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Top Stories in Science
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October 2006 Issue |
| [D] Defence and security |  |
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Korean nuclear test The explosive yield of the nuclear test carried out by North Korea on 9 October is estimated to have been less than a kiloton. This suggests that the test was largely a failure and that the nuclear chain reaction was not sustained. A first nuclear test would normally be expected to yield 10 to 20 kilotons since this is the easiest size of device to make. In response to the test, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to impose sanctions on North Korea. These include financial and trade restrictions and inspections of cargo going in and out of the country. [D][R]
Lethality of H5N1 flu Researchers from the UK, Vietnam and China have monitored 18 patients suffering from H5N1 bird flu, 13 of whom died, and have compared them to subjects suffering far less serious forms of flu. The study confirmed that one reason the H5N1 strain is so deadly may be because it over-stimulates the body's immune responses. The researchers also found that the virus replication level was hundreds of times greater than in conventional flu strains, and that the virus preferred to reside in the respiratory tract, rather than in the nose and throat, like conventional flu. [D][H]
Lethality of 1918 flu The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic disproportionately killed young people with strong immune systems, who would not succumb to normal flu. Modern analyses of autopsy samples from 1918 victims show extreme and extensive damage to lung tissues. One theory has been that a secondary infection from another virus helped make the 1918 pandemic so deadly. This theory has now been discounted by tests on animals using a recently reconstructed 1918 flu virus. These tests have proved that the virus by itself triggers a massive immune response. It is not yet resolved, however, whether it is this hyperimmune response per se that causes the rapid lung failure and death, or whether the hyperimmune response is just a symptom of the immune system being overwhelmed by the speed at which the virus multiplies. This is relevant for deciding how best to combat a possible H5N1 pandemic. [D][H]
Combating bird flu Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have reported the discovery of a novel peptide that confers broad protection against influenza viruses, including avian flu. The peptide effectively blocks the influenza virus from attaching to and entering the cells of its host, thereby preventing it from replicating and infecting more cells. The new drug, which was tested on cells in culture and in mice, conferred complete protection against infection and was highly effective in treating animals in the early stages of infection. Untreated infected animals typically died within a week. All of the infected animals treated with small doses of the drug at the onset of symptoms survived. [D][H]
Combating bird flu A new approach could offer protection against the full range of influenza A infections, including H5N1 and any new pandemic or epidemic strains infecting humans. The new approach, developed at the University of Warwick, uses a 'protecting virus' . This is made by specifically deleting around 80 percent of the RNA of one of the eight RNA segments in the influenza virus. This deletion makes the virus harmless and prevents it from reproducing by itself within a cell, so that it cannot spread like a normal influenza virus. However, if it is joined in the cell by another influenza virus, it retains its harmless nature but starts to reproduce very rapidly in the cell, crowding out the new influenza virus and inhibiting it from multiplying. Research indicates that the protecting virus provides immediate protection against all strains of influenza and that these do not appear to be able to develop resistance against the 'protecting virus'. [D][H]
Biosecurity According to a biodefence special review in the New Scientist, the $44 billion so far spent by the US government on biosecurity has not yet made the US much safer from a bioterrorist attack. According to the article, one problem is that only a limited range of pathogens is being targeted - rather than broad-spectrum remedies that work against many different bacteria or viruses that terrorists might use. A second major problem is insufficient capability for delivering countermeasures in a timely and effective way. [D][H]
European defence and security The European Defence Agency has published a long term vision of Europe's defence needs. The report, which has been welcomed by EU Defence Ministers, foresees a less stable world with accelerating technological challenges and changing attitudes towards the use of force, placing greater emphasis on the careful and precise use of military power. EU National Armaments Directors have agreed in outline the sort of defence technological and industrial base which the EU should have and a set of actions to help identify the key technologies and core industrial capabilities needed. A final report has been published by the European Security Research Advisory Board on research to meet EU security needs. [D][T]
UK security Gordon Brown, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, has called for a significant strengthening of the UK government's campaign to combat international terrorism, making it clear that he will follow a strong policy on security if he succeeds Tony Blair as UK Prime Minister. He re-stated the need for Europe and America to work together in the fight against terrorism. He put security at the heart of the government's comprehensive spending review. He set out plans for electronic border controls and he spoke of the need to win hearts and minds in a "generation-long" struggle against extremism. [D]
Border surveillance Using networks of sensors, the US is planning to build a "virtual fence" along its borders with Mexico and Canada in order to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. [D][R]
Space defence The US has issued a new national space policy. Whereas the previous version, issued by the Clinton administration, said US operations should be "consistent with treaty obligations", the new version rejects new agreements that would limit the US testing or use of military equipment in space. The new policy states the US has the right "to protect its space capabilities, respond to interference, and deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to US national interests". [D][A][I][P][R][U] |
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| [A] Aeronautics and space | |
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Morphing aircraft Morphing aircraft structures, using wings that change from pliable to rigid and back again or that expand and contract on demand, can give the armed forces the ability to use the same airplane in multiple roles, from slow-flying reconnaissance missions to high-speed attack. A truly morphing aircraft requires that changes can be made in the wing area, span, sweep and thickness. One key issue is to build a system that can transition radically from one shape to another very different shape without coming apart at high speeds. Key technologies include shape-changing materials, actuators, and flight control. [A][M][T]
Surgery in space To test the feasibility of performing surgery in space, a team of French doctors say they have carried out a successful operation on a human under "weightless" conditions in an adapted aircraft. The doctors removed a benign tumour from the arm of a volunteer as their plane made a series of swoops to mimic a reduced-gravity environment. They and the patient were strapped down for the procedure, and specially designed instruments were fitted with magnets to attach them to the metal operating table. [A][H]
Ballute re-entry shield Rather than using heavy heatshields for spacecraft re-entry, it may be possible to instead use a lightweight inflatable heat shield that also acts as a form of parachute to slow the descent. The heatshield material releases gas to carry heat away as it becomes hotter. [A][M]
Space tethers A 60-day field-trial has confirmed that balloon-borne platforms, developed as precursors to space elevators, could be used as high-altitude relay stations for wireless communications. The trial used a 100 metre high tether held up by helium balloons. The researchers also tested how well a robot could mount the tether as an elevator. This revealed a problem that, when the tether was pulled hard by wind, it started to buckle and deform slightly, creating crinkles that made it too thick for the robot to accommodate. [A][I][M][U]
Pristine lunar environment The interim report of a study for NASA by the US National Academy of Sciences has warned that future missions to the Moon could easily damage the fragile lunar 'environment' and destroy priceless scientific information preserved there about the solar system. The report recommends that NASA should make a sufficiently detailed survey of the "pristine" Moon before undertaking any major missions there. [A][E][R][U]
Understanding solar eruptions The recently launched Solar B satellite mission should provide a much better understanding of how the Sun's magnetic field triggers solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Data from the mission could even be used to forecast when these massive solar explosions are likely to occur. The mission is led by Japan's space agency (JAXA), with additional support from NASA, PPARC and ESA. The spacecraft has three instruments: a lightweight optical telescope that can resolve features just 150 km across and measure the Sun’s magnetic field in 3D; a UV imaging spectrometer that will helping relate the movement of hot gases in the corona to the underlying magnetic fields; and an X-ray telescope that will observe and record the emissions of the corona at different temperatures. [A][I][R]
Extrasolar planets The Milky Way contains around 6 billion Jupiter-sized planets according to an estimate extrapolated from a survey of a sample of 180 thousand stars by the Hubble telescope. The results also revealed a new extreme type of planet, dubbed Ultra-Short-Period Planets (USPPs), that orbit their stars in less than one Earth day. The survey is an important proof-of-concept for NASA's future Kepler Mission, scheduled for launch in 2007. The Kepler observatory will continuously monitor a region of the Milky Way to detect transiting planets around mostly distant stars. Kepler will be sensitive enough to detect possibly hundreds of Earth-size planet candidates in or near the habitable zone, the distance from a star where liquid water could feasibly exist on a planet's surface. [A][R]
Earthlike exosolar planets More than one-third of the giant planet systems recently detected outside Earth's solar system may harbour Earth-like planets, many covered in deep oceans with potential for life. This conclusion comes from computer simulations of a type of planetary system unlike our solar system that contains gas giants known as "Hot Jupiters" orbiting extremely close to their parent stars. Such gas giants are believed to have migrated inward toward their parent stars as the planetary systems were forming. The computer simulations show that Hot Jupiters push and pull proto-planetary disk material during their journey, flinging rocky debris outward where it is likely to coalesce into Earth-like planets at the right distance from the star to be habitable. At the same time, turbulent forces from the dense surrounding gas slow down the orbits of small, icy bodies in the outer reaches of the disk, causing them to spiral inward and deliver water to the fledgling planets. [A][R] |
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| [U] Unmanned vehicles and robotics | |
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Opportunity at Victoria NASA's Opportunity rover has reached the rim of the 800-metre-wide Victoria Crater. This is wider and deeper than any crater previously studied by either of the Mars rovers. It should allow scientists to observe older rock layers at the bottom of the crater. Opportunity has already lasted more than ten times longer than its estimated 90-day life span and has trekked 9 kilometres across Mars compared with its expected range of 600 metres. Opportunity has also been photographed at the crater rim from overhead by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The MRO's very high resolution HiRISE camera has captured in detail the Victoria crater and the Opportunity rover down to its tracks and shadow. [U][A][R]
DARPA Urban Grand Challenge DARPA has announced 11 teams to compete in the DARPA Urban Grand Challenge. The robot racers will face a 60 mile simulated urban course featuring obstacles such as trees and buildings, traffic signs and other moving vehicles. The racers must obey traffic regulations, merge with other traffic, change lanes and observe stop signs, and they also have to pull into a parking lot for a short period. [U][E][X]
Machine vision Mexican researchers have developed a new form of robotic 3D vision by mimicking the way that a colony of honeybees uses explorer bees to find and report the location of a new food source. The software starts by randomly assigning virtual explorer bees to different parts of an image. After identifying features of potential interest, these explorers recruit other virtual bees, known as "harvesters", to investigate in more detail. The explorers recruit harvesters in proportion to their interest in an area, which means that the most promising areas get the most attention. According to the researchers, this approach achieves much better 3D vision and is more computationally efficient than conventional methods. [U][C][R]
UAV swarms MIT researchers, in collaboration with Boeing, have developed a multiple-UAV test platform that allows a single operator with no piloting skills to command a fleet of UAVs simultaneously. The UAVs' flight is software controlled from take-off to landing, and the UAVs can even land successfully on moving surfaces. [U][A][R][V]
Jumping robot Toyota says it has developed a robot leg that can jump like a human's, an evolution from today's stiff-jointed machines. Besides the joy of jumping about, robots will also be able to run faster and to handle unpaved roads more smoothly. [U]
Robot rehabilitation Matsushita has unveiled a robotic suit that will help people that are partially paralyzed to rehabilitate the rest of their bodies. The robotic suit weighs only 1.8 kg and slips over the upper body and arms. When a person wearing the suit moves his or her active arm, the paralyzed other arm is made to follow the same motion by compressors in the suit that act like muscles. By repeating the arm movements, the person can retrain the brain and nervous system in order to regain use of the paralysed limb. [U][H][V] |
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| [P] Propulsion and energy | |
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Ring launcher An enormous ring of superconducting magnets similar to a particle accelerator could fling satellites into space, or perhaps fling weapons around the world, according to the findings of a new study funded by the US Air Force. The launch ring would be very similar to the particle accelerators used for physics experiments, with superconducting magnets placed around a 2-kilometre-wide ring. The advantage of a circular track in comparison with previous concepts that used a straight launcher is that the satellite can be gradually accelerated over a period of several hours round and round the track before it is released. [P][A][M]
Diesel engines Diesel engines are more fuel efficient than petrol engines, but their weakness has been the higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx). Honda says it has developed a new and simple diesel engine that is as clean as a petrol engine. The engine generates and stores ammonia within a two-layer catalytic converter to turn the nitrogen oxide into harmless nitrogen. [P][M][E]
Borohydride fuel cell A 30 percent solution of borohydride in water contains one-third more hydrogen than the same volume of liquid hydrogen and does not require cooling. It could theoretically provide an energy density up to about 2200 watt-hours per litre if used to power a fuel cell. This is more than an order of magnitude better than the 200 watt-hours per litre achieved by a lithium polymer battery. The borohydride solution releases its hydrogen as it flows over a catalyst made of ruthenium, and the boron oxide left behind is dissolved in ethylene glycol. In a prototype fuel cell, researchers at Arizona State have so far achieved 600 usable watt-hours per litre. [P][M]
Plastic battery Brown University engineers have created a new battery that uses plastic, not metal, to conduct electrical current. The hybrid device marries the power of a capacitor with the storage capacity of a battery. [P][M]
Microbe-produced diesel German researchers have genetically modified E.coli bacteria so that the microbes can produce biodiesel fuel from plant materials. They did this by adding two genes from the bacterium Zymomonas mobilis to give E. coli the ability to produce alcohol from sugar, plus a third gene, taken from the bacterium Acinetobacter baylyi, to enable the E. coli to then combine this alcohol with plant oils to produce diesel fuel. With further development, the bacteria should be able to produce microdiesel from plant waste left over from food production, reducing the need to grow crops specifically for biodiesel. [P][G]
Converting carbon dioxide to fuel A team of European researchers has found a way to use the energy of sunlight to turn waste carbon dioxide back into long hydrocarbon molecules that can be reused as fuel. The sunlight is used with a titanium catalyst to split water molecules, releasing hydrogen ions, free electrons and oxygen gas. The free electrons are used to reduce the carbon dioxide and bind the atoms together using platinum and palladium catalysts inside carbon nanotubes. [P][M]
Geothermal energy Researchers are seeking to wide the range of sources of hot water and steam that can be used for geothermal power generation. Tepid water can be exploited by using a low boiling point refrigerant to drive the turbines instead of steam. This approach can be made cheap enough by using mass-produced refrigerator technology. At the other extreme, researchers in Iceland are aiming to harness steam at up to 600 degrees C. [P][M][T]
Progress in solar cells Commercial silicon cells have efficiencies of 15 to 20 percent, and an efficiency of 30 percent has been achieved in the laboratory. But their high cost still prevents widespread use, and cheap technologies may offer greater hope. Solar cells made of electrically conductive plastics can now achieve 5.6 percent efficiency. Dye-sensitised solar cells that mimic photosynthesis can achieve 11 percent by using a dye called phthalocyanine that absorbs both visible and infra-red sunlight. And, by using carbon nanotubes to extract current more effectively, it might be possible to double the efficiency of both plastic and dye-sensitised cells, according to research at the University of Notre Dame. [P][J][N][T] |
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| [M] Materials, structures and surfaces | |
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Extreme material deformation Researchers at Lawrence Livermore and Oxford University have developed a new understanding of the behaviour of metals under extreme shock. Shock compression occurs in a variety of situations including high-speed automobile and aircraft collisions, explosive welding, armour penetration, meteor impacts, interstellar dust dynamics, and inertial confinement fusion. By combining very large-scale molecular dynamics simulations with time-resolved data from laser experiments of shock wave propagation through specific metals, the researchers have followed in detail the three-dimensional lattice relaxation process during shock compression beyond the elastic limit. [M][A][C][D][P]
Improved body armour Liquid armour based on shear thickening fluid (STF) could provide a more flexible alternative to current body armour, which consists of Kevlar material reinforced by heavyweight ceramic plates. STF exploits silica nanoparticles that move around like a liquid under normal conditions, but when struck lock together in a solid lattice-like structure that lasts only as long as the impact. A lightweight vest impregnated with STF has proved able to stop knife-stabs, fragmentation blasts, lower-power bullets and hypodermic needles. The US Army has also developed lightweight bullet proof vests that can protect against sharp armour-piercing bullets fired at point blank range. [M][D][N]
Improved body armour UK and US researchers, evaluating new nanocomposite materials that can be woven into fabrics to provide improved body armour, have shown that spherical nanoparticles of silica or titanium dioxide or carbon nanotubes in a plastic or epoxy matrix offers improved ballistic resistance together with much better flexibility. [M][D][N]
Room temperature Bose-Einstein condensate Bose-Einstein condensates typically form at very low temperatures. With falling temperature, atoms of a gas or other particles move more and more slowly and, as dictated by Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, their wavefunctions expand. At a sufficiently low temperature the overlapping wavefunctions meld into a single object - the condensate. Two groups of researchers have now shown evidence that Bose-Einstein condensates can be made not only from particles but also from quasiparticles, and that quasiparticle condensates can form at room temperature. One group in France and Switzerland used polaritons as the quasiparticles. The other group, at the University of Munster in Germany, used magnons. Their results may be important for high temperature superconductivity. [M][F]
Hydrogels Using synthetic DNA formed into crosses, Y's and T's, Cornell researchers have created biocompatible, biodegradable, inexpensive hydrogels that can be easily formed into any desired shape for biomedical applications. If the hydrogel spaces are filled with a drug, the hydrogel can dispense the drug gradually as the structure biodegrades. Hydrogels are also of widespread interest as scaffolds for tissue engineering and tissue repair, where the spaces in the gel might be filled with stem cells, tissue-growth factors or a combination of both. They might also be used to make artificial retinas. [M][G][H][V]
Self-monitoring composite Research at the University of Delaware has shown that carbon nanotubes embedded in composite materials can be used to detect and identify damage and structural flaws. The embedded nanotubes form a conducting network that penetrates into the areas between the bundles of fibre and the layers of the composite. A microcrack shows up as a break in the conducting path and this could be used to detect damage that would otherwise go unnoticed, for example to an aircraft wing. The nanotubes do not disturb the mechanical structures of the composite, and add only 0.15 percent to the total volume. [M][A][W]
Fluid flow singularity University of Chicago physicists have discovered a new class of behaviour in air bubbles rising from an underwater nozzle. In this surprising behaviour, the bubbles tear apart in sharp jerks instead of pinching off at a point. The tearing apparently occurs when a small imperfection on the nozzle imprints itself on the shape of the bubbles. [M]
Cavitation in zero gravity Cavitation is an unusual process whereby tiny air bubbles grow and collapse inside water droplets. The collapsing bubbles focus energy to very small volumes, creating temperature "hotspots" and emitting liquid jets and shockwaves. This can erode everything from ship propellers to pipelines. The behaviour of each bubble depends strongly on any nearby surfaces. To find out how the bubbles behave inside spherical drops of water interacting with closed spherical surfaces, Swiss researchers have studied cavitation in zero gravity on board an ESA aircraft that flew in parabolic arcs to create near-weightless conditions. From the work, the researchers have been able to extend current theory to estimate shockwave energies and calculate bubble lifetimes in small liquid volumes that can appear in industrial systems. The results may also cast light on spherical collapse and shock-wave phenomena in supernovae. [M][A][E][P]
Cavitation decontamination Soil polluted by organic toxins can be blasted clean with ultrasound, according to researchers in Australia. The method uses the extremely high temperature and shock waves created by cavitation microbubble collapse. The researchers believe it may prove more effective at cleaning up contamination from oil refineries, power stations and aluminium factories than existing methods. The high temperatures and pressures also destroy the toxic or carcinogenic persistent organic pollutants that commonly contaminate industrial land, including PCBs and DDT. [M][E]
Morphing structures Scientists at Cambridge University have developed metal structures that can morph from flat screens into tubes and other shapes. They say the structures could form the basis for electronic displays that could be rolled-up and placed in a bag or pocket, and might also be exploited for re-usable packaging, roll-up keyboards and self-erecting temporary shelters. The metal sheets, made from copper alloys, work without the need for moving parts such as hinges, latches or locks. One of the morphing processes, for example, involves a dimpled structure with invertible dimples created on surface: depressing a narrow band causes the metal to crease; when all the dimples are inverted, the sheet coils up. [M][A][V] |
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| [E] Environment, transport and marine | |
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Runaway climate change A NASA study has concluded that just one more decade of business-as-usual carbon emissions will probably make it too late to prevent unstoppable thawing of the vast sub-Arctic forests and bogs, triggering runaway climate change. The analysis reinforces a series of recent findings on accelerating environmental disruption in Siberia, northern Canada and Alaska, underlining a growing scientific consensus that these regions are pivotal to climate change. Warming is greatest in the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere and the melting of ice and snow is exposing darker surfaces that absorb more sunlight and increase warming, creating a positive feedback. [E][A][D][W][X]
Economics of climate change A study commissioned by the UK government to examine the economics of climate change is recommending that the UK and other governments should immediately start radical action to combat global warming. The study, led by Sir Nick Stern, concludes that the cost to the world economy of delaying action would be very severe, but that the cost of taking action now is quite manageable, and might even increase world GDP through investment in carbon-saving technology. [E][A][D][P][R][T][W][X]
Geoengineering climate A study by NCAR of likely global warming up to the year 2400 indicates that a combination of geoengineering and reducing carbon emissions may offer the best hope of avoiding dangerous climate change. The study simulated the effect of injecting sulphate particles or aerosols into the stratosphere on scales equivalent to the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo every year, every two years or every four years. In all three cases, global temperature stayed approximately constant for the next 40 to 50 years. After 2050, the cumulative effect of greenhouse gases produced a slow temperature rise, though it was muted by the injections. In contrast, without geoengineering, total carbon emissions would have to start dropping immediately and would have to be cut by around 50 percent in the next 50 years. However, although geoengineering may help to limit global warming, the oceans would continue to acidify as greenhouse-gas emissions climb, threatening certain marine ecosystems. [E][D][X]
Climate and solar brightness It has been argued that changes in the Sun's brightness and sunspot activity over the past millennium might be a significant factor in global warming. To test this, researchers in the US, Switzerland and Germany have used data from radiometers on US and European spacecraft. They have found that the Sun is about 0.07 percent brighter in years of peak sunspot activity, such as around 2000, than when spots are rare, as in 2006. They conclude that this variation is too small to have contributed appreciably to the accelerated global warming observed since the mid-1970s; nor are there signs of any net increase in brightness over the period. [E][C][R]
Past solar brightness The isotope titanium 44 is produced in meteorites by the Sun's cosmic rays. This production ceases when the meteorite hits Earth. By measuring the amount of titanium 44 isotope in 19 meteorites that hit the Earth at precisely recorded times over the past 235 years, researchers have been able to independently validate estimates of past solar brightness based on historical records of sunspot activity. [E]
Palaeometeorology Environmentalists and insurance companies are both concerned to know whether the shifting pattern of hurricanes seen in the past few decades is cyclical, random or part of a trend that might be caused by global warming. Meteorologists have been keeping systematic records of the relevant data for only about 60 years. However, researchers at the University of Tennessee have shown that measuring the isotope ratio of oxygen-16 and oxygen-18 in tree rings can reveal storm activity in earlier years back to at least the eighteen century. [E][X]
Mass extinctions and global warming Five times in the past 500 million years, mass extinctions have wiped out most of the world's life-forms. The most recent extinction, which wiped out the dinosaurs, was due to a sudden cataclysm, very probably a large asteroid impact. However, the fossil and geological record shows that previous extinctions were not cataclysms but spanned hundreds of thousands of years. Massive volcanic events at the time are known to have extruded thousands of square kilometres of lava onto the land or the seafloor, injecting enormous volumes of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. The resulting global warming depleted the oceans of oxygen and it is likely that this created conditions amenable for deep-sea anaerobic bacteria to generate massive upwellings of hydrogen sulphide. This could have poisoned oxygen-breathing ocean life, and would also have eroded the ozone layer in the atmosphere, so that terrestrial life would have received a toxic combination of hydrogen sulphide and UV. [E][T][X]
Salinity and climate Using chemical traces in planktonic fossil shells in deep-sea sediment cores, scientists have reconstructed a 45,000- to 60,000-year-old record of ocean temperature and salinity during the last Ice Age. They compared their results to the record of abrupt climate change recorded in ice cores from Greenland. They found the Atlantic got saltier during cold periods, and fresher during warm intervals, providing further evidence that ocean circulation and chemistry respond to changes in climate. [E]
Dust and hurricanes Satellite imaging has shown that, in some years, many millions of tons of sand are sucked up from the Sahara Desert and float right across the Atlantic Ocean, sometimes in as little as five days. Using 25 years of satellite data from 1981 to 2006, researchers have found that the dust may act to dampen hurricane activity. They found that during periods of intense hurricane activity, dust was relatively scarce in the atmosphere, whereas in years when stronger dust storms rose up, fewer hurricanes swept through the Atlantic. Dust storms might also shift a hurricane's direction further to the west, increasing its chance of hitting land. [E][R]
Environmental awareness The UN and Google have partnered to raise public awareness of environmental damage by incorporating before-and-after satellite images of 100 global environmental hotspots into Google's popular mapping program, Google Earth. [E][K]
Diffuse pollution The European Commission has published an inventory of pollution from non-industrial sources, such as cars, aeroplanes, ships and household appliances. This 'diffuse' pollution is usually excluded from pollution measures, but its inclusion will allow more accurate and targeted policy-making in the future. [E][K] |
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| [R] Remote sensing and sensor systems | |
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Iron K-line astronomy Precision measurements of the properties of black holes is becoming possible from x-ray spectral analysis. The K-line in the x-ray spectrum of iron can be used to observe matter and energy very close to a black hole and to test General Relativity at extreme gravitational fields. The broadening of this spectral line provides a way to measure the intensity of the gravitational field, and the Doppler shift gives a measure of how fast matter is moving round the black hole. [R][A][F]
Tracking bird migration To understand the role wild birds may play in the spread of H5N1 bird flu, an international team led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is fitting swans in Mongolia with solar-powered GPS in order to track their winter migrations. [R][H][I]
Mm-wave security screening Security screening at airports and railway stations could be streamlined using a new mm-wave scanning system. This combines a QinetiQ mm-wave scanner with software developed at Heriot-Watt University that performs a rapid analysis of the scanner imagery, searching for incriminating objects. [R][A][D][S]
Tracking proteins in cells US researchers have demonstrated that quantum dots can be used to track the flow of proteins inside living cells. The brightness of quantum dots makes it easy to follow individual proteins. Using quantum dots 10 nm in diameter, the researchers tracked a natural growth factor protein within rat cells that regulates the growth of nerve tissue. The important innovation was a clever trick they used to introduce the bound quantum dots into the cell. They chemically bound the dot to a protein that sits on the outside of each nerve cell. Natural growth factor proteins bind to this external protein and the two proteins move into the cell together. Then they travel around the cell, altering processes related to the maintenance, growth and regeneration of nerve fibres. Many other proteins also "internalise" in this way; so the trick can be used for many proteins, though not universally. [R][G][H][X]
Multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry A new technique called multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry (MIMS) makes it possible to image and quantify molecules within individual mammalian or bacterial cells. MIMS can generate quantitative, three-dimensional images of proteins, DNA, RNA, sugar and fatty acids at a subcellular level in tissue sections or cells. It is expected to have widespread application in research and therapy. Doctors might soon be able to use MIMS to track individual donor cells after a transplant, or to find where and how much of a cancer treatment drug there is within a cell. Using MIMS, researchers can image and quantify the fate of molecules when they go into cells, finding where they go and how quickly they are replaced. [R][G][H][X]
Supersensitive DNA profiling The UK government's Forensic Science Service (FSS) has developed a computer-based technique that allows the profiling of small, poor quality and mixed DNA samples from crime scenes. Objects in crime scenes often carry DNA from several people, and existing techniques have trouble distinguishing between these. The new software, called DNAboost, is able to analyse the DNA samples against the FSS DNA database using a much more sophisticated interpretation process. This enables it to separate out the profiles from several people. [R][C][D][G][K] |
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| [S] Sensor devices | |
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Sixth sense Some birds, notably migratory species, are able to detect the Earth's magnetic field and use it to navigate. New results from French and German researchers suggest that molecules called cryptochromes could be key to birds' magnetic sense. Cryptochromes, which are sensitive to blue light, are involved in a number of processes linked to the circadian cycle, such as growth and development, and also play a role in controlling the growth of plants. The researchers found that birds' ability to detect magnetic fields only works properly in the presence of blue or green light and is disrupted by light of other wavelengths. They also found that magnetic fields slow the growth of plants in the presence of blue light but not of red light, and that plants genetically modified to lack cryptochromes were unaffected by magnetic fields with any illumination wavelengths. [S][R]
Selective resolution imager The eyes of animals have an area at the centre of the retina known as the fovea, which has a higher concentration of light-sensitive cells than surrounding regions. Showing only the centre of a viewpoint in high focus prevents the brain from being overloaded by high-resolution information whilst enabling it to maintain a wide field of peripheral awareness. US researchers are applying a similar approach to machine vision. This uses a "detection tracking algorithm" to identify windows of interest within a picture, applying techniques such as motion-tracking, tonal analysis and facial recognition. These interesting areas are then maintained at the maximum resolution whilst anything outside is kept at a lower resolution by software that directs neighbouring pixels to work as one superpixel. This conserves processing power and reduces communication bandwidth. [S][C][I][R]
Single-pixel camera A single-pixel camera that reflects light from an array of 1024 x 768 micro-mirrors onto a single photodiode has been developed at Rice University. Its main benefit would be for low cost imaging at terahertz, infrared and UV wavelengths where multi-pixel sensors are expensive. The single pixel camera takes much longer to capture a complete image. But this would matter less for automated pattern recognition since the camera can concentrate selectively on the areas of a scene that the computer progressively identifies as most important for the recognition task. [S][O]
Artificial whiskers Researchers at Northwestern University have developed artificial whiskers that mimic the way rats and seals use their whiskers to sense their environment. Previous attempts to make whisker-like shape sensors have relied on complex software to crunch data on the precise position of each whisker and its movement over time. However, the researchers found it could be done much more simply by measuring the torque exerted at the base of each whisker. They found the technique worked well both with springy steel whiskers and softer plastic whiskers. The researchers say that sweeping an array of whiskers over an object can extract its entire shape. [S][M][U]
Biosensitive cloth In the future it may be possible to detect a biohazard using a simple paper napkin or intelligent handkerchief that changes colour if it mops up a pathogen. The cloth, developed by researchers at Cornell, is made from nanofibres of polylactic acid - a polymer derived from corn - studded with antibodies that sense the target pathogens. [S][D][E][H][N]
Carbon nanotube sensors Carbon nanotubes with peptides attach to them to recognised specific target atoms or molecules could provide cheap sensors with very high sensitivity and specificity. Researchers from Arizona State University and Motorola developed a peptide to detect nickel and one to detect copper, and demonstrated parts per trillion sensitivity. [S][E][N] |
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| [O] Optoelectronics, optics and lasers | |
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Probing attosecond electron dynamics. It may be possible to probe electron dynamics in solids with attosecond resolution by exploiting the laser-assisted photoelectron effect (LAPE). This effect was first demonstrated in atomic vapours in the mid-90s. In LAPE, UV radiation is used to eject photoelectrons and a synchronised infrared pulse produces two sidebands corresponding to the UV photon energy plus or minus the IR photon energy. To observe the effect in a solid, the researchers used a carefully prepared platinum surface in which the d-band electrons have a narrow energy range, as in an atom. This enabled the sidebands to be sharp enough to be detected. By shifting the relative timing of the pulses, the researchers hope ultimately to create "movies" showing at attosecond timescales how electrons in the solid reorganise in response to excitation. [O][M][J][S]
PASER Particle Acceleration by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (PASER for Short) has been demonstrated, for the first time. PASER is a sort of particle analogue of laser action. The active medium consists of a carbon dioxide vapour. Whereas in a carbon dioxide laser the excited atoms would surrender their energy in the form of stimulated photons, in the PASER they transfer their energy to a beam of electrons. [O][P]
GeV wakefield accelerator Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley and Oxford University have developed a wakefield accelerator that accelerates electron beams to energies exceeding a billion electron volts (1 GeV) in a distance of just 3.3 cm. This breakthrough opens the way to very compact high-energy experiments and superbright free-electron lasers. In a wakefield accelerator, a laser pulse travelling through a proton-electron plasma creates a wake in which bunches of free electrons are trapped and ride along. The electric field of the plasma wave can reach 100 billion volts per metre. But after propagating for a distance known as the "dephasing length" - typically a few mm - the electrons outrun the wake, and this limits how much they can be accelerated. The Berkeley-Oxford team have found how to greatly increase the dephasing length. They used a capillary channel waveguide carved into sapphire and created an optical-fibre-like channel inside the capillary with an electric discharge. This provided the required combination of a well collimated laser beam within a low density plasma. [O][P]
High capacity DVDs A breakthrough in multilayer DVD technology appears to have solved the format war around new high capacity DVDs. High capacity DVD disks are needed to store high definition movies on a single disk. Movies stored in high definition provide five to six times more picture detail than standard definition that is used in normal DVDs. The breakthrough, made by a UK company New Medium Enterprises, makes it possible to now put the same film on a single disk in both of the two competing formats. Movies using the blu-ray format are stored only 0.1 mm from the DVD surface while HD-DVD format discs store it at 0.6 mm depth. Movies longer than two hours need to be stored on two layers of the same format very close to each other. [O][W]
Photonic crystal sunscreens In nature, photonic crystals generate the coloured patterns of butterfly wings. Researchers have shown that they are also exploited by certain algae as a physical sunscreen to preferentially reflect UV radiation. [O][M]
Superlens imaging The first direct near-field optical images from a superlens have been obtained by researchers at Max Planck and the University of Texas at Austin. They showed that using a superlens can greatly enhance the resolution of a scanning optical microscope, enabling it to scan nanostructures. The technology should have wide applications, for example in enhancing near-field microscopy for imaging biological samples and materials used in electronics. The idea of a superlens, which is made of negative refractive index metamaterials, was invented in 2000 by Professor Sir John Pendry at Imperial College. This new work shows how a superlens can be integrated into a practical imaging system. [O][G][M][N][S]
Quantum encryption Using an innovative sensor for detecting single photons, US researchers have successfully sent quantum encryption keys over a record distance of 184 km, 50 percent further than the previous record. [O][I]
Secure fibre laser Turning a fibre-optic cable into a laser stretching tens of kilometres or more would provide a simple alternative to quantum encryption for securely transmitting cryptographic keys over long distances, according to US and Israeli researchers. The technique depends on being able to synchronise movements of the mirrors at the two ends of the laser. [O][I]
Quantum teleportation The concept of quantum teleportation - the disembodied complete transfer of the state of a quantum system to any other place - was first experimentally realised between two different light beams. Later it became possible to transfer the properties of a stored ion to another object of the same kind. Researchers have now demonstrated successful teleportation between objects of a different nature - between a light pulse and an ensemble of a trillion atoms. This is of practical importance for quantum computers and quantum cryptography. [O][C][I]
Quantum error correction When most classical error correction codes are translated into quantum codes, it is no longer possible to measure all of their syndromes; measuring some of the error syndromes disrupts the measurement of others. Researchers have shown that this problem can be overcome by mixing some entangled qubits into the data stream in such a way that it becomes possible to measure incompatible error syndromes. This means that any classical code, including highly efficient Turbo codes, can be turned into a quantum code, according to the researchers. [O][C][I] |
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| [I] IT, communications, networking and secure systems | |
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Improved microwave oscillator NIST has developed a new design of microwave oscillator that is orders of magnitude lower noise than comparable devices, and is also smaller and simpler. Applications could include surveillance of radio traffic for anomalous signals, high-resolution digital imaging radar on unmanned aircraft, telecommunications, and consumer devices such as satellite television downlinks. [I][D][J][R]
New wireless technology Nokia has unveiled a new short-range, wireless technology called Wibree, which it says is up to ten times more energy-efficient than Bluetooth. Wibree radio chips, which operate over a distance of 10 metres, are also smaller than Bluetooth chips and will suit devices such as watches, health monitors and sport sensors that up to now do not typically have wireless technology built-in. [I][S][V]
Smart phones The Finnish city of Oulo is piloting a smart phone system based on near field communication (NFC) and proximity-based data transfer technologies. The city has equipped users of the service with mobile phones incorporating NFC readers. This enables data to be transferred between a mobile device and a service system simply by touching the mobile device to an NFC tag. The phone can be used to pay for public transport tickets and by the elderly to order meals simply by touching the desired menu items with their phones. The smart card in the NFC device can act as any limited value charge card, including city cards, library cards, bus tickets, cinema tickets and tickets for events. [I][K][V]
Space weather and GPS A minor solar flare in September 2005 produced a noticeable degradation of all GPS signals on the day side of the Earth. Scaling this up to the larger solar flares expected in 2011-12 during the next peak in the sun spot cycle, Cornell researchers are predicting massive outages of all GPS receivers on the day side of the Earth. [I][E][R]
Thunderstorms and space weather Tides of air generated by intense thunderstorms are able to alter the structure of the ionosphere, according to new results from NASA satellites. The turbulence can disrupt radio transmissions and GPS reception, and can propagate round the Earth producing a global effect. [I][E][R]
Security of e-voting Princeton computer scientists said they have created demonstration vote-stealing software that can be installed within a minute on a common electronic voting machine. The software can fraudulently change vote counts without being detected and the voting machines are susceptible to computer viruses that can spread themselves automatically and invisibly from machine to machine during normal pre- and post-election activity. [I][D] |
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| [K] Knowledge, information and technology management | |
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User-friendly telehealthcare The number of chronically ill patients in Europe is expected to rise to over 100 million by 2016, and telehealthcare will become vital for avoiding hospitals and clinics becoming overwhelmed with routine checkups. An EU-funded project has developed and tested a telehealthcare system that uses state of the art technologies such as Body Area Networks (BANs), wireless broadband communications and wearable medical devices. Users are fitted with sensors interconnected under a BAN and managed by a PDA or mobile phone. The sensors are able to monitor a range of vital signs, including oxygen saturation, ECG, respiration, activity and temperature. Data collected are transmitted continuously via a wireless service to the medical centre, where they can be analysed by doctors and nurses. Importantly, healthcare professionals concluded that they could easily fit the system into their normal way of working. [K][H][I][S][V]
e-tutors The outsourcing trend that fuelled a boom in Asian call centres staffed by educated, low-paid workers manning phones around the clock for western banks and industries is now diversifying into education by providing offshore e-tutoring services. Whilst private tutors can be scarce and expensive in the West, China and India are producing huge numbers of graduates capable of being e-tutors, including at least five times as many science and engineering graduates as in the US. [K][I]
IT leaders According to a McKinsey report on IT, many companies are now relying too much on IT governance structures, processes and committees. Instead they need a good IT leader, who can define technology's role within the company, manage IT in cooperation with business leaders, drive results, motivate and inspire employees, and keep the organization focused. [K][I][W][V]
Changing behaviour New research shows that positive, informative strategies that help people set specific health and environmental goals are far more effective in encouraging behaviour change than negatives strategies that employ messages of fear, guilt or regret. The researchers reviewed the results of 129 different studies and identified 33 distinct strategies for changing intentions and behaviour. The most effective strategies were to prompt practice, set specific goals, generate self-talk, agree a behavioural contract and prompt review of behavioural goals. The two least effective strategies involved arousing fear and causing people to regret if they acted in a particular fashion. [K][B][D][E][H][X]
Defence research assessment The UK Ministry of Defence has published a robust independent assessment of the quality of the MoD's research programme. The report, entitled "Maximising the Benefits of Defence Research", finds that overall the MoD's research programme meets defence needs and that over 90 percent is of good quality and 22 percent is world class. The report concludes that the exploitation of research in the medium term is good, but that more widespread use of firm plans engaging end-users could make the situation even better. [K][D]
Creative discovery software Researchers in computer science and biochemistry at Virginia Tech have created a search capability that can find connections between information that appears dissimilar. It discovers a sequence of events or relationships to create a chain of concepts between specified start and end points. The aim is to help scientists make connections in the complex scientific areas, such as system biology. [K][C][G][W][X]
European research data networks A number of countries and institutions already have data repositories and networks that bring together a wide range of research content. A good example of this is the DARE network in the Netherlands. The concept it now being extended across Europe through the European Digital Repository Infrastructure. The test-bed version will link 51 institutional repositories from the Netherlands, UK, Germany, France and Belgium. Services it will offer include search, data collection, profiling and recommendations. [K][W]
Sharing research information Across Europe, different languages, cultures and IT standards create barriers that make it harder to exploit research and technology. One proposal gaining greater attention is for adoption of 'CERIF - the Common European Research Information Format. CERIF is essentially a set of rules, which if applied across the research landscape should make the transfer of information and knowledge much simpler. [K][I][W]
Commercialising science The US is often cited as outperforming Europe in commercialising its public funded research. US success is seen in the number of US patents and start-ups, as well as the licensing revenue earned by US universities. However, according to a study by the UN University, the picture is more complex. Europe outperforms the US in the number of new start ups and licenses executed, and is only slightly behind the US in terms of licence revenue as a share of research. The report argues that where Europe lags seriously behind the US is in 'open science' - reading journal articles, attending academic conferences and having rich informal networks and contacts. [K][W] |
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| [C] Computing, supercomputing, modelling and simulation | |
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Game-based learning A new generation video game, called Immune Attack, is seeking to use computer games as a way to immerse students in immunology concepts to make learning fun and exciting. Immunology is a complex and difficult subject to learn. But, because it involves attack, countermeasures and counter-counter measures, it is amenable to a form of wargaming. Human body tissue structures serve as the playing field in this first person strategy game where immune cells face off against bacterial and viral infections. A teenaged prodigy with a unique immunodeficiency must teach his immune system how to function properly, or die trying. Using a nanobot and aided by a helpful professor, the teenager explores biologically accurate and visually detailed settings in pursuit of this goal. [C][G][H][K]
Quantum computer Physicists in the US have taken another step towards the goal of building a quantum computer by entangling two superconducting quantum bits for the first time. Circuits made from superconducting elements are promising candidates for a real quantum computer because they are compatible with conventional methods for making integrated circuits. [C][J][O] |
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| [W] Whole life engineering, manufacture and testing | |
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Network design The Global Environment for Network Innovations (www.geni.net) is a major planned initiative of the US National Science Foundation to build an open, large-scale, realistic experimental facility for evaluating new network architectures. Unlike conventional testbeds, GENI is meant to support multiple experiments running in parallel, carry real traffic on behalf of end users, and connect to the existing Internet to reach external sites. The facility's goal is to change the way networked and distributed systems are designed. [W][C][I]
Software design An article in IEEE Computer seeks to provide a simpler set of principles for designing good software. According to the article, adhering to a set of just ten verifiable coding rules can make the analysis of critical software components more reliable. [W][C][I] |
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| [X] Systems, complexity and risk | |
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Intelligent transportation system In Japan, organisations including Nissan, NTT DoCoMo, Matsushita and the Japanese National Police Agency are testing the feasibility of an intelligent transportation system that warns drivers of potential hazards and provides a dynamic route finder which informs drivers of the quickest route to their destination in the prevailing traffic. More than 50 percent of cars in Japan are now equipped with GPS navigation compared with fewer than 10 percent in the US and Europe. [X][E][I][R][U]
Mega tsunami risk In 2000, geologists warned that the island of La Palma in the Canaries could be so unstable that its southwestern flank could fall into the sea during a volcanic eruption in the near future. This would be likely to cause a 'mega tsunami' that would destroy coastal cities including New York, Boston, Lisbon and Casablanca. A new study suggests that the island is much more stable than previously thought, and that a cataclysmic collapse is not likely for at least the next 10,000 years. [X][E]
Theory of cities Techniques originally developed to study magnetic systems are being used at the Institute of Complex Systems in Lyons to help merchants find suitable locations for their shops. Certain types of shops, such as furniture shops, benefit by clustering together. The researchers found that this behaviour is similar to the attraction between aligned magnetic spins. Other shops, such as bakers shops, tend to repel each other and to be homogeneously distributed. An algorithm based on the Potts model, which describes interacting spins in a magnet, proved able to predict how shops should be optimally grouped. It yields a "Q value" which rates the surrounding environment on its potential for a new store of a particular type. [X][M] |
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| [V] Virtuality and human-machine interface | |
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Virtual living Second Life, the online world built by Linden Labs of California, may turn out to be a transforming innovation. It is a metaphysical universe (metaverse) in which users, or “residents”, can create and be anything they want. It provides residents with small elements of virtual matter called “primitives” so that they can build things from scratch. Residents own the intellectual property inherent in their creations and actively trade them. Second Life already has about 7,000 profitable “businesses”, where avatars supplement or make their living from their in-world creativity. The top ten in-world entrepreneurs are making average profits of just over $200,000 a year. Real politicians visit Second Life and give speeches, publishers organise book launches and readings, and the BBC has rented an island where it holds music festivals and parties. Large companies such as Sun Microsystems, Wells Fargo and Toyota are also moving into Second Life. [V][K][X]
Interactive video games The convergence of online worlds and computer gaming is likely to create a new generation of interactive video games that are able to change in real time as the game evolves. [V][C][I][K]
Electronic books Sony is launching an electronic book store and an electronics book reader, which reviewers have said mimics the quality of regular paper. [V][M][O]
Minute projector A video projector that is the size of a sugar cube has been created by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. The miniature device could be used to project images from mobile phones, PDAs or laptops, according to the team. [V]
Robotic artificial limbs A woman who lost her arm in a motorcycle accident has been fitted with a robotic replacement. Five nerves that previously led into her arm were grafted into her chest muscles; the nerves now create electrical charges in the chest muscles that send signals to the robotic arm. The US DOD is reported to be planning to offer the robotic limbs to wounded soldiers. [V][B][D][H] |
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| [B] Brain research and human science | |
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Brain atlas The Allen Institute for Brain Science has completed a genomic atlas of the brain, mapping the activity in the brain of almost every gene in the genome. The researchers used mouse brains, but the results will apply almost identically to the human brain. Surprisingly, the results show that as many as 80 percent of the 21,000 genes in the mouse genome are active in the brain, and that virtually all of these genes tend to be active everywhere in the brain. This makes it less likely that drugs can be tailored to particular brain regions. However, the atlas has identified several hundred types of nerve cells from their distinct gene-activity patterns and it may be possible to tailor drugs to particular cell types. [B][G]
Digital processing in the brain The brain as a whole operates somewhat like a social network, with neurons communicating to allow learning and the creation of memory. However, according to research at the University of Colorado, the prefrontal cortex, a region of the human brain thought to be critical to human intellectual abilities, appears to function much like a digital computer. The prefrontal cortex is the executive centre of the brain and supports "higher level" cognition, including decision making and problem solving. [B][C][K][X]
Epigenetic imprinting of behaviour Experiments in rats indicate that experiences in the first weeks of childhood may shape adult response to stress. However, this is not, as Freud thought, through unconscious memories encoded in the way that the nerve cells are wired up, but rather through epigenetic imprinting in which early experiences enhance or suppress the subsequent expression of key genes. The epigenetic effects involve adding and removing chemical groups to and from the DNA and its nearby protein molecules, and persist into adulthood. Importantly, the researchers showed that by chemically altering these groups in the adult mice they could reverse the effects of the early experiences. They believe that epigenetics is also involved in more complex behaviour, and that epigenetic imprinting may have a large effect on how particular genes affect mental illness. [B][G]
Post-traumatic stress It may be possible to use the body's own natural stress hormone, corticosterone, to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, according to research at the University of Texas. Corticosterone appears to enhance new memories that compete with the traumatic memory, thereby decreasing its negative emotional significance. [B][D][H]
Controlling emotion People in their daily lives have to cope with distracting emotions. Researchers have discovered that the brain is able to prevent these from interfering with mental functioning by having a specific "executive processing" area of the cortex, called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), act to inhibit the activity of the amygdala, the emotion-processing region. [B]
Semantic memory Neuroscientists at the University of Manchester have pinpointed the exact region of the brain that is responsible for semantic memory - the understanding of words, meanings and concepts. It is the anterior temporal lobe, a brain region just in front of the ears. The researchers used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on 12 healthy volunteers, and found that in some positions, TMS caused the participants to experience a temporary loss of semantic memory similar to the loss seen in patients with semantic dementia. [B][R]
Misfolded protein Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania Scientists have identified a misfolded protein common to two devastating neurological diseases, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). The findings suggest that certain forms of FTD, ALS and possibly other neurological diseases might share a common pathological process. [B][H]
Alzheimer's and prion disease Proteins taken from the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and injected into the brains of genetically engineered mice trigger Alzheimer’s-like lesions in the mouse brains, according to research at the University of Atlanta. The findings suggest that the malformed protein clumps associated with Alzheimer’s disease can “seed” themselves in a way reminiscent of the misfolded proteins in prion diseases such as BSE. [B][G][H]
Alzheimer's disease An enzyme found naturally in the brain snips apart the protein that forms the amyloid plaque that is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at UCSF. The findings from experiments on mice suggest that the protein, called Cathepsin B (CatB), is a key part of a protective mechanism that may fail in some forms of Alzheimer's disease, and that drugs to enhance CatB activity could break down amyloid deposits. [B][H]
Alzheimer's disease Researchers in the US have previously shown that Alzheimer's disease appears to be a brain-specific neuroendocrine disorder, or a Type 3 diabetes, distinct from other types of diabetes. Now, they have found in rats with induced Alzheimer's disease that stimulation of a receptor in the brain that controls insulin responses prevents several components of neurodegeneration. The results are very encouraging for treating early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The drugs can be given in pill form and one drug has already been approved for use in humans. The researchers say that Alzheimer's appears to be caused by parallel abnormalities – impaired insulin signalling and oxidative stress. The treatment target both problems. [B][G][H]
Insulin degrading enzyme Researchers from the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have deciphered the three-dimensional structure of insulin-degrading enzyme. The enzyme breaks down not only insulin but also the amyloid-beta protein and it is a promising target for new drugs for both diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. [B][H] |
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| [H] Healthcare and medicine | |
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Treating multiple sclerosis Researchers have found that it may be possible to protect people with multiple sclerosis (MS) from severe long-term disability by increasing the level of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in the nervous system. This can be done simply by giving its chemical precursor, nicotinamide, which is a form of vitamin B3. In MS, nerve fibres, or axons, are damaged through inflammation, loss of their insulating myelin coating, and degeneration. Current treatments mainly protect against inflammation and myelin loss, but do not completely prevent long-term axon damage. Experiments in animals show that NAD not only prevents inflammation and myelin loss, but also protects axons that have already lost their myelin from further degradation. Researchers have also identified how the body's own immune system contributes to the nerve damage in multiple sclerosis and this could lead to earlier diagnosis and improved treatment. [H][B]
Jamming quorum sensing Microbes communicate with each other using chemical signals in a process known as “quorum sensing” by which they sense when sufficient numbers of them exist within a host to overwhelm its defences. The bacteria then launch a coordinated attack and can also collectively build defensive biofilms that are impervious to antibiotics. Finding drugs that jam this chemical signalling could provide a whole new class of antibiotics against bacteria such as MRSA. Because these drugs would prevent bacteria from coordinating and spreading rather than killing them they are less likely to cause antibiotic resistance. The problem is that the drugs must not affect other bacteria that play a beneficial role in humans. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have now found a microwave technique that greatly accelerates the process of blocking the quorum sensing. This enables potential blocking compounds to be screened a hundred times faster. [H]
Cranberry antibacterial compounds Cranberry juice is well known to help prevent urinary tract infections. Now, researchers have found that tannins called proanthocyanidins, found primarily in cranberries, have the ability to radically change the shape, membranes, contacting function and quorum sensing ability of E. coli bacteria so that the bacteria are unable to initiate an infection. These cranberry compounds may provide an alternative to antibiotics, particularly for combating E. coli bacteria that have become resistant to conventional treatment. [H][G]
Treating periodontal disease Scientists at Rutgers University say they have discovered a revolutionary new treatment for killing the bacteria that attack gum tissue during periodontal disease, whilst also promoting healing and the regeneration of tissue and bone around the teeth. The treatment involves implanting a polymer-based drug delivery system in pockets between the teeth and the gum. Periodontal disease not only leads to bone loss but is also linked to cardiovascular disease. [H][N]
Eliminating allergies Many allergies might be eliminated by a new drug that distracts the immune system by tricking it into thinking it is being attacked by mycobacteria. This causes the immune system to focus on this non-existent threat and to disregard allergens. The treatment is based on the so-called "hygiene hypothesis", namely that the cleanliness of modern life deprives the immune system of a proper training against disease and it ends up instead reacting to harmless things such as pollen. Preliminary results from a trial of 10 people with hay fever suggest that after a six-week course of injections, their sensitivity to grass pollen was reduced a hundredfold, eliminating their symptoms. The indications are that the drug tackles the root cause of allergies and could therefore be effective against a wide range of allergens. [H]
Treating AMD An anti-cancer drug developed to prevent blood vessel growth in tumours has also, in trials, proved remarkably promising for treating the wet form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This hitherto incurable disease is caused by rogue blood vessels escaping normal growth control and leaking fluid into the macula, the area at the centre of the retina that enables a person to see fine detail. People with the condition often see straight lines as crooked and can become blind within months. The trials showed that ranibizumab prevents the disease progressing in most patients and some patients have considerable recovery of sight. [H]
Light-controlled drugs Scientists at the University of Bonn have developed an anticlotting drug that can be inactivated in seconds using light of the right frequency. Anti-clotting drugs are widely used in medicine, including in situations where the blood is transported outside of the body for a time, such as during heart surgery or kidney dialysis. Once back in the body, the blood's clotting ability needs to be restored immediately because blood that cannot clot can cause catastrophic bleeding and stroke. [H][O]
How cells validate commands Viruses multiply by taking over the cells they infect and using fake commands to force the cell to produce new viruses. Researchers at the University of Bonn and Munich’s Ludwig Maximilian University have discovered that the cells have a way of countering because the genuine instructions from the cell’s nucleus carry a kind of ‘signature’, which is missing in the fake virus commands. This difference often enables the infected cell to recognise the alien RNA and set off alarms by, for example, producing beta interferon to activate specific killer cells. They also initiate apoptosis. The findings opens up completely new perspectives for the therapy of virus infections and cancer. [H][G] |
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| [G] Genomics, biotechnology and bioinformatics | |
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Gene therapy Jumping genes, or transposons, could provide a non-viral alternative for gene therapy, according to US researchers. They compared the ability of the four best-characterized transposons to insert themselves into a cell's DNA and produce a desired change, such as making the cell resistant to damage from radiation therapy. They found the piggyBac transposon was five to ten times better than the other circular pieces of DNA at making a home and a difference in several mammalian cell lines, including three human ones. Transposons have several potential advantages over viruses for gene therapy: transposons are cheaper to produce, they can transport larger genes, and it may be possible to tailor them to insure genes are inserted only at the right location. Using a virus can also cause a lethal immune response. [G][H]
Mice cloned from fully differentiated cells New research dismisses the notion that adult stem cells are necessary for successful animal cloning, proving instead that cells that have completely evolved to a specific type can not only be used for cloning purposes but may even be a better and more efficient starting point. As proof, researchers report they created two mouse pups from a type of blood cell that itself is incapable of dividing to produce a second generation of its own kind. The researchers say their findings suggest that adult stem cells may have less potential for regenerative medicine than previously thought. [G][H]
Bacterial immortality Bacteria were long thought to enjoy a sort of immortality, because they simply divide symmetrically into identical "daughter" cells, neither of which is more likely to contain older components. But in 2005, microbiologists in France found that E. coli bacteria divide asymmetrically, with one daughter cell receiving older components than the other. Over many generations, the “older” cells grow more slowly and eventually die. Now, mathematical modelling suggests that bacteria may divide asymmetrically when nutrients are abundant because the “young” cells grow faster, but that when nutrients are scarce, symmetric "immortal" cell division gives better overall survival and growth across both daughters. [G]
Beneficial retroviruses Harmless endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), apparently stowed away for millions of years in the DNA of mammals, have turned out to play a key role in helping embryos change shape, implant themselves in the womb and grow a placenta, according to research in sheep at Texas A&M. The findings provide new insights into how ERVs and mammals have evolved together to the mutual advantage of both. ERVs typically account for 8 to 10 percent of the DNA in most mammals, including humans. As well as their role in pregnancy, ERVs are already known to protect against other viruses. For example, future humans will, in time, become protected from today’s killer retroviruses, like HIV and the hepatitis viruses, by endogenous versions that will have taken up residence in human DNA. [G][H]
First tree genome Researchers have published the first genome of a tree - Populus trichocarpa. This could lead to new varieties that are better at producing wood, paper and fuel. Fine-tuning plants for biofuels production could play a big role in making biofuels economically viable and cost-effective. The poplar's rapid growth, and its relatively compact genome size of 480 million nucleotide units, 40 times smaller than the genome of pine, are among the many features that led researchers to target GM poplar as a model crop for biofuels production. [G][M][P]
Origin of species Biologists at the University of Rochester have discovered that an old and relatively unpopular theory about how a single species can split into two species turns out to be correct. Their findings show that a species can split into two not only as a result of mutations but also because parts of chromosomes switch from one location to another. [G]
Origin of mankind The discovery in Ethiopia of the almost complete skeleton of a three year old girl who died 3.3 million years ago is one of the major events in the history of paleoanthropology. She belonged to the same species Australopithecus afarensis as Lucy, the 3.2-million-year-old partial skeleton of an adult female found in the same area in 1974. The girl's femur, tibia and foot show that she walked upright effectively even at the age of three. However, her gorilla-like shoulder blades, her long curved fingers and the arrangement of the semi-circular canals of her ears suggest that A. afarensis probably retained its capacities for tree climbing. Her brain size suggests that the brain development of A. afarensis was slower than that of chimpanzees and slightly closer to that of humans. Her hyoid bone (Adam's apple bone) suggests she had a chimp-like voice. The hyoid bone, which is important for understanding how human speech developed, has never before been preserved in the remains of any extinct human ancestor species except for one Neanderthal specimen. [G]
Preserving seeds Scientists at the Millennium Seed Bank, an international plant conservation initiative operated by the Royal Botanic Gardens in the UK, have succeeded in inducing 200 year old seeds to germinate. The seeds, which were taken to the UK from South Africa in 1803, had been stored in some dubious conditions, including a ship and the Tower of London. The fact that some of the seeds survived so long under such poor conditions bodes well for the ability of the Millennium Seed Bank to preserve seeds over long period in ideal conditions. [G][E] |
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