MAGAZINE ISSUE DATE: 23 APRIL 2005 (Vol. 186 No 2496)
NEWS:
OLD STEM CELLS CAN TURN CANCEROUSTwo new studies highlight the potential dangers of using stem cells to treat all manner of illnesses. They show that even stem cells taken from adults can turn cancerous if they are allowed to multiply for too long outside the body. Treatments that rely on cell lines maintained for years in the stem cell banks being established around the world may not be safe. Page 18
A GEL THAT CAN BLOCK HERPESA team in the US has developed an antimicrobial gel that can completely block herpes infection for up to 10 days in mice. If it works in people too, one application with this gel's long-lasting protection would be a huge advantage - particularly in the developing world, for women whose partners refuse to wear condoms. Page 17
MESS WITH THE BODY CLOCK AT YOUR PERILWorkers who adopt a popular shift working pattern, called the split shift, are increasing their risk of heart disease and diabetes, and are more likely to be tired and inattentive on the job. This was the conclusion of two teams in the UK who studied the health effects of two different schedules of shift work on offshore oil workers. Page 16
IVORY ENCORE FOR DEAD PIANO GREATSNext month music lovers will be able to hear two of the greatest piano players of the 20th century in concert. Both pianists, however, are long dead. A recording company has resurrected the sounds from scratchy recordings, and using a new technology, has managed to replicate every single note struck in the original pianists' work. Page 27
HOW TO SMASH THE SYSTEMComputer criminals are using a kind of attack seen in the early days of the internet but which now seems to be back " and this time it's far more likely to cause serious damage. "DNS poisoning" attacks the very infrastructure of the internet called the domain name system (DNS). Criminals are redirecting internet users to bogus websites where the visitors could have their passwords and credit card details stolen. Pages 25-26
SHORT STORY " INVENTIONChildren between the ages of 2-4 may not be able to compose email messages, but they can play with pegboards. Philips of the Netherlands has designed a board which is attached to a PC and the internet. A child can make up a simple email message by inserting symbolic pegs on the board to make up the message and pictures to represent the email address of a family member. Page 27
CELEBRITY BEETLESThe naming last week of three new species of slime-mould beetles after President Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, may not necessarily be permanently adopted. The executive secretary of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature told New Scientist that although there are no rules specifically banning scientists from naming species after politicians, the code does specify that names should not cause offence. Page 14
FEATURES:
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MACHINES THAT THINK?For years researchers have been promising computers that we can chat to like friends, that can think for themselves, and even one day be conscious. Yet we appear to be as far away as ever from this goal. But one researcher refused to give up, and is about to test out his artificial brain, called Cyc. He believes that building up a database of common-sense knowledge is the key to artificial intelligence, and sometime this year Cyc will be put online for the world to interact with. Pages 32-37
LAST RIGHTSIn the UK it is illegal for anyone to assist a suicide. But a succession of people making headlines as they fight for their right to a dignified death is making the issue increasingly difficult to ignore. There are now signs that public opinion is turning in favour of assisted suicides, and a parliamentary committee has recommended that The Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill be further debated in parliament. Pages 46-49
THE BLACK HOLE HUNTERTry designing a machine whose job is to snare strange particles not seen since the big bang, as well as other things like mini black holes, and the notorious Higgs boson. After 12 years, this monster cylinder is almost ready to ship to its final resting place at CERN, the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva. Valerie Jamieson dons her safety specs to take a look. Pages 38-41
ENCORE!Why dream of recreating dinosaurs when there is already a way to resurrect extinct organisms from their genes? What was thought of as impossible a few decades ago is now straightforward biology. Just take the DNA sequence of two closely related species of living relatives and work backwards to deduce the sequence of their common ancestor. Pages 42-45
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