SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS | THE BEST JOBS IN NEUROSCIENCE Return of the liquid universe First sighting since the big bang PICTURE THIS NEXT GENERATION PHOTOGRAPHY The Asexual Revolution People who live without lustSethian cemet Rowe ny a ogame feceinnnie ‘eimae ES Sieareen sry sana metieatie ocr) Solhteanwetae eres (Selaearnandeser ‘Creation chaste Opes wn enact ONTHECOER Return ofthe liquid uivese, page 36 Next-generation photography, page Treasetul revolution, pages Inewotesme trusty 6 Cudble ote pts NEINS FEATURES REGULARS EDITORIAL (COMMENT AND ANALYSS avewe inal dicoveredhow gy OUR MOLTEN UNWERSE We needa better way o ootout banned genes” pass down the generations? 3 Receatingtheawesomecondtionsat weapons, saysDeboraMacenzie 21 ar thebithfthecosmoshas reveled grrens Genghis Khan’stomb uncovered; somethingvery. ver) strange 34.0, son ontinnaeusand the “gay genes" eplened! shouldwe eat FREE FROM DESIRE Phylode;eco-nasty space tourists; recent (0, ses environmentalist wins peace pte; stewardship ofthewo; taq'snudearlegey; downloaders 00d, uploadersbad 4 THIS WEEK ELECTRONIC VOTING TheUS presidental election willbe hhugeexperimentinvotingtecinoloy 6 Makingantbitcs workon superbugs 9 Wiaspdavelops unique bioweapon 9 ‘Anupsietothefluvaccinecris 10 Signs of dark ater in galaciccore Dinosaur werecutefinthelrprime 12 Fistslepingdinodiscoered When pastand present merge 2 Lifes cemicalsforged involeanoes 14 BREF Lightningis nature's genetic engineer; tals stn the Bloods stem els heal fom afr ight sensitive fabrics Simell of breasteeding isa turn-on for women; teesare natural polluters; unknown lightweight objet could estar or planet; Huntington's cll at oat fr rotens where he ea dee vel as ol se oud eles (ecment aon tides sos uses 2 mkt wert) (© cane ate ee gmoney pc cts Wide, es ote mally pial xaane, (Owings hee pl sh robe Bath 28 Key (Orpen hate cena f 4 5 i : a 6odoter004|Newsetst7alia Y(eteyeum olsen coy nv (en oLt) nT 24 “ven a paper tral will not guarantee that an electronic Voting sytem is foolproof or aud-proof” produce. paperrecord of each vote. Voters will hen beableto ‘daeck this paperballot and dropit Inaballot box. Nevadais theonly state to require this, bt California and Ohio, among others, willbe ‘watching the outcome closely as they intend tomoveto the same modelforelections in 2006, Butevena papertrail will not guarantee thata system is oolproot or fraud-proof, Ted Selkerof MIT, who visited several precincts duringstate elections in2002to watch Nevada'ssystem bbelng deployed forthe first time, sayshe saw several things that ‘worried him about the set-up. ‘They included unsecured peiater cables that could have been pulled ot, the use of thermal printing paper that blackens easily on hot day, and several paperjams."Isaw three peoplelooking at the paper twallonelection day," he says, Imonecase, he reports seeingan election official open. printer, OUT FOR THE COUNT aropars tr tobe pct by Americ enthusiasm for mechanical and eledroiceoting ystems. What ca ‘bewron, they as, with writingan Ina oxona bat paper? “Mheananer hasta do with counting the votes rather thon ating the Fis thoes the agit callenge, ‘pedal in the US. On election day, an American voter may be asked to ast exons of votes, om choosing: presidental candidate to deciding funding for lal afterschool programmes Hand-counting ballots ‘would take dys or weeks in many US ‘counties, and because many diferent ‘lecoral aces recorded at these time making ples of papers for ach ‘anidateisimpractil. ‘Then there isthe problem of ‘curacy, Stephan Ansoabahore and (GhrlsStnart ofthe Masha I Newsdemtotober2004 take outa rollofjammed votes and cut them up with clssors. ‘spokesman for Nevada's secretary of state sayshe knows of rnosuch problems, nd points to an audit of 3981 votes that found 100 percent correspondence between theelectronictally and ‘the papertrall However, counting paper oallotsby hand isitsett notoriously unreliable, and one expert contacted by New Scentist laughed out loud when asked if such an exact match is plausible. stewartalso points to possible legal disputes ifpaper records conflict with the electronic tally. ‘What willbe the legal status of paper records? The law does not say. There could bedisputes, forexample, over whetherany disparity ls due o paper jams, _iscounting of paperballots or software bug, ‘But most people stil feel more comfortable witha paper tral Forinstance, inGeorga, inthe 2oozelections te electa governor and tate senators, votes were recorded ona $54 million suite of new touch-screen machines. When theclection resulted ina 10 percent swing towards the Instute of Technology recently studied ‘the results of Hew Hampshire lection ‘over the past yeas. The state eps records nt only of rtd votes but aloof figures forreountsaftr each ose rac. Theat found that counting by handalloated an average of _around2 per conto oes othe wrong, ancidate. Optical scaning which automatialy detects mars on pper, rislloated only 0 percent of votes, presumabiy wen ballets had been ‘ised int the machine orhad jammed. ‘When votes are recounted, the error rate fs often tas ew asa fw hundredths of percent. Yt in many counties, the margin of eorfor counting by hands higher than the level at ich recounts aretrezeed, and this places the vl of some resltsin doubt, Anslabeere sys, gn Samuel ech @ Republicans from the latest ‘opinion polls the media cried foul despite theirbeing noevidence of any fraud or software glitch, ‘And in California, state officials agreed this yeartoallow concerned voters in 10 counties using touch sereen machines the ‘option tocasta traditional paper ballot instead. Despitesuch perceptions, “the paper trails much more ppronetofraud than the electronic {rail Selker says, He argues that theelectronie rsultis often more likely tobe reliable ‘Yet public trust in electronic voting! major issue, one that bas notalways been helped by the machines! manufacturers. Diebold Election Systems allegedly told California state officials that ts Accavote-TSX ‘machines were federally “ qualified’, when they were not, and the machines were used in state elections in fourcounties in March 200g. Now the state attomey-genera Bill Lockyer is ‘suing Diebold for false claims abouts produets alter California's secretary of state Kevin Shelley decertfied the smachinesin April, ‘Mistrust also stems from the unsatisfactory processby which ‘machinesare certified. Machines ‘mst fst be “qualified” by an Independent Test Authority (TA) which checks that they comply ‘with federal standards, and then certified by the state. But the TAS fare paid by the machine vendors ‘themselves."We se thatasa, Tourh-screen voting, harder than it ooks conflict of interest that works ‘against the publig” Doherty says. ‘Avi Rubin, acomputerscfentist at Johns Hopkins Universityin Baltimore, Maryland, says that tensuringanelectionis fairisso importantthat security checks should becarzied outon the programmers. "How dothey compareto what the government requires for the people who hhandle nuclear weapons?” heasks, “Tknow the answer” Rubin spearheaded theattackon voting software witha reportin uly 2003 that pointed out numerous security vulnerabilitiesin Diebold's AccuvoteTS voting smuchine, The outcomeof America's ‘experiment with electronic voting ‘willbe studied by dozens of other democracies thatare rethinking hhow to record their people's votes. Watching willbe officials from Australia, India, Venezuela, Brazil Japanand Europe, ‘ronically, all eyes may finally fall on the swing state of Ohio, ‘where the secretary of state, Kenneth Blackwell has delayed ‘the introduction of Diebold electronic machines until software glitches can be definitively ruled out. So next ‘month, the citizens of Ohio, ‘where George Bush and John Kerry are running neck and neck, and pollsters predict the ‘outcome could be as close as ‘that In Florida in 2000, will be voting on punched card ‘machines. Could history be about to repeat itself? © vn rensenst.omeee SOUNDBITES He », with the Sivuuccemous HOW to turn a superbug Abioweapon become any tissue or cell type like no other inthebody.thaholthe = {NCO an ordinary bug icanzommussipesets promise of curing everything ‘wasps made him top believing DTS IEE 4 Ux compacychimstohere 2 beneficent God, pehaps because spinal cord injury. YetWe are discovered compound that the wasps larvae devour thelr hosts stalled by anethical debate renders the MRSA superbug alive from the inside out. But these which to meis hard to Yulnebleto thee “epost ‘pormaly resists one thats challenging biologists! peony MRSA~methiclin-resisant traditional bles. (istopher Reeve, who ded on Staphylococcs aureus is defined ‘Along with eggs, the wasp ‘D0ober onthe straint byltsabilitytoresist the Cotesia congregata injects an unusual Wwahngthe sion progress being antibiotic methiciin. Like ‘iomeapon nots atari host rmadein sm celesarch penicillin, methicillin works by ight speccviruie parties (Wo Seni, 'SMard 200, p58) Hocking bacterialenzymes called whieh compromise the eaters , BPs, which normalty strengthen immune stem and hep feed the Religion cannot and must. cellwals byforming cross inks. resting wasp lavas notin in ths debate 99 The rts ras Fresca hovenon Reeve, speaking on stem celsand eee rieerels See rire kere aa dengan nn Shevtaceiga terrence Write ok ming the te ds : by pleking up the gene fr another weren't expecting that," say Jan 7 PRP enzyme, PBP2a, to which ThenLevey gotlucky. Michel Drazen of the CNRS insite for GEChrisReeve exercises every ethicilincannotbind. MRSA —_Heleamned ofanother glycine Research on Insect Biology in Tours. day to keep those muscles strains noweauseupto60 per compoundthathasalzeady been ‘The genesareorgnised into. aliveforthe daywhen he _ centofallstaphinfectionsin/ approved forhumanusein fans, nt her viral DNA. ; in.99 some hospitals Some MRSA ‘Slagnortictests.Labtestsshow _Andsome resemble sequences roma Dateves HECaT Week Gealn Fy) insarsalso becoming thatthe compound, which Levey vatetyf ether organisms, inuaing John Keron futherngreachin resistant tootherantbictics—__ calls BTA199763, makes MRSA _theplague bactrim Ysini, embiyricsem ll tapes sothat including vancomycin, the susceptietomethicilin at whieh makesanereyme that tops eopllie eevecan betta antibitiedoctorsresorttowhen concentrations regardedassafe, white blood ells engufing it. The {debate between presidential nothingelse works How it works remains polnavis makes smi eraynes. canis, 8 Octobe) ButMichaeLLevey'steamat mysterious butitisthought that Ralsomaksimmunosupprstve PharmaceuticainWorcestershire, theglycinealtersthe composition proteins alle estan, used by G& My feelingisthat UK mayhave discoveredaway to ofthecellwall'sbuildingblocks, parasticwome but never befor seen Christopher Reevealways _—resiore methicilinsklling power. preventing PBPza einforeingit. _inviruses (Scene ol306,p 286). realised thatthe likelihood of | Followingonfromworkdone in Pharmaceuticahasnowbegun The question naw, saysDrezon, Substantial progress in his "201990 Hsteamfound that testingthecompoundinmice taht poydnvus wa ver up a certaincompoundscontaining infected with MRSA 2 fre-tving virus that evolved lifetime was limited, and that theaminoacid giycine greatly fit proves effective, ‘a symbiotic relationship with the hiswasan altrusticeffortto increased 20 different MRSA BTAIgg76acouldbegivento __waup,orwhether itis a designer aavancemedicl esearch st suseeptiiyto | patesalongwitimetilinto mia puter tomes ‘methicillin. The dose neede: reat MRSA infections reducing, genes orbits avenged om eee therm dropped fromm 256 the need forotherantibioticssuch pathogens. Debora Mackenie © would come after him.39 ‘milligrams perlitreto just amg/L. as vancomycin, Otherteamsare (alin Btakemore, cet executive ‘The problemwasthatthe —_takingsimilarapproaches, such 7 ara cfthe Us Medal ResathCounci concentrations ofthese glycine as tryingtodenign newantibiotis atten oe Scmpoundshadtobeveyhigh. thio Pir onyie ePcpigg “Youtcannot drown yourselfin ‘But the long-term strategy i 66 His reach may be alvcinetotreat infection,” points shouldbe toprevent MRSA. The ultimate fever brenderin death fut BrigitteHergerAachiat the infections, points out Dan et Fane University of Zurich, Switzerland, —_Jerniganot the US Centers for Hamers! than in life. Disease Control. “No matter what visualisation Susan Howley, deorofreseach “There are some things vedo, bacteria willfind a way atthe Gstopher eave Parahsis thatawayswork Resistant sound. Butthereare some eek fount, aig New Set ings thatalays work Resist cnnoabe baceviaarenotresstantio ——_factraarenotresstanttohand hand washing” washing” Anna Gostine @ wn enact ‘otober00|NewsdenttFlu crisis need not cost lives DESPITE the halving of the US's ‘Aluvaccine supply, thezecould be fewer deaths than normal this winter if people follow ‘offical advice, New Scientist's analysis suggests. last week the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products| Regulatory Agency suspended the licence ofa factory in Liverpool ‘owned by Cheon Vaceines, The suspension followed the discovery ‘inAugustofthebacterium Serratia insome batches of fla vaccine. ‘The UK, which wasrelyingon Chiron foronly 0 percentofts ‘supply, has been able tomakeup the shortfall andthe restof Europe 4s mostly unaffected. But the US haseen left witha huge deficit. ‘The US, which vaccinatesa larger proportion ofits population thananyothercountry butCanada, had ordered arecord 100 million doses this year."We've ‘gone from 20 million doses a year intheesrly 1990807 million, lastyea,”says Bruce Gelli, head. ofthe National Vaccine Program atthe US Department of Health Atthe start of October, health authorities were urgingasmany peopleas possible to get lu shot, ‘Now the US finds itself with Just s6million doses, roughly halfasmany as expected. As the newshittheheadlines, some ‘Americans queued forhours for HOW IS SCIENCE CHANGING US? Win photographic equipment Wenn tR Nekogst00) ea eR SR eee 101 Newser |iocabe 2008 Cet cies Dee id ‘vaccinations, while Congress held hearings and accusations of mismanagement began tofly. ‘Butevensucha severe shortage will otnecessarily mean more deaths. Two thirds of the US's supply ofa vaccine usually goes toadults between ands. Yet go percent of deaths from iu ‘occurin those over 65 years old, Inthe US, thereare around3s million peaple over 65, Moreover, in 2002, he most recent year for which figures are available only ‘24million of them gota flushot. ‘That means the US could vaccinate justas many elderly people as in 2002and still have 30 million doses of vaccine left ‘over for the other groups for ‘whom vaccinations are officially recommended: people with diseases such asasthmaand, for the firsttime this year, some 1Omillion children under2, ‘The Centers for Disease Control (cc) isnowurginghealthy people under 65 notto get ‘vaccinated, toensure what vaccine theres goes tothose most at risk ‘The impact on fladeaths this year ‘illdepead on how closely that adviceisfollowed, recommends while the elderly rush toget theirshotsamidall the publicity. Infact, more elderly people than ustal get vaccinated ‘asa result there ouldactually be fewer fia deaths this winter. ‘Alot willdependon how virulent this season’sflustrain ‘tumsouttobe.The yearly death tolin the US varies from 7,000 men rensenis.om“Saacwen Milky Way's radiation newainer eu epi oc vaccine production this yearare of some, but natal gamma ays Takiweysennngienns SHOWS upa dark centre *tnicrccerscrs production costs, state markets notyet completly convinced about And low prices, Last December ‘the deta," Hooper sys. ‘the USNational Vaccine Advisory OAK matter~ the mysterious tut Other evidence supports this WMAP project centict hares Comittee recommended ‘hati the major ofthe matter of theory, says Fnkbelner NASA's Bennet of SA's Goddard Space government purchasing ‘theuniverseisannihilatingin the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory _~FightCnterin Greene, Marland, guaranteesandothermeans to heart ur golay.That'sthe hasseen an excess of gamma rays ——_smoresceptical “Iftrug, twould fensure that more companies enter controversial explanation for an ‘coming from the galactic centre. Certainty bea great IMAP decovery,” thevaccinemarket.Atthetime unexpected xcs of micowaves Some plysidstshave suggested that he'says. owow, Bonnett thinks the “significant, unprecedentedand coming rom the Mily Viny'centre. _thisistalghtwhich hashad an synchrtranemiion could imply unanticipated” shortages, which __NASW's Wilkinson Mirowave ‘energy boost from theverysame _bedueto high-energy electrons Inad begun in2000, wereaffecting Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has built up high-energy electrons that are ‘generated by superor explosions. ofthe i routine childhood ‘afullsky map ofthe microwave needed to explain the microwaves. (Conclusive evidence could come vaccinations. radiation letoverfrom thebig bang. “Whenyou get twoseparatelines trom the Gamma ay Large Area "The vaccine industry will _‘Toanalsethis afterglow, astronomer of argument pointingto something it Space Telespe, due for launch in change,"saysJaapGoudsmit, Douglas Finkbeiner af rinaton {ets important,"saysFinkbeiner, 2006, "Rare dark matter anniilations chiefscientificofficer of Crucell, University frst took themicronave —“It'sone ofthe biggest surprises of _willrecutintvo gamma-ray photons ‘aDuteh biotech flem thats, radiation epected fomwithin our myareer." of avery preise energy" 595 ‘makinga new-generation fla selaxyinto account. While doings0, Daniel Hooper ofthe Univesiy _Finkbeiner."f we're really heh, vaccinewith Aventis "Thissort eneticedasurplusofmicawaves’ of Oxford~ a member ofateam that__we'llseeasharp peakin the gamama~ ofthingjustcan'tcontinue.” @ —comingfrom the galuy’s centre. aimed in 2003 thatthe annihilation rayspectrum.”" Maruschonn © The meromaves ao typlcl of 4 smontmencane Ney | Scccnapuben aiacre '{. magneticfields, to produce what is 19 October t regen a nee _ Tn eng Tusstay 19 october events Rathi kad cance By en Hy pss ‘ert a ay Tine tanz00 Setctoctneiyoeenee Masonite tesla reas Sout teen eo trot oobi enon cate tr ee eo eee during the anitilation of dark ‘pert o lscusse-passports for thojet st ‘matter parties called neutralinos. ‘And since gravity dictates that dark matter should be densest at the ‘entre of our gala, anitilations ‘would most tkely occur there. Millar said that theorists were seeking ‘experimental evidence ofthe resultant synchrotron radiation from the Milly Way/s core Finkbeine slowly warmed to the idea. "Wit ests." he tld Mil *! may have foundit Finkbelner aid some quckeand- Thursday 21 october Black Scientists: Where are they? ‘Time: 19.00-20.00, ‘The UKisamutthne country, but can the same be sald for ite scentife comin? Jon Elizabeth Rasekcala fromthe atvhy Wester alnce i excluding black sini, Evens ae ree but lease pre-book, Cll 020 7942 4040 ore-mai tickets@danacentre.org.uk diy calculations bared on the wew.danacentre.org.uk ‘expected dictibution of dark Gloucester Road tube ‘matte in the gain, the estimated ‘Dana Centre, Wellcome Wolsn Biting, 165 Ouoene Gao, SW7 SHE ‘mass ofthe neutralino and the Tiathood ofthe parties anninlatng. "did the clelations ‘on the back ofan envelope,” he says. He found thatthe anniiltions could account forthe exes of eating, drinking, living and performing science The only London verue dedicated not just to talking, but ‘mlaonmves and more deabed Wetzel nts i rs calaaations confirmed the positity | ye raus supa sth Wem rast tw Woleen Pamasan Te Oats ‘dey pepe test Gwwmanivorglasto-phowastR). | uindnicnswticowsas enn asco wn enact odabe 2006 |NewséertsMei ong was aughtin mt-snoare Dinosaurs died out at height of success iene DINOSAURS werent justkilled off when the asteroid it, they ‘were struck down intheir prime, suggestsa newanalysisof dinosaue fossils azound the world. “Dinosaurs were just doing Incredibly wellat teend ofthe (Cretaceous,"says David Fastovsky, oso. OsAUR DNERSTY Avandamet ear ‘euhhmeics Nath Ania fee Aigala anu ons @ita 0 a. 2 z SOLE 12 Nese ooer2008 apalacontologistat the Univesity ‘of Rhode Island at Kingston. The first dinosaurs evolved about 230 million yearsagoin the ‘Triassic period. Early dinosaurs were generalists, and hadevolved Intonomorethanazound 40 genera at any one time up until thelateJurasic, which began about 160 million years ago. Batthen diversity soared Inthe Cretaceous which fllowed. (see Graphic) Fastovsky’steam. hhas established thatat east 45, dinosaurgeneralived duringthe lateCretaceous period, fromg9to {65 million years.ago (Geology, vol 32, p877)."Thelifestylesof dinosaurs became much more diverse "saysFastovsky's colleague Peter Shechan ofthe “Milwaukee Public Museum, “By thelateCretaceous, we have much more specialised animals” Thediversityofplanteating dinosaurs inthe period is “absolutely breathtaking’ he told New Scientist. For example, hadrosaurs evolved an elaborate duck billed jaw filled with teth tochew vegetation, andthe rhinoceros like ceratopsians evolved elaborate hors. Earlierstudieshad suggested dinosaur diversity dropped. shorty before the asteroid impact, based on adrop in the ‘umber of genera uncovered from the wo final stages of the Cretaceous, the Campanianand the Maastrichtan, Thenew data alsoshows aslight decline between those two stages, Dut statistically thisdifference is meaningless because very few dinosaurs are knowa from other stages ofthe late Cretaceous. © A SOUNDIY SLEEPING DRAGON “The fist fol of sleeping dinosaur hasbeen discovered highlighting how smuchwehavestl have to lean about ‘ineaur vrs and behviour. Dubbed Meieng, Chinese for “soundly sleepng dragon” the fs ‘sofa smal twcegged predatory nau killed eile resting with ts bind ns folledunder its body, ‘Ms head tucked under its forearm, and ts ong tal dren ts body. Modern birdsestin similar potions, wih ead ced under a wing to preserve heat. Meflongwas thought to have een ke bya hey fal of ash that preserved the wholestelton ‘ut not he soft tse ortho fathers thoughts have avered its body ature, vol 25), p 836) I'sone ofthe mos remarably preserved specimens eer fund, gvng us ne oom atalto moe anthing up,” sys Hark Nor of the American MuscumofMatural History Ina Yor, who desctbed the fs with lla Xing ofthese fertebrate Paleontology and Paleoantnopclogy in Bejing, Chins. ‘about 3 enim on, Mel fang sa siilr Seto Archacopeer, the oldest bir, nd Mioraptor, 2a insaur wth feathers onal fou ends (Wen scientist, 25 anuary 200,» ). “The tree were dosely elated. Thebird+ lie posture and its feathered relives ‘at evidences thatthe animals ‘warm-blooded, Norell as. The people who are sure they've seen it all before WHE most old people tend to become forgetful some havea rather different problem: they fea asi ‘they are remembering something ‘that happened to them nthe past when they are actually having ‘anew experience. ‘Tre condition mightbe more common than s usualy realised, sys Martin Conv of the Univesity of Leedsin the UX, and could explain some unusual bohaviout.Histamn has studied three sufferers. One 80-year fold man refused to watch TV or reac evespapers because he had "seen it i before". A7O-yearold woman ‘thought she could see the future. "Se saw the Ball bombing on the rows and to har husband she already ‘new all about,” Cormaysaps. The ‘third, 65-year-old woman, ested strangers ke long-lost ends, ‘The three are constantly orwinced ‘they are remembering past events rather than tvng inthe present, an ‘extreme form ofthe délaveas(eeing you having lived through something before) most people occasionally experience, “it's quite a catastrophic injury," says Convay, who described ‘he cz studies at an tral Paychologial Society meeting in ‘Sydney eater tis month, ‘Brin cans showed that al three had some temperal lobe damage. ‘The Leeds tom suggests that everyday fe constantly iggers memories and associate feelings of remembering which are usually ‘suppressed. Damage tothe temporal lobes, though, might allow the ‘eclings but not the memories to enter consciousness. So seeing 3 new ‘ace, frinstanc, might produce the {elings assodated with remembering other fcas, comindnga person that. ‘they have sen the new face before. Recent studies suggesta part ‘ofthe temporal lobes caled the entorhinal cortex often the fst area damaged in Alzheimer's is the key tfelings of dja voc, says ‘neurscentst ic Halgren of Harvard ‘University. mma Young Syney @ vn rensenst.om1 Newser |wodabe 2006 sup inte COMING NEXT WEEK a4 Tee) Tenn Meet ere Rulers cos ers eet Peel ey onions SMe ony Were volcanoes creation's crucible? au ce VOLCANOES could be the answer totwokey mysteries about how life got startedon Earth. They may have forged the formof nitrogen. crucial tolife, and helped produce ‘Primitive protein chains, according to two separate studies, ‘There wasplenty of volcanic and other geothermal activityon carly Earth. Thereisalso evidence ‘thatthe fiat fe forms may have been heat-loving organisms. Soresearcherslooking forces towherelife tookhold have focused on geothermally active regions suchas volcanoes and deep-sea vents, One ofthe pieces ofthe puzzle involving the origin of Life concerns nitrogen. Although thegasisabundantinthe atmosphere, tobe biologically useful it must be"fixed” into forms suchas nitrogen oxides (NOx), "Today organisms can [fix] nitrogen, but on the early Earth, before biological activity, ‘another process must have been responsible,” says David Pyle, geologist at the University of Cambridge, Asteroid impacts and lightning were thought to beresponsible orproducing fixed nitrogen3 to {billion yearsago. But while Pyle ‘was studying the Masaya voleano inNicaragua he unexpectedly discovered that levels of NOX {gases were10 times higherin the voleano'semissionsthan in the surrounding al. Pyleand hiscolleagues have worked out that volcanoes now produce NOx mainly fromatmospherie nitrogen and oxygen. But thelr caleulationsshow that even inthe ‘oxygen poor environment of primitive Farth, ancient volcanoes ‘would have been a major source ofNOx, using oxygen from the carbon dioxide inthe magma (Geology, vol 32, p 905) Voleanoes could also have playeda role inanother important step inthe evolution oflifeon Barth: the formation of peptides, ‘orsmall proteins fromamino ‘acids. This step has long been Considered the missing linkin the story ofhow the firstproteins came about. ‘Now Reza Ghadiriof the Scripps Research Institute in Ia Jolla,California,andhis colleagues have shown that when the voleanic gus carbonylsulphide reacts directly with aminoacids itencourages them tolinkup in chains of up tofour amino acids to create peptides. And the reaction ‘occurs undera wide variety of plausible prebioticconditions, Joining upto o percentof the availableaminoacids into peptides (Science, wol 306, p23). ‘Gas that spews drecily aut of volcano can do this,” Ghadirisays, "Youreallycan'tgetasimpler process” Ghadie’sgroup now alms totestwhether carbonyl sulphide canhelpin ather biological processes, and Pye's team plans tostudy how differenttypes ofvoleanic eruptions and magma flows contribute toNOx production. “This offersanawful lot of food for thought” says George Cody, anorigin-ofliferesearcherat the Camogie institution of Washington DC. Hepoints out thatvolcanoesare also known toproduceotherinteresting chemicals, such as metalic compounds that canaccelerate chemical reactions."The lesson, isthatwhen youlookaround Volcanoes and other similar environments you see remarkably intriguing chemical reactions,” hesays. © men rensenis.omResearch news and discovery Zap! Some more bacteria are genetically modified UGHTHING is nature's own genetic engines. By opening up pores in sol bacteria allows them to pickup any stray DNA present, report Timothy Vogel, Pasa Simonet and ‘heir coleaguesat the Univesity of yon in France. This hitherto unknown phenomenon might ep explain vy gene swappingisso common among bacteria Mild lectrishocks are routinely used to genetically engineer bacteria inthe lab, so Vogel and Simonet wondered whether lightning could have thesame effect. ‘Aithough twould kl bacteria near the point of The light way to control computers FABRICS woven from ight: sensitive ibres could soon be embedded incomputerand projector screens, makingit possible tocontrol computers by tracking the position oflaser pointers, or other light soure bonthe screen, Yoel Pinko! the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his colleagues made the bres using techniques borrowed from omen. the optical fibre industry. The researchers started with arod afew centimetres thick consisting ofa semiconductingcore lined with metal wires, which inturn {s sheathed ina layer of polymer. The rod was heated t0300 ‘Cand then drawn intoa fibre several, hundred metres long and less thana millimetre in diameter (ature, vol 431, p 826) "There were many messy Conta, those further away would gota milder shock. The esearders persuaded physicist colleagues to bast tacteriawth attic lightning. Sarthe Rave shown thattostrains of thesoil bacterium Pseudomonasas ‘wall asa ab tran of Eclitakeup "ait" DNAwen ‘Tapped by lightning Applied ond Environmental Mixobiology, DO 1.1ARIAEN.70.10.6342-946.2008). ‘The msearchos suspect the phenomenon is widespread, speeding up the rate al which bacteria eve. Genetic studies show bacteria requently pickup foreign genes, ‘usualy from other bacteria, but natural DNA uptake ‘ates aretoo sluggish to explain the observed diversity. Lightning mightalso have speeded up the evolution ofthe st hatera, Vogel says. disasters” Fink ays, butonce ‘the team found materials that ‘meltedatthe same temperature and lowed in thesame way, “itworked beautifully’ ‘Abeamoflight shining on any partof the fibredislodges tlectriccharges inthe semiconductor, and these affect the voltage in the fibre'smetal wires. By sensing current changes {nagrid ofsuch fibres, Fink can pinpointa ight source. Theteam ‘wove the fibres into fabric about 30 centimetres square, Not in the blood PEOPLE who belong tothe same tribemaybenomore closely related than other individuals inthesame country. a study inUzbekistan has shown, ‘he nding suggests that tribal ‘groups sometimes invent ‘common ancestors tostrengthen social bonds, ‘SomeUzbek tribes, which are divided into clans and lineages, trace their roots to relatives of Ghengis Khan. Evelyne Heyer of, the Maseum of Humankind in Parlszeasoned that since these ‘tribes trace genealogies through ‘thelr fathers, their relatedness ‘could be traced via the Y ‘chromosome. But while people withthe same clanorlineage did have acommonancestry, those Inditfereatdansorlineagesin ‘the same tribe often did not, her team will report in The American Journal of Human Genetics, Itllbe intriguingto see it tribes in other parts of the world showa similar mixture of zealand mythical genealogies, Heyer says Stem cells can heal from afar STEMcells can help tres diseases by releasing growth factors, not Justby replacing diseased tissue. ‘Ateamat the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center In New Yorkhas shown that injectingembryonie stem cells into feralemice before they ‘become pregnant partially corrects ageneticheart defect in their ‘offspring (Science, wl 306, p 247. "cells in the mums were secreting factors that crossed ‘the placenta,” says eam member Robert Henezra, Identifying such factors might lead to new ‘treatments fora range of diseases. Some researchers suspect stem cells help reat heart attacks bysecreting growth factors, forinstance New Scientist, 25September, p38)- ‘wdabe2006|Newséentist iTNota killer but a protector ‘THE clumps of defective protein Jongassumed to kill brain cells in people with Huntington's disease Actually help these cells survive. Huntington's diseases triggered by mutationsina protein called buntingtin, ‘causing ittoageregate and eventually form large, insoluble clumps within cells, The conventional view is that these clumps killscells but they might also be aharmaless side effect oF even a protective mechanism. "The possibilities keptme up at Sniff, and you want tomake babies too FORGET lowers, chocolate and musky colognes. forrevving up awoman’s sex civ, breast milks best. Thesmellsasocated with ladationhavealrendy been shown ‘toinfluence menstrual ces in other ‘women Mew Scientist, 6 May2000, 1). Natasha Spencerof the University of Chicago wondered it ‘they affected sexual behaviour as wel Her team got26nusing women ‘towear absorbent padsin their bras for 5to10 days. Then they asked 90, atlless women to siff thes pas, orcontols, several times day for 1 Newscentst| oaober004 nigh,” says Steve Finkbeiner ofthe University of California, SanFrancisco. Sohis team developed a sophisticated method, involving genetic englneeringand ‘computer-driven microscopes, fortracking the lifeand deathof Individual rat neurons with the ‘mutated protein. The results were clear: neuronsinwhich lumps appear survivelonger (Wvarure, vol 431,p 805). “This isa seminal paper” says Harry Ore, who studies brain diseases atthe University of ‘Minnesota in Minneapolis, "Icompromises one ofthe major theories of how huntingtin causes disease” The results suggests that ‘ave months. Women sifing real breast pads reported 2 percent increase insexual desire anda per cent incase in seal fantasies, whereas those sniffing controls Feparted no libido boast Hormanes ‘nd Behavior, vl 46, p362). Teammember Martha Malntock saysthat this chemical auemay have encouraged woman to conceive ‘when timeswere favourable. "What better signal than another woman ‘who hassurvved her pregnancy and Fsnusingsucestuly?” Butanyone hoping to buy eau de breast mil” wil be disappointed, The chemicals responsible ave not been identified and thereare no plansto launch any produc. ‘smaller soluble lumpsof dhuntingtin- which combine to form the langerciumps~may be the trueculprits behindthe disease, he says ‘The findings they apply ‘tohumancells as well,could affect the hunt fora treatment. Researchersarelookingfor «drugs that stop the huntingtin protein lumping together. “Butone prediction of oursis ‘that some ofthese drugs could actually make the disease worse,” Plnkbelner says. His teams cell-tracking method mightalsa help reveal the roleofthe protelndumps and tangles characteristic of related diseases suchas Alzheimers. Small star or giant planet? ASTRONOMERS are flummoxed byamysterious object circling a faintstarsome 300 light years away fromBarth, ‘The lightfrom the compact object indicates thatits surface temperature isaround 150°C, suggesting tisa cod, slow burning tarofakind knownas a brown dwarf. But analysisof its infrared emissions show t is missing certain key molecules found in brown dwarf, such as ‘methaneand carbon monoxide. “We stlldon't know what we are Jookingat,' says team member ‘Tom Harrison fromNew Mexico State University in Las Cruces. Hiscolleague Steve Flowell of heNational Optical Astronomy ‘Observatory in Tucson Arizona, suggests itis once-normal star that has been stripped of matter byits companionstarIt"gave and gave and gave some more ‘until thad nothing leftto give Howell says The object could also bea super-planet orbiting what used tobeanormalstarbut is nowa white dwarf a sun lke star that hasexhausted itsmuclear fuel, ‘The work willbe published inthe Astrophysical journal Trees implicated in air pollution INDUSTRY has dramatically cut its ‘emissonsof polltantscaled volatile. ‘organic compounds. But those cuts hhavebeen morethan offset bythe amount of OCs churned out by trees. The revelation challenges thenotion that planting teesisa good way to ‘lean up the atmosphere. ‘hen fos fuels used in industry and automabils flo combust completely, they generaieVOGs, ‘hich react with nitrogen oxides and sunlight orm poisonous ozone Inthe lower atmosphere. nthe past few decades, the introduction of Imoreeffiient enginesand«cataytic ‘converters has dramatically reduced these emissions. Buttres aso produce VOCs, ‘which tend to be ignored by sents ‘modeling the eects of azone on pollution. S03 tram ed by Drew Purves at Princeton University investigated the impact of newly Planted forests on VO levelsinthe US. Theresearhers used the Us Forest Service Industry Analysis, 2 {database of25,000randomiy sampled ‘ors plots around the country, and heknown VOCemission ate for each re species forthe study. They calculated that vegetal sources of monoterpenesand isoprene rose upto percent rom the 19805 othe 1890s equivalent to three times the industial reductions (Global Gonge Biogy, vol, p73). Farmland reverting toscrub, pine plantations and the invasive seetgum tee were behind mostot the increases inthe US vncCommentand analysis Hunt the bomb Now more than ever the world needs a better way to discover whether a nation is stockpiling banned weapons, says Debora MacKenzie IT'S OFFICIAL, lag had no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons when the USanditsallies invaded last year. After8 months of searching, a team ‘ofCIA experts led by Charles Duelfer hhas concluded that combination of UN weapons inspections and sanctions putpaid to Saddam Hussein's arsenals, And production plants years before Operation iraqi Freedom. Thishasleftarms controlexperts na quandary. Through the 19905, Iraq wasa test ase forthe traditional approach tostopping a totalitarian and ruthless regime acquiring weapons of mass destruction. TheUSand the UK went towar after deciding theapproach had failed. As wenow know it didn’t {ail It worked up toa point. What we donotknow is whether weapons inspections and economicsanctions would have permanently disarmed Saddam without the need for force, Ieisa crucial question. The world hhas to find ways of stopping dictators Fromacquiringand using horrific weapons without resorting towar. AS Duelfer reveals the aq warmay even have made proliferation more likely But willinspectionsalwaysbe effective, and will permanent, impoverishing sanctions always be needed tostopa dictator rebuilding his arsenal? Weneedan answer soon, Other states areintent on acquiring ‘weapons and may already have done so North Korea andlran both appear to beseekingsomesort of nuclear weapons capability, and totry tostop ‘them the US, the European Union and the UN have usedatraditional mixture of negotiation, monitoring land economic carrots and sticks. Stopenriching uranium and open yourself up to verification inspections, And we wllgive you favourable trade concessions, they are told, Continue, and face sanctions. ‘Mohamed ElBaradet, director .generalof the International Atomle Energy Agency, has said that while the IAEA has detected no signs that Irani usingits nuclear programme for wn enact military purposes, itwillbe necessary tosend in weaponsinspectors tomake sure Iflran failstocomply withthis "lraqmay beat deandthelsEAbwcdwilconier—highersknoW Galcdfortemigbereteredtorneun ofuncontoled SecultyCouncl whichhasthe power We@POTS to impose sanctions. Sound familiar? proliferation Pethapsoneofthemamnlessons—thanitwas ofthetrmespertencelsin‘dlewior yer Saddam” psychology” isolated, totalitarian regimes often give out signs that are completely at odds with thei eal intentions, anditiscrucial to ‘understand that before deciding ‘what action totake, Saddam's behaviourbefore last year's invasion isa classic case, Beforeinvading Kuwait, Saddam hhad tonnes of chemical weapons, was _making frightening progress on long- range missles anda nuclear weapon, and was dabbling with bloweapons. But in1991 he destroyed much ofthe stockpile, and by 1996 weapons Inspectors had found and destroyed his temaining production capacity. Economic sanctions largely kepthim from rebuilding it- In 200%, he insisted hhedidn’thaveany banned weapons and demanded the iting of UN economic sanctions, The UN Security Council sai, “Proveit toour weapons inspectors, or cls" and US troops massed on Iraq's borders to back up the demand. ‘Under these circumstances, you ‘would notexpect the innocent ta deliberately act guilty. Yet Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, ‘was growing perplexed. The Iraqis are giving us access, we're not finding ny weapons, butthey are refusing toanswer our questions, he reported tothe Security Counc ‘Why would peopleactlikethey had something to hide fthey had nothing? Wenow know, thanks to Duelfers report that Saddam was being deliberately ambiguous about whether fornot Iraghadany banned weapons, bbecausehe didnot want lan toknow thatheno longerhad the chemical weapons he believed won him the Iran-Iraq warof the 9805, Bventually, ‘fhe'd had the chance, Blix would have seenthroughthe bluffanddeclared him disarmed, But forhow long? Duelier believes thatthe minutesanctions fended, Saddam would have started rebuilding his chemical stockpll, ‘Thefinallesson ofthe report isthat \warmay be the worst option. The whole region may beat higher isk now of uncontrolled weapons proliferation ‘than itwas when Saddam had his scientists undercontrol. While looking {or thenon-existent weapons, Duelfe teams stumbledactoss an amateur attemptto make chemical weapons involving two chemists with no weapons experience and an insurgent band based in Fallujah, They failed with ‘the nerve gas, and made only small amounts of rein, But Dueller fears they mighthave made more progress hhad they not been disbanded after only ayear of trying ‘Amid the violent chaos of post- invasion Iraq, who knows how many ‘more such cells thereare. And now ‘that US plans to ind alternative ‘employment forhundreds of raqi ‘weapons scientists have come unstuck, there are plenty of chemists forthem totrytorecruit. War, itseems, das made things worse than they already were, We now needan, ‘enormous diplomaticetforttofinda ‘weapons contral regime that does not repeatthe same mistakes. @ ‘october 004 Newser 2t