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Ap, 20. edesbenzcoukjotereCONTENTS Volume 210 No 2610 This issue online wwaunewsclentist com/ssue/2810 News News UPFRONT 6 Deepwater Harizan tll oneyearon, Evidence ‘of doctors comalty at Guantanamo Bay , lectronicrecosspeedupgeneticstudies Climate ‘THIS WEEK refugees Mind-contoled prsthetis, Fst partial transplant of a bicenginesred arr, How longisayear? Magnets detect infection in hours. Milion-year- oldie. Peeking safely atSchrédingerscat INBRIEF Royal jelly recipe for making queens. nether way ta predict bats sex, ances celsarenatinmortal, Meon 2aps Satu Technology How tostopplanesicingup, Peciting ttaficjams for commuters. curyrobot canclamber Automatic cricket umpire Fifty million were forecastin 1995. ‘Sowhereare they? ‘Onthe cover 10 Timewar Definingayear spares fiery dispute End of 32 Unnaturalselection inty Humansare the areatest wncertal forcein evolution ‘There’ abig battle in ‘38 Laserlaunch the quantum world ming spaceships into tt and beyond 26 Google'splanto teach machines What al that datacando Opinion EDITORIAL Urgent rethink needa on climate refugees Pack tin Australas pan fr cigarette packaging sa puble health rium says Sinan Chapman (One minute with... Elizabeth Blackburn ‘The Nobel prizewinner on whather genetic test for‘botaglcal ages tong us LETTERS DNA anlife. Reverse empathy Googles data junkie PeterNonig, Google's research director hasbig plans to change how we interact with the weld Features 28 End of uncertainty (see adovelett) 32 Unnatural selection (seele) 38 Laserlaunchers How to beama spaceship intoorbtandbeyond 42 Ourforgotten years Vie remembernext ‘orathing fom the tme before we goto school whys that? CultureLab 46 Compelled tocreate Shadows Bri Glosstelshaw astroke forged apa 47 echitecturaliterations The worcot computational artis Michael Hansmeyer 48 Nuclear tribute Remarbering hescuptr, actvstanditenen-snk scientist ames cor, PLUS: Anewlook at why we ugh Coming next week. Regulars Limits of knowledge 24 ENIGMA 2 reed Business There are things we can never understand 56 FEEDBACK Frassicers Information - 57 THELASTWORD Torgiedwed Instant expert: Astrobiology 50 JOBS& CAREERS Qrrecycle Your indispensable guide to life on other planets Features 32 Unnatural selection Plantsandanimalsare evolving because of us pri2011|MewSclentst|Stay connected to a digital world of knowledge - wherever you are. New Scientistis now available as a digital magazine through our online partner Zinio, meaning its always at your fingertips on your iPad or tablet computer, wherever you are. Instant delivery New Scientist delivered to yau digitally every week. Always available Your copy will always be available for you to read. Easy toread Fullcolour, full screen reading with easy zoom. To find out howto get connected with a digital magazine subscription, visit: www.zinio.com/newscientistEDITORIAL NewScientist 6 Tesateen nt raevenghoor Toone rn, Brent ana rere enue, ean Tete Oly Adeting| Egpetarerecertscon tavern eet oer assim ager ste etna Soret roman tth rare, Seenounteyrectonsers Fleeing climate change How many climate refugees are there? No one knows CLIMATE change isaboutto that numbers would swell to climb up theagendaofthe United —somillionby 2010and200 million. Nation'sSecurity Council,the by mid-century, However, he did body charged with maintaining warthat his figures were “a first ‘global peaceandsecurity.The _cutassessment..to'getahandle, reason why was forcefully puttwo however preliminary and yearsagoinaspeech by thechair _exploratory,on an emergent ofthe Intergovernmental Panel problem of exceptional ‘onClimateChange (IPCC), Rajendra significance”. That was either Pachauti, to India’s Military foolhardy orheroic, according, Collegeof Telecommunications _toyourpointof view. Engineering: "“Ourdefence ‘Thescandalis that those forcesmight findthemselves.._ old figures till turn upin IPCC guardingourbordersagainst _ reports, the UK's Stern review of climaterefugees,asrisingsea the economics ofclimatechange, levels swamp low-lying areas [in Bangladesh], forcing millions “The scandal is that these ‘of climate refugees across old numbersare still used India's border.” as nobody has attempted When diplomatsand military toimprave on them” strategists gather fora meeting ofthe council this uly hey will__andstatements fromthe UN askasimplequestion: how High Commissioner for Refugees ‘many refugees can we expect as (UNHICR)-They do sobecause, as regions andcountries become —_farasNewScientist can establish, tuninhabitableduetoclimate nobody hasattempted to improve ‘change? Aclear-cutanswercould on Myers's"first cut” calculations spur politicianstodosomething (sce page 6). about this problem. Ifonlyone __Strangertll, when New ‘could be found. Scientist questioned some of Thefirststabatananswercame thasewho have quoted his 2010 Inig95 when Britishacademic _ prediction, none wanted tostand Norman Myerscalculated there byit. Why? ‘were 25millionenvironmental __Thereare many grounds for refugees, mostlyindrought-hit questioning Myers's numbers. partsof Africa, He predicted last year, Gunvor Jansson of the University of Oxford's International Migration Institute listed confusion about definitions of climate refugee, ignorance about the many motives involved when people move, anda failure tounderstand that migration can bea normal part of coping with climate variability. ‘Thereare alsoconcerns about how the statistics have been used, ‘UNHCR report in2008 warned that they “evoked fantasies of uncontrollable waves of migration that run the risk of stoking xenophobic reactions’ ‘There isnodoubt that the continued reliance on Myers's ‘numbers unhelpful. Climate sceptics have in recent daysbeen tryingtocreatea spectacle of ‘embarrassment at the UN Environment Programme after itdeleted a pageonits website stating the prediction. The sceptics see the deletionasa signthat these refugees don't exist:another alarmist prediction debunked. Maybe. But Myers could be right. IFhis numberscannot be relied on, then theerities should come up with betterones, preferably by July. Otherwise ‘Myers'sflest cut will arty on being clrculated to Increasing, and justified, scepticism. i Define a year at your peril MORE thanthreecenturiesafter denote both timespans and IsaacNewtonintroducedthe —_pointsintime, conceptofabsolutetime,weare Some geoscientists are stillstruggling with howbestto incensed, They claim this, ‘measure its passing. overturnsaconventionof using Thelnternational Unionof Pure different symbolsfortime span and Applied Chemistry andthe and age, ratherlike the distinction International Union of Geological between “one thousand, nine Sciences haveagreed onthe hundred and eighty four years” annusasadefinitionofthe year and thedate1984".The journal Interms of seconds(see page10) Science is siding withthe along with thesymbola, that will geosclentists and will not follow thenew recommendations. ‘The unions argue theannus ‘will bring the unit inline with the Internationally accepted SI system. Theresa certain appeal to this argument. But it seems perverse torlsk owing confusion by choosing symbol that isalready widely used todenote a slightly dlfferentconcept. By adopting another symbol, bth systems couldcoexist in harmony. a 30 Aptil2011 | NewScientst|3UPFRONT ITSjustovera yar since the Deepwater Horizon driling platform exploded, kiling 1 workersand releasing 4.9 milion bartels of eilinto © theGuif of Mexico-andwestildon't hhow much havochas been caused. ‘Thespills the second largestin Ushistory after the 1910 Lakeview Gusherin California spewed 3 milion barrels. But despite an army of scientists and volunteers monitoring ‘the area. the spillsimpactnas yet to be quantified. "We donot have ‘enough information to determine the overall severity’ says Tony Penn, deputy chef ofthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’ Office of Response and Restoration. While microorganisms quickly consumed much of the methane gas, feis unclearhow muchollisittin the The firesareoutbutitsnotover Higgs hint decred Sroms Higgs boson Ashrisk confirmed with an equivalent mass ANOTHER week, another ‘Butothers urge caution ‘THOSE who questioned the outbreakofpartclefever.just_ “Bumpscomeandgoallthe _wistomoflosing European ‘weeks aftera potential new time,"saysGreglandsbergof airspace afterthe Icelandic particle wasreportedat Fermilab BrownUniversityin Providence, _voleano Eyjafallajokul erupted ‘nBatavia nots a leaked Rhodelsland.Thestudyhasnot | lastyearnow have theiranswer: abstract suggests the Higgs yetbeenreviewed by otherLHC _itdid indeed pose serious risk bosonmayhave beensightedat physicists, andanomaliesoften _toaircrat. the LargeHadronCollidernear _tumoutto beduetocrrorsin Eyjaffallajdkul began erupting Geneva in Switzerland, analysis, hesays explosively om1g April2010, ‘The LHC smashes beams of Iffurtherstudyconfirmsitis blasting ash into the atmosphere. protonstogetherinthe hopethat —theHiggs,thatwillraiseanother __uropean airspace was then somewhere inthe detritus willbe mystery. heextraphoton pairs _closed-for several months in signs of new particlessuchasthe aregotimesasabundantasthe _ someareas because f fears that Higgs, widely touted toendowall standard modelof particle physics the ash would damage airerat other particles with mass.Four predicts they should be. Susan Stipp of the University of physicists now say they may have seen such signs, according toan abstraet posted anonymously on ‘a blog maintained by Peter Wolt of Columbia University in New York “If itis the Higgs. then the extra photon pairs are 30 timesas abundantas the standard model predicts” They say they have found an ‘excess of photon pairs with an ‘energy of 5 gigaclectronvolts indata from the LHCs ATLAS detector, which might have ‘Stilaround, fornow 441 NewScientist 30 Apil2011 Gulf spill one year on deep sea and whatits effects are. Kevin Yeager ofthe University cof Souther Mississippi trying tofind out what the olhas done ‘wllfe in the sea oor sediment, He says toxic polycyclic aromatic hyerocarbonsare “above background Jevelsin sediments throughout the continental shelf and slope" His teamisrunningstudiestocheck that they came rom Deepwater Horizon. Inthe wake of thespill BP committed $500 milionto support reseorchinto its efects,butonly ‘nowhave teams been given the ‘opportunity tozpply. Yeager says hhehas been wating anxously"for funds to become vallable. he US ‘government hes also announced ‘that BP ill provide $1 bilontofund restorationprojects. Copenhagen, Denmark, arranged forcolleaguestocollect ash from ‘wolocations 10.and 55 kilometres from the voleano, while itwas erupting. They found that theash released inthe frst few days was unusually rich in particles less than 300 micrometres across. ‘These are likely tobecome trapped in jet engines and melt, ‘causing the engines tostall, ‘The particles were alsohard and sharp, s0 could have “sandblasted” cockpit windows, obscuring pilots’ view (Proceedings ofthe National Academy of Sciences, DOK:10.1073/pnas.1015053108). Catfish reprieve LAST week bought litle extra time for the world's largest ‘Freshwater fish, the Mekong glant catfish, asadecision to bullda glant dam onthe Mekong iver ‘wasdeferred, ‘Officials from the four countries onthe lower Mekong failed toagree on whether to approve the Xayaburl dam. Laos ‘wants to build thedam on its stretchofthe riverand sell the clectrcity it generates, butFordally newsstories, visit newsclentist.com/news 60SECONDS ‘Thailand, Cambodiaand Medical dilemma specificdisorders with 73t098 per Laser power record Vietnam allhave reservations cent accuracy Themltercoudbesctiedata CAMPAIGNERSareconceredthat Themethodcouldreplaethe _AUeftsrexchmor power mectingofaeouneilof ministers easyto-searchelectoniemedical_time-consumingmethodsnow _ Pansr¥ menses, robepalt {nOtober whereLacsmayfind records(EMRs)compromise _uredtorecruteuitabepatients MMACENReUD Hunan end ‘tseifoutvoted Vietmamants privacy-butthey might prove forstudies Khosays Addresing, Raman 2025 Theoeams thedamdelayedatleast years thelrworthtomedicineby privacyconcerns hestesses that Wstaertegoaheadhomte togivetimeformone research quickly Wentiying patients See intoits impacts with conditionsthat make them “They were able toldentify —_‘0Xtleltepartidesandtostady ‘WWE, oneof260 organisations idealcandidatesforclinicaland _ patients with specific eee tee opposingtedam, saysthatas gencticstudies. disorders with 73 to basic aera wellasthecatfish230fishspecies AbelKhoofNorthvestem «9B percentaccuracy” andthe iversthey migratealong University Chicago, and his areat risk. Ithas calculated that colleaguesdesignedacomputer _ records would be searched for Chemobyl, 25 yearson smallerdams built on tributaries program toanalyse EMRs. research purposes andonly with _Wildlifeisthrivingin lakes couldgenerateanequalamount They found that informationin the patients’ permission Science _contaminatedby the 1986 Chernobyl ofelectricity without the same the electronicrecords allowed Translational Medicine, DOL: Gisaster. ith both overaRonimtoers, ‘impact on the environment. them to identify patients with 10.1126/scitransimed.3001807}. Ceeen eer erro ‘Anyharnful effects romain apoeaabe negatehy the benefit ja kil tttheabsenceot humans fouralof Malaria killer Guantanamo doctors accused ric ar ene Ok INTHE wake of World Malaria WEREthe doctorswhowerelooking Guantiname Bay's doctorsfor falling 10.1016/}jenvrad2011.04.007). Dayon Monday comesnews _sfterGvanténamofaydtainees_toconsteracagnoss of post ; ‘that certain anti-cancerdrugs ‘complicitintorture by neglecting _—_traumaticstress disorder (PTSD) Rhesus replicated rmightalsoworkagainstthe tvcence fase? usedby abuse. The doctors save Harvrd Unversity researcher Mare malarial parasite. Thats theconterlonof Vnent daghosesinehdngpersonalty Hauser feud qultyin2010ot ‘Therewere780,000desthsand tacopigot PhyscanstorHumandsrdersandstressassodatedwith _selentiiembconduct dams have zasmilioncasesofmalariain RightsinCambidge, Massacwusets, confinement(PLoS Medicine DO: successfully repteatedonectthe 2009,Withresistncetoexisting andStephenXenais aretred -1037oumalpmed1001027. _publishedexperimentssingledout Aanttmalarialdrugsgrowingall USamybrigadergeneral who “Therewasadelerateavldance _forcitesm.Hauserandcalague thetime,newweaponsagainst adsedlawyersrepesentngnine of lagnasesthatimply delberete_justinvondrorantheir2007 study thediseasearea priority tthe detainees harm aopino sy. inthe cogritin bites ets NowChristan Doerigofthe -Noneoftheninehadahistayot Thatchargeaybehardto macaques The fins reset ‘Lausanne ederalPolytechnicin _psychologial problems beforebeing substantiate. Itisnotoriousy difficult bepublishedin Sciencethis week Switzerland andcolleagues have heldatGuanténama Bay. Butaround — toassessthe adequacy ofa diagnosis dlscoveredthat Plasmodium thetietiaymageaegatone tromsteraaystsotsomennes Setback for SET| falcparim,theparsitethst fase ego themstowei2,__medcalrecods"heresrateroush Se se ana or extateestal ausesmalaria,coopistwored _aretyetpsyebelonalsymotoms, _iformationtosayanshing Rea taper Doodeellprotensciledkinses. Iedngnigtmares util conde nysPTsospecant ‘lige hasstoppedathe, Manynewcancertreatmentsalso thougandhaunatons. _—_FrankWeahrsofAubumnveraty MENTHexope ArayinCaforis targetkiasesandwhentheteam — icophoandXenaksfoult Alama. ‘communications untilbudgeteutsby ‘the National Science Foundation and thestateof Clforiacalledahalt ‘toactivity. The SETIinstitute, which bulltthearray,tsseeking new funds. Patent potential European prospects for developing new treatments basedontunan ‘embryonicstemcelslookpoorifthe European Courtotstcedeidesto banpatertingoftheclss2yaGi0up oft3sdentists (Nature vol472, 416), Withoutpatertrotection inurope they ay potential investorswilturnelsenhere ‘exposed malaria-infected red bloodcellsandliver cellstosome ofthese"kinase inhibitors” they = killed the bug but not the cells (cellular Microbiology, DO! 1o.mi//1462-5822.2011.01582.3) “Our discovery opens up new ways to potentially combat malaria,” says Doerig, although hhecautions thatthe workis very preliminary. However, the team isindiscussions with ‘pharmaceutical companies totest morekinase inhibitors, especially those that have proved safe in clinial trials but didn't make the ‘gradeas cancer drugs. luststressed-or abused? 30 Apfil2011|NewScientist|5THIS WEEK — Search for the climate refugees Just because we haven't counted 50 million victims of climate change, doesn't mean they’e not there FredPearce WHATEVER happened tothe climate refugees? Six yearsago, several UN bodies endorsed the statement that by the end of 2010, there would be so million of them around the planet, fleeing rising sea levels, droughts and other climate catastrophes. Was itll amyth, as climate sceptics suggested last week? Orarethe refugees out there, but escaping ourattention because they never ‘make it onto CNN? ‘ANew Scientist investigation reveals how international agencies falled to make even the most cursory caleulations tosupport this headline figure. Wefoundthat while there are undoubtedly millions of people~ ‘overwhelmingly in poor nations — ‘who have had toabandon their homes due to factors inked to ‘imate, no one has counted them, Asa result, the only quantita statement that seems solid is that several hundred people have fled theirhomeson low lying islands andalong Arctic shores. Only one person has ever tried to count environmental refugees: British environmental academic Norman Myers. 1n 1995, he claimed ina report funded bythe UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UKand Usgovernmentsand others that the planet hadat least 25 million ofthem, most classifiable as {GINewScientist130 Apeil2011, victims of climate. Myers predicted thenumber would double to somillion by 2010~the headline figure cited by UNagencies-and reach 200 million by mid-century. Since then, his numbers have tured up in reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UK's Stern reviewof the economicsof climate change, and statements from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations University'sInstitate for Environment and Human Security and, until last week, fon the UNEP website ‘Myerssald hisnumbers werea “fist cut assessment” but noone has attempted torefine them. ‘The problem is, while millions of peopleare displaced worldwide, it {sdifficult togetafirmhandleon ‘numbers and determine the root cause of thelr migration, Climate {s frequently acontributor, though. A2009 study forthe European, Union, forexample, found that climate was. factorin significant ‘migration in Mongolia~ where it was destroying pastures—and in north Africa and the Sahel ‘Most of those interviewed for thereport, EnvironmentalChange ‘and Forced Migration Scenarios, said they moved for economic reasons, but the researchers found thatthe root causes" of thelr ‘economic hardship were climatic. ‘They alsonoted that migration was a routine way of coping with floods and droughts inthe Sahel, Bangladesh and elsewhere. Ecuadorians, they found, had Jeft for Europe in large numbers after EI Nifio floods. And the EU study agreed with Myers that ‘Mexico had been the source ofas manys1 million environmental refugeesa year during the 1990s. Increased hurricanes and floods hhadaceelerated decisions to migrate, they found, though the root cause lay in Mexico's ‘The EU study also found large- scale government-enforced relocation programmesin Vietnam and Mozambique, These have moved hundreds of thousandsof people tocope with environmental threats such as worsening floodsand storms, Which may be connected to climate change. Overall It concluded that the magnitude and frequency of environmental hazards were inereasingand would continuetodoso due toclimate change, boosting pressures tomigrate, Itdid not, however, provide aanev global figure. Partofthe problemisthe difficulty in linkingsingleeventstoclimate change. That leaves sea-levelrise asthe only migration trigger ‘unambiguously linked to climate change. Oli Brown of UNEPreviewed four case studies forthe International Organization for Migration in 2008, About 1000 people were forced off Carteret Island near Papua New Guinea in 2005 italy blamedon rising sealevels. But Brown found the islanders had sealed their own fateby dynamiting the coral reef that protected thei atoll from erosion, Heals found that the 10,000 people evacuated froma sand bar inthe Hooghly delta in India were actualy victims of shiftingriver currents, mangroveInthis section Peeking safely at Schrodinger’ cat, page 8 mMind-controlled prosthetics.page 11 ‘Howto stop planesicing up. page 17 destruction and local subsidence. “More plausible candidates for thetttleofelimate refugee, he sad, were the 100 residents ofa coral atoll in Vanuatu, and the 500 ‘onan island in the Bering Strait ‘whose coastal village was raked by waves intensified by disappearing sea ce.In both cases, the refugees fled inland. For sceptics, however, these few hundred compare badly ‘with Myers's 50 million. ‘The largest single contributor toMyers's millionsarethe droughts that parched the Sahel and the Hornof Africa during the s970sand 80s, leaving 9 million people permanently uprooted, Inastudy published last year, Gunvorfénsson of the University of Oxford's International Migration Institute reviewed 13 studies of migration inthe Sahel region. She found that ‘even extreme environmental stressdid not necessarily lead to migration because migration ~ particularly ong-distanceand international migration requires resources, andduringdrought resources are scarce’ Some of the Sahelian studies ‘even found that migration decreased during severe drought “There has been acollective and rather successful attempt to ignore the scale of the problem” ‘years; when people didmove the migration was local and part of the usual strategy tocope with variable weather. "While the climate science strongly suggests that climate conditions will fundamentally changein many Africancountries, tis not clear Displaced by climate how this wil affect human mobility" Jonsson concluded, “The simplistic and alarmist viewsof several millions of displaced people movingacross bordersare based on very ttle evidence." The study offers no reassessment of Myers's millions. Myersalso predicted large-scale climate migrations in China and India, There were, he argued, around 6 millionenvironmental refugeesin China, many fromthe expanding Gobi desert. But the EU report shows that migration in China and Indiaisdominated by development projects such as China's Three Gorges, which displaced 2 million people. Forallthis dismissing Myers's ‘numberson these grounds would betoo simple, says Brown, There are almost certainly millions of people around the world who have been forced to move, in part toescape worsening climate and rising tides. Inhis 2008 study hewrote that “predictions of 200 million peopledisplaced byclimate change might well beexceeded" ust because wehaven’t counted them orcannotattribute ‘igrants' moves wholly tolimate change does not mean they are not there, Brown says. Rather, Jgnorance has proved rather convenient for governments keen toavoid their responsibilities. “Therehasbeen acollective, and rather successful, attempt toignore the scale ofthe problem,” he says, ‘Myers told New Scientist “Itmay be very difficult to ‘demonstrate that there are so million climate refugees, but ‘even harder to demonstrate that there arenot” Hesees no reason to change his estimate. “To Myers'scredithe put head above the parapet,” says Brown."Anumber,any number, canhelpcrystallise attention around an issue.”"The shame, he suggests rests not with Myers Dbut with those who have failed tofollow up his workon atopic cofsuch importance, Making of a crisis _xtributing events cima change iscifict butcimatic disasters have {dsplacedilions of people 2 wn “a a «Al § “ge a & 1973 eakof Sahel drought that ‘san milionson the move 1983-84 Ethipan drought costes snestimated 1'5maion refugees * 198 EINMo triggers exodus fromEcundorancoest + Monsoon odin Danglsdesncover ‘wo-thirdsofthe countryarcleave 2imilion homeless T2000 | Fozambiquetioods | Hoge goverment reocaton programme 2 Foe os amreunces “stagedretrest” fram J lowiving islands 2005 Hurricane Katina ‘aeatesanestimated 300,000 permanent American refugees 7 2008 Huncreds of thousands feecods‘olowing Burma cyctone * 2010 Mallon Nee foods in Pakistan asrecorarains burst banks af iverindus 30 April 2011 | NewScientst|7THIS WEEK ‘Cruelty-free’ quantum probes ‘of aradioactive atom. Because the ‘alom'squantum stateonly takes ‘definite value when someone looksatit, thecatisboth dead ‘andalive until the box isopened. Superpositions are fragile, however. Outside disturbances, including observations, tend to destroy the “coherence” of these states, forcing the system to collapse into ust one of the possibilities. Thelargerthe system, the harder it istoisolate itfrom outside influences. In2010, physicists put the largest system yet intoa superposition: a go-micrometre- ongstrip of piezoelectric David Shiga ITMAY soon be possibleto extract Information fromaquantum ‘object~and even manipulate it~ without simultaneously destroying its delicate quantum. state, The result would be aboon forquantum computing, which requires control oversuch states. Tewouldalso defy athought experiment dreamed up by physicist Erwin Schrédinger:in principle itis now possible to peek inside his box without endangering the life ofthe precarious pussycat inside, “Mutually exclusive states material, which expandsand inclassical physics can —_contractsinresponse tovoltage existsimultaneously in changes. They putitintoa the quantum world” ‘superposition of both minimal and more vigorous oscillation, ‘but the method they usedto observe the system caused Itto lose this dual state, Another team now proposes goinga step further, putting ‘wire of about the same size ina superpositionand offeringa scheme to observe, andeven manipulate it, without destroying ‘the weird quantum state. Kurt States that are mutually exclusive inclassical physics can exist simultaneously inthe weird ‘world of quantum mechanies—a situation called a superposition, Toillustrate this effect, Schrédinger imagined putting acat Inaboxalong witha device that would release poison to kilt, depending on the random decay ‘TELEPORTING SCHRODINGER’S CAT COBSERVINGanobjectinmorethan _twollght beams, so that measurlng onequantumstateatonce-ina __oneaffected the outcome of superposition isstil anelusivegoal measuring the ther. After mbxing (soemainstory,butteleperting one cf theentangled beams with such an objects now old hat pulses fightin superposition of Noriyuki Lee atthe University ‘mary quantum states, they were fof Tokyo, Japan.andcolleagues _—_abletorecreate the superposition hhavemanaged tomakelightina__thesecondentangled beam (Science, superpositionofstatesvanishin _001:10.1126/seience.1201024), foneplaceandreappearinancther. __“Itshowsthat thecontraled ‘They took advantage of ‘manipulation of quantum objects entanglement, quantum property _has..achievedobjectivesthat seemed, thatereatesaspookyonnection _impassblejusta few years ago” says between separsteabjectswhichacts PhlippeGrangler atthe Institute of fevenatadistance.They entangled Optics inPalaiseau, France. al NewScientist] 30 Apel 2001, Observe Schrédinger’s cat without risking killing it (Quantum objects can bein a superposition of wo diferent states or placesat the ‘Same time until they are observed. at which pint they collapse" intojustone ‘So Erwin Schrédinger proposedthat a catina dosed, booby trapped box With random quantum tigger ‘ouldbe simultaneously ded and allve. hen observeditwouls colapse intustone tate "Now there'sa proposal to observea tiny vibrating wire while maintaining Its superposition of two states. An lectic charge placedan thewire produces an electromagnetic itd that ‘sensor outside the box can detect SensoR > ELECTR CHAR: Ngearne Ve Incobsat the University of thentryingtorestoreit.“Inour Massachusetts,Boston,andhis paper, the crucial thingis thatthe team describe theiridea inastudy measurement does not destroy toappearinPhysicalReviewA. —_thecoherence,” says jacobs. ‘Thefirststepistoputthewire ‘The eamalso proposes Intoasuperpositioninwhich _adjustingthetension ofthe wireto ‘vibrations simultaneously change thesize f the vibrations, displaceitbyequalamountsin _anadjustment that would not, opposite ditections,likeaguitar destroy the fragile superposition. stringthat getspluckedintwo Carrying out thisexperiment directionsatonce.Next, an {sstilla few yearsaway,thetear electrcchargecan beaded tothe _says~thesensors neededto make wire creatinganeleetromagnetic the subtle measurements mustbe Fieldthateanbedetected bya madelessvulnerableto interfering sensor see diagram). nolse.ftheexperimenteventually Eventhough thesensorcannot _ provesasuecess it would beastep pinpointthe positionofthe —_towards quantum computing. charge-andthereforethewire- Quantum computers, which itvcandetecthowfarthechargeis have yttobebult, would beable fromaneutral,“unplucked”_todomany more calculations position. That reveals some simultaneously than conventional Informationabout thesystem~ _ computerscan, Thelr capacity will, essentially providing glimpse stem fromthe ability of quantum inside the boxeontaining systemsto bein more thanone Schrodinger cat. Thekey that it state simultaneously. Making avoids opening the box sucha computer requires being completely, which would destroy able toread andalterthe state of thesuperposition,saysfacobs:"T_quantumsystems, processes that, extract information, but inaway the newexperiment aimsto that Idon'tTearntoo much, achieve. "This proposal could Previousschemestoglimpse prove very useful,” says Aephraim inside theboxinvolved partially Steinbergat the Univesity of destroying the superposition and Torontoin Canada,For daily news stories, visitnewscientist.com/news Magnets cut diagnosis time for infections by days POTENTIALLY fatalinfections could be diagnosed innours rather than cays thanks totwo techniques involving magnets. cutting waiting times and saving ves. ach year, over 30,000people Inthe USare infected witha fungus called Condi, whieh hasa 40 per ‘cent mortality rate, Unfortunately 'mostinfections arecausedby one of five species of Candidaandan ‘antifungal thatcantreatone species canmakeanotherworse.ttcurrently takes three days todetermine which species sbehind the infections the pathogen has tobe extracted and cultured tobe identified, buta person candiewithintwo, Todetectinjust2 hours which species, fany.isina sample, Robert Langer'steam atthe Massachusetts, Institute of Technology has created anowel device that uses magnetic resonance, which causes magnet rucleltoresonateinamagnetic field you teatinfection within hours youcan reduce the mortality ‘ate to 1 percent saysjohn McDonough from T2 Bosystems InLexington, Massachusetts, the ‘company developing the technology. ‘The teamengincered five types of ‘molecular probe, each of which binds toadifferent species of Canada ach probe, containing amagnetic particle is putinto separate blood samples. Applying a magneticpulse causes water molecules ithinthe samples tospin.The time ttakes for molecules toreturnto ther orginal state dependson whether probe has bound toa pathogen, enabling the team ta tellinwhich sample the pathogenispresent and howmuch ‘there's. The team presented their workat the Annual Meeting the Mycoses Study Groupthis month InMassachusetts Meanwhile, Mike Super and colleagues at Harvard University arealsousing magnets tociagnose Infection. Supers group is looking at sepsis. potentially fatalconcition Inwnich the body’ organs become inflamed and susceptibieto failure. Sepsis canbe caused by six species ‘of fung! and 1400 species of bacteria, Diagnosistakes toto five days, nd doctors often uess the cause in order to treat people as quickly 35. possible. Every hour youwaitcan Increase the isk of mortality by Sto 9per cent says Super. ‘Super'steam have turned toan Immune system protein known as. ‘mannose-binding lectin (MBL), which binds tothe cellwalls of pathogens in the blood. The group coated magnetic particles with aversion of MBL lengineeredte improveits binding properties. MBL-covered particles attach to pathogens inabloodsample, {ang the entire cluster - containing {enough pathogen tobe dentified byacomputerised microscope is pulled out using amagnet. The work {sbased onresearch publishedin £2003(Lab onachip,001:10.1039/ 188169068). Inthe case of fungal infections, Identifying the pathogenis enough togulde treatment. hingsget “Every hour you wait to treat sepsis can increase the risk of mortality by Sto Sper cent” complicated with bacterialinfections, though, as they can pass genetic Information amengeach ther to transtordrugresistance. “Te get around this problem, ‘Super'steam builtan addtional test Intathe machine. The samples are treated with around20 commonty sed antibities. fa drughas an effect. itisrecommendedasa ‘treatment "ttakesan hour toidentity the pathogen and an hourtotest the sensitivity of the bacterin” says Super. “inmmyopinion both techniques ‘could significantly advance the field of iagnostics..itspretty cool” says Dirkkunimeier tthe Fraunheter Institute fr Cell Therapy and Immunology inLeipzig, Germany. lessicaHameciou ml competitive ‘Technology drives business success - ny making the most of it? As ti proven experts in co technology transfer, Ploughshare helps companies boost speed to market and competitive advantage Technology solutions for * Biomedical, Clinical & Pharmaceutical = Electronics & Communications * Security With uniquely sourced techno! available for industrial use, we deliver robustly protected solutions that give bus ge. Ce eer T: +44 (001794 301602 E: info@ploughshareinnovations.com wwwploughshareinnovations.com ¢ moe 30 April 2011 | NewScientst|9THIS WEEK Push to define year sparks time war Celeste Biever ‘WE have dog years. financial years and calendar years, but a quest to get geologists and chemists to agree onascientifieyearhasled toasurprisingly bitte dispute. The official bodies representing the two groupshave now settled onthe annus stheir definition of the year, allowing both groups’ dataon the half lives of radioactive elements to be pooled. "Weare trying to unite the communities, says geologist Paul Renne of the Berkeley Geochronology Center inCalifornia. “Iewas atoplethat raised somesurprisingly animated views” Someare still enraged by the decision, however, and a universal scientific definition remains clusive,as theannusdiffers from the year favoured by astronomers. ‘Theneed for chemistry and geology to unite becameclearin 12006, That's when the Task Group ‘on Isotope Data in Geosciences 10 NewScientist|30 Apsit2011, (TGIG),which drew members from both the International Union of Pure and Applied (Chemistry (UPAC)and the International Union of Geological Sciences (UGS), tried to update the half-lives of radioactive ‘elements, used by geologists todate specimens. “Thenumbersare always reported in years but noone defines the year they are using.” says Norman Holden, a nuclear chemist at Brookhaven National Laboratory inNew York anda memberof the task group. Renne, who isalsoa member, adds: “Different disciplines were using different figures for half lives. We were very disturbed by that.” Indeed, the year saslippery unit. The second, the only unit ‘of time recognised by the International system of units, (St) Is measured by the metronomic ‘oscillations of eaesium atoms. But the Earthdoes not travel around the sun in an exact number of days, Nordoes each orbitlast the same period of time; thanks to {gravitational tugsfrom the sun, the Farth’s orbital ates slowing dowinby 0.53 seconds per century. ‘Thishas spavneda z00 of different definitions. Astronomers favour the fulian ‘year, which is exactly 365.25 days (or3557.600seconds)longand forms thebasisof the light year. ‘Thettask group, however, opted forthe tropical year (aso known asthe solar year), the length of time betweenone equinox or solstice and the sameequinox ‘or solstice the following year. ‘This changes slightly every year because ofthe Barth’ slowing. corbitalate,sothe team chose ‘asthelrreference point the year 2000, when thetropical year lasted 31,556,925.445 seconds, ‘They are using the Latin name for year, annus, which willbe denoted by the symbala,and ‘expressed intermsof kilo annus (a), mega-annus (Ma) and so forth (Pure and Applied Chemistry, The sunwill be your guide DOI: 10.1351/PACREC-09-01-22), Sofar so good. But when adraft proposing the idea came out in early 2009, some members of the Geological Society of America cried foul. They didn’t object to the idea ofa precisely defined year, or to the chosen length, ‘Their gripe was with the fact that geologists already use the symbol a (as well aska and Ma) todenote time in years ago, or “absolute age”, Historically, the abbreviations y, ky, and My (or yr, kyrand Myr) have denoted the time interval between two events. Inthis system, the time Interval between 100 million yearsagoand go million years ‘ago- which both fall inthe Cretaceous geologic period ~ would be written to My. But in the new system, it would be written 10Ma,anotatlonthat geologists ‘might read asso million years ‘ago"-adatetthat would fallinthe Miocene epoch. Removing the distinction between aand y,or yr, creates unnecessary confusion by overturning existing conventions, says geologist Nicholas Christie- Blick of Columbia University in New York. "For those for whom, clarity about geological times important, itisa huge step backwards,"he says. ‘The TGIG has dismissed such arguments. "They were using two different units forthe same quantity, which Isagainst the rules ofthe," says Holden, However, the journal Science {snot adopting the new notations. Brooks Hanson, its deputy editor for physical sciences, says that the Journal has distinguished betweenageand time span for almost 20 years and that a switch would confuse readers. ‘ill there ever bea universal Aefinitionof the year, that astronomersare happy touse too? I'snot ahigh priority for an Corbett, general secretary ofthe International Astronomical Union: “Ican’tsee why there would bea burning need tohaves common definition ofa yearwhen itis something that varies.”For daily news stories, visitnewscientist.com/news Mind-controlled robotic arm to help amputees ROBOTICIimbs controlled solely by the mind could be avalableto paralysed people withina year. Monkeysarebeing rainedto control whatmightbe the worl’s ‘mostsophistcated anghuman-ke robot am. But they never touch the prosthetic limb or fiddle witha remote contro: they guideit with ‘thelr thoughtsalone.tftrals are successful. inafenmonthsfrom ‘now people with spinal cord injuries could learnto dothe same. 2008, Andrew Schwartz ‘ofthe University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania published alandmark paper describing how tworhesus ‘macaques learned tofeed ‘themselves marshmallows ane fruit ‘sing crude robotic limb controlled by electrodes implanted intheir brains(Nature,00!:10.1038/ ‘nature06396). No rain-controlled prosthetic limb had evercartiedout ‘amate complex real-woridtask. Stil, ‘Schwartzenvisioned amore elegant ‘ond nimble device that paralysed people coulduse- something much closertoahuman hand. Enter the Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL), abioniclimb that closely ‘approximates the formand aglity of ‘2humanarmand hand. Born from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Revolutionizing Prosthetics programme, and designed by Michael MeLoughlin's ‘teamatthe johns Hopkins Unversity ‘Applied Physics Laboratoryin Maryland, the MPLismade roma combination of lightweight carbon ‘bre andhigh-strength alloys. thas 22degreesot freedom, compared withthe human arms30,andcan ‘rasp precisely and firmly without crushing fragile objects. The wrist ‘and elbow ratate with ease and, ike ‘anaverage humaniim®,itweighs|ust ‘under 4 S kilograms. “Iwould sayitsvery close to human dexterity says McLoughiin “atcan'tdo absolutely everything canttcup the palm forexample- but eancontrolalfingersinclvidualy. {6or't think theres another tim ‘that approachesit” ‘Aprototype ofthe MPL has been tested by people wine havehad one ‘orboth arms amputated. Researchers surgicallyredirectnerves that woul ‘normally controlthe arm into unused ‘chest muscle, where nerve signals are interpreted by electrodes that ‘Guide the robotic limb. "One of our patients. Jesse Sullivan, was able to use the arm almostfrom time zero. It vasa very natural thing todo" says ‘MeLoughlin."The bra stillthinks the armisthere andif you cantap into ‘those signals, youcan really achieve ‘something amazing.” But people paralysed from the ‘neck down cannot benefit rom this technique as bain signalscannot reachthe chest. Soins work with ‘hesus macaques, Schwartz ‘developed an aray of 100electrodes ‘that eavesérops on100 neurons nthe motor cortex. Oncehehad learned theelecricallanguage the cortexuses toguide arm movement, heconvertedthose signalsinto Instructions for acrude robotic limb witha twe-finger clamp. Nove Schwartzistraininghismonkeys ‘again, except this timehe wants to ‘teach themto use thetve-fingered [MPL and perform the kind of everyday butcomplextasks we take for granted. Ittnemonkeys demonstrate that itispossibletosteerthearm with brainpoweralone, Schnartzand ‘colleagues witlgive people with spinalcordinjuriesachancettotry the [MPL “Forsomeane with spinal cord Injury tts huge dealtor them tobe able tofeed themselves," says ‘MeLoughlin."Nobody has achieved ‘his tevelot a controlin humans with abrain-controlled prosthetic. We vant totakeit toa higher level than Inthepast” Ferris im [Jesse Sullivan would lke an upgrade ummer nal Sede iy Sed Shep school ft CR a ee ery ee bree Teciolory Life and Emronimental Sciences oir eee er eer eer eters per recess 30 April2011 | NewScientist 21THIS WEEK The huntis on for million-year-old ice Wendy Zukerman ARACEisontoretrieve the rst million-year-old sample from deep within Antarctica’ ice. It’sa prizethat could help us understand what drives major changes in Earth's climate. Every 100,000 years ors, the Earth swings intoan ice age— but itwasn'talwaysthis way. Until around million years ago, our planet danced to afaster beat, ‘with the ice age pulses occurring every 40,000 years. Noone knows why the tempo slowed, Currently, the shifts between ice ages and warm interglacial phases arethought tobe influenced by three cyclical changes to Earth's motion. The Earth’saxiswobbles or"precesses" on a26,000-year cycle; itchanges ts average tilt, (0nag1.000-year cyele:andit shifts its orbit from being roughly circular tomore elliptical ona 100,000 year yee, ‘These changesalter the intensity ofsunlighthittingthe Earthat high latitudes, and soaffeet the extent 2 INewSciantist| 30 April 2012, ‘of glaciation. The puzzlingthing about the shift that happened a million years ago is that there was nobvious change toany of these cycles to make ithappen. “1t’sa realhead spinner,” says ‘Tas van Ommenat the Australian Antarctic Division in Hobart, ‘Tasmania. Butclimatologists are keen to find an explanation. “If we don't understand theswitch, then Ice holds the clue to past climate wecannot claim to understand why we have the climate we have today,” says Eric Wolff ofthe British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, UK. (One possible explanation is that there wasa slow dectinein the concentration of carbon, dioxide in the atmosphere, startingaround3 million years ago. This could have weakened the greenhouse effect and cooled the Earth somuch that thetilt towards the sunevery 41,000 years no longer provided enough heat tomeltthe glaciers that formed Inbetween, Confirmation of this Idea requiresa direet record of the ancient atmosphere-and this can TAKING THE QUICK WAY DOWN ‘Using conventional dling methods, ‘til take three summer seasons Intheremotereaches of Antarctica togetto themillon-year lace that theteamshope ies 3000 metres ‘down, New technology could speed upthetast ‘Adiilassemblyistypicaly a fev tens of metreslong and canonly hold coreat ice af the samelength. Longer coreshave tobe drilled piece by plece, with the drilreturing to the surface with each one.For every piece the tft hallow pipes that connect the dill assembly with therig atthe surface navetobe assembled asthedrilis lowered and dismantled hen iteomesupagain, Using a flexible colledtube in place ofthe sti pipes avoids this, allowing hole 3000 metres ep tobe drilled Injustsixaays. Thecolled dling tube, which was developed forthe ollindustr,salso flexible enough to allow the drilto be steered sideways while deep down, opening up the possibilty of taking multiple deep cores romasingle hole (Memoirs of Nationolinstitute of Polar Research, specialissue 56,95). be recovered by analysing the alrthatbecame trapped n tiny bubbles within iceas the snow it formed from fellto Earth, Inz005,the European Consortium forlee Coringin Antarctica (EPICA) drilled anice coreinDomeConeast Antarctica’s plateau that stretches our record ofthe ancient atmosphere back 800,000 years (Quaternary Scfence Reviews, DOI:10.1016/quascirev. 2910.10.02). That’ frustratingly shortofthecrucialtransition period, soto extract an older ore, the FPICA consortium must now gobacktoitsdrill site thas been joined in the chase for the million-year-old core by three other teams: one from the Australian Antarctic Division;a Us contingent; and one from the Chinese Arcticand Antaretic Administration. though the groups collaborate, there is no doubt each wants to win the prize, “China istherealready, at Dome,” ineast Antarctica, says van Ommen. The Australlans arealso clase tocommittingto aduillsite: van Ommen has just returned froma survey of the Aurora basin ineast Antarctica, which isbelieved tohold the thickest ie in Antarctica, Despite their head start, however, the Chinese may have runintotrouble.Last month, Robin Bellofthe Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory inPalisades, New York, and her colleagues ound that ice sheets in Dome A are growing from the bottom up. ‘Thiscould mean that any ancient ice that was once there may have ‘melted and been replaced Science, DOl:10.1126/selence.1200109).. ‘Similar problems may stymie workat other potential drill sites, van Ommen says, but WolfT remains optimisticthat the rmillion-year-old ice core will be found. tisonly recently that very deep coreshave been drilled ~and three of them contain ice more than 160,000 years old."It would be surprising ifwe happened to have already collected the oldest ice available,” Wolff says. HLFor dally news stories visit newscientistcom/news First partial transplant Coumrrerowreattemaltt recat bay fe oarptnt of abioengineered larynx srrcivtescsrmomaien — Sonmeranzoi.ce0ss) (0.001 percent of donor DNA Inworkstilltobe published, the EARLIER thisyearcame news ‘Thetroubleisthatthese drugscan_remained-quantitiessmallenough _ teamdescribe how they transplanted ofasecondsuccessfulvoicebox _reducelife expectancy by 10 years, tasuggestthey ould be transplanted the cricoidinto patient. Thislower ‘vansplant.Buttherecipient, Brenda makingitalfficulttojustfy lary withoutrejection. sectionof the larynxissimpler than Jensen, wasabletohaveanewlarynx transplantinanotherwisehealthy __Thelarynxcontainstwotypes _theupperpart and mainly provides only becauseshewasalreadytaking personwhenitsnaterticalfortheir ofcartlage-elasticandhyaline-_structuralstabilty. Immunosuppressantcrugstostop _suruval,saysPeterBelafskyat the eachwithistinct properties. The ‘They tripped the donors cells, hertransplanted kidney and pancreas University of California, Davis.who _strippedlarynxesshowedsimilar _fromthe ccoid andseededits outer being rejected, ‘operated onjensen, surface withthe recipient’ adult Now Paole Macchiarniof the Macchiarin’stechniquesohesthe “The donor larynx is ‘stem cellsto grow chondrocytes, the KarolinskainstituteinStockholm, _rejectionproblembystrippingthe strippedofitscellsand ——_cellsfoundincartilage. "Stemcels. ‘Sweden, andcolleaguesinitalyare donortissueofcelisandDNAbefore reseeded with stem cells _werealsoused toflush theinternal evelopingatechniquetotreatthe _reseedingitwithstemcelistaken from the recipient” surface and seed islets of respiratory donorlarynxsothattherecpients _fromtherecipient’s onemarrow. ‘els says Macchiarin, beforethe body acceptsitasitsown-andthey Histeampreviouslypioneeredthis mechanical propertestothose ofa crcoid was transplanted hhavejust announced thet frst bioengineering technique orhumen normallarynx, suggestingthey could Although the researchers are stil successfulpartal transplant. indpipe transplants, Performwiththesamedegree of someway from afullbioengineered Fora transplant to work, "Butthelarynxismore complex versatility after transplant, larynxtransplant, Belafsky is recipients usvally have to take ‘thanawindpipe,’saysMacchirini, Finally, theresearchers showed impressed. "Itslightyears ahead of Immunosuppressantsforlifeto _—‘Tofindoutifthe technique could be thatbloodvessels would regrowin anything that anyone else's doing,” avoldrejectingtheforeigntissue. adapted, histeamgainedconsent the treated arynxes, makingiteasier _hesays, Duncan Graham-Rowe | Learning a language? Consider it child’s play. ‘Think about how you lent your native language as 2 child, The world was your classroom, But thee were no lessons. YoU were an active portcipant in the process f learning, but it all seemed lke fun and games, Like chiles play ‘That's the secret to Rosetta Stone I unlocks your brain's natural ability to eain a language. Youll lear though engaging, ineractive activites that ‘encourage you t tink inthe new language. And just like a child, you won't ‘memorise or translate. Youll have fun as you progress, and youl find it easy {o achieve your language learning goals outs 39 ues TT amwae PUR edeetan Call OB00 005 1830 ‘OUR PRONMISE IS YOUR RosettaStone.co,uiv SES PEACE OF MIND ee RosettaStone 9 Sos mc imo See ot ah sir Pa oe er ee 30April2021 |NewScientist|13IN BRIEF ~ eric clue to origin of colonial animals WIDESPREAD chimerism hasbeen foundforthe frst time Inasinoe, free-living animalthe datliaanemone. Chimeras arr the genetic material from to or more ‘embryos that fused during development. They are ‘commen among coralsand other colonial animals but were thoughtrareinspecies of solitary animals. ‘Annie Mercier of Memorial University in Santos, ‘Newfoundland, Canada, and colleagues suggest ‘otherwise. Watching agroupof female alia anemones. (Untcin feling) release therlarvae, they were surprised ‘toseethat somelarvaehadtusedtogetner. Bubbles jam just like grains of sand ASQUIRTofbubbles can act ike a liquid ora solid depending onits density~a feat thought unique tograiny materials suchas sand, Pour sand, seeds or powder downachute and they can flow like liquid. But ifthe grainsare packed sothat they fill 4 pereent ormore ofthe chute, they jam up and behave likea solid. The grains are thought to start moving with theirneighbours, forming, through a tube. 14 NewScientist| 30 April 2011 temporary “necklaces” that resist flow, although itis unclearwhy thetransition occursat this point. Toinvestigate whether bubbles behave ina similarway, Rémi Lesplatand hiseole University of Paris Bast in France squirted nitrogen gas intoa chamber of water and monitored theresulting bubbles’ passage ‘Atlow densities the bubbles “We thought, thisisealy strange” Mercier says. Further study showed that around3 percent ot young were visibly chimeric, and some developedinto ‘wo-headed adults. fone ofthese partners was prodded ‘gently both retracted their tentacles and dosed up - Indicating they shared a nervous system (Proceedings of the Reyal Society B, Ot 10.1038/rspb 201.0605}. Mercer thinks chimeras are probably even more ‘common than that: she found that many chimericlanvae ‘became almost indistinguishable from normal arimalsas they developed. They were, however, argerthan normal asjuvenes. If thataives the chimeras a competitive advantage over theirnon-chimerirelatives, the new finding coud veal how and why animals ike coals ‘became colonia says Mercier. flowed. But when they filled 64 percent of the tube, they jammed just likethe grains (Physical Review Letters, DO! 10.1103/PhysRevlLett.106.148307). Theresult suggests there may be ‘universal rule that kicksin when objects fill 6a per cent ofa space. (s surprising that they get the same figure,” says Randall Kamien atthe University of Pennsylvania inPhiladelphia, He suggests using the insight to evenly mix bubbles of gases for medical applications. wguesat the Geyser moon puts its mark on Saturn ANELECTRICALcurrentis flowing from Saturn’s moon Enceladustotheringed planet creating a glowing patch inthe planet's atmosphere. Ultraviolet images taken by the Cassini spacecraft revealed the patch, which isdistinet from the planet's auroras. lies near Saturn's north pole— exactly ‘here electrons emitted by Enceladus would hitafter being chanelled along the planet's ‘magneticfield lines, report Wayne Pryorof Central Arizona College in Coolidge and colleagues (Nature, DOL: 10.1038/nature09928). ‘Where do the electrons come from? Theteam believesthat sunlight knocks them off water molecules spewed by geysers at Enceladus's south pole ‘Thebrightnessof the patch varies, which could be due to Varlationsintheamount of water vapour released by Enceladus, saysthe team, The immorality of deliberate inaction DOING nothing to stopacrime can beseen by others tobeas bad ‘as committing the crime directly So says Peter DeScioliat Brandels University in Waltham, Massachusetts, who presented students witha number of scenarios that led toa fatality Anactor whose hesitancy to wet led to the death was seen as ess immoral thanan actor whose direct actions led tothe death. But the students judged deliberate inaction that led to the fatality equally immoral as direct action that eaused the death (Evolution ‘and Hurman Behavior, DOI:101016/ jievolhumbehav.2011,01,003). DeScioli thinks the results show ‘we see inactionas less immoral only because we typically lack proof that it was deliberate.Fornew stories every day, visitnewsclentist.com/news Bees’ royal jelly secretrevealed ‘THERES morethanoneway toturn _acommonerinto royalty. Honeybees ‘create queensby feeding theltlarvae royaljely, the secretingredient ‘ofuhichhas now been identitieg. Masaki Kamakura of Teyama Prefectural University inimizu, Japan, stored royal jelly t 40°Cfor 30 deys.feedingittobee larveeat Intervals Its regal effect gradually weakened, suggesting the key ingredient was decaying. He then ‘edlorvae deactivated with ‘eachbatchlaced withaditferent ‘compound thatiwessubjectto ‘decay. Only onecaused the larvae ‘toturmintoqueens: a protein Kamakura calls royalactin Nature, Dot:10.1038/nature10093). Tofind outhow ryalactinworks, Kamakuraadded ttothe det of fut fiylarvae. This mace them grow larger and ay moreeggs, asin bees. Kamakura found that royalactin ‘works by switching on the gene ‘thatcodes forEgftaprotein found, ‘throughout theanimal kingdom. Thissuggestsapre-existing mechanism was repurposed to produce the bee caste system, says Francis Ratieks of the University ‘of Sussex n Brighton, UK. When Insects frst formed eusodal ‘colonies, queens and workers must have been physically dential, he ‘295, and the distinct castes came late, created by ayalactin ot something ket. Immortality of all cancer cells is justa myth FAR from being immortal, most ‘cancer cells seem unable to multiply imitlessly and spread throughout the body. Dot Bennett of st George’s University of London and colleagues found that only four ‘0f37 skin cancer samples they examined displayed the supposed hallmarkof cancer. By studying the molecular profiles of the cancer cells as they ‘grew inthe lab, the team found that many appeared to have hit telomere crisis” and stopped dividing. Telomeresare the caps Pregnancy and pesticides don't mix ALINK between reduced gin childrenand theirexposureto certain pesticides inthe womb ‘may set pregnant women thinking about switching to organic food. Thefinding comes from three studies conducted in New York city and Salinas valley in California inwhich metabolites of ‘organophosphates were measured inthe urine of pregnant women or inblood from the umbilical cord Inthe Californian study the year-old children of women ‘who had the highest pesticide levelshad 1987 points lower, ‘onaverage than children of ‘the womenwith the lowest levels Environmental Health Perspectives, D:10.1289/ ‘ehp.1003183). No relationship was ound between the children’s IQscores and pesticide retabolitesinthelrown urine, suggesting thatthe brains particularly vulnerabieasitis ‘growing in the womb. The New York City studies found similar results, so it seems ‘exposure tosprayson farms isnot themain problem. "We believe mostof theexposure is occurring through pesticide residues on food,” says Brenda skenariat the University of Clitoris, Berkeley. that protect the endsof chromosomesand they shorten every timeacell divides. na telomere crisis, the tips become so short that the cell mistakesthem Tor DNA breaks and tries to repair them, generating freak cells that die orbecomedormant. ‘Theteam found that the few cancer cells that seem immortal activate telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), a partof the telomerase enzyme that rebuilds telomeres so they avoid atelomere crisis (Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, DOL: 10.111/}.1755-148X.201.00850.9) Normally, TERT s active only in sperm oreggcells,s0 looking for itinatumourcould telldoctors Whether the ells are immortal ‘and more likely to spread, helping them decide on the best treatment. Last week, Cancer Research UK launched a trial to stop pancreatic cancer spreading witha vaccine ‘composed of fragments of TERT. Thebody’s immune system would recognise the TERT as foreign and ‘mobilise toattackit, bringingall pancreatic cancer cells with active TERTinto the firing line too. Another way to predict a baby'ssex WiLLataby beaboy ora git? tthe ‘mother starteaher period ata young age. itis more ikely tobea ie. ‘Thatsaccording to Msao Fukeuca atthe MEK Health insttutein Hyogo, ‘pan. and colleagues, who found subtle ditferencesin sexratiosof ‘llren depending on when a ‘mother enteredmenarche. Fukude asked over10,000 mothers ‘theage st which theyhaabegun ‘their period and the sexo ther baby. Fortysixpercentof thechildren born ‘towomen whe began thelr periods at age 10 were boys. Thisfigureroseto SO percent when the womanbegan her period at12,nd53 percent ‘when the women entered menarche atage 14 (Human Reproduction, Dot 10.1093/humrep/der107). Fukudapoints to previous research demonstrating higher levelsof the female sex hormone ‘estradiotin womenwho entered menarchebeforetheageof 12. This ‘may lead to spontaneous miscarioge of fertised male eogs, he says. ‘The theory s plausible, ays Valerie Granta the University of Auckland, New Zealand, as male embryos are known to bemore vulnerableto hormoneimbalances. 30 April 2011 |NewScientist|15.A world-class university, in a world-ranked city. The University of Auckland has much to offer postgraduate scholars. As New Zealand's leading University* and home to the highest number of Arated researchers in the country, we can offer you a great ‘environment for study. We also host four of the country’s seven National Centres of Research Excellence giving our postgraduate students even more opportunities to work on potentially {ground breaking research, So if you're thinking of postgraduate study, The University of Auckland invites you to da your own research on us. We offer a top quality learning experience, plus in your spare time you can discover the city of Auckland, which is ranked fourth equal in the world in the latest Mercer Human Resouree Consulting quality of living survey. International students pay New Zeoland fees** ‘Study in @ world-ranked university and live in one of the world’s top cites. + www auckland.ac.nz/leadinguniversity +The 2011 fe i NZ85,560 per annum or US$4,298 per annum (bosed on 18 Moreh 2011 exchonge rate $100 ~0.7722 USD) Professor John Boyes and Associate Professor Grant Covic Professor John Bayes and Associate Professor Grant Covic have 20 years experience in the area of Inductive Power Transfer ot The University of Auckland's Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering. Along with their team, they are recognised internationally os leaders in wireless power transfer ot industrial levels. Their work with electricol vehicles thot ‘operote via continuous charging through the roadway surface has the potentiol to radically change our transport systems and provide a clean, green ‘ternative to fossil fuels. The same technology can be used in a wide range of other applications, including heoltheare, so the potential is significant. www.researchworkswonders.ac.nz For mar information \www.aucklond.ce.nz/postgreducteinfo | 168 9 923 1535 THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND. DEETENTECHNOLOGY For more technology stories, visit newscientist.com/technology and freeze, forming streaks of glaze ice” that disrupt airflow. Inairtemperatures below 20°C, thedroplets freeze immediately onimpact, creating heavy, wedge- shaped chunks dubbed "rime ice” (Gee diagram) ‘Asiceaccreteson the wings and tail itchangestheir shape, creating drag. That, inturn, nes “AS ice forms on the wings and tail, it changes their shape, creating drag and raising the risk of a stall” - ‘Severity (FIP-S) software analyses ‘ait tae Icespywithhisitteeye.... satellite radarimagestodetect the ee Frozen killer's ahot target Ssssces In-flight icing of a plane’s wings or tail can be routeand altitude, and just Previous generationsof the deadly, but the frigid skies should be saf how severeitwillbe,sayslead __programoniy told pilots there was Jeacily:ptTt Ine Tigi skies sHould’soon He ssarer developer Marcia Politovitch. the potential—or not~for wing Oddly, itisliquid waterdroplets icingalong their planned Might aan atmospheric scientists have that must be present ntheairfor _path.FIP-Simprovesonthis by hatched some novel ideas to aplanetoaccumulateice:water using the temperature at the tops ON 12February 2009, aColgan counter in-flight icing vapour, snow or iceitselfis rarely of clouds, the sensed humidity Aircommuterplaneplummeted _Topoftheheap isan ice problem. levelsand predicted water droplet fromthe sky ontoahouse in forecast” systemlaunchedthis Inflight iceformsataltitudes sizes tocalculate the probabllity Clarence, near Buffalo, New York, monthby theUSNational Center upto7300 metres (24,000 feet), and severity of icing. Itthen Allagpeopleontheplane.and for AtmosphericResearch (NCAR) when theaircraf’s surfaces overlays this data on regular digital thehomeowner,werekilled. Plot inBoulder,Colorado.Itgives _—ihitsupercooledwaterdroplets _‘fMight-planning weather maps emorwaseitedasthecauseofthe pllotsanextralayerof dataon suspended in the ait. These provided by the National Oceanic accident, butamajorfactorthat —theiraviationweather forecasts, _dropletsarestillliquid below 0°C, and Atmospheric Administration's hadledtocreweonfusionwas _showingthemthelikelihoodof __butastheystrikethewingor all's Aviation Weather Center. excessiveicebulld-uponthe _eneounteringiceonthelr planned _leadingedge, they low overit Pilots can check FIP-S, which is alreraft’s wings. This had eritically updated hourly, before take-off or loweredtheplane'sairspeed~ Cold fronts froman in-flight laptop to know causing itto lose lif. when tobe on the lookout for ‘Thefateof Might sgo7isjust Ke bulduponalrraft wings can induce dangerous crag Riigwings fone among many airaccidents in ‘Once theerew are aware oficing, which ice played a part. In theUS VZ > they haveanumber of options. ace oerere ericson yy ee forthedeathsof819 peopleon Gi AzeiCEfermswhensupercocled —_—_~RIMEICEformsinawedge on ‘heating elements embedded American lights. Toreduce the waterdropetssirke tie wingand—_—theleading edge. asdroptets inthe leading edges oftheir tollin future, engineersand ‘freeze as ty pass overt ‘reezeonimpact wings and tal, > orcto-20°¢ 30 Api 2011 | NewScientist|17TECHNOLOGY © Butthere'sa problem: finding thespare kilowatts o run these alloy-based de-ieers forlong ‘enough to safely eradicate ice is bbecominga problemas modern planes like the Boeing 787 replace hydraulic controls with power hungry electric servos. AtDartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, Viktor Petrenko has developed a novel ieraft de-icing heater that rds surfaces ofce faster while using Just per cent of the power ‘consumed by existing systems. ‘Today's heaters make the mistake of staying on forlong stretches of time, which melts the ce, but also heats the airand ‘other partsof the wing, Petrenko says, To melt only the ice layer immediately in contact with the surface, he has developed a way of pulsing electriceurrentinto theheaterin1 “The ice then slides offonthe liquid film,” hesays. Goodrich Corporation of, Uniontown, Ohio, is inadvanced tests with Petrenko's system, says the firm's R&D chief, David Sweet. Analternative approach isto ‘make thealuminium surfaces in planes “icephobic’, witha surface nanostructure that prevents ice crystals forming in the first place, Using metal-etching solutions, Richard Menin! and colleagues atthe University of Quebeein Chicoutimi, Canada, carved ‘nanoscale patternsinto the metals upper layer, and then applied a coating of Teflon, Water droplets ‘havea tough time gaining purchaseonthe roughed-up surface, boosting its ability to resist ice formation fourfold over that of naked” aluminium. Sweet wars that such materials facea problem inthealr,aseven whenawing'sleading edges coated incil, ee still forms and isheld in place by aerodynamic forces. "A slick surface doesn't necessarily help,"he says. However, this technique may ultimately be put to good use in ‘ground-based applications, such as powerlines andbridges, 18 | NewScientst 30 Apil2011, Show me the quick way home Predictions of future jams plus data on your regular journey add up to congestion free commuting Phittckenna I's thebane of drivers the world over. Youroundcorneron a busy highway tofind the trafficin front of youat a standstill, blocking the road ahead asfarastheeyecan see, What should have beena quick commute has just turned Into. frustrating slog, Fora few lucky driversin San isecond bursts. “Using GPS data from your smartphone, the software learns your preferred travel times and routes” Francisco, this should bea thing ‘of the past. They arenow able to peer into the future and receive ‘warnings oftrafficjams before they occur, allowing them to change their route ortiming. ‘TheSmarter Traveler Research Initiative blends realtime trafic datavith pastratiepaterns topredic congestionpto {gominutes into the future. Driversare then automatically sentanemailortext message ofeonditionson theiregular commutebefore thelr trip begins ‘The initiative is ajoint project by <) the alfornia enterforInnovative Transportation (CcrT)at the University ofcaliforia Berkeley, theCaiforiaDeparimentof -” inchiding Microsoft and Google, Transportation (caltrns)andIBM. already provide realtime traffic ifyouarealredyonthe _nformationand ends of afi roadanda sign sys congestion potters. The california nitive nextsmllesyoumayhavevery _goesastep further to provide fewoptions"saysNaveen Lamba detaled informationon what of BM. "Butifyou gt that traffic willlok ike inthe near Information prortostarting future and personalises it foreach yourjourney.youcanchoose _individualcommuter’sjourney. tostayathome, wore lateor ‘Mucho thecongestionon takea differentroute” streets and highways iscased by ‘Anumberofcompanies, _accidentthatca' be predicted Corkscrew drive propels robot Sxeringeererten across tough terrain cauUspomanengererotonel Foboticrovers sulted tall tera, says Tim Lexen, an engineer in Cumberland, Wisconsin, who 30 April 2011 | NewScientist|29,“Over the course of a series of measurements, the effect of quantum weirdness is to squeeze uncertainty to zero” FUZZY LOGIC Inthe1927 paper that introduced the uncertainty principle to the word, Werner Helsenbergestabished that ‘there arepairs of quantitiesin the ‘uantumworié that cannotboth be ‘measured toan arbitrary level of precision atthesametime. eet eee eel ‘momentum - essentially ameasure of quantum particles movement. tyou knowapartcls position xtomithina certain accuracy Bx.then theuncertainty ‘ponits momentum pis qven by the ‘mathematicalinequality Axp > h/2 Here, Risa xed umber of nature known as the reduced Planckconstant. ‘Thisinequaltysoys that. taken 30] NewsScientist 30 April 2012 limit et by light “the seemingly impossible process decried by Einstein as “spooky action atadistance”. Bob sends one of these entangled photons toa second observer, Alice, and keeps the other close by him ina quantum memory ‘bank—asuitable length of optical fibre, say. Alice then randomly measures one ofa pair ‘of complementary variables associated with the photon: inthis case, polarisationsin two different directions. Her measurement will bbe governed by the usual rules of quantum, ‘uncertainty, and can only ever be accurate to wwithina certain limit.In Maassen and Uffink’s terms its entropy will be non-zero. Alice tells ‘Bob which of the quantities she measured, but not the value that she obtained. Now comestthe centralclaim. Bob's job isto find out the result of Alice's measurement as accurately as possible. That is quite easy: he just needs to raid his quantum memory bank. Ifthe two photonsare perfectly entangled, heneed only know which quantity Alice ‘measured and measure itnhis own photon togivehim perfectknowledge of the value of Alice's measurement better even than Alice ‘an know it. Over the course ofa series of ‘measurements, he caneven squeeze its associated entropy to zero. Berta's group published their work in fly last year (Nature Physics, vol 6, p659).Justa few monthslater, two independent teams, led by Robert Prevedel of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and Chuan-Feng Li of the University of Science and Technology of together, xand ap cannotundercut 2. Soingenera,themore weknow about wherea partceis (the smaller xis), the Jess wecan know about Whereis (the larger Apis) and vice versa. The uncertainty priniplealso applies twother pais of quantities suchas energy _andtime, ane the spinsandpolarisations of partcesin various directions. The ‘energy-time uncertainty relations the ‘reason wity quantum prticlescan pop ‘outof nothingness and cisappear again. ‘Aslongas the energy, AE they borat