TechnologyQuarterly

The many uses of

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.
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