new scientist 24_august_2013 by hubspot-directory.blogspot.com

COSMIC GETAWAYDream escapes from the solar system

Six health myths you should ignore

Dream escap

TAG, YOU’RE ITDrones hunt viaspray-on signatures

SMACK DOWN Kicking heroin witha hallucinogen

WEEKLY August 24 - 30, 2013

Science and technology news www.newscientist.com

US jobs in academia

No2931 US$5.95 CAN$5.95

HALF STAR HALF PLANETUnlikely rise of a celestial in-betweener

GOOD COP, BAD DOGDelinquent dogsturn eco detectives

m

Advertise in New Scientist magazine’s Chemistry Recruitment Feature,September 7th issue. (Booking deadline is August 28th) Plus free bonus distribution to 12,000¹ attendees at theAmerican Chemical Society’s Fall Meeting & Expo,September 8-12, 2013, Indianapolis, IN

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24 August 2013 | NewScientist | 3

CONTENTS Volume 219 No 2931

This issue online newscientist.com/issue/2931

News6 UPFRONT India’s ambitious food plan. Planet names to

reflect people’s choice. China to stop using inmate organs. New gender in Germany

8 THIS WEEK When the oceans got lost in Oz. Dark energy may spring from Higgs boson. The longest-lived bat. Conversations with locked-in people. Prehistoric pit stop in the Atacama desert

12 FIELD NOTES Kicking heroin addiction with a hallucinogen

16 IN BRIEF Elderly stars get booted. Birds respect road

speeds. Blood test for suicide?

Coming next week…The clockwork brainWhat really makes your thoughts go round?

Heart of darknessClosing in on the universe’s missing matter

Cover image Ciaran Griffin/Getty Images

32

44

Cosmic getawayWanted: options

for escaping the

solar system

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Do not eatSix health myths

you should ignore

Wiped outThe race to save our

video heritage

Technology19 Drones play tag. AI cuts your electricity bills.

Hone your basketball skills. Twitter predicts conflict in Egypt. Weather drones

News

On the cover

Features

8 Cosmic getaway Escaping the solar system

37 Half star, half planet Cosmic in-betweeners

19 Tag, you’re it Drones hunt via spray-on signatures

12 Smack down Kicking heroin with a hallucinogen

40 Good cop, bad dog Delinquent dog detectives

Opinion26 Forget Silicon Valley Mariana Mazzucato

reveals the real backers of innovation 27 One minute with… Beth O’Leary A bill in

Congress may protect moon landing site28 Did I do that? Elizabeth Loftus on the perils

and potentials of false memory research30 LETTERS Twins in space. Kill the cat?

Features32 Do not eat (see above left)37 Half star, half planet Unlikely rise of

a cosmic in-betweener 40 Good cop, bad dog Delinquent hounds

turn eco detectives44 Wiped out (see left)

CultureLab48 A living heart Why did the public love the

Gaia theory while scientists hated it? 49 Ghost ships sail Virtual gallery proves a

pleasing way to preserve old exhibitions

Regulars5 EDITORIAL The frontier spirit has well

and truly arrived in space30 ENIGMA56 FEEDBACK Real time travel update57 THE LAST WORD Metallergy50 JOBS & CAREERS

Aperture24 The coldest city on Earth

www.newscientistjobs.com


Naming the final frontier

EDITORIAL

If we need names for objects in space, why not let everyone chip in?

No smashing the system

“Pledging to heed public opinion when naming celestial bodies is in line with the zeitgeist ”

Remember to forget

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6 | NewScientist | 24 August 2013

Stellar legacy Organ harvest

–Refusing to cooperate–

The fracking fracasPROTESTS against proposed fracking

operations in England culminated this

week with the arrest of Caroline Lucas

(pictured), a Green Party member of

parliament, for refusing to cooperate

with police during a demonstration.

Meanwhile, the latest geophysical

research concludes that over 100

quakes were triggered in a single year

of fracking-related activities in Ohio.

Lucas was among a handful of

demonstrators arrested during a

protest at a site in West Sussex

where oil and gas exploration firm

Cuadrilla aims to sink a conventional

oil well as a prelude to possible

fracking operations. No permission

has yet been given for fracking.

The Ohio quakes, centred around

Youngstown, were triggered by the

disposal of wastewater from fracking

operations in neighbouring

Pennsylvania rather than by hydraulic

fracturing itself. As more and more

wastewater was injected into a deep

well, the water pressure in the rock

rose and triggered 109 small quakes

between January 2011 and February

2012. The largest had a magnitude of

3.9 (Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, doi.org/nh5).

Quakes are not the only reason that

fracking is controversial. There are

concerns that the chemicals added to

fracking water may contaminate

groundwater reservoirs. However,

geologists at the British Geological

Survey say that groundwater

reservoirs usually lie thousands of

metres above the rocks that are

fracked in well-managed operations,

making contamination unlikely.

“Kepler’s bounty of star data has now given us a better way to find new Earths in the galaxy”

IT IS always good to learn that the

world has become a safer place –

especially when the danger was

a warren of unsecured tunnels

containing enough plutonium to

make dozens of nuclear bombs.

The radioactive material was at

Semipalatinsk in east Kazakhstan –

a former nuclear test site where

numerous birth defects have been

reported. Credit for the 17-year

clean-up goes to US and former

Soviet nuclear weapons scientists

Secret clean-up of nuclear stashR

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who convinced governments to back

them. The US footed much of the

$150 million bill, but project details

were secret.

The operation is described in a

report released on 15 August by

Harvard University’s Belfer Center

for Science and International Affairs.

Co-author Eben Harrell suggests

that cooperation between scientists

could help secure other hazardous

sites, such as France’s nuclear test

range in the Algerian Sahara.

UPFRONT


AP

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Cosmic name game

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Polio explosionThe UN has warned of an “explosive”

outbreak of polio in Somalia. The

alert came days after medical charity

Médecins Sans Frontières said it was

closing all its programmes in the

country, believing it too dangerous

for staff to continue their work. At

least 105 cases of polio – half last

year’s global tally – have been

recorded in Somalia this year.

Hot water leakBeleaguered is an understatement.

Tepco, the operators of the wrecked

Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan,

say some 300 tonnes of radioactive

water have leaked from storage

tanks. An hour’s exposure to the

water would give a radiation dose of

100 millisieverts – five times the

permitted annual dose for workers.

Jupiter moon eruptsThe most volcanically active world

in the solar system just blew its

top. Volcanoes erupt on Jupiter’s

moon Io almost continuously, with

vastly more power than those on

Earth. But the explosion on

15 August was big even by its

standards, with lava spouting

upwards hundreds of metres.

Climate leakThe Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change has concluded that

there is at least a 95-per-cent chance

that humans are to blame for climate

change. That’s according to the

latest leak of its upcoming report,

due out next month. The last report,

published in 2007, cited a 90-per-

cent or greater confidence level.

Naked-eye novaIt’s one level down from a supernova.

On 14 August, the brightest nova

seen since 2007 appeared in the

constellation Delphinus, visible to

the naked eye. Novae occur when

hydrogen on a white dwarf’s surface

explodes in a runaway fusion

reaction. Unlike supernovae, the star

survives. Nova Delphini 2013 may be

visible from Earth for weeks to come.

–Enough for 800 million people?–

Feeding the masses

It’s OK to be neither

“The arbiter of celestial nomenclature has given its stamp of approval for public naming contests”

“Critics have described the move as electioneering ahead of India’s general election next year”

60 SECONDS

–Nukes detonated under here–

For daily news stories, visit newscientist.com/news


THIS WEEK

Anne-Marie Corley, Dallas

An interstellar trip won’t happen anytime soon, but the technology it is inspiring is useful on Earth

Take me to Alpha Centauri, one day

–Laser propulsion, anyone?–

“Any single planet species is doomed to extinction – so we need ways to escape the solar system”

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–Breathe in hydrogen - and fuse!–

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10-kilogram CubeSatProTechnology at a mature stage

ConIt would take 25,000 years...

Beamed-light sailsProsViable; no new physics required

ConRequires huge laser array in space

Spin-off applications Mars “FedEx”; vaporising

asteroids and space debris

Hydrogen-fuelled ramjetProsFast enough to carry people

ConsFusion engine required; hydrogen

scoop may create drag

Spin-off applicationsTime travel, of a sort; fusion would

mean clean energy for Earthlings

Warp drive, wormholesProsFast

ConsNo existing technology

Spin-off applicationsWho’s to say?

Prospects for interstellar travel

In this section When the oceans get lost in Oz, page 10

Kicking heroin addiction, page 12

Drones play tag, page 19

“It’s our ambition to be the first spacecraft to be overtaken on the way to Alpha Centauri”


Michael Marshall

–I’m an ocean… get me out of here–

Australia: where oceans go to hide

“River channels in the east of Australia run into a low-lying desert basin, not out to sea”

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THIS WEEK

When the seas rose at the end of

the last ice age, all hell broke loose.

According to a new analysis, the

extra weight of liquid water deformed

the seabed, causing vast submarine

landslides and tsunamis, perhaps

even releasing extra greenhouse

gases. Today’s rising seas could

have similar effects, but probably

not for centuries.

Underwater landslides were more

common in the first 5000 years after

the last ice age than they are today.

During that time, sea levels rose by

120 metres as melting ice sheets

poured their cargo into the ocean.

Daniel Brothers of the US

Geological Survey in Woods Hole,

Massachusetts, and his colleagues

estimated how much stress the

extra weight would have placed on

the seabed. They found that faults

were more likely to rupture along

the Amazon and North Carolina

coasts, triggering landslides

(Geology, doi.org/nhq).

Submarine earthquakes and

landslides can cause tsunamis, so

these monster waves may have been

more common as sea levels rose.

SHEER WEIGHT OF WATERThe changes might also have

released methane, which is stored

beneath the seabed in icy crystals

called clathrates. Methane is a

potent greenhouse gas, so would

have helped to warm the climate.

Simon Day of University College

London broadly agrees with the

findings. He adds that we are unlikely

to experience similar convulsions.

It would take about 10 metres of

sea level rise to affect the number

of underwater landslides. Most

predictions for this century are for

a rise of about 1 metre.


Dark energy may spring from the Higgs boson

Lisa Grossman


The secret of long life that lies in bat genesNOT all small animals lead short lives,

and now we know which genes may

be behind a remarkable example.

Brandt’s bat (Myotis brandtii)

typically weighs 4 to 8 grams – about

half the weight of a house mouse.

At that weight, a well-established

link between body mass and lifespan

dictates that it should live no more

than five years. Yet in 2005, biologists

captured a Brandt’s bat in Siberia

41 years after it had first been caught.

Now, analysis of the species’

genome suggests an explanation.

Vadim Gladyshev at Harvard Medical

School and his colleagues found

key changes to genes in a hormonal

system known as the “growth

hormone/IGF1 axis”. These changes

are not seen in other mammals

except as rare mutations.

Some are linked to dwarfism in

animals and humans, says Gladyshev,

and others are linked to ageing. He

thinks that as the bat adapted to its

insect-eating niche, where small size

is an advantage, its genes may have

changed to reduce its body size – and

inadvertently increased its lifespan

(Nature Communications, DOI:

10.1038/ncomms3212).

That could be a partial explanation,

says Steven Austad at the University

of Texas Health Science Center in

San Antonio, but would not account

for the bat’s 41 year lifespan. In mice,

changing the growth hormone axis

can extend lifespan by, say, 50 per

cent, he adds.

Gerald Wilkinson at the University

of Maryland in College Park thinks

other factors are also at play. For

instance, Brandt’s bats hibernate,

which slows down their metabolism

and may help prolong lifespan, but

some other bats and small animals do

not. “Of course, lifestyle, hibernation,

and possibly other factors also

contribute to Brandt’s bats’ longevity,”

says Gladyshev. “But at the molecular

level, the altered growth hormone/

IGF1 axis is the strongest lead so far.”

Colin Barras

–Field test for new physics–

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“In 2005, biologists captured a bat in Siberia 41 years after it had first been caught”

THIS WEEK


Are prospects improving for addicts

hoping to beat their habit? As well

as new ways to treat addiction

(see main story), the US government

seems to be adopting a more nuanced

take on its “war on drugs” – a policy

that has seen the US imprison a

higher proportion of people on

drugs charges than any other nation.

On 12 August, US Attorney

General Eric Holder announced

a plan to reduce the currently

lengthy minimum sentences

handed out under federal law for

non-violent drug offenders. And

some states are bringing in even more

significant changes.

In 2007, Texas abandoned plans

to spend $523 million on building

prisons, and instead invested around

half that on crime-reduction policies,

including expanding substance-abuse

treatment programmes. Crime rates in

the state are now down to levels not

seen since the 1960s.

This bold move may not have

happened had it not been for the

Washington State Institute for

Public Policy, which has led the way in

evidence-based criminal justice. The

A NEW ERA IN AMERICA’S WAR ON DRUGS

“This euphoric state brought about an instant relief from the discomfort of going without heroin”

institute conducts rigorous studies to

determine whether particular policies

work and whether they provide value

for money. It has found that one of the

most cost-effective approaches is to

offer reduced sentences to convicted

drug offenders if they undergo

chemical-dependency treatment

while in prison.

Arguably, the most impressive

approach is “swift and certain

sanctions”. This involves probation

with strict monitoring, in which any

offender caught using drugs knows

they will be immediately jailed – for

just a few days. A trial in Hawaii

found offenders enrolled into the

scheme were 55 per cent less likely

to be rearrested.

As they involve sanctions,

such approaches are acceptable to

politicians who might otherwise

worry about being seen as soft on

crime. That means the measures are

acceptable on both sides of the

political spectrum, says Steven

Raphael at the University of

California, Berkeley. “The country

seems to be ready for this change.”

Peter Aldhous

FIELD NOTES

Can a mind-altering drug cure heroin addiction?

Baja California


–Kill the craving–

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The writer of this article wishes

to remain anonymous

“Given the chance of relief from the dependence, I am free to make conscious choices again”


NEW SCIENTIST

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Sara Reardon

–May be paying attention–

Meeting minds with brain-injured people

“The method may provide a starting point for creating a gold standard for assessing consciousness”

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THIS WEEK

Driest place on Earth inhabited millennia agoTHE heart of the Atacama desert is

the driest place on Earth. But that

didn’t prevent the first settlers of

South America from setting up home

there more than 12,000 years ago.

Aside from Antarctica, South

America was the last continent that

modern humans colonised, says

Claudio Latorre of the Pontifical

Catholic University of Chile in

Santiago. The first settlers arrived

from North America at least 14,000

years ago, but their route south is a

mystery. Most researchers assume

they travelled through fertile

corridors, perhaps down the west

coast where seafood was plentiful,

at least until you hit the desert.

“Extreme environments, such as

the Atacama, were naturally assumed

to be barriers,” says Latorre. “This

was not the case.”

Latorre and colleagues excavated

a site called Quebrada Maní, which

lies 85 kilometres inland and only

receives rain a few times a century.

Digging on a low hill surrounded by

arid valleys, they found stone tools,

animal bones, seashells and the

remains of a fireplace (Quaternary Science Reviews, doi.org/ng8).

How did these people survive in

the Atacama? Most of the desert’s

core was just as harsh then as it

is today. But the team found the

remains of plants at the site,

suggesting that the valleys had

seasonal marshes that acted as

oases, and which have since dried up.

If people did enter South America

along its west coast, Quebrada Maní

could have been an important pit

stop for heading inland, says team

member Calogero Santoro of the

University of Tarapacá in Arica, Chile.

“Certain features of the site seem to

correspond to a base camp,” he says.

“We need to think in terms of

oasis-hopping,” agrees Silvia

Gonzalez of Liverpool John Moores

University in the UK. She has found

similar archaeological sites in

Mexican deserts. Michael Marshall

How remote can you go?

Out now, the latest issue of Arc, Forever alone drone, explores the technological wilderness over more than 180 pages of exciting new work from a fantastic selection of notable writers.

Every three months, Arc explores the possibilities of tomorrow’s technologies and societies with unique intelligence, wit and charm, publishing work by the world’s most visionary writers and thinkers. It will make you see the future in a whole new light.

A r c 1 . 4 /F o r e v e r a l o n e d r o n e

B u y y o u r c o p y n o w a t a r c f i n i t y . o r g

A rc i s d e s i g n e d t o b e re a d o n d i g i t a l d e v i c e s – t a b l e t s , s m a r t p h o n e s , K i n d l e s , N o o k s , P C s a n d M a c s .

New science fiction from:Liz JensenNancy KressRobert ReedBruce Sterling Romie StottJack Womack

New essays & ideas aboutthe future from:Madeline AshbySimon IngsSmári McCarthySumit Paul-ChoudhuryKim Stanley RobinsonFrank SwainJon Turney

“Consistently brilliant”– guardian.co.uk


Galaxy shapes set near cosmic dawn

Do you know the speed limit? That barn owl does

BIRDS cannot read road signs, but they know that some

roads have higher speed limits than others. They will take

off further away from an approaching car on a faster road

than on a slower road – regardless of the speed of the car.

When Pierre Legagneux of the University of Quebec

at Rimouski and Simon Ducatez of McGill University in

Montreal, both in Canada, were working together in

France in 2006, they began studying the birds they

encountered on the drive home from the lab. They found

that where there was a 50-kilometre-per-hour speed

limit, birds on the road typically took off when the car

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Aggressive bacteria have a weakness

was about 15 metres away, whereas on a 110-km-per-

hour road, they took off when a car was nearer 75 metres

away. They did this even when faced with a car travelling

faster on the slow road or slower on the fast road.

The researchers think the birds treat cars as predators,

and realise that in some parts of their environment the

predators are more dangerous than in others (Biology Letters, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0417).

“Birds are able to associate environments, like

forests or roads, with risk,” says Christopher Lepczyk,

an ornithologist at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

He thinks the work could prompt follow-up studies

comparing birds in urban and rural areas, and perhaps

encourage more innovative methods. “I just think it’s really

cool,” he says. “We don’t do enough of this kind of work.”

Elderly star couple flees the galaxy


Chimera heart springs back to life

Suicide risk could show up in a blood test

WANT to lose weight fast? No need

to adjust your diet – just move to

higher ground. This weight change is

the result of fluctuations in Earth’s

gravity, which a new high-resolution

map shows are greater than thought.

Gravity is often assumed to be

the same everywhere on Earth, but

it varies because the planet is not a

perfect sphere. For instance, gravity

is weaker at higher altitudes, further

from Earth’s centre, as seen in the

section of its gravity map showing

Mount Everest (large red area, above).

Christian Hirt of Curtin University

in Perth, Australia, and colleagues

combined gravity data from satellites

and topographic data to map gravity

changes between latitude 60° north

and latitude 60° south, covering

80 per cent of Earth’s land mass.

The model pinpoints more

extreme differences in gravitational

acceleration than previously seen

(Geophysical Research Letters, doi.

org/nht). Mount Nevado Huascarán

in Peru is the lowest point and the

highest is in the Arctic Ocean. You

would lose 1 per cent of your body

weight by moving from one spot

to the other, although your mass

wouldn’t change.

Gravity map gets more extreme

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Mole rats immune to carcinogens

AS ANTI-CANCER regimes go, this

one is not going to get many takers.

The Middle East blind mole rat

(Spalax ehrenbergi) spends almost

all of its 20 years of life hurrying

down dark, fusty tunnels full of

oxygen-deprived air. But for reasons

unknown, it works: in 50 years of

research on the rodents, none

has ever spontaneously developed

cancer. Now it turns out that even

exposure to potent carcinogens

does not trigger tumours in these

hardy animals.

Aaron Avivi of the University

of Haifa in Israel exposed 20 mole

rats to one of two cancer-causing

chemicals – DMBA/TPA or 3-MCA.

Even after three years, only one of

the animals developed any tumours.

By contrast, rats and mice exposed

to the same chemicals developed

tumours in a matter of months

(BMC Biology, doi.org/nhn).

“We’ve shown that whether

the mole rats are young or old, it is

almost impossible to induce cancer

in them,” says Avivi.

He is now trying to identify what

substances within their cells offer

such strong protection. Avivi’s team

has found out that fibroblast skin

cells from the armpits of the rats

can kill human cancer cells in a

dish. So did fluids secreted by the

fibroblasts, suggesting that they

contain something of great value

for combatting cancer.

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For new stories every day, visit newscientist.com/news


For more technology stories, visit newscientist.com/technologyTECHNOLOGY

TAGGING technology has moved on

since the days of using water cannon

with indelible dye to mark rioters.

Selectamark Security Systems, a

company based in London, produces

a range of products containing

unique synthetic DNA sequences.

These include automatic sprays for

marking intruders, a personal

defence spray and a device similar to

a paintball pistol that can tag an

individual from 30 metres away.

Defence giant Lockheed Martin

has developed a grenade which

disperses nanoparticle taggants

(see main story). Standard grenade

launchers can fire it at targets

hundreds of metres away, marking

vehicles and people over a wide

radius from the point of impact.

Many ways to make your mark

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–Better mist than missiles–

“ Nanocrystals can be sprayed by a hand-launched drone and illuminated with a laser”

David Hambling

A new game of tagUsing drones to label and track people or cars may offer a wiser alternative to lethal drone strikes


–How do you like yours?–

Hal Hodson

Electric easy streetLet artificial intelligence cut your energy bills and make the grid smarter too

“The system makes small adjustments to customers’ thermostats when energy suppliers need a hand”

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For more technology stories, visit newscientist.com/technology


Basketball sleeve helps you make the perfect shotTHINK you’ve got game? Try this

on for size: a sensor-laden sleeve

promises to improve basketball

players’ shooting skills by tracking

their arm movements and calculating

the arc of their shots.

The sleeve is equipped with

accelerometers that sit over the

player’s biceps, forearm and back of

the hand. As they practise, the sleeve

keeps track of every arm movement

and compares it with an ideal model

of arm motion for a basketball shot.

It can either provide feedback

through a series of light and sound

cues from the sleeve’s sensors, or run

in silent mode so the player can focus

on practising. Afterwards, they can

check their performance on a laptop.

“We asked coaches, ‘How do

you teach a shot? What do you

consider good form?’ ” says Cynthia

Kuo, co-founder of Vibrado in

Sunnyvale, California, which

developed the sleeve. “They look at

things like keeping your elbow in,

following through with your wrist,

and keeping your arm up, but not too

far up. So we created a model of the

textbook shot.”

The software can also calculate

the arc of the ball as it leaves the

hand. This could be useful as previous

studies have shown that there is an

ideal release angle depending on

where the player is on the court.

Releasing the ball at an angle of

around 52 degrees gives the best

chance of success for free throws,

which are always taken from

around 4.5 metres from the basket,

for example.

“Coaches can give players specific

skills to work on – they can say, ‘I want

you to go home and take 100 free

throws’ or something – and the sleeve

will help them work on their form,”

Kuo says.

The sleeve has been in testing

over the last few months at the Top

Flight Sports Academy in San Jose,

California, which trains promising

teenage players hoping to play

at college level. An app is being

developed so that players can check

their performance on a smartphone.

“This would be very good for

teaching consistency,” says Larry

Silverberg at North Carolina State

University in Raleigh, who studies the

mechanics behind basketball shots.

But he says the device’s usefulness

is limited as it can’t help players with

footwork, which can be crucial. A shot

“starts with the feet and goes up

from there”, he says. Michael Reilly

“The sleeve keeps track of every arm movement and compares it with an ideal model of arm motion”

–Get it right every time–DA

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A holy house of cardsYou’ll never look at a toilet roll in the same way again. Last

week a “cardboard cathedral” was unveiled in Christchurch,

New Zealand, replacing the building destroyed by the 2011

earthquake. Designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban,

the Transitional Cathedral is made from 98 giant cardboard

tubes, holds 700 people and is designed to withstand

earthquakes. The tubes are coated with waterproof

polyurethane and are sheltered by a polycarbonate roof

that glows when the cathedral is lit at night.

“We would have been bringing the future forward a year or two”

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical, talks to the BBC

about a bid to crowdfund the building of an Ubuntu Edge

smartphone, which would be as powerful as a PC. With three

days left, the firm had raised a crowdfunding record of more

than $11 million - but was still short of its $32 million target.

Get some balance in your lifeAre you politically biased? Maybe you need some balancing.

A web browser widget keeps track of the political leanings

of your surfing history – and suggests ways to even out

your habits. The Balancer, created by Sean Munson at the

University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues, is an

indicator in the corner of your browser window to say if your

history is tilting to the left or right, with suggestions of sites

to visit to get an alternative viewpoint. In tests, it pushed

users towards a slightly more varied diet of news.

Magnetic robot goes nuclearWhere humans dare not tread… a magnetic, wall-climbing

robot may go instead. Designed to crawl around inside a

nuclear reactor after meltdown, Gunryu was made to

decommission the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant

in Japan. The robot, developed by Woosub Lee at the Tokyo

Institute of Technology and colleagues, has a dextrous arm

that lets it perform laser cutting while it sticks to the walls.

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MORE than 800 people have been

killed in Egypt since police attacked

protesters supporting former president

Mohamed Morsi, who was deposed

on 3 July. Could analysing Twitter

have helped to avoid the massacre?

In early 2011, when Egyptians

protested in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and

overturned Hosni Mubarak’s regime,

social networks like Facebook and

Twitter got a lot of the credit for

helping rebels spread their message.

Now, just over two years later,

Egypt has been plunged into violence.

Twitter isn’t in the spotlight in the

same way as it was during the Arab

Spring, but nonetheless it did show

that the latest conflict was coming.

Ingmar Weber and colleagues at the

Qatar Computing Research Institute

have created the Political Polarization

Index to measure tension on Twitter.

They looked at Egyptian tweets

between March 2012 and June 2013

and assigned each user a score

between 0 and 1 depending on

which prominent figures – Islamist or

secular – they had retweeted. The

“polarity” of popular hashtags used to

group messages was then calculated

by averaging their use across all

Egyptian tweeters, taking each user’s

religious preferences into account.

By tracking how the polarity of

these hashtags changed, the team

was able to see the level of political

divergence between the two main

groups. If secularists and Islamists were

both talking about politically neutral

topics like the iPhone or Justin Bieber,

then polarisation was assumed to be

low. But when more secular users are

tweeting hashtags like #tamarrod,

roughly meaning “rebel”, polarity

was judged to be high, for example.

They found that the increasing

political polarisation they measured

on Twitter preceded real-world strife.

“Quite strikingly, all outbreaks of

violence happened during periods

where the hashtag polarity was

comparatively high,” the team says.

It doesn’t mean Twitter can

suddenly predict all events, but

Weber’s team hopes that such

measures of rising tension might give

governments enough foresight to

steer away from violent conflict.

“If governments realise that society

is drifting apart, they might think of

positive countermeasures,” says Weber.

In Egypt, the tension online and offline

entered a “red zone” during the row

over the country’s new constitution

in November and December 2012,

he says. That could have indicated to

the Morsi government that it should

reconsider its actions, especially as

tension didn’t really drop again, even

if the streets were quiet at the time.

Weber says they might improve the

system by keeping track of whether

individuals have used polarising

hashtags before, as a measure of

whether discontent is on the rise. “If

100 users use an anti-Morsi hashtag,

it might matter whether they are just

‘the regular suspects’ or are users who

have not been politically active in the

past but have now decided to express

their frustration,” he says.

Christopher Neu of Techchange in

Washington DC, which trains people to

use technology to drive social change,

agrees that insight from social media

can be useful in conflict situations,

but says that it would function like a

canary in a coal mine – warning people

of impending crisis, but not necessarily

helping them fix it. “Being able to tell

that something is wrong and doing

something about it are very different,”

he says. Hal Hodson

I predict a riotCould the violence in Egypt have been avoided by heeding Twitter?

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“Increasing political polarisation measured on Twitter preceded real-world strife”

INSIGHT Social media

THERE’S a buzz in the air. A system

that listens to the sound of a

drone’s propellers and deduces

atmospheric conditions could one

day be used for measuring air

pollution, and even providing

weather updates.

Developed by Anthony Finn and

Kevin Rogers at the University of

South Australia in Adelaide, the

system uses an array of ground-

based microphones to listen for

the distinctive sound created by

the propellers of a small uncrewed

aircraft. Columns of air between

the drone and the microphones

distort the sound depending on the

air temperature and how fast the

air is moving. If the system knows

the sound made at the source,

it can analyse the distortions to

work out the properties of the air.

A test in St Leonards, Victoria,

used five microphones and one

drone to measure air temperature

and wind speed up to 500 metres

above ground, finding a

temperature gradient that went

from 21 °C at ground level to 18 °C

at 500 metres.

Finn says his approach could

lead to mobile weather stations

that can monitor large volumes

of atmosphere and can move to

follow weather patterns. The work

will be presented at the Acoustics

conference in Victor Harbor, South

Australia, in November. Hal Hodson

Want to know the weather? Listen to a drone

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Tech TrekPowered by

24 | NewScientist |24 | NewScientist | 24 August 2013

APERTURE


Coldest city on Earth

NO REFRIGERATORS needed here. A fish market,

and freezing fog that the sun struggles to pierce,

bear witness to the ferocious chills of Yakutsk,

Siberia’s largest city – and the world’s coldest.

In January, when Swiss photographer Steeve

Iuncker arrived in the Russian city, population

270,000, the temperature was -48 °C. “I won’t

forget it,” he says. In less than a minute he lost

feeling in his index finger. Then his camera froze.

With an average winter temperature of -40 °C,

Yakutsk isn’t quite the coldest place on Earth –

that crown goes to Antarctica. Nor is it the coldest

settlement; the nearby towns of Oymyakon and

Verkhoyansk average -47 °C in winter. But, built

on a layer of permafrost, it is the coldest city, says

Anton Vaks, who studies Siberian climates at the

University of Oxford. The lowest temperature

ever recorded there is -64.4 °C.

Siberia is so cold because it is isolated from the

warming effects of oceans, says Vaks. “The Pacific

Ocean to the south-east is blocked by mountain

ranges, and the Atlantic is too distant to moderate

the cold. The only ocean that’s relatively close is

the Arctic, but it’s frozen in winter.”

Back in France, the Natural History Museum in

Paris has just awarded Iuncker a €10,000 prize

based on these Siberian shots to create an

exhibition entitled Extreme Cities.

Right now, though, Yakutsk isn’t cold. Despite

the permafrost, it heats up in the summer, with a

record high of 38.4 °C. Andy Coghlan

Photographer Steeve Iuncker/Agence Vu

www.iuncker.ch


“Every technology that makes the iPhone a smartphone owes its vision and funding to the state”

State of innovation Forget Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. It is government that should be credited for backing wealth-creating technology, says economist Mariana Mazzucato

OPINION


Mariana Mazzucato is an economist

and professor of science and

technology policy at the University

of Sussex, UK. Her latest book is The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking public vs. private sector myths. She

tweets on @MazzucatoM

Comment on these stories at newscientist.com/opinion

As longtime champion of a national park on

the moon, what do you think of the bill in the

US Congress that proposes to create one?

I wasn’t involved in writing the bill, but I applaud

those who put it forward. It is a first attempt to

secure legal protection for the Apollo moon

landing artefacts. Will it succeed? Probably not.

But if it opens the discussion, that’s good.

Why do such remote sites need protecting?

There are plans to return to the moon. There's the

Google Lunar X Prize, which is a competition for a

robotic mission, and eventually people are going

to go back too. We have lost a lot of things on Earth

by not having the protocols in place. In my deepest

fears the moon becomes a marketplace. You only

have to look at sites selling space memorabilia.

Some of these things are very, very valuable.

Is a US national park the best solution?

When we say the US will make a park, people in

the international community may perceive that as

a claim of sovereignty. We have been very careful

to talk about just the artefacts. The trick is the

legality of doing this. That’s what I have struggled

with for the last 14 years. I am a believer that

when those first people went to the moon they

didn't just represent America but humanity as a

whole. Ultimately, the attempt to preserve sites

has to be international.

Are there any precedents?

Antarctica, which we have protected by a series

of treaties with different countries. The other

analogy is Admiralty law, which covers the oceans.

Does other space material need protection?

Vanguard 1 is a good example: it’s the oldest

artificial satellite still in orbit and NASA predicts it

will be there for another 600 years. Hubble is due

to be retired. Is there a way to preserve these in

space, put them at a Lagrangian point – where

they can maintain a stable orbit – and leave them

for future space tourism? Colleagues of mine were

distressed when Russia's Mir space station came

down in 2001. Could it have been saved?

One minute with...

Beth O’Leary

Apart from advocating preservation, what do

you do as a space archaeologist?

We look at material culture left in outer space or on

other celestial bodies. It is quite a recent group of

artefacts and sites, but you can do archaeology in

all places. This place happens to be off Earth.

How can you work at such distances?

A lot of archaeology is now done by remote

sensing, using aerial or satellite photos. The Lunar

Reconnaissance Orbiter, which maps the moon,

came close enough to image the Apollo 11 lander

and traces of the astronauts’ presence. These

are comparable to the kind of pictures we would

take of the remains of ancient roads in the Chaco

canyon in New Mexico, for example.

How did you get interested in this field?

As a girl I wanted to be an astronaut. But I chose

another A-word, archaeology. In 1999, a student

asked whether federal preservation law applies

on the moon. You know, when you get a good

question like that, you just have to go with it.

Interview by Jon White

A bill that proposes a US national park on the moon is one small step towards preservation, says the space archaeologist

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PROFILE

Beth O’Leary is an archaeologist at New Mexico

State University. She has created a project with

NASA to make the 1969 Apollo 11 lunar landing

site a National Historic Landmark


OPINION INTERVIEW

You study the fallibility of memories. Are we

all prone to making things up?

I hear you collect accounts of false memories.

How does this happen? What exactly is going

on when we retrieve a memory?

How did you end up studying false memories?

You’re known for debunking the idea of

repressed memories. Why focus on them?

From repressed memories to faulty eye-witness testimony, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus has made her name working on false memory. She tells Alison George how recollections can be conjured up, and how this process could even be used in therapy

I could have sworn…

How did you study the process of creating

false memories?

How susceptible are people to having these

types of memories implanted?

Do you think it’s not possible to repress

memories of traumatic events?

Is it the power of suggestion from a therapist

that creates these “memories” then?

What is the current focus of your research?

PROFILE

Elizabeth Loftus is

at the University of

California, Irvine. She

has a PhD in cognitive

psychology from

Stanford University,

and her publications

can be found at

bit.ly/15AVSW8. She

was interviewed at the

TEDGlobal conference

in Edinburgh, UK

For more interviews and to add your comments, visit newscientist.com/opinion


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How do you plant these memories?

This works with alcohol too?

Could false memories be used for therapeutic

purposes – like reducing alcohol consumption?

Isn’t the deliberate planting of false memories

entering into ethically dubious territory?

How did you conduct this study of US soldiers?

Is there any way to distinguish a false memory

from a real one?

Could brain imaging one day be used to do this?

Do you think it’s important for people to realise

how malleable their memory is?

■

“ The process of calling a memory into conscious awareness can change it”

Our brains are not like reference books,

memories are fluid and changeable


Keep it clean

Anger issues

Kill the cat?

Stem cell debate

Human factor

Enigma Number 1763

OPINION LETTERS

WIN £15 will be awarded to the sender of the first correct

answer opened on Wednesday 18 September. The Editor’s decision is final.

Please send entries to Enigma 1763, New Scientist, Lacon House,

84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8NS, or to [email protected]

(please include your postal address).

Answer to 1757 Power point: The five numbers are 343, 243, 256, 216

and 512

The winner Alex Maynard of Ann Arbor, Michigan, US

SUSAN DENHAMEve said to me that she had in mind

an even three-figure number that

was divisible by 3. She also told

me that she had spelled out the

number in words and that she had

counted the number of letters used.

Knowing the number of letters

would enable me to work out her

number, she said.

Oddy said to me that he had in

mind an odd three-figure number

divisible by 3. He told me that he, too,

had written the number in words

and that he had counted the number

of letters used. He said that knowing

the number of letters would again

enable me to work out his number.

Then the two of them had a little

chat and announced that their

numbers had no digit in common.

What were their numbers?

Clever spells


Beyond doping

Anonymity must go

Not so natural

Burning issue

To join the debate, visit newscientist.com/letters

Letters should be sent to:

Letters to the Editor, New Scientist,

84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8NS

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7611 1280

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Include your full postal address and telephone number, and a reference (issue, page number, title) to articles. We reserve the right to edit letters. Reed Business Information reserves the right to use any submissions sent to the letters column of New Scientist magazine, in any other format.

Twins in space

One tough roach

Low blow

mailto:[email protected]

http://newscientist.com/letters

COVER STORY


DRINK EIGHT GLASSES OF

WATER PER DAY


DRINK EIGHHHHHHTTTTTT

We are constantly being bombarded with health advice, but not all of it is based on rigorous evidence. Caroline Williams debunks six common myths

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We live in a toxic world. You’re breathing in lead

as you read this. Your next meal will contain

everything from natural poisons to pesticides and

pollutants. As a result, the human body is a veritable

cesspit of suspect chemicals. The last US National

Report on Human Exposure to Environmental

Chemicals found potentially concerning levels of

dozens of undesirable substances, including heavy

metals, dioxins, PCBs and phthalate plasticisers,

in the blood and urine of Americans.

The question is, what can we do about it?

According to popular wisdom, we need to “detox” to

get rid of these poisons in our body, and there is no

shortage of advice on the best way to accomplish

this. But do any of these detox plans actually work?

And is detoxing really good for us?

For a start, we are already doing it all the time,

with the help of our livers, kidneys and digestive

systems. Most of the toxic chemicals we consume

are broken down or excreted, or both, within hours.

However, it can take weeks, months or even

years to get rid of some substances, especially

fat-soluble chemicals such as dioxins and PCBs.

SUGAR MAKES CHILDREN

HYPERACTIVE

to get rid of one-half of the amount stored in our fat

tissues,” says Andreas Kortenkamp, a toxicologist at

Brunel University in London. “That is not achievable,

because, unfortunately, there is no zero exposure.”

What’s more, fasting or dieting releases

fat-soluble chemicals into the blood, rather than

eliminating them from the body. One study found

the level of organochlorines and pesticides in blood

shot up by 25 to 50 per cent after people lost a lot

of weight quickly (Obesity Surgery, vol 16, p 1145).

Animal studies show that this increases the level

of compounds in tissues like the muscles and brain,

where they can do more harm than in fat.

This sudden flood of chemicals could even

cause the kind of problems detoxers are trying to

avoid, says Margaret Sears, an environmental

health researcher at the CHEO Research Institute

in Ottawa, Canada. “These chemicals have

toxic effects as endocrine disruptors that

paradoxically affect energy levels and appetite,

potentially contributing to yo-yo weight loss and

gain,” she says. Plus there’s no guarantee that

chemicals released from fat will actually leave

OUR BODIES CAN AND SHOULD BE

DETOXEDIf we take these in faster than our bodies can get rid

of them, levels build up in our bodies.

Many detox programmes promote a period of

consuming only fluids and no solid food, but this will

make virtually no difference to levels of chemicals

that have built up over years. “For many of these it

will take between six and 10 years of zero exposure

A doughnut can contain eight teaspoons of sugar


The human body is a veritable cesspit of suspect chemicals

It seems blindingly obvious. As our cells metabolise

the food we eat, they produce rogue molecules called

free radicals that wreak havoc. Over a lifetime, the

damage they do slowly builds up and may cause all

kinds of degenerative diseases. Luckily, though, many

chemicals can act as antioxidants that mop up free

radicals. Plus, eating vegetables rich in antioxidants

seems to reduce the risk of degenerative diseases.

So popping pills packed with antioxidants must surely

help stave off these diseases too?

That’s what some scientists started thinking from

the 1970s onwards. The Nobel prizewinning chemist

Linus Pauling enthusiastically promoted high doses

of vitamins without waiting for the evidence, the

public lapped it up and a whole new industry sprang

up to meet demand.

Then, in the 1990s, the results of rigorous trials

of some of the most popular supplements, including

beta carotene, vitamin E and vitamin C, started to

come in. Study after study has found that while

these substances do work as antioxidants in the test

tube, popping the pills does not provide any benefit.

On the contrary, some studies suggest that they

are harmful. A 2007 review of nearly 70 trials

involving 230,000 people concluded that not only do

antioxidant supplements not increase lifespan, but

that supplements of beta carotene and vitamins A

and E actually seem to increase mortality (Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 297, p 842).

Why? Perhaps because high levels of free radicals

tell cells to ramp up their own built-in antioxidant

defences, says Barry Halliwell, a biochemist at the

National University of Singapore. He thinks these

internal defences are far more effective than the

antioxidants we get from food. So by taking

supplements we may be deactivating a first-rate

defence mechanism and replacing it with a poorer

one (Nutrition Reviews, vol 70, p 257). “Free radicals

in low amounts also play useful roles,” Halliwell says.

If this is right, the benefits of vegetables may have

nothing to do with antioxidants. One suggestion

is that vegetables are beneficial because they are

mildly poisonous – a little poison may activate

protective mechanisms that ward off disease.

In the meantime, the antioxidant juggernaut rolls

on. No one seems keen to abandon the idea that

antioxidant supplements are good for you.

ANTIOXIDANT PILLS HELP YOU

LIVE LONGER

the body – some will end up back in storage.

With chemicals that the body does eliminate

rapidly, such as phthalates, a short fast will lower

levels. It’s not clear that this does you any good,

though. As soon as you start eating again, says

Kortenkamp, levels go back to where they were.

For these reasons, Sears recommends what she

calls a “lifelong detox”, which involves eating as

healthily as possible and avoiding chemicals in

the home and workplace as much as you can. But

Kortenkamp isn’t convinced that even that will

help much. “Only regulatory action that reduces

exposures will work. Individual avoidance strategies

are but a drop in the ocean,” he says.

That said, you can greatly reduce your exposure

to toxic chemicals like nicotine and alcohol. There

is also one way of speeding up the removal of many

fat-soluble toxic chemicals that is supported by

scientific evidence – producing milk (Lipids, vol 36,

p 1289). While it is possible for women to induce

lactation without giving birth – and even for men to

lactate – the milk-yourself detox method is probably

unlikely to catch on. PE

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Let’s be clear – being seriously obese is bad for

your health. A body mass index of over 40

increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart

disease and certain cancers and increases the

risk of dying from any cause by up to 29 per cent.

This is not a health myth.

But carrying just a few extra pounds, far from

being a one-way ticket to an early grave, seems

to deter the grim reaper, according to a recent

review of nearly a hundred studies involving

nearly 3 million people. The review, led by

Katherine Flegal of the US Centers for Disease

Control in Hyattsville, Maryland, reported earlier

this year that being “overweight” – defined as

having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29 –

seems to have a protective effect, with a

6 per cent reduction in death risk compared

with people with a BMI of between 18.5 and 25.

Those with BMIs over 35, however, have a higher

risk (JAMA, vol 309, p 71).

It isn’t clear why being overweight might

protect against an early death. Perhaps carrying

a few extra pounds in reserve helps the body

fight off illness or infection. Perhaps overweight

people are more likely to receive medical

attention. Or perhaps some of those counted as

“normal” had lost weight due to serious illnesses.

Whatever the reason, Flegal says her

finding is not a green light to eat all the pies.

Overweight people might be more likely to

develop diseases that affect the quality of life,

for instance. Even so, it seems that a little bit of

flab may not be the crime against health it has

always been made out to be.

BEING A BIT OVERWEIGHT

MEANS YOU WILL DIE SOONER

WE SHOULD LIVE AND EAT LIKE

CAVEMEN

Caroline Williams is a freelancer based in Surrey, UK

The most searched-for diet earlier this year was “Paleo diet”

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Best of all worlds

A

Meet the cosmic object going from zero to astronomical hero, says Sarah Cruddas

Impressions of

brown dwarfs in all

their intriguing hues

Lonely planet?


Cosmic relations

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” After years of speculation, the first brown dwarf might have enjoyed more fanfare, but it was overshadowed”

Alien weather forecastBrown dwarfs share many traits with gas giants such as Jupiter, including their size and occasionally

temperature. This means their weather could provide clues to exoplanet climates

EARTH

JUPITER

BROWN DWARF

SUN

Iron rain and silicate snow fall in a hot, dusty atmosphere

Mostlyclear skies

2100°C 27°C

Cool conditions may be perfect for water clouds


In the night sky, there

is roughly one brown

dwarf for every six stars

Sarah Cruddas is a broadcaster and journalist based

in London. Additional reporting by Richard Fisher

What colour is a brown dwarf?

Well, not really brown.

Brown dwarfs received their drab

name to differentiate them from other

celestial objects: observed with optical

telescopes, blue stars tend to be hot,

red stars cooler. Brown was chosen as

it is a mongrel shade, which some felt

appropriate given that the colours of

brown dwarfs were expected to be

tricky to pin down.

When astronomers showcase images

of brown dwarfs they use representative

colours. Most brown dwarfs are

observed using infrared telescopes,

with various filters to record data at

specific wavelengths. To produce a

representative colour in a red-green-

blue palette, astronomers assign the

shortest wavelength filter they use to

blue and the longest to red, and then

stack them together. This commonly

creates a magenta shade, although

occasionally you get wilder colours,

like green.

So what would a brown dwarf look

like to the naked eye? Zoom past in a

spaceship and you may well fail to see

it because it would produce so little

visible light. Peer closer, though, and you

might see a faint glow in regions where it

is still hot enough to produce light – but

it might be more of a very dark orange.

TRUE COLOURS


Sniffer dogs have always had a nose for trouble. Now they are proving invaluable for tracking and saving rare species, says Anthony King

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” Good sniffer dogs are highly motivated and what some might call naughty or mischievous”


Sniffer dogs are expensive but effective

recruits in the fight against poaching

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A dog’s sensitivity to odours is

staggering. Dogs can detect

n-amyl acetate, which smells like

apples and bananas, at just 1.1 to

1.9 parts per trillion. That is the

equivalent of a pinch of sugar

in a billion cups of tea. They are

100,000 times more sensitive to

scents than we are. No wonder.

The olfactory surface within a

dog’s nose can measure more

than 150 square centimetres

and contain up to 300 million

olfactory receptors.

Breeds vary (see diagram,

below) but all canine noses are

impressive compared with the

measly 5-square-centimetre

surface area and 6 million

receptors in human noses.

What’s more, the olfactory area

of a dog’s brain is proportionately

about 40 times as big as ours,

accounting for about an eighth

of its total brain mass, compared

with less than one-hundredth

for us.

Despite all this, it is not their

noses that make dogs such good

sniffer-animals. “The odour-

guided behaviour and abilities of

dogs are no more extraordinary

than those of a rat or a mouse,”

says Paul Waggoner of the

Canine Detection Research

Institute at Auburn University in

Alabama. “But dogs come with a

unique social relationship with

humans and they are amenable

to do tasks that we want them

to do. They want to please us.”

Most dogs do not possess other

qualities that mark out a prize

sniffer (see main story) but all

can learn to detect new smells

and will improve with training.

So if you want to try odour

training with your pet, go ahead.

Even if Fido doesn’t have a

talent for it, you should both

find it stimulating.

A NOSE WITH ATTITUDE

Bloodhound 300m

= 1 million scent receptors

German shepherd 225m Beagle 225m Fox terrier 147m Dachshund 125m Humans 6m

Not to be sniffed atDog noses are between 10,000 and 100,000 times more sensitive than ours. This is partly due to the number of scent detectors they have

Watching the detectives


Pine martens are hard to spot, but a dog can

sniff out droppings to detect their presence

On duty: when her

yellow harness goes on,

Luna knows it is time to

seek some scat

Anthony King is a writer based in Dublin, Ireland

Links to the research mentioned can be found in the

online version of this article at newscientist.com/

article/dn24047LA

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http://newscientist.com/article/dn24047


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WIPEOUT A huge chunk of 20th-century history could be erased if we don’t act now. Sarah Everts reports

Photography: Dave Stock for New Scientist


>

G

Much magnetic tape

can only be played on

obsolete equipment


67.8%

22.6%6.6%

1.9%1.1%

Keeping it reelIn 2008, a European Union-funded project asked 374 European archives and libraries how much

videotape of various formats their collections contained. The total came to 8.8 million hours

Betacam (½ inch) 1982

VHS/S-VHS (½ inch) 1976

Other

Video8/Digital8 (8mm) mid 80s/1999

U-matic (¾ inch) 1971

22.6%6%%6.6%6.6%6 6%

ean Union-funded project asked 374 European archives and l

ious formats their collections contained. The total came to 8.8

1000 years of viewing

SOURCE: TAPE (TRAINING FOR AUDIOVISUAL PRESERVATION IN EUROPE)

FADING MAGNETISMThe structural base of most magnetic tape

is a thick layer of polyester, although in

older audio tape it can be acetate, paper

or polyvinyl chloride. Whatever the base,

information is encoded in a thin coating

of magnetic particles embedded in a

polyurethane-based binder.

In the earliest tapes, these particles were

made of iron oxide. Other magnetic particles

have since come on the scene. Barium

ferrite is less rust-prone and has a smaller

particle size, allowing information to be

encoded more densely. Chromium dioxide

is ideal when a recording has a lot of

high-frequency sound.

The range of frequency and volume that

a tape can record, and the ease of recording

and re-recording, are determined by the size

of the particles, their range in size, and their

orientation on the tape. Various lubricants

make the tape flow smoothly through the

player, plasticisers make it supple, and

antifungal agents and antioxidants extend

its life. There are also other ingredients

whose identities are proprietary, says Eric

Breitung, a conservation scientist at the

US Library of Congress in Washington DC.

That’s a huge problem for conservators.

“There are at least 46 million magnetic

tapes in the US, and 40 per cent are in

unknown condition,” says Breitung. Most

manufacturers won’t disclose their recipes,

sometimes even decades after the tapes

have become obsolete, and when they

begin to degrade it is often a challenge for

researchers to figure out why. Breitung is

developing a method based on infrared

spectroscopy to identify the tapes most at

risk, in the first instance for audio tape held

by the Library of Congress.

Tape comes in a

dizzying array of

different formats


Restored memories

Sarah Everts is a writer based in Berlin, Germany

” In many cases, not only are the tapes degrading, but we have also lost the technical know-how to play them at all”

CULTURELAB


The Gaia Hypothesis: Science on a pagan planet by Michael Ruse,

University of Chicago Press, $26

“The scientific community reacted to Gaia as though a bad smell had been let off at the vicar’s tea party”

An Alaskan river system: easy to

imagine Earth as being alive

The living heart of thingsWhy did the public love the Gaia theory while scientists hated it? Michael Bond finds out

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For more books and arts coverage and to add your comments, visit newscientist.com/culturelab


The shipping gallery resided in one

of the Science Museum’s largest halls

SC

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Ghost ships set sailThe virtual salvage of a bygone gallery is a pioneering way to preserve exhibitions

Shaoni Bhattacharya

The animation of the immortalised

shipping gallery is at bit.ly/187Sshn

“ There are no jostling elbows to contend with: the experience is serene and informative”

The animated fly-through has

a ghostly translucent quality

http://newscientist.com/culturelab

http://bit.ly/187Sshn


T


Colin Barras

http://newscientistjobs.com


JOBS IN ACADEMIA

University of PennsylvaniaTenure Track Appointment in Energy Research

The School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professorship in the FKHPLFDO� VFLHQFHV�� 7KLV� DSSRLQWPHQW� ZLOO� EH� WKH� ÀUVW� LQ� D� FOXVWHU� RI�three hires across the natural sciences focused on energy science. The successful candidate will mount an innovative program of fundamental VFLHQWLÀF� UHVHDUFK� JHDUHG� WRZDUG� VROYLQJ� VRFLHWDO� HQHUJ\� FKDOOHQJHV��The successful candidate will also forge collaborative links with Penn scientists and engineers involved in energy research and participate actively in the future recruitments as the cluster hire initiative progresses. It is anticipated that some of the candidate’s teaching will be of broad interest to students beyond chemistry in another of the natural sciences (Biology, Physics, and/or Earth and Environmental Science).

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Applicants must apply online at http://facultysearches.provost.upenn.edu/postings/28. Required application materials include: curriculum vitae including a list of publications, and a description of proposed research. Applicants should also submit the names and contact information of three individuals who will provide letters of recommendation. Review of applications will begin on October 14, 2013 and will continue until the SRVLWLRQ�LV�ÀOOHG�

Argonne Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs

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�ŽƌƌĞƐƉŽŶĚĞŶĐĞ� ĂŶĚ� ƐƵƉƉŽƌƟŶŐ� ůĞƩĞƌƐ� ŽĨ� ƌĞĐŽŵŵĞŶĚĂƟŽŶ� ƐŚŽƵůĚ� ďĞ�ƐƵďŵŝƩĞĚ�ƚŽ�EĂŵĞĚ"WŽƐƚĚŽĐΛĂŶů�ŐŽǀ�

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Harvard UniversityTenure-track Assistant Professorship in Organic Chemistry

Candidates are invited to apply for a tenure-track assistant professorship in organic chemistry, broadly

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organometallic chemistry, and catalysis. The appointment is expected to begin on July 1, 2014. The tenure-

track professor will be responsible for teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We are seeking

candidates who have an outstanding research record and a strong commitment to undergraduate and

graduate teaching. Doctorate required by expected start date. Candidates should arrange to have three

letters of recommendation sent independently and provide a curriculum vitae, statement of teaching

philosophy, list of publications, and outline of their future research plans.

All applications and supporting materials must be submitted via the

ARIeS portal (https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/4914)

no later than October 15, 2013.

+DUYDUG�LV�DQ�(TXDO�2SSRUWXQLW\�$IÀUPDWLYH�$FWLRQ�HPSOR\HU�� Applications from women and minorities are strongly encouraged.

The Department of Neurobiology, in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, seeks to recruit two new tenure- track faculty members at the level of Assistant Professor. Applicants holding a Ph.D. and/or M.D. degree and demonstrating an outstanding record of scientific achievement will be considered. We are interested in individuals whose research addresses fundamental issues in neuroscience and who show significant potential for innovation, scholarship, and commitment to excellence in research and teaching.

Successful candidates will be expected to establish and maintain a high-profile research program attracting substantial extramural funding. The appointees will have access to state-of-the-art life science research support facilities and opportunities to interact with colleagues in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program consisting of over 130 faculty, the Feinberg School of Medicine, the McCormick School of Engineering, the School of Communication, as well the Center for Advanced Molecular Imaging, the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, the Institute for Complex Systems, the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center, the Center for Reproductive Science, the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology, and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Applicants will submit (in PDF format) a cover letter, a CV, and a description of research plans. Applications must be submitted electronically. For details on preparing and submitting the application, please visit neurobiology.northwestern.edu/openings. Please plan to request at least three letters of recommendation. Applications received by November 1, 2013 will be ensured full consideration. All other inquiries may be directed to [email protected].

AA/EOE. Women and minority applicants are encouraged to apply.

Department of NeurobiologyTwo Assistant Professor Positions

Harvard UniversityTenure-track Assistant Professorship in Inorganic Chemistry

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to include catalysis, synthesis, mechanism, materials, and energy-related research. The appointment is expected

to begin on July 1, 2014. The tenure-track professor will be responsible for teaching at the undergraduate and

graduate levels. We are seeking candidates who have an outstanding research record and a strong commitment

to undergraduate and graduate teaching. Doctorate required by expected start date. Candidates should arrange

to have three letters of recommendation sent independently and provide a curriculum vitae, statement of

teaching philosophy, list of publications, and outline of their future research plans.

All applications and supporting materials must be submitted via the ARIeS

portal (https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/4913)

no later than October 15, 2013.

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Applications from women and minorities are strongly encouraged.

http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v58/n02/diversityplan.html

http://facultysearches.provost.upenn.edu/postings/28

https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/4914

http://www.anl.gov

http://www.anl.gov/careers




https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/4913


http://blogs.anl.gov/postdoc

http://neurobiology.northwestern.edu/openings

http://neurobiology.northwestern.edu/openings


JOBS IN ACADEMIA

The Department of Molecular Biology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School (HMS) invite applications for a joint appointment at the level of Assistant Professor. The laboratory will be located in the Department of Molecular Biology at MGH (http://molbio.mgh.harvard.edu), a major research center in the Boston area and a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. The faculty appointment will be in the HMS Department of Genetics (http://genetics.med.harvard.edu). The following HMS faculty members have labs in the MGH Department of Molecular Biology:

David Altshuler Deborah Hung Marjorie OettingerFrederick Ausubel Joshua Kaplan Gary RuvkunJoseph Avruch Robert Kingston, Chair Jen SheenMichael Blower Jeannie Lee Jack Szostak Vamsi Mootha

Applications should be submitted no earlier than September 1, 2013

and no later than November 1, 2013 at: http://molbio.mgh.harvard.edu/

facultysearch/

Please submit a curriculum vitae, statement of research plans, up to three relevant publications, and contact information for three references.

Harvard University and the Massachusetts General Hospital are equal opportunity/affirmative action employers. Applications from women and minorities are encouraged.

FACULTY POSITION

Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School

University of PennsylvaniaTenure Track Appointment in Evolution

The School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania seeks to add to the faculty of our newly formed Evolution Cluster. We invite applicants for a tenure-track assistant professor appointment in evolution, broadly interpreted. We are interested in exceptional scientists who will establish a research program to empirically study the evolution RI�G\QDPLFDO�SURFHVVHV�XVLQJ�ÀHOG�RU�ODERUDWRU\�H[SHULPHQWV�or the construction and analysis of massive data sets. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: the evolution of neural, social, ecological or linguistic dynamics and networks; evolution of early life or exobiology; biochemical, neuronal, or cooperative interactions and exchange of information at the molecular, cellular, human, or ecosystems scales; directed evolution of organisms or processes; analyzing extant structures and networks, from molecules to populations, along with their evolutionary trajectories, including the development of new modalities to extract data from the geologic, genetic, or linguistic historical records. The successful candidate’s primary appointment will be in a single department in the natural sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Linguistics, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, or Psychology. Secondary appointments in other departments can be arranged, as appropriate. The successful candidate will have a strong interest in building a program that generates interaction with researchers from other disciplines who are working within the overarching theme of evolution and will teach courses in his or her home department and participate in the development of curricula pertinent to the Evolution Cluster (See http://evolutioncluster.sas.upenn.edu for more information). 7KH�8QLYHUVLW\�RI�3HQQV\OYDQLD�LV�DQ�$IÀUPDWLYH�$FWLRQ�(TXDO�

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Applications should be submitted on-line at http://facultysearches.provost.upenn.edu/postings/23 and include a curriculum vitae, a research statement that includes the FDQGLGDWH·V�SHUVSHFWLYH�RQ�KRZ�VKH�RU�KH�ÀWV�LQWR�RQH�RI�WKH�FRUH�departments, links to no more than three journal publications, and the contact information for three individuals who will provide letters of recommendation. Review of applications will begin 1 November 2013 and will continue until the position is ÀOOHG�

Located in Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute brings together world renowned clinicians, innovative researchers and dedicated professionals, allies in the common mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS and related diseases. Combining extremely talented people with the best technologies in a genuinely positive environment, we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all ages; we conduct research that advances treatment; we educate tomorrow’s physician/researchers; we reach out to underserved members of our community; and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

HIV-1 Research FellowA postdoctoral position is available in the area of HIV vaccine immunology with the goal to modulate B cell selection and ultimately elicit high affinity, broadly neutralizing antibodies. The candidate will study the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating B cell immune responses including B cell repertoire analysis and CD4 T cell requirements in a murine model. Schedule is Monday–Friday, 9–5. A strong scientific background with emphasis on B cell and molecular immunology is required. The successful candidate must have a PhD or equivalent and be highly motivated.

If interested, please send your CV, a brief summary of research experience and names of three referees to: Ellis Reinherz, MD, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and the Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, HIM 419, Boston, MA 02115; Email: [email protected]

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer – committed to diversity and inclusion in our workforce

Our Next Breakthrough In The Fight Against Cancer Might Be You.

Dana-FarberCareers.com


http://molbio.mgh.harvard.edu

http://genetics.med.harvard.edu

http://molbio.mgh.harvard.edu/facultysearch/

http://evolutioncluster.sas.upenn.edu




http://molbio.mgh.harvard.edu/facultysearch/


http://Dana-FarberCareers.com


JOBS IN ACADEMIA

University of PennsylvaniaTenure Track Appointment in Inorganic Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania plans to make a tenure track appointment in chemistry at the Assistant Professor OHYHO�� 7KH�DSSRLQWPHQW�ZLOO�EH�LQ�WKH�EURDGO\�GHÀQHG�DUHD�RI� ,QRUJDQLF�Chemistry. The candidate is expected to establish an externally funded UHVHDUFK� SURJUDP� DQG� SDUWLFLSDWH� LQ� WKH� 'HSDUWPHQW·V� XQGHUJUDGXDWH�DQG�JUDGXDWH�WHDFKLQJ�PLVVLRQ��

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Applicants must apply online at http://facultysearches.provost.upenn.edu/postings/29. Required application materials include: curriculum YLWDH�LQFOXGLQJ�D�OLVW�RI�SXEOLFDWLRQV��DQG�D�GHVFULSWLRQ�RI�SURSRVHG�UHVHDUFK��Applicants should also submit the names and contact information of three individuals who will provide letters of recommendation. Review of DSSOLFDWLRQV�ZLOO� EHJLQ�RQ�October 14, 2013 and will continue until the SRVLWLRQ�LV�ÀOOHG��

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Master of Science in Management with specialization

in Biopharmaceutical Leadership

The Master of Science in Management with specialization in Biopharmaceutical Leadership allows scientists

to combine critical learning in the field of biopharmaceutical leadership with the management knowledge and

business skills required to be successful professionals.

The program provides unique and interactive ways to enhance leadership, management and organizational skills.

This master’s degree can be completed in two years of part-time study.

Expected Learning Outcomes

At the completion of the Master of Science in Management with specialization in Biopharmaceutical

Leadership, the student will: Demonstrate a proficiency of knowledge in the areas of 1) team leadership,

2) intellectual property, 3) the pharmaceutical regulatory approval process, 4) organizational development,

5) strategy, 6) written and oral communication, 7) analysis, 8) ethics and behavioral science interventions.

http://www.emmanuel.edu/GPP_Programs/Biopharmaceutical_Leadership/

Degrees_and_Certificates/Master_of_Science.html

The Department of Atmospheric Science at the University of Wyoming

has an opening for an individual with demonstrated capabilities and

productivity in aerosol physics, aerosol measurement, and in analysis

of the impact of aerosol on atmospheric radiation and chemistry.

The successful candidate will have an earned Ph.D. in atmospheric

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capabilities, and will have the potential to contribute to current

stratospheric balloon-borne measurement programs at the University

of Wyoming, through the collection of in situ measurements and their

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Applications should include a statement of research interests,

and accomplishments, curriculum vita, and the names and contact

information of three references. Send an electronic copy (PDF version

preferred) of your application materials to Search Committee,

Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming, c/o

Terry Deshler: [email protected]. The search committee will begin

reviewing applications on 1 October 2013 and will continue until the

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More information about this position, the University, the City of Laramie

and its surroundings can be found at http://www.atmos.uwyo.edu/info/

WyoResSci/ and http://www.atmos.uwyo.edu/info/WyoPostDoc/

Research Scientist or Postdoctoral Opportunity

Faculty Position in Biochemistry Department of ChemistryPurdue University The Department of Chemistry at Purdue University, West Lafayette, invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant Professor level in Biochemistry or related areas. Candidates that complement existing program strengths in cancer biology, membrane proteins, drug discovery and macromolecular structure/function, with an emphasis on disease-relevant research questions, are especially encouraged to apply. Purdue has an outstanding tradition in biochemistry and the department is looking to integrate a creative scientist into the cutting edge interdisciplinary environment provided by Purdue University.

Candidates must have a PhD in Biochemistry or a related ¿HOG�ZLWK�RXWVWDQGLQJ�FUHGHQWLDOV�LQ�ELRPHGLFDO�UHVHDUFK��an excellent track record of publications and a strong commitment to excellence in teaching. Successful candidates are expected to develop a vibrant research program supported by extramural funding and teach courses at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.

Applicants should submit a letter of application with curriculum vita, a summary of planned research and a statement on teaching philosophy to: Chair, Biochemistry Faculty Search Committee, Purdue University, Department of Chemistry, 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2084. Applicants should also arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to the same address. Applications will be reviewed beginning November 1, 2013, DQG�ZLOO�UHPDLQ�LQ�FRQVLGHUDWLRQ�XQWLO�WKH�SRVLWLRQ�LV�¿OOHG� See http://www.chem.purdue.edu/ for further details. A background check will be required for employment in this

position. Purdue University is an ADVANCE institution.

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http://www.atmos.uwyo.edu/info/WyoResSci/

http://www.atmos.uwyo.edu/info/WyoPostDoc/

http://h%C6%A9p://nasa.orau.org/postdoc

http://www.emmanuel.edu/GPP_Programs/Biopharmaceutical_Leadership/Degrees_and_Certificates/Master_of_Science.html

http://www.chem.purdue.edu/


http://www.emmanuel.edu/GPP_Programs/Biopharmaceutical_Leadership/Degrees_and_Certificates/Master_of_Science.html

http://www.atmos.uwyo.edu/info/WyoResSci/

JOBS IN ACADEMIA

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Faculty Position in Cervical Biology

Wayne State University School of Medicine

Wayne State University (WSU) seeks nominations and applications for a full-time faculty position focused on the study of the uterine cervix in pregnancy complications. The programmatic goal is to be a part of an exceptional unit to characterize cervical biology in normal pregnant women and those with complications. A priority is to develop an understanding of the mechanisms involved in cervical disease in pregnancy.

A cervical biology unit, specific to reproduction, is in place and this recruitment is meant to strengthen the University’s impressive record of innovative discoveries and achievements in obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine and perinatal medicine. The unit promotes collaboration among clinicians and faculty members working in reproductive immunology, genomics and computational biology. This position is part of the WSU Perinatal Initiative to create partnerships with the Perinatology Research Branch of the Division of Intramural Research, NICHD, NIH, DHHS, housed at the WSU campus.

The successful candidate is expected to establish a productive and independent research program in the area of cervical biology. A Ph.D. degree or equivalent, expertise and training in the areas of extracellular matrix and collagen metabolism in the reproductive tract. The program is to examine the mechanisms of cervical remodeling in pregnancy, as well as the effect of specific drug-delivery systems on the cervix. Emphasis will be on both human and animal models. The faculty member should be able to establish a laboratory, participate in graduate and medical education, recruit and supervise laboratory staff, and lead a productive and dynamic team.

WSU is committed to academic excellence and diversity within the faculty, staff and student body. WSU is interested in candidates who have demonstrated commitment to excellence in research and teaching. Some scholarly activity and service towards building an equitable and diverse scholarly environment is required. Successful candidates should possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience and based on the WSU pay scale. Tenure and non-tenure track positions are available. Series of appointment, as well as a competitive start-up package, will be determined based upon the candidate’s skills, qualifications and experience. National and international applicants are welcome.

Review of applications will begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled.

Interested individuals should send:

x a curriculum vitae, x a separate statement summarizing their experience and professional contributions, x and a list of three references to:

Sonia S. Hassan, M.D.

Associate Dean for Maternal, Perinatal and Child Health Wayne State University School of Medicine

[email protected]

Wayne State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer



FEEDBACK

IS THE “Internet of Things” – the

computerisation of our homes

heralded by futurists – really such

a good idea? What happens when

essential household appliances are

online and vulnerable to hackers?

Imagine the consequences if

someone could hack into your toilet.

This is not merely a theoretical

vulnerability. The Japanese company

Lixil has developed a high-tech

toilet called Satis that aims to be

comfortable, stylish and water-

saving, with features that include

a lid that raises and lowers

automatically without being

touched, and a self-cleaning spray.

Two versions are available in the

US for just $4200 and $5800.

Unfortunately, a security firm

called Trustwave Holdings has found

a bug in the toilet’s computerised

control system. It is set up to allow

control using an app, via Bluetooth –

widely used for hands-free operation

of phones – hard-wired with an

access code of 0000. Trustwave says

it told the manufacturer about the

Simon Horton wonders whether the missing

hyphen in a London Underground sign offering

“Real time travel updates” should be between

“real” and “time” or between “time” and “travel”

flaw, but never received a response,

so it has now issued a warning. If you

happen to find yourself sitting on a

toilet that flips its lid and sprays its

bowl by itself, it’s not a poltergeist,

it’s a prankster with an app.

READER Don Roworth was as puzzled

as we were by a practice examination

paper from CGP Books that asked for

ways in which an experimenter could

increase the rate of evaporation of

water in a beaker, and offered as an

answer “decrease the density of the

water” (3 August). John Owen-Jones

was just one of many readers who

pointed out that “I usually reduce

the density of water (and increase

evaporation) by turning the ‘on’

switch on my kettle.”

Yes, John, this would have that

effect – but decreasing the density

is not responsible for increasing the

rate of evaporation. It is the heating

that does both.

Had this been a philosophy of

science exam, it might have formed

part of a discussion of causality but,

as it stands, “by really wanting a nice

hot cup of tea” would be an equally

good answer – wouldn’t it?

THE Yahoo Movies website recently

ran a “stunning” clip from the new

space movie Gravity. The text

beneath it read: “The clip shows

Sandra Bullock’s astronaut thrown

into space after an explosion on

a space shuttle. Watch it above,

unless you’re claustrophobic.”

Matt Ashmore, who noticed this,

comments: “Your claustrophobia

must be pretty insurmountable if

you can’t stand to be in a space as

small as, well, space.”

You can send stories to Feedback by

email at [email protected].

Please include your home address.

This week’s and past Feedbacks can

be seen on our website.

For more feedback, visit newscientist.com/feedback

PA

UL

MC

DE

VIT

T


http://newscientist.com/feedback

http://emfblues.com

Questions and answers should be concise.

We reserve the right to edit items for clarity

and style. Include a daytime telephone

number and email address if you have

one. Restrict questions to scientific

enquiries about everyday phenomena.

The writers of answers published in the

magazine will receive a cheque for £25 (or

US$ equivalent).

Reed Business Information Ltd reserves all

rights to reuse question and answer

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New Scientist retains total editorial control

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Send questions and answers to The Last

Word, New Scientist, Lacon House, 84

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(please include a postal address in order

to receive payment for answers).

To view unanswered questions visit

www.newscientist.com/topic/lastword.

THE LAST WORD

MetallergyYou recently ran a question about

using silver in clothing as an

antimicrobial. I used to be a

consultant assisting a company that

refined precious metals. One of its

employees told me that his eyeballs

were jet black because he had

absorbed so much silver into his

body. He was otherwise totally

healthy. Can any reader confirm that

silver can do this to humans, how it

works and whether it conveys any

harm to the individual?

Water stonesHow do pebbles skim on water?

Neither medium seems especially

elastic, so how do the stones

bounce?

(Continued)

This week’s questionsDOUBLE YOUR LUCK

SHARPEN UP

STICK IT TO ‘EM

“We can conclude that eating from silver utensils will not lead to any significant health effects”

Last words past and present at newscientist.com/topic/lastword

The new book out now: packed full of wit, knowledge and extraordinary discovery

Available from booksellers and at newscientist.com/dolphins

d

newscientistii t com/dolphin

Will we ever speak dolphin?

“The current world record for stone skimming stands at 51 skips by Russell Byars on 19 July 2007”


http://www.newscientist.com/topic/lastword

http://www.newscientist.com/topic/lastword

http://newscientist.com/topic/lastword

http://newscientist.com/dolphins

Visit www.nobcche.org for more information or to register.

of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement

of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE ™)

Indianapolis, Oct. 1-4, 2013

Join us for the Annual Conference

Career Fair and Trade Show with more than 75 Exhibitors

Professional Development Workshops

Technical Sessions

Industry Awards

Symposiums

The opportunity to interact with hundreds of leaders and decision-makers from industry, government and academia.

new scientist 24_august_2013 by hubspot-directory.blogspot.com

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