as (Nd | MTEL te | | pa Bs 13 NewScientist SPECIAL EDITION ! us a ds esa cre (en) Growing up Unusual suspects The person within Virtual people Quandary in the quantum world‘Baggot me, Sethian cemet feceinnnie ‘eimae Sano sana sone bec aca Solhteanwetae Tianhe ‘oan Sacra soa (Selaearnandeser ‘Srestpetmnmac chaste Crees wn enact | NewScientist H i a eld in Antaeticas pushing up sea levels p NEINS TECHNOLOGY EDITORIAL Roadsignsdriverscan'tignowe 25 Bird fl seems tohave passed How WindowsXP blocks PCadd-ons 26 betiveen people forth ist tine. Watch outforvoicemallspam 26 Wemayallneedashotofvacinesoon, Thechipthatcantbeconed 27 butwvhere il tcome rm? 5 FREwps:Rouorsuaceny ‘moms ors” vpn meets tonne Mevtssiakntgletnanr wcmyunerseteteraes global warming; who owns open-access the high cost? 2B iment bury dsasterdeedinmasseraves 6 FEATURES rasuex armen Paeaaeatuenetiom a fetwewectntesth owt ame ag a tapierenldbar pe Ses see — Giauiafalperece’ e SAADMGRONE Srestimesented 4g stent atncaalignw SevingMediteraneanswortish 16 i Blood dopingtstcaististsalp 17 Paweattelmperacty = Haw antirerepoeinswork 8 BRIEF DNAarodingturnsupfournew species dinosaur hunters sewer "sucksaurus"; mals getthe best milk; rts hum raced ta stormy seas; pulsating tar rescuestheaists; ‘advices ood as physiotherapy for back pain; ancentvirus might trigger multiple sclerosis 2» “Globally, the amount of flu vaccine that could be produced would be but a gesture” A. Henderson on prospects forhuman vacin guns bird Mu, page 1 ONTHECOER Secrets ofthe fae, cente pages hier way i up page 32 Ram's seces reveled p35 SECRETS OF THE FACE ‘We now know how totum average faces intobeautfulones~justlookat the cover. ‘Wecan crete morphs, and totaly ital facesthat belongtoeledronic beings or resurected dead actors. Sates inthis special secon investigate how thisnew-found ability to imate Ifeand improve on tis changingout ‘worl. You may neve take anything atfaevalieagsin —_centrepages REGULARS (COMMENT AND ANALYSIS Exiting defence systems ares badly flawed, wiat hopes there thatthe US can defend isl rom misilattack, asks Theodore Postl B lees Extmore fis; Linaeusand the PhiylCode; animal lessons on additives; hybrid engines; selfishin space 30 Pours Westminster cary: Tam Dall opens abookon doningracchorses, andthe emma overculingbadgers Mt NIGH u FEEDRACK 48 THE LASTWORD ” sons 2 odode 2008 Manse |3ttt anean tonne tne ‘Seng can, Sanco ronment eae ‘aeathaost = Fit ee Po =. Eni sm teeter — iene rte ratte emiena ‘ena oe vn enact a The clock is ticking The one thing bird flu experts were dreading looks like ithas happened ‘THERE arecertain warningssigns that really should be acted upon, This week’s ‘announcement by health officials in Thailand. of the first probable human-to-human spread fof the HsNi bird Mus oneof those signs. ‘The virus may notbe spreading easily among humans yet~ on this occasion it passed only ‘afer sustained contact between’ gisland her distraught mother— but toignore it would be reckless. Whena virus adapts toa new host, tices ‘wo challenges. Itmust deflectthe host's immune response enough to replicate. Then the hordes of newly made virus particles must ‘lad a way outsothey caninfect others, HSNI has learned to grow in people. It may now be finding the escape route. This is worrying, not east because the virus as sofarklled three ‘out of every four peopleithas infected. ‘What we need isa vaccine, and fast Luckily wehavea candidate, though Isso new we do notknow how well itworks. Bren so, the US government is worried enough about bird lu in Asia that itannounced plans this, Anight to remember Tisshapingupasabattlebetween physicists and astronomers. On 18 Apri 2005 physicists ‘want toholda"light relay” tomarkthe Sothanniversary of Albert Einsteins death. ‘Theevent isakind of Mexican wave inwhich 100,000people round the world take turns {toshine lightsintothe night sky. ‘Theastronomershavetalkenexception: light pollution sbad enough, they say, without ‘eachinga new generation tomake itworse, Itcould hardly be more embarrassing. ‘The World Year of Physics n 2005 is supposed ‘toconvince people ofthe importance of physiceto the modern world. Instead, itis ‘descending intoan unseemly rot. ‘Blnsteln hada knack for enthusing the ‘week to make2 million doses of the vaccine (see page 10) Thisis good news. Industry ‘willlear the ropes, and some peoplewill be protected if this particular HsNteverdoes cut loose. Buteven ifthe vaccine works,2 million ‘lushots willnot domuch ina world of 6 billion people. Thisis particularly trueif, asseems lkely, the vaccine ls deployed in ‘the US, while the HisNifl,itgoes pandemic, will probably spread from Asia ‘What we need isa global capacity to make largeamounts of fla vaccine fast. Say, a dozen stateof the art plants scattered about the planet, growing vaccine virusin cultured cells, ready tobe scaled up when needed. ‘These plants could operate undera global authority with the resources to get vaccine towhereepidemiologistssay itis needed, Ideally tosquash any outbreak beforeit ‘becomes a pandemic. Soonerorlater, HsNuor one ofits cousins lind sway tospread easily between humans, Hrmost of us are vaccinated, twill nat get f [tis time forsome urgent itera thinking. @ public Hedealt with mind-blowing ideas: packets flight the fourth dimension, mass is ‘energy, space-time warped by gravity Planners for next year's physics fest would do allo remember this inspirational ide. Soratherthanturnlightson, lesswitch ‘them offand get people tolook up. City dwellers rarely fever, getthechancetoscethe night sky and eflecton ts wonders. Quanta oflightfrom ‘the starstravel billions of yesrstoreach our ‘eyes; their paths sometimes bentby the gravity ‘of galaxies. Andthe sky itselfisbelng pulled apartbya mysterious force—Einstein’s ‘cosmological constant, Contemplatingthe stars has got tobe more enlightening than ‘waggling flashlight atthe sky. © the perfect christmas gifts fast approaching. To save time and stress ‘his year, New Scientist willbe launching an online gift guide, packed with ideas for innovative ae ee a gs presents you have received or given ~ or perhaps simply bought for yours. You can submitideas. ‘online at http:tinomoresocks.newsclentist.com. The best suggestions will appear onthe sit, and the relly stunning ones willwina prize. Terms and conditions are available onthe site, Pro rene nt ee ae eee Seen LO ots 2odobr200 Newsentst|5People who persed when tropa storm Jeanne ruck Hai ast month sould nat ‘be buried in mas graves, health ofls sy is uneasy for public health, and wil onl at survivors tres, Inthe cy of Gonaives moe than ‘s00bodieshave Been bud intage pits becuse thiswas thought necasary to prevent the spread of disease ‘Buttho Pan American Heath Organization has issued a statement insisting thatthe bodies donot pose any major sas sks. "Theres sete ‘evidence hat dies cause epidemic,” says Jan LucPonl, head of disaster rele at PA. Pathogens general as bodies eal and decompse People handing corpses might be at ris, ‘wt thay can be protected through ity DNA tests faked checktheresuls.Thelabéenied WWhgse science? having received hersamples let ‘ONEmanhasseparated from his alonetestingthem, She then went PLANSto providefreeaccessto ‘wife over confusion about ‘othe police ‘medical research funded by the Wwhetherhehasfatheredachildby Mullanepleaded guiltytotheft_ USNational institutes of Health anotherwoman. Another couple andwas sentenced tothreeyears _havemet witha mixed esponse. hashadcontactseveredwitha —__inprisonlastweek."MrMiullane Last month theNIH called child they hadbelieved tobe their preyedon people's veryhuman _forcomments onascheme ‘grandchild, ndhadbeen building needto know whetherthey were under whichany papersbasedon. relationship with. AndaFrench or werenotthefather ofachild”” _research supported by theNIH. hlla'sbirthcertiticate bearsthe sald Detectivelnspector Tony Cox. would have tobe made freely mumcofamenihobnthis. ofDanetpole, albleonanifwebsteno fahecmstheedapeprents —°TheUEsHmanGenes merethansirmontester Pebgchangetuntioceis.” Commision hiehadvsestbe pueden neslenile oul Feit guemtagmet: lmracusceneut a ie. lo MungbNAtesresut'nige Sonsierwnetertrecommend Enthubotealpendoedthe PeieDNAofPodetminecK —— ughterrguaton fonelomneDrnr seo cinereus mothe DNAteng wese 2 samples ftom only the child and its possible father are analysed and sent test hts tocustomers Because motherless DNA testingis notallowed without the mather=s permission in the UK, returned Samples were sentolabs in ‘Canada and the US.Butin2002, company director Simon Mallane faked the results of around 160 tests: instead of sending off thesamples, he changed the names on genuine test results, ‘The scandal was revealed only when one customer rang f Canadian laboratory directly to Abandon hip 6 Newscntst20cbe 204 NO NEED FOR MASS GRAVES simple precautions such as bags to hold thebdies and glovesfor the worers, Nobody else sat risk tunes the mater supply becomes, contaminated by the corpses. "itis often more important to prowde dean drinking water than to dispose of bodies," ys Ponce. Survivor rest o be Inti they oe denied the hance to formally identity thee frends and relates, scoring to PAHO recommended that ‘niente bodies ad to be buried, ‘they shoud be ld side ide In| ‘ronches, with numbered mares corresponding to ary objects taken ‘fom the remains, “With modern technology abody an be identited oyenrs lat," Ponce adds, publishersare notsokeen, ‘with some questioning whether Journals can survive financially fmuchoftheircontentis made available free sa soon. "And who willown the copyright, askedan editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine ast week, Kownership Is notclear,itwams, nolegal action could be taken against companies ‘that misuse elected partsof papers for commercial purposes ‘The editorial says journals should retain copyright, and accesso articles should be through the Journal websites rather than via separateNTH site ISS oxygen crisis NASA might evacutethe Intemational Space Station conypen reserves droplowerthan ‘Seay Then we star geting fea to desman’ thestation, BilGerstenmater, managerot NASW spacestaion programme, saidon 24 September ‘Atthe moment theres enoughoxygenlefo support the 8Stwocstronautsuntl Chirstmas Day, when the next Progress supply vehicle isdue. Butthesitution couldget desperate ifthe tation’ sbroken vn rensenst.omee ‘oxygen generator can’ the repaired and Progress’ launch is delayed. ‘The crew believes the ‘oxygen generator, the Russian ‘made lektron that splits water {nto oxygenand hydrogen, snot ‘working because potassium hydroxide residue is clogging the dnydrogen vent. Spare parts or the Flektron willbe sent up on Soyuz craft, due forlaunch on 1! October, along with azeplacementerew, “We have afairly good chance ofgetting Elektron running.” saldGerstenmaier. ‘Assuming Progress arrives con timeit willearry up to 200 Kllograzs of oxygenin tanks about a 60-day supply. Thespace sationalsohas Russian ‘made solid“candles” thatrelease ‘oxygen, and oxygen reserves for the station's airocks.Allthis adds up toa 160-day supply. Tickets to space Tope taken seriously, the Aledglingspace tourism Industry needed serious backer This ‘week Itgotone. Richard Branson nounced the creation of Vingin Galactig company that could Starofferng commercial Space fights as etlya8 2007. ransontlda news, confereneeon 7 September thathehad*tignedahistorical dealtolicenseSpaceShipOne's technology’ SpaceshipOne, erat bull by the US company Scaled Composites, made sist succesful lightto the edge of paceon21 June. As New Sefentist vento press wasbelng readied ‘tofly again on 29 September, forthe iret of twoflightslessthan twoweeks apartneededtocaim thesromilion Ansari X prize ‘Whether or net SpaceshipOne succeeds, Virgin's announcement ‘means that vestment inspace tourism wl take of sys Got? Sheerin wholeads the Cnadian Arrow; anothercontenderforthe Xprize, "tis great news forthe restofthe people whoare tying fomake thisanindustry? heads Tobegin with ew bean industry CSterng tothe rich Plight wil Startata mere 11$000, wn enact ‘Austra’ uty of ce She's gonna blow [ASWARMof shallow earthquakes beneath MountStttlensin Mashingtonstatehas prompted the US Geological Survey iowa ofan"increaeed probably of explosions from be voleano. ikingtas ons lopeshave beenclosed “The stiemors were picked uponag eptember Three days Inter asthe quakes intensified, the Uses ssuedanotceot volcanic unrest”‘Theearthquakes srebeing triggered abouta ‘Hlometre beneath the lavadome inthe volono'serser suggesting builds of water, team or “ts the quakes intensified the US Geological Survey issued a notice of volcanic unrest" magma, Quakes of magnitude 2.'were recorded on Sunday. ‘The mountain's massive ‘eruption in1980, which left sidead,was preceded byan ‘earthquake of magnitude 51nd twomonths ofheightened selsmic activity. Nothing so violent is ‘expected this time round, “Thekey stue isa small explosion ‘without warming, That would be the major event that we're worried about right now,” Wile Scott of ‘the USGS told Associated Press. LAWSUITS OVER REEF DAMAGE ‘Australia coud ind sein the dock {or faling to cut greenhouse gas ‘missions, on the grounds thatit has legal duty to protect the Great Barer Reet, Worl Heritage ite. ‘Other countries with Worl Horitage ites could ako fae legal acion. ‘Australas refused to ratify the Kyoto protocol or take other stops ‘tackle climate change, eventhough mary scientists regard global warming asa serious threat tthe reef Yetunder the Worl Heltage Convention, the government is ‘obliged to "do al tcan", "tothe lutmostof its resources, to preserve ‘the ref. Fling odo so paves the ‘way or legal action, condudesa reportfiom the Sydney Centre for Ieamational and Global La, ‘commissioned by Greenpeace and ‘Gate Action Network steal, Green groups could seekan ‘in danger isting forthe reef under the convention I Australi stil tok, noacion case might be brought ‘fore the Intemational Court of Justice, concudes Donald Rothwell, ‘hie author ofthe report. A case ‘ould also be brought under domestic legiaton, which obliges the country twabideby the World Heritage ‘omvention. Several groups are now ‘considering pursuing legal action after the fed election on9Ocaber. Other Wor Heritage ster ‘threatened by global wamning {indie Lo Glacores national park InArgentina andthe barierreet system of Belize, 60 SECONDS Fertility restored ‘Awoman made trl by homotherpy gave birth on Thur. Sineconsived natural afer exvng, an implant of he own arian sue ‘that had beon ozo befor the anc tnesment (New Scientist, 3 yp). The approach could help thousands of women wo fcr infty becaus af thetoxaty of some cancer treatments. Websites blocked Google admitted on 5 September ‘hat its recent launched news sevice inGrina does nts resus {om sites banned by the governmert. The company saysit decid notto Include backed rests bese searchers in hina woud end up ltng dexdlinks. ‘Biopirate’ off the hook Brain pie on Study arsed German man who Rad colected hundredsof spidarsand spider eas, ‘casing him of boprcy, or xpllting ‘he tvng resources of ancther country without perision. The ma, named 2 aston ol as then released (on Sunday beause Brazil has no laws guns biopkag-Rolff was dscibed asa sie, but New Sint ould not find his amen any jurals. Fusion split TheEvropentUnion, convinced that $2 bilion experimental fusion reactor ‘would be better uit ia rane than Inapan, may pres ahead without same ofitsinternational partners. Since the to sites ere shorted last ya, negotiations have been eadoced. El minster wil make ‘final deson in Hover. First Dolly, now humans The stor of Daly the sheep, Fan imut, formally applied on Tuesay fr pemision to ary out ‘therapeutic doing inthe UK 1 oni alls from peopl with ‘motor neuron dssase he hopes to scone the uses ofthe canon. He desrbed his plansin Men Scent ari this year (2 Febuary, p 6). 2odober2041 NewestIntemational news and exclusives Pat HR! TOSS se The sea level could rise dramatically if Antarctic ice keeps vanishing aoa noues ANTARCTIC glaclers are thinning and flowing faster than ever into theses, according to three reports publishedlast week, Irthe process continues, the lobal sea evel could riseby a metre or more within decades. ‘While no direct linkcan yet bbe made to global warming, the warning signsare clear. Rising 8 Newscent | 20cober004 Melting ice, global EX ocean temperatures, warmer air and changingcurrents~allaspects ofclimate change -canbreak up ‘the large floating platforms knownasiceshelves."Ina warmingclimate, theice shelves ‘become vulnerable. Not onlycan they melt from thetop, but they can mele from the bottom,” says laciologist Robert Thomas, NASA contractorinWallops Island, Virginia and eaderofone ofthe studies. Several iceshelves have vanished inzevent years The disintegration of floating ice shelves does not itself raise the sealevel But ice shelves serveas slightly further south that have Intat ice shelves showed no such Increase (Geophysical Research Letters, vol 31, 118401} “The ice shelfis behaving abit lUkeacorkina bottle," Thomas says Pull out thecork, and the pent-up glaciersstart surging Towards thesea.Asthey doso, ‘the glaciers elongateand should thin by tens of metres per year, the researchers calculated. The calculations are borne out bylaseraltimetry measurements bya teamed by Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado, Boulder As wellas confirming thatthe glaciers lowing intothe broken-up Larsen Bice shelfare ‘moving faster, Scambos'steam found that they have thinned by asmuchas38 metres insix _months, year after the break-up ofthe ice shelf Geophysical research Letters, vol 3, pL18402) The glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula aresmall and relatively Insignificant ona global scale Buttwootherstudies suggest thata similar fate could befall the massive glaclers of western Antarctica, Teregion contains enough water to alse the world’s sea level by §metzes or more ‘These glclers are penned inon twosidesby thegiganticRossand Ronne ice shelves, which are in no danger of breaking up. But on the third side, the west Antarctic Jee sheetis fronted by themuch smallericeshelfof the Amundsen Sea, "It's lke the back door to the ice sheet," says Thomas. "Scientists have been focusing all thelrattention on the front door, ‘which is well bolted, butthey have ‘ignored the back door” The glaciers emptying into the Amundsen Sea receive litle attention until two yearsago, when Thomas and hiscolleagues began measuring the thickness ixplaciers using laser alkimetry and radar from aircraft ‘They caleulae that the glaciers aon E,thefist of many breakups? warning bulwarks formany glaciers onthe Antarcticland mass, particularly those in western Antarctica, and the studies found evidence that the break-up of shelvesis ‘dramatically affecting the glacier ‘Twoteams that abserved the break-up of theLarsen Bice shelf offthe Antarctic Peninsula in aoa havebeen tracking the ‘movement of glaciers that feed Intotheiceshef, using satellites, ‘and radar. Thomasand his colleagues found that five of these slaciers were moving 3t0 times fasfast as they were just before the Ice shelf collapsed, Two glaciers “In awarming dimate, the ice shelves become vulnerable. Not only can they melt from the top, they can melt from the bottom" men rensenis.omea Inthissecton| (@Fctruman vane for Asian bird, page 10 Girt squid led by ol prospectors, page (© Blood doping test aims ist sal, page “The glaciers have discharged towards the Amundsen Sea. about250 cubickilometresofice | Theteam’sradar depth soundings also reveled thatthese each year, 60 per centmore than glaciersare in places hundreds of isbeing replenished by snow’ metres thicker than previously thought and thereforecarry havedischarged about 250cubic much moreice. “It's abiggerleaky Ielometres of ce each year hole," Thomas says. Movingat the as = 6opercent morethanisbelng _ same speed, thicker glacers vo replenishedby snow fallingonto empty moreice intothe sea than them (Science, DOI: 10.1126/ ‘thinner ones. sclence099650) That transiates Ifthe Amundsen Sea ie shelf intoaglobal ea evelriseof 0.2 everbreaks up, much ofthe west : millimetresa year, 10 percent Antarctic ice sheet could drain ofthe currenttiseinsealevel. out inthisdirectionevenifthe The thinning of glaciers Rossand Ronne ice shelves remain lowing tothe Amundsen Seawas intact, says Robert Bindschadle, apparentnotjust near the coast, aglaciologist a NASA's Goddard buthundredsfkilometres Space FlightCenterin Greenbelt, inland. Aboutookilometres Maryland, whois not partofany inland the PineIsland glacierhas ofthe research teams. Though the thinned wiceasfastinthelast flow of the west Antarctic ice sheet ‘woyesrscompared toitsrateof would have to change direction thinninginthe19gos.Andithas dramatically, this is not outof the spedup by abouts percentover question. Martin Slegertofthe thelast30years,suggestingthat University of Bristol, UK and his a | glaciersarealso accelerating colleagues have discovered a (acing ce shelves are bad news for glaciers Pamarcice J “The ie shelfis behaving like Te, TRsporsble—someof us ‘would think tis probable—thatit shew oleh wot An ater ro acorkina ote. Puloutthe —Ylaaninks probable ‘ork, and the pent-up gladers accelerate, hey mightreacha startsuging towardstie sea” point ofnoreturnThomas says, ‘Bindschadler agrees that the previously unknown fold in speed-up of glaciers disturbing. ‘thelcesheetwhichappearsto _ "Net only isithappening but it showthatitchangeddirection _appearstobe happening atan ‘afew thousand yearsago accelerated rate” he says. "Icall (Sclence, vol 305, p1948)- thatthe ingerprintofcolapse” Butit’snotyetknown whether Learning moreaboutthe the speedup in the flow af rock beneath the west Antarctic ‘laclers now being observed will glacierscould provide moreclues ‘ontinue.They could surgebriefly _abouttheirfate, asrdges there asiceshelvesbreakupandthen couldhalt what would otherwise Settleintoanew equilibium. bea rapidslide, ‘Theycould even begin togrow ‘Scambos believes that global ‘agnin.Someofthe glciersreleased warmingis probably responsible bytheLarsenBiceshelfappeario forthe changes being seen in haveslowedtheiradvanceayear Antarctica. Buthe says that not later, Thomas's group found. enough isknown about how ‘ut that may beless likely global warmingaffects the weather withglaclersflowing itothe _—_—patterns,ooeantemperaturesand ‘Amundsen Sea. Thomas'steam _currentsaroundAntarcticaand foundthat thebottomofthese _-howthese, in turn affect the rate UhickwestAntarcticglaclerslles of melting of ee shelves, ‘well below sealevel.Iftheirice “By and ange, Antarcticais stil shelvesbreakup,and the glaciers coldand table,"Scambos says \WESTANIARC Ke SHEET start thinning theycouldatsome "Theeffects could be construed rai oe ae ae point float fee ofthe bedrockand asbelngslowenoigh that ure Only ice sheet on Earth sil ting in a deep marine bain ice is anchored to bedrock Blow sa Heel become ice shelves themselves, {generations will be able to handle potently increasing thelrmacit It Butidon't iow” © wn enact 2odaber2008|NewsdenitSlarge-scale supplies ofa human a a in agalnst HGN1 Is unclear Bird flu goes meee human-to-human ken Diao HACKENE easily ransmissible between Itshould be ready by December. humans, and may only have “Globally, theamount of ‘THERistconfiemed caseof spreadinthiscasebecause the vaccine that could be produced, human-to-human transmission family members werein even underheroicconditions, ofAsianbirdfluwasannounced extended close cantact, ‘would be buta gesture,” as New Sclentist went to press, BULIFitdoes mutate and Henderson ays, The 40 people who have bbecomemore infectious the ‘The main hope fortreating caught the HN1 virus 0 far chances of preventing pandemic infected peopleistheantiviral appear tohavebeen infected lookslim Peoplecan transmit drugoseltamivir, But Hiroshi bybirds. Buton Tuesday the fubeforesymptomsstart.so _Oshitaniofthe World Health authoritiesin Thailand isolation andquarantine would Organization's east Asianoffice fannouncedthata girlinfected —_accomplishlitl, says .A told New Scientist thatthe drug bychlekensin the northern Henderson, whoadvises the US __had“not ben very effective" provinceofKamphaengPhet __government on biosecurity, That may be because infections seed the virusto her mother, The USistheonly countryto have not been caughtearly The virus may not yetbe haveannounced plansto produce enough, hesays. ‘OFFICIAL FUEL CONSUMPTION FIGURES FOR SAAB 9-3 TID SPORT SALOON RANGE IN MPG (LITRES/IOOKM): URBAN 36,7 (77) - 37,7 (75), EXTRA ‘ith 6 speed manual eranmision ~ £22,495 on-the-road plus‘TheHsNivaccinewillbethe which isbetween production first fluvaceine produced ona —__runsofitsstandard flu vaccine. ‘commercial sale developed using “Ifa pandemic of HsNt “reverse genetics’, atechnique occurred in humans thenew: formixingandmatching genes vaccine would be used to protect ‘rom different virusstrains laboratory workers, public (ew Sctentist, 28 February, p36). health personnel and, ifneeded, So faronly small batches for the general publi” says Tommy uuseinclinicaltalshavebeen Thompson, the US Secretary Produced by Aventis-Pasteurand of Health. the biotech irmChiron, Previous Theestimated 420,000 research suggests vaccines based hospital staT needed to maintain ‘onthe Hs virus amily givesome _ basicmedicalservicesin the US immunity butthey maybeless area priority, ntonly to.care ‘effective than vaccines used Torthesickbut also because they ‘otreat standard ‘would accelerate the spread of Aventis Pasteur's productis the virusifthey becameinfected. abybrldofHsNulsolatedfroma But{ust who else gets vaccinated Vietnamese patientearlierthis might behardtodecideifa yyearanda fastgrowing iustrain _pandemicbecomes imminent, tused in standard fla vaccine. BruceGellin, had ofthe ‘The USgovernment’s$13 million _USnational vaccine programme, MS orderwillbe madeatan says: "The decision on howtouse ‘Aventis Pasteur plant in itwillbebased on the clinical Votdinga ponder? Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, studies and global situation.” @ Something for all you petrol heads. A Saab diesel. ‘You know that diesels make sense. e's just that they don't make your heart beat any faster. The new Saab 93 diesel is diferent Its allnew 1S0bhp engine has more than enough torgue to match our most powerful Aero petrol model. While the 0-60 mph time of 92 seconds makes it quicker than most ‘equivalent German diesels. Now forthe sensible bt. As wall as returning an impressive 47mpg, the engine is Euro IV compliant soit has an exceptionally low Benefi-in-Kind tax rang of 17% (16% for che 120bhp model). And wit a starting price of just £18,995 for the 120bhp model, this diesel makes even ‘more sense than most. For more information, visit your local dealer or call 0845 300 9395 or log on to www.saab.co.uke STN @ ey Sports Diesel moveyourmin| URBAN 57.6 (49) 60.1 (4.7), COMBINED 47.9 (59) - 49.6 (5.7), COs EMISSIONS 159 — 154 GIKM. Model ilusrated Saab 9:3 19TID (150) Vector Sport optional Body styling kit Prices correct at time of going to pressCell therapy helps pig hearts keep to the beat HUMAN embryonicstem calls have been used to create a biological, pacomaker. Hoar calls derived fom ‘them restored anormal heartbeat ‘when implanted in mafunct igs’ hearts, Iivestigators fom the Technion lead Institute of Technology in Halla and esauere managed totum ‘he stem calls into hear cally Ineubatng them with mic of. biological signaling molecule, or sronth factors. "You could soe [the al] beating inthe culture eis," says Ibhak Kehat,jlnt head of te team. The researchers transplanted the hart els into pigs with damaged hearts, transfering from 80 to 150, dumps fells to each one Nature Biotechnology, DOL: 103038/nbtO1.). Insixof the animals, theheartbeat retumed to normal within two weeks. Scane of the te animale and post rmortems showed the pigs owed thelr reaver othe wansplanted el Ifthe technique could be ‘made to workin people, would have advantages over conventional pacemakers. "An electrical acomalkerdoosnt respond to physiological aes, butwe showed thatthese ells can repond to, adrenalin, making the heartbeat faster" Kehatsays.A disadvantage Isthat patients would need to take drugs that suppress the immuno ster to prevent the cells being rejected, ai curently the case with conventional organ or tissue ‘transplants. Andy oghan © ew ve 1 0 (CORSE erorcane soos ik 12] Nese 20cober004 Rebuilding the retina Stem cells transformed into eye's light-sensors worn Kentucky, whois pioneering ‘transplants of retinal pigment RETINALcells thatcould epithelia cells derived from save people's sight have been miscarried fetuses generatedforthe rsttimefrom Another key step for ACT Is fumanembryonicstemcells. _that the embryonicstemcells ‘Transplanted intoeyes,thecells_werecultured without using couldbe used totreat the mouse embryonic skincellsto commonestcause ofblindness, _nourishandsupport them. age-related maculardegeneration. Most other embryonic stem Researchersatthe biotech _celllines havebeen made using, firm AdvancedCell Technology, mouse cells, and so could not basedinWorcester Massachusetts, be turned into theraples asthey ‘managedto produce retinal could passon animal viruses. pigment epithelial cells, These ‘ACT points out that tomake nourlshnearby photoreceptor the retinal cellsithad touse cells-therodsandconesinthe __celllinesthatare banned for use retina that respondtlight in federally funded research in Whenepitheliacells start to wear the US. Three yearsago ur, nconditions such asage President Bush restricted related maculardegeneration, _federalresearcherstousing the the photoreceptorsdeterioratetoa, 7a humanembryonic stem cell Some ofACTsretinalcells nes thatexistedat the time, spontaneously changed intorods _Onlystofthese are now viable. and cones, suggesting it may be ‘When ACT researchers ried to possible to replace damaged produce the retinal cells usin photoreceptorstoo(Cloningand _threeof theofficial” lines they ll Stem Cells, vol 6, p27, "fthey are failed."We would nothavemade growingrodsandconesaswell, this discovery fwe had stuck to that'simpressive” saysNorman _thelines approved by Bush," says Ractke ofthe Retina Vitreous BobLanza, head of medicaland Resource Center in Louisville, sclentifiedevelopment at ACT. © SOUNDBITES {6 From aperspectiveof pupil performance it can enhance things, because that heating effect adually improves the neuron transfers between neural pathways, and therefore your thinking ability goes up.93 Davi ut, esd ote’ atonal Confederation ofarent eater Asodatos ls meeting sponsored ‘bya mobile phone company that celpones can improve schookilren’s ‘ing BBCHewsOne, September) When we posed online as potential buyers, ivory sellers in Shanghai and Guangzhou assured us that geting ivory intothe United States would beno problem.33 Simon Habel of te vade-montong network RAFF, which as exposed ecm nla hoy seria te internet A 2 Selene) 6 This man would fish in the snow, and this way, he's part ofthe sea, and part ofits renewal, 33 New Jersey resident Ruth Townsend ‘naa end whose aseswere med into “eet bal”, a hallow canaele sphere, and sunkatseato form an arti eet (We Yr Times, 25 Septoiber) £6 Science counts and it has not counted sufficiently inthisadministration 33 Inet pioneer Vint ert, on of Bilis sents, inducing eh Nebel ptewiones, who pian ot" rig aes elingvoles Bush sb fox scence (Ne ok Tins 28Septebe) 66 They can't et mein the pool until they can getme out.39 Patrick Deve, whoweighed 436 logams when aémitedt3 hora ‘nSouth Dakota, 2Septemter) men rensenis.omPhotosynthesis got a really early start Pore “THE case forthe existence of photosyntheti life3.4 billion ‘years ago has been significantly strengthened, The new evidence, Which comes froma layer of carbonaceous rock inSouth, Africa, is certain wo fuelthe controversy about when exactly such life began on Earth, 1n2003, Martin Brasier from the University of Oxfordand his colleagues disputed claims that ‘microscopic patterns found in 35billion year-old rockin Western Australia were mlcrofosslls of was squashed between larger rocks, lfted up and turned its side giving modem geologists easy access to ts long history. "Now, Michael Tice and Donald Lowe of tanford University, California, are saying that though the carbonaceous layer formed under water, It was shallow enough forlight topenetrate and give photosyntheticliea start. The layerbas both large and small rains of rockneareach other, butthe smaller grains would have washed away without matsof ‘microbesto trap them, the researchers sy. ‘Todetermine whether these iicrobes were photosynthetic, various bacterla, including photosynthetic cyanobacteria, Brasier claimed the fossils were really patterns formed during the recrystallisation of voleanic glass fromahydrothermal ventthat ormedtens of metres under water~too deep for ‘Photosynthetic bacteria tolive, Similar questions were ralsed about a3.4-illionyearold layer ‘ofcarbonaceous rock ound inthe buck Reef Chertin South Africa, ‘Thechert was oncea volcano in ‘theseathat sankinto the Earth's crustasitcooled, Billions of years later the structure ison dry land. “None of the surounding iron is oxidised, suggesting that photosynthetic life produced the carbon 3.4 billion years ago" Tice and Lowe calculated the ratio cf two sotopesofcarbon, which canidentify the process that produced the arbon-containing compounds. In this case, the ratio Indicates that carbon dioxide ‘was converted to sugar, a8 happensin photosynthesis, But non photosynthetic mierobes also sea similar process, sothe ratio lone isnota clincher Ticeand Lowe didfind somethingelsethatthey believe settles thecase for photosynthesis: on mineralsalongslde the carbon. Ifthe microbes were non- photosynthetic, they would have oxidised the iron. But none ofthe surrounding iron is inan oxidised state, suggesting that it was photosynthetic microbial life {hat produced the carbon, 4.4 illion years ago. "This evidence for photosynthesis {snow and better,"says Tee. @ Club World. More beds, more places, more often. MRO mee a eR aon Ly Ca 18 Newser |20ber2008 GCM RR cen una es Le ae sac ie eens.Seismic surveys blamed for giant squid deaths LUKE wales, giant squid may be killed by very loud underwater noises. ‘Unusual numbers of caeasses washed ‘chore in Spin are being blamed on geological surveys conducted shore, Normally only one giant squid a _yearis found along the Spanish coast. But ina 10-day period during 2001, ‘ve careasseswere fund ashore cor floating at 3 in the Bay of Biscay. 1n2008, another four were found Imane week. On both oczasons, saysAngal Guora ofthe Insite of Marine investigations in Vigo, Spain, geologiets were conducting ofsnore salami surveys near, fring 200-dedbal pulses of low requency sound into the seabed. ners ‘The nine dea squid, up to ‘Rmetres long and weighing upto ‘Wo kilograms, all had badly damaged ‘ars Guerra thinks thatthe oar damage might have disoriented ‘the huge creatures and made them sien tothe sures. Tere thay probably suffocated becuse the ‘oygen-carying molecules in thelr blood do not function wellin warmer water, Guerra fears many more may have been killed. ‘The geologists, affliated to Spanish ol company Repsol, plan to ‘continue surveysin 2005 Guerra has alld ora dlsaussion abouthow ‘these surveys ll be conducted, ‘and whether they should go ahead, Inthe ight ofhisfindings. Solamic surveys and highintensy aval sonar systems have previously been blamed forhale beschings. Fear of harming marine mammals has already resulted in noise restrictions Inthe US. Osbor Macken, Buses @ PUNE WAU ZAN Gy co Mortn206| NewserHow long can we keep fishing to feed fish? “THEover harvesting ofsmall {sh tofeed farmed salmon is ‘threatening marine ecosystems worldwide, according toa report ‘commissioned by respected ‘environmental organisations. Nonsense, say industry experts, theflsheries are well managed, Sowho isright? Feed for farmed fish consists ‘of up to¥o percent fishmeal and oll, because predatory ish such assalmonneed high levels of ‘certain ils and proteins for rapid ‘growth and the right taste. The report, done forthe conservation _groupWWE the Scottish Wildlife ‘Trustand the UK's Royal Society forthe Protection of Birds (RSPB), Claims many of thefeed fisheries are not sustainable. I focuses on ‘thefishmeal used by Scottish sourcesoffishmeal that have been certified as sustainable by ‘the Marine Stewardship Council. ‘The report singles out blue whiting, which accounts for7 per ‘entof the global production of fishmeal and oil, asa particular worry. The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission suggested a ‘quota of 650,000 tonnes, butthe policy was never implemented. Ia 2003 the catch exceeded 23 milion ‘tonnes. Whiting should notbe used until itis properly managed, says Kate Brydson ofthe RSPB, “However, HenrickSparhott, ‘fisheries assessment scientist at ‘the nternational Counell or ‘he Exploration of theSea, says thatblue whiting numbers are ‘higherthan ever. The health of ‘the population issomewhat make fihmealandoiarewell “Aquaculture ant just keep ‘managed, hesays. it ‘Sturt Beriow decorottne "expanding without industry grouptheInternational Sustainability ~ we'll end Hshmealand Fish oil, upplundering the oceans” Organsatlon says feed producers arekeen to protect fisheries. togrowrapidly Researchersare ‘Theyaresupportingan eco ttyingte develop plantbased labelingscheme forfarmedtish sources to reduce the need for being developed byUN'sFood and _fishmeal, which would also help Agriculture Organization, hesays. _reducelovelsof pollutants such ‘Butevencriies of the report as PCBS in farmed fish (New concede that meeting future Sctentse,17January,p), but demand forfeed forfarmed fish plant-based feedsare unlikely could bea problem ifthe {ozeplace fishmeal a the aquaculture industry continues foreseeable future, Anna Gostine @ Simon urmabuttanyfchimystevous heconcedes, Tmerwordwiderdjenthe unl thespecks probably annot amecee tthstanatevelathtor "goncltuecontjstkeepon muchlonger expanlngmifoaany mance thefe'yforkore mackerel Srlusuinglity"syrfebecealsanaer decribed BoydofWWE"Wellhstendup unpstamabeby the report But plunderingthe ocean andthataccordingtosparhottisspeces MemnvlnmpaicundshesiysisneebeiegorerfebedInfes htirmerssheuldswtdnto mut European sere edo primal toh wee hve Belen meairtnii elo hemo des It won't take eect pes frat quots dodveorsand,tatasethrni gla so “inthepsiwnenfciemen ptedsdsons tne opriaten ako "hse ae nein ef meses much to save cugtjueiies teyhuttrer menueueretoclowthewecl”hichenl aly hip te wortsh SumbedcOurtowtrtoust ——lagurheosand maumgrtne ie populaton inte ecaranean swordfish mmrtethasastongdemandferef@shapedheesrabehan owes" cye Een Pk te Kew them," says biologist Ricardo Aguilar J-shaped ones. Institute at the University of Miarni, Pi cangest fishing guarand fauna anemmfonmentaipesareTertssomecsiencsthat__—_whowerhadon the Mer tne Snrepeciescnastepareth guplordinnaat Sain Ganoped ctr yt ponusfonsintheMedteranantevcatststmanyfehare Saronic whch Fecwerfominenivesig teagan ve teyhoves tthe vratshiong,— Meditaraneansorih ate ven astsoatungrarwinghs Guraworesheeentettw Wnerereyyor Suwa ato bterpifonediars comb cieoctnonacinienedg paimwuurarucam enedatitedeufaeting sheets becuse prarend Cplotafetene Bitnte pet’ Nedtaranemn conten aches nglnerdeperinthewety mate eh hel cc ater ‘two decades, the average weight of Israel, Libya and Egypt, do not provi cousins. By the age of 5, a female can eae ome se a cae a “With female swordfish capable trod: up to29 mon ee, Given hasaopped toms loge oust Lst eek Onna proposed 2 i ‘ight manager, thy {O.thifdonetmeetthermininum raftetmessurestorretudng anes 0FPOdUCINg29 milion eBESEY NONE te pounce act nthe next. lengthen to Mioenlesrontnendesrnea te ageoffvethespeces GN Speer eenetnuts este ‘centimetres. But many restaurateurs —_by-catches such as turtles. bounce backgiven the chance” reduction in quotas. Anna Gostine @ 16 Newser |20er 2008 eens.No cheating in the blood test GihisTERSGMUANDEN SPORTS cheats beware iyo ‘thought yourchosen method of blood doping was undetectable, thinkagain ‘That's the message sports officialsare promoting afterUS cyclist Tyler Hamilton was nailed bya surprise test fora previously untraceable method of blood doping duringthe Tour of Spain racelast week. ‘Hamilton, who won gold ‘medal atthe Athens Olympics in August, deniesany wrongdoing, and his backers ae questioning the validity ofthe new test. But experts contacted by New Scientist believe the sclence is watertight. Tnendurance spors like cycling, ways of boosting the bloods oxygen carrying capacity canenhance performance by 20percentormore.Thefrst tacticcheaters adapted was togive themselves blood ‘uansfusons, which pack the blood with extra oxyger-cartying red blood cll, But transfusions carry significant risks, suchas contracting bacterialand virus Infections and life-threatening Jmmmune reactions. So when ‘natural hormone called erythropoletin EPO) that boosts ‘ed blood cll production was ‘turned intoan anaemiadrugin ‘the 1980s, black market for itdeveloped amongathletes. IRwasn'tuntil fouryears agothata test for PO became available Since then oleh fashioned blood transfusions Ihave been making acomeback, despite the heath risks. Butnow ‘Since tests for EPO became available, old-fshioned lood transfusions have een makinga wn enact ‘transfusions can bedetectedteo. The antibody-based test works bbydetacting foreign cells within anathlete' blood sample, very ed blood cll froma particular individual has the same set of proteins or antigens onitscell surface. ‘The A/8/O blood group system involves major antigens that must ‘be cross-matched fortransfusion otherwiserecipients could suffer ing suck serious immune reactions. Butit Isnotessentialtomateh themany minor antigens. ‘Thenew testlooks for15, different minor antigens andcan, ‘detect the presence of justone ‘unit (about 500 miliitres) of transfused blood. “Ifyou find several setsof antigens it means ‘that you have blood from two different people," says Ann ‘Muriel Steff, research manager atthe World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Montreal, Canada. Hanllton’s professional tear, Phonak, announced last week that both the cyclist’ Aand B test ‘during the Tourof Spain ace had been positive, as washis Atest from Athens. The cylistIooks he test doesn’t mak nistal someon rc ation or likely to keep his gold medal, asthe Btest from Athenshad been Incorrectly stored. Hamilton said last week he wwas*Io0 percent” innocent of the charges against him, And Phonak thas since amounced it will set upapanelof independent sclentists to exaraine the validity ofthe test But its developer, Michael Ashenden,a sport sclentistat Selence and Industry ‘Against Blood Doping in Australia, isadamant:"The test doesn't make mistakes Youeither have someone else's blood iayour circulationornot” Only three othersituations couldaccount fora second set ofantigens all of which could easily be checked for. ‘The fst isarecent bone marrow or stem cell transplant. The second could happen ifthe athlete hada non-identical twin, as sometimes twins exchange cellsinthe womb. The third scenario would occur ito embryos fused together early Indevelopment, creating a single chimeric person (New Scfenis, s5November, p34) ‘What the new test cannot pickup, however, is someone who has given themselves transfusion of thelrown blood, donated beforehand and stored ‘until justbeforea race. Ashenden snow trying to develop ways of detecting the dip this would cause ina person's natural EPO levels."We won'tbe ‘announcing when the ests willbeused, and we'resaving samples sowe cago backand test them," hesays. Someathletes are also thought tobe using artificial forms of haemoglobin which are being tested as potential blood substitutes in clinical trials, WADA says italready has tests that candetect these, although the agency has not released details, © ocober2004 News|How fish keep one step ahead of ice antifreeze protelns (APPS) ohelp them survive in icy waters Normally, the formation afice crystals in thelrbody fluids should rupture delicate membranesand.ellalar structures, butthe AFPs bind to thesurfaceoficecrystals and prevent them growing Now, Leonard Sanderand Alexei Tkachenko of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have shown just how this couldhappen, When the proteins attach to ice crystals, thee is orced to grow in a bulge between them. The computer model shows Pore UNTILnow,noonehas quite figured out how antifzceze proteins help insects fish and plants tosurviveatsubzero Temperatures. Butadetailed computer model has lent strong support toa theary thatthe antifreeze proteins stop the growth of ce crystals byattaching, tothemand forcing themto change theirshape~ much ikea pillow is deformed when stones are placed oni, ‘Several organisms, including fcefish and Antartie cod, produce October ‘Thursday i October ea In conversation with Benoit Mandelbrot Time: 19.00-20.30 Benot Mandate the ftercf fecal gsomatry, ne mathematics eughness. fs used to understand sada markt, compress dtl rages, aalysebrainvaies ang ‘mush more Jen Profesor Mancebret te diss ns tuesday 12 October The Perfect Face? Time: 19.00-20.20 Eacngea 2508 Grons undergo lt ge, Wy ‘ran ling onthe Enna ineak qt Soni dslonen ob hang tana explora es est. 1 dedicate Events are tre but plese pe-book Call 020 7942 4040 or emai tickets@danacentre.org.uk wwwedanacentre,org.uk Gouester Ron be ‘Wisc sole emir ste pring on, asi paring rearing at 20, falkstience wy London v eating, drinking, living ané performing science 18 Newser | 200208 Subzero sexs old no fears foricefch that ifthe bulge gets large enough, then the ice will engulfthe proteinsrather than keep on ‘growing. Thisslows down the expansion ofthe ce crystals. "If theice grows slowly, more proteins will[attach]than can be absorbed, sotheicecar't'eat jem fast enough,” says Sander. he process collapses and the ce stops growing” ‘As the ice stops forming, the surzounding fluid can become supercooled tobelow freezing point. Some animalscan survive {evenif thelr body fluids are clea to-2°C, Theresearchers tested the ‘model with proteins of different shapes to predicthow farthe watercould be supercooled beforelce started to form agala, and thei predictions matched experimental data collected by other researchers almost exaclly (Physical Review Letters, vol93, 1p128102), Themodelalso shows {that spherical proteins are most cffectve, because they have noregion fortheiceto preferentially attack, whilerod: Shaped proteins are nota good, asthe icecan grow over thelr pointed ends quiteeasly. Not everyone is convinced that the theory isaccurate, however (One ofits requirements is that the protelns must reversibly attach to theice. But biophysicistYin Yeh ofthe University of California at Davis says this may aothappen. ‘Wearestartingtosee phenomena where proteinsare rots firmly anchored as postulated in the model" he says, "There areanumber of experiments that show these ‘molecules may be coming on and. ‘off the surface" Yeh has detected, proteins movingaround the surface of ice crystals, even at 15°C. And ifthe protelns donot bind to the ice permanent, they ‘cannot prevent the ice crystals ftom forming. @ Ho sh may ee cysts a ay eb oceda bp astgems — Geaaly, bene go pti at ore Sorenonainsscaie”” —Sgtdaksinrctay” thon seer, {Soeetenifoe ponies param pare ee we 6 oe es eens.Research newsand discovery Suckosaurus AN ALMOST complete fossil of ‘an early marine reptile from the Trlassc, witha neck nearly twice the length of its -metre body, has been found insouth-east China, ‘Dinocephalosaurus's peculiar anatomy puzzled palseontologists atfirst.Ithas small ibbones along its neck, which would have ‘made it too stiff tounge at prey with the same ease as plesiosaurs thesimilarlookiag marine reptiles that evolved later Now in Science (vol 305, P1931) researchers propose that Italo relied on suction:asit lunged at prey, the cervical ribs would have splayed open, sucking waterinto {isthroat, Modem fishand turtles a usea similartrick but expand 4 % theirmouth cavities. ‘The long neck would also have helped itsneak up close to preyin murky waters, says team member $ Mike LeBarbera ofthe University, ‘of Chicago. "IF you're fish, you see something neatly yoursize. i including ointmanipustion, stretching andstengthning By the time youtigure out it’s Study delivers a low trringendinsand A felmssTm obested || bigerltsecenyour onesesion witha pysltheapst who simpy repeated blow to physiothera| thebooklet sadvce without giving any treatment. PATSOTEWPYfrlow ec paincldbea ase ote, Tega einer esr mae YT get the Techniques suchas joint mobilisation andstreching are ‘likely to report that they felt better. Butuhen patients someofthe commonesttreatments fr this condition, which health wsscored with a standardised questionnaire, best milk affictsabout 80 percentofthe population atsome point. bath groupshad similarimpravementsin mobility and est mi Anew study suggest it gives no more benefit than reductions in pain simply staying active (British Medical Journal, ol329,, ‘Aspokeswoman forthe Oks Chartered Society of INTHE first discovery ofts kind, (708). Researchersatthe Universit of Warwick, UK, Physiotherapy insists thatthe findingsdonotsuggestthat scientists in Spain haveshown spent. year moitoring280 patients with low-back pain. physiotherapy didn'twork.“Theresearchersfound that that Iberian red deer produce ‘the patients were given a booket of advice onstaying one-off good-quality physiotherapy advice isaseffecte more milk with moreprotein for activ, Half the group received regular physiotherapy, asroutinepiysitherapy," shesays. ‘male calves. Females may invest nove lnmaecllaping they 5 Tecrccatiacce Heaving stararelieffor theorists fistnso%urssaiteen "wuteregdeerartangerand nnuclearreactionsignite towards growfaster,sothey need more AMONSTROUS pulsating star While this isacommonly. theendofastar'slife.Theenergy protein, says Tomas Landete ofthe hhasbeenspotted nearthecentre observed phenomenonamong _producedliftsthestarssurface University of Castilla-La Mancha, ofourgalaxy,confirminga Jow-massstarssuchasthe sun, _and.coolsitsinterior.Thisallows whose team studied 60 berlan predictionthathadalmostbeen _therewasnoevidenceforsuch _—_thestartoshrinkagain,andthe _red deerover four years. But being discarded asatheoreticalblunder. behaviourin moremassivestars, cyelerestarts In RSIGSW that _bigger does not explain the 12000, Ernst Dorfland ralsingdoubisabout thetheory _cjcletakesg72sdaysandaltersits _dilerence, aslarge female calves Alfred Gautschy ofthe University behind the model brightness byafactorof about 15. didnotelicit more protein. The ‘of Viennain Austria used Now, Darzen DePoy and ‘Onaverage,thestarisgo times the protein increase is just3 per cent, computer modelto predietthat colleagues from Ohio State sun'sdlameter,andisestimated _butLandetesays the composition themostmassivestarsinthe University inColumbushave __—tobebetween oandsotimesthe of milkisnormally constant. The universe should start pulsatingas found agiant pulsating sar sun'smass. ework will appear results willappear in Behavioral they each theendoftheirlives. named IRSi6SW that isconsistent__inthestrophysieal Journal cology and Sodobiology.. 20 (Newest |20aber006, vncDNA barcoding spots new species YAWASNG diferences inasmall, sliver ofDNA, certs may have uncovered four new species of birds inMorth America, Th work sone ofthe fist testsofa proposed method for rapidly idetitying species known as DNA baraing (Wew Scents, 26 lune, p32). The"barcode"isacvallya s-base-pairstretch of the gene for etochrome c oxidase, chosen because itaccumulates small diferencs asspecies diverge. Paul Hebets teamat the University ‘ofGuelphin Ontario, Canada, has already shown the barcode method ‘an distinguish cosey related species with 98 per ent acuray. ‘Asanother test the group loked 31260 NorthAmerian birt speces toseeifeplonalvaratonsin ‘animats with lange geographic ranges bjurthe geneticavie. The bird species wore generally easy to tall apart, they found, withan aver ‘of Bper ent diferencein the barcade sequence. The diference between inva in the sare species was just0.5 percent, even ‘when pairs were from locations more ‘hana thousand Wlometres apart. Butfoursupposed species, incuding the ester meadowark (below), each appearstobe no (Babi ibray of Science Biology, Dot 10:97¥joural.pbio.om03n). ‘feu casal taxonomists who Identify species based on anatomy ‘and behaviour had already suspected asmuch, Hebert sas. omen. Ivory smugglers could be undone by dung STUDIES of lephantdungat requested byat least three geographic area covered by 28 locations in 16A rican Africancountries withsubstantial the testing method, Details are countries may soonbehelping _stockplls, the test could be publishedin Proceedings of the authorities track down ivory crucialfor proving whetherornot _ National Academy of Sciences, poachersand smugglers. ivorycomes fromalegal source, DOI 10.4073/pnas.0403170103) ‘By analysing DNA from the The teamlaims it caneven, ‘Wasser says the method dungand from skin samples, source ivory when dungand skin could becrucialforsavingthe researchers have identified samplesarenot available. Samuel African forestelephant, thought (genetic characteristics of Wasser, Matthew Stephensand by sometobea separate species elephants from each region. theircollesguesat the University _ fromthesavannah elephant. Thathasenabled them todevelop of Washington in Seattledevised itis beingilled in large numbers aDNA-basedtestthatthey say astatistical"smoothing” method by poachers, who take advantage canrevealtowithin500to1000__usingthereferenceDNA samples _ofthetree cover. "We now have. Kilometres where any ampleof topredictlikely DNA signatures incredibleprecsionat telling lwory comes from. Ifsalesof ory of animals in unsampled azeas. one forestlocation from areeversllowedtoresume,as_—-‘Thisdramaticallyincreasesthe another," hesays. Ancient virus at heart of MS REMNANTS ofa virusthat Infected our peimateancestors ‘maybe partly responsible for triggering multiple sclerosis. The progressive neurological conditions widely thought of as anautoimmune disease, caused by Immune cells attacking the syyelin that surrounds neurons. Butmany other possible causes hhave been suspected, inchuding infections and toxins. Researchersat the University of calgary in Alberta, nada andorked out the dreion the examined brainsof people with Storms at sea set ‘hum signal was traveling and its (MS,and found that inareas the Earth humming scureoneacnot60earthqvate-tree Jacking mielin, cells now as Aaysinone yer Theyconcude astrocytesexpressedabmormally 1199, lapaneseseismoogsts {hat he hum stron ale highievelsofthe protelnsyncyln noticed deep rumbles nthe ground tostomysexs. (Nature Neuroscience, DOI: 10. ‘that could not be linked toany ‘Between January and March, {ox8.nnisio) Syncytn sencoded earknuakes Teysugpededthat the humrighated mainly am by ragmentsofaretrovius Variatonsinatmosphercpresure the north adic Then the sour that entered our genome more might be causing a drumming ‘shifted to the Southern Ocean’ than20 mulion yearsago. ‘onthe Eats strc, leading beoremoving back he northern ‘The researchers found ‘to the low-frequency hum. ‘hemisphere in October (Nature, thatculturedastrocytes which ButBarbaraRomanawic ofthe voli p82). Thesoure of the overexpressed syncytin also University of California at Berkeley ‘hum seemed to be tied towinter produced free radicals that wasnt convined "From the ‘each hemisphere, when oan Aestroyed myelin. and mie Ueginning, had shun thatthe strmsare athe worst. injected with a virus that oceans might be involved,” she says. Romanowicz suggests that the Prodicedsyncytindeveloped _"Buthen hadtoproveltsomehow.” —farscustshales a stormsset movement problems similae _—-SosheandherclegueJuniee Rie he ans sloshing, casing the hun, tothoseseenin¥Salthough lle ala fom networks which as requeng rane ot antionkdant therapy Selsmometesinaliomiasndlapan, between 23nd miler, prevented ths 20dober206 | Newscerit 2Commentand analysis Unfriendly fire How can we hope to defend the entire US from missile attack when existing defence systems remain deeply flawed, asks Theodore Postol PRESIDENT BUSHhasmade much of hhistesolution to defend the American people against terraritsand rogue states. This laudable, But take aclose Jookata major part of is strategy— ‘national missle defence—and you ‘may wonder ihe is going aboutit therright way. 'NMD isa ground-based system that the White House claims willbe capable of intercepting any long-range ballistic ‘missile launched at the US.This is. ‘optimisticat hes, Even though it is ‘due to gooperational inthe next few ‘weeks, the system isnowhere near ready and has not been propery tested, What's more, ithas a basic law: the physisoffts sensors tell us it wll neverbe able to differentiate between heavy nuclear wazheads and even the simplest types of decoys. ‘And there are other fundamental zeasons why NMD may bea bad idea. The UShas history of flawed missle defencein che Patrit system used in ‘both Gulf wars. After the liberation of ‘Kuwait, the US army claimed its Patriot batteries had intercepted 96 per cent ofthe Scud missiles they had engaged, bbutwithina yearour esearch group atthe Massachusetts Institute of Technology proved that thereal intercept rate was almost certainly zero, Now we have discovered similar but farmore insidious cover-up following Operation agi Freedom. “Although the technology used in NMD is unlike that used in the Patriot, the two share the same problematic Ideology the belie that we can relably Jmockout incoming missiles. And the evolution ofboth hasbeen scarred by wishful thinking and cover-up by the Pentagon. If we cannot trust the Patriot, ‘why should we trust ts big cousin? "The latest Patriot scandal concerns the deathsof thecrew of Yahoo76, British Tomado GR-4 that was shot ‘down by Patriot airand missile defence unit over Kuwaiton 22 March last yearasit descended with another Tornado ina pre-planned"safe” corridor towards its home base west wn enact P< city ThePentagon’s uch ‘delayed investigation report concluded “Thelatest Sage aie eaaeanaek? scandal concems _partby theincomec setting ofthe aBitshTomado Pere enclctoneayasrtoed shotdown by determine an aircraft’ intent. aPatriotover The report also stated thatthe Kuwnitlastyear"” — Pateiotbatery detected what appeared tobe hostile rag missiles that the battery indicated the missile was heading directly fori; that this “missle turned out tobe the ‘Tomado;and hat the Allied integrated sindefence system did not work correctly and flled ode it ‘Webelievethat everyone ofthese claims iefalse. Moreover, they reall contradicted by datain the appendices ofthe Pentagon'sreport What the data ‘hows s that the Patriot didnot initially identify the Tornado asa target tll, and that the* missle” It registered was infacta" ghost’~anilusion probably generated by electronic interference Eromother nearby Patzot units Furthermore the Patriot detected this flee targets kilometres east of ‘te approaching Tomades, heading not ‘owardsthe Patriot but towards troop ‘encampment roughly 5 ilometres tothe north. Ift had been heading towardsthe Patriot, thebsttery’s ‘weapon control computer would have classified itas an Air Threat Category Instead itclassifieditas aCategory 9, threat level solow that the computer ‘didnot even markitfor engagement. ‘The Patriot’ crew, believing they ‘wereunder attack, launched an {interceptor missle at the false target, “which by thisstagehad" moved” intothe vicinity ofthe Tornados. Inthe absence ofany other target, the interceptors redar homed in on ‘one ofthe planes, ‘Where dd itallgoso disastrously ‘wrong? The datain the Pentagon's report show there was nothing wrong with the Allad air defence system. Allthe other elements had identified Yahoo 76as friendly. Instead, the problem ay inthe Patriot battery, Which ttuens out was being allowed to ‘operate without the high-speed data links that would have enabled ito “talk” with therestof theale-defence system, Unbelievably, the ‘communications module needed for the data links had not been shipped wih the rest ofthe equipment. This wasa crucial error. Had the links been working the atrit battery would have known from other units ‘that the target itwas tacking was ghost. Moreover, its crew would have known that they were operating under asafeapproach corridor They would also have knownthat Yahoo76 had already been identified as friendly. Sothey would have had nocause to Jaunchan interceptor missile. “This incident was no freak, Eleven. days later a different Patriot crew fired ‘onanother false target and destroyed US Navy Ft, killing its plot. The US farmy has still not eleased the report {nto this. This s noway to safeguard the soldiers and pilots risking thei lives for ‘theircountries. Indeed itdishonours the memories of those whe havedied, ‘The message isclear:safeand reliable ‘missile defence impossible while the Pentagon and the WhiteHouse continue tocoverup the manylife-threstening Awsin these systems. © ‘Theodore Postols professor of scence, technology and national security policy at the Massachusetts institute of Technology 2stoer004| Neen 23Technology Ignore the road signs and you'll get a sharp reminder from this built-in driver's assistant ian cana RE ‘THE plaintive plea tothe traffic cops the same the world over: “Sorry officer, [didn’t now Iwas speeding." Butdriversmay soon have tocome up witha better excuse. A new electronic drivers assistant will detect road signs and warn drivers nat to ‘Ignore them, ‘The Australian inventionis partofa global effort tomake drivers more aware ofroadsigns, especially those concerned with safety Eventually, GPS-based systems could entirely replace road signs, utuntil then, ideas like the new driverassistance system (DAS) developedat the National information and Communications Technology ‘Australia (NICTA)Iab in Canberra ‘may help, wonder rersmakemisthes wn enact DAS uses threecameras: ‘one toscan the road ahead and ‘apairto monitor where the diver islookiag The road camera ismountedon the rear view ‘mirtoranda"gaze monitoring” pairaresctoneithersideof theinstrument panelon the dashboard Images from the cameras are {ed toa computer system fitted behind the dash. Software on the PCdetects rad signs and works ‘out where the driver islooking. Thespeedometerisalso connected tothe computer, sothe system always knows how fastthecaristravelling. ‘The softwarescans the video pictures and detects road signs bby recognising thelr symmetrical shapes: rectangles, diamonds, ‘octagons or circles, Once asign is ‘detected, the imageiscompared INTIS SECTION (© Hor Windom XP blocs adits, page 26 The chip that a be done, page 27 ‘© Robot surgeons onthe ise, page 28 toalistofrignsstored in the ‘computer's memory. Iitrecognisesa stop sign, the computer checks ifthe car isslowing down, ‘The computer usesa ‘commercial package called FaceLab to analyse images from the stereoscopic cameras and workout where the driveris looking. Ifthedriverappears not tohave seenasign,and the car's speed does notchange,analert is istued, says Nick Barnes, ‘one ofthe developers at NICTA. 'NICTA'steam willtell the International Conference on Intelligent Robotic systems ‘in Sendai, Japan, this week that in preliminary tests DAS performed “pretty well!” evenat high speeds Pull-scale road trials, due to begin soon, willtest the system with ‘many more types of road signs Former NICTA team member Gareth Loy, whois nowat the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, sayssiga detection sa tough engineering problem. Previous approaches, havetriedsensing thecolour patterns in signs. But varying lightingconditions makes this “ifthe diver appears not to see a sign, and the car's speed does notchange, an alerts issued” difficult. NICTA’s“symmetry seeker’ makes deteetioneasler ‘ma cluttered scene regardless of the lighting, heclaims. However, there isadanger that sign detection could become annoying, wars Andrew Howard, hhead of road safety for the UK's Automobile Association, especially on routes where the driver isfamiliar with the signs Barnes agrees but saysthe system. ‘won'talertthe driver ifthey don't lookata sign, only ifthey Jgnoze the limit He predicts that ‘working systems will have ‘overrides or variable sensitivity "Itwould be possible toserthe system tobea little moretolerant of driving slightly over the speed limit," he says ‘Meanwhile, projects almed at replacing road signs with roadside radio beacons, or GPS-based information systems thatalert drivers toroad rules, continue. Though Bames says this wil take ‘many years, some campaigners cannot walt to see the end of road signs-The Campaign to Protect Rural England, for instance is protesting about the increasing ‘numberof signs cluttering English villages. But Australia, has adiferent problem. "Wedon't hhave that many road signs, so we ‘we can getin finding them," Loy says. @ 2odobr200 Newent 25Technology Windows upgrade blocks PC add-ons ‘THE atest upgrade to Microsoft's WindowsXP operating system elberatay prevents a numberof PC add-ons from working, New Scientist has learned. The upgrade, a massive 80- megabyte package called Service Pack 2(672), wasaleady known to use some equipment fail, and users had been led to believe that this was because ofthe strong sscuriy it contains Wew Scents, 18 September, Pt). Microsoft says that “some programs seem to stop working after you install sP2" because tho upgrades anti-hacking real blocks vital divers, the software that allows ‘add-ons torn on a PC. Wil secutty measures may be partof the problem, Micosoh's website revels that XP already bars use of certain vers, but the SP2 ‘upgrade extends thi to mary more because the compary considers them tobe athreattothe stably ofa ‘Windows XP computer. Components whose drivers ar affctad in thisway indudesome'W tuners, scanners and ‘Bluetooth rdiotins. Hauppauge Computer Works of ‘eepng your Mon the aight and naan? ‘Ne York state, which makes T and video add-ons, pointed Naw Scientist {oan area ofthe Microsoft web ‘hat reveals why some drivers are ‘aling,t'saysthatin adltion to improving security, SP2 aso uses feature called "river Protection”, to stop Psusing certain named software that Microsoft deems errant in some way. Crucially, SPs Driver “There should be an override. Otherwise users have no control over the technology" Protection cannot be tured of by the use the ite says, *SP2is causing massive problems {or mary manufactures," sys Mauppage spokesman. Sitcom, ‘Brith malar of Bluetooth wiles printarlinks, has had to devise a Complicated workaround to get round SPs blocker. An Scie, of Omni, a German company ‘which makes smartcard reader, says: “Three of our readers donot ‘work ary more aftr instaling SP.” Compute sentists see Microsoft's ation as poor software engineering practice rivers designed to work ‘with earfer version of Windows may not workrelably with XP, but uti ow users who upgrade have atleast had the option of giving thom ay. “it’s known that something can crash PG, then of courselt makes sonse to ty and stop it" says indsay Marshall, a computer scents at the Univesity of Newcastle upon “ye, UK. "But there should bean verte, Othenwize we are creating technology that users don'thave ary contol ver. you want to d fiat stuf the operating system shouldn't stop you,” sys Marshall However, Jo Wettaute, spokesman for Miosoft UX, saysthe compary consulted widely with manufacturers about XP and SP2's dvr blocking capabilites. "Driver Protections in place to protact nd usersffom experiencing instabily ‘eto know ixueswith some diver releases," he says. Gary Fox SPT FOLLOWS Spa AO SH ‘Wemailspam and its instant mesaging ‘quialent spin” are ving you up the wal take a deep bres. Hoton theirhoas comes "spit: voicemail spam via internet telephony. The te has ‘een crned by Qovia of Frederick, Maryland, i that as begun smarting» spit iter tery adoptrs ‘ofintemel-based phones. Wile the ‘elug ast happened yet, ova ‘warns thats ona matter of tne Intent telephony, se tno as Voice overlnteret proto Hal, isthe practiceof mang cheap phone ail by Sending woe data to addresses onthe 26 Newsies 20cbe 2008 netstat of outing alisver fed pone ines (New Sent, October 2003, p24). is popularity isincreasing tithe widespread rollout of broadband connections. ova blleves ‘oP wil be ies o spammers bec, ar with email, meager canbe sentto thousand of pientsinonego. Thecompary warns that VoIP mall bones will become dogged wit salacious spitmesages, while deriakot service tad, launched by armiescfsitots dumped oninnocent comptes, oul! ode phone ines though ova as avd intrest, ther expats say the finns prediction probably. VP has only escaped so fr because slow uptake has netmade spanning ‘orth. ut by 2008, the numberof oP subscribers nthe Salone ely to tise fom today’s 13,000 75 milion, ‘GRANDSON OF THEN lve lasers, the fllon-up to Ds, ar not expected before the nd of 200. But aeady thee ae pans to ‘make them obsaete mata Clog ondon is developing an optical disc format ced Multiplexed Optica Data Storage MOOS) hat wil allow a doubleside,dust-oyr VD to store 1000 gays, compared with ‘the 2 gente forthe planned Bay iss ond 9 ignyts fora WD. ‘Wheres DID has fat efeive data pits representing Os and ts, MOOS would ‘work y sinking steps itn the pts at hundreds of diferent ange nd measuring the angles at which ight is reflect ys peril lege photonics expert Petr Tr. Seach Pitan sre mich more dat han just {8 Dora One MODS dscwould beable tostor al 73 hourlong episodesot Stor Trek Net Generation Imperial College and is colaboratorsan get funding to deel the dea, MODS could reach the mare by 200 eens.‘thetrsecurity information ona Tht as eo” chip anddetermined eTmes wom 00 ES ‘ounterfeiterssometimestake | *Mer'zone of me with the YUM) (tl GR sce ec ay ‘thememoryunderanelectron | Buta nesta camera willet microscopetoretrievethe youcrete pictrestite these Security data. Itisthen simple | tw blend two photoswlthout Counterfeit electronics may be no more thanks to the martertoprogramthisdatainto | enaedto wa aPC i i ‘blank card to make aclone Inwold patent application unique patterns of metal tracks on every silicon chip ‘The new card would not be wo 200utoaopoy casi ct fapan sys susceptible otis forensic ‘tscamarawill havea “combine” GREAT proposes buildingasmallcizcuit approach. Itwouldbe impossible | button. fst staan of Ineverychipthat picks upthese foracounterfeitertomlmle the | tn, with the animal onthe lof IMPERFECTIONS uniqueto differencesandusesthemta __precise“physiology”ofthechip | theframe.Asozond shat s taken, every microchipcanbe sed to generateaniDeadethat sunique toreproduceits ID code yin the bd garden with mum rmakethem impossibleteclone. to that individual chip. Somesccuzity experts arenot | or dado the right. The men's Thetechnique'sinventorclaims __Thecircuitwillapplya2s-bit convinced that Devadas'sidea will | software then *stehes the two thatthiswilmakebankingorID —_signalthat Devadascallsa ‘work Whileanunclonablechip | peur tgetherbycorecting smartcarisimpossiletacopy, “challengecode’tosomeofa _—_wouldcertainly provideanesxtra, | glourand contast mismatches. fndperhapshltthe ict global chip's metal tracks. The signals _ard-o-beat security layertoany tradeincounterfeitcomputer__thatcrossatrackfistarefed into smartcardorconsole system, |THE ENHNT AKESOTESFOR YOU gamesconsoles secret algorthmtoproducea thereareotherwaystospoofan | You dont need take copious Counterfeiterscopysmart unique eode."This more ‘ID CeyplographerBruceSchnelee | notes of whiteboard presentations. cardsor gamesconsolesby securethananysystemwehave of Counterpaneintemet Security | Miaosoft has developed aclp-on “reverscengincering’ the Fightnow," claims Devados. jn Mountain View, California, sevice forthe presenter’ pen that clectronie culty within Thetechniquelsdesigned _—_saysthatafraudstercould write | beams theweltan words oa PC, them-workingout what todefesthackerswhoclonesmart analgorithmthatmimics the 1D | where they areconvrtd to txt ircaitdoesandmakinganother cards suchas thore used to ‘coderesponse from achip. {us2e0uouoses) fonethatdocsexactythesame. authentleatebanktransactions, Only bettersecurlty measures, | athe pan move, a camera on Tfthisis done property, any suchasenhancedencryption, | jefims the ltrs. The whiteboard seftwarethatusesthechi “Minute variations in ileendogantsucharacts, | bowed ite whetheritisinan ATMora saysPaulClark,chieftechnology | pattrn that varie over the entre Phystation wilrunasnormal, — Pmperature and pressure offcerat secure software provider | suac, sono two areas hae the TheteickthatSriniDevadas, ufingmanufacturingleave Secure Methods in Martinsburg, | samecombinaUon of Ine. anelectronicsengineerarthe each chipwith a unique profile” WestVirginia. @ The camera ses to og the Massachusetts Institute of postion and shape of very ety, Technology in Boston has or ‘ Swing optical crater dreamed upistodesign software ’ WP | recognition sotware onthe Peto oeineteanten eo {=a toseeifthe chips inside tare = genuine. Slight variations inthe vrowc Dass nk ‘make-up of silicon chips mean thatno twoare identical, Devada’s ideais tousethese variationsto construct a unique ID code forit ‘that the software will erly, ‘Amierochip'stransistors are connected by aluminium or copper tracks. few hundred ‘anometres wide whose thickness dependson the exacttemperature land pressure during the ‘manulacturing process Dueto minute variationsin the You're backat the hotel after a day ‘of meetings, witha wallet fullot business eards and no time wo kay ‘the detaitsintoyour cellphone or POR. Hung Tu of akvan proposar a ‘gadget built the phone or PDA's ‘charger cradle (US2004/016807) ‘thatwil do the job foryou. Busines ards inert into aslotatthe font ofthe cade are pulled pasta sane, which transmits an image of the card tothe POA. Optical character- temperatureand pressure, each recognition sftware on the chip'smetal tracksareleft witha POA reads the information, which ‘unique thickness profile. thicker Isthen added to the dev's ‘rackletsasignal pass quicker £ ddresslst. Bay Far @ thana thinner one,andDevadas Theresa fineline betwen one chip and oncther sas wn enact oder 204 Nene 27Technology trends Robots boost the Tee ee a High-precision, minimally invasive surgery performed by robots is beginning to enter medicine's mainstream cA GRaaN-ROWE IMAGINEyouneedheart surgery. yaa are offered minimally ‘nvasive keyhole surgery or standard operation that involves ‘cracking open your ribcage, the choice might seem obvious. ‘Butwhatif the keyhole surgery is ‘tobe performed bya robot? Asrobot assisted techniques proliferate it isa choice we wil facemoreand more. Every few ‘months, itseems, another surgical {irstis proclaimed as yet another ‘ype of operation fallsunderthe robots remit. Tens of thousands ‘of people axound the world have already gone under the robot's knife tohaveanything from kidney stone removal tolung ‘and heart-valve surgery and ‘Kidney transplants, Robots have ‘even performed gastric bypass ‘operations forthe obese. Despite the name, surgical robotsare not automaticanddo not operateinany way ike factory assembly-ine robots Rather, they. are precision machines controlled remotely bya surgeon, Capable ‘of very fine movernents, they are ‘more dextrous than ahuman surgeon and can work inspaces oosmall fora surgeon's hands. ‘Trauma totissueis drastically reduced, cutting post operative inand slashing recovery times. ‘While the market for surgical robotsis small atthe moment, iis ‘growing, The market leader s the $12 million Da Vine! a general purpose surgical robot from Intuitive Surgical, a firm based in ‘Sunnyvale, California, inthe heart ‘of silicon Valley. With more than 240 machines sold inthe US, ‘Canada, Australia, Europe and 28 Nensit|20cber 004 Japan, the Da Vincihasbeen "sed more than.100 types of surgical procedure, says Erie Miller, a spokesman for the firm. Inthe USalone, the numberof robotic prostatectomy procedures, inwhich cancerous tissueis removed from the prostate, ‘has more than trebled since the DaVinci was introduced in 2001. The clearadvantage is precision, Robotsallow surgeons {ottanslate the larger sweep of hand-held tools into precise ‘movements of tiny instruments, ‘Theoperatingtableisequipped with electromechanical arms With grippers sporting an array ‘of surgical tools, anda separate “arm carrying twin endoscopic ‘cameras Thesurgeon controls thearms and instrumentsfroma ‘console, The robot's “wrist joints ‘canmove through 360 degrees, ‘allowing the surgeon to ‘manoeuvre instruments in ways notpossibleby hand, Robots arealso much ess invasive, says Prokar Dasgupta, urology surgeon at Guy sandst ‘Thomas’ Hospital in London who ‘has performeda number of robot. assisted procedures,“ My hands ‘are pretty big,” hesays,sohe has tomake incisions ong enough ‘oaccommodate them. By using robotshe is able to make much shortercuts, while the cameras sive the surgeonastereoscopie ‘view inside the patient. The minute incisions recalled ports The articulated toolson ‘the Da Vinci are just millimetres wide allowing centimetre ports, Compared with conventional abdominaland chest surgery, ‘which can require incisions longer than25 centimetresand, inthe case ofcardiacsurgery,involw less traumaand post-operative the ribcage being split open, paln, and slash recovery times, thedifferenceforthe patientis _often from monthsto weeks. considerable, "Crackingthe chest _DaVinciisfarfromalone itself the majorcause of inthis emerging market. rehabiltationformostofthese The PathPinder robot, developed patients,"saysCharlieWhelan, by UK company Armstrong ‘medical analyst with market. research flem Frost and Sullivanin San ose, California Patients can spend months recovering not 0 ‘much from the treatment he says, Healthcare based in High ‘Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, uses CTiscan data tocalculate precisely where toinsert biopsy needles foreach brain tumours, bbutfromthemethodofaccess._Othersurgicalzobotsare Reduced recoverytimesplay _procedure-specificAteamatJohns animportantroleinthe future Hopkins University in Marylandis ‘ofrobotic surgical systems,says _developinga robot dedicated to Whelan. Insurancecompanies urological operations, forexampl. donotpayextraifa procedurels As inall Industries where carried outroboticaly, he says, sothe robot willhavetoearn its they are used, robots mean fewer staffare needed. With Da Vinci, keep. "Ithasgottobeable toshow —_prostatectomiesneed one azetumon investment Ithas got surgeon rather than two, for tobemorethananothermillion- instance. But even thiskind of| dollartoy forthe surgeon,"he _economywillnotseestandard says. Theyare farfrom gimmicks, surgery completely replaced, says Dasgupta. Robotshave been "Robots are simply too expensive shown to reduce blood loss, cause forthat,” says Whelan. @ ROBOTS IN THE OPERATING THEATHE ving setecomy Suen 0 saz ‘ly oi pet, sche Petar ott rons erin @suntd ey eens.Eat more fish, mostly From NickTomlinson, Food standards Agency Tamafraid yourcorrespondent William French has got the wrong ‘end ofthestickwhen he suggests thatthe Food Standards Agency (Pa) has recommended thatthe ‘consumption of oily fish should be reduced (1 September, p24) ‘Infact, weare advising people that many could and should eat more oily fish, Onaverage in the UK ‘outot 10 people don'teat any fishatalland there is good evidence thateating oily fish reduces the risk ofheart disease, ‘which was responsible forthe death of 17,500 people in 2002, “The FSA iesued its advice following the opinion ofan independent committee of ‘experts who took ita account the ‘evidence ondioxins and PCs ‘when they weighed up the risks ‘and benefits of eating oily fish, ‘The advice isthat girls and women, whomight havea child inthe future, and women whoare pregnantor breastfeeding, can have up totwa portions ofeily fish week, Other women, menand boys anhave uptofour. London, UK Renaming means chaos PromPeter Fore, Deparement of Palaeontology, ‘Natural History Museum Bob Holmes zeports on proposals ‘oreplace our standard Linnsean system ofclasefying animals and plants witha new system called 30 ens 20caber 2004 the PhyloCode (11 September, p12). ‘Advocates ofthis revolution for ‘hat is what it is~claimnames ‘willbe more stable, more precise intheirmeaning,and thatthe proposed abolition of ranks (genera, families, etc) willbe helpful They base their reasons or change on the charge that Linnaean taxonomy (founded well beforeevolutionary theory) Isincapable of absorbing our changing ideas of genealogy. Unfortunately, their proposals will probably lead to chaos. ‘The PhyloCodesmall print revealsthataname maybe Iormulatedinoneof several ‘ays, Any user, such asa field biologist seeking todocument ourever decreasing biota, will, ‘have to know in what way. Placingan organism into a PhyloCode system will require usto know lis genealogical relationships, since this is how thenamesare formulated. Dowehave time for this? Also, names wenow use can be ‘commandeered tothe PhyloCode, ‘meaning that wosystems will ‘exist in paralleland sometimes ‘na hybridised form, sothe same namecouldmean very different things. Finally the idea that we ‘drop the genus ank, and hence ‘thebinomial system (whereby ‘every species has wo partstoits ame), would be universally disruptiveand undermine the Foundations of our current codes ‘of nomenclature, Nooneclaimsthecurrent system is perfect. But itis flexible {othe polntof beingusableby ‘many, notjust the few. london, UK Behaviour matters From Howard Dengate, Food intolerance Network Wildanimals’ behaviour is indeed “important toloak at to make sure chemicals safe” (q September, 10}-Soisn'titextraordinary {hat food regulators refuseto lookat documented behaviour ‘and learning effectsfrom Tood additives before approving theiruse in the human animal? “Even more extraordinary, recent Freedom of Information search in Australia revealed that regulatorsdidn'tevenhave to produce scientificevidence before approval or extended use fortwo food additives see -tps//fedupwithfoodadltves. info/features/FOV/FOLtm ‘More unteachable kids, autism, hyperactivity and road rage, anyone? Woolgoolga, New South Wales, Australia Hybrid handbrake From Sandy Henderson Risstrange indeed thata modest price rise forfuel in the US sparks ‘sharp inereasein the sale of bybrid-engined vehicles, despite ‘the fue savings taking about seven yearsto finance the extra capital costs (t'Septerber, p22). Inthe UK, someone driving the same distance atourfuel prices could recoverthese costs in less than three years. ‘One hasto wonder what, or who is dissuading manufacturers {rom promoting the technology Inthiscountry. DieseFelectre hybrids offer even greater fuel savings; and theemisstons ‘problem is nt unsolvable, Braco, Perthshire, UK Stop selfish spaceniks! From Roger Plenty How much carbon emission. does a space tourist produce? Shouldn't we putastop tothis sellishnessnow? Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK Simple is good Fomfamie lance Technology always developing new devices toreplaceelder Ces hese eles ively fmoreexpensiveand complied [nexampl isthe device for messing pup rections (aaugust p2. Weshoud ‘question whether they are necessary. At present all ‘emergency practitioners can carryan easily replaceable pen. torch Weare invited to consider Using this undeniably clever box of electronics. Paramedics and doctors would require two ofthese devices: we need to measurethe constriction ofboth pupilsafterastimulusto each eye. And, asadoctorin ‘accident and emergency, ean ‘hinkof very few situations in ‘hich the pupillary eactions ‘alone havea bearing on patient ‘management. They ae simply not ‘that important. Although the chided" paramedic wavinga torch atthe vicimonawet darkroad” ‘may be low-tech, this method takesonly seconds and iswidely available Sheffield, UK Purchase-protected From Anthony Newcombe Ihave stopped purchasing and dowloading digtal music files dueto the overzealous copyrightenforcement described bbyDanny O'Brien 4 September, pis)and ridiculous file ‘encryption that prevents the playbackof downloaded musle files nother FCs. The music industry seems to ‘lakevery consumer iscomputer literate, Freeware MP3 recorders ‘widely availableon the internet canrecord asongand create copy ofthe musicfile without feneryption, within minutes, Useless digital encryption is men rensenis.omeee aa inconvenient for th law-abiding consumerand willslmply increase demand forpiracy and illegal distribution of musicfiles ontheinternet Llandysul, Ceredigion UK Back in the USSR From PhilipClark, ‘Molniya Space Consultancy Ttwas sad tosee New Scientist repeating NASA'selaimabout the last return ofextraterrestrial samplesheing te hinar material brought back by Apollos7in December972(18 September, )-InAugust1976 theSoviet ‘buna 24 returned lunar samples bbut NASA has decided thisdoesn't countforsome obscure reason. Hastings Fast Sussex, UK Emergence isn’t mag From Richard Wilson Pondering the hard problem of consciousness, Simon Blackburn quite rightly describes “old- fashioned emergence” of mind Frombrainas“magie iste secreting a magical effect” (a1September, p42). But this does rot mean emergence necessary entails smoke and mirrors. Iisa familiar phenomenon that selence helps ts to understand, “Aswe earn school fou chemically combine the gases ‘oxygen and hydrogen the result ‘sliquid water. There is no magic involved inthe fact thatthe properties of water are different fromits constituent elements. Equally theemergence of consciousness fromertaln arrangements of neuronsisa ‘natural process. The problem ‘ofhow itcomesabout is hard ‘because wehave only just begun ‘toinvestigate the complexity ofthe brain, Whileagzeetng that neuroscientists can benefit from critical analysis oftheir ideas by philosophers, the latter tend to beled astray by metaphysical speculation, The Cartesian dualist ‘tradition is acase in point, wn enact ‘Modern dualists such as David Chalmersargue that the emergence ofconsciousness from ‘the brainisnotjust remarkable, ‘butlogically impossible. And sit ‘would be if Descartes claim that the conscious mind is separate fromthe mechanisticbody were true. Assuming alogieal division Dpetween the mental and the ‘physical begs the mind-body question. Mental and physical propertiesdoappearto be radically different but we simply don't know whether thisisa real difference, Bicester, Oxfordshire, UK Getiit right! Fromavidcox Tapplaudamte Whyte's tedtion occa ting (aSeptember pgo) but think his analysis of the British Medical Assctlion @MA)isincomplete Dovtorsdoknow a lotabout tneeffecsof fay foodand possibly vert aboutaxation Fowever expect more ot dacorsthan the neutral provision sfinformation Alm! the mos Important thingaboutbeinge dovtortsastong commitment tolmproving heat Mow ofts would bevery wore spout doctors whe lacked ‘Riscommitment tls demons thefecthatin gered we disnpproweof doctors Shoareinitony forthe money and we spect organisationsite Matecns Sans rte Stakes perfetoens forthe EMA tome Pronouncementsabout heat Poly twouldjustencouragertto Employ some conomsisas we FitdoesTtdovo already Ovingham South Austria From Elzabeth rancke By"truth” does Jamie Whyte ‘mean verifiable facts: "what does this ump of matter weigh?”, “whoisthe baby's father”, “who fired the gun?” ?Ordoeshe ‘mean the pronouncements of genuine experts who may differ profoundly in some ways: for ‘example Richard Dawhins ‘See ou websitfor eters on: (©The Gace unitofarea © 2 pace ‘and Steven Rose? Orsome statement supposedto correspond withthe nature ofthe universe: kind of philosophic “theory of everything"? fhe means respect for verifiablefacts, more powerto him. But when experts differ, the restofuscan only take sides accordingto our temperaments ‘and wishful thinking. Asforthe philosophic theory ofeverything, toeachherown. ‘Mine came froma character purporting tobe God Almighty (though doubt this), andithas served me well. He ort, said: “Lnever promised anybody ‘good time. 'manartist,nota philanthropi Titirangi, New Zealand Always out of reach From Mike Hoath Its very encouraging tohear that ‘quantumcomputing is making such progress that practical applications will b here in 0 years a1August, p27). wonder, though, isthis the ‘same persistent 10 or 25-year horizon that webave or practicalcontrolled fusion? Aveley Essex, UK Fewer bags, just as bad From Stuart Lowe don't wish to trvialise the fact ‘that the Minke whale washed up inNormandy was found to havea selection of plastic bags and packaging initsgut(t September, p30). Buttheactual weight of the debris was 800 grams, not B00 kilograms. Wimborne, Dorset, UK Bloomware Prom Lora Cameron-Landis [Noel Chidwick uses heat from his ‘computertorisebread dough (a8eptember, p22);youcanalso ‘grow fabulous orchids, Geta wall planterslightly larger than the ‘orchid requires, and seta small nt pranks © Ser-deaning androtavating cup of water init, Hang the planter over the computersothat the heat gently warmsthe waterand the {growing medium. This keeps the ‘humidity high enough for the orchid to flourish “Amherst, Massachusetts, US Forthe record (© Theartice “Tough choice for ‘elephant lovers” (28 august, p16) ‘contained two editing ertors that ‘were inserted by us and not by the Author, Daniel tiles. While discussing how artisans can help to monitor the ory rade, we made a distinction between mechanised and non-mmechanised manufacture, ‘We acept that this distinctions irrelevant. Secondly we stated that the Convention on International ‘rade in Endangered species should allow ivory sales only from {governments that ensure corruption doesnot occur. Stites more subtle point is that CTES should permit sales only from governments that pass strc criteria set by IES itself (© The space shuttle that crashed 986 was the challenger, contrary to whatwas implied in ‘the atid "We havea problem” (@5septomber, p18). letters shouldbe sent Letters to the Editor, New Scientist, ‘84 Theobal’s Road, London WCOC ENS Fax: +4 (0) 2076711280 mal: etters@newscientst.com (egemenamea tidbete Newer mucbnaceesebeersioet orden ago 1odober2004 Newscist|3