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Issue no. 8, 2008 Published: Mar 14, 2008
Scientists advance 'drought crop'
Researchers improve solar cell efficiency
Scientists track bees with RFID
IBM researchers inch closer to nano-transistors
Chemical brain controls nanobots
Virtual child passes mental milestone
Camera 'looks' through clothing
Hi-tech neckband allows voiceless calls
Non-explosive hydrogen storage

Scientists advance 'drought crop'
Scientists in Finland and the US say they have made a key breakthrough in understanding the genes of plants that could lead to crops that can survive in a drought. They say they have discovered a gene that controls the amount of carbon dioxide a plant absorbs. It also controls the amount of water vapour it releases into the atmosphere. This information could be important for food production and in regulating climate change. Plants play a crucial role in the regulation of the atmosphere by absorbing CO2 from the air. They absorb the gas through tiny pores on their leaves called stomata and these pores also release water vapour as the plant grows. In extremely dry weather, a plant can lose 95% of its water in this way. Scientists have been trying to find the gene that controls the response of the stomata for decades. Now the researchers say they have found a crucial genetic pathway that controls the opening and closing of these pores. This understanding could allow them to modify plants so that they continue to absorb CO2 but reduce the amount of water released into the atmosphere, enabling them to thrive in very dry conditions.
BBC New / Nature Feb 28, 2008	back to top

Researchers improve solar cell efficiency
An international research collaboration has developed a technology that could dramatically improve the efficiency of solar cells. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and Satoshi Uchida at the University of Tokyo, have produced enhanced sensitizers which will allow an inexpensive type of solar cell to be more efficient. The researchers developed photoelectrochemical solar cells some years ago that are inexpensive, easy to produce and able to withstand long exposure to light and heat. The cells contain a mesoscopic layer of titanium oxide (TiO2) particles coated with a sensitising dye. On irradiation with light, electrons are injected from the dye adsorbed on the TiO2 and transferred to the conducting band of the TiO2. The electrons are then collected at the back contact and carried away by an external circuit. The team refined this original design by optimising the sensitizer. In place of the usual ruthenium dyes, they used tailor-made organic dyes based on indoline. This allows the TiO2 films to be thinner, in turn reducing the electron path length. The combination thus attained an energy conversion yield of 7.2 per cent, a record for this type of cell.
VNUnet UK Mar 03, 2008	back to top

Scientists track bees with RFID
RFID technology is being used to give scientists an unrivalled insight into the lives of one of nature's smallest creatures - the humble bumblebee. Researchers at Queen Mary, University of London say the tracking chips allow them to carry out experiments that would have previously been impossible. Hundreds of bees have been tagged using RFID chips to monitor their every move. Readers positioned on the hive and on artificial flowers capture the bees' journey as they hunt for nectar. Scientists hope to unlock the secrets of the insects' tiny brains by examining how they make complex choices about which routes to fly between flowers. The tech is also being used by Queen Mary to track bees in the Arctic circle and examine how the creatures use foraging pheromones. The bee tracking research could even benefit the tech industry, with the possibility that the rules bees use to calculate the most efficient flight path could be used to simplify and streamline the flow of data over a computer network, the researchers said.
Silicon.com Feb 28, 2008	back to top

IBM researchers inch closer to nano-transistors
Researchers at IBM say they have cleared a major hurdle in the building of nanoscale transistors. The company has solved an interference issue which had been perplexing researchers and preventing the construction of transistors from tiny particles of graphite. The issue arises when scientists attempt to construct circuits with graphene, a 2D grid structure constructed from carbon atoms. The electrical properties of graphene make it an ideal replacement for larger silicon transistors. But one major problem with graphene is that it is highly susceptible to interference. Electrical signals bounce around the structure, affecting its normal operation and creating a condition known as 'Hooge's Rule'. The researchers overcame the problem by adding a second layer of graphene to the transistor. When two layers were used, the interference was reduced to a low enough level to allow the transistor to function normally. IBM warned that more research is needed, but said that the graphene mesh could be used in future devices such as sensors, communication devices and computers.
VNUnet UK Mar 10, 2008	back to top

Chemical brain controls nanobots
A tiny chemical 'brain' which could one day act as a remote control for swarms of nano-machines has been invented by scientists at the International Center for Young Scientists in Tsukuba, Japan. The molecular device, just 2.5nm across, was able to control eight of the microscopic machines simultaneously in a test. The scientists say it could also be used to boost the processing power of future computers. The machine is made from 17 molecules of the chemical duroquinone. Each one is known as a 'logic device'. They each resemble a ring with four protruding spokes that can be independently rotated to represent four different states. One duroquinone molecule sits at the centre of a ring formed by the remaining 16. All are connected by chemical bonds, known as hydrogen bonds. The state of the control molecule at the centre is switched by a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM). These large machines are a standard part of the nanotechnologist's tool kit, and allow the viewing and manipulation of atomic surfaces. Using the STM, the researchers showed they could change the central molecule's state and simultaneously switch the states of the surrounding 16.
BBC News / Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Mar 11, 2008	back to top

Virtual child passes mental milestone
A virtual child controlled by artificially intelligent software has passed a cognitive test regarded as a major milestone in human development. It could lead to smarter computer games able to predict human players' state of mind. Children typically master the 'false belief test' at age 4 or 5. It tests their ability to realise that the beliefs of others can differ from their own, and from reality. The creators of the new character called Eddie say passing the test shows it can reason about the beliefs of others, using a rudimentary 'theory of mind'. Today's game characters have no genuine autonomy or mental picture of who you are. The researcher of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, aim to change that with future games and virtual worlds populated by genuinely intelligent computer characters able to predict and understand players actions and motives. The researcher say their work will have applications outside of gaming. For example, search engines able to reason about the beliefs of a user might allow them to better understand their search queries.
New Scientist Mar 11, 2008	back to top

Camera 'looks' through clothing
A camera that can 'see' explosives, drugs and weapons hidden under clothing from 25 metres has been invented. The ThruVision system could be deployed at airports, railway stations or other public spaces. It is based on so-called 'terahertz', or T-ray, technology, normally used by astronomers to study dying stars. Although it is able to see through clothes it does not reveal 'body detail' or subject people to 'harmful radiation', according to the designers. The electromagnetic terahertz radiation is a form of low level energy emitted by all people and objects. It can pass through clothing, paper, ceramics and wood but are blocked by metal and water. The system works by collecting these waves and processing them to form an image which can reveal concealed objects. In addition, the system does not involve any of the harmful radiation associated with traditional X-ray security screening, according to the firm.
BBC News Mar 10, 2008	back to top

Hi-tech neckband allows voiceless calls
A neckband has been developed that allows people with disabilities to 'talk' to a computer without having to vocalise the words. The Audeo device, created by Ambient Corporation, picks up nerve impulses in the neck as they head towards the vocal cords. It then interprets these as words and sends them directly to a computer via encrypted wireless transmission. The device has initially been designed for voice control of wheelchairs and for those who have lost the power of speech. But other applications could include police surveillance work, or employees in processor clean rooms where speech is difficult. Like voice recognition software the device requires the user to train it over time, but the learning period is being cut down with better software and faster processors. So far the device is limited to 150 words but Ambient Corporation hopes to have an unlimited vocabulary version available by the end of the year.
VNUnet UK Mar 13, 2008	back to top

Non-explosive hydrogen storage
Many energy researchers believe that hydrogen is the fuel of choice to replace fossil fuels for cars and other vehicles in the coming decades. Storing hydrogen gas safely, though, is a problem. One promising approach is to chemically combine it with another element to form a solid which can later be broken down again. This can store a very high density of hydrogen in a relatively small volume. However, the hydrogen's release has to be carefully controlled when the compound is broken down or an explosion could occur. Now researchers at the University of Utah say they have found a way to control the release of hydrogen by these breakdown reactions. They store hydrogen by reacting it with lithium to form lithium hydride and lithium hydroxide, and can later controllably release the gas using various catalysts such as platinum. The team says the technique could offer a safe, cost-effective and reversible way of storing hydrogen in future.
New Scientist Mar 10, 2008	back to top