Hearing Manipulated By Electronics

An implanted electronic ion pump in organic material can be used to carry signals to specific cells in the nervous system and in this way treat various illnesses. In a unique study, researchers have used the pumps to successfully manipulate the hearing in laboratory animals. The technique represents a breakthrough for the machine-to-brain interface, with opportunities for greater symbiosis between electronics and biological systems.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm

New Kind Of Astronomical Object Around Black Hole: Living Fossil Records 'Supermassive' Kick

The tight cluster of stars surrounding a supermassive black hole after it has been violently kicked out of a galaxy represents a new kind of astronomical object and a fossil record of the kick. A new article discusses the theoretical properties of "hypercompact stellar systems" and suggests that hundreds of these faint star clusters might be detected at optical wavelengths in our immediate cosmic environment.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm

Dry Mouth Linked To Prescription And Over The Counter Drugs

Approximately ninety-one percent of dentists say patients complaining about dry mouth are taking multiple medications, according to a nationwide survey.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm

Scientific Achievements Less Prominent Than A Decade Ago

As the 40th anniversary of the moon landing approaches, a new report finds that overwhelming majorities of Americans believe that science has had a positive effect on society and that science has made life easier for most people. The public also rates scientists highly and believes government investments in science pay off in the long term.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm

Cellphone TV? Viewing Photos And Video On Cell Phone Made Easier With New Mini Beamer

Looking at photos on a cellphone display can be somewhat arduous. A new mini beamer will make it easier. The beamer is so small that it can be integrated in a cellphone or a PDA. As it does not need an extra light source it also conserves the battery.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm

Ozone, Nitrogen Change The Way Rising Carbon Dioxide Affects Earth's Water

Through a recent modeling experiment, researchers have found that future concentrations of carbon dioxide and ozone in the atmosphere and of nitrogen in the soil are likely to have an important but overlooked effect on the cycling of water from sky to land to waterways.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm

Straighten Up And Fly Right: Moths Benefit More From Flexible Wings Than Rigid

New research using high-speed digital imaging shows that, at least for some insects, wings that flex and deform, something like what happens to a heavy beach towel when you snap it to get rid of the sand, are the best for staying aloft.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

Nanopillars Promise Cheap, Efficient, Flexible Solar Cells

Researchers have grown dense arrays of single-crystal semiconductors arranged as nanoscale pillars on low-cost, aluminum foil substrates. When the nanopillars are combined with a transparent, positively charged semiconductor that serves as a window, the resulting 3-D photovoltaic promises efficient, cheap, flexible solar cells.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

Attractive Males Release Fewer Sperm

Attractive males release fewer sperm per mating to maximize their chances of producing offspring across a range of females, according to a new article on the evolution of ejaculation strategies. The findings suggest that, paradoxically, matings with attractive males may be less fertile than those with unattractive ones.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

Scientists Solve Mystery About Why HIV Patients Are More Susceptible To TB Infection

Scientists took an important first-step toward the development of new treatments to help people with HIV battle Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. HIV interferes with the cellular and molecular mechanisms used by the lungs to fight TB infection.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

An evolution insight as scientists discover how a turtle gets its shell

Scientists have revealed a spectacular insight into turtle evolution - how the unique animals get their shells.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Jul 2009 | 11:41 am

Official producer prices in biggest drop since 2001 (AFP)

AFP - The price of goods leaving factories fell in June at the fastest 12-month rate for almost eight years as oil prices slumped, official data showed Friday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 10:30 am

Eastern Aral Sea has shrunk by 80% since 2006: ESA (AFP)

AFP - The eastern lobe of the disaster-struck Aral Sea seems to have shrunk by four-fifths in just three years, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Friday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 10:29 am

The Nation's weather (AP)

AP - Thunderstorms and high temperatures were expected in several parts of the U.S. on Friday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 10:22 am

Concern over Ebola virus in pigs

A form of Ebola virus has been detected in pigs for the first time, raising concerns it could mutate and pose a new risk to humans.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Jul 2009 | 10:14 am

Smart clothes could take photos

Smart fabrics that may one day be able to take images of their surroundings are under development by US researchers.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Jul 2009 | 9:48 am

Elements batter Oklahoma winter wheat crop (AP)

AP - Battered by drought, a late freeze and flooding rain, Oklahoma's winter wheat harvest may produce only half of what was yielded last year, officials said.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 9:41 am

Whale and dolphins washed up on Senegal coast: WWF (AFP)

AFP - A four tonne sperm whale and eight dolphins have been washed up on Senegal beaches over the past month, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) said Friday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 9:37 am

From AA to Alpha

I'm taking the Alpha Course, Christianity's answer to philosophy classes. Follow my progress every Friday over the coming weeks

"Is this it?" asks the back of the 276. It's an advert for the Alpha Course, Christianity's pseudo-philosophical middle class recruitment drive, public transport again being the preferred method of mass communication for religious matters.

Alpha is officially described as being an "opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian faith in a relaxed setting". It was created in the 1970s at the Holy Trinity Brompton, a big church in South Kensington, but was revamped in the 90s and has since become a global phenomenon. They claim that 2 million people have attended in the UK and 13 million worldwide. That makes it a significant movement in modern Christianity. Alpha's enormous wealth, mostly from private donations, is most visible in its advertising, not just on buses, but also on big and small screens.

But within and without the Christian faith Alpha is controversial. It operates as a franchise with a basic curriculum, open to interpretation by church leaders. Thus there is denominational variation in how the course is taught. Contentious issues include its prescriptive charismatic slant. Midway through the 10 week course, participants may be urged to allow the Holy Spirit to fill them up such that they enjoy glossolalia, or speaking in tongues. It's a bizarre thing to watch, and certainly not to every Christian's taste. Furthermore, some of its evangelical practitioners betray a nasty homophobic attitude.

Over the next 10 weeks I shall be blogging each session of the Alpha Course at St Mary's in Islington, and exploring it as a phenomenon. Before the first, I feel weirdly nervous. Am I entering a lions' den? I nip across the road to the Kings Head for a solitary sharpener.

The gate to the crypt is locked, but after wandering around, I find a room with about a dozen men chatting. There's an oddness to entering such an enclave of peace in the midst of the post-work drinking yahoos of Upper Street. But I'm surprised that most of the group are also young and trendy: all neat beards, sharp jackets and absurd trainers. There are a couple of older guys who could do with a proper shave. One of the neat beards smiles warmly and says hullo, asks my name, and then asks:

"Is this your first time at Alcoholics Anonymous?"

I'm in the wrong room. I overhear a chap next to me say that he's been dry for 6 weeks. I wonder if he can smell the Talisker on my breath, poorly disguised with chewing gum.

Upstairs in the church, the Alpha group is not dissimilar to look at, although there are some women. Toby Hole is the leader of the course and a curate at St Mary's. He is as bright as a button and thoroughly nice, in a young vicarly sort of way. One of the key aspects to Alpha is having a slap up meal before getting stuck into Christianity, and lo, there is bountiful pizza, and it is good. We make small talk, I am open that I am blogging about the course, and that I am an orthodox atheist.

Toby introduces the course with a spiel about Christianity in the modern world. He wants to emphasise that Alpha is a way of showing us that Christianity is none of the three following popular misconceptions: boring, untrue and irrelevant. Framing it thus seems to me to be setting up at least two straw-men. We shall see.

This success of Alpha has been put down to us, the "de-churched". These are, like me, a generation of people who were raised within a Christian cultural context, at school, home, or wherever, but who now do not engage in formal church-based religion. The currently emerging generation may be referred to as "un-churched", in that they don't have those cultural inputs. Simply put, the de-churched know who Jesus was, the un-churched may not.

The group comprises nine de-churchers, including a young couple, and a mix of late 20s/early 30s middle class people and one older Sri Lankan man who casually quotes the Buddha, the Qur'an and Jainism.

The couple, John and Lucinda, explain that they both come from evangelical Christian families, but are doubtful believers searching for that faith clincher for themselves. Both have attended Alpha before. I've heard that repeaters are common, which somewhat calls into question that claim of 20 million attendees worldwide. In the first session I am paired with Barbara, who within minutes is talking sincerely about the death of her father to me, a complete stranger. It seems there is robust cynicism filter on the door.

Toby says the course is about Jesus and his teachings. To my mind the Jesus character in the Bible is a pretty sound bloke, someone with conviction, compassion and a touch of rebellion. These are all traits I respect. But Toby asserts that Jesus was definitely a real person who died but defeated death. I have issues with both of these statements. I ask about the notion of a historical Jesus. "Does anyone here doubt that Jesus was a real man?" I am firmly told that this is the subject of next week's discussion.

The nearest I've come to a religious experience recently is my nightly dose of the Wire. Ain no thang. But I leave St Mary's looking forward to next week's session. I spend precisely no time with people openly discussing their faith in a very personal way. Mostly when I think about religion it's the foolish edicts of preposterous old men in dresses. But sitting down with people who choose to spend a sunny Tuesday evening discussing the meaning of life with strangers seems to be a much more interesting insight into what makes people of faith tick. We shall see.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 10 Jul 2009 | 9:30 am

How flowers conquered Earth

Scientists think they can finally explain how flowering plants exploded into life 125 to 65 million years ago.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Jul 2009 | 9:06 am

Herschel shows breadth of vision

The Herschel space telescope's "first light" images demonstrate a remarkable capability even though its set-up is incomplete.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Jul 2009 | 9:06 am

NASA hopes third time is lucky for Endeavour launch (AFP)

AFP - NASA officials are hoping that the third time is the charm for the space shuttle Endeavour, which is due to launch Saturday on a mission to the International Space Station.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 8:59 am

Breast cancer screening results in huge over-diagnosis

Screening for breast cancer is leading to over-diagnosis with many women undergoing unnecessary surgery and chemotherapy, scientists say

One in three women who is told she has breast cancer after screening is being diagnosed and treated unnecessarily, scientists say today.

Not all breast cancers are potential killers, say researchers in a paper in today's British Medical Journal. Some are inconsequential. If they were not picked up, women would not know they had them. But because they are detected through breast cancer screening, women usually undergo surgery and chemotherapy which are traumatic and potentially harmful.

The Nordic Cochrane Centre group, which did the research, has identified over-diagnosis of breast cancer in the past from the original trials carried out before mammography screening was widely introduced. But in today's paper, it calculates the extent of that over-diagnosis (detecting harmless cancers) in real populations where screening is offered in the UK, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Norway.

It is no longer contested that screening leads to over-diagnosis, according to an editorial published by the BMJ. "The question is no longer whether, but how often, it occurs," writes Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in the US. "The NHS recently scrapped its leaflet inviting women to undergo mammography in response to criticisms that it failed to mention the major harm of screening – over-diagnosis."

Some cancers grow so slowly that the person eventually dies of something else, while others are dormant or even regress, he says.

"Because doctors don't know which patients are over-diagnosed, we tend to treat them all. Over-diagnosis therefore results in unnecessary treatment.

With the advent of widespread efforts to diagnose cancer earlier, over-diagnosis has become an increasingly vexing problem."

In other cancers, it is well recognised that there is a risk of picking up and treating tumours that would have done no harm. Prostate cancer is an obvious example, where the advice to men in the UK who have a screening test (although it is far from conclusive) is to watch and wait. But neuroblastoma, melanoma, thyroid cancer and lung cancer can also sometimes be detected and yet cause no harm.

"Mammography is one of medicine's 'close calls' – a delicate balance between benefit and harm – where different people in the same situation might reasonably make different choices. Mammography undoubtedly helps some women but hurts others. No right answer exists, instead it is a personal choice," writes Professor Welch.

The study, by Karsten Jorgensen and Peter Gotzsche, looked at breast cancer trends seven years before and seven years after screening was introduced in the five countries. They also took account of other factors that may have affected the results, such as changes in background levels of breast cancer and any compensatory drop in rates of breast cancer among older, previously screened women.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 10 Jul 2009 | 7:00 am

Ashes cricketers could be caught out by climate change

Climatic conditions have a huge impact on cricket, a sport likely to feel effects of global warming more than any other

Listening to talk on the radio this morning of "turning wickets", "batting tracks" and "overhead conditions" ahead of the second day's play at the first Ashes test in Cardiff led me to wonder about which sports are likely to be affected the most in the coming decades as the predicted effects of climate change begin to take hold.

It's hard to think of a sport more vulnerable to such changes than cricket. After all, it's a game in which subtle variations in atmospheric conditions can play a huge role in determining both the type of match played and the outcome. There has always been a marked difference between the conditions test cricketers have to face when playing around the world. Just think about the contrast between, say, Lord's in London and the Waca in Perth. That's all part of what makes Test cricket so enjoyable to watch.

But what will happen to the pitches and playing conditions in Australia, for example, if extreme drought conditions persist and become an annual occurrence? What will happen to the game in England and Wales if our summers see more in the way of heatwaves and less frequent, but more torrential downpours, as the Met Office seems to believe likely?

As you might expect, this is already a topic of discussion Down Under. During the Ashes series in 2006/07, which was played in Australia, it was noted that the typical characteristics of each Test ground appeared to be changing and that batsmen were tending to prevail over bowlers more than they might have done in the past.

"Once, each Test in this country was distinctive," wrote Greg Baum in the Sydney Morning Herald. "Perth's was the bounciest, Brisbane's the seamiest, Sydney's spun furthest, Adelaide's gave everyone a chance, Melbourne's was hard work. Now they are homogenous."

Various explanations were considered, ranging from a change in the type of soil used under the grass to the type of ball now being used in Australia. But last month a paper was published in the journal Weather which suggested that climatic changes can have a distinct impact on results. The paper's author - Manoj Joshi based at the Walker Institute at The University of Reading - found that when the series is held in Australia, the home side is statistically more likely to succeed after El Nino years, whereas the English team has a better record following La Nina years. This isn't really a shock because La Nina years typically see wetter conditions with lower land-surface temperature, therefore better mimicking the conditions the English players are used to. El Nino years, however, tend to see lower-than-average rainfall and higher-than-usual land-surface temperature.

So if the prevailing conditions within Australia tend to err towards El Nino-type conditions in the coming decades, as appears to be likely, it means we should probably expect more in the way of dejected Englishmen heading back home from the Ashes cowed in defeat. When playing the Australians, it's always best to get those excuses prepared nice and early, I feel.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 10 Jul 2009 | 6:00 am

Speedy cheetahs put through paces

Scientists attempt to discover what makes cheetahs the fastest land animals on the planet.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Jul 2009 | 5:02 am

New Theory: Galileo Discovered Neptune (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - History books tell us that the planet Neptune was found in the mid-1800s after years of speculation and search.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 4:15 am

Volcano Might Create Its Own Clouds

Clouds often collect over peaks, but these clouds could result from water vapor released by the volcano.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Jul 2009 | 4:05 am

Can't Sleep? Log On

SHUTi (Sleep Healthy Using the Internet) is an automated online treatment system to help people with insomnia.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Jul 2009 | 3:43 am

Obama's healthcare, climate goals hit speed bumps (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama suffered a double-barreled setback in Congress on Thursday when members of his own party moved to apply the brakes on his top legislative priorities, healthcare and climate change.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 2:51 am

Sperm Prefer Attractive Females (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - I don't make this stuff up, promise. I just find it and pass it along for your perusal: "Males may alter the velocity of sperm they allocate to copulations by strategically firing their left and right ejaculatory ducts, which can operate independently."
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 2:20 am

Breast Cancer Treated Too Often

One out of three breast cancer patients may be getting more treatment than they need, a new study finds.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Jul 2009 | 2:14 am

Scientists Rock! Just Not as Much as Before

A new survey finds the American love affair with science is slipping.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Jul 2009 | 2:04 am

Swine Flu Might Hop Back to Pigs

Pigs could catch the new H1N1 flu strain, or swine flu, from humans.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Jul 2009 | 1:53 am

Americans value science, but not all of it: survey

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Many Americans still value the nation's scientific achievements, but unlike most scientists, they often pick and choose which scientific findings they agree with, especially in the areas of climate change and evolution, according to a survey released on Thursday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 10 Jul 2009 | 1:42 am

Proof mounts on restricted diet

Cutting calories may delay the ageing process and reduce the risk of disease, a long-term study of monkeys suggests.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 9 Jul 2009 | 11:02 pm

U.S. government to pay for flu vaccine campaign

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government will pay for any vaccination program against the H1N1 swine flu, and may encourage schools to help vaccinate children, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Thursday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 9 Jul 2009 | 10:39 pm

Low-calorie diet slows aging in monkeys

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A 20-year study of monkeys shows that a reduced-calorie diet pays off in less disease and longer life, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, a finding that could apply to humans.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 9 Jul 2009 | 10:32 pm

Pigs at risk from people as new flu spreads

LONDON (Reuters) - There is a growing risk that pigs will catch the new H1N1 flu strain -- commonly known as swine flu -- from humans, German researchers said on Thursday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 9 Jul 2009 | 10:31 pm

Robot Teaches Itself to Smile

A robot has taught itself to smile, frown, and make other human facial expressions using machine learning.

To get the incredibly realistic Einstein robot to make facial expressions, researchers used to have to program each of its 31 artificial muscles individually through trial and error. Now, computer scientists from the Machine Perception Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego have used machine learning to enable the robot to learn expressions on its own.

“The robotic approach is the ultimate in helping us understand learning and development,” said social development expert Daniel Messinger at the University of Miami, who was not involved with the Einstein research but collaborates with the group on another project. “There’s so much we can learn by actually trying to make it happen instead of just watching kids try to move their faces — it’s like having a baby as opposed to just watching a baby.”

According to the researchers, who presented the project last month at the 2009 IEEE 8th International Conference on Development and Learning, this is the first time anyone has used machine learning to teach a robot to make realistic facial expressions.

To begin teaching the robot, the researchers stuck Einstein in front of a mirror and instructed the robot to “body babble” by contorting its face into random positions. A video camera connected to facial recognition software gave the robot feedback: When it made a movement that resembled a “real” expression, it received a reward signal.

“It’s an iterative process,” said facial recognition expert Marian Bartlett, a co-author of the study. “It starts out completely random and then gets feedback. Next time the robot picks an expression, there’s a bias towards putting the motors in the right configuration.”

After the robot figured out the relationship between different muscle movements and known facial expressions, it started experimenting with new expressions, such as eyebrow narrowing.

The robot’s expressions are still a bit awkward, but the researchers say they’re working on ways to make them more realistic, as well experimenting with strategies besides “body babbling” that might speed up the learning process. The group says its studious robot may even improve our understanding of how infants and children learn to make facial expressions.

“The idea is to try to understand some of the computational principles behind learning,” Bartlett said. “Here the computational principle is reinforcement learning and active exploration, which may also be behind learning motor movements in an infant.”

The next step is to get the Einstein robot to start socializing. Once the robot can mimic facial expressions in a social context, the researchers plan to use him in an “automatic tutoring” experiment.

“We’re putting facial expressions onto the robot so that he can engage with a pupil in a non-verbal manner and approximate one-on-one human tutoring as much as possible,” Bartlett said. “Studies have shown that human one-on-one tutoring improves learning by as much as two standard deviations — we want to know how can you try to approximate that with robotic tutoring.”

See Also:

• The Future of Humanoid Robots, From Frubber ‘Skin’ to DJ Juke Bots
• Wired 14.01: The 50 Best Robots Ever
• Robot Makes Scientific Discovery All by Itself
• What a Half-Smile Really Means
• Gestures of Pride and Shame Are Universal

Image: UC San Diego/Erik Jepsen

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 9 Jul 2009 | 10:15 pm

Gap Between Scientists, Public Widens

Americans who still view science as the top achievement of the United States is down sharply.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:56 pm

El Nino Affects Global Weather

Forecasters expect the effects of El Nino to strengthen in the next few months.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:56 pm

Americans favor science, but less than before (AP)

AP - The share of Americans who see science as the nation's greatest achievement is down sharply, even as the public continues to hold scientists in high regard. A new Pew Research Center poll indicates that 27 percent of Americans say the nation's greatest achievements are in science, medicine and technology, more than any category other than don't know.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:36 pm

Multi-Galaxy Collision Caught in Action

Four galaxies are involved in this pile-up 280 million light years from Earth. The bright spiral galaxy at the center of the image is punching through the cluster at almost two million miles per hour.

That speeding galaxy may be what is causing the curved swath of X-rays, shown in blue near the center of the image, which were captured by NASA’s orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory. The three other yellowish galaxies in the collision are optically visible and were imaged by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on the summit of the dormant Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii.

The fifth, bluish galaxy on the lower left of the group is actually in the foreground of the image, around 40 million light years away from Earth, and not involved in the collision. All together, the galaxies are known as Stephan’s Quintet, named after astronomer Édouard Stephan who discovered them in 1877.

See Also:

• Glorious and Ghostly New Photo of Swan Nebula Star Birth
• Photo: Space Shuttle Crosses the Sun
• Spectacular Space Photo of the Christmas Tree Cluster
• Hubble Snaps Image of Triple Galaxy, as Ordered by the People …
• Hubble Captures Images of Rare Mammoth Stars
• Hubble Captures Image of Strange Giant Galaxy

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:51 pm

World powers accept warming limit

Developed and developing nations agree global temperatures should not rise more than 2C above 1900 levels, a G8 declaration says.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:21 pm

Astronomers Discover Oldest Supernova to Date

The ancient supernova promises to open the early universe to greater scrutiny.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 9 Jul 2009 | 6:30 pm

New Theory: Galileo Discovered Neptune

It has long been known that Galileo observed Neptune, but it was thought that he discounted the object as a star.
Source: Livescience.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 6:12 pm

Worms in Space to Study Microgravity

A worm experiment in space could yield clues on protecting future astronauts on long missions.
Source: Livescience.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 6:12 pm

First Stars Might Have Had Twins

New computer simulation suggests first stars could have been binary.
Source: Livescience.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 6:09 pm

US hopes to lead climate debate

President Obama's chief scientific advisor hopes to take the politics out of science as US engages in climate debate.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:55 pm

Sperm Prefer Attractive Females

The sperm of one male may have to compete with those from another. How and why they do it is surprising.
Source: Livescience.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:32 pm

Fewer calories may lead to longer life

Consuming fewer calories can lead to a longer, healthier life, according to scientists studying the effect of diet on ageing in monkeys.

During the 20-year study on a group of rhesus monkeys, they found that those on normal diets were three times more likely to develop an age-related disease such as cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease than those on restricted diets.

Previous studies have shown ageing can be slowed in mammals by a calorie-restricted diet or exercise, but the primate study is likely to provide better insight into the potential effects on human beings.

The scientists also found evidence that the brain health of animals on a restricted diet was better, particularly the regions associated with motor skills, memory and problem-solving.

Richard Weindruch, a professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison school of medicine and public health, said: "We have been able to show that calorific restriction can slow the ageing process in a primate species. We observed that calorific restriction reduced the risk of developing an age-related disease by a factor of three and increased survival."

By the end of the study half of the animals permitted to eat as much as they liked had died, while only 20% of the monkeys given a third less calories each day had died.

The incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease of those on restricted diets was less than half of that seen in the control group. Diabetes or impaired glucose regulation, common in monkeys allowed to eat all they want, did not appear at all in the other group. The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Science, also found that a restricted diet appeared to have an effect on brain health.

Sterling Johnson, a neuroscientist and co-author of the report, said: "It seems to preserve the volume of the brain in some regions. Both motor speed and mental speed slow down with ageing. Those are the areas which we found to better preserved. We can't yet make the claim that a difference in diet is associated with functional change because those studies are still ongoing. What we know so far is that there are regional differences in brain mass that appear to be related to diet."

The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging, began in 1989 with a group of 30 monkeys, with a further 45 added in 1994. Today, 33 animals remain in the study: 13 on a normal diet, 20 restricted.

When allowed to feed freely the average calorie intake of the rhesus macaques was 640 calories, while those on the diet were allowed an average of 480 calories.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:25 pm

Star Distorts Planet's True Size

"Noise" from stars is leading to miscalculations of the size of exoplanets that surround them.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:00 pm

The Next Hacking Frontier: Your Brain?

Hackers who commandeer your computer are bad enough. Now scientists worry that someday, they’ll try to take over your brain.

In the past year, researchers have developed technology that makes it possible to use thoughts to operate a computer, maneuver a wheelchair or even use Twitter — all without lifting a finger. But as neural devices become more complicated — and go wireless — some scientists say the risks of “brain hacking” should be taken seriously.

“Neural devices are innovating at an extremely rapid rate and hold tremendous promise for the future,” said computer security expert Tadayoshi Kohno of the University of Washington. “But if we don’t start paying attention to security, we’re worried that we might find ourselves in five or 10 years saying we’ve made a big mistake.”

Hackers tap into personal computers all the time — but what would happen if they focused their nefarious energy on neural devices, such as the deep-brain stimulators currently used to treat Parkinson’s and depression, or electrode systems for controlling prosthetic limbs? According to Kohno and his colleagues, who published their concerns July 1 in Neurosurgical Focus, most current devices carry few security risks. But as neural engineering becomes more complex and more widespread, the potential for security breaches will mushroom.

For example, the next generation of implantable devices to control prosthetic limbs will likely include wireless controls that allow physicians to remotely adjust settings on the machine. If neural engineers don’t build in security features such as encryption and access control, an attacker could hijack the device and take over the robotic limb.

“It’s very hard to design complex systems that don’t have bugs,” Kohno said. “As these medical devices start to become more and more complicated, it gets easier and easier for people to overlook a bug that could become a very serious risk. It might border on science fiction today, but so did going to the moon 50 years ago.”

Some might question why anyone would want to hack into someone else’s brain, but the researchers say there’s a precedent for using computers to cause neurological harm. In November 2007 and March 2008, malicious programmers vandalized epilepsy support websites by putting up flashing animations, which caused seizures in some photo-sensitive patients.

“It happened on two separate occasions,” said computer science graduate student Tamara Denning, a co-author on the paper. “It’s evidence that people will be malicious and try to compromise peoples’ health using computers, especially if neural devices become more widespread.”

In some cases, patients might even want to hack into their own neural device. Unlike devices to control prosthetic limbs, which still use wires, many deep brain stimulators already rely on wireless signals. Hacking into these devices could enable patients to “self-prescribe” elevated moods or pain relief by increasing the activity of the brain’s reward centers.

Despite the risks, Kohno said, most new devices aren’t created with security in mind. Neural engineers carefully consider the safety and reliability of new equipment, and neuroethicists focus on whether a new device fits ethical guidelines. But until now, few groups have considered how neural devices might be hijacked to perform unintended actions. This is the first time an academic paper has addressed the topic of “neurosecurity,” a term the group coined to describe their field.

“The security and privacy issues somehow seem to slip by,” Kohno said. “I would not be surprised if most people working in this space have never thought about security.”

Kevin Otto, a bioengineer who studies brain-machine interfaces at Purdue Universty, said he was initially skeptical of the research. “When I first picked up the paper, I don’t know if I agreed that it was an issue. But the paper gives a very compelling argument that this is important, and that this is the time to have neural engineers collaborate with security developers.”

It’s never too early to start thinking about security issues, said neural engineer Justin Williams of the University of Wisconsin, who was not involved in the research. But he stressed that the kinds of devices available today are not susceptible to attack, and that fear of future risks shouldn’t impede progress in the field. “These kinds of security issues have to proceed in lockstep with the technology,” Williams said.

History provides plenty of examples of why it’s important to think about security before it becomes a problem, Kohno said. Perhaps the best example is the internet, which was originally conceived as a research project and didn’t take security into account.

“Because the internet was not originally designed with security in mind,” the researchers wrote, “it is incredibly challenging — if not impossible — to retrofit the existing internet infrastructure to meet all of today’s security goals.” Kohno and his colleagues hope to avoid such problems in the neural device world, by getting the community to discuss potential security problems before they become a reality.

“The first thing is to ask ourselves is, ‘Could there be a security and privacy problem?’” Kohno said. “Asking ‘Is there a problem?’ gets you 90 percent there, and that’s the most important thing.”

Via Mind Hacks

See Also:

• Twitter Telepathy: Researchers Turn Thoughts Into Tweets
• Mind Power Moves Toyota Wheelchair
• Brain Computer Interface Translates Thought Into Music
• This Is a Computer on Your Brain
• Patients Put on Thinking Caps
• Brain-Computer Interface Advances

Image: University of Washington

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 9 Jul 2009 | 4:59 pm

'Desert Rhubarb' Harvests Water

Found in the Negev Desert, desert rhubarb has developed its own irrigation system.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 9 Jul 2009 | 4:30 pm

Melting shoes and choking gas

Geologist David Ferguson concludes his journal describing a hastily arranged expedition to investigate a volcanic eruption in a remote region of Ethiopia

We've been checking out a recent volcanic eruption in the remote Afar depression in northern Ethiopia. We were dropped off by helicopter in the volcanic desert. It left to re-fuel and we had just two hours to get to the new lava flows before it returned.

We hefted our gear and started hiking across the rough terrain formed by lava from previous eruptions. Although we expected to be picked up in a few hours it is not unknown for delays to occur on such trips, sometimes leaving you stranded overnight, and so we had an emergency supply of water and biscuits that we stashed under a tree before setting off.

Afar is one of the hottest places on Earth with recorded temperatures of over 55C. However, as we trekked over the desert we were treated to a balmy 44C, though this soon rose as we approached the mass of recently molten rock.

As we reached the front of the lava flow one of our group, Dr Elias Lewi, walked out over its brittle surface, quickly turning back as his shoes begin to melt. Although only a few days old, the lava had a dark black crust and was deceptively similar to other, much colder flows. The real temperature was revealed by Talfan Barnie, a PhD student from Cambridge, who used a thermal infra-red camera to "see" temperatures of up to 162C around the cracks and fractures across the flow surface.

We had to be very careful where we trod.

One of our main aims was to take samples of the gas being emitted from the volcano and although we could see a small plume rising up from the central vent, we were unable to reach it across the expanse of lava.

Using Talfan's thermal images to guide me, I carefully placed a tripod over a hot fissure and set up the gas monitoring device, a small filter connected to a pump that sucks the gas through it. I left it running for about 20 minutes then moved it to another site on the lava flow, this time taking a gas mask as I had started to feel dizzy from the intense fumes.

Despite travelling several thousand miles by plane and helicopter we only had a couple of hours to collect as much data as possible and decided to split up, half our team attempting to walk around the lava towards the central fissure and smoking vent and the rest of us staying behind to collect rock samples and thermal data.

At the margin the lava flows were about three metres high and I walked along the base collecting samples of the shiny black rock for chemical analysis back in the UK.

Called basalt, the cooled lava had a smooth, vitreous texture and contained glass-like crystals of the mineral feldspar up to a centimetre across. The size of these crystals indicated that they had grown slowly in an underground magma chamber, before being exploded onto the surface, carried by the molten lava.

Once we had collected our data and packed up the gear we had some time to sit and marvel at the amazing volcanic landscape we had been airlifted into. This lava was the latest addition to the surface of our planet and we were privileged to have seen it when it was only a few days old.

Though we had been struggling to reach the volcano for almost a week, the volcanic desert of Afar is one of the harshest environments on Earth and so we were relieved to hear the distant thud-thud-thud of the approaching helicopter.

David Ferguson is a geology PhD student at Oxford University

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 9 Jul 2009 | 4:12 pm

Algae hits west coast of Scotland

Algal bloom blamed for killing worms, sea urchins and other sea creatures spreads along the west coast of Scotland.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 9 Jul 2009 | 3:37 pm

Strange Plant Waters Itself

Researchers have discovered how a desert plant brings water to itself.
Source: Livescience.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 3:37 pm

Seven S. Korean Web Sites Attacked Again

North Korea is suspected for the Web site attacks as well as Web site outages in the U.S.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 9 Jul 2009 | 2:30 pm

Experimental Diet a Fountain of Youth for Monkeys

The results of a 20-year-long study on caloric restriction in rhesus monkeys provides the strongest evidence yet that a low-calorie diet produces life-extending metabolic changes in primates — even, perhaps, in people.

Fed a diet that provided adequate nutrition on 30 percent fewer calories than is considered normal, the monkeys have largely escaped the ravages of heart disease, cancer and other age-related diseases.

“We’ve published before on some of the positive effects, but this is the big picture that says it works,” said Ricki Colman, a gerontologist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. “This gives us what we need to look at what caloric restriction is doing to the aging process.”

Caloric restriction came to scientific attention in the mid-1930s, when Cornell researchers showed that it extended the lives of mice by about 40 percent. The feat was subsequently duplicated in many other animals, from roundworms to dogs, but until now had not been conclusively demonstrated in primates.

Despite the uncertainty, it’s estimated that several thousand people already practice caloric restriction, with several hundred doing so within carefully monitored studies. But such dietary limitation may prove undesirable or impossible for most people. Instead, scientists want to find drugs that mimic the effects of caloric restriction, and over the last decade have described some of its underlying biology.

Caloric restriction appears to trigger energy-saving metabolic changes, activating metabolic pathways involved in regulating cell growth and repair. These pathways are targeted by several drugs currently under development, including resveratrol, which has protected animals from age-related diseases and is now being tested as a diabetes treatment. Another intriguing drug is rapamycin, an immune system suppressor that — though unproven and likely unsafe for human use as a longevity enhancer — has dramatically extended the lives of elderly mice.

Research on these experimental drugs is validated by today’s findings, which suggest that effects observed in animals may be similar in people.

“Up until now, all the clear-cut evidence that caloric restriction slows aging has come from lower organisms,” said John Holloszy, a Washington University gerontologist who studies caloric restriction in people and was not involved in the current monkey study. “This is the first study to show that caloric restriction slows aging in a primate species. And of course, we’re primates, too. It’s a lot more relevant to humans than the mouse.”

The new research was published Thursday in Science and traces its origins to 1989, when the study began with 30 adult monkeys. Another 46 monkeys were added in 1994.

Half the monkeys were fed a low-calorie diet, and the other half a standard diet. All were closely monitored, with researchers regularly measuring their body composition, blood chemistry and endocrine function, as well as heart and brain function. When monkeys died, they were necropsied and the causes of death established.

All the surviving monkeys are now at least 27 years old, the rhesus equivalent of old age. Those fed a calorically restricted diet have dramatically lower levels of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, brain atrophy and lean-muscle loss. Just five of the 38 restricted monkeys have died from age-related causes, compared to 14 of 38 in the control group.

“Now we know that it works in a species closely related to humans. We can probe at the mechanisms, and hopefully understand them well enough to modulate them in some other way,” said Colman.

Whether drugs that mimic caloric restriction will benefit humans remains to be seen, and side effects are yet to be determined. But researchers can at least contemplate the possibility of slowing aging.

“It used to be said that it’s not going to be possible to affect aging, because there are so many different factors involved,” said Holloszy. “That’s no longer true. There are studies showing that affecting just one pathway produces long increases in longevity.”

See Also:

• New Longevity Drugs Poised to Tackle Diseases of Aging
• Cancer Drug Delays Aging in Mice
• Pharmaceutical Fountain of Youth Could Cost Pennies
• Anti-Aging Drugs Could Change the Nature of Death

Citation: “Caloric Restriction Delays Disease Onset and Mortality in Rhesus Monkeys.” By R.J. Colman, R.M. Anderson, S.C. Johnson, C. Cruzen, H.A. Simmons, J.W. Kemnitz, R. Weindruch, E.K. Kastman, K.J. Kosmatka, T.M. Beasley, D.B. Allison. Science, Vol. 324 Issue 5937, July 9, 2009.

Images: Ricki Colman

Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes, Wired Science on Twitter.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 9 Jul 2009 | 2:00 pm

Copernicus Had Blue Eyes

DNA tests not only identify Copernicus' remains, but also reveal what he looked like.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 9 Jul 2009 | 1:45 pm

Shifting Rain Band Threatens Pacific Islands

The lifestyles of more than a billion people are in jeopardy as the rain band shifts north.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:45 pm