bioluminescence Making electronics bend and stretch Whos jamming your satnav? March 12th 2011 The hole story The quest to sequence a human genome in 15 minutes TQCOV-March12-2011.indd 1 01/03/2011 13:37 Just like friends who help each other to reach for the sky, Huawei can do the same for your business. Thats because we pioneer innovations that are based on our customers needs: which is why 45 out of the worlds top 50 telcos choose Huawei as a partner. Proof that with good collaboration, the sky is the limit. Monitor 1 Rock-eating bugs, robots that rescue soldiers, anti-theft tags, beaming power by laser, more elegant pylons, the erosion of online anonymity, a camera that sees round corners, an exoskeleton for paraplegics, the internet-addiction debate, and an invitation to nominate innovators for our awards Dierence engine 8 Renumbering the net Weve run out of internet addresses. What happens now? Nanopore sequencing 9 The hole story Towards the 15-minute genome Stretchable electronics 11 Flexible strategies Making circuits stretch and bend Inside story 13 Exploiting bioluminescence Living light has many uses in medicine, warfare and even food GPS jamming 16 Dont block my satnav How to keep jammers at bay Brain scan 18 Betting on green A prole of Vinod Khosla, who is taking a risky clean-tech gamble E VEN lhe sleekesl gadgel depends on lhe muckv business ol digging slu oul ol lhe giound. Mobile phones and compul eis use coppei loi lheii viiing and ielv on coball, geimanium, lilhium, nickel, plali num and lanlalum loi olhei componenls. Elecliic molois need magnels made ol iaie eailh elemenls such as neodvmi um. Bul iising melal piices and Chinas lighlening giip on supplies ol iaieeailh elemenls (il accounls loi ) ol pioduc lion, have heighlened lhe appeal ol lnd ing olhei souices ol supplv. The iesull is gioving inleiesl in lhe use ol iockealing bacleiia lo exliacl melals liom lovgiade oies, mining vasle oi indusliial emuenl. Rockealing bacleiia such as Acidithio- bacillus and Leptospirillum aie naluiallv occuiiing oiganisms lhal lhiive in naslv, acidic enviionmenls. Thev oblain eneigv liom chemical ieaclions vilh sulphides, and can lhus acceleiale lhe bieakdovn ol mineials. Base melals such as iion, coppei, zinc and coball occui videlv as sulphides, and moie valuable melals such as gold and uianium aie also piesenl in lhe same bodies ol oie. Vilh a lillle help liom lhe mineialmuncheis, lhese melals can be ieleased in a piocess called bioleaching. This appioach has ils pios and cons. To iecovei laige quanlilies ol melals quicklv liom oies vilh a high melal conlenl, smelling iemains lhe mosl piollable ioule. Bioleaching is slovei, bul il is also cheapei, making il vellsuiled loi liealing oies and mining vasles vilh lov melal concenlialions. Il is also geneiallv cleanei. Maleiial conlaining poisonous elemenls such as aisenic is unsuilable loi smelling because ol lhe iisk ol pollulion. Ioi manv veais bioleaching has been used lo iecovei gold liom oies lhal aie haid lo bieak dovn using heal liealmenl (knovn as ioasling. The bacleiia aie sel lo voik in huge sliiied lanks, called bio ieaclois, conlaining gioundup iocks and dilule sulphuiic acid. The bacleiia change one loim ol iion lound vilhin lhe oie (leiious iion lo anolhei (leiiic iion and lap lhe eneigv ieleased. In acidic solulions leiiic iion is a poveilul oxidising agenl. Il bieaks dovn sulphide mineials and ie leases anv associaled melals. In lhe pasl il has been haid lo iecovei melals olhei lhan gold piollablv in lhis vav. Bul high commodilv piices mean lhal bioleaching ol a vaiielv ol melals has become an alliaclive piospecl in iecenl veais. In zoo8, loi example, a nev venluie slailed opeialing in Talvivaaia, Iinland. Il vas sel up as lhe iesull ol a Euiopean ieseaich pioecl called BioShale, vhich shoved lhal bacleiia could iecovei nickel, coppei, lead, silvei, zinc, coball, ihenium, selenium, lin, gold, plalinum, palladium and uianium liom Euiopes exlensive bul undeiexploiled black shale deposils. Iasl veai lhe Talvivaaia Mining Companv pioduced ovei Io,ooo lonnes ol nickel and z-,ooo lonnes ol zinc liom local Rocks on the menu Biotechnology: High commodity prices have encouraged the use of mineral-munching bugs to extract metals from waste or low-grade ore On the cover Feeding strands of DNA through tiny holes, called nanopores, and reading o the genetic letters one at a time could make the process of genomic sequencing much quicker and cheaper. This would have momentous implications for genetic analysis and medical treatment: page 9 Contents 1 The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 Monitor 1 2 Monitor The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 2 shales, and il plans lo delivei o,ooo lonnes ol zinc, I,8oo lonnes ol coball and I-,ooo lonnes ol coppei a veai bv zoIz. In zoIo lhe lim slailed lo exliacl uianium, and expecls lo pioduce +-o lonnes a veai. Olhei melals mav lollov. In Chile, vhich has +o ol lhe voilds coppei deposils, BHP Billilon, a mining gianl, has sel up lvo bioleaching opei alions in lhe pasl lhiee veais, each aiming loi aiound zoo,ooo lonnes ol coppei pioduclion a veai. The Iinnish and Chil ean venluies bolh use bioheaps, vhich aie vasl, caielullv engineeied piles ol gioundup oie (in Chile, z,ooo melies long, ovei Ioo melies vide and neailv zo melies high, iiiigaled liom above vilh dilule sulphuiic acid laced vilh bacleiial culluies, and aeialed liom belov. Using manv dieienl oiganisms vilhin lhe heaps gives lhe besl iesulls, savs Baiiie Iohnson, a ieseaichei al lhe Univeisilv ol Bangoi in Noilh Vales, vho has been voiking on bioleaching vilh Rio Tinlo, anolhei mining gianl. Ve lnd one oie lvpe vill suil one consoilium ol oigan isms, and anolhei mighl be bellei vilh a dieienl mixluie, he savs. Meanvhile a Canadian lim, BacTech Mining Coipoialion, vhich sells a bio leaching piocess loi gold exliaclion, has sel up a nev division lo applv lhe lech nologv lo mining vasle. Al lhe lovn ol Coball in Canada il plans lo iemove loxic elemenls such as aisenic liom old silvei mine lailings and exliacl coball, nickel and silvei. Iiisl and loiemosl, ve aie living lo iemediale lhe enviionmenl, explains Paul Millei, vicepiesidenl ol engineeiing al BacTech. Bul bv doing lhal, ve also hope lo iecovei valuable melals. Melals can also be exliacled liom polluled valei. Valei souices neai dis used mines aie ollen conlaminaled, as valei diains lhiough old vasle dumps. In Geimanv a lim called GEOS has sel up a pilol planl on a coalmining sile lo clean lhe iionlaced gioundvalei using bacleiia. Oiganisms vilh slighllv dieienl dielaiv pieleiences, knovn as sulphui ieducing bacleiia, shov piomise loi ie moving dissolved melals liom liquid indusliial vasle. Paques, a lim based in lhe Nelheilands, has a commeicial pio cess loi iecoveiing zinc using such bacle iia, and Biilish ieseaicheis in Biimingham and Dundee have iecenllv ieliieved palla dium and plalinum in lhis vav, loo. Inleiesl in bioleaching shovs no sign ol abaling. As pail ol a Euiopean pioecl called PioMine, geologisls aie mapping Euiopes mineial iesouices lo a deplh ol -km (+.Imiles in an eoil lo slimulale lhe mining indusliv and ieduce dependence on impoils. Inlegial lo lhe pioecl is lui lhei developmenl ol biological melal iecoveiv melhods. In Euiope, al leasl, mineialmunching miciobes can expecl longleim emplovmenl-and lunch. 7 K IIIING a soldiei iemoves one enemv liom lhe liav. Vounding him iemoves lhiee: lhe viclim and lhe lvo vho have lo caiiv him liom lhe ballleleld. Thal cvni cal calculalion lies behind lhe design ol manv veapons lhal aie inlended lo inca pacilale ialhei lhan annihilale. Bul iobol ics mav change lhe equalion. The Ballleleld ExliaclionAssisl Robol, oi BEAR loi shoil, is, in lhe voids ol Gaiv Gilbeil ol lhe Uniled Slales Aimvs Tele medicine and Advanced Technologv Reseaich Cenlie (TATRC, a highlv agile and poveilul mobile iobol capable ol lilling and caiiving a combal casuallv liom a hazaidous aiea acioss uneven leiiain. Vhen il is nol saving lives, il can peiloim dimcull and iepelilive lasks, such as loading and unloading ammunilion. The cuiienl piololvpe BEAR is a small, liacked vehicle vilh lvo hvdiaulic aims and a sel ol video cameias lhal piovide a viev ol ils suiioundings lo ils opeialoi via a viieless link. Il has been developed bv TATRC in collaboialion vilh Vecna Tech nologies, a companv based in Maivland lhal invenled lhe iobol. Daniel Theobald, BEARs invenloi and Vecnas boss, savs veisalililv is al lhe heail ol lhe iobols design. Il vould be complelelv impiacli cal il vou had iobols vilh a sole dulv lo iescue soldieis, because lhev vould spend mosl ol lheii lime unused, he savs. The vhole idea liom lhe slail vas lo design a geneialpuipose iobol. The BEARs opeialoi can conliol lhe iobol in lvo vavs. One, a ovslick, can be embedded inlo lhe giip ol a iie and manoeuvied bv lhe soldieis lngeilip vhen he is holding his veapon lo his shouldei. The advanlage ol lhis is lhal he does nol need lo pul his gun dovn lo iescue his comiades. The olhei means ol conliol, a special glove designed bv An lhioTionix, anolhei Maivland lim, can sense lhe veaieis hand movemenls and diiecl lhe BEAR accoidinglv. Il, loi ex ample, lhe gloved hand moves lo lhe lell, lhe iobol vill lollov. Il lhe hand moves backvaids, lhe iobol vill slov dovn oi slop. Il lhe gloves veaiei closes his lsl, lhe iobol lakes lhal as an insliuclion lo giip an obecl vilh ils aims. Ovei lhe pasl veai BEAR has been lesled al lhe aimvs Inlanliv Cenlie Manoeuvie Ballle Iaboialoiv in Ioil Benning, Geoigia. Il has shovn lhal il can liavel al aiound Izmph (Ikph acioss a al suilace. Il can also move ovei soil, sand and giavel, lhiough liees and inside build ings, albeil al lovei speeds. Seveial moie veais ol lesls aie planned (lhis is lhe aimv, allei all, bul Di Gilbeil is oplimislic lhal BEAR vill come lhiough lhem. Il il does, soldieis vill be able lo gel on vilh lheii piimaiv ob ol killing lhe enemv, vilhoul having lo voiiv so much aboul vhal lhe enemv has done lo lheii liiends. 7 Caught in a BEAR hug Robotics: A newly designed robot can recover casualties from battleelds, and might also be able to make itself useful to soldiers in other ways Carrying out an important duty The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 Monitor 3 T HE iising piice ol melals ovei iecenl veais, luelled bv booming demand in China and olhei emeiging economies, has caused lhieves lo luin lheii allenlion lo lhings lhal vould pieviouslv nol have meiiled a second glance: iubbish bins, manhole coveis, liamc lighls, indusliial piping and-peihaps mosl voiiving- elecliical cables, lelephone lines and lhe viies lhal conliol iailvav signals. In one English counlv alone, lhe Vesl Midlands, -z lhells ol melal liom iailvavs ovei lhe couise ol I8 monlhs have iesulled in lhe delav oi cancellalion ol I,-oo liains, ac coiding lo Tom Valson, a local membei ol Pailiamenl. Indeed, Paul Ciovlhei, depu lv chiel conslable ol lhe Biilish Tianspoil Police, lhe loice iesponsible loi keeping an eve on lhe iailvavs, desciibes melal lhell as lhe secondgiealesl lhieal, allei leiio iism, lo Biilains inliasliucluie. Il vould be uselul, lhen, loi sciap dealeis vho aie oeied melal obecls ol unknovn piovenance lo be able lo lell quicklv vhelhei lhev have been slolen and, il so, liom vhom, so lhal lhev can inloim lhe police. Tvo small Biilish lims, SmailValei Technologv, based in Telloid, and Seleclamaik Secuiilv Svslems ol Iocksbollom, lhink lhev have voiked oul vavs ol lelling lhem do usl lhal. SmailValeis invenlion is a special adhesive lhal can be painled onlo obecls lhal mighl be slolen. Though invisible in noimal lighl once il has haidened, lhis adhesive glovs vellov vhen illuminaled bv a beam ol ulliaviolel lighl. Thal, bv ilsell, acls as a vaining lhal goods mighl be slolen, bul lhe ieal liick is vhal hap pens nexl. The adhesive also conlains celluloid miciodols lhe size ol sand giains lhal have been impiinled vilh Smail Valeis phone numbei and a code idenli lving lhe melals ovnei. These can be iead undei a micioscope and a quick phone call vill ieveal vhelhei lhe goods aie, indeed, slolen-oi have been sold legili malelv bv an ovnei vho has loigollen lo clean lhem lisl. Ol couise, a lhiel vho believes his svag mighl have been so maiked mighl allempl such cleaning himsell. Thieves somelimes buin o lhe insulalion on elecliical cabling anvvav. So SmailValei has lound a luilhei vav lo encode inloi malion in ils adhesives-one vhich, un like celluloid, suivives lie. Besides lhe miciodols, each balch also conlains a unique combinalion ol up lo +o com pounds ol iaieeailh melals. Checking lhese is a bil moie complicaled lhan look ing dovn a micioscope. Bul il a dealei oi lhe police have ieason lo suspecl a piece ol sciap mighl be slolen, lhen Smail Valeis laboialoiv can lell lhem vho boughl lhe balch ol adhesive in queslion. Seleclamaiks lechnologv also uses miciodols, lhough inslead ol celluloid il emplovs polveslei oi a nickelbased allov, depending on lhe lvpe ol adhesive in volved. In place ol mixluies ol iaieeailh compounds, ils unique chemical maikeis aie shoil slielches ol DNA, each vilh a dieienl sequence ol genelic code. DNA, indeed, seems lo have a lalis manic qualilv in lhe lghl againsl ciime. Even SmailValei, vhich does nol acluallv use DNA, ieleis lo ils unique chemical idenlileis as svnlhelic DNA. Bolh com panies sav lhe meie acl ol alluding lo lheii pioducls as a lvpe ol DNA helps delei ciiminals-ialhei as lhe oiiginal DNA idenlilcalion lechnologv vas ollen ie leiied lo as lngeipiinling, even lhough il has nolhing lo do vilh lngeipiinls. Iilms and lelevision shovs have diama lised lhe use ol DNA liom ciime scenes lo convicl miscieanls, geneialing vhal Iason Biovn, Seleclamaiks head ol sales, calls a DNAleai lacloi. The police concui, saving lhal vhen DNA vaining signs aie posled piominenllv, ciime diops. Ioi lhose nol deleiied bv magic voids, lhough, bolh lims have an exlia suipiise. Thev also sell spiavcan kils, lo be in slalled above doois oi neai valuables. These aie liiggeied bv molion deleclois oi lhe piess ol a bullon bv a shop assislanl oi householdei. Even il a lhiel nolices lhe misl, he is maiked loi davs. The spiav lodges in poies and cieases in lhe skin, available lo lhe svab ol a cuiious police omcei and bianding lhe lhiel as eeclive lv as his ovn DNA vould, had he lell anv al lhe scene ol lhe ciime. 7 Do Not Attempt to steal Security technology: Special transparent adhesives, dabbed on valuables or sprayed on thieves, are helping police solve crimes Now anything can have a ngerprint T HE Pelican, a small, iemolelv con liolled helicoplei dione veighing less lhan a kilogiam, is poveied bv a balleiv lhal piovides aboul zo minules ving. And vel, one evening lasl Oclobei, lhe Pelican look o, iose len melies and hov eied lhioughoul lhe nighl. Il vas bioughl dovn in lhe moining onlv because lhe exhibilion hall neai Seallle, vheie il vas aiiboine, vas aboul lo open loi business. This iemaikable leal vas achieved vilh lhe ingenious use ol a lasei beam. The lasei, aimed liom lhe giound al pholo vollaic cells mounled on lhe Pelicans undeiside, chaiged lhe choppeis balleiv, keeping hei aloll loi an unpiecedenled Iz houis and z) minules. An oplicalliacking svslem kepl lhe lasei beam on laigel, ciealing a scienlilcallv exciling, vel a lillle boiing expeiience, accoiding lo Michael Achlelik ol lhe Pelicans Geiman manulacluiei, Ascending Technologies, allei a long nighl moniloiing ighl dala. Keeping diones aloll is nol lhe onlv pulalive applicalion ol povei beaming, as lhis lechnologv is knovn. Iive veais ago NASA, Ameiicas space agencv, oeied piize monev lo anv leam lhal could build a iemolelv poveied iobol able lo climb quicklv up a cable. Onlv in zoo, hovevei, veie lhe lisl ol lhese piizes claimed, vhen lhiee leams liom Ameiica and Canada demonslialed climbing iobols poveied bv laseis on lhe giound. Iasei Molive, lhe Seallle companv lhal designed lhe Pelicans lasei svslem, von $oo,ooo bv poveiing a -kg iobol up almosl a kilomelie ol cable dangling liom a manned helicoplei. IaseiMolives beam Beam it up Energy: Laser beams can deliver energy to machines through thin air. This might be a good way to power drone aircraft or a space elevator This Pelican can hover 1 4 Monitor The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 sliuck a pholovollaic panel on lhe iobol, geneialing elecliicilv lhal luined a sel ol vheels giipping lhe cable. Convenlional pholovollaic cells, made ol silicon, aie designed lo collecl eneigv liom sunlighl. IaseiMolive uses special cells made vilh aisenic and gallium, vhich aie bellei able lo capluie lhe neai inliaied vavelenglhs ol ils lasei beam. The panel on lhe climbing iobol, aboul lhe size ol a coee liav, haivesled enough povei lo iun a small lavnmovei. One ol IaseiMolives loundeis, Ioidin Kaie, ieckons lhal a similai lasei could delivei aboul as much eneigv zokm up il lhe panel veie onlv a lev limes laigei. One ieason NASA suppoils povei beaming is lhal il hopes lhe lechnologv could be used lo help iun a space elevaloi. This is a machine, lamiliai liom science lclion, vhich some engineeis lhink could be made science lacl. In essence, il vould be a gianl cable ieaching lens ol lhou sands ol kilomelies inlo space lo an oibil ing salellile. Cableclimbing iobols, pov eied bv lasei beams shol upvaid liom lhe giound, oi dovnvaid liom space, vould lake pavloads lo oibil. Rockels vould lhus become iedundanl. Indeed, Andv Pelio ol NASAs lechnologv omce in Vashinglon, DC, savs povei beaming mighl change lhe economics ol space exploialion complele lv. Iaseis beamed liom landing ciall could, he savs, povei ioveis in sunless aieas ol lhe moon oi Mais, such as cialeis vheie valei mighl be lound. Povei beaming is also becoming moie emcienl. A lev veais ago laseis lvpicallv conveiled less lhan ao ol lhe elecliical eneigv used lo iun lhem inlo beam povei. The lguie is nov aboul 6o, and cosls have diopped-lhe iesull ol eoils lo develop bellei lasei piinleis, CD buineis and even haiiiemoval devices. Moieovei, engineeis have voiked oul hov lo make lasei beams moie inlense bv using shoil lenglhs ol oplical lbie lo naiiov lhe beam. Such inlense laseis aie bellei suiled lo poveibeaming because lhe cells lhal collecl lhe lasei lighl can be smallei. The Pelicans successlul ighl piobablv means lhal lhe lisl big applicalion loi povei beaming vill be supplving eneigv lo diones. Al lhe momenl, mosl small diones ielv on balleiv povei, so lheii ighls aie shoil. IaseiMolive iepoils lhal Ameiican aimv omcials, including some iesponsible loi specialloices kil, have expiessed an inleiesl in poveibeaming svslems loi diones. DARPA, lhe Ameiican Delence Depailmenls lechnologv agencv, is also sponsoiing ieseaich inlo povei beaming. Biilish ieadeis ol a ceilain age mav iemembei lhal lhe spaceships ovn bv Dan Daie, Biilains ansvei lo Buck Rogeis, veie poveied bv impulse vaves, beamed liom Eailh. Thal piece ol science lclion, loo, mav piove nol lo have been quile so vide ol lhe maik. 7 A PYION is supposed lo be a beaulilul lhing. In ancienl Egvpl, paiis ol lapei ing slone loveis called pvlons maiked lhe enliances ol lemples. Chiislian aichilecls boiioved lhe idea loi lhe lvin loveis above lhe laades ol manv Golhic calhe dials. Vhoevei lhoughl ol appiopiialing lhe void loi lhe uglv melallallice sliuc luies lhal caiiv highlension povei lines acioss lhe counlivside vas lheieloie guillv ol bolh a publicielalions liiumph and an acl ol elvmological vandalism. The lallei, hovevei, mav soon be ie deemed. The lalesl geneialion ol elecliic ilv pvlons aie, in lhe eves ol some, al leasl, lhings ol beaulv in lheii ovn iighl. The pvlons in queslion have been designed bv engineeis al TenneT, lhe lim lhal iuns lhe Nelheilands nalional elec liicilv giid, in collaboialion vilh KEMA, a Dulch ieseaich companv. Inslead ol a single lallice lovei, lhe cables aie sup poiled bv lvo eleganl sleel poles up lo 6- melies high. Theie aie no aims. The six cables lhal pass liom one pvlon lo anolhei aie each boine bv lvo insulalois allached lo lhe poles. The iesulling aiiangemenl, lhough haidlv invisible, is ieasonablv eleganl. As much lo lhe poinl, lhough, il has lechnological advanlages. Allhough lhev have nol been lound lo cause anv haim, lhe cables on convenlional pvlons, vhich liansmil a lhieephase alleinaling cuiienl, geneiale a sliong elecliic leld and a conlinuous buzz ol lovliequencv iadio vaves. Some people vho live neai lhem leai lhis mighl be bad loi lheii heallh. TenneTs pvlons should help allav lhal leai. Caiiving all lhe cables in a slack belveen lhe poles, ialhei lhan hanging lhem sepaialelv on oulvaidlacing aims, allovs lhem lo be aiianged in a vav lhal causes lhe individual lelds geneialed bv each cable lo cancel each olhei oul, veak ening lhe oveiall leld aiound lhe pvlons. The iesull is lai less lovliequencv iadia lion. The combinalion ol being less ol an evesoie and pioducing less elecliical smog should, TenneT hopes, sollen obeclions lo lhe consliuclion ol nev oveihead povei lines. Thal is impoilanl loi lvo ieasons. Iiisl, lhe alleinalive-buiving highlension lines-is expensive and laigelv lulile. The cosl ol pulling a cable undeigiound is belveen loui and len limes as much as lhal ol caiiving il on a pvlon. On lop ol lhal, lhe leld geneialed bv an alleinaling cuiienl inleiacls vilh lhe giound moie slionglv lhan il does vilh lhe aii. This cieales losses ao limes highei in a buiied cable lhan in an aeiial one. Unless lhe longdislanceliansmission svslem veie conveiled lo diiecl cuiienl (vhich ieduces liansmission losses, bul biings pioblems ol ils ovn, buiial ol liansmission lines is nol a seiious oplion. The second ieason TenneTs pvlons mav be impoilanl is lhal despile lhese pioblems, a lol ol nev longdislance liansmission lines aie going lo have lo be consliucled, and soon. Vind povei liom lhe Noilh Sea and lhe Allanlic Ocean vill iequiie lhal. So, moie speculalivelv, vill lhe idea ol geneialing solai povei in noilh Aliica and liansmilling il lo Euiope. In lhe Nelheilands alone, TenneT savs, moie lhan aookm (z-o miles ol nev lines aie needed. In Geimanv lhe slaleovned eneigv agencv, DENA, ieckons lhe lguie is moie lhan +,-ookm. Al a iecenl meeling ol lhe Euiopean Council, on Iebiuaiv alh, lhe leadeis ol lhe Euiopean Unions mem bei slales acknovledged lhal Euiope needs a complelelv nev povei giid, a pioecl lhev ieckon vill cosl aboul Czoo billion ($z)o billion. The oveihead povei pioblem is lhus going lo have lo be solved one vav oi anolhei. In liulh, ol couise, no pvlon is evei going lo be a moie alliaclive lealuie ol lhe counlivside lhan no pvlon al all. Bul il pvlons have lo be buill-vhich lhev do- lhen somelhing eleganl and emcienl is lhe leasl bad vav ol doing il. 7 Towering beauty? Energy: A rather more elegant way to convey electrical cables across the countryside may be coming soon to a eld near you 2 The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 Monitor 5 V AY back in lhe eailv davs ol lhe veb, in I+, lhe New Yorker ian a cailoon lealuiing lvo dogs silling in lionl ol a compulei. The inleinelsavvv canine is saving lo ils liiend: On lhe inleinel, nobodv knovs vouie a dog. This oke capluied lhe lieevheeling anonvmilv ol lhe eailv slages ol inleinel adoplion, bul il doesnl voik nov. Todav vebsiles ollen knov a gieal deal aboul lheii visilois, including lheii names and inleiesls. The abililv lo use lhe inleinel anonv mouslv is being eioded on seveial lionls. Some populai vebsiles, including Iace book, lhe leading social nelvoik, and Ouoia, a populai queslionandansvei sile, iequiie useis lo give lheii ieal names, and block people vho aie suspecled ol using pseudonvms. Olhei siles ask lhal useis piovide lheii ieal names in oidei lo be able lo leave commenls, in lhe hope lhal discussions vill be moie civil il peo ple have lo ieveal lheii idenlilies. In iecenl monlhs secuiilv ieseaicheis have shovn lhal il vou use voui ieal idenlilv on some siles, vou can be idenli led vhen vou visil olheis. One vav lhis can happen involves cookies, lhe snip pels ol dala lhal vebsiles deposil on visilois compuleis, so lhal ieluining visilois can be iecognised. Il sounds cieepv, bul cookies aie geneiallv ano nvmised. Cookies can ieveal lhings aboul voui biovsing habils-lhev aie used lo laigel adveilising, loi example, based on olhei siles vou have visiled-bul lhev do nol usuallv knov vho vou aie. In zoIo, hovevei, piivacv expeils lvice poinled oul lhal Iacebook vas sending inloimalion aboul ils useis lo lhe same adveiliseis lhal liack biovsing using cookies. Il is nol knovn vhal, il anvlhing, lhe adveiliseis did vilh lhis inloimalion. The polenlial, hovevei, is cleai: lhe Iace book dala could have been used lo de anonvmise lhe biovsing hisloiies associ aled vilh lhe cookies. Iacebook plugged lhis leak ol peisonal inloimalion, bul onlv allei lhe pioblem vas given piominenl coveiage in lhe Wall Street Journal. Vhen lhe leak vas highlighled bv compulei scienlisls in Augusl zoo, nine monlhs eailiei, Iacebook look no aclion. Anolhei anonvmilveioding lech nique vas iecenllv agged bv compulei scienlisls. Il ielies on hisloiv slealing, in vhich a secuiilv av in a useis veb biovsei allovs iogue vebsiles lo ieliieve liagmenls ol his biovsing hisloiv. This mav nol diiecllv ieveal his idenlilv, bul can be veiv ievealing. Ioi example, il a usei has oined lhiee gioups on a social nelvoik, lheie is a limiled oveilap be lveen lhe gioups membeiship lisls, and lhose lisls aie public, il mav simplv be a mallei ol voiking oul vho belongs lo all lhiee gioups. This sounds ialhei conliived, bul il voiks in piaclice. Gilbeil Vondiacek al lhe Vienna Univeisilv ol Technologv in Ausliia and his colleagues buill a hisloiv slealing vebsile aimed al gioups on Xing, a businessoiienlaled social nelvoik. Mi Vondiaceks analvsis ol ovei 6,-oo Xing gioups, conlaining a lolal ol moie lhan I.8m useis, suggesled lhal his iogue sile vould be able lo deleimine lhe idenlilv ol aiound loui in len visilois. A liial iun, in vhich Mi Vondiacek inviled colleagues vho use Xing lo visil his hisloivslealing sile, shoved lhis eslimale lo be aboul iighl. The vulneiabililv he exploiled has since been addiessed bv lhe engineeis behind seveial biovseis, including Iiielox and Salaii, bul has so lai nol been lxed in Miciosolls Inleinel Exploiei. Meanvhile, Iacebook has quiellv gained lhe abililv lo moniloi ils useis vandeiings elsevheie on lhe veb. Manv siles nov include Iacebook Iike bul lons. Click one, and voui Iacebook piolle vill be updaled vilh a message linking lo lhe page in queslion. This lealuie helps people shaie conlenl vilh liiends, bul il also allovs Iacebook lo liack ils useis biovsing. In lacl, meielv going lo a page conlaining a Iike bullon vhile logged inlo Iacebook is enough lo nolilv lhe social nelvoik ol voui visil, vhelhei oi nol vou click lhe bullon. Vheie is all lhis heading! Il is cleai lhal manv lims can nov liack people as lhev move aiound lhe veb, and can some limes link lhese biovsing hisloiies lo specilc individuals and lheii peisonal inloimalion. Il lhe davs ol anonvmous biovsing aie nol ovei vel, some obseiveis lhink lhev soon vill be. As Iulie Cohen, a legal scholai al Geoigelovn Univeisilv, pul il in a piescienl papei published I- veais ago, lhe inleinel eia is as much an age ol inloimalion aboul ieadeis as il is an age ol inloimalion loi ieadeis. Speaking al lhe Techonomv conleience lasl veai, Eiic Schmidl ol Google dislinguished belveen piivacv, vhich he said should be iespecled, and anonvmilv. Absolule anonvmilv could lead lo some veiv dim cull decisions loi oui goveinmenls and oui socielv as a vhole, he said. Bul anonvmilv is lieeing. Il lels people go online and iead aboul liinge polilical vievpoinls, look up voids lhev aie embaiiassed nol lo knov lhe meaning ol, oi seaich loi a nev ob vilhoul being lhoughl exliem isl, slupid oi disloval. In Ameiica some udges have iecognised lhal biovsing habils vill change il people leel lhal lhev aie being valched. In ieecling a govein menl demand loi bookpuichase dala liom Amazon, an online ielailei, a udge viole lhal lhe ielease ol lhe inloimalion vould cieale a chilling eecl lhal vould liosl kevboaids acioss Ameiica. Iibiaiians have long undeislood lhis, vhich is vhv lhev keep iead eis lles conldenlial. Bul manv ol lhe nev cuslodians ol peoples ieading iecoids do nol seem in clined lo do lhe same. 7 Anonymous no more The internet: It is becoming ever more dicult to browse the internet without leaving behind digital footprints that reveal your identity 6 Monitor The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 1 C ONIINEMENT lo a vheelchaii is nol meielv liuslialing and degiading. Il is posilivelv bad loi lhe heallh. People con lned lo vheelchaiis ollen suei uiinaiv, iespiialoiv, caidiovasculai and digeslive svslem pioblems, as vell as osleopoiosis and piessuie soies. Amil Goei, an Isiaeli engineei, knovs lhis all loo vell. In I) Di Goei had an accidenl lhal lell him pailiallv paialvsed. Being an engineei, he decided lo do somelhing aboul il. The iesull is a paii ol iobolic liouseis lhal he calls ReValk. The idea ol a poveied, aililcial exo skelelon vill be lamiliai lo cinemagoeis liom llms such as Aliens and Avalai. In bolh ol lhose movies, hovevei, lhe device ampliles lhe useis povei and slienglh. ReValk, an exoskelelal veision ol lhe pelvic giidle and lhe legs bones and muscles, has a moie modesl aim: lo ie sloie povei and slienglh lo lhe useis legs. ReValk consisls ol a sel ol plaslic coveied aluminium sliuls, linked bv aclu aloi molois, lhal aie sliapped lo lhe legs and vaisl, and a backpack. Vilh lhese, and a paii ol ciulches loi backup, a usei can valk aiound. An aiiav ol sensois disliibuled along lhe sliuls and aiound lhe veaieis bodv leeds inloimalion lo a compulei in lhe backpack, vhich lells lhe aclualois vhal lo do. The veaiei slails bv lelling lhe com pulei vhal he is living lo achieve. A ie mole conliol sliapped lo one viisl oeis seveial modes ol aclion: sland, sil, valk, and ascend and descend loi slaiicases. Once sliapped in, lhe usei chooses valk mode, pushes his ciulches oulvaid and is o. Algoiilhms devised bv Di Goeis colleagues al Aigo Medical Technologies, lhe lim he lounded lo develop ReValk, analvse lhe dala liom lhe sensois and use lhe iesull lo opeiale lhe aclualois. Expeiience shovs lhe device can be voin all dav vilhoul discomloil. ReValk is nov undeigoing liials in Isiael, Ameiica and Euiope. Tvo veisions ol lhe device aie being developed. One, loi supeivised use in hospilals and ieha bililalion cenlies, is alieadv available loi sale in Euiope loi C8),-oo ($Izo,ooo and has usl been appioved in Ameiica. The olhei, loi lhe unsupeivised use ol lhose vho have undeigone such liaining, is slill undei sciulinv, bul Di Goei hopes il vill be cleaied loi sale bv lhe end ol lhe veai. Di Goei savs his aim is lo enable paialvsed people lo lead noimal lives. As vell as giving useis lhe abililv lo valk, lhe device also helps lhem iegain lheii digni lv. Vhen someone is in a vheelchaii his head is al lhe heighl ol an aveiage pei sons vaisl. This lileial diminulion ol his slaluie can ieduce his melaphoiical slal uie, loo. Once able lo sland up, his slaluie, in bolh senses ol lhe void, is iesloied- and lhal can be usl as valuable as lhe heallh and mobililv benells. 7 The right trousers Robotics: An articial exoskeleton, akin to a pair of robotic trousers, promises to bring hope and dignity to paraplegics by letting them walk Standing tall P HOTOGRAPHY can peiloim manv liicks. Unlil nov, lhough, looking aiound coineis has nol been one ol lhem. Ramesh Raskai ol lhe Massachu sells Inslilule ol Technologv plans lo change lhal. He and lvo ol his sludenls, Ahmed Kiimani and Andieas Vellen, have developed a cameia lhal can see vhal olhei cameias cannol. In slandaid ash phologiaphv a buisl ol lighl sliikes a subecl, and some ol il bounces back lo lhe cameia lo cieale an image. Di Raskais device is similai, bul vilh one ciucial dieience. Inslead ol iecoiding lighl ieecled di iecllv, il iecoids lighl lhal has been ie ecled seveial limes on lhe vav back. Ioi example, a phologiaphei laking a picluie ol someone slanding oul ol sighl in a ioom vilh a hallopen dooi mighl aim lhe cameia al lhe dooi. Iighl liom lhe ash vould be ieecled o lhe dooi and onlo bolh lhe peison and lhe valls behind lhal peison. Some ol lhis lighl vould lhen liavel back lo lhe dooi and be ieecled inlo lhe cameia. Thal much is basic oplics. The liick is vhal lhe cameia does vilh lhe incoming lighl. A compulei idenliles vhich incoming iavs came back eailv because lhev bounced o lhe peison, and vhich came back lalei because lhev bounced o lhe valls behind lhe peison. A geomeliic iecon sliuclion ol vheie lhe vaiious lighl iavs have been lhen cieales an image ol vhal could nol oidinaiilv be seen. Because lhe ash musl suivive mul liple ieeclions vilhoul being absoibed oi becoming loo veak, nol usl anv lighl can be used. Il musl be a lasei. Di Raskai and his sludenls aie voiking vilh one lhal lies ils pulse in a lhousand bil lionlh ol a second. This ensuies lhal ieeclions liom dieienl places aie easiei lo lell apail, because lhev do nol blui inlo one anolhei. Al lhe momenl lhe cameia can pio duce onlv lovqualilv images, and cannol cope vilh obecls lhal have seveial soils ol suilace maleiial. Bul Di Raskai ieckons lhal his lechnique vill evenluallvopen a iange ol applicalions, liom sludving inaccessible nooks and ciannies ol lhe human bodv lo looking inlo buining buildings. How to see round corners Digital imaging: An unusual new type of camera analyses the reections of a laser pulse to do the seemingly impossible C RAIG SMAIIVOOD, a disabled Ameiican vai veleian, spenl moie lhan zo,ooo houis ovei lve veais plaving an online ioleplaving game called Ii neage II. Vhen NCsoll, lhe Soulh Koiean lim behind lhe game, accused him ol bieaking lhe games iules and banned him, he vas plunged inlo depiession, seveie paianoia and hallucinalions. He spenl lhiee veeks in hospilal. He sued NCsoll loi liaud and negligence, demand ing ovei $m in damages and claiming lhal lhe companv acled negligenllv bv lailing lo vain him ol lhe dangei lhal he vould become addicled lo lhe game. Bul does il make sense lo lalk ol addic lion lo online aclivilv! Menlalheallh Addicted? Really? The internet: Mental-health specialists disagree over whether to classify compulsive online behaviour as addictionand how to treat it 2 specialisls sav lhiee online behaviouis can become pioblemalic loi manv people: video games, poinogiaphv and messaging via email and social nelvoiks. Bul lheie is lai less agieemenl aboul vhelhei anv ol lhis should be called inleinel addic lion-oi hov lo lieal il. Some menlalheallh specialisls vanl ed inleinel addiclion lo be included in lhe lllh veision ol psvchialivs bible, lhe Diagnoslic and Slalislical Manual ol Menlal Disoideis, knovn as DSM-V, vhich is cuiienllv being oveihauled. The Ameiican Medical Associalion endoised lhe idea in zoo), onlv lo backliack davs lalei. The American Journal of Psychiatry called inleinel addiclion a common disoidei and suppoiled ils iecognilion. Iasl veai lhe DSM-Vdialling gioup made ils decision: inleinel addiclion vould nol be included as a behaviouial addiclion- onlv gambling made lhe cul-bul il said luilhei sludv vas vaiianled. Sceplics sav lheie is nolhing uniquelv addiclive aboul lhe inleinel. Back in zooo Ioseph Vallhei, a communicalions pioles soi al Michigan Slale Univeisilv, coviole an ailicle in vhich he suggesled, longue in cheek, lhal lhe ciileiia used lo call some one an inleinel addicl mighl also shov lhal mosl piolessois veie addicled lo academia. He aigued lhal olhei laclois, such as depiession, aie lhe ieal pioblem. He slands bv lhal viev lodav. No scienlil ic evidence has emeiged lo suggesl lhal inleinel use is a cause ialhei lhan a conse quence ol some olhei soil ol issue, he savs. Iocusing on and liealing people loi inleinel addiclion, ialhei lhan looking loi undeilving clinical issues, is unvise. Olheis disagiee. Thal vould be viong, savs Kimbeilv Young, a ieseaich ei and lheiapisl vho has voiked on in leinel addiclion since Ia. She insisls lhal lhe inleinel, vilh ils poveilullv immei sive enviionmenls, cieales nev pioblems lhal people musl leain lo navigale. No one dispules lhal online habils can luin loxic. Take Soulh Koiea, vheie ubiq uilous bioadband means lhal lhe aveiage highschool sludenl plavs video games loi z+ houis each veek. In zoo) lhe govein menl eslimaled lhal aiound zIo,ooo childien needed liealmenl loi inleinel addiclion. Iasl veai nevspapeis aiound lhe globe caiiied lhe sloiv ol a Soulh Koiean couple vho led lheii inlanl daugh lei so lillle lhal she slaived lo dealh. In slead ol caiing loi lhe child, lhe couple spenl mosl nighls al an inleinel cale, sinking houis inlo a ioleplaving game in vhich lhev iaised, led and caied loi a viilual daughlei. And seveial Soulh Koie an men have died liom exhauslion allei maialhon, mullidav gaming sessions. The Soulh Koiean goveinmenl has since asked game developeis lo adopl a gaming cuilev loi childien, lo pievenl lhem plaving belveen midnighl and 8am. Il has also opened moie lhan Ioo clinics loi inleinel addiclion and sponsoied an inleinel iescue camp loi seiious cases. Bul compulsive behavioui is nol limil ed lo gameis. Email oi vebuse behav iouis can also shov signs ol addiclion. Gelling lhiough a business lunch in vhich no one pulls oul a phone lo check lheii messages nov counls as a minoi miiacle in manv quaileis. A deluge ol sellhelp books, mosl iecenllv Alone Togelhei bv Sheiiv Tuikle, a social scienlisl al lhe Massachusells Inslilule ol Technologv, oei advice on hov lo unplug. Poinogiaphv is haidlv nev, eilhei, bul lhe inleinel makes accessing il much easiei lhan evei beloie. Vhen somelhing can be summoned in an inslanl via bioad band, vhelhei il is a game voild, an email inbox oi poinogiaphic maleiial, il is haidei lo iesisl. Nev seivices lead lo nev complainls. Vhen online auclion siles lisl became populai, lalk ol eBav addiclion soon lolloved. Di Young savs vomen complain lo hei nov aboul addic lion lo Iacebook-oi even lo IaimVille, a game plavable onlv vilhin Iacebook. Tiealmenl cenlies have popped up aiound lhe voild. In zoo6 Amsleidams Smilh & Iones lacililv billed ilsell as lhe lisl and, cuiienllv, lhe onlv iesidenlial videogame liealmenl piogiam in lhe voild. In Ameiica lhe ieSTARTInleinel Addiclion Recoveiv Piogiam claims lo lieal inleinel addiclion, gaming addiclion, and even lexling addiclion. In China, meanvhile, mililaivslvle bool camps aie lhe pieleiied vav lo lieal inleinel pioblems. Allei seveial dealhs, hovevei, sciulinv ol lhe camps has inlensiled. Yel manv people like leeling peima nenllv connecled. As Aiikia Millikan, an Ameiican bloggei, once pul il, Il I could be acked in al eveiv vaking houi ol lhe dav, I vould, and I lhink a lol ol mv peeis vould do lhe same. Bob IaRose, an inleinel specialisl al Michigan Slale Uni veisilv, doesnl believe hei. In his ieseaich on college sludenls, he lound lhal mosl sense vhen lhev aie going oveiboaid and iesloie sellconliol. Iess lhan I have a palhological pioblem, he adds. Ioi mosl people, inleinel use is usl a habil- and one lhal biings us pleasuie. 7 T HE ECONOMISTS lenlh annual Innovalion Summil vill lake place in Iondon on Oclobei zIsl. Expeil speak eis vill examine lhe lalesl liends in innovalion, liom lhe laboialoiv lo lhe maikelplace. Ioi lhis veais lenlh anni veisaiv evenl ve vill be inviling all ol oui pievious vinneis lo pailicipale. And al an avaids ceiemonv on lhe evening ol Oclobei zolh ve vill piesenl lhis veais avaids lo successlul innova lois in a iange ol lelds. Accoidinglv, ieadeis aie inviled lo nominale oulslanding innovalois in seven calegoiies: bioscience (vhich includes medical devices, phaimaceu licals, biolechnologv and agiiculluie, eneigv and lhe enviionmenl, compul ing and lelecommunicalions, no boundaiies (including nanolech nologv and olhei emeiging lelds, consumei pioducls and seivices, busi ness piocesses, and social and eco nomic innovalion, a calegoiv lhal iecog nises individuals vho have pioneeied lechnologies and business models lhal impiove eveivdav lives. Nominees should be people, nol companies, be hind an innovalion lhal has been a pioven success in lhe pasl decade. Please submil voui nominalions bv visiling economislinnovalion.com, vheie vou vill be asked lo supplv lhe nominees name, amlialion and conlacl delails, and a zoovoid summaiv ex plaining vhv lhe peison in queslion deseives lo vin in a pailiculai calegoiv. The deadline is Apiil )lh. Bright sparks Innovation Awards: We invite nominations for our annual prizes recognising successful innovators in seven categories The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 Monitor 7 8 Monitor The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 R EMEMBER lhe panic ovei lhe millen nium bug, vhen compuleis eveiv vheie veie expecled lo go havviie on Ian uaiv Isl zooo, lhanks lo lhe vav a lol ol old sollvaie used usl lvo digils lo iepiesenl lhe veai inslead ol loui! Doomsleis pie dicled all soils ol eiiois in calculalions in volving dales vhen lhe clocks iolled ovei liom lo oo. In lhe evenl, lhe millennium davned vilhoul incidenl. Somelhing similai is aboul lo happen again, and lhis lime il cannol be ignoied. The pioblem is lhe exhauslion ol inleinel piolocol (IP addiesses-lhe loui numbeis ianging liom o lo z--, sepaialed bv dols, lhal uniquelv idenlilv eveiv device al lached lo lhe inleinel. Accoiding lo Huiii cane Elecliic, an inleinel backbone and seivices piovidei based in Iiemonl, Cali loinia, lhe inleinel ian oul ol bulk IP ad diesses on Iebiuaiv +id. The Inleinel Assigned Numbeis Au lhoiilv, vhich oveisees such lhings, had doled oul all ils socalled slasheighl blocks ol addiesses lo lhe lve iegional in leinel iegisliies aiound lhe voild. The ieg isliies aie expecled lo allocale all lheii ie maining addiesses lo local nelvoik opeialois ovei lhe coming monlhs. Allei lhal, anv oiganisalion applving loi nev addiesses vill be lold: Soiiv, none lell. The issue is ieal and has been a long lime in lhe making. The Economist lisl viole aboul il len veais ago. The pioblem is lhal lhe cuiienl veision ol lhe inleinels addiess svslem, called IP veision a (IPva, uses +zbil numbeis, and lhe lolal numbei ol addiesses possible vilh such an ai iangemenl is lheieloie lvo iaised lo lhe povei ol +z-oi ioughlv a.+ billion in deci mal leims. Back in lhe I8os, vhen lhe in leinel connecled usl a couple ol dozen ie seaich inslilules in Ameiica, lhal seemed like a huge numbei. Bul vilh lhe invenlion ol lhe veb in Io came an explosion in demand. Il vas soon cleai lhal il vas onlv a mallei ol lime beloie lhe inleinel vould exhausl ils sup plv ol addiesses. Voik on a ieplacemenl loi IPva began in lhe eailv Ios, vilh IPv6 lnallv being made available in I8 (IPv- vas an expeiimenlal piolocol loi slieam ing audio and video lhal vas abandoned. Bv giving lhe nev inleinel veision an ad diess space ol Iz8 bils, lhe designeis piellv vell guaianleed lhal il vould nol iun oul ol unique idenlileis loi decades, oi even cenluiies, lo come. Tvo iaised lo lhe Iz8lh povei is an enoimous numbei: ioughlv +ao billion bil lion billion billion-oi, as Mailin Ievv ol Huiiicane Elecliic likes lo sav, moie lhan loui quadiillion addiesses loi eveiv slai in lhe obseivable univeise. Thal vill come in handv vhen lhe inleinel ol lhings be comes a iealilv. Alieadv, some z billion people have access lo lhe inleinel, manv ol vhom ovn mulliple devices. The use ol ViIi baseslalions and iouleis lhal allov shaiing ol a single IP addiess has pul o lhe dav ol ieckoning loi a vhile. Bul add all lhe lelevisions, phones, cais and house hold appliances lhal aie cuiienllv being given inleinel access-plus, evenluallv, ev eiv book, pill case and ilem ol invenloiv as vell-and lhe need loi IPv6 is cleai. Though a vasl impiovemenl, IPv6 is nol vilhoul ils pioblems. The biggesl is lhal il is nol diiecllv backvaid compalible vilh IPva. To ieduce lhe amounl ol piocessing lhe iouling compuleis have lo do as lhev diiecl packels ol dala ovei lhe inleinel, IPv6 vas given a lai simplei packel loimal. Thal speeds lhings up no end. Bul al lhough lhe lvo inleinel veisions can coex isl on a single device, lhev have lo opeiale as lvo sepaiale nelvoiks. Vhen an IPva device needs lo communicale vilh an IPv6 device, vaiious ielav seivices and lunnelling liicks have lo be emploved, vilh IPv6 packels gelling viapped inside IPva packels and vice veisa. Il seems likelv lhal lhe lvo sepaiale in leinels vill have lo live side bv side loi lhe loieseeable luluie. Thal could mean pul ling up vilh inleiopeiabililv hassles loi decades-in lhe Uniled Slales, al leasl. Be ing lhe invenloi and eailiesl usei ol lhe in leinel, Ameiica ieceived lhe lions shaie ol addiesses beloie lodavs iules veie pul in place. As a iesull, manv laige companies, univeisilies and goveinmenl agencies slill have plenlv ol spaie IPva addiesses lving aiound unused. The piessuie lo upgiade has lheieloie been minimal. Thal is nol lhe case elsevheie. The big gesl single demonslialion ol IPv6 lo dale vas duiing lhe zoo8 Summei Olvmpics in Beiing, vhen eveivlhing liom live lelevi sion and dala leeds lo secuiilv and liamc inloimalion vas slieamed ovei a vasl IPv6 nelvoik. Being a ielalivelv lalecomei lo lhe inleinel, China has onlv one addiess loi eveiv loui people. Hence Beiings de siie lo adopl IPv6 as iapidlv as possible. The same goes loi Russia, Soulh Koiea and Iapan. NTT, Iapans laigesl lelecoms lim, has been oeiing IPv6 seivices lo lhe pub lic since zooo. The nexl shovcase loi lhe nev inleinel lechnologv vill be Voild IPv6 Dav on Iune 8lh. Vhile doing all he can lo help, Vinl Ceil, one ol lhe lalheis ol lhe inleinel (vho nov voiks al Google, vains lhal lhe dav could be maiied bv painlul conlg uialion pioblems. Bul lhe main puipose ol lhe evenl is lo aii pieciselv such dimcullies and gel lheii lxes ciiculaled. Meanvhile lhe Ameiican Regisliv loi Inleinel Num beis, vhich allocales blocks ol IP addiess es lo inleinel seivice piovideis and olhei nelvoik opeialois lhioughoul Noilh Ameiica, has suggesled lhal all publiclac ing vebsiles in ils iegion be ieadv lo sup poil IPv6 bv Ianuaiv Isl zoIz. Such inilia lives should giaduallv move lhe inleinel liom lodavs voild, vilh islands ol IPv6 svslems in a sea ol IPva, lo a voild vilh islands ol IPva in a vasl ocean ol IPv6. 7 Dierence engine Renumbering the net The internet: Just as car number plates and telephone dialling codes need to be updated every so often to allow for growth, so does the internets addressing system. But it should not need updating again any time soon I T VAS one ol lhe laigesl inleinalional scienlilc collaboialions evei undeilaken and il led, evenluallv, lo a landmaik ac complishmenl. Yel even vilh a budgel ol moie lhan $+ billion and lhe pailicipalion ol lhousands ol scienlisls, lhe piocess ol mapping lhe human genome slill look moie lhan a decade. The lechnologv has impioved enoimouslv since lhen: il is nov possible lo sequence a human genome in aboul eighl davs, al a cosl ol aiound $Io,ooo. Bul ieseaicheis dieam ol being able lo complele lhe piocess in a mallei ol houis, oi even minules, loi less lhan $I,ooo. Genome sequencing could lhen become iouline, making il much easiei lo idenlilv lhe genelic basis ol diseases oi iso lale lhe laclois lhal cause a diug lo voik in one palienl bul nol anolhei. The mosl piomising vav lo make such cheap, iapid sequencing a iealilv is an ap pioach called nanopoie sequencing. This involves diaving individual sliands ol DNA lhiough linv nanoscopic holes, oi poies. The idea is lhal individual base paiis (lhe loui chemical lelleis ol lhe DNA al phabel can lhen be iead o one al a lime as lhev pass lhiough lhe nanopoie. Mv ovn vision is a I-minule genome, savs Hagan Bavlev, a chemisl al lhe Univeisilv ol Oxloid vho is a pioneei in lhe leld ol nanopoies. Vhile vou aie being diag nosed al lhe hospilal voui enliie genome vould be sequenced. Sequencing lechnologv has come a long vav since lhe Human Genome Pio ecl, bul il slill iequiies DNA lo be copied millions ol limes, a slep called am plilcalion, and labelled vilh uoiescenl lags. Il is a limeconsuming piocess and a signilcanl bollleneck, savs Goidon Sang heia, lhe chiel execulive ol Oxloid Nano poie, a lim sel up in zoo- lo commeicial ise Di Bavlevs voik on nanopoies. Todav all lhe svslems lhal aie oul lheie have lo chemicallv label lhe DNA and copv il so lhev have enough lo iead il, savs Di Sangheia. So lhe cuiienl slale ol lhe ail spends belveen lve and len davs usl pie paiing lhe DNA. Vilh nanopoies, hov evei, viiluallv no chemical piepiocessing is iequiied and no amplilcalion. Inslead a single sliand ol DNA can be iead, one base paii al a lime, and vilhoul lhe need loi la belling. Moieovei, exisling sequencing lechniques involve bieaking DNA inlo small chunks ol less lhan Ioo base paiis. These chunks have lo be sequenced manv limes lo lnd idenlilable oveilaps so lhal lhev can be pieced logelhei, savs Guslavo Slolovilzkv, lhe head ol lhe lunclional ge nomics and svslems biologv gioup al IBM, a compulei gianl. Nanopoie sequencing can cope vilh much longei sliands, vhich should help speed lhings up. The hole story Coaxing individual sliands ol DNA, some -o,ooo limes lhinnei lhan a human haii, lhiough holes usl a couple ol nanomelies vide (a nanomelie is a lhousand millionlh ol a melie mav sound impossible. Bul somelhing similai happens in naluie all lhe lime, in lhe loim ol poieloiming pio leins, called ion channels, lhal punch holes in lhe membianes ol cells and seleclivelv allov ions lo pass lhiough lhem. Manv biological piocesses depend on lhe abililv ol ion channels lo iegulale lhe ov ol ions lhiough cellulai membianes. In lhe Ios, inspiied bv lhe elegance ol lhese pioleins, Di Bavlev slailed looking al hov ion channels could be used as biomo leculai sensois. He slailed o vilh a lipid bilavei-a veiv lhin biological membiane vilh a high elecliical iesislance. An ion channel is used lo cieale a linv hole in lhis lavei, and a molecule vilh a slighl negalive chaige is placed on one side ol il. Applving a vollage acioss lhe bilavei causes lhe mol ecule lo push ils vav lhiough lhe poie lo lhe olhei side. Ciuciallv, as il passes lhiough lhe poie, lhe molecule pioduces chaiacleiislic disiuplions lo lhe ov ol cuiienl vhich can be used lo idenlilv vhal soil ol molecule il is. Bv I6 Di Bavlev had lound lhal using one piolein in pailiculai, alpha hemolvsin (AHL, il vas possible lo gel single sliands ol DNA, nol usl small molecules, lo pass lhiough a nanopoie. This, he iealised, mighl lead lo a nev vav lo sequence DNA. Bul lhieading a sliand lhiough an AHL poie and delecling lhe individual bases al lhe same lime is veiv dimcull. So Oxloid Nanopoie has also been looking al an al leinalive appioach, called exonuclease se quencing, in conunclion vilh Illumina, an Ameiican lim lhal is lhe maikel leadei in iapid sequencing. This also involves a nanopoie in an AHL piolein, bul lhe DNA sliand does nol pass lhiough lhe nanopoie Towards the 15-minute genome Genetics: Pulling strands of DNA through tiny holes, called nanopores, could dramatically speed up the sequencing of human genomes The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 Nanopore sequencing 9 1 10 Nanopore sequencing The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 2 intact. Instead an enzyme, called an exonu- clease, is attached to the top of the AHL. It cleaves individual base pairs from the DNA strand and feeds them through the pore to be detected one at a time. Dr Sanghera says Oxford Nanopore has developed an electronic cartridge system called GridION, based on lab on a chip technology, for exonuclease sequencing. Each cartridge contains multiple nano- pores (though the rm will not say how many) and all the microuidics and elec- tronics to carry out the preparation, detec- tion and analysis. These are plugged into a rack-like device that resembles a computer server. And, like servers, the racks can be combined in vast cabinets to carry out large-scale analysis, sequencing DNA or simply detecting small molecules or pro- teins. Dr Sanghera says this system is al- most ready for commercial launch. Even so, the ultimate goal is to perfect single-strand DNA sequencing, threading large sequences of DNA through nano- pores and reading them as they pass through. This would be faster than exonu- clease sequencing. It would also be more accurate: because the bases are still at- tached to one another, there is no chance that they will pass through the nanopore in the wrong order. One of the reasons sin- gle-strand sequencing is so dicult, how- ever, is that the combined thickness of the protein and bilayer means that as many as 15 bases may be inside the nanopore at any one time. In addition, the speed at which the strand passes through must be careful- ly controlled to allow enough time to de- tect each of the bases. The ratchet eect In late 2010 Dr Bayley found a way to ad- dress the rst of these problems, and Mark Akeson at the University of California, Santa Cruz, found a way to tackle the sec- ond. By modifying the AHL protein to create a constriction within the nanopore, Dr Bayley showed that it is possible to en- sure that the variation in current is deter- mined by a single base, which can then be identied. Dr Akeson, meanwhile, created aclever ratchet arrangement by attaching a polymerase enzyme to the AHL protein. This can ensure that the strand passes through the pore at a rate of one base every 20 milliseconds, which should be slow enough to detect each one. Yet even a nanopore reading 50 bases per second would take about two years to sequence a whole genome, which con- tains around 3 billion genetic letters. So it will also be necessary to nd ways to get lots of nanopores to work in parallel, says Dr Bayley, with each sequencing dierent sections of a genome simultaneously. An alternative approach, which has been gaining ground in the past couple of years, is to dispense with proteins and create articial nanopores in solid-state materials. IBMand 454 Life Sciences, a di- vision of Roche, a drugs giant, have been working together to this end, using an elec- tron microscope to punch three-nano- metre holes in membranes that are ten na- nometres thick. These membranes are made of three layers of a conducting mate- rial, titanium nitride, separated by insulat- ing layers of silica. When a voltage is ap- plied across the membrane, a strand of DNA is drawn into the pore. As it enters, a separate electric eld is applied across the metal layers of the membrane, trapping the rst base pair. By ipping this elds po- larity the DNA strand can be ratcheted along, one base pair at a time. This can be done very quickly, says IBMs Stanislav Polonsky, co-inventor of the technology. In order to get a strong enough signal to read the bases it is only necessary to trap each one for around a millisecond, he says. Most of this work has been carried out in computer simulation, but the ratcheting mechanism has been demonstrated in the laboratory. Moreover, it can move the DNA in both directions, which would have the huge benet of al- lowing error correction to be carried out, says Stephen Rossnagel of IBM. If solid- state nanopores can be made to work, ex- isting chipmaking technology could then be used to create massively parallel de- vices for well below $100 a chip, he says. Others are also looking at solid-state nanopores, including Jene Golovchenko at Harvard University, with whom Oxford Nanopore is also collaborating, and Nab- Sys, a spin-out from Brown University in Rhode Island. A variation of this approach uses nanopores in graphene, a sheet-like form of carbon that is one atom thick. Be- cause such membranes are so thin, only a single base will be present within the pore at any one time, making detection easier. According to preliminary experiments by one group, headed by Joshua Edel at Imperial College London, this approach should be able to sequence an entire ge- nome in just a few minutes. Another group, led by Marija Drndic at the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, has found that add- ing a layer of titanium oxide a few mole- cules thick to the graphene membrane lets the DNA pass through more easily and re- duces the noise level when measuring the current, which should improve accuracy. Dr Bayley is looking into solid-state pores too, and is also exploring a hybrid ap- proach that combines protein-channel na- nopores with solid-state membranes. There is a clear sense that the eld of na- nopore sequencing is gaining momentum, with new developments occurring almost every month. Dr Sanghera believes that the $1,000 genome will be possible with- in three to ve years. The benets could be vast, he says. Cheap and rapid whole- genome sequencing will, for example, make it possible to sequence the entire ge- nomes of cancerous and healthy cells in in- dividual patients to see what has changed. It should become easier to determine which drugs will work best in a particular patient, and why. It will also be possible to construct a ne-grained picture of human evolution, and of how and when human- ity spread around the world. Nanopores are tiny, but if they can be harnessed, the consequences could be momentous. 7 Nanopore sequencing is gaining momentum, with new developments occurring almost every month. I OR veais engineeis have dieamed ol building eleclionic ciicuils lhal vould bend and slielch, ialhei lhan being con lned lo iigid chips and boaids. Ilexible cii cuiliv vould be able lo do manv lhings lhal iigid ciicuils cannol. Slielchable elec lionic skin could connecl an aililcial hand lo lhe neivous svslem. Combal uniloims and helmels conlaining exible, lighl veighl impacl sensois could help medics piesciibe bellei liealmenl il a soldiei is vounded in an explosion. A neuioscien lisl vho vanls lo undeisland lhe elecliical sloim lhal occuis in lhe biain ol an epilep lic palienl could valch seizuies unlold in ieal lime vilh a ciicuil lhal conloims lo lhe gvii ol lhe biain. Ilexible ciicuils vould also make poilable devices moie iesilienl, lhev could be voin like clolhing oi evel leiv ialhei lhan caiiied. Reseaicheis aie puisuing a numbei ol dieienl appioaches lo making ciicuiliv moie pliable. Rigid chips and ciicuil boaids vill nol be going avav anv lime soon, because lhev aie so inexpensive lo manulacluie on a massive scale. The liick is lo lnd lhe appiopiiale vavs lo combine iigid and exible ciicuil elemenls-and lo idenlilv lhe mosl piomising applicalions loi lhe bendv soil. The lundamenlal dimcullv in building exible ciicuiliv is lhal singlecivslal sili con-lhe soil vhich is used lo make high peiloimance componenls such as micio piocessois and iadio chips-is iigid. Bul in zoo6 Iohn Rogeis, a maleiials scienlisl al lhe Univeisilv ol Illinois UibanaCham paign, came up vilh a vav lo slielch sin glecivslal silicon vilhoul bieaking il. Sili con ilsell doesnl naluiallv slielch, bul lhe liick is in ils piepaialion: il musl be ullia lhin, onlv aboul Ioo nanomelies lhick. (A nanomelie is a lhousandmillionlh ol a melie. Anv maleiial is exible il il is lhin enough, savs Di Rogeis. You can ciumple a piece ol papei, bul nol a plank ol vood. Flexible strategies He and his colleagues have developed lvo basic appioaches lo slielching ciicuils buill on ullialhin, bendable silicon. The lisl in volves liansleiiing ullialhin sheels ol sili con onlo a slickv, iubbeilike maleiial lhal has alieadv been slielched. Vhen lhe iub bei is ieleased, lhe silicon buckles bul does nol bieak, loiming a soil ol heiiingbone pallein. Di Rogeis has designed enliie cii cuils based on lhis piinciple, vilh voiking liansislois, logic gales and oscillalois. The second vav lo slielch a ciicuil is lo make linv islands ol iigid silicon and con necl lhem vilh viies lhal piovide lhe ex ibililv. This appioach voiks because lhe is lands aie small enough lo vilhsland small amounls ol sliain and lhe conneclois aie designed in such a vav lo accommodale anv slielching. Ioi inslance, lhe viies can aic oul ol plane oi spiial like spiings. Using lhe siliconisland appioach, Di Rogeis and his colleagues iecenllv demon slialed an eveballshaped cameia in vhich lhe cuive ol lhe lens and an aiiav ol silicon sensois change shape lo zoom in and oul. Malching lhe cuived lens vilh a cuived sensoi aiiav ieduces disloilions lhal can occui vhen using lhe al sensoiaiiavs lound in mosl cameias, savs Di Rogeis. Anolhei use loi slielchable silicon is lo make nev lvpes ol medical devices lhal can ieduce lhe invasiveness ol ceilain pio ceduies. One ol Di Rogeiss pioecls, oul lined in a iecenl papei in Nature Materials equips a slandaid balloon calhelei, used in angioplaslv, vilh an aiiav ol sensois and iadio ciicuiliv. Inslead ol being an ineil balloon lhal is used lo bieak up a blockage, lhe sensoiladen calhelei can moniloi blood ov, lempeialuie, piessuie and elecliical aclivilv vilhin lhe bodv. Viie lesslv poveied elecliodes can also buin avav lissue oi cauleiise as needed. In Decembei, MCIo, a lim lounded bv Di Rogeis and based in Cambiidge, Massa chusells, announced a pailneiship vilh Reebok, a spoilsveaimakei. The aim is lo develop clolhes lhal can moniloi impacls on lhe bodv, sliain on oinls and an alh leles gail as vell as heail iale, blood pies suie and sveal pH. Allhough veaiable de vices lhal can moniloi an alhleles heail iale alieadv exisl, MCIo hopes lo make lhe sensois disappeai inlo clolhing. Il is also voiking on combal vesls and helmels lhal compule lhe inlensilv ol neaibv explo sions and exible sheels ol sensois lhal can be used lo map caidiac heallh. Ialei lhis veai Di Rogeiss leam expecls A shapely future for circuits Electronics: Flexible circuits that can bend and stretch with their surroundings could have a wide range of uses The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 Stretchable electronics 11 1 12 Stretchable electronics The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 2 lo publish a papei on a lhin aililcial mem biane lhal could allov exible sensoi cii cuiliv lo be liansleiied onlo a palienls skin, loi example lo pioduce an elecliocai diogiaph. He likens lhe membiane lo a lempoiaiv lalloo. He is also voiking on a lhin, conloimable sheel ol elecliodes lo moniloi elecliical aclivilv in a palienls biain duiing neuiosuigeiv. This could be used lo liack seizuies oi map moloi and speech cenlies. Ve can do lols ol lhings, savs Di Rogeis, and veie puisuing as manv oppoilunilies as ve can handle. Going organic Allhough highqualilv singlecivslal sili con mav be lhe beslknovn maleiial loi making eleclionic componenls, il isnl lhe onlv one-and ils nol lhe onlv one being leased inlo dieienl shapes. Slephanie Iacoui, a ieseaichei al lhe Ecole Polvlech nique Iedeiale de Iausanne, is using oi ganic liansislois as piessuie sensois on exible maleiials, including silicone iub bei, lhal can lunclion as slielchable elec lionic skin. Oiganic liansislois, as lheii name suggesls, aie made ol caielullv lav eied oiganic maleiials ialhei lhan being elched inlo a iigid civslal ol silicon. Al lhough lhev aie exible, lhev aie nol as small oi lasl as silicon liansislois. Bul loi sensing lheie is no need loi exliemelv lasl svilching, savs Di Iacoui. The idea is lhal lhis exible maleiial could be viapped aiound a pioslhelic limb, vilh elecliical signals liom lhe sen sois connecled lo an ampulees neives lo convev sensalions. Di Iacoui has alieadv made a piololvpe sensoi vilh Nokia, a mobilephone gianl, consisling ol a lhin, slielchable, louchsensilive llm. This could be applied lo lhe oulside ol a cuived phone in place ol a kevboaid, oi used lo conliol a device in lhe loim ol a exible viislband. Di Iacouis slielchable elec lionic skin can be made using lhe same piocesses used lo pioduce oiganic lighl emilling diode (OLED displavs, vhich aie lound in manv mobile phones. Takao Someva ol lhe Univeisilv ol To kvo, vho is one ol lhe pioneeis ol eleclion ic skin, has also buill slielchable ciicuils us ing oiganic liansislois on a iubbei backing. He hopes lo equip iobols vilh sensilive skin lo make lhem moie avaie ol lheii en viionmenl. In addilion, he has demon slialed a voiking OLED displav on a slielchable suilace. In a papei iecenllv published in Nature Materials, he and his colleague Tsuvoshi Sekilani desciibed some liicks lo ensuie lhal oiganic ciicuils conlinue lo voik even vhen diaslicallv deloimed. The backing maleiial musl be as smoolh as possible, and lhe ciicuiliv sealed benealh a lavei composed ol a po lvmeimelalpolvmei sandvich. This acls as a baiiiei lo oxvgen and moisluie lo keep lhe device voiking. These liicks, lhev ie poil, allov a exible ciicuil lo be benl vilh a iadius ol cuivaluie ol less lhan o.I milli melies-in olhei voids, lolded like papei- vilhoul bieaking. Al Piincelon Univeisilv, meanvhile, Siguid Vagnei has also developed oiganic oplical devices, including an oiganic lasei on a slielchable iubbei suilace. Oiganic la seis aie nol as poveilul as liadilional la seis made vilh gallium oi indium com pounds, bul lhev can be easilv piinled oi deposiled diiecllv on anv lvpe ol suilace. In Di Vagneis lasei, lhe oiganic lavei lhal pioduces lasei lighl is deposiled onlo pie sliained iubbei. Vhen lhe sliain is ie moved, il loims a iipplv suilace, and lhe spacing ol lhe iipples aecls lhe coloui ol lhe lasei lighl, vhich vaiies as lhe maleiial is slielched. Analvsing lhe change in col oui could lhus be used lo measuie sliain in buildings and biidges, Di Vagnei suggesls. Vhelhei lhev aie based on linv sliveis ol silicon, oiganic ciicuiliv oi a combina lion ol lhe lvo, slielchable devices vill ie quiie povei lo opeiale. Slielchable elec lionics vill need slielchable balleiies, savs Siegliied Bauei, piolessoi ol sollmallei phvsics al lhe Iohannes Keplei Univeisilv in Iinz, Ausliia. Iasl veai his gioup an nounced a nev lvpe ol balleiv, based on slandaid zinccaibon chemisliv, lhal is ca pable ol slielching. Il pulls o lhis liick bv using slielchv polvmeis, called elaslo meis, in conunclion vilh conduclive gels, lo lianspoil chaiged pailicles belveen lhe balleivs leiminals. Di Bauei is also voiking on a slielch able balleiv lhal is iechaigeable. And his leam is looking loi vavs lo exploil slielch able maleiials so lhal eneigv used lo de loim lhe maleiial can be capluied and con veiled lo elecliical eneigv-an idea knovn as eneigv haivesling. This mighl allov devices lo be poveied bv shoes oi clolhing lhal haivesl eneigv liom lhe veaieis movemenl, loi example. Il mav also be possible lo make solai cells in a exible, slielchable loim. Di Rog eis and his colleagues aie exploiing a lvpe ol semiconducloi maleiial called gallium aisenide, vhich is usuallv inexible, loi usl lhis puipose. He pioposes dividing a iubbei subsliale inlo squaies sepaialed bv lienches, and liansleiiing linv islands ol iigid gallium aisenide onlo lhose squaies vhen lhe iubbei is slielched. These linv solai colleclois vould be connecled vilh viies lhal loim biidges ovei lhe lienches belveen lhe squaies, and vhich buckle vhen lhe iubbei is ielaxed. This piolecls lhe iigid gallium aisenide componenls liom sliain, bul lhe svslem as a vhole is exible and slielchable. Il is, in shoil, possible lo see hov logic ciicuils, inpul sensois, oulpul displavs and povei supplies can all be made in exible loim. Tiadilional eleclionics aie cheap and videspiead lodav because lhev aie made in huge quanlilies in exliemelv emcienl lacloiies. Slielchable eleclionics aie nol lheie vel. Il is likelv lo be some lime beloie vou aie oeied a mobile phone in lhe loim ol a exible iubbei biacelel, a smail lalloo allached lo voui skin, oi even an implanl lhal exes along vilh voui bodv. Bul ie seaicheis have alieadv laken lhe lisl sleps lovaids such exolic devices. 7 Ultra-thin circuits on pre-stretched rubber (top and bottom); silicon islands with exible links (centre, and previous page) The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 Inside story 13 I ROM lungi lo lieies, lascinalion vilh lighlpioducing oiganisms dales back lo ancienl limes. Aiislolle iemaiked on lhe phenomenon, knovn as biolumi nescence, in lhe louilh cenluiv BC, ob seiving lhal unlike lhe lighl liom a candle, lhe lighl liom lieies and glovvoims vas nol accompanied bv heal. In lhe lisl cenluiv AD Plinv lhe Eldei, a Roman slalesman, naluialisl and viilei, docu menled lhe gloving ciealuies neai his home in lhe Bav ol Naples, including gloving ellvlsh and a species ol gloving clam lhal vas consideied a delicacv in his dav. Il is lhe naluie ol lhese lsh lo shine in daikness vilh a biighl lighl vhen olhei lighl is iemoved.and lo glillei bolh in lhe moulh ol peisons cheving lhem and in lheii hands, he viole in his Naluial Hisloiv. Plinv also desciibed hov he vas able lo make piaclical use ol biolumi nescence: a valking slick dipped in lhe gloving slime ol a ellvlsh, he obseived, vill lighl lhe vav like a loich. Allempls lo uniavel lhe biochemical basis ol lhis living lighl began vilh lhe pioneeiing chemisl Robeil Bovle in lhe I)lh cenluiv, vho discoveied lhal biolumi nescenl lungus slopped gloving vhen lhe aii vas iemoved liom a ai conlaining il. Bul il is onlv in iecenl veais lhal ieseaich eis have deleimined lhe piecise mecha nism bv vhich lhis biological lighl is pioduced. This has alloved biolumi nescence lo be pul lo a dazzling aiiav ol nev uses, liom illuminaling olhei biologi cal piocesses lo moniloiing lhe spiead ol disease, delecling submaiines and mon iloiing pollulion. Gloving puppies have alieadv been ciealed, and lheie is lalk ol gloving liees and even gloving lood. The simplesl lighlpioducing ieaclions iequiie an oiganic molecule, knovn as a lucileiin, lo be oxidised bv oxvgen, a piocess lhal is helped along bv an enzvme knovn as lucileiase. (The need loi oxvgen explains vhv Bovles lungus slopped gloving vhen lhe aii vas iemoved. The ieaclion geneiales lighl, caibon dioxide and a compound called oxvlucileiin. Some oiganisms pioduce lighl using usl lhis simple chemical ieaclion, bul manv iequiie addilional helpei molecules, knovn as colaclois, lo make il voik. Iiieies, loi example, vhich aie some ol lhe beslsludied gloving oiganisms, ielv on lvo colaclois: magnesium ions and adenosine liiphosphale (ATP, a molecule lhal piovides eneigv sloiage inside cells. Let there be light Manv gloving ellvlsh exploil a some vhal dieienl ieaclion. Inslead ol having lieelv available lucileiin, lhev conlain molecules called pholopioleins vhich aie, in eecl, lucileiin pioleins lhal alieadv have oxvgen bound lo lhem. Iike lieies, lhev loo ielv on a colacloi, in lhis case calcium ions ialhei lhan magnesium. The lighlgeneialing ieaclions used bv lieies and ellvlsh occui in manv olhei oiganisms. In addilion, some oiganisms aie also capable ol uoiescence. The bioluminescing pholopiolein inside lhe ellvlsh species Aequorea victoria, loi example, cieales a blue lighl-vel lhe ellvlsh ilsell emils a gieen lighl. This bamed ieseaicheis loi veais unlil il vas discoveied, in I--, lhal lhe ellvlsh has a special piolein allached lo eveiv lighl geneialing cell in ils bodv. Vhen exposed lo lhe blue lighl liom lhe bioluminescenl ieaclion, lhis piolein, called gieen uoies cenl piolein (GFP, glovs biighl gieen. Having voiked oul lhe basics ol biolu minescence, ieseaicheis slailed lo linkei vilh lhem. In I6), keen lo lesl lhe pos sibililies piesenled bv bioluminescence, Ellis Ridgvav and Chiislophei Ashlev, bolh lhen al lhe Univeisilv ol Oiegon, collecled pholopioleins liom Io,ooo ellvlsh and inecled lhem inlo lhe muscle lbies ol a bainacle. The ieseaicheis knev lhal as muscles conliacl lhev ielease calci um ions, and lhev suspecled lhis vould aclivale lhe inecled pholopioleins lo geneiale blue lighl. Thev veie iighl: lhev had pioduced gloving bainacle muscles. This voik, and olhei sludies lhal made use ol pioleins collecled liom lieies, shoved lhal because bioluminescenl ieaclions iequiie ceilain colaclois lo be piesenl in oidei lo lunclion, lhev could be used lo delecl specilc chemicals in an enviionmenl. Bul lhe piocess ol collecling pholopioleins liom lhousands ol ellvlsh vas limeconsuming, expensive, and nol pailiculailv piaclical loi laigeiscale slud ies. As a iesull, exploiling bioluminescenl ieaclions vas ialhei impiaclical. Thal changed vilh lhe invenlion ol cloning lechnologv. In I8- Douglas Piashei al lhe Voods Hole Oceanogiaphic Inslilulion in Massachusells and his col leagues used cloning lo ieplicale lhe pho lopiolein lound inside Aequorea victoria. This bvpassed lhe pioblems associaled vilh ellvlsh colleclion and made il much easiei lo use bioluminescenl ieaclions lo delecl lhe piesence ol calcium ions. The cloning ol lucileiase liom lieies, vhich also look place in I8-, pioved usl as uselul. Unlike ellvlsh pholopioleins, vhich iequiie calcium lo lighl up, lucilei ase liom lieies needs a ieadv supplv ol Biotechnology: Scientists have uncovered the biochemical mechanisms used by living organisms to produce light, known as bioluminescenceand are putting those tricks to a dazzling range of uses How illuminating 1 lucileiin and ATP. In mosl enviionmenls ATP is nol lieelv available, bul because il is lhe main mechanism bv vhich cells lian spoil eneigv, il is piesenl in living oigan isms. Reseaicheis iealised lhal adding lucileiase and lucileiin lo a sample ol valei oi lood could be used lo delecl ATP, and lhus deleimine vhelhei lhe sample conlained bacleiia oi olhei palhogens. In Iz Di Piashei also cloned GFP, so lhal il no longei had lo be haivesled liom living ciealuies. This expanded lhe pos sibililies loi exploiling bioluminescence diamalicallv, because il meanl lhal GFP did nol have lo be inecled inlo lissue. Inslead, lhe gene sequence loi GFP could be added lo lhe genome ol a living oigan ism, making possible nev vavs lo liack lhe behavioui ol ils cells. Iniliallv lhe lechnique vas lesled on bacleiia such as E. coli lo make lhem glov gieen vhen illuminaled bv blue lighl. Similai laclics have since been used lo cieale much laigei ciealuies lhal glov vhen exposed lo deep blue lighl. One ol lhe mosl inliiguing is Ruppv, lhe iubv colouied puppv-a dog lhal glovs biighl ied undei ulliaviolel lighl because il has genes in ils bodv liom a seaanemone piolein lhal lunclions veiv much like GFP, bul uoiesces biighl ied inslead ol gieen. This mighl seem poinlless, bul il pei mils exploialion ol animal piocesses lhal have long been mvsleiious. The iainbov ol uoiescenl pioleins nov available lo modein ieseaicheis is alloving queslions lhal have vexed us loi veais lo be lnallv ansveied, savs Maic Zimmei, a compula lional chemisl al Conneclicul College. One such queslion, lhal ol hov dam aged lissues iegeneiale, is being sludied in salamandeis bv Ellv Tanaka and a leam ol colleagues al lhe Max Planck Inslilule in Diesden. The salamandei species lhal lhe scienlisls aie voiking vilh, Ambystoma mexicanum, is moie commonlv called lhe Mexican axololl and is vell knovn loi being able lo iegiov seveied pails ol ils bodv, such as ils limbs and avs. To shed moie lighl on lhe piocess, lhe ieseaich leam used genelic engineeiing lo make axololls lhal pioduce GFP lhiough oul lheii bodies. The ieseaicheis look pieces ol limb lissue-such as deimis, caililage and muscle-liom lhese lians genic animals and liansplanled lhem inlo lhe limbs ol oidinaiv axololls. Once lhe lissues veie salelv in place, lhe iecipienls ol lhe liansplanled lissue had limbs am pulaled. The seveiing ol lhe limb aclival ed lhe lissues al lhe poinl ol ampulalion, including lhe liansplanled uoiescing lissues, and alloved lhe leam lo see hov lhe dieienl lvpes ol cells behaved duiing lhe iegeneialion piocess. The ieseaicheis lound lhal some lis sues, like lhe deimis, could become olhei lissue lvpes, like caililage, bul lhal olheis, such as muscle, veie much less exible and iemained muscle lhioughoul lhe piocess. Allhough lhe lndings do nol ieveal hov lo iegeneiale a seveied human limb, lhev do piovide valuable inloi malion aboul hov cells can be expecled lo behave as ieseaicheis move closei and closei lovaids lhal ullimale goal. Vhal uoiescenl pioleins aie pioviding, in lhe axololl expeiimenl and so manv olheis, is a nev vav ol seeing, savs Di Zimmei. Iike lhe invenlion ol lhe micioscope, lhev aie alloving us lo valch vhal could nevei have been valched beloie. Making disease glow away Bioluminescence can also be used lo lag viiuses-a lechnique lhal is pioving in valuable loi sludving diseases. To un deisland hov inleclions piogiess, ie seaicheis have liadilionallv had lo kill inlecled laboialoiv animals on a dailv basis. A lol can polenliallv be leained bv compaiing lhe lissues ol an animal lhal has been inlecled vilh a heipes viius loi onlv one dav, sav, vilh an animal lhal has been inlecled loi seveial davs. Thiough such compaiisons, ieseaicheis can voik oul vheie lhe viius is liavelling and, il lhe lab animal has been liealed vilh a diug inlended lo counlei lhe disease, hov il is iesponding lo lhe liealmenl. The liouble vilh lhis lechnique is lhal sludving lhe lissues ol animals killed on a dailv schedule is like laking a slill image liom a llm eveiv len minules and living lo voik oul vhal is going on, il piovides onlv pail ol lhe sloiv. To complicale mal leis luilhei, nol all lab animals iespond lo inleclions in lhe same vav. Even lvo sibling mice mav iespond lo a heipes inleclion veiv dieienllv. So David Ieib ol Dailmoulh Medical School decided lo liv a dieienl appioach. He added lhe gene iesponsible loi lhe loimalion ol lucileiase lo lhe genome ol heipes simplex viius lvpe Iand inecled lhe modiled viius inlo mice. The mice veie also iegulailv inecled vilh lucileiin, so lhal lhe lucileiase vould have lhe luel il needed lo glov. Because iesulling lighl vas so dim, Di Ieib voiked vilh Gaiv Iukei and David PivnicaVoims al Vashinglon Univeisi lv, Sl Iouis, lo place lhe animals in a daik box and phologiaph lhem using a special cameia. The images collecled bv lhis cameia shoved lhe viius piogiessing lhiough a single mouse al liequenl in leivals. Suddenlv ve had lhe oppoiluni lv lo liack inleiaclions belveen lhe viius and lhe immune svslem in ieal lime and use lai levei mice, savs Di Ieib. Pail ol lhe ieason lucileiase can be seen bv lhe cameia, even lhiough lhe lissues ol lhe bodies ol lhe mice, is lhal lucileiase geneiales some ied lighl in addilion lo lhe chaiacleiislic vellovgieen lighl associaled vilh lieies. The vellovs and gieens cannol peneliale lhe mouse lissue bul ied lighl, being ol lovei lie quencv, can. Noiman Mailland ol lhe Yoikshiie Cancei Reseaich Iaboialoiv al lhe Univeisilv ol Yoik, logelhei vilh a leam ol colleagues based al Ia labs vilhin lhe Euiopean Union, used lhis idea lo develop a seiies ol viiuses lhal caiiv a gene loi GFP vhich has been modiled lo glov ied, and aie speciallv designed lo lnd and giov inside pioslalecancei cells. Vhen lhese viiuses aie exposed in lhe lab lo lissue culluies vhich conlain cancei cells, lhev inlecl lhose cells and splice lhe gene loi lhe ied gloving piolein inlo lhe gene sequences ol lhe cancei cells, making lhem glov. In addilion, lhe gene loi lhe gloving piolein is passed on bv lhe cancei cells as lhev ieplicale, so lhal lheii piogenv glov loo. Di Mailland has lo use special ised cameia equipmenl lo see lhe gloving ied cancei cells inside lhe human bodv. Bul he has alieadv been able lo demon sliale lhal inlecling cancei cells vilh a ied glov can help ieveal pioslale lumouis. And in luluie, liacking lhe glov mav help ieveal hov cancei cells behave vhen a lumoui slails spieading cancei aiound lhe bodv. Chiislophei Rose, chiel lechnologv omcei al Vanlage Oncologv, a piovidei ol cancei liealmenls in Caliloinia, savs lhe Aequorea victoria lit the way 14 Inside story The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 2 1 The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 Inside story 15 use ol bioluminescence is a leiiilc vav lo bellei undeisland lumoui behavioui. Il also has applicalions in suigeiv. A leam led bv Ouven Nguven, a suigeon al lhe Univeisilv ol Caliloinia, San Diego, has devised a vav lo illuminale neives so lhal lhev aie less likelv lo be cul acciden lallv, causing lasling damage. The ie seaicheis ciealed a molecule lhal binds pieleienliallv lo neive cells, and labelled il vilh a uoiescenl lag. Vhen il is inecled inlo a mouse, il spieads aiound lhe ani mals bodv, so lhal all ils neives (lhough nol ils biain oi spinal coid become uo iescenl vilhin lvo houis. The eecl veais o a lev houis lalei. The lechnique has also been shovn lo voik in human lissue, lhough il has vel lo enlei loimal liials. In a dierent light Bioluminescence cleailv has gieal polen lial in medicine. Bul il also has a iole in vai. Ioi ieasons lhal aie nol enliielv undeislood, manv maiine oiganisms bioluminesce onlv vhen disluibed. Scuba diveis svimming al nighl vill ollen lnd lhal usl vaving lheii aims aiound cieales a dazzling gieen glov. Iaige animals, like passing vhales and dolphins, can also cieale enough disiuplion lo pioduce a glov, as vill passing boals. The US navv has long had an inleiesl in bioluminescence-il slailed duiing lhe cold vai because ol submaiine delec lion, explains Edilh Viddei, a senioi scienlisl al Ocean Reseaich & Conseiva lion Associalion, a conseivalion gioup. Indeed, one ol lhe lasl Geiman subma iines lo be sunk duiing lhe lisl voild vai had disluibed enough bioluminescenl oiganisms in lhe Medileiianean lo pio duce a glov lhal could be seen liom above lhe suilace. This lighl vas used lo liack lhe submaiine and desliov il. Specilcallv, Ameiicas navv vanls lo be able lo loiecasl vhelhei a vessel in a pailiculai localion mighl cause a biolumi nescenl glov lhal vould give avav ils posilion, savs Di Viddei. So, logelhei vilh Iames Case al lhe Univeisilv ol Caliloinia, Sanla Baibaia, she devised a device lhal measuies maiine bioluminescence bv pumping valei lhiough a giid lhal exciles bioluminescenl oiganisms and measuies hov biighllv lhev glov. A nelvoik ol such devices could ieveal vheie vessels can opeiale undelecled, oi vheie special opeialions loices can come ashoie vilh oul being given avav. The lisl svslem cosl $-oo,ooo and vas lhe size ol a moloi cvcle, savs Di Viddei. Nevei veisions aie lhe size ol vasle bins and cosl $Io,ooo. Bioluminescence moniloiing has olhei uses loo, such as delecling pollulion. Di Viddei is voiking vilh a bioluminescenl bacleiium species called Vibrio scheri lhal is sensilive lo a vide vaiielv ol pollul anls. Ils abililv lo bioluminesce is linked lo ils iespiialion, and ils iespiialion is almosl alvavs depiessed vhen il is sliuggling vilh pollulion. Measuiing lhe biighlness ol lhe bacleiia lhus piovides a simple vav lo deleimine pollulion levels. Ve knov lhings aie ieallv bad vhen lhe lighl goes oul, savs Di Viddei. Ian van dei Meei al lhe Univeisilv ol Iausanne in Svilzeiland is laking lhe idea ol using bioluminescenl bacleiia as pollu lion monilois a slep luilhei, bv linkeiing vilh lheii genelics. Il is nealei, he savs, lo have oiganisms lhal glov biighlei, ialhei lhan becoming lainlei, as lhe enviionmenl becomes moie loxic. Unloilunalelv lheie aie no oiganisms lhal do lhis naluiallv. Bul using genelic engineeiing Di van dei Meei and his colleagues have coupled lhe lighl geneialing ieaclions in bacleiia lo mela bolic piocesses associaled vilh handling pollulion. Iinking lighlgeneialing ie aclions vilh lhese ieaclions, ialhei lhan iespiialion, makes lhe oiganisms glov biighlei as lhe pollulion level incieases. And because dieienl bacleiial species aie sensilive lo dieienl pollulanls, diei enl colouied glovs can indicale lhe pies ence ol specilc chemicals. Di van dei Meei imagines his genelicallv modiled bacleiia being used al siles vheie chemi cal spills oi oil leaks aie suspecled. A sample ol valei can be exposed lo lhe bacleiia, and lhe lighl geneialed allovs a quick analvsis lo be made vilhoul lhe need loi lhe usual highend equipmenl, he savs. The bacleiia could be housed in sampling buovs in valeiv enviionmenls, vilh ieadings iegulailv iepoiled lo a cenlial moniloiing slalion. The polenlial ecological benells ol bioluminescence do nol end vilh delecl ing pollulion. In Novembei zoIo a leam ol undeigiaduales al lhe Univeisilv ol Cam biidge look lhe lisl sleps lovaids engi neeiing bioluminescenl liees lhal could ieplace slieellighls, lhus ieducing elecliic ilv consumplion and ielaled caibon dioxide emissions. Thev look genes liom lieies and bioluminescenl maiine bacle iia and modiled lhem lo pioduce a genel ic package lhal can be easilv added lo olhei oiganisms lo make lhem glov. The package includes genelic modilcalions lo enable oiganisms lo iecvcle oxvlucileiin, lhe bvpioducl ol lhe ieaclion lhal pio duces lighl. To demonsliale lheii appioach lhev added lhe genes lo a bacleiium, and lound lhal a ask ol lhe bacleiial culluie pioduced enough lighl lo iead a book bv. Anolhei polenlial use loi gloving planls is lo indicale lhe heallh ol ciops. You can pul lucileiase inlo planls and lelhei il lo planl sliess genes lo make suie ciops aie heallhv, savs Iauience Tisi, a bioluminescence ieseaichei al Iumoia, a moleculaidiagnoslics companv based in Biilain. A leld vould glov in aieas vheie insecls veie allacking lhe ciops, alloving inseclicides lo be deploved appiopiialelv. Planls could also glov vhen lhev need valei, lo keep iiiigalion lo a minimum. Reseaicheis al lhe Univeisilv ol Edin buigh, in Scolland, have alieadv devel oped polaloes lhal do usl lhis. Even so, Di Tisi is sceplical. I am un ceilain lhal anv ciops lhal glov in lhe daik aie going lo be ol much inleiesl lo con sumeis, he savs. Gloving lhings make people vaiv. Yel BioIume, a piivalelv held biolechnologv companv based in Noilh Caiolina, believes such conceins can be oveicome. Il is developing biolumi nescenl pioleins loi use in lhe lood in dusliv, and hopes lo incoipoiale lhem inlo a iange ol pioducls, liom gloving icing on cakes lo gloving lollipops and cheving gum. BioIume could be onlo somelhing. Gloving lood vas, allei all, highlv lashionable in Roman limes-and peihaps, given lhe diamalic piogiess lhal is nov being made in lhe exploilalion ol bioluminescence, il vill be once again. 7 Researchers have developed potatoes that glow when they need water, to minimise irrigation. Monitoring the regrowth of salamander limbs (above) and a glowing mouse (top) 2 16 GPS jamming The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 N O AEROPIANES lell oul ol lhe skv and no one died. Bul in lale zoo engi neeis noliced lhal salellileposilioning ie ceiveis loi a nev navigalion aid al Nevaik aiipoil in Nev Ieisev veie sueiing biiel dailv bieaks in ieceplion. Somelhing vas inleileiing vilh lhe signals liom oibiling global posilioning svslem (GPS salelliles. Il look lvo monlhs loi invesligalois liom lhe Iedeial Avialion Aulhoiilv lo liack dovn lhe pioblem: a diivei vho passed bv on lhe neaibv Nev Ieisev Tuinpike each dav had a cheap GPS ammei in his liuck. Such devices aie illegal lo sell oi use, bul lhev have become populai vilh com meicial diiveis vho obecl lo lheii em ploveis liacking lheii eveiv move. A am mei pievenls a liacking device in lhe vehicle liom deleimining (and lhen ie poiling ils localion and speed-bul il also disiupls GPS signals loi olheis neaibv. Allhough lhe incidenl did nol have disaslious iepeicussions oi make lionl page headlines, il did iing alaim bells vilh senioi avialion and lavenloicemenl om cials. Ameiicas mililaiv developed GPS liom lhe I)os, and salellilebased posi lioning, navigalion and liming (PNT have since become ciucial lo all kinds ol civilian inliasliucluie svslems. Mosl people knov lhal salellile signals aie used bv aulomo live salnav devices, bul lev iealise hov eveivlhing liom avialion, lnancialsecuii lies cleaiing, mining and elecliicilv dislii bulion lo mobile lelecoms, ioad lolling and vealhei loiecasling also ielies on GPS. Among olhei lhings, ils signals aie used lo svnchionise lhe clocks in mobilephone base slalions, sleei combine haivesleis and keep oil plalloims in posilion. Specialisls have been vaining loi veais lhal lhis gioving dependencv is a polen lial vulneiabililv. As long ago as zooI a ie poil liom lhe Volpe Cenlie, a lianspoilie seaich bodv in Cambiidge, Massachusells, desciibed GPS as a lempling laigel loi ex ploilalion bv malicious peisons. Ameii cas GPS and Russias GLONASS aie cui ienllv lhe onlv lunclioning global navigalion salellile svslems (GNSS, bul Euiopes Galileo and Chinas COMPASS svslems aie undei consliuclion. Were jamming All ol lhem shaie a lundamenlal veak ness, hovevei. Because lhev ielv on sig nals liom salelliles liansmilling liom an al lilude ol aiound zo,ooo kilomelies (Iz,aoo miles, lhe signals aie veiv veak, making lhem vulneiable lo accidenlal oi delibei ale inleileience. This can lake lhe loim ol naluial inleileience, as a iesull ol solai ac livilv, loi example, accidenlal manmade inleileience due lo signal ieeclion oi laullv liansmillei equipmenl, and delibei ale amming ol lhe salellile signal bv lians milleis lhal diovn il oul bv bioadcasling lheii ovn signal on lhe same liequencv. Biilish police began lnding amming equipmenl in lhe possession ol ciiminals aboul lhiee veais ago. This vas nol suipiis ing, because evidence liom salnavs and vehicleliacking devices had alieadv been used in seveial successlul pioseculions. In Iulv zoIo lvo men veie ailed loi a lolal ol I6 veais allei lhev admilled being mem beis ol a gang lhal slole ao loiiies and lheii loads vilh a lolal value ol 6m ($.6m. Thev had used GPS ammeis lo pievenl lhe vehicles being liacked allei lhe lhells. In Geimanv, meanvhile, some loiiv diiveis have used ammeis lo evade lhe counlivs GPSbased ioadlolling svslem. Il vou do an inleinel seaich on GPS ammeis, vou gel ovei +oo,ooo hils, vilh manv ol lhese linking lo siles oeiing lhem loi sale, savs Iim Hammond ol lhe inlelligenl lianspoil svslems voiking gioup al Biilains Associalion ol Chiel Po lice Omceis (ACPO. Id suggesl vou donl gel lhal level ol hils loi pioducls lhal no bodv buvs. ACPO and Biilains communi calions iegulaloi, Olcom, aie uiging lhe goveinmenl lo make il easiei lo piosecule people vho use and sell ammeis, and lo make lheii possession a ciiminal acl. In Novembei Ameiicas Nalional SpaceBased PNT Advisoiv Boaid said de libeiale disiuplion ol GPS vas becoming moie common, and lhal lhe svslems in place lo lnd and slop ammeis veie insul lcienl. Il called loi lhe iapid developmenl ol nev vavs lo shul dovn souices ol inlei leience, nev lavs lo punish oendeis moie haishlv and loi alleinalive, nonGPS based backup svslems lo be deploved. In Biilain such eoils aie alieadv undei vav. Eoils lo combal inleileience and amming have acceleialed in lhe lasl cou ple ol veais in iesponse lo a iapid iise in lhe sale and use ol ammeis, savs David Iasl, a loimei piesidenl ol lhe Roval Insli lule ol Navigalion and a GPS consullanl lo lhe Biilish goveinmenl. The Technologv Slialegv Boaid, a bodv sel up lo piomole innovalion, has piovided +m ($a.8m in lunding loi ieseaich pioecls in lhis leld, called GAARDIAN and SENTINEL. The GAARDIAN consoilium, vhich compleles ils voik lhis monlh, has devel oped equipmenl lo piovide ieallime in loimalion aboul lhe ieliabililv ol GPS al aiipoils oi olhei sensilive localions using nelvoiks ol piobes. Each piobe can pick up GPS signals and signals liom eIoian, an enhanced veision ol Ioian, lhe giound based leiiesliial iadionavigalion svslem lisl used bv lhe Ameiican and Biilish na vies duiing lhe second voild vai. The piobes also conlain a small alomic clock. Bv compaiing lhe GPS and eIoian lime sig No jam tomorrow Navigation: As the uses of satellite-positioning technology continue to grow, what can be done to stop deliberate and dangerous jamming of the signals? 1 The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 GPS jamming 17 2 nals vilh ils inleinal clock, each piobe can delecl inleileience and deleimine vhelh ei il is naluial oi manmade. The abililv lo delecl manmade inlei leience is nol much use unless lhe souice can be localed, hovevei. Thal is vheie SENTINEL comes in. Il is a nev ieseaich pioecl announced in Decembei bv Chio nos Technologv, lhe Biilish lim lhal leads lhe GAARDIAN consoilium. The idea is lo use piobes similai lo lhose used in GAAR- DIAN, bul inleiconnecled in such a vav lhal lhe posilion ol a amming device can be deleimined bv liiangulalion. Il lheie is a povei loss on one piobe, and veakei povei losses in olhei piobes, lhal could help us pinpoinl lhe souice ol lhe pio blem, savs Andv Piocloi ol Chionos. In Ameiica lheie is alieadv a mililaiv svslem lo spol GPS inleileience: lhe GPS Iammei Deleclion and Iocalion (JLOC svslem iun bv lhe Nalional Geospalial In lelligence Agencv. Accoiding lo Navsvs, lhe companv lhal developed JLOC, il involves a nelvoik ol GPS ieceiveis capable ol de lecling iegions ol highei lhan noimal sig nal levels and lov signallonoise ialios, ei lhei ol vhich can indicale inleileience. Bul il is unknovn hov manv sensois lheie aie in lhe JLOC svslem, oi hov accuialelv il can deleimine lhe localion ol a ammei. Some expeils in lhe leld aie sceplical lhal il vill be possible lo develop coslel leclive svslems lo locale lovpovei, shoil iange ammeis aiound civilian inliasliuc luie. Il vould iequiie a veiv dense nel voik ol sensois, savs Di Iasl. I suspecl ve have ieached lhe slage vheie close lo anv maoi highvav vou cannol expecl lo opei ale a highavailabililv GPS svslem vilhoul il lailing liom lime lo lime, he savs. Al a GNSS conleience in Poilland, Oie gon, lasl Seplembei, Phil Vaid, piesidenl ol Navvaid GPS Consulling in Dallas, Tex as, pioposed an eleganl solulion. Even lovpovei ammeis could be delecled, he suggesled, il legislalion vas passed iequii ing smailphones, manv ol vhich nov conlain GPS ieceiveis, lo look oul loi am meis and vain olhei phones neaibv il one is delecled. The phones vould lhen collec livelv deleimine lhe ammeis localion and iepoil il. Il is a clevei idea, bul il vould lake veais lo implemenl. Navsvs mav have lound a vav lo speed up lhe piocess, hovevei. Il savs il has ie ceived encouiaging leedback liom Ameii cas Delence Advanced Reseaich Pioecls Agencv (DARPA in iesponse lo a iecenl pioposal lo develop an app lhal vould luin smailphones iunning Googles An dioid sollvaie inlo JLOC sensois. Mem beis ol lhe emeigencv seivices, oi even membeis ol lhe public, vould lhen be asked lo dovnload lhe app and leave il iunning on lheii phones. This could pio vide lhe highdensilv deleclion nelvoik necessaiv lo locale small ammeis. Adown-to-earth alternative Anolhei vav lo cope vilh ammeis is lo deplov backup svslems lhal do nol de pend on salellile signals, bul ielv on leiies liial signals inslead. In Ameiica iadionavi galion and aiiliamcconliol svslems based on leiiesliial beacons, vhich pie dale GPS, veie supposed lo be phased oul bv zoI8 in lavoui ol salellilebased alleina lives, undei a modeinisalion piogiamme called NexlGen, oveiseen bv lhe Iedeial Avialion Adminislialion (FAA. Svilching lo salellilebased aiiliamc conliol vould, loi example, allov moie diiecl ioules and save luel, because aiiciall vould no longei have lo lollov a vigglv ioule liom one gioundbased beacon lo anolhei. In a papei piesenled al lhe NAVIo con leience in Iondon in Decembei, Milch Naiins, chiel svslems engineei al lhe FAA, and colleagues desciibed lhe Nevaik am ming incidenl as a valuable lesson be cause il highlighled lhe iisks ol becoming loo dependenl on salellilebased svslems lhal veie vulneiable lo disiuplion. Mi Na iins and his leam aie nov invesligaling vhelhei lhe oldslvle leiiesliial svslems can be modeinised and exlended lo pio vide a backup lhal could lake ovei in lhe evenl ol GPS lailuies. Thev expecl lo make lheii iecommendalions in zoI+ oi zoIa, in lime loi implemenlalion lo begin in zoI6. Elsevheie, eIoian is anolhei nonsalel lilebased alleinalive vhich has manv cheeileadeis. Il is an enhanced veision ol IoianC, vhich is ilsell an impioved vei sion ol lhe oiiginal Ioian (longiange navigalion svslem developed in lhe Iaos. Once videlv used in Ameiica, Iapan and pails ol Euiope, Ioian lell oul ol la voui vilh lhe emeigence ol salellilebased svslems. Bul ils pioponenls have conlin ued lo develop lhe lechnologv, and eIoian is nov accuiale lo vilhin Io melies oi so, vhich is compaiable lo GPS. Il is leiieslii al as opposed lo spacedbased, uses veiv highpoveied signals ialhei lhan lov poveied ones and ils veiv lov liequencv inslead ol high, savs Sallv Baskei, piesi denl ol lhe Inleinalional Ioian Associa lion. All ol vhich means ils lailuie mech anisms aie dieienl lo GPS and olhei salellilenavigalion svslems. Enlhusiasm loi eIoian is sliongesl in Biilain, vheie lhe goveinmenl avaided a I-veai conliacl in zoo) lo develop eIoian loi use bv shipping in veslein Euiope. A minisleiial decision lo move liom lhe de velopmenl lo lhe opeialional phase is ex pecled shoillv. In lhe Uniled Slales and Canada, hovevei, IoianC liansmilleis veie svilched o lasl veai. Allei a long de bale aboul lhe meiils ol keeping lhe svs lem going, Baiack Obama declaied il oul daled. The House ol Repiesenlalives has given lhe Depailmenl ol Homeland Secu iilv unlil Apiil lo decide vhelhei a single, nalional GPS backup svslem is iequiied. Vhich lechnologv vould be used lo build such a svslem iemains lo be seen. In a vav, GPS has become a viclim ol ils ovn success. Because il is used loi such a vide iange ol civilian puiposes, vhen somebodv vishes lo disable one GPS based svslem, lheii aclions can also dis iupl olhei, unielaled svslems. The benells ol salellile posilioning aie undeniable, and lhev aie onlv likelv lo inciease in luluie. Bul il is nov cleai lhal lullv iealising lhose benells depends on pulling svslems in place lo miligale againsl delibeiale and ac cidenlal inleileience, and lo piovide an in dependenl backup lhal does nol ielv on lhe delicale liilling ol dislanl salelliles. 7 18 Brain scan The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 E NVIRONMENTAIISTS aie lddling vhile Rome buins, savs Vinod Khosla, loundei ol Khosla Venluies, a Silicon Vallev venluiecapilal lim. Thev gel in lhe vav vilh sillv slu like asking people lo valk moie, diive less. Thal is an inciemenl ol Iz change. Ve need I,ooo change il billions ol people in China and India aie lo enov a Veslein, eneigviich lileslvle. Ioigel lodavs gieen lechnol ogies like elecliic cais, vind luibines, solai cells and smail giids, in olhei voids. None meels vhal Mi Khosla calls lhe Chindia piice-lhe piice al vhich people in China and India vill buv lhem vilhoul a subsidv. Eveivlhings a lov unlil il ieaches lhal poinl, he savs. Mi Khosla has a dieienl plan lo save lhe planel. He is invesling ovei $Ibillion ol his clienls monev in black svans- ideas vilh lhe polenlial loi sudden umps in lechnologv lhal piomise huge enviion menlal benells, easv scalabililv and iapid pavback. The calch! Mi Khosla expecls nine oul ol len ol his inveslmenls lo lail. I am onlv inleiesled in lechnologies lhal have a o chance ol lailuie bul, il lhev do succeed, vould change lhe inlia sliucluie ol socielv in some iadical vav, he savs. Khosla Venluies poillolio ieads like an ecoulopian vishlisl: nonpollul ing nucleai ieaclois, diesel liom miciobes, caibonnegalive cemenl, quanlum ballei ies, and a svslem loi exliacling melhane liom coal vhile il is slill undeigiound. Anv one ol lhese lhings is impiobable bul, il vou have enough shols on goal, lhen ils veiv likelv lhal somelhing im piobable vill vin, he savs. Ten veais ago, no analvsl in lhe voild vould have piedicled 6-om cellphone subsciibeis in India bul onlv +oom people vilh access lo laliines and loilels. Even lve veais ago, no one vould have piedicled lhe vav lhal Tvillei look o. These aie lhe black svan oullieis. Mi Khosla is keen lo poinl oul lhal he has caughl a black svan beloie. In lhe midIos, vhen voiking loi Kleinei Peikins Cauleld & Bveis, a venluiecapilal lim, he invesled $+m in Iunipei Nel voiks, a companv making lelecoms geai based on inleinel slandaids. Al lhe lime, eveiv maoi lelecom municalions companvlold us lhal lhev vould nevei svilch lo inleinel svslems, savs Mi Khosla. Vilhin usl a lev veais, lhe inleinel boom had nelled Kleinei Peikins a $) billion ieluin on ils Iunipei inveslmenl. Nov Mi Khosla is gambling lhal venluie capilal can voik similai magic in lhe leld ol clean lechnologv. His appioach is lhal ol a piagmalic business man ialhei lhan an ecovaiiioi. I donl viev climale change as a moial lhing. I viev il as a iisk, no dieienl liom nucleai piolileialion, leiioiism oi nalional de lence, he savs. Business is used lo buv ing insuiance, and lhis is insuiance lhal il is impeialive ve buv. These highlech insuiance policies come in manv avouis. Mi Khosla has invesled in companies lhal piomise ullia emcienl aii condilioning using hvpeisonic voilices oi desiccanl chemicals. He is lunding lhe commeicialisalion ol lov povei lighling, nexlgeneialion solai cells and supeisliong building maleiials. Bul, like lhe enviionmenlalisls he scoins, Mi Khosla puls mosl ol his eneigv inlo seek ing alleinalives lo liadilional lossil luels. Ve iemain piimaiilv a gasoline diiven consumei economv, he savs. Im happv lo see lhe piice ol oil going up, as il vill incenlivise us lo ieplace lossil luels. Mi Khosla has invesled in seveial biolech nologv companies lhal aim lo condense lhe mullimillionveai piocess ol ciealing oil liom planl lile inlo a mallei ol houis. Amviis, vhich vas oaled on lhe NAS- DAQexchange lasl aulumn, is using ge nelicallv engineeied oiganisms lo luin planl sugais inlo a piecuisoi ol diesel. Never tell me the odds Anolhei slailup, KiOR, is hoping lo go one slep luilhei, conveiling cellulosic biomass (such as vasle vood and leaves inlo a ciude oil ieplacemenl called Re Ciude. Ians ol cellulosic bioluels hope lhal lhev can pioduce elhanol vilhoul compeling vilh lood ciops loi agiiculluial land. Accoiding lo Mi Khosla, KiORcan pioduce ReCiude in Ameiica lodav loi less lhan $o a baiiel. Thiee veais ago, I vould have said lhal lheie vas a o chance ol KiORlailing. Bul lhese lhings aienl piediclable. Ioiecasling is based on assumplions, and lechnologv changes lhose assumplions, savs Mi Khosla. I nevei compule ieluins. Il vou slail loie casling cash ovs, vou lose innovalion, vou lose inslincl. You aveiage vouisell dovn lo mediociilv. No one is likelv lo accuse Mi Khosla ol lhal. Al lhe age ol zo he launched a sova milk companv in his home cilv ol Delhi, laigeling lhe mulliludes in India vho did Betting on green Vinod Khosla thinks most venture capitalists are being too cautious with their green investments. But is his own approach too risky? 1 The Economist Technology Quarterly March 12th 2011 Brain scan 19 nol ovn a ieliigeialoi. Vhen il lailed he moved lo Ameiica lo sludv biomedical engineeiing and business. In I8z he colounded Sun Miciosvslems, a makei ol poveilul voikslalion compuleis. Allei lhe companvs inilial public oeiing (IPO in I86, Mi Khosla lell lo become a venluie capilalisl. Al Kleinei Peikins, Mi Khosla vas involved in lhe eailv lnancing ol Nexgen, an innovalive chipmakei, and Excile, a seaich engine. He also had some highpiolle ops, including Dvnabook, a companv lhal designed a lablel compulei zo veais beloie lhe Apple iPad bul pioved unable lo biing il lo maikel. Ive had manv moie lailuies lhan successes in mv lile, admils Mi Khosla. Mv villingness lo lail gives me lhe abililv lo succeed. His nexl move vas chaiaclei islicallv unpiediclable: he lempoiaiilv moved his lamilv lo India. I vanled lo see il I could have a social impacl, he savs. I quicklv iealised lhal anv nonpioll aclivi lv I could do vould be no moie lhan a diop in lhe ocean. Mosl nonpioll oigani salions aie complelelv ineeclive. Thals vhen I decided lhal I needed lo look loi scalable solulions, vhich meanl sell piopagaling solulions, vhich meanl capi lalisl solulions. Pioving lhe capilalisl lool as a solulion loi poveilv is high on mv piioiilv lisl. Mi Khosla pul seveial million dollais inlo SKS, a loipioll miciolnance com panv. Allhough Indias booming miciol nance indusliv has since alliacled ciili cism (and even goveinmenl aclion loi ils high inleiesl iales and aggiessive debl colleclion piaclices, Mi Khosla is adamanl lhal ils benells oulveigh anv ills. Mil lions ol people nov have access lo l nancial seivices, he savs. Thals moie social lhan anv nonpioll lhing I could have done. And guess vhal! In lhe pio cess, I made $Ioom. You nevei knov vhen somelhing vouie living lo be iad ical on vill make vou monev. Il Mi Khosla is unapologelic aboul making monev vhile helping some ol lhe voilds pooiesl people, he is equallv oulspoken vhen il comes lo lhe enviion menlal movemenl in lhe Vesl. Vind pioecls aie a vasle ol lime. And lhe ieali lv is lhal elecliic cais lodav aie coalpov eied cais, because lhe USA and much ol Euiope have mosllv coalbased elecliic ilv, he savs. Enviionmenlalisls use ailil cial iales ol ieluin, buiied assumplions and vhal il assumplions aboul behav ioui changes. Ils useless ciap. This soil ol lalk does nol exacllv en deai Mi Khosla lo enviionmenlalisls. The solulion lo oui eneigv pioblems is almosl lhe exacl opposile ol vhal Khosla savs, declaies Ioseph Romm, vho is lhe ediloi ol Climate Progress, an inuenlial climale blog, and a senioi lellov al lhe Cenlie loi Ameiican Piogiess Aclion Iund, a lhink lank. Technologv bieaklhioughs aie unlikelv lo be lhe ansvei. Acceleialed deplovmenl ol exisling lechnologies vill gel vou dovn lhe cosl cuive much moie iapidlv lhan a bieaklhiough. Bul Mi Khosla is slanding behind his black svans. Ve lool ouiselves inlo lhinking lhal il - ol San Iianciscans oi iich Geimans can aoid a lechnologv, lhen ils gelling maikel liaclion. Bul onlv vhen an elecliic cai can compele vilh a Tala Nano vill vou achieve scale, and lhal iequiies iadical innovalions in balleiv lechnologv, he savs, ieleiiing lo lhe voilds cheapesl pioduclion cai. Accoid inglv, Khosla Venluies is lunding seveial eneigvsloiage svslems, including high emciencv solidslale balleiies lhal side slep lhe salelv pioblems vilh lodavs lilhiumion cells. Ils all aboul diveisilcalion, savs Mi Khosla: Vell liv hall a dozen balleiies. Il olhei people liv +o moie, onlv one has lo voik lo complelelv change socielv. Vhelhei olhei inveslois vill be piepaied lo lake similai gambles on blueskv lech nologies iemains lo be seen. Going it alone Allhough Khosla Venluies lvo lunds aie lullv subsciibed, and have invesled aboul $I.+ billion in ovei ao companies, billions moie dollais and manv moie slailups vill be needed lo halch a ock ol black svans. Mi Khosla eslimales lhal lhe amounl ol inveslmenl iequiied lo ieplace all lhe peliol consumed in Ameiica vilh ienevable luels vill iun inlo lhe hun dieds ol billions ol dollais. Bul olhei highlech venluie capilalisls seem lo be sleeiing cleai ol iiskv gieen inveslmenls. I vould love lo sav lhal Vinod is slail ing a liend, savs Sleve Vesllv, anolhei venluie capilalisl locusing on gieen lech nologv. Bul no. Nol eveivbodv has lhe couiage lo do lhal. Even heie in Silicon Vallev, people lnd il haid lo undeisland lhal il vou lhink big, vouie going lo have some lailuies. Mi Khosla lhinks olhei inveslois vill come iound lo his vav ol lhinking evenluallv. The climale vill change as soon as ve have a Nelscape momenl. Vhen ve have an IPO vheie people see lhev can make a billion dollais, eveivone vill slail lo invesl. Bul Maic Andieessen, lhe coloundei ol Nelscape, vhose IPO kicked o lhe inleinel boom, lhinks Silicon Vallev in veslois vill pielei lo slick lo inloimalion lechnologv. He has even piomised lhal his lalesl venluiecapilal lund vill avoid clean, gieen, eneigv and elecliic cais. He aigues lhal cleanlech is a veiv dieienl leld. Moving liom IT venluies lo gieen lechnologies is neailv impossible, excepl loi iaie and exliaoidinaiv individuals like Vinod, he savs. He has pul veais inlo becoming a maslei ol lhe leld, bul ils nol lhe enliie Vallev deciding lo move inlo cleanlech. Mi Khoslas menloi al Kleinei Peikins, Iohn Doeii, has expiessed con cein ovei his ovn companvs gieen in veslmenls and Pelei Thiel, coloundei ol PavPal and a pailnei al lhe Ioundeis Iund, has said lhal cleanlech companies loi a vaiielv ol ieasons donl voik. Iacing bolh indusliv sceplicism and lhe iie ol enviionmenlalisls, Mi Khosla decided lo engage Tonv Blaii, a loimei Biilish piime minislei, vho oined Khosla Venluies lasl veai as a senioi advisei. The idea is lhal Mi Blaii can piovide a moie diplomalic public lace loi lhe companv, and he also biings global cloul. Mi Khosla, vho cleailv likes lo see himsell as a gieen iconoclasl and lnancial maveiick, is eilhei veiv loolish oi veiv clevei. Bul al lhis poinl il is dimcull lo sav vhich. I liv a lol ol nev lhings, he savs. Ils lun lo plav lhe game and lun lo plav lhe odds-and long odds vin a lol ol lun. Mi Khoslas coldblooded viev ol lhe economics ol enviionmenlalism has ceilainlv iumed some lealheis. Bul il he luins oul lo be iighl, his quesl loi clean lech black svans could be exacllv vhal lhe planel needs. 7 I dont view climate change as a moral thing. I view it as a risk, like nuclear proliferation or terrorism. Oer to readers Reprints of Technology Quarterly are available from the Rights and Syndication Department. A minimum order of ve copies is required. Corporate oer Customisation options on corporate orders of 100 or more are available. Please contact us to discuss your requirements. 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