MAGAZINE ISSUE DATE: 4 DECEMBER 2004 (Vol. 184 No 2474)
NEWS:
EXERCISE DOESN'T WORK FOR ALL OF USFor an unhappy few, slogging away at exercise will have no effect on fitness levels or on the risk of developing diseases. The results of a study, reported at a meeting in Sydney last week, showed that while most people have clear benefits to strenuous training, some showed no improvement at all in oxygen consumption, blood pressure and other markers of fitness. The researchers also found a higher level of genes expressed in the muscles of those showing the largest improvements. These genes had not previously been linked to exercise. Page 15
'SPARK OF LIFE' MAKES HUMAN EGGS DIVIDEEggs that are "tricked" into dividing could provide a source of stem cells that sidesteps the ethical objections to existing techniques. The cells divide as if they have been fertilised, but cannot develop into babies as they only contain sets of chromosomes from the mother. Therefore the cells cannot be viewed as potential life, eliminating the main source of controversy in this research. Page 17
CYBER DETECTIVE LINKS UP CRIMESAn artificial intelligence system could search for similarities in past crimes and alert detectives. Computer scientists in America say their system builds a profile of a crime and uses pattern-recognition software to link related crimes with similar profiles. It could help link crimes in widely separate areas whose police forces are not in regular contact. Page 25
HOPE FOR THE WORLD'S FORGOTTEN RABIES VICTIMSThousands of people in poor countries still die of rabies, despite being treated with a potent vaccine, because they are not given a treatment which blocks the infection while the vaccine takes effect. The last stocks of this treatment are running out, but now a Dutch biotech company and the World Health Organisation may have alternative solutions. Page 7
GIANT SQUID WILL BE 'PLASTINATED'With a lack of internal skeleton, giant squid have always been too floppy to display. But now for the first time, two giant squid specimens are being prepared to go on display. And the preparation is being done by Gunther von Hagens, who will use his controversial "plastination" technique " which he has already used to display human bodies. Page 16
TEENS MAY GO WHERE ADULTS FEAR TO TREADTeenagers may find it harder than adults to foresee the consequences of their actions, which could explain why they take more risks, according to a cognitive scientist in the US. The finding has been seized on by campaigners who want to ban the death penalty for under-18s in the US. Page 8
GREEN PESTICIDE IS IRRESISTIBLE TO ANTSA fungal Trojan horse has been discovered in the US for luring entire colonies of ants and termites to their doom. The crucial discovery is that when a fungus is at the mycelium stage it smells irresistible to ants and termites. But the spores of the same fungus are deadly to the insects. The researchers hope to use the fungus as bait which could be sneaked inside an insect colony. Once inside, the fungus would transform to release the deadly spores which would spread throughout the colony. Page 26
STAR'S PULSE IS STRONGEST EVERThe brightest pulse of radiation ever seen from a pulsar has been recorded by a telescope in Australia. The pulse lasted less than 15 billionths of a second, and at the point of emission would have been strong enough to vaporise all known materials. Page 18
KITS TO BEAT BEAR TRADECustoms officers will soon be armed with bear detection kits to halt illegal trade in bear parts such as gall bladder and bile. Despite being prohibited, bear parts are popular ingredients in alternative medicine, particularly in China. The kit, developed in the UK, works by recognising and reacting with proteins specific to each bear species. Page 16
FEATURES:
THE KILLER WITH NO NAMEIn the UK alone, around 3500 people a year die suddenly for no apparent reason. Many of the deaths are left completely unexplained and often attributed to the wrong cause. Now, researchers are calling for these deaths to be recognised and recorded as sudden adult death syndrome, or SADS. In doing so it is hoped that the records will help scientists gather the data they need to uncover the causes and possibly learn how to prevent them. Pages 42-45
THE SPEED FREAKS OF BATTLE MOUNTAIN On a stretch of long flat road in the Nevada desert men have been competing for the title of the fastest self-propelled land animal in the world. The racers set records in aerodynamic speedbikes that look like no ordinary bicycles. And with the current world record set at an incredible 81 miles per hour, it's not for the faint hearted. Pages 36-41
LIFE FORCEBiologists are now turning their attention to test tubes instead of remote islands to watch evolution in action. With test-tube research scientists can manipulate the environment and watch how communities of bacteria can mutate and evolve right before their eyes. Pages 46-49
MIND GAMESEinstein had no time for quantum entanglement but today physicists are putting it to work to build super-fast quantum computers and unbreakable quantum codes. Now it emerges that these quantum tricks could even be used for pseudo-telepathy. Could this be the key to a better world? Pages 32-35
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