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Hereford Cow. Photo illustration: Herman Pijpers

Issue no. 15, 2009 Published: Apr 24, 2009
Cow genome 'to transform farming'
Simulated brain closer to thought
Dutch chemists make new chiral palladium metal
Lip-reading computers can detect different languages
UN world digital library goes live online
Bionic penguins take to the water - and the skies

Cow genome 'to transform farming'
The genome of a female Hereford cow has been sequenced, which could be a starting point for major improvements in the agricultural industry. Analysing this blueprint of DNA code for the chemical building blocks of the animal is revealing the unique role that many of the genes play. The information is likely to have a major impact on livestock breeding. The study was a six-year effort by more than 300 scientists in 25 countries. By comparing the results to other sequenced genomes, including that of humans, the researchers discovered how cows could help inform research into human health and disease. Of the 22,000 genes in the cow genome, 14,000 are common to all mammalian species. An associated scientific team has produced a map charting the key DNA differences, also known as haplotypes, between varieties of cattle. They compared the Hereford genome sequence with those of six other breeds. Using this bovine 'HapMap', researchers can track the differences between the breeds that affect the quality of meat and milk yields.
BBC New / Science Apr 23, 2009	back to top

Simulated brain closer to thought
A detailed simulation of a small region of a brain built molecule by molecule has been constructed and has recreated experimental results from real brains. The 'Blue Brain' has been put in a virtual body, and observing it gives the first indications of the molecular and neural basis of thought and memory. Scaling the simulation to the human brain is only a matter of money, according to Blue Brain project researchers. The Blue Brain project launched in 2005 as the most ambitious brain simulation effort ever undertaken. While many computer simulations have attempted to code in 'brain-like' computation or to mimic parts of the nervous systems and brains of a variety of animals, the Blue Brain project was conceived to reverse-engineer mammal brains from real laboratory data and to build up a computer model down to the level of the molecules that make them up. The first phase of the project is now complete. Researchers have modelled the neocortical column - a unit of the mammalian brain known as the neocortex which is responsible for higher brain functions and thought. The column is being integrated into a virtual reality agent - a simulated animal in a simulated environment, so that the researchers will be able to observe the detailed activities in the column as the animal moves around the space. The researchers think the exponential rise in computing power will allow the project in 10 to 20 years to integrate many facets of medicine, right down to genomic profile, eventually creating a vast database for 'personalised medicine'.
BBC News Apr 22, 2009	back to top

Dutch chemists make new chiral palladium metal
Researchers at the University of Amsterdam have succeeded in making the first ever piece of chiral palladium metal. The achievement leads to an entirely new class of materials - metallo-organics - which combine the variety of organic molecules with the special properties of metals. Chirality is a Greek term that means that an object, for example a molecule, has a mirror image. Chiral molecules have asymmetrical centres or right- or left-handed structures. Metals are not chiral because they have neither. However, the researchers managed to make palladium metal chiral by using organic template molecules which were then later removed. Using simple precipitation technology the researchers imprinted palladium metal crystals with a chiral organic template. The entire template was then removed, leaving a chiral cavity in the palladium metal. The metal itself retains all its usual properties, such as malleability, conductivity, and catalytic activity. Using a ten-tonne French press, the researchers even pressed a chiral palladium coin, roughly the size of a two Euro cent piece.
Eureka Alert / University of Amsterdam / Nature Chemistry Apr 23, 2009	back to top

Lip-reading computers can detect different languages
Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK have created lip-reading computers that can distinguish between different languages. Computers that can read lips are already in development but this is the first time they have been 'taught' to recognise different languages. The discovery could have practical uses for deaf people, for law enforcement agencies, and in noisy environments. The technology was developed by statistical modelling of the lip motions made by a group of 23 bilingual and trilingual speakers. The system was able to identify which language was spoken by an individual speaker with very high accuracy. These languages included English, French, German, Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian, Polish and Russian. The research is part of a wider UEA project on automatic lip-reading. The next step will be to make the system more robust to an individual's physiology and his or her way of speaking.
EurekaAlert / UEA Apr 21, 2009	back to top

UN world digital library goes live online
The earliest written works in humanity can now be viewed online thanks to a project supported by UNESCO, the UN educational arm, and the effort of libraries from around the world. The World Digital Library went live on Tuesday, aiming to provide a one-stop shop for researchers, teachers and schoolchildren seeking to find items on one topic together in one place. Among the works that can be viewed are a 1562 map of the New World, the first book published in the Philippines (in Spanish and Tagalog), mathematical texts in Arabic, Chinese oracle bones inscribed with writings and the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji, written in Japan in the 11th century. The website has seven languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian. There are also early photographs, film and audio tracks on the site, created with the help of some 32 libraries and research institutions from 19 countries. The site, which currently holds some 1,200 artefacts, will continue to grow as more libraries and institutions join the project. It is modelled after the Library of Congress's American Memory project, which now has 11 million history-related items online.
CBC News Apr 21, 2009	back to top

Bionic penguins take to the water - and the skies
Graceful robotic penguins were unveiled by German engineering firm Festo this week. Using their flippers, the mechanical penguins can paddle through water just like real ones, while larger helium-filled designs can "swim" through the air. The penguins are on show at the Hannover Messe Trade Exhibition in Germany. Each penguin carries 3D sonar developed by EvoLogics in Berlin, Germany, which is used to monitor its surroundings and avoid collisions with walls or other penguins. The bionic penguins can twist and turn almost as gracefully as their living counterparts because of the flexible glass fibre rods that control their heads. The fibres are arranged around the side of each penguin's head, while motors inside the body pull on one or more of them to twist the penguin's neck in any direction and guide the swimmer. That design has industrial applications, according to Festo. It has been adapted to make a flexible, trunk-like arm with a gripper on the end for use in industrial applications. The arm can twist up to 90° in any direction, giving it an unrivalled degree of dexterity. Engineers are increasingly gaining inspiration from nature - earlier this year, a European-wide research group began work on a bionic octopusMovie Camera, and engineers think bird wings could help inspire more efficient aircraftMovie Camera.
New Scientist Apr 21, 2009	back to top