A year-long study has revealed that two fossil skeletons of early humans possess characteristics that land in between those of primitive “ape-men” and our immediate ancestors, as some bones look almost human while others display a more chimpanzee-like profile.
The well preserved fossils date back 1,977,000 years and were discovered in 2008 in a Malapa cave system near Johannesburg, South Africa. The specimens have been given the name, Australopithecus sediba.
In a bid to boost marine conservation in the UK, a proposal to create over 100 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) has been unveiled. If applied and put into practise, the zones will span many different types of marine formats, from extensive tracts of seas floor to small stretches of coastline.
A software variant called Cleverbot has proven to be almost as skilled a conversationalist a human.
Showing off its skills at Techniche festival in Guwahati, India, Cloverbot passed one of the key tests applied to artificial intelligence, the so called Turing test. The trial involved thirty volunteers brought in to hold 4-minute conversations- half of whom got to speak to real humans, while the rest conversed with Cleverbot. After listening to the conversations, a total of 1334 votes rated Cleverbot 59.3 percent human, while the human factor of the real people landed at just 63.3 percent.
The tiniest motor ever created has been conceived by researchers, reports Nature Nanotechnology. The little contraption is made from a single molecule, measuring a billionth of a metre across, and could have applications in both nanotechnology and in medicine. This is not the first single molecule rotor to have surfaced, but the latest variant is the first that can be individually driven by an electric current.
Whether genuinely concerned about the dangers of global warming or simply out to impress consumers with their green credentials, the biggest names operating within the logistics industry are upping their game in the energy performance stakes. FedEx seeks to diversify its energy supply by relying on energy sources such as wind and solar power, and the means to cut electricity usage starts at the company’s facilities, including offices and retail locations. For instance, FedEx Freight has developed a custom-facility lighting solution that reduces energy consumption by up to 93 percent.
The company has installed these progressive lighting solutions at 114 service centres throughout the US. In addition, 11,000 traditional bulbs have been replaced with energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, and has also launched a companywide conservation program called “Be a Watt Watcher.” The conservation efforts are boosted by generating renewable power on site when possible- solar installations have been introduced at facilities in California, New Jersey and Cologne, Germany. In Geneva, meanwhile, the FedEx station uses a system of pipes running deep into the ground to regulate the indoor temperature.
Attempting to make as much of a mark, DHL proudly announced in the summer of 2011 that its Global Forwarding building in Miami had received a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Commercial Interiors Gold certification- an internationally recognized green building certification validating that the structure has been designed and built using environmentally friendly features.
DHL’s building scored particularly high in the area of energy conservation; its lighting systems are 46 percent more efficient and contain reduced levels of mercury; over 95 percent of the building was equipped with occupancy sensors; and only Energy Star equipment and appliances were installed.
Among UPS many measures to rely as much as possible on renewable energy, the company recently installed a rooftop solar array on its Lakewood, NJ, facility, which will provide a significant portion of the building’s peak energy needs. The installation marks the initial launch in a series of investments planned to increase the company’s reliance on renewable energy.
As suggested by the New Scientist’s Kathleen Puckett, politically driven mass murderers that strike alone should be easy to spot, and stop, as they possess distinct characteristics. Unlike the majority of Islamic terrorists of recent years, home-grown killers such as Breivik, Timothy McVeigh and Theodore “Unabomber” Kaczynski have proven to display startlingly similar traits tied to their personal psychology.
In 2001, during her tenure as an FBI special agent, Puckett and her colleagues investigated similarities between Kaczynski, McVeigh and Rudolph and found that they were highly intelligent and well educated, with no previous history of criminal violence.
Another factor that united them was that they failed badly to forge meaningful relationships. “Breivik, who was socially isolated and shunned by the extremist groups he courted, is a prime example of this dynamic. There are bound to be others like him, and it should not be beyond intelligence services to sniff them out. They could start by looking for people who have made unsuccessful attempts to connect with other radicals. As we now know, their failure to find a voice can prove lethal,” said Puckett.
The telecom industry is constantly evolving. Some companies seem to be falling out of favour and have performed poorly for various reasons lately.
Vodafone grabbed the headlines earlier this year following a break-in at its exchange centre in Basingstoke. The incident resulted in hundred of thousands of customers being affected. In addition, the telecom giant was recently in the firing line over claims that it escaped paying part of an outstanding UK tax bill, and at about the same time it received criticism for shutting down its phone network in Egypt during the pro-democracy protests. Another currently unpopular contender is Blackberry- that notorious accomplice of the London looters that did very little prevent riots spreading by refusing to temporary halt the Messenger service used by urban villains during the chaotic days in London in August 2011. Skype hasn’t had an easy ride either in the past few months. Following the much buzzed about Microsoft takeover, the service suffered a near fatal crash that had critics questioning the acquisition and so the future of the widely used communication tool.
Not so scandal-ridden but equally trying to keep head above water in the competitive market, handset producers are desperately trying to give the alpha contraption that is the iPhone a run for its money. HTC recently introduced the HTC Titan. Significantly, the handset is the first vendor to introduce smartphones that run the latest version of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system. Making the handset even more appealing, it features a screen that measures 4.7 inches. Nokia is not lagging far behind and is soon to launch a new smartphone version called Symbian Belle. Also seeing growing potential in the affordable end of the market, Nokia has brought out two new handsets fitted with mini price tags- enter Nokia 100 and 101, the most budget friendly mobile phones yet.
A medical breakthrough has occurred as researchers from the University of Ottawa have come up with a way to target cancer cells by injecting the engineered virus, an engineered virus, JX-594, directly into the blood. When trialed on a small number of patients, the virus attacked only tumours without affecting healthy tissue.
This is not the first time viruses have been used to attack cancer cells, but up until now, they have been injected directly into tumours only.
Cancerous tumours aren’t predictable- some continue to grow while others cease to do so. In order to determine the behavioural pattern of tumours, researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and University of Miami in Florida lead the way with a model in which images of tumours and their surrounding blood vessels at different stages of development have been studied.
The results has helped to unravel the equations that indicate the way healthy cells, cancer cells and the surrounding blood vessels interplay.
When applied to the mice involved in the study, the researchers were able to predict how their individual tumours would progress, meaning that the model should help to identify which blood vessels to target to limit a tumour’s growth.
A new discovery has been unraveled by scientists at the Institute of Arctic Biology in Fairbanks, Alaska, namely that the Arctic Ground Squirrel possesses a brain cell “switch” that triggers hibernation. The squirrel’s hibernation switch is in essence a receptor on brain cells for the neurotransmitter adenosine, which builds up gradually during the day to ultimately sends the animal to sleep at night. Researchers found that the A1 adenosine receptor was the key to hibernation, and that it can be blocked or stimulated by injecting a chemical into the brain of the squirrel. The discovery could assist in finding a way to send humans into hibernation-like states, which would benefit surgeons while performing life-saving operations.
As amazing and complex as the science relating to organ replacement has become, there are still some fundamental problems. Patients require significant levels of immunosuppressant drugs to stop their bodies destroying their new organs, making them vulnerable to illness. Complex organs will have a limited lifespan, lasting between 10 and 25 years subject to the patient, their lifestyle and the health of the donor organ. Then there is the issue of how these donor organs are obtained in the first place – an ethical issue that only a handful of European countries have got to grips with by making organ donation an automatic process upon the death of a citizen.
The use of the first artificial trachea offers a breakthrough, as the technique bypasses many of the negative factors in transplant science. The first procedure on a human being saw a replacement organ built specifically for a Swedish patient who had been suffering from tracheal cancer and for whom all conventional treatment had failed.
Having followed research a team from University College London’s nanotechnology and regenerative medicine department, staff at the patient’s hospital requested their assistance. Led by Professor Alex Seifalian, the UCL team raced against the clock to build the artificial trachea before the patient succumbed to the cancer.
They began by sourcing a precise glass mold of the patient’s trachea based on 3D CT scans. This was then filled with a revolutionary new porous polymer – POSS-PCU – which went on to form a replacement organ.
The artificial trachea was left in a bioreactor filled with the patient’s stem cells. Over a period of days, the cells attached themselves to the porous polymer until a layer of tissue had formed. The trachea was then flown to the patient based in Sweden, where it was implanted during a 12 hour operation.
So far, the patient’s prognosis is very good. The organ has been accepted by the patient’s body due to its biocompatibility, which prevents it being seen as a foreign body. The flexible polymer is also functioning well. The patient can now breathe and cough independently. The patient was discharged from hospital less than a month after the operation.
While the polymer is already capable of replacing a range of tissues from arteries to tear ducts, the hope is that it could be used to create a large variety of organs, with heart parts planned for within five years. The polymer also has the potential to replace bones, opening new doors in fields ranging from hip replacements to reconstructive surgery. Cosmetic surgery too could benefit, with breast augmentation made safer by coating silicon implants with the polymer to prevent the chance of them bursting.
A form of the polymer is also under development that will help the body regenerate its own tissues. Much as with this transplant, the stem cells used with the organ will merge with those in the body building, around the artificial organ or tissue. Artificial organs made of the new material, however, will slowly biodegrade. When it does, what will remain will be an organic organ, ‘home grown’ and disease-free.
The new material is also a breakthrough for its price; the polymer is cheap, with 500ml of polymer – enough for two tracheas – costing around only £50. The new material will radically cut the cost of transplant surgery, eliminating both the cost of caring for donor organs and the expensive course of drugs that follow.
More artificial parts are planned for the near future, with a young Korean girl due to have part of her windpipe replaced later in the year. Given the success so far, a future where the construction of nearly any body part now seems much closer, and the days of donor organs seem numbered.
The catastrophe caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami still lingers.
Despite ongoing efforts to secure the damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, it’s emerged that lethal doses of radiation are still present at the plant and it’s been reported that radiation levels exceeding 10 sieverts per hour were found at a spot between reactors 1 and 2. According to Tokyo Electric Power Company, the source of the radiation is believed to be debris leftover from emergency venting carried out after the earthquake.
So far, the recovery efforts have been focused on removing radioactive water and installing a new cooling system and the spot at which the radioactive leaks were found was located in an area outside the recovery effort zone.
