MAKING BOMB-BUILDING HARDER FOR TERRORISTSAmmonium nitrate, a widely used fertiliser, has been used in bombs responsible for terrorist attacks such as the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and Bali bombing in 2002. But an American company has now developed a product which when coated onto fertiliser-grade ammonium nitrate may make it harder for terrorists to turn it into bombs. Page 9
SOFTWARE AGENT TARGETS CHATROOM PAEDOPHILESA software program can detect paedophiles who pose as children in internet chatrooms. Called ChatNannies, the software developed in the UK creates thousands of sub-programs called Nannibots which do a convincing job of passing themselves off as young people. In conversations, the program is able to look out for classic signs of grooming " where paedophiles attempt to set up meetings with the children they befriend. Page 23
THE DATING GAME GOES WIRELESSYou're sitting in a bar when your cellphone alerts you that there's an unmissable love match in your vicinity. Is this the future of romance? The idea of wireless dating is a simple one. Would-be daters subscribe to a service which stores their personal profile. When there are enough similarities between two people, and they happen to be within metres of each other, the service tells their two cellphones to exchange crucial details and photos. The developers of the system at MIT's Media Lab in Boston say they hope to make technology-assisted dating more spontaneous. Page 26
BLOOD TEST HERALDS SPEEDY STROKE DIAGNOSES A quick and cheap blood test could help doctors tell if a patient is having a stroke and help them get the right treatment as quickly as possible. Clot-dissolving drugs are available to reduce brain damage, but need to be given to the patient within three hours of a stroke. The test, developed by a company in the US, works by detecting a set of six brain proteins released into the blood during strokes. Page 11
PREPARING FOR THE WORSTSome experts fear that terrorists are trying to create thermobaric or fuel- air bombs which can be more devastating than conventional bombs. A thermobaric bomb contains two explosive devices that send a deadly shock wave through enclosed spaces such as caves, tunnels or buildings without collapsing them. The threat is being taken seriously in Canada and the US, where they are attempting to develop defences against this type of bomb. Pages 8-9
HOW THE MOON GAVE LIFE ON EARTH ITS FIRST BIG BREAKWithout the moon, there would have been no life on Earth. When life began 4 billion years ago, the moon was much closer to us than it is now, causing massive tides to ebb and flow every few hours. According to a British biologist, this caused dramatic cyclical changes in coastline salinity which could have driven the evolution of early DNA-like biomolecules. If the theory is right, he says life could not have evolved on Mars. Page 16
VIBRATING PEDAL SAYS 'EASE OFF GAS'A vibrating accelerator pedal that tells drivers when to ease off the throttle, could save motorists hundreds of pounds a year in fuel bills. Most drivers waste fuel by braking at the last minute. This computerised device monitors the road situation ahead and is able to judge the optimum moment for drivers to slow down, alerting them to take their foot off the accelerator much sooner. Page 24
BOTTLED HOT WATERA study by scientists in Hungry found that there is so much natural radioactivity in some Hungarian brands of bottled water that regular drinkers could exceed the World Health Organisation's safety limit. Page 7
FEATURES:-
BAD OR MAD?When someone commits a premeditated violent act, and the offenders show complete control, you cannot call them mentally ill. But while the cognitive part of the brain may work normally, other neural centres do not. A pioneer in brain imaging says that the defect lies in the amygdala, a region of the temporal lobe associated with emotion and empathy. So should psychiatrists be compelled to identify people with these abnormalities and detain them for their own good and that of society? Pages 39-41
RUNNING ON EMPTYFor the most part of a century, scientists and athletes have presumed that fatigue originates in the muscles themselves " they either run out of fuel or oxygen, or drown in toxic by-products. However, recently a new theory argues that fatigue is a response which begins in the brain. According to some researchers, the brain decides when it's time to stop, and paces the muscles to keep athletes well back from the point of catastrophic exhaustion. Pages 43-45
LOST IN SPACEAs the official inquiry into the disappearance of the Beagle 2 Mars lander prepares to announce its findings, Justin Mullins traces the story of this remarkable probe. With just months to go before the launch, it seems that engineers were still battling with crucial flaws in design. Could the craft have been doomed before it blasted off? Pages 28-31
THE WORLD TURNED INSIDE OUTAstronomical observations and Einstein's theory of relativity leave little doubt that the Big Bang happened. But was it really the first moment in time, or was there something before it? In the 1990's a new theory surfaced where physicists suggested an entire universe on the other side of time zero. A looking-glass world which looked remarkably like our own " except it was inside out. Pages 35-37
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