MAGAZINE ISSUE DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2004 (Vol. 184 No 2464)
NEWS:
THE ROBOT THAT NEEDS TO KILLA team of British robotic experts are building a robot that could be the first to generate its own energy, which it will do by catching and digesting flies. But there's a downside - it will stink a bit. The idea is for the droid to become predatory, using sewage as bait to catch the flies. Page 19
CAN FISH FACTORIES MAKE CHEAP DRUGS?Gunshot victims could soon be saved by transgenic fish. Scientists have managed to produce a human blood-clotting protein in a genetically modified fish. The researchers have already tested it on samples of blood taken from patients with haemophilia, but more studies need to be done before the product reaches the market. If it's a success, many other proteins could be made this way. Page 8
SHIPS SHAPE UP TO FIGHT KILLER WAVESA wavy hull could dramatically reduce the wash produced by fast ferries and save lives. Naval engineers in Taiwan have used computer simulations to replace the conventional hull shape with one that has wavy contours. With this new design, the waves generated from different parts of the hull actually cancel each other out. Page 21
TIME FOR LINNAEUS TO LEAVE THE STAGEA group of rebel biologists want to change the way scientists name every living organism on the planet. They say the familiar naming system, introduced by Linnaeus in 1783, is hindering our understanding of the living world. However, critics of the proposal say implementing a new system now will be waste of time and effort that will hinder the task of cataloguing more undiscovered species before they become extinct. Pages 12-13
ONE LOUSE OR TWO?Since the human louse was named by Linnaeus in 1758, debate has raged about whether there are in fact two separate species: the head louse and the body louse. Now Australian scientists have used genetic analysis to confirm that head and body lice are two distinct populations that never interbreed. Page 10
NEUTRON STARS STEAL SPACE PROBE'S GLORYNASA's Gravity Probe B spacecraft is designed to accurately test Einstein's general theory of relativity. The craft, which has taken 50 years to build, was only launched in April this year and has yet to take any measurements. But it may be about to be upstaged by telescopes on the ground. Page 10
SHORT STORY " CELLPHONE AT HOMEIn the UK, the phone company BT is launching a cordless home phone with a slot for a SIM card. So you can allow your home phone to read all the names from your mobile phone address book. Page 20
FEATURES:
FAT-FREE OBESITYA bizarre condition that leaves people with no body fat whatsoever could paradoxically change the way we treat diseases of obesity. But how can having too little fat cause the same kinds of health problems as having too much? It turns out that some of our old ideas about what type 2 diabetes really is were wrong. Pages 27-29
BATTLE OF THE BAGKeeping a stash of plastic bags under your sink may not be the worst crime in the world, but to environmentalists the humble plastic bag has become public enemy number one. Discarded bags can kill wildlife, block drains and have an annoying habit of flapping around littering our streets and our countryside. But isn't the plastic bag just a small part of a much larger environmental problem? Pages 30-33
THE ORIGIN OF HARRIETAt the grand old age of 173, this giant Galapagos tortoise is the world's oldest known living animal. But this isn't Harriet's only claim to fame. According to legend she was carried away from the Galapagos Islands by none other than Charles Darwin. Paul Chambers reveals the truth about her past. Pages 38-41
SILENT ALARMThe largest earthquakes in the past century have been megathrusts, where an oceanic plate jams underneath a continental plate. Recently, researchers have spotted strange Earth tremors - that make almost no sound " that can provide some warning against these devastating earthquakes. Pages 34-37
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