IN NEWS THIS WEEK:
THE NEXT GENERATION OF PROSTHETIC ARMSThe huge number of soldier amputees following the two conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan has led to a surge in prosthetics research. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is launching two projects to develop new prosthetic arms that will transform the lives of injured veterans, as well as people who lose limbs in accidents and terrorist attacks. Pages 28-29
DOUBLE RETHINK ON PRION DISEASESIt is widely known that diseases such as BSE can be contracted by eating brain tissue from an infected animal. But it is a mystery how similar diseases like scrapie can spread between sheep that just graze on grass, and wild animals like elk. Now, a US study has shown that prions injected into hamster brains fanned out through facial nerves to reach the nose and tongue. This then raises the question of whether scrapie can be spread in saliva when animals lick each other during grooming. Page 18
THE KINK AT THE EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEMThe outer boundary of the solar system is distorted as though it has been punched from below. The evidence comes from NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, which is about to cross the inner boundary of the Heliosphere. Voyager 2 is 1.3 kilometres closer to the sun than its twin, Voyager 1, was when it crossed the same boundary in 2004. This suggests the termination shock (where the solar wind slams into slower interstellar wind) has been deflected inward in the southern hemisphere. Page 12
SLEEP YOUR WAY TO A SLIMMER BODYForget that crash diet this summer " all you need is more sleep. That's the message from an American study of more than 68,000 women, which found that those who sleep less than 5 hours a night gain more weight over time than those who sleep 7 hours a night. Page 21
LET CHATBOT HELP YOU QUITWant to give up smoking, but too embarrassed or haven't got the money to visit a counsellor? A female chatbot offering round-the-clock, free advice and exercises could help you kick the habit - and all under the anonymity of your computer. The team from the Netherlands who developed the anti-smoking virtual coach, say if it's successful they will consider similar coaches for alcoholics and for overcoming phobias. Page 27
PHISHERS COULD START USING THE PERSONAL TOUCH"Phishing" attempts, where email users are tricked into giving out passwords and bank details, could get worse, according to American researchers. They have found a way in which phishers can send an email appearing to come from your own bank " asking for your personal sensitive information. The flaw was discovered because of the way websites talk to browsers. Page 30
SPOTTING THE QUANTUM TRACKS OF GRAVITY WAVESSo far, the ripples in space-time called gravitational waves have been notoriously difficult to detect. Now researchers in Singapore say that the spooky link between two "entangled" quantum particles could provide a way to detect gravity waves. Page 10
SPIDER MONKEYS ON THE WARPATHWarfare tactics have been observed for the first time in a non-ape " the spider monkey. Spider monkeys, which usually spend all their time in trees, have been spotted by a team of British researchers creeping silently in single file on the ground, looking like they were planning an attack on neighbouring monkeys. Page 14
FEATURES:
EARTH, FIRE AND FURYIf the changes in the global climate continue, never mind the increase in temperature, we can expect a geologically turbulent future. Looking at previous periods of warming in the Earth's history, evidence shows increased volcanic activity as melting ice-caps reduce the pressure on magma chambers below. And there have been similar implications for where melting glaciers meet active fault lines. We can also see past evidence of where melting ice and rising sea-levels have added extra loads of water on to seabed faults - setting off major landslides. So could all this happen again? The general consensus is that we are heading for a very warm and shaky future. Pages 30-34
DAWN OF THE ZOMBIESResearch groups around the world are working towards building different parts of the body on a chip, with the ultimate aim of building the entire human body on a chip. These are 3D miniscule chambers filled with live, interconnecting tissues. In a few years, labs might be filled with these "zombie" chips for studying diseases or to test out human drugs for toxicity. They could even potentially reduce the need for animals. Pages 40-43
TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONEIn each solar cell now in use " every incoming photon of sunlight contributes at the most one electron to the electric current it produces. Now, physicists have shown that if you shrink the elements of a solar cell down to the size of a molecule, each captured photon can be made to generate two or even more charge carriers. If harnessed, the effect could be revolutionary " making solar power far more efficient and economical. Pages 44-47
SMARTER THAN THE AVERAGE BUGThe Portia genus of jumping spider reveals clever cognitive skills that are supposed to be way beyond such tiny creepy-crawlies. Portia eats other spiders, and their carefully planned, dynamic attacks on their prey leave animal researchers wondering if they may have some inkling of a mind. Pages 37-39
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