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Breakthrough heart scanner will allow earlier diagnosisAn innovative cardiac scanner will dramatically improve the process of diagnosing heart conditions.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm Stem cell breakthrough: Bone marrow cells are the answerUsing cells from mice, scientists discovered a new strategy for making embryonic stem cell transplants less likely to be rejected by a recipient's immune system. This strategy involves fusing bone marrow cells to embryonic stem cells. Once fused, hybrid cells have DNA from both donor and recipient, raising hopes that immune rejection of embryonic stem cell therapies can be avoided without drugs.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm Change in mammography guidelines questionedThe methodology and evidence behind a widely publicized change in national mammography guidelines is questionable, according to a new review.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm Sweet future: Fluctuating blood glucose levels may affect decision makingPeople's preferences for current vs. later rewards may be influenced by blood glucose levels: Volunteers who drank a regular soda (and therefore had higher blood glucose levels) were more likely to select receiving more money at a later date while the volunteers who drank a diet soda (containing artificial sweetener) were likelier to opt for receiving smaller sums of money immediately.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm Better food makes high-latitude animals biggerNew research suggests that animals living at high latitudes grow better than their counterparts closer to the equator because higher-latitude vegetation is more nutritious. The study presents a novel explanation for Bergmann's Rule, the observation that animals tend to be bigger at higher latitudes.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm Organic transistor paves way for new generations of neuro-inspired computersFor the first time, researchers have developed a transistor that can mimic the main functionalities of a synapse. This organic transistor, based on pentacene and gold nanoparticles and known as a NOMFET (Nanoparticle Organic Memory Field-Effect Transistor), has opened the way to new generations of neuro-inspired computers, capable of responding in a manner similar to the nervous system.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm Developmental delay may explain behavior of easygoing bonobo apesNew research suggests that evolutionary changes in cognitive development underlie the extensive social and behavioral differences that exist between two closely related species of great apes. The study enhances our understanding of our two closest living relatives, chimpanzees and the lesser-known bonobos, and may provide key insight into human evolution.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am What you eat after exercise mattersMany of the health benefits of aerobic exercise are due to the most recent exercise session (rather than weeks, months and even years of exercise training), and the nature of these benefits can be greatly affected by the food we eat afterwards.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am Technique for preserving pre-transplant livers improves outcomes and organ poolPreserving organs on ice prior to transplantation, an approach known as cold storage or CS, has been the standard practice in liver transplant for 20 years. Now there is new evidence that a technique called hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) may offer an improvement, according to the first-ever study comparing the impact of the two techniques on transplant outcomes.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am 'Overweight' adults age 70 or older are less likely to die over a 10-year periodAdults aged over 70 years who are classified as overweight are less likely to die over a 10-year period than adults who are in the "normal" weight range, according to a new study.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am Earth Watch blogWhy biodiversity might not be so cuddly after all.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Jan 2010 | 3:12 am Frog that changes colour revealedA new species of frog found in Papua New Guinea undergoes a dramatic change in colour as it grows older, report scientists.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Jan 2010 | 2:59 am Davos leaders, CEOs debate climate change moves (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 2:47 am Bin Laden blames industrial nations for global warming (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 2:46 am Cigarettes May Cause Infections
The tobacco in cigarettes hosts a bacterial bonanza — literally hundreds of different germs, including those responsible for many human illnesses, a new study finds.
“But nobody talks about cigarettes as a source of those infections,” she says. Her new data now suggest that’s distinctly possible. If these germs are alive, something she has not yet confirmed, just handling cigarettes or putting an unlit one to the mouth could be enough to cause an infection.
The idea that tobacco might contain viable germs isn’t just idle conjecture. Several research teams have isolated bacteria from tobacco that they could grow out in petri dishes. Those earlier investigations tended to hunt for — and, when found, attempted to grow — only one or two species of interest, Sapkota says. What’s novel in her study: She and her colleagues probed for genetic material from any and every bacterium in a cigarette’s tobacco. Under sterile conditions, the researchers opened up cigarettes and then performed a series of tests on the leafy bits. For instance, they isolated all of the ribosomal material and then homed in on its long, species-specific stretches known as 16S regions. These genetic segments were then compared to 16S patches characteristic of known bacterial species. Sapkota’s team had 16S probes for close to 800 different bacteria and found matches to many hundreds in the four brands of cigarettes screened: Marlboro Red, Camel, Kool Filter Kings and Lucky Strike Original Red. These cigarettes are “among the most commonly smoked brands in Westernized countries and represent three major tobacco companies,” Sapkota notes. All were purchased in Lyon, France, where she was completing her postdoctoral studies. Among the large number of germs whose DNA laced these cigarettes were: Campylobacter, which can cause food poisoning and Guillain-Barre Syndrome; Clostridium, which causes food poisoning and pneumonias; Corynebacterium, also associated with pneumonias and other diseases; E. coli; Klebsiella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, all of which are associated not only with pneumonia but also with urinary tract infections; and a number of Staphylococcus species that underlie the most common and serious hospital-associated infections. Sapkota’s team lists many of these — including the most prevalent bacteria in the tobacco they studied — in a paper published early, online in Environmental Health Perspectives. Some people have criticized the idea of infectious cigarettes, arguing that as tobacco burns, it would kill any germs present. But Sapkota is not so sure that’s true. The tobacco farthest from the burning tip might be a balmy temperature, from a bacterial point of view. And here’s “a really wild idea,” she says: What if the smoke particles traveling through the still-unburned part of a cigarette pick up some germs and then ferry them deeply into the lung, where they’re unlikely to be cleared? Wouldn’t that be the prescription for disease? Of course, there’s also plenty of chances for a smoker to become exposed prior to lighting up. And, of course, the potential for highest oral exposure would come from chewing tobacco — and nasal exposures from snuff. Sapkota, an environmental health scientist, plans to follow up her preliminary data to see which types of tobacco are most likely to host viable germs, and whether those bacteria are transported into the body, either during smoking or by the insertion of unburned tobacco products (including chewing tobacco) into the mouth. Several thousand potentially toxic chemicals have been isolated from cigarettes. Sapkota says that it’s not hard to imagine that the number of germs hosted by tobacco products could rival that of the carcinogens and other poisons residing in or produced by burning tobacco. How so, when she’s only found genetic material indicting hundreds of germs? Owing to the bacterial probes available when Sapkota began her tobacco work, she was only able to screen for 700-odd species. But newer probes on the market can now screen for the bacterial 16S genetic material of 5,000 or more germs. And if she used such huge batteries of probes now, she said she fully expects she could turn up at least 1,000 hitchhiking bacterial species in tobacco products. Image: Flickr/alphadesigner See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 29 Jan 2010 | 2:38 am UN climate chief plays down scandals (AP)AP - U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer says recent scandals over climate data are unfortunate but don't discredit the view that the earth is warming and humans must act.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 2:19 am Endangered animals get new lease of life in Singapore (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 1:52 am Grape growing, fish protection clash in California (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 1:46 am Water vapour caused one-third of global warming in 1990s, study revealsExperts say their research does not undermine the scientific consensus on man-made climate change, but call for 'closer examination' of the way computer models consider water vapour Scientists have underestimated the role that water vapour plays in determining global temperature changes, according to a new study that could fuel further attacks on the science of climate change. The research, led by one of the world's top climate scientists, suggests that almost one-third of the global warming recorded during the 1990s was due to an increase in water vapour in the high atmosphere, not human emissions of greenhouse gases. A subsequent decline in water vapour after 2000 could explain a recent slowdown in global temperature rise, the scientists add. The experts say their research does not undermine the scientific consensus that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity drive global warming, but they call for "closer examination" of the way climate computer models consider water vapour. The new research comes at a difficult time for climate scientists, who have been forced to defend their predictions in the face of an embarrassing mistake in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which included false claims that Himalayan glaciers could melt away by 2035. There has also been heavy criticism over the way climate scientists at the University of East Anglia apparently tried to prevent the release of data requested under Freedom of Information laws. The new research, led by Susan Solomon, at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who co-chaired the 2007 IPCC report on the science of global warming, is published today in the journal Science, one of the most respected in the world. Solomon said the new finding does not challenge the conclusion that human activity drives climate change. "Not to my mind it doesn't," she said. "It shows that we shouldn't over-interpret the results from a few years one way or another." She would not comment on the mistake in the IPCC report - which was published in a separate section on likely impacts - or on calls for Rajendra Pachauri, the IPCC chairman, to step down. "What I will say, is that this [new study] shows there are climate scientists round the world who are trying very hard to understand and to explain to people openly and honestly what has happened over the last decade." The new study analysed water vapour in the stratosphere, about 10 miles up, where it acts as a potent greenhouse gas and traps heat at the Earth's surface. Satellite measurements were used to show that water vapour levels in the stratosphere have dropped about 10% since 2000. When the scientists fed this change into a climate model, they found it could have reduced, by about 25% over the last decade, the amount of warming expected to be caused by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. They conclude: "The decline in stratospheric water vapour after 2000 should be expected to have significantly contributed to the flattening of the global warming trend in the last decade." Solomon said: "We call this the 10, 10, 10 problem. A 10% drop in water vapour, 10 miles up has had an effect on global warming over the last 10 years." Until now, scientists have struggled to explain the temperature slowdown in the years since 2000, a problem climate sceptics have exploited. The scientists also looked at the earlier period, from 1980 to 2000, though cautioned this was based on observations of the atmosphere made by a single weather balloon. They found likely increases in water vapour in the stratosphere, enough to enhance the rate of global warming by about 30% above what would have been expected. "These findings show that stratospheric water vapour represents an important driver of decadal global surface climate change," the scientists say. They say it should lead to a "closer examination of the representation of stratospheric water vapour changes in climate models". Solomon said it was not clear why the water vapour levels had swung up and down, but suggested it could be down to changes in sea surface temperature, which drives convection currents and can move air around in the high atmosphere. She said it was not clear if the water vapour decrease after 2000 reflects a natural shift, or if it was a consequence of a warming world. If the latter is true, then more warming could see greater decreases in water vapour, acting as a negative feedback to apply the brakes on future temperature rise. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 29 Jan 2010 | 1:40 am Experts unveil dino, oldest known ancestor of birdsHONG KONG (Reuters) - China has unearthed the fossil of a two-legged carnivorous dinosaur that lived 160 million years ago and which researchers have identified as the earliest known member of a long lineage that includes birds.Source: Reuters: Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 1:37 am Experts unveil dino, oldest known ancestor of birds (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 1:37 am "Cane Toads" a cautionary tale of ecological hubrisPARK CITY, Utah (Hollywood Reporter) - Rarely has an ecological menace appeared as entertaining as portrayed in "Cane Toads: The Conquest," Mark Lewis' follow-up documentary to his 1988 film "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History." Twenty-two years later, Lewis returns to the critters' northern Australia habitat for a 3D production with remarkable results.Source: Reuters: Science News | 29 Jan 2010 | 12:34 am Ancient bladeRoman 'Swiss army knife' among treasures on showSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Jan 2010 | 11:42 pm 13 countries craft plan to save tigers (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Jan 2010 | 11:10 pm Did a Nuclear Blast Give Birth to the Moon?Looking at the silvery Moon hanging in the sky, it's hard to believe that quiet, comforting night light was formed in an episode of incredible violence several billion years ago. But that's exactly what scientists are proposing in a new ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 10:18 pm Airports Could Get Mind-Reading Scanners (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - WeCU Technologies is building a mind-reading scanner that can tell if a given traveler is a potential danger - without the subject's knowledge. WeCU Technologies (pronounced "we see you") is creating a system that would essentially turn the public spaces in airports into vast screening grounds:.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Jan 2010 | 10:16 pm Is calling E.T. a smart move? (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Jan 2010 | 10:08 pm Britain grants patent for iPS cellsThe first issued outside Japan for reprogrammable stem cells credits different Japanese inventors.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/news/rss/today/~4/Vp9CBmewbEw" height="1" width="1"/>Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 28 Jan 2010 | 8:39 pm Venezuela gets bids for all 3 Carabobo projects, ONGC bid included (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Jan 2010 | 6:52 pm Cascadia quake zone gets wired upSeismometer array will monitor natural hazards.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 28 Jan 2010 | 6:39 pm New Tyrannosaur Species DiscoveredA new genus and species of tyrannosaur has been identified, scientists say.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Jan 2010 | 5:27 pm Letters: WMD hyperbole and a reckless disregard for human life in IraqWilliam Shawcross repeats the familiar but false claim that Saddam had, and had used, weapons of mass destruction (Thanks to this 'illegal' war, Iraqis at last have real hope for the future, 27 January). What Saddam had and used – including, despicably, against Kurdish civilians at Halabja – were battlefield chemical weapons. As Robin Cook pointed out in his resignation speech in 2003, battlefield chemical weapons are not weapons of mass destruction (even if Saddam had still possessed them, which he no longer did). A weapon of mass destruction, properly so called, is one that can kill a hundred thousand or a million people in a single strike, which fortunately Saddam never possessed. It is debasing the language to use this hyperbolic term to refer to battlefield munitions, however unpleasant. Professor David Turner Canterbury, Kent • William Shawcross states that after resolution 1441, weapons inspectors were still denied unfettered access in Iraq. This is contradictory to Hans Blix's account (Blair sold Iraq on WMD, but only regime change adds up, 15 December 2009), which says "Iraq became more co-operative and showed no defiance that could prompt the authorising of armed force". Bernard Duggan Chatham, Kent • It is disingenuous to blame Iraqi deaths on "other Muslims". In the first days of occupation the Coalition Provisional Authority systematically dismantled all forms of order and administration in the country. The Iraqi national guard was disbanded. Weapon dumps were left unguarded. The oil ministry was secured. It showed nothing less than a reckless disregard for human life. Laurence Rowe Manchester • As Andy Beckett says in his fascinating article on the Chilcot inquiry (Called to account, G2, 28 January), "around 8am, a tiny, polite queue begins to form in the icy gloom outside the conference centre". But why outside? The conference centre is easily large enough to accommodate the queue in the warmth inside. On the cold day we queued, the doors remained closed until an hour before the session started. Why is the public punished in this way for taking an interest? Chris and Betty Birch London • One of the most dispiriting things about Lord Goldsmith receiving taxpayer-funded legal advice to "help" him prepare his testimony to the Chilcot inquiry (Report, 27 January) is that it comes from a government which has systematically slashed legal aid. Any ordinary member of the public, before getting legal aid, would have to show that it was is in the interest of justice for the award to be made, and the applicant would then be means-tested. Goldsmith would be unlikely to qualify on either count. Greg Foxsmith Solicitor, Shearman Bowen and Co guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Jan 2010 | 5:05 pm Water vapour could be behind warming slowdownMysterious changes in the stratosphere may have offset greenhouse effect.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 28 Jan 2010 | 5:02 pm New Tyrannosaur Had More Teeth Than T. RexThe newly found toothy tyrannosaur featured a hole in its skull and was recovered from a federal wilderness area.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 5:00 pm Climate data sound - science headThe UK government's chief scientist says his confidence in climate science is unshaken, but calls for more openness.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Jan 2010 | 4:45 pm DVD review: CreationIcon, rental and retail We may be suffering from Darwin fatigue after all those 200th anniversary TV programmes last year, but Jon Amiel's sombre film is made with care and delicacy. It transcends costume drama with the hallucinations and delusions of the sick scientist (Paul Bettany) with an illness that also kills his favourite child. At times, it resembles The Singing Detective, also directed by Amiel all those years ago. The nature footage and the illustrated tales he tells the kids are brilliantly pulled off. This adds a layer of meaning to the central, well known science v God dilemma, which troubled Darwin's religious wife. Rating: 4/5 guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Jan 2010 | 4:45 pm Fusion energy hurdle swept asideA potential obstacle to producing energy by laser fusion is swept aside, along with the record for the highest-energy laser pulse.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Jan 2010 | 4:12 pm Come to Wired.com’s Biometric Super Bowl Party
You’ve seen your fair share of sad Super Bowl parties: the guacamole, the cheap beer, the bored significant others. Well, forget all that! Wired Science has a distinctly different, nerdier kind of Super Bowl party planned. We want you to come to the Wired office in San Francisco’s SoMA neighborhood to drink good beer, eat pizza — and have your biometric responses to the game and commercials measured. We’ve partnered with research firm Innerscope, founded by social neuroscientist Carl Marci of Massachusetts General Hospital and Brian Levine, formerly of the MIT Media Lab. They’ll strap up our readers with their technology. During the game, you’ll have your heart rate, skin moisture, movement and breathing measured by a belt-like device. That data will be aggregated to create an evaluation of what Wired.com readers thought about the commercials during the game. We’ll also be slicing and dicing the data to look for interesting correlations and patterns.
Normally, Innerscope measures the physiological responses of focus groups to advertisements and different kinds of media to see how and why a commercial is working. But they’ll be working on and for you all during Super Bowl Sunday. And beyond your role as guinea pigs, you’ll also get to meet Beer Robot and hang out with some Wired staffers who would love to watch the Super Bowl at work with you. Now, this is a real study and we want the best results possible, so if you want to come to the party, fill out this questionnaire designed by Innerscope (Google Documents form). If you qualify for the study, we’ll contact you with more details. Unfortunately, space is limited. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. Image: Jon Snyder/Wired.com (Note: The pictured vest is an earlier version of Innerscope’s vest. The new ones are even slicker). See Also: Jan. 28, 2001: Hey, Don’t Tampa With My Privacy
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 28 Jan 2010 | 4:11 pm Attack on G-spot touches nerveAfter scientists in London declared the G-spot may be a myth, gynaecologists gather in Paris to launch counter-attack There are a handful of subjects - among them cricket, the weather and the art of downing pints through a funnel - on which the French deign to allow the English a degree of authority. Sex, however, is not one of them. Today, just three weeks after scientists at King's College London declared that the elusive G-spot may be a myth, a group of gynaecologists gathered in Paris to launch a counter-attack on what they called a "totalitarian" approach to female sexuality. Denouncing the study carried out last year by British researchers as fundamentally flawed, the French scientists insisted the fabled erogenous zone did exist in many women – around 60% according to Sylvain Mimoun, the organiser of the conference. But, they said, it had fallen victim to an Anglo-Saxon tendency to reduce the mysteries of sexuality to absolutes. This attempt to set clear parameters on something variable and ambiguous, they said, was characteristic of British scientific attitudes to sex. "The King's College study ... shows a lack of respect for what women say," said Pierre Foldès, a leading French surgeon. "The conclusions were completely erroneous because they were based solely on genetic observations and it is clear that in female sexuality there is a variability ... It cannot be reduced to a 'yes' or 'no', or an 'on' or an 'off'." The British study – the largest ever carried out on the body part that bears the initial of its discoverer, German gynaecologist Ernst Gräfenberg – involved 1,800 female twins being asked whether or not they thought they had a G-spot. Researchers concluded earlier this month that there was no proof to suggest it existed. Odile Buisson, a gynaecologist, said the study was a demonstration of a cultural difference in attitudes to sex, with Gallic acceptance of ambiguity sitting uneasily beside an Anglo-Saxon need to explain everything. "I don't want to stigmatise at all but I think the Protestant, liberal, Anglo-Saxon character means you are very pragmatic. There has to be a cause for everything, a gene for everything," she said, adding: "I think it's totalitarian." Foldès, who pioneered a globally renowned technique to restore the clitorises to women who have been circumcised, said the questions in the King's College study started from the false premise that all G-spots are alike. In fact, he says, the highly sensitive area bears little resemblance to the famed magic button guaranteed to generate immediate pleasure. Moreover, said Mimoun, it will only be felt by a woman who knows it is there and takes steps to cultivate it. "In discovering the sensitive parts of her own body, this sensitive zone [the G-spot] will become more and more functional," he said "But if she has never touched it and no one else has ever touched it ... it won't exist for her as a consequence." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Jan 2010 | 4:09 pm Did Da Vinci Paint Himself as 'Mona Lisa'?The skull of one of the world's greatest artists could provide crucial clues into the identity of "Mona Lisa."Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 4:05 pm Is Our Nation's Infrastructure Under Cyber Attack?State-sponsored hackers are a growing threat to power plants, water systems and other key public utilities around the world.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 3:25 pm Dwarfs in Space: Colonization, 'Phantasm' and TranshumanismWhat does 1979's "Phantasm" have to do with humanity's future amid the stars? Well, it all comes down to what we're eager to change about extraterrestrial environments, and exactly how much we're willing to change about ourselves.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 2:59 pm Was "Operation Aurora" Hack U.S. Gov's Fault?Two weeks ago, I saw this piece from Wired about Google and several dozen other big companies getting hacked in what is now known as "Operation Aurora." The Wired story reports, "The attackers used nearly a dozen pieces of malware ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 2:50 pm Bill Gates Funds Research Into Climate Hacking
Bill Gates has sunk at least $4.5 million of his personal wealth into geoengineering research.
While it’s only a small chunk of his vast personal fortune, it’s a sign that the founder of Microsoft thinks we should at least be looking into the controversial practice of intentionally altering the Earth’s climate on a global scale. “[Gates] views geoengineering as a way to buy time, but it’s not a solution to the problem” of climate change, Gates’ spokesperson John Pinette told Science Insider. “Bill views this as an important avenue for research — among many others, including new forms of clean energy.” The money will be directed by two high-level scientists at the forefront of geoengineering research: climate scientist Ken Caldeira, of Stanford’s Carnegie Department of Global Ecology, and physicist David Keith of the University of Calgary. They will decide which technologies should receive the cash in order to alter the stratosphere to reflect solar energy, filter carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and brighten ocean clouds.
Gates’ funding is in line with his recent essay on climate policy in which he called for radical innovations in electricity generation and transportation. “If the goal is to get the transportation and electrical sectors down to zero emissions you clearly need innovation that leads to entirely new approaches to generating power,” Gates wrote. “While it is all well and good to insulate houses and turn off lights, to really solve this problem we need to spend more time on accelerating innovation.” But he did not sound the triumphant, can-do note heard from many advocates of green technology. Gates is worried that the world’s citizens, companies and governments are not focused on the right solutions. “The world is distracted from what counts on this issue in a big way,” he wrote. Many researchers have described geoengineering as a “backstop” if the world’s attempts to cut its carbon dioxide emissions fail, though some climate activists have warned that there is a moral hazard in assuming that geoengineering could bail us out of the worst implications of the derangement of the atmosphere. “My biggest problem with the backstop argument is that it encourages people to think there’s a do-over if we screw up our response to climate chaosM, when in fact, we don’t have any proven response or remedy,” wrote Worldchanging co-founder Alex Steffen on his website 2007. In a related development Keith, one of the scientists directing Gates’ money, co-authored a Nature editorial this week calling for an international fund for “solar-radiation management” in addition to traditional carbon emissions cuts. “Solar-radiation management may be the only human response that can fend off rapid and high-consequence climate change impacts,” Keith said in a press release Wednesday. “The risks of not doing research outweigh the risks of doing it.” He and his co-authors, Edward Parson at the University of Michigan and Granger Morgan at Carnegie Mellon University, propose a budget for solar-radiation management (aka geoengineering), beginning with $10 million a year now and growing to $1 billion annually by the end of 2020. The organization that manages the funds would also develop the governance structures to provide transparent risk analysis and manage feedback from the world’s countries. Image: flickr/batmoo WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal’s Twitter, Google Reader feed, and green tech history research site; Wired Science on Twitter and Facebook.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 28 Jan 2010 | 2:21 pm Light extinguishes dark-matter claimsStarlight accounts for anomalous electron signals.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 28 Jan 2010 | 2:00 pm Andrew Wakefield found 'irresponsible' by GMC over MMR vaccine scareDoctor's research triggered a furore and was direct cause of slump in take-up of MMR, which has led to outbreaks of measles in some parts of the country Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who claimed to have discovered a link between measles virus, bowel diseases and autism and thereby sparked widespread fear of the combined MMR jab, conducted unnecessary, invasive tests on children, the General Medical Council found today. Branding him a dishonest, irresponsible doctor, the GMC disciplinary panel, which has sat and heard evidence for 148 days over two and a half years, finally found a long array of charges against him proven. But there were shouts of protest and dismay from the doctor's supporters. Wakefield and two other doctors at the Royal Free hospital in London were brought before the GMC over the paper they published in February 1998 in the Lancet medical journal. On the basis of case studies of just eight children, it suggested that measles virus might be linked to inflammatory bowel disease, which in turn might play a role in autistic spectrum disorder. The paper conceded that the doctors had not found a definite link, but Wakefield, in a press conference, told the world he believed the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines in the MMR jab should not be given in one combined shot, but in single doses, preferably a year apart. It triggered a furore and was the direct cause of the major slump in take-up of MMR which has led to outbreaks of measles in some parts of the country. The GMC found that Wakefield had flouted the rules in pursuit of his theory – and profit. At the centre of the case against him is the ethical conduct of the trial which resulted in the Lancet paper. The panel found he had subjected 11 children to invasive tests such as lumbar punctures and colonoscopies that they did not need, without ethical approval. But investigations revealed more. In June 1997, before the paper was published, he filed a patent as one of the inventors of a vaccine for the elimination of measles virus and for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. In February 1998, the same month as the Lancet paper, he applied for ethical permission to run a trial of a new potential measles vaccine and set up a company called Immunospecifics Biotechnologies Ltd which would produce and sell it. The father of one of the children he had seen with developmental problems and bowel disease would be the managing director. Wakefield tried out the new vaccine on the child, without mentioning it in the medical notes or telling the child's GP. He was also found to have unethically arranged for his son's friends to have blood samples taken from them during his birthday party – for which he paid them £5 each. Wakefield hit on his theory after seeing children with bowel disease who also had developmental problems. The crucial third step in the hypothesis was the timing of the MMR vaccine: the first shot is given at around 18 months, which is also when autistic spectrum disorders start to be noticed. In front of the GMC with him were two doctors who were at the time colleagues in the department of paediatric gastroenterology at the Royal Free, Prof John Walker-Smith and Dr (now Prof) Simon Murch. The GMC decided they shared responsibility for the ethical conduct of the trial, although neither one was said to have acted dishonestly. The trial that Wakefield proposed troubled the ethics committee of the Royal Free. It is a fundamental principle in paediatrics that no child should be subjected to more than a blood test unless it is necessary for their treatment. But Wakefield proposed a barrage of invasive procedures. Dr Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat spokesman who complained to the GMC, believes the committee should have sought advice from an independent paediatrician. Instead, it asked a gastroenterologist colleague of Wakefield. The committee gave its conditional approval. The GMC panel decided that those conditions had been flouted – and that the trial had been unethical. The GMC looked into the cases of eleven children who were entered into the trial. Many rules had been broken. Wakefield's contract was for "experimental gastroenterology" and he was not allowed to treat children, but he ordered tests and procedures that were not necessary for their health. In the interests of proving Wakefield's theory, children were given lumbar punctures in the spine, colonoscopies and barium meals – all significant procedures. Children were enrolled who did not fit the strict criteria for entry to the trial and they had not come from a GP who was referring them because they needed treatment. Wakefield, now based in the US, has also been found not to have been open with the Lancet. He did not tell them that £55,000 funding for the study came from the legal aid board. Wakefield was advising Richard Barr, a solicitor who wanted evidence to sue the vaccine manufacturers on behalf of the parents of children with autism. It was a clear conflict of interest and should have been declared. All three doctors will now come back before the panel in April, where the GMC will decide if they are guilty of serious professional misconduct, which could end in one or more of them being stripped of their licence to practise medicine. Harris said Wakefield's reputation and that of his campaign was "in tatters and it is sad that it has taken so long for this to be demonstrated. "That the GMC has found Wakefield guilty of unapproved and unnecessary invasive tests, including spinal taps, on young children, is the most damning indictment possible. The findings of failure to declare financial interest are a secondary consideration." Dr Shona Hilton, of the Medical Research Council, said the scare had a huge impact on parents, undermining their trust in MMR vaccination. "Thankfully confidence is returning and the uptake of MMR vaccine is increasing," she said. "We need to continue rebuilding trust with parents that MMR vaccination is safe and ensure that those parents caring for children with autism do not blame themselves." Wakefield, who was not at the hearing but spoke outside the GMC offices minutes after the ruling, said he was "extremely disappointed" by the outcome. He said: "The allegations against me and against my colleagues are both unfounded and unjust … and I invite anyone to examine the contents of these proceedings and come to their own conclusion." He went on: "It remains for me to thank the parents whose commitment and loyalty has been extraordinary. Thousands of people, mainly parents of autistic children, have continued to support Wakefield. Panel chairman Dr Surendra Kumar was heckled by parents as he delivered the verdicts in central London this afternoon. One woman shouted: "These doctors have not failed our children. You are outrageous." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Jan 2010 | 1:34 pm White Roofs Help Cities Chill OutIf you've ever lived in a city, near a city, or been on the roof of a city building in the summer, you know the urban jungle gets hot as hell. Growing up on Long Island, it wasn't uncommon for ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 1:14 pm The media are equally guilty over the MMR vaccine scareAndrew Wakefield was at the centre of a media storm about the MMR vaccine and is now being blamed by journalists as if he were the only one at fault In medicine, "untoward incident inquiries" tend to look for systems failures, rather than one individual to blame. It's certainly clear that Andrew Wakefield and his co-defendants failed to meet the high standards required of doctors in research. The GMC found he was "misleading" "dishonest" and "irresponsible" in the way he described where the children in the 1998 paper came from, by implying that they were routine clinic referrals. As the GMC has also found, these children were subjected to a programme of unpleasant and invasive tests which were not performed in their own clinical interest, but rather for research purposes, and these tests were conducted without ethics committee approval. It's plainly undesirable for doctors to go around conducting tests like colonoscopy on children for their own research interests without very careful external scrutiny. But there is the wider context: Wakefield was at the centre of a media storm about the MMR vaccine and is now being blamed by journalists as if he were the only one at fault. In reality, the media are equally guilty. Even if it had been immaculately well conducted – and it certainly wasn't – Wakefield's "case series report" of 12 children's clinical anecdotes would never have justified the conclusion that MMR causes autism, despite what journalists claimed: it simply didn't have big enough numbers to do so. But the media repeatedly reported the concerns of this one man, generally without giving methodological details of the research, either because they found it too complicated, inexplicably, or because to do so would have undermined their story. As the years passed by, media coverage deteriorated further. Claims by researchers who never published scientific papers to back up their claims were reported in the newspapers as important new scientific breakthroughs while, at the same time, evidence showing no link between MMR and autism, fully published in peer reviewed academic journals, was simply ignored. This was cynical and unforgivable. Then, after Tony Blair refused to say if his son had received the vaccine, the commentators rolled in. Experts from Carol Vorderman to Fiona Phillips have all shared their concerns about MMR with the nation. The MMR scare has now petered out. It would be nice if we could say this was because the media had learned their lessons and recognised the importance of scientific evidence, rather than one bloke's hunch. Instead it has terminated because of the unethical behaviour of one man, Andrew Wakefield, which undermined the emotional narrative of their story. The media have developed no insight into their own role – and for this reason there will be another MMR. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Jan 2010 | 1:12 pm 'Catcher in the Rye' Author J.D. Salinger DiesThe acclaimed author and youth hero passed away at age 91.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 12:49 pm U.S. Considers 'Internet Access for All'A national program aims to give every American access to a fast Internet connectionSource: Livescience.com | 28 Jan 2010 | 12:45 pm New dinosaur solves bird puzzleA newly discovered fossil sheds light on the mystery of why a group of dinosaurs resembled modern birds.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Jan 2010 | 12:29 pm Clawed Dinosaur Most Primitive of its KindNewly discovered dinosaur likely used its giant claw for digging up termites.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Jan 2010 | 12:28 pm New Dinosaur Bolsters Bird-Dino ConnectionWill this new species provide the final piece of the evolutionary puzzle that links birds to dinosaurs?Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 12:01 pm Are more Katrinas in our future?Scientific differences over the effect of global warming on hurricanes in the North Atlantic are being resolved, but the news is not so good. While a warming climate is likely to produce fewer hurricanes, more researchers agree now that the ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm Mars and moon to pair up for celestial spectacleRed planet will line up above and to the left of the moon, allowing both to be seen by Earth-based astronomy enthusiasts Mars and the full moon pair up to provide a grand celestial spectacle tomorrow night. The red planet, now 62 million miles from Earth, will be at its brightest this year as it lines up opposite the sun. At around 9pm, Mars will be above and to the left of the moon, about the length of an outstretched fist away. A standard SLR camera fitted with a telephoto lens is all you need to capture the scene, says Robin Scagell, from the Society for Popular Astronomy. "Mars is looking really quite red and impressive at the moment, and the moon will be full," he said. "It's going to be a great sight and rather fun to look for." A pair of binoculars and a clear out-of-town sky will reveal an added bonus - the "beehive" star cluster - between the two objects, said Scagell. Mars is at its most spectacular when close to the Earth at opposition. In 2003 the planet was just 35 million miles away as it faced the sun, and more than four times brighter than it will be tomorrow night. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Jan 2010 | 11:03 am Climate row unit 'broke data law'A university involved in a row over stolen e-mails breached rules by withholding data, the Information Commissioner says.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Jan 2010 | 10:29 am Airports Could Get Mind-Reading ScannersA mind-reading scanner that can tell if a given traveler is a potential threat.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Jan 2010 | 10:12 am MMR doctor 'failed to act in interests of children'General Medical Council finds Andrew Wakefield, who linked MMR with autism, failed in duties as responsible consultant Dr Andrew Wakefield, the expert at the centre of the MMR controversy, "failed in his duties as a responsible consultant" and showed a "callous disregard" for the suffering of children involved in his research, the General Medical Council (GMC) has ruled. Wakefield also acted dishonestly and was misleading and irresponsible in the way he described research that was later published in the Lancet medical journal, the GMC said. He had gone against the interests of children in his care, and his conduct brought the medical profession "into disrepute" after he took blood samples from youngsters at his son's birthday party in return for payments of £5. The doctor, who was absent from today's GMC hearing, faces being struck off the medical register. The panel decided the allegations against him could amount to serious professional misconduct, an issue to be decided at a later date. Wakefield said he was dismayed at the panel's decision. "The allegations against me and against my colleagues are both unfounded and unjust ... and I invite anyone to examine the contents of these proceedings and come to their own conclusion." The panel chairman, Dr Surendra Kumar, was heckled by parents who support Wakefield as he delivered the verdicts. One woman shouted: "These doctors have not failed our children. You are outrageous." She called the panel of experts "bastards" and accused the GMC of being a "kangaroo court". Another shouted: "This is a set-up." In the late 1990s Wakefield and two other doctors said they believed they had uncovered a link between the MMR jab, bowel disease and autism. The research caused a big drop in the number of children given the triple jab for measles, mumps and rubella. The hearing has sat for 148 days over two and a half years and reportedly cost more than £1m. Thirty-six witnesses gave evidence at the hearing. The accusations relate to investigations for the study, based on 12 youngsters with bowel disorders, carried out between 1996 and 1998. At the time all three doctors were employed at the Royal Free hospital's medical school in London, with honorary clinical contracts hospital itself. The GMC heard that vulnerable children were subjected to "inappropriate and invasive" tests by the doctors, who breached of "some of the most fundamental rules in medicine". Wakefield did not have paediatric qualifications and had not worked as a clinical doctor for several years when he ordered the tests, the panel was told. One of the key claims was that Wakefield accepted more than £50,000 from the Legal Aid Board for research to support a group of parents' attempts to fight for compensation. It was alleged Wakefield applied for money so that five children and their families could stay in hospital during tests and for MRI scans for each child. The money was paid into an account at the Royal Free for Wakefield's research, but, the GMC alleged, the cost of scans and hospital stays would have been met by the NHS. Wakefield was accused of paying children £5 for blood samples at his son's birthday party, then joking about it afterwards. All three doctors denied the allegations against them. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Jan 2010 | 9:27 am Distraction Boosts Memory With AgeOlder adults get a memory boost by making use of irrelevant information.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Jan 2010 | 9:03 am Levitating Magnet Brings Nuclear Fusion Closer to RealityPhysicists may be one step closer to achieving a form of clean energy known as nuclear fusion, which is what happens deep inside the cores of stars.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Jan 2010 | 8:22 am BP chief hails new gas extraction techniqueBP's Tony Hayward tells World Economic Forum of 'game changer' technique to serve world's energy needs A controversial method of extracting gas from shale rocks and coal seams pioneered in the US has been described by the head of BP as a "complete game changer" that would transform the future of energy in that country over the next 100 years. Excitement in the industry over "unconventional" gas supplies has led to a wave of investment in America which Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive, believes could eventually spread around the world. "[Unconventional gas is a] complete game changer in the US," he said in answer to a question at an energy summit which was part of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "It probably transforms the US energy outlook for the next 100 years. It's yet to seen if it can be applied globally." BP inherited a major stake in shale operations when it took over Amoco 12 years ago, but has added to that by spending $1.75bn buying shale interests from rival Chesapeake Energy in the summer of 2008. Last November BP showed its determination to extend the use of the techniques when it signed a production-sharing agreement with the government of Indonesia to exploit new reserves in Kalimantan. But the most recent signal that Big Oil was taking unconventional gas far more seriously was when Exxon Mobil agreed to spend $30bn buying XTO Energy, a leading US shale producer. Meanwhile, Britain's BG and America's ConocoPhillips are planning to exploit opportunities for coalbed methane in Australia. There is also speculation that there could be shale-based gas schemes available in mainland Europe now that new drilling and extraction techniques have been proven in the US, largely Texas, Wyoming and Pennsylvania. Development of these reserves in major quantities has sent the price of natural gas spinning downwards in America but promises a much-sought increase in self-sufficiency. It also offers a lower carbon footprint than oil. But the moves have unnerved traditional natural gas producers such as Gazprom of Russia. A board meeting of the Moscow-based giant this week centred on whether US unconventional gas sources meant its own investment plans to produce gas from the northern Yamal peninsula for part-export by ship to the US should be revised downwards. Andrew Neff, energy analyst at IHS Global Insight, said there was no doubt shale gas was "playing havoc" with Gazprom's pricing formula as well as its investment timetables for key production and infrastructure projects. "The potential spread of the shale gas production revolution to Europe, which is believed to have significant untapped reserves of its own, would clearly have a profound impact on Gazprom's production and marketing strategy as well," he added. Unconventional gas has burst to prominence as US-based oil companies – often led by smaller independents – have used new directional and horizontal drilling techniques to exploit new reserves. But rock formations have to be broken up with a mixture of water, sand and chemicals in a process called hydraulic fracturing. Environmentalists have major reservations about these techniques, saying enormous amounts of water are needed and that the drilling can pollute local water tables. The Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project has blamed hydraulic fracturing for making people ill and poisoning cattle by polluting water supplies, which is denied by the oil and gas industry. The US Environmental Protection Agency increased pressure on the oil industry by revealing "serious reservations" about allowing shale gas drilling in parts of New York state for fear of threatening Big Apple water supplies. The EPA has already found 14 "contaminants of concern" in 11 private wells surveyed in the Pavillion farming community of Wyoming; private tests in Pennsylvania have also indicated some pollution. Industry officials say there is no documented case of water contamination from gas drilling, saying the chemicals used are heavily diluted and injected through pipes of steel to shale more than a mile underground. The industry accepts that large amounts of water are used, but says most of it stays underground and therefore does not have to be treated further. But there are already bills being prepared for Congress that would tighten restrictions on unconventionals and Exxon has inserted a clause in its takeover documents for XTO that enable it to scrap the transaction if there were changes to the law that made hydraulic fracturing "illegal or commercially impracticable". guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Jan 2010 | 8:01 am Brothers in DarwinCarole Jahme shines the cold light of evolutionary psychology on readers' problems. This week: half brothers and creationists Blood brothersFrom a female, aged 40 Carole replies: On average, wild chimpanzee mothers have four years between offspring, the mother breast-feeds for two years and she then supplements her youngster's diet with breast milk for another two years. Chimpanzee infants may well have different fathers but what unites them is their mum. Chimp siblings have close familial bonds, they spend time grooming one another, playing, sharing food and defending each other. They take an interest in one another throughout their lives, which can be more than 50 years in the wild. Goodall's famed chimp Flo, was an Alpha female and mother par excellence. Flo spent a great deal of time grooming her children and playing with them. She was endlessly patient, never admonishing them when they were under four years. Over the decades and through political upheavals, Flo retained her social position (and thus her access to resources), her sons became dominant males and her daughter Fifi rose to an even higher social rank than Flo. Thus, Flo didn't just pass on her good genes, she taught her progeny the importance of social politics: friends in high places can help you survive and occupying a high social rank will enhance your reproductive fitness. And once her sons had become dominant males, they protected their old mum from aggressive strangers. Despite having different biological fathers, your sons have 25% of their genes in common. Living with you means they also have nurture and the environment in common. Shared time and common ground helps primates to bond. If they share personality traits this will mean similarities in, for example, their sense of humor, love of sport, or interest in stamp collecting. Your sons are more likely voluntarily to share time in later life if they enjoyed doing so when young. Your family resources (love, time and money) need to be openly shared between your sons. No doubt caring for them and supporting their bond is something that will occupy you for many years to come. You could encourage big brother to be involved in the grooming of little brother, perhaps with hair washing and skin moisturising, and in time the youngest should reciprocate. With a devoted dad in the mix the future looks bonded. Goodall, J. (1986) The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior. Belknap Press of Harvard University, Pray for creationistsFrom Alfred, no age given Carole replies: In short, the evidence that Charles Darwin was right and that natural selection is indeed the process by which humans (and all other life on Earth) have evolved is irrefutable. Yet the present climate of religious fundamentalism suggests that another Scopes Monkey Trial could be just around the corner. You ask what you can do to stop creationists lying to children. You are one person, creationists and the children over whom they have influence are many. Perhaps you can find consolation in the fact that while science, by its nature, is cutting edge – it evolves, expands and self-corrects – religion does not. Thus, one day these ever-accumulating pieces of evolutionary evidence will swamp the static God fiction. Hallelujah! Praise be to Darwin. Terms and conditions We regret that Carole cannot answer all the mails we receive. We cannot provide urgent advice and suggest that if you need such advice you seek it immediately without waiting for a response from Carole. With regards to legal, medical or financial issues, we recommend seeking the advice of a listed professional. We will not be held liable for any loss, damage or injury you incur as a result of using this site or as a result of any advice given. We will not enter into personal correspondence via email. Carole is UK-based and as such any advice she gives is intended for a UK audience only. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Jan 2010 | 7:16 am Why Ostriches Can't FlyWhen dinosaurs were wiped out, some birds took up their niche and stopped flying, a new theory holds.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Jan 2010 | 6:50 am Plant flavanoid may help prevent leukemiaLONDON (Reuters) - Eating foods like celery and parsley which contain the naturally occurring flavanoid apigenin may help prevent leukemia, Dutch scientists said Thursday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 28 Jan 2010 | 4:05 am Earth WatchWhy biodiversity might not be so cuddly after allSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Jan 2010 | 2:43 am Quantum Computer Simulates Hydrogen Molecule Just Right
Almost three decades ago, Richard Feynman — known popularly as much for his bongo drumming and pranks as for his brilliant insights into physics — told an electrified audience at MIT how to build a computer so powerful that its simulations “will do exactly the same as nature.”
Now, finally, groups at Harvard and the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, have designed and built a computer that hews closely to these specs. It is a quantum computer, as Feynman forecast. And it is the first quantum computer to simulate and calculate the behavior of a molecular, quantum system.
Much has been written about how such computers would be paragons of calculating power should anybody learn to build one that is much more than a toy. And this latest one is at the toy stage, too. But it is just the thing for solving some of the most vexing problems in science, the ones that Feynman had in mind when he said “nature” — those problems involving quantum mechanics itself, the system of physical laws governing the atomic scale. Inherent to quantum mechanics are seeming paradoxes that blur the distinctions between particles and waves, portray all events as matters of probability rather than deterministic destiny, and under which a given particle can exist in a state of ambiguity that makes it potentially two or more things, or in two or more places, at once. Reporting online January 10 in Nature Chemistry, the Harvard group, led by chemist Alán Aspuru-Guzik, developed the conceptual algorithm and schematic that defined the computer’s architecture. Aspuru-Guzik has been working on such things for years but didn’t have the hardware to test his ideas. At the University of Queensland, physicist Andrew G. White and his team, who have been working on such sophisticated gadgets, said they thought they could make one to the Harvard specs and, after some collaboration, did so. In principle the computer could have been rather small, “about the size of a fingernail,” White says. But his group spread its components across a square meter of lab space to make it easier to adjust and program. Within its filters and polarizers and beam splitters, just two photons at a time traveled simultaneously, their particle-like yet wavelike natures playing peek-a-boo in clouds of probability just as quantum mechanics says they should. Quantum computing’s power stems from the curiosity that a qubit — a bit of quantum information — is not limited to holding a single discrete binary number, 1 or 0, as is the bit of standard computing. Qubits exist in a limbo of uncertainty, simultaneously 1 and 0. Until the computation is done and a detector measures the value, that very ambiguity allows greater speed and flexibility as a quantum computer searches multiple permutations at once for a final result. Plus, not only do the photons have this mix of quantum identities, a state formally called superposition, they are also entangled. Entanglement is another feature of quantum mechanics in which the properties of two or more superposed particles are correlated with one another. It is the superposition of superpositions, in which the state of one is connected to the state of the other despite the particles’ separation in distance. Entanglement further increases the ability of a quantum computer to explore simultaneously all possible solutions to a complex problem. But with just two photons as its qubits, the new quantum computer could not tackle quantum behavior involving more than two objects. So, the researchers asked it to calculate the energy levels of the hydrogen molecule, the simplest one known. Other methods have long revealed the answer, providing a check on the accuracy of doing it with qubits. Corresponding to the two wavelike photons rattling fuzzily along in the computer, the hydrogen molecule has two wavelike electrons chemically binding its two nuclei — each a single proton. Led by first author to the paper Benjamin Lanyon, who is now at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, the Queensland team programmed the equations that govern how electrons behave near protons into the machine by tweaking the arrangement of filters, wavelength shifters and other optical components in the computer. Each such piece of optical hardware corresponded to the logic gates that add, subtract, integrate and otherwise manipulate binary data in a standard computer. The researchers then entered initial “data” corresponding to the distance between the molecule’s nuclei — a driver of what energies the electrons might be able to take on when the molecule is excited by an outside influence. The photons are each given a precise angle of polarization — the orientation of the electric and magnetic components of their fields —and for one of the photons the angle was chosen to correspond to that datum. On the first run of a calculation, the second photon then shared this datum via its entanglement with the first and, going at the speed of light, emerged from the machine with the first digit of the answer. In an iteration process, that digit was then used as data for another run, producing the second digit — a process followed for 20 rounds. By following — some would say simulating — the same weird physics as do the electrons of atomic bonds themselves, the computer’s photons got the permitted energy correct to within six parts per million. “Every time you add an electron or other object to a quantum problem, the complexity of the problem doubles,” says James Whitfield, a graduate student at Harvard and second author on the paper. “The great thing,” he added, “is that every time you add a qubit to the computer, its power doubles too.” In formal language, the power of a quantum computer scales exponentially with its size (as in number of qubits) in exact step with the size of quantum problems. In fact, says his professor, Aspuru-Guzik, a computer of “only” 150 qubits or so would have more computing power than all the supercomputers in the world today, combined. Whitfield is near completion of his studies to be a theoretical chemist. A goal is, eventually, to be able to calculate the energy levels and reaction levels of complex molecules with scores or even hundreds of electrons binding them together. Even in problems with just four or five electrons, the challenge of computation by standard means has grown so exponentially fast that standard computers cannot handle it. The work is “great, a proof of principle, more evidence that this stuff is not pie in the sky or cannot be built,” says a University of California, Berkeley chemistry professor, Birgitta Whaley. “It is the first time that a quantum computer has been used to calculate a molecular energy level.” And while most of the publicity for quantum computers has marveled at the potential power to break immense numbers into their factors — a key to breaking secret codes and thus a possibility with national security implication — “this has major implications for practical uses with very broad application,” Whaley says. These uses might include the ability, without trial and error, to design complex chemical systems and advanced materials with properties never before seen. Scaling it up to five, 10 or hundreds of qubits will not be easy. In the end, photons as qubits are unlikely because of the difficulty of entangling and monitoring so many of them. Electrons, simulated atoms called quantum dots, ionized atoms or other such particles may eventually form the blurry hearts of quantum computers. How long from now? “I’d say less than 50 years, but more than 10,” says White. In a striking bit of symmetry to go with using a quantum computer to solve a quantum problem, the latest work resonates with Feynman’s original idea in another way. At that talk at MIT — published in 1982 in the International Journal of Physics — Feynman not only suggested the basis for such a computer, he also drew a little picture of one. It included two little blocks of the semi-transparent mineral calcite to control and measure the photons’ polarizations. Looking at the diagram of the device built recently by the Queensland team reveals, sure enough, two “calcite beam displacers.” Whatever shade of Richard Feynman flickers still in the entanglements of the universe, and were it made to collapse into something corporeal, perhaps it would be smiling. Image: Benjamin Lanyon See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 28 Jan 2010 | 1:45 am
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