The Science News Digest - 12 June 2009
In the science news this week;
We take a look at doomsday predictions, advances in human simulations used for medical trials, a new gadget to help combat street crime and what to name your new born element.
Seeing Double
The race is on amongst researchers around the world to create a virtual twin to test out new medications and surgeries on before applying them to human subjects.
Different simulations of living body parts are currently under construction to allow the practical application of new treatments without putting patients at risk during trialing.
A team at Université Libre de Bruxelles has developed a virtual model that replicates the way a person moves, enabling scientists to research and understand the effects of conditions such as cerebral palsy.
Elsewhere, researchers at the University of Oxford have created a model to demonstrate the changing blood flow through the heart as it contracts, while computer scientists at University College London have simulated blood flowing through a brain aneurism.
Practical applications of these models could be used to test things like the affect of drugs on how blood flows through a certain area.
The hope is that these models of individual body parts could eventually all be integrated to simulate a patient's entire body
For more information visit The New Scientist
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brain Drain
In the journal Nature Cell Biology this week, scientists reveal that injecting the harmful ‘tau’ proteins responsible for diseases such as Alzheimer’s into a healthy brain can cause a spread of the disease.
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s can be caused by a build up of the tangled ‘tau’ proteins, which destroy brain function and can lead to dementia.
Experimenting on mice, the researchers found that the proteins acted as an infectious agent spreading through the healthy brain.
The researchers stressed, however, that Alzheimer's was not contagious and said it could not be caught, for example, through blood transfusions.
The benefits of this research include giving scientists much greater direction in developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
For more information visit The Guardian
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scanned and Deliver
The fight against knife and gun crime took a leap forward this week, thanks to the development of a portable microwave scanner by British scientists to help police reveal concealed weapons.
It is believed technology like this will increase the efficiency of stop-and-search procedures. What’s more, it’s compact enough to be used covertly, without needing to be within the immediate proximity of the subject.
The gadget uses the concept of microwave radar technology, similar to that used in body scanners currently in operation at a number of airports. The device has been programmed to reveal the "reflections" of hidden weapons underneath clothing.
The current prototype is used for the detection of guns, but researchers say modified versions of the technology can be used to identify concealed knives as well.
The application of this technology means that; "It is designed to work out on the streets and is not (restricted) to a closed, controlled environment," as detailed by Professor Nick Bowring from Manchester Metropolitan University, who led the development of the new device.
For more information visit the BBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pharmacy-ing Red.
A controversy has developed around the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)’s decision to grant a license to a homoeopathic remedy that claims to be able to relieve strains and bruises.
Prof David Colquhoun from University College London has stated that the MHRA license "makes a mockery" of its own rules and could even be "illegal".
Prof Colquhoun said that the claims made by Nelsons Arnicare Arnica 30c pillules could be in breach of consumer protection laws that outlaw "falsely claiming that a product is able to cure illnesses".
The pills are described as "a homoeopathic medicinal product used with the homoeopathic tradition for the symptomatic relief of sprains, muscular aches, and bruising or swelling after contusions."
However, Prof Colquhoun articulates that the average consumer is unlikely to know that "used with the homoeopathic tradition" is a form of weasel words that actually means "there isn't a jot of evidence that the medicine works," in a letter published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Nelsons’ spokesperson commented that the new labels would assist consumers in making an informed choice.
For more information visit the Telegraph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solar System on a Collision Course
Simulations from a new supercomputer have foretold a catastrophic collision, where Venus or Mars slam into the Earth.
Don’t start packing just yet though, there’s only a ‘slight chance’ of it happening in around 3-4 billion years time. The calamity could become a reality due to the subtle gravitational interactions between Jupiter and Mercury.
All it would take is for Mercury’s trajectory to alter by 0.38 millimeters within the next 140 million years and the delicate balance of the planets would be thrown steadily out of sync over the course of the next few billion years until the occurrence of a doomsday scenario.
Even though the solar system is currently stable, events just like those predicted have actually been fundamental in the formation of what we know today. Some scientists believe that our moon is comprised of the debris from another celestial object, thought to be the size of Mars, which collided with Earth eons ago.
As if this gloomy prediction wasn’t bad enough, there is also the possibility that Jupiter's gravitational reach could also be responsible for the destruction of Earth one day.
The research comes from Jacques Laskar and Mickael Gastineau, astronomers of the Institut de Mecanique Celeste et de Calcul des Ephemerides in Paris.
They ran more than 2500 simulations using a model they developed that projects the precise orbits and interactions of the entire solar system over the next 5 billion years. During this time frame, it was business as usual for the solar system 99% of the time, but in 1% of cases ‘things got messy’
For more information visit ScienceNOW
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHO Declares Global Pandemic
The first global flu pandemic since “Hong Kong flu”, which killed about 1 million people worldwide in 1968 has been declared by the World Health Organisation.
The H1N1 swine flu virus has been elevated to a level six, the highest ranking, following the confirmation of more than 27,000 cases in 74 countries worldwide
The decision to raise its global alert level came after an emergency summit of the WHO to discuss the effects of widespread outbreaks in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
A pandemic is declared when transmission of the virus between humans becomes widespread in at least two regions of the world.
Community spread, where infections cannot be traced to known cases, has already been confirmed in the North and South America. However, officials at the WHO are apparently more alarmed by ‘a sudden spike of cases in Australia, and also by rising numbers in Europe.’
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “The WHO alert levels reflect the global view and any action taken in the UK would be based on the situation here.”
For more information visit The Times
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Your Element
Ten years have passed since experiments by a team of German scientists produced a single atom of a new element; however, it is only today that they are charged with the task of finding a name for it.
The team, led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research, need to come up with a name before it can be formally added to the periodic table.
This is by no means the first time the team have faced this task, they have already discovered the existence of "super-heavy elements" with atomic numbers 107-111.
Using a 120m-long particle accelerator to fire a beam of charged zinc atoms (or zinc ions) at lead atoms, Professor Hofmann's team created element 112
However, because these experiments produce very few successful fusions, (so far there have only been four) it took a long time for element 112 to be officially recognised by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
The element has temporarily been named ununbium, derived from the figures "one one two" in Latin; by IUPAC, but Professor Hofmann's team now has the task of proposing its official name. Any Suggestions?
For more information visit the BBC
We take a look at doomsday predictions, advances in human simulations used for medical trials, a new gadget to help combat street crime and what to name your new born element.
Seeing Double
The race is on amongst researchers around the world to create a virtual twin to test out new medications and surgeries on before applying them to human subjects.
Different simulations of living body parts are currently under construction to allow the practical application of new treatments without putting patients at risk during trialing.
A team at Université Libre de Bruxelles has developed a virtual model that replicates the way a person moves, enabling scientists to research and understand the effects of conditions such as cerebral palsy.
Elsewhere, researchers at the University of Oxford have created a model to demonstrate the changing blood flow through the heart as it contracts, while computer scientists at University College London have simulated blood flowing through a brain aneurism.
Practical applications of these models could be used to test things like the affect of drugs on how blood flows through a certain area.
The hope is that these models of individual body parts could eventually all be integrated to simulate a patient's entire body
For more information visit The New Scientist
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brain Drain
In the journal Nature Cell Biology this week, scientists reveal that injecting the harmful ‘tau’ proteins responsible for diseases such as Alzheimer’s into a healthy brain can cause a spread of the disease.
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s can be caused by a build up of the tangled ‘tau’ proteins, which destroy brain function and can lead to dementia.
Experimenting on mice, the researchers found that the proteins acted as an infectious agent spreading through the healthy brain.
The researchers stressed, however, that Alzheimer's was not contagious and said it could not be caught, for example, through blood transfusions.
The benefits of this research include giving scientists much greater direction in developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
For more information visit The Guardian
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scanned and Deliver
The fight against knife and gun crime took a leap forward this week, thanks to the development of a portable microwave scanner by British scientists to help police reveal concealed weapons.
It is believed technology like this will increase the efficiency of stop-and-search procedures. What’s more, it’s compact enough to be used covertly, without needing to be within the immediate proximity of the subject.
The gadget uses the concept of microwave radar technology, similar to that used in body scanners currently in operation at a number of airports. The device has been programmed to reveal the "reflections" of hidden weapons underneath clothing.
The current prototype is used for the detection of guns, but researchers say modified versions of the technology can be used to identify concealed knives as well.
The application of this technology means that; "It is designed to work out on the streets and is not (restricted) to a closed, controlled environment," as detailed by Professor Nick Bowring from Manchester Metropolitan University, who led the development of the new device.
For more information visit the BBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pharmacy-ing Red.
A controversy has developed around the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)’s decision to grant a license to a homoeopathic remedy that claims to be able to relieve strains and bruises.
Prof David Colquhoun from University College London has stated that the MHRA license "makes a mockery" of its own rules and could even be "illegal".
Prof Colquhoun said that the claims made by Nelsons Arnicare Arnica 30c pillules could be in breach of consumer protection laws that outlaw "falsely claiming that a product is able to cure illnesses".
The pills are described as "a homoeopathic medicinal product used with the homoeopathic tradition for the symptomatic relief of sprains, muscular aches, and bruising or swelling after contusions."
However, Prof Colquhoun articulates that the average consumer is unlikely to know that "used with the homoeopathic tradition" is a form of weasel words that actually means "there isn't a jot of evidence that the medicine works," in a letter published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Nelsons’ spokesperson commented that the new labels would assist consumers in making an informed choice.
For more information visit the Telegraph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solar System on a Collision Course
Simulations from a new supercomputer have foretold a catastrophic collision, where Venus or Mars slam into the Earth.
Don’t start packing just yet though, there’s only a ‘slight chance’ of it happening in around 3-4 billion years time. The calamity could become a reality due to the subtle gravitational interactions between Jupiter and Mercury.
All it would take is for Mercury’s trajectory to alter by 0.38 millimeters within the next 140 million years and the delicate balance of the planets would be thrown steadily out of sync over the course of the next few billion years until the occurrence of a doomsday scenario.
Even though the solar system is currently stable, events just like those predicted have actually been fundamental in the formation of what we know today. Some scientists believe that our moon is comprised of the debris from another celestial object, thought to be the size of Mars, which collided with Earth eons ago.
As if this gloomy prediction wasn’t bad enough, there is also the possibility that Jupiter's gravitational reach could also be responsible for the destruction of Earth one day.
The research comes from Jacques Laskar and Mickael Gastineau, astronomers of the Institut de Mecanique Celeste et de Calcul des Ephemerides in Paris.
They ran more than 2500 simulations using a model they developed that projects the precise orbits and interactions of the entire solar system over the next 5 billion years. During this time frame, it was business as usual for the solar system 99% of the time, but in 1% of cases ‘things got messy’
For more information visit ScienceNOW
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHO Declares Global Pandemic
The first global flu pandemic since “Hong Kong flu”, which killed about 1 million people worldwide in 1968 has been declared by the World Health Organisation.
The H1N1 swine flu virus has been elevated to a level six, the highest ranking, following the confirmation of more than 27,000 cases in 74 countries worldwide
The decision to raise its global alert level came after an emergency summit of the WHO to discuss the effects of widespread outbreaks in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
A pandemic is declared when transmission of the virus between humans becomes widespread in at least two regions of the world.
Community spread, where infections cannot be traced to known cases, has already been confirmed in the North and South America. However, officials at the WHO are apparently more alarmed by ‘a sudden spike of cases in Australia, and also by rising numbers in Europe.’
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “The WHO alert levels reflect the global view and any action taken in the UK would be based on the situation here.”
For more information visit The Times
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Your Element
Ten years have passed since experiments by a team of German scientists produced a single atom of a new element; however, it is only today that they are charged with the task of finding a name for it.
The team, led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research, need to come up with a name before it can be formally added to the periodic table.
This is by no means the first time the team have faced this task, they have already discovered the existence of "super-heavy elements" with atomic numbers 107-111.
Using a 120m-long particle accelerator to fire a beam of charged zinc atoms (or zinc ions) at lead atoms, Professor Hofmann's team created element 112
However, because these experiments produce very few successful fusions, (so far there have only been four) it took a long time for element 112 to be officially recognised by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
The element has temporarily been named ununbium, derived from the figures "one one two" in Latin; by IUPAC, but Professor Hofmann's team now has the task of proposing its official name. Any Suggestions?
For more information visit the BBC
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