The Science News Digest - 31 July 2009
In the science news this week: how young women could soon be selling their eggs to get through university, why the countdown to space tourism is on, and how bacteria are powering computers...
Not all shook up
Buildings of the future may have buffering defences built into their foundations to protect them from the most devastating earthquakes, reports ScienceNOW.
Skyscrapers and homes alike could benefit from the technology. “It’s fantastic how diverse and interesting research on cloaking has become in such a short time” said Physicist Ulf Leonhardt from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, who was involved with the first research in the field.
Earthquakes spread via waves in much the same way as light, radio or radar. The only difference is their incredibly destructive strength.
The ability of stealth aircraft to absorb or deflect radar waves was the inspiration for the new technology, which utilises the same concept.
The researchers used computers to model a device of layered concentric rings. These were made of materials of varying stiffness and flexibility – including plastic and copper – and are designed to harmlessly deflect earthquake waves.
To test the device, the team bombarded the rings with the equivalent of earthquake surface waves, of frequencies ranging from 30 to 150 hertz. A central zone was shown to be protected, with the rings absorbing and redirecting the waves.
However despite the advances in the field, it may be some time before prototypes can be tested. “This may remain science fiction [for some time]” said Leonhardt.
------------------------------------
Nest eggs?
The Government has called for the debate on whether donors should be allowed to sell sperm or eggs to be reopened, as a national shortage is driving British couples to travel abroad for therapy.
A current crisis in fertility treatment is forcing many people to wait years to receive therapy to help them begin a family. A recent study has shown hundreds of these couples are becoming “fertility tourists”.
Speaking to the Times, the head of the Government’s fertility watchdog voiced that a 2006 ruling that donors could not receive payment should be reconsidered. “Given the evidence that egg shortage is driving women overseas, I feel a responsibility to look at it again” Professor Lisa Jardine said.
The current law says donors can get up to £250 in expenses but no direct payments. Donor anonymity was removed in 2005 also.
Countries such as the United States, Spain and Russia already allow payment, and young women often use these to wipe out debts or fund university fees.
However the move raises concerns about a market in human tissue and exploitation of young women. Professor Jardine countered that the law already treated eggs, sperm and embryos differently, so allowing payment couldn’t set a precedent for organ sales.
She also appealed for discussion on the ethics of sperm and egg donation across generations and within families.
------------------------------------
Enter the Anthropocene
Human activity has caused the Earth to enter its “sixth great extinction event”, the biggest since the dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago, a study reported in the Telegraph has emphasised.
Australia and the Pacific were exposed as the worst regions for extinction rates. The review of 24,000 scientific papers said urgent and effective conservation policies were needed if the situation wasn’t to significantly worsen.
Since records began, half of Australia’s woodlands and forests have been destroyed or changed by agriculture. Logging has degraded more than two-thirds of the remaining forest.
Destruction and degradation of ecosystems was pinpointed as the main threat among six extinction driving causes. Almost all of these were linked to human activity.
Australia’s white lemuroid possum is among those most a risk, being in severe decline. The Tasmanian Devil has also been pushed to the brink by a deadly facial tumour.
Invasive species have destroyed many native animals and plants in the Pacific. The introduction of the brown tree snake is believed to have caused the Guam Micronesian kingfisher to be extinct in the wild.
“The burden on the environment is going to get worse unless we are a lot smarter about reducing our footprint” stressed Professor Richard Kingsford, environmental scientist at the University of New South Wales, Australia. “Unless we get this right, future generations will surely be paying more in quality of life and the environment. And our region will continue its terrible reputation of leading the world in the extinction of plants and animals.”
------------------------------------
Blue in the back
Devastating secondary effects of spinal cord injuries could be curbed by none other than a food dye similar to one found in sweets.
“Our hope is that this work will lead to a practical, safe agent that can be given to patients shortly after injury, for the purpose of decreasing the secondary damage we have to otherwise expect” said Professor Steven Goldman, one of the researchers at the University of Rochester, US.
Previous work by the team had illuminated the sequence of molecular changes after a spinal injury occurs. ATP, the body’s fundamental energy unit, quickly pours into the area. In these abnormally high quantities, the ATP kills off the healthy, uninjured motor neurone cells.
The researchers first experimented with oxidized ATP, which blocks ATP’s effects, and found rats treated with this were able to recover some limb function. However oxidized ATP carries risks of dangerous side effects.
Tests with the food dye Brilliant Blue G (BBG) had very similar results to oxidized ATP. But whereas oxidized ATP would have to be introduced directly into the injury – not a practical option – the dye could be given as a standard injection away from the site.
The mice in the experiment did develop one strange side effect: their skin temporarily took on a blue tinge.
“What we have here is a promising lead in this quest for so-called neuroprotective treatments” commented Dr Mark Bacon, head of research at the charity Spinal Research. However he added that more work was needed to see if therapeutic doses would reach toxic levels in people.
For more, take a look at the BBC.
------------------------------------
Watch this space…
Virgin Galactic has staged the first public glimpse of an airplane built to launch a ship into space, a step of their plan to commercialise cosmic travel.
“Most people never really believed it would be a reality” said Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group, speaking to the Independent. “By just trying these things, new things come out of it”.
The WhiteKnightTwo craft was showcased at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Air Venture annual gathering, where hundreds got together to watch the plane circle overhead.
Designed by Burt Rutan, WhiteKnightTwo looks like two planes connected at the wing tips and sports a painting of a woman in a space helmet on both fuselages.
It will carry a pressurized spacecraft – SpaceShipTwo – up to 15,240 metres. This will then detach and blast into space at four times the speed of sound.
After paying a reservation cost of $200,000 each, the six passengers will experience about five minutes of weightlessness before the ship glides back to earth. The whole trip will take roughly 2½ hours.
Matthew Pritzker, who runs his own investment firm in Chicago, has booked his trip. “This venture will prove to be a huge, huge turning point in the world of travel. It means so much to people who grew up looking at the stars” he enthused.
------------------------------------
Bac Mac 0.1?
Netbooks and notebooks are old hat: bacteria-powered computers are the next big thing for solving your complex mathematical problems.
US synthetic biologists have geared up bacteria to crack the deceptively difficult Hamiltonian Path Problem. The solution to this is a route that takes in each of 10 points only once.
There are 3.5 million possible paths, a daunting number to investigate. Whereas a silicon computer has to look at each of these one by one, a bacteria machine can look at every one simultaneously. This device also increases in power as the bacteria reproduce.
Starting with three points, the researchers programmed the bacteria by modifying their DNA. The points were represented by a combination of genes causing the bacteria to glow red or green. Shuffling of the DNA explored the routes between the points. When the bacteria found the right answer they glowed both red and green, turning yellow.
They came up trumps, with the answer being checked by the researchers in the bacteria’s genes. They believe adding more genetic differences – such as antibiotic resistance – could expand the method to solve more complex problems.
Find out more in the Guardian.
Not all shook up
Buildings of the future may have buffering defences built into their foundations to protect them from the most devastating earthquakes, reports ScienceNOW.
Skyscrapers and homes alike could benefit from the technology. “It’s fantastic how diverse and interesting research on cloaking has become in such a short time” said Physicist Ulf Leonhardt from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, who was involved with the first research in the field.
Earthquakes spread via waves in much the same way as light, radio or radar. The only difference is their incredibly destructive strength.
The ability of stealth aircraft to absorb or deflect radar waves was the inspiration for the new technology, which utilises the same concept.
The researchers used computers to model a device of layered concentric rings. These were made of materials of varying stiffness and flexibility – including plastic and copper – and are designed to harmlessly deflect earthquake waves.
To test the device, the team bombarded the rings with the equivalent of earthquake surface waves, of frequencies ranging from 30 to 150 hertz. A central zone was shown to be protected, with the rings absorbing and redirecting the waves.
However despite the advances in the field, it may be some time before prototypes can be tested. “This may remain science fiction [for some time]” said Leonhardt.
------------------------------------
Nest eggs?
The Government has called for the debate on whether donors should be allowed to sell sperm or eggs to be reopened, as a national shortage is driving British couples to travel abroad for therapy.
A current crisis in fertility treatment is forcing many people to wait years to receive therapy to help them begin a family. A recent study has shown hundreds of these couples are becoming “fertility tourists”.
Speaking to the Times, the head of the Government’s fertility watchdog voiced that a 2006 ruling that donors could not receive payment should be reconsidered. “Given the evidence that egg shortage is driving women overseas, I feel a responsibility to look at it again” Professor Lisa Jardine said.
The current law says donors can get up to £250 in expenses but no direct payments. Donor anonymity was removed in 2005 also.
Countries such as the United States, Spain and Russia already allow payment, and young women often use these to wipe out debts or fund university fees.
However the move raises concerns about a market in human tissue and exploitation of young women. Professor Jardine countered that the law already treated eggs, sperm and embryos differently, so allowing payment couldn’t set a precedent for organ sales.
She also appealed for discussion on the ethics of sperm and egg donation across generations and within families.
------------------------------------
Enter the Anthropocene
Human activity has caused the Earth to enter its “sixth great extinction event”, the biggest since the dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago, a study reported in the Telegraph has emphasised.
Australia and the Pacific were exposed as the worst regions for extinction rates. The review of 24,000 scientific papers said urgent and effective conservation policies were needed if the situation wasn’t to significantly worsen.
Since records began, half of Australia’s woodlands and forests have been destroyed or changed by agriculture. Logging has degraded more than two-thirds of the remaining forest.
Destruction and degradation of ecosystems was pinpointed as the main threat among six extinction driving causes. Almost all of these were linked to human activity.
Australia’s white lemuroid possum is among those most a risk, being in severe decline. The Tasmanian Devil has also been pushed to the brink by a deadly facial tumour.
Invasive species have destroyed many native animals and plants in the Pacific. The introduction of the brown tree snake is believed to have caused the Guam Micronesian kingfisher to be extinct in the wild.
“The burden on the environment is going to get worse unless we are a lot smarter about reducing our footprint” stressed Professor Richard Kingsford, environmental scientist at the University of New South Wales, Australia. “Unless we get this right, future generations will surely be paying more in quality of life and the environment. And our region will continue its terrible reputation of leading the world in the extinction of plants and animals.”
------------------------------------
Blue in the back
Devastating secondary effects of spinal cord injuries could be curbed by none other than a food dye similar to one found in sweets.
“Our hope is that this work will lead to a practical, safe agent that can be given to patients shortly after injury, for the purpose of decreasing the secondary damage we have to otherwise expect” said Professor Steven Goldman, one of the researchers at the University of Rochester, US.
Previous work by the team had illuminated the sequence of molecular changes after a spinal injury occurs. ATP, the body’s fundamental energy unit, quickly pours into the area. In these abnormally high quantities, the ATP kills off the healthy, uninjured motor neurone cells.
The researchers first experimented with oxidized ATP, which blocks ATP’s effects, and found rats treated with this were able to recover some limb function. However oxidized ATP carries risks of dangerous side effects.
Tests with the food dye Brilliant Blue G (BBG) had very similar results to oxidized ATP. But whereas oxidized ATP would have to be introduced directly into the injury – not a practical option – the dye could be given as a standard injection away from the site.
The mice in the experiment did develop one strange side effect: their skin temporarily took on a blue tinge.
“What we have here is a promising lead in this quest for so-called neuroprotective treatments” commented Dr Mark Bacon, head of research at the charity Spinal Research. However he added that more work was needed to see if therapeutic doses would reach toxic levels in people.
For more, take a look at the BBC.
------------------------------------
Watch this space…
Virgin Galactic has staged the first public glimpse of an airplane built to launch a ship into space, a step of their plan to commercialise cosmic travel.
“Most people never really believed it would be a reality” said Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group, speaking to the Independent. “By just trying these things, new things come out of it”.
The WhiteKnightTwo craft was showcased at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Air Venture annual gathering, where hundreds got together to watch the plane circle overhead.
Designed by Burt Rutan, WhiteKnightTwo looks like two planes connected at the wing tips and sports a painting of a woman in a space helmet on both fuselages.
It will carry a pressurized spacecraft – SpaceShipTwo – up to 15,240 metres. This will then detach and blast into space at four times the speed of sound.
After paying a reservation cost of $200,000 each, the six passengers will experience about five minutes of weightlessness before the ship glides back to earth. The whole trip will take roughly 2½ hours.
Matthew Pritzker, who runs his own investment firm in Chicago, has booked his trip. “This venture will prove to be a huge, huge turning point in the world of travel. It means so much to people who grew up looking at the stars” he enthused.
------------------------------------
Bac Mac 0.1?
Netbooks and notebooks are old hat: bacteria-powered computers are the next big thing for solving your complex mathematical problems.
US synthetic biologists have geared up bacteria to crack the deceptively difficult Hamiltonian Path Problem. The solution to this is a route that takes in each of 10 points only once.
There are 3.5 million possible paths, a daunting number to investigate. Whereas a silicon computer has to look at each of these one by one, a bacteria machine can look at every one simultaneously. This device also increases in power as the bacteria reproduce.
Starting with three points, the researchers programmed the bacteria by modifying their DNA. The points were represented by a combination of genes causing the bacteria to glow red or green. Shuffling of the DNA explored the routes between the points. When the bacteria found the right answer they glowed both red and green, turning yellow.
They came up trumps, with the answer being checked by the researchers in the bacteria’s genes. They believe adding more genetic differences – such as antibiotic resistance – could expand the method to solve more complex problems.
Find out more in the Guardian.
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