|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Stories in Science
|
November 2005 Issue |
||
| [D] Defence and security |  |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Avian flu impact The disruption caused by the SARS virus in 2003 led to $200 billion of economic losses globally in one three-month period, according to a World Bank figure, It is estimated that the likely cost of a bird flu pandemic would be at least four times higher. President Bush has announced a $7.1 billion proposal for action to help the US prepare. This will greatly increase the US capacity for producing flu vaccine and nearly double the world’s capacity. It will invest $800 million into developing new vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tests, and also fund increased surveillance for ominous flu outbreaks. [D][H]
Avian flu action plan A global meeting of 600 delegates from over 100 countries has identified key components of a global action plan to control avian influenza in animals and to limit the threat of a human pandemic. The most important short-term strategy is to tackle and eliminate the animal disease, and to identify and respond to a human pandemic the moment it emerges. However, countries in Asia such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos need massive help in doing this because they lack the veterinary facilities for surveillance, the laboratories to test samples, and the ability to respond swiftly to eradicate outbreaks. [D][H]
Preparing for a pandemic The November issue of Scientific American has published a special report on preparing for bird flu. It covers the need for better surveillance to monitor constantly the spread of each outbreak and the evolution of the virus's capabilities, the difficulty of producing enough vaccine or of catching an epidemic early enough to nip it in the bud like SARS, the potential role of anti-virals, and the "hard-to-predict" lethality and scale of a global pandemic. The report also reviews new vaccine technologies, new flu drugs, the history of H5N1 outbreaks since 1997, how a pandemic strain emerges, and simulations of how the pandemic would spread in the case of continental US. [D][C][H][T][X]
H5N1 vaccine Although a vaccine against the current form of the H5N1 flu virus would not perfectly match the strain in any human pandemic, it might give sufficient protection to damp the first wave of the pandemic. Simulations suggest that the first wave would spread round the world in weeks. After three months, it would most likely die down, giving manufacturers time to produce vaccine against the exact strain in order to contain a second wave. [D][H]
Treating anthrax Researchers at Max Planck have found the reason why anthrax infection via the skin is seldom fatal, whereas anthrax infection via the lungs is lethal. They have found that after a skin infection, white blood cells called neutrophils are recruited to the site of infection. These take up and kill the bacillus using the protein alpha-defensin. In the lungs the number of neutrophils is much lower and is insufficient to stop the infection spreading. The research suggests that inhalation of alpha-defensin might be a way to treat lung infections. [D][H]
Nuclear clean-up The threat that terrorist might use dirty bombs is stimulating the development of novel cleaning agents and fixatives to aid rescue operations and allow speedy decontamination. Techniques currently available, such as sandblasting and demolition, are unthinkable for many prime targets, such as major city centres, and they are also too slow and costly. Caesium-137, strontium-90, cobalt-60, and other potential bomb ingredients are reactive metals, and can bond to surfaces. Water-soluble compounds, such as caesium chloride, can seep several centimetres into porous materials such as concrete, brick and marble. To cope with this, researchers are developing radiation-binding and -ridding gels, foams, films, and emulsions. [D][E][M][T]
Nuclear smuggling Plutonium emits neutrons and high-energy gamma rays that are almost impossible to shield well enough to smuggle plutonium past radiation detectors. In contrast, highly enriched uranium (HEU) emits only low-energy gamma rays and can be shielded by just a thin layer of lead, or even wood. To detect HEU, a new generation of active screening technologies is being developed that bombard containers with high energy radiation and then scan for the resulting signature emissions. Prototype systems using high energy neutrons or x-rays have run into problems in penetrating into or out of all types of container. A third approach uses nuclear resonance fluorescence imaging. In NRFI, an X-ray beam excites all the nuclei of all the atoms in the container. This can be used to detect traditional explosives or contraband as well as nuclear materials. [D][R][S][T]
Nuclear weapons Controversial plans to research nuclear “bunker busters” have been abandoned by the US. The Pentagon will instead focus on developing a conventional deep-earth penetrating bomb. [D]
Laser dazzle weapon The US government has unveiled a "non-lethal" laser rifle designed to dazzle enemy personnel without causing them permanent harm. [D][O]
IFF radar tag The US army has successfully tested a radar tag that could allow aircraft to easily identify their own ground vehicles, helping to prevent "friendly fire" incidents. The tag is about the size of a cigarette packet, and can be attached to tanks, trucks and other ground vehicles. When the radar from an airplane hits it, the device transmits back its own radar signal that identifies it as a friendly vehicle. [D][R]
Reducing violence According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), governments around the world are becoming increasingly aware that violence can be prevented and are investing in effective strategies. More than 70 countries have national violence prevention focal points and more than 50 have initiated policies and programmes focused on addressing the root causes of violence. Evidence shows that a major proportion of violence-related death and suffering is avoidable through investment in positive approaches. Studies show that most of these strategies are cheaper to implement than paying the costs of responding to violence. [D] |
|||
| [A] Aeronautics and space | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Balloon communications An EU funded project has demonstrated the viability of delivering broadband Internet access via high altitude platforms in the stratosphere. The CAPANINA consortium, made up of 13 partners from Europe and Japan, carried out the trial using radio and optical communications equipment onboard a 12,000 cubic metre balloon flying at an altitude of 24 kilometres. The researchers achieved data rates of 11 megabits per second (Mbps) at distances of up to 60 km, but believe the technology could eventually support data rates up to 200 times faster than traditional 'wired' broadband access. [A][I]
China's manned space programme China's Shenzhou VI spacecraft has safely returned to Earth, after five days in orbit. This is China's second manned spaceflight and it appears to have gone very successfully. China has now announced that its next crewed mission will be in 2007 and include a spacewalk. Then, some time between 2009 and 2012, two spacecraft will dock in orbit, in preparation for establishing a permanent space station. [A]
Russian space plan Russia is paving the way for a crewed mission to Mars, according to its new 10-year space plan. [A]
Venus Express ESA has successfully launched the Venus Express. The spacecraft re-uses the same design as the Mars Express. It will reach Venus in April 2006, and will primarily study the Venusian atmosphere. It will gather data on the complex dynamics and chemistry of the Venusian atmosphere and on the interactions between the atmosphere and the surface, which will give clues about surface’s characteristics. It will also study the interactions between the atmosphere and the interplanetary environment (solar wind) to help understand how Venus has evolved, and will look for evidence of erupting volcanoes. [A][R]
Life on Mars Methane, apparently of biological origin, has been found in terrestrial samples of Mars-like soil from the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. If methogenic organisms can exist in an arid desert environment, this increases the likelihood that the source of the methane found on Mars is also biogenic. The alternative hypothesis that volcanoes on Mars could be the source of the methane has now been ruled out by new high-resolution observations of the Martian atmosphere, which show no trace of sulphur dioxide. [A][R]
Life in space The November issue of Scientific American has an article discussing the likelihood that life did not originate on Earth but was seeded from space, either as biological organisms or as their precursors in the form of complex molecules with enzymatic functions. Experimental evidence indicates that biological material could travel within the solar system from planet to planet without being thermally sterilized at any point from ejection to landing, or being destroyed by mechanical forces. More data is needed to determine whether radiation-resistant organisms could live through an interplanetary journey and, in particular, survive prolonged exposure to the Sun's UV radiation. A recent ESA experiment showed that lichens are very adept at surviving in space, at least for exposures of a few weeks. [A][E]
Space sickness US researchers have identified a set of crucial immunity genes that do not turn on in a simulated microgravity environment. The findings may help explain why astronauts get sick so easily. The changes affect the activation of T-cells, a type of white blood cell that helps defend the body against disease. Other than weightlessness, the only other situation that severely diminishes T-cell function is HIV infection. [A][H]
Towing asteroids Two NASA astronauts have proposed that the best way to stop an asteroid potentially colliding with Earth would be to tow it away gravitationally. At a long range from Earth, only a small gravitational deflection would be sufficient. A 20-tonne craft could safely deflect an asteroid 200m across in about a year of such towing. Because asteroids are often just loose agglomerations of rubble, pushing them or attaching a spacecraft mechanically to the surface is very difficult. [A][U] |
|||
| [U] Unmanned vehicles and robotics | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Hayabusa probe The ambitious attempt by the Japanese Hayabusa probe to land a small hopping robot on the asteroid Itokawa has been unsuccessful. The 10-centimetre-tall robot, called Minerva (Micro/Nano Experimental Robot Vehicle for Asteroid), was designed to hop around the 600-metre-long rock, snapping close-up images with three cameras and taking temperature measurements of the surface. Unfortunately, because of an unanticipated combination of events, the robot was lost in space after being released from the Hayabusa spacecraft. [U][A]
Space probes Flotillas of relatively simple autonomous space probes might be better for exploring the solar system than using single, high-tech rovers and orbiters, according to a team of researchers in the US. Although the probes could carry fewer instruments capable of responding to unexpected observations, an armada of relatively simple orbiters and landers may have a role for exploring more widely, particularly in areas too rough to safely land a conventional rover. [U][A]
Repair robots An experimental micro-satellite designed to perform maintenance on ageing satellites in orbit has passed its first space tests. The 138-kilogram micro-satellite, known as XSS-11, approached the discarded rocket upon which it was launched three to four times, coming as close as 500 metres on one pass. This tests were designed to lay the groundwork for future military spacecraft capable of repairing other satellites and moving them to different orbits. Given instructions where to find a dead satellite, the XSS-11's on-board planner autonomously calculates when to burn the engines. [U][A][D]
Actuators Conducting polymers are used to make artificial muscles that actuate, or drive, robotic devices. The polymers can actuate on command if charges can be sent to specific locations in the polymer chain in the form of charge density solitons. Research at MIT to understand how the activation occurs has led to a new theory that could make robotic muscles 1,000 times faster than human muscles with virtually no extra energy demands. [U][M][O] |
|||
| [P] Propulsion and energy | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
New cheap solar cells Researchers have developed the first ultra-thin solar cells comprised entirely of inorganic nanocrystals. The cells are made from rod-shaped nanocrystals of cadmium selenide (CdSe) and cadmium telluride (CdTe), and are spin-cast from solution without needing an organic binder. They are as cheap and easy to make as organic solar cells, but should also provide the long operating life, broadband absorption, good transport properties and resistance to environmental degradation of solar cells based on inorganic semiconductors. The films are flexible and suitable for deposition on almost any substrate. The conversion efficiency is currently approaching 3 percent. If this efficiency can be improved, the technology looks very promising. [P][M][N]
Organic solar cells Organic polymer solar cells with an efficiency of 4.4 percent have been developed at UCLA. The researchers' target is to ultimately reach 15 - 20 percent efficiency with a 15–20 year operating life. [P][M]
Energy demand Unless the world takes action to reduce energy consumption, energy demand and global greenhouse gas emissions will both rise by over 50 percent by 2030, according to the latest annual World Energy Outlook report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). [P][D][E]
UK energy supply An authoritative overview of the options for meeting the UK's future energy needs has been published under the auspices of the Geological Society of London. There is concern that by 2015 the UK may be generating only 80 percent of the electricity that it needs. [P][E] |
|||
| [M] Materials, structures and surfaces | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Tissue implants Researchers at University College London say that, by simply removing the water present in the starting material, they can cut the time it takes to grow new biological tissue from days to minutes. This speed may one day allow doctors to make tissue implants at the bedside. [M][H]
Resilin The extraordinary mechanical properties of the protein resilin is what enables fleas to leap prodigious distances and flies to beat their wings at up to 200 times a second. Scientists at CSIRO have now extracted the resilin gene from fruit flies and cultured resilin in large quantities in E.coli bacteria. Tests on strips of the artificial resilin showed it had similar properties to natural resilin. The strips could be stretched to more than three times their original length without breaking. The researchers believe the material could have a wide range of applications in medicine and industry. [M][G]
Supertough nanofibres French researchers have shown that supertough fibres can be spun from both singlewalled and multiwalled nanotubes. The fibres had a toughness nearly twice that of Kevlar and a strain-to-failure of only 10 percent. The fibres could have applications in composites, bullet-proof vests, helmets, safety gloves and clothes. [M][N]
Bullet-proof windows A transparent material tough enough to withstand armour piercing rounds is being tested by the US Air Force. The material, aluminium oxynitride, known commercially as ALON, could replace the existing bullet-proof glass on military vehicles, which is heavier and less tough. [M][D]
Magnesium alloy The use of magnesium alloys is becoming increasingly important. Unfortunately, however, they have low wear resistance and hardness, and sticking or seizure easily occur with counter materials such as steel, copper and aluminium alloys. Japanese research has shown that dispersing magnesium silicide particles in magnesium alloy improves both the hardness and the friction performance. [M][N]
Injection moulded niobium Researchers at Penn State have developed the first powder injection moulding process for pure niobium. They believe this could open the door to injection-moulded niobium parts such as rocket nozzles, wires, bone replacements and orthodontic braces. [M][A][H]
Selective nano-gold catalyst Oxidation of hydrocarbons is used in making many products, including plastics, detergents, paints, cosmetics, agricultural chemicals and pharmaceuticals. But the process tends to use chlorine or organic peroxides as the oxidant, and either produces toxic by-products or is very expensive. Now, UK and US researchers have shown that gold nanocrystals can catalyse the oxidation of alkenes by oxygen from the air. The reaction does not require a solvent and takes place at 60-80 degrees C and atmospheric pressure. [M][N]
Superhydrophobic surface Dutch researchers have made superhydrophobic surfaces by using dual-size surface roughness, mimicking the roughness structure of the lotus leaf. The researchers believe their coatings are cheaper to make and more robust than other artificial superhydrophobic systems. [M][N]
Fluid dynamics The flow of air over the wings of an aeroplane provides the upward lift that keeps it in the air. However, physicists in France have discovered that when a foam flows over an aerofoil, the deformation of the bubbles results in a force downwards rather than upwards. This finding could have implications in fields as diverse as oil extraction and industrial cleaning processes. [M][A][P][W] |
|||
| [E] Environment, transport and marine | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Rising sea level Glaciologists have warned that the edges of the Antarctic ice sheets are slipping into the ocean at an unprecedented rate. The findings confound predictions made just four years ago by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that Antarctica would not contribute significantly to sea level rise in the 21st century. [E]
Greenland ice sheet Modelling studies of the Greenland Ice Sheet have shown that global warming should lead to faster build up of snow at high elevations and that this should more than compensate for the faster snow melt at lower altitudes. New observations are confirming this prediction, and give re-assurance that the Greenland Ice Sheet will not be a major contributor to rising sea levels in the short term. However, if global temperatures rise by more than about 3 degrees C, a threshold will be reached beyond which losses from melting would dominate and lead to eventual meltdown. [E]
Future rainfall New studies by NASA show that, under the warmer global temperatures of the 20th century, water vapour in the atmosphere took longer than normal to precipitate. With a few exceptions, the precipitation decreased over land but increased over oceans. Extrapolating this into the future suggests that although global warming is expected to increase global evaporation and precipitation, it may overall decrease available water on land. [E][C]
Future US climate The latest and most detailed climate model of the continental US predicts more extreme temperatures throughout the country, with water scarcity and heat waves of great intensity in the south-west, and heavier and more destructive rain along the Gulf Coast. The climate simulation has a resolution twice that of previous models and takes account of factors that were only partially incorporated in past studies, such as the effects of snow reflecting solar energy back into space and of high mountain ranges blocking weather fronts. [E][C]
Paleoclimate Understanding what caused past climate change may help in dealing with global warming. The mid-Pleistocene transition was the largest shift in climate mode in the past 1.3 million years. It occurred around 950,000 years ago and is generally attributed to changes in the pattern and frequency of ice sheets. However, analysis of the chemical composition of fossil plankton shells from a deep sea core in the equatorial Pacific suggests that relatively small, naturally occurring fluctuations in greenhouse gases may be the master variable that has driven global climate change on time scales of ten thousand to one million years. [E]
Global cooling Injecting fine water droplets to boost the whiteness of low altitude clouds might provide a way of reflecting more solar radiation and reducing global warming. A recent paper proposes using a fleet of remotely controlled sprayer yachts propelled not by sails but by spinning vertical cylinders known as Flettner rotors. The rotors, which were used to successfully cross the Atlantic in the 1920s, will double as chimneys for the water droplets. It is claimed that a fleet of 500 yachts, costing £1 million each, could cancel a year's worth of global warming over their 20 year lifespan. [E][P]
Economic cost of Kyoto A new study has concluded that meeting Kyoto Protocol targets on greenhouse gas emissions will reduce European economic growth significantly more than previously thought. The study projects that by 2010, Spain's economic growth will be reduced by 3.1 percent from what it would have otherwise been, Italy's by 2.1 percent, Britain's by 1.1 percent and Germany's by 0.8 percent. This will substantially increase unemployment. These projections underline the difficulty of developing a successor to Kyoto, since countries will not want to accept such penalties unilaterally. [E]
Rainforests The Brazilian rainforest is being destroyed by human logging at more than twice the rate previously thought, a new satellite analysis reveals. The findings reinforce many ecologists’ belief that this type of forest destruction might be contributing to the area’s worst drought in 40 years. Previous satellite imaging could only detect clear-cut areas, and could not differentiate undisturbed parts of the forest from areas that had been thinned by selective logging of only valuable timber trees such as mahogany. US researchers have now overcome this resolution problem by intertwining the data from three NASA satellites. This has revealed a swiss-cheesing of the forest canopy. Even though these can sometimes be just small gaps, they are sufficient to let sunlight through and moisture out. [E][R]
Sustainable agriculture Increasing the use of no-till farming could make a major contribution to reducing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. In the future, farmers might even receive credit for the carbon sequestered in their fields under a carbon-trading arrangement. In no-till agriculture, farmers plant seeds without using a plough to turn the soil. Soil loses most of it carbon content during ploughing, which releases carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. Currently, about 18 percent of US cropland and about 30 percent of Canadian cropland is under no-till, but worldwide the figure is estimated to be only around 5 percent. No-till farming also saves tractor fuel and labour costs, reduces soil erosion, preserve precious nutrients and improve soil structure. [E]
Improving crops Belgian scientists have analyzed a complete plant genome in order to identify the genes that are essential for the formation of capillary roots. The hope is that better understanding of capillary root formation will enable the cultivation of crops that absorb water and minerals more efficiently, and that can help cope with the decline in agricultural land and with climate change. [E][G] |
|||
| [R] Remote sensing and sensor systems | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Wetland monitoring The ESA-led Globwetland project is aiming to develop a global wetland information service for conservation efforts. The Earth's wetlands are havens for wildlife and vital to the water cycle, but they are also under threat. They are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, more productive even than tropical rainforests, and provide regional flood and erosion prevention, water purification and nutrient recycling. Earth Observation has a very important role in mapping wetlands, which are scattered all over the world, and in helping in their effective management. Satellite multispectral or radar images can be used to map vegetation species, and see where there are concentrations of invasive plants. [R][A][E][T]
Earliest stars Using the Infrared Array Camera (Irac) on the Spitzer space telescope, astronomers believe they have detected a faint glow from the first massive clusters of stars to form in the Universe. These so-called Population III stars probably formed from primordial gas less than 200 million years after the Big Bang. The stars could not be seen directly, but NASA scientists believe they have detected them as residual imprints on the Cosmic Infrared Background after subtracting out the contribution from the foreground stars and galaxies that can be resolved. If confirmed, this gives a way to study the structure of the Universe at the time when the galaxies that exist today were just beginning to take shape. The population III stars were probably formed solely from the elements hydrogen, helium and lithium. In their super novae they created the heavier elements that exist in current stars. [R][F]
Galactic black hole Using a network of ten radio telescopes spanning 5000 miles, known as the Very Large Baseline Array (VLBA), astronomers have obtained the closest glimpse yet of the supermassive black hole believed to lie at the centre of the Milky Way. If astronomers are able to see up to the edge of the black hole's event horizon, they may be able to determine whether Einstein’s theory of general relativity holds under conditions of extreme gravity. [R][F]
Infrared astronomy Long infrared exposures of giant gas and dust clouds turn out to reveal structures that are invisible at optical wavelengths. This discovery will enable astronomers to probe dark clouds of gas and dust in space, and how stars are born. [R][F]
Phased array antennas According to a recent study, mobile phone technology could be exploited to produce phased array antennas for deep space communications and surveillance. NASA's Goldstone radar, for example, uses a 500 kilowatt transmitter and a 70-metre mechanically steered reflector dish for tracking asteroids that may collide with Earth. The study proposes that an array with hundreds of millions of chip-based elements could achieve the same performance and at much lower cost and higher reliability. [R][I]
Infrared medical imaging Researchers at Purdue University have taken a step toward developing a new type of ultra-sensitive medical imaging technique that works by shining a laser through the skin to detect tiny gold nanorods injected into the bloodstream. They used a titanium:sapphire laser beam with a wavelength of around 830 nm to generate two photon luminescence from the rods. Gold nanorods are promising as contrast agents for biological imaging because they have tuneable absorption properties in the near-infrared and are also biologically inert. [R][H][N]
Simultaneous fMRI-PET scan Using a simultaneous combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which captures the blood flow in the brain, and positron emission tomography (PET), which looks at the glucose metabolism, may allow better diagnosis and treatment in patients suffering from brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. [R][B][H]
Nanoscale imaging Many biomolecules, especially those that are made of groups of proteins, are piezoelectric, or undergo mechanical deformations in the presence of an external electric field. Researchers have been able to use piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) to produce images of biostructures on a nanometre scale. PFM also yields information about the electromechanical properties and molecular orientation of biological tissue. [R][G][M][N][S]
Nanoscale imaging Techniques such as atomic force microscopy provide high-resolution images of a material’s surface. However, it is often also important to be able to look beneath the surface in fine detail. Researchers at Northwestern University have now developed a method called scanning near-field ultrasound holography (SNFUH), which can image buried nanostructures with a spatial resolution of 10–100 nm. The technique suits hard materials, soft materials such as polymers and biological structures, and hybrid materials. [R][J][M][N][S]
Through-the-wall radar Ultrawideband radars can enable police, soldiers and rescue-workers to look through walls and rubble to see people on the other side. The technology is already being used by the US military in Iraq. Lightweight and portable through-the-wall radars can focus up to 20 or 30 metres ahead. They can run for a couple of hours on a single battery charge, and are very hard to detect because their low power transmissions are hidden in background noise and are spread across the 1GHz to 5GHz spectrum. [R][I][S][T]
TeraHz mail screener Scientists at MIT have demonstrated the potential of a real-time terahertz imaging system to screen mail for suspicious objects. The system uses a CW source at 118 microns and a focal plane array of microbolometers so that there is no need for mechanical scanning. It produces images at 60 frames per second. [R][D][O][S] |
|||
| [S] Sensor devices | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Odour detection An unusual device that uses trained wasps, rather than trained dogs, to detect specific chemical odours could one day be used to find hidden explosives, plant diseases, illegal drugs, cancer and even buried bodies, according to a joint study by researchers at the University of Georgia and US Department of Agriculture. The sensor is cheaper to use than trained dogs and more sensitive than some sophisticated chemical detection methods, including electronic noses, the researchers say. [S][R]
Biometric sensors Hitachi has developed a car security system that recognises the unique pattern of veins on a driver's fingers as they pull the door handle, and which can stop a thief even if he has stolen the keys to the car. Hitachi has also developed authentication systems that use finger veins for controlling access to cash machines, security doors and computers. [S][D][I]
Gait biometric Researchers at VTT have developed a prototype of a cell phone that uses motion sensors to record a user's walking pattern of movement, or gait. The device can then periodically check that it is still in the possession of its legitimate owner. The device works best if the phone is firmly attached to the user. [S][I]
Smart fire detector Siemens has developed a fire detector that uses four sensors and a neural network to determine if the smoke and heat it is detecting are from a fire or are just part of the normal room environment, such as burning toast. In the UK more than half of the 872,000 fire call-outs in 2004 were false alarms, and 285,000 of those were due to fire detectors. [S][D]
Flu chip Rapid diagnosis is very important for stemming an outbreak of H5N1 flu. A novel "Flu Chip" developed at the University of Colorado at Boulder can determine the genetic signatures of specific influenza strains from patient samples in only 11 hours, compared with the 4 days required by current methods. [S][D][J]
Bone strength screening A laser imaging technique developed at Imperial College may make it possible to test women during adolescence to predict their risk of suffering from osteoporosis in later life. The technique uses Raman spectroscopy to measure the collagen. Early screening for osteoporosis risk could allow timely action to prevent the osteoporosis developing. [S][H]
Detecting amyloid plaques A pair of optical tests are in clinical trials that can potentially diagnose Alzheimer's disease in its beginning stages. Amyloid beta proteins, which are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, are also found in the lens of the eye and its surrounding fluid, and they form a very unusual cataract. The first test uses low-power infrared laser light to non-invasively detect protein particles in the specific part of the lens where these unusual cataracts form. This provides a way to screen for people who may have Alzheimer's. The second test confirms that amyloid beta molecules are specifically present by using special fluorescing eye drops with image-enhancing molecules that bind to amyloid beta molecules. The tests should enable patients to start treatment earlier and could also speed development of new Alzheimer's drugs. The researchers are using the same technologies to develop new tests for rapidly detecting amyloid plaques resulting from prion diseases. [S][H][O]
Brownian motion sensing Many fundamental processes in living cells are driven by Brownian motion. Also, because Brownian particles move randomly throughout their surroundings, they have great potential for use as probes at the nanoscale, revealing detailed information about a particle's environment from its Brownian trajectory. Hence it is important to understand Brownian motion in detail. In particular, it has been known theoretically that when a particle is much larger than the surrounding fluid molecules, it should not experience the completely random motion predicted by Einstein's theory. This is because of the effect of fluid displacement. Researchers have now confirmed this experimentally using photonic force microscopy to track a single micron sized particle and record its Brownian fluctuations on a microsecond time scale. [S][G][N][O] |
|||
| [O] Optoelectronics, optics and lasers | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Laser drug delivery High-power laser pulses provide a new way of delivering drugs into the skin or other parts of the body, according to Japanese scientists. The technique relies on the sudden expansion of a drug coated metal film, induced by a 0.25 GW laser pulse. The researchers believe the device could be adapted to suit medical tools such as endoscopes and allow direct delivery of drugs to specific sites inside the body. [O][H][S]
Silicon visible laser The first silicon laser to emit visible light has been reported by a research team at the University of Cincinnati. Like the infrared silicon lasers recently reported from Intel and UCLA, the Cincinnati laser is optically pumped. However, the researchers believe it has a better chance than other approaches of ultimately producing an electrically-pumped laser on silicon. [O][J]
Superluminal ultrasound Although matter, energy and information cannot travel faster than the speed of light, the group velocity of an optical pulse can exceed the speed of light. Theoretically, an ultrasound pulse could also have a group velocity greater than the speed of light. Simulations at the University of Mississippi have now suggested how this might be achieved by using tiny plastic spheres in water to produce very high acoustic dispersion. If experimentally confirmed, superluminal group velocity in sound waves could potentially be exploited for applications such as making electronic filters and high-frequency ultrasound oscillators. [O][R][S]
Infrared superlens Physicists at the University of Texas have made an infrared superlens. It consists of a silicon carbide membrane between layers of silicon oxide, and it focuses 11-micron-wavelength light. The researchers hope soon to develop superlenses for the near-infrared spectrum. Potential applications include nanoscale imaging of large biological molecules than can be damaged by UV light, direct laser nanolithography, and making tiny antennas for infrared free-space telecommunications. [O][I][J]
TeraHertz optical modulation Quantum well electro-absorption modulators current work by using high electric fields to shift the frequency of the exciton absorption. Modulation frequencies of 10 Gbits/second or more can be achieved in this way. Scientists at UCSB have now demonstrated modulation rates exceeding 1 teraHz by instead using teraHz radiation from a free electron laser to switch the modulator. At these extremely high frequencies, internal quantum-mechanical oscillations of the excitons themselves were excited, resulting in a quantum coherent superposition of an exciton in its ground and excited states. This potentially means that two arbitrarily weak light beams separated by the frequency of the teraHz drive could modulate one another. The ability to achieve teraHz modulation and to use weak light beams rather than high voltages for the modulation could transform optical communications. [O][I][J]
Atomic optics Just as surface plasmons can enable light to pass through dimensions much smaller than its wavelength, so also could surface matter waves enable cold atoms to pass through an array of slits much narrower than the atoms' de Broglie wavelength, according to researchers in Spain and Germany. Advances in nanotechnology and the control of cold atoms should soon make it possible to demonstrate the effect. The researchers also speculate that, just as in photonics there is the concept of plasmonic circuits that will be able to carry light at very short length scales, so by analogy it might be possible to implement atomic circuitry. [O][C][F][J][N] |
|||
| [I] IT, communications, networking and secure systems | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Satcom Inmarsat-4 F2, one of the largest and most powerful communications satellites ever built, has been successfully launched from a floating pad in the Pacific. It is designed to improve broadband and 3G communications particularly for business travellers, disaster relief workers and journalists. It is the second in a two-satellite constellation designed to allow people to set up virtual offices anywhere around the world via high-speed broadband connections and new 3G phone technology. [I][A]
Network optimisation Given the unstoppable growth in the volumes of data being sent over wide area networks, demand for WAN optimisation - in all its various guises - is soaring. A new wave of tools is offering options for accelerating, optimising and prioritising the flow. [I][K][T]
Data coding Thanks to the invention in the last decade of turbo codes and LDPC codes, one can now communicate reliably in the laboratory at data rates within 5 percent of the Shannon limit, and in commercial systems within 10 percent. Turbo-code technology is used in space missions and LDPC codes have become the new standard for digital-satellite television. For cell phone and other wireless technologies, the new codes could reduce the number of dead spots in the world and lower the cost of service. The ideas behind turbo codes and LDPC codes have rendered much of the preceding 50 years of coding theory obsolete. [I][T]
Secure optical communication An encryption scheme based on Bragg grating “keys” could provide a simple alternative to quantum cryptography for protecting the security of optical data communications, according to researchers at the University of Arizona. The scheme involves using a mathematically-generated pseudo-random modulation of the grating periodicity. [I][O]
Wallet phone NTT DoCoMo has recast the cellular handset as a prepaid wireless cash card and is preparing to make it a full-fledged wireless credit card. The critical component is a wireless smart card chip, FeliCa, which was developed by Sony Corp. and Royal Philips Electronics for close proximity, low-data-rate transactions. The wallet phone can be used to make electronic purchases at stores or vending machines equipped with FeliCa readers; it can act as boarding passes on certain domestic air flights; and it can authorize entry through corporate security doors. [I][K][V]
Trojan technology The technology of Trojan attack is becoming very sophisticated. Deep programming knowledge is no longer needed. Tool kits enable a relatively unskilled attacker to easily customise Trojan software to thwart antivirus software, to take advantage of specific security flaws, and to target specific information. [I][T]
Audio watermark Hollywood has unveiled a powerful new technology which it hopes will help kill the pirating of movies. It uses an inaudible digital watermark included in the soundtrack. [I] |
|||
| [K] Knowledge, information and technology management | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Internet-based software services Microsoft has announced it will offer free web-based services to accompany its Windows and Office software in a move intended to combat online rivals such as Google. The dramatic shift towards Internet-based software services means that Microsoft is at risk of being outstripped by its rivals' technologies and by business models that rely on making software revenues from advertising rather than the traditional licensing model. [K][C][I]
Internet forensics Using only a test of his own genealogical records and some internet searches, a 15 year old boy, conceived using donor sperm, has succeeded in tracking down his genetic father. The method he used does not only have implications for anonymity of sperm donors, but also for crime forensics. [K][D][H]
eHealth Interactive Health Communication Applications (IHCAs) are a combination of computer-based information sources and services such as an on-line support group, chat room or tailored advice based on data provided by the user. A review of the effectiveness of IHCAs in helping people with chronic diseases has found that IHCA users tend to be better informed and feel more socially-supported. IHCAs also appear to improve behavioural and clinical outcomes, and the user's self-efficacy. [K][H][I]
Search engines It is widely believed that search engines create a vicious cycle by making well known web pages more and more popular at the expense of new ones. However, a study of web traffic has found that search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, actually have an egalitarian effect that increases the traffic to less popular sites. [K][I]
Online books The first works scanned and put online as part of Google's controversial print project have been unveiled. Included in this opening swathe are many 19th Century works of American literature and history, chosen because they are out of copyright and unaffected by legal action that led Google to briefly halt its digitisation project. Amazon.com has also unveiled two programmes to allow readers to access parts of books rather than buying the complete work. Microsoft plans to put on line about 100,000 books in the British Library and has joined a Yahoo-backed effort to digitise the world's books and other works to make them searchable and accessible to anyone online. [K][V]
Knowledge acquisition More and more scientists are publishing in open access journals, according to a study by CIBER, an independent publishing think tank in the UK. The study found that researchers now put very high priority on the convenience and speed of electronic tools and journals, and conversely put very low importance on having access to a physical library. [K][I]
Innovative developing countries Many developing countries are attempting to solve the health problems facing their own populations, and they are rapidly increasing investments in science and technology infrastructure. China is now the leading world manufacturer of penicillin, and India, by volume, is now the fourth largest producer of pharmaceuticals in the world. Networks between innovative developing countries and between public and private organisations can provide a scale of R&D resources and innovative capacity comparable with that of major developed countries. [K][H] |
|||
| [C] Computing, supercomputing, modelling and simulation | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
e-science grid The number of computing jobs handled by the 'enabling Grids for e-science' (EGEE) project has now surpassed two million. The EGEE infrastructure spans over 150 sites in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia. The project was launched 18 months ago, and already 1,000 scientists are using the infrastructure to accelerate computing tasks in numerous scientific domains from particle physics to anti-malaria drug discovery. [C][K]
Grid supercomputing Grid middleware is enabling commercial organisations such as oil companies to exploit networked supercomputers and computational synergies between different domains. From the perspective of data analysis, a seismic map of an oilfield, for example, is not much different from a brain scan, according to researchers at Ohio State, who are developing publicly available middleware that portions out data analysis tasks among networked computer systems. Grid networks enable simulations to be speeded up by typically a factor of 20, and also enable users to exploit and adapt simulation models developed at the various organisations on the network. [C][H][P][R][T]
Petaflop computing Huge increases in computing power are needed in research areas such as drug discovery, genomics, proteomics, economic modelling, fluid flow and climate modelling. Petaflop systems that can execute one quadrillion floating-point operations per second are expected by the end of the decade. As supercomputers are made larger this increases the problems of massive power consumption. This leads to the concept of power-aware computing in which distributed systems profile, analyze, and conserve energy using dynamic voltage scaling. [C][T]
Agent-based computing The European Co-ordination Action for Agent-based Computing has published a roadmap for agent technology for the decade to 2015. The roadmap describes current research initiatives and deployment of agent technologies, and presents the challenges ahead posed by new grid computing and web technologies. Currently, agent-based computing is mainly used in logistics, transportation, utility management and defence. These are domains with multiple stakeholders or organisations linked in a network and with mission-critical, real-time processing requirements. Agent-based computing is a disruptive technology: it changes the nature of computing through concepts such as autonomy, coalitions and ecosystems. Its wider adoption will depend on how smoothly this disruption can be managed by linking agent technologies to existing and proven software and software methods. Approaches by which existing systems can be upgraded by successively increasing the use of agents should help provide a smooth transition and easier acceptance. [C][I][K][T][X]
Quantum supercomputer Scientists at the University of Manchester have demonstrated how qubit rings, pieces of quantum information, can be linked together. This opens up the possibility of being able to create quantum gates. [C]
Turbulent flow models Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have discovered a new mathematical formula that could lead to more precise computer models describing turbulent flow. The equation gives a mathematical shortcut to describe a complex characteristic of turbulence called intermittency, the abrupt, very concentrated changes in the speed of a moving fluid that intermittently occur. Intermittency has been particularly tough to include in computer models of turbulence because representing it numerically requires a huge number of calculations and a massive computing power. [C][A][E][M][W][X] |
|||
| [W] Whole life engineering, manufacture and testing | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Coupled-field analysis Finite element analysis (FEA) has been used for decades to predict how a part or system responds to the effects of a single physical phenomenon. Advances in computer hardware and software now allow analyses to account for the effects of two or more interacting physical phenomena. The applications for this multiphysics (or coupled-physics) analysis cover most industries, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, semiconductor, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and biomedical. Performing multiphysics analysis early in product development enables companies to easily and inexpensively spot and fix problems that can become costly and time consuming to resolve later, and to ensure product safety. [W][A][C][H][J][M][T][X]
Animal testing The European Commission has agreed a partnership with industry associations in the pharmaceuticals, chemicals, cosmetics and biotechnology sectors to find alternatives to animal testing. The aim is to accelerate the process of developing, validating and legally accepting alternative methods. [W][G][H] |
|||
| [X] Systems, complexity and risk | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Globalisation strategy A joint paper by the governments of China and the UK sets out the opportunities and challenges presented by rapid global economic change, and the appropriate responses at a national, regional and global level. Key messages are that many of the challenges and opportunities can only be addressed at the global level. Governments and international institutions must work together to: keep trade liberalisation on track; work towards the Millennium Development Goals; maintain the stability of the world economy; and take action to tackle climate change. The aim is that globalisation should benefit everyone - accelerating growth and reducing poverty in emerging economies, and at the same time reducing consumer prices and presenting new markets for advanced economies. Governments must establish economic stability, provide a flexible business environment that encourages enterprise and innovation, ensure workers can access the skills needed to take full advantage of the opportunities, and provide a comprehensive welfare system that supports those in need. [X][D][E][H][K]
Disaster risk With climate change likely to bring more frequent disasters, insurance companies and emergency services need to improve disaster risk modelling. One of the worst disasters to hit Europe in the last decade has been used by ESA as a case study to investigate how satellite images can assist in providing data for risk modelling, documenting events and damage, and understanding complex interactions. [X][E][R]
Science and risk The International Council for Science (ICSU) has announced a strategic plan to strengthen science for the benefit of society. The plan focuses on supporting interdisciplinary science in key areas of uncertainty. These areas include: sustainable development, the impact of human behaviour on the Earth's planetary processes, and mitigating the impacts of various types of natural disaster. Policy makers have often been ignorant of relevant scientific evidence or have chosen to disregard it. The shows the need to integrate scientific evidence more effectively into the political and policy processes. In the UK, new guidelines have been established for making scientific advice for UK ministers more 'practical' and 'sophisticated. [X][E][H][K]
Earthquakes and ignorance The Muzaffatabad earthquake measured magnitude 7.6, but it is thought that it released only around 10 percent of the seismic stress in the Himalayan region and that enough energy remains to produce several more earthquakes of even greater magnitude. The Indian government and the UN Development Programme have identified 38 Indian cities with more than half a million people located in the most seismically active regions. Earthquake-proof buildings and better disaster planning would make a vast different to the likely devastation when the earthquakes happen. In India, to build more suitable housing would add only a few percent to construction cost. However, 80 percent of housing is owner-built. Architects and engineers, who might improve building and design, are in short supply. It is lack of knowledge and skills that is the main problem, rather than the cost of the work. [X][D][E][H][K][M][R][T]
Economic growth In the decade since 1995, the euro-economies have grown by around 2 percent a year, whereas the US has achieved 3 percent. Two US economists have proposed a new model to explain this. They argue that in countries that are already at the cutting edge, innovation is the critical source of growth. They particularly cite the fact that the US spends around 3 percent of its GDP on tertiary education, compared with only 1.4 percent in the EU, and the fact that the US market is more open to new entrants, which either drive less efficient incumbents out of business or scare others into investing, updating their technology and seeing off the raiders. More controversially they argue that budgets and interest rates ought to be geared not to the short-run course of the economy but aimed at long term growth and enabling good businesses to survive downturns of the business cycle. This matters more in Europe, where it is harder for sound companies to borrow from private credit to tide them over recession. [X][K][T]
Metagenomics In the last seven years, more than 260 microbial genomes have been successfully sequenced, while over 600 are currently in progress. However this is just scratching the surface. Bacteria constitute more than half of the living matter on Earth, and play essential roles in numerous environmental cycles. They turn nitrogen in the air into a form usable by plants, produce about half the oxygen on the planet, break down minerals and clean up pollution. Researchers know that up to 99 per cent of microorganisms cannot be studied using traditional DNA extraction methods. However, it is possible to extract DNA from a sample of soil or seawater and to produce a composite metagenome for the thousands of microbes in this local ecosystem. A wealth of metagenome information is now emerging. The challenge is to develop sufficiently powerful data mining tools to unravel the complexity. [X][E][G][H][T]
Cellular organisation A major challenge for tissue engineering is to identify the essential environmental ingredients that cells need in order to communicate, migrate, and organise into living tissues. One of these ingredients is the presence, outside the cell, of minute changes in the concentration of special proteins called morphogens. Cells can sense even the tiniest differences in morphogen concentration and will alter their functions accordingly. In embryonic development, stem cells differentiate into organs by means of the actions of morphogens. And cancer cells can use morphogens to grow, induce a blood supply, and metastasise. Swiss researchers have now shown that slow biophysical flows, such as the slow-moving flows that exist between the lymphatic and blood capillaries to help transport macromolecules from blood to tissues, play an important role in the formation of these gradients. [X][G][M][N]
How organisms develop A team at the Weizmann Institute has developed a way to map how the cells in an organism have developed going right back to the initial fertilized egg. Until now the methods for charting cell lineage have relied on direct observation of developing embryos. This works for the tiny worm, C. elegans, which has a total of about 1,000 cells, but not for humans, with 100 trillion cells. The new method exploits mutations that occur in specific mutation-prone areas of the genome known as microsatellites. In microsatellites, a genetic "phrase" consisting of a few nucleotides is repeated over and over; mutations manifest themselves as additions or subtractions in length as cells divide. Based on the current understanding of the mutation process in these segments, the scientists proved mathematically that microsatellites alone contain enough information to accurately plot the lineage tree for an organism with at least one billion cells. [X][G][H] |
|||
| [V] Virtuality and human-machine interface | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Information interfaces The next big thing in user interfaces is unlikely to be a single, all-purpose interface used for a host of different tasks. Instead, three interface categories are emerging. First is the browser interface. Second is a special-purpose interface for navigating large collections of information such as the Web. Example products include Xerox's StarTree, IBM's WebFountain and various forms of bubble interface, such as Grokker and Information DNA. Thirdly, there are interfaces, such as EverNote, that help computer users manage their own collections of information. These interfaces all use 2-dimensional presentation. But as the information being navigated and collected by computers becomes increasingly complex, it may turn out that two dimensions are not enough. A number of companies have been working on 3-D interfaces, which allow more flexibility in displaying information. [V][K][T]
Automatic translation Technology that provides live translation of speech from one language to another has been revealed by scientists from the US and Europe. The researchers have also developed a directional speaker system that delivers a translated audio feed to just one person in a room, removing the need for them to wear headphones. [V]
Perception of colour Researchers at the University of Rochester have found that the number of colour-sensitive cones in the human retina differs dramatically among people, by up to 40 times. Yet, in experiments when subjects were asked to tune the colour of a disk of light to produce a pure yellow light that was neither reddish yellow nor greenish yellow, all subjects selected nearly the same wavelength of yellow. The findings strongly suggest that our perception of colour is controlled much more by our brains than by our eyes. [V][B]
Implantable sensors Implantable biosensors can enable measurements and long-term monitoring that would be impractical using existing technologies. For example, the condition of a prosthetic hip joint could be monitored remotely rather than requiring x-ray imaging. Patients under remote supervision can continue living their normal lives for a longer period of time. Advances in biomaterial technologies also allow the biocompatible coatings of sensors to be customised for each application. It is even possible to incorporate functional elements, such as by enhancing the implant coating with a layer that releases antibiotics. [V][H][I][S]
Virtual therapy University of Ulster researchers have developed virtual reality techniques to help people with strokes regain use of their limbs. The patient wears a head-mounted display, wearable sensors and a flexible glove connected to position and orientation sensors. The virtual world could be a representation of an environment with which the patient is familiar, such as a kitchen, living room or supermarket, enabling the practice of movements needed to carry out daily chores such as making a cup of tea. Audio feedback in the form of a virtual physiotherapist is also possible. [V][H][I][K] |
|||
| [B] Brain research and human science | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Treating amyloid diseases Resveratrol, the anti-oxidant compound found in large quantities in red wine, might be able to reduce the level of amyloid plaque in Alzheimer suffers. US researchers have found in cell cultures that resveratrol appears to stimulate the degradation of amyloid-beta peptides by the proteasome - a barrel-shaped multi-protein complex in a cell that can specifically digest proteins. According to French researchers, resveratrol may also be effective in fighting other human amyloid-related diseases such as Huntington's, Parkinson's and prion diseases. Whether it is possible to achieve sufficiently high concentrations of resveratrol in the brains of actual patients to have a useful effect is not clear. However, by understanding how resveratrol works, it may be possible to produce other compounds that are effective at much lower concentrations. [B][H]
Schizophrenia and information overload Studies at University College London exploiting a visual illusion have shown that people with schizophrenia can see detail more accurately, but with less attention to context, than those without the disorder. Contextual processes normally help the brain to focus on what is relevant and avoid being overwhelmed with information. This process seems to be less effective in the schizophrenic brain, possibly due to insufficient inhibition, the process by which cells in the brain switch each other off. It is not yet known whether people with schizophrenia can also hear, smell, touch and taste things more accurately. [B]
Stress and brain deterioration Experiments in rats show that emotional stress in early life initiates, in adulthood, a slow deterioration of brain-cell communication affecting cells of the hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning, storage and recall of learned memories. This leads to memory loss during middle-age years that is normally only seen in the elderly. It is estimated that more than half of the world's children are raised under stressful conditions. [B]
Brain regulation Astrocyte cells in the brain have been thought to be merely part of the infrastructure supporting the brain's environment. However new research shows that they are directly involved in regulating communication between neurons by modulating the level of adenosine. The researchers found that when adenosine accumulated, nerve impulses were suppressed and could not be transmitted across the synapse. This helps explain why high adenosine levels can suppress epileptic seizures. In contrast, low levels of adenosine increased the transmission of nerve impulses. The modulation of neuronal activity through the regulation of the level of adenosine in the synapse may explain the nature of wake-to-sleep transitions during periods of drowsiness. [B]
Marijuana and neurogenesis It is believed that the growth of new nerve cells (neurogenesis) happens only in select locations in the mature brain, such as the hippocampus, which is involved in learning and memory. Experiments on rats at the University of Saskatchewan have shown that a synthetic drug that functions in the same way as concentrated marijuana substantially increases the rate of hippocampal neurogenesis. The researchers also observed that in adult rats the neurogenesis appeared to be linked with reducing anxiety and depression. [B]
Multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an incurable degenerative disease caused by the body’s immune system attacking the myelin sheath encasing the nerves of the central nervous system. US and German researchers have shown that a naturally occurring amino acid called tryptophan breaks down to produce metabolites that alleviate MS in mice. Four tryptophan metabolites were effective, as well as tranilast, a drug that is a synthetic derivative of tryptophan. Remarkably, they found that if they injected untreated mice with immune cells from other mice that had been protected with the treatment, the protection was transferred. This suggests that the tryptophan metabolites may be permanently “re-programming” the immune system T-cells, making them anti-inflammatory so they help to heal the myelin sheath and suppress paralysis. As well as its potential for treating MS, the research is also of interest in the context of the relationship of food and immunity. Tryptophan is found in a number of foods, including turkey. [B][H] |
|||
| [H] Healthcare and medicine | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Workplace health Analysis of data from the famous Whitehall study has shown that justice in the workplace substantially reduces the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Of the 6,442 male office staff in 20 civil service departments who took part in the study, which started in 1985, those who reported a high level of workplace justice had a 30 percent lower incidence of CHD in the decade from 1990-99 compared with those who reported a low or intermediate level of justice. This finding was not accounted for by baseline factors such as age, ethnicity, marital status, educational attainment, socio-economic position, cholesterol level, obesity, hypertension, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. The association between the level of justice and CHD was also independent of other psychosocial factors at work. [H][B][W]
Repetitive strain injury In the US, repetitive strain injuries affect hundreds of thousands of workers and cost more than $20 billion a year in worker's compensation. Experiments in rats have now shown that nerve injuries due to low-force, highly repetitive work cause progressively increasing release of cytokines. These are proteins that contribute to inflammation and that also appear to trigger symptoms of malaise, fatigue and depression. This undefined feeling of malaise might be a protective mechanism to motivate recuperation before damage becomes chronic. Measuring levels of cytokines in the blood may provide a way to diagnose and treat repetitive strain much earlier. [H][B][O][S][W]
Combating drug resistance Fewer and fewer antibiotics are being discovered, and most of the few new drugs that have emerged are not sufficiently novel to combat resistance to old drugs. A better approach may be to develop vaccines against the most dangerous drug resistant bacteria, such as MRSA. [H][G][T]
New class of antibiotic A peptide called plectasin, identified in a fungus found in northern European pine forests, possesses as much antibiotic power as penicillin or vancomycin, according to Danish and US researchers. In tests it proved effective against bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotics. The discovery may initiate a new era of antibiotic discovery and development. Most antibiotics used by humans are produced by fungi and certain soil bacteria, but researchers have failed to uncover any new classes of antibiotics from these sources over the past decade. Plectasin was identified by using a new genetic approach and reveals a whole new class of antibiotics has been overlooked. [H][G]
Malaria vaccine A new malaria vaccine, which stimulates human immune cells to recognise and kill malaria parasites, has proved effective in clinical trials, both with infected human blood samples and in mice whose immune system had been modified to mimic that of humans. This is the first time that a clinical trial has clearly demonstrated antiparasitic activity by vaccine-induced antibodies. The vaccine was developed at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. With increasing funding of several approaches to malaria vaccines, it is hoped that at least one malaria vaccine may be available for use within six years. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $258 million for the study of malaria and its treatment. [H]
HIV vaccine A novel vaccine targeted to multiple HIV subtypes found worldwide has moved into Phase II of clinical testing. The vaccine combines synthetically modified elements of four HIV genes found in subtypes A, B and C of the virus, which are the subtypes commonly found in Africa, the Americas, Europe and parts of Asia. These subtypes represent about 85 percent of HIV infections worldwide. Phase II will test the safety and ability of the vaccine to generate an immune response in 480 healthy, HIV-negative adults ages 18 to 50. [H][D][G]
Immunotherapy In studies with mice, treatment with a new monoclonal antibody that targets immune system B cells has shown considerable promise for treating leukaemia, autoimmune diseases and transplant rejection, according to immunologists at Duke University. B cells produce antibodies that target invading microbes for destruction. Abnormal B cell proliferation causes leukaemia and such autoimmune diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. [H]
Immunotherapy Cancer cells are skilled in hiding from the immune system and avoiding being recognised as dangerous by dendritic cells, the scout cells responsible for seeking out pathogens and alerting the immune system. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have shown that if dendritic cells are exposed both to cancer cells and to harmless pieces of viruses and bacteria that they perceive as dangerous, they can be "tricked" into recognising the cancer cells as being dangerous. [H][G][S]
New drug for RA Phase II clinical trials have been completed successfully of a novel drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one that works without suppressing the patient’s immune system. The new drug, dnaJP1, is a peptide derived from a naturally occurring protein, dnaJ, which generates inflammation in RA patients. dnaJP1 works by resetting the ability of the patient’s immune system to tolerate dnaJ, thus transforming a potentially damaging trigger into a tool for controlling the disease. Oral ingestion of dnaJP1 is key, because the mucosal immune system found in the gut has the ability to “teach” the body to view a protein as one that is not dangerous or foreign. Much as food is ingested into the body and not rejected, the body tolerates dnaJP1. [H]
Molecularly targeted cancer therapy Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have uncovered the mechanism by which an antibody, 1G8, blocks the growth of prostate cancer in animal models. The antibody binds to prostate stem cell antigen or PSCA, a cell surface protein found in about 95 percent of early stage prostate cancers and about 87 percent of prostate cancers that have spread to the bones. PSCA also is found in bladder and pancreatic cancers. The next step is to test the 1G8 antibody in human clinical trials. [H][G]
Herceptin The interim results from the international HERA (HERceptin Adjuvant) study have shown that the drug Herceptin halves the risk of tumours returning in women with early stage breast cancer and can also reduce cancer recurrence when combined with a chemotherapy drug. Herceptin targets a protein called HER2, which appears to be over-abundant in some women's breast cancers. The results provide new hope in the fight against HER2-positive breast cancer, a more aggressive form of the disease affecting approximately 25 percent of women with breast cancer. The HERA study is one of the largest breast cancer trials ever carried out, with more than 5,000 patients in 39 countries. The study allowed the use of a wide range of chemotherapy regimens before treatment with Herceptin, making the results relevant to many parts of the world. [H] |
|||
| [G] Genomics, biotechnology and bioinformatics | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Gene screening US scientists have discovered a recurring pattern of scrambled chromosomes and abnormal gene activity that occurs only in prostate cancer. They detected the unique molecular signature of these fused genes in the majority of prostate cancer tissue samples they analyzed, but found no evidence of gene fusion in benign prostate tissue or in prostate tissue with non-cancerous changes. This means that a diagnostic test to detect the fused genes or their protein products in blood or urine could be far more specific and accurate than present methods for screening for prostate cancer. The research is also important because, although rearrangements in chromosomes and fused genes have been detected in blood cell cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma, and in Ewing's sarcoma, this is the first time they have been found in a common solid tumour. [G][H][S]
HIRA gene Scientists at Bath University have identified the gene responsible for controlling a first key step in the creation of new life. The gene, known as HIRA, ‘chaperones’ the early processes that take place once a sperm enters an egg. When the sperm enters the egg, the DNA it carries needs to be re-packaged so that it can engage in normal cellular activities, including combining with the maternal DNA in the first act of genetic fertilisation. The HIRA gene alone looks after this re-packaging process, making it fundamental for those first 15 minutes in the generation of a new life and essential for maternal fertility. [G][H]
Stem cell ethics Two independent groups of scientists have devised ways to isolate embryonic stem cells from mice without destroying viable embryos. One technique extracts just one cell from a very early 8-cell embryo called a morula. This cell can then be coaxed into dividing into a colony of embryonic stem cells. Experiments in mice have shown that the 7-cell morula can continue to develop into a normal baby. The other technique inactivates a gene cdx2 and thereby blocks the ability of the egg to form a placenta and hence to give rise to an embryo. These new methods are intended to satisfy the ethical concerns of people who oppose destroying human embryos to do research or treat disease. However, research has not ruled out the possibility that a single cell plucked from an early embryo can itself form a new embryo. Furthermore, some people may view the abnormal clumps of cells missing cdx2 as "terminally ill" embryos rather than just masses of cells. [G][H]
Creating immune cells Human embryonic stem cells have been coaxed into becoming immune cells. This raises the possibility of using embryonic stem cells to create immune cells that could target and destroy cancer cells and treat infections. [G][H]
Inflammation gene A team of international researchers has discovered that a specific gene on chromosome 15 regulates inflammation. Almost every common disease involves an inflammation component, and the finding could have implications for a wide range of disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's, and infections. The gene, SEPS1, helps clear cells of misfolded proteins that build up when cells are placed under stress. Inflammation develops when those faulty proteins accumulate in a cell. [G][H]
Gene therapy A new study suggests that restoring a tumour-suppressor gene often silenced in lung cancer causes the cells to self-destruct through apoptosis. The gene, known as WWOX, is lost or silenced in a large majority of lung cancers, and in cancers of the breast, ovary, prostate, bladder, oesophagus and pancreas. The researchers do not believe that using WWOX as a therapy will necessarily eradicate tumours, but it may be valuable in combination with chemotherapy and other therapies. [G][H]
Human haplotype map The small genetic differences between people are not distributed uniformly along the genome, but are concentrated in blocks of 10,000 to 20,000 nucleotides. These blocks are known as haplotypes. Comparing haplotypes in healthy and sick people can help unravel which genes are associated with diseases. The International HapMap project, which is mapping the variation of haplotypes across the whole world population, has completed phase 1 and published a comprehensive catalogue of human genetic variation. The HapMap data is a major resource for understanding the structure of human variation and how the human race has migrated and differentiated, as well as the genetic basis of human disease. [G]
Computing haplotypes Experimental methods for deriving haplotypes are expensive and time-consuming. But now experts in bioinformatics at two California research institutes have used a different, very fast and relatively low-cost computational tool to predict the haplotypes by processing all 286 million human genotypes in the world's largest repository of genotypes. The computation time was less than 24 hours, approximately 1,000 times faster than previously possible. This means that every time there is new information on genetic variation at the level of single nucleotides, it will be possible immediately to update the haplotype map. [G] |
|||
| [N] Nanotechnology and molecular technology | |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Bio-nanofabrication Enzymes offer powerful capabilities for biofabrication of complex nanostructures and | |||