MAGAZINE ISSUE DATE: 22 JANUARY 2005 (Vol. 185 No 2483)
NEWS:
ONE CHARGER IS ALL YOU NEEDA new technology could herald an end to the hassle of finding a compatible battery charger to fit your cellphone, digital camera or PDA, not to mention the annoyance of finding a free socket to plug it in to. A British company has now filed a series of patents for a long promised wireless pad, the size of a mouse mat, on which it will be possible to recharge as many gadgets as you can fit on. Numerous coils buried in the flat pad will transmit energy to any device on the surface. Page 21
LUNAR COLONY TO RUN ON MOON DUST AND ROBOTSFour years ago, American researchers came up with the idea of robots to build solar panels out of lunar dust, to power any settlement base set up on the moon. Now, the same team have shown that a key part of this plan could work. They used robotic rovers to melt simulated moon dust and then let it resolidify to a smooth glassy sheet. They then demonstrated that solar cells deposited on this sheet can convert light into electricity. Page 23
GLADIATORS FOUGHT FOR THRILLS, NOT KILLSGladiatorial combat was an entertaining martial art where gladiators showed off their skills rather than fought for their lives, according to an American archaeologist. The controversial theory is based on reconstructing fighters' tactics from medieval martial arts manuals and fighting books. Page 14
WIRELESS BOOM IS HACKERS' HEAVENSetting up a wireless computer network at home may give you freedom to access the internet from anywhere in your house, but it comes at a cost. Security experts are concerned that domestic Wi-Fi network users are leaving themselves wide open for eavesdroppers to read email or any other documents. Most Wi-Fi networks do come with built-in security features but they are too off-putting and complex and Wi-Fi users aren't bothering to use them. Page 24
SHORT STORY: MYSTERY BEER COMPOUND FIGHTS CANCERAn unidentified compound in non-alcoholic beer seems to have a protective effect against cancer. Japanese researchers found that effect of DNA-damaging chemicals was reduced by up to 85 per cent when mice drank non-alcoholic beer instead of water. Page 17
SHORT STORY: GOD WILL PROTECT USReligious types seem to have a cavalier attitude to crossing roads. A new study in Israel suggests that devout Orthodox Jews are three times as likely to be risk-taking pedestrians than their non-religious neighbours. Page 16
SHORT STORY: TSUNAMI OVERLOADWith more than one organisation developing early warning systems for future tsunamis, there could be a risk of conflicting advice. While the UN is coordinating plans for the official international alert system, a team of self-starters is planning their own. Page 5
FEATURES:
POP!Can collapsing bubbles unleash huge amounts of energy? Three years ago researchers made the jaw-dropping claim that thermonuclear fusion had been observed in a beaker of nail polish remover bombarded with neutrons and soundwaves. But soon after, holes appeared in the research and the new phenomenon sonofusion - or bubble fusion - was confined to junk science. Now, sonofusion is about to hit the headlines again as results from a new bubble fusion experiment have validated the original claim. And this time it could win people over, and even one day generate large amounts of cheap power. Pages 38-41
BYE BYE BLACK HOLEFurious debates are raging about whether black holes deserve the name. Physicists are finding that a new picture is emerging that challenges our cherished idea that black holes are black, or indeed are even holes. Also up for debate is the conventional picture that all matter swallowed up by black holes is lost forever. Researchers are now proposing that information could actually escape. Pages 29-33
RETURN TO EDENWherever war breaks out, such as in Iraq, Israel and Afghanistan, farmers have been forced off their land and seed banks for globally important crops have been destroyed. Now plant breeders are fighting back with "smart-aid" , a campaign to seek out and reinstate seed varieties lost to war-ravaged landscapes. Smart-aiders have already helped restore agricultural systems and saved thousands of people from starvation. Pages 35-37
THE LURE OF MANUREBurrowing owls have some odd habits: standing stock still outside their burrow; collecting odd bits of rubbish. And then there's the dung. Burrowing owls collect other animals' dung and spread it around outside their house. But why would they do that? Pages 42-43
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