New technology that can make tanks invisible has been unveiled by the Ministry of Defence. In secret trials last week, the Army said it had made a vehicle completely disappear and predicted that an invisible tank would be ready for service by 2012. The new technology uses cameras and projectors to beam images of the surrounding landscape onto a tank — via Warren Ellis
A team of researchers at UC Berkeley have invented a radio made of a single carbon nanotube. The device is just a few billionths of a metre in size — so small that it could fit inside a living cell, or float along in your bloodstream — via Gizmodo
A new type of carbon fibre, developed at the University of Cambridge, could be woven into super-strong body armour for the military and law enforcement. The researchers say their material is already several times stronger, tougher and stiffer than fibres currently used to make protective armour. The lightweight fibre, made up of millions of tiny carbon nanotubes, is starting to reveal exciting properties
A paper published in 1955 by Homer Jacobson, a chemistry professor at Brooklyn College. The paper, entitled Information, Reproduction and the Origin of Life
, speculated on the chemical qualities of earth in the Hadean time, billions of years ago when the planet was beginning to cool down to the point where, as Dr Jacobson put it, one could imagine a few hardy compounds could survive
. Nobody paid much attention to the paper at the time, but today it is winning Dr Jacobson acclaim that he does not want — from creationists who cite it as proof that life could not have emerged on earth without divine intervention. So after 52 years, he has retracted the paper. Dr Jacobson’s retraction is in the noblest tradition of science
, Rosalind Reid, editor of American Scientist, wrote in its November-December issue, which has Dr Jacobson’s letter. His letter shows, Ms Reid wrote, the distinction between a scientist who cannot let error stand, no matter the embarrassment of public correction
, and people who cling to dogma
— via Slashdot
Some Neanderthals were probably redheads, a DNA study has shown. Writing in Science journal, a team of researchers extracted DNA from remains of two Neanderthals and retrieved part of an important gene called MC1R. In modern people, a change — or mutation — in this gene causes red hair, but, until now, no one knew what hair colour our extinct relatives had. By analysing a version of the gene in Neanderthals, scientists found that they also have sported fiery locks
University of Manchester researchers have transformed fat tissue stem cells into nerve cells — and now plan to develop an artificial nerve that will bring damaged limbs and organs back to life. Dr Paul Kingham and his team at the UK Centre for Tissue Regeneration (UKCTR) isolated the stem cells from the fat tissue of adult animals and differentiated them into nerve cells to be used for repair and regeneration of injured nerves. They are now about to start a trial extracting stem cells from fat tissue of volunteer adult patients, in order to compare in the laboratory human and animal stem cells — via Slashdot
Carnegie Mellon University’s Adrian Perrig and Jason Franklin, working in conjunction with Vern Paxson of the International Computer Science Institute and Stefan Savage of the University of California, San Diego, have designed new computer tools to better understand and potentially thwart the growth of Internet black markets, where attackers use well-developed business practices to hawk viruses, stolen data and attack services
Renewable energy company Epuron is seeking approval to build Australia’s largest wind farm in the New South Wales outback and generate enough energy to power up to 400,000 homes
After receiving umbilical cord stem cells to replace bone marrow as treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Greg Graves temporarily had three different sets of DNA. Eventually, one of the two sets of cells transplanted into his bone marrow took root, leaving him different DNA in his blood from the rest of his body
Miniature cameras have given scientists a rare glimpse into how New Caledonian crows behave in the wild. The birds are renowned for their sophisticated tool-using ability, but until now, observing them in their natural habitat has proven difficult. But specially designed crow-cams
fitted to the birds’ tails have shed light on the creatures, recording some tool-use never seen before
A piece of outer space named for George Takei is in kind of a rough neighborhood for somebody who steers a starship: an asteroid belt. An asteroid between Mars and Jupiter has been renamed 7307 Takei in honour of the actor, best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek
series and movies
Pioneering research into a gay bomb
that makes enemy troops sexually irresistible
to each other has scooped one of this year’s Ig Nobel Prizes. Other winners included work on treating hamster jetlag with impotency drugs, extracting vanilla from cow dung, and the side-effects of sword swallowing. The awards, founded in 1991, mark achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think
Every year, in Germany alone, around 7000 people wait for a new cornea to save their eyesight. But donor corneas are in short supply. In an EU project, researchers have developed an artificial cornea which is to be clinically tested in early 2008
The world’s first true invisibility cloak — a device able to hide an object in the visible spectrum — has been created by physicists in the US. But don’t expect it to compete with stage magic tricks. So far it only works in two dimensions and on a tiny scale. The new cloak, which is just 10 micrometres in diameter, guides rays of light around an object inside and releases them on the other side. The light waves appear to have moved in a straight line, so the cloak — and any object inside — appear invisible
Insulin, it turns out, may be as important for the mind as it is for the body. Research in the last few years has raised the possibility that Alzheimer’s memory loss could be due to a novel third form of diabetes. Scientists at Northwestern University have discovered why brain insulin signaling — crucial for memory formation — would stop working in Alzheimer’s disease — via Slashdot
A variety of migrating birds, as well as bats and even hamsters successfully use a magnetic sense
to navigate on long journeys. Now, a new type of sensor developed by scientists in the US could make it possible for humans do the same trick. Magnetic global positioning works by matching precise measurements of the Earth’s magnetic field with a database of measurements from across the globe
It may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration for a new computer memory technology, but Detective Conan
(otherwise known as Case Closed
) — a popular anime and manga series about a young detective who uses high-tech gadgets to help him solve cases — could have provided the creative spark that led to the development of a protein-based ultrathin memory. Using ferritin, a protein commonly found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes that facilitates iron storage, scientists from Japan’s Nara Institute of Science and Technology came up with a way to build memory on thinner substrates, thus avoiding the need for energy-intensive, high-temperature processing (often in excess of 1,000°C)
Algae are a promising source of biofuels: besides being easy to grow and handle, some varieties are rich in oil similar to that produced by soybeans. Algae also produce another fuel: hydrogen. They make a small amount of hydrogen naturally during photosynthesis, but Anastasios Melis, a plant- and microbial-biology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, believes that genetically engineered versions of the tiny green organisms have a good shot at being a viable source for hydrogen
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clarke announced New Zealand’s intention to commit to 90% renewable electricity by 2025. The country already uses 70% renewable electricity, primarily hydro and geothermal power and will continue to increase its use of renewables over the next 20 years
Scientists in India have just made a breakthrough, a so-called Holy Grail in the illumination industry
in producing an LED that emits pure white light, suitable for interior lighting of homes, offices, etc. The challenge has been developing a combination of materials that will produce this light, which they believe they have
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