NEWS:
DISTRACTION TACTIC WIPES OUT ALLERGIESA Swiss biotech company say allergies could be wiped out with their new drug which can trick the immune system into changing its tactics. The drug works by fooling the body into thinking its being attacked by mycobacteria " a class of bacteria not seen much nowadays in our modern "hygienic" lives. The body switches its response by issuing an immune reaction to larger threats rather than to harmless things such as grass pollen. Preliminary results from a trial on 10 people with hay fever suggests that after a six-week course of injections, their symptoms were completely eliminated for up to eight months after therapy. Page 14
NEEDLE-FREE 'BIOPSY'Brain tumours could soon be diagnosed without the need for inserting unpleasant and dangerous biopsy needles in the brain. Certain chemicals are found in much higher levels in tumours than in normal tissue. A new technique, developed in the UK, uses these chemical "fingerprints" to diagnose a variety of brain tumours and establish the best way to treat them. Page 19
BOY OR GIRL? EMBRYO TESTS GIVE PARENTS THE CHOICEA survey of fertility clinics in the US suggests that 40 per cent are allowing couples to choose the sex of their child using the testing method, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). The survey found that two thirds of PGD procedures were used to test for embryos at risk of birth defects. However, it also showed that PGD was being widely used to reveal the baby's sex, as well as for diagnosing late-onset diseases such as Alzheimer's. The use of PGD for non-medical sex selection is not currently permitted in the UK. Page 15
SWARM OF SUBS TO UNCOVER THE OCEAN'S MYSTERIESThe US wants to see a fleet of 100 self-sustaining robotic submarines to fan out across unexplored stretches of the world's seafloor to help unlock their mysteries. And with only 5 per cent of the ocean's floor having been explored in detail so far, there may be numerous new species to be discovered as well as underwater volcanoes. Page 32"¦AND plankton could provide their power.If these autonomous subs are going to undertake such lengthy missions they are going to need a new fuel source. Roboticists in the UK might have the answer. They are developing an underwater fuel cell that gets its power from oxygen and plankton harvested from the ocean. Page 32
THE BOSS IS WATCHING YOUR EVERY CLICK"¦Hundreds of employers are routinely spying on their employees " tracking all activity online from emails and web usage, to what blogs you create or sign into. But there are laws to prevent employers listening to personal phone calls made at work, so why not similar protection for personal emails? With no regulations, there is a growing industry for spy software. Just as worryingly, online monitoring is going on to check out potential employees even before they get hired. Pages 30-31
WILL US AND CHINA BE FRIENDS IN SPACE?This week could be a turning point in relations between the US and China in space, as NASA's chief Mike Griffin makes the first official visit to China by a serving head of the agency. NASA's long-term goals of new spacecraft, launchers and a return to the moon, make the US an attractive partner to China. The country has only two human space flights under its belt but has plans as grand as any NASA have conjured up. Pages 16-17
FEATURES:
WHAT'S DONE IS DONE"¦ISN'T IT?Wouldn't it be nice if you could reach back and change certain things in the past " like that voicemail you left late last night? But by changing the past, you could affect the present with disastrous outcomes. So researchers are on the verge of experiments to test for this sort of retrocausal influence both forwards and backwards. And there isn't a black hole or wormhole in sight " just a state-of-the-art optics workbench. Pages 36-39
LEGALLY HIGHA new generation of powerful mind-altering drugs have never been more popular. Not only are these psychoactive pills, potions and herbs widely available around the world, but they are entirely legal. But does that mean they're safe? Proponents say that legal highs are "harmless fun" without any of the dangers of street drugs such as addiction or criminality. Others say they are too powerful, that the risks of taking them are too great, and they need proper researching. Pages 40-45
ENOUGH ALREADYAcross the developed world, the so-called "baby gap" , or "birth dearth" and associated population slump has been known to whip politicians into a panic. But Paul Ehrlich, author of the 1968 classic The Population Bomb, is now far more optimistic about our future. He says that it's obvious that civilisation cannot keep growing with our already strained resources, and that the baby gap is the first sign we're moving in the right direction. Pages 47-50
WHAT'S YOUR POISON?Australian researcher Bryan Grieg Fry has been on a dangerous mission to catch and milk venom from as many snake species as possible. Despite getting bitten many times, he succeeded in creating a snake evolutionary tree, which was published earlier this year. His work has shown that the vast majority of snakes on the planet are venomous - even some commonly kept as pets. Pages 51-53- ENDS-
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