New Scientist Magazine 17 October 2009 (ATTiCA)

8/6/2019 New Scientist Magazine 17 October 2009 (ATTiCA)

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C O N T E N T S Vo l ume 20 4 No 2730

NEWS5 ED IT OR IA L So cie ty n ee ds to a ck no wle dg e

t ha t a lc o h ol is a h a rm f u l d ru g

6 U P FR D N T C a nc er d ru gs fo r d og s, L as er

c lam p d ow n c rim p in g a s tr on om y8 T H IS W EE K

G l o b a l s tr a te g y t a rg e t s a l c o h o l ' s da r k s i de .

Ge t ti ng i nt o Sa tu r n 's g r o o ve s . P s y ch o pa th s

f o rg e t t h e ir f e a r. Madaga sca r 's b io d iv e r si ty

p il la g e d . Fo l low t h e p o l l u t i o n t rai l to spo t

a n a lie n , M o n k e ys creeped o ut b y th e ir

cybe r - s e l v a s . C lim a t e p l ed g e s s ta c k u p

17 IN B R IE F The Ma t r ix fO r m i ce ,Wo r ld ' s f ir s t

v e g e ta r ia n sp id e r

2 1 T EC HN OLO G Y

T h e fa s t- m ov in g . c olo ur fu l w o rld o f e -pape r ,

S il e nce i s g o l d e n f o r a r ti fi c ia l mu sc l e s. S p r ea d in g

th e b en e fit s o f th e d ig ita l e co n om y

OP IN ION26 D e me ntia 's o th er n ig htm a re A ntip sy ch otic

d rugs a re a n a sty w a y to d ea l w i th a g gr es s io n

i nA l z h e ime r 'S su f fe r e rs . a r g u e s I rv in g K i rs ch

Z6 M o on ru sh L un ar e xp lo ita tio n m a y b e a re ru n o f

t he , A nt ar ct ic g r ab , w a r n s W illia m C u lie rn e B ow n

3 0 L ET TER S Stru ctu re o f s u c ce s s . F ac ts o r n o t

3 ZR icha rd leakey m ay h ave qu i t t h e ' < fam i ly

bus i ness " ,2 0 y ea rs a go , b u t th e p a ss io n s

s u rr o un d in g h um a n o r ig in s s till s ti r h im

FEATURES:J 4 You r ID c h ip ( se e r ig h t)

38 Papa w a s a f oa min g s to ne (s ee rig ht)

43 C .r ys ta lg az in g W em a y fin a lly h a ve c ra ck e d

t he p ro b lem o f w h y s olid s a c t a s th ey d o

46 S tr an ge in f.e c tio n s D is ea s es y o u n ev er

k ne w y ou c o uld c at ch

REGU L ARS30 EN IGMA

50 BOO KS & - ARTS

A p o etic a n d s de n tflc e x plo ra tio n o f tim e .

C o pin g w i th d e ath . A ta le o f h ap p in e ss . H o w

t o s h o ot b ir d s. T h e e x tin c tio n s to ry

S Z D a vid H a in es s ha re s h is p as sio n fo r s cie nc e

th ro u gh h is s o ng s

7 Z F EE DB AC K In t he B eg in nin g." T he Q word

73 T HE L AST W OR D Suc ke rs fu r se a sn ake s

54 JO BS & - CAREERS

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1 7 O c to b er 2009 1 NewScien t i s t 13



E D I T O R I A L

F irs t sh ots in th e

w ar on a lcoho lT h e s uc ce ss fu l c am p a ig n a ga in st

s m o kin g s ug g es ts th a t a ttitu d es

to d rin kin g w ill a ls o c ha ng e

O G AR ET fE S ate go od fo r yo ur thro at, ac co rd ing

to advertisem ents from half a centu ry ago .

Today such claim s are unthinkab le , as sm okers

face m alevo lent s tares o f co ntem pt w henever

they light up . D ie-bards a part, so c ie ty now

accepts the huge damage to health w reaked by

sm oking , bo th to sm okers them selves and too thers thro ugh pass ive sm oking - a change in

attitud es w ith huge benefits fo r pub lic health .

N ow the W orld Health O rganization is

lau nching th e firs t glo bal w ar ag ains t alco ho l

ab use (see p age 8 ). C an it rep licate the su ccess

o f the anti-sm ok ing cam paign?

S om e o f the w ays to cu rb excess iv e alco ho l

co nsum ption are sim ilar to tho se used agains t

cigarettes, su ch as increasing taxes and

re du cing av ailab ility . W e re po rt o n re se arc h

that show s ho w these m easu res can penalise

heavy boozers mo re than tipp le rs . A nd as w ith

cigaret tes , there may also be sco pe fo r making

drink ing less glam oro us thro ugh clam pd ow ns

o n m ark etin g and ad ve rtising .

In th is magazine , w e have argued that

these kinds o fpoUcies shou ld be drawn up

on the bas is o f ev idence o f harm fu lness - to

individuals and to S O ciety . B ut the pro blem s

o f alcoho l abuse have in the pas t been taken

lig htly . E xcess iv e drinking has o ften been

ac ce pte d, e ve n c ele brate d, w ith h ang ov ers

What's hot on NewScientistcom

dAUERY Th e w o rl d's

smal les t art p ri ze S e eth e

winners o f Nlkon ' sSm a l lW or l dp r i ze

fo r m ic ro sco pe p ho to gra ph y - fro m a

p s y ch e de l ic a ng l er fi sh o v a ry to an

inc red i b le v i ew ef a r us te d E oin

and ill-co ns idered liaiso ns seen as co mical

interlu des that lig hten th e daily grind .

Th is attitud e o f casual acceptance is

central to the challenge factng the W HO . I tob scu re s a prob lem w hich ki l led 2.4ml l l i on

peop le in 2004, half the to ll o f sm oking , and

is es tim ated to b e b ehind 20 to 30 per cent o f

cases o f c irrh os is o f the liv er, ho micide an d

m o to r-v eh ic le a cc id en ts .

'th e firs t lin e o f attac k, as w ith sm oking, w ill

be to get everyone to accept that alcoho l abuse

takes a h uge to ll . W e need to erase the jo lly

caricatu re o fth e to wn d ru nk w ho o ccas io nally

falls o ff h is sto ol. T he WHO argu es that w e

"D r in k in g , l ik e s m o kin g , c au se s

c oH a te ra l d am a ge , b u t n o o ne e ls eis p a ss iv e ly c o ns u m in g th e a lc o ho 'I"

shou ld bo rrow ano ther aspect o f the anti-

sm oking m essage and regu late so -ca l l ed

"pass ive drink ing" -the effect on o thers o f

a p erso n c ons um in g alcohol- po in ting to the

ro le it p lays in v io le nce , fam ily breakdo wn

and ro ad death s. B ut "pass iv e drinking"

is a m islead ing term . W hile drink ing is like

sm oking in that it cau ses c olla teral dam ag e,

no o ne e lse (save an unbo rn o r breastfed child)

ca n p as si ve ly c o ns u m e the alco ho l imb ibed by

ano ther. A ny h a rm re su lts f ro m a drinker 's

actio ns , no t expo su re to the substance ise lf .

T al k o f p as si ve drtnktng d e fl ec ts a tt en ti o n

from a mo re sho cking aspect o f the p ro b lem .

The ov erall harm cau sed by alcoho l is greater

than that caused by LSD or ecs tasy , and no t far

behind co caine . W hen so cie ty s to ps thinking

o f alco ho l as as re laxing tipp le and regards it as

ano ther dru g, that w ill s ignal the b igg es t

change in thinking o f aIL ••

No g od ..g iv en rig ht to

be cruel to a nim a ls

IN F LIC TIN G u nnecessary pain o n anim als is

r igh ly frow ned upo n. So why do w e allow so

m any anim als to d ie w anto nly painfu l deaths

in s lau ghterhouses? The answ er, sad ly , is

b ec au se o f r elig io n.

Is lam and Ju daism bo th decree that an im als

m ust be s lau ghtered by s litting their throat

w ithou t s tunning. B oth re lig ions c laim that

the ir p ractices do no t cause pain .

A s w e repo rt on page 11 , th at c laim d oe sn't

ho ld up . If th es e find ing s are re plic ate d, such

cruel s laugh ter m etho ds need to be changed .U nf ortu nate ly , th ere is li ttle ch ance o f

that h appening . R eligio ns o ften d efend

the inde fens ib le by claim ing an au to matic

righ t to "resp ect" . N o do ubt they w ill d o

so again in th is case - and S OC iety w ill m eekly

aUow them to get away w ith it. •

Turn tha t ligh t ou t

L OO K IN G fo r alien inte llige nce? O ne w ay m ig ht

b e to keep an eye ou t fo r a n e x o pl an e t th at b as

b een m essed up w ith chem ical po llu tion o r is

sp il ling lig ht into space . (see p age 13). Ifw e do

d is co ve r a n a lie n c iv ili sa tio n this wa y, w e 'l l

know w e aren't the o nly d irty d enizens o f the

galaxy . B ut the re 's a flip side to th is idea: ou r

ow n po llu tion co u ld reveal o u r presence to

extraterrestrials. T ha t p ro v id e s y et a no th er

good reaso n w hy w e sho u ld mend our polluting

w ay s. W h at's b ad f or E arth 's e nv iro nm ent

cou ld also inv ite an alien inv as ion .•

o b je cts m a de f rom tr an sp ar en t

r u bb e r p r ov i de s a n ov el w ay to

i nt er ac t w i th a touch-respons ive

c om p ute ri se d ta ble . S ee w h at u sin g

itls l ik e b y w a tc hi ng o u r v id eo

o f a wa te ry o as is , w h il e o th er s

s ug ge st th is is j us t a m ir ag e

asked fo r he lp .The f i nd ing5ugges .t 5

t ha t c h imp s l ac kan un d er s ta nd i ng o f

others 'desres

TEC H Th e psychology o f Google ' s

email-kil ler A c om p lic ate d n ew w ay

o f c ommun ic a ti ng o n li ne Ca ll e d

G o o gl e W a v e i s b e st u n de rs to o d b y

ap ply ing w hat w e k no w ab ou t h ow

p eo p le a lr ea dy c o nn ec t o n li ne

m il SPAC E H u nti ng fo r w ate r

onthe m oo ma b rie f bu t

s pl as hy h is to ry N A S A ' s LCRClSS

m is sio n is t he la te st i n a s er ie s o ta tte mp ts to d iv in e w ate r o n th e

m oo n. S om e h av e h inte d th at o ur

n ea re st n eig hb ou r m ay b e s om e th in g

B L O G Why N A S A b arre d w om en

astro nau ts W hen th e U S worked

t owar d s p u tt in g it s firs t m en in

s pa ce , th ere w as a no th er e pti on :

w om en in s pa ce . S a why didn't it

h ap p en u n ti l th e 198057

L IFE C him ps are h ap py to help ~if y o u sa y p l e a s e Ch impanze es w i ll

b ehave a l tr u i st ic a ll y t ow a r d s other

c him ps - b ut o nly if th ey h av e b ee n

DOMPUTII~CiSt ressbal l

c om pu te r m te rf ac es

S t re tc h in g , p o k in g an d s qu ee z in g

. L IFE T he 21st-centu ry fly

Dra p A r e s in app li ed to sur faces

ca n restr ict th e m ov em ent o f in se ct

pest s , S ee o u r v id eo o f c oc kr oa ch es

f ai li ng t o g et a g ri iJ

F o r v i d e o , c omm e n t a n d o n li ne

debate . vi s i twww.newsdent i s t . com

17Octobe r 2 0 0 91 N e wS cie nt is t 1 5

http://visitwww.newsdentist.com/

http://visitwww.newsdentist.com/



U P F R O N T

F lu v a c c in e spurned

VA CC IN A T IO N a ga in st s win e f lu

has s tarted in the US an d wil l soon

begin in Eu rope , bu t m any o f

tho se w ho shou ld be firs t in line

are hav ing seco nd tho ugh ts ..

Hea l thca re w orkers are a to p

p rio rity f or v ac cina tio n b ec au se

th ey c an infec t v ulne rab le pe op le

and because their se rv ices are

vital in a pandem ic . Y et in a su rv ey

o f U K n urses las t w eek, 47 pe r

cent said they w ou ld no t get

v ac cin ate d. M e anw hile , B ritis h

ho sp ita l b o s ses qu izzed by Th eGuardian new spaper c laim that as

few as 10per cent o f s taff w ill have \a

the sho t. In the US , m any ho sp ital ~

em p lo yees are p ro tes ting agains t ~

ru le s say ing they m ust b e §

vaccinated o r lo s e the ir jo b s . ~

"In a survey of UKnurses. ~41per cent said they wouldnot get vaccinated .•upfrom 31 per cent inAugust"

Child ren are also at the top o f

the v acc ine lis t; in the U S s um mer

ou tbreak, the age g ro up m ost

ho sp ita lised w as child ren u nder 4.

Y et 40 per cent o f U S p arents say

6 1 N e w Sc ie ntis t 1 17 O c to be r 2 00 9

they w on't vaccinate thetr k id s ,

acco rd ing to a po ll by the

U n iv er sity o f M i ch ig an .

M any parents and health

w orkers argu e that sw ine f lu is no t

dange rou s enough to jus tify the

p otential s id e effec ts o f a v acc ine ,

bu t this w ee.k there w ere fresh

w arnings that the v iru s can cause

se rio us illne ss . In C anad a and

M ex ic o re sp ectiv ely , 1 7pe r cent

and 41 p er cent o f p eo ple adm itted

to intens ive care w ith the v irus

hav e d ied . In M ex ico , half had no

u nderly ing health pro blem s; in

C anada 70 pe r cent had no m ajo ri ll ne s s b e f or e ha n d.

L aser ru les 's to p sc ien ce '

C OU LD as tro n om ers a cc id e n taH y th e ru le s w ere tig h te ne d . N ow ; w ithk no ck ou ts a te ll ite s 7 T ha t's th e w or.ry a stro no me rs e age rto u se th e l ase rs

o f th e U S a ir fo rc e , w hic h re s tr ic ts th e m ore , the r es tr ic tio n s a re b e gin n in g

u se o f l as ers th at h elp fo cu s te le sc op es . to c ha fe ,

N ow so me as tro n om ers w arn th ey w ill

m is s k ey o bs erv atio ns u nd er th e ru les .

M a n y la rg e o b se rv ato rie s, in c lu d in g

K e ck .a nd G e m in i N o rth in H a w aii. , u se

la se rs to d ete rm in e th e a m ou nt of

tu rb ule nc e in th e a tm os ph ere , w h ic h

d i st o rt s i m a g e s . .S h a p e ·s h if ti n g

m irro rs o n th e te le sc op es ca n th en

compensa t e to r e du c e b lu r rin g .

S i n c e a d i rec t laser h it o n a satel l i tec ou ld d am ag e its o ptic s, th e U S a ir

fo rc e's S pa ce C o m m an d h as fo r

y ea rs re str ic te d w he n a nd w he re

U S o b se rv ato rie s c an fire th em . w ith

litt le im p ac t o n a stro no m y. T he n tw o

y ea rs a go , j us t a s k in ks in the l ase r

te ch no lo gy w ere b ein g iro ne d o ut,

V iru s in th e frameALL in th e mind, o r all in a vi rus?

C hro nic fatigu e synd rom e, once

d ism issed as "yu pp ie f lu ", has

b een linked to a v i ru s th at is a ls o

com mon in peop le w ith a certain

typ e o f p ro state c ancer.

I t's s ti ll n ot c learif th e v iru s,

c all ed XMRV , c au se s c hr on ic

fatigu e synd rom e (C PS ), or is ju st

m o re common in peo p le w ith the

d iso rde r. B ut the d isco very has

re ignited debate o ver w he ther C PS

is p sy ch ol og ic al o r p hy sio lo g ic a.l.

A team led by Judy M iko v its atth e W hittem ore P eterso n Ins titu te

" Si.g n ific a nt. n e ga tiv e im p a ct s o f

th e se n e w r es tr ic tio n s on sc ient i f ic

p ro du ctiv ity a re b ein g fe lt," s ay s

a re po rt b y th e U S A s so cia tio n

o f U n i.v e rs itie s fo r .R e s ea rc h in

A stro no my , b as ed in W as hin gto n D C

T he re str ic te d zo ne s a re n ow

s o l arg e th at th ey c an ru le o u t

o bs erv at io ns e ve n w h en a s ate llite

is b e. lo w th e h oriz on , th e re po rt s ay s.

T his re su lts in h alf to tw o·th ird s o f

the o bje cts a str on om e rs w o uld lik e

to v ie w w ith la s e r a ss is ta n ce o n a

g iv en n ig ht b ein g o ff- l im its , th e

r ep o rt a d ds ..A n d f or s h o r t - l ived

p he no me na lik e g am m H ay burs t s ,

th ere is n o s ec on d c ha nc e.

in R e no , N e v ad a, i nv es tig ate d

w hethe r X MR V m igh t b e linked

to C PS after th e v iru s w as rep orted

in 2006 to be present in patients

wi th a fo rm o f pro sta te cance r

a ss oc ia te d w ith b io ch em ic al

changes also found in C PS .

W hen her team analy sed b loo d

taken fro m 101 C PS p atients , 68 o f'

them tes ted po s itiv e fo r X MRV

g en es , c om p ar ed wi th ju st e ig ht

o ut o f 218 he alth y co ntro ls

(Science , DO[: io.nze/scterce.

1 17 905 2.). M i ko v its s ay s h er te am

h as fo und antib od ies ag ains t

X MR V in 95 per cent o f nearly300 p atie nts te ste d.

L un ar le t . .down

" I T H lN K w e're all a little b it

d isappo in ted that w e didn't see

a ny th in g." D av id M o rr is on ,

d irec to r o f N A SA 's L unar S cie nc e

Ins titu te , s um med up the

c olle ctiv e th ou gh ts o f e ve ry on e

w ho w atched N A SA crash a ro cket

in to the m oon o n 9 O cto ber.

N A SA d elib erate ly crash ed its

L CR O SS s pace craf t in to th e lu nar

su rface abo u t 4 m inu tes af ter the

ro cke t. I t w as lo oking fo r w ate r

and o ther m olecu le s as it f lew



F o r dai ly n ew s s t o r: ie s , v is it www . N ew s c i e n t i s t . c om l n ew s

thro ugh the deb ris p lum e created

by the ro cket im pac t.

E arth bo un d o bser ve rs fai led

to see any sign o f a p lum e, as hadbeen hoped . Even the Hubble

S pace Te lesco pe carne u p em pty.

N A SA claim ed a tec hn ical v ic to ry ,

b ut it w ill lik ely b e rem em bere d

as an antic lim ax. It w as neither

a fai lu re, such as the lo ss o f the

M ars P olar L and er in1999, o r a

g re at s uc ce ss , lik e th e s pe ctac ula r

co met co llis io n o f the D eep

Impact m issio n in 2005.

S till, the infrared flash o f the

im pac t, w hich ap pe are d inLCROSS

data, m ay reveal big c lues abo utlunar ice in the com ing weeks.

Dw in dlin g d oom

C ON SE RV AnO N b io lo gists m ay

b e d elu din g th em se lv es .

A n analy sis o f the m inim um

num ber o f indiv iduals needed

fo r a sp ec ie s ' lo ng -te rm s ur viv al

c onc lu des that conservation

practices underestim ate the risk

o f extinc tio n b y no t fu lly allo wing

fo r the dangers po sed by the lo ss

o f gene tic d iv ers ity .lf co rrec t, it

m eans the num ber o f ind iv iduals

in endangered spec ies are be ing

allow ed to dw indle too far.

Loch ran Tram at th e Un iv e rs it y

o f A delaid e, A ustralia, and

co lleagues found that fo r

tho usands o f spec ies , the

m inim um v iab le p opu latio n

s ize - w here a spec ies has a

go per cent chance o f surv iv ingth e n ex t 100 years - com es inat

thousands rather th an h un dr ed s

of ' lndiv lduals . Many b io lo g is ts ,

Traill say s, w ork w ith lo wer

numbers and unaccep tab ly h igh

extinct ion r isks (Biological

ConsE'TVation, DOl: 10.1016/

j. biocon.zcog.og.ocil,

" If c ri ti ca ll y e nd an ge re d

species are no t b rought up to to tal

p op ulatio n s iz es o f a fe w tho us an d,

then w e are sim ply managing fo r

their shor t- term persistence,"

Trail! says. H e ho pes his w ork

w ill "enco urage greate r fo cu s

o freso urces to po pulations that

need attentio n no w" ,

Ban an a b an ke d

I T'S p in k, g ro ws in C hina, and w ild

Asian e lephant s l oveit

Th e Yunnanbanana (Musa it e ra ns ) is also th e

24,2o oth w ild p lant sp ecies

banked b y the K ew M illennium

S ee d B a nk P ar tn er sh ip . Itmarks

the po int at which the bank has

reached its initial targe t o f

collect ing 10per cent o f the

w orld 's kno wn w ild p lant sp ec ies .

S et up in 2000, the seed bank

at Kew Gardens in London is th e

w orld 's largest fo r wild plants.

T he id ea is that the seeds can all

b e a cc e ss e d ino ne p lace to he lpresearchers hu nt fo r po tential

m ed icinal species and cro ps

re silien t to clim ate c hang e.

"W e have every reason to be

p ro ud , but there 's much left tobe do ne," says Pau l Sm ith, head

o f th e p ar tn er sh ip . I ts n e xt target

is to have banked one-quarte r o f

"The seed bank will helpin the hunt for potentialmedicinal s p e c i e s or c r o p sresilient to climate change"

the w orld 's w ild spec ies by 2020.

The o ther large col lec t ion is

the Svalbard G lobal Seed Vault in

N orw ay, w hich co llects cro ps top res erv e the m in case o f disease,

S ick dogs get newest drugsP E T d og s W ith c an ce r in th e U .s ar e

now enti tl e d to receive e xp e r ime n t a l

d r u g. s - befcrethe d ru g s a re a va il ab le

f or h um an s, T we lv e tr ials ar e u nd er

w ay o n g ro up s of 15. to 6 0 d o gs ,

and in severalcf t he . a nimal s c an c er s

have di sappeared.

''We 'v e h ad d r ama ti c r em i ss io n s

i n d o g s w i th r ea ll y a gg re ss iv e

c an ce rs ," s ay s C han d K han na, h ea d

o f t he C ompa ra ti v e Onc o lo g .yT ri al s

C o ns or tiu m n ew ly f or me d in

B e th e.s da , M a ry la nd , b y t he U S

Na ti o na l C a nc e r I n st it ut e.

U n li ke m i ce a nd r ats ., d o gs

e xp er ie nc e c an ce r 'in a s im ilar w ay to

humans . A s in p eo ple , c an ce rs in d og s

s pre ad to fo rm s eco nd aries an d can

b ec om e res istan t to d ru gs. T he

a ni m al s c an a ls o h av e r el ap se s.

T he c on so rtie m c on sis ts o f

19 ve te r ina ry schoo l s , an d th ere ar e

p lan s to e xte nd it to E uro pe . O w ners

c an . o, ptf o r c o nv en ti on al d ru g s o r

e X pe ri m en ta l o n es , i nc lu d in g s ome

that are u ntested in hu mans and

o th er s th at a re alr ead y u nd er go in g

tr ia ls , b u tth a1 :n ee d a dd iti on al a ni ma l

d ata - fo r e xam ple o n d osin g - b efo re

they ra n pro ceed to th e next s ta ge

(PLoSMed ldne , 001: 10.13711

journa l ,pmed,1000162) ,

A s w e ll as lo o kin g af te r th eir s ic k

d o g, own er s C O i n h elp gath er d ata f or

th e r es l! ar ch er s.'T he y'r e g iv l! n

n oteb oo ks s o that th ey c an c om pl ete

a ss es sm en ts o f q ua lity o f lif e,

a pp etite , d em ea no u r a nd p er hap s

e ve n c o ll ec t s om e s pe ci m en s; '

Khanna. s ays.

60SECONDS

Ic e to s e e yo u

At l as t, . a t empo r ar y re p ri e. ve f o .r

A r cti Cic e, T hi rty -tw o p er c en t o f

i ce remaining at theend o f the2 00 9 m elt s eas on w as tw o y e.ar so ld ,

c om pared w ith 9 p er ren Un 2008

and 21 p ercent in 2007, according

to th e U .s Na ti o na l. S n ow a nd Ic e

Da ,t aC en tr e. T h is g i. ve .ss ome h op e

th at th e i ce w il l th ic ke n th is w in te r

a nd s tab ilis e f or a f ew y ear s.

G o lo ng a nd p ro sp er

Ap ro p o sa lto v is it a ste r o l ds a nd 'o r b it

Ma r s h as r ec e iv e d a b o o st. N . A 5A 's

f utu re o ptio ns f or h um an s p a c e -f lig ht a re b ein g s co re d b y a W h ite .

H ou se p an el, b as ed o n 12 cri ' teria . .An

e ar ly r ep or t p uts th e s o-c alle d " de ep

sp ace" o ptio n ah ead o f a retu rn to

th e m oo n, b utthat's b ase d o n o nly

fbu r c r it er i a: s ch e d u l e , c o st , b e n e fi ts

to sd en ce , an d p re se rv in g w o rk fo rc e.

A f u l l r e po r t is . e xp ec te d th is m o nth .

In d ee p w a te r

Th e g ov er nmen t o f t he Ma ld i ve s

w ill h o ld a c a bin et m ee tin g 6 m etr es

underwate ron 17 Oc tob e r. S c u ba

g ea r'i s th e d re ss mde f or th e e v en t,

which s e e k s t' O r ais e aw ar en es s o f

th e r is in g s ea -l ev el s w h ic h c o ul d

d ev as ta te th e a to ll .

A b ort io ns s la sh ed

F o ur m illio n f ew er a bo rtio ns w er e

carried o u t w o rld w id e in 2 0 03 th an

in 1 99 5, m ain ly d ue to an in cr ea se

i n c o ntr ac ep ti on , r ep o rts th e

W a sh in gto n DC-based Gut tmacher

I n st it ut e. T h e r ate o f unwanted

pregnandesalsofel i ,. from6.9to

5..5p er c en tb etw een 1 99 5 an d 2008 .

F e ta l c an ce r s tr ik es

I n .a ra re c as e of cance.rbeing

tr an sm itte d f rom a mo th er t.a

a fe tus ,cancerce ll s seem to have

a cq ui re d m u ta tio n s th at a ll ow e d

th em to av oid attack fro m th e fe tal

i mmu n e s ys te m ..S o s ay T a. ke sh i

I so d a a nd c o ll ea gu es .a t T o ky o

Med ic al a nd De n ta l Un i. ve r si ly i nJ ap an ,w ho an aly se d th e D N A o f

cancer cel ls in o ne s uc h in fan t. O n ly

abou t 90 s uc h c Ci se sa re k nown.

17 Oc t obe r 20091 Newsc ient i s t 17

http://www.newscientist.comlnews/

http://www.newscientist.comlnews/



T H . I S W E E K

d am age f ro m alco ho l ab u se , th e

f if th le ad in g c au se o fp re m atu re

d ea th an d d isa bil ity w orld wid e.

U nv eile d las t w ee k in G en ev a,

S witze r land , the d oc um ent is th e

c ulm in atio n o f'ta lk s b etw ee n

rep resen tativ es fro m the W H O 's

1 93 m e mbe r s tate s .."It is a

land mark do cu ment," say s P ete r

A nd ers on , a h ea lth c on su ltan t

and adv ise r o n a lco ho l to the

W HO and the E uro p ean U nio n.

M em b er s tate s w ill b e inv ite d

to ratif y the f in alis ed v ers io n o f the

d o cum ent at th e m ee ting o f the

W o rld H ealth A ssem bly in M ay ,

b u t th e d o cum ent w ill no t b e

le ga lly b in din g. I ts p ur po se

in ste ad is to ra is e aw are ne ss

am ong go vernm ents abo ut the

im po rtan ce o f re du cin g alc oh ol

ab u se and to p ro vid e da ta that

w ill p ers ua de e le cto rate s th at

new law s are requ ired - th e re by

e m bo ld en in g g ov ern m en ts

to take ac tio n. The d ocu me nt w ill

also p re sen t a m enu o f legal and

go ve rnm ental s trateg ie s tha t have

Andy Cogh lan

HUMAN IT Y 's re la tio ns hip w ith

alc o ho l has nev er b een easy . N ow

it is a bo u t to u nd ergo as g rea t a

change as o ur a ttitu de to to bacc o,

w hich has se en sm oking p lu mm et

f rom the he ight o f c o o l to th e

lo we st o fu np le as ant ha bits .

That a t least is the hop e o f the

W o r ld H e al th O r g an iz ati on ,

w hich , b etw een no w and Janu ary ,

w ill be ho ning i ts d raft o f th e f irs t

g lo bal s trate gy o n re du cing h ealth

a I N e wS cie m is t 1 17 O cto be r 2 00 9

b een sho wn to w ork . " I t will

p ro vid e k no wle dg e a nd a ware ne ss

ab ou t th e s iz e o f the p ro blem ,

and adv ice abo ut th e m os t co st-e ff ec ti ve p o li ci es ," s ay s A n d er so n .

T he im pe tu s fo r ac tio n is

fo u nd ed on the g ro wing

re alis atio n th at a lc oh ol d o es n't

just harm th os e w ho d rin k,

co mb ined w ith a b ette r

k no w le d ge o f i nte rv e nti on

s tr ate gi es . F o r e xam p le , in Mar ch

th e U K go ve rnm ent's c hie f

m e dic al o ff ic er , L ia m D o na ld so n,

d ev o te d a chap te r o f h is 2008

an nu al re po rt to " pa ss iv e

d rink ing " , th e d am age tha th eav y d rinkers w re ak o n o th e rs .

To i l lu stra te th e e xte nt o f

th e p ro b lem in the UK , he

re po rted tha t in 2008, there

"T he WHO says th e m o steffective way to reducea lc o h o l c o n s ump t io n isto r a is e p r ic e s "

were 125,000 "alcohol-related

in stan ce s o f d om es tic v io le nc e" ,

that an est imated 6000 b ab ie s a re

b orn annua lly w ith fe tal alc oho l

synd rom e and tha t in 2006,

7000 p eo ple w ere in ju red and

560 k ille d a s a r es ult o f d rin k-

d riv in g, n ot in clu ding the d riv ers .

SaIly C as sw el] o f M a ss ey

U niv ers ity in A u ck lan d, N e w

Ze aland , w ho he lp ed p ro du ce th e

W HO do cum ent, say s a f ocu s o n

p as siv e d rin king is k ey to w in nin g

p ub lic acc ep tance fo r m ore

s tr in ge nt a lc o ho l l eg is la ti on . "Itc ha lle ng es th e n eo llb era l id eo lo gy

w hic h p ro m ote s th e d rin ke r's

freed om to cho o se h is o r h e r ow n

b eh av io ur," s he s ay s.

P ersu ad ing go vernm ents and

c itiz ens o f th e p ro blem is ju s t the

f irs t s te p, tho ugh . W h at, if

any th ing , can b e d o ne to s to p

p eo ple d rink in g to e xc ess ?

T o s om e e xtent, s trateg ie s w ill

d ep end o n lo catio n.In rich

co untr ie s , fo r exam ple , the fo cu s

is l ikely to be on s to pp ing yo ung

p eo ple f ro m b ing e d rink in g,

w h e re a s i nt ro d u c in g drink-

d riv ing law s m ay b e a p rio ri ty

inr ap id ly d ev elo p in g c ou ntrie s,



In this sect ion

• G e tt in g in to Saturn's g ro o ve s , p a ge 10

• P sy ch op ath s fo rg et the ir fe a r, p ag e 1 2

• F ollo w th e pollution t r a i l to spot an a l i en , p a g e 13

Akohol consumption and its effect on healthhere newly acqu ired w ealth is

inc reasing o wnersh ip o f cars and

a cc es s to a lc o ho l.

G ene rally , ho we ve r, th e W H Osay s th e m os t e ffe ctiv e m easu re s

are to raise p rices th ro ugh heavy

taxatio n b as ed o n alco ho l c on te nt,

an d. to re du ce the avatlabtltty o f

a lc oh ol th ro ug h s tric t lic en sin g

schem es lim iting o pening tim es

and the nu mber o f o utle ts .

S uch strateg ie s m ay sm ack o f

o ve rac tiv e go ve rn me nt, b ut re cen t

f ind in gs s ug ge st the se m eas ure s

work . A lex W age naar o f th e

U n iv e rs ity o f F lo ri da , G a in es vi lle ,

a nd c olle ag ue s re vie we d11 2 stu die s e xam inin g th e e ffe cts

o f p rice and tax on alcoho l

consum ptio n and fo u nd that,

on average , a 10 p e r c en t in cr ea se

in th e p r ice o f bee r redu ced

consum ptio n by 5 p er cent, o f

w ine by 7 p er cen t and sp irits

by 8 per cent (Addict ion, 001;

10.1111. j.136o-0443.2oo8.02438.x).

F ro m ano the r s tud y, in w hich

W a ge na ar's te am s urv ey ed

800 stu dents leav ing a c am pus b ar

o ver fo ur n ights , and to ok b reath

a lc oh ol re ad in gs , th e r es ea rc he rs

c alc ulate d that e ac h to-cent

increase inthe co s t o fad r ink, pe r

gram o f e than ol, w as as so ciate d

w ith a 30 per cent d ec rease in the

chance that s tud ents w ou ld leave

th e b ar d ru nk (Alcoholism: cn« lealand Exper Imen ta l Re sea r ch , om :io.nnz] .1530-0271.2009.0]036.x).

M eanw hile , at the behes t o f the

S co ttis h go ve rnm en t, P etra M eie r

o f th e U nive rs ity o f Sheff ie ld , U K,u sed S co ttish data o n leve ls o f

alco ho l consum ptio n and the

p rices p aid by d iffe rent peo ple fo r

d if fe re nt ty pe s o f d rin k to c alc ula te 'Treating aseelal climateth e s oc ia l e ff ec ts o f in tro du cin g around drInking throughm inim um p rices o n alco ho l. sports and movies has aS he e stim ate s that se tting powerfu Iimpact"

the m inim um price at 40 pence

per un it o f alco ho l (a sm all

g las s o f w ine o r half a p int o f

b ee r), w hkh is s till at le ast tw ic e

as e xp en siv e as th e c he ap es t

a lc oh ol a va ila ble in S co tla nd ,

c ou ld s av e th e natio n £950 mil l ion

in he althc are and p olic in g

c os ts o ve r 10 y ears , and av oid

3600 ho sp ital adm is sio ns and

L itre so f p ure a lc oh ol p er a du lt in 2 00 3:

C )Amer i c a A

7.3%

Pecentage o f totaldisease burden

due to alcohol

W O R L D T O T A L4,6%

N o d at a 0·2.9 3·5.9 • 9 ·11.9 • 12 ·14.9 • 15+

huge tax revenu es fro m alco ho l,

and p ressu re from the indu s try to

a vo id a nti -d ri nk in g l eg is la ti on .

M ean wh ile , p oo re r c ou ntr ie s o fte n

d on't hav e any regu latio ns at all.

P r ed ic ta bl y, th e a lc o ho l i nd u str y

is no t happyw ith the W HO 's fo cu s

o n re du cin g c on su m ptio n

thro ugh p ric ing , av ailab ility and

market ing . Itals o argu es that

go vernm ent inte rv entio n isn 't th e

o nly w ay to so lv e the p ro blem .

" O th er p ar ti es , i nc lu d in g

in du stry , c an p lay a ro le ," s ay s

M a rc us G ra nt o f th e I nte rn atio na lC ente r fo r A lc oh ol P olic ie s, a th in k

tank fund ed by the alco ho l

indu s try , in W ashing to n D C.

H e c ite s a co llabo ratio n in

K eny a to o ve rc om e p oiso ning

cau sed by cheap b oo tleg bee r

in w hic h an A fric an b re we ry

p ro duced a safe r riv al, and the

K eny an go ve rn me nt agre ed

to lift tax on it. The leA P is

p ub lis hin g a b oo kc alle d Work ing

To ge th er t o R e du c e Ha rm f ul

Drinking i n Nov embe r , c o -e d i te d

by G ran t, that inclu des a p ledge to

" take into ac co unt" the p ote ntial

h ealth im pac ts o f p ro duc ts such

as alco po ps, w hich appeal to th e

f: ~Western PacificI J ~I 7 . , 2%\ . . ~

C lEurope11.6%

Middle East0.5%

f

Sou th -eas t

Asia2 , 7%

Africa2 , 1%

A m sr lr a A I nc lu de s us , ( a n ad a 11 nd cuna ; A me ric a B indudes ( e n tr o l Am enC 1 l,So uth A me ric a a nd th e ta r i b b ea n :E ur op e I nc iu de s R lIs si a;

M i dd l e E as t in clu de s E gY Pt. S ud an a nd M oro ec o; W es te rn P o e ifie in tlu de s C hin a, A us tra lia a nd N ew Z ea la nd

1100 c rim in al o ffe nc es e ac h y ear.

A s f or ligh t d rinkers w ho

co mplain they w ou ld b e unfairly

s et b ac k b y p ric e inc re as es , M eie r

c laim sthat a 40P m inim um w ou ld

h it h eav ie st d r inkers hard est, as

they o ften d r ink th e cheapes t

b oo ze , c os ting the m f137 e xtra p er

year co mpared w ith ju s t £ 1 1 extra

fo r a m od erate d rin ke r.

O f co urse . tax ing b oo ze and

r es tric tin g its a va ila bility a re n ot

new id eas and su ch strateg ie s are

alread y d ep lo yed to so me extent

in m os t d ev elo pe d c ou ntrie s.B ut the W HO do cum ent argu es

that m any cou ntrie s d o no t

im ple me nt the m ef fe ctiv ely .

In the U S a nd the U K, d esp ite

taxes that are heav ie r th an on

m any o th er p ro du cts , alc oho lic

d rin ks a re s till c he ap er re la tiv e

to incom e, and m ore w id e ly

av ailab le to day than e ver b efo re .

T his is lik ely d ue to g ov ern m en t

fe ars o f'a c ons um er b ac klash ,

yo u ng , and p rom otio ns such

as happy ho urs . A no the r is to

ad he re to re sp ons ib le m ark eting

p o lic ie s th at are m onito red by

i nd ep en de nt c o ns ul ta nts .

O th ers are s ce ptic al o fth e

indu s try 's co ntrib utio n to the

d ebate . R ob in R oo m o f th e

U n iv e rs ity o f M e lb o ur ne ,

A us tralia , w ho s tu die s th e

le gis la tio n o n re cre atio na l d ru gs ,

f ears th at som e parts o f the W HO

docum ent m ay already have been

w ate red d ow n to appease th e

in du stry , e sp ec ia lly th os e s ee kin gto r es tr ic t m a rk eti ng .

A nd erso n w arns again st th is :

" Pric e and av ailab ility are still the

m o st e ffe ctiv e strate gie s to re du ce

co nsum ptio n, bu t the o the r th ing

is m arke ting , c re ating a s oc ial

c lim ate aro und d rink in g thro ugh

spo rts spo nso rsh ip and m ov ies .

T hat h as a p ow erfu l im pac t."

A n de rs on i s s ti ll o p ti m is ti c,

tho ugh . " I do n't th ink alco ho l

w ill e ve r b ec om e as so cially

u na cc ep ta ble a s to ba cc o

u se , bu t so cie tie s m ay adop t a

m ore cau tio u s app ro ach to its

s up ply and m ark etin g, re su lting

in le s s harm ." •

1 7 Oc t o b e r 2 0 0 9 1NewSc i e n t i s t 19



T H . I S W E E K

How Saturn go tit.sg o oves

R ac he l C o ur tla nd , P u erto R ic o

SATURN'S rin gs s ee m alm os t

im mu tab le . W hen v iew ed f ro m

a fa r, th es e p la ne ta ry je we ls ,

carved by moonlets a nd s hap ed

b y grav ity , c ou ld w ell h av e lo oke d

m u ch the sam e now as they d id

billions o f years ago - bu t o n ly

f r om afar.

N ow it is em erg ing that an

e ve nt a ro u nd 25 y ea rs a go

d ram atic ally d is ru pte d the rin gs -

and all o ur te le sco pes and

s pac ec raft m iss ed it. T hismyster ious e v en t s ud d en ly

warped the p la ne t's i nn er m os t

rin gs in to a rid ge d s piral p atte rn ,

like the g ro oves o n a v in y l r ec o rd .

T he late st im ages reveal that the

per turbat ion is so vas t that o nly

a p ro fo u nd change to the p lane t

can have cau sed it.

T he firs t h int th at S atu rn 's rings

had been pertu rbed cam e in 2006

f ro m NASA 's C a ss in i s pa ce cr af t,

w hich to ok p ic tu re s o f the p lane t's

innerm os t ring , a tenuo us , icy

b and calle d the D ring . Cassinl

fo und alte rnating ligh t and dark

bands that suggested the ring was

no t p erfec tly f lat. bu t w as

10 INew$cien t i s t 117Oc t o b e r 2009

co m po sed o f g ro oves , abo ut

a k ilo m etre in a mp litu de .

Intrigu ed b y the se s trang e

rip p le s , M atth ew Hedm an o f

C orn ell U niv ers ity in I th ac a, N e w

Y o rk , p r op os ed a n e xp la na tio n.

H e b uilt s im ulatio ns that starte d

w ith a sim ple assum ptio n: th at

so meth ing had tilted the D ring

s ligh tly away fro m the p lane o f

S atu rn 's equ ato r - pe rhaps a

c om e t o r a ste ro id .

S ince S atu rn is no t a pe rfec t

sphere , its g rav ity w ou ld p ull

unevenly o n the tilted D ring , sothat th e ring "w obb les " o ver tim e

re lativ e to th e p lane t, a b it lik e

a sp inning co in com ing to rest.

W hat's m ore , po rtio ns o fthe r ing

c lo se to Satu rn, w here g rav ity is

s tro ng er, w ou ld w ob ble fas te r than

parts f urth er a wa y. T his d if fe re nc e

i n w o b bl e rates w o u ld e ve ntu al ly

c reate a sp iralling patte rn o f

rid ge s an d tro ug hs (se e d iagram ).

H edm an and co lleagues w ere

ab le to " un win d" th e s piralling

fo rm atio n b ack in tim e to 1984,

th e p oint w he n the initial tiltin g

o f th e D ring o ccu rred . The b ad

new s is that th is d ate w as m ore

than tw o years afte r the V oyager

spac ep r obe s to ok a c lo se peek as

th ey flew by the planet, and lo ng

b efo re th e H ub ble S pac e T ele sc op e

c am e o nlin e o r C as sin i arriv ed .

T h e l at es t Cassini images

deep en the m yste ry . They sho w

"S om eth in g b ac k in 1 98 4tilt ed th e D r ing s l igh t lyaway from . th e p la ne o fSaturn's equator"

the g ro o ves are m uch m ore

w id es pr ea d th an p re vio us ly

tho ugh t. In A ugus t, Satu rn w as

o r ien tated so that th e su niU um inate d the r in gs alm o st

edge-o n, w hich m eant that even

th e m os t su btle featu res p ro du ced

p ro mine nt s had ow s. T his re ve ale d

that S atu rn 's vas t C ring ~ t he next

ring ou t from the D r ing ~ a lso has

g ro ov es . T he C rin g is a bo ut

17,000 k ilo metre s w id e fro m its

inner to o u te r ed ge , wh ich is m ore

than tw ice the w id th o f the D ring .

T ho ugh the C r in g's r id ge

pat tern is le ss d ram atic - w ith an

am plitud e o f 100 m etres o r les s -such w id e sp re ad c o rr ug ati on

p ro bab ly ru le s o u t a ro ck o r com et

im pac t. " I t's really hard to d o with

o ne o bjec t," says H edm an, w ho

presented th e resu lts las t w eek at

a m ee ting o f th e A m erican

A s tro no m ic al S oc ie ty 's D iv is io n

fo r P lane tary S cie nce s in F ajard o,

P ue rto R ic o.

O ne p ossib le scenar io is th at

a body m uch larg e r than a typical

as te ro id grazed and pu lled on the

ring s. O r a dramatic change in

w eathe r m igh t hav e s hifte d

Saturn ' s gravity: if a b and o f

c lo ud s o n th e p lane t so meho w

sped u p and were inc lined to the

e qu ato r, f or e xam p le , itmigh t

lo we r p res su re b en eath , allo wing

m ore m ass to accum ulate the re .

"The tro ub le is ev ery th ing y ou

c om e u p w ith se em s intrin sic ally

u nlik ely ," s ay s M ark S ho walte r o f

t he SET ! I n s ti tu t e in Mounta in

V ie w ; C a li fo rn ia ..I t w i ll requiremo r e observa t ions a nd m o d el li ng

to c om ple te ly u nrav el S atu rn 's

s piral m ys te ry .•

T he w ob ble in S atu rn 's inn er .ringsS a tu rn 's ir re g ula r g ra vita tio na l tu g m e a ns th at th e t il te d in ne r r in g w o u ld 'w o bb le " o ve r t im e , : lik e a s p in n in g c oin c om i ng to r es t.

The . innerpar t o f th e r ingwobb les ta s t e r th an th e ou t e rpa r t . even tua l l yw ind ingth e rin g. u p i n t oasp i r a l



Calves feel the pain

o f re lig ious s lauQ ,hte rBRA INs ig n al s h av e s h ow n

th at c alv e s d o a pp ea r to f ee l p a in

w h en s la ug h te re d a cc or din g to

J ew i sh a nd Mu s li m r el ig io u s

la w, s tre ng th en in g th e c as e f or

a da ptin g th e p ra ctic es to m a ke

them m ore hu mane .."I th in k o u r

wo rk is th e b es t e vid en ce y et th at

i t's p a in f u l, " s a y s C r ai g J o hn s o n,

w ho le d th e s tu dy a t M as se y

U n iv e rs ity i n P a lm e rs to n N o r th ,

N ew Ze al an d .J oh ns on s umm ar is ed h is

re su lts la st w e ek in L o nd o n w h en

re ce iv in g an aw ard f ro m th e U K

Huma ne S la u gh te r A s s o ci ati on .

H is te am a ls o s ho w ed th at ifth e

a nim a l is c o nc us se d th ro u gh

s tunn in g , s i gn a ls c o r re s p o nd i ng

to p ai n d is ap p ea r (New Zea land

Veterinary toumal, vo l S 7, p 77) .

T h e f in d in g s i nc re as e p re s su r e

o n r el ig io u s g ro u p s th a t p ra cti ce

s la ug h te r w ith o ut s tu n nin g to

r e co n s id e r . " I t p r o v id e s f u r th e r

evidence , if i t w a s n ee d ed , th a t

s la u gh te rin g a n a nim al w i th o u t

s tunning itf ir st i s p a in fu l, " s ay s

C h ris to p he r W a th es o f t he UK

F a rm An im a l W e l fa re C o u n c il ,

w hic h h as lo ng arg ue d f or th e

p ra cti ce to e nd .

I n m o s t w e s te rn c o u ntr ie s ,

an im als m u st b e s tu nn ed b ef ore E

th ey a re s la ug hte re d, b u t th er e 2is a n e xe m ptio n f or r elig io u s i:

p ra cti ce , m o s t p rom i ne n tl y J ew i sh g

shechita a nd Mu s li m dhahiha.

An im a l w e lf ar e g ro u ps h av e lo ng

a rg u ed th at o n w e lf are g ro u nd s,

th e e xe m ptio ns s ho u ld b e lif te d,

a s th ey h av e been.in No rway .

J o hn so n 's . w o r k, f u nd e d b y th e

UK a nd N ew Z e al an d a gr ic u ltu r e

m in is tr ie s, b u ild s o n f in din gs in

h um an v o lu nte er s o f s pe cif ic

p a tt er n s o f b r ai n e le c tr ic a l a c ti v it y

w h en th ey f ee l p ain . R e co rd ed

w i th e le ctr o en c ep h al o gr am s , th ep atte rn s w e re r ep ro d u ci bl e. i n a t

le as t e ig ht o th er m amm al s pe cie s

k no w n to b e e xp er ie nc in g p ain .

Jo hn so n d ev elo pe d a w ay o f

l ig h tl y a n ae s th e ti si ng a n ima l s

s o th at a lth o ug h th ey e xp er ie nc edn o p ain , th e s am e e le ctr ic al p ain

s i gn a ls c o u l d b e r e li ab l y d e te c te d ,

s ho w in g th ey w o u ld h av e s u ff er ed

p a in i faw ake .

Th e t eam first c u t c a lv e s ' t h r o at s

in a p ro ce du re m atc hin g th at o f

J ew is h a nd M uslim s l aughte r

m e th o d s . .T h ey d e te c te d a p ai n

s ig na l la stin g f or u p to 2 minutes

a fte r th e i nc is io n . Wh e n th e ir

throats are cu t , c a lve s gene r al ly

l os e c o ns c io u s ne s s a fte r 10to

30 s e co n ds , s om e ti m es l on g er .The researchers th en s ho w ed

th at th e p ain o rig in ate s f ro m

c u ttin g th ro at n er ve s, n ot f ro m

th e l os s o f b lo o d , s u g ge s ti ng

th e s ev er ed n er ve s s en d p ain

s ig na ls u n til th e tim e o f d ea th .Finally, th ey s tu nn ed a nim a ls

5 s e cond s after i nc is io n a n d

s ho w ed th at th is m ak es th e p ain

s i gn a l d i sa p p ea r i ns ta n tl y .

"It wa s n't a s u rp ri se to m e,

"The religious community isa d am a n t th at a nim a ls d o n'te xp erie n ce a ny p ain w h e ntheir throats are cut"

b ut in te rm s o f t he re lig io us

c o mm un ity , th ey a re a dam an ta ni m al s d o n't e x pe ri en ce a ny p ai n,

s o t he re su lts m ig ht b e a s urp ris e

to th em ," s ay s J oh ns on . H e p ra is ed

Mus l im dhabiha p r ac ti ti o n er s i n

N e w Z ea la nd a nd e ls ew h er e w h o

h a ve a lr ea dy a d op te d s tu n ni ng

p rio r to s lau gh te r. T he y u se a

f or m o f e le ctric al s tu nn in g w h ic h

a nim a ls q u ic kly r ec ov e r f ro m if

n o t s la ug h te re d, p ro v in g th at th e

s tu n ne d a nim al i s " h e a lth y ",

th e re b y q u al if y in g a s h al al .

S p ok esm en f or b o th f aith s

r es po nd ed b y c la im in g th at

s tu n ni ng i ts e lf h u rts a ni m al s.

S h e ch ita UK s ay s th a t th e th ro a t

c ut is s o ra pid th at it s e rv es a s

its o w n" s tu n" . A hm e d G h an em ,

a h ala l s la ug hte rr na n b as ed in

N ew Z e al an d , s ay s th a t b lo o d

d o es n't d ra in p ro p erly f ro m

s tu nn ed a nim a ls , a lth o ug h th is

h as b ee n c o un te re d b y re ce nt

r es ea rc h a t t h e U n iv er sity o f

B r is to l in th e UK ..A n d y (o gh la n •

M acaques are

creeped out by

cyber-selves

IT T UR N S o ut m o nk ey s a re a s

e r e e p e d o u t b y th e ir C G Ic o un te rp a rts

a s w e a re . S ho w th em a m on ke y

fa c e th a t's u n ca n nily life ·lik e a n d

th ey lo ok a wa y. T his m ig ht m ea n th at

th e re is a n e v olu tio n ar y e x pla n at io n

fo r o ur d is gu st o f n o n-h um a ns w ho

s ee m to o re a l.

In th e 1 9 70 s , J ap a ne s e r ob o tic is t

M a s a hir o M o r i n o tic e d th a t, a lth o ug h

w e lik e ro bo ts th at h av e s om e h um a n

fe atu re s, w e s ta rt to f in d th em e erie

w he n th ey lo ok to o re al. H e c alle d

th is d ip in h um a no id p op ula rity th e

" un c an n y v a lle y ". S in c e th e n, th e

re sp on se h as b ee n b la m ed fo rth e

h ea lth y a nd n orm a l. A n oth er

su g g es tio n is tha t i t's g ot m o re to

d o w i th s oc ia l ta bo os a bo ut d ea th

b e ca u se h u m a n- lik e , n o n- hu m a n s

lo ok lik e c orp se s a nd re m in d u s o f

o u r o w n m o rta lity .

A s lfG h az an fa r a nd S ha w n

lO . 1 0 7 3 I p n a s . 0 9 1 0 06 3106 j .

" Th e se p rim a te s d o n't part icipata

in h um an c ultu re , w h ic h s ug ge sts th e

u n ca n ny v a lle y h a s a b io lo g ic a l b a sis ,"

s ay s K a rl M a cO o rm a n o f In d ia na

U n iv e rs it y in I nd ia n a p o lis .

U l ti m a te l y, G h a · z ·a n f a ra n d

u np op ula rity o f s o me C G If ilm s w ith S te ck e nf in ge r o f P rin ce to n U niv e rs ity S te ck e nf in ge r h op e to g et th eir

re alis t ic c h ara cte rs , a nd it is to ute d a s w on de re d h ow fiv e m ac a qu es w ou ld m on ke ys to "c lim b o ut" o f t h e u nc a nn y

th e ' r e a s o n .P i.x a rs tu c k to c h a ra c te rs re s p o n d to m on k e y a v a ta rs . T h e y v a lle y a n d u s e th e a v a ta rs a s

w ith c a r to o n is h fe a tu re s . fo u n d th a t th e m o n k e y s s p e n t le s s s u b s t itu te s for re a l m o nk ey s in s oc ia l

S e v e ra l h y p o th e se s h a v e b e e n t im e lo o k in g a t t h e m os t re a lis t ic in te ra c t io n e x p e r im en ts . T h e y h o p e

puttorward to e x p la in th e u n c a n n y a v a ta rs - w h ic h th e y s a y s ug g e s ts th e e x p e rim en ts c o u ld s h e d lig l1 t o n

v a ll e y . .O n e i d e a is th a t i. t is a n e v o lv e d

re sp on se to s om e th in g th at 's n ot

th e y d is lik e th e m (Proceedings o f the

Na t io nal A cademy O f Sciences, DO l :

h u m a n commun l ca t l on d is o rd e rs lik e

a u tis m . J es sic a H a m z elo u •

1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09 INewS c i e n t i s t III



T H . I S W E E K

It's open season on

M adagascar's b iod ive rs ityROASTED l em u rs a nd c ri m in al

g ang s e xp orting prec io us

hardw oo d : this is the sad s tate o f

affairs for Ma da ga sc ar 's le ge nd ar y

b io div ers ity . S ince a m ilitary c ou p

o us ted the pres id ent in M arch,

loggers hav e been stripp ing the

c ou ntry 's f ore sts an d k illing its

anim als fo r bushmeat,

F ore ign aid has been curtailed

and , w ith no stab le go vernm ent in

p lace to enfo rce the law , N GO s inM adagascar re po rt th at crim inal

o rganisatio ns hav e been qu ick to

ex plo it th e co untry 's u niqu e

anim al and plant life .

"Ith as b een a go ld ru sh fo r

lo gg ing gang s and bu sh meat

hunters to do as m uch as they

can befo re the gov ernm ent ge ts

o rganised and pu ts a s to p to it,"

s ay s E dw ar d L o ui s, a c on se rv atio n

b io log is t at O m aha Zo o,

Nebraska , w ho has been w ork ing

in M ad ag asc ar fo r a d ecade .

In Aug u st, C o n se rv a ti on

Internatio nal rep orted that

1 5 bu sh me at tra de rs , c on tra cte d

by a restaurant, h ad b ee n arre ste d

carry ing h und red s o f end ange re d

lem urs , w hich had been k illed and

ro as ted . "T his happened in o ne

o f th e c ou ntry 's b es t-m ana ge d

p ark s," s ay s L ou is . " If it's

h ap pe ning th ere , I can 't im agine

w hatis h ap pening els ew he re ."

S om etim es called th e "E igh th

C ontinent" be cau se o fitsb io div ers ity , M adagascar is

hom e to m any p lant and anim al

species that are unique to the

is la nd . T he too-odd species of

lem ur are no t fo und anyw here

else in the w orld , fo r ex am ple .

Info rm atlon co llec ted by the

cam paig n g ro up G lo bal W itness

show s that ev ery day at leas t 120

ro sew oo d and ebo ny trees , worth

abo ut $480,000, are be ing taken

o ut o f M aso ala natio nal p ark,M ad ag asc ar 's larg es t. A t le as t 13

ille ga l trad ers , k no wn lo cally as th e

"ro sew oo d M afia" , bu y the w ood

an d e xp ort it, m ostly to C hina.

C onse rv atio nis ts say th e

lo gging is d es tro ying the is land 's

natio nal park s and h av ing

k no ck -o n effec ts o n the fo res t's

an im als . "S om eth ing need s to b e

done rap id ly o r the w ho le co untry

is g oin g to lo se e ve ry th ing in

abou t a y ea r," s ay s L o uis .

T he in te rim g ov ern me nt inplace unt i l n ex t y e ar 's p re s id e nt ia l

e lec tio ns h as b een se nd ing

m ixed m essages abou t lo gging .

H av ing in itially c lo sed o ne o f

the m ain po rts fo r ro sew ood

expor t it is su ed an o rd er allo wing

the sale and expo rt o f750 to nnes

o f w o od . S ev eral N G O s , in clu ding

W W F , Co n se rv a ti on I nte rn ati on al

a nd th e W i ld lif e C o ns er va ti on

S ocie ty , hav e c alled o n th e

gov ernm ent to rev erse the o rd er,

and o n consu mers o fp rec io us

w oo d s to bo yco tt tho se from

M ad ag as car. C ath erine B rah ic .

Treatm ent hope

fo r psychopa th ic

criminals

ANAT I ENT ION d ef ic it r ath erth an a n

i na bi li ty to f ee l e m otio n, m ay b e w h atm a ke s p s yc h op at hi c I nd iv id u al s s e em

f e ar le s s. I t's a f in di ng th at c h al le ng e s

th e c om m on c harac te ris atio n o f s uc h

p e op le a s r o ld -h ln nd e d p re d at or s.

" A lo t o f th eI r p ro ble ms m ay b e

a c on se qu en ce o f s om e th in g th at'S

a lm o st l ik e a le ar ni ng d lf fk ul ty ," s ay s

J os ep h N e wm an , a p sy ch o l.o gi st a t

t he U n iv e rs it y o f W i s co n si n-M ad is o n

w h o I nv es tig ate d h ow p ri so ne rs w ith

p s yc h op at hi c p e rs o na li ti es r ea ct

w h e n a nti ci pa ti ng p ai n.

P re vio u s e xp er im e nts h av e

su gge sted su ch p eo ple m ay no t fee l

f e ar . w h il e b ra in Im ag in g s tu d ie s

h av e f o un d abnormallties i n t he

a m yg da la , a r eg io n th at p ro ce ss es

121 NewSc i en t i s t 117October200g

f ear an d o th er e mo tio ns . T his h as

e nc ou rag ed th e p erc ep tio n th at th ey

a re " em o tl cn al ly s ha ll ow " , N ewm a n

s ay s . " P e op le c al l t hem c o ld -b lo o d ed

p re d ato r s. " B u t h e q u es ti on ed

w he th er th is w as th e w ho le s to ry .

T o te as e ap art w hy s uc h p eo ple

b eh av e th e w ay th ey d o, N e wm an 'st eam r ec ru it ed 1 2. 5m a le p ri so n er s

c on vi cte d 'o f s er io u s c ri me s a nd

s c or ed t hem o n tr ai ts c h ar ac te ri st ic

o f a p s y ch o p a th i c p e rs o n al it y,

i nc lu d in g n ar ci ss ism , i m pu ls iv it y a nd

c all ou sn es s. A b ou t 2 0 p er c en t s co re d

h ig hly e no ug h to b e d es crib ed a s

p s yc h op at hi c - a p ro p o rti on ty p ic .a l f or

c rim in als b ut w ell a bo ve th e 1 p er c ent

e xp ec te d I n th e g en er al p op u la tio n.

T he re se arc he rs th en h oo ke d

e ac h p ris on er u p to a d ev ic e th at

m eas ure s h ow s tro ng ly th ey b lin k-

a n i nd ic ati on o f h o w a fr ai d th ey

are - and p laced a sc re en in fro nt o f

th em . T he s ub je cts w ere w arne d

th at d u ri ng ta sk s in w h ic h l ette rs

f las he d o n th e s cre en, an e le ctric

s ho ck w o uld s om etim es f ollo w a re d

le tte r, b ut n ev er a g re en o ne .

W h en i ns tr uc te d to p u sh b utto ns

to in dic ate w he th er le tte rs w ere

g re en o r re d, s ub je cts w ith m ark ed

p sych 0p a th i c c h a r ac te r ls ti rs fU n rhe d

in re sp on se to re d le tte rs w ith th es am e s tr en gth a s o th er s ub je cts .

Y et w hen the y w ere to ld to

in dic ate w h eth er l ette rs w e re c ap ita ls

o r l o we r· ca se , th e p s yc h op ath ic

p ri so ne rs b ar ely b li nk ed u po n s ee in g

r e d : l ette rs , w h ile th e o th er s

c on ti nu ed to a ntic ip ate th e m ild

shock ( B io lo gic a l P s yc h ia tr y, 0 01 :

10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.07.035).

T hi s s ug ge sts th at p sy ch o pa th ic

in div id uals s en se fe ar as m u ch as

a ny on e, a nd o nly s ee m f ea rl es s

" Th is s h ow s th a t th e re 'ss om e h um an ity th ere .I. t cha lle nge s t h e be lie fth at th ey a re ro bo ts "

b ec au se th ey f in d. i t h ar de r to p a y

atte ntio n to w hat is s cary a nd w hat

is no t. says N ew man, w ho h ope s h is

h yp oth es is c an b e u se d to d is co urag e

p s yc h op at hi c r ep e at o f fe nd e rs .

''T h ey 'r e f am o u s f o r b e in g d if fi cu lt

if n ot i mp o ss ib le to tre at," h e s ay s.

D o na ld H an ds , d ire cto r o fp s yc h ol og y e t t he . W i s co n si n

D e p ar tm e n t o f C o rr ec ti on s, i s w o r k in g

w ith N e wm an to d es ig n a p ilo t

tr ea tm e nt p ro gr amm e . R em in din g

p s y ch o p at hI c . Iawb re a ke r .s o f t he

imm e dia te c on se qu en ce s o f th ei r

a cti on s, s uc h a s g etti ng a rr es te d

an d s ent b ac k to p ris on, m ig ht h elp

to d is su ad e th em f ro m re of fe nd in g,

h e s ay s.

N e wm an 's f in di ng m ay a ls o

p er su ad e p ris on a uth o ritie s to tr ea t

p s y ch o p at hi c i nd i v id u a ls d i ff e re n tl y .

" Ith in k th is s ho w s th at th ere 's s om e

h um a ni ty th er e," H an ds s ay s.

" It c ha lle ng es th e b eli ef th at th ey

a re r ob o ts ." Ew e n C a ll aw a y.



Fo llow the po lu tion

tra - I to spo t an a lienDa v id S h ig a

DO AL IENSpo l lu te t he ir p l an e ts ?

L et's h op e th ey d o, as th is w o uld

g iv e u s a p ro mis ing w ay o f

s po ttin g w h ere th ey liv e.

R ad io no ise m ay b e to o sh ort-

liv ed to h elp u s find alie ns , if

o ur o wn ac tiv ity is any guide,

D uring m o st o f t he zo t h cen tury ,o u r t el ev i si o n t ra nsm i ss io n

an te nn as le ak ed a lo t o f t he ir

e ne rg y i nto s pa ce . M o r e r ec e ntl y,

th ey h av e b eg un to be supp lan t ed

b y s ate ll ite s th at b ea m th ei r

tran sm is sio ns at th e g ro u nd , as

we ll a s b y c ab le . I nq u is it iv e a li en s

s ea rc hi ng f o r s ig ns o f i nt el li ge nt

life o n E arth m ay so on hav e to

l o ok e l sewh e re .

L ig ht p o ll uti on f rom c it ie s

m i gh t s ti ll g iv e u s a w ay . " O b s e rv e d

o v er i nte rs te ll ar d is ta nc e s, th ey

w ou ld re ve al to th e o bs erv er th e

p re se nc e o f a t ec hno lo gy ," say a

te am o f as tro no m ers le d b y Je an

S c hn ei de r o f th e P a ri s O b s er va to ry

at M e ud o n, F ran ce . I n a p ap er

to ap pear in Astrobio!ogy, they

su gges t w e sho uld lo ok fo r a

s im i la r g low o n a li en p la ne ts .

T his w o ul dn 't b e e as y. E ve n i f

a ll th e e le ctri city w e g en era te w as

u se d to p ro d uc e li gh t, it w o ul d s til l

b e th ou sand s o ftim es fainte r th an

th e g lin t o f s un lig ht re fl ec te d f rom

Ea rt h's s u rf ac e . T o r e li ab l y d e te c t

e ven th is m ass iv e am ou nt o f

a rti fi ci al l ig ht o n a p la ne t o rb it in g

a re lati ve ly n ea rb y s ta r - s ay

1 5 l ig ht y ears aw ay - w o uld requt rea n a rr ay o f t el es co p e s with a

c omb in ed l ig ht- co ll ec ti ng a re a o f

1 .5 s q u ar e k i lome t re s , S c h ne i de r's

t eam cal c ul at es .O u r p re se nc e o n E arth als o

le av es o th er trac es th at c ou ld b e

o b se rv ed f rom af ar. T he c hem ic als

k now n a s C FC ss tr on gl y a bs o rb

i nf ra re d l ig h t a t c h ar ac te ri st ic

w a ve le ng th s, m a ki ng th em

detectable in the atm o sp he re e ve n

w h en p re se nt a t c o nc e ntr at io n s

o f o n ly p ar ts p e r tr il li o n ..C FC sd o

n o t f o rm n at ur al ly , s o d e te c ti ng

them on a wo rl d o rb iti ng a no th e r

star w ou ld b e go od ev id ence o f

a l ien t echno logy .

" C FC s ar e a v e ry i nt er es ti ng i de a

to l oo k f o r a dv an ce d d v il is ati o ns ,"

a gr ee s l is a K a lte ne gg e r o f H a rv ar d

Un iv e rs it y. Bu t a n ex ce p ti o na ll y

s en sitiv e te le sc o pe w o uld b e

ne ed ed to p ick . the m u p - m ore

s en sitiv e e ve n th an NA SA 's

"lo okin g fo r C FCsm ig ht b ea w ay to look to r otherciv i l isat ions -it a lie n s ma k e

the same mistakes we did"

T er re str ia l P l an et F in de r a nd th e

E u ro p e an S p ac e A g e nc y 's D a rw i n

m i ss io n , t he most ambi ti ou s s p ac e

te le sc o pe s n ow b e in g p la nn ed .

K a lt en eg ge r s ay s i tm a y b e f ea si bl e

" in th e far fu tu re w ith a flotilla o f

i nf ra re d t el es co p e s i n s p ac e ".

T he re i s, o f c o u rs e, n o g u ar an te e

t ha t a ny a li e n c iv i li sa ti o ns will

h av e b ee n s pe w in g C F Csi nto th eir

p lan et's atm o sp he re . T he d am ag e

C F Csh av e d o ne to E arth 's o zo ne

lay er in th e fe w d ec ad es th ey h av e

b een u sed led to a w orld wid e b an

o n th eir m anu fac tu re , and th ey

a re s lo w ly d is ap pe arin g f rom o ur

a tm o sp he re . " D o a ll intell igent

c iv il is atio ns m ak e th e s am e

m i s ta ke s ?" Ka lt en egg e r won d er s.

O t h e r a rt if ic i al c ompoun ds ,

i nc lu d in g l es s d amag in g

s u bs ti tu te s f o r C FC s,a ls o h av e

cha ra c te r is t ic in fr ar ed

f in ge rp ri nt s, s ay s J im K a st in g o f

P en ns y lv a ni a S t at e Un tv e rs ft y ,

U n iv e rs ity P a rk . " Th er e's a w h o le

h os t o fth ing s w e m ak e

i ndu s tr ia ll y a s s o lv ent s, c l ea ne rs

a nd r ef ri ge ra nt s - th e y c er ta in ly

h av e ab so rp tio n l in es ," h e s ay s. " If

y ou h ad a b ig e no ug h te le sc op e,

y ou c ou ld d etect the m." •

1 7 O c to be r 2 00 9 1 NewSc i en t i s t 1 1 3



T H IS W E E K

-5toM10%

1990 to 2007

+16.8%1990 to 2007

-4.3%

(K y o to ta rg e t)

none (Kyoto target)

-8%

2020 pledge

2020 pledge - zo ;- 3 0 %Ota -23%

141NewS c ie nti stl 17 O c t ob e r 2 00 9



F o r d a ily . ne w s s to r ie s , v is j,t www . N ewS c i e n t i s t . c om / n ew s

I N S I G H T

Obam ain a bind as US heavy industries

flex their m usc les over carbo n em issions

2020 p l e d g e

-lOto-15%

A m eric an in du stry fe ars C l1 in es e

c om pe tito rs w il l h a v e a n e as y r i d e

A M E R I C A :s g ia n t s te e l- r ra s e r s c o u ld

b e a bo u t to to rp e d o a n . i n t e r n a : t i o n a l

a gr e em e nt o n r ll m a te c h an g e .

F O llo w in g lo b b y in g b y h e a v y

in d u s tr ie s , t he US C o n g re s s i s

m n s id e rin g im p o s in g .t a r i f f s o n im p o r t s

f r o m C h in a a r ld o th e r deve l op l nq

n a t io n s. T h at c o u ld b e a d e a l- b re a k e r

fo r p o o r n a t i o n s a t D e c e m b e r 's

c lim a te c ha n ge ta lk s in C o p e n h a ge n .

If C o n g re s s p a s se s la w s im p o s in g

a l im i t o n U S g re en ho us e g as

e m is s io n s, e n e r gy ·I n te n s i v e s e cto rs

s uc h a s s te e l-m a k in g a n d c em e n t

m a n u fa c tu re w o u ld a lm o s t c e r t a in ly

f a ce in c re a s e d costs ; C o m p e t i t o r s

in C h in a a n d other d e v e l o p i n g

n a t io n s n o t s ub je c t t o s im i la r

r e s t r ic tio n s - a nd C h in a h as s a id

th a t i t w i l l n o t s e t i t s e l f a n e m is s io n s

ta rg e t ~ m ig ht b e a b le to p ro du ces te e l m o r e c M .e a p ly ,a n d take b u s i n e s s

a w ay f r o m U S f i r m s .

T h at lo g ic h a s fo u n d it s w a y in to

tw o c lim a te b il ls n ow b e fo re C o n g re ss . .

T he f i r s t p a ss e d b y th e H o u s e o f

R e p re s en ta tiv e s in J u ne , w o u ld

e ff e c t jV e ly im p o se ta r i f f s o n g o o d s

f r o m c o m pa n ie s in c ou nt r ie s th at d o

n o t h av e e m is sio n s ta rg e t ; . T h e

n e w ly in tr o d u ce d b il l in .t h e S e na te s o

fa r c on ta in s o n ly v ag u e la n g u a g e

a bo u t th e n ee d fo r a " b o r d e r m e a s ur e ",

b u t s en ato rs f r o m s ta te s w ith h ea vy

in d u st r y w i ll p u sh fo r s o m e th in g ; s im i la r .

T ha t s e t; t h e s ta ge fo r a s h o w d ow n

th a t c ou ld d e r a il p ro g r e ss to w a r d s a n

a gr e em e n t o n c l im a te c h an ge . I n

A u g u s t . 10 p ro - ta r i f f s e na to rs , a ll .o f

t h em D e m o c r a ts , t o ld P r e s id e n t

B a ra ck O b a m a th a t it w a s " e ss e n tia l"

t h a t c lim a t e c h an g e le g is la tio n

in c lu d e s om e form o f ta r i f f . W i th o u t

t h e s u pp or t o f m o s t o r a ll o f t h es e

s e na to rs , t h e c lim a t e b il l a p pe a rs l ik e ly

to . m l la p s e , . a n d i f t h a t h a p p e n s O b a m a

w i l l h a v e l i t t le t o o ff e r i n C o p e n h a g e n,

I f t h e ta r i f f s r e m a in in th e b il l , . e v e n

in a dra t tf c rm , k e y p la y e r s l ik e C h in a

a nd I n d ia w il l b e a lie na te d b e fo re th e

ta lR s .s ta rt " C h in a w o u ld b e very

fr u strated a n d a n g r y if t h e fin a l b il l

in c lu d e s c a r b o n ta r i f f s ." s a y s Z h an g

H a ib in o f P e k in g U n iv e rs i. t y , a n a d v is e r

to Chinas M i n i 5 t r y Q f C o m m e r c e .T h e re i ss ti l l a w a y o ut o f t h is

b in d , a c c o rd in g to J a k e C a ld w e l l C i ft he

th in k ta n k C e n t~ rf o r A m e ric a n

P r o g r e ss in W a s h in g to n D C A lth o u g h

C h in a w i l l n o t s e t i t s e l f e m is s io n s

targets , i t h a s said itw iH c o m m it t o

r e d u c i n g it s c a r b o n in te n s it y - t h e

a m ou n t o f c a rb on e m it t e d p e r u n i t o f

e n e rg y u s e d o r d o l l a r o f w e a l t h

c re a t e d . I f t h e g oa ls a re to ug h

e n o u gh . C h in e s e in d us tr ie s w o u ld

h a v e to in v e s t i n c le a n e r t e c h n o lo g y ,

l i k e t h e ir US c o un te rp a rt s . T h a t

m ig M t b e e no ug h to p e r s u ad e th e

s en ato rs t o s o ft e n th e i r s t a n c e o n

ta ri f f s . J im G i le s • •

1 7 O c to b e r 20091 New$c i en t i s t 115

http://www.newscientist.com/news




IN B R IE FFo r n ew s to rie s e v e ry d a y, v is it www . N ewS c i e n t i s t . c om / n ew s

Take up juggling if yo u w an tto bo os t yo ur b ra in power

th a t th e 24 yo u n g m en and w om en had g row n m ore

w hite m a tte r a fte r ~ ix we ek :s o f j ug glin g tra in in g. T he

c ha ng es o cc urre d in th e p arie ta l lo be - a n.a re a; in vo lv ed

in co nn ec tin g w ha t w e se e to h ow w e m o v e (Nature

Neu r o s d e n c e , 001: 10 ,1 .0 .381nn.2412) .

A fte r fo ur m o re w ee ks w ith ou t ju gg lin g, th e e xtra

w hite m a tte r re m ain ed ., s ug ge stin g th at th e c ha ng e is

p e rm a n en t, ''''t 's lik e r id in g a b ik e ," S ch o lz s a ys , " It ta k es

tra in in g to le am ., b ut o nc e it c lic k s, . y ou d o n 't f o rg e t it,"

L ~a rn in g Its elf s ee me d to m atte r m o re th an th e s kill

attained, b e ca u se w h ite m a tt. er in c re a se d s im ila rly in

g oo d a nd b ad ju gg le rs . .A rn e M a y o f th e U n iv er sity

M e dic al C e ntre H a m bu rg ,·E pp en do rfin G e rm a ny f in ds

t h is r e su lt " fa s C in a ti ng " . "It s ug ge sts th at th e b ra in w an tsto b e puzzled a nd le ar n .s om e th in g n ew ," h e s a y s ,

J U GG lI N .G b o os ts c o nn e ct io n s b e tw e e n d i,f fe re n t parts

o f th e b ra ! n b y tw e ak i n.g th e atch i tectu re o f " w h it e

m a tte r" - a f in din g th at c ou ld le ad to n ew th era pie .s

fo r p eo ple w ith b ra in in ju rie s.

W hite m a tte r in th e b ra in c on ta in s m os tly axons-

o utg ro wth s o f n erv e c ells th at c on ne ct d if fe re nt c ells .

Y ou m ig ht e xp ec t th at l e a r n l nqa n ew , c om ple x ta sk s uc h

a s ju gg lin g w ou ld s tre ng th en th es e c on ne ctio ns , b ut

p re vio us w ork h ad o nly s tu die d in cre as es in g re y m atte r.

W h e n J an S ch o lz a n d h is c o lle a gu e s £ lIt he U n iv e rs ity ofO x fo rd lo ok ed a t b ra in s ca ns o f n ew ju gg le rs th e.y fO u nd

Po llu tio n make s an e igh tie s re viv al these chemica l s fo r d ecade s and

is re le as in g th em as it m e lts , T his

p ro ce ss c ou ld b e d ram atic ally

sp ed up by g lo bal w arm ing , he

w arn s. S in ce th es e c he m ic als

w ou ld hav e been sp read aro und

the g lo be be fo re they se ttled in to

the Ice , m any o the r g lac iers are

p ro bab ly co ntam inated to o.

T he re is li ttle w e c an d o, h ow ev er.

"S to pp ing g lo bal w arm ing co uld

s lo w the m elting o f g lac iers , b u t

th e ch em ic als w ill s ti l l be re leased

e ve ntu ally ," s ay s B o gd aL

BAD hair and sho u ld e r p ad s

are no t th e o nly th ings from the

eigh ties that w e'd rathe r no t s ee

a ga in . N a s ty chemica l s banned

in that d ecade ale a lso o n the lis t.

U n fo rtu na te ly , m e itin gA l pin e

g lac ie rs are g ene rating a re viv al

o f to xic o rg an ic p ollu ta nts .

Chris t ian B og dal and co l l e ague s

at the S wiss P edera l lns tltu te o f

T ec hno lo gy in Zurich s tud ied

le ve ls o f p ollu tio n in s ed im ent

atthe bo ttom o f the O beraar lake

inB ern , S w itz erla nd , T he y f ou nd

that banned chem icals , su ch as

p es tic id es th at h av e b ee n link ed

w ith P ark inso n's d ise ase , h av e

been po u ring in to the lake at

an increas ing rate s ince the

1 9 90 5 ( Env ir onment al S c i e nc e

&Techno logy , DOl : . 10.1021/

e S90162SX ) .

B og dal re ck ons th at a glac ier

feed ing the lake h as been s to ring

Asteroid is n ' t ju s t ad ry h eap o f ru bble

W ATER has been co nfirm ed o n an

aste ro id fo r the f irs t tim e, A t a n

A m eric an A stro no mic al S oc ie ty

meet ing inP ue rto R ico las t w ee k,

H um berto C am pins o f the

U niv ers ity o f C en tral F lo rid ain

O r land o and c olle ag ues re po rted

f ind ing s igns o f w ater ic e inth e

infrared spectrum o f as tero id 24

Them l s , Thi s co nf irm s a aco sanaly s is by A nd rew R iv kin o f

Jo hns H opkins U niv ers ity in

L au re l, M ary land , and h is te am ,Ic e is tho ugh t to hav e fo rm ed

beyo nd a "sno w line" so mew here

in the as tero id be lt, b u t it is

no t d ear how com mon itis in

as te ro id s b ecau se th eir su rfac e

ic e rap id ly v ap oris es . T he ice on

24 T hem ls m ay h av e o rig inate d

below the su rface and been

expo sed by im pac ts ..

The as tero id is p art o f a fam ily

o f bo d ie s that show o the r h in ts

o f ic e. C am pins 's f ind ing s ug ges ts

as te ro id s m ay h av e d eliv ere d

so me w ate r to the early E arth .

Pu pae ..sn iff ing

c r a d l e - s n a t c h e r s

MALE z eb ra l on gw in g b u tte rf li es

sit o n the pupae o ffem ales fo r

u p to 10 d ay s b efo re th ey h atc h,

ensu ring they ge t f irs t d ib s at

rep ro du c ing w ith them , B ut howdo they kno w that they 're s itting

o n a f ema l e? It tu rns o ut th at th e

pu pae em it a te lltale sm ell as they

app ro ach pube rty that m akes all

t he d if fe re n ce .

C ata lina E strad a at th e

U niv ers ity o f T ex as in A ustin

analy s ed the chem icals in the

pupae and fo und that fem ale s

em i t furanoid w hile m ale s em it

linalo oL T hey pain ted pu pae w ith

bo th o do u rs and fo und that male s

rare ly re tu rned to I tna loo l -daubedpu pae bu t w ou ld happ ily re -p erch

o n tho se perfum ed w ith f u rano ld

(p ro ce ed in gs o f th e R oy al S oc ie ty B ,

DO l : lO . 1098 / rs pb , 200g .1476),

17 Octobe r 20091 NewSc i en t i s t 117





I N B R IE F

N o m ea t p lease ,

we ' re sp i d e r s

E V ER w o . nd e re d w h a t it's l ik e t o

b e a v eg eta ria n a t a s te ak -e atin g

c o nv e nt io n ? W e lc o m e to t he w o rld

o f BQgheerokiplingi, th e o nly s pid er

th at s urv iv es o n p la nts ·,

"A round 40 o r 50 s p id e r s p e cie s

h av e b ee n d oc um e nte d d rin kin g

n ec ta r, b ut th is is tb e first case

w he re a s pid er h as b ee n s ho wn to

's urv iv e o n p la nt m a tte r/ ' s ay s K e n

Wh i t ney o f R ic e U n iv e rs ity in

H o u sto n , T e xa s .

B y m e as ur in g is oto pe r atio sin B. k ip ling's t i ssue a n d p l ugg i ng

th is d ata in to a d i.e ta ry m o de l,

C h ris to ph er M e e ha n a tth e

U n iv er sity o f A riz on a in T uc so n

d e te rm in e d t ha t p ro te in 'r ic h

nodu l es cal led B e ltia n b o die s , f ou n d

o n th e le av e.s o f s om e p la nts , m ak e

u p 90 pe r ce n t o f its d i e t (Current

B i o l ogy , 0 0 1 : 10.10161j.

cub . 2009 ,OB .043 ) .

O s wa ld S ch m itt , a s pid er

spedalist a t Y a le ' U n iv e rs it y, s a ys

be i ng a v e ge ta ria n m a y p ro v id e

B.kiplingiwith a m o r e s u s ta in a b le

fo od s up ply . It m a ya ]s o e nc ou ra ge

th e ty pic ally te rr ito ria l s pid ers to

c oo pe ra te , s ay s M e eh an , w ho h as

s ee n h un dre ds g ath erin g o n o ne

p la nt. ''W e th in k th atth e a bu nd an ce

o f fo od a va ila ble to th is s pid er m a y

b e a llo win g it to le t d ow n its

d e fe n ce s ," h e s a y s . " Th is m a y

b e a fa sc in at in g s na ps ho t in to the

e va Iu t i ono f a sod a I c re a tu r e as it

t ra n sitio n s fr om hunterto ga t he re r . "

1 8 I NewSc i en t i s t 117 O c to b er 2 0 09

'M a tr ix fo r m ice ' p ro bes h ow m en ta l m a p s a re made

A V IR TU A L re ality s ys te m c re ate d

esp ec ially fo r m ice co uld he lp toexp lain ho w the b rain creates

map s of'tts su r round ing s .

W hen bo th m ice and peop le

navigate, s p ec ia li se d " p la ce "

c ells in th e b ra in 's h ip po ca m pu s

f ire . Im plante d e lec tro des that s it

nex t to neu ro ns hav e in th e p as t

d ete cte d th es e slgnals, w hic h are

tho ugh t to he lp th e b rain bu ild

m ap s o f th e environment.

B ut re searche rs hav e lo ng

theorised th at a cti vi ty o c cu rr in g

w ith in p lac e c el ls , w hic h is n'td etec ted b y th is ty pe o f b ra in

B re ak d ow n b arrie r

to save s ig ht

A S A F E R w ay to g iv e d ru g s to

p rev en t b lindness m igh t b e to

b re ak th ro u gh th e b lo o d-re tin a

b arr ie r tha t n orm ally p re ve nts

mo l e cu l e s in th e b lo od fro m

r ea ch in g th e re tin a. A t th e

m om ent, su ch d ru gs hav e to be

re gu la rly in je cte d in to th e e ye ball .

T his can c au se e ye infec tio ns and

ev en b lind ness in 1in So cases .

A team led b y M atth ew

C am p be ll at T rin ity C olle ge in

Dub l in , Ireland, h as n ow re sto re d

th e v is io n o f m ic e b y te mp orar ily

w eaken ing th is b arr ie r , to le t

d ru g m olec ule s in jec te d into th e

b lo od s lip th ro ugh . They u sed a

te ch niq ue c alle d RN A inter ference(RNAi) to b lo ck th e p ro du ctio n

o f a p ro te in that h e lp s m ake th e

b ar ri er i m pe rm e a bl e (PNAS,001:

1 O .1 0n /p na s.o go B 5 61 10 6).

R N Ai the rap y is no t ye t sa fe

in p eo ple , ho wev er , as it w ou ld

b re ac h the b lo od -b raln b arr ie r

as w ell as th e b lo od -re tin a b arr ie r.

T he team are w ork ing on a w ay

to co nfine the e ffec t to th e eye .

T his inv olv es gene th e rapy u sing

a m od if ie d v iru s th at m akes

t he i nt er fe ri ng RN A o nly in the

p rese nc e o f an an tib io tic . A fte r a

s ing le in jec tio n in to the ey e, the

v iru s co uld th en be ac tiv ate d o nce

a m o nth b y o ral an tib io tic s.

im plant, is also key to m ap-

m a kin g. T he tro u ble is thatre co rd in g a ctiv ity w ith in n eu ro ns

is a m o re d elic ate p ro ce ss , w hic h

g ets d is ru pte d b y th e p hy sic al

m ov em ent nece ssa ry to tr igge r

p la ce -c el l a ctiv ity . N o w D av id

T an k a t P r in ce to n Unlve r s i t y , an d

c olle agu es , ha ve o ve rc om e th is

p ro blem u sing v irtu al reali ty ..

T o c re ate ro de nt V R,th e te am

tw eaked an o pen-so urce v ers io n o f

t h e f i rs t -p e r s o n- s h o o te r Q ua ke II.

T he y u se d th e ga me 's u nd erly in g

phy s ic s engine to c reate a 3Dv irtu al c orrid or th at c han ge s

as a harnes sed m ou se w alk s ato p

a flo atin g s ty ro fo am b all. " Th em ou se is p lay ing a v id eo gam e,"

says T an k. T he m ic e tre ate d the ir

VR w orld like th e real o ne-

m ov ing u p and dow n the ha llw ay

to rece iv e a rew ard - b ut w itho ut

m ak ing he ad m o ve me nts ,

enab ling rec ord ing s to b e m ad e

fro m w ith in n eu ro ns (Nature ,

001: 10.1038/nature08499).

T he e le ctr ic al a ctiv ity ins id e th e

p lac e c ells s yn ce d w ith th e e le ctric

f ie ld in ne arb y ne uro ns . S uch

p rec ise tim ing m ay b e key toh ow p la ce c ells e nc od e lo catio n.

M oun ta in b irth led to s p e c i e s ' deaths

THE b i rt h . o t tn e us Appa l ach i anm ou nta in c ha in m a y h av e b ee n

b eh in d. a m a jo r ic e a g e a nd a

mas s e x t in c t io n ,

T he e xt in ct io n e ve nt a t th e e nd . of

t he O r d o vi cia n 450 m illio n y ea rs a go

wastha s ec on d la rg es t E ar th h as

e ve r s ee n, It h as lo ng b ee n b elie ve d

th at a n Ic e a g e c au se d it, bu t n o o n e

1 m e w w ha t tr ig ge re d th e fre ez e.

S e th Y o u ng O f I n d ia n a Un i v e rs i ty

in B lo o m in g to n , a n d c o lle a gu e s,

b elie ve tw o fa cto rs c on sp ire d to

c re ate th e d ee p fre ez e. F irs t la ye rs

o f la va s ho w th at d im a te cw a rm in g

v olc an ic a ct iv Ity s lo w ed d ow n a t t h is

t im e ..The s ec on d fa cto r w a s. an

in c re a se in the w ea th erin g o f

th e A p pa la ch ia n r oc ks b etw e en

46 2 a nd 4S4 m illio n y ea rs a go , w h ic h

is in dic ate d b y c ha ng es in s tr on tiu m

is o to p er at io .s in O r do v ic ia n o c ea n iC

rocks (Geology, 0 0 1 : 1 . 0 . 11301

g30152a.1).

T he te am s ay s th es e fa cto rs

c om b in ed 'to c au se a .s ud de n d ro p in

a tm o s p h e r. ic c a rb o n d io x id e ., w h ic h

w ou ld h av e c oo le d th e p la ne t

s uffi ic ie nt ly to c au se th e ic e a ge .

F o r m o s t s p e ci es t h et em p e r a tu r e

ch an ge w as to o s ud de n fo r th em to

a d a p t, le a d in g to mas s e x t in c t io n s .



T E C H N O L O G YF o r d a ily te c h n o lo g y s to r ie s , v is it w w w .N e w S c ie n t is tc o m / te c h n o lo g y

V irg in e nte rs th e

s a te llite b u s in e s sV I RGI N G a la cti c h as c o nf ir m ed

that it p lan s to lau nc h satellites,

as w ell as to ur is ts , into s pa ce .

At t hi s w e e k 's I n te rn a ti o na l

Astronautical C on gre ss in

Daejeon, S ou th K ore a, V irg in s aid

it has es tab lish ed a dfvlsion that

w ill b oth d ev elo p a lau nch ro cke tand se ek sate llite cu sto mers fo r it.

It h op es to s las h th e c os t o flo ftin g

s ma ll 50-kilo gra m s ate llite s into

J ow - E arth o rb it f ro m $10 mi l l i on

o r so to day to abo ut $ 1 mi l l i on .

Virg in is exp ec ted to o p t fo r

a tw o-stag e e xp en dab le ro ck et

th at c ou ld b e s lu ng b en eath

W h ite Kn ig htlW o ~ th e a ir cra ft

d es ign ed to carry i ts S p a ce S h ip Tw o

to ur is t s pa ce craf t h ig h into

th e a tm osphe re p rio r to b e ing

b la ste d in to s ub -o rb it,

" W e h op e to g et s ate llite

lau nche s und erw ay by 2013

o r 2014," s ay s V ir gi n G a la cti c

p re si de nt W i ll W h ite ho rn .

123456T h e m os t c om m onp assw o rd a m on g1 0 ,0 00 e m a il a cc ou n tsw ho se d e ta ils h a v eb ee n le ake d o nlin e.acc .o rd i ng to Acune t i : x

lts a fa n - b u t n o t

a sw e know itONCE a ga in , i nv e nto r

Jam es D yso n has re inv en ted a

m achine w e nev er knew needed

r ein ve nti ng . A f te r v ac uu m

c leaners and hand drye rs , h is

la te st targe t is the d es kto p fa n.

" C on v en ti on al th re e -b la de d

fan s c ho p at th e air and firec hu nks o f itat y o u , l ik e . w e dg e s

o f c he es e," D ys on s ay s. " Plu s, the y

canbedangerous lf'chlldren's

f in ge rs g et in thegrille ~ and

they are to ugh to c lean."

H is answ er is a f an w ith no

v is ib le b lad es that h e ca lls th e

A ir M u ltip lie r. I ts k ey c om p on en t

is a ho llo w p las tic ho op w ith

a n a er of oll c ro ss s ec tio n-

lik e an airc raf t w ing b en t in to a

c irc le . S et v er tic al ly o n a pedes t a l ,

it c on ta in s a m o to r-d riv en

" im p elle r" w hic h f orc es ai.r i nto

th e h ollo w rim o f th e ho op .

F ro m th ere , a ir e me rg es

th ro ugh a s lo t th at d i rec ts it ov e r

the ho op 's ae ro fo il s urf ac e ..T his

g en erate s lo w p re ss ure to ward s

the cen tre o f th e ho op , w hich in

tu rn c re ate s a s tead y d rau ght b yd raw ing th e su rro und ing air

th rough it. The s tre ng th o f th e

d raugh t c an be varied by ad j u sting

the spe ed o f t he impeller.

In te rm s o f energy u se , th e

mach ine is o n a p ar w ith b laded

fans , D yso n say s. B ut a t £199 ,

som e m igh t see it a s a h ef ty p ric e

to p ay fo r av oid ing chu nky a ir.

" N o o n e e ls e h a s c h o s e n t o in v e s t t h e r e q u is i t e r e so u r c e s "Goog l e c o -fo u nd e rS e rg .e y B rin d efe n ds · h is c o m pa n y's p la n s to c re a te a d ig ita l b o ok a rc h iv e ,

a rg uin g th at itw ill s afe gu ard v ita l w o rk sth at w ou ld o th erw is e b e lo st fo re ve r. T he p la n h as

b e en c rit ic is e d fo rtr am p lin g o n a u th o rs ' r ig h ts ( Th eN ew Y or k T im e s, 8 O c t ob e r)

17O c to b er .2 0 09 1 N e w S cie n tis t 1 2 1



T E C H N O L O G Y

T he co lou rfu l fu tu reo f e lec tron ic pape rThe new w ave o f e -reade rs show s tha t m onoch rom e d isp lays have been

m a ste re d, b ut c ra m rn 'n q c olo ur a nd v id eo 'in to e -p ap eris a no th er s to ry

is s truggling to m ove b eyo nd

them. E-Ink has y et to d eliv er

o n its p ro mise o f co lo ur d isp lays

that re tain the f ine reso lu tio n o f

D u n ca n G r ah a m -R o w e

W ITH the inte rnatio nal launch o f

A m azo n's K ind le reader th is w eek ,p erhap s e le ctro nic b oo ks w ill

b eco me the m ust-have p resent

this year , B ut even as w e u nw rap

our sh iny ne w e-readers, w e m ay

b e f o rg iven fo r w ondering ho w

long it w ill b e b efo re the lo ng-

p ro mised co lo ur ve rs io ns are

a va ila ble . M o re ov er , w ith

m ultifunc tio nal dev ices su ch as

th e iP hone b ecom ing the no rm ,

ho w so on co uld th ese e-readers

m ake the b reak thro ugh to

dtsplayvtdeo]

C u rr en tl y, th e l ea din g e-readers

u se p ro p ri eta ry " ele ctr op ho re ti c"

d isp lay techno lo gy fro m a firm

c alle d E -Ink - a 1 2- y ea r- o ld s p in -o f f

f ro m th e M as sac hu se tts Ins titu te "E-Ink has yet to delivero f T ec hn olo gy , W h ile th is colour displays that retainapp ro ach has paved the w ay the fln.e resolution of its

fo r m ono chrom e d isp lays . it monochrome ones"

its m ono ch rom e o nes , neve r

m in d v id eo .

S o c ou ld o the r e -p ap er d isp lay s

ach i eve good-quality c olo ur and

v id eo w hile also m aintaining th e

low energy dem ands and hIgh

re so lu tio n o f m o no ch ro m e

e le ctr op ho re ti c d is pl ay s?

T he re a re s ev era l c on te nd ers

o ut the re , T he late st ap pro ac h,

and p erhaps the m ost p ro mis ing ,

u se s p ho to nic c ry stals (s ee " The

f lu id w orld o f e -p ap er ', b elo w),

I t h as th e po tential to riv al

trad itio nal L CD a nd p lasm a

sc reens in te rm s o f co lo ur qu ality

becau se it enab les entire p ix els to

b e tu ne d to s pe cif ic w av ele ng th s

o f ligh t - in som e cases , at eye"

c atc hi ng s pe ed s,O palux, a s pi n- of f c om pa ny

f ro m th e U niv ers ity o f T o ro nto ,

Canada, w hic h h as c re ate d

P ho to nic In k (P -Ink ), s ay s the

ad vantage o ftu nab le p ix els

is h igh co lo ur in tensity . F or

e xa mp le , c olo ur L CD s r e qu ire

re d, gre en an d b lu e su b-p ixe ls

in o rd er to p ro du ce full co lou r .

So if yo u w ant to d isp lay , say ,

purered, th en at b est o nly o ne-

th ird o f the d is play w ill ac tu ally

app ear red , N o t so if eve ry p ix e l

can be individually tuned to

re fle ct a s pe cif ic c olo ur .

I n c on tr a st , E-Ink's app ro ach to

co lo u r has s im ply been to co lo u r

w hite p ixe ls w ith filte rs . T his

m eans that the re so lu tio n

su ffe rs - b ecau se w hat w ou ld

co unt as a p ix el in m o no ch ro m e

d isp lays now has to ac t like a sub -

p ix el. F urthe rm ore , f ilte rs tend to

d eg ra de th e q ua lity of displays:

" If y o u start to u se f ilte rs y ou 're

thro win g aw ay p ho to ns ," e xp lains

Edw in Thom as . w ho has

T he f lu id w o r ld o f a -p ap er

Ifs a t ric k th a t h as lo n g b een u sed b y

na tu re to c re a te ir id e sc e nc e in o p als

a nd th e v iv id c olo urs in c ha m ele on s'

s k in s , A r r:a n g e m i c ro s co p ic p a rt ic le s

in p er io dic ro ws a nd , d ep en din g o n

th eir s iz e a nd s pa cin g, y ou c an s ta rt

to In flu en ce th e w a y lig ht is r ef le cte d

off a s u r fa c e ,

F o r v. ls u a l d is p la y s. t he s e p e ri od ic

s tr uc tu re s, k n ow n a sp h ot on ic

c ry st als , c a n b e m a d e o fp re tt ym u c h

a ny th in g. f ro m tin y s ilic a b ea ds o r

l iq u id c r ys t a ls to p o ly .s ty re n e b a lls ~

o r j u st v oid s in a .s ub st ra te ,

P ro vid ed th e p artic le s a re a bo ut

2 00 n an om e tre s in d ia me te r, th eir

in te rv a l- ba se d s tr uc tu re w il l c au s e

a n e ffe ct k no wn as B ra gg

in te rf er en ce a tv is ib le w a ve le n gt hs ,

w h ic h in flu en ce s th e a pp are nt c olo ur

of t he ir s u rf ac e ,

T o m a ke th is in to a d is pla y yo u m us t

b e a ble to tu ne th e c ry sta ls by a l te r i ng

th e s iz e of th e s pa ce s b etw ee n th eir

p art ic le s, T he re a re m a ny w ays to d o

th is , O p alu x is a f irm b as ed in T oro nto ,

c an ad a, w ho se P ho to nit In k (P ·ln k)

u se s s il ic a b ea ds e mb ed de d in a n

e l e ct ro a c ti .v e p o lyme r s u b s n a te ,

W he n a n e xte rn al e le ctr ic f ie ld is

a pp lie d, th e s ub stra te c an b e m ad e

to s w e ll o r c o n tr a ct , . alt er in g its co lou r ,

2 2 1 N ew $ c i e n ti st t 17 O c to b er 2 0 09

D th erte ch niq ue s in clu de th e u se

o f s e l, f· .a s s emb l in g c o p o lyme r s th a t

s w ell in re sp on se to c he m ic als , B u t

p erh ap s m o st p ro m is in g, in te rm s

o f p ro du cin g h ig h-q ua lity c olo ur

d is pla ys w ith p ix el·s w itc hin g ra te s

fast e no ugh fo r u se In v id eo , is a

t ec h niq ue d e ve lo p ed by K o d ak b a se d

o n th e p r in c ip l e s o f d l e le c t ro p h o r e si s,

It u s e e le c tr ic f ie ld s t o m a n ip u la te

p art ic le s s us pe nd ed in a f lu id , m u ch

li ke E -I nk 's e le c tr o ph o re ti c a p p ro a c h

(s ee m a in s to ry ), H o w ev er, in ste ad of

u sin g th e fie ld to m o ve th e p artic le s

to t he s u rf ac e of th e flu id , o r a wa y

f rom it, th is a pp ro ac h u se s th e f ie ld

to c on tr ol th e s pa cin g o f th e p ar tic le s

in p h ot on ic c ry st als .

" Yo u in d uc e a n e le c tr ic d ip o le in

th e p a rtic le s w it h a n e le G tr ic f ie ld ,"

s ay s D a vid S no sw e ll, w h o w o rk ed

o n th e K o da k p r'o je tt. "L ik e litt le b ar

m a gn ets , th ey a ll l in e u p."

A s w ith E ·ln k's d is pla ys . th e

v is co sity o f th e flu id c an s lo w th e

ra te a t w h ic h the p artld e s m ove ,

l im it in g th e p ix els 's w itc hin g ra te .

B ut b ec au se th e tu nin g p ro ce ss

re qu ire s th e p art ic le s to m ov e m uc h

s ho rte r d is ta nc es , th ey c an sw itc h in

s ub -m ic ro se co nd tim e s ~ w h ic h is

m o re th an a de qu ate fe rv ld eo .



For da il y t e chno logy s to ri es , v is it www .NewSc ien t is t com / techno logy

d e ve lo p e d c h em i ca ll y tu n ab le

p ho to nic c ry sta ls a t M I T.

O p alu x is a lr ea dy w o rk in g w i th

d is pla y f ir m s to p ro d uc e n ex t-

g en era ti on p ro to ty pe s, s ay s its

h ead o f te ch no lo gy , A n dre

A r se na ul t. B u t, h e s ay s , t hi s is a

lo ng -te rm e nd ea vo u r. I n t he s ho rt

te rm , th e c om pan y is fo cu se d o n

m o re nic he ap plic atio ns s uc h asba tt e ry - l eve l i n d ica to r s .

O p alu x is no t ye t able to retune

its P - In k pixels fast e no ug h to

p ro d uc e v id eo , but th ere a re other

p ho to nic -c ry stal s ys te m s th at c an ,

s uc h a s t ha t de v e l o p e d b y D av id

S no s we ll, a f o rm e r re se arc he r a t

K o d ak R e se arc h UK a nd n ow at

th e U n iv e rs ity o f C ambr id g e.

"Wew e r e g e tt in g s u b -m i l li se c on d

sw it ch in g r at es ," h e s ay s .

F r u st ra ti ng l y f o r Sn o swe ll ,

h e w as fo rc ed to ab and on th isw o rk w h en K o d ak c lo s ed i ts

UK r es e ar ch f ac i li ty e a rl ie r

th is y e ar . E v en s o , t h e r es e ar ch

d em o ns tra te s th at p h a to ni c

c r y st al s a re p o t en ti al ly

f as t e no u gh to c re ate " fie ld -

s e qu e nti al " c o lo u r d is p la ys , s ay s

Snoswe l l , in which full c o lo u r i s

c re ate d b y flashing r ed , g re en a nd

b lu e p uls es in a s in gle p ix el o ne

a ft er t he o th e r.

M e a nw h il e, th e f as te s t

monoch r ome plxel-switching

th at E -I nk i s w i ll in g to ta lk a bo u thav ing ac hie ve d is so mil l i seconds ,th e e qu iv ale nt o f 20 fram es p er

s ec ond - s til l to o s lo w f or v id eo .

Never theless , E-lnk i ns i st s t ha t

it is o n trac k to m e et th e fu tu re

d em and s o f its c u stom e rs . " R ig h t

now Ia n't s ee a ny p ar ti cu la r

te c hn o lo g y g ai ni ng m om en tum ,"

s a y s E" l nk 's v tc e -p r es td e n t o f

m a rk e ti ng , S ri P e ru v em b a . .H e

say s t he c om pany is aim ing to

b ri ng its c o lo u r d is pla ys to m a rk et

by 2011, w ith v id eo to f ollo w .W i th o th ers v ir tu al ly c ertai n to

fo llo w th em , it lo o ks fo r th e firs t

ti m e a s th o ug h E -I nk w il l f ac e

s om e c olo urfu l c om p etitio n .•

H y d r o g e n s il e n c e s

the d omestic ro bo tIF R O BO tS a re e ve r g oin g to b e

w elc om e in th e h om e th ey w ill n ee d

to b ec om e a lo t q uie te r. B u ild in g

th em w ith a rt if ic ia l m us cle s th at ru n

o n h yd ro ge n, in ste ad o f n ois y

c omp r a s s s d - a l r p u m ps o r e le ctr ic

m o to rs , c ou ld b e th e a ns we r.

K w an g K im . a m a te ria ls e ng in ee r

a t t he U niv ers ity o f N ev ad a in R en o,

c am e u p w ith th e id ea a fte r re ,a lis in g

th at h yd ro ge n c an b e supplied

s ile n tly b y m e ta l h yd rid e c om p ou n ds .M e ta l h yd rid es ca n u nd erg o a

p r o ce s s c a ll ed r e ve r s ib l e

c he m is orp tio n, a llo w in g th em to

s to re a nd re le as e e xtra h yd ro ge n

h eld b y w ea k c he m ic al b on ds . I t's th is

p ro pe rty th at h as le d to th e m o to r

in d us tr y in ve st ig at in g m e ta l h yd rid e s

a s h y dro ge n " ta nk s" fo r fu el c ells .

to m a ke a s ile n t a rt .if ic ia l m u sc le ,

K im a n d h is c olle a gu e A .le xa n dr a

V an de rh off firs t c om p re ss ed a c op pe r

a n d n ic ke l- ba se d m e ta l h yd rid e

p o wd e r in to p ea n ut- site d ;p e lle ts .

T he y th en .s ec ure d th em in a re ac to r

v ess el a nd p um pe d in h yd ro ge n to

" ch a rg .e " th e p e lle ts w ith th e g as • .A

h ea te r c oil s ur ro un de d th e v es se l, a s

h ea t b re aks th e w ea k ch em ica l b on ds

a n d r ele a se s th e s to re d h yd ro ge n .

T h e n e x t s te p w as to c o n n e c t th e

v es se l to a n o ff- th e -s he lf a rt ific ia l

m u sc le , w h ic h c om p ris es a n

in fla ta ble r ub b er tu be s ur ro u nd e d

b y K ev la r fib re b ra id in g. T w o o f th es e

p la ce d e ith e r s id e o f a r ob o t. ic jo in t

c an m im iC th e p us h/p ull a ct io n o f

m u sc le s b y b ein g a lte rn ate ly in fla te d

a nd d ef la te d (s ee d ia gra m , b elo w ).

T urn in g th e h ea te r o n a nd o ff

c on tro ls th e f lo w o f h yd ro ge n in to th e

ru bb er tu be , ca us in g th e m usc le to

m o ve s ile ntly . E ve n b ette r, th e p air

s ay , t he m usc le p er fo rm s a s w ell a s

"T h e s ys tem h a s b io lo g ic a lmusc l e ·l ik e p r oper ti esfo r h um an oid ro bo ts ~ w ithn o n o is e"

th ose th at ru n o n co mp re sse d a ir

s y s t em s ( Sma r t Ma t e ri al s ond

S t r uc t u re s ,DO I: 10 .1088/ 09 64 -

1726/18/12/125014) . Impo r t an t l y ,

th e g as d id n't le ak .

''T h e s y ste m h a s b io l. og ic a l m u s cle -

lik e p ro pe rtie s fo r h um a no id ro bo ts

th at n ee d h ig h p ow er; la rg e lim b

s tro ke s - a nd n o n ois e:' s ay s K im .

Y o s e p h aa r - C o he n , a n e n gin ee r

s p ec ia lis in g in a rt if ic ia l m u s cle

te ch n olo gy a t N A SA 's je t P ro p uls io n

la b in P a sa d en a , C a lifo rn ia , s ay s th is

is " a n o ve l a p p ro a ch " f or c o nt ro llin g

a rt if ld a l m u s cle s . " I t is a n im p o rt an t

c on tr ib u tio n a n d in cre a se s th e

a rs en al o f p ote ntia l a ctu ato rs th at

m a y b e co m e a va i. la ble in th e fu tu re ,"

h e s ay s. P au l M a r k s • •

No ise less a r ti fi ci al musc lesH ea t i ng a con t a in e r o f m e t a l h y d r id e s r e le a s es hyd ro 9 en wh ic h ( an si le ntly in il a t e

a m u s c le m em b r a n e . , c au s in g . o n e r n u sd e t o c o n t r ac t a 5 t h e o t h e r r e i a x e s

RE LA X ED S T AT E

O p p05 ite b ra i de d ,Ie ev e e xp en d s

1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09 1 N e w Sc ie nt is t 1 2 3



T E C H N O L O G Y

D ig i t a l w o r ld 's b e n e f i t s t r i c k le

to w he re t h e y ' r e n e e d e d m o s tT HE v ery p oo re st p eo ple o n

th e p la ne t h av e b en ef ite d l ittl e

f ro m th e d ig ita l e co no m y, b ut a

pU o t p ro je c t i n A f ri ca n r ef ug e e

c am ps has h in te d at ho w that

m i gh t c ha ng e. R e fu ge es at th e

Dadaab c am p s i n K e ny a h a ve

b e en a bl e t o d ram ati ca ll y i nc re as e

the ir inc om e b y tap ping into a

g l o b al d ema nd for unski l led

d i gi ta l l ab o u r .

T h e p ro je c t u s es C row dF low e r,a w e b si te th at a ll ow s c omp an ie s

to q uic kl y o u ts ou rc e ro u ti ne ta sk s

s uc h as tra ns cri ptio n a nd i m ag e-

ta gg in g to o nl in e w o rk ers . "W e

c an g e ne ra te a n i nc re d ib le am o u nt

o f s o ci al i m pa ct th ro u gh th is

t ec h n o lo g y ," s ay s L e i laCh i r ay a th

[ an ah , f ou nd er o f S arn as ou rc e, th e

S a n F r an c is c o -b a se d ch ar it y

b eh in d th e p ro je ct.

W o r ke rs t yp ic al ly r ec e iv e a f ew

c en ts p er tas k and c om p an ie s c an

o fte n g et jo b s d o ne i n m i n ute s.

C r owdF lowe r l e ts c ompa ni e s

c ho o se f rom s ev era l v irtu al p o ols

o f la bo u r, i nc lu d in g Ama z on 's

"Mech an ic a l T u r k" s e rv i c e.

T han ks to S am a so u rc e's w o rk ,

a g ro up o f o v e r 150 re fu ge es i n th e

th re e c am p s at D ad aab w ill s oo n

m ake u p o ne o f t ho se p oo ls . O v er

th e la st tw o m o nth s, a p il o t g ro u p

o fl6 w o rk ers h as b ee n g iv en

a cc es s to c om pu te rs an d tr ai ne d

o n a rang e o f t as ks , in clu ding a

d ata-e ntry jo b f or a m ap p in g

c om pa ny . T he f ir m u se s s o ftw are

to i dent i fy r oads in aer i a l images ,

b u t i ts s of tw are s om e ti m es

m i st ak e nl y t ra ck s o th e r f ea tu re s,

s u ch as l in es o f p ar ke d c ars . T he

re fu ge es c he ck e ac h im a ge an dd ec id e w he th er th e s oftw are h as

d o ne its jo b .

A f te r an u np ai d tri al p erio d , th e

w o rk ers s tar te d ta ki ng p aid ta sk s

late last m o nth . T he y h av e b ee n

e a rn in g a ro u n d US$2p er hour:

th e t yp ic a. !l nc om e ar no n g th e

camps ' 250,000 i nh ab ita nt s i s

$50 p er m o nth . L uk as B ie wald o f

S a n F r an c is c o -b a se d C r owdF lowe r ,

s ay s th at th e 1 6 r ef ug ee s h av e

received $1200 s o f ar . S a rn a s o u r ce

no w h as fu nd ing to tra in an oth er

ISO r efugees and i s a ls o w o r ki ng

with K e ny an s o u ts id e th e c am p s.M e a nw h il e, i t i s i n t al ks r eg ar di ng

a s ec o nd re fu ge e-c am p p ro je ct,

th is tim e in n orth ern Ind ia .

B i ew ald s ay s th at f irm s li ke th e

f ee l- go o d f ac to r th at c om es w ith

u s in g th e Dadaab wo r k e rs . A n d

th e re su lts c an b e m o re re liab le

than th os e fro m o th er lab ou r

p o ol s. " Th e re fu ge es h av e

m o r e i nt er es t in a long-term

r e la ti o n sh i p, " s a ys B i ewa ld .

C r ow dF low e r a nd S a rn a s o u rc e

E h av e a ls o r el ea se d G i veWo r k,I~ a n iP h on e a pp li ca ti on th at

~ le ts u se rs d o nate th ei r la bo u r:

~ its u se rs c om p le te th e s am e

~ ta sk s a s th e D ad aa b w o rk ers ,

b ut the fee fo r tho se jo bs is p aid

to th e D ad aa b te am in ste ad .

L a te r th is m o n th , c e ll ph o ne

u se rs in K en ya w i ll b e ab le to s ig n

u p to tx te ag le , a no th er re m o te -

w o r ki ng s e rv ic e t ha t d is tr ib u te s

tr an sla ti on a nd i m ag e ta sk s b y

c e ll ph o ne . N a th an E ag le , a

c e ll ph o ne te c hn o lo g y r es ea rc h er

a t t h e S an ta Pe I ns ti tu te i n N ew

M e xic o and th e d ev elo pe r o f

t xt ea gl e, e st im a te s t ha t IS mil l ion

Ken y an s w i ll b e i nt er e st ed in

ta ki ng p ar t. ji mG i: le s _

L a b -o n -a - c h ip is b u i l t t o o b ig ,

t h e n s h ru n k t o p e r f e c t i o nI N TE L 's la te s t m i cr o ch ip t ec h n olo g y

h a s c r e a te d t ra n s is to r s 22 nanome t r e s

w id e ~ a m ere 2 0 0 t im es th e w id th o f

r e a ct io n s to ac e u r i n ; th ey a re o fte n

re ple te w ith d ep os its o f c he m ic als ,

c ells a n d p ro te in s o f in te re s t.

a h yd ro g e n m ole cu le . C a rv in g s u c h T h e id e a? T o p ro v id e a sw if t

t in y fe atu re s is d ev ilis hly d if f ic ult a nd d ia gn os tic to ol: a dd s om e b od y f lu id s

e xp en siv e,b ut in a no th er re alm o f

m i c ro c h ip s a l to g e t h e r, s om e th in g

o d d' i s h a pp e nin g : c h ip s a re b e in g

m ad e o n a n o uts iz ed s ea le an d th en

s hru nk to th e re qu ire d s iz e. a vo id in g

m u c h f id d ly h a ss le .

T he s hrin kin g in no va tio n is

h ap pe nin g in th e fie ld o f t he " la b-

o n -a -c hip " S uc h c hip s a re ty p ic a lly

p la st ic s liv e rs s co re d w ith s e rr ie d

r a nk s o f f lu id -f il le d m i cr oc h a nn e ls

a n d r ec es se d p o ols fo r c he m ic al

24 1 NewS c i e n t i s t 11 7 O c to b e r 2 0 0 9

a nd le t th e g ad ge t lo ok fo r 1 .e llta le

c he m ic al c ha ng es th at re ve a l

b io m a rk e rs lin k ed to v ar io u s

d is ea se s . O n e d a y, a h a nd h eld

g ad ge t m a y s ca n y ou fo r a m u lt itu de

o f a il m e n ts .

B ut th ere 's a p ro ble m , s ay s

b io c h em i ca l e n g in e e r C h r is to p h e

M a rq ue tte a nd c olle ag ue s a t t he

C la ud e B e rn ard U n iv ers ity in L yo n,

F ra n ce . M ic ro flu id ic c hip s a re h a rd to

m a n ufa c tu re a n d a re c on s eq ue n tly

to o e x pe n siv e fo r th ro w a w ay

s y st em s . .W h a t's m o r e, th e d if fk u l. ty

o f m a kin g th em so tin y c on stra in s th e

c re a tiv ity o f th e ir d e sig n er s.

T he L yo n te am 's a ns we r is s im p leb ut p ow erfu l: c arv e a nd p rin t th e

fe atu re s o n a l a r qe c hip m ad e o f

P o l yS h r in k , a h e a t -s h r in k a b le

p oly m er , w h ic h is t he n w a rm e d.

S o fa r th e y h a ve s h ru nk a

"'Pr int 'n' sh r ink ' t e chno logycould give t he de s igne rso f d ia gnos tic b io ch ip sgrea te r freedom"

2 3 0- m ic ro m e tr e-s qu a re b io ch ip

d ow n to lO O -m ic ro m etre s s qu are .

O f c ou rs e, th e m a te ria l d oe s n ot

d is ap pe ar a s i t s hr in ks - in ste ad

itg e ts t hic k er , m o v .in g f ro m 15 to

8 5 m ic ro m e tr es th ic k.

C r u cia lly , it s fe a tu re s r e m a in e d

in g oo d s ha pe . In te sts , th e c hip 's

r ea c tio n c h am b e rs , d ru g re s er vo ir s,

c ha nn els a nd p atte rn s o f c ells s hru nk

u nifo rm ly , m a in ta in in g th e s am ere la tiv e d im e ns io ns r ig h t d ow n to

th e f in al c hip s ize ( Lob O n A Chip,

0 0 1 : lO.1039/b913253h). Even

c om p le x s pir al- sh a pe d c ha n ne ls

w e r e f ait hf ull. y r ep ro d u ce d .

M a rq ue tte s ay s th is "p rin t 'r r '

s hr in k" te c hn o l.o g y c ou ld g iv e

d es ig ne rs o f s uc h c hip s m o re

ro o m to m an oe uv re , a s w e ll a s

a llo w in g fo r g re a te r p re c is io n

in t he ir m a n u fa c tu re .

"T h is d ev elo pm e nt s ou nd s

p o te n tia lly u se fu l a n d c ou ld r ed u ce

th e co st o f fa br ic a tio n in th e

m lc ro tlu ld lc s fie ld ," s a ys jo n C o o pe r,

a b io en gin ee ra t th e U niv ers ity o f

G la sg ow In th e U K . P au l M ark s •



D u m p t h e r is k y d r u g sA s w e live lo nge r, m ore o f us fa ce th e ho rro rs o f A lzh eim er's d ise ase -

and the ve ry w ors t k ind o f trea tm en t fo r it says Ir ving K i rsch

ARE w e to o q uic k to p re sc rib e

p syc ho tro pic m ed ica tio n fo r

e m otio na l a nd b eh av io ur al

p ro ble m s? T ak e A lz he im e r's

d i sease . Inan a ttem pt to redu ceth e ir agg res s iv e b ehav io ur , u p to

60 p er cen t o fp eo ple w ith

A lzhe im er's in E uro pe and N o rth

Am e ric a a re p re sc rib ed

an tip sy cho tic m ed ic atio ns s uc h

as Risperda l (r is pe rid o ne ) a nd

Z yp re xa ( ola nz ap in e). T he

es tim ate d c os t o f th ese d rug s is

£80 m illio n a y ear in th e UK a lone .

P e op le g iv en antipsychottcs are

s ed ate d a nd b ec om e l es s a gg re ss iv e

o r ag itate d, b ut co mpared w ith

p lace bo the b enef its seem m od es t

at b est. I n 2006 , a 42-c en tre trial

in the U S f ou nd n o s ig nif ic ant

d if fe re nc e s b e tw e en a nti ps yc ho ti c

d ru gs and p lac eb o afte r 12 we eks .

O the r tr ials sho wed so me

ad van tag es o f d ru gs o ve r p la ce bo ,

b ut th ese w ere "m od es t"

( C oc h rane Dat abase o j s ys temat ic

Rev iews , DOl : 10 .1002/ 14651858 .

CDoo3012 .pub2) .

T he ris ks , h ow e ve r, a re la rg e.

A c co rd in g to th e U K M e d ic in esan d H ealth care P ro du cts

R eg ula to ry A g en cy , th e

medication p ro du ce s a th re ef old

inc rease in th e r isk o f s tro ke

( w ww .h it. ly /N N S p O )..T h e d ru gs

also d ou ble the risk o f dy ing o ve r

a th re e-y ea r p eri od , a cc ord in g

to a stud y fu nd ed by the UK 's

A l zh eim e r's R es ea rc h T ru st ( The

Lance t, Neuro logy, v o l S , p 151). .

L as t w e ek , 1 0 d em e ntia

g ro u p s, including th e tr us t,

d em and ed th e U K g ov ernm entp ub lish a lo ng -d elaye d rev iew o f

th e u se o fan tip sy cho tic d rug s

indement i a .

The is sue is no t th at p eo ple

d o n't im pro ve w hen g iv en

an tip sy cho tic d ru gs: the y do .

B u t so d o p atien ts in trials w ho

are g iv en a p lac eb o, an d th ey

im pro v e nearly as m uch as

tho se g iv en the d ru g.

This m ay be go o d new s fo r

A lzh eim er 's p atie nts ,a s a s tro ng

p lac eb o e ff ec t m ean s n on-d ru g

tre atm en ts m ay w ork w ell. T he re

m ay b e les sons to be learned

h ere f ro m sim ila r tre atm en ts

fo r dep res s io n - w hich also

re sp on ds w ell to p la ce bo , a nd

o nly m in im ally b ette r to d rug s .

T r ad i ti o na l p s y ch o th e ra p y,

w hic h w o rk s f or d ep re ss io n,

e igh t: o ne f ro m Jap an , tw o fro m

C hina, o ne fro m Ind ia, o ne from

R u ss ia and th re e f rom the U S .

The rac e back to the M oo n has

b ee n p ro mpte d b y the realisatio n

t ha t e x p lo i ti ng it m ay now be

w ith in re ach . A nd it p o ses th e

que s tio n : w ho ge ts to u se th e

m o o n 's r ec o ve ra bl e resources,

su ch as o xygen o r w ate r?

This c ou ld b e re so lv ed th ro ugh

n eg otia tio n, a s s pa ce s cie ntis tsh ap pily lo d gi ng th eir in str um e nts

in f ore ig n s pa ce craf t h op e. B ut

th e L unar T reaty d raf ted b y the

U nited N atio ns in th e 1 990$ has

s till no t b een s igned by the sp ace

p ow ers . S in ce th is le av es th e

m oo n unp ro tec ted by law - the

ul t imate t er ra n ul la - we m ay now

s ee a s cra m ble f or te rrito ry .

H is to ry sho ws tha t th e f irs t s tep

is co lo nisatio n and - th e p res s ing

is sue - s tak ing a c laim . Thanks to

t he e x pl o re rs A m und se n, S co tt

and th e ear ly sea le rs , th e UK and

N orw ay no w claim abo ut o ne-

s ix th o f A nta rc tic a e ac h ..S o w e

m ay b e w itn es sing a s lo w-m o tio n

The m oon i s m i n e

Is lu na r e xp lo ita tio n p ois ed to re pris e th e s to ry

o f A n ta rc tic a, a sk s William Culie rn e Sown

LAST w ee k, N A SA b om be d the

m o on . O r rath er, itc ra sh ed its

L u na r C r ate r O b s er va ti on

an d S ens in g S ate llite in to the

m oo n's so u th p o le in a b id to

d isco ve r re se rv es o fw ate r and

o th er r es o ur ce s.

T his w as th e late st in a v erita ble

flurry o f M o on m iss io ns : b etw een

2 00 7 a nd 20 11 th er e will h av e b ee n

26 1 New$ c i e n ti s t 117 O c to b er 2 0 09

re wo rk in g o f the An ta rc ti ca s to ry

in w hich lu nar exp lo ra tio n lay sth e g ro und fo r c laim s.

W e are alre ad y w itne ss ing th e

s ame mix o f challenge, bravado ,

in qu ir y a nd n atio na l enthusiasm,

su ffu sed w ith d ream s o f em pire

and w ealth that spu rred th e

A n ta rc tic r ac e. P lu s, th ere 's f ea r.

" W ho ev er f irs t c on q uers th e

m oo n w ill b ene fit f irs t," as

O u y an g Z iy ua n, c hie f s cie ntis t

o f C hin a's m o o n e xp lo ra tio n

p ro gram me, once to ld the BB e .

"T he UN 's L u na r T re aty iss ti 1 .1 uns igned by th e s pa cep ow ers , le av in g th e m o onunprotec ted by l aw"



C o mm e n t o n th e se s to rie s a t www .NewSden t i s t . c om / o p i l 1 i o l 1

m ig ht b e li ttle u se to c og nitiv ely

im p air ed p eo ple ..B u t c og nitiv e

b eha vio ura l in te rv en tio ns h av e

sho wn benef its ; fo r e xam ple , ino ne s mall U K s tu dy o ff iv e p atie nts ,

s u c h t ec h ni qu e s were fo und to

help con t r o l a gg re ss iv e a nd

a gi ta te d b e ha vi ou r (Internat.ional

Journa l o jGe r ia tr ic Psych . ia tr y,

vo ll6 , p 45 ) . E xe rc ise ~ w hich is

e ve n m o re e ffe ctiv e fo r m o de ra te

to severe d ep re ss io n than fo r m ild

to m od era te dep res s io n ~ h as also

s ho wn p ro m is e f or d tm tru sh tn g

agg res s i on . A st ructured walking

p r og r amme inone nu rs ing ho me

resu lted in a 30 p er c en t d ec re as ein ag gre ss io n am o ng s ev ere ly

d em e nte d p atie nts (A rch ive s o j

Psych ia tr ic Nursing, v ol n , p 21).

A " co n se ns u s s ta te m e nt" by

16 p ra cti ti on er s p u bl is he d l ast

ye ar in The Journa l o j e lin ica l

Psychiatry (v o1 6g , p 8 8g ) u rged

t ha t a n ti p sy c h o ti c drugs b e used

t o t re a t d em e nt ia -r e la te d

ag itatio n an d a gg re ssio n" o nly

wh en non-pharmaco log ic

ap pro ac he s h av e fa i led" . Research

o n n o n -d r ug t rea tments is thin

o n th e g ro und , bu t w ith m illio ns

fac tn g d em entia , w e u rg en tly

need them in o u r arm ou ry .•

On e m in ute w ith ...

V e n k i R a m a k r i s h n a nF or the m olecu la r b io log is t nam ed jo in t w inne r o f the N obe l

p rize in chem is try las t w eek, it a ll cam e as a b it o f a su rp rise

C o ng ra tu la tio ns l H o w did it fe el w he n

you found out?

I n it ia ll y, I t ho u g h t . it w a s a p ra nk . T h e n, a s it

daw ned on m e it w asn 't it w as a b it o f a s h oc k .

N o th in g p re pa re s y ou fo r it.

D id y ou p ain t c am b rid ge r e d?

J us t a .Iittle d dn ks p ar ty in th e la b,

Y ou r labo ra to ry has w on qu ite a fe w Nobe l s

o ve r th e years ,

Ove r a dozen I t hin k , a n d of co u rse F r a nc is C r ic k

w ork ed h ere , a n d h e w as a g ia nt

C r k k sha red a N obe l in 19 6 2 f or c ra c kin g

th e st ructure of D N A , . and now you 've been

awa rded onefo r s ho win g h ow in fo rm a tio n

in D N A is u ltim ate ly m ade in to p ro te ins by

th e r i bosomes ,

It's o ne o f th e c en tr al te ne ts o f b io lo gy th at D N A

make s R N A make s p r o te in , S o I 'm t remendou s ly

h on ou re d to h av e r ec eiv ed th e p riz e fo r h elp in g to

e xp la in h ow th e rb es om e w ork s in th e fin al s te p-

r ea din g th e in fo rm a tio n c on ta in ed in R .N Aa nd

th en p ro du cin g p ro te in s, T he n ex t s ta ge o f th e

p ro ble m is t h at a s p ro te in s e m er ge fr om th e

rib os om e, th ey n ee d to be s en t to th e rig ht p art o f

th e c ell a nd fo ld ed u p p ro pe rly . H ow th e p ro te in is

tr affic ke d' - m a kin g s ur e it g oe s in to th e r ig ht c ell

c om p ar tm e nt - is r ea lly impo r tan t , And t he re hasa lr ea dy b ee n b rillia nt w o rk d on e in th es e a re as ,

Ir vin g K ir sc h is a t th e Depa r tmen t

o f Psycho l ogy ,U n i v e rs i ty o f Hul l . U K .

H is la te s t b o ok is T he Emp eror's N ew

D r u g s ( T he B o d le y H e a d)

T hi s p ote nt c oc kta il can b e u se d

by sc ien tis ts to w in su ppo rt fo rb ig ge r, m o re a gg re ss iv e nat ional

programmes. It is a l ong ,

e xp ens iv e g am e b ut tha t never

p r even ted it fro m b ein g p Jay ed

o ut in the A nta rc tic fo r alm os t a

c en tu ry ,a nd th ere are p ote ntial

re wa rd s to m atc h.

W hen I pu t the se id eas to D av id

P ark er , he ad o f s pac e s cie nc e and

e xp lo ratio n at th e B ritis h N a tio na l

S pa ce C en tre , h e c alle d them

M ac hia ve llian . P erh ap s he s ho uld

recall that Machiavell i ' s Prince isth e u ltim ate gu id e to realp olitik . •

Y ou sha red you r p rize w ith T hom as Ste itz

o f Y ale U niV ers ity a nd A da Y on a!th o f th e

W eizm ann Ins titu te o f Sc ience In l s rae l ,

Was a n yo n e left out?

M a ny la bs h av e m a de th eir c on tr ib utio n to

u nd er sta nd in g rib os om e s. If th e p riz e w a s fo r'

fin din g o ut th e h ig h- re so lu tio n s tr uc tu re , p er ha ps

w e t h r ee were at th e fo re fro nt Y o u c ou ld a rg ue

th at w e r ea lly r ev olu tio nis ed th e fie ld b y u sin g

X -r ay c ry sta llo gr ap hy to lo ok a t e xa ctly h bw th e

a tom s a re c o nf ig u re d in s id e a p ro te in . Bu t t he rea re s o m a ny o th ers w ho h av e m a de im p orta nt

c on tr ib utio ns in o th er re sp ec ts , s uc h a s s h ow in g

h ow r ib o som e s a re a s sem b le d .illia m C u lle m e S ow n is f o un de r o f

R e s ea r c h F o r tn ig h t

P R O F I L E

V e nk atr am a n R am ak ris hn an o f th e U n iv ers ity

o f Camb rid g e s h ar ed t his y e ar 's c h em i st ry N o b el

fo r h elp in g to u nr av el t h e s tr uc tu re o f r ib os om e s,

w h ic h a c t a s c e lls ' " pr ot ein f ac to rie s "

D o you th ink the N obe l p rizes rew ard

to o fe w p eo ple ?

T his ru te o f th re e is a I ft tle u n fo rt un a te , a n d

n o t r ef tE 'c tr ve o f t he w a y s c ie n ce is d o ne t od a y,

S cie nc e is n o lo ng er c ar rie d o ut b y sm all n um b er s

o f p eo ple ; s cie nc e is n o w a huge l y co l labo ra t iv e

e n te rp ris e . S o t h e se aw a rd s t en d to m a ke it to o

m u ch lik e a s po rtin g e ve nt a nd th at is a sl ight lyu n fo rt un a te d ow ns id e ,

Wha t is th e u ps id e?

Itd ra w s a tt en tio n t o s c ie n tif ic d is c ov e rie s .

B ut e ve n th en , a fte r a c ou ple o f d ay s n o o ne

o n th e s tre et re me m be rs w lla tth e p riz e w as fo r,

s o th ere s ho uld b e a m o re s us ta in ed e ffo rt to

e d u (a te th e p ub lic . ~j§a;f

~b u y m o to rb ik e s- do you have any p lan s ~

o n h ow you ' re go i n g to s pe nd it? ~

I don 't ow n a c ar, on 'ly a b ike , a nd l have a house ~

th at's p le nty b ig e no ug h, a nd .th at's e no ug h fo r m e . ~

So n o rea l p lans ye t In te rv iew by Andy C ogh lan ~

8

A nd . o f c ou rs e th ere 's th e m on ey .

P re vio us w in ne rs hav e been known to

1 7 O c to b er 20091 NewSc i em i s t 127

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F or m o re le tte rs a nd to jo in th e d eb ate , v is it www .NewSc ien t i s t . c am/ le t t e r s

T his g ra du ally b uild s a n in ne r

s tru c tu re no t p resc rib ed by a

p ro gram mer. W hich o f th e

inpu ts are asso ciated w ith o neano th er to fo rm th is stru ctu re

is no t sp ec if ied by a hum an ;

c harac te ris tic s o fthe in pu t stre am

itse lf d ete rm ine the s tru c tu re o f

th e s ys te m .

T his im plie s that iti s p o s s ib l e

fo r a c om pu te r to b e inte llige nt,

even if no p ro gram can be . The

fau lt in AI is the lim ited v iew it

takes o f the com pu te r as a.

c om pu ting m ac hine .

I n a ss oc ia tiv e p ro ce ss in g th ere

a te th re e e le me nts : the p ro gram ,th e m achine , and the mners tru c tu re bu ilt fro m inpu t

s ym bo ls w he re the i np u t s tr eam

itse lf-no t a hum an d esigner-

de te rm ines th e shape o f the

o utp ut. A tan talis ing p ro sp ec t

is that such a stru c tu re co uld

be a m ind .

We ll in g to n , N ew Z eala n d

Sc ien ti fi c t ru thsFrom Ror yA l Ien

H ugh M clach lan is r igh t to raise

fundam ental issu es ab ou t R ichard

D aw kin s's and D av id H um e's

argu me nts agains t m irac le s

(8 A ugus t, p 26 ) , w hich are , as h e

s ug ge sts , w ea k if n ot c ir cu la r.

U nfo rtunate ly , he m ars h is o wn

case by m ak ing th e sam e m is take

as H um e an d o the r p hilo so phe rs

in assum ing that sc ientif ic law s

are statem ents o f th e fo rm " if A ,then B " , an d th at th ese re pre se nt

" un iv ers al la ws ",

A s B e rtr an d R us se ll p oin te d

o ut o ve r 60 y ea rs ag o in h is b oo k

A Hi st o ry oJWest er n Ph il os ophy ,

a lm o st n o s cie ntif ic th eo rie s

c on sis t o f c au sa l s tate m en ts

o f the fo rm "if A, then B " ,

R ath er , th ey u su ally c om p ris e

c om plic ate d s yste ms o f p artial

differential e qu atio ns th at

desc ribe and p red ic t the

behav io u r o fphenom ena in

tim e and space g iv en ce rtain

in itia l a nd b ou nd ary c on ditio ns .

M clac hlan 's id eas s ee m

to be based o n a pers is ten t

m isu nders tand ing o f sc ience by

philo so phers dating from the

tim e o f K ant, w ho w as so

im pres sed by N ew ton 's law s o fm otio n that he im agined that

they m us t em bo dy u nive rsal,

e te rn a l t ru th s ,

I su sp ec t that v ery f ew s cie ntis ts

to day w ou ld c laim to be in search

o f "Ia ws o f natu re" in th is sense .

E ve r s in ce K arl P o pp er's w ritin g

on the philo so phy o f sc ience , w e

have been u sed to the id ea that all

theo r ie s are w rong , bu t th at so me

are Jes s w rong than o the rs and

th at s cie nc e a dv an ce s by a p r oc e ss

o f im pro ving the w ay o ur th eo rie sd esc rib e th e w orld .

M clach lan 's argu ments ab ou t

m irac le s m iss the m ark. Ins te ad ,

Iu spec t th e im po rtance o f

m irac le s , I f t hey co uld be sho wn

to happ en, is no t th at th ey

violate some " la w o f n atu re ':

but th at they dem ons trate that a

m ec hanis tic v iew o f the u niv erse

is insu ff ic ient to acco unt fo r

w hat happens in it.

L on do n, U K

The b e e 's w in g s

F rom Robe rt M cAnd rew

In h is artic le o n m ode ls o f insec t

f li gh t, P a ul M a rk s a ttr ib u te s

the f irs t th eo ry on ho w

bum blebees are ab le to f l y , .

d esp ite the ir ap pare nt d ef ian ce

o f th e ru le s o f a ero dy na mic s,

to T on y M a xw o rth y in 1981

(2 6 Sep tem ber, p 22 ) .However , Iecall from m y day s

a s an underg radu ate at th e

U nive rs ity o fS t A ndrew s in th e

UK , b e tw een 1975 an d 1979, that I

atte nd ed a le ctu re b y P ro fe ss or

J ohn F . A llen in w hich he

ad dre ss ed th is s am e p ro ble m.

A s Iemembe r it, h e e x pl ai ne dthat it was to do w ith the b ee

w in g h av in g small-scale surface

c o rr ug ati on s, T he r es ulti ng

e f fec t o n air v isco sity at th is sm all

scale enab les the w ing to w ork

like an aero fo il, generating a

fas te r airf lo w ab ove th e w ing

than b elo w it.

Dunfermline, Fife, UK

Mea t subs tit u te s

From Ca l verl ey Red fearn

I n y ou r feature on m aking th ew orld a b ette r p lac e, M ic ha.e l L e

P age su gge sts rep lac ing m utto n

an d b ee f w ith chicken, p ork and

if y ou liv e in A us tralia , m o re

kangaroos (1 9 Sep tember , P 32),

H ow ever, any expansio n o f the

kangaro o-m eat indu stry w ou ld be

p ro ble matic as , u nlik e c attle an d

o th er s to ck an ima ls .kanga roos

f ar e b ad ly w h en c o nv e nti on al ly

farm ed . The m eat o b tained from

them is a frac tio n o f w hat co mes

from a cow , so you w ou ld need

vas t num bers to m ake an y inroads

in to th e b ee f in du stry .

A s L e P age s ay s at the b eg inn ing

o f th e a rtic le , p erh ap s it i s b e tt e r

ju st to eat le ss m eat.

Carli sle, Wes tern Australia

The ed it or wr it es :

• A nu mb er o f c ons erv atio nists

an d conserva t lon g roups are ci ted

b y th e K an ga ro o I nd us tr yA s so cia tio n o f A u stra lia (w w w.b it.

l Y /4 Y O lR E )a s s up p or ti ng th e

k an ga ro o h ar ve st.

Climb ing carn ivore

F rom N i c ola Phillips

Y o ur a rtic le s ug ge stin g th at

Velociraptor u sed its c law s to

c lim b trees sparked deb ate in o u r

hou seho ld ( 1 2 S ep tem ber, p 1 0 ) .

M y 9 -y ear-o ld s on, th e fam ily

expert o n d ino sau rs , po in ted ou t

that m os t sp ec im ens hav e been

fo und in the d ese rt e nv iro nm en ts

o f t he D jado ch ta fo rm atio n in

M ongo lia and C hinese Inner

M ongo lia , Indeed , the m ost

fam ou s spec im en appears to have

b ee n b u ri ed either du r ing asand sto rm o r under a co llap s ing

sand d une. W ith few trees , th e re

wo uld have been little po int in

the d ino sau rs dev elo ping the

fo ot c law fo r c lim bing ..

Fl in t, F l in t sh ir e, UK

The ed it or wr it es :

• Ind eed the re w o u ld have been

few trees in these p arts o f

M o ngo lia . H ow ev er, th ere m us t

h av e b ee n so m e v eg etatio n

p resen t in the v ic in ity o f thed ese rt lo catio n w here m ost

V e lo c i r ap t o r f os sils h av e b ee n

f ou nd to f ee d its p la nt- eatin g

p rey , such as Protoceratope.

Ve.lociraptors m ay also have sp ent

tim e in env iro nm ents w ith m ore

vege tatio n bu t a l ow er chance o f

fo ss il p re se rv atio n, s o w e c an 't

ru le o ut tree-cllmblng habi ts .

Res is t ing in t rude r sFrom Tim Macy

W hen F eedb ack o nce m ore

ad dres sed the p ro lif e ratio n o f

f ee bl e w a rn in g signs,Ias

rem inded o f one o f m y fathe r's

f av o ur ite a ne cd o te s (8 Augus t ) .

I n th e 1930s, h e w as p la gu ed

w ith p etty the fts fro m h is

allo tm en t sh ed . A s h is se cu rity

m eas ure s w ere p ro ving

in ef fe ctu al, he h it u po n a s olu tio n.

H e acqu ired a 40 kilo-ohme lec trical re s is to r and p inned it to

the shed 's do or, w ith th e w arning:

"DANGER 40,000 OHM S ". T he

th ef ts s to pp ed imm ed iate ly .

Fe lix st owe, S u ff ol k, UK

L ette rs s ho u Id b e s en t to :

Let ters to th e E dito r, N ew Scient i s t

8 4 T h eo b ald 's R o a d, L o n do n w ax BNS

Fax :+44 { O J 2 0 7 6 11 1 28 0

Ema i l : l e t te rs@n ewsc ien t i s tcom

I n du d e y o u r l u ll p o s ta l a d d r e s s a n d t e le p h on en um t > e r, a n d a r ef er en ce ( is su e . p ag e n u m t > e r,t i t le)

to a ru d es , W e r es e r ve t h e r ig h t to edr t l e t te rs .R e e d Bl Is i ness In fo rmat i on r e se r v es m e M g h! to

u s e a n y s u bmlss io l1ss e n t t o m e l e tt e r s co l umn of

N € W S c ie n ti st m a g a z if le , i n a n y o t he r f o rma t

1 7 O cto be r 2 00 9 I NewScien t i s t 131

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F or m ore interv iew s and to add y ou r co mm ents, v isit www.NewScient ist .comlopinion

I I Leakey is still proud of h isfossil"hunting expedit ions

a t L a k e T urk a n a in Kenya"

ev idence thata dist inct hominin w as a liv eat the sam e tim e as afarensis. "N ow w ith the

except ion, Ihink , o f o ne re se arc he r, e ve ry on e

has agre ed th at Kenyan thropu s s tands as

so m eth ing en tire ly d iff ere nt fro m afarens/s.

A nd ye t the analys is y ou 're talk ing a bo ut

d oe sn 't e ve n m entio n it!"

Io nd er alo ud if d ism is sin g p ote ntially

ke y e vid en ce re fle cts an u nd erly ing p ro ble m

in the sc ience . "O ne hears so m uch critic ism

o fth e f ie ld fo r b eing s lac k. I 'v e alw ay s trie d

to de fend that. B ut the re are tim es when you

stru ggle to ju stify s om e o f the se re po rts ."

I t's iro nic that L eake y, w ho fam ou sly lac ks

fo rm al train ing , f ind s h im se lf d efe nd in g

c olle ag ue s' s cie ntif ic rig ou r: h e a lm o st

qu it in the early 19805 o ver w hat he said

w ere unsc ientif ic p rac tices by so me o f h is

w ith th e ir feud o ver th e evo lu tio nary po sitio n

o f afarensts, kno wn as "L ucy " af te r th e bes t-

p rese rved exam ple . Jo hanson was su re Lucy

w as a d irec t ancesto r o f m odem hum ans ;

L eakey fe lt she p ro bab ly lay o n a sid e b ranch .

An an aly sis o f th e afarensis jaw published

recent ly inProceed ings o! theNat iona /

A ca dem y o f S cie nc es s up po rts L eake y, b ut d oe s

th is co me c lo se r to re so lv ing the o ld d ispu te?

H e s ides tep s the is su e: "Three o r fo ur years

ago , m y w ife d isco vered and pu blish ed abo ut

a rath e r p oo r skull- a f ragm ent she called

K en ya n thro p u s " The sku ll ap pears to be

pee rs . " I go t ex trem ely d isco uraged by the

v ind ic tiv en ess o ve r the afarensis is su e. A n d I

w as go ing th ro u gh a b ad health is su e -a kidney

transp lant -w here o ne is p ro ne to d ep res sio n."A lth ou gh p ro fe ss io na l f rie nd s persuaded

him to s tick w ith h is w ork at Tu rkana fo r a few

m ore years , in 1988 th e K en ya n g ov ern m en t

asked him to head it s wildl i fe conserva t ion

dep artm ent to co mbat po ach ing . " I t ook th e

o pp ortu nity w itho ut a m inu te 's he sitatio n."

r sugges t that e ve n th ere L ea ke y d is pla ye d

a knack fo r m ak ing head lines . "T he th ing that

m o st e xc ite s p eo ple is that Ird e red a shoot-

to - kill p olic y. B u t J d id n't." In fac t, he say s,

the po licy w as h is p redecesso r's , "bu t he

had n't any th ing to sho otw ith" . L eakey arm ed

th e c ou ntr y's r an ge rs . "In th e y ear b efo reI t oo k o ve r Ihink w e'd lo st so meth ing like

30 rang ers and r th ink they 'd inju red o ne

po acher.ln m y firs t s ix m onths , Ih ink w e lost

f iv e o f o u r s id e and ab ou t 17 o f the o the r. A nd

afte r a y ear nob ody on e ithe r s ide w as be ing

killed becau se the po achers had go ne ."

They 're back now , he adm its , tho u gh it's no t

ju st p oac he rs that th re aten K eny a's w ild life .

L oc als h av e starte d lac ing c attle c arc as se s w ith

p oiso n to kill lio ns th at th re ate n th eir liv es to ck .

H is c ha rita ble o rg an is atio n, W i ld lif eD ire ct, is

le ad in g th e f ig ht a ga in st p ois on in g.

L eakey se t it up in 2004 afte r qu ittin g the

state-run K en ya W ild lif e S erv ic e .."Ile f t o ut o f

p rin cip le o ve r c orru ptio n. I 'd rais ed $150

m illio n, an d the re w as to o m uc h o ffic ial inte re st

I I I in he lp ing m e spend it." F or m os t o f the 1990S

~ he w as in and o ut o ffav ou r w ith K enya's ru le rs .~ .

~ A t h is m os t rebe llio u s he set u p a n ew p olitical

~ p ar ty , S afina, and w on a s eat in p arliam ent.

5 B u t he qu i t, a gain tn p ro te st o v er c o rr up ti on .

~ A rgum ents w ith co lleagues , w he th e r in

j! i p alaeo nto lo gy , w ild lif e o r p olitic s, s ee m to

hav e p rom pted m any Lea ke y res ignat ions.

" I 'm v ery in to le rant o f peop le w ho don'ts ho w c ons is te nc y o f inte grity ," he s ay s.

L ea ke y is o ff to C anad a afte r th e U K , to raise

fund s fo r ano th e r o f h is p ro jec ts , th e Tu rkana

B as in Ins titu te , w hich he se t up in 2007.

A s f in d s f rom Turkana ro lled in du r ing the

19805, a new palaeo nto lo gy m useum w as

o pe ne d in N airo bi to e nc ou rage sc ie ntif ic

inv estigatio n and b rin g in re ve nu e. M ean wh ile ,

th e peo ple at Tu rkana w ere still l iv ing o n the

e dg e o fb ac kw ard ne ss , L ea ke y s ay s. T he in stitu te

aim s to retu rn to the lo cals som e o f the revenu e

th e ir h er itag e reap s. " I f yo u can finance a first-

c lass ce ntre th ere , the n the se s pe cim en s

shou ld go back w here they be lo ng ," he say s.

M o vin g th em back to Tu rkana is like ly to b e

co ntro ve rs ial: " I t's a s to rm ina po t," he says .

H e app ears to re lish the f igh t to com e .•

17Oc t o b e r 2 0 0 91 New$cien t i s t 1 3 3

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341 N e w $c ie n tis t 1 1 7 O c to b er 2Q 0 9



THEREa re c er ta in th in gs y o u d o n ot

wan t to sha re with s tra ng er s. I n m y c as e

it w as a s tre am o f h ig hly p ers on al te xt

m e ss ag es fro m m y h us ban d, s en t d ur in g th ee arly d ay s o f o ur re latio ns hip . E tc he d o n m y

p ho ne 's S IM c ard - b ut in vis ib le o n m y c urre nt

h and se t and thu s fo rg otte n - he re th ey no w

a re , d i sp la ye d in a ll t h eir b ra ze n g lo ry o n a

s tr an g er 's c om p u te r s c re e n.

I 'v e ju st w alk ed In to a w in do w le ss ro o m o n

a n i nd u str ia l e sta te i n T amw o rth , UK , wher e

th re ec el lp ho n e a na ly sts in b lu e shirts s it at

th eir te rm i na ls , s cr uti ni si ng th e c o nte nts o f

m y p ho n e a nd s m irk in g, "lftrs any con so l a ti on ,

w e w ou ld h av e fo und th em e ve n if y ou h ad

d el ete d th em ," s ay s o ne .

Wo r s e , it s eem s em b arr as si ng te xt m e ss ag esare n't th e o nly th ing I h av e to w o rry ab ou t: " Is

th is a p ho to o fy o ur o ff ic e? " a no th er as ks (th e

an sw e r is y e s). " A nd d id y o u e njo y y o ur pizza

o n M o nd ay n ig ht? A nd w hy d id y ou d iv er t

f ro m y ou r no rm al ro ute to w o rk to v is it th is

a dd re ss in C am b e rw e ll, L o nd o n, o n S atu rd ay ?"

I 'm a t D is kL ab s, a c om pa ny th at h an dle s

c el lp h on e f o re ns ic a na ly sis f or UK po l i c e

f or ce s, b u t a ls o f or p riv ate c om pa ni es

a nd i nd iv id u als s no o p in g o n s us pe ct

e m plo ye es o r w ay w ard s po u se s. A rm e d

w i th f ou r c el lp h on es , w h ic h I h av e b e gg ed ,

R a t in y o u r

cephoneIt 's a c ame ra , d ia ry ~n a vig a to r, w a lle t a n d s oc ia ls ec re ta ry ro lle d in to o ne , So

i f yo ur sm a rtp ho ne fa lls in to

th e w rong hands , how m uchco uld it re ve al a bo ut yo u?

L in d a G e d d e s f in ds o ut

C O V E R S T O R Y

b o rro w ed an d b o ug ht o ff fr ie nd s an d

s tran ge rs , I 'm c urio us to k no w ju st h ow

m u ch p ers on al in fo rm atio n c an b e g le an ed

f ro m o u r u se d h an ds ets an d 5 1M card s.A d ec ad e ag o, o u r p ho ne s' m e m orie s

cou ld just a bo u t h an dl e te xt m e ss ag es

a nd a c o nta cts b o o k. T he se d ay s, th e

l ate st s m ar tp h on es i nc o rp o rate G P S ,

W i -F i co n ne cti vi ty a nd m o ti on s en so rs .

T he y a utom ati ca lly d o w nl oa d y o ur ernal ls

an d ap po in tm e nts f ro m y ou r o ff ic e c om p ute r,

an d c om e w ith th e ab ility to trac k o th er

i nd iv id u al s in y o ur i mm ed ia te . v ic in ity . A n d

th ere 's a lo t m o re to c om e. A m ong o th er

th in gs , y o u c ou ld b e u sin g th e n ex t g ene ratio n

o f p ho ne s to k eep tab s o n y ou r h ealth , s to re

c as h a nd m a ke s m all tr an sa cti on s - s om eth in gth at's a lre ad y h ap p en in g i n e as t A s ia ( s ee

" F utu re p ho n es ", p ag e 3 6) .

Gon e ph is h in g

T he se c ha ng es c o ul d w e ll b e e xp lo ite d

in m uch the sam e w ay that em ail and the

inte m etc an b e u se d to " ph is h" fo r p ers on al

i nf o rm a ti on s uc h a s b an k d e ta il s. I nd e ed ,

s om e p h on e- re la te d s ca m s a re a lr ea dy

em er gin g. i nc lu d in g o n e th at u se s

re p ro g ramm e d c ell ph o ne s to in te rc ep t

p as sw o rd s f or o th er p e op le 's o nl in e b an k

a cc o un ts .." M o b il e p ho n es ar e b ec om in g a

b ig ge r p art o f o u r l iv e s," s ay s A n dy J on es , h ea d

o f i nf orm a ti on s ec u rity re se arc h a t B r iti sh

T e le comm u ni ca ti on s. "W e t ru st a nd r ely o n

them m ore . A nd as w e r ely o n them m ore ,

th e p ote ntia l f or frau d h as g ot to in cre as e."

S o ju st ho w se cu re is th e d ata w e s to re o n

o ur p ho ne s? Ifw e are s tar ting to u se th em as

c om bi ne d d ia ri es a nd w a ll ets , w h at h ap p en s

if w e lo se th em o r the y arestolenl A n d w h at

if w e s im p ly trad e in o ur p ho ne s f or re cy clin g?

A c c ord in g to th e UK g o v ern m en t's D e sig na nd T e c hn o lo g y A l li an ce A g a in st C r im e

( D rAAC ) , 8 0 p e r c en t o f u s c arr y l nf orm a tio n

o n o ur h and se ts that c ou ld b e u se d to c om m it

f rau d - and ab ou t 16 p er c en t o f u s k ee p o ur

b ank d etails an o ur p ho ne s.I th ou gh t m y

N o k ia .N g 6 w o u ld h o ld f ew s urp ris es , th o ug h,

s inc e I h ad o nly b ee n u sing it f ar a fe w w e ek s

w h e n I s u bm i tt ed it t o D i s kL ab s .Y e t t h e i r

a na ly sts p ro v ed m e w ro n g.

A sid e f ro m the te xt m essag es s to re d o n

m y S IM c a rd , t he m o st d eta ile d p ers on al

info rm atio n th at c ou ld b e g le ane d fro m m y

h an ds et c am e f ro m an ap plic atio n c alle dS p o rts T rac ke r. I t a ll ow s u se rs to m e as ur e th ei r

ath le tic p erf orm an ce o ve r tim e an d I h a d b ee n

us ing it to m e as ure h ow fas t I c o uld c yd eto

w o r k a cr o ss Londo n , Itr e co r d s d i s ta nc e >

1 7 O c to b er 2 0 0 91 NewSc i en t i s t 1 3 5



l i l t i s p o s s i b l e

y o u r p h o n e c o u ld

b ro a dc a st y ou r

lo c a t io n t o others

w ithou t you r

k n o w l e d g ell

tr av e ll ed , f as te s t s p ee d a t d if fe re nt p o in ts

a lo ng th e ro u te , c ha ng es in a ltitu de , an d

ro ug hly h ow m any c alo rie s I b u rn o ff . B u t

w he n D is kL ab s u p lo ad ed th is d ata to their

c om pu te r and ran it th ro ugh G oo gle M ap s and

S tre et V ie w , th ey w e re a bl e to pull u p im a ge s

o f the fro nt o f m y o ff ic e and m y ho me - w ith

th e h ou se n um b er d ear ly d is play ed . S po rts

T rac ke r a ls o r ec o rd ed w h at ti m e Iorma l ly

le av e th e h ou se in the m o rn in g an d w he nI re tu rn fro m w o rk . "1ft w an te d m o re

i nf o rm a ti o n, t he n Io u ld ju st s ta lk y o u,"

says Neil B u c k, a s en io r a na ly st at Diskl.abs,

I had deliberately ch osen to tu m S po rts

T rac ke r o n, an d m an y p eo ple m ig ht no t

s to p to c ons id er h ow s uc h p ro gram s c ou ld

b e u se d a ga in st th em . InF eb ru a ry , Goog l e

l au nc he d L ati tu de , n etw o rk in g s of tw are f or

s martp ho ne s th at s hare s y ou r lo catio n w ith

m end s ..Itc an b e tu rne d o ff , b ut c am p aig n

g ro u p P riv ac y I nte rn ati on al is c o nc er ne d b y

L ati tu d e's c om ple x s ettin gs a nd s ay s iris

p os sib le th e p ro gram c ou ld b ro ad cas t y ou rlocation to o th ers w ith ou t y ou r k no w le dg e.

" La titu de c ou ld b e a g i ft to s ta lk er s, p ry in g

em pl oy ers , je al ou s p artn er s a nd o b se ss iv e

f ri en d s, " t he o r ga ni sa ti o n w a rn s.

A p ho ne -b as ed c ale nd ar c o uld al so le av e

y o u v u ln erab le . P o lic e in th e U K h a v e a lr e ady

i de nt if ie d b u rg la ri es th at w e re c omm it te d

a fte r th e th ie f s to le a p ho ne an d th en tar ge te d

th e in di vi du al's h om e b ec au se th eir c al en da r

s aid th ey w ere aw ay o n h olid ay , s ay s J o e

M cG ee ha n, h ea d o f T o sh ib a's re se arc h l ab

inE u ro p e an d le ad er o f D TAAC 'sD e sig n O u t

F utu re ph on es

B y n ex t y e ar a bou t lih 3 n ew sm ertp h ona s

will h a ve a c ce le ro m e te rs . P re s su re s en s or s

a nd g yro sm p es w ill fo llo w , a nd s oo n yo ur

ha ndse t m ay kee p tab s o n y ou r h ea lth an d

p ay y ou r b ills to o.

F o r e x a m p le , 'N o k ia i s e x p er im e n ti ng

w ith a dd in g b io .s en so rs c ap ab le o f

m on ito ~in g h ea rt a nd b re ath in g ra te s, a s

w e ll a s g lu co se a nd o xy ge n le ve ls in th eb lo od . "Y ou r p ho ne co uld a ct a s a w e ll n es s

d ia ry ,a nd s ta rt to in te gra te d ata . w ith th e

p rim a ry h ea lth re co rd s k ep t b y y ou r d oc to r;"

s ay s M a rc B a ile y, a r es ea rc he r a tth e .N o kia

R e .s ea rc h C e n tr e in c a m br id g e,. U K .

M ea nw h ile m o bile co m me rc e, o r

M ·c om m e r,c e, In w h ic h p ho ne s a re u se d

to tra ns fe r m on ey o r p ay fo r s h op pin g, is

a lre ad y e xp an din g ra pid ty ,c eH p ho ne u se rs

in Ja pa n c an b uy tr ain o ra ir l in e tic ke ts w ith

th elr h an ds et , w h ile p eo ple in A fg ha nis ta n,

th e P hil ip pin es a nd e as t A fr ic a c an u se

tb eir h and se ts to tre ns fe r m on ey to ea ch

o th er. "M ·c om m erc e is c om in g,a nd th e

e xp ec ta tio n is th at itw il l b ec om e p re va le nt

in th e U K a nd o th er E uro pe an cc un tr ie s

3 6 1 NewSc i en t i s t . 1 1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09

w i,th ln fo u ry ea rs ;'s ay s J oe M c G e eh a n,

h e a d o f T b sh lb a 's r es ea re h la b in E u ro p e.

T ho ug h th es e d ev elo pm e nts s ho uld

b rin g m a ny b en efits , s ec ur ity is e xp ec te d

to b ec om e a p ro ble m . "A s s o on as y ou pu t

m o ne y o n a n.y th in g, c rim in als b ec om e m o re

in te re ste d in it"s ay s M c G e eh a n.

T o c ou n te r th is , m a nu fa ctu re rs .a re

d ev elo pin g m o re s ec ure w a ys o f e nc ry ptin gd ata o n h an ds ets . A cc or din gto N o kia . u se rs

will b e a ble to a lte r s ec ur ity s ettin gs

de p en d in g o n how m uch d a ta th e y w an t

a va ila ble a t a ny on e tim e . P ho ne s w ith

b u ilt- in f jn g e~ p rjn t s ca n ne rs a re a lr ea d yo n

th e m a rk et, a nd S ha rp h as e xp erim e nte d

w Ith fa ce re co gn itio n o n h an ds ets , th ou gh

h ac ke rs h av e r ec en t·ly s ho w n th at face

r ec og n itio n is e a sily d e fe a te d w i th . Jus t

a p h o t o gr a p h .

M e an w hile , A p ple is th ou gh t to b e

c on s id e rin g a d din g b io m e tr ic . s ec u rit y

m e as ur es , s uc h a s a f in ge rp r1 nt s ca nn er,

to fu tu re iP h on es . H o w ev er e ffe ctiv e

th e se s e cu rity f ea tu re s a re ', t h ou g h,

th e y w ill o n ly w ork w he n tu rn ed o n .

R is e o f th e s m a rtp ho neT h e y m a k e u p a s m a ll p r o p o rt io n o f t o ta l c e ll p ho n ~ s a le s ,

b u tth i s i s s e t 10 change

C ri m e p ro je ct, w h ic h re ce ntl y s et UK des igner s

th e c halle ng e o f t ry in g to m ak e cellphones l es s

a ttr ac ti ve t o p e o pl e l ik e h ac k er s a nd i de nt it y

th ieves . "It's l ar ge ly o p p o rt un is ti c, b u t if

y ou 'v e g ot al l y ou r p ers onal info rm atio n o n

t he re , l ik e b an k d e ta il s, s o ci al s ec u ri ty d e ta il s

an d c re dit c ard i nf orm ati on , th en y o u're r ea ll y

as kin g f or s om e o ne to 'b ec om e' y o u , o r ro b y ou ,

o r i nv ad e y o ur c o rp o ra te li fe ," M cG ee han s ay s.

Code c ra ck er

Wh e n B u ck l oo k ed a t m y c o ll ea gu e's iP h on e,

he fo und tw o 4·d ig it nu mb ers s to re d in h is

ad dre ss b oo k u nd er the nam es "M " a nd "V ".

A s ear ch th ro u gh h is te xt m e ss ag es re ve al ed

a f ew fro m V irg in info rm ing h im th at a n ew

c re di t c ard , e nd in g i n a s pe cif ic number, had

ju st b ee n m aile d to h im . B u ck g ue ss ed th at

"M" and < IV"wer e . P I N c o de s f or th e V irg in

c re d it c ar d a nd a Ma s te rc ar d -and h e p ro v e d

to b e c orre ct o n b oth c ou nts .

" O u t o f c o nte xt, a n i nd iv id u al p ie ce

o finfo rm atio n s uc h as an SM S is alm o st

m e an in gl es s," s ay s J on es . " B ut w h en y o u h av ea larg e v olu m e o f in fo rm atio n - a p ers on 's

d iary f or th e y ea r, h is e rn ail s, th e. p l an s h e's

b uild ing - and y ou s tart to p ut the m to gethe r,

y o u c an m ak e s om e in te re sti ng d is co v eri es ."



P·TERMITC HELLwas an eccen t ri c f i gu r e .F or m u ch o f h is c are er h e w o rk ed in h is

o w n lab in a r es to re d m ano r h ou se in

Cornwa l l int he UK , hi s r es e ar ch f u nd e d inpa r t

b y a h erd o f d a iry c ow s. H i s i de as ab ou t th em o s t b as ic p ro c es s o fll fe -- h o w i t g e ts e ne rg y-

s eem e d r id ic u lo u s to h is f el lo w b io lo g is ts .

" I r em e m be r th in kin g to m y se lf th at I w o u ld

b e t a ny th in g th at I itJ d id n't w o rk th at w a y,"

b io c hem is t L e sl ie O r ge l w ro te o f h is m e e ti ng

w i th M i tc he ll h alf a c en tu ry a go . " N o t s in ce

D arw in and W a llac e has b io lo gy c om e u p w ith

~ a n i de a a s c o un te r-i ntu iti ve a s t h os e o f, s a y,

a E i ns te in , H e is e nb e rg a nd S c h ro d in g er ,"

~ O v er th e fo llo wing d ecad es , h ow ev er, it

~ b e ca m e c le ar th at M i tc he ll w a s r ig ht. H is

~ v ind ic atio n w as c om ple te w he n h e w o n a

~ N o b e l p ri ze i n 1 9 78 .E v en t o d ay , th o ug h,im o st b io lo gis ts h av e y et to g ras p th e f ull

~ i m p li ca tio n s o f h is re v olu ti on ar y i de as -

~ e s pe c ia ll y f o r t he o r ig in o f ti fe .

~ " M itc he ll's id eas w ere ab ou t h ow c ells

38 t N e w $c ie nt is t 1 17 O c to be r 2 00 9

a re o rg an is ed i n s pa ce , a nd c el lu la r e ne rg y

g e ne ra ti o n i s a f ea tu re o f th at ," s ay s g e o ch em is t

M i k eR u s s e ll o f NA SA 'sJ et P r o p u ls io n

L a bo r at o ry i n P a sa d en a, C a li fo r ni a. " T he

p ro ble m is t hat m o st id eas o n th e o rig in o f l ifelac k b o th s patia l o rg an is atio n and a s up ply o f

e ne rg y to d riv e re p lic ati on o r g ro w th ,"

A f ew r es e ar ch e rs , i nc lu d in g R u s se ll , h a v e

b ee n re th in kin g th e o rig in o f life in th e lig ht o f

M i tc he ll 's i de as . T he y th in k th e m o s t c o un te r-

i ntu iti ve tr ait o f'l if e is o ne o f th e b e st c lu e s to

its o rig in . A s a re su lt, th ey h av e c om e u p w ith

a ra di ca lly d if fe re nt p ic tu re o f w h a t th e

e ar li es t l if e w as l ik e a nd w h ere i t e v o lv e d. I t's

a p ic tu re f o r w h i ch th ere i s g r ow in g e v id en ce .

B e f o re M i tc h el l, e v e ry o n e a ss um e d. t ha t

c e ll s g o t th e ir e n er gy u s in g s tr ai gh tf o rw a rd

c hem is tr y: T he u ni ve rs al e ne rg y c u rr en cy o fl if e i s a m o le cu le c al le d A T P .S p li t i t a nd e ne rg y

i s r e le as ed . A T P p ow ers m o s t o f t h e e ne rg y-

d em an di ng p ro c es se s i n c el ls , fro m b u il di ng

p ro te ins to m ak in g m u sc le s m o ve . A T P,in

tu rn, w as th ou gh t to b e ge ne rate d f ro m fo od

b y a s eri es o f s ta nd ar d c hem ic al re ac ti on s.

M i tc he ll th o ug ht o th er wi se . L if e, h e a rg ue d , is

p ow e re d n ot b y th e k in d o f c h em is try th at g oe s

o n in a te st tu be b ut b y a k ind o f e le ctr ic ity .T he e ne rg y f ro m fo od , h e s aid , i s u se d to

p um p p os itiv ely c harg ed h yd ro ge n io ns , o r

p ro to ns , th ro u gh a m em bran e. A s p ro to ns

a cc um u la te o n o n e s id e , a n e le ctr oc hem ic al

g ra die nt b u ild s u p a cr os s th e m em b ra ne .

G iv en th e c hanc e, th e p ro to ns w ill f lo w b ac k

a cro s s, r el ea si ng e ne rg y th at c an b e h arn es se d

to a ss em b le AT Pm o le cu le s. I n e ne rg y te rm s ,

th e p ro c es s i s a n al og o us to f il lin g a r ais ed ta nk

w ith b uc ke ts o f w ate r, th en u sing th e w ate r to

d r iv e a wa te rwh e el .

M i tc he ll d u bb e d h is th eo ry c hem lo s m os ls ,

an d it is no t s urp ris ing th at b io lo gis ts fo u nd ith ar d to a cc ep t. W h y w o u ld li fe g en era te e ne rg y

in su ch a c om p lic ate d and ro und ab ou t w ay ,

w h en s im p le c hem ic al re ac ti on s w o u ld

s uf fic e? I t j us t d id n't m a ke s en se .



I t m igh t b e co un te r- in tu itiv e, b ut

chemiosmos l s has tu rned o ut to b e u biqu ito us

in th e liv ing w orld . P ro to n p o wer d riv es no t

only c ell re sp ira tio n, b ut p ho to sy nth es is to o:

ene rgy fro m the s u n is c onv er te d in to a p ro to ng rad i en t in e sse ntia lly th e sam e w ay as th e

ene rgy o f fo od .

A nd p ro to n g rad ie nts are o ften h arnes sed

d irec tly , ra th e r th an b eing u se d to m ake A T P .

T he y d riv e th e ro tatio n o f th e b ac te ria l

f lag ellu m , a s w ell as th e a ctiv e tra ns po rt

o f num ero u s s u b s tance s in and o u t o f ce lls .

S o p ro to n p ow er is ce ntra l to ene rgy

generation, m o ve m en t a nd m ain ta in in g

th e in te rnal env iro nm ent - s om e o f

T hem o st co un te r-in tu itive tra it o f life co uld

be one o f the bes t dues

to its o rig in "

th e m o st b as ic features o f l if e.

Th is su gge sts th a t p ro to n p ow er is n o la te

inno va tio n bu t e v o lv ed ear ly in th e h is to ry o f

li fe , an id e a s u pp o rted by th e tree o f lif e . T he

fi rs t b ranc h in th e tree is b e tw een the tw og rea t g ro up s o f s im p le cells, b ac te ria a nd

archaea, Bo t h o f th ese g ro up s hav e p ro to n

p um ps and b oth gene ra te ATP f r om proton

c urre nts , u sing a s im ilar p ro te in , T he o bv io us

exp lana tio n is th a t b oth inhe rited th is

m ach ine ry from a com mo n ance s to r- th e

p ro gen i to r o f all lif e o n E arth .

Th ink ab o ut th e p ro pe r tie s o f th a t

c om m o n an ce sto r, howeve r , says B iU Mar t in

o fth e U niv ers ity o f D usse ld orf in G erm any ,

and yo u com e up w ith a v ery s tran ge b ea st

ind eed . H e s tar ts f ro m the as su mp tio n

tha t tra its fo und in b o th th e archae a and

b ac te ria a re m os t l ik e ly inhe ri ted f ro m the

com mon anc es to r o f all lif e - tho u gh a few

hav e d ear ly b e en acqu ire d la te r b y gene

e xc ha ng e. T ra its th at a re d is tin ct

A n c ie n t v e nt s s imi l a r to

th is o n e c o u ld e x p la in

li fe 's 5 tr a ng e s t f ea tu re s

p re su m ab ly e vo lv ed i nd ep en de ntly .T he re is no d o u b t th at th e c om mon

a nc e sto r p o s se ss e d D NA , R NA a nd p ro te in s,

a u niv ers al g en etic c od e, r ib os om e s (the

protein-building fac to r i e s ) , ATP and a

p ro to n-p ow ered e nzy me fo r m ak ing A T P .

The d e ta ile d m echan ism s fo r re ad ing o ff DNA

and c onv er ting gen es in to p ro te in s w ere a lso

in p lac e. In sho rt, th en , th e las t c om m on

ance sto r o f a ll li fe lo oks p re tty m uc h like

a m od ern c ell.

Y e t th e d iff ere nc es a re s ta rtlin g ..In

p articu lar , th e d eta ile d m ec han ics o f

DN A re plic atio n w ou ld hav e b ee n qu ite

d i f fe r en t . It lo ok s as if DNA r ep lic atio n e vo lv ed

ind ep end en tly in b ac te r ia and archaea,

acc ord ing to E ugene K oo nin a t th e N atio na l

C e nte r f or B i ote ch no lo gy I nf orm a tio n in >

17Oc t o o e r 2 0 09 1 New Sc i en ti s t 1 39



I f U f e ·d id e v o lv e in a lk a lin e h y d r o th e rm a l v e n t s ,

i t m i g h t h a v e h a p p e n e d s om e t h in g l i k e th is .:

Be t h es d a , Ma r y la n d .

B e y o nd th a t, m a ny b io c h em i ca l p athw a ys

a re c ata ly se d b y q u ite d if fe re nt e nz ym e s. T h e

m o st s ur pr is in g a nd m o st s ig nif ic an t o f th es e

is f er m en ta tio n, th e p ro d uc tio n o f e ne rg y

f ro m f oo d w ith o ut o x yg en . F e rm e nta tio n is

o fte n as su m ed to b e th e p rim o rd ial m e th od

o f e ne rg y g en era tio n. Y e tM a rtin h as s ho w n

th at th e e nz ym e s r es po ns ib le a re to ta lly

u nr ela te d in a rc ha e a a nd b ac te ria . I t l oo ksa s if f e rm e nta tio n e vo lv ed tw ic e l ate r o n,

ra th er th an at th e d aw n o f l if e.

10s teps to life o n E ar th

1 . W ate r p erc o la te d do wn in to ne wly fo rm ed ro ck u nd er

th e s ea 'f lo or , w he re it re arte d w ith m in era ls su ch a s

o liv in e, p ro du cin g a h ota lk .a lln e flu id r ic h in h yd ro ge n,

s ulp hid es a nd o th er c he mic als . T his h oU lu id w e lle d u pa t h yd ro th erm a l v en ts .

2 . T he e arly o cea n w as a dd le a nd rk h in d iS so lve d iro n . W he n

u pw e ll in g h yd ro th erm a l flu id s 'r ea cte d w ith th is s ea w ate r;

th ey p ro du ce d c arb on ate ro ck s r id dle d w ith t in y p ore sa nd

a "fo am " o f iro n-s ulp hu r b ub ble s,

5 . T he rm a l c urre nts w ith in th e ve nt p ore s c on ce ntra .te d la rg e

m o . le c u le s lik e n u c le o ti de s , d r i. vin g t he f or m a ti on of RNA . a n d

D NA ~ a nd p ro vid in g a n id ea l s e tt in g fo r an R N A w o rld a nd its

e vo lu tio n in to th e w orld o f ,D N A an d p ro te in s. E vo lu tio n g ot

u nd er w ay , w ith s ets o f m o le cu le s c ap ab le o f p ro du cin g m o re

o f th em s elv es s ta rt in g to d om in ate .

Ba fflin g bounda rie s

Ev e nm o re b af fl in g , s ay s M a r ti n, n ei th e r th e

c ell m em b ra ne s n or th e c ell w a lls h av e a ny

d e ta il s i n c ommo n. "A t fa ce v a lu e , th e d e fi ni ng

b o un da rie s o f c ells e vo lv ed in de pe nd en tly in

b ac te ri a a nd a rc h ae a, " h e s ay s .

B u t lf 'th at's th e c as e, w h at s o rt o f a c ell

w as th is c omm o n a nc es to r? A c ell w ith n o

b o un da ry ? I m po ss ib le ' S o m eth in g u niq u e?lf y o u e xc lu d e th e im p o ss ib le , th en w h ate v er

y ou are le ft w ith m u st b e t ru e.

I fM a rtin is rig h t, th e la st c omm o n a nc es to r

o f lif e o n E arth w a s a s op h is tic ate d e ntity in

te rm s o f i ts g en es an d p ro te in s, an d w as

p o we re d b y p ro to n c u rr en ts r ath er th an

f er m en ta tio n . Y e ta t t he s am e tim e , its

b o un din g m em br an es w e re a pp are ntly

d if fe re nt to a ny th in g f ou nd to d ay . I t w as

life , b ut n ot as w e k n ow it.

Then , a ro un d 2002, Ma rtin c am e a cr os s th e

w o r k o f R u s se ll . U n ti l th at ti m e, R u s se ll h a d

b ee n a l o ne v o ic e. H is g eo ch em ic al id ea s a bo u t

th e o rig in o f l if e d id n't g o d o w n w ell w ith th e

m o le cu la r b io lo g is ts w h o d om in ate d th e f ie ld .

F ro m th e e arly 19905, R u s se ll h ad b e en

e x pl or in g th e p o s si bi li ti es o f a v e ry p a rti cu l ar

k in d o f h yd ro th er m al v e nt c alle d a n a lk alin e

v en t, at th e tim e k no w n o nly fro m re mn an ts

f ou nd in a nc ie nt r oc ks . U n lik e th e b la ck

sm ok er s d is co v ere d in 1917. f orm e d b y th e

v io le nt r ea cti on o f s e aw a te r w i th v o lc an ic

la va r is in g u p a t t h e m id -o c ea n r id ge s,

R u ss ell 's v e nts w e re m u ch ta m er a ff air s,

little m o re th an b u bb ly ro c ks r id dle d w ithl ab y r in th i ne p o r e s.

T h es e v e nts f or m w h en w a te r r ea cts w ith

th e m in era l o liv in e, w hic h is c omm o n in th e

sea flo or- and w ou ld h av e b een e ven m ore

c omm o n e ar ly o n, b ef or e th e E ar th 's c ru s t

th ic ke ne d. T h e p ro c es s p ro d uc es a n ew

m i ne ra l, s e rp e nti ne , a nd r el ea se s h y dr o ge n,

a lk al in e f lu i ds a nd h e at. Ita ls o m a ke s th e r oc ks

e xp an d a nd c ra ck , a llo w in g m o re w ate r to

p e rc o la te d ow n, s u sta in in g th e r ea cti on . T h e

3 ,ln sid e th e b ub ble s, h yd ro ge n re ac te d w ith c arb on d fo xid e

to fo rm s im p le o rg an ic molecu tes s uc h a s m e th an e, fo rm a te

a nd a ce ta te . S om e o f th es e re ac t io ns w ere ca ta ly se d b y th e

iro no su lp hu rm in era ls , w h ic h a re s til l fo un d arthe h ea r t o f

m a ny p ro te in s to da y.

4 . T he e le ctro ch em ic al g ra die nt b etw ee n th e a lk alin e v en t

flu id a nd th e a dd le s ea wa te r le ad s to th e s po nta ne ou s

fo rmat i on o f a ce ty l p ho sp ha te a nd p yro ph os pa te , w h ic h

a ct ju st l ik .e A T p , th e c he m ic al th at p ow e rs liv in g c ells ,

T he se m o le cu le s d ro ve th e fo rm a tio n o f a m in o a cid s a nd

n ud eo tid es , th e b uild in g b lo cks o f p ro te in s a nd o f R N A

a n d D N A r e sp e c tiv e ly .

6 . F atty m e le cu te s c oa te d th e .iro n-s ulp hu rfro th a nd

s po nta ne ou sly fo rm e d c eil- lik e b ub ble s. S om e o f t h e s e

b ub 'b le s w o uld h av e e nC lo se d s elf -re plic atin g s ets o f

m o le cu le s ~ th e fir st o rg a nic c ells . T h e e a rlie s t p ro to ce lls

m a y h av e b ee n e lu siv e e ntit ie s, th ou gh , o fte n d is so lv in g

a nd re fo rm in g a s t he Y C irc ula te d in th e v en ts .

7 . T h e e v olu tio n o f a n e n zy m e c a lle d p yr op h o. sp h at as e ,

w h ic h c a ta ly se s th e p ro d uc tio n o f p ym p ho sp ha te , a llo w s

p ro to c.e !is to e xtra ct m o re e ne rg y fro m th e g ra die nt b etw e enth e a lk alin e v en tf lu id a nd th e a dd le o ce an ..T his e nz ym e is

s til l fo un d in m a ny b ac t.e ria a nd s rc ha ea .

e . S o m e p r. ot oc :e lls s ta rt u s in g A T P a s w e ll a s a ce ty l p h os p ha te

a nd p yro ph osp ha te . T he p ro du ctio n o f AlP u sin g e ne rg y fro m

th e e le ctro ch em ic al g ra die nt is p erfe cte d w ith th e e vo lu tio n

o f th e e nz ym e A TP s yn th as e, fo un d w ith in a ll li fe to da y.

9 . P ro to c e lis fu rth er f ro m the m a in ve nt a xis , w he re th e

n atu ra l e le ctro ch em ic al g ra die nt is ,w e ak er , s ta rte d to

g en er ate th eir o w n g ra die ntto d riv e A T P p . ro du dio n.

1 0. O n ce p ro to ce lls c ou ld g en era te th eir o w n e le ctro ch em ic al

g ra die nt,. fh ey w ere n o lo ng er tie d to th e ve nts . C e lls le ft th e

v en ts o n tw o s ep ara te o cc as io ns , w ith o ne e xo du s g iv in g r is e

to b ac te ria a nd th e o th er to a rth ae a,

"What sort o f ce ll w asthis c ommon anc es to r?

A cell w ith no bou nda .r y?

Impossib le !"

401 N e w S c ie n tis tl1 7 O c t ob e r2 0 0 9



w arm , h yd ro ge n-ric h e ff lu en t u ltim ate ly

b reaks thro ugh the sea flo or as an alkaline

hy dro th ennal v ent.

Inte res t in alkaline ven ts ro se in 2000, when

D ebo rah K elley and her co lleagues from the

U niv ers ity o f W ash ingto n in S eattle s tu mb le d

(if o ne can s tum ble in a s ub m ers ib le ) a cro ss

an ac tiv e alkaline ven t f ie ld ju st o ff th e mid-

A tlan tic rid ge , e xac tly w he re R uss ell said s uc h

vents sho uld b e. The team dubb ed it the Los tC ity ,. partly fo r its sp ec tac ular s pire s o f ro ck ,

w hich fo rm as carb onates p rec ip itate o u t in

th e a lk alin e f lu id .

L ike anc ien t vents , th e sp ire s o f th e L o st

City are ridd led w ith tiny po res , so me w ith

d im ensio ns no t d iss im ilar to m od ern ce lls .

A nd the chem is try fits th e b ill to o. A repo rt las t

year con firm ed the p resence o f m ethane and

o the r sm all hyd ro carbo ns, as w ell as hy dro gen

i tsel f (Science , v o l 319,p 604).

The v ents them se lves m ay b e m uch the

same as tho se aro un d 4 b illio n y ealS ag o, b ut

back th en the o ceans w ere ve ry d iffe rent. Thep rim ord ial o ceans w ere satu rated w ith carbo n

d io xide , m ak ing them acid ic , w hereas th e

seas to day are s ligh tly alkaline . A nd the re w as

p rac tic ally n o o xy ge n. W ith ou t o xy ge n, iro n

d is so lv es re ad ily ; the v ast banded-iron

fo rm atio ns aro und the w orld rev eal ju st how

m uch iro n w as once d is so lv ed in o ceans. A s

o xy ge n le ve ls s lowly r os e, b il lio n s o f to n ne s

o f iro n p rec ip itated o ut as rust.

W hat th is m eans, say s R usse ll, is that the

inte rface be tw een the alkaline vents and th e

anc ient seas w ou ld have been m uch m ore

conduc ive to p rim ord ial b io ch em istry th an

the y are to day . In p artic ular , b ub ble s o f'I ro n-

su lph ur m ine rals - w hic h h av e re mark ab le

cataly tic p ro p ertie s - w ou ld have fo rm ed in

the p ore s. T his is n ot c on je ctu re . R us se ll has

fo und anc ient vents w ith a s im ilar stru ctu re

and ev en rep ro du ced them in th e la b.

T he f act th at alk alin e v en ts w ou ld

have had a laby rin th o f natu rally fo rm ing

mic rocompa . r tmen t s is w hat attrac ted th e

a tte ntio n o f M a rtin . S uc h c om p artm e nts

co uld have been the p recu rso rs o f b io lo gical

cell w alls that he s ou ght, p ro vid ing a sca f fo ldw ith in w hich the s tu ff o f ce lls co uld fo rm .

To ge th e r, M artin and R usse ll hav e po in ted o ut

that identical iro n-su lphu r m inerals can still

be fo u nd at the hear t o f p ro te in s th at co nver t

carbo n d io xid e to sugars - u s ing hyd ro gen

gas - in archaea and bac te ria such as

m eth ano ge ns and ac eto ge ns .

T he v ent f lu id w ou ld als o hav e c ontaine d

n itro gen com po und s such as am monia, and

c ond itio ns w ou ld hav e fav ou re d th e p ro du ctio n

o f am ino ac id s -ths b u il di ng b lo c ks o f p ro te in s.

T hat's no t all. In th e p re se nc e o f p ho sp hate ,

m ine rals m igh t h av e c ataly se d th e p ro du ctio n

o f nud eo tides - the b u ild ing b lo cks o f RN A

and D NA . A nd if nu deo tid es d id form by

m ine ral c ataly sis , the p ore s in alkalin e v ents

w ou ld have had an e xtra ord in ary e ff ec t.

Where life e vo lv edIn th e e ar ly o ce an s, 4 b illio n y ea rs a go , a lk alin e h yd ro th erm al v en ts w ou ld h av e p ro vid ed th e id ea l s ettin g

fo r life to e v olv e - in c lu d in g a n atu ra l a cid -a lk alin e g ra die nt lik e that f undamen t a l to m o st liv in g c ells to da y

O r ga n ic c h em ic a ls fo rm , in c lu d in g

th e b uild in g b lo ck s o f RNA a nd DNA

The rma l 9 r a d l a n ts p roduce

convec t i o n c urre nts in s o m e po res

L a rg e r m o l e r u Ie s b e c o m e h ig h Iy

c onc e n tra te d a t t he b as e o f th es e p o re s,

f av o ur i n g D N A a n d R N A pro durf a n

S im ulatio ns b y D ie te r B raun's team at the

L ud wig M axim illian U niv ers ity in M unic h,

G ennany , sho w that the tem peratu re grad ien t

be tw een the to p and bo ttom o fthe p o res

c o nc en tr ate s n uc le o ti de s at o ne e nd , w hic henco urages the m olecu le s to jo in to ge the r

to fo rm s tr ings o f R N A a nd D N A ( see d iag ram ,

abo ve). These large r m olecu le s w ou ld th en

beco me co ncentrated to ev en higher leve ls .

W hat's m o re , th e c on ve ctio n c urre nts

w ou ld p ro d uce a continu al ris e and fall in

tem peratu re - as is now used to m ake DN A

in labs ac ro ss th e w orld .

RNAworld

Labo rato ry exp erim ents b y a team led by

N o be l p rize winne r lac k S zo stak o f H arv ard

Universrty, p ub lis he d ear lie r th is y ear, hav e

co nf irm ed that th ese co nd itio ns d o ind eed

concentrate nucleotides an d n uc le ic ac id s.

The team also fo und that fatty ac id s beco me

VENT PO RE

W . A R M E R

S IDE

c on ce ntra te d, le ad in g to th e s po nta ne ou s

fo rm atio n o f cell-Iike b ubb les in side th e po res .

I t's hard to im ag ine a b etter se tting fo r th e

R NA w orld w ide ly tho u ght to b ridge th e gap

be tw een sim ple o rganic chem icals and th eco mplex itie s o fD N A and pro te ins . S o th e . idea

that anc ien t alkaline hyd ro th ennal v ents w ere

th e in cu bato rs fo r life lo ok s v ery p lau sib le

even befo re yo u co ns ide r the ir m os t s tr ik ing

f eatu re ; a re ad y-m ad e p ro to n grad ien t.

B ack then th e seas w ere ac id ic , and ac id ity is

def ined in te rm s o f p ro to ns-ac id s are rich in

th em . " Alk alin e flu id s b ub bling in to an ac id ic

o ce an f orm c ataly tic mineral 'c e ll s' w i th a

p ro to n grad ie nt ac ro ss th eir in org an ic

m em branes," says R usse ll. "They 're se t up

in the sam e peculiar w ay a s a li c ells to da y."

S om e re se arc he rs hav e d is miss ed R uss ell's

natural ly cherntosmottc '~ 'c e ns " a s a m e r e

c ur io sity , irre le vant to the o rig in o flif e. B ut

w hen M artin and R usse ll considered th e

b io en erg etic s o f'th e s im p le st p ro ka ry ote s, >

17O cto be r 2 00 91 NewSc i en ti s t 1 41



T he L os t Ci ty ven t f i e ld ha s

t owe rin g sp l rs s o f po re u s roc k

they realised that the f irs t c e lls co uld nev er

hav e escaped the v ents w itho ut f irs t

m aster ing chem lo sm os is - e xp la in ing w hy

M i tc he ll 's b iz ar re m e ch an is m is s o c e nt ra l

to life to day , and so u niv ersa l.

T he g rea t escape

F or all the as to nish ing w ealth o f life o n E arth ,

there are o nly f iv e w ays that carbo n d io xid e is

cap tu red and co nv erted in to liv ing m atte r-

and o nly o ne o f tho se co s ts no th ing at all . That's

the s traigh t reac tio n o f hyd ro gen w ith carbo n

d io xid e. T his e xo th erm ic re ac tio n c onv erts

carbo n d io xid e in to s im ple o rganic m olecu le s

and also re le as es e ne rg y. I t's b ee n d esc rib ed as

"a fre e lu nch yo u're paid to eat" . A nd w hile

h yd ro ge n d oes n't u su ally b ub ble o blig ing ly

o ut o f the g ro und , itd oes in alk aline v ents .

The reac tio n o f h yd ro gen w ith carbo n

d io xid e is central to life in the v ents , bu t

the re is a b ig p ro b lem : it co s ts s om e ene rgy

4 2 1 N ewS c ie n ti st 11 7 O c to b er 2 0 09

to k ick-s tart the reac tio n in the f irs t p lace ,

w hile the am ount o f ene rgy re leas ed to fu e l

g ro wth is paltry . In fact, so paltry , acco rd ing to

Ro l fThaue r at the M ax P lanck Ins titu te fo r

T erre stria l M ic ro bio lo gy in M a rb urg ,G erm any , th at it's im po ss ib le fo r su ch b ac te ria

to g row by chem is try alo ne: they need the

p ro to n p ow er o f c he mio sm os is .

To understand this, think o f th e e ne rg y

s to red by A TP as eq u lva len t to £ 10. I f i t ta ke s

£10 to k ic k-s tart a re ac tio n, w hich th en

re leases £15, in theo ry a ce ll has gained £5.

H ow eve r, if the o nly w ay a cell has to s to re

ene rgy is to m ake A TP ,it c an m ake o nly o ne

m olecu le ; to m ake tw o new A TP s w ou ld co s t

£20. So o ne A TP wou ld hav e been spent to gain

o ne A TP ,and the spare £5 w asted as heat

T ha t's n ot c o ns is te nt with b ei ng a li ve .

F or p ro to -life in th e vents, th is w ou ld no t

hav e been an issu e ..T he f lu id fro m the v ents

w ou ld hav e co nta ined reac tiv e m olecu les su ch

as m ethy l su lph id e , w hich w ou ld generate

ace ty l pho sphate , a m olecu le that s o me

b ac teria to day sti ll u se in te rc hang eab ly w ith

A TP .W hat's m ore , th e natu ral p ro to n g rad ie nt

w ou ld h av e supp lem ented th is energy so u rce

b y s po ntane ou sly g enerating ano th er

p rim itiv e fo rm o f AT P called py ro pho sphate ..

P yro pho sphate als o ac ts in m uch the

sam e w ay as A TP a nd is still used alongstde

A TP by m any bac te ria and archaea. T hese

bac teria sp eed u p its p ro du c tio n u s ing as im p le e nz ym e c al le d p yr op ho sp ha ta se .

In so o n-to -b e pub lished w ork do ne w ith

W o lf ga ng N i ts ch ke at the Ins titu te o f

S tru ctu ra l B io lo gy a nd M ic ro bio lo gy in

M arse il le , F ranc e, R uss ell h as s ho wn that

th is enzym e is fo und In som e o f the m o s t

p rim itiv e ce lls kno wn and cro ps u p o n b oth

s id es o f th e bacteria-archaeadlvide. Tha t

su gg ests it d ate s rig ht b ack to th e b eg inning .

S o t he com mon ances to r o f life co u ld

harne ss the natu ra l p ro to n g rad ient o f ancient

v ents to p ro du ce ene rgy . To e scap e the v ents ,

ju st o ne fu rthe r s tep w as neces sary : rev ers ingthe p ro ce ss to s to re ene rgy .

C hem io sm os is a llo ws ce lls to s av e u p sm all

am ounts o f ene rgy - the £5s that w o u ld

o th erw ise b e wasted. A re ac tio n c an b e re pe ate d

tim e and tim e again , jus t to pu mp a pro ton

ove r a membrane . L i ke s av ing up to buy

so meth ing , ev entu ally th e p ro to n g rad ie nt

w ill b e eno ugh to p ro du ce o ne py ro pho sphate

o r o ne A TP .T he u psho t is that p ro to n g rad ients

enab le ce lls to g ro w, to leav e the v ents .

Ind eed , it ap pe ars M itc he ll 's o dd ity

is a nece ssary p reco nd itio n fo r life . W hile

b reak ing dow n sugars can p ro v id e eno ugh

ene rgy fo r g row th w itho u t any need fo r

chemtosmosts, th e p ro ce ss - g ly co ly sis -

inv olv es co mp lex pathw ays and requ ires lo ts

o f sugar, and is thu s v ery unlike ly to hav e been

the m ain so u rce o f ene rgy fo r the f irs t life ,

T he p ic tu re pain ted by R usse ll and Martin is

s tr ik ing indeed . The las t com mon ances to r o f

all life w as no t a f re e-liv ing c ell a t all , b ut a

p oro us ro ck rid dle d w ith b ub bly iro n-su lp hu r

m em brane s th at cataly sed p rim ord ia l

b io ch em ic al re ac tio ns . P ow ered b y h yd ro ge n

and p ro to n g rad ients , th is naturaiflowreactorf il led u p w Hh organic ch em icals , g iv ing rise to

p ro to -life that ev entu ally b ro ke o ut as the f irs t

liv ing cells - no t o nce bu t tw ice , g iv ing rise to

the bac te ria and the archaea,

M any de tails hav e yet to b e f il led in , and it

may nev er b e po ss ib le to p ro v e beyo nd any

d ou bt th at life e vo lv ed b y th is m ec hanism .

T he ev id ence , h ow ev er, is g ro wing . T his

scenario m atche s the know n p ro perties o f al l

life o n E arth , is ene rge tic ally p lau sib le - and

retu rns M itc hell 's g re at th eo ry to its rig htfu l

p lace at the v ery centre o f b io lo gy .•

N ic k L an e is th e firs t P ro vo st's V en tu re R es ea rc h

Fe llow a t Un iv e rs it y Co l l egeLondon , H is l at es t b o o k

is Life A s ce n d i n g : T h e t e n g r e a t i n v en ti o n s o f

e v o l u t i o n ( P ro fi le , 2 0 0 9)



M A N Y W A Y S T H R O U G H

THE CRY STA L MAZ ,E

C h r is P i ck a rd 's r a nd om s tr u ct ur e

s ea rc h ( se e . m ain s to ry ) is n ot th e

on ly pa th th at m ig ht le ad to th e

h ea rto fth e c ry sta l m y ste ry ..O n e

e a rly a p pr oa ch , c a lle d s im u la te da n ne a lin g , in vo lv es lo a dIn g

m od el a to ms in to a c om p ute r

s im u la tio n , th e n r ep e ate d ly

ra is in g th e te m pe ra tu re a nd

' l ower ing it a g ain . G iv en e n ou g h

a ftn is th er m al jig glin g, th e

a to m s s h o uld e v e nl ua ,lI yf in d

th e m o s t s ta b le " lo w e st -e n er gy

c o n fi gu r at io n . I n p r ac ti ce ,

th ou gh , th is a pp ro ac h n ee ds

a n u nfe as ib le a m ou nt o f

c om p u te r tim e .

A m o re , e ffe c tiv e r iv al t oP ic ka rd 's m e th o d e m e rg e d

a round 2006 in th e fo rm o f

g en et ic a lg or ith m s ro ote d in

id ea s o f s ex a nd d ea th . S uc h

S im u la tio ns s ta rt w ith a s m all

p op u Ia ti o n o f di ff e r e nt t ry s ta I

s tru ctu re s th a tth en re pro du te,

w ith o nly th e f itte st c ry sta ls

su rv . i v i ng Uourna l a /Chem ical

Physics, v o l 124, p 244704).

A rtem og ano v o t S ton y B roo k

th is s ta gn atio n b y m a kin g th e

m u ta ti 'o n s m o re e xt re m e ..W ith

h is a lg or ith m , h e has b ee n a ble

to re pro du ce so m e of th e m ore

fa m ilia r c ry sta ls o f n atu re , s uc hU niv ers ity , N ew Y ork , is a .le ad in g a s d ia m on d., a n.d a ls o m a ny

exponen t of'thls a p pr oa c h. " We

th ro w o utth e h ig he st-e ne rg y

s tuc tu res , in a ra th er c ru el w a y:'

h e e xp la in S. "F ro m th e re st

w e c re ate c hild re n." S om e

c hild re n a re m a de fro m d iffe re nt

p i e c e s of tw o pa r en ts tl 'u a u re s.

O th ers a re m u ta te d o ffs pr in g

o fa sin gle p are nt, ra nd om ly

d is to rte d o r w i th d if fe re nt a to m s

s w ap p ed a ro u nd .

O ne p ro ble m w ith e ar lyg e n et ic a lg o rit hm s WilS that

th e p op ula tio n o fte n tu rn ed

in to a n u nc ha ng in g se t o f d on es

b efo re it re ac he d th e fit te st,

m o st s ta ble s tru ctu re . O g an ov

fo un d th at h e c o u ld a v o id

s tuden t R ache l S tro ng u se a d iffe ren t m etho d,

know n as g raph theo ry , to ch ip aw ay at the

s tru c tu res o f d iam ond and o the r s im ilar

c ry stals . T he id ea w as first to d raw a c arto on

cry stal w ith sim ple do ts m arking the ato mic

nu cle i, and line s re pre se ntin g the e le ctro n

b on ds b etw ee n them, G ra ph th eo ry c alc ula te s

w hich way s o f jo in ing the d o ts satisfy th e

c on strain ts im po se d b y c he mic al b on ding ,

and so radically redu ces th e num ber o f

c on figu ratio ns ad mis sib le in an y sim ulatio n.

The [om-the-dots tac tic w as sho wing so me

p ro mis e, b ut w as als o f ru strating ly im pe rfe ct.

It only w o rked w ith som e types o f bo nd , and

even th en o nly jfyo u m ade assum ptio ns

abo u t how m any bond s each atom cou ld fo rm .

T hat's no t alw ay s o bv io us.I n grap hite , e ac hcarb on ato m fo rm s bo nds w -ith three

n eig hb ou rs ; in d ia mo nd , it i s f o u r.

O n a w him , P ic kard re ran h is c alc ulatio ns

o f 10years b e fo re to com pare th em w ith the

s tru ctu re s S tro ng w as p ro du cin g. S om eth ing

re m ar ka ble h ap pe ne d. "I s tar ted to ge t

s ens ib le stru ctu re s," h e s ay s.

W hat had changed? C om pu te rs had beco me

faste r, o f c ou rse , and P ickard had he lped to

rew rite C AST EP to m ake it far eas ie r to rep eat

s im ulatio ns w ith ato m s in d iffe ren t s tar tin g

po sitio ns. That, it tu rned o ut, w as the key .

M os t o fthe conf igu ratio ns that em erged w ere

s till random m esses , bu t w hen P ickard ran th e

s lm u la tio n m an y tim e s s om e fa milia r-I oo kin g

s tru c tu res kep t recu rring - d iam ond and

graphite . In m im ick ing natu re , it s eem s that

4 41 N e w Sc ie nt is t 1 17 O c to be r 2 00 9

e x ot ic n e w m a te ria ls •.H e f ou n d,

fo r e xa m ple , th at p ure s od iu m ,

w h en . c om p re ss ed to a bo ut

3m illio n a tm o s ph e re s , s u dd e nly

tu rn s from b e ing a red m e ta l in to

a n i n su l at o r that is d ea r a s

9 la .s s - a nd e xp erim e nts h av e

s in ce co nfirm ed th is . H e is n ow

w ork in g o n a p ro je ctto f in d

s upe rha r d mater ials .

O g a no v a n d P ic ka rd d is ag re e

o n w bic h o f t he tw o m eth od s isth e m o re e ffid en t a nd p ow erfu l.

It m ay ju st tu rn o ut th at th ey

a r e ea c h b e tt er for d j , ff e re n t

ma te r i e l s , s ay s P ic ka rd . " M ay b e

th ey w il l e ach f in d th eir n ich es

anocc ex i s t . "

if at f irs t yo u d on 't su cceed , try and try again.

P ic kard w as in itially sc ep tic al that the re su lt

w as m ore than a f lu ke , bu t w hen he show ed

his w ork to R ichard N eeds o f th e U nive rs ity

o f C am bridge , w ho stu d ie s the b ehav io ur o f

e le ctro ns in s olid s, he go t an e nthu sias tic

re sp onse . The tw o so o n un leashed th e rand om

struc tu re search m etho d o n hyd ro gen .

Hydrogen Is the S im ple st o f ato ms ,

co ns is ting o f ju s t o ne p ro to n c irc led by one

e lec tro n, b ut in its s olid s ta te , it is a p erp le xin g

b east C ru de calcu latio ns su gges t that so lid

hy dro ge n sh ou ld b ec om e e le ctric ally

co ndu c ting w hen squeezed to p ressu res o f

ab ou t 3 m illio n atm os ph ere s; in e xp er im ents ,

th o ugh , it rem ains insu lating . R unning the

s im ulatio n w ith th e p res su re tu rned up ,P ic kard and N e ed s d is co ve re d a p re vio usly

u nsu spec ted fo rm o f so lid hyd ro gen that w as

no t o nly s tab le , b ut w as ind eed an insu lato r,

w ith all its e le ctro ns b ou nd to in div id ual

atom s rath e r th an free to w ander and carry an

e le c tr ic a l c u rr en t (NaturePhys i cs , v ol 3 , p 47 3).

The du o w eren 't alo ne in the ir su ccess . B y

th e tim e they pu blish ed th e p aper desc rib ing

the ir m ethod in 2006, o the r gro ups w ere

s tarting to u se rathe r d iffe re nt m eth od s to

pred ic t c ry s tal s tru ctu res (see "M any w ays

thro ugh the c ry stal m aze ", le ft). T he se

p red ic tiv e to ols share the p ro mise o f revealing

w eird and w onderfu l new m ate rials . A rm ed

w ith s uc h s of tw are , it shou ld be po ss ib le to

w hip up any com binatio n o f atom s into a

c rys tal and see w hat it's lik e. "Y ou can see

w hat th e landscape g iv es y ou , then see w hat

its p ro pe rtie s a re ," s ay s P ic ka rd .H isto ry c au tio ns ag ain st e xc es siv e

e nthu sias m qu ite y et, ho we ve r. A crystal

p red ic tio n m ethod m us t p ro ve its w orth

o n all s orts o f stru ctu re s ~ inc lu ding ,

c ru cia lly , o rg an ic m o le cu le s, w hic h

P ickard has y et to take o n. N or is p red ic tio n

the end o f th e sto ry , as P ickard h im se lf adm its .

"Say Itu mb le o n a new crys tal s tru c tu re,

and ~ w ow ! ~ it's the s tro ng est m ate rial, tt's a

ro o m-te m pe ra tu re s up erc on du cto r, it cu res

cance r," he says . "Then the chem is t says , 'B ut

how do I ak e it?'Ian't answ er that ye t."

E ven d isco ver ing th e po ss ib ility o f so me

ne w ultrahard ma te ri al o r h ig h- temp e ra tu r e

su perco ndu cto r w ou ld be a b ig s tep . P ickard

and N eed s are also lo oking fo r m ate rials that

e ff ic iently p ack a lo t o f hyd ro gen into a sm all

sp ace as a so lid fu e l fo r cars . T hey have already

had o ne tantalis ing cand idate : a m ix o f t hree

hyd rogen atom s to one alum in ium atom that

is so lid at h igh p ressu res . C ranking the

p res su re in the s im ulatio n d ow n, tho ugh ,

th e structure d id no t survive.

A sim ilar th ing happens to m undane o ld

nitro gen at ve ry h igh p res su res . A t abo ut1mi ll io n a tmo s p he r es , ittu rns into a so lid

w ith a s im ilar stru c tu re to d iam ond , bu t

unlike d iam ond , it d is so lv es into a po lym er

m ush w hen yo u take the p ressu re o f f . E ven

afte r it d o es so , it re tains m uch o f the energy

sto red in its b ond s in the high - pr es su re s ta te ,

po ten tially m ak ing it u sefu l as a "green"

exp lo siv e w ith no to xic re sidu e , o r as a fu e l fo r

stealth ro cke ts th at leave no chem ical trace o f

the ir p ass age . P ic kard is s tu dy in g nitro ge n

"W hen he re ran h is ca lcu la tio ns o f 10 yea rsb efo re , so m eth in g re m arka ble h ap pe ne d:h e s ta rte d ge tting sen sib le resu lts "



'D oes Jup ite r have a ha rd hea rt o r a so ftcen tre? A t the lm m ense p re ssu re s in it sco re , no one know s w ha t s ilica te rocks do /I

rig ht n ow , b ut h e is a little c ag ey ab o ut w hy .

" I c an 't s ay m u ch ab o ut th is ," h e s ay s.

T o ge th er w i th h is c o ll ea gu e D om in ic F o rte s,

h e is a lso lo ok ing in to th e p ro pe rties o f a m i x

o famm o nia an d w ate r c alle d amm o nia

m o no hy drate , w h os e b eh av io ur c ou ld h elp

an sw e r w he th er th ere is a s ub su rf ac e o ce an

o n S atu rn 's m o o ns G an ym e de and T itan , a nd

p o te ntia ll y e xp la in th e o ri gi n o f w ate ryv o lc an oe s th ou gh t to e xis t o n T itan . H e re th e

a pp ea l o f s im u la tio n s i s o b v io u s, g iv e n th e

d if fi cu lty o f d o in g e xp e ri m en ts in s itu .

T hat s aid , e xp er im e nts o n E arth c an at le as t

m atc h th e p re ss ure s a f ew h un dre d k ilo m etre s

u nd er th e c ru st o f T itan , w hic h re ac h s ev eral

th ou sand atm o sp he re s. N o t s o in sid e Ju pite r,

th e s ol ar s ys te m 's w e ig hti es t p la ne t, w h o se

c ore p re ss ure is t ho ug ht to ap pro ac h 100

m illio n atm o sp he re s. A c co rd in g to m o de ls o f

th e s ol ar s ys te m 's f orm a ti on , m u c h o f J up ite r's

c o re is m a de o fs il ic ate ro c ks s im i la r to th o se

th at m ak e u p th e b ulk o f E arth . B ut is that a

h ard h ea rt o r a s o ft c en tre ? A t J u pi te r's i nte rn al

p re ss ur es n o o ne k now s w h eth er s il ic ate s

w o u ld b e s o li d c ry sta ls o r a l iq u id .

E x pe rim e nts o n E arth a re u nl ik el y to h el p.

W e c an o n ly c re ate s uc h e xtr em e p re ss ur es

in th e lab fo r a s plit s ec on d, b y s en din g s ho ck

w av es th ro ug h a s am p le -f or e xam p le , u sing

th e la se rs o f th e N a ti on al I gn iti on F ac il ity i n

L i ve rm o r e , C a li fo r ni a. T h at's to o b ri ef t o p ro b e

c ry s ta l s tr uc tu re . R e s ea rc h er s c an c omp re s s

m a tt er l es s e x pl o si ve ly u s in g

a d e vic e c alle d a d iam o nd anv il c eil , b ut o nlyu p to ab ou t 3.5 m illio n atm o sp he re s - go od

e no ug h to re pro du ce th e h ear t o f E arth ,

b u t n o t J up ite r.

P i c ka rd 's p l an , n ow b ac k ed b y a £ 1 .3m i ll io n

g ran t fro m a U K fu nd in g b o dy , i s th at th e

s im u la tio n s w il l b o l dl y g o th ere - a nd f urth er .

B e yo nd th e s olar s ys te m , p lan ets e ve n m o re

m a ss iv e th an J up ite r a re b e in g d is co v er ed .

W h a t s tra ng e m a te ri als c o ul d lu rk a t th ei r

h earts? A nd w hat ab ou t so m e o f t he m o st

e xtr em e e nv iro n m en ts im a gin ab le , th e

u ltr a-c om pre ss ed c ru sts o f n eu tr on s ta rs ?

T ho se w o uld b e s om e p re tty f ar-o ut c ry sta ls .U n lo c kin g th eir s ec re ts , th o ug h, m i gh t n ot

b e s o v ery f ar aw ay .•

Stephen Batter sby is a wr i te r ba s ed i n L o n do n

17O c to be r 2 00 91 N e wS cie nt is t 1 45



T h e d is e a s e s

y o u n e v e rk n e w y o u

c o u d c a tc hB ac te r ia o r v iru se s cou ld be to b la me

fo r il ln e sse s on ce tho ugh t to be cau sed

b y g en es o r u n h e a lth y lif es ty le s ,

P r iy a She t ty in ve s t ig a t e s

TWENT I ETH c e nt ur y

medic ine w as

p he no m en ally s uc ce ss fu l

at d ev elo ping v ac cine s and

a nti bi otic s to f ig ht i nf ec tio u s

d is eas es , tam in g a nc ie nt s co urg es

su ch as sma l l p ox , tuberculos i s

and typho id . In the 19605 an d

70S, the p rev ailing v iew w as

that a ll d is ease s cau sed by

m ic ro organism s w ou ld so on

be co nqu ered , le av ing o nly tho se

c au se d b y g en etic s, u nh ealth y

l if es ty le s o r a ge in g.That id ea no w seem s naiv e,

no t le as t b ecau se o f the rise in

a ntib io tic re sis ta nc e. A nd th ere 's

ano the r reaso n that no o ne even

c ons id ere d b ac k th en . A growing

num be r o f d iseas es that w ere

tho ugh t to b e dow n to gene tic s o r

life s ty le tu rn o u t to hav e an

i nf ec tio u s o ri gin .

T ak e s to mac h u lc ers . L ong

tho ugh t to b e triggered by stres s ,

item erged in the 1980s that m any

c as es are c au se d b y a b ac teriu m

cal led Hettcooacter pylori. N ow a

s ho rt c ou rs e o f a ntib io tic s is all

that's needed to cu re the

co nd itio n. and in the w est

461 NewS c ie n ti st 1 1 7O c to b er 2 0 09

s to mach u lce rs are o n the decline .

S inc e th en , re se arc he rs h av e

u ne arth ed th e u nex pe cte d

infec tio us o rig ins o f s ev era l o th er

d is ea se s. I n s om e th e e xp lan atio n

is uniqu e , bu t in o the rs com mon

m echanism s are at w ork . F o r

e xa mp le , s ev era l au to im m un e

d is ea se s a ris e b ec au se in fe ctio n

w ith a m icro be triggers an

im mu ne attack , w hich c ro ss"

re ac ts w ith s im ilar m o le cu le s

from the ho st, c au s ing the

im mune sy stem to attack hum antis su es . A nd sev era l cance rs m ay

b e c au sed b y v iru se s, so metim es

b ecau se th ey ins ert th em se lv es

into o u r DNA and d is ru p t the

genes that u su ally s to p ce lls

m ultip ly ing o ut o f c ontro l.

T he id ea th at life lo ng

co nd itio ns su ch as type 1diabetes

and o bes ity co u ld be caugh t as

e as ily a s a c old is s pi ne -c hi ll in g. Y e t

it rais e s th e tan tali s ing p o s s ib il i ty

that they co u ld be treated w ith

antib io tics o r antiv iral d ru gs , o r

po ss ib ly ev en p rev ented w ith a

v acc ine . S o w hic h o f th e fo llo wing

illne sse s w ill b e nex t to go the

w ay o f s to mach u lcers ?

D i a b e t e sS to ma ch b ug s a re n ev er

p le a s an t bu t fo r so me th ey

c o u ld t ri g ge r s ome t h in g

n as tie r th a n d ia rr ho e a. a n dv om it in g : d ia b e t. es .

P eo ple w ith d ia be te s ca n n o

lo ng er re gu la te th eir b lo od

s u ga r l ev e ls e ff ec ti. ve ly v ia . th e

h orm on e in su lin , w hic h is

p r oduced by b eta c ells in th e

p an cr ea s. T yp e 1 d ia be te s,

w hic h u su ally s ta rts in

ch i l dhood , Is a n au t o immune

d isease in w hich th e im m un e

sy ste m a tta cks th e b od y's o wn

b e ta . c e ll s. B u t wha t sets i to f f i

For t ype 1 d iabe tes ,

s us pic io n h as lo ng fa lle n o n a

g ro up o f v iru se s c alle d

C o x s a c ki e B e n t er o v ir u s es



( C B V ) , p a r tly b e c au s e o u rt br e .a k s

h av e s om e tim e s b ee n fo llo w ed

b y a .s urg e in d ia be te s c as es . A s

w e lla sth is ,n ew ly d ia gn os edd ia be tic s a re m o re lik e.ly to h av e

a ntib od ie s to th e v iru s ..

P ro of th at C B V is th e c ulp rit

h as b ee n h ard to e sta blis h,

th ou gh , a s n o o ne h as b ee n a ble

to s tu dy a hu ma n pa nc re as as it

d e ve lo p s d ia b ete s. T h afs

b ec au se it m ay ta ke m a ny m o nth s

o r y ea rs a fte r th e In itia l C B V

i nf ec tio n b e fo r ·e a ,p e rs o n

d ev elo ps s ym p to m s o f d ia be te s

a nd e ve n th en , re se arc he rs

c an no t s ta rtta kin g p an cre as

b io p sie s fr om c hild re n ju s tto

s at is fy th e i r c u r i o sity .

T h i s y e a r , h ow e v e r ,B r it is h

O bes ity _D o p e o p le g e t f . 3 t b e c au se o f

th e ir g e n e s o r b e c au se t h ey e a tto o m u c h 7 1 t's a n o ld d e 'b a te , a n d

o ne th a t h as s o fa r m a in ly ig n o re d a

th ir d p o ss ib il i t y : c a tc h in g th e w r o n g

k i nd Q fm ld .

I n t h e la te 1 9 8 05 , N ik h ll

D h u r a n d h a r, t h e n a d o c to r in

B o m b a y, I n d ia . h e a r d th a ta e h ic k e n

v i r u s h a d t he u n u s u e I sid ! ' "e f f l oct o f

m a k i n g the b ir d s o b e se , I t b e lo n g e d

to a g r o u p c a lle d - a d e n o v i r u s e s,

w h ic h in h um a n s a re u su a l ly k no w n

fo r c a u s in g c o ld s .

D h u ra n d h a r in v es tig a te d w h e th e ra d e n o v i r u s es c o u ld m a k e peop l e

f a t. F ir s t h e fo u nd that a h um a n

a d e n o v i r u s c a l le d A d - 36 c o u l d r n a k s

a n im a lS in c lu d in g c h ic k e n s , m i c e a n d

marmose t s p ile o n t h e p o u n d s , Then

h e fo u n d th a t 30 p e r c en t o f o b e s e

p e o p le h ad a n t ib o d ie s to A d - 3 6 ~

s u gg e st in g th a t th e y h a d p r e v io u s ly

e nm u n te re d th e v ir u s - ( o m pa r2 d

w i t h 4 p e r c en t o f le a n p e o p le (New

Scientist 5 A u g us t 2 0 0 0 , P 2 6 ) .

T h is v ir a l th e o ry o f obesi ty w a s

in it ia ll y r id ic u le d , " P e op le d is m is s e d i t

a s n o n s en s e ," r e c a ll s O h u r an d h a r.

B u t o th e r s h a v e n o w s ta rte d to

r ep l ic a te h is f in d in g s . E ig h t o th e r

v ir u s e s h a v e b e e n l in k e d w itho b es it y I n d if f e re n t a n im a ls ,

a lth o u g h n o f u rth e r o ne s h a v e

'b e e n im p l i c a te d in p e o p le ,

S o h ow c ou ld a m id . v ir u s m a ke

y o u pu t o n w e ig h t? S e v e r a l p o ss ib le

m e ch an is m s h a v e b e e n p u t f o rwa rd

F o r o n e , t h e v i r u s a p p ea rs to s lo w a

p e rs o n 's m e t a b o l ic r a te , I t h a s a ls o

b e e n s ho w n to s u pp re s s a h o rm o n e

c a l le d le p tin , w h ic h is k n o w n to p u t

th e b ra ke o n fa t p ro d u c t io n . A n d

O h u r a nd ha r h a s fo u n d t h a t w h e n

g ro w n in th e la b , h um a n s te m c e l i sin fe c te d w ith A d -3 6 t e n d t o d e v e lo p

in to fa t c ~ ll s .

D h u r a n d ha r i s n a w w o r k in g w i th

b io te c h f i r m O b .e te c h , b a S ed In

R ic h m o nd ', V i r g in ia , w h ic h h a s s o fa r

i d e n ti f ie d a r o u n d 30 c o m p o u n d s

th a t k il l th e v i r u s . It a ls o h a s a v a c c i n e

in a n im a l te s tin g . " P re s u m a b ly th e

v ac c in e w o u ld b e u s e d in c h i ld h o od

b u t Ic a n 't s a y if i t w o u ld b e o ne s h o t

fo r l i f e , " s a y s O b e t e c h pres ldent

R l c h a r d . A tk i n s o n

U n ti l t h e n ? T ry n o t to b re a th e

in w h e n t h e p e r s o n n e x t to

y o u s n ee z e s .

re se arc he rs tu rn ed u p th e

s tro ng es t. e vid en ce y et fo r th e

th eo ry . U s in g t is su e s am p le s

ta k e n fro m th e p anc re ase s o fc hild re n w ho h ad d ie d fro m

typ e 1 d ia be te s s ho rt ly a fte r

d ia gn o.s is , th ey fo un d th at m o re

tha n 60 p e r ce n t h a d a C BV

p ro te in in th eir b eta c ells . In

c on tr as t. t he v ir us w a s v ir tlJ ally

a bs e nt in a c o ntro l g ro up w ho h ad

d ie d fro m o th er c au se s

(DJabetologia, v o l 5 2, p 1143).

S om e re se arc he rs s us pe ct th at

C B V t rig g er s t he a u to im m u n e

a tta ck b eca use pa rt o f o ne o f

its p ro te in s r es em b le s a n

e nz ym e fo un d in b eta c ells , c alle d

g lu ta m ic a cid d ec ar bo xy la se , s o

a nt lb nd le s a ga in st th e v iru s m a y

c ro s s- re a ct to G A D . H o w e ve r,

N oe l M o rg an , a p ha rm a co lo gis t a t

th e P e nin su la M e di'c al S ch oo l In

P ly mo uth , w ho w as p art ·o f th eU K te am , th in ks it 's m o re lik ely

th at C B Vin fe ct io n a lte rs th e b eta

c e lls in s u ch a w ay th at th e b ody

s ee s th em a s f or eig n.

M o re s ur pr is in g ly ,. t he s am e

g ro up s ho we d th at C B V m ig ht

c au se ty pe 2 d ia be te s. T his fo rm

u su a lly o cc u rs in o ld e r p e op le ,

a nd is c au se d by th eir b od y

b ec om in g le ss re sp on siv e to

in s ulin , o fte n in itia lly b e ca u se

the y a re o ve rw eig ht th eir b eta

c ells re sp on d b y p um p in g o ut

m o re in su lin a nd e ve ntu ally w ea r

o u t In t he sam e pa p e r th e g ro up

sh ow ed tha t th e pa nc re ases o f

40 pe r c en t o f p e op le w ith typ e 2

,d ia b et e. s c o n ta in e d th e C 8 V

p ro te in , co m pa re d w ith 1 3 p er

c en t o f c o nt ro ls .T he team do n o t s a y ty pe 2

d ia b e te s i nv o lV e s a u to imm u n i ty .

In st ea d , th e y s p ec u la te th a tth e

v ir us im p a ir s t he b e ta c ells ' a b il it y

to s ec re te in su lin , w h ic h t ip s a :

w orn -o ut p an cre as o ve rth e e dg e

in to d ia b e te s .

W ha t d oe s th is m e an fo rth e

fu tu re ? A v ac cin e a ga in st C B V Is a

p o ss ib ili ty , o n e. w h i ch S w is s-

b as ed d ru g c om pa ny N ov ar tis is

i nves t i ga t i ng . I t c ou ld b e g iv en to

c hild re n w ith a .g e ne tic

s us ce p tib ili ty to t yp e 1i abe tes ,

s uc h a s th os e w ith a f am ll.y

h is to ry o f the d i s ease .

1 7 O c t ob e r 20091 NewSc i en t i s t l 4 7



S c h iz o p h r e n iaC a t lo ve rs , ta k e n a te : a p ar a site th a t lu rk s in ( at fa ec es

c o uld b e lin k ed w it h s c hiz o ph re n ia , T o x o p la s m a g o n d ii

( ofte n c alle d to xo ) is e stim a te d to in fe ct a ro un d 3 0 p er

c en t o f th e p op ula tio n, W hile it c an tr ig ge r m is ca rr ia ge .

in m o st p eo ple it w as th ou gh t to c au se little m o re th an ah e ad a ch e a n d s o re t hr oa t.

O v er th e p as t fe w y ea rs . h ow e ve r. e vid en ce h as

e m er ge d th at ta xa ( an h av e s om e r ath er s in is te r

e ffe cts o n o ur b eh av io ur : s om e p eo ple in fe cte d w ith

t he p a ra s it e h a ve o d d s ym p tom s , s u ch a s h a llu c in a tio n s

a nd a te nd en cy to ta ke m o re ris ks ,

T h is is n't a s c ra zy a s it s ou nd s. In ro de nts , ta xa 's

n atu ra l h os ts , th e p ar as ite g ets in to th e b ra in a nd m a ke s

th e a nim a ls le ss fe arfu l, r es ultin g in th em ta kin g m o re

r is ks , T h is m a ke s th em m o re lik ely to b e e ate n b y c ats ,

th us c om p le tin g th e p er as ite s life c yc le . Ioxo cys ts

h av e b ee n fo un d in th e b ra in s o f p eo ple . to o.

In a 2007 me ta -a n aly s is o f 42 s t ud ies , psych i a tr is tF u lle r T o rr ey a t t he S ta n le y M e d ic a l R e s ea rc h I ns tit ut e

in C h ev y C h as e, M a r yla nd . fo un d th at p eo ple w ith

s ch iz op hr en ia a re n ea rly th re e tim e s a s lik ely to h av e

a ntib od ie s to ta xa c om p are d w ith th os e w ho d on 't h av e

th e c on ditio n. T o rr ey a ls o fo un d th at p eo ple ta kin g

s c hiz o ph re n ia m e d ic a tio n h a ve lo w e r le v els o f a n tib o die s

th a n th o se n ot ta k in g s uc h d ru gs . H e s u g ge sts th a t t h e

d ru gs m a y re du ce s ym pto m s in p art b y h arm in g th e

p ar as ite , T h ey a re k no w n to d o s o in th e te st- tu be .

T o rr ey a nd o tb e rs s us p e c t th a t t a xa a ffe ct s th e

b ra in b y s om e ho w r ais in g le ve ls o f th e c he m ic al

s ig n allin g m o le c ule d o pam in e , E x ce s s d o p am i ne h a s lo n gb ee n lin ke d to s ch iz op hr en ia , a nd it is a ls o th ou gh t to

in c re a se r is k y b e h a v io u r .

E ar lie rth is y ea r. a te am le d b y g en etic is t G le nn

M c Co nk ey a t t he U niv ers ity o f L ee ds in th e U K

d is co ve re d w ha t m a y p ro ve to b e t he s m ok in g g un ,

T he g ro up fo un d th at th e p ara site h as tw o g en es th at

e nc od e a n e nz ym e th at m a ke s d op am in e. w hic h is

n or m ally o nly p re se nt in a nim a ls th at h av e a n er vo us

system ( P L o S O N E , 001: lO.1371f journa l .pone.0004801) ,

Whi le it m a y h av e o th er fu nc tio ns . th e p ar as ite c ou ld

b e m a nu fa ctu rin g d op am in e to d ir ec tly m a nip ula te its

h os t's n er vo us < ;y ste m ,th e te am s ay ." Th is is a v er y

im p o rt an t b re a kt hr ou g h, " s a ys J oa n ne We b st ec a ne p id em io lo g is t a t . Im p e ria l.C o lle g e L o nd o n. w h o h a s

lo n g s tu d ie d t ox o .

V ario us g ro up s a re n ow try in g to d ev elo p n ew

s ch iz op hr en ia d ru gs th at w o rk b y e ra dic atin g th e

p a ra s it e, E xis tin g m e d ic in e s a re o f lim i te d h e lp a g ain s t

s ch iz op hr en ia a nd c an h av e n as ty s id e e ffe cts , s uc h a s

w e ig ht g ain a nd fa cia l s pa sm s .

"The taxa p ara site co uld b e m a k in g

dopam i ne to d ire ctly m a n ip u la te its

h os t's n erv ou s s ys tem "

4 81 N e w Sc ie nt is t 1 17 O c to be r 2 00 9

B r e a s tW hy som e w om en g e t b r e a s t c a n c e r

a nd o th ers e sc ap e it is still am ys te ry ~ g en es a re to b la me ,ro r o nly

a bo ut l in 1 0 c as es ..M a yb e th e a ns we r

lie s w ith th e m ouse m am m ary tum ou r

v i rus ( M ' M T V ) , w h ic h c au se s m a m m ary

c a nc e r in m iC e .

M M T V w a s f irs t d is c.o ve re d in th e

1 93 05 , a nd th e lin k to h u m an c an c er s

h as b een s tud ie d on a nd off eve r

s in c e. In 1995, B e a tr iz P o go ,. a c a nc e r

s p ec ia li.s t a tt he . M o u nt S in a i S ch o ol

o f M e dic in e in N ew Y ork , s pa rke d

e no rm o us In te re st w he n sh e

d is co v er ed p a rt o f a g en e fo r M M TV in

3 8p er c en t o f h um a n b re as ttu m ou rs .

T h e s eq ue nc eis ra re ly 'fo un d' in

h e a lt hy t is s ue ( N ew S c i en ti st ,. 2 ju n e

c a n c e r

2 0 0 7 , P 3 8) . T his h as b ee n s up po rte d

b y B r ia n S a lm o n s, a .v ir o lo g istat th eU n iv ers ity o f V e te rin ary .M e dic in e in

V ie n na , A u str ia ., a n d h is c o lle a gu e s,

w ho h a ve sh ow n tha t th e v iru s c an

in fe ct h um a n b re as t ce lls in th e la b

(Retroviro/ogy, 001 : 10 . 11B611742 -

4690, v o l 4. P 7 3 ) .

l ik e H IV , M M T V is a re tro viru s,

w h ic h m e an s th at It in se rt s it se lf In to

t h e h o s t' s DNA . .o t h e rr e tr o v ir u s e s

c au se c an c er b e ca u se th e ir in se rtio n

d is ru pts g en es th at c on tro l. c ell

d iv is io n, s o M M T V c ou ld d o th e s am e.

A n ot he rt he o ry , f ro m m ic ro b io lo g is t

S usa n R os s a t th e u niv ers ity o f

P e nn s ylv an ia in P h ila d elp h ia , is 1! ha t

a n M M T V p ro te in c alle d e nv d ire ctly



B O O K S & A R T S

A narrow in to th e heart of tim e

T he m any fa ce s o f th e m ys te rio u s d im en s io n a re poe tic a lly e xp lo re d , s a ys David E ag leman

Time by E v a Hof fman .P i c a d o r . $1 4

R e vie w ed b y D a vid E ag le m a n

TIME is n ot w hat

it u se d to be . On c e

a flowing r iver

w h o s e c u rr en t

w e pa s si v e lym o nito re d, tim e is

n ow m o re p ro p erl yl...- JJ u nd ers to o d as

ru IIHIII

T I M

s om e th ing c ons tru cte d b y th e

b ra in a nd p e rs o na li se d b y c ul tu re .

W e h av e re la tio n sh ip s w ith ti m e;

w e f ig ht it a nd man ip u l at e it

I nto th is a re na steps Eva

H o ff m an w ith h er p o eti cal ly

s c ie n ti fi c a nd a us te re ly t it le d

Time. Ho f fma n is o n an

e xp lo ra ti on to b e com e i nti m ate

w ith tim e , m o tiv ate d b y h er s en se

th at o u r in te rac tio n w ith tim e

h a s c h a ng ed .

O u r s o ci etie s h av e b e com e

o b se ss ed w i.th t im e a nd

t im e k e ep in g , b o th in th e

w o rk pl ac e a nd a t h om e . re t travel

m anip ulate s o ur e xp erie nc e o f

d a y- ni gh t c y c le s a nd s e as o ns ,

w h ile b iom e di cal s ci en ce r ac es to

i nc re as e o u r l if e sp a n y e t f u rt he r.

A t th e o th er e nd o fth e spectrum,

n ew te ch no lo gie s ad ap t o urm i nd s to th e e v er -b rie fe r s ca le s

o f m i cro and n ano .

H o ff man c ov ers a l o t o f g r ou nd ,

f ro m p hy sic s (w h y tim e flo w s in

o n ly o n e d i re c ti o n) to b i o lo g y ( th e

c irc ad ian rh yth m an d s le ep ) to

n e ur o sc ie nc e ( how t em p o r al i: ty

is c o ns tru c te d b y th e b ra in ). S h e

a dd re s s es q u e s ti o n s oftime an d

c on s c io u s n e ss , i n cl u d in g the

u niq u ely h um a n a bi lity to e nv is io n

l arg e v is ta s o f p as t o r f utu re .

P e rc e iv e d t im e is i l lumina tedb y d i se as e s ta te s such as

A l z he im e r 's d is e as e o r K o r sa ko f f's

s yn dro m e, in w h ic h o ne 's tim e

n ar ra ti v e b e c om e s d is o rg an is e d,

5 0 1 N ewS c ie n tis t . 1 1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09

a nd b y f an ta si es a nd d re am s ,

in w h ic h th e u nc on sc io us b rain

d o es n ot n ec es sarily c omm it to

a te m p or al n arr ati ve a t a l l.

H o f fm a n a ls o i nv e st ig at es

i nd iv id u al d if fe re nc es i n h ow

p eo ple tre at tim e (th os e w h o le av e

p arti es e arl y v e rs us th o se w h ohav e to be sho oed o ut at the end )

a s w e l l a s c u lt ur al d i ff e re n ce s

"O th er a nim a ls a ge a nd d ieo n a s tric t sc he du le , b ut w ehum ans do a ll in ou r pow er

t o c on tr o l t ha t t iming"

( commun i t i e s in wh ic h h as te

am o un ts to a b re ac h o f e th ic s,

f o r i n s ta n ce ).

A r e cu rrin g th em e is t hat th e

h um an c ap ac ity to m a ni pu la teo ur e nv iro nm ent u sh ers in ne w

c om pl ex iti es to th e b as ic b io lo g y

o fti m e. F o r e xam p le , w h ile o th er

an im als ag e an d d ie o n a s tric t

s ch ed u le , h u m an s d o e ve ry th in g

in th eir p o we r to c ontro l th at

tim ing . A nd th e b oo k is fu ll o f

i nte re stin g th o ug hts : c o ns id er th e

d if fe re nt te m p or al e xp er ie nc e o f

w il d b lu e be rry b u sh es , w h ic h l iv e

13,000 y e ar s, a nd m a y fl ie s , w h i ch

fu lf i l th eir e arth ly p urp os e in al if e sp a n o f h o u rs .

O n e g ap in th e b o ok in vo lv es

th e p erc ep tio n o f v e ry s ho rt tim e

s c al e s ~ ofle ss th an a s ec ond -

w h ic h n eu ro s ci en ti sts r ef er to as

tim e s en satio n: d id he c atc h m y

g lan ce at h is n am e tag ? W h ic h

e v e nt h a p p e n ed first, my f o o tf al l

o r th e s na pp in g tw ig ? S u b-s ec o nd

timesensatlon is a f erti le a re a i n

m o de rn b rain re se arc h, o ne th at Is

u n lo c k in g f u nd am en ta l m y s te ri es

a bo u t p e rc ep ti on . H ow e ve r, g iv e nt he w o n d er fu l ly v a st t er ri to r y

H o f fm a n c o v er s, Io n 't e xp ec t

re ad e rs to n oti ce its a bs en ce .

T h e b o o k a rg u es c o n vi nc in gl y

~ that o ur re latio nsh ip w ith tim e is

~ ch a ng i ng d r as ti c al ly , p o r te n d in g

~ re al c o ns eq ue nc es f or o u r q u ali ty

~ o fl if e. T he se c o ns id e ra tio n s l ead

~ H of fm an to s tate th at o ur

~ c ha ng in g r ela ti on sh ip w ith ti m e

~ am o unts to a "p arad igm s hif t

compa r ab l e to t he C o p e rn ic an orE i ns te in ia n r ev o l ut io n s" . I 'm n o t

s ure th e c la im is w arran te d - s uc h

c la im s rare ly are m o re th an o nc e

a centu ry - bu t H of fm an is such

a g o od w r ite r th at Ia ke th e

e xag ge ratio n m e re ly to b e a

s ho w o f p as sio n fo r h er s ub je ct.

T he a uth o r d es cr ib es h er

c hild ho o d in E as te rn E uro p e as

s lo w -te m p o, a nd o n e s us pe cts

th at o nly an imm ig ran t's e ye s

c o ul d s o c le arl y d e te ct th e

" Am e ri ca n n e rv o u sn e ss " w i th

time: th e w ay Am e ri ca ns s qu e ez e

tim e an d fre t ab ou t it i n t he i r

" p er pe tu al ly r en ew i ng n ew ne s s" .

B u t s he 's n ot n ec es sa ri ly o p po s ed

to th e A m e ric an te m po . S he

a ck now l ed g e s th at t he s tr ic t,

e ff ic ie nt m an ag em e nt o f t im e h as

its m e rits - f or e xam p le . k no w in g

h ow m uc h one's tim e is w o rth and

a ss e rt in g o n e's " tem p o ra l r ig h ts " .

H o ff m an i s a l y ri ca l w ri te r, a nd

h e r s ty l e is b o th c o ng en ia l a ndc alm in g . .S h e l ab e ls h e rs e lf a

ch ronophob ic an d a chronophi l ic ,

b u t Iee he r m ore as a tim e

c o nn o is se u r, s ha rp ly attu ne d to

its subt le t ies . Time is s tro n g b o th

scientifically a n d s o c i o lo g i c al ly ,

p ro v o k in g e n dl es s c o nt em p l at io n .

O n e s ee s th at H o ff man d es ire s to

u nd ers tand tim e - no t to p in it

l if e le s sl y t o a w a ll , b u t i ns te ad

t o c h er is h it. •

PROA lE

Dav i d E a g le m an is a neurosc ient i s t

a t Bay lo r[0 ie g e o f M e d ic in e in

Hous ton ,Texa s



F or m ore re vie ws and to a dd y o u tc omment s, v is it www .N ewS ci en ti st com / bo o k s- ar t

B o u n c in g b a c kW ha t can w e lea rn from the d iffe ren t w ays

p eo p le re sp on d to b ere a ve m e nt?

T h e O th e r S id e o f S a d ne s s by Geo r ge

B o na n n o , B a s i c B o ok s , 5 2 5 .9 5

Rev i ewed b y M ic h ae l B o nd

W H AT is the be s t

w ay o f co ping w ith

the death o f a

lo v ed o ne? W hy do

so me peo ple g riev e

m o re i nte ns ely

than o the rs? S uch

TI ~Olher Sicl~

"rs.~dn~

~t!t,~~

, . fD o : I% . . ,..--"I"t'c.ll.U;!

_u.",! L .!r. '~J.<!_ j I : . . I ! . - i

GWItf1I l o i l . . li02"I~NNO

'-- _"J

q ue stio ns aretr ad itio na lly le ft to c ou n se ll or s

and self -he lp gu ru s, bu t G eo rge

B o na nn o, a c lin ic al p sy ch olo gis t

at C olu mb ia U niv ers ity in N ew

Y ork , is o n a m iss io n to answ er

them em pirica lly . H e has do ne a

g oo d jo b, in te rv ie win g th ou sa nd s

o fb ereav ed peo ple o ve r d ecade s

and m onito ring how they ge t

th ro ugh the ir tro ub led tim es .

Y et B o nanno 's b otto m line-

that p eo p le are o f ten m uch m ore

re sil ie nt th an w e're le d to b elie ve -

is rathe r u nrem arkab le . S tu die s o f

Lo nd oners du ring the B litz and

N e w Y o rk ers af te r 9/n showed

that few peo ple su ffe r se rio us

re actio ns to trau matic e ve nts .

A m ore in trigu ing qu es tio n is

w hy som e peo p le are m ore

res il ie nt th an o th ers . H ow ev er,

the re 's no real answ er. A s w ith

m os t b eh av io ura l traits , it is

im p os sib le to p re dic t in div id ua l

d if fe rence s fro m pe rso nality and

backgro und . S om e peo p le m ay

h av e re silie nce w ritten in th eir

gene s , bu t ev id ence fo r that ls

th in . B onanno fo und sev era lin tere s ting patte rns - fo r

exam p le , w idow s w ho laugh a lo t

in the m onth s af ter the ir spo use 's

d eath tend to cope b est. B ut d oes

laugh te r a id reco v e ry o r is it a s ign

o f a s tro ng c op ing m ec hanism ?

Th is is a v alu ab le bo o k fo r

B onanno 's ap plic atio n o fth e

s c ientif ic m etho d to af ie ld that

b ad ly need s it. H e is at h is m ost

co mpelling , ho wev er, in an area

w he re sc ience is o f lim ited he lp :

how cu ltu re inf lu ence s the w ay

peo p le co nnec t w ith the dead , and

w hy he decid ed to engage in

C hine se bereav em ent ritu als to

help h im m ou rn h is o wnfathe r.

Harnessing happiness

Generosity b y R icha rd Powe r s , Far rar ,

S tr a us a n d G i ro u x , $2 5 ( pu b lis h e d inth e U K by A t la n t ic Book s i n j a nua ry )

Rev i ewed b y Am a nd a G e ft er

R IC HARD P OWERS

is kno wn fo r d ef tly

weav ing science

into h is fiction.

I n h is b r il li an tl y

c raf te d te nth no vel

he tackles th e

p ro mise s and

p er ils o f g en eti c e ng in ee ri ng :

s pe cif ic ally , th e p ote ntia l f orhum ans to p inpo in t, p atent and

pe rp e tu ate the "happ ine ss gene" .

An o rp hane d refu ge e e xh ib its

sym p tom s o f hype rthym ia , o r

p e rs is tent eu pho ria. W ord o f he r

co nd itio n reache s the ears o f a

gene tic is t lo ok ing to eng ineer a

happ ie r hu man race . S uddenly

the pub lic m ust g rapp le w ith

g ene tic d eterm inis m and . free w ill,

th e e th ic s o f g en etic e nh an ce me nt

and that anc ient qu es tio n: w hat

do e s it m ean to be happy? P ow ers

h and Ie s sc ientif ic nu anc es w ith

c are , and h is metaftctional

te chniqu e o f u sing an "au tho r"

narra to r w ho d iscu ss es h is cho ices

in c harac ter and p lo t em ph as ise s

that as o u r scientlfic knowledge

g row s, w e, the hum an race , are

authoring o ur o wn s to ry .

F . l i g h t , c ame ra , a ctio n

Creat ive B ird Pho tog raphy b y Bil l

[os ter , N ew Hol land. ,£19.99

I WOULD l ik e to

po in t o ut righ t

aw ay that the be s t

b ir d p h o to g ra p h

I 'v e e ve r ta ke n

waso fagu l l

e ating frie s at

M c Do nald 's , an d

ev en that had part o f m y finge r

in it. I t's f ro m th is no vice

p ersp ec tiv e, a lb eit an av id b ird er

p ersp ec tiv e, th at I 'd lik e to su gg est

that all w ork ing and w annabe b ird

p ho to grap he rs w ill b enef it

f ro m B il l C o ste r's Creati ve Bi rd

Photography. Th e s tu n ni ng ,

co lo urfu l c lo se -u p o f a k ing

pengu in 's neck o n the co ve r te llsu s im med iate ly that h is p ic tu re s

won't be like o ur fa thers ' b ird

pho to s. A nd w hile the pho to s

are eno ugh to m ake u s get o ff the

co u ch and run o u ts id e w ith o u r

cam era , it's the tex t that m akes

th is s uch a v alu ab le b o o k , The

d iscu ss io n o f equ ipm ent is

h one st and c and id , w hile C os te r's

u np re tentio us s ty le take s the

reader o n a n e njo ya ble ad ve ntu re ,

as he o ffe rs a w ealth of he lp fu l

p ho to grap hy tip s, l ik e k ee pyo ur f ingers "b eh ind " the lens ,

N ow he te lls m e.

Fac Ing extinc tion

Natu res Ghosts b y M a r k V . B a rr ow , J r. ,

Unive rs i t y o f C h ic a gn P r es s , $35/1:24

Rev i ewed b y Ad ria n B a rn e tt

MARK BARR OW 's

h is to ry o fi de as

a b ou t c o ns e rv a ti o n

I E I I I : ~:oe~~ei : ; :~~din fo rm ativ e re ad .

B arro w takes u s

from a tim e w hen

e xtinc tio n w as no t y et ac ce pted

p hilo so ph ically , to w he n th e th re at

o f its w id es pre ad o cc urre nc e

began to in fo rm p ub lic p olic y.

The trans itio n fro m Tho mas

J ef fe rs on 's b elie f th at m amm oth s

s ti l l ro am ed the E arth to

in ternatio nal co nv entio ns o nb io d iv e rs ity p ro te c ti on is to ld in

a b risk s ty le , p ack ing in fac ts , d ate s

and h is to rica l ins ig hts w ith ou t

eve r becoming ponderous.

W ith h is to rie s o ff os sil h un tin g,

b uf falo a nd c oy ote e xp lo ita tio n,

the heath hen 's d em ise , the

dev elo pm ent o fthe A udu bo n

S ocie ty and the co nserv atio n o f

p ra irie s, s ea tu rtle s a nd C alif orn ia

co ndo rs , B arro w's fo cu s is

u nash am ed ly A m eric an . E uro pe an

r ea de rs s ho u ld , n ev e rth el es s,

a pp rec ia te b e ing in tro du ced to

key p layers in zoth century

co nse rv atio n w hom they m igh t

n ot o th erw is e e nc ou nte r.

17 Oc t o b e r 2 00 9 1 New$c i en t i s t 151



BOOKS&ARTS

Love songs to sc ienceWith num be rs like M r Darwin, Toxonomyand Liv;ng Light , D av id H aine s is sh arin g h is p ass ion

D av id H a in es w rite s s on gs

c ele bra tin g a ny th in g a nd

e ve ry th in g a bo ut s cie nc e, fro m

e vo l u tio n to th e s ola rs y.s te m .

E l eano r Harrtscauqht up wi th him

a t re he ars als fo r h is Tremendous

jo u rn ey co nc er t th is m o nth .

W h at is Tremendous Journey abou t ?

T he c on ce rt w ill f eatu re 1 5 songs

abo ut the sc ience o flife and

evolut ion . It's a sho rte r v e rs io n o f

m y " s ci en ce o ra to rio " , Lifetime. W e

o pen w ith a so ng called MrDarw in ,

which tells th e s to ry o f h is h is to ric

v oyage abo ard the B eag le . T hen

the re is Se l fi sh Gene , a s on g

re fe rrin g to R ic hard D aw k in s's

w ork , and Living Light, Que en Bee,

Bacteria an d Taxonomy.

I 'v e ne ver h ad a b io lo g y l es so n,

so Iho se to co ver life sc ience s in

Lifetime. I t's a g re at w ay to le arn

n ew s tu ff . New Se ien t i st g iv es m e

id eas fo r s ong s a lo t o f the tim e

and I 'v e g ath ere d a b ig c olle ctio n

o f po pu lar sc ience bo oks . O ne w

danger is that b ecau se a few o f the ~

bo o k s are qu ite o ld , som e o f the

facts I 'v e inco rpo rated in to m y

so ngs are o u t o f date .

D oe s t ha t m ean you ha ve h ad

to u pd ate s om e o f yo ur so ng s?

M y so ng Planets wa s c al le d Nine

Planets when Iro te it 20 years

ag o. F iv e y ears ag o Ir iefly

rewrote it as TenPlanets when it

w as tho ugh t that S edna w as the

roth p lanet. A nd then o f co urs e

t twas dec id ed that the dw arf

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5 21 N ewS ci en ti st 1 1 7 O c to b er 2 00 9

W ho d o y ou w rite yo ur so ng s fo r?

Io n 't hav e a targe t aud ience in

m ind . I r ite s o ngs abo ut sc iencethe w ay o ther p eo p le w rite lo v e

songs . Ie t so em otio nally m ov ed

b y sc ie nc e, it's l ik e b eing in lo ve ,

so Ir ite them w ith pas s io n.

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Ino w that ch ild ren are go ing

to be pe rfo rm ing a so ng . I f

anything I igh t pu t in tricky

w ord s, b ec au se k id s lo ve th at.

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Ian really teach peo ple abo ut

sc ience th ro ugh so ngs . M y aim is

to c ele bra te s cie nc e. Iant to ge t

o ther p eo p le to rea lis e w hat an

incred ib le fu nd o fkno wledge and

cu rio sity and fu n it is . A nd 1 th ink

it w orks . W hen peo ple s ing abo ut

it they beco me cu rio us and as k

wha t it a ll m e a ns .

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I f y o u're no t in tere ste d in sc ienc e

w hat are yo u in te re s ted in? P eo ple

sho uld u nde rs tand that th ings

aren 't as b lack and w hite as they

rn igh tth ink . [fyo u can sneak up

o n them from beh ind by pu tting

it in the fo rm ofa so ng , that's a

really go o d w ay o f do ing it

A re s cie nc e s on gs a d lff lc ult s ell?

P eo ple th ink the so ngs are go ing to

b e h ig h- te ch p lm k y- pl on km u si c

w ith lo ts o f synthe s ise rs , b u t

th ey 're a ctu ally v ery ly ric al, lik e

ballad s o r ro ck o r pap so ngs . W hen

o ther p eo ple w rite sc ience so ngs

they go fo r the pas tiche app ro ach

and m ake it so und , I 'm afraid to

s ay , li ke G il be rt a nd S u lli va n, Iom e

fro m a c lass ic al m us ic b ack gro und

an d Io v e a go od m elo dy , so Irite

re ally catch y tu nes . T he m usic is

m ore so ph is tic ated than the o the rs tu ffc hu rned o ut fo r c hild re n.

What ' s next?

I 'v e ju st b eg un a so ng write r

re s id ency at K ew G ardens - the

R oy al B otanic G ard ens in L ond on.

Ipent tw o day s at K ew andone at

the M illennium Seed B ank w ith

th eir to p sc ientis ts and archivists.

"W he n p eo ple s in g s on gsa b o u t. s c ie n c e th e yb ec om e c ur io us a nd a skw h a t it a ll m e a n s"

N ow Iav e to w rite a so ng

e ncap su la ting th eir w ork .

I 'm e njo yin g th e c halle ng e.

I'm ta lk in g to th e T ra ns pla nt

Trust abo ut an o rato rio abo ut

o rgan do natio n and

transplantation. It's an is su e Iee l

s tr on gl y a bo u t: Ie el it's a p ub lic

du ty fo r ev eryo ne to reg is ter fo r

o r ga n d o na ti on . At som e po int I 'da ls o lik e to w rite a s on g ab ou t

w hat sc ience is . P eo ple th ink that

sc ienc e d eals in so lid facts w hic h

are never go ing to change, and

that's the o pp os ite o f w hat sc ience

is.I ant to try and pu t that into a

po pu larfo rm .•

T he TremendouSjourney concer t

w i ll t a ke p la c e at th e S tab l e s T hea t r e ,

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p r od u c ti on o f t a rg e t mo l e cu le s .

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A pp lic atio ns c lo se R O pos i ti ons. c l o se 2 7 Sep tembe r

2009 . Re s ea rc h C h a ir /F e llo w sh ip a p plic a tio n s w ill b ec o n si de r ed u n ti l a s u it ab le a p p li ca n t i s i de n ti fi ed .

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Benefits fo r s ta ff include:

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- gene rous supe rannuation schem e w ith up to 1 7 percen temp loy e r c on tr ibu t ions .

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T o a pp ly : G o t o www . j o b s a tUQ . n e t

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UQ is a n e qu a l o p p o rtu n ity employer .

1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09 1 N e w Sc ie nt is t 1 67

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WWW.NewScient i s t lobs . com

T he S allie R os en K ap la n F ello ws hip fo r W om e n S cie ntis ts in C an ce r R es ea rc h is m a de p os sib le b y a g en ero us

bequ es t to the F ounda tion fo r N IH (F NIH ). T his is a com pe tiN ve p ro gram fo r fem ale p os tdoc to ra l. fe llow s

a pp ly in g t o t ra in in a ny o f th e N a ti.o n al C a n c er I ns tit ut e's in tr am u ra l r es e ar ch s et tin g s,in c lu d in g b a sic , c lin ic al,

e p id em io lo g ic a l, a n d p re v en ti on s c ie n c e.

T he p os td oc to ra l fe llo w sh ip e xp erie nc e a t th e N C lc an s erv e a s a firs t p os td oc to ra l tra in in g a ss ig nm e nt, o r o ffe r

m o re e xp erie nc ed p os td oc to ra l s cie ntis ts a n o pp ortu nity to fu rth er th eir tra in in g in m o re a dv an ce d m e th od s,

to a cq uire n ew re se arc h c ap ab ilit ie s, to m a ke c ha ng es in th e d ire ctio n o f th eir re se arc h, o r to re ce iv e tra in in g

in fu nd am e nta l s cie nc es a nd c lin ic al d is cip lin es fo r th e p urp os e o f e nh an cin g th e tra ns fe r o f b io te ch no lo gy to

c a nc e r c lin ic a l p r og rams .

P ro gra m. d ura fio n is n orm ally 2 to 5 ye ars . F ell.o ws w ill b e s up po rte d b y a C an ce r R es ea rc h T ra in in g A wa rd

(e R TA ), w ith a n a ug m en te d s tip en d in th e firs t y ea r p ro vid ed b y th e F N IH . T he C R TA F ello w sh ip s tip en d ra ng e

is $44,600 to $82,.400 c om m en su ra te w ith le ve l o f e xp erie nc e. S ta nd ard s elf a nd fa mily h ea lth in su ra nc e is

p ro v id e d a nd h ig h o p tio n c o ve ra ge is a va ila ble ,

C an did ate s fo r th e S allie R o se n K ap la n F ello ws hip m u st b e fe m al.e , m u s t p os se ss a d oc to ra l d eg re e, a nd m u st

h av e le ss th an 5 y ea rs p os td oc to ra l re se arc h e xp erie nc e. U .S . c itiz en sh ip o r U .S . p erm a ne nt re sid en cy (g re en

c ard ) is re qu ire d. F in alis ts fo r th e K a pla n fe llo ws hip w ill b e n otifie d b y M a rc h 2010 a nd w in ne rs a nn ou nc ed b y

M a y 2 01 0. T o b e e lig ib le fo r th e S allie R o se n K ap la n F ello ws hip a w ard , th e s ta rtin g d ate o f a ny N C I fe llo w sh ip

m u st b e n o e arlie r th an D e ce m be r 1 4, 2 00 9. A pp lic an ts a re re qu ire d to a pp ly o nlin e a t h ttp ://w w w,tra in in g,

n ih ,g ov fa pp sfp ub lic Fo rm s fp os td oc to ra lffo rm s fa dln de x,a sp x b y D e ce m be r 11,2009. Add i ti o na l i nf o rma t io n

a bo ut th e K ap la n F ello ws hip c an b e fo un d a t http : / /www.cancer.gov/ researchandfunding l t ra in ing/srk

DHHS, NIH AND NCI ARE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERS

A m e r i c a n A s s o c ia t i o nf o r Cance r Re s ea r cht C

AACR MembershipM e m b e rs D e d ic a t e d to C o n q u e r i n g C a n c e r T h ro u g h R e s e a rc h ,

Education and T ra in ing , Communicat ion and Collabo ra tion

www.aacr .org/membership

68 IN e w Sc le n tls t 1 1 7 O c to b er 2 0 09


http://www.cancer.gov/researchandfundingltraining/srk

http://www.aacr.org/membership

http://www.aacr.org/membership

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www.NewScientis t jobs .com

Department of Health and Human Services

Nadonallnsdtutes of Health

National Hear t . Lung, and Blood Institute

Division of Intramural Research

B ethesd a, M D

T en ure T rac kJT en u re d P o sitio n

Basic Biomedical Research

The D iv is io n o f Intram ural R esearch (O IR ) o f t he N a ti on al Heart, Lung and B lood J nstl ture (NHlB I) is seek l I 1 g a n o u r s ra n d ln g s c ie n ti sr co il l ltlate an d di rec t an

i nd ep en de nt r es ea rc h prog.ram in basic s cie nc e o n th e N fH campus in Bethesda, MD. T he a re a o f e x pe rn s e o f t he c an di da te is l es si rn po rr an r m a n h is /h er d em o ns tr ate d

abi l i ty to c on du ct o uts ta nd in g i nd ep en de nt r es ea rc h in a re as w ith in th e b ro ad b io m ed ic al r es e ar ch i nte re s ts o f m e O IR . T he areas o f e x pe rt is e m a y include bt u ar e

no r lim ited to : cell bio lo gy , d ev elo pm ental b io lo gy , molecular b io logy , immuno l ogy , stem cell b io lo gy , g enetiq , geno miq ,. p hy sio lo gy , b i oc h em is tr y , b i o en e rg e ti c s

a nd m eta bo li c re gu la ti on , b io ph ys ic s, biornolecular stru ctu re and dy nam ics , s ystem s and sy nth etic biology, and b io medical eng ineering . Tech nical app ro ach es m ay

in clu de : h ig h-r es ol utio n m i cro sco py , x -ra y s pe ctro sc op y a nd im ag i n g, cl inical robotics , nano techno logy , c he mic al b io lo gy , c om pu ta tio na l, a ri d t heo re t i ca l methods .

'Ihecxisring faculty is an o uts ta nd in g g tO U p o f internationally r ec o gn iz ed b iom e di ca l researchers co veting a w id e rang e o f b ask and clinical research to pics (please see

h ttp ://d ir.n hlb i.n ih .g ov /) c om ple me nte d b y [b e o th er re se ar ch in stitu te s w ith in m e D IR (p le as e s ee h ttp dlw ww .nl h.g ov /s cie nc e/# cam pu s).

Th e D IR env ironm em prov id es the opponuniry ro p erfo rm creative and i nn o va ti v e s ci en ce unconstrained by r tadinonal SUppOH systems available a t a ca d em i c or

p riv ate research institu tio ns. T h i s is enh anced b y o utstand ing research co re fac il ities in o ptical and electro n m icro sco py , rransg en ic and kno cko ut m ou se p ro du ctio n,

mouse p h e no r y pl ng , p r o re o r ni c s, g eno mics , and H ow cy tomet ry /ce l l sort ing as well as wor ld-c l a ss seminar ser i es a nd s ympo s ia . D IR f ac u lt y c an parrlclpare in Graduare

P a rt n er s hi p s P r o g ram s (http: / /gpp.nib.gov) wi th ma ny a ca de m ic p r og r ams aro und th e w orld as a mean s o f recrui t ing gradu:ue s tuden rsand extensive career guidance

an d d e ve lo p m en t r es o u rc e s a r e av ai l ab l e on campus fo r p o s t- d oc to r a l r r ai n e e s ,

C an did ate s m us t hav e an M .D ., P h.D .,. o r bo th and have a n o u ts ta nd in g record o f r es ea rc h accomplishrnenrsas evidenced b y publications in m ajo r p ee r- re vi ew edjourna l s , T he po sitio n can b e h ll ed as a te nu r e- tr ac k o r tenured p ositio n, b ut preference w ill b e g iv en to senior post -docto ra l fe llo ws o r facu lty w ho are st i l l in th e early

srages o f th ei r re se arc h c are ers . The successfu l candidate w i l l be o ff ered a co mp etitiv e salary commensurate wirhexperience a nd q ual if ic atio ns , an d will b e a ss ig n ed

ample research sp ace , su pp orted p oslu ons, and an o perating budget , A pp oin tees m ay b e U S citizens, res id ent aliens , o r no n-resid encaliens w irh o r e lig ib le ro o btain

a valid em plo ym ent au th orized v isa. C om plete ap plicatio ns m ust be rece iv ed b y N ov em ber I, 2009. Please s u bm i t a cur r i cu l um v itae , b rie f (no t to ex ceed 3 pages)

s ta tement o f r es ea rc h i n re re s r s a nd th re e letters of re f e rence in .p d fo r M S w ord f or ma ! o nl y (n o p ap er a pp lic ati on s wi l l b e ac ce p te d ) [0:

R ob ert S . B alab an , P h.D ., S cientif ic D ire c to r, N H LB I

do Mi c he ll e R e ne ha n

nh lb i_d . i r_ s ea rch@mai l .n ih .gov

D HH S and NIH are E qual Oppor t /mi t " ) ErnployfrS. Applica.rianfrom t uomen, m in or it ie s a nd p ",om w it h di~abil it iu are encouraged.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITYD ep artm en t o f G en etic s a nd D eve lo p men t

F A C U L T Y P O S IT IO N

T h e D e p ar tm e n t of G e n e t i c s a n d Development a t Columbia

U niversity M edical C enter is exp anding its faculty and seeks

ou ts tand in g app \i ca n Is w i t h the a b l l l ty to d ev e lo p a n tn de p en de n L

research p r o g r a m f o r a t e n u r e - t r a c k p o s l d o n a t t h e A s s i s t a n t

P ro fesso r level In special clrcu m stances, applicants at o ther

levels w i l l als o b e c ons id ere d. A p p l i c a n t ' s r es ea rc h p ro gram

should use illo lecu lar geneli c approaches to study, in any

mode! o r g a n is m , q ue stio ns re le van t to v erte brate p hy sio lo gy

and to the molecular bases o f h um an d eg en er ativ e d is ea se s.

O u r d ep artm en t s pa ns a broad range o f interests including

d ev el opmen ta l b io lo g y, p hy si ol og y, D N A repair and r ecombt -

n atio n, c an ce r a nd h um an g en etic s. A p p l i c a n t s s ho u ld i nc lu de a

c urric ulum v ita e a nd s ummar y .o f c urre nt a nd p ro po se d r es ea rc h

p r o g r a m s , a nd a rr an ge f o r th re e l ei te rs o f reference to be s e n t .

Comple tedappl i ca t ions s ho uld b e s ubmitte d

v ia th e l o l l o w t n g Web s ite :

https;lIacademicjobs.columbia.edu/applicants/Centra l ?qu i ckFiud= 51 9 9 0

C o n si d e r a ti o n o f c o m p l e te d a pp l i c a ti o ns w il l b e g inS ep temb er 30, 2 009 .

C olu mbia U niversity is an equal opporlunity/afflrmalive actlon

employer. M ino riliesand w om en are encouraged to apply. MiclOSott~

T he M ic ro so ft® M e d ic a l M e d ia L ab ora to ry (M 3 L )Wa sh in gt.o n, D is tr ic t o f C o lum b ia

Microsoft's Health Solutions Group, in conjunction with

Micro.soft® Research, is pleased to offer three month

internships for individuals pursuing graduate level

degrees.

The M3L explores the use of information technolcgvln

healthcare, and in particular, the opportunities afforded

by cloud computing, gesture recognition, 3Dvisualization,

mobile computing, unified communications, natural

language processing and clinical process modeling andmonitoring.

Interns wiIIhave the 0 pportunity to design and build novel

solutions in one of these areas and examin e the impact of

this technology in a real-world healthcare environment.

S tip en d a nd e xp en se s p aid .

Contact; Hank Rappaport, MD I Email: [email protected]

Mor e information, including an en-line applleation, c an b e found at

http://resea.rch.microsoft.com/en-us/jobs/intern/medicalmedia.aspx

1 7 O c to be r 2 00 9 INewSc i en t i . s t 1 69


mailto:[email protected]







F E E D B A C K

MORE th an 60 F ee db ac k r ea de rs

responded to o ur reques t fo r

" the W ord" that m igh t hav e been

i n t he b eg in ni ng , oreven b e h ea rd

in the echo es of'the b ig b an g

(5 S eptem ber). H ere are o ur

fav ou rites , so far.

H av ing ju st read B elinda

A nyo s's sugges tion fo r an

ergo topographica l s ign-

"W F !\(©)/\" - to ind icate that one

is wo rking from the labour ward

(also 5September) -and, fo r all

w e know , in reference to G ustave

Courbe t ' s cont rovers ia l 1866

painting L 'O rig in e du Monde -

alm ost il lu s trated above - the

wo rd that sp rang to C lare

R ed sto ne 's m ind w as "P ush!"

Fol lowing a morec on ve ntio na lly g en de re d

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that, " insp ired by the fact that

G od and the w riter D ouglas

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th e w ord can only be "Sony" .

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p hras e th at c om pu te r

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ale com municating w ith , er . ..

th e w orld .

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A n a dv ert e xh orte d Sam W es the ad to ea t"h ea lth y c hic ke n", A s a v ete rin ary s urg eo n,

h e is s ce ptica l a bo ut th e fe as ib ility o f th is ,

to s ay n oth in g, o f th e a dv is ab ility

72 J NewS ci en ti stl 17 O c to b er 2 00 9'

Formore feedback, visit www.NewSdentist.comlfeedback

Jim P age, m eanw hile , is

c on vin ce d th at th e re sp on sib le

entity is a law yer. "S ure ly h e.

w ou ld hav e to be , g iven all tho seA cts o f Go d he com mits" , and

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h e c o nc lu d es .

READERNed Goo dw in says he

f ou nd " a li tt.le w h if f o f p s e u d o -

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re ge ne ra to r" p ro m ote d a t

www.human-regenerator .com.

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u s th ere w as a v ery b ig w hiff ,

e sp ec ially w he n w e re ad in th e

'T ec hn iq ue " s ec ti on th at th e

d ev ic e ~ a f la sh ily d es ig ne d b ox

re se mb ling a c of fin th at y ou are

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a "Quant um -Ce ll ( o de " .

W e h av e no te d b efo re (30 May)

thatthe q-w ord is a sure-fire

in dic ato r o f f ru it!o o pe ry a nd th at It

ne ve r m eans any th in g w he n u se d

i n p r o du c t d es cr ip t. io n s. T h at i s

e v .i de ntl y t ru e h e re , l ea di ng , u s to

w onder, as w e so o ften do , w ho on

e arth c ou ld e ve r b e tak en in b y th is

kind o f n onsense to the p oin t o f

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m o uth wa sh p ro u dly a.n no u nc e

that they "p ro vide Z4-ho ur

a cti on " b ef ore qu ick ly adding

"w hen u sed tw ice daily" . C olin

M cLeod wonders if there are any

pro du cts w hich claim 24-hou r

effectiv ene ss bu t w hich nee d

re app ly ing ev en m ore

freq uently - say , ev ery 6 hours ,

o r ev en ev ery ho ur.

SEVERAL r ea de rs h av e q u es ti on ed

o ur as se rtio n th at P hilip s m us t h av e

m ad e a m ajo r b re ak th ro ug h to

m an uf ac tu re a n i ro n th at p ro du ce s"50 p er c en t s m all er s te am p ar tic le s"

(26 S ep te m be r). C hr is A d am s s um s

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e ve ry day s te am is s om eth ing e ve n

W i kip ed ia g ets rig ht. W h at m o st

p eo ple , e sp ec ially th os e w ho u se

iro ns , th ink o f a s s team is a m is t o f

d ro pl ets o f w ate r." T hO s e c ou ld

in de ed g et s ma lle r, w ith ou t th e

i nt er e st in g c o n se qu en c es o f

s hr in ki ng w a te r m o le cu le s.

F e e db a ck d e cl in e s to c om m en t o nw h eth er a y ou th fu l f as ci na ti on w ith

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F IN A L LY ,n ow is y ou r las t c hanc e to

e nte r o ur D arw in N o w c om pe titio n

at wwwnewscientist.com/

projects/forms/darwinnowog, as

it do ses at 5 pm B ST o n 1 9 O c to ber.A ll y ou have to do is tell us in

no m ore than 50 w ord s w hat

s ele ctio n p re ss ure im po se d

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anim als o f the fu tu re . The p rize

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anywhere inthe w orld p lu s luxury

hote l accommodation provided .

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emai l a t feedbacK@newscient i s t .mm.

P l e as e i nc l ud e y ou r home ad dr es s .

T h is w e ek 's a nd p as t F e ed b ac ks c an

be seen on o ur websi te ,

http://www.newsdentist.comlfeedback/

http://www.human-regenerator.com./

mailto:[email protected].

mailto:[email protected].

http://www.human-regenerator.com./

http://www.newsdentist.comlfeedback/



THELASTWORDL as t w ord s p as t a nd p re se nt, p i u s qu es tio ns , a t

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sn o rk e lfin g o n th e n orth c o a s t o f

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d is cu sse d th is v ery to pic .

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n um b e r a n d e m a il a d d re s s if y ou h av e

one .R es t r ic t q ues l ions t o s c i en t i fi c

o f the anim al o bse rv ed . by the

reader do e s no t m atch that o f

the sp ec ie s o f s ea snake fo und

o n the P ac if ic s id e o f the canal,th e y ello w-b ellie d se a s nak e

( P el am i s p J at ur u s) , w hic h is b lack

"T o u r is ts in th e C a rib b ea no fte n re p or t s ea -s na kes i.g h ti n qs , b u t th e y tu rno u t to b e s n ak e e e ls "

w ith no m ark ings v is ib le fro m

a bo ve a nd b rig ht o ran ge /y ello w

on its unders ide .

A fte r d oing s om e sleu th ing

re ga rd in g th is topic, it se em s v erylike ly that the reade r saw a specie s

o f s na ke e el. T ou ris ts in th e

C arib be an o fte n rep ort se a-s nak e

s igh tings that tum ou t to be snake

ee ls . T he se anim als are v ery

com mon in the C aribbean and

a r e f r eq u e n tl y re ferred to as sea

s nak es b y lo cals , w ho b elie ve

them to be v enom ou s . V iew ed

from a f ew m etre s abo v e, o r ev en

c lo se r, a snak e e el is v ery e as ily

m is taken fo r a tru e snake .

S ara R ua ne

D epartm ent of B io logy

C olleg e o f S ta ten Isla nd

New York, U S

• W hen sno rke lling in To bago

I, to o, cam e ac ro ss w hat lo oked

like a sea snake . [co nsu lted the

b o o k Ree f F i sh Iden t if ica t ion :

F lo ri da , Ca ri bbean, . Bahamas by

P au l H um ann and N ed Deloach

( N ew W o r ld P u b lic ati on s, 2007)

a nd , f ee lin g q uite re lie ve d,d isco ve red the ex is tence o f

s nak e e els . I saw a s ha rp tall e el ,

My ri ch th ys b re vi ce ps , w hich is

N e w S c ie n tis t r e ta in s t o t a l e d i to r ia l c o n t ro l

o v er th e c o n t e n t o f T h e L as t W o rd . S e n d

q ue st io ns a nd a ns w e rs t o T he La s tW o r d ,

N e w Scient i s t L a c o n Kou s e ,84 Theoi la ld rs

Road . L o n d o nw ax 8 NS , U K .b y ema i l t o

dark g rey w ith p ale spo ts and

abo u t a m e tre lo ng . I t c an be

fo und in a v arie ty o f h ab ita ts ,

inc lud ing sha l low gras s b ed s, a td ep th s b etw ee n 1- 3 an d 13 metres .

Ilso enco untered o ne inBona i r e

in th e N e th er la nd s A n ti ll es .

P erh ap s th is is w hat y ou r

co rre spo ndent s aw in C uba.

A nn e P er re tt

S tA ndrews, F ife, U K

• Th is is a s im ple case o f m is taken

id entity . W hat yo ur reader saw

w as m ost like ly a m em ber o f the

fami ly Ophrch th idae , which are

no t snake s bu t f ish , specificallyee ls . T hey are co mm on ly called

snake eels b ecau se they are o ften

m is tak en fo r s ea snak es .

S nak e e els are m ore w id esp re ad

b ec au se , u nlik e se a s nak es , th ey

are ab le to to lera te co ol w ate r. A s

a re su lt, snak e ee ls h av e m anag ed

to sp read in to the A tlantic O cean ,

th e Re d S ea and o the r w ate r

bo die s that sea snake s can 't re ach .

F or exam ple , the R ed Sea is an

id eal hab itat fo r s ea snake s bu t

has a large u pw elling o f co ol w ater

near its o pening to the Ind ian

O c ean. T his b arrie r h as p re ve nte d

sea snakes from ente ring , bu t no ts na ke e el s.

S nak e ee ls are no t v eno mo us .

The lo cals w ere p ro bab ly w ell

aw are that yo u had seen a

snake eel, hence their mir th

at le ad ing yo u o n abo ut its

p ois on ou s n atu re .

A la n C la gu e

L iv erp oo l, U K

T h is w e ek 's q u es tio n

S HEL L S HO CKO ne o f m y yo ung ch ickens has

ju st p ro du ce d an u nu su ally

co lo u red egg (to the righ t o f the

pho t o ) . The egg o n the le f t. is mo r e

ty pic al o f th e b re ed . Inow egg

she l l co lo ur is v ariab le , ev en in

eggs la id by the sam e hen o n

d if fe rent day s , bu t how d id o ne

egg unde rgo su ch a s udden and

dis t inct co lou r change?

C o li n B o ot h

Du.rham,UK

Do Polar B earsGe t Lone ly?

http://www.last-word.com/

http://www.last-word.com/

New Scientist Magazine 17 October 2009 (ATTiCA)

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Transcript of New Scientist Magazine 17 October 2009 (ATTiCA)