lÑÑLLÌÜlÜUbMÌNÜbWPÿdÍPEÌSÍS 000Í0EE0Û00 Science and technology news www.NewScientist.com Opportunities in marine science ÛUÜÜlNÜJHLÛUÜb 1dppÌ0gÌ0Í0ÍPESE6|EÍ |d0gUdgE0Í0dCÍE|Ìd • ÜULHÎÅLJÜÑ Å0|dÌ0SLd0 Í00EdSU|EpdÌ0 USSS.9S CANSS.95 No27S0 o 9 > Looking for Teachers & Researchers? Recruit for qualified academics with the New Scientist Faculty Feature in the March 13, 2010 issue. We were recently seeking candidates for a Tenure-Track @@Assistant Professor position in Metabolism and Diabetes. We posted the position on NewScientistJobs.com and have been pleasantly surprised by the response. We were able to make contact with people that we never would have otherwise found. I am pleased to say that we look set to fi II the position with a great candidate. Chris Chambreau, University of Utah 11 Reservations must be received by March 3, 2010. Email
[email protected] Call 781.734.8770 Fax 720.356.9217 ÑEwb£|Eßî|5îÌ005 .J`¯¯`¯: NEWS 3 EDITORIAL Effective interrogation 4 UPFRONT Climategate goes to Parliament. Iceberg threatens world's weather, Chile quake will leave volcanic legacy 6 THIS WEEK The brain scan that feels your pain, Shaped moulds tell stem cells what to be, Why alien worlds are like a toaster, Brain imaging goes chemical. Dino-eating snake caught red-jawed 14 IN BRIEF Mind-controlled prosthetics without brain surger, The downside of happiness, Flipping Earth's protective shield 17 TECHNOLOGY Wave powers grand designs, Blooming green fuel cells, Bone echoes drive body-based computing OPINION 22 A third nuclear option Fission and fusion power each have thei r problems, but there is another way, argueJulian Hunt and Graham O'Connell 23 One minute with ... Ginny Barbour, on why we should shun tobacco industry research 24 LETTERS Darwin evolves, Aliens can't hear us 26 Anatomy of atheism Religion is the norm for most humans, so what makes some reject it ask Lois Lee and Stephen Bullivant FEATURES 2B Touching the mul tiverse (see right) 32 Troubl e in paradise Time is running out to eradicate the killers wreaking havoc on an island wildlife haven 36 Bugging your bugs Why it will pay to turn the tables on the microbes that eavesdrop on your body's ever move 40 As bad as torture (see right) REGULARS 24 ENIGMA 44 BOOKS & ARTS Review A travelogue with a difference follows scientific endeavour to Earth's bleakest locations 45 Gall ery A modern take on theart of the diorama 56 FEEDBACK Less fat than", what? 57 THE LASTWORD Honey for theflies 46 JOBS & CAREERS USA AUSTRALIA 225 Wyman Street. Tower 2, 475 Victoria Avenue, Waltham, MA 02451 Chatswood, NSW 2067 Tel 781734 8770 Tel +612 9422 2666 Fax 720 3569217 Fax +61 294222633 201 Mission Street 26th Floor, Sa n Fra ncisco, C 94105 Editorial . media enquiries Tel 415 908 3348 Tel 781734 8770 Fax 415 7043125
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[email protected] Canadian subscriptions distributed b RCS International. 12182 Belden For a full list of who's who at Ct Lr"onia, M148150. new Scientist go to Newsstand newscientist.com/people Distributed by Curtis Circulation Company, 730 River Road, New Milford, NJ 07646·3048 Tel 201634 7400 Volume 205 No 2750 COVER STORY Touching the multiverse At last there's a way to find out if it exists Cover image Eoin Ran As bad as torture The mental scars of coercive interrogation Coming next week Accidentalor|g|ns Evoluti on is even more random than we thought PLUS When empathy goes i nto ove rd rive Syndication New York, NY 10010, Tribune Media Services Periodicals postage pai d at Inter national New York, NY and other mailing Tel 213 237 7987 offices. Postmaster: Send address email l
[email protected] changes to New Scientist, © 2010 Reed Business po 80x 3806, Chesterfield, MO Information Ltd, England, 63005-9953, USA, Regi stered at the Post Office New Scientist ISSN No, 0262 4079 as a newspaper and printed in USA is published weekly except forthe b FryCommunications Inc, last week in December by Reed Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 8usiness Information Ltd, England, Reed Business Infonmation, ca g Reed Business Schnell Publishing Co, Inc" 360 Park Avenue South, 12th Floor, I n formatio n 5 March 2010 I NewScientist 1 1 ACTON Ü7z The Carbon Trust is funded by Government. Making offshore wind viable is the engineering challenge of the decade. By 2020 we could create 70,000 jobs and when finished provide more than a quarter of the UK's electricity. The Carbon Trust is bringing together the leaders in the industry, from energy companies to technology developers, to overcome the technical and economic challenges to make offshore wind happen. Contact us to find out how we could help you open up new commercial opportunities. carbontrust.co.uk1 cleverthìnkìng ÛbÛÛÛbb ZÛÛb � � � CJXT!1 JXUÎJ Making business sense of climate change ¯`` ¯J| /| Thepowerofpersuas|on Coerci ve i nterrogati on is i neffective and damagi ng, We need a more effective and humane approach HOWLS of outrage greeted US Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -who claims to have masterminded the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington -in a civilian court rather than before a military tribunal. The protesters' wish to see Mohammed treated as an enemy combatant is perhaps understandable, but in fact dealing with suspected terrorists in this way has a poor track record. Since 2001, US military commissions have convicted just three detainees of perpetrating terrorist acts. Civilian courts have secured around 150 convictions. Why the difference? The "enhanced interrogation" techniques sanctioned by the Bush administration after 9/n have surely not helped: as we report this week (see page 40), they are both inhumane and ineffective. Practices such as sleep deprivation, isolation and forcing prisoners to maintain stress positions may fall outside the legal definition of torture but their impact can be just as damaging. And as with "proper" torture, they often fail to yield any information at all, or elicit worthless statements by causing detainees to lose touch with reality. President Barack Obama has tried to draw a line under all this with the establishment ofa team of elite interrogators, the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group, that will only use "scientifically proven", humane techniques. But where these will come from is hard to know, as the research has simply not been done. "Techniques such as sleep deprivation mi ght not fit the definition of torture. but are just as traumatic" There is, however, a promising alternative to coercion, and though it may seem at first sight like a feeble strategy for dealing with people thought to be bent on mass murder, it has much to recommend it. It is simple persuasion, something that has been the subject of intense academic interest for decades, and that modern consumer societies have become very good at. What' s hot on NewSci entist.com NEW SCIENTIST TV D March 2010 vodcast We take a look at blow-up fabric spaceships, check out the work of a robot artist and attend a wedding with a bi ochemi cal twist BLOG Ki ller whale: the clue's in the name Perhaps the oddest explanation for the death of a ki l l er whale trainer is that the whale was enacti ng a mating behavi our. We exami ne why keepi ng top predators captive wi l l always cause probl ems SPACE 'Satel loons' and lunar lasers: communicating in space NASA i s revampi ng how it transmits si gnal s to spacecraft both near and far. Wetake a l ook at the hi story and future of the agency's space-communi cati on projects ZOOLOGGERThe monster land crab As the sun sets over a beauti ful Paci fi c i sl and, the world's l argest land arthropod emerges from its burrow. Coconut crabs have evolved a host of strange adaptations to survive on Here is a field in which science really can point to effective techniques for extracting useful information. We know, for example, that successful persuasion rests on the reputation of the person doing the persuading. This may help explain the civilian justice system's greater success at bringing terrorists to book: they have a much better reputation for fair dealing than the military tribunals system. Commenting on the announcement that the alleged Christmas day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab -who is to be tried by the civilian courts - is cooperating with the FBI, Holder said: "You are much more likely to get people to cooperate with us if their belief is that we are acting in a way that is consistent with American values." If the security services want to improve their reputation there is a proven way: reputation requires trust, and trust rests on openness. For that reason, the workings of Obama's new interrogation group must be more transparent than the shadowy world of Guantanamo Bay. That would begin to repair the damage done to America's reputation. It might also deliver the result that is surely to be desired: better intelligence, more terrorists behind bars, and less torture . • l and, but thei r excepti onal l i festyle has also putthem at great risk. Onl y now are conservati oni sts working out how to protect them TECHNOLOGY Printing press shrunkto the nanoscale Si l i con chi ps coul d conti nue to shri nk, thanks to the i mpl ementation of an 18th-centur l i thographi c technol ogy at the mi croscopi c scale For breaki ng news, video and onl i ne debate, vi si t newscientist.com ¯ÎÆEI0ðCCEþI IRðIðIREÎSÆ, R0Ig00,ÎS000 IF YOU'RE one ofthose committed atheists in the Richard Dawkins mould who dreams of ridding the world of religious mumbo-jumbo, prepare yourself for a disappointment: there is no good evidence that education leads to secularisation. In fact, the more we learn about the "god instinct" and the refusal of religion to fade away under the onslaught of progress, the more the non-religious mindset looks like the odd man out. That is why anthropologists, psychologists and social scientists are now putting irreligion under the microscope in the same way they once did with religious belief (see page 26). The aim is not to discredit atheism but to understand how so many people can override a way of thinking that seems to come so naturally. For that reason, atheists should welcome the new scrutiny. Atheism still has a great deal to commend it, not least that it doesn't need supernatural beings to make sense of the world. Let's hope the study of atheism leads to new insights into how to challenge such irrationality .• New Scientist needs you! New Scientist's stock of back issues of the magazi ne i s runni ng low for certain issues from the 19605. especi al l y between 1965 and 1970. If you have any spare copies moul deri ng i n an atti c or back room. we'd be very grateful for them. Visit bit.ly/9a18LL for ful l details of the ones we need. Everyone who hel ps us wi l l be entered into a draw to wi n a New Scientist goody bag. 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 3 O|||ÙN¯ Clash of symbols MORE than a decade since it was first spotted, element 112, the newest element in the periodic table, has arrived at the finish line, winning its chemical symbol at last. The name " copernicium" was suggested last year by the element's discoverers, led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. Now the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry has given its official seal of a pproval - and announced that its symbol will be Cn. "It is good to have a final decision on it," says lohn Corish of[UPAC. IUPAC rejected the initial suggestion of the symbol Cp, "IUPAC has given copernicium its official approval and announced that its symbol will be Cn" mainly to avoid confusion. Prior to 1949, Cp referred to cassiopeium, an element with the atomic number 71 that is now known as lutetium. Corish adds 4 1 NewSci entist 1 6 March 2010 that Cp is also used to refer to the organic compound cyclopentadienyl, and as an abbreviation for " specific heat capacity at constant pressure". Hofmann's team discovered element 112 in 1996, after fusing atoms of zinc and lead. But it wasn't until 2009 that IUPAC finally confirmed the element had been made-and that Hoffman's team deserved the credit. "You have to be very careful," says Corish. "People say you are slow, but it's very difficult science, so it has to be done extremely carefully." Çuakenow,eruptlater TALK about bi g. Chi le's magni tude 8. 8 earthquake shook the region so violently that it may leave a legacy of vol cani c eruptions, and could even have shortened the l ength of a day. Charles Darwin was among the first to suggest that large earthquakes i ncrease volcanic activity. In hi s records, he notes that a Chi l ean quake i n February 1835 appeared to resurrect i nactive volcanoes, of the epi centre i n the following year. Last week's quake occurred on the same section of fault that Darwin l i nked to vol cani sm. "We expect to see an upsurge i n volcanic activity over the next 12 months," says Pyle, but he stresses that the risk to local people is likely to be mi ni mal (Earth and Planetar Science Letter, DOl: 10.1016/j. epsl .200B.ll.005). Richard Gross, a geophysicist at and cause eruption rates to rise. NASAsjet Propul sion Laboratory in Last year, David Pyle at the Pasadena, California, has cl aimed university of Oxford and hi s colleagues that the shake coul d have shifted confirmed that this was a real effect i n Chi l e. In parti cul ar, they found that after a magni tude B.3 quake in 1906 and a magnitude 9.5 quake i n 1960, there were three or four more volcanic eruptions than would normally be expected within about 500 ki l ometres Jones explains BELEAGUERED climate scientist Phil lones was questioned by a British parliamentary committee this week, in one offive inquiries into the " climategate" scandal. I ones, a researcher at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, denied trying to keep papers by his critics out of journals. ''I've written some awful emails," he said, but later rejected "the view that I've been trying to pervert the peer-review process". He also said he did not usually publish raw data from weather The loose tooth breaks away enough material i nsi de the pl anet to si gni ficantly alter its mass distribution, changi ng the axis about which the Earth turns. "The length of the day should have gotten shorter by 1. 26 microseconds;' he told Bloomberg. stations, nor the computer codes used to analyse data, because it is not " standard practice". He added that other climate scientists who have reviewed his papers have never asked for such data. However, written evidence submitted by the Institute of Physics in London claimed the hacked emails had revealed "evidence of determined and coordinated refusals to comply with honourable scientific traditions" through "manipulation ofthe publication and peer-review system" and "intolerance to challenge". Antarctic break-up THIS is the moment, on 20 February, when a massive tongue of ice (left in the picture) protruding into the ocean broke free of Antarctica. It had earlier been rammed by a huge iceberg, and now forms another giant berg with an area of 2500 square kilometres. After the collision it was "hanging like a loose tooth", says Rob Massom of the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre in Australia. For daily news stories, visit www. NewScientist.com/news The event could affect ocean currents and marine life. While attached to the Antarctic ice shelf, the ice tongue had helped hem in an area of open water surrounded by ice. Known as polynias, such areas encourage the formation of dense, highly saline water which sinks to the seabed, and are oases of marine life. Whether the event is linked to climate change is a matter of dispute. Some climatologists see it as part of the normal course of events, while others say it is consistent with observations that a large part of Antarctica's ice shelf is warming rapidly. Fighting Spirit DEAR Spirit rover, your refusal to bow out gracefully is making things a mite awkward back on Earth -we've been writing your obituary for years. But the Mars rover's death is as distant as ever: it should wriggle free of its sandy trap after all. InApril 200g Spirit became mired in loose sand on Mars. After months of trying to free the rover, NASA declared on 26 January that Spirit was stuck, but could at least continue taking measurements. But the announcement was " a little bit premature", rover scientist Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, told the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, this week. In January and February, NASA coaxed the rover backwards by "As long as it survives the winter, the rover has a good chance of backing out of the pit" 34 centimetres, a big advance on the millimetres it had managed before. As long as it survives the winter, the rover should back out of the pit, says Arvidson. Worm killer P000X§gERI0SþEE0S0DIÎEI§ IT WORKS for crops. Now a common organic pesticide could cure hundreds of millions of people of intestinal worms, if cash can be found for trials. More than 1 billion people, almost all of them living below the World Bank's poverty line, are infected with nematodes. While the worms don't usually kill, they stunt growth, cause anaemia and impair cognitive development. All this helps to "trap the 'bottom billion' in poverty", says Peter Hotez, a specialist in tropical diseases at George Washington University in Washington DC. The current treatment doesn't work well on all types of worms -and resistance is emerging. Now Raffi Aroian at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues have shown that the protein CrySB, produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis and used as a crop pesticide, could act as an effective drug. An oral dose cleared around 70 per cent ofthe worms from infected mice (PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, DOl: 10.1371/ journal.pntd.oooo614.t002). CrySB is about three times as effective as tribendimidin, the leading drug in development. A big obstacle is a dearth of funding for human trials, says Aroian. BOOZE that has been treated so that you sober up faster afterwards may sound like a dri nker's dream. but coul d end up bei ng thei r downfal l if i t encourages heavy dri nkers to consume even more alcohol. Kwang-i l Kwon and his colleagues atChungnam Nati onal University i n Daejeon, South Korea, gave 30 men and 19 women 360 mi l l i l itres of a dri nk contai ning 19. 5 per cent alcohol by volume, about the strength of fortified wi ne or sake. The dri nks also contai ned 8, 20 or 25 parts per mi l li on of dissolved oxygen, which i s known to play a role i n alcohol breakdown by the body. Ittook about 5 hours for the blood alcohol levels of volunteers to reach zero. But Kwon's team found that on average, those whose dri nks contai ned 20 or 25 ppm of oxygen went to zero 23 mi nutes and 27 mi nutes faster respectively than those who had the lowest-oxygen dri nks (Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, DOl: 10. lll1/j. 1530-0277.2010.01155.x). The researchers suggest that enri chi ng alcohol i c drinks with oxygen might"allow i ndividuals to become sober faster". 'The reduced time to a lower bl ood-alcohol concentration may reduce alcohol· related accidents," they write. A spokeswoman for the British Medical Association was uni mpressed. "We wouldn't want a situation where people drank more si mpl y because they would recover qui cker." 60 SECONDS Count your wayto hella We need a way to describe super· hi gh numbers. So says an onl ine petition wi th over 20,000 supporters, advocati ng the prefix "hel la" for 1027• Yotta (1024) is the largest prefix in the International System of Units, but hel l a units could prove handy for numbers such as the sun's wattage, says physics student Austin Sendek of the University of California, Davis. Titanic survival Astudyofshi pwrecksshowsthat speed of capsize di ctateswho survives. Abl e-bodi ed men were less l i kely to survive than women and chi l dren on the Titanic, which sanki n 2 hoursand40 minutes. The opposite wastrue on the Lusitania, which sank i n 18 mi nutes. Benno Torgler of Queensland University ofTechnology, Australia, says self sacrifice trumps self-preservation if a shi p takes l ongerto sink. Vaccine fear persists Although there is no evidence for a l i nk between autism and vaccines. about 1 in 10 US parents still refused a vacci ne fortheir chi l dren i n 2009 because of safety fears. A quarter bel i eve vaccines can cause autism, accordi ng to a survey of 1552 parents of under-17s by researchers atthe Uni versity of Mi chigan, Ann Arbor. Flu shot from tobacco The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is pl oughi ng $40 mi l lion i nto the possi bil ity of growi ng fl u vaccine in genetically modified, low-ni coti ne tobacco pl ants. It hopes thi s wi l l make it easier to produce large amounts of vacci ne at short notice than by the egg-based method used today. Collider thaws out The Large Hadron Col li der is out of hi bernati on. Aftera wi nter break, the fi rst beam of 2010 was circulated on 28 February. It wi l l i niti al l y run at 0.9 teraelectronvolts, gradually i ncreasing to 7 TeV i n the comi ng weeks - hal f its desi gned energy. 6 March 2010 I NewScientist 1 5 ¯¬` :W¯¯´ The scanner that feels your pain A brai n scanning techni que is fuel l i ng debate over whether pai n can be measured objecti vel y Jessica Hamzelou PAIN intensity, the most personal of experiences, can now be measured from the outside, say researchers who scanned the brains of young men who were fresh out of the operating theatre. Their claim reopens the debate over whether pain can be measured objectively. It might even be possible to gauge the pain felt by newborn babies, fetuses, "locked-in" patients, who can't communicate with the outside world, and animals. "The definition of pain is that it is subjective, and until now an objective measurement has remained elusive," says Morten Kringelbach of the University of Oxford, who has previously worked on a method of objective pain measurement and was not involved in the most recent work. Functional MRI scans have been used before to identif brain areas that "light up" when someone i s in pain. Because oxygenated and deoxygenated blood have different levels of magnetisation they look different under MRI. A technique for analysing fMRI scans called BOLD, for blood oxygen-level dependent, exploits this difference to determine which areas are most active: high oxygen is a sign that a brain region is particularly active. While BOLD can reveal if the amount of oxygen flowing to a particular region has increased or decreased, it doesn't measure by how much. Now Tara Renton of King's College London has used an alternative way of analysing fMRI scans called arterial spin labelling (ASL) to measure how much oxygenated blood is flowing through particular areas. ASL is not new but has only recently been applied to the study of pain. In regions of the brain associated with feeling pain, Renton and her team found that the amount of oxygenated blood PAIN - A SYMPTOM OR A DISEASE? There is still di sagreement over cultural attitudes to pai n. whether it's possi bl e to measure pai n Beverly Col l ett, consultant i n pai n objectively. But attempts to do so are medi cine atthe University Hospitals already dri vi ng calls for pain to be of Leicester, described the scale of recognised as a di sease i n its own the problem i n the UK where she right, rather than a mere symptom. says 7. B mi l l i on peopl e are l ivi ng with On 1 March a group of UK pain chroni c pai n. "Of these, 25 per cent researchers gathered in London to will lose their jobs and 22 per cent compl ai n about the way pain is will develop depression." The cost of viewed and treated. They argued pain is estimated at over €200 bi l l i on that far too many peopl e in the world per year i n Europe and $150 bi l l i on get no treatment for thei r pain, per year i n the US. partly because we are just starti ng Irene Tracey of the Pain Imaging to understand the underl yi ng Neuroscience Group at the University causes, and partly because of of Oxford says this sufferi ng is 6 1 NewScientist 1 6 March 2010 correlated with the intensity of pain described by 16 young men, just after they had had their wisdom teeth removed. Renton, who described the findings at King's College London on 24 February but has not yet unacceptabl e. She hi ghl ights cul tural attitudes whi ch encourage people to put up with pai n, rather than seeking treatment - i ncl udi ng sayi ngs l i ke "no pain, no gain". She and Col lett are calli ng for pai n to be treated as a di sease, rather than a symptom as is the case at the moment. This would hopefully emphasise its seriousness and lead to more extensive treatment. Tracey and her col l eague Catheri ne Bushnel l recently reviewed the last 10 years of i magi ng research and concl uded that chroni c pai n i s published them, says her team's ASL technique is the first objective measure of ongoing pain intensity. In earlier experiments, volunteers were pricked with a pin or touched with a hotplate. But a short sharp shock provides a associated with functional, structural and chemi cal changes in the brain, thus putting it into the realm of a disease state ( The joural Of Pain 001 : 10.1016/j.jpain.2009.09.001). "Chroni c pain fits the definition of a disease;' says Tracey. She hopes that i magi ng techni ques (see main story) wi l l also be used to diagnose pain withi n the next 5 to 10 years. "It's very hard to unravel the complexities of pai n from a verbal response," says Tracey. "The use of i magi ng to measure pain objectively is potentially very powerful ." In this section • Shaped moulds tell stem cells what to be, page 8 • Dino-eating snake (aught red-jawed, page 8 • Why al ien worlds are I ike a toaster, page 10 simplistic view of pain that doesn't take into account the emotional response to longer lasting pain, which can affect its perceived intensity, says Renton. The group are developing their ASL-based technique as a potential alternative to existing methods of assessing the effectiveness of novel analgesics during clinical trials. At the moment, researchers have to rely on a subjective description: volunteers and patients are often asked to describe the level of their pain by placing it on a "visual analogue scale", from 1 to 10. But as Renton says, "a line on a page is really a rather inadequate measure of pain". David Borsook, who leads the Pain and Analgesia Imaging and Neuroscience group at McLean Hospital in Boston, agrees. "Whilst it offers a reasonable guesstimate of the amount of pain a person is in, it's not objective, and there is great variation in responses." Brain scans could help identify which areas are involved in an individual's pain, perhaps leading to personalised treatments that target those areas. An individual's brain activity might gUide a choice between different drugs or counselling, say. "Right now there is little objective data for a clinician to use to choose one drug over another," says Robert Coghill, a neurobiologist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina. "Different patterns of activation might predict the success of different therapies." Of course, some big challenges remain. "The response to pain may vary throughout the day, depending on what you're thinking about, and we don't know why," says Kringelbach. There are also bound to be vast differences in the level of brain activation that indicates a given degree of pain in one person compared with another. "The differences haven't been systematically examined yet," says Coghill. Even if we can overcome these difficulties, can pain really be reduced to a mere blip on a brain scan? It is after all an experience that blends emotional and physical responses in a highly complex way. "The hunt for an objective measure of pain is a fool's errand," says Stuart Derbyshire, who researches pain at the University of Birmingham, UK. He adds that, since pain is a subjective experience, objective measurements don't really tell us that much anyway. "We will always need to rely on subjective measures," he says. Richard Gracely at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, agrees. "It's like saying you can measure love, or the beauty of a painting, objectively. Pain is such a private, personal experience. You can only validate what you've measured by asking patients how much pain they're in, so why not just ask them in the first place?" In some cases, though, it is not possible to ask. Jeffrey Mogil, who researches pain at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, says a technique like Renton's could be used to measure the level of pain in patients with locked-in syndrome or who are in a vegetative state. Fetal brai n scan Another question is whether it might be used to help resolve the contentious question of whether fetuses feel pain. There are some obvious hurdles to scanning a fetus's brain. You can't stabilise its head inside the scanner, and blood flow is very low because it is so small. Borsook also worries about the high magnetic field produced by fMRI : "Nobody knows ifit would be dangerous, but it might affect the developing brain in some way." Despite these challenges most think some form of brain scanning is our best bet for measuring fetal pain. "I think in the not-too-distant future it will be feasible to image the fetus using ASL," says Coghill. The new technique might also allow us to explore animal pain both so that it can be compared with the human variety, and because it might be possible to test drugs for pain relief on animals. Mogil says that while "An opiate addi ct mi ght exaggerate how much pain they're in to be prescribed opiate painkillers" there are behavioural indicators for pain in animals -for example, mice lick their paws when in pain - assessing ongoing pain is much harder. Mogi! also raises the i ntriguing idea of using objective pain measurement on someone who might want to hide the true extent of their suffering. "An opiate addict might exaggerate how much pain they're in, in order to be prescribed opiate painkillers, for example," he says. But Coghill warns against disregarding someone's description of pain in favour of an objective measure. "In the US, insurance companies would jump on an objective method of measuring pain, but this could mean that certain people with different patterns of activation lose out," he says. "We need to ensure that patients are never in a position where they are denied treatment." He says that objective measurements of pain might be improved by finding indicators for how someone was dealing with it. But he emphasises that patient pain ratings should always have a role in pain assessment. "It's not impossible to have an objective measurement of pain, but this will ultimately need to be complemented by subjective reports." • 6 March 2010 1 NewScienti st 1 7 ¯¬` :W¯¯´ Î0lÍ3ICEll5, Il§Íl0WElQ0WEl Andy Coghlan GROWING bone marrow cells in star or flower-shaped moulds may sound frivolous. But this difference is enough to dictate whether the cells become fat or bone. It's the first time geometry alone has been shown to shape a cell's fate, and could lead to new ways of coaxing stem cells into becoming specific tissues for transplant into patients using physical, not chemical, cues. Milan Mrksich of the University of Chicago and his colleagues created moulds, 50 micrometres wide, rather like miniature cookie cutters, in shapes including stars, flowers, squares, pentagons and circles. Into each they placed a single human bone marrow cell. A type of stem cell, these immature cells are precursors 8 1 NewScientist 1 6 March 2010 to blood, bone and fat. The moulds were bathed in a broth of chemicals that encourage cells to become fat and bone. Despite experiencing identical chemical conditions, 70 per cent of cells sitting in angular moulds, such as stars or thin rectangles, matured into bone. However, cells grown in more curvy moulds, including circles or flower shapes, were more likely to become fat (Proceedings ofthe National Academy ofSciences, 001: 10.1073/pnas.og0326g107). Mrksich's team concluded that the deciding factor was the availability of corners, which provide points for cells to push "In star-shaped moul ds, the corners trigger the growth of long, strong filaments, leading to hard bone cel ls" Geometry decides fate of stem cel l The shape of the moul d a bone marrow cel l grows in i nfluences the structure of its skeleton and ul ti mately the type of cel l it becomes FLUORESCENT IMAGES OF PROTEINS PERCENTAGE OFCELLS THAT MAKE UP EACH CELL'S SKELETON DI FFERENTIATI NG TO EACH LINEAGE FLOWER STAR against and sprout internal "stress filaments". These springy nanocables span cells and form their inner skeletons (see picture). In star-shaped moulds, the sharp corners trigger the growth oflong, strong filaments, leading to hard bone cells, says Mrksich. By contrast, the rounded edges of flower-shaped moulds encourage the cells to grow short soft filaments, leading to fat cells. Geometry almost certainly influences the fate of cells in their Q � 80 e Fat cells eSonecells 60 E 40 e Q " 20 o natural setting in the body. "Cells change their geometries and mechanics throughout development and as they move through the body," says bioengineer Christopher Chen of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Cells may have evolved to use these changes as triggers for switching on genes that guide their development. Physical forces such as pressure from moving fluid or air are also known to alter a cell's fate . • For daily news stories, visit www.NewScientist.com/news ÜIðÎ RSCðRS R0WCðICR CREÆÎCð¡SI00 A CHEMICAL produced duri ng sex and l i nked to addi ction has been vi sual ised in a scanner as i t washes across rats' brai ns. The feat means that functi onal magneti c resonance i magi ng (fMRI), a workhorse of neuroscience, can now be used to observe the fl ow of brain chemi cals, not just oxygen- ri ch bl ood. By pi npoi nti ng i ncreases i n bl ood oxygenation i n the brai n i n response to different events - a sign that specific groups of neurons are active - fMRI i s responsi bl e for some of the hottest fi ndi ngs about the brai n. Now Alan jasanoff at the Massachusetts I nstitute ofTechnol ogy and col l eagues have extended i ts power. His team repeatedl y mutated a magnetic, i ron-contai ni ng enzyme that "l i ghts up" i n fMRI readi ngs. Wi th each mutation, the researchers tested its tendency to bi nd to dopami ne, a l earni ng and reward chemi cal in the brain involved in sex and addi ctive behavi ours. Mutations that i ncreased this tendency were combi ned, resul ti ng in a mol ecul e that was both magneti c and strongly attracted to dopami ne. The team injected the mol ecul e i nto the brains of rats, i n a region l aden with dopami ne-produci ng celis. When given a chemi cal that tri ggers dopami ne release, that area "lit up" underfMRI (Nature Biotechnology, 001: 1O.103B/nbt.1609). Because the mol ecul e must be i njected i nto the brain, thi s kind of chemi cal - based fMRI won't be appl i ed to humans anyti me soon, says jasanoff but i t could be used to probe addicti on and disease using ani mals. His l ab i s now using the enzyme to view how dopami ne-sensitive neurons across ani mal brains react when the chemi cal is produced in a specifi c regi on. The techni que coul d also be used to probe dopami ne's role in di seases such as Hunti ngton's. The magneti c enzyme can i n theory be "evolved" to bi nd to other brai n chemi cal s. Ewen Call away . lÌ`lÛl1 As China forges ahead with advanced reactors, the US is taking the slow road IT SEEMS obvi ous: if you're pl anni ng a new generation of nuclear power stati ons, you shoul d i nvest in the most advanced and effi ci ent desi gns avai labl e. Yet that's not what seems to be happeni ng i n the US. The fi rst new nucl ear power pl ants on American soil for 30 years could soon be under constructi on. Presi dent Barack Obama has promi sed tens of bi l l i ons of dol lars i n l oan guarantees for reactor bui l ders, of whi ch $8.3 bi l l i on was l ast month committed to back the construction of two Westinghouse APlOOO l i ght water reactors. These reactors differ onl y sl i ghtly from pl ants bui l t by the US in the 1970s, yet they have probl ems of thei r own, notabl y questi ons about whether they can wi thstand severe hurricanes and earhquakes. The UK is l ooki ng to si mi l ar light water reactors for its own nucl ear expansi on. Meanwhi le, other countries are expl ori ng newer technol ogi es. France, Russia, China and Japan are backi ng Generation I V reactors (see table bel ow), which are more efficient and i n some respects safer. Further i nto the future, advanced fi ssi on-fusi on hybrid reactors may hold promise (see "The thi rd nuclear opti on", page 22). China has al ready begun site preparati ons for a Generation IV reactor cal l ed the HTR-PM, a gas-cooled "pebbl e bed" reactor powered by fuel i n the form of spheres rather than New light water reactors will use technology from the 1970s rods. Due for completi on as early as 2013. i t wi l l run far hotter than existi ng reactors, and produce roughl y 30 per cent more el ectricity from a given amount of fuel. The higher temperature means that waste heat from the HTR-PM can be used to spl i t water mol ecul es to generate hydrogen for use asa clean fuel for vehicles, The design i s also i nherentl y less l i kel y than light water reactors to suffer meltdown followi ng a runaway reacti on, as i ts fuel becomes less reactive if heated beyond normal operati ng temperatures, Forthe US, perhaps one of the Nuclear reactors, present and future TYPE COOLANT AVAILABLE PROS Generation III Water Now worl dwi de Proven track record Li ght water reactor Generation IV Hel i um 2013 i n Chi na Produces useful heat. Hi gh-temperature I ncreased effi ci ency gas reactor and safety Generation IV Li qui d sodi um France, Japan Produces useful Fast reactor or l ead and Russi a heat. Can burn spentfuel bi ggest advantages of some Generation I V desi gns woul d be that they produce less waste, Generation I V "fast reactor" technol ogy - which i s named for the hi gh-energy or "fast" neutrons that drive the nucl ear reaction - can burn spent fuel from conventi onal l ight water reactors, The US i s stoppi ng work on the Yucca mountai n project - its onl y potenti al repositor for spent fuel . Despite these potenti al advantages, secti ons of the Obama admi nistrati on appear to be at odds with each other over the desi rabi l i ty of Generation IV reactors, A letter written i n December by US energy secretary Steven Chu, and seen by the trade publ i cati on Energy Doily, reveal s that the White House sought to ban the Department of Energy from doing research on fast reactors, Thi s stems from concerns over weapons proliferati on, To burn spent fuel i n fast reactors, i t has to be reprocessed to extract pl utoni um, whi ch can al so be used i n weapons, Nevertheless, Chu's letter expressed "deep concerns" about the potential ban, noting that other countries are racing ahead, "If the United States does not have a broad fast reactor research program," he wrote, "wewi l l have no opportunity to influence desi gn of these forei gn reactors from a vital nati onal security perspective such as prol iferati on resistance," The Whi te House has since changed tack, and i s i ncl udi ng a modest $10 mi l l i on for fast reactor research in the 2011 budget. Phil McKenna. CONS Low efi ci ency, Low-temperature waste heat i s less useful. Cannot burn recycled fuel efficiently Hi gh-pressure cool ant poses possi bl e safety ri sk Requires spentfuel from conventi onal reactors to be processed into pl utoni um, Safety issues with coolant. Early-stage technology 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 9 ¯¬` :W¯¯´ LD3lgE0WÌR0KEEQ5 Ql3REI5QUÍÍE0UQ Rachel Courland A PLANET-sized version of an electric toaster could explain why some exoplanets get so large. A related phenomenon could be responsible for keeping in check the gusting winds that form the stripes ofJupiter. More than 150 planets have been found orbiting closer to their host stars than Mercury is to the sun. Many of these star hugging gas giants -known as "hot J upiters" because they can have surface temperatures of 2000 °C or more - have a similar mass to Jupiter but can have up to six times the volume. Something must be heating the interior of these planets to make them puff up in this way but what? Radiation from the host star can't be the source, as most of it is reradiated into space from gas at the surface. Gravitational heating effects might work for planets with elongated orbits. The ever changing gravitational tug of the host star on the orbiting planet would create friction by flexing its interior, possibly generating enough heat to cause the expansion we see. But this mechanism can't explain how Ì NÎÅL¯Ì cA | Û| 1| ÕN 1 6 -21 March 2010 A uni que col l aborati on between sci ence and desi gn that expl ores the importance of engi neeri ng and physi cal sci ences i n al l aspects of our Iives. 11 am -5. 30pm, free admi ssion Royal Col l ege of Art Kensington Gore London SW7 2EU www. i mpactexhi bi ti on.org. uk Royl College of A ºLb1P�� EPSRC �ml'8 Mlr lI11 10 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 E�ItI� . ndPlr!S fCas R�I�Cr some planets with a circular orbit - such as TrES-4, which is less massive than Jupiter but 1.8 times as wide -get to be so large. Konstantin Batygin and David Stevenson of the California Institute ofTechnology in Pasadena now suggest that the missing energy could originate in a wind of charged particles circling the planet. The temperature in the atmospheres of hot Jupiters is high enough to knock large "Electrons whipped around by wi nds i nteract with the planet's magnetic field, generating a current" numbers of electrons off atoms like sodium and potassium. These electrons could then be whipped around by the planet's winds and interact with its magnetic field, generating a current that can extend deep into the planet (see diagram), heating up its interior like the element of an electric toaster (arxiv.org!abs!1002.36So). "The little power that you're depositing there may be enough to inflate the planet," says Adam Burrows of Princeton University, who models the properties of exoplanets but was not associated with the study. Burrows adds that more detailed Pufng up an exoplanet modelling is needed to determine whether currents generated this way reach far enough into the interiors of hot Jupiters to puff them up. "I t might only work at some times in some planets." If the theory proves correct, it could "kill two birds with one stone", says Burrows, because a similar mechanism could play a part in maintaining the speed of wind bands that whip around Jupiter and Saturn. These winds may be driven by the temperature variations between regions receiving different amounts of sunlight or by the churning generated by the planet's own heat. But some other process is needed to keep the winds moving at constant speeds. Even though these gas giants are too cool to liberate electrons in the same way as on hot Jupiters, the heat deeper within the planet may strip electrons from hydrogen and other elements. The interaction of these electrons with a planet's magnetic field, as Batyginhas proposed for exoplanets, may create a counter force that helps restrain the winds. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, due to launch in 2014, could help refine the model by narrowing down the speed of winds on puffed-up exoplanets . • Electrical heati ng coul d expl ai n how "hotJupiters" get so l arge SURFACE WI NDS Wi nds drive free el ectrons i n the pl anet's atmosphere through its magnetic field CROSS-SECTION CURRENT Thi s i nduces a current within the pl anet, generati ng the heat needed to puff the pl anet up For daily news stories, visit www.NewScientist.com/news 0ec|s|on· makersbetrayed bythe|rw|deeyes WHY can't teachers keep a secret? Because thei r pupi l s gi ve them away. It turns out that when peopl e make deci sions, their pupi l s di l ate, a subtl e cue that coul d be used to predict a person's intenti ons, or even converse with peopl e with locked-in syndrome. It is well known that pupi l s di late as it gets darker, and i n stressful situations as part of the "fight-or-flight" response. The reflex i s medi ated by the release of the hormone noradrenal i n, which i n ani mal s has al so been i mpl icated in memory and deci si on-maki ng. Ol ivia Carter, a neurosci entist at the University of Mel bourne i n Australia, wondered i f noradrenal i n - and by i mpl i cation pupi l di lation - mi ght also be l i nked to human cogni ti on. To investigate, her team asked volunteers to pick one of five random di gits that di splayed on a monitor one "Noradrenal in helps us to cement decisions, and pupil dilation is an outward sign of this" after another for 2 seconds each, and to press a button i ndicating thei r choice after the final number vani shed. An eye scanner revealed that vol unteers' pupi l s were at thei r wi dest duri ng the 2 seconds that corresponded to thei r eventual number choi ce. Carter's team found that they coul d eventual l y predict with 62 to 100 per cent accuracy whi ch of the five numbers peopl e woul d choose, dependi ng on the volunteer, based only on when thei r pupi l di l ated (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 001 : 10.3389/ fnhum. 20l0.000l8). I n 2008, Carter's team found that peopl e's pupi ls di l ate when they switch between two alternative ways of viewing an optical i l l usi on, such as the vi deo-based spi nni ng woman i l l usi on, i n whi ch the woman seems to switch direction but i n fact does not. The effect results from the viewer swappi ng how they view her. Carter concl udes that, rather tha n dri ving deci si ons, noradrenal i n hel ps us to cement deci sions we are veeri ng towards anyway, and that pupi l di l ati on i s an outward sign of this. "Once you've made a decisi on, you may as well make it," she says. "You don't want to di ther." Christopher Summerfi el d, a cogni tive neuroscientist at the Uni versity of Oxford, isn't convinced that the di lation - and therefore noradrenal i n - i s related to deci si on· maki ng. Pupi l s di l ate when peopl e are excited, and Carter's team coul d be capturi ng that, he suggests. Carter poi nts out that in some of her trials volunteers earned 10 cents when they chose certai n numbers, while in others there was no opti on to wi n a prize. But i n both scenarios, volunteers' pupi l s tended to di late when they made thei r choice, i ndi cating that di l ati on isn't related to excitement. Even if pupil di lation isn't a sign of decisi on- maki ng per se, pupils coul d sti l l be used to deduce when someone i s maki ng a deci si on, or to hel p predict thei r choi ces, says Carter. John-Dyl an Haynes atthe Bernstein Center for Computati onal Neurosci ence i n Berl i n, Germany, has used brai n activity pi cked up by an MRI scanner to determi ne when a decisi on i s bei ng made. He says pupi l di l ati on may reveal a person's concealed thoughts without havi ng to put them into contact with a machi ne. That might make for a low-tech way of reaching out to peopl e who cannot communi cate due to brai n damage or paralysis, such as those with locked i n syndrome. Steven Laureys at the Uni versity of Liege i n Bel gi um says that pupi l di lation persists i n locked i n syndrome. Responses to yes/no or mul ti pl e-choi ce questions could be inferred from pupi l di lation if choices were read out or di spl ayed on a moni tor. Laureys's team is using MRI to attempt communicati on with peopl e wi th brai n damage, but he says that eye-tracki ng gear is more portabl e and cheaper. Ewen Cal laway . ¯¯¦ ` ¦¯'¦ ¯¯¯ ¯ ¦¯¯¯¸¦¯ ¯¯¯¯ ¨¯` ¯¯¯¯¦ `¯¸¯ ¦ ¯¯¯ ¯¨ ¯¯ ·¦ ¯¯ Ferrier prize lecture - open to the publ i c Monday 1 5 March 201 0 from 6. 30pm to 7. 30pm Professor Col i n Bl akemore FRS Uni versity of Oxford and Uni versity of Warwi ck ¯OWOO CO´Q0´0Sj´OQ´d' I'0 CC'j 0X.yCTCu´ 0´d'S´ \0y S 0OGd'CO¹O´03O'OC' ´ C'0´l0d0 T'dTCTT00'´0dT/j0S·/´O'OW'dS 0OGd'CCQ'|¹ V0dC' 0VO'0'l CC´T ´O0OTC dCC00´dT0, W000 Cu´ Q0'0! C'd´0Oj'd3 C'd'Q0Ov0´y |TT0 CV0´T'0 0dST |UÙ, ÙÙÙy0d´S´ '0 d'SW0´S '_0. |0 '.00 dCd0.d0 ly d'O j33!ClyCTl000´d 0 royalsociety.org/events-di ary Admission free -no ticket or advance bookng reqUired Doors open at 5. 45pm and seats wil be allocated on a frst come-frsi-served baSIS. ThiS leclre wil be webcast live at rovalsocietyorl ve and available 1 View on demand within 48 hours of deliver VSit our video archive at royalsoCelt The Roya| Society 6-9 Ld|.C' |CuS00´´dC0 .C'OC' CV|` 'Í\ 0 +¬÷ ,Ù¦.Ù ÷ zz I'd 0V0'.S:´CydSCC0.yC´_ 6 March 2010 I NewSci enti st 1 11 ¯¬` :W¯¯´ Ll§QIÌClEm3Ì R5 lEVE3lIDEÌl5EClEI5 Li nda Geddes RARE snippets of genetic material locked inside fragments of bone and teeth can help identif people who die at war or sea, even when little remains oftheir bodies. But often there simply isn't enough DNA to be sure. A new technique, recently used to identify the Titanic's " unknown child", could make it easier for bereaved families to get a positive ID. To extract DNA, researchers mix ground-up fragments of tooth or bone with a solution containing a chemical called EDTA, which removes calcium from bone. Mike Coble of the us Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory in Rockville, Maryland, and his colle ages increased the concentration of EDTA and added an enzyme called pro-K, which breaks down the crys tallised clumps of protein that lock DNA away in bone (Forensic Science International: Genetics, in press). The net effect, says Coble, was to "liberate" more DNA, increasing the chances of identifying remains. In the case of the unidentified child who died in the Titanic disaster, the new technique ÎEÆð¡ESWEðf IRER0IRSÎRIRE DðII¡EÎ0I0URg IN HUMANS as i n other ani mals, it's usuall y the mal e of the speci es who bears arms. But i n the epi c battle for dung, it's female beetl es that have resorted to horned aggression. Nicola Watson and Lei gh Si mmons of the University of Western Austral i a, Perth, pitted femal e dung beetles ( Dnthophagus sagittarius) agai nst each other in a race for dung - 12 1 NewScienti st 1 5 March 2010 enabled Ryan Parr of Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada, to say that the remains were most probably not those of Eino Panula - as initially thought -but another child, Sidney Goodwin. However, as with most identifications, Goodwin's relies on DNA from mitochondria, because it is more abundant than DNA from cell nuclei. Nickolas Papadopoulos ofthe Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, cautions that excluding someone on the basis "The technique should be welcome news for fami l i es waiting to find out about deceased relatives" of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) alone might be a mistake. In a study published this week, his team shows that mtDNA can vary within different tissues of the same individual. Previously it had been assumed that mtDNA was the same in every cell (Nature, DOl: lo. 1038/natureo88oo). "It doesn't mean that you can't use mtDNA, it just means that you have to be careful about who you exclude," says Papadopoulos. a val uabl e resource that provides nutrients for thei r eggs. Matched for body size, females with bi gger horns managed to col l ect more dung and so provide better for thei r offspri ng (Proceedings ofthe Roya/Society B, 001 : 10.1098/rspb.2009.233S). To give their young a start i n life, female dung beetles - which have Other evidence, like shoes found with the body, suggests that the child was indeed Goodwin. In future, though, Coble's technique should reduce the reliance on mitochondrial matching, as it will often be possible to extract sufficient amounts of nuclear DNA from badly damaged remains. "In battlefield remains, often all you end up with is bone and teeth," says Louis Finelli, director of the US Department of Defense DNA bal l , the larger and more fertile the offspri ng wi l l grow to become. "Larger-horned femal es managed to get greater access to the dung and produce more brood bal l s and i n turn more offspri ng," says Watson. The life of a female dung beetle i s hi ghly competitive. "Dung l oses its usabi l i ty qui ckly, so they have to much l arger horns than mal es - seize it fast." says Watson. Female make bal l s of dung, cal l ed brood bal ls, beetles have been found to steal from cowpats and bury them underground. They then lay an egg into each ball; each bal l provides nutrition for the devel opi ng l arva, and the more dung there is i n the "Female beetles have been found to steal dung. raid other brood balls. and replace existing eggs" Registry. "In most cases we weren't getting anything but mtDNA, but this technique means we can use more of the bone and as a result pull out more DNA." That should come as welcome news to the thousands offamilies still waiting to find out about loved ones following conflicts like the Vietnam and second world wars. "For them, the wounds are as fresh as if it had occurred yesterday," says Finelli. • dung, rai d other brood bal ls, and repl ace existing eggs with thei r own. I t i s agai nst thi s backdrop of intense female-female rivalry that the horns have evolved, says Watson. Patricia Backwell, a behavioural ecologi st at the Austral i an Nati onal University i n Canberra, says that although there are many cases of female weaponry - i n lizards, crabs and some di nosaurs, for instance in most cases it is used in defence agai nst predators. I n the beetles, however, weaponry has evolved under female competition, she says, whi ch is rare. Wendy Zukerman . For daily news stories, visit www. NewScientist.com/news Thewr|t|ng|sonthe 50,000·year·o| deggshe| ls COULD these lines etched into 60,000-year-old ostrich eggshells (see photo) be the earliest signs of humans using graphic art to communicate? Until recently, the first consistent evidence of symbolic communication came from the geometric shapes that appear alongside rock art all over the world, which date to 40,000 years ago (New Scientist, 20 February, p 30). Older finds, like the 75,000-year-old engraved ochre chunks from the Blombos cave in South Africa, have mostly been one-offs and difficult to tell a part from meaningless doodles. The engraved ostrich eggshells may change that. Since 1999, Pierre-jean Texier of the University of Bordeaux, France, and his colleagues have uncovered 270 fragments of shell at the DiepkloofRock Shelter in the Western Cape, South Africa. They show the same symbols are used over and over again, and the team say there are signs that the symbols evolved over 5000 years. This long-term repetition is a hallmark of symbolic communication and a sign of modern human thinking, say the team (Proceedings ofthe National Academy ofSciences, DOl: 1O.1073/pnas.0913047107). The eggshells were probably used as containers, and the markings may have indicated either the shells' contents or their owner. Texier points out that until recently, bushmen in the region carved geometric motifs on ostrich eggshells as a mark of ownership. If the symbols do signif ownership, it could have implications for the evolution of human cognition. lain Davidson, an Australian rock art specialist at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales, has suggested that marking ownership must have come after humans became self-aware. The eggshells could help to illuminate when this happened in this part of the world, he says. Written language may have evolved more than once in human history. "judging from what we know about the evolution of art all over the world, there may have been many traditions that were born, lasted for some time and then vanished," says jean Clottes, former director of research at the Chauvet caves in southern France. "This may be one of them, most probably not the first and certainly not the last." Kate Ravilious • 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 13 ` No|` ¯¯ There'll be little warning if Earth's magnetic field flips Hulot of Denis Diderot University in Paris, France, and col l eagues ran computer si mul ati ons of Earth's magnetic dynamo based on a range of pl ausi bl e values for i nputs such as the viscosity, el ectrical and thermal conductivity EVEN if we knew precise details of Earth's core, we would of the outer core, and the temperature difference across it. not be able to predict a catastrophi c flip i n the polarity of The model's predi cti ons remai ned consistent over this its magnetic fiel d more than a decade or two ahead. range of values for no more than a few decades, Hul ot's Our pl anet's magnetic fi el d has reversed polarity from team wi l l report in Geophysical Research Letters. Thei r ti meto time throughout i ts hi story. Some model s suggest result i mpl ies thatwe can forecast a flip only this far in that a flip would be completed in a year or two, but it as advance - and then only with data that i s as precise as others predict, it lasted decades or l onger we would be possibl e. "It's l i ke predicting the weather," says Hulot. left exposed to space radiation. This coul d short-circuit The last pol arity switch was around 800,000 years satell ites, pose a risk to ai rcraft passengers and play ago. Overthe past few decades, the magnetic field has havoc with el ectrical equi pment on the ground. weakened rapi dl y enough to fl i p withi n a few thousand To test whether we woul d see a fl i p comi ng, Gauthi er years, but thi s could al so be part of a more limited variation. Flies' self-righting akin to early aircraft HOW do flies right themselves so swiftly after being batted away in mid-flight? Experiments on fruit flies suggest their stabilisation systems are similar to the gyroscopes of early aeroplanes. Flies are known to reorient themselves from small disturbances faster than their visual systems can react. In lieu of hind wings, they have two tiny sensors, called hal teres, that 14 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 measure changes in direction. It is thought that the halteres are wired directly to the wing-control system, allowing them to recover quickly. To determine how halteres work, Leif Ristroph of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, placed tiny magnetic rods on the backs offruit flies and released them. Altering the magnetic field around the flies made the rods twist, pushing the flies off course (Proceedings ofthe National Academy ofSciences, 001: 10. 1073/pnas. l000615107). Simultaneous recordings by three high-speed cameras showed that the flies can right their course to an accuracy of 2 degrees within 60 milliseconds. Drag on their wings dampens their rotation, then the flies " row" their wings to right themselves. This is akin to early planes, which used gyroscopes to automatically adjust wing shapes to help stabilisation in flight. Happiness ain't all it's cracked up to be THE Founding Fathers liked happiness so much they declared its pursuit an i nalienable right of US citizens, but maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Happiness seems to make people more selfish. Joe Forgas at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and his colleague Hui Bing Tan put 45 students into good or bad moods by giving them positive or negative feedback on a task, then gave each raffle tickets for a A$20 prize. The students could choose to share these with others or keep them all for themselves: those who had been praised kept more (Journal ofExperimental Social Psychology, 001: 1O.1016/j. jesp.201O.01.007). It's not the first study to smear happiness's golden image. Forgas has also found that happy people are less persuasive, more influenced by stereotypes, more gullible and have worse memories than their unhappy fellows. Sleep: too little and too much create fat SLEEP' S effect on fat is becoming clearer. Having too much or too little piles on the worst kind of fat. Kristen Hairston and colleagues at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, monitored 1100 African and Hispanic Americans for five years. Both groups are at a high risk of obesity-related disorders. People under 40 gained 1.8 kilograms more on average if they got less than 5 hours of sleep per night than if they slept for 6 or 7 hours. Those regularly sleeping for more than 8 hours gained 0.8 kilograms more than the medium sleep group (Sleep, vol 33, p 289). CAT scans revealed increases in visceral fat, which accumulates around the internal organs and is particularly dangerous to health. For new stories every day, visit www.NewScientist.com/news Do good genes aid sexual success? Simple scalp electrodes follow hand's twists and turns GENES behi nd the i mmune system may explain why some women have more sexual partners than others. The major hi stocompati bi l ity compl ex (MHC) is a region of DNA vital to the i mmune system. The more diverse the genes of the MHC, the more effective i t is at conferri ng disease resistance, and i n a variety of ani mal s individuals with diverse MHCs are more l i kely to be chosen as a sexual partner. Its effect i n humans, however, i s uncl ear. Hanne Li e of the University of Western Australia i n Perth measured the diversity of the MHC i n 74 heterosexual female students and asked them about the number of sexual partners they had had. After control l i ng for attitudes towards sex and age of fi rst intercourse, she found that the greater a woman's MHC diversity. the more sexual partners she had had. There was no correlation with overall genetic di versity (Animal Behaviour, 001: 10.1016/j. anbehav.2009.12.040). Whether this means women with diverse MHCs have greater evolutionar success is debatable. Boguslaw Pawlowski, an anthropologi st atthe University of Wrocl aw. Poland. poi nts out that contraception means there may not be a strong correlation between number of sexual partners and reproductive success. MIND-READING is powerful stuff, but what about hand-reading? Intricate, three-dimensional hand motions have been" read" from the brain using nothing but scalp electrodes. The achievement brings closer the prospect of thought-controlled prosthetics that do not require brain surgery. Electroencephalography (EEG), which measures electrical activity through the scalp, was previously considered too insensitive to relay the neural activity involved in complex movements of the hands. Nevertheless, Trent Bradberry and Neutrino subway to flashy destination A INTREPID subatomic particle has been detected after travelling beneath Japan, heralding a new attempt to probe the mystery of neutrino oscillations. The result could take us closer to explaining why the universe is full of matter. In the "T2K" experiment, a beam of neutrinos is sent from a particle accelerator near the village ofTokai to the Super Kamiokande neutrino detector deep under mount Ikenoyama 300 kilometres away. A small fraction will hit an atomic nucleus inside Super-Kamiokande and so create a distinctive flash of light. The goal is to find out why neutrinos oscillate spontaneously between three "flavours": electron, muon and tau. "It is 10 times as sensitive as previous experiments," says David Wark of Imperial College London. I t could also shed some light on why we exist. "The known laws of physics should lead to roughly the same quantity of matter and antimatter in the universe," says Wark. But for some reason matter dominates. Particle physicists suspect that whatever process gives the universe this bias also plays a part in the physics of neutrino oscillations. colleagues at the University of Maryland, College Park, thought the idea worth investigating. The team used EEG to measure the brain activityoffivevolunteers as they moved their hands in three dimensions, and also recorded the movement detected by motion sensors attached to the volunteers' hands. They then correlated the two sets of readings to create a mathematical model that converts one into the other. In additional trials, this model allowed Bradberry's team to use the EEG readings to accurately monitor the speed and position of each participant's hand in three dimensions (The Journal of Neuroscience, DOI:1O. 1523/ j neurosci.6107-0g.2010). IfEEG can, contrary to past expectation, be used to monitor complex hand movements, it might also be used to control a prosthetic arm, Bradberry suggests. EEG is less invasive and less expensive than the implanted electrodes, which have previously been used to control robotic arms and computer cursors by thought alone, he says. Martian glacier lube could fuel rockets ROCKET engi nes could benefit from a natural Martian l ubricant - but not to keep them oiled. A salty sludge that may be l ubri cating the i ce caps of Mars coul d one day provide fuel. The ice is too cold to flow normal ly. But if winds were to carry salty soi l particles to the ice cap. they might gradually si nk to form a briny bed. kept l i qui d by the pl anet's warmth. This coul d allow the ice cap to fl ow l i ke a gl aci er. say David Fisher at the Geologi cal Survey of Canada in Ottawa, and colleagues. Such brine would freeze as it moved toward lower temperatures at the edge of the ice cap. forming a ri ng of concentrated salt. Thi s could one day be mi ned as a component of solid rocket fuel , says Fisher. The team found that patterns i n radar maps of layers i n the ice cap made with the Mars Reconnai ssance Orbiter are consistent with flowing ice Uaural ofGeophysical Researh, 001 : 10.1029/2009je003405). However, the probe's radar has 50 far found no sign of bri nes. says Jack Hol t atthe University of Texas. Austi n. "We coul d be mi ssi ng something, but so far there i s no evidence for anythi ng wet at the base," he says. 6 March 2010 I NewSci enti st 1 15 ¯¯.¬NÙ.Ùo` ¨¯¯¡ L¯0¯ ¯. \¯¯¡ L.¯¯¸¯J YOUR cell phone need never again run out of juice while you're on the go. So says Nokia of Finland, which filed a US patent last week for a handset that recharges itself by harvesting energy from the owner's motion (bit.ly/b8gFt3). Nokia envisages a phone in which the heavier components, such as the radio transmitter circuit and battery, are supported on a sturdy frame. This frame can move along two sets of rails, one allows it travel up and down, the other side to side. Strips of piezoelectric crystals sit at the end of each rail and generate a current when compressed by the frame. So as the user walks, or otherwise moves the phone, the motion generates electricity. This charges a capacitor which in turn trickles charge into the battery, keeping it topped up. 886m The value of the contract (i n dol l ars) awarded by the US ai r force to Raytheon to i mprove the accuracy, rel iabil ity and security of GPS For daily technology stories, visit www.NewScientist.com/technology \0¯¯¯JL0¦¯¯ ¯¯ 0v¯ 0¯J¯1 ¯¯0x EMAIL overload need not be so unmanageable, thanks to a new planning tool which makes it easier to spot urgent messages in a bulging inbox. Andrew Faulring along with colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, devised the Reflective Agents with Distributed Adaptive Reasoning (Radar) system to help tame out-of control inboxes. The system relies on human trainers to teach it what words might characterise the tasks involved in, say, organising a conference, and how a worker might prioritise them. It then scans a user's inbox and orders the emails by priority. The team tested Radar using a grou p of volunteers who were asked to pick up the planning of a large conference with only a full inbox to gUide them. Some emails contained critical tasks such as finding a new room for a scheduled speaker-others were unimportant or even unhelpful. Faulring found that volunteers given the tool significantly outperformed those left to sort through the emails unaided, and made fewer mistakes. The results were presented at the Intelligent User Interfaces conference in Hong Kong, China, last month. J¯ y0J¯ 'w ll¯¯¯¯¯0J¯l¯¯¯0¯¯¯¯¯¯\¯0 UK-based onl i ne bank First Di recttells its Twitterfol l owersthat i nappropriate tweets they received were a resul t of i tsTwitteraccountbei ng comprmised, whil e stressing that customers' account detai l s have not been affected (26 Febrar) 6 March 2010 I NewSci enti st 1 17 ¯¯.¬`Ù.Ùo` Wi l l the anaconda or the oyster rul e the waves? Onl y ti me wi l l tel l if any of the creati ons desi gned to harness the power of the waves have the stayi ng power to hel p the green el ectri ci ty industry thri ve Colin Barras FROM giant hydraulic oysters that sit on the sea floor, to long rubber snakes that writhe in the ocean swell, there's no shortage of creatures designed to harness the power ofthe waves. Ifwave power is to emerge as a viable form of green energy, we need to put them to the test and only the most reliable can expect to survive. While there's a veritable menagerie of strange beasts taking to the sea, most of them can expect a humdrum life, says John Chaplin, a marine engineer at the University of Southampton in the UK. "The fundamental problem facing wave-power devices is that most ofthe time the water is moving with rather low velocities," he says. Just as wind turbines grind to a halt on a quiet day, wave power machines generate little power in quiescent conditions. That's the challenge for wave power -how to extract energy from lifeless waters. "Such a wide-open brief has led to an enormous range of inventions," says Chaplin. Budding wave-power designers are getting ample opportunity to find ways to tum gently bobbing waves into energy, with new projects hitting the water with metronomic regularity. For example, last month, New Jersey based Ocean Power Technologies confirmed it was to start work on a project to deploy 10 of its PowerBuoy machines 4 kilometres off the coast of Reedsport, Oregon. They ride on 18 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 the surface, converting the up and-down motion of the waves into electrical power. This project and others like it will add to the growing throng of wave-power systems already in the water. Trident Energy of South end on-Sea, UK, chose a system of floats that bob up and down in the waves to drive generators on a platform above. Aquamarine Power and Pelamis Wave Power, both based in Edinburgh, UK, have opted for more unusual solutions. Aquamarine Power has developed the Oyster, a hinged metallic shell that sits on the sea floor and opens and closes as waves wash over it -hydraulic cables link it to onshore hydroelectric generators. It has been powering gooo homes in Orkney since November 200g. The Pelamis device is a jointed mechanical snake that floats near the surface, flexing in the waves to drive hydraulics systems that power electrical generators. It has already been tried out in the North Sea off Orkney -the proximity of a populated region to an area where waves are relatively strong makes it a popular choice. It has also been tested at the world's first commercial wave farm off the Portuguese coast. Early experience with these devices shows how difficult it is to set up a viable wave power system. The three Pelamis snakes tried out in Portugal's wave farm in 2008 had to be towed back to shore after barely two months because of buoyancy issues and a lack of cash. Trident Energy, meanwhile, is still struggling to start sea trials. Last September, the company's prototype rig capsized as it was being towed to its test site, setting the project back several months. Although early setbacks are to be expected, says Peter Tavner, a renewable energy engineer at Durham University, UK, wave power must learn lessons from the more established wind-power industry if it is to thrive. Unlike solar energy, where efforts have focused on making designs more efficient, successful wind-power designs are based on For daily technology stories, visit www.NewScientist.com/technology reliability. The ubiquitous three-blade wind turbine has a history stretching back at least 50 years to Gedser in Denmark. The Gedser Mill, as the turbine is called, hardly represents the pinnacle of turbine efficiency, says Tavner. Others in the industry, particularly engineers in the US, thought a two-blade turbine offered better aerodynamics, he says. "The wave-power i ndustry wi l l have to throw the machi nes out there and see how long they survive" The trouble was that the hub at the centre of a two-blade turbine is under severe strain as the two blades rotate. That strain reduces the turbine's life expectancy; adding a third blade eases the problem. As tweaks to the Gedser Mill design further improved its reliability, it became clear even in the US that the Danish turbine would win out. "Is a three-blade turbine optimal? No," says Tavner. "But is it functional and has the production volume risen to make it a good solution? Yes." "I think the three-blade Gedser turbine design is a bit like a four stroke petrol engine," Tavner says. "I t worked and it was rugged." There are signs that the wave power industry has grasped the importance of reliability. For exam pie, the Trident Energy system has abandoned hydraulics, which are prone to rusting, so its bobbing floats, whose movement is used to generate energy, should stay operational, says company founder, Hugh-Peter Kelly. The Pelamis snakes are easily towed into dry dock for cheap and easy onshore maintenance, points out Tavner. Aquamarine Power claims that maintenance problems with the Oyster are minimal because it pumps pressurised water onshore to drive easy-to-reach generators there. Chaplin, meanwhile, is a member of the team behind perhaps the most outlandish of all wave-power converters, the 200-metre-longAnaconda. Floating just below the surface, the water-filled rubber tube is squeezed by the waves. As a swell hits the front of the snake, it squeezes the tube creating a bulge that ripples along its length to power a turbine in its tail. The unusual material and general lack of moving parts should give it a long life, Chaplin claims. At this stage in the nascent wave-power industry, no one actually knows which designs will prove to be up to the job, says Tavner. To some extent, the industry will have to" throw the machines out there" and see how long they survive. It' s only through a period of very public failures that the wave power industry will arrive at its own version of the Gedser Mill, he suggests. When that happens, perhaps the industry will become known for its utility, ratherthan its oddity . • lÌ`lÛl1 Hope for a fuel cell future Blooms - but there is truth behind the hype AN ENERGY revol uti on started last week that wi l l see fridge-sized boxes i n every bui l di ng generate el ectricity on demand from natural gas or biogas, At l east, that was the story told by the publ i city and excitement around the cel ebrity backed debut of Californi an company Bl oom Energy. The fi rm's sol i d-oxi de fuel cel ls (SOFCs), dubbed "Bl oom boxes" by the medi a, are al ready bei ng tri al l ed by eBay, Googl e and Coca-Cola, and Bloom says they can shri nka bui l ding's carbon footprint by half. Bl oom's clai ms are pl ausi ble, despite few detai ls being released, But the company isn't the vanguard of a revol uti on in el ectricity supply; the revol uti on has al ready begun, Several more experienced firms al ready make fuel cells much l i ke Bl oom's, and some are cheap enough to be headi ng into homes al ready. The technol ogy at the heart of the excitement looks unspectacul ar: a chunk of cerami c. But the ri ght cerami c can be an el ectrolyte that al lows the movement of ions needed to combi ne natural gas wi th oxygen from the ai rwi thout burni ng, dri vi ng power around an external ci rcui t i n the process, No expensive catalyst is requi red - an advantage over hydrogen fuel cells, most of whi ch need pl ati num to work, An SOFC must be heated to reduce the cerami c's resistance and start the reacti on, which then generates its own heat. Despite that, Bl oom cl ai ms i ts cel l can power a bui l di ng more efficiently than an electri city gri d, whi ch l oses power i n transmi ssi on and i s fed by power pl ants that waste heat from combusti on, Bl oom's boxes are i mpressively compact, but so are most SOFCs, As far as i nnovation goes, the fi rm wi l l say onl y that the chunk of cerami c i nsi de i s pai nted wi th "secret i nks" that act as anode and cathode. That suggests its interior i s hel d Bloomi ng marvels Sol i d-oxi de fuel cell s ofer a cheap and cl ean method of generati ng power from heated ai r and hydrocarbons Oxidation of fuel gas forms water and electrons together by the cerami c, says Hel ge Hol m-Larsen ofTopsoe Fuel Cel l i n Lyngby, Denmark, requi ri ng a relatively thi ck chunk of it that woul d need heating to at least 900 OCto operate, That cuts effi ci ency, al though a fuel cel l servi ng a constant demand woul d not need to start from cold very often, For more vari abl e demands, l i ke those of an office or home, cutting the start-up penal ty i s cruci al . Topsoe uses an enl arged anode to support its own SOFes interi or, al l owing a smal l er el ectrolyte that operates effectively at 750 °C, says Hol m-Larsen. Fuel cel l s can be even cool er, though, Those from Ceres Power in Crawl ey, UK, operate below 600 °C thanks to a custom el ectrolyte of lower resistance. The temperature i s low enough for steel welds to hol d the devi ce together i nsi de, Domestic boi l ers powered by Ceres's cel l s are cheap and advanced enough for 37,500 of them to be headi ng to homes in the UK this year, as part of a four-year programme for customers of energy suppl i er British Gas, Once i nstal l ed, the cel l wi l l generate most of a home's electricit, says Ceres, Colin Barras. 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 19 ¯¯.¬`Ù.Ùo` ` · · ¡.j e.l.l.·¯y.J ¯JJy ·l.÷l...·¯.ee· FINDING the keypad on your cell phone or music player a bit cramped? Maybe your forearm could be more accommodating. It could become part of a skin-based interface that effectively turns your body into a touchscreen. Called Skin put, the system is a marriage of two technologies: the ability to detect the ultralow frequency sound produced by tapping the skin with a finger, and the microchip-sized "pico" projectors now found in some cell phones. The system beams a keyboard or menu onto the user's forearm and hand from a projector housed in an armband. An acoustic detector, also in the armband, then calculates which part of the display you want to activate. But how does the system know which icon, button or finger you tapped? Chris Harrison at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, working with Dan Morris and Desney Tan at Microsoft's research lab in Redmond, Washington, exploit the way our skin, musculature and skeleton combine to make distinctive sounds when we tap on different parts of the arm, palm, fingers and thumb. They have identified various locations on the forearm and hand that produce characteristic acoustic patterns when tapped. The acoustic detector in the armband contains five piezoelectric cantilevers, each weighted to respond to certain bands of sound frequencies. Different combinations of the sensors are activated to differing degrees depending on where the arm is tapped. Twenty volunteers tested the system and most found it was easy to navigate through icons on the forearm and tap fingers to actuate commands. "Skinput works very well for a series of gestures, even when the body is in motion," the researchers say, with subjects able to deftly scroll through menus whether they moved up and down or flicked across their arm. J·..ve ·q¦¯ef÷.l¯l¯÷l .· ·e·ew¯ e÷ve¯..l EVEN the most conscientiously crafted the Googl e News site to fi nd related news story can omit i nformati on that some readers mi ghtfi nd relevant. A prototype web service sets out to change that, by sourci ng additional quotes, figures and other information to augment it. Called Tel l Me More, i t takes the onl i ne story you are readi ng and scours other web news stories for extra information. It starts by characteri si ng the original arti cl e i n three ways: usi ng the frequency of indi vidual words; i dentifying named entities such as peopl e, ci ti es and articl es, and anal yses them i n the same way to identify any new information they may contain. 'We then label this information as additional actors, figures or quotes and present i t next to the ini ti al stor," says Francisco Iacobel l i of Northwestern Uni versity i n Evanston, I l l i nois, who co-developed Tell Me More. Iacobel l i says the software demonstrates a way of hel pi ng readers bui l d up a bal anced view of events, by presenting additional and perhaps organisations; and usi ng numbers conflicti ng informati on not i ncl uded such as dol l ar amounts. It then trawls i n their ori gi nal news source. He is 20 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 The system could use a wireless technology like Bluetooth to transmit commands to many types of device -including phones, iPods and even PCs. The researchers will present their work in April at the Computer Human Interaction meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Pranav Mistryofthe Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warns that users will have to position the armband very precisely so the projection always appears in the right place. Nevertheless, Skinput looks a working to add automatic translation to the software so i t can also work with Arabic or Turkish news articles. New Scientist tested the software on an article from Fox News about the incident i n November 2009 in whi ch email s at a cl i mate research unit i n the UKwere hacked (New Scientist, promising idea, says Michael Liebschner, director of the Bio Innovations Lab at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, who has worked on bone acoustic conduction technology for gadget -to-gadget transmission. "This sounds a very feasible approach to using the body itself as an input device," he says. "When you are immersed in a virtual game using a head-mounted 3D display, you cannot just take it off to fiddle around with control buttons. This will make things much easier." Paul Marks. mi sconduct appears alongsi de it. The sentence was taken from a later article i n The Hil , a newspaper that covers the US Congress. Al though correct in that instance, Tel l Me More cannot be trusted to al ways present a bal anced vi ew. It bl i ndly presents any new information 19 December, p 4). The article states it finds, leaving the user to weigh up that the unit's head and his collaborator what they read. "Tell Me More may not al ways present a balanced view. It blindly presents any new information it finds" Mi chael Mann from Pennsylvani a "It does exactly what an active news consumer wants the internet to do: it brings you new ideas and perspectives, and it brings them to you quickly," says Daniel Si nker, who teaches onl i ne journali sm at Columbia Col lege Chicago and has no ties to the State University were under particular software. He warns, however, that scruti ny, but when viewed usi ng Tell the tool might be diffi cul t to l aunch Me More an extra sentence sayi ng commerci al ly, as publ i shers are that a panel at Mann's university has cleared him of all al legations of l i kely to object to such use of their copyrighted materi al . Phi l McKenna . Conversations for a Smarter Pl anet. , I , bm8|l0|0D0|gÿÍ0| 8 9m8|l0| p| 8D0l. For most of the last century, our electrical gri ds were a symbol of progress. The inexpensi ve, abundant power they brought changed the way the world worked - f i l l i ng homes, streets, busi nesses, towns and ci ti es wi th energy. But today's electrical gri ds reflect a time when energy was cheap, their i mpact on the natural environment wasn't a pri ori ty and consumers weren't even part of the equation. Back then, the power system coul d be central i sed, cl osel y managed and suppl i ed by a relatively smal l number of large power pl ants. I t was desi gned to di stribute power in one direction onl y - not to manage a dynami c gl obal network of energy suppl y and demand. As a resul t of i nefficiencies i n thi s system, the world's creation and di stri buti on of el ectric power i s now wasteful . Wi th l i ttl e or no i ntel l igence to balance l oads or monitor power fl ows, enough el ectrici ty i s l ost annual l y to power I ndi a, Germany and Canada for an entire year. In the UK, Government projections show that wi thout new capacity generati on, suppl y wi l l not meet demand by 201 6, whi l st at the same ti me bi l l i ons of pounds are wasted on energy that never reaches a si ngl e l i ght bul b. Fortunately, our energy can be made smart. I t can be managed l i ke the complex global system i t i s. We can now instrument everythi ng from t he meter i n the home to the turbi nes i n the plants to the network itself. In fact, the i ntel l i gent util ity system actually looks a lot more like the I nternet than l i ke a tradi ti onal gri d. I t can be l i nked to thousands of power sources - i ncl udi ng cl i mate-fri endl y ones, such as wi nd and tidal. Al l of thi s i nstrumentation then generates new data, whi ch advanced analytics can turn into i nsi ght, so that better deci si ons can be made in real ti me. Deci si ons by i ndivi dual s and businesses on how they can consume more effi cientl y. Deci si ons by util i ty companies on how they can better manage del ivery and balance loads. Deci si ons by governments and societies on how to preserve our environment. The whol e system can become more effi ci ent, rel i abl e, adaptive . . . smart. Smart grid projects are al ready hel ping consumers save 1 0% on thei r bil l s and are reduci ng peak demand by 15%. I magi ne the potential savi ngs when this is scaled to i ncl ude enterprise, government departments and universities. And i magi ne the economi c sti mul us that an i nvestment i n smarter gri ds coul d provide i n our current crisi s. I n fact, there's no need for mere i magi nation. A recent report by the London School of Economi cs cal cul ates that an investment of £5 bi l l ion in the devel opment of a smart power grid in the UK coul d create or retain al most a quarter of a mi l l i on jobs i n energy and rel ated i ndustries. It coul d enabl e new forms of i ndustrial i nnovation by creati ng exportabl e ski l l s, resources and technology. I BM scientists and i ndustry experts are worki ng on smart energy sol utions around the world. We're worki ng wi th uti l i ty compani es gl obal l y to accel erate the adopti on of smart gri ds to hel p make them more rel i abl e and give customers better usage informati on. We're worki ng on seven of the worl d' s ten largest automated meter management projects. We're even exploring how to harness i ntermittent wind power by turning mi l l i ons of future el ectric vehi cl es into a distri buted storage system. Our electrical gri ds can be a symbol of progress agai n - if we i mbue the entire system with i ntel l i gence. And we can. Let' s bui l d a smarter pl anet. Joi n us and see what others are thi nki ng, at i bm. com/think/uk IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com and the globe design are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in manyjurisdictions worldwide. A current list of I BM trademarks is available on the Webat 'Copyright andtrademarkinformation' atwww.ibm.com/legaVcopytrade.shtml J|` ` J` The thi rd nucl ear opti on Fi ssi on i s unsafe and fusi on i s decades away, but put them together and the probl ems mel t away, say ] u|iand0ntand 0raham0'Connor THE long-anticipated nuclear renaissance has arrived. In his State ofthe Union address last month, President Barack Obama announced plans for the US to build a new generation of nuclear power plants, and his budget for 2011 proposes large funding increases for the industry. Several European countries are also likely to restart their nuclear power programmes soon. The UK plans to increase to 20 per cent the proportion of its electricity generated from nuclear. A return to nuclear power is attractive right now for many reasons. It promises to help cut carbon emissions and reduce imports offossil fuel. What's more, unlike renewables, it can ensure a stable base load electricity supply whatever the weather. However, nuclear energy also creates problems of its own, not least the risk of Chernobyl-style accidents and the production of radioactive waste that takes tens ofthousands of years to decay. One thing Obama did not spell out is how the US will deal with a new generation of waste now that it has abandoned plans for a storage facility at Yucca mountain. There is a way of returning to nuclear while overcoming all these concerns: hybrid nuclear fusion. The concept has been around for decades, and has been discussed in the technical literature and at the International Atomic Energy Agency. But it has not yet been explained to governments, industry, researchers and the public. Hybrid nuclear fusion combines the two forms of nuclear power, 22 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 fission and fusion, i na single reactor. This has several advantages over fission alone: it minimises the environmental im pact, reduces risks, enlarges reserves of nuclear fuel and is more flexible to operate. Fission, the process behind conventional nuclear power, harnesses energy from the radioactive decay of uranium and other fissile materials. Fusion, meanwhile, is an experimental technology that extracts energy from processes similar to those occurring inside the sun, where hydrogen atoms are fused together to form helium. "Pure" fusion is often touted as the solution to all our energy problems, and it has undeniable advantages over fission. It produces no long-lived nuclear waste and needs no fuel other than water. But it could take another 50 years to make fusion technically and economically viable - if it can ever be made to work at all. One problem with fusion is the size of the reactor core. To make a fusion reaction self-sustaining requires a plasma volume of about 3300 cubic metres, more "Hybrid reactors can help rid the world of plutoni um and other weapons-grade materials" than three times the proposed volume of ITER, the world's most advanced fusion project now under construction in France. Another unsolved issue is how to construct a reactor wall, or "blanket", capable ofwithstanding intense bombardment from high energy neutrons generated by the plasma. Materials that can do this do not yet exist. Hybrid nuclear power potentially solves both these problems. First, the blanket is itself a fission reactor that burns nuclear fuels and generates neutrons. In the process it absorbs high-energy neutrons from the plasma, reducing the energy flux reaching the outer wall by a factor of 50, meaning that existing materials could be used. Second, a hybrid reactor's plasma ball can be much smaller than in a pure fusion reactor about the same size as ITER's, in fact - because energy generated by fission can be fed back into the plasma to keep it burning. Hybrid reactors have other advantages too. One is that the fission reaction can burn a range offuels, including the long-lived high-level nuclear waste produced in conventional fission reactors. It " transmutates" these waste products into isotopes that decay over a hundred years rather than tens of thousands. Not only does this eliminate some of the nuclear industry's waste problems, it also potentially helps to rid the world of plutonium and other weapons grade materials. Hybrid reactors also sidestep looming shortages of the high grade uranium required to fuel Comment on these stories atwww. Newscientist.com/opinion conventional reactors, as they can run on non-emiched uranium and thorium. Low-grade uranium and thorium are plentiful in most parts the world. And because the fissile material produced in the blanket remains at well below critical mass, hybrid reactors have a much lower risk of suffering an accident than conventional reactors, as runaway reactions and consequent meltdown are impossible. Finally, the power output of a hybrid reactor can be easily varied. That would allow nuclear power to be combined with renewables, which are inherently unpredictable, to provide baseload power. There is growing interest in hybrid reactors. The Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei, China, a world-class fusion research centre, is planning to build a prototype by 2020 in collaboration with China's growing nuclear industry. Other countries, including those participating in ITER, are also looking at R&D programmes on hybrid reactors. Last month the UK science minister, Paul Drayson, suggested that nuclear research in the UK and elsewhere should consider hybrid systems. The US energy secretary, Steven Chu, has also mentioned hybrid reactors. Existing fusion research programmes, such as the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfords hire, UK, can contribute a great deal to these efforts. Workable hybrid technology is still some way off, but given the inherent problems with fission and the uncertainty over fusion it has to be worth pursuing. Even modest-sized reactors could provide affordable and almost limitless energy for all. Hybrid fusion deserves wider understanding and support from governments, scientists and environmentalists . • J ul i an Hunt i s professor of cl i mate model l i ng at University College London and a formerfusi on researcher, Graham O' Connor is a former seni or scientist at the ITER project Üß0mÌ ßut0wÌtß. . . Gi nny Barbour Several |ournal s wi l l no longer publ i sh research supported by the tobacco i ndustry, The chi ef edi tor of one of them explai ns why What made you decide to stop accepting papers reporting research funded by tobacco companies? Last year PLoS Medicine deci ded to prioritise research about conditions and risk factors that cause the greatest burden of disease, Tobacco is certainly one: it di rectly ki l l s over 4 mi l l i on peopl e a year worl dwi de, and more i ndi rectly. We di dn't want our pol icy to attract a flood of i ndustry funded tobacco research; we feel the tobacco i ndustry has no reason to fund research ai med at i mproving publ i c heal th, If they wanted to do that, they could just shut down, Its main reason for publ i shi ng research about tobacco i s to downplay the harm it causes, in orderto sell products: it has a long history of that. I t al so funds research unrelated to tobacco, but that i s sti l l a form of advertising, Is it a medical journal's job to try and stop that? Journal s cannot just be passive conduits for papers, We have a duty to promote human heal th, Banni ng tobacco-funded papers can hel p researchers who are under pressure to accept fundi ng: the next ti me a tobacco company offers them money, they can say "No thanks, that woul d l i mi t where we can publ i sh, " Besi des us and our coll eagues at PLoS ONE and PLoS Biology, the British)oural ofCancer and the Ameri can Thoraci c Society journals have al so banned tobacco-funded research, Tests of new drugs are usually funded by drug companies, and some studies have found that company-funded trials are more likely to get results favouring the company. Why single out tobacco? There is a huge probl em with al l corporate fundi ng of cl i ni cal tri al s: irs l i ke aski ng the coach of the football team to referee the game, But unl i ke pharmaceuti cal s, the tobacco i ndustr's products are never useful, they only harm human heal th. And there has been i ncreasi ng evi dence that the i ndustry's research is probl emati c; one of our editors opposed banni ng research funded by tobacco compani es as a restri cti on on free speech, but changed hi s mi nd because of that. PROFILE Gi nny Barbour i s a foundi ng edi tor, and now chi ef editor, of the open access j ournal PLoS Medicine, and acti ng secretary of the Committee on Publ i cati on Ethi cs, an associ ati on of research j ournal s The industry is developing "safer ci garettes" and wi l l need them to be tested in clinical trials. Shouldn't the resul ts be publ ished i n peer-reviewed journals? I f tobacco compani es fund these trials i t wi l l be hard to have confi dence i n the outcome, But i n any case, even a so-called safer ci garette wi l l not contribute to publ i c heal th, The onl y reason the i ndustry has for devel opi ng one i s to promote smoki ng. Wouldn't that reduce the harm caused by tobacco? There i s one si mpl e way to reduce the harm caused by tobacco: stop it bei ng sold, I don't acceptthat i t will help even if you can make a sl i ghtly safer ci garette, That research i s just adverti si ng. Medi cal j ournals and the publ i c heal th community musttake a strong stand and say i t isn't acceptable to publ i sh research that only seeks to l egi ti mi se tobacco. I nterview by Debora MacKenzie 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 23 J|` N J`.¯¯¯¯|: Evolving argument From Ivan Erill, Biological Sciences Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli Palmarini discuss what they see as flaws in Darwin's theory (6 February, p 28). They argue that Darwin, and his uncritical neo-Darwinian synthesis followers, got things wrong by attributing so much power to natural selection. Their opinion piece covers two major themes: endogenous constraints and genetic free riding. Darwin clearly acknowledged the first, and the neo-Darwinian synthesis has long accepted the latter. No sane evolutionary biologist would deny that evolution is time-constrained and that it must act on whatever designs are available at the time. So pigs could not evolve wings easily these days -big news. Fodor and Piattelli- Palmarini argue that genetic linkage of phenotypic traits, in which one is selected and the other"free rides", are counter-examples to natural selection. That is just plain wrong. Linked phenotypic traits, or spandrels, can only free-ride for as long as they remain "silent". If they ever decrease fitness in a significant manner and become a burden, natural selection will either lower the fitness ofthe linking trait, or select for individuals that happen to unlink both traits. Ever since biologist Motoo Kimura popularised the concept of neutral evolution in the late 1960s, evolutionary biologists have widely accepted that natural selection is not the only factor in evolution. However, it still plays the leading role in the main evolutionary changes leading to the fundamental taxonomical differences observed between species. Baltimore, Maryland, US From Ian Stewart Judging by their arguments, Fodor and Piattelli-Palmarini seem to be aiming at the wrong target in entitling their book What Darwin Got Wrong. The points they raise do not relate to flaws in the idea of natural selection, but to the many and varied constraints and influences under which it must operate. This has long been known: similar observations can be found in The Col/apse of Chaos, which Jack Cohen and Enigma \J100¯lS3S Divi ng poi nts RICHARD ENGLAND I n international di vi ng, the judges' score forthe dive is mul ti pl i ed by a tariff that represents the degree of difficulty of the di ve to gi ve the poi nts awarded for the dive, The judges' score can be any integer di vi si bl e by 5 up to a maxi mum of 300, The tarif can be any integer between 20 and 38. On this dive the ni ne digi ts that appeared i n the judges' score, the tariff and the poi nts awarded were al l different. How many poi nts were awarded for the dive? WIN £15 will be awarded to the sender of the fi rst correct answer opened on Wednesday 7 Apri l . The Editors deci si on is fi nal . Pl ease send entri es to Eni gma 1585, New Sci enti st, Lacon House, 84 Theobal d's Road, London WClX 8NS, orto eni
[email protected] (pl ease i ncl ude your postal address), Answer t 1579 Fifteen: The number i s 4043551 The wi nner Darren Anderson of Mortdale, New South Wales, Australia 24 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 I wrote in 1994, as part ofa critique of certain gene-centred aspects ofneo-Darwinism. The idea that natural selection involves a static measure of fitness influenced solely by the environment is naive and outdated. It is true that some models of evolution are restricted to these ingredients, particularly in classical population genetics, but few geneticists imagine that their models are complete descriptions of reality. The transmission of genetic and epigenetic information to the next generation is a dynamic process: the fitness land sea pe changes in response to the evolving organisms, genes near to others can hitch a free ride, and what works is a compromise. All this is well known and has been for decades. The issue is therefore not natural selection, but what this process involves and how it works. Darwin did not address these questions, and deserves no blame for the misconceptions of other people. Warwick, UK From Michael Crick In discussing evolutionary pressure by "endogenous variables", Fodor and Piattelli Palmarini have put forward as new an idea about the evolutionary process that I thought was well understood. The genome is part of nature and a source of pressure for selection. The first test for any new mutation is that it should be compatible with the existing genome. That the mutation need not be of benefit to the host is one reason for the redundant material accumulated by genomes. It is only after meeting this first requirement that the more obvious selection by external environmental factors becomes significant. Darwin was unaware of the modern concept of the genome, but he was not wrong. Hexham, Northumberland, UK Aliens can't hear you From Ray Francis The comments by David Brin and others about broadcasting our presence to aliens leave me doubting the validity of the inverse square law governing the radio spectrum (13 February, p 24). Applying this l aw shows that the combined output from all the radio stations on Earth is so diffuse as to be non-existent before it travels even one millionth of the way to the nearest possible source of alien life, Proxima Centauri. It seems likely, given the immense number of possibilities, that there is life on other planets in our galaxy, perhaps intelligent life on a few. However, having some grasp of the distances involved, one must realise the possibility of getting in touch is as near to zero as you can get. Bristol, UK Wonderful water From Peter Mahaffey In his article on the unusual properties of water (6 February, p 32), Edwin Cartlidge failed to mention the weirdest property of all : the "Mpemba effect". That is, if identical vessels of hot and cold water are placed in a freezer at the same time, the hot water will freeze first. This was first alluded to by Aristotle and then reported in the late 1960s as a result of observations by a young Tanzanian student. The findings For more leters and to join the debate, visit www.NewScientist.com/leters were eventually published (Physics Education, vol 4, p 172), but the reason is still unexplained. Bedford, UK Code-breaking codon From Joe Mortimer In his article on horizontal gene transfer, Mark Buchanan erroneously states that the genetic code is "universal, shared by all organisms" (23 January, p 34). In mammalian mitochondria there are two codes for methionine, rather than one, and one of the stop codons, which usually terminates a protein sequence, encodes tryptophan instead. In ciliated protozoans, two of the standard stop codons instead encode glutamine. Therefore the code is not universal, although it can be called widespread as, for example, the codon TCT codes for serine in any organism. Bracknel/ Berkshire, UK The editor writes • Joe Mortimer is correct. There are in fact numerous variations to the standard genetic code, particularly in mitochondria but also in the nuclear genomes of a few protozoans, algae and yeasts. These differences are presumed to have evolved after the fixing of the universal genetic code by horizontal gene transfer as discussed in our article, but we should have made their existence clear. Darwi n's conscious From Reg Morrison Ouryeaming for distinction from the animal world induces us to explore some weird mental byways, one of which being that we are special because we possess consciousness (g January, p 28, and 6 February, p 26). This tedious hunt for distinction goes on because most people cannot quite believe the Darwinian proposition that we are, in fact, just animals. The biological facts are simple: we are animals in every sense and all our apparent distinctions are merely of degree, not of kind; a fact that is easier to spot if you tum off the cultural soundtrack and just watch the action. Animals read the world via a series of sensory" snapshots". We read our existence in exactly the same fashion, but our sensory snapshots are so multitudinous, overlaid and interlinked that the individual frames bleed together and run as a continuous movie in the multiscreen theatre of our overgrown brain, resulting in what we call consciousness. Charles Darwin, 170 years ago, scribbled the following asides i n his notes: "Thought, however unintelligible it may be, seems as much a function of organ, as bile of liver," and "This view should teach one profound humility, no one deserves credit for anything, nor ought one to blame others." Sadly, this fact -based proposition is as unpalatable now as when Darwin originally noted it. Bi/gola Plateau, New South Wales, Australia Quantum petunias From David Weldon In your editorial on quantum biology, you write that "the pigments used in photosynthesis use quantum calculations" (6 February, p 5). I shall soon be taking a closed book exam and, since I sus pect that most definitions of closed book would fail to make mention of pot plants, I intend take a plant into the exam with me, show it the questions and get it to do the appropriate calculations for me. Since neither my gardening books nor BBC Radio's Gardeners' Question Time show have been of any help, are there any plants which you could recommend as being particularly adept in matters relating to the quantum universe? Church Stretton, Shropshire, UK Climate confusion From Jim Ring In his letter detailing why the Nobel committee rejected calls for new prize categories, Michael Sohlman claims that the Nobel prize in chemistry fOr IggS was given to Paul Crutzen et al for work on "climate change" (13 February, p 22). This prize was given for work on the ozone hole. This has little to do with climate change, although in the popular mind the two fields are frequently confused. Nelson, New Zealand Weather isn't cl imate From Thomas Young Michael Payton criticises Michael Le Page's suggestion that one cannot logically draw conclusions about climate change from a single severe weather event (6 February, p 27). Payton appears to miss Le Page's point entirely when he suggests that climate scientists are doing this by using extreme weather events as evidence of climate change. Le Page was not suggesting that one cannot make reasonable inferences about the climate from extreme weather, but rather that it is a statistical fallacy to draw conclusions about the climate from any single weather event or observation (16 January, p 20). After all, weather is not climate, but climate is the average of weather over a long period of time. The fact that both sceptics and climate scientists are fOCUSing on extreme weather events is irrelevant; the important point is that climate scientists recognise that robust and statistically significant conclusions about climate can only be drawn from the analysis of many weather events over a long period. Bangor, Maine, US For the record • We lost our sense of proportion when stati ng how many people there are i n the worl d without access to banking services who coul d benefit from mobi l e money technol ogy. It i s of course around a bi l l i on peopl e, not a mi l l i on as we stated (20 February, p 20). • I n our article about atmospheric water vapour (6 February, p 16) we moved the University of Bern north of the border from its ri ghtful location in Switzerl and. • I n a caption i n our story on rock art, we noted that spiral si gns on cave wal l s are rare. This was parti cul arl y the case for the pi cture i n question, which actual l y depicted concentric ci rcl es(20 February, p 30). Letters shoul d be sent to: Letters to the Edi tor, New Scientist, 84 Theobald's Road, London WClX 8NS Fax: +44 (0) 20 7511 1280 Emai l :
[email protected] Include you r full posta I add ress a nd telephone number, anda reference (issue, page number, title) to articles. We reserve the rightto edit letters. Reed Business Information reserves the right to use any submissions sent to the letters column of New Scientist magazine, i n any other format. 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 25 J|` ` J` ¯¬¯o o` `¯/ Where do athei sts come from? Cal l i ng yoursel f an athei st or agnosti c i s thought to be a hal l mark of the well -educated, Can it real l y be that si mpl e, ask Loi s Lee and Stephen Bul l ivant HERE's a fact to flatter the unbelievers among you: the bright young things at the University of Oxford are among the most godless groups ever studied in the UK. Of728 students surveyed in 2007, 48.9 percent claimed not to believe in any god, with 49.6 per cent claiming no religious affiliation. And while a very small number of Britons typically label themselves as "atheist" or "agnostic" (most surveys put it at about 5 per cent), an astonishing 57.3 per cent ofthe Oxford sample did. This may come as no surprise. After all, atheism is the natural stance ofthe educated and the informed, is it not? It is only to be expected that Oxford students should be wise to what their own professor Richard Dawkins calls "self-indulgent, thought-denying skyhookery" -and others call "faith". The old Enlightenment caricature, it seems, is true after all: where Reason reigns, God retires. Of course, things are never quite that simple. Within the sample, for instance, the postgraduates (that is, the even-better educated) were notably more religious than the undergraduates, in terms of both belief in God and self-description. Although the greater number of non -Europeans in the postgraduate population is almost certainly a significant factor here, evidence from elsewhere backs the idea that there is no straightforward relationship between atheism and education. Let's look at some results from the World Values Survey, an international attempt to PROFILE Lois Lee i s a PhD student at the University of Cambri dge and founder-di rector of the Non-rel i gi on and Secularity Research Network (NSRN). Stephen Bul l i vant i s a research fellow at St Mar's Uni versity College, Twickenham, and Wolfson Coll ege, University of Oxford 26 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 assess the global state of socio-cultural, moral, religious and political values. The 2005 results show that while there is a clear positive correlation between education and lack of belief in God, the effect is slightly weaker, not stronger, among those with a university education (14.8 per cent were non-believers) compared with those whose highest attainment was secondary level (17-2 per cent). What is more, the survey shows a far stronger correlation between education and certain "irrational" beliefs: for example, only 29. 6 per cent of those without even an elementary education believe in telepathy, compared with 51.8 per cent of people with degree-level education. Closer to home, an analysis of the 2008 British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey by David Voas of the University of Manchester reveals that the historical correlation between being educated and being "non-religious" has not only weakened but reversed. Looking at white British people, for example, the findings show that only around 25 per cent of men aged between 25 and 34 claiming " no religion" have degrees, compared with around 40 per cent of those describing themselves as religious. For women in the same age group, the difference is less marked but the trend is the same. The picture is more complicated across different ethnic groups, although the overall trend remains the same. It appears that Enlightenment assumptions about the decline of religion as the population becomes more educated will no longer do -at least, not without considerable qualification. Why is it that, despite the long history of the study of religion, the picture seems to be getting more and not less confused about what it means to believe in God? We, and the scholars who gathered in December last year for a conference at Wolfson College, University of Oxford, think we may have the answer. The problems stem from a long-term, collective blind spot in research: atheism itself. This oversight might seem remarkable (or remarkably obtuse on the part of the social scientists) but it is one with deep historical roots. Many of social science's 19th-century founders, including Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, E mile Durkheim, Auguste Comte and Max Weber, were unbelievers, or " religiously unmusical", as Weber memorably put it. For them, religion was the great explicandum: how, they wondered, could so many people believe in something so absurd? What they failed to recognise was that their own, taken for-granted, "lack" of belief might its elf be amenable to inquiry. Ironically, sociologists, psychologists, economists and, particularly, cognitive anthropologists have become so skilled at explaining why humans seem to have such For more opinion articles and to add your comments, visit www.NewScientist.com/opinion 1111 rel i gi on comes natural l y to us, why are so many people resistant to it?" a widespread bias towards theistic beliefs that a new question readily presents itself: if religion comes so naturally to us, why are so many people, especially in western Europe, apparently resistant to it? In the UK, for example, a sizable 43 per cent said they had "no religion" in the 2008 BSA survey. Moreover, social scientists themselves consistently rank as the most atheistic of all academics: see a recent study by Neil Gross at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and Solon Simmons of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia (SOciology ofReligion, in press). What we need now is a scientific study not of the theistic, but the atheistic mind. We need to discover why some people do not "get" the supernatural agency many cognitive scientists argue comes automatically to our brains. Is this capacity non-existent in the non-religious, or is it rerouted, undermined or overwritten-and under what conditions? Psychologically, we need to know how the self functions without theistic belief, and how our emotional resources might be altered by its absence. Anthropologically, we need to understand how people without religion make sense of their lives, how they find meaning, and how non-theistic systems ofthought are embedded in, and sha pe, the different cultures in which they are present. Sociologically, we need to know how these alternative meaning making systems are shared between societies, how they unite or divide us, and whether non religious groups contain pro-social elements commonly associated with religion itself. Perhaps thecapacityto bel ieve in a supernatural agency is simply non-existent in atheists For all these reasons and more - not to mention the sheer thrill of entering uncharted waters -we set up the international and interdisciplinary Non-religion and Secularity Research Network in late 2008. The Wolfson meeting was the NSRN's inaugural conference, only the second event on this topic ever to be held in Europe. (The first was convened by the Vatican in 1969: make of that what you will.) The conference presented the first fruits of research in this area -and discussed how much still needs to be done. One of the first tasks is to develop a common academic vocabulary. In this article, for instance, we have danced between "atheistic", "non-theistic", "non-religious", "unbelieving" and "godless" as if they were synonyms. They're not. Interesting findings have, however, begun to emerge; some providing insight into the relationship between education and atheism. Voas, also a keynote speaker at the Wolfson conference, says one reason why a greater number of religious people are degree-holders may be that "better educated people have typically reflected on religion and have the self-confidence to come down decisively, on one side or the other". The issue i s not which idea -atheism or theism - is more stupid than the other, but that education helps us either to work out or simply to communicate our beliefs, no matter what they are. He also notes the observation by another keynote presenter, Colin Campbell of the University of York, whose 1971 book Toward a Sociology ofIrreligion had until very recently been a lone voice in the wilderness. Campbell argues that though the educated are often the first to articulate a new cultural pers pective, if that pers pective becomes popular, it will spread across the population. As a result, the education levels associated with that perspective naturally average out. So it is that the relationship between intelligence or education and cultural shifts may not be as significant as they first appear. Everybody stands to benefit from wider and more systematic research ofthe atheistic or non-religiOUS. The believers may take heart from the fact that the most comprehensive studies no longer suggest the unreligious are cleverer or more lettered than them. But the non-believers might also comfort themselves that they are no longer outside the mainstream. They have become a "normal" and significant part of many societies. And researchers ignore them at their peril. • 6 March 2010 I NewSci enti st 1 27 Touchi ng the multiverse I s i t possi bl e to gl ean any useful i nformati on from a mul ti tude of universes in whi ch anythi ng can happen? It i s now, says Amanda Gefter 28 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 W HEN cosmologist George Ellis turned 70 last year, his friends held a party to celebrate. There were speeches and drinks and cana pes aplenty to honour the theorist from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, who is regarded as one of the world's leading experts ongeneral relativity. But there the similarity to most parties ends. For a start, Ellis's celebration at the University of Oxford lasted for three days and the guest list was made up entirely of physicists, astronomers and philosophers of science. They had gathered to debate what Ellis considers the most dangerous idea in science: the suggestion that our universe is but a tiny part of an unimaginably large and diverse multiverse. To the dismay of Ellis and many of his colleagues, the multiverse has developed rapidly from a being merely a speculative idea to a theory verging on respectability. There are good reasons why. Several strands of theoretical physics - quantum mechanics, string theory and cosmic inflation - seem to converge on the idea that our universe is only one among an infinite and ever-growing assemblage of disconnected bubble universes. What's more, the multiverse offers a plausible answer to what has become an infuriatingly slippery question: why does the quantity of dark energy in the universe have the extraordinarily unlikely value that it does? No theory of our universe has been able to explain it. But ifthere are countless universes out there beyond our cosmic horizon, each with its own value for the quantity of dark energy it contains, the value we observe becomes not just probable but inevitable. Despite the many virtues ofthe multiverse, Ellis is far from alone in finding it a dangerous idea. The main cause for alarm is the fact that it postulates the existence of a multitude of unobservable universes, making the whole idea untestable. If something as fundamental as this is untestable, says Ellis, the foundations of science itself are undermined. Comparing infinities One of the guests at Ellis's party doesn't see it that way. Raphael Bousso ofthe University of California, Berkeley, has also been grappling with the multiverse, and in the past few months he has found a way round the troubling problem of unobservable universes. At a stroke, he has transformed the multiverse from a theory so problematical that it threatens to subvert science, into one that promises predictions we can test. His insights are steering physicists along the path to their ultimate goal of uniting quantum mechanics and gravity into one neat theory of everything. Bousso's achievement is all the more impressive because he has succeed where so many others have tried and failed. The problem they all encountered boils down .JV¯|:¯J|` its infinite number of bubble universes. Unfortunately, there's a nasty hole in this approach, in the shape of the phrase "at some particular time": according to Einstein's theory of relativity, it renders the whole exercise utterly meaningless. The problem arises from Einstein's insight that clocks run differently for different observers. Two events that are simultaneous for me are not simultaneous for you, so there are an infinite number of ways you can slice up the multiverse. None is more "true" than any other, so there's no reason to choose one time slicing over another-and different slices can yield dramatically different results. Implicit in previous approaches was the idea that the multiverse can be described from anobserverless, God's-eye-view, and Bousso realised that this was what lead to all those intractable infinities. So he decided to calculate probabilities based on what anyone observer can see from within their own universe. Quantum mechanics tells us that the vacuum of space is not empty; instead, it crackles with energy. It also tells us that, sooner or later, any given universe will decay spontaneously into another one with lower energy. Indeed, most cosmologists envisage our big bang as precisely such an event, during which the vacuum we live in emerged from a higher-energy vacuum that constituted a universe before ours. What matters here, though, is that there are a plethora of possible universes that can be produced in this way each one with its own probability. By adding up these probabilities, Bousso was able to work out the various probabilities ofthe observer ending up i na universe with a particular set of characteristics. to this: like quantum mechanics and thermodynamics, multiverse cosmology is an exercise in statistics. Given a universe within the multiverse, you cannot predict what its key characteristics will be -how much dark energy it contains, say. The best you can do is calculate the probability that it looks the way it does based on how likely it is that a universe with its particular set of characteristics will occur in the multiverse. Calculating probabilities, though, requires a "measure" -a "Everythi ng that can mathematical tool that tells you how to define happen wi l l happen i n the relative probabilities. And finding the right • • • • measure for the multiverse is far from easy. multlverse - an mfml te The trouble is that in an infinite multiverse, n umber of ti mes" everything that can happen will happen - an infinite number oftimes. In such a set-up, probability loses all meaning. "How do you compare infinities?" asks Andrei Linde of Stanford University in California. Prior to Bousso's work, the favoured approach was to pick a snapshot ofthe multiverse at a particular time and calculate the characteristics of all the bubble universes inside, noting how many different values for the amount of dark energy crop up. From there, you extrapolate the relative probabilities to the multiverse as it develops over time with U sing this approach, Bousso was able to derive probabilities for things like the amount of dark energy in any particular universe, without ever have to resort to a God's-eye point of view, or speculation about what might be happening in disconnected bubble universes beyond our view. He calls this approach the causal patch measure, and the important thing is that it works. He has used it to predict the value ofthe dark energy we ought to see in our own universe, and it > 6 March 2010 1 NewScienti st 1 29 turns out to be remarkably close to the observed value (arxiv.orglabs/hep-th/0702115). So, job done?Not quite. The problem with the causal patch measure is that the result depends on the vacuum energy of the universe the calculation starts with. And such arbitrariness is anathema to physicists. A hologram of the multiverse While Bousso was working on his observer's eye view of the multiverse, cosmologist Alexander Vilenkin ofTufts University in Boston was formulating another approach to the global picture. Vilenkin, too, had become dissatisfied with past approaches to measure making, and had decided there had to be a better way. Together with Jaume Garriga ofthe University of Barcelona in Spain, Vilenkin thought there might be some clues in an earlier breakthrough made by Argentinean physicist Juan Maldacena at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Maldacena had been working with string theory to build model universes when he made a startling discovery. He found a model in a bizarrely shaped universe with five dimensions that is exactly eqUivalent to a simpler model on its four-dimensional boundary. This is a classic example of what is known as the "holographic principle", the idea that for a space in any number of dimensions, all the physics inside that space can be encoded on its outer boundary in much the same way that a two-dimensional hologram on a credit card can encode all the information about a 3D object. Vilenkin and Garriga figured the entire multiverse must similarly have a holographic image living on its boundary (arxiv.orgl abs/0905.1509). In the case of the multiverse, though, the boundary is not a frontier in space, but in time, infinitely far into the future. Could it hold a uniquely defined measure for the multiverse? Bousso was intrigued. While he believed his causal patch measure was more promising, he decided to see what would happen ifhe tried to derive a measure for the multiverse by studying its boundary instead. "I wanted to figure out a straightforward way of transferring what we had learned from Maldacena to the multiverse," he says. It turns out that zooming in on part ofthe boundary is equivalent to selecting different, finite slices oftime in the interior of the multiverse (see diagram). To see how it works, imagine you are standing in a dark room with your back against one wall and facing another wall. You switch on a flashlight, which illuminates a large oval on the far wall. As you walk towards the wall ahead, the illuminated oval shrinks. The further away you move from the back wall where you started, the smaller the ´¯Ll ¯¸l¯¯1¯¯¯.¯0¦L¯¯¯. l v¯¯¯ "We are learni ng how to formul ate a quantum gravity theory of the mul tiverse" Wh i l e tradi ti onal approaches to assessi ng the characteristics of the multiverse have fai l ed, two new approaches have i ndependently made the same predicti ons, whi ch also match observations ofthe amountof dark energy in our own uni verse TRADI TI ONAL VI EW The multiverse consists of an i nfi nite number of , 'UNIVERSES, each one havi ng different properti es such as the amount of dark energy it contai ns Attempts to understand these un iverses by studyi ng a sl i ce of the multiverse at a particul ar 'TIME have proved mi sl eadi ng beause ti me i s di fferentfor di fferent observers 30 I NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 CAUSAL PATCH MEASURE Ra phael Bousso's approach i s to restrict ourvi ew to ONE UNI VERSE. ' It can decay in many different possi bl e ways wi th di ferent probabi l i ti es By combi ni ng al l possi bl e h istori es, you can cal cu late the val ue of dark energy we oug ht to see, However, the resul t depends on the condi ti ons chosen for the uni verse to start wi th HOLOGRAPHI C MULTI VERSE Accordi ng to the hol ographi c pri nci pl e, al l the physi cs of the multiverse i s encoded on a BOUNDARY ' , i n ti me, when ti me is setto I NFI NITY" Zoomi ng in a nd out on a secti on of the boundary sel ects DI FFERENT TI MES ' wi th i n the mul ti verse, The resul ti ng predi cti ons turn outto be equi val ent to the causal patch measure area of illumination becomes. In other words, there is a clear relationship between areas on your future boundary and distance from your starting point. In a similar way, a particular area on the boundary of the multiverse is associated with a particular time inside it. What is so powerful about this approach is that it sidesteps the problem Einstein raised about time being relative to different observers. Here the boundary tells you which bubble universes existed at a particular time. Knowing this, you can start comparing universes and calculating the probability of finding one with a particular value of dark energy, for instance. As Bousso studied this measure, something astonishing came into focus. The global measure he had discovered using the holographic representation of the multiverse and its future boundary turns out to be exactly equivalent to the causal patch measure he had already derived by simply considering what a single observer can see. The two dramatically different approaches turned out to be two different ways oflooking at the same underlying reality: one considers an ensemble of possible histories for a single observer; the other, the entire infinite history of an infinite number of disconnected bubble universes. Whðt0| ðLkh0| 0SLð0t0ðLhuS When Stephen Hawking uni verse. And since a hot woul d seem the el ephant has cal culated that black holes gas of ordi nary particles never been cloned, but the laws of radiate away energy and loses information, nei ther can physics prohibit such eventually evaporate, he l eft a a black hol e. dupl i cation of information. naggi ng question: what The lesson from the Cosmol ogi st Raphael happens to the information hol ographi c picture i s that no Bousso expl ai ns the paradox about all the stuffthat has observer should ever see results from the mistaken idea fal l en in? If it escaped back into information di sappear from the that we can descri be what's the uni verse, it would have to uni verse. If Al i ce is watchi ng happeni ng both inside and be travel l i ng faster than the from a distance as an el ephant outside the hori zon speed of light, vi olati ng falls i nto a bl ack hole, she will si multaneously, when i n reality Ei nstei n's theory of relativity. see it approach the bl ack hol e's no si ngl e observer can ever If it vanished from the event horizon, at whi ch poi nt i t see both at once. I n other universe, it would be vi ol ating is i nci nerated by the Hawki ng words, for physics to make a fundamental tenet of radiation, whi ch sends it sense, you must restrict your quantum mechanics. This streami ng back towards her as description of the universe to conundrum became known as a sad, scrambled heap of ashes. what a single observer can see. the bl ack hol e i nformati on loss Meanwhile, Bob, who falls i nto It's a profoundly di fferent paradox (New Scientist, the black hol e al ong with the approach from the ol d idea that 2B October 2006, p 36). el ephant, sees the elephant we can describe the entire The answer comes from the cross the horizon safely, and universe from an observerless, idea known as the hol ographi c live happi Iy for some ti me God's-eye-view. pri nci ple, whi ch says that before hitting the si ngul arity i n Tal ki ng about the multiverse the physics inside a regi on of the black hol e's core. as if i t can all be directly space-time i s equivalent to the According to the hol ographic observed at once, Bousso says, physics on the region's pri ncipl e, both stories must be l eads to an even greater boundary. You can thi nk of a true. But how can the el ephant nonsense than tryi ng to black hol e as equivalent to a be in a heap of ashes outside si multaneously describe hot gas of ordi nary particles the horizon and alive and well what's happeni ng inside and on the boundary of the inside the black hol e? It outsi de a bl ack hol e horizon. "That was really stunning," says Bousso. "It was amazing to me when I realised that the two measures reproduce the exact same probabilities." Their equivalence turns out to be extremely useful, as weaknesses in one measure are strengths in the other, and vice versa. "They are like two people on crutches holding one another up," Bousso says. So while in the causal patch measure your answers depend strongly on the universe in which your observers start out, the global measure does not suffer from this ambiguity. In the multiverse, bubbles beget bubbles beget bubbles, so that initial conditions are quickly lost in the crowd and no longer matter observations, they were both inspired in different ways by the holographic principle. This suggests that the holographic principle is profoundly significant, and could lead us to a theory of quantum gravity - the long-sought theory of everything that mirrors the dynamics of the multiverse. "By thinking about the measure problem, we seem to be learning, perhaps unexpectedly, about another, equally deep mystery, namely how to formulate the quantum gravity theory ofthe multiverse," says Bousso. when it comes to calculating probabilities. In fact the global picture actually defines what the starting vacuum for the causal patch approach should be. On the other hand, while the global picture suffers from the problem of "duplicate information" (see "What black holes can teach us", above), Bousso's causal patch measure successfully circumvents this. The implications might be immense. The two equivalent measures have not only provided a prediction for dark energy in our own universe that closely matches Even Ellis is impressed by Bousso's results, if not exactly sold on the multiverse. "It is a useful and intriguing kind of consistency test based in fascinating but speculative physics," he says. And there is another far-reaching consequence. IfBousso's eqUivalence holds, then not only can the resulting measure be used to make real, testable predictions, they can also make calculations in the multiversewithout ever referring to unobservable universes lurking beyond our cosmic horizon. Everything we need to know about the multiverse might be right here in our own universe . • Amanda Gefter is an editor in New Scentists Opi ni on section, based in Boston 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 31 The island of South Georgia, deep i n the South Atlantic, was once a whal i ng stati on A s ISLANDS go, you would be hard pressed to find one more remote. Deep in the southern Atlantic Ocean sits South Georgia, a haven for wildlife in the midst of ferocious seas. Over 30 million birds of31 species breed here and a further 50 species have been spotted. It is home to grey-headed albatrosses, northern giant petrels, white chinned petrels, Antarctic prions, halfofthe entire population of macaroni penguins and most of the planet's population of the South Georgia blue-eyed shag. But it is not as idyllic as it sounds. Under the surface lurks a menace that is slowly ripping the ecosystem apart: rats. The rodents were stowaways on sealing and whaling ships that visited the island until the mid-20th century. When the hunters stopped coming, the rats were left to their own devices along with a small population of reindeer that had been brought for food and now roam wild. Without natural predators, the rat population has swollen to many million, eating their way through tens of millions of ground-nesting birds' eggs and chicks in the process. As a result, the island's endemic wildlife is under threat, and its only songbird, the South Georgia pipit, is on the brink of extinction. N ow the South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) is going to fight back. In what will be the largest mass extermination ever attempted, the SG HT plans to poison every rat on the island. "The difference between success and failure i s the survival of two rats on the entire island," says Tony Martin, project manager of the SGHT Habitat Restoration Programme. "We don't have to get rid of most or even 99.9 per cent of the rats -we have to eradicate 100 per cent." Absolute eradication is the only option because rats breed rapidly. They can live for around two years, achieve sexual maturity at two months old and are able to produce seven litters of 8 to 10 offspring a year. Female rats reach menopause at around 18 months. Even in the harsh climate of South Georgia, a sexually mature female is likely to have around four litters a year. If just one couple > South Georgi a's resi dents i ncl ude (cl ockwi se from top) ki ng pengui ns, rei ndeer, pi pits, and al batrosses I I l f the programme wi pes out al l the rats, the popul ati on of pi pi ts shoul d be the fi rst to recover' survive, i t will only take a few years before the island is overrun again (see diagram, right). SGHT's eradication plan, costing £7 million, has been put before the UK government, which administers South Georgia as an overseas territory. lfit gets the stamp of approval, the first wave of attack should begin in February 2011. But what chance does the scheme have of working? And what might go wrong? More than 300 islands worldwide have successfully removed their rodent pests. While that is an encouraging sign, it is worth bearing in mind that South Georgia is a very different proposition. Stretching to a length of 120 kilometres, it is about eight times as big as the largest island that has been tackled so 34 1 NewScientist 1 6 March 2010 far. Its isolated location means the operation will be a logistical nightmare. "Getting a ship, helicopter, pilots, staff, bait and equipment there is not straightforward or cheap," says Keith Springer, head of the Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project in Tasmania, Australia, who has been advising the SGHT on its rat removal plan. "The weather will also place constraints on spreading the bait by helicopter:' On top of this, South Georgia is uninhabited, covered in glaciers (see map, opposite), and heavy snowfall in the winter would conceal the poison. The presence of glaciers is a double-edged sword for the project. They act as natural barriers that confine rats to specific areas, which "means the job can be tackled in bite- sized chunks, each of which has a higher chance of being successful, with minimal risk of re-invasion between operational seasons", says Springer. "But the clock is ticking as the glaciers are retreating:' As they melt, rats will be able to invade the entire island, making their eradication impossible - it is unfeasible to treat such a large area in one hit. The sooner the rat catchers get to work, the better. So how will the rats be killed? The idea is to liberally sprinkle toxic cereal pellets over the rat-infested regions from a helicopter. The poison of choice is brodifacoum, an anticoagulant that finds its way to the liver where it interferes with the synthesis of clotting factors that help stop bleeding. Symptoms kick in a few days after consumption, and victims die slowly of internal haemorrhaging. 8ad death "It is a nasty way for the rats to die," admits Martin. "But these rats are eating their way through the young of millions of birds, who also die in a nasty way -the rats eat them alive. I have no doubt it's justifiable to kill invasive predators that are wiping out native wildlife." Brodifacoum has been chosen as it is extremely toxic -a few micrograms is all it takes to kill a rat. Yet its use is controversial. Ifbrodifacoum accumulates in the food chain, it could kill a wide range of species, including the very birds the programme is trying to save. The main concern is that some birds, particularly the pintail duck, may eat the baited cereal, says Martin. This fear is justified: when rats were eradicated from Motuihe Island in New Zealand, 60 percent of the waterfowl also died. What could make it worse this time round is that the proposed time of baiting February -is when the ducks are at maximum stress because they are moulting and cannot fly, so may be more likely to eat the cereal bait. SGHT is hopeful this won't happen. In tests, they found that ca ptive ducks avoided eating Expl odi ng rats Assuming a new generation of rats i s born every three months, and each female gives bi rth to a litter of 10 (5 male, 5 female), the total population will h it hal f a mil l ion rats by the ti me the ori ginal female reaches menopause 12 2 adults have frst l itter 72 3 months 432 5 months 2592 9 months 15, 552 12 months 93, 312 15 months 559, 872 18 months W'c~c1'c ~/1`~O/º The rats l i vi ng on South Georgia are a menace to the i ndi genous wi l dl ife. Fortunately, gl aci ers confi ne them to di sti nct areas ofthe island, maki ng eradication feasi bl e �Rei ndeer l Ki ng pengui n nesti ng ground Al batross nesti ng ground • Rat-i nfested areas Glaciated areas OTHER ERADI CATI ON PROJ ECTS FR t GATE ISLAND, SEYCHELLES, 1996 219 heEtares I lOkm I • RAT ISLAND, ALASKA�2Q08 Halted as the endangered Seychel l es magpie robin suffered from secondary poi soni ng. 2800 hectares Declared rat free i nJune 2009. Several species of bi rd, i ncl udi ng Al euti an cackling geese, ptarmi gan, peregrine falcon, and black oystercatchers are nesting on the i sl and agai n A second attempt in 2000was successful as magpi e robi ns were held i n captivity duri ng CAMPBELL ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND, 2001 11,300 hectares the eradlcation • • KAPITI, NEW ZEALAND, 1995 , Largest successful operation to date. The endemi c fl i ghtless teal has been reintroduced, endemi c pi pits and sni pe have self i ntroduced from predator-free outl yi ng i sl ets, and seabi rds are recol oni si ng 1965 hectares A number of species were poi soned but popul ati ons have now recovered. I mproved subsequent survival rates for stitch birds and saddl ebacks HAWEA I SLAND, NEW ZEALAND, 1986 9 hectares Successful . Bait stations were bi rd proof 50 no non-rat casual ti es the pellets, perhaps because oftheir size and blue colour. To be on the safe side, they plan to monitor duck populations by attaching radio transmitters to a random sample of 15 birds from across the island. "If we find the transmitters attached to bones then things will be worse than anticipated and we would need to rethink," says Martin. A secondary way of ingesting the poison would be to scavenge the carcasses of poisoned rats, says Martin. Fortunately for the birds, most rats are likely to die in their burrows, out of harm's way, because the poison makes them sensitive to light. Pete McClelland of New Zealand's Department of Conservation is optimistic that the impact will be low. "Given that not all the rats on South Georgia will be eradicated at once, the birds will not all be put at risk at the same time. I would be confident that any species in any 'block' will soon recover as birds from the neighbouring blocks move in. This is one major advantage South Georgia has over smaller islands where whole populations and species are put at riskat once." This is what went wrong in the rat eradication programme on Fregate Island in the Seychelles in 1996, which was halted on the first attempt when the endangered magpie robin suffered secondary poisoning (see "Other eradication projects", above). Despite McClelland's optimism, Martin concedes there is a chance the programme on South Georgia could fail. "We could fail for several reasons: by using inadequate bait, or because our landscape is more complex than any island treated up until now, or simply because South Georgia is so large," he says. Should any individual areas be left with any rats after baiting, they would have to be baited again, and more thoroughly, before the glaciers melt. "If we make a mistake in one area, then by definition we will have failed." No one knows how long South Georgia has got until its glaciers disappear. But what is clear is that if they do melt before the rats have been eliminated, the entire island will be a rat free-for-all, and the days of native birdlife will be over. Crucially, for the mission to succeed, the South Georgia government will have to agree to kill, or remove, all ofthe 2000 reindeer living on the Island. This is because they could eat the bait, killing them and reducing the amount of poison available for the rats. "I believe it will be impossible to get rid of the rats if the reindeer were to remain," says Martin. To get round this problem, the reindeer will have to either be shipped out to the Falkland Islands, or shot. If the programme wipes out all the rats, the population of pipits should be the first to recover, says Martin. "They are the equivalent of a canary in a coal mine. It would be astonishing ifthey didn't come back to many times their existing numbers," he says. Not all species will recover so quickly: longer lived bird species could take decades. Even so, the consensus is that once the rats are removed, millions of birds will eventually return to South Georgia, making it a bird's paradise once more . • Sanj i da O'Connel l is an edi tor in New Scentist's Opi ni on section 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 35 D EEP in your lungs, there's a battle raging. It's a warm, moist environment where the ever-opportunistic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa has taken up residence. If your lungs are healthy, chances are the invader will be quickly dispatched. But in the mucus-clogged lungs of people with cystic fibrosis, the bacterium finds an ideal habitat. First, the microbes quietly mul tiply and then they suddenly switch their behaviour. A host of biochemical changes sticks the population of cells together, forming a gluey biofilm that even a potent cocktail of antibiotics struggles to shift. Microbes like P aeruginosa were once thought of as disorganised renegades, each cell working alone. Microbiologists like Thomas Bjarnsholt, who is battling to understand how P aeruginosa causes chronic infection in people with cystic fibrosis, now know otherwise. They are up against a highly organised army, using a sophisticated communication system to coordinate its behaviour. o But it's Bjarnsholt's latest discovery that � reveals microbes' gift for language: the 36 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 Our bodi es are chock-ful l of chatty mi crobes that are al so eavesdroppi ng on us, Ti me to turn the tabl es, says Hayl ey Bi rch Bu gg i n g your bu g s bacteria aren't just talking amongst themselves, but also quietly listening in on signals sent by their human host. So when a cavalry of white blood cells arrives to repel the invading bacteria, the entrenched biofilm senses their presence, and launches a coordinated counterattack (Micrbiology, vol 155, p 3500). The microbes release deadly compounds called rhamnolipids, which burst the white blood cells, killing them before they can even take aim, says Bjarnsholt, who is at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Examples like this belie the notion that bacteria are sim pie, silent loners. Over recent decades, many species of bacteria have been shown to be in constant communication with each other. But now an even more sophisticated picture is emerging, one in which bacteria not only receive signals from each other, but also intercept them from the cells oftheir plant or animal hosts, including us. These communication skills seem to offer invading bacteria quite an advantage on the battlefield. But they are also drawing the a ttention of researchers looking for new ways to fight microbes. If these "cross-kingdom" signals are indeed widespread, then intercepting or subverting them would offer a whole newwayoftacklinginfection, not only in cystic fibrosis, but also in a wide range of other diseases. Such an approach would simply block the signals prompting the bacterial army to mobilise, rather than trying to wipe it out as antibiotics do. Bacteria would then no longer be forced to evolve drug resistance to survive, potentially bringing to an end the scourge ofthe superbug. Bacteria communicate using chemical Signals, releasing and receiving signalling molecules in a process known as quorum sensing. In its simplest form, bacteria use quorum sensing to keep track of their neighbours. Some bioluminescent bacteria, for example, light up when their population exceeds a threshold size (ournal of Bacteriology, vol 104, p 313). Studies of the phenomenon in 1970 discovered that bioluminescent bacteria were using molecules calledN-acyl homoserine lactones (ALHs) to coordinate this behaviour an early hint that bacteria are a talkative I I Bacteri a donl j ust l i sten i n on each other, but al so on thei r pl ant or ani mal hosts - i ncl udi ng usll bunch. But it wasn't until the early 1990s, with the discovery that ALHs are produced by many species of microbe, that it started becoming clear that quorum sensing was common throughout the bacterial kingdom. And this signalling isn't all friendly chatter, some bacteria intercept and break down the signals from other species, or even release signals to trick others into changing their behaviour. But in a research review published in August 2009, Steve Atkinson and Paul Williams, microbiologists at the University of Nottingham in the UK, brought home just how widespread these signalling networks are: they reach far beyond the humble bacteria into other kingdoms, including plants, fungi, and our own (ournal ofthe Royal Society Interace, vol 6, p 959). As Atkinson puts it, "There's a war going on out there." > 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 37 I I l f cross- ki ngdom si gnal s are wi despread, then i ntercepti ng them woul d offer a whol e new way of tackl i ng i nfecti onll Take Candida albicans, the yeast that causes thrush i nfections. This organism likes the same warm, moist habitats as P aeruginosa and the two battle it out in a bid to colonise their human hosts, deploying quorum-sensing signals as weapons against each other. The yeast fires off signals that trick the bacterium into slashing production of one of its armaments -a reactive chemical called pyocyanin, which makes life particularly uncomfortable for the yeast. The bacterium, meanwhile, produces signals that keep the yeast's growth in check, preventing it from transforming itself from a single-celled yeast into a branching, multicellular fungus. Then there's our own immune system's battle to preventP aerug inosa making itself at home in our lungs. Bjarnsholt is hunting for the signal P aeruginosa uses to "listen out" for white blood cells, and ways to block it. He doesn't think ofthe bacteria as being physically aware of their hosts. To them, the signals they detect are just foreign compounds they have to fend off. But it's certainly a far more sophisticated take on the host-pathogen relationship than we're used to, notes Atkinson. "Rather than the pathogen just piling into the host cell and taking over its DNA, it's about signal production, interception - and maybe even coercion of the host to do something that it wouldn't normally do:' Microbe management This coercion might even extend to including bacteria that can modify the way our bodies work, says Vanessa Sperandio, a microbiologist working on quorum sensing at the University ofTexas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "It's a little out there," she admits, "but there are some good examples. Kids who have certain bacterial infections can be very com pulsive about touching their mouths, which helps the spread. I think we're going to start seeing lots of examples like that." Many ofthe early examples of cross kingdom communication that Atkinson and Williams catalogued are less than congenial, but there is also good evidence for cooperative interaction between bacteria and their hosts, says Atkinson - particularly between ourselves and our microbiome, the huge population of bacteria that live in us and on us. These days we're all well acquainted with the millions of microbes lining our insides. Yogurt adverts have taught us nothing if not to 38 1 NewScientist 1 6 March 2010 love the friendly bacteria which line our guts, helping to keep nastier bugs at bay. Microbes don't just make themselves at home in the intestines, however. They're in your mouth, up your nose, and covering your skin, all the while releasing a cacophony of quorum sensing Signals. Atkinson thinks our own cells exploit this same signalling system to monitor and cajole our personal population of microbes, just as they eavesdrop on and manipulate us. In other words, we don't passively host this bacterial colony, but actively engage it in conversation. We've evolved together, he says. "We have to consider that we're intrinsically linked." Sperandio, who is studying how bacteria sense and respond to human stress hormones like adrenalin, agrees. "I think that if you consider how much we interact with microbes, it's not surprising that you're going to have some chemical signalling. Just consider in your intestine, you have 10 times more Bugs get everywhere Staphylococcus l i kes to l i ve up your nose bacterial cells than you have your own." Picking out these chemical signals from the maelstrom of molecules that swirl in our gut is proving to be a bat tie, but that's exactiywhere some ofthese cooperative signals have been spotted. Take those friendly gut bacteria, for example, and in particular one that goes by the name of Bacillus subtilis. Not a natural gut bacterium, B. subtilis has long been used as a probiotic agent in food. Though its health boosting properties were not well understood, some have suggested it gently stimulates the immune system, priming it for action against less friendly bugs. Then in 2007 a team led by Eugene Chang at the University of Chicago suggested a route by which these bacteria could influence the health of intestinal cells -a route involving quorum-sensing molecules. The team discovered that a certain B. subtilis signalling molecule, known as competence and sporulation factor (CSF), is detected by human gut cells (Cell Host & Microbe, vol 1, p 299). Chang thinks of this signal detection as a kind of " bacteriostat" mechanism: our cells are monitoring CSF as a way of detecting and adapting to important changes in the gut flora. (racking the code "The idea is that when quorum sensing molecules are secreted, it usually signals some change in the balance of the bacterial population," says Chang. So by listening for signals, our cells can adjust to these changes. In this case, the detection ofCSF causes our cells to fire up the production of molecules called heat shock proteins, protective molecules known to hel p cells maintain crucial machinery during times of stress from temperature extremes to toxins. Perhaps the most intriguing evidence for the importance of monitoring our microbiome comes from the gut's CSF receptor itself. This receptor was previously thought to be a simple nutrient transporter, despite being found in even the furthermost reaches ofthe intestine, where most nutrients would already have been absorbed. Its blueprint is encoded in a region ofthe human genome in which mutations are associated with inflammatory bowel disease. This suggests that without these receptors, we're unable to maintain a normal, healthy gut. Such examples suggest cross-kingdom signalling has medical im plications far beyond infectious diseases. Several other illnesses, including Crohn's disease and some cancers, have been linked to imbalances in the species of bacteria that live in our guts. Sperandio suggests that any number of illnesses could be associated with your balance of bacteria, and that these illness might be tackled using signal interference. But with so many bacteria - hundreds of different species can inhabit your skin alone how can we begin to master this chemical language to examine its medical potential? Is there a better way to spot these signals than to pick them out one by one? Pieter Dorrestein and his team at the University of California, San Diego, and Paul Straight at Texas A&M University in College Station, have been developing a tool that could accelerate efforts to crack the code of microbial communication. The team is using an imaging system based on mass spectrometry to detect swathes of signals at the same time. They grow their bacteria on a stainless steel plate, and use a laser to vaporise their signalling molecules, feeding these into a mass spectrometer to catalogue the molecules present. As proof of principle, Dorrestein and Straight have mapped the interactions between two species of soil-dwelling bacteria (Nature Chemical Biology, vol S, p 88S). Even in this simple case, the instrument detected as many as 100 different signalling molecules fired off by the two bacteria, only 10 of which the team managed to match to known molecules. Despite the huge scale ofthe problem, the team is already starting to translate their work into inter-kingdom studies, probing the interactions between bacteria and cells of the human immune system. By imaging cross-talk between different species, they even hope to identify inhibitors for Staphylococcus aureus, the hospital superbug that has evolved to defend itself against whole groups of our most effective antibiotics. Meet your mi crobi ome Say hel l o t o the bi l l ions of bacteria that cal l you home Nose Mass of microbes 109 Typical resident Streptococcus Mouth Mass of microbes 20g Typical resident Streptococcus (cheek), Neisseria (teeth) ut Mass of microbes lOOOg Typical resident Bacteroides Vagi na Mass of microbes 20g Typical resident Lactobacil us Ski n Mass of microbes 200g Typical resident Staphy/ococcus(oilyareas), Carynebacteria (moi st areas) 2 � " � > · i � � THE WEI GHT OF BACTERI A IN AND AROUND � THE HUMAN BODY I S APPROXI MATELY I. ZSsg The method should provide food for thought for Bjarnsholt, who has yet to find any serious candidate compounds for signal blocking inP aeruginosa infections in people with cystic fibrosis. His best bet for a drug lead is an extract of garlic, although the active component that interferes with the signal remains unknown. He thinks it will be a few years yet before quorum sensing inhibitors come into their own. "I don't think it's just around the corner-there's got to be a lot more research," he says. But when it comes to fighting drug resistance, the more targets we go after the better, he adds. We need to target signalling, biofilm formation and classical biological processes like bacteria cell wall formation, all at once. Whatever the potential for medical advancement, the growing recognition of cross-kingdom signalling has a more immediate philosophical implication: we're going to have to start changing the way we think about microbes. Bacteria aren't just isolated cells, or even isolated populations, but multi-species communities that communicate with each other and, crucially, us. We are, almost certainly, more intimately connected with the bacteria that inhabit us than we ever would have believed. "We'd be naive to believe that we exist in splendid isolation from all other organisms," says Atkinson. "We've thought that way for too long." . Hayley Bi rch is a freel ance sci ence writer based i n Bristol, UK 6 March 2010 1 NewScienti st 1 39 A BU GHRAIB and Guantanamo Bay: two names that have become synonymous in many people's minds with torture and abuse of human rights by American interrogators. When Barack Obama entered the White House in January 2009, he set out to erase the stain such practices have left on America's image. The High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group established later that year has as one of its stated aims to interrogate without brute force and to employ "scientifically proven" techniques -though without saying what these might be. lt seems like a noble goal. but on closer inspection it raises a host of questions. Can science validate interrogation techniques and if so, how? What is the effect on the human mind of coercive interrogation that stops short of physical torture? And, crucially, are there any interrogation techniques that can be shown to be both effective and humane? In the past, the US military used a set of 19 approved interrogation methods laid down in the Army Field Manual 2-22.3, which explicitly prohibits threats or coercion. Following the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, the George W. Bush administration decided that this should change. So, after legal consultations, new ways to apply pressure on people under interrogation were drawn up. For several years they remained secret, but more recently we have acquired a pretty good idea of the techniques interrogators used at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the US base at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. Take, for example, the treatment log of Mohamed al-Kahtani, made public in March 2006. This revealed that for weeks on end he faced a daily routine of just 4 hours of interrupted sleep, prolonged stress positions, blaring music, extremes of temperature, and various humiliations - including being treated like a dog, and a mock birthday party at which he was shown puppet shows of himself engaging in sexual acts with Osama bin Laden. The technique known as waterboarding, in which the subject experiences the sensation that they are drowning, was also common. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has claimed responsibility for planning the 9/11 attacks, was subjected to waterboarding more than 180 times in March 2003 alone. Do any or all of these amount to torture? The 1984 UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 40 1 NewSci entist 1 6 March 2010 Treatment or Punishment is somewhat vague. It differentiates between torture -" any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental. is intentionally inflicted on a person" - and " cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" (C!DT) . This distinction may reflect the notion that inserting needles under someone's fingernails or pulling out their teeth is in some way worse than, say, blindfolding and hooding, forced nudity, isolation, humiliation, forced stress positions, or deprivation of sleep or light. Yet the UN convention is clear: both torture and C!DT are illegal. And maybe the distinction is unimportant anyway, as there appears to be little to choose between them in terms of the long-term ill-effects they cause to their victims. Torture by another name? For the past decade, Metin Basoglu, director of the Istanbul Centre for Behaviour Research and Therapy in Turkey, has been a key figure in investigating the psychological damage inflicted by physical torture and C!DT. From studies of hundreds of survivors of coercive interrogation by a variety of regimes around the world, Basoglu has arrived at a clear-cut answer. "The most common psychiatric condition after torture and harsh interrogation techniques is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), followed by depression and other anxiety disorders," he says (see "A tortured mind", page 42). As part ofhis studies, Basoglu has compared the effects of physical torture and C!DT. A 2007 study carried out with Maria Livanou ofthe Institute of Psychiatry in London and Cvetana Crnobaric ofthe Zvezdara Clinical Centre in Belgrade, Serbia, involved structured interviews with 279 survivors of torture and C! DT. The interviewees were asked about their experiences, and to rate the severity of their subsequent feelings of distress and helplessness. Each was also given a clinical assessment of their mental health. Three quarters of them had experienced PTSD since their ordeal. At the time they were assessed, 56 per cent had PTSD, 15 per cent had some other anxiety disorder, and 17 per cent had depression (Archives ofGeneral Psychiatry, vol 64, p 277). The psychological impact of C!DTand physical torture was almost indistinguishable. Basoglu was not particularly surprised by these findings. What matters, he says, is the Cruel, i nhuman and degradi ng treatment is i l legal under the UN conventi on on torture Can there be efective i nterrogati on wi thout harmful coerci on? Dan Jones assesses the evi dence uncontrollability, unpredictability and stressfulness of the procedures as perceived by the victim. This was already apparent from an earlier study of 55 Turkish political activists who had been subjected to an average of 23 different types of torture, which found that only 33 per cent of them had the symptoms of PTSD. He believes this relatively low figure reflects the fact that they were likely to have been more mentally prepared to face coercive interrogation than the average detainee. This preparedness provides a sense of control over the torture experience, and so reduces the distress it causes, he says. Last year, Basoglu discovered that the trauma associated with C!DT has two further aspects that increase its psychological impact (American Journal ofOrthopsychiatry, vol 79, p 135). His study of 432 torture survivors from Turkey and former Yugoslavia revealed that when several techniques are applied at the same time -such as hooding while forced to stand naked in a stress position -the effects of each one compounds the effects of the others. In addition he discovered that C!DT has a cumulative impact overtime, fuelled by the sense of helplessness that it engenders. This means that it makes little sense to ask whether any specific CIOT amounts to torture, Basoglu says, because the overall impact cannot be judged separately from the context in which it is administered. The same study revealed that people who had been subjected to C!DTwere at greater risk of developing long-term mental health problems than those who had been subjected > 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 41 to physical torture alone. Basoglu suggests that this might be because torture stimulates the victim's body to release pain-relieving opioids, and this process is triggered more rapidly with repeated exposure to pain. Victims often report that the anticipation of torture is worse than the torture itself, during which they describe a general numbing of the body. Another explanation rests on the unconscious psychological strategy of "cognitive dissociation". Normally, a threat triggers the fight-or-flight response, but since neither of these options is available to someone being interrogated, their mind attempts to escape the situation by dissociating itselffrom what is going on. The victim's emotions, thoughts, sense of self and memory, which in normal life are integrated into a coherent experience, become strangely separated (New Scientist, 19 May 2009, p 40). This may be a useful strategy when dealing with short-lived, intense physical pain, but it is ATORTURED MI ND Despite protests from human ri ghts groups, torture i s sti l l common i n many countri es potentially disastrous as a response to the prolonged and cumulative torment of CIDT. In people who have been subjected to physical and sexual abuse as children, the dissociative experiences induced by repeated trauma can lead to a general tendency to dissociate in everyday life. Chronically traumatised victims often feel a sense of detachment from the self, and experience internal states and reality in an unreal or distorted way. Dissociation is a strong predictor of PTSD, and at the extreme can lead to amnesia and identity disorders such as multiple personality disorder. If coercive and traumatic treatments can cause such lasting psychological damage, moves to clean up military interrogation techniques are clearly j ustified on moral grounds. But there is another reason for rejecting the sort of C!DT used at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay: these techniques are probably not a very effective way of gaining accurate information. Post-traumatic stress disorder dreams, an i nabi l ity to recall responses, and has extensive is the most common i mportant aspects of the connections to the psychol ogi cal i l l · effect of trauma, and heightened hi ppocampus and amygdala. torture and other forms of anxi ety and fear. "Remi nders In one ofthe fi rst coercive i nterrogati on. PTSD of trauma often el i ci t neuroi magi ng studi es of has been l i nked wi th abnormal flashbacks that are peopl e who have developed changes i n two brain areas: experienced i n the here and PTSD after bei ng tortured, i ncreased activity in the now, not as past events in a EI bert and col l eagues detected amygdala, which has a di fferent place, and therefore abnormal slow-wave activity wel l - establ ished role i n fear cause great di stress," says in the frontal cortex - a marker responses; and shri nkage of neu ropsycho logist Th omas of disrupted neural function the hi ppocampus, which is El bert of the Uni versity of (Psychological Science, vol 17, crucial for the storage and Konstanz in Germany. p 82S). This offers an retrieval of l ong-term Some of these problems explanation of the difficulties memories. may also result from changes torture survivors have i n These changes hel p expl ai n i n the brain's frontal cortex, articulating their experiences common features of PTSD, whi ch contains regions that and in exti ngui shi ng the fear i ncl udi ng recurrent. intrusive, process l anguage and response conditioned by the di stressi ng flashbacks and modulate emotional trauma they have suffered. 42 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 The idea that coercive interrogation works rests on an untested and largely unsupported framework, says Shane O' Mara, director of the Institute ofN euroscience at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. On the face ofit, the coercive model for interrogation seems like common sense: there is information that the interrogator wants to know and the subject holds but doesn't want to give up. The interrogator applies some pressure to break down the defences put up by the subject, who then spills the desired information. "You see this model repeatedly in movies and TV series such as 24," says O'Mara. Whether it really works like that is questionable, however. "Everything we know shows that the ability to accurately retrieve information is severely impaired under conditions of extreme stress," 0' Mara says. Studies on soldiers, for instance, have shown that manipulating sleep, food and temperature produces severe effects on memory, even when people are willing to give up information. In a recent paper, O' Mara outlined the problem (Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol 13, p 497). Both torture and C!DT flood the brain with stress hormones such as cortisol and the catecholamines, with potentially profound effects. Three regions are especially affected: the hippocampus, which is important in retrieving long-term memories; the amygdala, which forms part ofthe fear network; and the frontal lobes. Disturbances of these regions are likely to kick in during coercive The worst par of ha rsh interrogati on is not the physi cal pai n but the hel pl essness interrogation, particularly if such questioning continues for weeks or months. In addition, prolonged stress could also lead to the creation offalse memories based on information and supposed facts presented by the interrogator. This phenomenon, known as confabulation in psychiatric jargon, is also found in people with frontal lobe disorders. "These people are not consciously making stuff up or trying to lie," says a'Mara. "But they have difficulty discriminating between genuine memories and those that don't bear any relationship to events they have experienced. Though the occurrence of confabulation in torture victims is more speculative, it's a marked possibility." The science of persuasion A former US military interrogator in Iraq, who goes by the pseudonym Matthew Alexander, confirms a'Mara's view. "There's an erroneous mentality that for interrogation to be effective you have to somehow weaken the resistance of the detainee, physically or psychologically," he told New Scientist. "I never saw harsh techniques work. Every time they were used, the detainee would clam up as they were scared that anything they said would make that pressure increase:' The abama administration's High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) is su pposed to set a change in direction. Last month, Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence, told the House Intelligence Thi s may not consti tute torture but the l asti ng psychol ogi cal damage coul d be even worse IThe i dea that coerci ve i nterrogati on works rests upon an untested and l argel y unsupported frameworkll Committee that the HIG will conduct research into ways to interrogate suspected terrorists that are legal and humane. Fine ideals, but there's a lot to do. According to Randy Borum of the University of South Florida in Tampa, whose research interests include the psychology of terrorism, there is little evidence so far on the effectiveness of particular interrogation techniques. Alexander says the same: "We have a lot of anecdotal evidence, but not much of a scientific basis." Borum believes that one way forward may be to learn from social psychology and negotiation theory, both of which can provide insights into ways to achieve resolution using influence and persuasion rather than coercion. For instance, a key lesson from studies of negotiation is that success depends on tailoring your approach to the circumstances. "It offers a better understanding of what kinds oftechniques and approaches are most likely to work for what kinds of people, for what kinds of outcomes, in what kinds of circumstances," he says. Meanwhile, social psychologists have shown that pressuring people to change their minds often produces precisely the opposite of the desired effect: it makes them more resistant to change. There may be non coercive ways to address resistance, says Borum, which could be applied to an interrogation setting. Alexander sees the merit in this approach. "Taking knowledge from other fields and applying it to interrogation is very important," he says. It is clear that there is a pressing need to gain a better understanding of the psychology of interrogation, to replace the coercive techniques that have been used in the past. "In the long term, we don't stop terrorist attacks by doing these things," says Alexander, "we actually create more." . Dan J ones is a freel ance writer based in Bri ghton, UK 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 43 oÙÙ´: e/|¯: For more reviews and to add your comments, visitwww. NewScientist.com/books-art Goi ng to extremes A travel ogue wi th a di fference vi si ts Earth's bleakest l ocati ons to probe the mysteri es of the cosmos The Edge ofPhysics: A jourey to Earth' extremes to unlock the secrets ofthe universe by Ani l Ananthaswamy, Houghton Miffl i n Harcourt/Duckworth, $25/£16.99 Reviewed by Dan Fal k T H E [ H E O F P H Y S I C S WHEN science was young, the experiments were simple and the breakthroughs came easily -or so it seems in hindsight. Think of Galileo rolling a ball down an inclined plane, or aiming a simple tube, with a lens at each end, at the night sky. Or picture Michael Faraday discovering electromagnetic induction just by tinkering with a battery, an iron ring and some coils of wire. Times have changed, and these days it takes a lot more work to shift a paradigm. For one thing, ground breaking discoveries in physics are now typically made by teams rather than individuals. And, as we strive to peer more deeply into space or further inwards to probe the make-up of matter, we have been forced to build larger and more complex instruments. The scale of experiments has grown from table-top-sized to building-sized -even city-sized. Moreover, these experiments are often located in some of the remotest places on Earth. From these isolated outposts, men and women work under harsh conditions to collect the data that will, perhaps, change the way we conceive of the universe. Anil Ananthaswamy, a science journalist and consultant for New NASA bal l oons fl own from Antarctica study radi ati on at the edge of space 44 1 NewScientist 1 6 March 2010 Scientist, has been to more of these lonely locations than just about anyone, and in The Edge ofPhysics he weaves a remarkable narrative that combines fundamental physics with high adventure. The story takes him from the giant telescopes atop the Chilean Andes to a dark-matter detector deep in a defunct Minnesota iron mine, to the neutrino observatory known as lceCube, whose optical sensors have been placed up to 2.5 kilometres below the surface ofthe perpetually frozen South Pole. Ananthaswamy carefully explains the science relevant to each of these sites, dipping into history where needed to flesh out the background. Ultimately, though, it is the remote, unforgiVing locations that anchor the story. "These magnificent telescopes and detectors can work only in the most extreme settings," he writes. "Their surreal environments are the unsung characters in this unfolding story -venues rarely appreciated and often overlooked." The two sites that bookend the story are, perhaps, the most familiar. We begin at the mount Wilson observatory in California, where Edwin Hubble first deduced that the universe is expanding. At the time, mount Wilson was a pristine, dark-sky site from where astronomers could probe the heavens. Today it lies at the edge of Los Angeles's urban sprawl. The penultimate chapter finds Ananthaswamy at the Large Hadron Collider, built in a tunnel that straddles the France Switzerland border. The LHC has received enough press in the past few years for it to have become "Experiments take place i n isolated outposts where sci entists work under harsh conditions " practically a household name; even so, as the author reminds us, it is the largest single science experiment ever devised by our species, and if we are lucky it may tell us if the universe is made of tiny strings or contains hidden dimensions. Readers might be less familiar with the Baikal Deep Underwater Neutrino Telescope, which rests in the frigid waters of Lake Baikal in Siberia, looking for meagre flashes of light that tell of collisions between neutrinos and molecules of water. The observatory is run on a shoestring, with only one lUxury: the traditional Russian banya, or sauna, where " naked men sit in an outbuilding, chuck water onhot stones to raise steam, and beat each other with leafy twigs and branches of birch". The Edge ofPhysics is really two stories in one: a travelogue that takes the reader to some of the most desolate places on our planet, and a survey of the most urgent problems in physics and cosmology, from dark energy and string theory to multiple universes. Ananthaswamy is a worthy guide for both journeys . • Dan Fal <'s latest book is In Search of Time ( Nati onal Mari ti me Museum, London, 2009) 6 March 2010 1 NewScienti st 1 45 ¯¬¯` N: `¯| Bui l di ng a way out of di saster As the dust settl es i n Hai ti , Hel en Thomson fi nds out how engi neers are worki ng to prevent or mi ti gate damage when earthquakes stri ke IN THE middle ofthe night I was woken by shutters banging against the window. Suddenly my bed began to sway, gently at first, but gradually increasing until it was shaking violently from side to side. No sooner had I grasped what was happening and tried to shelter under a table than the rocking subsided and everything went silent. It was my first earthquake. Luckily, at a mere 6 on the Richter scale it was not strong enough to cause more than minor damage to the structures around me in Athens, Greece, let alone kill anyone. Last month, however, Haitians were not so fortunate, experiencing their worst quake in 200 years. Hundreds of thousands of people died, and most buildings within 20 kilometres of the epicentre were severely damaged or destroyed, including the presidential palace, U¯¹¯ëJ, Ci vi l engi neers enjoy a steady rise i n annual i ncome over most ofthei r worki ng li ves { 25 � 25-29 UK AVERAGE £51,899 30-34 £37,195 35-39 40-44 45-49 £45,520 50-54 ••••••••••• 55-59 50-55 ¯¯••••• 46 1 NewSci entist 1 6 March 2010 UN headquarters and vast numbers of homes. A month on, and engineers have travelled to the country to investigate the damage and try to learn from the experience. Engineers are key to preventing disasters of this scale, says Sarada Sarma, senior research fellow at Imperial College London. "We need to assume there will occasionally be earthquakes bigger than we are expecting. We cannot stop structures failing, but we can make sure that they fail safely," he says. "We can pinpoint the damage in different parts of the structure -for example, the columns should not fail, let the beams fail instead. If the beams fail, people will have time to get out." That seems to be the consensus: protection not prediction. Given the complexity of tectonic plate activity, the pros pect of developing technology that can predict the exact timing of an earthquake is remote, Sarma says. "We can say 'yes, there will be an earthquake, yes, it will be this big', but we can't say when it will happen. The only prediction we can make is to look at the statistical probabilityofforces acting on structures, and then design buildings that do not fall down." So where can an aspiring engineer go to specialise? Sarma points to Imperial College London, where engineers are focusing their efforts above and below ground, studying soil mechanics to predict the behaviour of soils in earthquakes, and looking at the behavioural collapse of structures. And University College London is offering an MSc in earthquake engineering and disaster management. If you prefer to study outside the capital, the University of Bristol has a strong shake table, says Sarma, where engineers can discover how models behave in a simulated earthquake. The University of Oxford also boasts a first-class earthquake research centre, and if you look deep underground at the University of Cambridge, you'll find the Turner centrifuge, the largest of its kind in the UK. This can accelerate payloads to 1509, allowing researchers to model loads and pressures experienced during quakes. GLOBAL GOOD You don't even need to stick to one university: the UK's top earthquake research centres at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol are more than willing to share. With help from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the three universities have set up a collaboration to share facilities and data. This year, with funding from the European Commission, they have joined with a host of other universities and research institutions to form a project called Seismic Engineering Research To search for career opportunities go to www.NewScientistJobs.com Infrastructures for European Synergies (SERIES). Connected via grid systems and cloud computing to collate data in real time, SERIES research sites will be able to pool information and participate in common experiments across Europe. "The idea is to harness their combined capabilities to test something larger than could be dealt with in a single lab," says Martin Williams, professor of engineering at the University of Oxford. If you prefer industry to academia, engineers are des perately needed by nuclear plants, says Sarma, because any damage there could be catastrophic. Less safety-critical wind farms need earthquake engineers too, says Tiziana Rossetto, head of the Earthquake and People Interaction Centre at University College London. So can any engineer turn their hand to earthquake studies? Yes, but it helps to be familiar with the specialist software that explores the non-linear processes that set After the worst quake in 200 years, engi neers have travel l ed to Haiti to try to l earn from the experi ence in when buildings are stressed way beyond normal, says Rossetto. Lectures, conferences and the networking opportunities they afford will also help an engineer interested in earthquake research: check conferences run by the Institution of Civil Engineers. Other organisations such as RedR, a disaster relief charity, and Engineers without Borders offer advice and opportunities to help with research projects abroad. If getting your hands dirty appeals, you might want to follow Rossetto and join the Earthquake Engineering Field I nvestigation Team, which is operated through the Institution of Structural Engineers and organises field missions for earthquake engineers and students. "When an earthquake happens," says Rossetto, "you can apply to be part of the team. The committee decides who goes based on experience, language requirements and specialisms needed." The team looks at a wide variety of variables, including the number of people involved in an earthquake, the geology of the area, historical seismicity, data on magnitude, the structural behaviour of engineered and non-engineered buildings, and how the foundations of buildings perform. "We also link up with local institutions that guide us around the area and use satellite information to see where the major damage has occurred," says Rossetto. Sadly, the team's findings often highlight the fact that structures have not met local building regulations. Both Sarma and Rossetto have seen the damage caused by bad construction. "The buildings are designed to be safe by engineers, but the construction just doesn't follow the "The prospect of developing technology to predict the exact ti ming of a quake is remote" design. They cut corners or don't think certain bits are necessary," says Sarma. "It's not just in developing countries, it happens all over." If you feel passionately about this aspect of quake prevention, a policy role in government or inanNGO may be for you. "As an engineer you can turn your knowledge into policy to help enforce building laws to ensure that people build to the design," says Sarma. But earthquake safety is not all about engineering, says Rossetto. "After earthquake disasters, everyone says it's the buildings that kill people. While this is true, it's also the precautions people take which determine whether they survive or not:' After many missions to earthquake zones, Rossetto was surprised to discover that while many inhabitants have little confidence in the integrity of the buildings around them, they do little to protect themselves. She is now trying to identify some of the psychological drivers behind this inertia. Teaming up with psychologists, Rossetto is exploring how to design buildings to fit how people really behave when earthquakes occur. "If people are more likely to run to the stairwell than hide under a table like they've been told, then maybe we strengthen the stairwell," she says. Talking to other disciplines is the new direction for earthquake engineers, says Rossetto. "You might have to collaborate with a psychologist or a meteorologist, but the way to succeed is having the openness and humility to accept help," she says . • Hel en Thomson is New Scentists careers editor 6 March 2010 1 NewScienti st 1 47 OPPORTUNITIES IN MARINE SCIENCE Mari ne Biogeochemi stry Techni ci an The Center for Coasta l Margi n Observation & Prediction ( CMOP), a multi institutional NSF Science a nd Technology Center hosted at Oregon Hea lth & Science Uni versity, seeks a fullti me Ma ri ne Bi ogeochemi stry Techni ci an at its Beaverton, Oregon locaton. The successful candi date wi l l joi n an interdisciplinary team of researchers whose collective focus is the integrated understandi ng of physical, chemi cal and biological processes of coastal margin environments. The primary duties a re to ma inta i n a nd deploy biogeochemi cal i nstruments i ncl udi ng in situ nutrient analyzers a nd advanced instrumentaton to measure microbes and gene expression i n the envi ronment. Qual ificatons i ncl ude a M. S. i n a related fel d, such a s chemi stry, engi neering, microbiology or oceanography, pl us 3 years relevant experience, i ncl udi ng worki ng wi th advanced ana lytcal instrumentaton a nd l aboratory a nd anal ytical ski l ls. For more information about the center and thi s job opportunity, vi si t www.stccmop.org. To Apply: Please send cover letter and curri cul um vitae to Professor Antonio Baptista, c/o johnsamy@ohsu. edu. � HEALTH &SCI ENCE UNIVERSITY Change can't happen i we see things just one way. That's why diversity is important to who we are. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. ÜÜÑULN COLL EGE Assistant or Associate Professor of Marine Microbiolog The Department of Biolog at Gordon Col lege i nvites appl i cations for a tenure track position to begin with the fall semester of 2010. The successful candidate wi l l have a Ph. D. and a strong commitment to scholarship, teaching, and mentoring of undergraduate students. The Biolog Department offers outstanding colleagues faculty who are commited to excellence-and motivated students eager to engage in research and professional activities with faculty. Principal teachi ng responsi bil ities i nclude mari ne science and mi crobi olog, with additional teachi ng in non-majors science, general biolog and the summer marine biolog i nstitute. Otherresponsi bil ities i nclude coordinating the marine science program and being i n charge of our research boat. The department is housed in the new Ken Olsen Science Center. Gordon Col l ege is a member of the elite Annapolis Group, a consortium of the nation's leading l iberal arts institutions and among the premiere Christian l iberal arts col leges in the country. Gordon offers excellent academics, a strong sense of community and an atmosphere of open intel lectual i nqui ry and personal responsi bi l itywithi n theframework of Christian faith. Gordon Col l ege is located i n a cl assic New England town on Boston' s Norh Shore. For more i nformati on, please visit ourweb page at ww.gordon.edu. Appl ication review wil l begin immediately and continue unti l the position i s filled. Please submit leter of applicati on, CV, statement of pl anned future research, a sampl e of scholarly writing, and statement of educational phi losophy. Applications can be emailed to: cathy.thiel
[email protected] or sent via U. S. maii to Dan Russ, Academic Dean, 255 Grapevine Road, Wenham, MA 01984. 48 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 Mari ne Sci enti sts |c|mc|e| cas| H 08| | 00S0| 0000 V| S| l www. N0wb0| 00l| SlJ00S. 000 OPPORTUNITIES IN MARINE SCIENCE Dive in and di scover your future at Woods Hol e Oceanographi c I nstitution. We offer a vari ety of posi ti ons in Scientifi c, Techni cal, Engi neeri ng and Post Doc studi es. Our benefits i ncl ude generous vacation ti me, fl exi bl e schedul i ng, fami ly si ck days, chi l d care subsi dy and much more. | t'Stl mÐtOtakÐthÐ µl ungÐand DÐgl n yOur vOyagÐwl th uStOday| For more i nformati on or to apply, check out our new career center: hUp: /j obs.whoi . edu Women and minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. WHOI i s an equal opporunity employer. M/FIDN 6 March 2010 1 NewSci enti st 1 49 N0w5f|00I|5II005 Incorporating ScienceJobs.com To apply online visit www. NewScientistJobs.com BI OLOGY Computational Biologist Genentech CA - Cal i forni a We ar seeki ng a hi ghly motivated computati onal bi ologist to engage i n scientific analysis and discover through computati onal analysis and tool devel opment. Thi s i ndivi dual wi l l have the opportunity to use high-throughput technol ogi es, such as next generation sequenci ng and mi crarrays, to hel p advance cancer genomi cs and cancer bi ology For more i nformati on visi t NewSci entistj obs.com job 1 0: 1400707247 Research Assoc/Sr Research Assoc - Biochemical Pharmacology Genentech CA - Cal i forni a This wi l l i ncl ude worki ng wi th pathway bi ol ogists to develop a good understandi ng ofthe tarets and transl ati ng the biol ogy i nto desi gni ng i nnovative and physi ol ogi cal ly relevant high-throughput assays that wi l l maxi mi ze our opportuni t to di scover l eads wi th novel mechani sms of action, For more i nformati on visi t NewSci entistj obs.com job 1 0: 1400705975 Scientist, Molecular Biology Genentech CA - Cal i forni a We ar l ooki ng for a highly ski l l ed mol ecul ar/cel l bi ol ogi stto joi n our team i n devel opi ng i nnovative appraches and methods for cel l l i ne engi neeri ng to i mprove Genentech's therapeuti c prtei n producti on pl atform. This i s a uni que opporunity fora bi omedi cal scientistto apply basic rsearh techni ques i n a product devel opment setti ng, For more i nformati on visi t NewSci entistj obs.com job 1 0: 1400709391 50 I NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 Senior Biostatistician Genentech CA - Cal iforni a The Seni or Bi ostatisti ci an works with senior bi ostatistics staff and cl i ni cal monitors on Medi cal Team cl i ni cal devel opment pl ans; the desi gn and conduct of post marketi ng studi es; the eval uati on, interprtati on, and rpori ng of study results; and publ ication support, For more informati on vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400707293 Senior Epidemiolog ist (205120) Henry Mjackson Foundati on MD - Maryland Prvi de epi demi ol ogi c expertise and rview of Medical Survei l l ance Monthl y Repor (MSMR) ari cl es and other AFHSC publ icati ons and rpors to ensure sound epi demi ol ogi c study desi gn, methodology, analyses, interprtati on of results, concl usi ons and rcommendations, For more informati on vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400712687 Research Scientist - lmClone Systems- New York, NY #110511 I mCl one Systems NY - New York Our deep experi se i n mol ecul ar bi ol ogy, oncol ogy genomi cs and anti body engi neeri ng has hel ped us establ i sh a robust pi pel i ne of prducts that are i n various stages of cl i ni cal devel opment and span vi rual ly al l maj orsol i d tumortypes, For more informati on vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400706243 Biolnformation Technician I ntrexon MD - Maryland Successful candi date wi l l assistthe Di rctor, Gene Contrl Systems, and wi l l be rsponsi bl e for identifyi ng critical mol ecul ar control el ements, East Coast Office 225 Wyman Street Waltham, MA 02451 Email
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[email protected] Phone 415908 3353 Fax 4155436789 Calls may be monitored or recorded for stafftraining purposes Trudeau I nstitute, Inc. has i mmedi ate openings for postdoctoral fel l ows to carry out research i n muri ne model s of infectious di sease, virology, cel l ul ar and mol ecul ar studies of host pathogen interactions, mouse mol ecul ar geneti CS, si gnal transduction, chemoki nes, i mmune memory and l ymphocyte adhesi on, trafcking and homi ng, Research opportuni ti es for creative Ph.D., M. D. or D.v.M. scienti sts wi th a strong i nterest i n pursuing the mechanisms that regulate responses to pathogens, tumors and autoanti gens are avai l abl e. FACULTY RESEARCH I NTERESTS Andrea Cooper, Ph.D. · I mmunopathogenesi s of mycobacterial di sease Markus Mohrs, Ph.D • . Cellul ar and molecular mechani sms governing cytokine responses to infection Edward Pearce, Ph.D • . I mmune regulation i n chronic hel mi nth infections, dendri ti c cel l bi ology, schi stosome bi ol ogy. Erika Pearce, Ph.D • . Molecular mechanisms regulating CDB T cel l fates Trudeau Institute, Inc. l ocated in the heart of northern New York State's Adirondack Mountains ofers competitive salaries, afordable housing, a full complement of benefts and on-site childcare. The I nstitute fosters a highly collaborative research environment focused on basic immunol ogy and infectious disease. Further details may be found at www.trudeauinstitute.org Interested candidates should send a CV, cover letter, a brief statement of research interests and three references (preferably with an e-mail address included) to Amy Richardson, Human Resource Manager, Trudeau Institute, Inc., 154 Algonquin Avenue, Saranac Lake, NY 12983 or arichardson@ trudeauinstitute.org If interested in interviewing with a particular lab or labs, please specif in the cover letter. This posi ti on rquires detail ed understandi ng of eukaryoti c gene exprssi on and regul ati on as wel l as profi ci ency i n sci entific computi ng, For more i nformati on vi si t NewScientistj obs. com job 1 0: 1400712695 Director, Protein Engineering Intrexon MD - Maryl and The Di rctorof Prtei n Engi neeri ng wi l l l ead rsearh activities focused on the i nventi on of novel contrl and effector motifs for modul ati ng i ntracel l ul ar and extracel l ul ar protei n i nteracti on networks, For more i nformati on vi si t NewScientistj obs. com job 1 0: 1400712696 Staff Scientist - Regulatory and Scientific Scientist, Bethesda, MD Nati onal Insti tute of Al l ergy & I nfecti ous Di seases (N l AI D), Nati onal I nsti tute of Health ( NI H) MD - Maryl and The sel ected candi date wi l l serve as the responsi bl e head for chemi str, manufacturing, and contrls (CMC) of al l i nvestigati onal new drug (I ND) appl ications for vacci nes and rl ated products and oversee the pl anni ng, prparation, and revi ew of I ND materials to ensur compl i ance with FDA gui del i nes and the Code of Federal Regul ati ons (CFR), For more i nformati on vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400711128 BS/MS Oncology Antibody Drug Discovery Research Associate Novarti s Institutes for Bi oMedi cal Research (US) MA - Massachusetts Di scover trade secrets and top ti ps of how to have a successful career wi thi n the sci ence commun ity. Pl ayi ng mi nd games We' l l be showi ng you how to breeze t hrough an i ntervi ew, wi n an argument , and cope wi th stress, al l thi s and more to hel p you get a head in the workpl ace. Use these psychol ogi cal i nsi ghts to your advantage. Avai lable as a FREE digital editi on at www.NewScientistobs.comuscareersguide201 0 www.NewScientistJobs.com ____ A Postdoctoral position is available to study sexual dimorphic tolerance / dependent mechanisms as well l�ç as sex-dependent expression and utilization of spinal • :'� opioid systems. The research utilizes a multidisciplinary E.o approach that integrates behavioral, pharmacological, " --- " biochemical and molecular levels of analysis. In addition to using whole animals, experiments make use of ex vivo preparations and cells maintained in culture. Examples of research projects include identification of sex-dependent spinal pathways activated by morphine, sex-dependent effects of chronic opioid exposure on opioid signal transduction . The successful candidate could also be i nvolved in investigating subcellular localization of opioid receptor Gs Signaling and determinants / consequences of opioid receptor heterodimerizati on. A Ph. D. with experience in cell / molecular biology with a strong background in biochemi stry is desired . The position offers the opportunity to work with dynamic well-funded i nvestigators in a collegial and collaborative environment. Interested applicants should submi t their CV, statement of research i nterests, and contact i nformation for three references to: alan_gi ntzler@downstate_ edu_ SUNY Downstate is an EEO/ AA employer and strongly encourages applications from women and minorities. Î05Î000Î0f8Ì Î05ÌU0ß A Postdoctoral position is available i n the l aboratory of prof. Nicholas Baker, i n the Department of Genetic at Albert Ei nstein College of Medicine in New York, US. ( http://fruitfly4. aecom. yu. edu/i ndex. html ) . The successful applicant will use molecular and genetic approaches to study growth and/or neural differentiation in vivo using the fruitfly Drosophi l a melanogaster. Our interests i nclude the regulation of the cell cycle and other aspects of cell physiology duri ng terminal diferentaton of neurons, and the pathways or cell death, cell engulfment, and cell orientaton during cell competition and organ growth. Appl icants should have a relevant doctoral degree, a strong research background and a passion for science. Salary wi l l be based on the NI H scale. Please send CV including l i st of publ ications and names of 3 references by emai l to
[email protected], mentoning this ad. EOE This is an exci ti ng opporuni t to joi n the Nova rti s Oncology Biotherapeutics group, whi ch is dedi cated to di scoveri ng i nnovative tareted cancertherapeutics that transform pati ents lives, The successful candidate wi l l be a key memberof a dynamic, mul ti di sci pl i nar anti body discover team tackl i ng a number of oncol ogy tarets, For more i nformati on visi t NewSci entistj obs.com job 1 0: 1400707471 PhD scientistfor Antifungal Research Novartis I nsti tutes for Bi oMedi cal Research (US) MA - Massachusetts The I nfecti ous Disease rsearch team at our rsearh headquarters in Cambri dge, MA is l ooki ng for a motivated PhD sci entist to 52 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 perform, and col l aborate on, in vitro researh l eadi ng to discover and devel opment of novel antifungal therapeutics, For more informati on vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400712106 Research Associate - Cell Biologyand Molecular Virology Novarti s Insti tutes for Bi oMedi cal Research ( US) MA - Massachusetts The I nfecti ous Diseases department i s l ooki ng for a tal ented and hi ghly motivated Cell Bi ol ogi st/Mol ecul ar Vi rologist to joi n an i nteri sci pl i nary group dedi cated to drug di scover in the ara of rspi ratoryvi ruses, For more informati on vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400706387 Cell Biology Scientist (R2/R3) Pfi zer US MA - Massachusetts Responsi bl e forthe devel opment of robust and rel iabl e cel l -based and/ or l igand bi ndi ng assays suitabl e for characterizi ng the di sposition and i mmunogeni city of bi otherapeuti cs i n vari ous matrixes usi ng a range of potenti al screni ng platforms and assay techni ques, For more i nformati on vi si t NewScientistj obs. com job 1 0: 1400711179 Formulation Analytical Scientist Pfi zer US MA - Massachusetts This role is responsi bl e for devel opi ng/executi ng analytical methods of nucl ei c acid-based therapeuti cs i n order to: determi ne purit, stabi l i t, degradati on rate and degradation pathways of ol i gonucl eotides, pepti des, pol ymers, l i pi ds, prtei ns and otherformul ati on exci pi ents, and i dentif i n vivo di stri buti on and pharmacokinetics of the del i ver vehi cl e, For more i nformati on vi si t NewScientistj obs. com job 1 0: 1400704985 Head of Oncology Diagnostics Research Pfi zer US CA - Cal iforni a Responsi bl e forthe l eadershi p, operational and strategi c management ofthe mul ti di sci pl i nar experi se and resoures requi red to i ntegrate a di agnostics strategy to maxi mi ze the val ue of the oncology portfol io wi thi n Pfizer Oncology. For more i nformati on vi si t NewScientistj obs. com job 1 0: 450686636 PhD Research Scientist - Senior Scientist / Principal Scientist - protein purification Pfi zer US MA - Massachusetts I nitiati ng and conducti ng mass spectrometry (MS) experi ments on recombi nant and endogenous protei ns i ncl udi ng contri buti ng to the purification and characterization of novel prtei n targets and bi otherapeuti cs withi n the Inflammation and I mmunology portfol i o, For more i nformati on vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400706442 Postdoctoral Opportunity Rush University Medi cal Center IL - I l l i noi s Post -doctoral opportu n ity at Rush Universit Medi cal Center, Chi cago, I L Postdoctoral position is avai l abl e from Apri l 2010 i n the Department of Anatomy and Cell Bi ology at the Rush Universit to study control of tumor metastasis, Both genetic and epi geneti c parameters of metastasi s ar bei ng addressed uti l izi ng mol ecul ar geneti c and cel l bi ol ogi cal approaches, For more i nformati on vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 450686628 Professor and Chair Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biosciences Tu l ane University School of Medi ci ne LA - Loui si ana Tul ane University invites appl i cations from outstandi ng bi omedi cal sci entists and educators forthe posi ti on of Prfessor and Chai r of the Department of Bi ochemistry and Mol ecul ar Bi osci ences atthe School of Medi ci ne, For more i nformati on vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400706406 CHEMI STRY Scientific I nformation Analysts - Polymer, Inorganic, Organic, & Organometallic Chemi cal Abstracts Service OH - Ohi o We have ful l -ti me positions avai l able in anal ysi s of the worl d's chemical literature, i ncl udi ng patents and journal s, for bui l di ng the CS databases, Speci fi c rsponsi bi l ities i ncl ude revi ewi ng of documents and i ndexi ng chemical concepts, structurs, and ractions in a Postdoctoral Fellow Positions Immediate opening for Postdoctoral Fellows. Should have experience in molecular biology cell biology and possess knowledge of cancer biology. High motivation is absolutely required. The positions will be supported by a prestigious Era of Hope Scholar Award from DOD Breast Cancer Research Program. Project focuses on characterizng and targeting replication stress response defects in breast cancer. We will use cutting-edge technologies to identify gene signature and biomarkers associated with defective replication stress response for diagnostic imaging, prevention, and treatment of breast cancer. Applicants should have a strong background in molecular biology, cell biolog, genetics, and cancer biology. Please send curriculum vitae, statement of career interests, and contact information for three references to: Shiaw-Yih Lin, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Tenured The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Department of Systems Biology, Unit 950 South Campus Research Building II P. O. Box 301429 Houston, TX 77230-1429 E-mail:
[email protected] Maki Cner Hi· ( M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basi s ofrace, color, naional origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, or veteran status except where such distinction is required by law. All positions at Te University ofTexas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are security sensitive and subject to examination ofcriminal history record information. Smoke-ee and drug-ee environment. Postdoctoral Fel low i n Cancer Systems Bi ol ogy Postdoctoral position at Mi crosoft Research New Engl and in Cambri dge, MA, to work on a joi nt project with the Computationa l Biology Center at Memori al Sl oan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and Poli tecni co di Tori no Uni versity, I taly. The project goa l is to appl y techni ques from statstical physics, and newl y developed al gorithms, to anal yze a rich set of genomic, epigenetic, mol ecul ar profi l i ng and patient data from several extensi ve cl i ni cal studi es, incl udi ng The Cancer Genome Atlas. This position represents a uni que opportuni ty to develop and apply new computational methods to problems such as the discovery of ca ndi date markers for earl y screeni ng or disease prognosis, the understandi ng of cancer pathogenesis and the devel opment of personalized therapi es. Deep expertise i n algori thm devel opment or statistcal physics, and demonstrated creativity i n biological research requi red. This position might be especi al l y suitable for a recent Ph. D. from an i nterdisci pl i nary graduate program that emphasizes strong quantitative ski l l s together with cell, devel opmental or cancer biology. The position is i ni tially for two years and i s based in Ca mbri dge, MA, at Mi crosoft Research New England, but wi l l requi re frequent travel to MSKCC i n New York, and occasional travel to Torino, Italy. To be considered for employment for post-doctorate opportuni ties, you wi l l requi re your CV, your publ ications l i st, a research statement, and at least three letters of recommendation. To express your interest i n applying, contact
[email protected], Busi ness Manager of Mi crosoft Research, New Engl and. Vl c|Os0Í! Research www.NewScientistJobs.com OTAGO |hL \!d_O m ÛChO| a|äh| µäZJ| J Department of Physiology, University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand Cardiovascular & Respiratory Physiology .:. Role of nitric oxide and carotid bodies i n acute myocardial infarction (Assoc Prf Pat Crgg & Dr Darl Schwenke) .:. Reflex control of renal sympathetic nerve activity in obese rats (Drs Ged Davis & Darl Schwenke) .:. Muscle blood flow and neuromuscular fati gue during exercise (Dr Simon Green) .:. Mechanisms l i nki ng inflammation and cancer (Dr Paul Hessian) Cel l ular & Molecular Neuroscience .:. Central regulation of pregnancy (Dr Colin Brwn) .:. Age-related loss of muscle mass (Dr Phil Sheard) Membrane & Ion Transport .:. Cell specific expression and regulation of cr and HCO transporters in the small intestine (Assoc Prf Grant Butt) .:. Functional role of SNARE i nteractions with the Ca 2 + si gnali ng machinery (Dr Steven Condlife & Ruth Empson) .:. Determination of anterograde traficki ng of epithelial potassi um channels (Dr Kirk Hamilton & Assoc Prf Fiona McDonald) Full scholarships are avai lable from the Department of Physiology (stipend, fees, conference and research expenses). Candidates with a good degree in biomedical science or related subjects are invited to apply before 9 April 20 I o. See our website for the ful l list of avai lable projects and applicati on details http://www. otago.ac. nzphysi ology BloodCenter of Wisconsin, an international lyrecognized leader in vascular biology, thrombosisand hemostasis, immunobiology, transfusion medicine and stemcell/hematopoiesis research, is seeking outstanding candidates to tll NIH-funded Post-doctoral Training Grant positions at its Blood Research Institute (BRI). TheBRI provides state-of-the-artfacilities, and ofers anexcellentenvironmentfor scientifcinteractionand interdisciplinary collaboration. Opportunitiesareavailablewith BloodCenter investgators in thefollowing areas: Richard H. Aster, MD- Pathoenesis a immunedisoroers affectng blood cells Bonnie Dittel, PhD -Regulation ofTcell mediatedinflammation inthe central nervous system Joan C. GilMD-Moleculardiversity oftheimmune responseto FactorVll1 in patientwith hemophilia Jack Gorski, PhD-Molecular geneticanalysis ofTcell repertoires Cheryl Hillery, MD- Mechanisms ofvaso-occl usion in sickle cell disease Subramaniam Malarkannan, PhD- Signaling through NKG2D receptor Laurent Malherbe, PhD-R�ulation ofT helper cell fate during the irmuneresponse Alan Mast MD, phD- Molecular and cellular biology of tissue factor pathway i nhibitor Iobert I. Montgomery, MD- Molecular and cellular biologyofvonWillebrandfactor and platelet glycoprotein Ib Mictlael W. Mosesson, MD-Fibrin formationand itsrolein angiogenesis; mectanisms ofttlromboptlilia in dysfbrinogenemias Debra K. Newman, PhD- Signal transduction pathwaysthat r�ulate blood cell activity PeterJ. Newman, PhD-Cell adhesion and Signaling receptors in vascular cells DeminWang, PfD-Cytokinereceptorand B cell receptor signaling Ienren Wen, PhD -T cell signal transduction and T cell development HartmutWeiler,PIlD- Blood coagulation biology Gilber c. Wiite, II, MD- Integrin biologyand signaling mechanisms in platelets MagdalenaWodnicka, PhD-Small G protein signaling in vascular cells Becausetesepositionsarefunded throughan NI H TriningGrant, only American citizens or permanent residents areel igibleto apply. Alternatefunding may beavailablefor other candidates. Qualifappl icants should send curriculumvitae, abriefdescription ofrecent research, and thenames and teleptlone numbers ofthreereferences to: Gilbert C. White, II, M.D. Director, Blood Research I nstitute BloodCenter ofWisconsi n P.O. Box2178 6 March 2010 I NewSci enti st 1 53 www.NewScientistJobs.com production envi rnment. For more i nformati on visi t NewSci entistj obs.com job 1 0: 1400712698 Sr Principal Scientist Aggregated Singleton for Automated Purification (ASAP) Pfizer US CT - Connecti cut Lead the i mpl ementation and execution of Aggregated Si ngleton for Automated Purificati on (ASAP) usi ng an establ i shed autopurification workflow i n Groton Analytical Chemistr. Lead optimization ofthe ASAP workflow for effi ci ency and effors to expand the scope of sampl es that can be purified. For more i nformati on visi t NewSci entistj obs.com job 1 0: 1400708745 CLI NI CAL Medical Director (MD) Genentech CA - Cal iforni a Stays abrast of i nternal and external developments (sci entific, cl i nical , commercial , competi tive, l egal , regul ator and l i ke) as such devel opments may i mpl i cate or otherise i mpactthe prduct pi pel i ne and porfol i o wi thi n the assi gned therapeutic ara(s), For more i nformati on visit NewSci entistj obs.com job 1 0: 1400705978 Epigenetics Research Associate/Scientist (BS/MS) Novartis I nsti tutes for Bi oMedi cal Research (US) MA - Massachusetts Profi ci ency i n the use of current molecu lar bi ology tech n i ques and cloni ng strategi es, site-di rcted mutagenesi s, construction of reporer systems, and the desi gn and use of various exprssi on vectors" Experience i n mammal i an cel l culture worki ng with multi pl e cel l l i nes is a must. For more i nformati on visi t NewSci entistj obs.com job 1 0: 1400704984 54 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 Protein Mass Spectrometry Research Associate Novartis Insti tutes for Bi oMedi cal Research ( US) MA - Massachusetts Analytical Sci ences col l aborates acrss al l pl atforms to comprehensively characterize mol ecul es rangi ngfrm tradi ti onal smal l mol ecul es to novel bi otherapeuti cs and thei r effects i n bi ol ogi cal systems, A core functi on i s also to apply new technol ogi es to benefit the Nova rti s research community For more information vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400706558 Research Associate Pi oneer Hi - Bred l A - I owa The successful candi date wi l l work closely with a supervi sorto assist in the devel opment, eval uati on and deploymentof new markers, The successful candi date wi l l al so pl ay a role i n tareted rsequenci ng prjects for SNP di scover and ha p lotpe dete rm i nati on, For more information vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400707276 Research Scientist Pi oneer Hi - Bred l A - I owa Work wi th prduct devel opment scientists and breders to i dentify l i nes that reprsent the geneti c diversity of el i te bredi ng germpl asm. Faci l itate the coll ection of sou res, sampl i ng, and genotypi ng of these l i nes, I nitiate deep re-sequenci ng strategi es for genomic analysis, For more information vi sit NewSci enti stjobs. com job 1 0: 1400707282 ENGI NEERI NG Post Doc - Computational Mechanics of Materials R&D Sandi a Nati onal Laboratories NM - New Mexico Pari ci pate i n conti nued devel opment and appl i cation of i nnovative new methods for computati onal mechani cs of materi al s, Responsi bl e for understandi ng and appl ying the peri dynami c theor of sol i d mechanics, Thi s wi l l i ncl ude devel opment of mathematical model s forsol i d deformati on and fai l ur, and thei r rel ationshi p with mol ecul ar scale and nanoscal e behavi or, For more i nformati on vi si t NewScientistj obs. com job 1 0: 1400704839 MATH&I T Strategic Scientist-Applied Mathematics/Statistics (OOlDP) Monsanto MO - Mi ssouri The accepted candi date wi l l j oi n the emeri ng fi el d of IT systems i nformatics leveragi ng thei rtrai ni ng to pl ay a key rl e i n defi ni ng and del ivering breakthrough sci ence i n hi gh throughput R&D busi ness pl atforms (Bredi ng, Bredi ng Technology, Biotechnol ogy and Compl i ance) for Monsanto, For more i nformati on vi si t NewScientistj obs. com job 1 0: 1400706009 SALES Pharmaceutical Sales Special ist - CVAS- Fort Myers; FL AstraZeneca US FL - Fl ori da Function i ndependently with a hi gh degree of sal es prfi ci ency. Develop superi or product and di sease state knowledge and effectively educate and engage healthcare prfessi onal s i n di al ogue about cl i ni cal evi dence, approved i ndications, and prduct efficacy/safety profi les to support on-l abel prscri bi ng for appropriate patients, For more i nformati on vi si t NewSci entistj obs.comj ob 1 0: 1400707474 Technical Sales Specialist - Eastern and Central Pennslvania Thermo Fi sher Sci enti fi c (US) PA - Pennsyl vani a The Techni cal Sales Speci al ist (TSS) i s responsi bl e for sel l i ng the ful l Thermo FisherSci enti fi c Genomics porfol i o whi ch i ncl udesABgene (PCR), Open Bi osystems (shRNA, cDNA and ORFs) and Dharmacon (si/miRNA) branded products and seri ces, For more i nformati on vi si t NewSci entistj obs.comj ob 1 0: 450686631 CANADIAN BLOOD SERVI CES Postdoctoral Fel l owshi ps t Ca nadi a n Blood Servi ces it' i you to give Canadian Blood Services (CBS) is accepting appl i cations for Postdoctoral Fel l owships (PDF) to work with our affiliated Research & Development groups across Canada. CBS has active research programs within transfusion science emphasizing platelets, stem cel is, pl asma proteins, infectious disease, epidemiology and clinical transfusion practice. Applicants should have a Ph.D. or M.D. degree and a strong research background. This two·year award includes a salary and research al lowance, and the possibi lity of a one-year renewal. Candidates must select and contact a CBS affi l iated scientist to serve as the Postdoctoral Fel lowship supervisor. CBS also supports a Graduate Fel lowship Program and a Summer Internship Program. Information, forms and a list of CBS affliated scientists are avail able at www.blood.ca. and from the R&D Office (el
[email protected]. Canadian Bl ood Services, Research & Devel opment, 1 800 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, KI G 4J5, Canada. Please note that the 201 0 campaign wil l not accept on-line applications. Candidates are encouraged to respond by hard copy. PDF Application deadline: July 2, 20 1 0. MYO Pharmacogenomics Bioinformatics Fellowship. CINIC The Pharmacogenomics Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine is seeking a postdoctoral fellow with a Ph.D., M.D. or M.D.-Ph.D. degree for a position as a "Pharmacogenomics Bioinformatics" fellow. This laboratory is part of the NI- sponsored Pharmacogenomics Research Network (PGRN) and our studies involve very large datasets that include genomic, transcriptomic and metabolomic data, as well as both cell line-based and clinical drug response phenotypes. This bioinformatics position would prepare a candidate for an academic faculty position or a position in the pharmaceutical·biotechnology research industy. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine is a not·for-profit organization that integrates research with clinical practces and education in multi·campus environment. Mayo ofers an attractive benefit package. Salary will be determined by the candidates experience. Applications, including curriculum vitae and bibliography, swnmary of past accomplishments, and 3 signed reference letters, should be sent to: Richard WeinshilboUf i, M.D. 1 Mayo Clinic 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 1 200 First Steet SW 1 Rochester, M US.A. 55905 Email : Weinshilboum.
[email protected] osu O�.�� Our l aboratory investigates the mechani sms by whi ch chemi cal s and nanoparticles interact with a nd adversely affect early l i fe stage devel opment. Our group primari l y uses zebra fsh as a vertebrate model to i denti fy the mol ecul ar pathways that a re perurbed by exposures that ul ti matel y l ead to lasting functi onal defcits. The candidate must have a Ph. D. degree i n mol ecul ar bi ol ogy, bi ochemistry or a related fel d. Experi ence with gene expressi on a nalysis, quantitative PCR, automation, and bioinformatics are preferred. Effective written and oral communication ski l ls are essenti al . The proj ects involve the use of hi gh throughput i n vi vo screeni ng, gl obal gene expression analysis, behavioral assessments, and transgeni c ani mal use and production. Sal ary will be based on Uni versity gui del i nes for postdoctoral fellows. To apply for this position, pl ease e-mail a cover letter describi ng previous trai ni ng and research interests, career goal s, a CV, representative papers, and three letters of recommendati on to: Robert L. Tanguay Department ofEnvironmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State Univerity 1007 ALS, Corallis, OR 9731 E-mail: rbert.
[email protected] www.NewScientistJobs.com POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS i n PHARMACOLOGY S NEUROSCI ENCE Temple University School of Medicine Severa I p ostd octora I p o si ti ons are ava i l abl e i n t he Cente r fo r Substance Abuse R 8S8 arch at Templ e University School of Medi c i ne to ca rry out i nt erd i sc i pl i nary rmarch on drugs of abuse i ndudi ng opi oi ds, p sychosti mul ants, c a nnabi noi ds. and ni coti ne. Fel l ows can work wi th facul ty members i n several basi c sdence dep artments i ndudi ng Pharmml o gy, Mi crobi ol ogy H I mmunol ogy, Anatomy H Cel l Bi ol ogy. Physi ol ogy, and Psychol ogy. Exampl es of research i nterests i ndude t he mol ecul ar pharmacol ogy of opi oi d and cannabi noi d recepto rs; mol ecul ar and b e havi oral effects of p sychosti mul ants. opi oi ds. cannabi noi ds, and ni cot i ne; neurobi ol ogy of addi cti ve behavi ors; cross t al k b etween opi oi d and chemo ki ne receptors; novel o p i oi d anal gesi cs with peri pheral acti ons; neu roprotective effects of cannabi noi d l i gands; o pi oi d effects on HI V i nfecti vity; and effects of drugs of abuse o n i mmune fu n cti on. body t emperature and anal ge si a Det ai l ed research program d escri pti ons can b e found on our web si te, www.templ e. edu/medi ci ne/csar. Candi dates sho ul d have a Ph. D. and/or M. D. wi th experi ence i n p harmaco l ogy. n eurobi ol ogy, cel l bi ol ogy, i mmuno l ogy. or mol ecul ar b i ol o gy. Pl ease send resume, statement of research i nt erests, and names of three references to Dr. Ellen Unterwal d. Temple University School of Medi cine, Department of Pharmacoi lgy, 3420 N. Broad Street, Phi l adel phia. PA 1 814D Ir el l en. unterwald�templ e. edu. Temple University i s an E! AA employer and strongly encourages applications from women and minorities. Research i n Germany Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung I Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables highly-qualified scientists and scholars of all nationalities and fields to conduct extended periods of research in Germany in cooperation with academic hosts at German institutions. Fellowships are awarded solely on the basis of the applicant 's academic record, the quality and feasibility of the proposed research and the candidate's interational publications. The Humboldt Foundation particularly welcomes applications fom qualifed, female junior researchers. Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers • For scientists and scholars who have completed a doctoral degree within the past four years • Allows for a stay of 6-24 months in Germany; applications may be submitted at any time; monthly stipend of2250 EUR Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers • For scientists and scholars who have completed a doctoral degree within the past twelve years • Fellowships may be divided into a maximum of three visits lasting three months or longer; applications may be submitted at any time; monthly stipend of2450 EUR Additional allowances are available for accompanying family mem bers, travel expenses, and Gennan language instruction. www. humbol dt-foundati on. de 6 March 2010 I NewSci enti st 1 55 |¯¯`o/.´ • • , • 50� LES� fA1 ON 30 January, we reported on the fat content of Cad bury's Mini Rolls. Now Rod Costigan sends us his thoughts about another Cad bury product, Fry's Turkish Delight. The packaging of thi s" exotic taste sensation" boasts that it is "60 per cent less fat', and always has been". Rod says he often sees these "less fat" claims on food packaging and wonders whether they are comparing themselves with another product or just an old version of the same one. He has tended to assume the latter but this would mean" always has been" makes no sense. Then Rod took note of the asterisk, and soon found a corresponding asterisk and an upside-down note on the edge of the Turkish delight pack. This revealed that the point of comparison is per gram of "the average of leading chocolate bars". Rod finds this disappointing. He points out that Fry's Turkish Delight is mainly a Turkish delight-type of substance, as you would expect -so, even though it is coated in a thin layer of chocolate, surely the proper benchmark should be Turkish delight, not chocolate. But perhaps "contains more fat, and always has done" (in comparison with pure Turkish delight) doesn't have quite the right ring to it . Nevertheless, Rod likes the idea that chocolate might become the fat content benchmark for the whole food industry. A pork chop, for example, might boast that it has "10 per cent less fat' ['than chocolate], and always has done". Then again, if you can choose any benchmark you like, why not choose fat itself? In which case you could advertise a pork chop as " 50 per cent less fat* ['than fat l, and always has been." Now that US giant Kraft has taken over Cad bury, perhaps these products will start to display fat content information that makes more sense. IT IS with mixed feel i ngs that we announce an additi on to the ever ·expanding lexi con of quack· babble. It i s "energy resonance". Bri an Burford sends us a copy A si gn near where Nei l l J ones l ives announces: "Concrete Works." Nei l l fi nds thi s reassuri ng to know 56 1 NewSci enti st 1 6 March 2010 For more feedback, visit www.NewScientist.com/feedback of a page from the Higher Natre catal ogue promoting "wel l bei ng products". The ones shown are al l said to contain energy resonance. Take the Personal Stabi liser "energy resonance pendant": "This el egant, hi gh· grade vacuum tube pendant contains a stri p of 24ct gol d encoded wi th energy resonance, to bui l d and mai ntain a powerful energy screen around the i ndi vi dual , to nourish bal anced emotional and physi cal energy .. . Comes wi th a cotton cord for tying around the neck." Perhaps even more remarkable is the Bi o-pul ser dri nk/food mat. I t is: "A gol d-l eafed, hand-crafted gnei ss stone mat charged wi th energy resonance. Place under wine or a plate of food to vita l i se, i mprovi ng taste and qual ity . . . can also be pl aced under cups, gl asses, pl ants or pets' water bowls." Unfortunatel y, "energy resonance" doesn't come cheap. The pendant costs £51. 60 and the mat £77.90. PARENTS of children aged 7 are best advised to avoid a certain play area in Camden, London, Isabel Mauricio tells us. A sign outside reads: "This playground is designed for children of the following age groups: Toddlers aged up to 6 years, who must be supervised by a responsible adult. Juniors aged 8-14 years." Isabel wonders if they have discovered a rare local space-time discontinuum phenomenon, or an equally rare biological phenomenon, the net result of which is an age-specific black hole or triangle into which 7-year olds disappear. WE ARE all used to prices goi ng up from ti me to ti me, but Paul Brown says he was a bit fl abbergasted by the "I mportant Message" he received when he started the process of buyi ng a USB card reader on Amazon. It sai d: "Please note that the price of Integral Si ngl e Sl ot USB xD Card Reader has i ncreased from £0.50 to £110. 6B since you placed it i n your Shoppi ng Basket." CONGRATULATIONS to the UK's Public Finance magazine for its use of two wildly disparate units of measurement in one sentence. Amanda Randall draws our attention to a curious headline in the magazine's 12 February edition: "LGA wants quangos to be condemned to the pas ta". Even those who know that LGA stands for Local Government Association and that quangos are quasi autonomous governmental organisations will find this statement puzzling. The article that follows explains all, after a fashion: "Did you know that if you spelled out the names of the 790 quangos in England and Wales in alphabet spaghetti it would stretch the length Of10 London buses?" But what, we ask, is the conversion factor? FINALLY, some peopl e have al l the l uck. Not onl y di d Al an Bird receive a B&Q dampness testing meter as a Christmas present, but it had an unexpected and potenti al l y very useful property. As wel l as being able to detect ri si ng and penetrating damp in foundations, walls, fl oor and ti mbers, it is "suitable for checking the dryness of surfaces pri or to papering, ti l ing, pai nti ng or vani shing". You can send stories to Feedback by emai l at feedback@newsci entist.com. Please i ncl ude your home address. Th is week's a nd past Feed backs can be seen on ourwebsite. ¯¬¯./:¯WÙ|` Bee alert When I was wandering around my garden one evening I noticed a European honeybee hanging strangely from a Iilly-pilly flower, On closer inspection I saw a well camouflaged spider holding the bee in place and a numberof small flies covering its body (see photo, below), I can understand the spider's role in all this, but what are the flies doing? • A honeybee will typically visit up to 500 flowers on each nectar-foraging trip. Foraging bees store nectar in a swollen region in the oesophagus called the crop or honey stomach, which can swell with nectar to fill a major proportion ofthe insect's abdomen. As the crop fills with nectar, enzymes act on the complex sugars it contains, breaking them down to simpler sugars. On returning to the hive, the bee will regurgitate the contents of its Questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Include a daytime telephone number and email address if you have one. Restrict questions to scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena. The writers of published answers wi II receive a chequeforf25 (or US$ equivalent). Reed Busi ness Information Ltd reserves al l rights to reuse question and answer material submitted by readers i n any medium or format. crop for other bees to concentrate and further metabolise, ultimately making honey. The bee the questioner saw has been ambushed by the spider. During the struggle with the spider, or as a result of muscular contractions in response to the spider's venom, the bee's crop has ejected its payload, which has seeped over its body. It is probably the sweet scent of the partially metabolised nectar that has attracted the flies: the ones in the photograph look like fruit flies of the Tephritidae family. The mouthparts offlies like these are unlikely to allow them to drink nectar directly from the lilly-pilly flowers, but they can still take advantage of this improm ptu sugary meal. The spider has probably had "On return to the hive the bee will regurgitate the contents of its honey crop so others can make honey" New Scientist retains total editorial control over the content of The Last Word. Send questions and answers to The Last Word, New Scientist Lacon House, 84 Theobald's Road, London WClX 8NS, UK, by email to l
[email protected] visit www.last-word.com (please include a postal address in order to receive payment for answers). For a l i st of all unanswered questions send an SAEto LWQl istatthe above address. Last words past and present pl us questi ons, at www. l ast-word. com to stay with the bee for some time to make sure it is immobilised, giving the flies time to congregate on its body. The flies are too small to be of interest to the spider, so they are in no danger. Peter Scott Hove, East Sussex, UK This week's questions MODERN REMAI NS I work as a wildlife tour guide i n the Scottish Highlands so I travel widely in remote corners of the northern Highlands and islands. On two occasions in late 200g I have come across a pile of odd objects (see photos, right) scattered on the ground. The first time was on a remote island in the Orkneys; the second was a few weeks later at an altitude of around goo metres in the Cairngorm mountains. Had they been near a road or habitation I would probably have dismissed them as just some sort of household electronic debris, but in both cases they were miles from anywhere. The pile I found in the Cairngorms was at least a 2-hour walk from any road, track or building. They appear to have a burnt and pitted charcoal-like solid centre encased in a hard, plastic-like cover. The ones in the Cairngorms also had some small charred battery-like cylinders with them. Can anybody suggest what they are, and why they ended up in such unexpected locations? John Poyner Nethy Bridge, Highland Region, UK D0P0Iðf88ðfS û8tL0n8lÿf Our latest col l ecti on - seri ous enqui ry, bri l l i ant i nsi ght and the hi l ari ousl y unexpected Available from booksellers and at www.newscientist.com/ polarbears WI PE-CLEAN SURFACE What gives chestnut mushrooms their brown colour? The colour can be wiped away, leaving what looks like a standard white mushroom. Barry Strong Manchester, UK SOUND RETAI L Is there any evidence that piped music in shops, pubs and similar establishments increases sales? I avoid such places even if that is inconvenient or involves extra cost. D. G. Shotton Havant, Hampshire, UK LOCKEOIUM LlFETECHIUM AMERICIUM NOBELIUM EINSTEINIUM KRYPTON PLATNUM PALLADIUM .. � I FARRELL A NuVasive Inc. FAMilY Agilent Technologies V!: X K&LIGATES FEI Company FOUNDATION FESTIVAL HOST Case Western Reserve University EEinmGru RESMED A I ' æ Õ Gh FOUNDATON "J TITANIUM FOUNDATION LOCKHED MARTI. NU � $pi � i l lumln �=. Bechtel Corporation SC A l E XI N D R I A. Spaed AIC fAM I �Y National Radio Astronomy Observatory -- � F_ | �| SCIVee 1WICS � Wof Medlmmunt Bx Research in Motion !1A1|tî!1JiºîºJ1îJºî