular level, at the single-cell level and at the level of bacterial populations. The simulation, called AgentCell, can help in studying the relationship between biochemical fluctuations within a single cell and the cell's behaviour as it interacts with other cells and its environment. The model is currently fairly primitive, but is intended to be made increasingly sophisticated. It is being made available publicly on the Internet. [C][G][H][X]
Simulation of the universe The Virgo consortium, an international group of astrophysicists from the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada and the USA, has released first results from the largest and most realistic simulation to date of the growth of cosmic structure and of the formation of galaxies and quasars. The simulation employed more than 10 billion particles of matter to trace the evolution of the matter distribution in a cubic region of the Universe over 2 billion light-years on a side, containing approximately 20 million galaxies. The simulation includes dark energy, dark matter and normal matter, and predicts the early evolution of some massive black holes in agreement with the observed numbers of very distant and very bright quasars. The simulation also indicates that the characteristic patterns imprinted on the matter distribution at early epochs and visible directly in the microwave maps, should still be present and should be detectable in the observed distribution of galaxies. [C][A][F]
Modelling pollution French scientists have shown that a mathematical model used to study the spread of chemical pollutants through groundwater and rivers can be inverted to identify the exact sources of the pollution in a river and to reconstruct how the pollutants travel through the river over time. The technique involves measuring the concentration of pollutants at two points in the river, one upstream and one downstream of the stretch of river being studied. The scientists are now working on a two-dimensional model that could be applied to estuaries. [C][E] |
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| [W] Whole life engineering, manufacture and testing | |
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Combined laser cutting and welding Fraunhofer has developed a laser head that allows a single laser to both cut and weld metal, thereby increasing the speed of production in industries such as car manufacture and also removing the need to invest in separate machines for cutting and welding. [W][O]
Management quality A joint LSE/McKinsey study has examined why badly run firms survive. The study is based on interviews with managers at more than 730 manufacturing companies (none of them McKinsey clients), ranging in size from 50 employees to 10,000, and located in America, Britain, France and Germany. The study, which found surprisingly little international variation in the quality of management practice, concluded that badly run firms survive for three reasons: because they face weak competition, because they are older companies with well-established positions, and because of restrictive labour laws and other regulations which seem to protect laggards. [W][T]
Regulation and competition A report by the McKinsey Global Institute finds that poor regulation is the main factor limiting productivity and growth in economies all over the world, particularly in developing countries. Market economies need regulation to facilitate fair competition and to protect consumers, the environment, and vulnerable workers from unfair practices, and risks to health and safety. However, a CEO survey presented at the 2005 World Economic Forum, in Davos, identified overregulation as the most important threat facing businesses, and, in a recent study of 145 countries, the World Bank found that the administrative cost of complying with regulations is three times higher for businesses in poor countries than for those in rich ones. The McKinsey report offers guidelines for how governments can get regulation right. [W][T][X] |
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| [X] Systems, complexity and risk | |
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New epidemiological model Traditional epidemiological modelling assumes that contacts between people occur uniformly and randomly. However, when infectious diseases such as MRSA are spread via hospitals, the contact network is not random. A new type of epidemiological modelling that takes the contact structure into account has shown that the resulting epidemic threshold is lower than predicted by traditional models. [X][D][H]
Limiting disease spread An analysis of global air traffic by Northwestern University has mapped airports around the world in terms of how much they contribute to the risk of spreading infections such as SARS or influenza, which have incubation periods that allow travellers to carry the illness aboard a plane to a new destination before falling ill. The analysis shows that the air transportation network is scale-free, which means that a few nodes are highly connected to others, while most are only sparsely connected. The researchers found that the most critical airports for controlling disease spread are mainly in Western Europe and North America. Paris is both the most highly connected airport in the world and also the most critical hub for disease spread. However some airports with comparatively low connectivity are also critical hubs. For example, Sao Paulo ranks only 53 in its number of direct connections, but together with Buenos Aires it is the most important hub in South America. [X][A][D][E][H]
Modelling complex dynamic systems Biological organisms are very complex dynamic systems, and to handle this complexity biologists need computer-compatible "tools for thought" that can manipulate, check, and use models to make predictions and form explanations. Many efforts are being made to capture the essential features mathematically, but unfortunately this is hampered by insufficient understanding of how biological systems work, even qualitatively. Tools must handle qualitative uncertainty. A "system-level" model can be built as a collection of interrelated hypotheses. Using a rules library that encodes biological requirements and prerequisites for biological events, one can generate a "required background and history" for each hypothesis and the set of relationships that must hold true in the wake of each hypothesized event. This provides the qualitative analogue of simulation. The components of each hypothesis can be tested against information in the literature and databases. [X][C][G][T]
Self-organising systems Simple systems can often produce highly organised structures. Normally the structures are repeating patterns. However, two researchers have now shown that it is possible to create isolated humps in the middle of a corral. These are the first examples of soliton features that are stable without requiring a continuous input of energy, at least for systems with two or more dimensions. Such solitary structures were theoretically predicted to be possible, but they have never been observed experimentally until now. [X][M][N]
Social neuroscience The revolutionary progress in brain research is leading to the emergence of a new interdisciplinary field of social neuroscience, aimed at understanding and even decoding the complex interconnected web that mediates between the brain, mind and behaviour. This convergence of biology, genomics, neuroscience, sociology and psychology is not only helping to distinguish between and test diverse social and psychological theories, but is also leading to a new understanding of humanity, emotion, self-control, psychological influences and human behaviour in society. [X][B][D][F][H][K][T]
Violence as a socially infectious disease Witnessing gun violence can double the risk of a teenager committing serious violence in the following two years, according to the results of a US study which compared more than 1500 teenagers with a similar likelihood of being exposed to violence. The five-year study, which was spurred by an “epidemic” of violent crime in the US, tracked adolescents aged 12 or 15 from 78 Chicago neighbourhoods, and controlled for 153 potentially influential variables, such as family structure and neighbourhood. One possible explanation is that people exposed to violence may be more prone to assume a hostile intent - as a self-defence mechanism - which could in itself lead to violence. [X][B][D] |
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| [V] Virtuality and human-machine interface | |
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Augmented reality gaming A human version of the classic Pacman computer game has been developed at the National University of Singapore. By merging technologies such as GPS, Bluetooth, virtual reality headsets, Wi-Fi, infrared and sensing mechanisms, the augmented reality (AR) game allows gamers to play in a digitally-enhanced maze-like version of the real world. Eventually, AR game technology could revolutionise gaming by creating an arena where people move about, socialising and interacting with each other instead of being glued to a computer screen. A major challenge, however, is to achieve the mm-scale global positioning accuracy needed for flawless AR gaming. [V][C][D][I][R]
Game physics To increase the reality of computer games, game makers are using sophisticated physics, exploiting the realistic action/reaction and interaction of objects, and their materials properties, modelling interactions between objects and environments made of particles. Physics-engines are also being used to make games on mobile phones more realistic. [V][C][J][M]
Nano-emissive display Motorola Labs has unveiled a prototype nano-emissive display (NED) based on carbon nanotubes. In essence, the NED display is a thin, flat cathode ray tube with thousands of electron guns at each pixel. The prototype NED has full colour video, high brightness, uniformity and colour purity in the ranges required for a commercial product, according to Motorola. The key to the development is Motorola's ability to grow carbon nanotubes directly onto the display's glass substrate. [V][N][O]
3D volumetric imaging A new type of 3D display called a Perspecta could help surgeons target tumours more precisely, air-traffic controllers prevent air accidents, and drug designers better understand the structures of promising molecules. The display looks like a goldfish bowl in which 3D video images appear suspended in mid-air. The display lets users view 3D moving images by walking all the way around it, view from on top or below, or zoom in and out in real time. Dedicated graphics-processing hardware enables the system to twist and turn images in real time at video rates. [V][A][C][D][G][H]
Intelligent camera Japanese researchers have developed a digital camera that can eliminate shots where people are blinking. It takes 15 snaps in 0.5 second and then automatically selects the best. [V][R]
Senior-friendly systems The ageing population means that many more people are driving over the age of 75. In the US, "seniors" are the fastest growing segment of the driving population, making up 9 percent (about 19 million) of the nation's drivers. This figure is expected to increase to more than 30 million drivers by 2020. Seniors are also now the group with the highest rate of accidents in the US. Technological aids, such as collision warning lights or night vision equipment, might help, but elderly drivers have difficulty learning how to use new devices. Current technology requires drivers to multitask while driving to activate the new systems, This presents various physical and mental barriers to many elderly drivers. [V][E][K][R][U] |
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| [B] Brain research and human science | |
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System-level brain research It is now possible experimentally to watch brain processes in real time on a scale involving thousand of neurones. This makes it feasible to resolve some fundamental questions over how the brain works. The research needs to be highly interdisciplinary involving not only experimental and theoretical neurobiologists but also signal processing experts, statisticians, computer scientists, electrical engineers, and applied mathematicians. It also requires information management to create publicly-available data sources in the same way that has been so important in genomics. [B][C][K][T][U][V][X]
Brain networks A new method of analysing brain processes using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has found that the interconnections between different parts of the brain are dynamic and not static. This allows the communication capacity of certain pathways to increase or contract depending on the cognitive task being performed. The brain regions that perform the integration of information also shift depending on the task. The results indicate that an area of the brain called the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) plays an overarching role in modulating other brain regions, as has also been found from other research, and that the integration of information is done primarily in the task-specific regions. [B][C][U][X]
Olfactory system Researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have succeeded in mapping the unique patterns of neural activity produced by a wide range of odours, including vanilla, skunk, fish, urine, musk, and chocolate. The studies showed that, despite very complex patterning of neural activity, the odour representations are very similar among individuals. The spatial representations of the odours in the cortex expanded with increased concentrations of the odorants, and this could explain why odours can smell different at different concentrations. Intriguingly, odorants with related chemical structures showed highly similar patterns of activation in the cortex. This suggests there is a chemical logic underlying the neural representation. Research at Oxford University has also found that visual words can influence the perception of smells, with pleasant words influencing olfactory brain regions to perceive an odour as pleasant. Using fMRI the researchers found that the words changed the areas of the brain that were activated by the odours. [B][S][V][X]
Trust hormone Men who inhale a nasal spray spiked with a brain hormone and neurotransmitter called oxytocin become unusually trusting of others in financial transactions, according to a new report. Previously, studies in animals have suggested that oxytocin in the brain encourages long-term mating in pairs of adults and nurturing behaviours by mothers toward their offspring. The researchers believe that, in humans, oxytocin fosters the trust needed for friendship, love, families, economic transactions, and political networks. [B][D][W][X]
Neuroscience of love Studies, using fMRI, of neural activity in the brains of 17 young men and women who each described themselves as being newly and madly in love have shown that romantic love may have more to do with motivation, reward and "drive" aspects of human behaviour than with the emotions or with sex drive. Brain systems were activated that humans share with other mammals and this may indicate that early-stage romantic love is a developed form of a mammalian drive to pursue preferred mates, and that "love at first sight" may be part of a mechanism for ensuring rapid pairing. Interestingly, the activation regions associated with intense romantic love were mostly on the right side of the brain, while the activation regions associated with facial attractiveness were mostly on the left. [B][D][X]
Self-control Cognitive control, the ability to respond in an appropriate way even when faced with strong impulses to do otherwise, appears to depend on the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that develops slowly and only matures late in adolescence. A computer model developed by researchers at Vanderbilt offers the first detailed explanation of how the neural circuits that allow humans to apply rules and strategies to new situations develop, and on why this ability sometimes fails or is affected by brain damage. [B][C][D][K][U][X]
Adaptable decision making Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have pinpointed a circuit in the brain responsible for encoding decision-making behaviour. Damage to this circuit, which is located in the orbital frontal cortex, directly behind the eyes, appears to prevent a person from adapting behaviour when circumstances change. The discovery promises to enhance understanding of why some brain-damaged people have learning issues, an insight that could eventually lead to the development of more effective treatments for those with brain injury and trauma. [B][D][U]
Subliminal learning Subliminal learning occurs when individuals are influenced by a stimulus they are unaware of, like words played back below the threshold of hearing or images flashed on screen faster than the eye can perceive. Researchers have showed that in the case of visual recognition tasks this type of learning is retained, and subjects showed little or no learning loss when retested 6 months later. [B][V]
Embryonic development Research on how the eye develops in an embryo has found that the relevant stem cells are activated by a gene Pax 6 to form a retina. Left unchecked, the cells would form a huge eye, but with no connection to the brain. However, this is prevented because the 'eye' cells closest to the centre of the brain start to produce two signalling proteins, Vax1 and Vax2, which act as chemical brakes on Pax6. As a result, these cells turn into the optic nerve instead. This process, which is very ancient, is a very efficient way to control development because a single pathway produces both the retina and the optic nerve. It is likely that the same efficient model applies widely throughout the nervous system. [B][G][X]
Drug addiction In studies with rats, researchers have distinguished dopamine release transients involved in different aspects of cocaine administration, and how these relate to drug seeking behaviour, reversible learned associations, and the pharmacological actions of cocaine. They believe the basic brain mechanisms that cause drug seeking behaviour are common to many drugs, not only cocaine. Understanding these can help in combating addiction. [B][D][H] |
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| [H] Healthcare and medicine | |
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Heroin addiction US scientists have identified a critical gene involved in heroin addiction relapse and have successfully blocked it in heroin-addicted rats, eliminating their cravings for the drug. It is hoped this could provide a treatment for human addicts within a few years. [H][B][D][G]
Millennium targets According to the WHO, whilst the world is on track to meet its millennium safe water targets, much faster progress is needed on basic sanitation, in terms of the number of people who need to gain access to sanitation facilities each year for the first time. The sanitation situation is particularly acute in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, and in urban environments. More than half of all humans will soon be living in cities, according to UN forecasts. [H][D][E]
Obesity and life expectancy The common wisdom is that the current increase in overweight and obesity presages huge health problems, with coming epidemics of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and a host of other medical consequences. However, whilst severe obesity (BMI greater than 40) certainly increases the risk of numerous diseases, the evidence, according to some researchers, is less clear cut for people who are overweight or mildly obese, and for the major killer diseases. Body mass is strongly influenced by genes, and a BMI that is overweight for one person may not be for another with different genetic makeup. [H][T]
Calorie restriction and lifespan The conventional wisdom that calorie restriction promotes longevity may be too simplistic. Experiments in fruit flies suggest that protein or fat plays a much greater role in fly longevity than sugar. When flies were fed on a diet low in yeast (which contributes protein and fat) this increased their median lifespan by over 60 percent. But the same calorie reduction achieved by restricting sugar (carbohydrate) increased their lifespan by only 9 percent. The researchers believe that, at least in the case of fruit flies, yeast and sugar trigger different metabolic pathways with different effects on lifespan. [H]
Physical fitness According to research at McMaster University in Canada, short bursts of very intense exercise appear to improve muscle capacity and endurance as effectively as much longer periods of moderate activity. The results suggested that as little as six minutes of intense exercise a week could be as effective as six hours of moderate exercise for those people who are sufficiently fit to undertake intense exercise safely. [H]
Gene therapy for auto-immune diseases Gene therapy could potentially be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to the results of initial trials at the University of Pittsburgh. RA is caused by immune system cells colonising the lining of joints and releasing cytokines. These bind to the synovial cells that line the joints causing them to release chemicals that trigger destructive inflammation. In the trial, cells were genetically modified to prevent cytokines from binding to synovial cells, and were then injected into the knuckles of nine arthritis patients. The results were encouraging, and most importantly no patients have developed any side effects. Early trials of using gene therapy to treat immune disorders in humans had to be abandoned because the treatment triggered leukaemia in some patients. The present results may indicate that this problem has been overcome. [H][G]
Telomere shortening Being overweight and a smoker accelerates the process of telomere shortening according to a study by UK and US researchers based on 1,122 twins from a database held by St Thomas' Hospital in London. The results could mean that a woman who has smoked a pack of cigarettes per day for 40 years has accelerated her ageing by 7.4 years. Obesity produces even faster telomere shortening. However. it is not clear how precisely telomere shortening indicates biological age, and how it relates to lifespan. Animal studies have failed to reveal any simple relationship between telomere length and lifespan. [H][G] |
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| [G] Genomics, biotechnology and bioinformatics | |
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Human therapeutic cloning Scientists at Newcastle University say they have cloned the UK's first human embryo. The aim of this kind of work - the subject of fierce ethical debate - is to make cloned embryos from which stem cells can be used to treat diseases. Three of the clones produced lived and grew in the laboratory for three days and one survived for five days. The critical factor for success appears to be speed in collecting and manipulating the donated egg. [G][H]
Patient-matched embyronic stem cells Embryonic stem cells (ESC), like tissue transplants, are likely to be rejected unless they are well matched to the patient. South Korean scientists have succeeded in making ESCs that are a perfect match by taking genetic material from the patient and putting it into a donated egg. The patients, aged 2 to 56, had conditions ranging from spinal injuries to an inherited immune condition. The work proves that matching ESCs can be derived via therapeutic cloning from donors of any age and sex. However, it remains to be proven that transplantation of the stem cells into recipients can be safe, effective and tolerated, and because the stem cells were manufactured using genetic material from individuals suffering from a disease, there is a possibility that the stem cells themselves may show disease characteristics. [G][H]
Patient-matched embyronic stem cells US scientists claim to have produced patient-matched embryonic stem cells (ESC) without resorting to therapeutic cloning. Their technique uses existing embryonic stem cells instead of human eggs, and this means that it should be much cheaper and easier than cloning, and because no embryos are destroyed, it would bypass many ethical issues. The method starts with an existing human ESC line. The nuclei containing the DNA of the ESCs are removed by spinning them in a centrifuge. Cells from adults are then fused with the enucleated ESCs. The idea is that the cytoplasm of an enucleated ESC will reprogram the donor nuclei, turning the fused cell into an ESC too. This results, according to the US scientists, in new lines of ESCs, called stembrids, that are genetically identical to the adult donor. [G][H]
Regulation of stem cell therapy There are concerns that the premature use of embryonic stem cell therapy could put many patients at risk of viral or prion diseases unless appropriate safety systems are in place. A new European Directive is addressing these concerns, and covers selection of donors, testing, and procurement of the starting material for cell lines, tracking cells from donor to recipient, and reporting of any adverse events. [G][H]
MicroRNAs and stem cell division An important question in stem cell research is what enables stem cells to continue to divide and renew themselves long after the point where other cells in the body stop dividing. US scientists have now found that microRNAs (miRNAs) appear to play a key role, and that miRNAs are necessary for stem cell division to take place. The work suggests that miRNAs shut off the signals that would otherwise halt cell division in most cells. This adds to the emerging evidence that miRNAs may play a major role in cancer. [G][H]
Oncogenic microRNAs MicroRNAs (miRNA), which control protein manufacture in cells, also appear to play a central role in causing cancers, according to US research. One team has shown that miRNA expression profiles can be used both to classify human cancers and to distinguish normal cells from those that are cancerous, and that miRNA expression profiles can even distinguish cancerous cells that cannot otherwise be identified on the basis of their outward appearance. A second team has shown that a specific cluster of microRNAs can cause lymphomas in mice. A third team has shown that some microRNAs cooperate with a gene already known to cause human cancers. The implications could be far reaching. Potentially, they could revolutionise cancer diagnosis and classification. They also mean that research on how genetic alterations contribute to tumours will now need to consider not just the genes that code for proteins, but also genes for miRNAs. [G][H][S]
Genetic factors in cancer Researchers at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center have pinpointed a key sequence of genes that appear to be active in rapidly developing cancers, and are a potent indication that cancer will spread and probably result in death. The researchers believe the genes may control tumour stem cells, supporting the theory that cancers contain a small population of tumour stem cells that are responsible for the growth and spread of the tumour. The same gene sequence has also been linked to the spread of cancer in mice, and secondary tumours in prostate cancer patients. Previous research has identified other gene sequences thought to predict how a cancer is likely to develop, but the latest findings are particularly significant because the same pattern of gene activity was seen over a range of different cancers. The researchers evaluated 1,122 cancer patients diagnosed with 10 different types of cancer. [G][H][S]
Cell evolution Scientists at Scripps and the University of Wisconsin have shown that E. coli evolution depends on a protein LexA. Interfering with this protein renders the bacteria unable to evolve resistance to the common antibiotics ciprofloxacin and rifampicin. As well as perhaps providing a way to fight antibiotic resistance, the findings add to the evidence that evolution does not just result from random mutations, but that cells have ways of initiating mutations in their own DNA. Evidence for this includes the fact that the rates of mutation in some cells do not seem consistent with the mutation rates associated with DNA replication. Some cells, like bacteria subjected to antibiotics, seem to acquire mutations at a much higher rate. The research is also significant for cancer because cancer cells mutate readily and often acquire resistance to common chemotherapies. [G][H]
Protein misfolding At least 20 devastating diseases, ranging from Alzheimer's to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are caused by proteins that become abnormally shaped. Important progress is now being made in understanding the detailed structure of these proteins. Research at HHMI and Salk has determined the structure of the critical part of amyloid fibrils - the so-called amyloid spine. The work at Salk Institute has shown how a prion can be rendered harmless by a slight alteration of its shape in the critical area. The work at HHMI reveals that the filaments form a short zipper that is closed and stuck, and that the fibrils are like a towering stack of zippers, each of which is tightly bonded to the one below. This explains structurally why the amyloid fibrils grow almost indefinitely, why prions are infectious, and why the fibrils are so tough and difficult for the body to remove once they form. It is possible that virtually any protein can be converted into this type of structure. [G][B][H]
Sequencing fossil DNA Recovering genetic material from ancient fossil remains is fraught with difficulty because DNA degrades rapidly and is easily contaminated with external DNA. Most successful studies have focused on mitochondrial DNA, which is more abundant than nuclear DNA, but is much less informative. Now US researchers have successfully recovered nuclear DNA from two cave bears which died in Austria more than 40,000 years ago. They sequenced everything in the sample and used a computer to separate the bear DNA from contaminating DNA. The cave bear DNA included fragments of 21 genes, identified by comparing the cave bear sample to the complete dog genome sequence that exists in the public databases. Dogs and bears, which diverged some 50 million years ago, are 92 percent similar on the sequence level. The researchers hope to be able to sequence the genome of hominids including Neanderthal man. [G] |
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| [N] Nanotechnology and molecular technology | |
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Nanoneurosurgery Researchers in Italy have grown nerve cells from the hippocampus region of the brain on substrates containing networks of carbon nanotubes. They found that the nanotubes improved neural signal transfer between the cells, raising the possibility that nanotubes might help in repairing damage to the spinal cord and other nerve tissue. [N][B][H][V]
Bioelectronic interfaces Researchers at Bell Labs have measured the adhesion of different amino acids to semiconductors, metals and insulators used in electronic devices. The results demonstrate a surprisingly large range of adhesion interactions.They provide an empirical guide for building nanostructures that are hybrids of peptide-based materials and inorganics and can be used for detecting and manipulating biomolecules. The researchers were able to design an inorganic surface that would specifically adhere to particular peptide chains. [N][G][J][S]
Fluorescent nanoparticles By surrounding fluorescent dyes with a protective silica shell, Cornell University researchers have created fluorescent nanoparticles. These may offer an attractive alternative to quantum dots because they are cheaper and more chemically inert. Like quantum dots, the nanoparticles have possible applications in displays, biological imaging, optical computing, sensors and microarrays such as DNA chips. [N][G][O][R][S][V]
Silicon nanotubes By depositing nanoparticles onto a charged surface, researchers at the University of Illinois have crafted nanotubes from silicon that are flexible and nearly as soft as rubber. The nanotubes could prove useful as catalysts, guided laser cavities and nanorobots. [N][M][O]
Nano-brushes The strength and fineness of carbon nanotubes can be exploited to make nanoscale brushes fabricated from millions of tubes. The brushes might be useful for sweeping surfaces clean of nanoscale particles, particularly for microelectronic and biomedical applications. [N][G][J][M][S] |
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| [J] Microelectronics, MEMS and spintronics | |
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Hybrid molecular/silicon transistor Canadian and UK researchers have demonstrated a molecular transistor which exploits the electrostatic field from a single charged atom on a silicon surface to control current flow through an adjacent molecule. The effects were easily observed at room temperature and only one electron charge on the atom was needed to turn molecular conductivity on or off. In contrast, for a conventional transistor, this gating action requires about one million electrons. Hybrid molecular/silicon devices should also be able to exploit conventional silicon microelectronic technology. [J][G][N]
Nano-electronics Self-organising polymers can be used to produce regular patterns with geometries on the scale of a few nanometres. However, electronic devices require less regular shapes, and not everything fits neatly into an array. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have developed a hybrid technique that uses lithography to produce the circuit layout and then uses self-organising polymers to achieve the fine geometry. Current manufacturing processes employing chemically amplified lithography techniques can achieve dimensions of 50 to 70 nm. The researchers believe that combining this with the use of self-organising polymers could produce circuit geometries of 10 nm and less, particularly if the design of circuit elements could be adapted to be more amenable for manufacture using self-assembling materials. [J][M][N][S][W]
Controlling electron spin Spintronics is based on using the electron's spin rather than its electrical charge, but it has proved difficult to find a practical way to control or predict the spin. Physicists have now found a way to manipulate the spin with an electric pulse applied to a quantum dot. This also caused the electron to emit a photon. The ability to control the spin of the electron helps determine the properties of the photon, and could have implications for optoelectronics and quantum cryptography. [J][N][O]
Non-volatile memory Digital cameras have fuelled the demand for cheap, fast, high density, non-volatile memory. Flash memory chips have now reached 8 gigabits, and flash technology promises to continue speeding up and shrinking down at least until the end of this decade. In the long term, several other technologies have potential, including phase-change materials, which are already the basis for read-write CDs and DVDs. Phase-change materials can be switched electronically or optically between amorphous and crystalline states with very different electrical and optical properties. Because this involves minimum motion of the atoms the switching is very fast. Companies, such as Intel and Samsung, have prototype devices. [J][I][M][R][T] |
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| [F] Fundamental science | |
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Lattice QCD Lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the name for a computational approach to understanding how quarks interact, can now predict the masses of the known hadrons (quark-containing composite particles such as mesons and baryons) with accuracies of a fraction of a percent. [F][C] Quark-gluon plasma and string theory The evidence is fairly strong that the recent experiments at the Brookhaven Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) did produce a quark-gluon plasma, the state of matter predicted by quantum chromodynamics (QCD) to have existed in the first 10 microseconds of the universe. The surprise was that instead of behaving like a gas of free quarks, antiquarks and gluons as expected, the ultra-hot droplet of matter behaved more like a perfect liquid, with zero viscosity. Interestingly, string theory calculations predict that certain strongly-coupled hot plasmas should behave as almost perfect liquids. These calculations assume the particles are strongly coupled at all distances. | ||