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    © All Rights Reserved
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    11 views51 pages

    New Scientist (2004-08-21)

    Uploaded by

    zaid alislam

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 51
    eek da | | Sg ST Sa Bd [ed >. _— Preece) ism ct about binge nd WHY it’s out of control WHAT it does to you eC Ro cream Unie Noni) P(r em eet lars THE NEXT BIG BANG Experience the birth of a universe teen NewScientist a ote monem Trenetbigbang, page 3 EEG Time i scm q theron oem y fer ae 3 imiabtaa y Seen fate ‘ere korea Sle weston ore morkesrequred 6 Hesdlongsh forhyrogen 2 SSignanaen) es na Succ NEWS TECHNOLOGY REGULARS Se FoTOR Hlpingpaamedisasesbeadinjuy 21 CONMENTAND ANALISS Sieg ate Newcalulationssuggetour planet may Tingeston the way out 22 Mentalillnessisasimpotantasary Soha rnothaveenoughwatertogoaround 3 ONAtechiquetocurbspam —__23-_otherdbeaseand stim twas oe vernon “TRENDS: INTERNET FumD-ausing ‘wea such anuesViromPtel_19 Siam Woridollshorel;hunicaneCharey’s TheDemocrats am toworkthe eras er Unexpecedstengh;stemclleseach netandrae finde 24 Volintestoth res: in pri of re head for space; i ue emerges nudearpevertowerngdiiculy 26 Seon initnamClfria's solr dreamin — smo, sdisaray;beinga maverickintheUK; FEATURES Pee cailewaathan ts — nev bhdspeesiceeed night Chernobyl exploded in 1986. Si THI WeEK DRINK TILYOU DROP Heisoneot the ew works stl spaces Glbalauctot primate research 6 Asbingedinkingspalsoutof alve,butthepriceofsuvvalshigh ut i ‘UK conerstarget diabetes cure & control, scientists admittheyve got "Yop Oc < EN. | “itwould bea tremendous mistake to bet the farm on hydrogen withoutsome ‘major brealthvoughs" official responsible for renewable ‘energy during the Clinton. ‘administration, says the focuson hydrogen isdamaging ourchances cof slving the climate problem, He calls ita"baitand swith’ strategy.’ People promise renewable hydrogen, but what you gets dirty hydrogen” he says inthe short term, hydrogen will come from natural gas~a process that produces CO, This iscurrently the cheapest way to make hydrogen. Romm predicts that twill be 2035 before hydrogen-powered carsstart makinganimpacton climate change. "Thirtyyearsis ‘long time. Wecan'tsiton our hands," hesays Healso insists that hydrogen generation snot the best use of renewable energy. When losses from distributing and storing hydrogen are taken into account, about so percent ofthe energy ‘usedtomakeitislost. Rommand ‘Tureragree thatthe best short- termuse of electricity produced from renewables isnot to produce ‘hydrogen but to oflset coal. Under current plans, coal buminginthe US is set toincreaseby 50 percent by 2025. "The frst secondand ‘hind things you need todois to replace coal" Romm says, But Turnerwants tokeep pushing forlhydrogen from renewable energy. However, Rommargues that there willhave tobe basic scientific discoveries, ‘of Nabel quality" before the Inydrogen economy becomes reality. “Ir would bea tremendous ‘mistaketobet the armon hhydroge lanFells,headof the New and Renewable nergy Centrein Northumberland, UK, isalso sceptical. He favours anexpansion innuclearpowerto meetrising energy demands without adding tothe greenhouse effet Otherwise, heargues, willbe like "fighting battle withone ‘armbehlad yourback". © men rensenis.om Lamarckism finds new lease of life in a prion FIOUUTION on occurinawaynever necessary, and neither the cling previously shawn. Genetists have force of natural selection. Various iscoworedthatthestrange protsins _frmsof this ype of inheritance Called prions can temporary give _‘havebeen shown in recent years yeast cllsnew powerswhichan to ocurin avarey of organisms, then be quick, and permanenty, a mechanism known as "epigenetic". ‘ctimilatedinta thei chromosomes. Nowy Lindquist has shown that in “Tis providesa novel way for yeastat east there is another way corganismsto try outaitferent alts, thatadaptivetralts an be passed on, survive andadapttofucuating ' involving a combination of genetic ‘environments"says Susan Lindquist and epigenetic inheritance. And it ‘wholed theworkattheWhitehead Is trggered by prions, proteins that InstituteforBiomedicalResearch can change shape, assuming 2 Cambridge, Massachusetts. The conformation which coaxes other finding unexpectedly brings together proteins to form that shape, to. ‘the thoores that Charles Darwin and Lindquist examined the ole of his chief ivalJean-Baptste Lamarck a protein called Sup in the yeast ‘developed to explain evolution. Saccharomyces cerevisiae which Tanslated into moder tems, normaly makes certain that “unk” Darwin's theory of natural selection _regjonsof the gonomearenot used states that organismswith genes to make proteins. When Sup35 forms ‘more suited to thelr environment pron it becomes loppyin its work, survive, passing those genes on allowing proteins to be made from torthelrfspring, while thosewith previously unused pieces of ON. tft ones perish. In that way, Undquis’steam showed thata aspecesbecomesmmoreattuned surprising proportion of yeast cas to ts ervronmentwith each ‘containing Sup35 prions, about20 per generation. Genes are involved ‘ent, acquired new adaptive powers, In most mater of heredity, such as resistance to the herblede s0Darwin was proved corect In contrast, Lamarck believed that “Lindquist has shown that in srvrisns ol aciuirenew tal yeasts at least there is another beinherted. Hetearysaggeae” WAY by which adaptive tats thatno changeln DNAcrgenesis cari be handed on” Paraquat. Using sophisticated genetic ‘techniques, her team was then able to remove the prion and show that ‘the sistance also disappears. No ‘hanged cauredin the cell's DNA, Instand the presence ofthe Sups5 prion meant that unused portions of theyeast genome were switched on ‘wcodefornew protein regions that ‘conferedredetance tothe herbie, But even more surprising was ‘what happened wien these calls ‘were mated to another strain with ‘no paraquat resistance, Some of th rogery quick acquired the ability t> ‘edie the herbicide ~ even when they id not contain the prion Watue, ot: 10.036/nature2ss). Lindquist Deloves that the rechfing of genes that occurs in sexual reproduction allowed new genetic combinations to form that ae eistantto the drug. “Wvthout the pion these calls would nothave survived tomate and find thosenew geneticcombinations," she says. othe epigneticineritance supported by prions provided a route forselection of new gene ‘combinations, mating larmarclan {and Darwinian nations of ewolution. ‘ren 0, pion researcher Yur Chemoff ofthe Georgia Institute of ‘Technology in lant sayeitemaine tundear whether this type of evolution ‘caus outside the laboratory, and in organisms other than yeas. "But that does not aiminish the Importance ofthis work in revating a specc mechanism for this ype of Inheritance." Undquist points out that the Sup35 protein seems to hhave retained is ably to tur into «prion over some 400 milion years ‘of fungal evolution, suggesting the rion provided some advantage ‘Experts already think other plgeneticmechaniems may have shaped the evolution of more ‘complex organise WNew Scents, 28 Novernber1996, p26) "| wouldn't bbe surprised if thishappensin people aswell Tiss the tp ofthe iceberg, Undquist says. Filip Cohen @ INVITATION TO ATTEND THE 1*OPEN MEETING OF THE BIOCIDES CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE Tuesday 19 October 2004 at 2:00 pm Venue: The Maritime Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool ‘The Chairman and Members of the Government's independent Biocides Consultative Committee will discuss various aspects of the Committee's business with the audience. The meeting wil focus on the implementation ofthe Biocidal Products Directive in ‘the UK. Free admission wil be by ticket only. Attendees are invited to submit written questions in advance. ‘More information on the Biecidal Preducts Directive can be found at htpufwwu.hse.gav.uk/biocides! Requests for tickets should include the names ofall attendees and can be submitted elther by email (bec@hse.gsi.gov.uk) or in uniting to the address below. Tickets are allocated on a first come first served basis and will be sent out afte the closing date of Monday 20 September 2004, [BCC Secretariat, Room 130, Magdalen House, Stanley Precinct, Bootle L20 302. vest. Aust 2004 Newscient Twisted magnetic fields fire jets from black holes SUPERMASSNE black holes at the ‘used by its spinning. These black centre of galaxies arethought to holes reso masse they are thought shoot outviolontjetsof mattr and to drag the surounding space and energy, butexactly how they doit time around with them. The lured has beena mystery. Now, the most region atthe edge of the spinning realsticcomputersimulatons yet behemoths twists the magnetic elds ‘suggest thats black holes spin they generated inthe accretion discas the collup the magneticfels around gas inthe dic falls towards the black ‘them so tight that when these flelds hole. These twisted folds contibute tuncoil they=pew particles hundrede tothe jets of matter fing outwards, lofthousandsof ightyearsinto space, And that's just what Viaiir Astronomers have observed ‘Semenov and Sergey Dyedeehin of ‘thousands ofjetsradlatng atradio thelist of Pryslsin St Potrsburg, ‘requenciesfromwhatarecalled Rusa, and Brian unl ofthe “radio-loud” quasars. But they Bosing Space and Intligence yrterns ‘annotagree on how the ets, InTorance, Clfomia, savin thelr as, Zin tnt hemesfeesan, teeny, yal he ietenat mma es hte ple Temi eenelading tay, lege sng When plasma thejasbegrinanocranduretomerneceeto blotter fond ge rpm, aundthe, Seta istoghesun, "gsr Soatoe'iepms carpe” sertpng" aac nerocns pedecenameguictadaes ne meueinets te er, ol Reser “These lines are being wound ‘a seed nche ™_ up at nearly the speed of light. “inscompeingteon,tejts ently they unwind ‘begin doser to the black hole, and are violently ejecting matter” strongly twisted, Punsy says. Stresses buildup in theselines, ‘which are being wound up at nearly ‘he speedof light Eventually they ind, violent ejecting mater. But other retearcer xy the source ofthe ets itl up for debate, “itsbeen a rather controversial busines," says Roger Blandford, an _astophysidst at Stanford Univrstyin aliforna wino helped spearhead both ‘competing theories about 30 years ‘ago. He syste has identified seven ‘ferent scenarios formagnetic fede that ould causa the jos. ‘"nonesty don't know what the answer's.” Bigger computer simulations are likely to reveal the “answer inthe nxt fw years. David Meloy an astrophysicist _at NASH’ Jt Propulsion Lab in Pasadena Calfornia, hopes ‘observations will provide telling ds. “hat we'd keto be able todo ie ‘measure the black holes spin because ‘thatwould be an independent ‘confirmation ofthis ides," he says, Its possible that both theories ‘explain whats going on around black hoes. Some actronomers think splnning black holes may cause ets in radio-loud quasar, while action= iscjets, which probably don't ‘eave ae far and therefore are hard ‘twobserve, may ars from *radio- quiet” quasars. MaggeMctee © Er ow Ros ere et sof mater and ener 1 pag a le gs tiesuiog spond? a | esmunewis 2 Nagel Siam seanate lc eam es ‘emaoti vis wane 2. tistea maze teen ang a ‘Sinden 1 Newser |2Augut2008 SOUNDBITES 61 Need A Liver ~ Please Help Save My Life!93 ‘Ablboard in Houston, Fes, displays Todd Krampit'spea fora donor oan (NN, Augus) 66We mustfind out ways and means to ensure the safe return ofthe elephants 33 Mutat Sng, fost inter of Noga tents, Lugs ofc nota 00 ramping elephants thathave led people Inneighbourng Bangladesh (Cts) 66's to late for me, but forthe sake of the world, forget profits, forget the black gold and sign Kyoto before i's too late for you.33 Someone signing themsenes "Mt" testo pical acon ater losing Wsocherhouse ines floods incotwesErgand (@8C es one, Aug) 6 Anyone who thinks we can replace nuclear power stations with renewables is talking bollocks.33 od Smith, head of mechanical engineeting at mperalClge london (The Obsene, andon, August) 66 Criminals realise that electrical goods are not worth touching but rare species of animals have real value.39 John Hard who run ser af len arimlsintheU, on tet {ef 15mankestom Sash 0 (Terie onde, BaueuS) We have already moved badgers from two ‘monuments just north of Stonehenge.99 Tan Bune, ne fur aoelogts employes ty the K Minty oD, an plans tect bade that have been burrowing tance burs) mounds evils, August) men rensenis.om Plant mimic may be cure for malaria Phase field tals are scheduled ania TT forlate next year. ‘The synthetic drug likethe ‘natural product, kills malarial parasites by producing fee CLINICALtrials ofa synthetic ‘malaria drug have begun in the UK. The newly developed drug, which has similar properties to ‘the naturally oceurring substance artemisinin, could replace expensive plantextmicts, ofits human host."In some LUsdevelopers hope itwillhelp respects this drugean be regarded countertheresurgenceindrug- asa Trojan Horse," saysPaul resistant forms ofthe disease. ONeill, nexperton synthetic ‘Artemisinin,a compound extracted from sweet wormwood. (Artemisia annua), hasbeen ‘used for more than 1500 years aanti-malarial rugsat the University ofLiverpoolin the Jintraditional Chinese medicine parasite’ survival, Vennerstrom totreat fevers. Overthe past says. Hisfindings are reported Fewdecades,combinationsof —_inNature (vol 430, p900), artemisinin derivatives such ‘Malaria has become much asartesunateandartemether __-morecommon overthe past Ihave proved highly effective 30 years largely because the against malaria, ‘malarial parasite has developed Bt inthe developing world, ‘where malaria kills more than a million people each year, the ‘natural extracts haveserious drawbacks. They azecostly to produce, and they quickly. degrade, making ther difficult touse. And the Weatment usually probably because they attack However, Brian Greenwood of fallsifthepatientfailstotake _theLondon Schoolof Hygiene the extract regulary. land Tropical Medicine saysitis "Now a synthetic drug, possible~ though unlikely pparentiy with similar properties toartemisinin, has ben produced by Jonathan Vennerstrom of ‘the University of Nebraska ‘Medical Center in Omaha and ‘his colleagues, Iis cheap to make and isbeing developed bythe pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy of New Delhi, India, and thatthe parasite could build course should be suficient 10 ‘completely cure mala says. But the forthcoming field ‘Malarlafor Medicines Venture _rlalswill be the only way to (MMV), anon-profitorganisation know for sue. basedin Genevs, Switzerland, "The MMV estimates that Thedrugisnowbeing tested for about 300t0 so million malaria safety inhumane. ‘treatments are needed each year. "Weave tested different “Ifhumanstrialsaresuccessful, doses inmore thana dozen, ‘the new cheap synthetiedrug healthy volunteersand results have been encouraging” says ise ‘lope, scientific officer for MMW. inthe fight against malaria,” Rlopelsays. © wn enact radicals. Itdoes this by reacting ‘with ron, whichis releasedasthe parasitedigests the haemoglobin UK. Free radicals seemto target proteins and enzymes vital tothe resistance tomany cheaper drugs suchas chloroquine and quinine, But the parasites do not seem to develop resistance toany of the artemisinin furlly of compounds, several different parasite proteins. resistance tothe syntheticdrug, Laboratory tests suggest that the synthetic drugshould remain active in the body forlonger than ‘thenaturalextracts.A three-day , O'Neill could prove tobea breakthrough Many ant afford expensive plant exacts COMPETITION ws COMMISSION ANTICIPATED ACQUISITION BY TAMINCO NV or THE EUROPEAN METHYIAMINES AND DERIVATIVES BUSINESS FROM AIR PRODUCTS (Caemicats) TEESIDE LtD AND AIR Propucts AND CrteMicats Inc (AP) Competition Commission Invites exidence ‘ci i adi (OFT a he spd gn yin eta Spe inl erie oir Pa) Tn snl Fu aes A) we GaratinCanis () ‘eC he el Wer a pepe apn wl ou i out ‘oage sai nh, nec exp i lesa scption wt mt or a en hain mano dein supa QW), “haar an omer yin fata tai dans in he ‘seam elite acon ese lets he les pean wr ten cts ihn apes np ots ‘Then bs lap Daa “he CC mou he to Dear Som liner pn, Ga ig, by 3 Septener 2004. To submit eience please wit Ing) Serctary (imine rods mere inguin), Competition Commision, Vira Hose, South Row LONDON WCE 4AD rennil ARpubie@ competion

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