New Scientist Magazine 17 October 2009 (ATTiCA)
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Transcript of New Scientist Magazine 17 October 2009 (ATTiCA)
8/6/2019 New Scientist Magazine 17 October 2009 (ATTiCA)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/new-scientist-magazine-17-october-2009-attica 1/51
8/6/2019 New Scientist Magazine 17 October 2009 (ATTiCA)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/new-scientist-magazine-17-october-2009-attica 2/51
C O N T E N T S Vo l ume 20 4 No 2730
NEWS5 ED IT OR IA L So cie ty n ee ds to a ck no wle dg e
t ha t a lc o h ol is a h a rm f u l d ru g
6 U P FR D N T C a nc er d ru gs fo r d og s, L as er
c lam p d ow n c rim p in g a s tr on om y8 T H IS W EE K
G l o b a l s tr a te g y t a rg e t s a l c o h o l ' s da r k s i de .
Ge t ti ng i nt o Sa tu r n 's g r o o ve s . P s y ch o pa th s
f o rg e t t h e ir f e a r. Madaga sca r 's b io d iv e r si ty
p il la g e d . Fo l low t h e p o l l u t i o n t rai l to spo t
a n a lie n , M o n k e ys creeped o ut b y th e ir
cybe r - s e l v a s . C lim a t e p l ed g e s s ta c k u p
17 IN B R IE F The Ma t r ix fO r m i ce ,Wo r ld ' s f ir s t
v e g e ta r ia n sp id e r
2 1 T EC HN OLO G Y
T h e fa s t- m ov in g . c olo ur fu l w o rld o f e -pape r ,
S il e nce i s g o l d e n f o r a r ti fi c ia l mu sc l e s. S p r ea d in g
th e b en e fit s o f th e d ig ita l e co n om y
OP IN ION26 D e me ntia 's o th er n ig htm a re A ntip sy ch otic
d rugs a re a n a sty w a y to d ea l w i th a g gr es s io n
i nA l z h e ime r 'S su f fe r e rs . a r g u e s I rv in g K i rs ch
Z6 M o on ru sh L un ar e xp lo ita tio n m a y b e a re ru n o f
t he , A nt ar ct ic g r ab , w a r n s W illia m C u lie rn e B ow n
3 0 L ET TER S Stru ctu re o f s u c ce s s . F ac ts o r n o t
3 ZR icha rd leakey m ay h ave qu i t t h e ' < fam i ly
bus i ness " ,2 0 y ea rs a go , b u t th e p a ss io n s
s u rr o un d in g h um a n o r ig in s s till s ti r h im
FEATURES:J 4 You r ID c h ip ( se e r ig h t)
38 Papa w a s a f oa min g s to ne (s ee rig ht)
43 C .r ys ta lg az in g W em a y fin a lly h a ve c ra ck e d
t he p ro b lem o f w h y s olid s a c t a s th ey d o
46 S tr an ge in f.e c tio n s D is ea s es y o u n ev er
k ne w y ou c o uld c at ch
REGU L ARS30 EN IGMA
50 BOO KS & - ARTS
A p o etic a n d s de n tflc e x plo ra tio n o f tim e .
C o pin g w i th d e ath . A ta le o f h ap p in e ss . H o w
t o s h o ot b ir d s. T h e e x tin c tio n s to ry
S Z D a vid H a in es s ha re s h is p as sio n fo r s cie nc e
th ro u gh h is s o ng s
7 Z F EE DB AC K In t he B eg in nin g." T he Q word
73 T HE L AST W OR D Suc ke rs fu r se a sn ake s
54 JO BS & - CAREERS
COVER .STORY
Y O U R
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1 7 O c to b er 2009 1 NewScien t i s t 13
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E D I T O R I A L
F irs t sh ots in th e
w ar on a lcoho lT h e s uc ce ss fu l c am p a ig n a ga in st
s m o kin g s ug g es ts th a t a ttitu d es
to d rin kin g w ill a ls o c ha ng e
O G AR ET fE S ate go od fo r yo ur thro at, ac co rd ing
to advertisem ents from half a centu ry ago .
Today such claim s are unthinkab le , as sm okers
face m alevo lent s tares o f co ntem pt w henever
they light up . D ie-bards a part, so c ie ty now
accepts the huge damage to health w reaked by
sm oking , bo th to sm okers them selves and too thers thro ugh pass ive sm oking - a change in
attitud es w ith huge benefits fo r pub lic health .
N ow the W orld Health O rganization is
lau nching th e firs t glo bal w ar ag ains t alco ho l
ab use (see p age 8 ). C an it rep licate the su ccess
o f the anti-sm ok ing cam paign?
S om e o f the w ays to cu rb excess iv e alco ho l
co nsum ption are sim ilar to tho se used agains t
cigarettes, su ch as increasing taxes and
re du cing av ailab ility . W e re po rt o n re se arc h
that show s ho w these m easu res can penalise
heavy boozers mo re than tipp le rs . A nd as w ith
cigaret tes , there may also be sco pe fo r making
drink ing less glam oro us thro ugh clam pd ow ns
o n m ark etin g and ad ve rtising .
In th is magazine , w e have argued that
these kinds o fpoUcies shou ld be drawn up
on the bas is o f ev idence o f harm fu lness - to
individuals and to S O ciety . B ut the pro blem s
o f alcoho l abuse have in the pas t been taken
lig htly . E xcess iv e drinking has o ften been
ac ce pte d, e ve n c ele brate d, w ith h ang ov ers
What's hot on NewScientistcom
dAUERY Th e w o rl d's
smal les t art p ri ze S e eth e
winners o f Nlkon ' sSm a l lW or l dp r i ze
fo r m ic ro sco pe p ho to gra ph y - fro m a
p s y ch e de l ic a ng l er fi sh o v a ry to an
inc red i b le v i ew ef a r us te d E oin
and ill-co ns idered liaiso ns seen as co mical
interlu des that lig hten th e daily grind .
Th is attitud e o f casual acceptance is
central to the challenge factng the W HO . I tob scu re s a prob lem w hich ki l led 2.4ml l l i on
peop le in 2004, half the to ll o f sm oking , and
is es tim ated to b e b ehind 20 to 30 per cent o f
cases o f c irrh os is o f the liv er, ho micide an d
m o to r-v eh ic le a cc id en ts .
'th e firs t lin e o f attac k, as w ith sm oking, w ill
be to get everyone to accept that alcoho l abuse
takes a h uge to ll . W e need to erase the jo lly
caricatu re o fth e to wn d ru nk w ho o ccas io nally
falls o ff h is sto ol. T he WHO argu es that w e
"D r in k in g , l ik e s m o kin g , c au se s
c oH a te ra l d am a ge , b u t n o o ne e ls eis p a ss iv e ly c o ns u m in g th e a lc o ho 'I"
shou ld bo rrow ano ther aspect o f the anti-
sm oking m essage and regu late so -ca l l ed
"pass ive drink ing" -the effect on o thers o f
a p erso n c ons um in g alcohol- po in ting to the
ro le it p lays in v io le nce , fam ily breakdo wn
and ro ad death s. B ut "pass iv e drinking"
is a m islead ing term . W hile drink ing is like
sm oking in that it cau ses c olla teral dam ag e,
no o ne e lse (save an unbo rn o r breastfed child)
ca n p as si ve ly c o ns u m e the alco ho l imb ibed by
ano ther. A ny h a rm re su lts f ro m a drinker 's
actio ns , no t expo su re to the substance ise lf .
T al k o f p as si ve drtnktng d e fl ec ts a tt en ti o n
from a mo re sho cking aspect o f the p ro b lem .
The ov erall harm cau sed by alcoho l is greater
than that caused by LSD or ecs tasy , and no t far
behind co caine . W hen so cie ty s to ps thinking
o f alco ho l as as re laxing tipp le and regards it as
ano ther dru g, that w ill s ignal the b igg es t
change in thinking o f aIL ••
No g od ..g iv en rig ht to
be cruel to a nim a ls
IN F LIC TIN G u nnecessary pain o n anim als is
r igh ly frow ned upo n. So why do w e allow so
m any anim als to d ie w anto nly painfu l deaths
in s lau ghterhouses? The answ er, sad ly , is
b ec au se o f r elig io n.
Is lam and Ju daism bo th decree that an im als
m ust be s lau ghtered by s litting their throat
w ithou t s tunning. B oth re lig ions c laim that
the ir p ractices do no t cause pain .
A s w e repo rt on page 11 , th at c laim d oe sn't
ho ld up . If th es e find ing s are re plic ate d, such
cruel s laugh ter m etho ds need to be changed .U nf ortu nate ly , th ere is li ttle ch ance o f
that h appening . R eligio ns o ften d efend
the inde fens ib le by claim ing an au to matic
righ t to "resp ect" . N o do ubt they w ill d o
so again in th is case - and S OC iety w ill m eekly
aUow them to get away w ith it. •
Turn tha t ligh t ou t
L OO K IN G fo r alien inte llige nce? O ne w ay m ig ht
b e to keep an eye ou t fo r a n e x o pl an e t th at b as
b een m essed up w ith chem ical po llu tion o r is
sp il ling lig ht into space . (see p age 13). Ifw e do
d is co ve r a n a lie n c iv ili sa tio n this wa y, w e 'l l
know w e aren't the o nly d irty d enizens o f the
galaxy . B ut the re 's a flip side to th is idea: ou r
ow n po llu tion co u ld reveal o u r presence to
extraterrestrials. T ha t p ro v id e s y et a no th er
good reaso n w hy w e sho u ld mend our polluting
w ay s. W h at's b ad f or E arth 's e nv iro nm ent
cou ld also inv ite an alien inv as ion .•
o b je cts m a de f rom tr an sp ar en t
r u bb e r p r ov i de s a n ov el w ay to
i nt er ac t w i th a touch-respons ive
c om p ute ri se d ta ble . S ee w h at u sin g
itls l ik e b y w a tc hi ng o u r v id eo
o f a wa te ry o as is , w h il e o th er s
s ug ge st th is is j us t a m ir ag e
asked fo r he lp .The f i nd ing5ugges .t 5
t ha t c h imp s l ac kan un d er s ta nd i ng o f
others 'desres
TEC H Th e psychology o f Google ' s
email-kil ler A c om p lic ate d n ew w ay
o f c ommun ic a ti ng o n li ne Ca ll e d
G o o gl e W a v e i s b e st u n de rs to o d b y
ap ply ing w hat w e k no w ab ou t h ow
p eo p le a lr ea dy c o nn ec t o n li ne
m il SPAC E H u nti ng fo r w ate r
onthe m oo ma b rie f bu t
s pl as hy h is to ry N A S A ' s LCRClSS
m is sio n is t he la te st i n a s er ie s o ta tte mp ts to d iv in e w ate r o n th e
m oo n. S om e h av e h inte d th at o ur
n ea re st n eig hb ou r m ay b e s om e th in g
B L O G Why N A S A b arre d w om en
astro nau ts W hen th e U S worked
t owar d s p u tt in g it s firs t m en in
s pa ce , th ere w as a no th er e pti on :
w om en in s pa ce . S a why didn't it
h ap p en u n ti l th e 198057
L IFE C him ps are h ap py to help ~if y o u sa y p l e a s e Ch impanze es w i ll
b ehave a l tr u i st ic a ll y t ow a r d s other
c him ps - b ut o nly if th ey h av e b ee n
DOMPUTII~CiSt ressbal l
c om pu te r m te rf ac es
S t re tc h in g , p o k in g an d s qu ee z in g
. L IFE T he 21st-centu ry fly
Dra p A r e s in app li ed to sur faces
ca n restr ict th e m ov em ent o f in se ct
pest s , S ee o u r v id eo o f c oc kr oa ch es
f ai li ng t o g et a g ri iJ
F o r v i d e o , c omm e n t a n d o n li ne
debate . vi s i twww.newsdent i s t . com
17Octobe r 2 0 0 91 N e wS cie nt is t 1 5
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U P F R O N T
F lu v a c c in e spurned
VA CC IN A T IO N a ga in st s win e f lu
has s tarted in the US an d wil l soon
begin in Eu rope , bu t m any o f
tho se w ho shou ld be firs t in line
are hav ing seco nd tho ugh ts ..
Hea l thca re w orkers are a to p
p rio rity f or v ac cina tio n b ec au se
th ey c an infec t v ulne rab le pe op le
and because their se rv ices are
vital in a pandem ic . Y et in a su rv ey
o f U K n urses las t w eek, 47 pe r
cent said they w ou ld no t get
v ac cin ate d. M e anw hile , B ritis h
ho sp ita l b o s ses qu izzed by Th eGuardian new spaper c laim that as
few as 10per cent o f s taff w ill have \a
the sho t. In the US , m any ho sp ital ~
em p lo yees are p ro tes ting agains t ~
ru le s say ing they m ust b e §
vaccinated o r lo s e the ir jo b s . ~
"In a survey of UKnurses. ~41per cent said they wouldnot get vaccinated .•upfrom 31 per cent inAugust"
Child ren are also at the top o f
the v acc ine lis t; in the U S s um mer
ou tbreak, the age g ro up m ost
ho sp ita lised w as child ren u nder 4.
Y et 40 per cent o f U S p arents say
6 1 N e w Sc ie ntis t 1 17 O c to be r 2 00 9
they w on't vaccinate thetr k id s ,
acco rd ing to a po ll by the
U n iv er sity o f M i ch ig an .
M any parents and health
w orkers argu e that sw ine f lu is no t
dange rou s enough to jus tify the
p otential s id e effec ts o f a v acc ine ,
bu t this w ee.k there w ere fresh
w arnings that the v iru s can cause
se rio us illne ss . In C anad a and
M ex ic o re sp ectiv ely , 1 7pe r cent
and 41 p er cent o f p eo ple adm itted
to intens ive care w ith the v irus
hav e d ied . In M ex ico , half had no
u nderly ing health pro blem s; in
C anada 70 pe r cent had no m ajo ri ll ne s s b e f or e ha n d.
L aser ru les 's to p sc ien ce '
C OU LD as tro n om ers a cc id e n taH y th e ru le s w ere tig h te ne d . N ow ; w ithk no ck ou ts a te ll ite s 7 T ha t's th e w or.ry a stro no me rs e age rto u se th e l ase rs
o f th e U S a ir fo rc e , w hic h re s tr ic ts th e m ore , the r es tr ic tio n s a re b e gin n in g
u se o f l as ers th at h elp fo cu s te le sc op es . to c ha fe ,
N ow so me as tro n om ers w arn th ey w ill
m is s k ey o bs erv atio ns u nd er th e ru les .
M a n y la rg e o b se rv ato rie s, in c lu d in g
K e ck .a nd G e m in i N o rth in H a w aii. , u se
la se rs to d ete rm in e th e a m ou nt of
tu rb ule nc e in th e a tm os ph ere , w h ic h
d i st o rt s i m a g e s . .S h a p e ·s h if ti n g
m irro rs o n th e te le sc op es ca n th en
compensa t e to r e du c e b lu r rin g .
S i n c e a d i rec t laser h it o n a satel l i tec ou ld d am ag e its o ptic s, th e U S a ir
fo rc e's S pa ce C o m m an d h as fo r
y ea rs re str ic te d w he n a nd w he re
U S o b se rv ato rie s c an fire th em . w ith
litt le im p ac t o n a stro no m y. T he n tw o
y ea rs a go , j us t a s k in ks in the l ase r
te ch no lo gy w ere b ein g iro ne d o ut,
V iru s in th e frameALL in th e mind, o r all in a vi rus?
C hro nic fatigu e synd rom e, once
d ism issed as "yu pp ie f lu ", has
b een linked to a v i ru s th at is a ls o
com mon in peop le w ith a certain
typ e o f p ro state c ancer.
I t's s ti ll n ot c learif th e v iru s,
c all ed XMRV , c au se s c hr on ic
fatigu e synd rom e (C PS ), or is ju st
m o re common in peo p le w ith the
d iso rde r. B ut the d isco very has
re ignited debate o ver w he ther C PS
is p sy ch ol og ic al o r p hy sio lo g ic a.l.
A team led by Judy M iko v its atth e W hittem ore P eterso n Ins titu te
" Si.g n ific a nt. n e ga tiv e im p a ct s o f
th e se n e w r es tr ic tio n s on sc ient i f ic
p ro du ctiv ity a re b ein g fe lt," s ay s
a re po rt b y th e U S A s so cia tio n
o f U n i.v e rs itie s fo r .R e s ea rc h in
A stro no my , b as ed in W as hin gto n D C
T he re str ic te d zo ne s a re n ow
s o l arg e th at th ey c an ru le o u t
o bs erv at io ns e ve n w h en a s ate llite
is b e. lo w th e h oriz on , th e re po rt s ay s.
T his re su lts in h alf to tw o·th ird s o f
the o bje cts a str on om e rs w o uld lik e
to v ie w w ith la s e r a ss is ta n ce o n a
g iv en n ig ht b ein g o ff- l im its , th e
r ep o rt a d ds ..A n d f or s h o r t - l ived
p he no me na lik e g am m H ay burs t s ,
th ere is n o s ec on d c ha nc e.
in R e no , N e v ad a, i nv es tig ate d
w hethe r X MR V m igh t b e linked
to C PS after th e v iru s w as rep orted
in 2006 to be present in patients
wi th a fo rm o f pro sta te cance r
a ss oc ia te d w ith b io ch em ic al
changes also found in C PS .
W hen her team analy sed b loo d
taken fro m 101 C PS p atients , 68 o f'
them tes ted po s itiv e fo r X MRV
g en es , c om p ar ed wi th ju st e ig ht
o ut o f 218 he alth y co ntro ls
(Science , DO[: io.nze/scterce.
1 17 905 2.). M i ko v its s ay s h er te am
h as fo und antib od ies ag ains t
X MR V in 95 per cent o f nearly300 p atie nts te ste d.
L un ar le t . .down
" I T H lN K w e're all a little b it
d isappo in ted that w e didn't see
a ny th in g." D av id M o rr is on ,
d irec to r o f N A SA 's L unar S cie nc e
Ins titu te , s um med up the
c olle ctiv e th ou gh ts o f e ve ry on e
w ho w atched N A SA crash a ro cket
in to the m oon o n 9 O cto ber.
N A SA d elib erate ly crash ed its
L CR O SS s pace craf t in to th e lu nar
su rface abo u t 4 m inu tes af ter the
ro cke t. I t w as lo oking fo r w ate r
and o ther m olecu le s as it f lew
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F o r dai ly n ew s s t o r: ie s , v is it www . N ew s c i e n t i s t . c om l n ew s
thro ugh the deb ris p lum e created
by the ro cket im pac t.
E arth bo un d o bser ve rs fai led
to see any sign o f a p lum e, as hadbeen hoped . Even the Hubble
S pace Te lesco pe carne u p em pty.
N A SA claim ed a tec hn ical v ic to ry ,
b ut it w ill lik ely b e rem em bere d
as an antic lim ax. It w as neither
a fai lu re, such as the lo ss o f the
M ars P olar L and er in1999, o r a
g re at s uc ce ss , lik e th e s pe ctac ula r
co met co llis io n o f the D eep
Impact m issio n in 2005.
S till, the infrared flash o f the
im pac t, w hich ap pe are d inLCROSS
data, m ay reveal big c lues abo utlunar ice in the com ing weeks.
Dw in dlin g d oom
C ON SE RV AnO N b io lo gists m ay
b e d elu din g th em se lv es .
A n analy sis o f the m inim um
num ber o f indiv iduals needed
fo r a sp ec ie s ' lo ng -te rm s ur viv al
c onc lu des that conservation
practices underestim ate the risk
o f extinc tio n b y no t fu lly allo wing
fo r the dangers po sed by the lo ss
o f gene tic d iv ers ity .lf co rrec t, it
m eans the num ber o f ind iv iduals
in endangered spec ies are be ing
allow ed to dw indle too far.
Loch ran Tram at th e Un iv e rs it y
o f A delaid e, A ustralia, and
co lleagues found that fo r
tho usands o f spec ies , the
m inim um v iab le p opu latio n
s ize - w here a spec ies has a
go per cent chance o f surv iv ingth e n ex t 100 years - com es inat
thousands rather th an h un dr ed s
of ' lndiv lduals . Many b io lo g is ts ,
Traill say s, w ork w ith lo wer
numbers and unaccep tab ly h igh
extinct ion r isks (Biological
ConsE'TVation, DOl: 10.1016/
j. biocon.zcog.og.ocil,
" If c ri ti ca ll y e nd an ge re d
species are no t b rought up to to tal
p op ulatio n s iz es o f a fe w tho us an d,
then w e are sim ply managing fo r
their shor t- term persistence,"
Trail! says. H e ho pes his w ork
w ill "enco urage greate r fo cu s
o freso urces to po pulations that
need attentio n no w" ,
Ban an a b an ke d
I T'S p in k, g ro ws in C hina, and w ild
Asian e lephant s l oveit
Th e Yunnanbanana (Musa it e ra ns ) is also th e
24,2o oth w ild p lant sp ecies
banked b y the K ew M illennium
S ee d B a nk P ar tn er sh ip . Itmarks
the po int at which the bank has
reached its initial targe t o f
collect ing 10per cent o f the
w orld 's kno wn w ild p lant sp ec ies .
S et up in 2000, the seed bank
at Kew Gardens in London is th e
w orld 's largest fo r wild plants.
T he id ea is that the seeds can all
b e a cc e ss e d ino ne p lace to he lpresearchers hu nt fo r po tential
m ed icinal species and cro ps
re silien t to clim ate c hang e.
"W e have every reason to be
p ro ud , but there 's much left tobe do ne," says Pau l Sm ith, head
o f th e p ar tn er sh ip . I ts n e xt target
is to have banked one-quarte r o f
"The seed bank will helpin the hunt for potentialmedicinal s p e c i e s or c r o p sresilient to climate change"
the w orld 's w ild spec ies by 2020.
The o ther large col lec t ion is
the Svalbard G lobal Seed Vault in
N orw ay, w hich co llects cro ps top res erv e the m in case o f disease,
S ick dogs get newest drugsP E T d og s W ith c an ce r in th e U .s ar e
now enti tl e d to receive e xp e r ime n t a l
d r u g. s - befcrethe d ru g s a re a va il ab le
f or h um an s, T we lv e tr ials ar e u nd er
w ay o n g ro up s of 15. to 6 0 d o gs ,
and in severalcf t he . a nimal s c an c er s
have di sappeared.
''We 'v e h ad d r ama ti c r em i ss io n s
i n d o g s w i th r ea ll y a gg re ss iv e
c an ce rs ," s ay s C han d K han na, h ea d
o f t he C ompa ra ti v e Onc o lo g .yT ri al s
C o ns or tiu m n ew ly f or me d in
B e th e.s da , M a ry la nd , b y t he U S
Na ti o na l C a nc e r I n st it ut e.
U n li ke m i ce a nd r ats ., d o gs
e xp er ie nc e c an ce r 'in a s im ilar w ay to
humans . A s in p eo ple , c an ce rs in d og s
s pre ad to fo rm s eco nd aries an d can
b ec om e res istan t to d ru gs. T he
a ni m al s c an a ls o h av e r el ap se s.
T he c on so rtie m c on sis ts o f
19 ve te r ina ry schoo l s , an d th ere ar e
p lan s to e xte nd it to E uro pe . O w ners
c an . o, ptf o r c o nv en ti on al d ru g s o r
e X pe ri m en ta l o n es , i nc lu d in g s ome
that are u ntested in hu mans and
o th er s th at a re alr ead y u nd er go in g
tr ia ls , b u tth a1 :n ee d a dd iti on al a ni ma l
d ata - fo r e xam ple o n d osin g - b efo re
they ra n pro ceed to th e next s ta ge
(PLoSMed ldne , 001: 10.13711
journa l ,pmed,1000162) ,
A s w e ll as lo o kin g af te r th eir s ic k
d o g, own er s C O i n h elp gath er d ata f or
th e r es l! ar ch er s.'T he y'r e g iv l! n
n oteb oo ks s o that th ey c an c om pl ete
a ss es sm en ts o f q ua lity o f lif e,
a pp etite , d em ea no u r a nd p er hap s
e ve n c o ll ec t s om e s pe ci m en s; '
Khanna. s ays.
60SECONDS
Ic e to s e e yo u
At l as t, . a t empo r ar y re p ri e. ve f o .r
A r cti Cic e, T hi rty -tw o p er c en t o f
i ce remaining at theend o f the2 00 9 m elt s eas on w as tw o y e.ar so ld ,
c om pared w ith 9 p er ren Un 2008
and 21 p ercent in 2007, according
to th e U .s Na ti o na l. S n ow a nd Ic e
Da ,t aC en tr e. T h is g i. ve .ss ome h op e
th at th e i ce w il l th ic ke n th is w in te r
a nd s tab ilis e f or a f ew y ear s.
G o lo ng a nd p ro sp er
Ap ro p o sa lto v is it a ste r o l ds a nd 'o r b it
Ma r s h as r ec e iv e d a b o o st. N . A 5A 's
f utu re o ptio ns f or h um an s p a c e -f lig ht a re b ein g s co re d b y a W h ite .
H ou se p an el, b as ed o n 12 cri ' teria . .An
e ar ly r ep or t p uts th e s o-c alle d " de ep
sp ace" o ptio n ah ead o f a retu rn to
th e m oo n, b utthat's b ase d o n o nly
fbu r c r it er i a: s ch e d u l e , c o st , b e n e fi ts
to sd en ce , an d p re se rv in g w o rk fo rc e.
A f u l l r e po r t is . e xp ec te d th is m o nth .
In d ee p w a te r
Th e g ov er nmen t o f t he Ma ld i ve s
w ill h o ld a c a bin et m ee tin g 6 m etr es
underwate ron 17 Oc tob e r. S c u ba
g ea r'i s th e d re ss mde f or th e e v en t,
which s e e k s t' O r ais e aw ar en es s o f
th e r is in g s ea -l ev el s w h ic h c o ul d
d ev as ta te th e a to ll .
A b ort io ns s la sh ed
F o ur m illio n f ew er a bo rtio ns w er e
carried o u t w o rld w id e in 2 0 03 th an
in 1 99 5, m ain ly d ue to an in cr ea se
i n c o ntr ac ep ti on , r ep o rts th e
W a sh in gto n DC-based Gut tmacher
I n st it ut e. T h e r ate o f unwanted
pregnandesalsofel i ,. from6.9to
5..5p er c en tb etw een 1 99 5 an d 2008 .
F e ta l c an ce r s tr ik es
I n .a ra re c as e of cance.rbeing
tr an sm itte d f rom a mo th er t.a
a fe tus ,cancerce ll s seem to have
a cq ui re d m u ta tio n s th at a ll ow e d
th em to av oid attack fro m th e fe tal
i mmu n e s ys te m ..S o s ay T a. ke sh i
I so d a a nd c o ll ea gu es .a t T o ky o
Med ic al a nd De n ta l Un i. ve r si ly i nJ ap an ,w ho an aly se d th e D N A o f
cancer cel ls in o ne s uc h in fan t. O n ly
abou t 90 s uc h c Ci se sa re k nown.
17 Oc t obe r 20091 Newsc ient i s t 17
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T H . I S W E E K
d am age f ro m alco ho l ab u se , th e
f if th le ad in g c au se o fp re m atu re
d ea th an d d isa bil ity w orld wid e.
U nv eile d las t w ee k in G en ev a,
S witze r land , the d oc um ent is th e
c ulm in atio n o f'ta lk s b etw ee n
rep resen tativ es fro m the W H O 's
1 93 m e mbe r s tate s .."It is a
land mark do cu ment," say s P ete r
A nd ers on , a h ea lth c on su ltan t
and adv ise r o n a lco ho l to the
W HO and the E uro p ean U nio n.
M em b er s tate s w ill b e inv ite d
to ratif y the f in alis ed v ers io n o f the
d o cum ent at th e m ee ting o f the
W o rld H ealth A ssem bly in M ay ,
b u t th e d o cum ent w ill no t b e
le ga lly b in din g. I ts p ur po se
in ste ad is to ra is e aw are ne ss
am ong go vernm ents abo ut the
im po rtan ce o f re du cin g alc oh ol
ab u se and to p ro vid e da ta that
w ill p ers ua de e le cto rate s th at
new law s are requ ired - th e re by
e m bo ld en in g g ov ern m en ts
to take ac tio n. The d ocu me nt w ill
also p re sen t a m enu o f legal and
go ve rnm ental s trateg ie s tha t have
Andy Cogh lan
HUMAN IT Y 's re la tio ns hip w ith
alc o ho l has nev er b een easy . N ow
it is a bo u t to u nd ergo as g rea t a
change as o ur a ttitu de to to bacc o,
w hich has se en sm oking p lu mm et
f rom the he ight o f c o o l to th e
lo we st o fu np le as ant ha bits .
That a t least is the hop e o f the
W o r ld H e al th O r g an iz ati on ,
w hich , b etw een no w and Janu ary ,
w ill be ho ning i ts d raft o f th e f irs t
g lo bal s trate gy o n re du cing h ealth
a I N e wS cie m is t 1 17 O cto be r 2 00 9
b een sho wn to w ork . " I t will
p ro vid e k no wle dg e a nd a ware ne ss
ab ou t th e s iz e o f the p ro blem ,
and adv ice abo ut th e m os t co st-e ff ec ti ve p o li ci es ," s ay s A n d er so n .
T he im pe tu s fo r ac tio n is
fo u nd ed on the g ro wing
re alis atio n th at a lc oh ol d o es n't
just harm th os e w ho d rin k,
co mb ined w ith a b ette r
k no w le d ge o f i nte rv e nti on
s tr ate gi es . F o r e xam p le , in Mar ch
th e U K go ve rnm ent's c hie f
m e dic al o ff ic er , L ia m D o na ld so n,
d ev o te d a chap te r o f h is 2008
an nu al re po rt to " pa ss iv e
d rink ing " , th e d am age tha th eav y d rinkers w re ak o n o th e rs .
To i l lu stra te th e e xte nt o f
th e p ro b lem in the UK , he
re po rted tha t in 2008, there
"T he WHO says th e m o steffective way to reducea lc o h o l c o n s ump t io n isto r a is e p r ic e s "
were 125,000 "alcohol-related
in stan ce s o f d om es tic v io le nc e" ,
that an est imated 6000 b ab ie s a re
b orn annua lly w ith fe tal alc oho l
synd rom e and tha t in 2006,
7000 p eo ple w ere in ju red and
560 k ille d a s a r es ult o f d rin k-
d riv in g, n ot in clu ding the d riv ers .
SaIly C as sw el] o f M a ss ey
U niv ers ity in A u ck lan d, N e w
Ze aland , w ho he lp ed p ro du ce th e
W HO do cum ent, say s a f ocu s o n
p as siv e d rin king is k ey to w in nin g
p ub lic acc ep tance fo r m ore
s tr in ge nt a lc o ho l l eg is la ti on . "Itc ha lle ng es th e n eo llb era l id eo lo gy
w hic h p ro m ote s th e d rin ke r's
freed om to cho o se h is o r h e r ow n
b eh av io ur," s he s ay s.
P ersu ad ing go vernm ents and
c itiz ens o f th e p ro blem is ju s t the
f irs t s te p, tho ugh . W h at, if
any th ing , can b e d o ne to s to p
p eo ple d rink in g to e xc ess ?
T o s om e e xtent, s trateg ie s w ill
d ep end o n lo catio n.In rich
co untr ie s , fo r exam ple , the fo cu s
is l ikely to be on s to pp ing yo ung
p eo ple f ro m b ing e d rink in g,
w h e re a s i nt ro d u c in g drink-
d riv ing law s m ay b e a p rio ri ty
inr ap id ly d ev elo p in g c ou ntrie s,
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In this sect ion
• G e tt in g in to Saturn's g ro o ve s , p a ge 10
• P sy ch op ath s fo rg et the ir fe a r, p ag e 1 2
• F ollo w th e pollution t r a i l to spot an a l i en , p a g e 13
Akohol consumption and its effect on healthhere newly acqu ired w ealth is
inc reasing o wnersh ip o f cars and
a cc es s to a lc o ho l.
G ene rally , ho we ve r, th e W H Osay s th e m os t e ffe ctiv e m easu re s
are to raise p rices th ro ugh heavy
taxatio n b as ed o n alco ho l c on te nt,
an d. to re du ce the avatlabtltty o f
a lc oh ol th ro ug h s tric t lic en sin g
schem es lim iting o pening tim es
and the nu mber o f o utle ts .
S uch strateg ie s m ay sm ack o f
o ve rac tiv e go ve rn me nt, b ut re cen t
f ind in gs s ug ge st the se m eas ure s
work . A lex W age naar o f th e
U n iv e rs ity o f F lo ri da , G a in es vi lle ,
a nd c olle ag ue s re vie we d11 2 stu die s e xam inin g th e e ffe cts
o f p rice and tax on alcoho l
consum ptio n and fo u nd that,
on average , a 10 p e r c en t in cr ea se
in th e p r ice o f bee r redu ced
consum ptio n by 5 p er cent, o f
w ine by 7 p er cen t and sp irits
by 8 per cent (Addict ion, 001;
10.1111. j.136o-0443.2oo8.02438.x).
F ro m ano the r s tud y, in w hich
W a ge na ar's te am s urv ey ed
800 stu dents leav ing a c am pus b ar
o ver fo ur n ights , and to ok b reath
a lc oh ol re ad in gs , th e r es ea rc he rs
c alc ulate d that e ac h to-cent
increase inthe co s t o fad r ink, pe r
gram o f e than ol, w as as so ciate d
w ith a 30 per cent d ec rease in the
chance that s tud ents w ou ld leave
th e b ar d ru nk (Alcoholism: cn« lealand Exper Imen ta l Re sea r ch , om :io.nnz] .1530-0271.2009.0]036.x).
M eanw hile , at the behes t o f the
S co ttis h go ve rnm en t, P etra M eie r
o f th e U nive rs ity o f Sheff ie ld , U K,u sed S co ttish data o n leve ls o f
alco ho l consum ptio n and the
p rices p aid by d iffe rent peo ple fo r
d if fe re nt ty pe s o f d rin k to c alc ula te 'Treating aseelal climateth e s oc ia l e ff ec ts o f in tro du cin g around drInking throughm inim um p rices o n alco ho l. sports and movies has aS he e stim ate s that se tting powerfu Iimpact"
the m inim um price at 40 pence
per un it o f alco ho l (a sm all
g las s o f w ine o r half a p int o f
b ee r), w hkh is s till at le ast tw ic e
as e xp en siv e as th e c he ap es t
a lc oh ol a va ila ble in S co tla nd ,
c ou ld s av e th e natio n £950 mil l ion
in he althc are and p olic in g
c os ts o ve r 10 y ears , and av oid
3600 ho sp ital adm is sio ns and
L itre so f p ure a lc oh ol p er a du lt in 2 00 3:
C )Amer i c a A
7.3%
Pecentage o f totaldisease burden
due to alcohol
W O R L D T O T A L4,6%
N o d at a 0·2.9 3·5.9 • 9 ·11.9 • 12 ·14.9 • 15+
huge tax revenu es fro m alco ho l,
and p ressu re from the indu s try to
a vo id a nti -d ri nk in g l eg is la ti on .
M ean wh ile , p oo re r c ou ntr ie s o fte n
d on't hav e any regu latio ns at all.
P r ed ic ta bl y, th e a lc o ho l i nd u str y
is no t happyw ith the W HO 's fo cu s
o n re du cin g c on su m ptio n
thro ugh p ric ing , av ailab ility and
market ing . Itals o argu es that
go vernm ent inte rv entio n isn 't th e
o nly w ay to so lv e the p ro blem .
" O th er p ar ti es , i nc lu d in g
in du stry , c an p lay a ro le ," s ay s
M a rc us G ra nt o f th e I nte rn atio na lC ente r fo r A lc oh ol P olic ie s, a th in k
tank fund ed by the alco ho l
indu s try , in W ashing to n D C.
H e c ite s a co llabo ratio n in
K eny a to o ve rc om e p oiso ning
cau sed by cheap b oo tleg bee r
in w hic h an A fric an b re we ry
p ro duced a safe r riv al, and the
K eny an go ve rn me nt agre ed
to lift tax on it. The leA P is
p ub lis hin g a b oo kc alle d Work ing
To ge th er t o R e du c e Ha rm f ul
Drinking i n Nov embe r , c o -e d i te d
by G ran t, that inclu des a p ledge to
" take into ac co unt" the p ote ntial
h ealth im pac ts o f p ro duc ts such
as alco po ps, w hich appeal to th e
f: ~Western PacificI J ~I 7 . , 2%\ . . ~
C lEurope11.6%
Middle East0.5%
f
Sou th -eas t
Asia2 , 7%
Africa2 , 1%
A m sr lr a A I nc lu de s us , ( a n ad a 11 nd cuna ; A me ric a B indudes ( e n tr o l Am enC 1 l,So uth A me ric a a nd th e ta r i b b ea n :E ur op e I nc iu de s R lIs si a;
M i dd l e E as t in clu de s E gY Pt. S ud an a nd M oro ec o; W es te rn P o e ifie in tlu de s C hin a, A us tra lia a nd N ew Z ea la nd
1100 c rim in al o ffe nc es e ac h y ear.
A s f or ligh t d rinkers w ho
co mplain they w ou ld b e unfairly
s et b ac k b y p ric e inc re as es , M eie r
c laim sthat a 40P m inim um w ou ld
h it h eav ie st d r inkers hard est, as
they o ften d r ink th e cheapes t
b oo ze , c os ting the m f137 e xtra p er
year co mpared w ith ju s t £ 1 1 extra
fo r a m od erate d rin ke r.
O f co urse . tax ing b oo ze and
r es tric tin g its a va ila bility a re n ot
new id eas and su ch strateg ie s are
alread y d ep lo yed to so me extent
in m os t d ev elo pe d c ou ntrie s.B ut the W HO do cum ent argu es
that m any cou ntrie s d o no t
im ple me nt the m ef fe ctiv ely .
In the U S a nd the U K, d esp ite
taxes that are heav ie r th an on
m any o th er p ro du cts , alc oho lic
d rin ks a re s till c he ap er re la tiv e
to incom e, and m ore w id e ly
av ailab le to day than e ver b efo re .
T his is lik ely d ue to g ov ern m en t
fe ars o f'a c ons um er b ac klash ,
yo u ng , and p rom otio ns such
as happy ho urs . A no the r is to
ad he re to re sp ons ib le m ark eting
p o lic ie s th at are m onito red by
i nd ep en de nt c o ns ul ta nts .
O th ers are s ce ptic al o fth e
indu s try 's co ntrib utio n to the
d ebate . R ob in R oo m o f th e
U n iv e rs ity o f M e lb o ur ne ,
A us tralia , w ho s tu die s th e
le gis la tio n o n re cre atio na l d ru gs ,
f ears th at som e parts o f the W HO
docum ent m ay already have been
w ate red d ow n to appease th e
in du stry , e sp ec ia lly th os e s ee kin gto r es tr ic t m a rk eti ng .
A nd erso n w arns again st th is :
" Pric e and av ailab ility are still the
m o st e ffe ctiv e strate gie s to re du ce
co nsum ptio n, bu t the o the r th ing
is m arke ting , c re ating a s oc ial
c lim ate aro und d rink in g thro ugh
spo rts spo nso rsh ip and m ov ies .
T hat h as a p ow erfu l im pac t."
A n de rs on i s s ti ll o p ti m is ti c,
tho ugh . " I do n't th ink alco ho l
w ill e ve r b ec om e as so cially
u na cc ep ta ble a s to ba cc o
u se , bu t so cie tie s m ay adop t a
m ore cau tio u s app ro ach to its
s up ply and m ark etin g, re su lting
in le s s harm ." •
1 7 Oc t o b e r 2 0 0 9 1NewSc i e n t i s t 19
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T H . I S W E E K
How Saturn go tit.sg o oves
R ac he l C o ur tla nd , P u erto R ic o
SATURN'S rin gs s ee m alm os t
im mu tab le . W hen v iew ed f ro m
a fa r, th es e p la ne ta ry je we ls ,
carved by moonlets a nd s hap ed
b y grav ity , c ou ld w ell h av e lo oke d
m u ch the sam e now as they d id
billions o f years ago - bu t o n ly
f r om afar.
N ow it is em erg ing that an
e ve nt a ro u nd 25 y ea rs a go
d ram atic ally d is ru pte d the rin gs -
and all o ur te le sco pes and
s pac ec raft m iss ed it. T hismyster ious e v en t s ud d en ly
warped the p la ne t's i nn er m os t
rin gs in to a rid ge d s piral p atte rn ,
like the g ro oves o n a v in y l r ec o rd .
T he late st im ages reveal that the
per turbat ion is so vas t that o nly
a p ro fo u nd change to the p lane t
can have cau sed it.
T he firs t h int th at S atu rn 's rings
had been pertu rbed cam e in 2006
f ro m NASA 's C a ss in i s pa ce cr af t,
w hich to ok p ic tu re s o f the p lane t's
innerm os t ring , a tenuo us , icy
b and calle d the D ring . Cassinl
fo und alte rnating ligh t and dark
bands that suggested the ring was
no t p erfec tly f lat. bu t w as
10 INew$cien t i s t 117Oc t o b e r 2009
co m po sed o f g ro oves , abo ut
a k ilo m etre in a mp litu de .
Intrigu ed b y the se s trang e
rip p le s , M atth ew Hedm an o f
C orn ell U niv ers ity in I th ac a, N e w
Y o rk , p r op os ed a n e xp la na tio n.
H e b uilt s im ulatio ns that starte d
w ith a sim ple assum ptio n: th at
so meth ing had tilted the D ring
s ligh tly away fro m the p lane o f
S atu rn 's equ ato r - pe rhaps a
c om e t o r a ste ro id .
S ince S atu rn is no t a pe rfec t
sphere , its g rav ity w ou ld p ull
unevenly o n the tilted D ring , sothat th e ring "w obb les " o ver tim e
re lativ e to th e p lane t, a b it lik e
a sp inning co in com ing to rest.
W hat's m ore , po rtio ns o fthe r ing
c lo se to Satu rn, w here g rav ity is
s tro ng er, w ou ld w ob ble fas te r than
parts f urth er a wa y. T his d if fe re nc e
i n w o b bl e rates w o u ld e ve ntu al ly
c reate a sp iralling patte rn o f
rid ge s an d tro ug hs (se e d iagram ).
H edm an and co lleagues w ere
ab le to " un win d" th e s piralling
fo rm atio n b ack in tim e to 1984,
th e p oint w he n the initial tiltin g
o f th e D ring o ccu rred . The b ad
new s is that th is d ate w as m ore
than tw o years afte r the V oyager
spac ep r obe s to ok a c lo se peek as
th ey flew by the planet, and lo ng
b efo re th e H ub ble S pac e T ele sc op e
c am e o nlin e o r C as sin i arriv ed .
T h e l at es t Cassini images
deep en the m yste ry . They sho w
"S om eth in g b ac k in 1 98 4tilt ed th e D r ing s l igh t lyaway from . th e p la ne o fSaturn's equator"
the g ro o ves are m uch m ore
w id es pr ea d th an p re vio us ly
tho ugh t. In A ugus t, Satu rn w as
o r ien tated so that th e su niU um inate d the r in gs alm o st
edge-o n, w hich m eant that even
th e m os t su btle featu res p ro du ced
p ro mine nt s had ow s. T his re ve ale d
that S atu rn 's vas t C ring ~ t he next
ring ou t from the D r ing ~ a lso has
g ro ov es . T he C rin g is a bo ut
17,000 k ilo metre s w id e fro m its
inner to o u te r ed ge , wh ich is m ore
than tw ice the w id th o f the D ring .
T ho ugh the C r in g's r id ge
pat tern is le ss d ram atic - w ith an
am plitud e o f 100 m etres o r les s -such w id e sp re ad c o rr ug ati on
p ro bab ly ru le s o u t a ro ck o r com et
im pac t. " I t's really hard to d o with
o ne o bjec t," says H edm an, w ho
presented th e resu lts las t w eek at
a m ee ting o f th e A m erican
A s tro no m ic al S oc ie ty 's D iv is io n
fo r P lane tary S cie nce s in F ajard o,
P ue rto R ic o.
O ne p ossib le scenar io is th at
a body m uch larg e r than a typical
as te ro id grazed and pu lled on the
ring s. O r a dramatic change in
w eathe r m igh t hav e s hifte d
Saturn ' s gravity: if a b and o f
c lo ud s o n th e p lane t so meho w
sped u p and were inc lined to the
e qu ato r, f or e xam p le , itmigh t
lo we r p res su re b en eath , allo wing
m ore m ass to accum ulate the re .
"The tro ub le is ev ery th ing y ou
c om e u p w ith se em s intrin sic ally
u nlik ely ," s ay s M ark S ho walte r o f
t he SET ! I n s ti tu t e in Mounta in
V ie w ; C a li fo rn ia ..I t w i ll requiremo r e observa t ions a nd m o d el li ng
to c om ple te ly u nrav el S atu rn 's
s piral m ys te ry .•
T he w ob ble in S atu rn 's inn er .ringsS a tu rn 's ir re g ula r g ra vita tio na l tu g m e a ns th at th e t il te d in ne r r in g w o u ld 'w o bb le " o ve r t im e , : lik e a s p in n in g c oin c om i ng to r es t.
The . innerpar t o f th e r ingwobb les ta s t e r th an th e ou t e rpa r t . even tua l l yw ind ingth e rin g. u p i n t oasp i r a l
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Calves feel the pain
o f re lig ious s lauQ ,hte rBRA INs ig n al s h av e s h ow n
th at c alv e s d o a pp ea r to f ee l p a in
w h en s la ug h te re d a cc or din g to
J ew i sh a nd Mu s li m r el ig io u s
la w, s tre ng th en in g th e c as e f or
a da ptin g th e p ra ctic es to m a ke
them m ore hu mane .."I th in k o u r
wo rk is th e b es t e vid en ce y et th at
i t's p a in f u l, " s a y s C r ai g J o hn s o n,
w ho le d th e s tu dy a t M as se y
U n iv e rs ity i n P a lm e rs to n N o r th ,
N ew Ze al an d .J oh ns on s umm ar is ed h is
re su lts la st w e ek in L o nd o n w h en
re ce iv in g an aw ard f ro m th e U K
Huma ne S la u gh te r A s s o ci ati on .
H is te am a ls o s ho w ed th at ifth e
a nim a l is c o nc us se d th ro u gh
s tunn in g , s i gn a ls c o r re s p o nd i ng
to p ai n d is ap p ea r (New Zea land
Veterinary toumal, vo l S 7, p 77) .
T h e f in d in g s i nc re as e p re s su r e
o n r el ig io u s g ro u p s th a t p ra cti ce
s la ug h te r w ith o ut s tu n nin g to
r e co n s id e r . " I t p r o v id e s f u r th e r
evidence , if i t w a s n ee d ed , th a t
s la u gh te rin g a n a nim al w i th o u t
s tunning itf ir st i s p a in fu l, " s ay s
C h ris to p he r W a th es o f t he UK
F a rm An im a l W e l fa re C o u n c il ,
w hic h h as lo ng arg ue d f or th e
p ra cti ce to e nd .
I n m o s t w e s te rn c o u ntr ie s ,
an im als m u st b e s tu nn ed b ef ore E
th ey a re s la ug hte re d, b u t th er e 2is a n e xe m ptio n f or r elig io u s i:
p ra cti ce , m o s t p rom i ne n tl y J ew i sh g
shechita a nd Mu s li m dhahiha.
An im a l w e lf ar e g ro u ps h av e lo ng
a rg u ed th at o n w e lf are g ro u nd s,
th e e xe m ptio ns s ho u ld b e lif te d,
a s th ey h av e been.in No rway .
J o hn so n 's . w o r k, f u nd e d b y th e
UK a nd N ew Z e al an d a gr ic u ltu r e
m in is tr ie s, b u ild s o n f in din gs in
h um an v o lu nte er s o f s pe cif ic
p a tt er n s o f b r ai n e le c tr ic a l a c ti v it y
w h en th ey f ee l p ain . R e co rd ed
w i th e le ctr o en c ep h al o gr am s , th ep atte rn s w e re r ep ro d u ci bl e. i n a t
le as t e ig ht o th er m amm al s pe cie s
k no w n to b e e xp er ie nc in g p ain .
Jo hn so n d ev elo pe d a w ay o f
l ig h tl y a n ae s th e ti si ng a n ima l s
s o th at a lth o ug h th ey e xp er ie nc edn o p ain , th e s am e e le ctr ic al p ain
s i gn a ls c o u l d b e r e li ab l y d e te c te d ,
s ho w in g th ey w o u ld h av e s u ff er ed
p a in i faw ake .
Th e t eam first c u t c a lv e s ' t h r o at s
in a p ro ce du re m atc hin g th at o f
J ew is h a nd M uslim s l aughte r
m e th o d s . .T h ey d e te c te d a p ai n
s ig na l la stin g f or u p to 2 minutes
a fte r th e i nc is io n . Wh e n th e ir
throats are cu t , c a lve s gene r al ly
l os e c o ns c io u s ne s s a fte r 10to
30 s e co n ds , s om e ti m es l on g er .The researchers th en s ho w ed
th at th e p ain o rig in ate s f ro m
c u ttin g th ro at n er ve s, n ot f ro m
th e l os s o f b lo o d , s u g ge s ti ng
th e s ev er ed n er ve s s en d p ain
s ig na ls u n til th e tim e o f d ea th .Finally, th ey s tu nn ed a nim a ls
5 s e cond s after i nc is io n a n d
s ho w ed th at th is m ak es th e p ain
s i gn a l d i sa p p ea r i ns ta n tl y .
"It wa s n't a s u rp ri se to m e,
"The religious community isa d am a n t th at a nim a ls d o n'te xp erie n ce a ny p ain w h e ntheir throats are cut"
b ut in te rm s o f t he re lig io us
c o mm un ity , th ey a re a dam an ta ni m al s d o n't e x pe ri en ce a ny p ai n,
s o t he re su lts m ig ht b e a s urp ris e
to th em ," s ay s J oh ns on . H e p ra is ed
Mus l im dhabiha p r ac ti ti o n er s i n
N e w Z ea la nd a nd e ls ew h er e w h o
h a ve a lr ea dy a d op te d s tu n ni ng
p rio r to s lau gh te r. T he y u se a
f or m o f e le ctric al s tu nn in g w h ic h
a nim a ls q u ic kly r ec ov e r f ro m if
n o t s la ug h te re d, p ro v in g th at th e
s tu n ne d a nim al i s " h e a lth y ",
th e re b y q u al if y in g a s h al al .
S p ok esm en f or b o th f aith s
r es po nd ed b y c la im in g th at
s tu n ni ng i ts e lf h u rts a ni m al s.
S h e ch ita UK s ay s th a t th e th ro a t
c ut is s o ra pid th at it s e rv es a s
its o w n" s tu n" . A hm e d G h an em ,
a h ala l s la ug hte rr na n b as ed in
N ew Z e al an d , s ay s th a t b lo o d
d o es n't d ra in p ro p erly f ro m
s tu nn ed a nim a ls , a lth o ug h th is
h as b ee n c o un te re d b y re ce nt
r es ea rc h a t t h e U n iv er sity o f
B r is to l in th e UK ..A n d y (o gh la n •
M acaques are
creeped out by
cyber-selves
IT T UR N S o ut m o nk ey s a re a s
e r e e p e d o u t b y th e ir C G Ic o un te rp a rts
a s w e a re . S ho w th em a m on ke y
fa c e th a t's u n ca n nily life ·lik e a n d
th ey lo ok a wa y. T his m ig ht m ea n th at
th e re is a n e v olu tio n ar y e x pla n at io n
fo r o ur d is gu st o f n o n-h um a ns w ho
s ee m to o re a l.
In th e 1 9 70 s , J ap a ne s e r ob o tic is t
M a s a hir o M o r i n o tic e d th a t, a lth o ug h
w e lik e ro bo ts th at h av e s om e h um a n
fe atu re s, w e s ta rt to f in d th em e erie
w he n th ey lo ok to o re al. H e c alle d
th is d ip in h um a no id p op ula rity th e
" un c an n y v a lle y ". S in c e th e n, th e
re sp on se h as b ee n b la m ed fo rth e
h ea lth y a nd n orm a l. A n oth er
su g g es tio n is tha t i t's g ot m o re to
d o w i th s oc ia l ta bo os a bo ut d ea th
b e ca u se h u m a n- lik e , n o n- hu m a n s
lo ok lik e c orp se s a nd re m in d u s o f
o u r o w n m o rta lity .
A s lfG h az an fa r a nd S ha w n
lO . 1 0 7 3 I p n a s . 0 9 1 0 06 3106 j .
" Th e se p rim a te s d o n't part icipata
in h um an c ultu re , w h ic h s ug ge sts th e
u n ca n ny v a lle y h a s a b io lo g ic a l b a sis ,"
s ay s K a rl M a cO o rm a n o f In d ia na
U n iv e rs it y in I nd ia n a p o lis .
U l ti m a te l y, G h a · z ·a n f a ra n d
u np op ula rity o f s o me C G If ilm s w ith S te ck e nf in ge r o f P rin ce to n U niv e rs ity S te ck e nf in ge r h op e to g et th eir
re alis t ic c h ara cte rs , a nd it is to ute d a s w on de re d h ow fiv e m ac a qu es w ou ld m on ke ys to "c lim b o ut" o f t h e u nc a nn y
th e ' r e a s o n .P i.x a rs tu c k to c h a ra c te rs re s p o n d to m on k e y a v a ta rs . T h e y v a lle y a n d u s e th e a v a ta rs a s
w ith c a r to o n is h fe a tu re s . fo u n d th a t th e m o n k e y s s p e n t le s s s u b s t itu te s for re a l m o nk ey s in s oc ia l
S e v e ra l h y p o th e se s h a v e b e e n t im e lo o k in g a t t h e m os t re a lis t ic in te ra c t io n e x p e r im en ts . T h e y h o p e
puttorward to e x p la in th e u n c a n n y a v a ta rs - w h ic h th e y s a y s ug g e s ts th e e x p e rim en ts c o u ld s h e d lig l1 t o n
v a ll e y . .O n e i d e a is th a t i. t is a n e v o lv e d
re sp on se to s om e th in g th at 's n ot
th e y d is lik e th e m (Proceedings o f the
Na t io nal A cademy O f Sciences, DO l :
h u m a n commun l ca t l on d is o rd e rs lik e
a u tis m . J es sic a H a m z elo u •
1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09 INewS c i e n t i s t III
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T H . I S W E E K
It's open season on
M adagascar's b iod ive rs ityROASTED l em u rs a nd c ri m in al
g ang s e xp orting prec io us
hardw oo d : this is the sad s tate o f
affairs for Ma da ga sc ar 's le ge nd ar y
b io div ers ity . S ince a m ilitary c ou p
o us ted the pres id ent in M arch,
loggers hav e been stripp ing the
c ou ntry 's f ore sts an d k illing its
anim als fo r bushmeat,
F ore ign aid has been curtailed
and , w ith no stab le go vernm ent in
p lace to enfo rce the law , N GO s inM adagascar re po rt th at crim inal
o rganisatio ns hav e been qu ick to
ex plo it th e co untry 's u niqu e
anim al and plant life .
"Ith as b een a go ld ru sh fo r
lo gg ing gang s and bu sh meat
hunters to do as m uch as they
can befo re the gov ernm ent ge ts
o rganised and pu ts a s to p to it,"
s ay s E dw ar d L o ui s, a c on se rv atio n
b io log is t at O m aha Zo o,
Nebraska , w ho has been w ork ing
in M ad ag asc ar fo r a d ecade .
In Aug u st, C o n se rv a ti on
Internatio nal rep orted that
1 5 bu sh me at tra de rs , c on tra cte d
by a restaurant, h ad b ee n arre ste d
carry ing h und red s o f end ange re d
lem urs , w hich had been k illed and
ro as ted . "T his happened in o ne
o f th e c ou ntry 's b es t-m ana ge d
p ark s," s ay s L ou is . " If it's
h ap pe ning th ere , I can 't im agine
w hatis h ap pening els ew he re ."
S om etim es called th e "E igh th
C ontinent" be cau se o fitsb io div ers ity , M adagascar is
hom e to m any p lant and anim al
species that are unique to the
is la nd . T he too-odd species of
lem ur are no t fo und anyw here
else in the w orld , fo r ex am ple .
Info rm atlon co llec ted by the
cam paig n g ro up G lo bal W itness
show s that ev ery day at leas t 120
ro sew oo d and ebo ny trees , worth
abo ut $480,000, are be ing taken
o ut o f M aso ala natio nal p ark,M ad ag asc ar 's larg es t. A t le as t 13
ille ga l trad ers , k no wn lo cally as th e
"ro sew oo d M afia" , bu y the w ood
an d e xp ort it, m ostly to C hina.
C onse rv atio nis ts say th e
lo gging is d es tro ying the is land 's
natio nal park s and h av ing
k no ck -o n effec ts o n the fo res t's
an im als . "S om eth ing need s to b e
done rap id ly o r the w ho le co untry
is g oin g to lo se e ve ry th ing in
abou t a y ea r," s ay s L o uis .
T he in te rim g ov ern me nt inplace unt i l n ex t y e ar 's p re s id e nt ia l
e lec tio ns h as b een se nd ing
m ixed m essages abou t lo gging .
H av ing in itially c lo sed o ne o f
the m ain po rts fo r ro sew ood
expor t it is su ed an o rd er allo wing
the sale and expo rt o f750 to nnes
o f w o od . S ev eral N G O s , in clu ding
W W F , Co n se rv a ti on I nte rn ati on al
a nd th e W i ld lif e C o ns er va ti on
S ocie ty , hav e c alled o n th e
gov ernm ent to rev erse the o rd er,
and o n consu mers o fp rec io us
w oo d s to bo yco tt tho se from
M ad ag as car. C ath erine B rah ic .
Treatm ent hope
fo r psychopa th ic
criminals
ANAT I ENT ION d ef ic it r ath erth an a n
i na bi li ty to f ee l e m otio n, m ay b e w h atm a ke s p s yc h op at hi c I nd iv id u al s s e em
f e ar le s s. I t's a f in di ng th at c h al le ng e s
th e c om m on c harac te ris atio n o f s uc h
p e op le a s r o ld -h ln nd e d p re d at or s.
" A lo t o f th eI r p ro ble ms m ay b e
a c on se qu en ce o f s om e th in g th at'S
a lm o st l ik e a le ar ni ng d lf fk ul ty ," s ay s
J os ep h N e wm an , a p sy ch o l.o gi st a t
t he U n iv e rs it y o f W i s co n si n-M ad is o n
w h o I nv es tig ate d h ow p ri so ne rs w ith
p s yc h op at hi c p e rs o na li ti es r ea ct
w h e n a nti ci pa ti ng p ai n.
P re vio u s e xp er im e nts h av e
su gge sted su ch p eo ple m ay no t fee l
f e ar . w h il e b ra in Im ag in g s tu d ie s
h av e f o un d abnormallties i n t he
a m yg da la , a r eg io n th at p ro ce ss es
121 NewSc i en t i s t 117October200g
f ear an d o th er e mo tio ns . T his h as
e nc ou rag ed th e p erc ep tio n th at th ey
a re " em o tl cn al ly s ha ll ow " , N ewm a n
s ay s . " P e op le c al l t hem c o ld -b lo o d ed
p re d ato r s. " B u t h e q u es ti on ed
w he th er th is w as th e w ho le s to ry .
T o te as e ap art w hy s uc h p eo ple
b eh av e th e w ay th ey d o, N e wm an 'st eam r ec ru it ed 1 2. 5m a le p ri so n er s
c on vi cte d 'o f s er io u s c ri me s a nd
s c or ed t hem o n tr ai ts c h ar ac te ri st ic
o f a p s y ch o p a th i c p e rs o n al it y,
i nc lu d in g n ar ci ss ism , i m pu ls iv it y a nd
c all ou sn es s. A b ou t 2 0 p er c en t s co re d
h ig hly e no ug h to b e d es crib ed a s
p s yc h op at hi c - a p ro p o rti on ty p ic .a l f or
c rim in als b ut w ell a bo ve th e 1 p er c ent
e xp ec te d I n th e g en er al p op u la tio n.
T he re se arc he rs th en h oo ke d
e ac h p ris on er u p to a d ev ic e th at
m eas ure s h ow s tro ng ly th ey b lin k-
a n i nd ic ati on o f h o w a fr ai d th ey
are - and p laced a sc re en in fro nt o f
th em . T he s ub je cts w ere w arne d
th at d u ri ng ta sk s in w h ic h l ette rs
f las he d o n th e s cre en, an e le ctric
s ho ck w o uld s om etim es f ollo w a re d
le tte r, b ut n ev er a g re en o ne .
W h en i ns tr uc te d to p u sh b utto ns
to in dic ate w he th er le tte rs w ere
g re en o r re d, s ub je cts w ith m ark ed
p sych 0p a th i c c h a r ac te r ls ti rs fU n rhe d
in re sp on se to re d le tte rs w ith th es am e s tr en gth a s o th er s ub je cts .
Y et w hen the y w ere to ld to
in dic ate w h eth er l ette rs w e re c ap ita ls
o r l o we r· ca se , th e p s yc h op ath ic
p ri so ne rs b ar ely b li nk ed u po n s ee in g
r e d : l ette rs , w h ile th e o th er s
c on ti nu ed to a ntic ip ate th e m ild
shock ( B io lo gic a l P s yc h ia tr y, 0 01 :
10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.07.035).
T hi s s ug ge sts th at p sy ch o pa th ic
in div id uals s en se fe ar as m u ch as
a ny on e, a nd o nly s ee m f ea rl es s
" Th is s h ow s th a t th e re 'ss om e h um an ity th ere .I. t cha lle nge s t h e be lie fth at th ey a re ro bo ts "
b ec au se th ey f in d. i t h ar de r to p a y
atte ntio n to w hat is s cary a nd w hat
is no t. says N ew man, w ho h ope s h is
h yp oth es is c an b e u se d to d is co urag e
p s yc h op at hi c r ep e at o f fe nd e rs .
''T h ey 'r e f am o u s f o r b e in g d if fi cu lt
if n ot i mp o ss ib le to tre at," h e s ay s.
D o na ld H an ds , d ire cto r o fp s yc h ol og y e t t he . W i s co n si n
D e p ar tm e n t o f C o rr ec ti on s, i s w o r k in g
w ith N e wm an to d es ig n a p ilo t
tr ea tm e nt p ro gr amm e . R em in din g
p s y ch o p at hI c . Iawb re a ke r .s o f t he
imm e dia te c on se qu en ce s o f th ei r
a cti on s, s uc h a s g etti ng a rr es te d
an d s ent b ac k to p ris on, m ig ht h elp
to d is su ad e th em f ro m re of fe nd in g,
h e s ay s.
N e wm an 's f in di ng m ay a ls o
p er su ad e p ris on a uth o ritie s to tr ea t
p s y ch o p at hi c i nd i v id u a ls d i ff e re n tl y .
" Ith in k th is s ho w s th at th ere 's s om e
h um a ni ty th er e," H an ds s ay s.
" It c ha lle ng es th e b eli ef th at th ey
a re r ob o ts ." Ew e n C a ll aw a y.
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Fo llow the po lu tion
tra - I to spo t an a lienDa v id S h ig a
DO AL IENSpo l lu te t he ir p l an e ts ?
L et's h op e th ey d o, as th is w o uld
g iv e u s a p ro mis ing w ay o f
s po ttin g w h ere th ey liv e.
R ad io no ise m ay b e to o sh ort-
liv ed to h elp u s find alie ns , if
o ur o wn ac tiv ity is any guide,
D uring m o st o f t he zo t h cen tury ,o u r t el ev i si o n t ra nsm i ss io n
an te nn as le ak ed a lo t o f t he ir
e ne rg y i nto s pa ce . M o r e r ec e ntl y,
th ey h av e b eg un to be supp lan t ed
b y s ate ll ite s th at b ea m th ei r
tran sm is sio ns at th e g ro u nd , as
we ll a s b y c ab le . I nq u is it iv e a li en s
s ea rc hi ng f o r s ig ns o f i nt el li ge nt
life o n E arth m ay so on hav e to
l o ok e l sewh e re .
L ig ht p o ll uti on f rom c it ie s
m i gh t s ti ll g iv e u s a w ay . " O b s e rv e d
o v er i nte rs te ll ar d is ta nc e s, th ey
w ou ld re ve al to th e o bs erv er th e
p re se nc e o f a t ec hno lo gy ," say a
te am o f as tro no m ers le d b y Je an
S c hn ei de r o f th e P a ri s O b s er va to ry
at M e ud o n, F ran ce . I n a p ap er
to ap pear in Astrobio!ogy, they
su gges t w e sho uld lo ok fo r a
s im i la r g low o n a li en p la ne ts .
T his w o ul dn 't b e e as y. E ve n i f
a ll th e e le ctri city w e g en era te w as
u se d to p ro d uc e li gh t, it w o ul d s til l
b e th ou sand s o ftim es fainte r th an
th e g lin t o f s un lig ht re fl ec te d f rom
Ea rt h's s u rf ac e . T o r e li ab l y d e te c t
e ven th is m ass iv e am ou nt o f
a rti fi ci al l ig ht o n a p la ne t o rb it in g
a re lati ve ly n ea rb y s ta r - s ay
1 5 l ig ht y ears aw ay - w o uld requt rea n a rr ay o f t el es co p e s with a
c omb in ed l ig ht- co ll ec ti ng a re a o f
1 .5 s q u ar e k i lome t re s , S c h ne i de r's
t eam cal c ul at es .O u r p re se nc e o n E arth als o
le av es o th er trac es th at c ou ld b e
o b se rv ed f rom af ar. T he c hem ic als
k now n a s C FC ss tr on gl y a bs o rb
i nf ra re d l ig h t a t c h ar ac te ri st ic
w a ve le ng th s, m a ki ng th em
detectable in the atm o sp he re e ve n
w h en p re se nt a t c o nc e ntr at io n s
o f o n ly p ar ts p e r tr il li o n ..C FC sd o
n o t f o rm n at ur al ly , s o d e te c ti ng
them on a wo rl d o rb iti ng a no th e r
star w ou ld b e go od ev id ence o f
a l ien t echno logy .
" C FC s ar e a v e ry i nt er es ti ng i de a
to l oo k f o r a dv an ce d d v il is ati o ns ,"
a gr ee s l is a K a lte ne gg e r o f H a rv ar d
Un iv e rs it y. Bu t a n ex ce p ti o na ll y
s en sitiv e te le sc o pe w o uld b e
ne ed ed to p ick . the m u p - m ore
s en sitiv e e ve n th an NA SA 's
"lo okin g fo r C FCsm ig ht b ea w ay to look to r otherciv i l isat ions -it a lie n s ma k e
the same mistakes we did"
T er re str ia l P l an et F in de r a nd th e
E u ro p e an S p ac e A g e nc y 's D a rw i n
m i ss io n , t he most ambi ti ou s s p ac e
te le sc o pe s n ow b e in g p la nn ed .
K a lt en eg ge r s ay s i tm a y b e f ea si bl e
" in th e far fu tu re w ith a flotilla o f
i nf ra re d t el es co p e s i n s p ac e ".
T he re i s, o f c o u rs e, n o g u ar an te e
t ha t a ny a li e n c iv i li sa ti o ns will
h av e b ee n s pe w in g C F Csi nto th eir
p lan et's atm o sp he re . T he d am ag e
C F Csh av e d o ne to E arth 's o zo ne
lay er in th e fe w d ec ad es th ey h av e
b een u sed led to a w orld wid e b an
o n th eir m anu fac tu re , and th ey
a re s lo w ly d is ap pe arin g f rom o ur
a tm o sp he re . " D o a ll intell igent
c iv il is atio ns m ak e th e s am e
m i s ta ke s ?" Ka lt en egg e r won d er s.
O t h e r a rt if ic i al c ompoun ds ,
i nc lu d in g l es s d amag in g
s u bs ti tu te s f o r C FC s,a ls o h av e
cha ra c te r is t ic in fr ar ed
f in ge rp ri nt s, s ay s J im K a st in g o f
P en ns y lv a ni a S t at e Un tv e rs ft y ,
U n iv e rs ity P a rk . " Th er e's a w h o le
h os t o fth ing s w e m ak e
i ndu s tr ia ll y a s s o lv ent s, c l ea ne rs
a nd r ef ri ge ra nt s - th e y c er ta in ly
h av e ab so rp tio n l in es ," h e s ay s. " If
y ou h ad a b ig e no ug h te le sc op e,
y ou c ou ld d etect the m." •
1 7 O c to be r 2 00 9 1 NewSc i en t i s t 1 1 3
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T H IS W E E K
-5toM10%
1990 to 2007
+16.8%1990 to 2007
-4.3%
(K y o to ta rg e t)
none (Kyoto target)
-8%
2020 pledge
2020 pledge - zo ;- 3 0 %Ota -23%
141NewS c ie nti stl 17 O c t ob e r 2 00 9
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F o r d a ily . ne w s s to r ie s , v is j,t www . N ewS c i e n t i s t . c om / n ew s
I N S I G H T
Obam ain a bind as US heavy industries
flex their m usc les over carbo n em issions
2020 p l e d g e
-lOto-15%
A m eric an in du stry fe ars C l1 in es e
c om pe tito rs w il l h a v e a n e as y r i d e
A M E R I C A :s g ia n t s te e l- r ra s e r s c o u ld
b e a bo u t to to rp e d o a n . i n t e r n a : t i o n a l
a gr e em e nt o n r ll m a te c h an g e .
F O llo w in g lo b b y in g b y h e a v y
in d u s tr ie s , t he US C o n g re s s i s
m n s id e rin g im p o s in g .t a r i f f s o n im p o r t s
f r o m C h in a a r ld o th e r deve l op l nq
n a t io n s. T h at c o u ld b e a d e a l- b re a k e r
fo r p o o r n a t i o n s a t D e c e m b e r 's
c lim a te c ha n ge ta lk s in C o p e n h a ge n .
If C o n g re s s p a s se s la w s im p o s in g
a l im i t o n U S g re en ho us e g as
e m is s io n s, e n e r gy ·I n te n s i v e s e cto rs
s uc h a s s te e l-m a k in g a n d c em e n t
m a n u fa c tu re w o u ld a lm o s t c e r t a in ly
f a ce in c re a s e d costs ; C o m p e t i t o r s
in C h in a a n d other d e v e l o p i n g
n a t io n s n o t s ub je c t t o s im i la r
r e s t r ic tio n s - a nd C h in a h as s a id
th a t i t w i l l n o t s e t i t s e l f a n e m is s io n s
ta rg e t ~ m ig ht b e a b le to p ro du ces te e l m o r e c M .e a p ly ,a n d take b u s i n e s s
a w ay f r o m U S f i r m s .
T h at lo g ic h a s fo u n d it s w a y in to
tw o c lim a te b il ls n ow b e fo re C o n g re ss . .
T he f i r s t p a ss e d b y th e H o u s e o f
R e p re s en ta tiv e s in J u ne , w o u ld
e ff e c t jV e ly im p o se ta r i f f s o n g o o d s
f r o m c o m pa n ie s in c ou nt r ie s th at d o
n o t h av e e m is sio n s ta rg e t ; . T h e
n e w ly in tr o d u ce d b il l in .t h e S e na te s o
fa r c on ta in s o n ly v ag u e la n g u a g e
a bo u t th e n ee d fo r a " b o r d e r m e a s ur e ",
b u t s en ato rs f r o m s ta te s w ith h ea vy
in d u st r y w i ll p u sh fo r s o m e th in g ; s im i la r .
T ha t s e t; t h e s ta ge fo r a s h o w d ow n
th a t c ou ld d e r a il p ro g r e ss to w a r d s a n
a gr e em e n t o n c l im a te c h an ge . I n
A u g u s t . 10 p ro - ta r i f f s e na to rs , a ll .o f
t h em D e m o c r a ts , t o ld P r e s id e n t
B a ra ck O b a m a th a t it w a s " e ss e n tia l"
t h a t c lim a t e c h an g e le g is la tio n
in c lu d e s om e form o f ta r i f f . W i th o u t
t h e s u pp or t o f m o s t o r a ll o f t h es e
s e na to rs , t h e c lim a t e b il l a p pe a rs l ik e ly
to . m l la p s e , . a n d i f t h a t h a p p e n s O b a m a
w i l l h a v e l i t t le t o o ff e r i n C o p e n h a g e n,
I f t h e ta r i f f s r e m a in in th e b il l , . e v e n
in a dra t tf c rm , k e y p la y e r s l ik e C h in a
a nd I n d ia w il l b e a lie na te d b e fo re th e
ta lR s .s ta rt " C h in a w o u ld b e very
fr u strated a n d a n g r y if t h e fin a l b il l
in c lu d e s c a r b o n ta r i f f s ." s a y s Z h an g
H a ib in o f P e k in g U n iv e rs i. t y , a n a d v is e r
to Chinas M i n i 5 t r y Q f C o m m e r c e .T h e re i ss ti l l a w a y o ut o f t h is
b in d , a c c o rd in g to J a k e C a ld w e l l C i ft he
th in k ta n k C e n t~ rf o r A m e ric a n
P r o g r e ss in W a s h in g to n D C A lth o u g h
C h in a w i l l n o t s e t i t s e l f e m is s io n s
targets , i t h a s said itw iH c o m m it t o
r e d u c i n g it s c a r b o n in te n s it y - t h e
a m ou n t o f c a rb on e m it t e d p e r u n i t o f
e n e rg y u s e d o r d o l l a r o f w e a l t h
c re a t e d . I f t h e g oa ls a re to ug h
e n o u gh . C h in e s e in d us tr ie s w o u ld
h a v e to in v e s t i n c le a n e r t e c h n o lo g y ,
l i k e t h e ir US c o un te rp a rt s . T h a t
m ig M t b e e no ug h to p e r s u ad e th e
s en ato rs t o s o ft e n th e i r s t a n c e o n
ta ri f f s . J im G i le s • •
1 7 O c to b e r 20091 New$c i en t i s t 115
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IN B R IE FFo r n ew s to rie s e v e ry d a y, v is it www . N ewS c i e n t i s t . c om / n ew s
Take up juggling if yo u w an tto bo os t yo ur b ra in power
th a t th e 24 yo u n g m en and w om en had g row n m ore
w hite m a tte r a fte r ~ ix we ek :s o f j ug glin g tra in in g. T he
c ha ng es o cc urre d in th e p arie ta l lo be - a n.a re a; in vo lv ed
in co nn ec tin g w ha t w e se e to h ow w e m o v e (Nature
Neu r o s d e n c e , 001: 10 ,1 .0 .381nn.2412) .
A fte r fo ur m o re w ee ks w ith ou t ju gg lin g, th e e xtra
w hite m a tte r re m ain ed ., s ug ge stin g th at th e c ha ng e is
p e rm a n en t, ''''t 's lik e r id in g a b ik e ," S ch o lz s a ys , " It ta k es
tra in in g to le am ., b ut o nc e it c lic k s, . y ou d o n 't f o rg e t it,"
L ~a rn in g Its elf s ee me d to m atte r m o re th an th e s kill
attained, b e ca u se w h ite m a tt. er in c re a se d s im ila rly in
g oo d a nd b ad ju gg le rs . .A rn e M a y o f th e U n iv er sity
M e dic al C e ntre H a m bu rg ,·E pp en do rfin G e rm a ny f in ds
t h is r e su lt " fa s C in a ti ng " . "It s ug ge sts th at th e b ra in w an tsto b e puzzled a nd le ar n .s om e th in g n ew ," h e s a y s ,
J U GG lI N .G b o os ts c o nn e ct io n s b e tw e e n d i,f fe re n t parts
o f th e b ra ! n b y tw e ak i n.g th e atch i tectu re o f " w h it e
m a tte r" - a f in din g th at c ou ld le ad to n ew th era pie .s
fo r p eo ple w ith b ra in in ju rie s.
W hite m a tte r in th e b ra in c on ta in s m os tly axons-
o utg ro wth s o f n erv e c ells th at c on ne ct d if fe re nt c ells .
Y ou m ig ht e xp ec t th at l e a r n l nqa n ew , c om ple x ta sk s uc h
a s ju gg lin g w ou ld s tre ng th en th es e c on ne ctio ns , b ut
p re vio us w ork h ad o nly s tu die d in cre as es in g re y m atte r.
W h e n J an S ch o lz a n d h is c o lle a gu e s £ lIt he U n iv e rs ity ofO x fo rd lo ok ed a t b ra in s ca ns o f n ew ju gg le rs th e.y fO u nd
Po llu tio n make s an e igh tie s re viv al these chemica l s fo r d ecade s and
is re le as in g th em as it m e lts , T his
p ro ce ss c ou ld b e d ram atic ally
sp ed up by g lo bal w arm ing , he
w arn s. S in ce th es e c he m ic als
w ou ld hav e been sp read aro und
the g lo be be fo re they se ttled in to
the Ice , m any o the r g lac iers are
p ro bab ly co ntam inated to o.
T he re is li ttle w e c an d o, h ow ev er.
"S to pp ing g lo bal w arm ing co uld
s lo w the m elting o f g lac iers , b u t
th e ch em ic als w ill s ti l l be re leased
e ve ntu ally ," s ay s B o gd aL
BAD hair and sho u ld e r p ad s
are no t th e o nly th ings from the
eigh ties that w e'd rathe r no t s ee
a ga in . N a s ty chemica l s banned
in that d ecade ale a lso o n the lis t.
U n fo rtu na te ly , m e itin gA l pin e
g lac ie rs are g ene rating a re viv al
o f to xic o rg an ic p ollu ta nts .
Chris t ian B og dal and co l l e ague s
at the S wiss P edera l lns tltu te o f
T ec hno lo gy in Zurich s tud ied
le ve ls o f p ollu tio n in s ed im ent
atthe bo ttom o f the O beraar lake
inB ern , S w itz erla nd , T he y f ou nd
that banned chem icals , su ch as
p es tic id es th at h av e b ee n link ed
w ith P ark inso n's d ise ase , h av e
been po u ring in to the lake at
an increas ing rate s ince the
1 9 90 5 ( Env ir onment al S c i e nc e
&Techno logy , DOl : . 10.1021/
e S90162SX ) .
B og dal re ck ons th at a glac ier
feed ing the lake h as been s to ring
Asteroid is n ' t ju s t ad ry h eap o f ru bble
W ATER has been co nfirm ed o n an
aste ro id fo r the f irs t tim e, A t a n
A m eric an A stro no mic al S oc ie ty
meet ing inP ue rto R ico las t w ee k,
H um berto C am pins o f the
U niv ers ity o f C en tral F lo rid ain
O r land o and c olle ag ues re po rted
f ind ing s igns o f w ater ic e inth e
infrared spectrum o f as tero id 24
Them l s , Thi s co nf irm s a aco sanaly s is by A nd rew R iv kin o f
Jo hns H opkins U niv ers ity in
L au re l, M ary land , and h is te am ,Ic e is tho ugh t to hav e fo rm ed
beyo nd a "sno w line" so mew here
in the as tero id be lt, b u t it is
no t d ear how com mon itis in
as te ro id s b ecau se th eir su rfac e
ic e rap id ly v ap oris es . T he ice on
24 T hem ls m ay h av e o rig inate d
below the su rface and been
expo sed by im pac ts ..
The as tero id is p art o f a fam ily
o f bo d ie s that show o the r h in ts
o f ic e. C am pins 's f ind ing s ug ges ts
as te ro id s m ay h av e d eliv ere d
so me w ate r to the early E arth .
Pu pae ..sn iff ing
c r a d l e - s n a t c h e r s
MALE z eb ra l on gw in g b u tte rf li es
sit o n the pupae o ffem ales fo r
u p to 10 d ay s b efo re th ey h atc h,
ensu ring they ge t f irs t d ib s at
rep ro du c ing w ith them , B ut howdo they kno w that they 're s itting
o n a f ema l e? It tu rns o ut th at th e
pu pae em it a te lltale sm ell as they
app ro ach pube rty that m akes all
t he d if fe re n ce .
C ata lina E strad a at th e
U niv ers ity o f T ex as in A ustin
analy s ed the chem icals in the
pupae and fo und that fem ale s
em i t furanoid w hile m ale s em it
linalo oL T hey pain ted pu pae w ith
bo th o do u rs and fo und that male s
rare ly re tu rned to I tna loo l -daubedpu pae bu t w ou ld happ ily re -p erch
o n tho se perfum ed w ith f u rano ld
(p ro ce ed in gs o f th e R oy al S oc ie ty B ,
DO l : lO . 1098 / rs pb , 200g .1476),
17 Octobe r 20091 NewSc i en t i s t 117
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I N B R IE F
N o m ea t p lease ,
we ' re sp i d e r s
E V ER w o . nd e re d w h a t it's l ik e t o
b e a v eg eta ria n a t a s te ak -e atin g
c o nv e nt io n ? W e lc o m e to t he w o rld
o f BQgheerokiplingi, th e o nly s pid er
th at s urv iv es o n p la nts ·,
"A round 40 o r 50 s p id e r s p e cie s
h av e b ee n d oc um e nte d d rin kin g
n ec ta r, b ut th is is tb e first case
w he re a s pid er h as b ee n s ho wn to
's urv iv e o n p la nt m a tte r/ ' s ay s K e n
Wh i t ney o f R ic e U n iv e rs ity in
H o u sto n , T e xa s .
B y m e as ur in g is oto pe r atio sin B. k ip ling's t i ssue a n d p l ugg i ng
th is d ata in to a d i.e ta ry m o de l,
C h ris to ph er M e e ha n a tth e
U n iv er sity o f A riz on a in T uc so n
d e te rm in e d t ha t p ro te in 'r ic h
nodu l es cal led B e ltia n b o die s , f ou n d
o n th e le av e.s o f s om e p la nts , m ak e
u p 90 pe r ce n t o f its d i e t (Current
B i o l ogy , 0 0 1 : 10.10161j.
cub . 2009 ,OB .043 ) .
O s wa ld S ch m itt , a s pid er
spedalist a t Y a le ' U n iv e rs it y, s a ys
be i ng a v e ge ta ria n m a y p ro v id e
B.kiplingiwith a m o r e s u s ta in a b le
fo od s up ply . It m a ya ]s o e nc ou ra ge
th e ty pic ally te rr ito ria l s pid ers to
c oo pe ra te , s ay s M e eh an , w ho h as
s ee n h un dre ds g ath erin g o n o ne
p la nt. ''W e th in k th atth e a bu nd an ce
o f fo od a va ila ble to th is s pid er m a y
b e a llo win g it to le t d ow n its
d e fe n ce s ," h e s a y s . " Th is m a y
b e a fa sc in at in g s na ps ho t in to the
e va Iu t i ono f a sod a I c re a tu r e as it
t ra n sitio n s fr om hunterto ga t he re r . "
1 8 I NewSc i en t i s t 117 O c to b er 2 0 09
'M a tr ix fo r m ice ' p ro bes h ow m en ta l m a p s a re made
A V IR TU A L re ality s ys te m c re ate d
esp ec ially fo r m ice co uld he lp toexp lain ho w the b rain creates
map s of'tts su r round ing s .
W hen bo th m ice and peop le
navigate, s p ec ia li se d " p la ce "
c ells in th e b ra in 's h ip po ca m pu s
f ire . Im plante d e lec tro des that s it
nex t to neu ro ns hav e in th e p as t
d ete cte d th es e slgnals, w hic h are
tho ugh t to he lp th e b rain bu ild
m ap s o f th e environment.
B ut re searche rs hav e lo ng
theorised th at a cti vi ty o c cu rr in g
w ith in p lac e c el ls , w hic h is n'td etec ted b y th is ty pe o f b ra in
B re ak d ow n b arrie r
to save s ig ht
A S A F E R w ay to g iv e d ru g s to
p rev en t b lindness m igh t b e to
b re ak th ro u gh th e b lo o d-re tin a
b arr ie r tha t n orm ally p re ve nts
mo l e cu l e s in th e b lo od fro m
r ea ch in g th e re tin a. A t th e
m om ent, su ch d ru gs hav e to be
re gu la rly in je cte d in to th e e ye ball .
T his can c au se e ye infec tio ns and
ev en b lind ness in 1in So cases .
A team led b y M atth ew
C am p be ll at T rin ity C olle ge in
Dub l in , Ireland, h as n ow re sto re d
th e v is io n o f m ic e b y te mp orar ily
w eaken ing th is b arr ie r , to le t
d ru g m olec ule s in jec te d into th e
b lo od s lip th ro ugh . They u sed a
te ch niq ue c alle d RN A inter ference(RNAi) to b lo ck th e p ro du ctio n
o f a p ro te in that h e lp s m ake th e
b ar ri er i m pe rm e a bl e (PNAS,001:
1 O .1 0n /p na s.o go B 5 61 10 6).
R N Ai the rap y is no t ye t sa fe
in p eo ple , ho wev er , as it w ou ld
b re ac h the b lo od -b raln b arr ie r
as w ell as th e b lo od -re tin a b arr ie r.
T he team are w ork ing on a w ay
to co nfine the e ffec t to th e eye .
T his inv olv es gene th e rapy u sing
a m od if ie d v iru s th at m akes
t he i nt er fe ri ng RN A o nly in the
p rese nc e o f an an tib io tic . A fte r a
s ing le in jec tio n in to the ey e, the
v iru s co uld th en be ac tiv ate d o nce
a m o nth b y o ral an tib io tic s.
im plant, is also key to m ap-
m a kin g. T he tro u ble is thatre co rd in g a ctiv ity w ith in n eu ro ns
is a m o re d elic ate p ro ce ss , w hic h
g ets d is ru pte d b y th e p hy sic al
m ov em ent nece ssa ry to tr igge r
p la ce -c el l a ctiv ity . N o w D av id
T an k a t P r in ce to n Unlve r s i t y , an d
c olle agu es , ha ve o ve rc om e th is
p ro blem u sing v irtu al reali ty ..
T o c re ate ro de nt V R,th e te am
tw eaked an o pen-so urce v ers io n o f
t h e f i rs t -p e r s o n- s h o o te r Q ua ke II.
T he y u se d th e ga me 's u nd erly in g
phy s ic s engine to c reate a 3Dv irtu al c orrid or th at c han ge s
as a harnes sed m ou se w alk s ato p
a flo atin g s ty ro fo am b all. " Th em ou se is p lay ing a v id eo gam e,"
says T an k. T he m ic e tre ate d the ir
VR w orld like th e real o ne-
m ov ing u p and dow n the ha llw ay
to rece iv e a rew ard - b ut w itho ut
m ak ing he ad m o ve me nts ,
enab ling rec ord ing s to b e m ad e
fro m w ith in n eu ro ns (Nature ,
001: 10.1038/nature08499).
T he e le ctr ic al a ctiv ity ins id e th e
p lac e c ells s yn ce d w ith th e e le ctric
f ie ld in ne arb y ne uro ns . S uch
p rec ise tim ing m ay b e key toh ow p la ce c ells e nc od e lo catio n.
M oun ta in b irth led to s p e c i e s ' deaths
THE b i rt h . o t tn e us Appa l ach i anm ou nta in c ha in m a y h av e b ee n
b eh in d. a m a jo r ic e a g e a nd a
mas s e x t in c t io n ,
T he e xt in ct io n e ve nt a t th e e nd . of
t he O r d o vi cia n 450 m illio n y ea rs a go
wastha s ec on d la rg es t E ar th h as
e ve r s ee n, It h as lo ng b ee n b elie ve d
th at a n Ic e a g e c au se d it, bu t n o o n e
1 m e w w ha t tr ig ge re d th e fre ez e.
S e th Y o u ng O f I n d ia n a Un i v e rs i ty
in B lo o m in g to n , a n d c o lle a gu e s,
b elie ve tw o fa cto rs c on sp ire d to
c re ate th e d ee p fre ez e. F irs t la ye rs
o f la va s ho w th at d im a te cw a rm in g
v olc an ic a ct iv Ity s lo w ed d ow n a t t h is
t im e ..The s ec on d fa cto r w a s. an
in c re a se in the w ea th erin g o f
th e A p pa la ch ia n r oc ks b etw e en
46 2 a nd 4S4 m illio n y ea rs a go , w h ic h
is in dic ate d b y c ha ng es in s tr on tiu m
is o to p er at io .s in O r do v ic ia n o c ea n iC
rocks (Geology, 0 0 1 : 1 . 0 . 11301
g30152a.1).
T he te am s ay s th es e fa cto rs
c om b in ed 'to c au se a .s ud de n d ro p in
a tm o s p h e r. ic c a rb o n d io x id e ., w h ic h
w ou ld h av e c oo le d th e p la ne t
s uffi ic ie nt ly to c au se th e ic e a ge .
F o r m o s t s p e ci es t h et em p e r a tu r e
ch an ge w as to o s ud de n fo r th em to
a d a p t, le a d in g to mas s e x t in c t io n s .
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T E C H N O L O G YF o r d a ily te c h n o lo g y s to r ie s , v is it w w w .N e w S c ie n t is tc o m / te c h n o lo g y
V irg in e nte rs th e
s a te llite b u s in e s sV I RGI N G a la cti c h as c o nf ir m ed
that it p lan s to lau nc h satellites,
as w ell as to ur is ts , into s pa ce .
At t hi s w e e k 's I n te rn a ti o na l
Astronautical C on gre ss in
Daejeon, S ou th K ore a, V irg in s aid
it has es tab lish ed a dfvlsion that
w ill b oth d ev elo p a lau nch ro cke tand se ek sate llite cu sto mers fo r it.
It h op es to s las h th e c os t o flo ftin g
s ma ll 50-kilo gra m s ate llite s into
J ow - E arth o rb it f ro m $10 mi l l i on
o r so to day to abo ut $ 1 mi l l i on .
Virg in is exp ec ted to o p t fo r
a tw o-stag e e xp en dab le ro ck et
th at c ou ld b e s lu ng b en eath
W h ite Kn ig htlW o ~ th e a ir cra ft
d es ign ed to carry i ts S p a ce S h ip Tw o
to ur is t s pa ce craf t h ig h into
th e a tm osphe re p rio r to b e ing
b la ste d in to s ub -o rb it,
" W e h op e to g et s ate llite
lau nche s und erw ay by 2013
o r 2014," s ay s V ir gi n G a la cti c
p re si de nt W i ll W h ite ho rn .
123456T h e m os t c om m onp assw o rd a m on g1 0 ,0 00 e m a il a cc ou n tsw ho se d e ta ils h a v eb ee n le ake d o nlin e.acc .o rd i ng to Acune t i : x
lts a fa n - b u t n o t
a sw e know itONCE a ga in , i nv e nto r
Jam es D yso n has re inv en ted a
m achine w e nev er knew needed
r ein ve nti ng . A f te r v ac uu m
c leaners and hand drye rs , h is
la te st targe t is the d es kto p fa n.
" C on v en ti on al th re e -b la de d
fan s c ho p at th e air and firec hu nks o f itat y o u , l ik e . w e dg e s
o f c he es e," D ys on s ay s. " Plu s, the y
canbedangerous lf'chlldren's
f in ge rs g et in thegrille ~ and
they are to ugh to c lean."
H is answ er is a f an w ith no
v is ib le b lad es that h e ca lls th e
A ir M u ltip lie r. I ts k ey c om p on en t
is a ho llo w p las tic ho op w ith
a n a er of oll c ro ss s ec tio n-
lik e an airc raf t w ing b en t in to a
c irc le . S et v er tic al ly o n a pedes t a l ,
it c on ta in s a m o to r-d riv en
" im p elle r" w hic h f orc es ai.r i nto
th e h ollo w rim o f th e ho op .
F ro m th ere , a ir e me rg es
th ro ugh a s lo t th at d i rec ts it ov e r
the ho op 's ae ro fo il s urf ac e ..T his
g en erate s lo w p re ss ure to ward s
the cen tre o f th e ho op , w hich in
tu rn c re ate s a s tead y d rau ght b yd raw ing th e su rro und ing air
th rough it. The s tre ng th o f th e
d raugh t c an be varied by ad j u sting
the spe ed o f t he impeller.
In te rm s o f energy u se , th e
mach ine is o n a p ar w ith b laded
fans , D yso n say s. B ut a t £199 ,
som e m igh t see it a s a h ef ty p ric e
to p ay fo r av oid ing chu nky a ir.
" N o o n e e ls e h a s c h o s e n t o in v e s t t h e r e q u is i t e r e so u r c e s "Goog l e c o -fo u nd e rS e rg .e y B rin d efe n ds · h is c o m pa n y's p la n s to c re a te a d ig ita l b o ok a rc h iv e ,
a rg uin g th at itw ill s afe gu ard v ita l w o rk sth at w ou ld o th erw is e b e lo st fo re ve r. T he p la n h as
b e en c rit ic is e d fo rtr am p lin g o n a u th o rs ' r ig h ts ( Th eN ew Y or k T im e s, 8 O c t ob e r)
17O c to b er .2 0 09 1 N e w S cie n tis t 1 2 1
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T E C H N O L O G Y
T he co lou rfu l fu tu reo f e lec tron ic pape rThe new w ave o f e -reade rs show s tha t m onoch rom e d isp lays have been
m a ste re d, b ut c ra m rn 'n q c olo ur a nd v id eo 'in to e -p ap eris a no th er s to ry
is s truggling to m ove b eyo nd
them. E-Ink has y et to d eliv er
o n its p ro mise o f co lo ur d isp lays
that re tain the f ine reso lu tio n o f
D u n ca n G r ah a m -R o w e
W ITH the inte rnatio nal launch o f
A m azo n's K ind le reader th is w eek ,p erhap s e le ctro nic b oo ks w ill
b eco me the m ust-have p resent
this year , B ut even as w e u nw rap
our sh iny ne w e-readers, w e m ay
b e f o rg iven fo r w ondering ho w
long it w ill b e b efo re the lo ng-
p ro mised co lo ur ve rs io ns are
a va ila ble . M o re ov er , w ith
m ultifunc tio nal dev ices su ch as
th e iP hone b ecom ing the no rm ,
ho w so on co uld th ese e-readers
m ake the b reak thro ugh to
dtsplayvtdeo]
C u rr en tl y, th e l ea din g e-readers
u se p ro p ri eta ry " ele ctr op ho re ti c"
d isp lay techno lo gy fro m a firm
c alle d E -Ink - a 1 2- y ea r- o ld s p in -o f f
f ro m th e M as sac hu se tts Ins titu te "E-Ink has yet to delivero f T ec hn olo gy , W h ile th is colour displays that retainapp ro ach has paved the w ay the fln.e resolution of its
fo r m ono chrom e d isp lays . it monochrome ones"
its m ono ch rom e o nes , neve r
m in d v id eo .
S o c ou ld o the r e -p ap er d isp lay s
ach i eve good-quality c olo ur and
v id eo w hile also m aintaining th e
low energy dem ands and hIgh
re so lu tio n o f m o no ch ro m e
e le ctr op ho re ti c d is pl ay s?
T he re a re s ev era l c on te nd ers
o ut the re , T he late st ap pro ac h,
and p erhaps the m ost p ro mis ing ,
u se s p ho to nic c ry stals (s ee " The
f lu id w orld o f e -p ap er ', b elo w),
I t h as th e po tential to riv al
trad itio nal L CD a nd p lasm a
sc reens in te rm s o f co lo ur qu ality
becau se it enab les entire p ix els to
b e tu ne d to s pe cif ic w av ele ng th s
o f ligh t - in som e cases , at eye"
c atc hi ng s pe ed s,O palux, a s pi n- of f c om pa ny
f ro m th e U niv ers ity o f T o ro nto ,
Canada, w hic h h as c re ate d
P ho to nic In k (P -Ink ), s ay s the
ad vantage o ftu nab le p ix els
is h igh co lo ur in tensity . F or
e xa mp le , c olo ur L CD s r e qu ire
re d, gre en an d b lu e su b-p ixe ls
in o rd er to p ro du ce full co lou r .
So if yo u w ant to d isp lay , say ,
purered, th en at b est o nly o ne-
th ird o f the d is play w ill ac tu ally
app ear red , N o t so if eve ry p ix e l
can be individually tuned to
re fle ct a s pe cif ic c olo ur .
I n c on tr a st , E-Ink's app ro ach to
co lo u r has s im ply been to co lo u r
w hite p ixe ls w ith filte rs . T his
m eans that the re so lu tio n
su ffe rs - b ecau se w hat w ou ld
co unt as a p ix el in m o no ch ro m e
d isp lays now has to ac t like a sub -
p ix el. F urthe rm ore , f ilte rs tend to
d eg ra de th e q ua lity of displays:
" If y o u start to u se f ilte rs y ou 're
thro win g aw ay p ho to ns ," e xp lains
Edw in Thom as . w ho has
T he f lu id w o r ld o f a -p ap er
Ifs a t ric k th a t h as lo n g b een u sed b y
na tu re to c re a te ir id e sc e nc e in o p als
a nd th e v iv id c olo urs in c ha m ele on s'
s k in s , A r r:a n g e m i c ro s co p ic p a rt ic le s
in p er io dic ro ws a nd , d ep en din g o n
th eir s iz e a nd s pa cin g, y ou c an s ta rt
to In flu en ce th e w a y lig ht is r ef le cte d
off a s u r fa c e ,
F o r v. ls u a l d is p la y s. t he s e p e ri od ic
s tr uc tu re s, k n ow n a sp h ot on ic
c ry st als , c a n b e m a d e o fp re tt ym u c h
a ny th in g. f ro m tin y s ilic a b ea ds o r
l iq u id c r ys t a ls to p o ly .s ty re n e b a lls ~
o r j u st v oid s in a .s ub st ra te ,
P ro vid ed th e p artic le s a re a bo ut
2 00 n an om e tre s in d ia me te r, th eir
in te rv a l- ba se d s tr uc tu re w il l c au s e
a n e ffe ct k no wn as B ra gg
in te rf er en ce a tv is ib le w a ve le n gt hs ,
w h ic h in flu en ce s th e a pp are nt c olo ur
of t he ir s u rf ac e ,
T o m a ke th is in to a d is pla y yo u m us t
b e a ble to tu ne th e c ry sta ls by a l te r i ng
th e s iz e of th e s pa ce s b etw ee n th eir
p art ic le s, T he re a re m a ny w ays to d o
th is , O p alu x is a f irm b as ed in T oro nto ,
c an ad a, w ho se P ho to nit In k (P ·ln k)
u se s s il ic a b ea ds e mb ed de d in a n
e l e ct ro a c ti .v e p o lyme r s u b s n a te ,
W he n a n e xte rn al e le ctr ic f ie ld is
a pp lie d, th e s ub stra te c an b e m ad e
to s w e ll o r c o n tr a ct , . alt er in g its co lou r ,
2 2 1 N ew $ c i e n ti st t 17 O c to b er 2 0 09
D th erte ch niq ue s in clu de th e u se
o f s e l, f· .a s s emb l in g c o p o lyme r s th a t
s w ell in re sp on se to c he m ic als , B u t
p erh ap s m o st p ro m is in g, in te rm s
o f p ro du cin g h ig h-q ua lity c olo ur
d is pla ys w ith p ix el·s w itc hin g ra te s
fast e no ugh fo r u se In v id eo , is a
t ec h niq ue d e ve lo p ed by K o d ak b a se d
o n th e p r in c ip l e s o f d l e le c t ro p h o r e si s,
It u s e e le c tr ic f ie ld s t o m a n ip u la te
p art ic le s s us pe nd ed in a f lu id , m u ch
li ke E -I nk 's e le c tr o ph o re ti c a p p ro a c h
(s ee m a in s to ry ), H o w ev er, in ste ad of
u sin g th e fie ld to m o ve th e p artic le s
to t he s u rf ac e of th e flu id , o r a wa y
f rom it, th is a pp ro ac h u se s th e f ie ld
to c on tr ol th e s pa cin g o f th e p ar tic le s
in p h ot on ic c ry st als .
" Yo u in d uc e a n e le c tr ic d ip o le in
th e p a rtic le s w it h a n e le G tr ic f ie ld ,"
s ay s D a vid S no sw e ll, w h o w o rk ed
o n th e K o da k p r'o je tt. "L ik e litt le b ar
m a gn ets , th ey a ll l in e u p."
A s w ith E ·ln k's d is pla ys . th e
v is co sity o f th e flu id c an s lo w th e
ra te a t w h ic h the p artld e s m ove ,
l im it in g th e p ix els 's w itc hin g ra te .
B ut b ec au se th e tu nin g p ro ce ss
re qu ire s th e p art ic le s to m ov e m uc h
s ho rte r d is ta nc es , th ey c an sw itc h in
s ub -m ic ro se co nd tim e s ~ w h ic h is
m o re th an a de qu ate fe rv ld eo .
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For da il y t e chno logy s to ri es , v is it www .NewSc ien t is t com / techno logy
d e ve lo p e d c h em i ca ll y tu n ab le
p ho to nic c ry sta ls a t M I T.
O p alu x is a lr ea dy w o rk in g w i th
d is pla y f ir m s to p ro d uc e n ex t-
g en era ti on p ro to ty pe s, s ay s its
h ead o f te ch no lo gy , A n dre
A r se na ul t. B u t, h e s ay s , t hi s is a
lo ng -te rm e nd ea vo u r. I n t he s ho rt
te rm , th e c om pan y is fo cu se d o n
m o re nic he ap plic atio ns s uc h asba tt e ry - l eve l i n d ica to r s .
O p alu x is no t ye t able to retune
its P - In k pixels fast e no ug h to
p ro d uc e v id eo , but th ere a re other
p ho to nic -c ry stal s ys te m s th at c an ,
s uc h a s t ha t de v e l o p e d b y D av id
S no s we ll, a f o rm e r re se arc he r a t
K o d ak R e se arc h UK a nd n ow at
th e U n iv e rs ity o f C ambr id g e.
"Wew e r e g e tt in g s u b -m i l li se c on d
sw it ch in g r at es ," h e s ay s .
F r u st ra ti ng l y f o r Sn o swe ll ,
h e w as fo rc ed to ab and on th isw o rk w h en K o d ak c lo s ed i ts
UK r es e ar ch f ac i li ty e a rl ie r
th is y e ar . E v en s o , t h e r es e ar ch
d em o ns tra te s th at p h a to ni c
c r y st al s a re p o t en ti al ly
f as t e no u gh to c re ate " fie ld -
s e qu e nti al " c o lo u r d is p la ys , s ay s
Snoswe l l , in which full c o lo u r i s
c re ate d b y flashing r ed , g re en a nd
b lu e p uls es in a s in gle p ix el o ne
a ft er t he o th e r.
M e a nw h il e, th e f as te s t
monoch r ome plxel-switching
th at E -I nk i s w i ll in g to ta lk a bo u thav ing ac hie ve d is so mil l i seconds ,th e e qu iv ale nt o f 20 fram es p er
s ec ond - s til l to o s lo w f or v id eo .
Never theless , E-lnk i ns i st s t ha t
it is o n trac k to m e et th e fu tu re
d em and s o f its c u stom e rs . " R ig h t
now Ia n't s ee a ny p ar ti cu la r
te c hn o lo g y g ai ni ng m om en tum ,"
s a y s E" l nk 's v tc e -p r es td e n t o f
m a rk e ti ng , S ri P e ru v em b a . .H e
say s t he c om pany is aim ing to
b ri ng its c o lo u r d is pla ys to m a rk et
by 2011, w ith v id eo to f ollo w .W i th o th ers v ir tu al ly c ertai n to
fo llo w th em , it lo o ks fo r th e firs t
ti m e a s th o ug h E -I nk w il l f ac e
s om e c olo urfu l c om p etitio n .•
H y d r o g e n s il e n c e s
the d omestic ro bo tIF R O BO tS a re e ve r g oin g to b e
w elc om e in th e h om e th ey w ill n ee d
to b ec om e a lo t q uie te r. B u ild in g
th em w ith a rt if ic ia l m us cle s th at ru n
o n h yd ro ge n, in ste ad o f n ois y
c omp r a s s s d - a l r p u m ps o r e le ctr ic
m o to rs , c ou ld b e th e a ns we r.
K w an g K im . a m a te ria ls e ng in ee r
a t t he U niv ers ity o f N ev ad a in R en o,
c am e u p w ith th e id ea a fte r re ,a lis in g
th at h yd ro ge n c an b e supplied
s ile n tly b y m e ta l h yd rid e c om p ou n ds .M e ta l h yd rid es ca n u nd erg o a
p r o ce s s c a ll ed r e ve r s ib l e
c he m is orp tio n, a llo w in g th em to
s to re a nd re le as e e xtra h yd ro ge n
h eld b y w ea k c he m ic al b on ds . I t's th is
p ro pe rty th at h as le d to th e m o to r
in d us tr y in ve st ig at in g m e ta l h yd rid e s
a s h y dro ge n " ta nk s" fo r fu el c ells .
to m a ke a s ile n t a rt .if ic ia l m u sc le ,
K im a n d h is c olle a gu e A .le xa n dr a
V an de rh off firs t c om p re ss ed a c op pe r
a n d n ic ke l- ba se d m e ta l h yd rid e
p o wd e r in to p ea n ut- site d ;p e lle ts .
T he y th en .s ec ure d th em in a re ac to r
v ess el a nd p um pe d in h yd ro ge n to
" ch a rg .e " th e p e lle ts w ith th e g as • .A
h ea te r c oil s ur ro un de d th e v es se l, a s
h ea t b re aks th e w ea k ch em ica l b on ds
a n d r ele a se s th e s to re d h yd ro ge n .
T h e n e x t s te p w as to c o n n e c t th e
v es se l to a n o ff- th e -s he lf a rt ific ia l
m u sc le , w h ic h c om p ris es a n
in fla ta ble r ub b er tu be s ur ro u nd e d
b y K ev la r fib re b ra id in g. T w o o f th es e
p la ce d e ith e r s id e o f a r ob o t. ic jo in t
c an m im iC th e p us h/p ull a ct io n o f
m u sc le s b y b ein g a lte rn ate ly in fla te d
a nd d ef la te d (s ee d ia gra m , b elo w ).
T urn in g th e h ea te r o n a nd o ff
c on tro ls th e f lo w o f h yd ro ge n in to th e
ru bb er tu be , ca us in g th e m usc le to
m o ve s ile ntly . E ve n b ette r, th e p air
s ay , t he m usc le p er fo rm s a s w ell a s
"T h e s ys tem h a s b io lo g ic a lmusc l e ·l ik e p r oper ti esfo r h um an oid ro bo ts ~ w ithn o n o is e"
th ose th at ru n o n co mp re sse d a ir
s y s t em s ( Sma r t Ma t e ri al s ond
S t r uc t u re s ,DO I: 10 .1088/ 09 64 -
1726/18/12/125014) . Impo r t an t l y ,
th e g as d id n't le ak .
''T h e s y ste m h a s b io l. og ic a l m u s cle -
lik e p ro pe rtie s fo r h um a no id ro bo ts
th at n ee d h ig h p ow er; la rg e lim b
s tro ke s - a nd n o n ois e:' s ay s K im .
Y o s e p h aa r - C o he n , a n e n gin ee r
s p ec ia lis in g in a rt if ic ia l m u s cle
te ch n olo gy a t N A SA 's je t P ro p uls io n
la b in P a sa d en a , C a lifo rn ia , s ay s th is
is " a n o ve l a p p ro a ch " f or c o nt ro llin g
a rt if ld a l m u s cle s . " I t is a n im p o rt an t
c on tr ib u tio n a n d in cre a se s th e
a rs en al o f p ote ntia l a ctu ato rs th at
m a y b e co m e a va i. la ble in th e fu tu re ,"
h e s ay s. P au l M a r k s • •
No ise less a r ti fi ci al musc lesH ea t i ng a con t a in e r o f m e t a l h y d r id e s r e le a s es hyd ro 9 en wh ic h ( an si le ntly in il a t e
a m u s c le m em b r a n e . , c au s in g . o n e r n u sd e t o c o n t r ac t a 5 t h e o t h e r r e i a x e s
RE LA X ED S T AT E
O p p05 ite b ra i de d ,Ie ev e e xp en d s
1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09 1 N e w Sc ie nt is t 1 2 3
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T E C H N O L O G Y
D ig i t a l w o r ld 's b e n e f i t s t r i c k le
to w he re t h e y ' r e n e e d e d m o s tT HE v ery p oo re st p eo ple o n
th e p la ne t h av e b en ef ite d l ittl e
f ro m th e d ig ita l e co no m y, b ut a
pU o t p ro je c t i n A f ri ca n r ef ug e e
c am ps has h in te d at ho w that
m i gh t c ha ng e. R e fu ge es at th e
Dadaab c am p s i n K e ny a h a ve
b e en a bl e t o d ram ati ca ll y i nc re as e
the ir inc om e b y tap ping into a
g l o b al d ema nd for unski l led
d i gi ta l l ab o u r .
T h e p ro je c t u s es C row dF low e r,a w e b si te th at a ll ow s c omp an ie s
to q uic kl y o u ts ou rc e ro u ti ne ta sk s
s uc h as tra ns cri ptio n a nd i m ag e-
ta gg in g to o nl in e w o rk ers . "W e
c an g e ne ra te a n i nc re d ib le am o u nt
o f s o ci al i m pa ct th ro u gh th is
t ec h n o lo g y ," s ay s L e i laCh i r ay a th
[ an ah , f ou nd er o f S arn as ou rc e, th e
S a n F r an c is c o -b a se d ch ar it y
b eh in d th e p ro je ct.
W o r ke rs t yp ic al ly r ec e iv e a f ew
c en ts p er tas k and c om p an ie s c an
o fte n g et jo b s d o ne i n m i n ute s.
C r owdF lowe r l e ts c ompa ni e s
c ho o se f rom s ev era l v irtu al p o ols
o f la bo u r, i nc lu d in g Ama z on 's
"Mech an ic a l T u r k" s e rv i c e.
T han ks to S am a so u rc e's w o rk ,
a g ro up o f o v e r 150 re fu ge es i n th e
th re e c am p s at D ad aab w ill s oo n
m ake u p o ne o f t ho se p oo ls . O v er
th e la st tw o m o nth s, a p il o t g ro u p
o fl6 w o rk ers h as b ee n g iv en
a cc es s to c om pu te rs an d tr ai ne d
o n a rang e o f t as ks , in clu ding a
d ata-e ntry jo b f or a m ap p in g
c om pa ny . T he f ir m u se s s o ftw are
to i dent i fy r oads in aer i a l images ,
b u t i ts s of tw are s om e ti m es
m i st ak e nl y t ra ck s o th e r f ea tu re s,
s u ch as l in es o f p ar ke d c ars . T he
re fu ge es c he ck e ac h im a ge an dd ec id e w he th er th e s oftw are h as
d o ne its jo b .
A f te r an u np ai d tri al p erio d , th e
w o rk ers s tar te d ta ki ng p aid ta sk s
late last m o nth . T he y h av e b ee n
e a rn in g a ro u n d US$2p er hour:
th e t yp ic a. !l nc om e ar no n g th e
camps ' 250,000 i nh ab ita nt s i s
$50 p er m o nth . L uk as B ie wald o f
S a n F r an c is c o -b a se d C r owdF lowe r ,
s ay s th at th e 1 6 r ef ug ee s h av e
received $1200 s o f ar . S a rn a s o u r ce
no w h as fu nd ing to tra in an oth er
ISO r efugees and i s a ls o w o r ki ng
with K e ny an s o u ts id e th e c am p s.M e a nw h il e, i t i s i n t al ks r eg ar di ng
a s ec o nd re fu ge e-c am p p ro je ct,
th is tim e in n orth ern Ind ia .
B i ew ald s ay s th at f irm s li ke th e
f ee l- go o d f ac to r th at c om es w ith
u s in g th e Dadaab wo r k e rs . A n d
th e re su lts c an b e m o re re liab le
than th os e fro m o th er lab ou r
p o ol s. " Th e re fu ge es h av e
m o r e i nt er es t in a long-term
r e la ti o n sh i p, " s a ys B i ewa ld .
C r ow dF low e r a nd S a rn a s o u rc e
E h av e a ls o r el ea se d G i veWo r k,I~ a n iP h on e a pp li ca ti on th at
~ le ts u se rs d o nate th ei r la bo u r:
~ its u se rs c om p le te th e s am e
~ ta sk s a s th e D ad aa b w o rk ers ,
b ut the fee fo r tho se jo bs is p aid
to th e D ad aa b te am in ste ad .
L a te r th is m o n th , c e ll ph o ne
u se rs in K en ya w i ll b e ab le to s ig n
u p to tx te ag le , a no th er re m o te -
w o r ki ng s e rv ic e t ha t d is tr ib u te s
tr an sla ti on a nd i m ag e ta sk s b y
c e ll ph o ne . N a th an E ag le , a
c e ll ph o ne te c hn o lo g y r es ea rc h er
a t t h e S an ta Pe I ns ti tu te i n N ew
M e xic o and th e d ev elo pe r o f
t xt ea gl e, e st im a te s t ha t IS mil l ion
Ken y an s w i ll b e i nt er e st ed in
ta ki ng p ar t. ji mG i: le s _
L a b -o n -a - c h ip is b u i l t t o o b ig ,
t h e n s h ru n k t o p e r f e c t i o nI N TE L 's la te s t m i cr o ch ip t ec h n olo g y
h a s c r e a te d t ra n s is to r s 22 nanome t r e s
w id e ~ a m ere 2 0 0 t im es th e w id th o f
r e a ct io n s to ac e u r i n ; th ey a re o fte n
re ple te w ith d ep os its o f c he m ic als ,
c ells a n d p ro te in s o f in te re s t.
a h yd ro g e n m ole cu le . C a rv in g s u c h T h e id e a? T o p ro v id e a sw if t
t in y fe atu re s is d ev ilis hly d if f ic ult a nd d ia gn os tic to ol: a dd s om e b od y f lu id s
e xp en siv e,b ut in a no th er re alm o f
m i c ro c h ip s a l to g e t h e r, s om e th in g
o d d' i s h a pp e nin g : c h ip s a re b e in g
m ad e o n a n o uts iz ed s ea le an d th en
s hru nk to th e re qu ire d s iz e. a vo id in g
m u c h f id d ly h a ss le .
T he s hrin kin g in no va tio n is
h ap pe nin g in th e fie ld o f t he " la b-
o n -a -c hip " S uc h c hip s a re ty p ic a lly
p la st ic s liv e rs s co re d w ith s e rr ie d
r a nk s o f f lu id -f il le d m i cr oc h a nn e ls
a n d r ec es se d p o ols fo r c he m ic al
24 1 NewS c i e n t i s t 11 7 O c to b e r 2 0 0 9
a nd le t th e g ad ge t lo ok fo r 1 .e llta le
c he m ic al c ha ng es th at re ve a l
b io m a rk e rs lin k ed to v ar io u s
d is ea se s . O n e d a y, a h a nd h eld
g ad ge t m a y s ca n y ou fo r a m u lt itu de
o f a il m e n ts .
B ut th ere 's a p ro ble m , s ay s
b io c h em i ca l e n g in e e r C h r is to p h e
M a rq ue tte a nd c olle ag ue s a t t he
C la ud e B e rn ard U n iv ers ity in L yo n,
F ra n ce . M ic ro flu id ic c hip s a re h a rd to
m a n ufa c tu re a n d a re c on s eq ue n tly
to o e x pe n siv e fo r th ro w a w ay
s y st em s . .W h a t's m o r e, th e d if fk u l. ty
o f m a kin g th em so tin y c on stra in s th e
c re a tiv ity o f th e ir d e sig n er s.
T he L yo n te am 's a ns we r is s im p leb ut p ow erfu l: c arv e a nd p rin t th e
fe atu re s o n a l a r qe c hip m ad e o f
P o l yS h r in k , a h e a t -s h r in k a b le
p oly m er , w h ic h is t he n w a rm e d.
S o fa r th e y h a ve s h ru nk a
"'Pr int 'n' sh r ink ' t e chno logycould give t he de s igne rso f d ia gnos tic b io ch ip sgrea te r freedom"
2 3 0- m ic ro m e tr e-s qu a re b io ch ip
d ow n to lO O -m ic ro m etre s s qu are .
O f c ou rs e, th e m a te ria l d oe s n ot
d is ap pe ar a s i t s hr in ks - in ste ad
itg e ts t hic k er , m o v .in g f ro m 15 to
8 5 m ic ro m e tr es th ic k.
C r u cia lly , it s fe a tu re s r e m a in e d
in g oo d s ha pe . In te sts , th e c hip 's
r ea c tio n c h am b e rs , d ru g re s er vo ir s,
c ha nn els a nd p atte rn s o f c ells s hru nk
u nifo rm ly , m a in ta in in g th e s am ere la tiv e d im e ns io ns r ig h t d ow n to
th e f in al c hip s ize ( Lob O n A Chip,
0 0 1 : lO.1039/b913253h). Even
c om p le x s pir al- sh a pe d c ha n ne ls
w e r e f ait hf ull. y r ep ro d u ce d .
M a rq ue tte s ay s th is "p rin t 'r r '
s hr in k" te c hn o l.o g y c ou ld g iv e
d es ig ne rs o f s uc h c hip s m o re
ro o m to m an oe uv re , a s w e ll a s
a llo w in g fo r g re a te r p re c is io n
in t he ir m a n u fa c tu re .
"T h is d ev elo pm e nt s ou nd s
p o te n tia lly u se fu l a n d c ou ld r ed u ce
th e co st o f fa br ic a tio n in th e
m lc ro tlu ld lc s fie ld ," s a ys jo n C o o pe r,
a b io en gin ee ra t th e U niv ers ity o f
G la sg ow In th e U K . P au l M ark s •
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D u m p t h e r is k y d r u g sA s w e live lo nge r, m ore o f us fa ce th e ho rro rs o f A lzh eim er's d ise ase -
and the ve ry w ors t k ind o f trea tm en t fo r it says Ir ving K i rsch
ARE w e to o q uic k to p re sc rib e
p syc ho tro pic m ed ica tio n fo r
e m otio na l a nd b eh av io ur al
p ro ble m s? T ak e A lz he im e r's
d i sease . Inan a ttem pt to redu ceth e ir agg res s iv e b ehav io ur , u p to
60 p er cen t o fp eo ple w ith
A lzhe im er's in E uro pe and N o rth
Am e ric a a re p re sc rib ed
an tip sy cho tic m ed ic atio ns s uc h
as Risperda l (r is pe rid o ne ) a nd
Z yp re xa ( ola nz ap in e). T he
es tim ate d c os t o f th ese d rug s is
£80 m illio n a y ear in th e UK a lone .
P e op le g iv en antipsychottcs are
s ed ate d a nd b ec om e l es s a gg re ss iv e
o r ag itate d, b ut co mpared w ith
p lace bo the b enef its seem m od es t
at b est. I n 2006 , a 42-c en tre trial
in the U S f ou nd n o s ig nif ic ant
d if fe re nc e s b e tw e en a nti ps yc ho ti c
d ru gs and p lac eb o afte r 12 we eks .
O the r tr ials sho wed so me
ad van tag es o f d ru gs o ve r p la ce bo ,
b ut th ese w ere "m od es t"
( C oc h rane Dat abase o j s ys temat ic
Rev iews , DOl : 10 .1002/ 14651858 .
CDoo3012 .pub2) .
T he ris ks , h ow e ve r, a re la rg e.
A c co rd in g to th e U K M e d ic in esan d H ealth care P ro du cts
R eg ula to ry A g en cy , th e
medication p ro du ce s a th re ef old
inc rease in th e r isk o f s tro ke
( w ww .h it. ly /N N S p O )..T h e d ru gs
also d ou ble the risk o f dy ing o ve r
a th re e-y ea r p eri od , a cc ord in g
to a stud y fu nd ed by the UK 's
A l zh eim e r's R es ea rc h T ru st ( The
Lance t, Neuro logy, v o l S , p 151). .
L as t w e ek , 1 0 d em e ntia
g ro u p s, including th e tr us t,
d em and ed th e U K g ov ernm entp ub lish a lo ng -d elaye d rev iew o f
th e u se o fan tip sy cho tic d rug s
indement i a .
The is sue is no t th at p eo ple
d o n't im pro ve w hen g iv en
an tip sy cho tic d ru gs: the y do .
B u t so d o p atien ts in trials w ho
are g iv en a p lac eb o, an d th ey
im pro v e nearly as m uch as
tho se g iv en the d ru g.
This m ay be go o d new s fo r
A lzh eim er 's p atie nts ,a s a s tro ng
p lac eb o e ff ec t m ean s n on-d ru g
tre atm en ts m ay w ork w ell. T he re
m ay b e les sons to be learned
h ere f ro m sim ila r tre atm en ts
fo r dep res s io n - w hich also
re sp on ds w ell to p la ce bo , a nd
o nly m in im ally b ette r to d rug s .
T r ad i ti o na l p s y ch o th e ra p y,
w hic h w o rk s f or d ep re ss io n,
e igh t: o ne f ro m Jap an , tw o fro m
C hina, o ne fro m Ind ia, o ne from
R u ss ia and th re e f rom the U S .
The rac e back to the M oo n has
b ee n p ro mpte d b y the realisatio n
t ha t e x p lo i ti ng it m ay now be
w ith in re ach . A nd it p o ses th e
que s tio n : w ho ge ts to u se th e
m o o n 's r ec o ve ra bl e resources,
su ch as o xygen o r w ate r?
This c ou ld b e re so lv ed th ro ugh
n eg otia tio n, a s s pa ce s cie ntis tsh ap pily lo d gi ng th eir in str um e nts
in f ore ig n s pa ce craf t h op e. B ut
th e L unar T reaty d raf ted b y the
U nited N atio ns in th e 1 990$ has
s till no t b een s igned by the sp ace
p ow ers . S in ce th is le av es th e
m oo n unp ro tec ted by law - the
ul t imate t er ra n ul la - we m ay now
s ee a s cra m ble f or te rrito ry .
H is to ry sho ws tha t th e f irs t s tep
is co lo nisatio n and - th e p res s ing
is sue - s tak ing a c laim . Thanks to
t he e x pl o re rs A m und se n, S co tt
and th e ear ly sea le rs , th e UK and
N orw ay no w claim abo ut o ne-
s ix th o f A nta rc tic a e ac h ..S o w e
m ay b e w itn es sing a s lo w-m o tio n
The m oon i s m i n e
Is lu na r e xp lo ita tio n p ois ed to re pris e th e s to ry
o f A n ta rc tic a, a sk s William Culie rn e Sown
LAST w ee k, N A SA b om be d the
m o on . O r rath er, itc ra sh ed its
L u na r C r ate r O b s er va ti on
an d S ens in g S ate llite in to the
m oo n's so u th p o le in a b id to
d isco ve r re se rv es o fw ate r and
o th er r es o ur ce s.
T his w as th e late st in a v erita ble
flurry o f M o on m iss io ns : b etw een
2 00 7 a nd 20 11 th er e will h av e b ee n
26 1 New$ c i e n ti s t 117 O c to b er 2 0 09
re wo rk in g o f the An ta rc ti ca s to ry
in w hich lu nar exp lo ra tio n lay sth e g ro und fo r c laim s.
W e are alre ad y w itne ss ing th e
s ame mix o f challenge, bravado ,
in qu ir y a nd n atio na l enthusiasm,
su ffu sed w ith d ream s o f em pire
and w ealth that spu rred th e
A n ta rc tic r ac e. P lu s, th ere 's f ea r.
" W ho ev er f irs t c on q uers th e
m oo n w ill b ene fit f irs t," as
O u y an g Z iy ua n, c hie f s cie ntis t
o f C hin a's m o o n e xp lo ra tio n
p ro gram me, once to ld the BB e .
"T he UN 's L u na r T re aty iss ti 1 .1 uns igned by th e s pa cep ow ers , le av in g th e m o onunprotec ted by l aw"
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C o mm e n t o n th e se s to rie s a t www .NewSden t i s t . c om / o p i l 1 i o l 1
m ig ht b e li ttle u se to c og nitiv ely
im p air ed p eo ple ..B u t c og nitiv e
b eha vio ura l in te rv en tio ns h av e
sho wn benef its ; fo r e xam ple , ino ne s mall U K s tu dy o ff iv e p atie nts ,
s u c h t ec h ni qu e s were fo und to
help con t r o l a gg re ss iv e a nd
a gi ta te d b e ha vi ou r (Internat.ional
Journa l o jGe r ia tr ic Psych . ia tr y,
vo ll6 , p 45 ) . E xe rc ise ~ w hich is
e ve n m o re e ffe ctiv e fo r m o de ra te
to severe d ep re ss io n than fo r m ild
to m od era te dep res s io n ~ h as also
s ho wn p ro m is e f or d tm tru sh tn g
agg res s i on . A st ructured walking
p r og r amme inone nu rs ing ho me
resu lted in a 30 p er c en t d ec re as ein ag gre ss io n am o ng s ev ere ly
d em e nte d p atie nts (A rch ive s o j
Psych ia tr ic Nursing, v ol n , p 21).
A " co n se ns u s s ta te m e nt" by
16 p ra cti ti on er s p u bl is he d l ast
ye ar in The Journa l o j e lin ica l
Psychiatry (v o1 6g , p 8 8g ) u rged
t ha t a n ti p sy c h o ti c drugs b e used
t o t re a t d em e nt ia -r e la te d
ag itatio n an d a gg re ssio n" o nly
wh en non-pharmaco log ic
ap pro ac he s h av e fa i led" . Research
o n n o n -d r ug t rea tments is thin
o n th e g ro und , bu t w ith m illio ns
fac tn g d em entia , w e u rg en tly
need them in o u r arm ou ry .•
On e m in ute w ith ...
V e n k i R a m a k r i s h n a nF or the m olecu la r b io log is t nam ed jo in t w inne r o f the N obe l
p rize in chem is try las t w eek, it a ll cam e as a b it o f a su rp rise
C o ng ra tu la tio ns l H o w did it fe el w he n
you found out?
I n it ia ll y, I t ho u g h t . it w a s a p ra nk . T h e n, a s it
daw ned on m e it w asn 't it w as a b it o f a s h oc k .
N o th in g p re pa re s y ou fo r it.
D id y ou p ain t c am b rid ge r e d?
J us t a .Iittle d dn ks p ar ty in th e la b,
Y ou r labo ra to ry has w on qu ite a fe w Nobe l s
o ve r th e years ,
Ove r a dozen I t hin k , a n d of co u rse F r a nc is C r ic k
w ork ed h ere , a n d h e w as a g ia nt
C r k k sha red a N obe l in 19 6 2 f or c ra c kin g
th e st ructure of D N A , . and now you 've been
awa rded onefo r s ho win g h ow in fo rm a tio n
in D N A is u ltim ate ly m ade in to p ro te ins by
th e r i bosomes ,
It's o ne o f th e c en tr al te ne ts o f b io lo gy th at D N A
make s R N A make s p r o te in , S o I 'm t remendou s ly
h on ou re d to h av e r ec eiv ed th e p riz e fo r h elp in g to
e xp la in h ow th e rb es om e w ork s in th e fin al s te p-
r ea din g th e in fo rm a tio n c on ta in ed in R .N Aa nd
th en p ro du cin g p ro te in s, T he n ex t s ta ge o f th e
p ro ble m is t h at a s p ro te in s e m er ge fr om th e
rib os om e, th ey n ee d to be s en t to th e rig ht p art o f
th e c ell a nd fo ld ed u p p ro pe rly . H ow th e p ro te in is
tr affic ke d' - m a kin g s ur e it g oe s in to th e r ig ht c ell
c om p ar tm e nt - is r ea lly impo r tan t , And t he re hasa lr ea dy b ee n b rillia nt w o rk d on e in th es e a re as ,
Ir vin g K ir sc h is a t th e Depa r tmen t
o f Psycho l ogy ,U n i v e rs i ty o f Hul l . U K .
H is la te s t b o ok is T he Emp eror's N ew
D r u g s ( T he B o d le y H e a d)
T hi s p ote nt c oc kta il can b e u se d
by sc ien tis ts to w in su ppo rt fo rb ig ge r, m o re a gg re ss iv e nat ional
programmes. It is a l ong ,
e xp ens iv e g am e b ut tha t never
p r even ted it fro m b ein g p Jay ed
o ut in the A nta rc tic fo r alm os t a
c en tu ry ,a nd th ere are p ote ntial
re wa rd s to m atc h.
W hen I pu t the se id eas to D av id
P ark er , he ad o f s pac e s cie nc e and
e xp lo ratio n at th e B ritis h N a tio na l
S pa ce C en tre , h e c alle d them
M ac hia ve llian . P erh ap s he s ho uld
recall that Machiavell i ' s Prince isth e u ltim ate gu id e to realp olitik . •
Y ou sha red you r p rize w ith T hom as Ste itz
o f Y ale U niV ers ity a nd A da Y on a!th o f th e
W eizm ann Ins titu te o f Sc ience In l s rae l ,
Was a n yo n e left out?
M a ny la bs h av e m a de th eir c on tr ib utio n to
u nd er sta nd in g rib os om e s. If th e p riz e w a s fo r'
fin din g o ut th e h ig h- re so lu tio n s tr uc tu re , p er ha ps
w e t h r ee were at th e fo re fro nt Y o u c ou ld a rg ue
th at w e r ea lly r ev olu tio nis ed th e fie ld b y u sin g
X -r ay c ry sta llo gr ap hy to lo ok a t e xa ctly h bw th e
a tom s a re c o nf ig u re d in s id e a p ro te in . Bu t t he rea re s o m a ny o th ers w ho h av e m a de im p orta nt
c on tr ib utio ns in o th er re sp ec ts , s uc h a s s h ow in g
h ow r ib o som e s a re a s sem b le d .illia m C u lle m e S ow n is f o un de r o f
R e s ea r c h F o r tn ig h t
P R O F I L E
V e nk atr am a n R am ak ris hn an o f th e U n iv ers ity
o f Camb rid g e s h ar ed t his y e ar 's c h em i st ry N o b el
fo r h elp in g to u nr av el t h e s tr uc tu re o f r ib os om e s,
w h ic h a c t a s c e lls ' " pr ot ein f ac to rie s "
D o you th ink the N obe l p rizes rew ard
to o fe w p eo ple ?
T his ru te o f th re e is a I ft tle u n fo rt un a te , a n d
n o t r ef tE 'c tr ve o f t he w a y s c ie n ce is d o ne t od a y,
S cie nc e is n o lo ng er c ar rie d o ut b y sm all n um b er s
o f p eo ple ; s cie nc e is n o w a huge l y co l labo ra t iv e
e n te rp ris e . S o t h e se aw a rd s t en d to m a ke it to o
m u ch lik e a s po rtin g e ve nt a nd th at is a sl ight lyu n fo rt un a te d ow ns id e ,
Wha t is th e u ps id e?
Itd ra w s a tt en tio n t o s c ie n tif ic d is c ov e rie s .
B ut e ve n th en , a fte r a c ou ple o f d ay s n o o ne
o n th e s tre et re me m be rs w lla tth e p riz e w as fo r,
s o th ere s ho uld b e a m o re s us ta in ed e ffo rt to
e d u (a te th e p ub lic . ~j§a;f
~b u y m o to rb ik e s- do you have any p lan s ~
o n h ow you ' re go i n g to s pe nd it? ~
I don 't ow n a c ar, on 'ly a b ike , a nd l have a house ~
th at's p le nty b ig e no ug h, a nd .th at's e no ug h fo r m e . ~
So n o rea l p lans ye t In te rv iew by Andy C ogh lan ~
8
A nd . o f c ou rs e th ere 's th e m on ey .
P re vio us w in ne rs hav e been known to
1 7 O c to b er 20091 NewSc i em i s t 127
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F or m o re le tte rs a nd to jo in th e d eb ate , v is it www .NewSc ien t i s t . c am/ le t t e r s
T his g ra du ally b uild s a n in ne r
s tru c tu re no t p resc rib ed by a
p ro gram mer. W hich o f th e
inpu ts are asso ciated w ith o neano th er to fo rm th is stru ctu re
is no t sp ec if ied by a hum an ;
c harac te ris tic s o fthe in pu t stre am
itse lf d ete rm ine the s tru c tu re o f
th e s ys te m .
T his im plie s that iti s p o s s ib l e
fo r a c om pu te r to b e inte llige nt,
even if no p ro gram can be . The
fau lt in AI is the lim ited v iew it
takes o f the com pu te r as a.
c om pu ting m ac hine .
I n a ss oc ia tiv e p ro ce ss in g th ere
a te th re e e le me nts : the p ro gram ,th e m achine , and the mners tru c tu re bu ilt fro m inpu t
s ym bo ls w he re the i np u t s tr eam
itse lf-no t a hum an d esigner-
de te rm ines th e shape o f the
o utp ut. A tan talis ing p ro sp ec t
is that such a stru c tu re co uld
be a m ind .
We ll in g to n , N ew Z eala n d
Sc ien ti fi c t ru thsFrom Ror yA l Ien
H ugh M clach lan is r igh t to raise
fundam ental issu es ab ou t R ichard
D aw kin s's and D av id H um e's
argu me nts agains t m irac le s
(8 A ugus t, p 26 ) , w hich are , as h e
s ug ge sts , w ea k if n ot c ir cu la r.
U nfo rtunate ly , he m ars h is o wn
case by m ak ing th e sam e m is take
as H um e an d o the r p hilo so phe rs
in assum ing that sc ientif ic law s
are statem ents o f th e fo rm " if A ,then B " , an d th at th ese re pre se nt
" un iv ers al la ws ",
A s B e rtr an d R us se ll p oin te d
o ut o ve r 60 y ea rs ag o in h is b oo k
A Hi st o ry oJWest er n Ph il os ophy ,
a lm o st n o s cie ntif ic th eo rie s
c on sis t o f c au sa l s tate m en ts
o f the fo rm "if A, then B " ,
R ath er , th ey u su ally c om p ris e
c om plic ate d s yste ms o f p artial
differential e qu atio ns th at
desc ribe and p red ic t the
behav io u r o fphenom ena in
tim e and space g iv en ce rtain
in itia l a nd b ou nd ary c on ditio ns .
M clac hlan 's id eas s ee m
to be based o n a pers is ten t
m isu nders tand ing o f sc ience by
philo so phers dating from the
tim e o f K ant, w ho w as so
im pres sed by N ew ton 's law s o fm otio n that he im agined that
they m us t em bo dy u nive rsal,
e te rn a l t ru th s ,
I su sp ec t that v ery f ew s cie ntis ts
to day w ou ld c laim to be in search
o f "Ia ws o f natu re" in th is sense .
E ve r s in ce K arl P o pp er's w ritin g
on the philo so phy o f sc ience , w e
have been u sed to the id ea that all
theo r ie s are w rong , bu t th at so me
are Jes s w rong than o the rs and
th at s cie nc e a dv an ce s by a p r oc e ss
o f im pro ving the w ay o ur th eo rie sd esc rib e th e w orld .
M clach lan 's argu ments ab ou t
m irac le s m iss the m ark. Ins te ad ,
Iu spec t th e im po rtance o f
m irac le s , I f t hey co uld be sho wn
to happ en, is no t th at th ey
violate some " la w o f n atu re ':
but th at they dem ons trate that a
m ec hanis tic v iew o f the u niv erse
is insu ff ic ient to acco unt fo r
w hat happens in it.
L on do n, U K
The b e e 's w in g s
F rom Robe rt M cAnd rew
In h is artic le o n m ode ls o f insec t
f li gh t, P a ul M a rk s a ttr ib u te s
the f irs t th eo ry on ho w
bum blebees are ab le to f l y , .
d esp ite the ir ap pare nt d ef ian ce
o f th e ru le s o f a ero dy na mic s,
to T on y M a xw o rth y in 1981
(2 6 Sep tem ber, p 22 ) .However , Iecall from m y day s
a s an underg radu ate at th e
U nive rs ity o fS t A ndrew s in th e
UK , b e tw een 1975 an d 1979, that I
atte nd ed a le ctu re b y P ro fe ss or
J ohn F . A llen in w hich he
ad dre ss ed th is s am e p ro ble m.
A s Iemembe r it, h e e x pl ai ne dthat it was to do w ith the b ee
w in g h av in g small-scale surface
c o rr ug ati on s, T he r es ulti ng
e f fec t o n air v isco sity at th is sm all
scale enab les the w ing to w ork
like an aero fo il, generating a
fas te r airf lo w ab ove th e w ing
than b elo w it.
Dunfermline, Fife, UK
Mea t subs tit u te s
From Ca l verl ey Red fearn
I n y ou r feature on m aking th ew orld a b ette r p lac e, M ic ha.e l L e
P age su gge sts rep lac ing m utto n
an d b ee f w ith chicken, p ork and
if y ou liv e in A us tralia , m o re
kangaroos (1 9 Sep tember , P 32),
H ow ever, any expansio n o f the
kangaro o-m eat indu stry w ou ld be
p ro ble matic as , u nlik e c attle an d
o th er s to ck an ima ls .kanga roos
f ar e b ad ly w h en c o nv e nti on al ly
farm ed . The m eat o b tained from
them is a frac tio n o f w hat co mes
from a cow , so you w ou ld need
vas t num bers to m ake an y inroads
in to th e b ee f in du stry .
A s L e P age s ay s at the b eg inn ing
o f th e a rtic le , p erh ap s it i s b e tt e r
ju st to eat le ss m eat.
Carli sle, Wes tern Australia
The ed it or wr it es :
• A nu mb er o f c ons erv atio nists
an d conserva t lon g roups are ci ted
b y th e K an ga ro o I nd us tr yA s so cia tio n o f A u stra lia (w w w.b it.
l Y /4 Y O lR E )a s s up p or ti ng th e
k an ga ro o h ar ve st.
Climb ing carn ivore
F rom N i c ola Phillips
Y o ur a rtic le s ug ge stin g th at
Velociraptor u sed its c law s to
c lim b trees sparked deb ate in o u r
hou seho ld ( 1 2 S ep tem ber, p 1 0 ) .
M y 9 -y ear-o ld s on, th e fam ily
expert o n d ino sau rs , po in ted ou t
that m os t sp ec im ens hav e been
fo und in the d ese rt e nv iro nm en ts
o f t he D jado ch ta fo rm atio n in
M ongo lia and C hinese Inner
M ongo lia , Indeed , the m ost
fam ou s spec im en appears to have
b ee n b u ri ed either du r ing asand sto rm o r under a co llap s ing
sand d une. W ith few trees , th e re
wo uld have been little po int in
the d ino sau rs dev elo ping the
fo ot c law fo r c lim bing ..
Fl in t, F l in t sh ir e, UK
The ed it or wr it es :
• Ind eed the re w o u ld have been
few trees in these p arts o f
M o ngo lia . H ow ev er, th ere m us t
h av e b ee n so m e v eg etatio n
p resen t in the v ic in ity o f thed ese rt lo catio n w here m ost
V e lo c i r ap t o r f os sils h av e b ee n
f ou nd to f ee d its p la nt- eatin g
p rey , such as Protoceratope.
Ve.lociraptors m ay also have sp ent
tim e in env iro nm ents w ith m ore
vege tatio n bu t a l ow er chance o f
fo ss il p re se rv atio n, s o w e c an 't
ru le o ut tree-cllmblng habi ts .
Res is t ing in t rude r sFrom Tim Macy
W hen F eedb ack o nce m ore
ad dres sed the p ro lif e ratio n o f
f ee bl e w a rn in g signs,Ias
rem inded o f one o f m y fathe r's
f av o ur ite a ne cd o te s (8 Augus t ) .
I n th e 1930s, h e w as p la gu ed
w ith p etty the fts fro m h is
allo tm en t sh ed . A s h is se cu rity
m eas ure s w ere p ro ving
in ef fe ctu al, he h it u po n a s olu tio n.
H e acqu ired a 40 kilo-ohme lec trical re s is to r and p inned it to
the shed 's do or, w ith th e w arning:
"DANGER 40,000 OHM S ". T he
th ef ts s to pp ed imm ed iate ly .
Fe lix st owe, S u ff ol k, UK
L ette rs s ho u Id b e s en t to :
Let ters to th e E dito r, N ew Scient i s t
8 4 T h eo b ald 's R o a d, L o n do n w ax BNS
Fax :+44 { O J 2 0 7 6 11 1 28 0
Ema i l : l e t te rs@n ewsc ien t i s tcom
I n du d e y o u r l u ll p o s ta l a d d r e s s a n d t e le p h on en um t > e r, a n d a r ef er en ce ( is su e . p ag e n u m t > e r,t i t le)
to a ru d es , W e r es e r ve t h e r ig h t to edr t l e t te rs .R e e d Bl Is i ness In fo rmat i on r e se r v es m e M g h! to
u s e a n y s u bmlss io l1ss e n t t o m e l e tt e r s co l umn of
N € W S c ie n ti st m a g a z if le , i n a n y o t he r f o rma t
1 7 O cto be r 2 00 9 I NewScien t i s t 131
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F or m ore interv iew s and to add y ou r co mm ents, v isit www.NewScient ist .comlopinion
I I Leakey is still proud of h isfossil"hunting expedit ions
a t L a k e T urk a n a in Kenya"
ev idence thata dist inct hominin w as a liv eat the sam e tim e as afarensis. "N ow w ith the
except ion, Ihink , o f o ne re se arc he r, e ve ry on e
has agre ed th at Kenyan thropu s s tands as
so m eth ing en tire ly d iff ere nt fro m afarens/s.
A nd ye t the analys is y ou 're talk ing a bo ut
d oe sn 't e ve n m entio n it!"
Io nd er alo ud if d ism is sin g p ote ntially
ke y e vid en ce re fle cts an u nd erly ing p ro ble m
in the sc ience . "O ne hears so m uch critic ism
o fth e f ie ld fo r b eing s lac k. I 'v e alw ay s trie d
to de fend that. B ut the re are tim es when you
stru ggle to ju stify s om e o f the se re po rts ."
I t's iro nic that L eake y, w ho fam ou sly lac ks
fo rm al train ing , f ind s h im se lf d efe nd in g
c olle ag ue s' s cie ntif ic rig ou r: h e a lm o st
qu it in the early 19805 o ver w hat he said
w ere unsc ientif ic p rac tices by so me o f h is
w ith th e ir feud o ver th e evo lu tio nary po sitio n
o f afarensts, kno wn as "L ucy " af te r th e bes t-
p rese rved exam ple . Jo hanson was su re Lucy
w as a d irec t ancesto r o f m odem hum ans ;
L eakey fe lt she p ro bab ly lay o n a sid e b ranch .
An an aly sis o f th e afarensis jaw published
recent ly inProceed ings o! theNat iona /
A ca dem y o f S cie nc es s up po rts L eake y, b ut d oe s
th is co me c lo se r to re so lv ing the o ld d ispu te?
H e s ides tep s the is su e: "Three o r fo ur years
ago , m y w ife d isco vered and pu blish ed abo ut
a rath e r p oo r skull- a f ragm ent she called
K en ya n thro p u s " The sku ll ap pears to be
pee rs . " I go t ex trem ely d isco uraged by the
v ind ic tiv en ess o ve r the afarensis is su e. A n d I
w as go ing th ro u gh a b ad health is su e -a kidney
transp lant -w here o ne is p ro ne to d ep res sio n."A lth ou gh p ro fe ss io na l f rie nd s persuaded
him to s tick w ith h is w ork at Tu rkana fo r a few
m ore years , in 1988 th e K en ya n g ov ern m en t
asked him to head it s wildl i fe conserva t ion
dep artm ent to co mbat po ach ing . " I t ook th e
o pp ortu nity w itho ut a m inu te 's he sitatio n."
r sugges t that e ve n th ere L ea ke y d is pla ye d
a knack fo r m ak ing head lines . "T he th ing that
m o st e xc ite s p eo ple is that Ird e red a shoot-
to - kill p olic y. B u t J d id n't." In fac t, he say s,
the po licy w as h is p redecesso r's , "bu t he
had n't any th ing to sho otw ith" . L eakey arm ed
th e c ou ntr y's r an ge rs . "In th e y ear b efo reI t oo k o ve r Ihink w e'd lo st so meth ing like
30 rang ers and r th ink they 'd inju red o ne
po acher.ln m y firs t s ix m onths , Ih ink w e lost
f iv e o f o u r s id e and ab ou t 17 o f the o the r. A nd
afte r a y ear nob ody on e ithe r s ide w as be ing
killed becau se the po achers had go ne ."
They 're back now , he adm its , tho u gh it's no t
ju st p oac he rs that th re aten K eny a's w ild life .
L oc als h av e starte d lac ing c attle c arc as se s w ith
p oiso n to kill lio ns th at th re ate n th eir liv es to ck .
H is c ha rita ble o rg an is atio n, W i ld lif eD ire ct, is
le ad in g th e f ig ht a ga in st p ois on in g.
L eakey se t it up in 2004 afte r qu ittin g the
state-run K en ya W ild lif e S erv ic e .."Ile f t o ut o f
p rin cip le o ve r c orru ptio n. I 'd rais ed $150
m illio n, an d the re w as to o m uc h o ffic ial inte re st
I I I in he lp ing m e spend it." F or m os t o f the 1990S
~ he w as in and o ut o ffav ou r w ith K enya's ru le rs .~ .
~ A t h is m os t rebe llio u s he set u p a n ew p olitical
~ p ar ty , S afina, and w on a s eat in p arliam ent.
5 B u t he qu i t, a gain tn p ro te st o v er c o rr up ti on .
~ A rgum ents w ith co lleagues , w he th e r in
j! i p alaeo nto lo gy , w ild lif e o r p olitic s, s ee m to
hav e p rom pted m any Lea ke y res ignat ions.
" I 'm v ery in to le rant o f peop le w ho don'ts ho w c ons is te nc y o f inte grity ," he s ay s.
L ea ke y is o ff to C anad a afte r th e U K , to raise
fund s fo r ano th e r o f h is p ro jec ts , th e Tu rkana
B as in Ins titu te , w hich he se t up in 2007.
A s f in d s f rom Turkana ro lled in du r ing the
19805, a new palaeo nto lo gy m useum w as
o pe ne d in N airo bi to e nc ou rage sc ie ntif ic
inv estigatio n and b rin g in re ve nu e. M ean wh ile ,
th e peo ple at Tu rkana w ere still l iv ing o n the
e dg e o fb ac kw ard ne ss , L ea ke y s ay s. T he in stitu te
aim s to retu rn to the lo cals som e o f the revenu e
th e ir h er itag e reap s. " I f yo u can finance a first-
c lass ce ntre th ere , the n the se s pe cim en s
shou ld go back w here they be lo ng ," he say s.
M o vin g th em back to Tu rkana is like ly to b e
co ntro ve rs ial: " I t's a s to rm ina po t," he says .
H e app ears to re lish the f igh t to com e .•
17Oc t o b e r 2 0 0 91 New$cien t i s t 1 3 3
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341 N e w $c ie n tis t 1 1 7 O c to b er 2Q 0 9
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THEREa re c er ta in th in gs y o u d o n ot
wan t to sha re with s tra ng er s. I n m y c as e
it w as a s tre am o f h ig hly p ers on al te xt
m e ss ag es fro m m y h us ban d, s en t d ur in g th ee arly d ay s o f o ur re latio ns hip . E tc he d o n m y
p ho ne 's S IM c ard - b ut in vis ib le o n m y c urre nt
h and se t and thu s fo rg otte n - he re th ey no w
a re , d i sp la ye d in a ll t h eir b ra ze n g lo ry o n a
s tr an g er 's c om p u te r s c re e n.
I 'v e ju st w alk ed In to a w in do w le ss ro o m o n
a n i nd u str ia l e sta te i n T amw o rth , UK , wher e
th re ec el lp ho n e a na ly sts in b lu e shirts s it at
th eir te rm i na ls , s cr uti ni si ng th e c o nte nts o f
m y p ho n e a nd s m irk in g, "lftrs any con so l a ti on ,
w e w ou ld h av e fo und th em e ve n if y ou h ad
d el ete d th em ," s ay s o ne .
Wo r s e , it s eem s em b arr as si ng te xt m e ss ag esare n't th e o nly th ing I h av e to w o rry ab ou t: " Is
th is a p ho to o fy o ur o ff ic e? " a no th er as ks (th e
an sw e r is y e s). " A nd d id y o u e njo y y o ur pizza
o n M o nd ay n ig ht? A nd w hy d id y ou d iv er t
f ro m y ou r no rm al ro ute to w o rk to v is it th is
a dd re ss in C am b e rw e ll, L o nd o n, o n S atu rd ay ?"
I 'm a t D is kL ab s, a c om pa ny th at h an dle s
c el lp h on e f o re ns ic a na ly sis f or UK po l i c e
f or ce s, b u t a ls o f or p riv ate c om pa ni es
a nd i nd iv id u als s no o p in g o n s us pe ct
e m plo ye es o r w ay w ard s po u se s. A rm e d
w i th f ou r c el lp h on es , w h ic h I h av e b e gg ed ,
R a t in y o u r
cephoneIt 's a c ame ra , d ia ry ~n a vig a to r, w a lle t a n d s oc ia ls ec re ta ry ro lle d in to o ne , So
i f yo ur sm a rtp ho ne fa lls in to
th e w rong hands , how m uchco uld it re ve al a bo ut yo u?
L in d a G e d d e s f in ds o ut
C O V E R S T O R Y
b o rro w ed an d b o ug ht o ff fr ie nd s an d
s tran ge rs , I 'm c urio us to k no w ju st h ow
m u ch p ers on al in fo rm atio n c an b e g le an ed
f ro m o u r u se d h an ds ets an d 5 1M card s.A d ec ad e ag o, o u r p ho ne s' m e m orie s
cou ld just a bo u t h an dl e te xt m e ss ag es
a nd a c o nta cts b o o k. T he se d ay s, th e
l ate st s m ar tp h on es i nc o rp o rate G P S ,
W i -F i co n ne cti vi ty a nd m o ti on s en so rs .
T he y a utom ati ca lly d o w nl oa d y o ur ernal ls
an d ap po in tm e nts f ro m y ou r o ff ic e c om p ute r,
an d c om e w ith th e ab ility to trac k o th er
i nd iv id u al s in y o ur i mm ed ia te . v ic in ity . A n d
th ere 's a lo t m o re to c om e. A m ong o th er
th in gs , y o u c ou ld b e u sin g th e n ex t g ene ratio n
o f p ho ne s to k eep tab s o n y ou r h ealth , s to re
c as h a nd m a ke s m all tr an sa cti on s - s om eth in gth at's a lre ad y h ap p en in g i n e as t A s ia ( s ee
" F utu re p ho n es ", p ag e 3 6) .
Gon e ph is h in g
T he se c ha ng es c o ul d w e ll b e e xp lo ite d
in m uch the sam e w ay that em ail and the
inte m etc an b e u se d to " ph is h" fo r p ers on al
i nf o rm a ti on s uc h a s b an k d e ta il s. I nd e ed ,
s om e p h on e- re la te d s ca m s a re a lr ea dy
em er gin g. i nc lu d in g o n e th at u se s
re p ro g ramm e d c ell ph o ne s to in te rc ep t
p as sw o rd s f or o th er p e op le 's o nl in e b an k
a cc o un ts .." M o b il e p ho n es ar e b ec om in g a
b ig ge r p art o f o u r l iv e s," s ay s A n dy J on es , h ea d
o f i nf orm a ti on s ec u rity re se arc h a t B r iti sh
T e le comm u ni ca ti on s. "W e t ru st a nd r ely o n
them m ore . A nd as w e r ely o n them m ore ,
th e p ote ntia l f or frau d h as g ot to in cre as e."
S o ju st ho w se cu re is th e d ata w e s to re o n
o ur p ho ne s? Ifw e are s tar ting to u se th em as
c om bi ne d d ia ri es a nd w a ll ets , w h at h ap p en s
if w e lo se th em o r the y arestolenl A n d w h at
if w e s im p ly trad e in o ur p ho ne s f or re cy clin g?
A c c ord in g to th e UK g o v ern m en t's D e sig na nd T e c hn o lo g y A l li an ce A g a in st C r im e
( D rAAC ) , 8 0 p e r c en t o f u s c arr y l nf orm a tio n
o n o ur h and se ts that c ou ld b e u se d to c om m it
f rau d - and ab ou t 16 p er c en t o f u s k ee p o ur
b ank d etails an o ur p ho ne s.I th ou gh t m y
N o k ia .N g 6 w o u ld h o ld f ew s urp ris es , th o ug h,
s inc e I h ad o nly b ee n u sing it f ar a fe w w e ek s
w h e n I s u bm i tt ed it t o D i s kL ab s .Y e t t h e i r
a na ly sts p ro v ed m e w ro n g.
A sid e f ro m the te xt m essag es s to re d o n
m y S IM c a rd , t he m o st d eta ile d p ers on al
info rm atio n th at c ou ld b e g le ane d fro m m y
h an ds et c am e f ro m an ap plic atio n c alle dS p o rts T rac ke r. I t a ll ow s u se rs to m e as ur e th ei r
ath le tic p erf orm an ce o ve r tim e an d I h a d b ee n
us ing it to m e as ure h ow fas t I c o uld c yd eto
w o r k a cr o ss Londo n , Itr e co r d s d i s ta nc e >
1 7 O c to b er 2 0 0 91 NewSc i en t i s t 1 3 5
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l i l t i s p o s s i b l e
y o u r p h o n e c o u ld
b ro a dc a st y ou r
lo c a t io n t o others
w ithou t you r
k n o w l e d g ell
tr av e ll ed , f as te s t s p ee d a t d if fe re nt p o in ts
a lo ng th e ro u te , c ha ng es in a ltitu de , an d
ro ug hly h ow m any c alo rie s I b u rn o ff . B u t
w he n D is kL ab s u p lo ad ed th is d ata to their
c om pu te r and ran it th ro ugh G oo gle M ap s and
S tre et V ie w , th ey w e re a bl e to pull u p im a ge s
o f the fro nt o f m y o ff ic e and m y ho me - w ith
th e h ou se n um b er d ear ly d is play ed . S po rts
T rac ke r a ls o r ec o rd ed w h at ti m e Iorma l ly
le av e th e h ou se in the m o rn in g an d w he nI re tu rn fro m w o rk . "1ft w an te d m o re
i nf o rm a ti o n, t he n Io u ld ju st s ta lk y o u,"
says Neil B u c k, a s en io r a na ly st at Diskl.abs,
I had deliberately ch osen to tu m S po rts
T rac ke r o n, an d m an y p eo ple m ig ht no t
s to p to c ons id er h ow s uc h p ro gram s c ou ld
b e u se d a ga in st th em . InF eb ru a ry , Goog l e
l au nc he d L ati tu de , n etw o rk in g s of tw are f or
s martp ho ne s th at s hare s y ou r lo catio n w ith
m end s ..Itc an b e tu rne d o ff , b ut c am p aig n
g ro u p P riv ac y I nte rn ati on al is c o nc er ne d b y
L ati tu d e's c om ple x s ettin gs a nd s ay s iris
p os sib le th e p ro gram c ou ld b ro ad cas t y ou rlocation to o th ers w ith ou t y ou r k no w le dg e.
" La titu de c ou ld b e a g i ft to s ta lk er s, p ry in g
em pl oy ers , je al ou s p artn er s a nd o b se ss iv e
f ri en d s, " t he o r ga ni sa ti o n w a rn s.
A p ho ne -b as ed c ale nd ar c o uld al so le av e
y o u v u ln erab le . P o lic e in th e U K h a v e a lr e ady
i de nt if ie d b u rg la ri es th at w e re c omm it te d
a fte r th e th ie f s to le a p ho ne an d th en tar ge te d
th e in di vi du al's h om e b ec au se th eir c al en da r
s aid th ey w ere aw ay o n h olid ay , s ay s J o e
M cG ee ha n, h ea d o f T o sh ib a's re se arc h l ab
inE u ro p e an d le ad er o f D TAAC 'sD e sig n O u t
F utu re ph on es
B y n ex t y e ar a bou t lih 3 n ew sm ertp h ona s
will h a ve a c ce le ro m e te rs . P re s su re s en s or s
a nd g yro sm p es w ill fo llo w , a nd s oo n yo ur
ha ndse t m ay kee p tab s o n y ou r h ea lth an d
p ay y ou r b ills to o.
F o r e x a m p le , 'N o k ia i s e x p er im e n ti ng
w ith a dd in g b io .s en so rs c ap ab le o f
m on ito ~in g h ea rt a nd b re ath in g ra te s, a s
w e ll a s g lu co se a nd o xy ge n le ve ls in th eb lo od . "Y ou r p ho ne co uld a ct a s a w e ll n es s
d ia ry ,a nd s ta rt to in te gra te d ata . w ith th e
p rim a ry h ea lth re co rd s k ep t b y y ou r d oc to r;"
s ay s M a rc B a ile y, a r es ea rc he r a tth e .N o kia
R e .s ea rc h C e n tr e in c a m br id g e,. U K .
M ea nw h ile m o bile co m me rc e, o r
M ·c om m e r,c e, In w h ic h p ho ne s a re u se d
to tra ns fe r m on ey o r p ay fo r s h op pin g, is
a lre ad y e xp an din g ra pid ty ,c eH p ho ne u se rs
in Ja pa n c an b uy tr ain o ra ir l in e tic ke ts w ith
th elr h an ds et , w h ile p eo ple in A fg ha nis ta n,
th e P hil ip pin es a nd e as t A fr ic a c an u se
tb eir h and se ts to tre ns fe r m on ey to ea ch
o th er. "M ·c om m erc e is c om in g,a nd th e
e xp ec ta tio n is th at itw il l b ec om e p re va le nt
in th e U K a nd o th er E uro pe an cc un tr ie s
3 6 1 NewSc i en t i s t . 1 1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09
w i,th ln fo u ry ea rs ;'s ay s J oe M c G e eh a n,
h e a d o f T b sh lb a 's r es ea re h la b in E u ro p e.
T ho ug h th es e d ev elo pm e nts s ho uld
b rin g m a ny b en efits , s ec ur ity is e xp ec te d
to b ec om e a p ro ble m . "A s s o on as y ou pu t
m o ne y o n a n.y th in g, c rim in als b ec om e m o re
in te re ste d in it"s ay s M c G e eh a n.
T o c ou n te r th is , m a nu fa ctu re rs .a re
d ev elo pin g m o re s ec ure w a ys o f e nc ry ptin gd ata o n h an ds ets . A cc or din gto N o kia . u se rs
will b e a ble to a lte r s ec ur ity s ettin gs
de p en d in g o n how m uch d a ta th e y w an t
a va ila ble a t a ny on e tim e . P ho ne s w ith
b u ilt- in f jn g e~ p rjn t s ca n ne rs a re a lr ea d yo n
th e m a rk et, a nd S ha rp h as e xp erim e nte d
w Ith fa ce re co gn itio n o n h an ds ets , th ou gh
h ac ke rs h av e r ec en t·ly s ho w n th at face
r ec og n itio n is e a sily d e fe a te d w i th . Jus t
a p h o t o gr a p h .
M e an w hile , A p ple is th ou gh t to b e
c on s id e rin g a d din g b io m e tr ic . s ec u rit y
m e as ur es , s uc h a s a f in ge rp r1 nt s ca nn er,
to fu tu re iP h on es . H o w ev er e ffe ctiv e
th e se s e cu rity f ea tu re s a re ', t h ou g h,
th e y w ill o n ly w ork w he n tu rn ed o n .
R is e o f th e s m a rtp ho neT h e y m a k e u p a s m a ll p r o p o rt io n o f t o ta l c e ll p ho n ~ s a le s ,
b u tth i s i s s e t 10 change
C ri m e p ro je ct, w h ic h re ce ntl y s et UK des igner s
th e c halle ng e o f t ry in g to m ak e cellphones l es s
a ttr ac ti ve t o p e o pl e l ik e h ac k er s a nd i de nt it y
th ieves . "It's l ar ge ly o p p o rt un is ti c, b u t if
y ou 'v e g ot al l y ou r p ers onal info rm atio n o n
t he re , l ik e b an k d e ta il s, s o ci al s ec u ri ty d e ta il s
an d c re dit c ard i nf orm ati on , th en y o u're r ea ll y
as kin g f or s om e o ne to 'b ec om e' y o u , o r ro b y ou ,
o r i nv ad e y o ur c o rp o ra te li fe ," M cG ee han s ay s.
Code c ra ck er
Wh e n B u ck l oo k ed a t m y c o ll ea gu e's iP h on e,
he fo und tw o 4·d ig it nu mb ers s to re d in h is
ad dre ss b oo k u nd er the nam es "M " a nd "V ".
A s ear ch th ro u gh h is te xt m e ss ag es re ve al ed
a f ew fro m V irg in info rm ing h im th at a n ew
c re di t c ard , e nd in g i n a s pe cif ic number, had
ju st b ee n m aile d to h im . B u ck g ue ss ed th at
"M" and < IV"wer e . P I N c o de s f or th e V irg in
c re d it c ar d a nd a Ma s te rc ar d -and h e p ro v e d
to b e c orre ct o n b oth c ou nts .
" O u t o f c o nte xt, a n i nd iv id u al p ie ce
o finfo rm atio n s uc h as an SM S is alm o st
m e an in gl es s," s ay s J on es . " B ut w h en y o u h av ea larg e v olu m e o f in fo rm atio n - a p ers on 's
d iary f or th e y ea r, h is e rn ail s, th e. p l an s h e's
b uild ing - and y ou s tart to p ut the m to gethe r,
y o u c an m ak e s om e in te re sti ng d is co v eri es ."
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P·TERMITC HELLwas an eccen t ri c f i gu r e .F or m u ch o f h is c are er h e w o rk ed in h is
o w n lab in a r es to re d m ano r h ou se in
Cornwa l l int he UK , hi s r es e ar ch f u nd e d inpa r t
b y a h erd o f d a iry c ow s. H i s i de as ab ou t th em o s t b as ic p ro c es s o fll fe -- h o w i t g e ts e ne rg y-
s eem e d r id ic u lo u s to h is f el lo w b io lo g is ts .
" I r em e m be r th in kin g to m y se lf th at I w o u ld
b e t a ny th in g th at I itJ d id n't w o rk th at w a y,"
b io c hem is t L e sl ie O r ge l w ro te o f h is m e e ti ng
w i th M i tc he ll h alf a c en tu ry a go . " N o t s in ce
D arw in and W a llac e has b io lo gy c om e u p w ith
~ a n i de a a s c o un te r-i ntu iti ve a s t h os e o f, s a y,
a E i ns te in , H e is e nb e rg a nd S c h ro d in g er ,"
~ O v er th e fo llo wing d ecad es , h ow ev er, it
~ b e ca m e c le ar th at M i tc he ll w a s r ig ht. H is
~ v ind ic atio n w as c om ple te w he n h e w o n a
~ N o b e l p ri ze i n 1 9 78 .E v en t o d ay , th o ug h,im o st b io lo gis ts h av e y et to g ras p th e f ull
~ i m p li ca tio n s o f h is re v olu ti on ar y i de as -
~ e s pe c ia ll y f o r t he o r ig in o f ti fe .
~ " M itc he ll's id eas w ere ab ou t h ow c ells
38 t N e w $c ie nt is t 1 17 O c to be r 2 00 9
a re o rg an is ed i n s pa ce , a nd c el lu la r e ne rg y
g e ne ra ti o n i s a f ea tu re o f th at ," s ay s g e o ch em is t
M i k eR u s s e ll o f NA SA 'sJ et P r o p u ls io n
L a bo r at o ry i n P a sa d en a, C a li fo r ni a. " T he
p ro ble m is t hat m o st id eas o n th e o rig in o f l ifelac k b o th s patia l o rg an is atio n and a s up ply o f
e ne rg y to d riv e re p lic ati on o r g ro w th ,"
A f ew r es e ar ch e rs , i nc lu d in g R u s se ll , h a v e
b ee n re th in kin g th e o rig in o f life in th e lig ht o f
M i tc he ll 's i de as . T he y th in k th e m o s t c o un te r-
i ntu iti ve tr ait o f'l if e is o ne o f th e b e st c lu e s to
its o rig in . A s a re su lt, th ey h av e c om e u p w ith
a ra di ca lly d if fe re nt p ic tu re o f w h a t th e
e ar li es t l if e w as l ik e a nd w h ere i t e v o lv e d. I t's
a p ic tu re f o r w h i ch th ere i s g r ow in g e v id en ce .
B e f o re M i tc h el l, e v e ry o n e a ss um e d. t ha t
c e ll s g o t th e ir e n er gy u s in g s tr ai gh tf o rw a rd
c hem is tr y: T he u ni ve rs al e ne rg y c u rr en cy o fl if e i s a m o le cu le c al le d A T P .S p li t i t a nd e ne rg y
i s r e le as ed . A T P p ow ers m o s t o f t h e e ne rg y-
d em an di ng p ro c es se s i n c el ls , fro m b u il di ng
p ro te ins to m ak in g m u sc le s m o ve . A T P,in
tu rn, w as th ou gh t to b e ge ne rate d f ro m fo od
b y a s eri es o f s ta nd ar d c hem ic al re ac ti on s.
M i tc he ll th o ug ht o th er wi se . L if e, h e a rg ue d , is
p ow e re d n ot b y th e k in d o f c h em is try th at g oe s
o n in a te st tu be b ut b y a k ind o f e le ctr ic ity .T he e ne rg y f ro m fo od , h e s aid , i s u se d to
p um p p os itiv ely c harg ed h yd ro ge n io ns , o r
p ro to ns , th ro u gh a m em bran e. A s p ro to ns
a cc um u la te o n o n e s id e , a n e le ctr oc hem ic al
g ra die nt b u ild s u p a cr os s th e m em b ra ne .
G iv en th e c hanc e, th e p ro to ns w ill f lo w b ac k
a cro s s, r el ea si ng e ne rg y th at c an b e h arn es se d
to a ss em b le AT Pm o le cu le s. I n e ne rg y te rm s ,
th e p ro c es s i s a n al og o us to f il lin g a r ais ed ta nk
w ith b uc ke ts o f w ate r, th en u sing th e w ate r to
d r iv e a wa te rwh e el .
M i tc he ll d u bb e d h is th eo ry c hem lo s m os ls ,
an d it is no t s urp ris ing th at b io lo gis ts fo u nd ith ar d to a cc ep t. W h y w o u ld li fe g en era te e ne rg y
in su ch a c om p lic ate d and ro und ab ou t w ay ,
w h en s im p le c hem ic al re ac ti on s w o u ld
s uf fic e? I t j us t d id n't m a ke s en se .
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I t m igh t b e co un te r- in tu itiv e, b ut
chemiosmos l s has tu rned o ut to b e u biqu ito us
in th e liv ing w orld . P ro to n p o wer d riv es no t
only c ell re sp ira tio n, b ut p ho to sy nth es is to o:
ene rgy fro m the s u n is c onv er te d in to a p ro to ng rad i en t in e sse ntia lly th e sam e w ay as th e
ene rgy o f fo od .
A nd p ro to n g rad ie nts are o ften h arnes sed
d irec tly , ra th e r th an b eing u se d to m ake A T P .
T he y d riv e th e ro tatio n o f th e b ac te ria l
f lag ellu m , a s w ell as th e a ctiv e tra ns po rt
o f num ero u s s u b s tance s in and o u t o f ce lls .
S o p ro to n p ow er is ce ntra l to ene rgy
generation, m o ve m en t a nd m ain ta in in g
th e in te rnal env iro nm ent - s om e o f
T hem o st co un te r-in tu itive tra it o f life co uld
be one o f the bes t dues
to its o rig in "
th e m o st b as ic features o f l if e.
Th is su gge sts th a t p ro to n p ow er is n o la te
inno va tio n bu t e v o lv ed ear ly in th e h is to ry o f
li fe , an id e a s u pp o rted by th e tree o f lif e . T he
fi rs t b ranc h in th e tree is b e tw een the tw og rea t g ro up s o f s im p le cells, b ac te ria a nd
archaea, Bo t h o f th ese g ro up s hav e p ro to n
p um ps and b oth gene ra te ATP f r om proton
c urre nts , u sing a s im ilar p ro te in , T he o bv io us
exp lana tio n is th a t b oth inhe rited th is
m ach ine ry from a com mo n ance s to r- th e
p ro gen i to r o f all lif e o n E arth .
Th ink ab o ut th e p ro pe r tie s o f th a t
c om m o n an ce sto r, howeve r , says B iU Mar t in
o fth e U niv ers ity o f D usse ld orf in G erm any ,
and yo u com e up w ith a v ery s tran ge b ea st
ind eed . H e s tar ts f ro m the as su mp tio n
tha t tra its fo und in b o th th e archae a and
b ac te ria a re m os t l ik e ly inhe ri ted f ro m the
com mon anc es to r o f all lif e - tho u gh a few
hav e d ear ly b e en acqu ire d la te r b y gene
e xc ha ng e. T ra its th at a re d is tin ct
A n c ie n t v e nt s s imi l a r to
th is o n e c o u ld e x p la in
li fe 's 5 tr a ng e s t f ea tu re s
p re su m ab ly e vo lv ed i nd ep en de ntly .T he re is no d o u b t th at th e c om mon
a nc e sto r p o s se ss e d D NA , R NA a nd p ro te in s,
a u niv ers al g en etic c od e, r ib os om e s (the
protein-building fac to r i e s ) , ATP and a
p ro to n-p ow ered e nzy me fo r m ak ing A T P .
The d e ta ile d m echan ism s fo r re ad ing o ff DNA
and c onv er ting gen es in to p ro te in s w ere a lso
in p lac e. In sho rt, th en , th e las t c om m on
ance sto r o f a ll li fe lo oks p re tty m uc h like
a m od ern c ell.
Y e t th e d iff ere nc es a re s ta rtlin g ..In
p articu lar , th e d eta ile d m ec han ics o f
DN A re plic atio n w ou ld hav e b ee n qu ite
d i f fe r en t . It lo ok s as if DNA r ep lic atio n e vo lv ed
ind ep end en tly in b ac te r ia and archaea,
acc ord ing to E ugene K oo nin a t th e N atio na l
C e nte r f or B i ote ch no lo gy I nf orm a tio n in >
17Oc t o o e r 2 0 09 1 New Sc i en ti s t 1 39
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I f U f e ·d id e v o lv e in a lk a lin e h y d r o th e rm a l v e n t s ,
i t m i g h t h a v e h a p p e n e d s om e t h in g l i k e th is .:
Be t h es d a , Ma r y la n d .
B e y o nd th a t, m a ny b io c h em i ca l p athw a ys
a re c ata ly se d b y q u ite d if fe re nt e nz ym e s. T h e
m o st s ur pr is in g a nd m o st s ig nif ic an t o f th es e
is f er m en ta tio n, th e p ro d uc tio n o f e ne rg y
f ro m f oo d w ith o ut o x yg en . F e rm e nta tio n is
o fte n as su m ed to b e th e p rim o rd ial m e th od
o f e ne rg y g en era tio n. Y e tM a rtin h as s ho w n
th at th e e nz ym e s r es po ns ib le a re to ta lly
u nr ela te d in a rc ha e a a nd b ac te ria . I t l oo ksa s if f e rm e nta tio n e vo lv ed tw ic e l ate r o n,
ra th er th an at th e d aw n o f l if e.
10s teps to life o n E ar th
1 . W ate r p erc o la te d do wn in to ne wly fo rm ed ro ck u nd er
th e s ea 'f lo or , w he re it re arte d w ith m in era ls su ch a s
o liv in e, p ro du cin g a h ota lk .a lln e flu id r ic h in h yd ro ge n,
s ulp hid es a nd o th er c he mic als . T his h oU lu id w e lle d u pa t h yd ro th erm a l v en ts .
2 . T he e arly o cea n w as a dd le a nd rk h in d iS so lve d iro n . W he n
u pw e ll in g h yd ro th erm a l flu id s 'r ea cte d w ith th is s ea w ate r;
th ey p ro du ce d c arb on ate ro ck s r id dle d w ith t in y p ore sa nd
a "fo am " o f iro n-s ulp hu r b ub ble s,
5 . T he rm a l c urre nts w ith in th e ve nt p ore s c on ce ntra .te d la rg e
m o . le c u le s lik e n u c le o ti de s , d r i. vin g t he f or m a ti on of RNA . a n d
D NA ~ a nd p ro vid in g a n id ea l s e tt in g fo r an R N A w o rld a nd its
e vo lu tio n in to th e w orld o f ,D N A an d p ro te in s. E vo lu tio n g ot
u nd er w ay , w ith s ets o f m o le cu le s c ap ab le o f p ro du cin g m o re
o f th em s elv es s ta rt in g to d om in ate .
Ba fflin g bounda rie s
Ev e nm o re b af fl in g , s ay s M a r ti n, n ei th e r th e
c ell m em b ra ne s n or th e c ell w a lls h av e a ny
d e ta il s i n c ommo n. "A t fa ce v a lu e , th e d e fi ni ng
b o un da rie s o f c ells e vo lv ed in de pe nd en tly in
b ac te ri a a nd a rc h ae a, " h e s ay s .
B u t lf 'th at's th e c as e, w h at s o rt o f a c ell
w as th is c omm o n a nc es to r? A c ell w ith n o
b o un da ry ? I m po ss ib le ' S o m eth in g u niq u e?lf y o u e xc lu d e th e im p o ss ib le , th en w h ate v er
y ou are le ft w ith m u st b e t ru e.
I fM a rtin is rig h t, th e la st c omm o n a nc es to r
o f lif e o n E arth w a s a s op h is tic ate d e ntity in
te rm s o f i ts g en es an d p ro te in s, an d w as
p o we re d b y p ro to n c u rr en ts r ath er th an
f er m en ta tio n . Y e ta t t he s am e tim e , its
b o un din g m em br an es w e re a pp are ntly
d if fe re nt to a ny th in g f ou nd to d ay . I t w as
life , b ut n ot as w e k n ow it.
Then , a ro un d 2002, Ma rtin c am e a cr os s th e
w o r k o f R u s se ll . U n ti l th at ti m e, R u s se ll h a d
b ee n a l o ne v o ic e. H is g eo ch em ic al id ea s a bo u t
th e o rig in o f l if e d id n't g o d o w n w ell w ith th e
m o le cu la r b io lo g is ts w h o d om in ate d th e f ie ld .
F ro m th e e arly 19905, R u s se ll h ad b e en
e x pl or in g th e p o s si bi li ti es o f a v e ry p a rti cu l ar
k in d o f h yd ro th er m al v e nt c alle d a n a lk alin e
v en t, at th e tim e k no w n o nly fro m re mn an ts
f ou nd in a nc ie nt r oc ks . U n lik e th e b la ck
sm ok er s d is co v ere d in 1917. f orm e d b y th e
v io le nt r ea cti on o f s e aw a te r w i th v o lc an ic
la va r is in g u p a t t h e m id -o c ea n r id ge s,
R u ss ell 's v e nts w e re m u ch ta m er a ff air s,
little m o re th an b u bb ly ro c ks r id dle d w ithl ab y r in th i ne p o r e s.
T h es e v e nts f or m w h en w a te r r ea cts w ith
th e m in era l o liv in e, w hic h is c omm o n in th e
sea flo or- and w ou ld h av e b een e ven m ore
c omm o n e ar ly o n, b ef or e th e E ar th 's c ru s t
th ic ke ne d. T h e p ro c es s p ro d uc es a n ew
m i ne ra l, s e rp e nti ne , a nd r el ea se s h y dr o ge n,
a lk al in e f lu i ds a nd h e at. Ita ls o m a ke s th e r oc ks
e xp an d a nd c ra ck , a llo w in g m o re w ate r to
p e rc o la te d ow n, s u sta in in g th e r ea cti on . T h e
3 ,ln sid e th e b ub ble s, h yd ro ge n re ac te d w ith c arb on d fo xid e
to fo rm s im p le o rg an ic molecu tes s uc h a s m e th an e, fo rm a te
a nd a ce ta te . S om e o f th es e re ac t io ns w ere ca ta ly se d b y th e
iro no su lp hu rm in era ls , w h ic h a re s til l fo un d arthe h ea r t o f
m a ny p ro te in s to da y.
4 . T he e le ctro ch em ic al g ra die nt b etw ee n th e a lk alin e v en t
flu id a nd th e a dd le s ea wa te r le ad s to th e s po nta ne ou s
fo rmat i on o f a ce ty l p ho sp ha te a nd p yro ph os pa te , w h ic h
a ct ju st l ik .e A T p , th e c he m ic al th at p ow e rs liv in g c ells ,
T he se m o le cu le s d ro ve th e fo rm a tio n o f a m in o a cid s a nd
n ud eo tid es , th e b uild in g b lo cks o f p ro te in s a nd o f R N A
a n d D N A r e sp e c tiv e ly .
6 . F atty m e le cu te s c oa te d th e .iro n-s ulp hu rfro th a nd
s po nta ne ou sly fo rm e d c eil- lik e b ub ble s. S om e o f t h e s e
b ub 'b le s w o uld h av e e nC lo se d s elf -re plic atin g s ets o f
m o le cu le s ~ th e fir st o rg a nic c ells . T h e e a rlie s t p ro to ce lls
m a y h av e b ee n e lu siv e e ntit ie s, th ou gh , o fte n d is so lv in g
a nd re fo rm in g a s t he Y C irc ula te d in th e v en ts .
7 . T h e e v olu tio n o f a n e n zy m e c a lle d p yr op h o. sp h at as e ,
w h ic h c a ta ly se s th e p ro d uc tio n o f p ym p ho sp ha te , a llo w s
p ro to c.e !is to e xtra ct m o re e ne rg y fro m th e g ra die nt b etw e enth e a lk alin e v en tf lu id a nd th e a dd le o ce an ..T his e nz ym e is
s til l fo un d in m a ny b ac t.e ria a nd s rc ha ea .
e . S o m e p r. ot oc :e lls s ta rt u s in g A T P a s w e ll a s a ce ty l p h os p ha te
a nd p yro ph osp ha te . T he p ro du ctio n o f AlP u sin g e ne rg y fro m
th e e le ctro ch em ic al g ra die nt is p erfe cte d w ith th e e vo lu tio n
o f th e e nz ym e A TP s yn th as e, fo un d w ith in a ll li fe to da y.
9 . P ro to c e lis fu rth er f ro m the m a in ve nt a xis , w he re th e
n atu ra l e le ctro ch em ic al g ra die nt is ,w e ak er , s ta rte d to
g en er ate th eir o w n g ra die ntto d riv e A T P p . ro du dio n.
1 0. O n ce p ro to ce lls c ou ld g en era te th eir o w n e le ctro ch em ic al
g ra die nt,. fh ey w ere n o lo ng er tie d to th e ve nts . C e lls le ft th e
v en ts o n tw o s ep ara te o cc as io ns , w ith o ne e xo du s g iv in g r is e
to b ac te ria a nd th e o th er to a rth ae a,
"What sort o f ce ll w asthis c ommon anc es to r?
A cell w ith no bou nda .r y?
Impossib le !"
401 N e w S c ie n tis tl1 7 O c t ob e r2 0 0 9
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w arm , h yd ro ge n-ric h e ff lu en t u ltim ate ly
b reaks thro ugh the sea flo or as an alkaline
hy dro th ennal v ent.
Inte res t in alkaline ven ts ro se in 2000, when
D ebo rah K elley and her co lleagues from the
U niv ers ity o f W ash ingto n in S eattle s tu mb le d
(if o ne can s tum ble in a s ub m ers ib le ) a cro ss
an ac tiv e alkaline ven t f ie ld ju st o ff th e mid-
A tlan tic rid ge , e xac tly w he re R uss ell said s uc h
vents sho uld b e. The team dubb ed it the Los tC ity ,. partly fo r its sp ec tac ular s pire s o f ro ck ,
w hich fo rm as carb onates p rec ip itate o u t in
th e a lk alin e f lu id .
L ike anc ien t vents , th e sp ire s o f th e L o st
City are ridd led w ith tiny po res , so me w ith
d im ensio ns no t d iss im ilar to m od ern ce lls .
A nd the chem is try fits th e b ill to o. A repo rt las t
year con firm ed the p resence o f m ethane and
o the r sm all hyd ro carbo ns, as w ell as hy dro gen
i tsel f (Science , v o l 319,p 604).
The v ents them se lves m ay b e m uch the
same as tho se aro un d 4 b illio n y ealS ag o, b ut
back th en the o ceans w ere ve ry d iffe rent. Thep rim ord ial o ceans w ere satu rated w ith carbo n
d io xide , m ak ing them acid ic , w hereas th e
seas to day are s ligh tly alkaline . A nd the re w as
p rac tic ally n o o xy ge n. W ith ou t o xy ge n, iro n
d is so lv es re ad ily ; the v ast banded-iron
fo rm atio ns aro und the w orld rev eal ju st how
m uch iro n w as once d is so lv ed in o ceans. A s
o xy ge n le ve ls s lowly r os e, b il lio n s o f to n ne s
o f iro n p rec ip itated o ut as rust.
W hat th is m eans, say s R usse ll, is that the
inte rface be tw een the alkaline vents and th e
anc ient seas w ou ld have been m uch m ore
conduc ive to p rim ord ial b io ch em istry th an
the y are to day . In p artic ular , b ub ble s o f'I ro n-
su lph ur m ine rals - w hic h h av e re mark ab le
cataly tic p ro p ertie s - w ou ld have fo rm ed in
the p ore s. T his is n ot c on je ctu re . R us se ll has
fo und anc ient vents w ith a s im ilar stru ctu re
and ev en rep ro du ced them in th e la b.
T he f act th at alk alin e v en ts w ou ld
have had a laby rin th o f natu rally fo rm ing
mic rocompa . r tmen t s is w hat attrac ted th e
a tte ntio n o f M a rtin . S uc h c om p artm e nts
co uld have been the p recu rso rs o f b io lo gical
cell w alls that he s ou ght, p ro vid ing a sca f fo ldw ith in w hich the s tu ff o f ce lls co uld fo rm .
To ge th e r, M artin and R usse ll hav e po in ted o ut
that identical iro n-su lphu r m inerals can still
be fo u nd at the hear t o f p ro te in s th at co nver t
carbo n d io xid e to sugars - u s ing hyd ro gen
gas - in archaea and bac te ria such as
m eth ano ge ns and ac eto ge ns .
T he v ent f lu id w ou ld als o hav e c ontaine d
n itro gen com po und s such as am monia, and
c ond itio ns w ou ld hav e fav ou re d th e p ro du ctio n
o f am ino ac id s -ths b u il di ng b lo c ks o f p ro te in s.
T hat's no t all. In th e p re se nc e o f p ho sp hate ,
m ine rals m igh t h av e c ataly se d th e p ro du ctio n
o f nud eo tides - the b u ild ing b lo cks o f RN A
and D NA . A nd if nu deo tid es d id form by
m ine ral c ataly sis , the p ore s in alkalin e v ents
w ou ld have had an e xtra ord in ary e ff ec t.
Where life e vo lv edIn th e e ar ly o ce an s, 4 b illio n y ea rs a go , a lk alin e h yd ro th erm al v en ts w ou ld h av e p ro vid ed th e id ea l s ettin g
fo r life to e v olv e - in c lu d in g a n atu ra l a cid -a lk alin e g ra die nt lik e that f undamen t a l to m o st liv in g c ells to da y
O r ga n ic c h em ic a ls fo rm , in c lu d in g
th e b uild in g b lo ck s o f RNA a nd DNA
The rma l 9 r a d l a n ts p roduce
convec t i o n c urre nts in s o m e po res
L a rg e r m o l e r u Ie s b e c o m e h ig h Iy
c onc e n tra te d a t t he b as e o f th es e p o re s,
f av o ur i n g D N A a n d R N A pro durf a n
S im ulatio ns b y D ie te r B raun's team at the
L ud wig M axim illian U niv ers ity in M unic h,
G ennany , sho w that the tem peratu re grad ien t
be tw een the to p and bo ttom o fthe p o res
c o nc en tr ate s n uc le o ti de s at o ne e nd , w hic henco urages the m olecu le s to jo in to ge the r
to fo rm s tr ings o f R N A a nd D N A ( see d iag ram ,
abo ve). These large r m olecu le s w ou ld th en
beco me co ncentrated to ev en higher leve ls .
W hat's m o re , th e c on ve ctio n c urre nts
w ou ld p ro d uce a continu al ris e and fall in
tem peratu re - as is now used to m ake DN A
in labs ac ro ss th e w orld .
RNAworld
Labo rato ry exp erim ents b y a team led by
N o be l p rize winne r lac k S zo stak o f H arv ard
Universrty, p ub lis he d ear lie r th is y ear, hav e
co nf irm ed that th ese co nd itio ns d o ind eed
concentrate nucleotides an d n uc le ic ac id s.
The team also fo und that fatty ac id s beco me
VENT PO RE
W . A R M E R
S IDE
c on ce ntra te d, le ad in g to th e s po nta ne ou s
fo rm atio n o f cell-Iike b ubb les in side th e po res .
I t's hard to im ag ine a b etter se tting fo r th e
R NA w orld w ide ly tho u ght to b ridge th e gap
be tw een sim ple o rganic chem icals and th eco mplex itie s o fD N A and pro te ins . S o th e . idea
that anc ien t alkaline hyd ro th ennal v ents w ere
th e in cu bato rs fo r life lo ok s v ery p lau sib le
even befo re yo u co ns ide r the ir m os t s tr ik ing
f eatu re ; a re ad y-m ad e p ro to n grad ien t.
B ack then th e seas w ere ac id ic , and ac id ity is
def ined in te rm s o f p ro to ns-ac id s are rich in
th em . " Alk alin e flu id s b ub bling in to an ac id ic
o ce an f orm c ataly tic mineral 'c e ll s' w i th a
p ro to n grad ie nt ac ro ss th eir in org an ic
m em branes," says R usse ll. "They 're se t up
in the sam e peculiar w ay a s a li c ells to da y."
S om e re se arc he rs hav e d is miss ed R uss ell's
natural ly cherntosmottc '~ 'c e ns " a s a m e r e
c ur io sity , irre le vant to the o rig in o flif e. B ut
w hen M artin and R usse ll considered th e
b io en erg etic s o f'th e s im p le st p ro ka ry ote s, >
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T he L os t Ci ty ven t f i e ld ha s
t owe rin g sp l rs s o f po re u s roc k
they realised that the f irs t c e lls co uld nev er
hav e escaped the v ents w itho ut f irs t
m aster ing chem lo sm os is - e xp la in ing w hy
M i tc he ll 's b iz ar re m e ch an is m is s o c e nt ra l
to life to day , and so u niv ersa l.
T he g rea t escape
F or all the as to nish ing w ealth o f life o n E arth ,
there are o nly f iv e w ays that carbo n d io xid e is
cap tu red and co nv erted in to liv ing m atte r-
and o nly o ne o f tho se co s ts no th ing at all . That's
the s traigh t reac tio n o f hyd ro gen w ith carbo n
d io xid e. T his e xo th erm ic re ac tio n c onv erts
carbo n d io xid e in to s im ple o rganic m olecu le s
and also re le as es e ne rg y. I t's b ee n d esc rib ed as
"a fre e lu nch yo u're paid to eat" . A nd w hile
h yd ro ge n d oes n't u su ally b ub ble o blig ing ly
o ut o f the g ro und , itd oes in alk aline v ents .
The reac tio n o f h yd ro gen w ith carbo n
d io xid e is central to life in the v ents , bu t
the re is a b ig p ro b lem : it co s ts s om e ene rgy
4 2 1 N ewS c ie n ti st 11 7 O c to b er 2 0 09
to k ick-s tart the reac tio n in the f irs t p lace ,
w hile the am ount o f ene rgy re leas ed to fu e l
g ro wth is paltry . In fact, so paltry , acco rd ing to
Ro l fThaue r at the M ax P lanck Ins titu te fo r
T erre stria l M ic ro bio lo gy in M a rb urg ,G erm any , th at it's im po ss ib le fo r su ch b ac te ria
to g row by chem is try alo ne: they need the
p ro to n p ow er o f c he mio sm os is .
To understand this, think o f th e e ne rg y
s to red by A TP as eq u lva len t to £ 10. I f i t ta ke s
£10 to k ic k-s tart a re ac tio n, w hich th en
re leases £15, in theo ry a ce ll has gained £5.
H ow eve r, if the o nly w ay a cell has to s to re
ene rgy is to m ake A TP ,it c an m ake o nly o ne
m olecu le ; to m ake tw o new A TP s w ou ld co s t
£20. So o ne A TP wou ld hav e been spent to gain
o ne A TP ,and the spare £5 w asted as heat
T ha t's n ot c o ns is te nt with b ei ng a li ve .
F or p ro to -life in th e vents, th is w ou ld no t
hav e been an issu e ..T he f lu id fro m the v ents
w ou ld hav e co nta ined reac tiv e m olecu les su ch
as m ethy l su lph id e , w hich w ou ld generate
ace ty l pho sphate , a m olecu le that s o me
b ac teria to day sti ll u se in te rc hang eab ly w ith
A TP .W hat's m ore , th e natu ral p ro to n g rad ie nt
w ou ld h av e supp lem ented th is energy so u rce
b y s po ntane ou sly g enerating ano th er
p rim itiv e fo rm o f AT P called py ro pho sphate ..
P yro pho sphate als o ac ts in m uch the
sam e w ay as A TP a nd is still used alongstde
A TP by m any bac te ria and archaea. T hese
bac teria sp eed u p its p ro du c tio n u s ing as im p le e nz ym e c al le d p yr op ho sp ha ta se .
In so o n-to -b e pub lished w ork do ne w ith
W o lf ga ng N i ts ch ke at the Ins titu te o f
S tru ctu ra l B io lo gy a nd M ic ro bio lo gy in
M arse il le , F ranc e, R uss ell h as s ho wn that
th is enzym e is fo und In som e o f the m o s t
p rim itiv e ce lls kno wn and cro ps u p o n b oth
s id es o f th e bacteria-archaeadlvide. Tha t
su gg ests it d ate s rig ht b ack to th e b eg inning .
S o t he com mon ances to r o f life co u ld
harne ss the natu ra l p ro to n g rad ient o f ancient
v ents to p ro du ce ene rgy . To e scap e the v ents ,
ju st o ne fu rthe r s tep w as neces sary : rev ers ingthe p ro ce ss to s to re ene rgy .
C hem io sm os is a llo ws ce lls to s av e u p sm all
am ounts o f ene rgy - the £5s that w o u ld
o th erw ise b e wasted. A re ac tio n c an b e re pe ate d
tim e and tim e again , jus t to pu mp a pro ton
ove r a membrane . L i ke s av ing up to buy
so meth ing , ev entu ally th e p ro to n g rad ie nt
w ill b e eno ugh to p ro du ce o ne py ro pho sphate
o r o ne A TP .T he u psho t is that p ro to n g rad ients
enab le ce lls to g ro w, to leav e the v ents .
Ind eed , it ap pe ars M itc he ll 's o dd ity
is a nece ssary p reco nd itio n fo r life . W hile
b reak ing dow n sugars can p ro v id e eno ugh
ene rgy fo r g row th w itho u t any need fo r
chemtosmosts, th e p ro ce ss - g ly co ly sis -
inv olv es co mp lex pathw ays and requ ires lo ts
o f sugar, and is thu s v ery unlike ly to hav e been
the m ain so u rce o f ene rgy fo r the f irs t life ,
T he p ic tu re pain ted by R usse ll and Martin is
s tr ik ing indeed . The las t com mon ances to r o f
all life w as no t a f re e-liv ing c ell a t all , b ut a
p oro us ro ck rid dle d w ith b ub bly iro n-su lp hu r
m em brane s th at cataly sed p rim ord ia l
b io ch em ic al re ac tio ns . P ow ered b y h yd ro ge n
and p ro to n g rad ients , th is naturaiflowreactorf il led u p w Hh organic ch em icals , g iv ing rise to
p ro to -life that ev entu ally b ro ke o ut as the f irs t
liv ing cells - no t o nce bu t tw ice , g iv ing rise to
the bac te ria and the archaea,
M any de tails hav e yet to b e f il led in , and it
may nev er b e po ss ib le to p ro v e beyo nd any
d ou bt th at life e vo lv ed b y th is m ec hanism .
T he ev id ence , h ow ev er, is g ro wing . T his
scenario m atche s the know n p ro perties o f al l
life o n E arth , is ene rge tic ally p lau sib le - and
retu rns M itc hell 's g re at th eo ry to its rig htfu l
p lace at the v ery centre o f b io lo gy .•
N ic k L an e is th e firs t P ro vo st's V en tu re R es ea rc h
Fe llow a t Un iv e rs it y Co l l egeLondon , H is l at es t b o o k
is Life A s ce n d i n g : T h e t e n g r e a t i n v en ti o n s o f
e v o l u t i o n ( P ro fi le , 2 0 0 9)
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M A N Y W A Y S T H R O U G H
THE CRY STA L MAZ ,E
C h r is P i ck a rd 's r a nd om s tr u ct ur e
s ea rc h ( se e . m ain s to ry ) is n ot th e
on ly pa th th at m ig ht le ad to th e
h ea rto fth e c ry sta l m y ste ry ..O n e
e a rly a p pr oa ch , c a lle d s im u la te da n ne a lin g , in vo lv es lo a dIn g
m od el a to ms in to a c om p ute r
s im u la tio n , th e n r ep e ate d ly
ra is in g th e te m pe ra tu re a nd
' l ower ing it a g ain . G iv en e n ou g h
a ftn is th er m al jig glin g, th e
a to m s s h o uld e v e nl ua ,lI yf in d
th e m o s t s ta b le " lo w e st -e n er gy
c o n fi gu r at io n . I n p r ac ti ce ,
th ou gh , th is a pp ro ac h n ee ds
a n u nfe as ib le a m ou nt o f
c om p u te r tim e .
A m o re , e ffe c tiv e r iv al t oP ic ka rd 's m e th o d e m e rg e d
a round 2006 in th e fo rm o f
g en et ic a lg or ith m s ro ote d in
id ea s o f s ex a nd d ea th . S uc h
S im u la tio ns s ta rt w ith a s m all
p op u Ia ti o n o f di ff e r e nt t ry s ta I
s tru ctu re s th a tth en re pro du te,
w ith o nly th e f itte st c ry sta ls
su rv . i v i ng Uourna l a /Chem ical
Physics, v o l 124, p 244704).
A rtem og ano v o t S ton y B roo k
th is s ta gn atio n b y m a kin g th e
m u ta ti 'o n s m o re e xt re m e ..W ith
h is a lg or ith m , h e has b ee n a ble
to re pro du ce so m e of th e m ore
fa m ilia r c ry sta ls o f n atu re , s uc hU niv ers ity , N ew Y ork , is a .le ad in g a s d ia m on d., a n.d a ls o m a ny
exponen t of'thls a p pr oa c h. " We
th ro w o utth e h ig he st-e ne rg y
s tuc tu res , in a ra th er c ru el w a y:'
h e e xp la in S. "F ro m th e re st
w e c re ate c hild re n." S om e
c hild re n a re m a de fro m d iffe re nt
p i e c e s of tw o pa r en ts tl 'u a u re s.
O th ers a re m u ta te d o ffs pr in g
o fa sin gle p are nt, ra nd om ly
d is to rte d o r w i th d if fe re nt a to m s
s w ap p ed a ro u nd .
O ne p ro ble m w ith e ar lyg e n et ic a lg o rit hm s WilS that
th e p op ula tio n o fte n tu rn ed
in to a n u nc ha ng in g se t o f d on es
b efo re it re ac he d th e fit te st,
m o st s ta ble s tru ctu re . O g an ov
fo un d th at h e c o u ld a v o id
s tuden t R ache l S tro ng u se a d iffe ren t m etho d,
know n as g raph theo ry , to ch ip aw ay at the
s tru c tu res o f d iam ond and o the r s im ilar
c ry stals . T he id ea w as first to d raw a c arto on
cry stal w ith sim ple do ts m arking the ato mic
nu cle i, and line s re pre se ntin g the e le ctro n
b on ds b etw ee n them, G ra ph th eo ry c alc ula te s
w hich way s o f jo in ing the d o ts satisfy th e
c on strain ts im po se d b y c he mic al b on ding ,
and so radically redu ces th e num ber o f
c on figu ratio ns ad mis sib le in an y sim ulatio n.
The [om-the-dots tac tic w as sho wing so me
p ro mis e, b ut w as als o f ru strating ly im pe rfe ct.
It only w o rked w ith som e types o f bo nd , and
even th en o nly jfyo u m ade assum ptio ns
abo u t how m any bond s each atom cou ld fo rm .
T hat's no t alw ay s o bv io us.I n grap hite , e ac hcarb on ato m fo rm s bo nds w -ith three
n eig hb ou rs ; in d ia mo nd , it i s f o u r.
O n a w him , P ic kard re ran h is c alc ulatio ns
o f 10years b e fo re to com pare th em w ith the
s tru ctu re s S tro ng w as p ro du cin g. S om eth ing
re m ar ka ble h ap pe ne d. "I s tar ted to ge t
s ens ib le stru ctu re s," h e s ay s.
W hat had changed? C om pu te rs had beco me
faste r, o f c ou rse , and P ickard had he lped to
rew rite C AST EP to m ake it far eas ie r to rep eat
s im ulatio ns w ith ato m s in d iffe ren t s tar tin g
po sitio ns. That, it tu rned o ut, w as the key .
M os t o fthe conf igu ratio ns that em erged w ere
s till random m esses , bu t w hen P ickard ran th e
s lm u la tio n m an y tim e s s om e fa milia r-I oo kin g
s tru c tu res kep t recu rring - d iam ond and
graphite . In m im ick ing natu re , it s eem s that
4 41 N e w Sc ie nt is t 1 17 O c to be r 2 00 9
e x ot ic n e w m a te ria ls •.H e f ou n d,
fo r e xa m ple , th at p ure s od iu m ,
w h en . c om p re ss ed to a bo ut
3m illio n a tm o s ph e re s , s u dd e nly
tu rn s from b e ing a red m e ta l in to
a n i n su l at o r that is d ea r a s
9 la .s s - a nd e xp erim e nts h av e
s in ce co nfirm ed th is . H e is n ow
w ork in g o n a p ro je ctto f in d
s upe rha r d mater ials .
O g a no v a n d P ic ka rd d is ag re e
o n w bic h o f t he tw o m eth od s isth e m o re e ffid en t a nd p ow erfu l.
It m ay ju st tu rn o ut th at th ey
a r e ea c h b e tt er for d j , ff e re n t
ma te r i e l s , s ay s P ic ka rd . " M ay b e
th ey w il l e ach f in d th eir n ich es
anocc ex i s t . "
if at f irs t yo u d on 't su cceed , try and try again.
P ic kard w as in itially sc ep tic al that the re su lt
w as m ore than a f lu ke , bu t w hen he show ed
his w ork to R ichard N eeds o f th e U nive rs ity
o f C am bridge , w ho stu d ie s the b ehav io ur o f
e le ctro ns in s olid s, he go t an e nthu sias tic
re sp onse . The tw o so o n un leashed th e rand om
struc tu re search m etho d o n hyd ro gen .
Hydrogen Is the S im ple st o f ato ms ,
co ns is ting o f ju s t o ne p ro to n c irc led by one
e lec tro n, b ut in its s olid s ta te , it is a p erp le xin g
b east C ru de calcu latio ns su gges t that so lid
hy dro ge n sh ou ld b ec om e e le ctric ally
co ndu c ting w hen squeezed to p ressu res o f
ab ou t 3 m illio n atm os ph ere s; in e xp er im ents ,
th o ugh , it rem ains insu lating . R unning the
s im ulatio n w ith th e p res su re tu rned up ,P ic kard and N e ed s d is co ve re d a p re vio usly
u nsu spec ted fo rm o f so lid hyd ro gen that w as
no t o nly s tab le , b ut w as ind eed an insu lato r,
w ith all its e le ctro ns b ou nd to in div id ual
atom s rath e r th an free to w ander and carry an
e le c tr ic a l c u rr en t (NaturePhys i cs , v ol 3 , p 47 3).
The du o w eren 't alo ne in the ir su ccess . B y
th e tim e they pu blish ed th e p aper desc rib ing
the ir m ethod in 2006, o the r gro ups w ere
s tarting to u se rathe r d iffe re nt m eth od s to
pred ic t c ry s tal s tru ctu res (see "M any w ays
thro ugh the c ry stal m aze ", le ft). T he se
p red ic tiv e to ols share the p ro mise o f revealing
w eird and w onderfu l new m ate rials . A rm ed
w ith s uc h s of tw are , it shou ld be po ss ib le to
w hip up any com binatio n o f atom s into a
c rys tal and see w hat it's lik e. "Y ou can see
w hat th e landscape g iv es y ou , then see w hat
its p ro pe rtie s a re ," s ay s P ic ka rd .H isto ry c au tio ns ag ain st e xc es siv e
e nthu sias m qu ite y et, ho we ve r. A crystal
p red ic tio n m ethod m us t p ro ve its w orth
o n all s orts o f stru ctu re s ~ inc lu ding ,
c ru cia lly , o rg an ic m o le cu le s, w hic h
P ickard has y et to take o n. N or is p red ic tio n
the end o f th e sto ry , as P ickard h im se lf adm its .
"Say Itu mb le o n a new crys tal s tru c tu re,
and ~ w ow ! ~ it's the s tro ng est m ate rial, tt's a
ro o m-te m pe ra tu re s up erc on du cto r, it cu res
cance r," he says . "Then the chem is t says , 'B ut
how do I ak e it?'Ian't answ er that ye t."
E ven d isco ver ing th e po ss ib ility o f so me
ne w ultrahard ma te ri al o r h ig h- temp e ra tu r e
su perco ndu cto r w ou ld be a b ig s tep . P ickard
and N eed s are also lo oking fo r m ate rials that
e ff ic iently p ack a lo t o f hyd ro gen into a sm all
sp ace as a so lid fu e l fo r cars . T hey have already
had o ne tantalis ing cand idate : a m ix o f t hree
hyd rogen atom s to one alum in ium atom that
is so lid at h igh p ressu res . C ranking the
p res su re in the s im ulatio n d ow n, tho ugh ,
th e structure d id no t survive.
A sim ilar th ing happens to m undane o ld
nitro gen at ve ry h igh p res su res . A t abo ut1mi ll io n a tmo s p he r es , ittu rns into a so lid
w ith a s im ilar stru c tu re to d iam ond , bu t
unlike d iam ond , it d is so lv es into a po lym er
m ush w hen yo u take the p ressu re o f f . E ven
afte r it d o es so , it re tains m uch o f the energy
sto red in its b ond s in the high - pr es su re s ta te ,
po ten tially m ak ing it u sefu l as a "green"
exp lo siv e w ith no to xic re sidu e , o r as a fu e l fo r
stealth ro cke ts th at leave no chem ical trace o f
the ir p ass age . P ic kard is s tu dy in g nitro ge n
"W hen he re ran h is ca lcu la tio ns o f 10 yea rsb efo re , so m eth in g re m arka ble h ap pe ne d:h e s ta rte d ge tting sen sib le resu lts "
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'D oes Jup ite r have a ha rd hea rt o r a so ftcen tre? A t the lm m ense p re ssu re s in it sco re , no one know s w ha t s ilica te rocks do /I
rig ht n ow , b ut h e is a little c ag ey ab o ut w hy .
" I c an 't s ay m u ch ab o ut th is ," h e s ay s.
T o ge th er w i th h is c o ll ea gu e D om in ic F o rte s,
h e is a lso lo ok ing in to th e p ro pe rties o f a m i x
o famm o nia an d w ate r c alle d amm o nia
m o no hy drate , w h os e b eh av io ur c ou ld h elp
an sw e r w he th er th ere is a s ub su rf ac e o ce an
o n S atu rn 's m o o ns G an ym e de and T itan , a nd
p o te ntia ll y e xp la in th e o ri gi n o f w ate ryv o lc an oe s th ou gh t to e xis t o n T itan . H e re th e
a pp ea l o f s im u la tio n s i s o b v io u s, g iv e n th e
d if fi cu lty o f d o in g e xp e ri m en ts in s itu .
T hat s aid , e xp er im e nts o n E arth c an at le as t
m atc h th e p re ss ure s a f ew h un dre d k ilo m etre s
u nd er th e c ru st o f T itan , w hic h re ac h s ev eral
th ou sand atm o sp he re s. N o t s o in sid e Ju pite r,
th e s ol ar s ys te m 's w e ig hti es t p la ne t, w h o se
c ore p re ss ure is t ho ug ht to ap pro ac h 100
m illio n atm o sp he re s. A c co rd in g to m o de ls o f
th e s ol ar s ys te m 's f orm a ti on , m u c h o f J up ite r's
c o re is m a de o fs il ic ate ro c ks s im i la r to th o se
th at m ak e u p th e b ulk o f E arth . B ut is that a
h ard h ea rt o r a s o ft c en tre ? A t J u pi te r's i nte rn al
p re ss ur es n o o ne k now s w h eth er s il ic ate s
w o u ld b e s o li d c ry sta ls o r a l iq u id .
E x pe rim e nts o n E arth a re u nl ik el y to h el p.
W e c an o n ly c re ate s uc h e xtr em e p re ss ur es
in th e lab fo r a s plit s ec on d, b y s en din g s ho ck
w av es th ro ug h a s am p le -f or e xam p le , u sing
th e la se rs o f th e N a ti on al I gn iti on F ac il ity i n
L i ve rm o r e , C a li fo r ni a. T h at's to o b ri ef t o p ro b e
c ry s ta l s tr uc tu re . R e s ea rc h er s c an c omp re s s
m a tt er l es s e x pl o si ve ly u s in g
a d e vic e c alle d a d iam o nd anv il c eil , b ut o nlyu p to ab ou t 3.5 m illio n atm o sp he re s - go od
e no ug h to re pro du ce th e h ear t o f E arth ,
b u t n o t J up ite r.
P i c ka rd 's p l an , n ow b ac k ed b y a £ 1 .3m i ll io n
g ran t fro m a U K fu nd in g b o dy , i s th at th e
s im u la tio n s w il l b o l dl y g o th ere - a nd f urth er .
B e yo nd th e s olar s ys te m , p lan ets e ve n m o re
m a ss iv e th an J up ite r a re b e in g d is co v er ed .
W h a t s tra ng e m a te ri als c o ul d lu rk a t th ei r
h earts? A nd w hat ab ou t so m e o f t he m o st
e xtr em e e nv iro n m en ts im a gin ab le , th e
u ltr a-c om pre ss ed c ru sts o f n eu tr on s ta rs ?
T ho se w o uld b e s om e p re tty f ar-o ut c ry sta ls .U n lo c kin g th eir s ec re ts , th o ug h, m i gh t n ot
b e s o v ery f ar aw ay .•
Stephen Batter sby is a wr i te r ba s ed i n L o n do n
17O c to be r 2 00 91 N e wS cie nt is t 1 45
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T h e d is e a s e s
y o u n e v e rk n e w y o u
c o u d c a tc hB ac te r ia o r v iru se s cou ld be to b la me
fo r il ln e sse s on ce tho ugh t to be cau sed
b y g en es o r u n h e a lth y lif es ty le s ,
P r iy a She t ty in ve s t ig a t e s
TWENT I ETH c e nt ur y
medic ine w as
p he no m en ally s uc ce ss fu l
at d ev elo ping v ac cine s and
a nti bi otic s to f ig ht i nf ec tio u s
d is eas es , tam in g a nc ie nt s co urg es
su ch as sma l l p ox , tuberculos i s
and typho id . In the 19605 an d
70S, the p rev ailing v iew w as
that a ll d is ease s cau sed by
m ic ro organism s w ou ld so on
be co nqu ered , le av ing o nly tho se
c au se d b y g en etic s, u nh ealth y
l if es ty le s o r a ge in g.That id ea no w seem s naiv e,
no t le as t b ecau se o f the rise in
a ntib io tic re sis ta nc e. A nd th ere 's
ano the r reaso n that no o ne even
c ons id ere d b ac k th en . A growing
num be r o f d iseas es that w ere
tho ugh t to b e dow n to gene tic s o r
life s ty le tu rn o u t to hav e an
i nf ec tio u s o ri gin .
T ak e s to mac h u lc ers . L ong
tho ugh t to b e triggered by stres s ,
item erged in the 1980s that m any
c as es are c au se d b y a b ac teriu m
cal led Hettcooacter pylori. N ow a
s ho rt c ou rs e o f a ntib io tic s is all
that's needed to cu re the
co nd itio n. and in the w est
461 NewS c ie n ti st 1 1 7O c to b er 2 0 09
s to mach u lce rs are o n the decline .
S inc e th en , re se arc he rs h av e
u ne arth ed th e u nex pe cte d
infec tio us o rig ins o f s ev era l o th er
d is ea se s. I n s om e th e e xp lan atio n
is uniqu e , bu t in o the rs com mon
m echanism s are at w ork . F o r
e xa mp le , s ev era l au to im m un e
d is ea se s a ris e b ec au se in fe ctio n
w ith a m icro be triggers an
im mu ne attack , w hich c ro ss"
re ac ts w ith s im ilar m o le cu le s
from the ho st, c au s ing the
im mune sy stem to attack hum antis su es . A nd sev era l cance rs m ay
b e c au sed b y v iru se s, so metim es
b ecau se th ey ins ert th em se lv es
into o u r DNA and d is ru p t the
genes that u su ally s to p ce lls
m ultip ly ing o ut o f c ontro l.
T he id ea th at life lo ng
co nd itio ns su ch as type 1diabetes
and o bes ity co u ld be caugh t as
e as ily a s a c old is s pi ne -c hi ll in g. Y e t
it rais e s th e tan tali s ing p o s s ib il i ty
that they co u ld be treated w ith
antib io tics o r antiv iral d ru gs , o r
po ss ib ly ev en p rev ented w ith a
v acc ine . S o w hic h o f th e fo llo wing
illne sse s w ill b e nex t to go the
w ay o f s to mach u lcers ?
D i a b e t e sS to ma ch b ug s a re n ev er
p le a s an t bu t fo r so me th ey
c o u ld t ri g ge r s ome t h in g
n as tie r th a n d ia rr ho e a. a n dv om it in g : d ia b e t. es .
P eo ple w ith d ia be te s ca n n o
lo ng er re gu la te th eir b lo od
s u ga r l ev e ls e ff ec ti. ve ly v ia . th e
h orm on e in su lin , w hic h is
p r oduced by b eta c ells in th e
p an cr ea s. T yp e 1 d ia be te s,
w hic h u su ally s ta rts in
ch i l dhood , Is a n au t o immune
d isease in w hich th e im m un e
sy ste m a tta cks th e b od y's o wn
b e ta . c e ll s. B u t wha t sets i to f f i
For t ype 1 d iabe tes ,
s us pic io n h as lo ng fa lle n o n a
g ro up o f v iru se s c alle d
C o x s a c ki e B e n t er o v ir u s es
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( C B V ) , p a r tly b e c au s e o u rt br e .a k s
h av e s om e tim e s b ee n fo llo w ed
b y a .s urg e in d ia be te s c as es . A s
w e lla sth is ,n ew ly d ia gn os edd ia be tic s a re m o re lik e.ly to h av e
a ntib od ie s to th e v iru s ..
P ro of th at C B V is th e c ulp rit
h as b ee n h ard to e sta blis h,
th ou gh , a s n o o ne h as b ee n a ble
to s tu dy a hu ma n pa nc re as as it
d e ve lo p s d ia b ete s. T h afs
b ec au se it m ay ta ke m a ny m o nth s
o r y ea rs a fte r th e In itia l C B V
i nf ec tio n b e fo r ·e a ,p e rs o n
d ev elo ps s ym p to m s o f d ia be te s
a nd e ve n th en , re se arc he rs
c an no t s ta rtta kin g p an cre as
b io p sie s fr om c hild re n ju s tto
s at is fy th e i r c u r i o sity .
T h i s y e a r , h ow e v e r ,B r it is h
O bes ity _D o p e o p le g e t f . 3 t b e c au se o f
th e ir g e n e s o r b e c au se t h ey e a tto o m u c h 7 1 t's a n o ld d e 'b a te , a n d
o ne th a t h as s o fa r m a in ly ig n o re d a
th ir d p o ss ib il i t y : c a tc h in g th e w r o n g
k i nd Q fm ld .
I n t h e la te 1 9 8 05 , N ik h ll
D h u r a n d h a r, t h e n a d o c to r in
B o m b a y, I n d ia . h e a r d th a ta e h ic k e n
v i r u s h a d t he u n u s u e I sid ! ' "e f f l oct o f
m a k i n g the b ir d s o b e se , I t b e lo n g e d
to a g r o u p c a lle d - a d e n o v i r u s e s,
w h ic h in h um a n s a re u su a l ly k no w n
fo r c a u s in g c o ld s .
D h u ra n d h a r in v es tig a te d w h e th e ra d e n o v i r u s es c o u ld m a k e peop l e
f a t. F ir s t h e fo u nd that a h um a n
a d e n o v i r u s c a l le d A d - 36 c o u l d r n a k s
a n im a lS in c lu d in g c h ic k e n s , m i c e a n d
marmose t s p ile o n t h e p o u n d s , Then
h e fo u n d th a t 30 p e r c en t o f o b e s e
p e o p le h ad a n t ib o d ie s to A d - 3 6 ~
s u gg e st in g th a t th e y h a d p r e v io u s ly
e nm u n te re d th e v ir u s - ( o m pa r2 d
w i t h 4 p e r c en t o f le a n p e o p le (New
Scientist 5 A u g us t 2 0 0 0 , P 2 6 ) .
T h is v ir a l th e o ry o f obesi ty w a s
in it ia ll y r id ic u le d , " P e op le d is m is s e d i t
a s n o n s en s e ," r e c a ll s O h u r an d h a r.
B u t o th e r s h a v e n o w s ta rte d to
r ep l ic a te h is f in d in g s . E ig h t o th e r
v ir u s e s h a v e b e e n l in k e d w itho b es it y I n d if f e re n t a n im a ls ,
a lth o u g h n o f u rth e r o ne s h a v e
'b e e n im p l i c a te d in p e o p le ,
S o h ow c ou ld a m id . v ir u s m a ke
y o u pu t o n w e ig h t? S e v e r a l p o ss ib le
m e ch an is m s h a v e b e e n p u t f o rwa rd
F o r o n e , t h e v i r u s a p p ea rs to s lo w a
p e rs o n 's m e t a b o l ic r a te , I t h a s a ls o
b e e n s ho w n to s u pp re s s a h o rm o n e
c a l le d le p tin , w h ic h is k n o w n to p u t
th e b ra ke o n fa t p ro d u c t io n . A n d
O h u r a nd ha r h a s fo u n d t h a t w h e n
g ro w n in th e la b , h um a n s te m c e l i sin fe c te d w ith A d -3 6 t e n d t o d e v e lo p
in to fa t c ~ ll s .
D h u r a n d ha r i s n a w w o r k in g w i th
b io te c h f i r m O b .e te c h , b a S ed In
R ic h m o nd ', V i r g in ia , w h ic h h a s s o fa r
i d e n ti f ie d a r o u n d 30 c o m p o u n d s
th a t k il l th e v i r u s . It a ls o h a s a v a c c i n e
in a n im a l te s tin g . " P re s u m a b ly th e
v ac c in e w o u ld b e u s e d in c h i ld h o od
b u t Ic a n 't s a y if i t w o u ld b e o ne s h o t
fo r l i f e , " s a y s O b e t e c h pres ldent
R l c h a r d . A tk i n s o n
U n ti l t h e n ? T ry n o t to b re a th e
in w h e n t h e p e r s o n n e x t to
y o u s n ee z e s .
re se arc he rs tu rn ed u p th e
s tro ng es t. e vid en ce y et fo r th e
th eo ry . U s in g t is su e s am p le s
ta k e n fro m th e p anc re ase s o fc hild re n w ho h ad d ie d fro m
typ e 1 d ia be te s s ho rt ly a fte r
d ia gn o.s is , th ey fo un d th at m o re
tha n 60 p e r ce n t h a d a C BV
p ro te in in th eir b eta c ells . In
c on tr as t. t he v ir us w a s v ir tlJ ally
a bs e nt in a c o ntro l g ro up w ho h ad
d ie d fro m o th er c au se s
(DJabetologia, v o l 5 2, p 1143).
S om e re se arc he rs s us pe ct th at
C B V t rig g er s t he a u to im m u n e
a tta ck b eca use pa rt o f o ne o f
its p ro te in s r es em b le s a n
e nz ym e fo un d in b eta c ells , c alle d
g lu ta m ic a cid d ec ar bo xy la se , s o
a nt lb nd le s a ga in st th e v iru s m a y
c ro s s- re a ct to G A D . H o w e ve r,
N oe l M o rg an , a p ha rm a co lo gis t a t
th e P e nin su la M e di'c al S ch oo l In
P ly mo uth , w ho w as p art ·o f th eU K te am , th in ks it 's m o re lik ely
th at C B Vin fe ct io n a lte rs th e b eta
c e lls in s u ch a w ay th at th e b ody
s ee s th em a s f or eig n.
M o re s ur pr is in g ly ,. t he s am e
g ro up s ho we d th at C B V m ig ht
c au se ty pe 2 d ia be te s. T his fo rm
u su a lly o cc u rs in o ld e r p e op le ,
a nd is c au se d by th eir b od y
b ec om in g le ss re sp on siv e to
in s ulin , o fte n in itia lly b e ca u se
the y a re o ve rw eig ht th eir b eta
c ells re sp on d b y p um p in g o ut
m o re in su lin a nd e ve ntu ally w ea r
o u t In t he sam e pa p e r th e g ro up
sh ow ed tha t th e pa nc re ases o f
40 pe r c en t o f p e op le w ith typ e 2
,d ia b et e. s c o n ta in e d th e C 8 V
p ro te in , co m pa re d w ith 1 3 p er
c en t o f c o nt ro ls .T he team do n o t s a y ty pe 2
d ia b e te s i nv o lV e s a u to imm u n i ty .
In st ea d , th e y s p ec u la te th a tth e
v ir us im p a ir s t he b e ta c ells ' a b il it y
to s ec re te in su lin , w h ic h t ip s a :
w orn -o ut p an cre as o ve rth e e dg e
in to d ia b e te s .
W ha t d oe s th is m e an fo rth e
fu tu re ? A v ac cin e a ga in st C B V Is a
p o ss ib ili ty , o n e. w h i ch S w is s-
b as ed d ru g c om pa ny N ov ar tis is
i nves t i ga t i ng . I t c ou ld b e g iv en to
c hild re n w ith a .g e ne tic
s us ce p tib ili ty to t yp e 1i abe tes ,
s uc h a s th os e w ith a f am ll.y
h is to ry o f the d i s ease .
1 7 O c t ob e r 20091 NewSc i en t i s t l 4 7
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S c h iz o p h r e n iaC a t lo ve rs , ta k e n a te : a p ar a site th a t lu rk s in ( at fa ec es
c o uld b e lin k ed w it h s c hiz o ph re n ia , T o x o p la s m a g o n d ii
( ofte n c alle d to xo ) is e stim a te d to in fe ct a ro un d 3 0 p er
c en t o f th e p op ula tio n, W hile it c an tr ig ge r m is ca rr ia ge .
in m o st p eo ple it w as th ou gh t to c au se little m o re th an ah e ad a ch e a n d s o re t hr oa t.
O v er th e p as t fe w y ea rs . h ow e ve r. e vid en ce h as
e m er ge d th at ta xa ( an h av e s om e r ath er s in is te r
e ffe cts o n o ur b eh av io ur : s om e p eo ple in fe cte d w ith
t he p a ra s it e h a ve o d d s ym p tom s , s u ch a s h a llu c in a tio n s
a nd a te nd en cy to ta ke m o re ris ks ,
T h is is n't a s c ra zy a s it s ou nd s. In ro de nts , ta xa 's
n atu ra l h os ts , th e p ar as ite g ets in to th e b ra in a nd m a ke s
th e a nim a ls le ss fe arfu l, r es ultin g in th em ta kin g m o re
r is ks , T h is m a ke s th em m o re lik ely to b e e ate n b y c ats ,
th us c om p le tin g th e p er as ite s life c yc le . Ioxo cys ts
h av e b ee n fo un d in th e b ra in s o f p eo ple . to o.
In a 2007 me ta -a n aly s is o f 42 s t ud ies , psych i a tr is tF u lle r T o rr ey a t t he S ta n le y M e d ic a l R e s ea rc h I ns tit ut e
in C h ev y C h as e, M a r yla nd . fo un d th at p eo ple w ith
s ch iz op hr en ia a re n ea rly th re e tim e s a s lik ely to h av e
a ntib od ie s to ta xa c om p are d w ith th os e w ho d on 't h av e
th e c on ditio n. T o rr ey a ls o fo un d th at p eo ple ta kin g
s c hiz o ph re n ia m e d ic a tio n h a ve lo w e r le v els o f a n tib o die s
th a n th o se n ot ta k in g s uc h d ru gs . H e s u g ge sts th a t t h e
d ru gs m a y re du ce s ym pto m s in p art b y h arm in g th e
p ar as ite , T h ey a re k no w n to d o s o in th e te st- tu be .
T o rr ey a nd o tb e rs s us p e c t th a t t a xa a ffe ct s th e
b ra in b y s om e ho w r ais in g le ve ls o f th e c he m ic al
s ig n allin g m o le c ule d o pam in e , E x ce s s d o p am i ne h a s lo n gb ee n lin ke d to s ch iz op hr en ia , a nd it is a ls o th ou gh t to
in c re a se r is k y b e h a v io u r .
E ar lie rth is y ea r. a te am le d b y g en etic is t G le nn
M c Co nk ey a t t he U niv ers ity o f L ee ds in th e U K
d is co ve re d w ha t m a y p ro ve to b e t he s m ok in g g un ,
T he g ro up fo un d th at th e p ara site h as tw o g en es th at
e nc od e a n e nz ym e th at m a ke s d op am in e. w hic h is
n or m ally o nly p re se nt in a nim a ls th at h av e a n er vo us
system ( P L o S O N E , 001: lO.1371f journa l .pone.0004801) ,
Whi le it m a y h av e o th er fu nc tio ns . th e p ar as ite c ou ld
b e m a nu fa ctu rin g d op am in e to d ir ec tly m a nip ula te its
h os t's n er vo us < ;y ste m ,th e te am s ay ." Th is is a v er y
im p o rt an t b re a kt hr ou g h, " s a ys J oa n ne We b st ec a ne p id em io lo g is t a t . Im p e ria l.C o lle g e L o nd o n. w h o h a s
lo n g s tu d ie d t ox o .
V ario us g ro up s a re n ow try in g to d ev elo p n ew
s ch iz op hr en ia d ru gs th at w o rk b y e ra dic atin g th e
p a ra s it e, E xis tin g m e d ic in e s a re o f lim i te d h e lp a g ain s t
s ch iz op hr en ia a nd c an h av e n as ty s id e e ffe cts , s uc h a s
w e ig ht g ain a nd fa cia l s pa sm s .
"The taxa p ara site co uld b e m a k in g
dopam i ne to d ire ctly m a n ip u la te its
h os t's n erv ou s s ys tem "
4 81 N e w Sc ie nt is t 1 17 O c to be r 2 00 9
B r e a s tW hy som e w om en g e t b r e a s t c a n c e r
a nd o th ers e sc ap e it is still am ys te ry ~ g en es a re to b la me ,ro r o nly
a bo ut l in 1 0 c as es ..M a yb e th e a ns we r
lie s w ith th e m ouse m am m ary tum ou r
v i rus ( M ' M T V ) , w h ic h c au se s m a m m ary
c a nc e r in m iC e .
M M T V w a s f irs t d is c.o ve re d in th e
1 93 05 , a nd th e lin k to h u m an c an c er s
h as b een s tud ie d on a nd off eve r
s in c e. In 1995, B e a tr iz P o go ,. a c a nc e r
s p ec ia li.s t a tt he . M o u nt S in a i S ch o ol
o f M e dic in e in N ew Y ork , s pa rke d
e no rm o us In te re st w he n sh e
d is co v er ed p a rt o f a g en e fo r M M TV in
3 8p er c en t o f h um a n b re as ttu m ou rs .
T h e s eq ue nc eis ra re ly 'fo un d' in
h e a lt hy t is s ue ( N ew S c i en ti st ,. 2 ju n e
c a n c e r
2 0 0 7 , P 3 8) . T his h as b ee n s up po rte d
b y B r ia n S a lm o n s, a .v ir o lo g istat th eU n iv ers ity o f V e te rin ary .M e dic in e in
V ie n na , A u str ia ., a n d h is c o lle a gu e s,
w ho h a ve sh ow n tha t th e v iru s c an
in fe ct h um a n b re as t ce lls in th e la b
(Retroviro/ogy, 001 : 10 . 11B611742 -
4690, v o l 4. P 7 3 ) .
l ik e H IV , M M T V is a re tro viru s,
w h ic h m e an s th at It in se rt s it se lf In to
t h e h o s t' s DNA . .o t h e rr e tr o v ir u s e s
c au se c an c er b e ca u se th e ir in se rtio n
d is ru pts g en es th at c on tro l. c ell
d iv is io n, s o M M T V c ou ld d o th e s am e.
A n ot he rt he o ry , f ro m m ic ro b io lo g is t
S usa n R os s a t th e u niv ers ity o f
P e nn s ylv an ia in P h ila d elp h ia , is 1! ha t
a n M M T V p ro te in c alle d e nv d ire ctly
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B O O K S & A R T S
A narrow in to th e heart of tim e
T he m any fa ce s o f th e m ys te rio u s d im en s io n a re poe tic a lly e xp lo re d , s a ys David E ag leman
Time by E v a Hof fman .P i c a d o r . $1 4
R e vie w ed b y D a vid E ag le m a n
TIME is n ot w hat
it u se d to be . On c e
a flowing r iver
w h o s e c u rr en t
w e pa s si v e lym o nito re d, tim e is
n ow m o re p ro p erl yl...- JJ u nd ers to o d as
ru IIHIII
T I M
s om e th ing c ons tru cte d b y th e
b ra in a nd p e rs o na li se d b y c ul tu re .
W e h av e re la tio n sh ip s w ith ti m e;
w e f ig ht it a nd man ip u l at e it
I nto th is a re na steps Eva
H o ff m an w ith h er p o eti cal ly
s c ie n ti fi c a nd a us te re ly t it le d
Time. Ho f fma n is o n an
e xp lo ra ti on to b e com e i nti m ate
w ith tim e , m o tiv ate d b y h er s en se
th at o u r in te rac tio n w ith tim e
h a s c h a ng ed .
O u r s o ci etie s h av e b e com e
o b se ss ed w i.th t im e a nd
t im e k e ep in g , b o th in th e
w o rk pl ac e a nd a t h om e . re t travel
m anip ulate s o ur e xp erie nc e o f
d a y- ni gh t c y c le s a nd s e as o ns ,
w h ile b iom e di cal s ci en ce r ac es to
i nc re as e o u r l if e sp a n y e t f u rt he r.
A t th e o th er e nd o fth e spectrum,
n ew te ch no lo gie s ad ap t o urm i nd s to th e e v er -b rie fe r s ca le s
o f m i cro and n ano .
H o ff man c ov ers a l o t o f g r ou nd ,
f ro m p hy sic s (w h y tim e flo w s in
o n ly o n e d i re c ti o n) to b i o lo g y ( th e
c irc ad ian rh yth m an d s le ep ) to
n e ur o sc ie nc e ( how t em p o r al i: ty
is c o ns tru c te d b y th e b ra in ). S h e
a dd re s s es q u e s ti o n s oftime an d
c on s c io u s n e ss , i n cl u d in g the
u niq u ely h um a n a bi lity to e nv is io n
l arg e v is ta s o f p as t o r f utu re .
P e rc e iv e d t im e is i l lumina tedb y d i se as e s ta te s such as
A l z he im e r 's d is e as e o r K o r sa ko f f's
s yn dro m e, in w h ic h o ne 's tim e
n ar ra ti v e b e c om e s d is o rg an is e d,
5 0 1 N ewS c ie n tis t . 1 1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09
a nd b y f an ta si es a nd d re am s ,
in w h ic h th e u nc on sc io us b rain
d o es n ot n ec es sarily c omm it to
a te m p or al n arr ati ve a t a l l.
H o f fm a n a ls o i nv e st ig at es
i nd iv id u al d if fe re nc es i n h ow
p eo ple tre at tim e (th os e w h o le av e
p arti es e arl y v e rs us th o se w h ohav e to be sho oed o ut at the end )
a s w e l l a s c u lt ur al d i ff e re n ce s
"O th er a nim a ls a ge a nd d ieo n a s tric t sc he du le , b ut w ehum ans do a ll in ou r pow er
t o c on tr o l t ha t t iming"
( commun i t i e s in wh ic h h as te
am o un ts to a b re ac h o f e th ic s,
f o r i n s ta n ce ).
A r e cu rrin g th em e is t hat th e
h um an c ap ac ity to m a ni pu la teo ur e nv iro nm ent u sh ers in ne w
c om pl ex iti es to th e b as ic b io lo g y
o fti m e. F o r e xam p le , w h ile o th er
an im als ag e an d d ie o n a s tric t
s ch ed u le , h u m an s d o e ve ry th in g
in th eir p o we r to c ontro l th at
tim ing . A nd th e b oo k is fu ll o f
i nte re stin g th o ug hts : c o ns id er th e
d if fe re nt te m p or al e xp er ie nc e o f
w il d b lu e be rry b u sh es , w h ic h l iv e
13,000 y e ar s, a nd m a y fl ie s , w h i ch
fu lf i l th eir e arth ly p urp os e in al if e sp a n o f h o u rs .
O n e g ap in th e b o ok in vo lv es
th e p erc ep tio n o f v e ry s ho rt tim e
s c al e s ~ ofle ss th an a s ec ond -
w h ic h n eu ro s ci en ti sts r ef er to as
tim e s en satio n: d id he c atc h m y
g lan ce at h is n am e tag ? W h ic h
e v e nt h a p p e n ed first, my f o o tf al l
o r th e s na pp in g tw ig ? S u b-s ec o nd
timesensatlon is a f erti le a re a i n
m o de rn b rain re se arc h, o ne th at Is
u n lo c k in g f u nd am en ta l m y s te ri es
a bo u t p e rc ep ti on . H ow e ve r, g iv e nt he w o n d er fu l ly v a st t er ri to r y
H o f fm a n c o v er s, Io n 't e xp ec t
re ad e rs to n oti ce its a bs en ce .
T h e b o o k a rg u es c o n vi nc in gl y
~ that o ur re latio nsh ip w ith tim e is
~ ch a ng i ng d r as ti c al ly , p o r te n d in g
~ re al c o ns eq ue nc es f or o u r q u ali ty
~ o fl if e. T he se c o ns id e ra tio n s l ead
~ H of fm an to s tate th at o ur
~ c ha ng in g r ela ti on sh ip w ith ti m e
~ am o unts to a "p arad igm s hif t
compa r ab l e to t he C o p e rn ic an orE i ns te in ia n r ev o l ut io n s" . I 'm n o t
s ure th e c la im is w arran te d - s uc h
c la im s rare ly are m o re th an o nc e
a centu ry - bu t H of fm an is such
a g o od w r ite r th at Ia ke th e
e xag ge ratio n m e re ly to b e a
s ho w o f p as sio n fo r h er s ub je ct.
T he a uth o r d es cr ib es h er
c hild ho o d in E as te rn E uro p e as
s lo w -te m p o, a nd o n e s us pe cts
th at o nly an imm ig ran t's e ye s
c o ul d s o c le arl y d e te ct th e
" Am e ri ca n n e rv o u sn e ss " w i th
time: th e w ay Am e ri ca ns s qu e ez e
tim e an d fre t ab ou t it i n t he i r
" p er pe tu al ly r en ew i ng n ew ne s s" .
B u t s he 's n ot n ec es sa ri ly o p po s ed
to th e A m e ric an te m po . S he
a ck now l ed g e s th at t he s tr ic t,
e ff ic ie nt m an ag em e nt o f t im e h as
its m e rits - f or e xam p le . k no w in g
h ow m uc h one's tim e is w o rth and
a ss e rt in g o n e's " tem p o ra l r ig h ts " .
H o ff m an i s a l y ri ca l w ri te r, a nd
h e r s ty l e is b o th c o ng en ia l a ndc alm in g . .S h e l ab e ls h e rs e lf a
ch ronophob ic an d a chronophi l ic ,
b u t Iee he r m ore as a tim e
c o nn o is se u r, s ha rp ly attu ne d to
its subt le t ies . Time is s tro n g b o th
scientifically a n d s o c i o lo g i c al ly ,
p ro v o k in g e n dl es s c o nt em p l at io n .
O n e s ee s th at H o ff man d es ire s to
u nd ers tand tim e - no t to p in it
l if e le s sl y t o a w a ll , b u t i ns te ad
t o c h er is h it. •
PROA lE
Dav i d E a g le m an is a neurosc ient i s t
a t Bay lo r[0 ie g e o f M e d ic in e in
Hous ton ,Texa s
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F or m ore re vie ws and to a dd y o u tc omment s, v is it www .N ewS ci en ti st com / bo o k s- ar t
B o u n c in g b a c kW ha t can w e lea rn from the d iffe ren t w ays
p eo p le re sp on d to b ere a ve m e nt?
T h e O th e r S id e o f S a d ne s s by Geo r ge
B o na n n o , B a s i c B o ok s , 5 2 5 .9 5
Rev i ewed b y M ic h ae l B o nd
W H AT is the be s t
w ay o f co ping w ith
the death o f a
lo v ed o ne? W hy do
so me peo ple g riev e
m o re i nte ns ely
than o the rs? S uch
TI ~Olher Sicl~
"rs.~dn~
~t!t,~~
, . fD o : I% . . ,..--"I"t'c.ll.U;!
_u.",! L .!r. '~J.<!_ j I : . . I ! . - i
GWItf1I l o i l . . li02"I~NNO
'-- _"J
q ue stio ns aretr ad itio na lly le ft to c ou n se ll or s
and self -he lp gu ru s, bu t G eo rge
B o na nn o, a c lin ic al p sy ch olo gis t
at C olu mb ia U niv ers ity in N ew
Y ork , is o n a m iss io n to answ er
them em pirica lly . H e has do ne a
g oo d jo b, in te rv ie win g th ou sa nd s
o fb ereav ed peo ple o ve r d ecade s
and m onito ring how they ge t
th ro ugh the ir tro ub led tim es .
Y et B o nanno 's b otto m line-
that p eo p le are o f ten m uch m ore
re sil ie nt th an w e're le d to b elie ve -
is rathe r u nrem arkab le . S tu die s o f
Lo nd oners du ring the B litz and
N e w Y o rk ers af te r 9/n showed
that few peo ple su ffe r se rio us
re actio ns to trau matic e ve nts .
A m ore in trigu ing qu es tio n is
w hy som e peo p le are m ore
res il ie nt th an o th ers . H ow ev er,
the re 's no real answ er. A s w ith
m os t b eh av io ura l traits , it is
im p os sib le to p re dic t in div id ua l
d if fe rence s fro m pe rso nality and
backgro und . S om e peo p le m ay
h av e re silie nce w ritten in th eir
gene s , bu t ev id ence fo r that ls
th in . B onanno fo und sev era lin tere s ting patte rns - fo r
exam p le , w idow s w ho laugh a lo t
in the m onth s af ter the ir spo use 's
d eath tend to cope b est. B ut d oes
laugh te r a id reco v e ry o r is it a s ign
o f a s tro ng c op ing m ec hanism ?
Th is is a v alu ab le bo o k fo r
B onanno 's ap plic atio n o fth e
s c ientif ic m etho d to af ie ld that
b ad ly need s it. H e is at h is m ost
co mpelling , ho wev er, in an area
w he re sc ience is o f lim ited he lp :
how cu ltu re inf lu ence s the w ay
peo p le co nnec t w ith the dead , and
w hy he decid ed to engage in
C hine se bereav em ent ritu als to
help h im m ou rn h is o wnfathe r.
Harnessing happiness
Generosity b y R icha rd Powe r s , Far rar ,
S tr a us a n d G i ro u x , $2 5 ( pu b lis h e d inth e U K by A t la n t ic Book s i n j a nua ry )
Rev i ewed b y Am a nd a G e ft er
R IC HARD P OWERS
is kno wn fo r d ef tly
weav ing science
into h is fiction.
I n h is b r il li an tl y
c raf te d te nth no vel
he tackles th e
p ro mise s and
p er ils o f g en eti c e ng in ee ri ng :
s pe cif ic ally , th e p ote ntia l f orhum ans to p inpo in t, p atent and
pe rp e tu ate the "happ ine ss gene" .
An o rp hane d refu ge e e xh ib its
sym p tom s o f hype rthym ia , o r
p e rs is tent eu pho ria. W ord o f he r
co nd itio n reache s the ears o f a
gene tic is t lo ok ing to eng ineer a
happ ie r hu man race . S uddenly
the pub lic m ust g rapp le w ith
g ene tic d eterm inis m and . free w ill,
th e e th ic s o f g en etic e nh an ce me nt
and that anc ient qu es tio n: w hat
do e s it m ean to be happy? P ow ers
h and Ie s sc ientif ic nu anc es w ith
c are , and h is metaftctional
te chniqu e o f u sing an "au tho r"
narra to r w ho d iscu ss es h is cho ices
in c harac ter and p lo t em ph as ise s
that as o u r scientlfic knowledge
g row s, w e, the hum an race , are
authoring o ur o wn s to ry .
F . l i g h t , c ame ra , a ctio n
Creat ive B ird Pho tog raphy b y Bil l
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I WOULD l ik e to
po in t o ut righ t
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waso fagu l l
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p ersp ec tiv e, a lb eit an av id b ird er
p ersp ec tiv e, th at I 'd lik e to su gg est
that all w ork ing and w annabe b ird
p ho to grap he rs w ill b enef it
f ro m B il l C o ste r's Creati ve Bi rd
Photography. Th e s tu n ni ng ,
co lo urfu l c lo se -u p o f a k ing
pengu in 's neck o n the co ve r te llsu s im med iate ly that h is p ic tu re s
won't be like o ur fa thers ' b ird
pho to s. A nd w hile the pho to s
are eno ugh to m ake u s get o ff the
co u ch and run o u ts id e w ith o u r
cam era , it's the tex t that m akes
th is s uch a v alu ab le b o o k , The
d iscu ss io n o f equ ipm ent is
h one st and c and id , w hile C os te r's
u np re tentio us s ty le take s the
reader o n a n e njo ya ble ad ve ntu re ,
as he o ffe rs a w ealth of he lp fu l
p ho to grap hy tip s, l ik e k ee pyo ur f ingers "b eh ind " the lens ,
N ow he te lls m e.
Fac Ing extinc tion
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Rev i ewed b y Ad ria n B a rn e tt
MARK BARR OW 's
h is to ry o fi de as
a b ou t c o ns e rv a ti o n
I E I I I : ~:oe~~ei : ; :~~din fo rm ativ e re ad .
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p hilo so ph ically , to w he n th e th re at
o f its w id es pre ad o cc urre nc e
began to in fo rm p ub lic p olic y.
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J ef fe rs on 's b elie f th at m amm oth s
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in ternatio nal co nv entio ns o nb io d iv e rs ity p ro te c ti on is to ld in
a b risk s ty le , p ack ing in fac ts , d ate s
and h is to rica l ins ig hts w ith ou t
eve r becoming ponderous.
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b uf falo a nd c oy ote e xp lo ita tio n,
the heath hen 's d em ise , the
dev elo pm ent o fthe A udu bo n
S ocie ty and the co nserv atio n o f
p ra irie s, s ea tu rtle s a nd C alif orn ia
co ndo rs , B arro w's fo cu s is
u nash am ed ly A m eric an . E uro pe an
r ea de rs s ho u ld , n ev e rth el es s,
a pp rec ia te b e ing in tro du ced to
key p layers in zoth century
co nse rv atio n w hom they m igh t
n ot o th erw is e e nc ou nte r.
17 Oc t o b e r 2 00 9 1 New$c i en t i s t 151
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BOOKS&ARTS
Love songs to sc ienceWith num be rs like M r Darwin, Toxonomyand Liv;ng Light , D av id H aine s is sh arin g h is p ass ion
D av id H a in es w rite s s on gs
c ele bra tin g a ny th in g a nd
e ve ry th in g a bo ut s cie nc e, fro m
e vo l u tio n to th e s ola rs y.s te m .
E l eano r Harrtscauqht up wi th him
a t re he ars als fo r h is Tremendous
jo u rn ey co nc er t th is m o nth .
W h at is Tremendous Journey abou t ?
T he c on ce rt w ill f eatu re 1 5 songs
abo ut the sc ience o flife and
evolut ion . It's a sho rte r v e rs io n o f
m y " s ci en ce o ra to rio " , Lifetime. W e
o pen w ith a so ng called MrDarw in ,
which tells th e s to ry o f h is h is to ric
v oyage abo ard the B eag le . T hen
the re is Se l fi sh Gene , a s on g
re fe rrin g to R ic hard D aw k in s's
w ork , and Living Light, Que en Bee,
Bacteria an d Taxonomy.
I 'v e ne ver h ad a b io lo g y l es so n,
so Iho se to co ver life sc ience s in
Lifetime. I t's a g re at w ay to le arn
n ew s tu ff . New Se ien t i st g iv es m e
id eas fo r s ong s a lo t o f the tim e
and I 'v e g ath ere d a b ig c olle ctio n
o f po pu lar sc ience bo oks . O ne w
danger is that b ecau se a few o f the ~
bo o k s are qu ite o ld , som e o f the
facts I 'v e inco rpo rated in to m y
so ngs are o u t o f date .
D oe s t ha t m ean you ha ve h ad
to u pd ate s om e o f yo ur so ng s?
M y so ng Planets wa s c al le d Nine
Planets when Iro te it 20 years
ag o. F iv e y ears ag o Ir iefly
rewrote it as TenPlanets when it
w as tho ugh t that S edna w as the
roth p lanet. A nd then o f co urs e
t twas dec id ed that the dw arf
p lan ets , in clu din g P lu to , w o uld n't
co unt any m o re , so Iad to m ake
itEight Plane ts . Ias so am use d
b y all th is th at Iro te a n ew
sec tio n o f the so ng abo ut how
P lu to w as k icked o u t, and also
a descrip tio n o f the K uip e r and
a ste ro id b elts .
5 21 N ewS ci en ti st 1 1 7 O c to b er 2 00 9
W ho d o y ou w rite yo ur so ng s fo r?
Io n 't hav e a targe t aud ience in
m ind . I r ite s o ngs abo ut sc iencethe w ay o ther p eo p le w rite lo v e
songs . Ie t so em otio nally m ov ed
b y sc ie nc e, it's l ik e b eing in lo ve ,
so Ir ite them w ith pas s io n.
Io n't co mp ro mise ju st b ecau se
Ino w that ch ild ren are go ing
to be pe rfo rm ing a so ng . I f
anything I igh t pu t in tricky
w ord s, b ec au se k id s lo ve th at.
I 'm no t under any illu s io n that
Ian really teach peo ple abo ut
sc ience th ro ugh so ngs . M y aim is
to c ele bra te s cie nc e. Iant to ge t
o ther p eo p le to rea lis e w hat an
incred ib le fu nd o fkno wledge and
cu rio sity and fu n it is . A nd 1 th ink
it w orks . W hen peo ple s ing abo ut
it they beco me cu rio us and as k
wha t it a ll m e a ns .
Y ou do hear p eo p le say " I 'mj us t n ot i nte re ste d. in sc ience ."
I f y o u're no t in tere ste d in sc ienc e
w hat are yo u in te re s ted in? P eo ple
sho uld u nde rs tand that th ings
aren 't as b lack and w hite as they
rn igh tth ink . [fyo u can sneak up
o n them from beh ind by pu tting
it in the fo rm ofa so ng , that's a
really go o d w ay o f do ing it
A re s cie nc e s on gs a d lff lc ult s ell?
P eo ple th ink the so ngs are go ing to
b e h ig h- te ch p lm k y- pl on km u si c
w ith lo ts o f synthe s ise rs , b u t
th ey 're a ctu ally v ery ly ric al, lik e
ballad s o r ro ck o r pap so ngs . W hen
o ther p eo ple w rite sc ience so ngs
they go fo r the pas tiche app ro ach
and m ake it so und , I 'm afraid to
s ay , li ke G il be rt a nd S u lli va n, Iom e
fro m a c lass ic al m us ic b ack gro und
an d Io v e a go od m elo dy , so Irite
re ally catch y tu nes . T he m usic is
m ore so ph is tic ated than the o the rs tu ffc hu rned o ut fo r c hild re n.
What ' s next?
I 'v e ju st b eg un a so ng write r
re s id ency at K ew G ardens - the
R oy al B otanic G ard ens in L ond on.
Ipent tw o day s at K ew andone at
the M illennium Seed B ank w ith
th eir to p sc ientis ts and archivists.
"W he n p eo ple s in g s on gsa b o u t. s c ie n c e th e yb ec om e c ur io us a nd a skw h a t it a ll m e a n s"
N ow Iav e to w rite a so ng
e ncap su la ting th eir w ork .
I 'm e njo yin g th e c halle ng e.
I'm ta lk in g to th e T ra ns pla nt
Trust abo ut an o rato rio abo ut
o rgan do natio n and
transplantation. It's an is su e Iee l
s tr on gl y a bo u t: Ie el it's a p ub lic
du ty fo r ev eryo ne to reg is ter fo r
o r ga n d o na ti on . At som e po int I 'da ls o lik e to w rite a s on g ab ou t
w hat sc ience is . P eo ple th ink that
sc ienc e d eals in so lid facts w hic h
are never go ing to change, and
that's the o pp os ite o f w hat sc ience
is.I ant to try and pu t that into a
po pu larfo rm .•
T he TremendouSjourney concer t
w i ll t a ke p la c e at th e S tab l e s T hea t r e ,
M i lto n K e yn e s , U K . o n 2 4 O c to b e r
MOREONUNE
Wa t c h v i d e o s and S in g a lo n g a t
www,newscientlstcomiarticlei
d n 1 7 9 3 5
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WWW.NewScient i s t lobs . com
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im a g in g , in c lu d in g s in g le o rm u l t i p h o to n im a g in g .
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2 0 0 5 9 0 6 0 5
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b r o a d b io lo g ic a l t r a in in g a n d
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e xp e rtis e in a t le a st o n e o f th e
f o ll ow ing . r es ea rc h a r eas : an ima l
phys io logy ; Ge i l ,mo lecu la r ;
d e v el opmen ta l, o r o r ga n isma l
b i o logy ; gene t ic s ; p r o te i n
s tr u ct ur e a n d f un c ti on ;
immuno lo g y ; e v o lu t io n ; e c o lo g y ; o r
th e s tu d y o f c omple x d is ea s es a n d
processes .F or m o re in fo rm a tio n v is it
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c ha r act e ri z a ti on s t ud ies , c on ta i ne r
c lo s u re c ompa ti bi li ty s tu d ie s a n dl yoph i li z a ti on deve lopmen t s t ud ies .
F or m o re in fo rm a tio n v is it
N e wS l:ie n tis tjo b s .c o m J ob lD :
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v e ri fy c h em ic a l p r o c e ss e s f o r t he
p r od u c ti on o f t a rg e t mo l e cu le s .
W i ll s umma r iz e a n d i nt er p re t d a ta
a n d e x pe rim e n ts in f orm a l r ep o rts
to s up p or t r eg u la to ry a n d in te rn a l
techn ica l t r ans fe r .
F or m o re in fo rm a tio n v is it
N e w S de n tis tJ ob s .c o m J ob to :
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s iR N A F orm u la tio ns S cie ntis t
N o va rtis In stitu te s fo r
B ioM e d ic al R e se a rc h (US)
MA . Ma s sa c hu s ett s
Chem ic a land Pha rmaceu t ic a l
P r o f il in g i s s eek ing a s c ien t is t
to i nt eg ra te in to th e e x is tin g
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No v a rt is t h er a pe u ti c s iRNA
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iI is r e s p o n s i b l e fo r th e p ro m pt
e ff ic ie n t a n d a cc u ra te
pe r fo rmance , v a l ida t Jon , and
r ep o rt in g o f c h romos ome
ana ly s es wh i ch a r e u t il iz e d f o rt h e
p u rp o s e o f p r og n o si s,
d ia g no sis , tr ea tm e n t a n d
research .
F or m o re in fo rm a tio n v is it
N ewS c i e n ti st Jo b s . .c o m J ob 1 0 .:200588838
Scien t i s t - iTOX
Nov a rt ls I ns ti tu te s fo rB ioM e d ic a l R e s ea rc h (US)
MA -Mass a ch u s e tt s
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t e c hn ic a l l abo ra t o ry pos i ti on
w i th s c ie n ti fi c a n d l ab o ra to r y
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T r ans la t iona l Sa fe t yB i oma r k er s ( TS8 ) L a b ,wh i ch i s in
tu rn p art o f t he T SB a nd
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(TSBAM) .
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s c ien t is t , p r e fe r ab ly w i t h
e xp e rie n ce in t he d is co ve ry a n d
de v el opmen t o f n o v el t he r ap e u ti c
a g e n ts , t o jo in t h e Oph th a lmo l o gy
P h a rm a c olo g y g ro u p o f th e N o va rtis
I ns ti tu te s f o r B i omed ic a l R e s e a rc h( N I B R ) .
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S ys te m s :E ng in ee r lJ2
Boe ing
C A - Cali fornia
Sy s tem eng inee ri ng ac coun tab i li ti e s
i n cl ude de f in i ti on , a l lo c a t ion ,
v a li da ti on , a n d v e ri fi ca ti on o fs a t el li te r equ i remen t s , de f in i ti on
a n d c o n tr o l o f p a y lo a d i nt er fa c e
r eqc l re r nen ts . as s es si ng
a nd manag in g t ec h n ic a l r is k .
i de n ti fi ca ti on a n d r es o lu ti on o f
t ec h n ic a l i ss u e s a nd anoma li es
i nd u d in g s y st em ic p ro c e ss a nd
qua li ty i s sues , and inco r po ra t ion o f
l e an me thodo log ies .
F or m o re in fo rm a tio n v is itN e wS c :ie n tis tJ o bs .c o m jo b 1 0 .:200593827
DIAMANTINA INSll1 Ul E; FOR CANCI::R,
IMMUNOLOGY AND METABOLIC MEDICINE
.R ESEARCH PO SITIO N SThe role Va rio u s p o sitio n s a re a v aila b le fo r r es ea rc he rs
f rom P r o fe s so ri al to Re s ea rc h O ff ic er L e ve l. F in d o u t
m o re a bo ut D ia m an tin a a t www.d i .uq .edu .au
Remunera t ion R e se arc h C h air r emuner at io n p a c ka ge
c irca AUD$4 0 0 k o .a , p lu s a d ditio n al n e go ti ab lere s ea rc h s up p or t p a ck a, ge ;.S e nior R e se arc h F e llo w
AUD$86 , 9 37 - $ 11 . 5 , . 3 24 p.a p lu s r es ea rc h p a ck .a g e
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R eference N o R es earc h C hair in Cance r M edic ine -
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2009 . Re s ea rc h C h a ir /F e llo w sh ip a p plic a tio n s w ill b ec o n si de r ed u n ti l a s u it ab le a p p li ca n t i s i de n ti fi ed .
More career oppo.rtunities at www.jobsatUQ.net
Benefits fo r s ta ff include:
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to o bta in a c op y o f t he p os it io n
d e s c ri pt io n a n d a p p li ca ti on p r oc e s s .
UQ is a n e qu a l o p p o rtu n ity employer .
1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09 1 N e w Sc ie nt is t 1 67
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T he S allie R os en K ap la n F ello ws hip fo r W om e n S cie ntis ts in C an ce r R es ea rc h is m a de p os sib le b y a g en ero us
bequ es t to the F ounda tion fo r N IH (F NIH ). T his is a com pe tiN ve p ro gram fo r fem ale p os tdoc to ra l. fe llow s
a pp ly in g t o t ra in in a ny o f th e N a ti.o n al C a n c er I ns tit ut e's in tr am u ra l r es e ar ch s et tin g s,in c lu d in g b a sic , c lin ic al,
e p id em io lo g ic a l, a n d p re v en ti on s c ie n c e.
T he p os td oc to ra l fe llo w sh ip e xp erie nc e a t th e N C lc an s erv e a s a firs t p os td oc to ra l tra in in g a ss ig nm e nt, o r o ffe r
m o re e xp erie nc ed p os td oc to ra l s cie ntis ts a n o pp ortu nity to fu rth er th eir tra in in g in m o re a dv an ce d m e th od s,
to a cq uire n ew re se arc h c ap ab ilit ie s, to m a ke c ha ng es in th e d ire ctio n o f th eir re se arc h, o r to re ce iv e tra in in g
in fu nd am e nta l s cie nc es a nd c lin ic al d is cip lin es fo r th e p urp os e o f e nh an cin g th e tra ns fe r o f b io te ch no lo gy to
c a nc e r c lin ic a l p r og rams .
P ro gra m. d ura fio n is n orm ally 2 to 5 ye ars . F ell.o ws w ill b e s up po rte d b y a C an ce r R es ea rc h T ra in in g A wa rd
(e R TA ), w ith a n a ug m en te d s tip en d in th e firs t y ea r p ro vid ed b y th e F N IH . T he C R TA F ello w sh ip s tip en d ra ng e
is $44,600 to $82,.400 c om m en su ra te w ith le ve l o f e xp erie nc e. S ta nd ard s elf a nd fa mily h ea lth in su ra nc e is
p ro v id e d a nd h ig h o p tio n c o ve ra ge is a va ila ble ,
C an did ate s fo r th e S allie R o se n K ap la n F ello ws hip m u st b e fe m al.e , m u s t p os se ss a d oc to ra l d eg re e, a nd m u st
h av e le ss th an 5 y ea rs p os td oc to ra l re se arc h e xp erie nc e. U .S . c itiz en sh ip o r U .S . p erm a ne nt re sid en cy (g re en
c ard ) is re qu ire d. F in alis ts fo r th e K a pla n fe llo ws hip w ill b e n otifie d b y M a rc h 2010 a nd w in ne rs a nn ou nc ed b y
M a y 2 01 0. T o b e e lig ib le fo r th e S allie R o se n K ap la n F ello ws hip a w ard , th e s ta rtin g d ate o f a ny N C I fe llo w sh ip
m u st b e n o e arlie r th an D e ce m be r 1 4, 2 00 9. A pp lic an ts a re re qu ire d to a pp ly o nlin e a t h ttp ://w w w,tra in in g,
n ih ,g ov fa pp sfp ub lic Fo rm s fp os td oc to ra lffo rm s fa dln de x,a sp x b y D e ce m be r 11,2009. Add i ti o na l i nf o rma t io n
a bo ut th e K ap la n F ello ws hip c an b e fo un d a t http : / /www.cancer.gov/ researchandfunding l t ra in ing/srk
DHHS, NIH AND NCI ARE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERS
A m e r i c a n A s s o c ia t i o nf o r Cance r Re s ea r cht C
AACR MembershipM e m b e rs D e d ic a t e d to C o n q u e r i n g C a n c e r T h ro u g h R e s e a rc h ,
Education and T ra in ing , Communicat ion and Collabo ra tion
www.aacr .org/membership
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www.NewScientis t jobs .com
Department of Health and Human Services
Nadonallnsdtutes of Health
National Hear t . Lung, and Blood Institute
Division of Intramural Research
B ethesd a, M D
T en ure T rac kJT en u re d P o sitio n
Basic Biomedical Research
The D iv is io n o f Intram ural R esearch (O IR ) o f t he N a ti on al Heart, Lung and B lood J nstl ture (NHlB I) is seek l I 1 g a n o u r s ra n d ln g s c ie n ti sr co il l ltlate an d di rec t an
i nd ep en de nt r es ea rc h prog.ram in basic s cie nc e o n th e N fH campus in Bethesda, MD. T he a re a o f e x pe rn s e o f t he c an di da te is l es si rn po rr an r m a n h is /h er d em o ns tr ate d
abi l i ty to c on du ct o uts ta nd in g i nd ep en de nt r es ea rc h in a re as w ith in th e b ro ad b io m ed ic al r es e ar ch i nte re s ts o f m e O IR . T he areas o f e x pe rt is e m a y include bt u ar e
no r lim ited to : cell bio lo gy , d ev elo pm ental b io lo gy , molecular b io logy , immuno l ogy , stem cell b io lo gy , g enetiq , geno miq ,. p hy sio lo gy , b i oc h em is tr y , b i o en e rg e ti c s
a nd m eta bo li c re gu la ti on , b io ph ys ic s, biornolecular stru ctu re and dy nam ics , s ystem s and sy nth etic biology, and b io medical eng ineering . Tech nical app ro ach es m ay
in clu de : h ig h-r es ol utio n m i cro sco py , x -ra y s pe ctro sc op y a nd im ag i n g, cl inical robotics , nano techno logy , c he mic al b io lo gy , c om pu ta tio na l, a ri d t heo re t i ca l methods .
'Ihecxisring faculty is an o uts ta nd in g g tO U p o f internationally r ec o gn iz ed b iom e di ca l researchers co veting a w id e rang e o f b ask and clinical research to pics (please see
h ttp ://d ir.n hlb i.n ih .g ov /) c om ple me nte d b y [b e o th er re se ar ch in stitu te s w ith in m e D IR (p le as e s ee h ttp dlw ww .nl h.g ov /s cie nc e/# cam pu s).
Th e D IR env ironm em prov id es the opponuniry ro p erfo rm creative and i nn o va ti v e s ci en ce unconstrained by r tadinonal SUppOH systems available a t a ca d em i c or
p riv ate research institu tio ns. T h i s is enh anced b y o utstand ing research co re fac il ities in o ptical and electro n m icro sco py , rransg en ic and kno cko ut m ou se p ro du ctio n,
mouse p h e no r y pl ng , p r o re o r ni c s, g eno mics , and H ow cy tomet ry /ce l l sort ing as well as wor ld-c l a ss seminar ser i es a nd s ympo s ia . D IR f ac u lt y c an parrlclpare in Graduare
P a rt n er s hi p s P r o g ram s (http: / /gpp.nib.gov) wi th ma ny a ca de m ic p r og r ams aro und th e w orld as a mean s o f recrui t ing gradu:ue s tuden rsand extensive career guidance
an d d e ve lo p m en t r es o u rc e s a r e av ai l ab l e on campus fo r p o s t- d oc to r a l r r ai n e e s ,
C an did ate s m us t hav e an M .D ., P h.D .,. o r bo th and have a n o u ts ta nd in g record o f r es ea rc h accomplishrnenrsas evidenced b y publications in m ajo r p ee r- re vi ew edjourna l s , T he po sitio n can b e h ll ed as a te nu r e- tr ac k o r tenured p ositio n, b ut preference w ill b e g iv en to senior post -docto ra l fe llo ws o r facu lty w ho are st i l l in th e early
srages o f th ei r re se arc h c are ers . The successfu l candidate w i l l be o ff ered a co mp etitiv e salary commensurate wirhexperience a nd q ual if ic atio ns , an d will b e a ss ig n ed
ample research sp ace , su pp orted p oslu ons, and an o perating budget , A pp oin tees m ay b e U S citizens, res id ent aliens , o r no n-resid encaliens w irh o r e lig ib le ro o btain
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s ta tement o f r es ea rc h i n re re s r s a nd th re e letters of re f e rence in .p d fo r M S w ord f or ma ! o nl y (n o p ap er a pp lic ati on s wi l l b e ac ce p te d ) [0:
R ob ert S . B alab an , P h.D ., S cientif ic D ire c to r, N H LB I
do Mi c he ll e R e ne ha n
nh lb i_d . i r_ s ea rch@mai l .n ih .gov
D HH S and NIH are E qual Oppor t /mi t " ) ErnployfrS. Applica.rianfrom t uomen, m in or it ie s a nd p ",om w it h di~abil it iu are encouraged.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITYD ep artm en t o f G en etic s a nd D eve lo p men t
F A C U L T Y P O S IT IO N
T h e D e p ar tm e n t of G e n e t i c s a n d Development a t Columbia
U niversity M edical C enter is exp anding its faculty and seeks
ou ts tand in g app \i ca n Is w i t h the a b l l l ty to d ev e lo p a n tn de p en de n L
research p r o g r a m f o r a t e n u r e - t r a c k p o s l d o n a t t h e A s s i s t a n t
P ro fesso r level In special clrcu m stances, applicants at o ther
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and to the molecular bases o f h um an d eg en er ativ e d is ea se s.
O u r d ep artm en t s pa ns a broad range o f interests including
d ev el opmen ta l b io lo g y, p hy si ol og y, D N A repair and r ecombt -
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c urric ulum v ita e a nd s ummar y .o f c urre nt a nd p ro po se d r es ea rc h
p r o g r a m s , a nd a rr an ge f o r th re e l ei te rs o f reference to be s e n t .
Comple tedappl i ca t ions s ho uld b e s ubmitte d
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C o n si d e r a ti o n o f c o m p l e te d a pp l i c a ti o ns w il l b e g inS ep temb er 30, 2 009 .
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1 7 O c to be r 2 00 9 INewSc i en t i . s t 1 69
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F E E D B A C K
MORE th an 60 F ee db ac k r ea de rs
responded to o ur reques t fo r
" the W ord" that m igh t hav e been
i n t he b eg in ni ng , oreven b e h ea rd
in the echo es of'the b ig b an g
(5 S eptem ber). H ere are o ur
fav ou rites , so far.
H av ing ju st read B elinda
A nyo s's sugges tion fo r an
ergo topographica l s ign-
"W F !\(©)/\" - to ind icate that one
is wo rking from the labour ward
(also 5September) -and, fo r all
w e know , in reference to G ustave
Courbe t ' s cont rovers ia l 1866
painting L 'O rig in e du Monde -
alm ost il lu s trated above - the
wo rd that sp rang to C lare
R ed sto ne 's m ind w as "P ush!"
Fol lowing a morec on ve ntio na lly g en de re d
theo logy , NikWh ite he ad s ug ge sts
that, " insp ired by the fact that
G od and the w riter D ouglas
A dam s w ere b oth E nglish men
(and that o ne o f them exis ted)" ,
th e w ord can only be "Sony" .
T o J am es W ebster the u niv erse
i s c l ea rl y a computer
s im ulatio n, "and a fa irly iffy
f irs t s tab at that", so it seem s
only reasonab le to him that
the mo st obv iou s thing to find
written in the s tars w ill be "hello
w orld !" , th e. trad itio nal te st
p hras e th at c om pu te r
prog ram mers u se to check
that the ir f irst few lines o f code
ale com municating w ith , er . ..
th e w orld .
S tephan G yo ry , on the o ther
hand , evokes the im age o f an
e xh au ste d f ore he ad firmly
planted in the m idd le o f a
keyboard , le ad ing to the w ord
"rtyui" J oh n C lay to n s ug ge sts
that the P rim e C oder had reached
an early phase o f debu gging, and
th at th e w ord w as " Re bo oting ".D ev elo ping the gno stic no tio n
that the universe was created by a
m ino r deity , P eter D av ies su gg ests
that the w ord w as a rep rim and
from the M ajo r Deity to the entity
that had jus t created m ass:
"H iggs!" Ian P ag e im ag ines that
entity bo as ting to the o ther
d ei ti es ; " S ee !"
A n a dv ert e xh orte d Sam W es the ad to ea t"h ea lth y c hic ke n", A s a v ete rin ary s urg eo n,
h e is s ce ptica l a bo ut th e fe as ib ility o f th is ,
to s ay n oth in g, o f th e a dv is ab ility
72 J NewS ci en ti stl 17 O c to b er 2 00 9'
Formore feedback, visit www.NewSdentist.comlfeedback
Jim P age, m eanw hile , is
c on vin ce d th at th e re sp on sib le
entity is a law yer. "S ure ly h e.
w ou ld hav e to be , g iven all tho seA cts o f Go d he com mits" , and
the w o rd wou ld hav e to be
"notwithstanding".
M o re g rim ly , P ete r W ein ric h
u nderstands that the co mm onest
do cum ented las t w o rd - to be
fo und on innum erab le "b lack
box" reco rders - is a wen-known
exp le tive beginning w ith the
letter "s" "It s eems al l to o li ke ly
to hav e been the f i rst word t oo ,"
h e c o nc lu d es .
READERNed Goo dw in says he
f ou nd " a li tt.le w h if f o f p s e u d o -
s cie nc e" a bo ut th e " hum an
re ge ne ra to r" p ro m ote d a t
www.human-regenerator .com.
On ly a l ittl e w h if f, N e d 7F o r
u s th ere w as a v ery b ig w hiff ,
e sp ec ially w he n w e re ad in th e
'T ec hn iq ue " s ec ti on th at th e
d ev ic e ~ a f la sh ily d es ig ne d b ox
re se mb ling a c of fin th at y ou are
s up po se d to I le in ~ is a " Qu antu m
P u ls e D ev ic e" a nd th at it e m plo ys
a "Quant um -Ce ll ( o de " .
W e h av e no te d b efo re (30 May)
thatthe q-w ord is a sure-fire
in dic ato r o f f ru it!o o pe ry a nd th at It
ne ve r m eans any th in g w he n u se d
i n p r o du c t d es cr ip t. io n s. T h at i s
e v .i de ntl y t ru e h e re , l ea di ng , u s to
w onder, as w e so o ften do , w ho on
e arth c ou ld e ve r b e tak en in b y th is
kind o f n onsense to the p oin t o f
b eing p ers uad ed b y it t o s pe ndm oney - in th is case (w e are no t
joking) €420,OOO pe r unit ,
S ad ly , t ho ug h, as th e s ay ing q oas :
th ere 's o ne b orn e ve ry m inu te .
BomES o f T es co E xtra C are
m o uth wa sh p ro u dly a.n no u nc e
that they "p ro vide Z4-ho ur
a cti on " b ef ore qu ick ly adding
"w hen u sed tw ice daily" . C olin
M cLeod wonders if there are any
pro du cts w hich claim 24-hou r
effectiv ene ss bu t w hich nee d
re app ly ing ev en m ore
freq uently - say , ev ery 6 hours ,
o r ev en ev ery ho ur.
SEVERAL r ea de rs h av e q u es ti on ed
o ur as se rtio n th at P hilip s m us t h av e
m ad e a m ajo r b re ak th ro ug h to
m an uf ac tu re a n i ro n th at p ro du ce s"50 p er c en t s m all er s te am p ar tic le s"
(26 S ep te m be r). C hr is A d am s s um s
u p th e i ss ue : 'T he d if fe re nc e
b etw ee n m ole cu lar w ate r v ap ou r an d
e ve ry day s te am is s om eth ing e ve n
W i kip ed ia g ets rig ht. W h at m o st
p eo ple , e sp ec ially th os e w ho u se
iro ns , th ink o f a s s team is a m is t o f
d ro pl ets o f w ate r." T hO s e c ou ld
in de ed g et s ma lle r, w ith ou t th e
i nt er e st in g c o n se qu en c es o f
s hr in ki ng w a te r m o le cu le s.
F e e db a ck d e cl in e s to c om m en t o nw h eth er a y ou th fu l f as ci na ti on w ith
c oa l-f ir ed tr an sp ort h ad a ny th in g to
do w ith o ur taking the m eaning o f
"steamtllsted f irs t i n m o st
d ic tio narie s ~ "w ate r in th e f orm o f an
in Vis ib le g as ", a s R an do m H o us e h as
it· and n ot as in " a g re at ste am ing
p il e o f [ in se rt the wo r d f re q u en tl y
f o un d o n b la ck b o x r ec o rd er s) ".
F IN A L LY ,n ow is y ou r las t c hanc e to
e nte r o ur D arw in N o w c om pe titio n
at wwwnewscientist.com/
projects/forms/darwinnowog, as
it do ses at 5 pm B ST o n 1 9 O c to ber.A ll y ou have to do is tell us in
no m ore than 50 w ord s w hat
s ele ctio n p re ss ure im po se d
by hum ans w ill p rodu ce in the
anim als o f the fu tu re . The p rize
is attendance at the "O rigin D ay"
celeb rations in London o n
24 N ovem ber, w ith travel from
anywhere inthe w orld p lu s luxury
hote l accommodation provided .
Y o u c an s en d s to rie s to F ee db ac k b y
emai l a t feedbacK@newscient i s t .mm.
P l e as e i nc l ud e y ou r home ad dr es s .
T h is w e ek 's a nd p as t F e ed b ac ks c an
be seen on o ur websi te ,
8/6/2019 New Scientist Magazine 17 October 2009 (ATTiCA)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/new-scientist-magazine-17-october-2009-attica 51/51
THELASTWORDL as t w ord s p as t a nd p re se nt, p i u s qu es tio ns , a t
www . l as t -wo rd . com
Sna ke s a live 2
I w as su rp ris e d to re ad in an a n sw er
to o n e o f th e L a st W o rd 's p re vio u squ es tio ns th at s ea sn ake s d on 't
l iv e in th e A tla ntic O c ea n. W hile
sn o rk e lfin g o n th e n orth c o a s t o f
(u b a la s t Se ptem be r, b o th m y
p ar tn er a nd Ie pe .a te dly s aw w ha t
Ica n o nly d esc rib e a s a se a snake-
i t w as thln, abou t 1m etre lo ng w ith
d ark a nd p ale m a rk in gs . Itw a s
sw im m in g a mong th in se a g ra ss
a b o u t 3m etre s d ow n. T he lo ca ls
d id n 't s ee m atall s urp ris ed th a t
w e'd se en o n e, a n d to ld u s w ith
m uch m ir th th at it w as p oiso no us .W ha t d id w e s e e? W as it ju sta la nd
sn a ke th at fa n c ie d a sw im ?
• The re has nev e r b een a v erif ied
s igh ting o f a se a snak e in th e
C arib be an . A lth ou gh C arib be an
waters ar e warm eno ugh fo r sea
snake s , getting the re fro m the
P a ci fi c O c e an is a p ro blem . The
w ate r is to o co ld fo r a sea snake
to go aro und the so u thern tip
o f S o u th A merica and w hile the
"T h e re is n o v e rif ia b lee v id e nc e o f a .s ea s na ke inth e C a db be an a lth ou gh th ew a te rs a re w a rm e no ug h"
p oss ib il ity o f o ne p as sing th ro ug h
the P anam a canal has been
s ug ges ted , th e v olu me o ffres h
w ate r in the lo cks o f the canal
w ou ld k ill it . The re w as an
ex ce lle nt artic le in New Sc ie n ti st ,
" Th e se a s nak es are c om ing "(1 0 Novernberisqo, p 29), that
d is cu sse d th is v ery to pic .
A d di tio na lly , th e d es cr ip tio n
Q u e s t io n s a n d ilr s w e rs s no u I d b e corose,
W e r e se r ve t i' le ,Ig h t t o e d i t i te m s fo r c la ri ty
a nd s t y le . Inc l ude a day t im e te l e p h o n e
n um b e r a n d e m a il a d d re s s if y ou h av e
one .R es t r ic t q ues l ions t o s c i en t i fi c
o f the anim al o bse rv ed . by the
reader do e s no t m atch that o f
the sp ec ie s o f s ea snake fo und
o n the P ac if ic s id e o f the canal,th e y ello w-b ellie d se a s nak e
( P el am i s p J at ur u s) , w hic h is b lack
"T o u r is ts in th e C a rib b ea no fte n re p or t s ea -s na kes i.g h ti n qs , b u t th e y tu rno u t to b e s n ak e e e ls "
w ith no m ark ings v is ib le fro m
a bo ve a nd b rig ht o ran ge /y ello w
on its unders ide .
A fte r d oing s om e sleu th ing
re ga rd in g th is topic, it se em s v erylike ly that the reade r saw a specie s
o f s na ke e el. T ou ris ts in th e
C arib be an o fte n rep ort se a-s nak e
s igh tings that tum ou t to be snake
ee ls . T he se anim als are v ery
com mon in the C aribbean and
a r e f r eq u e n tl y re ferred to as sea
s nak es b y lo cals , w ho b elie ve
them to be v enom ou s . V iew ed
from a f ew m etre s abo v e, o r ev en
c lo se r, a snak e e el is v ery e as ily
m is taken fo r a tru e snake .
S ara R ua ne
D epartm ent of B io logy
C olleg e o f S ta ten Isla nd
New York, U S
• W hen sno rke lling in To bago
I, to o, cam e ac ro ss w hat lo oked
like a sea snake . [co nsu lted the
b o o k Ree f F i sh Iden t if ica t ion :
F lo ri da , Ca ri bbean, . Bahamas by
P au l H um ann and N ed Deloach
( N ew W o r ld P u b lic ati on s, 2007)
a nd , f ee lin g q uite re lie ve d,d isco ve red the ex is tence o f
s nak e e els . I saw a s ha rp tall e el ,
My ri ch th ys b re vi ce ps , w hich is
N e w S c ie n tis t r e ta in s t o t a l e d i to r ia l c o n t ro l
o v er th e c o n t e n t o f T h e L as t W o rd . S e n d
q ue st io ns a nd a ns w e rs t o T he La s tW o r d ,
N e w Scient i s t L a c o n Kou s e ,84 Theoi la ld rs
Road . L o n d o nw ax 8 NS , U K .b y ema i l t o
dark g rey w ith p ale spo ts and
abo u t a m e tre lo ng . I t c an be
fo und in a v arie ty o f h ab ita ts ,
inc lud ing sha l low gras s b ed s, a td ep th s b etw ee n 1- 3 an d 13 metres .
Ilso enco untered o ne inBona i r e
in th e N e th er la nd s A n ti ll es .
P erh ap s th is is w hat y ou r
co rre spo ndent s aw in C uba.
A nn e P er re tt
S tA ndrews, F ife, U K
• Th is is a s im ple case o f m is taken
id entity . W hat yo ur reader saw
w as m ost like ly a m em ber o f the
fami ly Ophrch th idae , which are
no t snake s bu t f ish , specificallyee ls . T hey are co mm on ly called
snake eels b ecau se they are o ften
m is tak en fo r s ea snak es .
S nak e e els are m ore w id esp re ad
b ec au se , u nlik e se a s nak es , th ey
are ab le to to lera te co ol w ate r. A s
a re su lt, snak e ee ls h av e m anag ed
to sp read in to the A tlantic O cean ,
th e Re d S ea and o the r w ate r
bo die s that sea snake s can 't re ach .
F or exam ple , the R ed Sea is an
id eal hab itat fo r s ea snake s bu t
has a large u pw elling o f co ol w ater
near its o pening to the Ind ian
O c ean. T his b arrie r h as p re ve nte d
sea snakes from ente ring , bu t no ts na ke e el s.
S nak e ee ls are no t v eno mo us .
The lo cals w ere p ro bab ly w ell
aw are that yo u had seen a
snake eel, hence their mir th
at le ad ing yo u o n abo ut its
p ois on ou s n atu re .
A la n C la gu e
L iv erp oo l, U K
T h is w e ek 's q u es tio n
S HEL L S HO CKO ne o f m y yo ung ch ickens has
ju st p ro du ce d an u nu su ally
co lo u red egg (to the righ t o f the
pho t o ) . The egg o n the le f t. is mo r e
ty pic al o f th e b re ed . Inow egg
she l l co lo ur is v ariab le , ev en in
eggs la id by the sam e hen o n
d if fe rent day s , bu t how d id o ne
egg unde rgo su ch a s udden and
dis t inct co lou r change?
C o li n B o ot h
Du.rham,UK
Do Polar B earsGe t Lone ly?