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Issue no. 43, 2003 Published: Nov 21, 2003
Nano-transistor self-assembles using biology
EU creates a new agency to defend online security
European Commission looking into Oracle's bid for PeopleSoft
UN: Scandinavia leads the Digital Access Index
Cryptophone locks out snoopers
Molecular memory is electric
Stamp forms organic laser
Pickpockets turn to technology
Why mobile phones may hurt backs
Triangular taps produce tiniest drips
Hand-held device detects impaired drivers
Microsoft news site to customise content
A 'brain charger': The ultimate PDA accessory?

Nano-transistor self-assembles using biology
A functional electronic nano-device has been manufactured using biological self-assembly for the first time. Israeli scientists at the Technion used proteins to allow carbon nanotubes to bind to specific sites on strands of DNA and turned the remainder of the DNA molecule into a conducting wire. The work has been greeted as 'spectacular'. The researchers coated a central part of a long DNA molecule with proteins from an E. coli bacterium. Next, graphite nanotubes coated with antibodies were added, which bound onto the protein. After this, a solution of silver ions was added. The ions chemically attach to the phosphate backbone of the DNA, but only where no protein has attached. Aldehyde then reduces the ions to silver metal, forming the foundation of a conducting wire. To complete the device, gold was added, which nucleates on the silver and creates a fully conducting wire. The end result is a carbon nanotube device connected a both ends by a gold and silver wire, which operates as a transistor when a voltage applied across the substrate is varied. This causes the tubes to either bridge the gap between the wires - completing the circuit - or not.
New Scientist / Science Nov 20, 2003	back to top

EU creates a new agency to defend online security
The European Union on Thursday agreed to create an agency to improve internet security, seeking to lead global efforts to protect against computer hackers, viruses and fraud. The European Network and Information Security Agency will advise regulators about risks to electronic information systems, address problems with hardware and software products, and cooperate with non-EU nations and organisations. The new European agency will be based in Brussels starting next year until EU leaders agree on a permanent seat. Its creation reflects growing EU concerns about crimes and attacks on public and private electronic networks. The agency will have a five-year budget of €33.3 million. The approval by EU governments came nine months after the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, proposed the agency.
International Herald Tribune / Bloomberg News Nov 21, 2003	back to top

European Commission looking into Oracle's bid for PeopleSoft
The timetable for resolution of Oracle's hostile takeover attempt on PeopleSoft has been extended to March as the European Commission decided to open a four-month investigation into the issue. Oracle had originally hoped to wrap up its $7.3 billion bid by this month. The European Commission also brought another company into the investigation - ERP software developer SAP. In Europe, Oracle and PeopleSoft compete in the business applications market with market-share leader SAP, which is based in Germany. Since the takeover bid was launched, SAP has widened its lead and the company attributes its strong advance in sales to confusion among IT managers over the takeover bid. Although it has not said so, the European Commission could examine Oracle's dominant position in the database market, too. The European market is important to Oracle, contributing 35 per cent of the company's revenue in recent quarters.
Internet Week Nov 17, 2003	back to top

UN: Scandinavia leads the Digital Access Index
Scandinavia tops the world in access to the internet and other communications technologies, but South Korea and other Asian countries are catching up fast, the UN communications agency said Wednesday. Sweden came in first in the Digital Access Index, followed by Denmark and Iceland, while Norway was fifth, said the International Telecommunications Union. South Korea, world leader in high-speed 'broadband' access, came in fourth. Filling out the top 10 in order were the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Finland, Taiwan and Canada. The US was 11th, held back in part by its underdeveloped mobile phone system. The US government also has done little to encourage competition among service providers, so prices remain relatively high compared with Asia. The study measured 178 countries on a range of criteria, including the number of telephone lines and mobile phones per inhabitant, the cost of going online, national literacy, the speed of connections available and the percentage of inhabitants who are internet users.
Yahoo / AP Nov 19, 2003	back to top

Cryptophone locks out snoopers
A German firm has launched a GSM mobile phone that promises strong end-to-end encryption on calls, preventing the possibility of anybody listening in. Potential buyers can only buy the Cryptophone directly from the manufacturers, GSMK in Berlin, to ensure that the product received by the customer is not tampered with and remains secure. GSMK claims that it is the only manufacturer of such devices that has its source code publicly available for review. It says that this will prove that there are no back-doors in the software and allay the fears of the security conscious. The Cryptophone is engineered in such a way that the encryption key is only stored in the phone for the duration of the call and securely erased immediately afterwards. One drawback of the device is that it requires the recipient of calls to also use a Cryptophone to ensure security. GSMK does sell the device in pairs, but also offers a free software download that allows any PC with a modem to be used as a Cryptophone.
Yahoo / ElectricNews.net Nov 19, 2003	back to top

Molecular memory is electric
Researchers from Osaka Kyoiku University in Japan have found a way to use a single molecule to store computer information. Computer memory devices must have at least two states in order to represent the 1s and 0s of binary information, and there must be some way to sense and switch between states in order to read and write information. The researchers' photochromatic diarylethene molecule contains a ring that switches between an open and a closed shape when voltage causes a negatively charged electron and positively charged hole to combine. A lower voltage does not switch the molecule but can sense the difference in electrical resistance of the two states, and thus read the molecule. Because the researchers' molecule can be read and written to using electricity, it is potentially compatible with existing electronics. It also works at room temperature and has the potential to draw very little power. The molecular memory could be used to store very large amounts of information in small areas, and also as inexpensive disposable memory.
Technology Review / TRN Nov 14, 2003	back to top

Stamp forms organic laser
Researchers from the Italian National Institute for the Physics of Matter (INFM), the Italian University of Lecce and the Italian National Research Centre (CNR) have found a class of materials that promises to improve organic electronic components like lasers, light-emitting diodes, and waveguides. Light-emitting diodes are a key component of computer screens, and waveguides channel light. Most organic electronic devices are made from long, chain-like polymer molecules that can be readily shaped in bulk using heat. Some smaller organic molecules have better optical properties but cannot easily be shaped thermally. The researchers have found an organic material that can be shaped by applying pressure with a patterned stamp. The material can be applied to a device by using room-temperature ink-jet printing to place the material and a stamp to shape it.
Technology Review / TRN Nov 18, 2003	back to top

Pickpockets turn to technology
Security experts of security firm AL Digital are warning that the Bluetooth short-range radio technology can leave people vulnerable to the hi-tech equivalent of pickpockets. In laboratory tests researchers have managed to steal information including address books and images from handsets by exploiting shortcomings in Bluetooth security. The technology, named after 10th Century king who united Denmark and Norway, is supposed to bring devices together and make it easy to swap data between devices such as handsets, printers, PCs and headsets. Ordinarily swapping between phones should be impossible unless the phones are 'paired' and their respective owners have agreed a passcode. AL Digital created programs that run on a laptop which scan for Bluetooth handsets and exploit two vulnerabilities to suck down data from phones. The researchers found was that the pairing requirement could be bypassed. This vulnerability has been found on the SonyEricsson T68i and T610 phones and the Nokia 6310 and 7650 handsets.
BBC News Nov 17, 2003	back to top

Why mobile phones may hurt backs
People who chat on their mobile phone while walking could be hurting their back. Scientists at Australia's University of Queensland say it is all down to the way we breathe. The human body is designed to exhale when our feet touch the ground, which helps to protect the spine from sudden jolts. However, talking and walking at the same time disrupts this breathing pattern, leaving the spine exposed. The researchers based their findings on a study of a group of volunteers on treadmills. Some of these walked in silence while others talked. The researchers measured activity in the trunk muscles that protect the spine. They found that the trunk muscles worked properly in those people who simply walked. However, people who talked while walking had less muscle activity in this area, potentially leaving their spines exposed. The scientists said people who talk to each other while walking could be at risk of damaging their back. But they said people who use mobile phones while walking may be particularly at risk, not least because they are likely to spend more time doing it.
BBC News Nov 18, 2003	back to top

Triangular taps produce tiniest drips
Triangular taps produce the tiniest drips, according to new research by mathematicians from Harvard University. The researchers say their tap could increase the resolution of ink-jet printers, shrink chip components, and make biochips more accurate. All these technologies need nozzles to squirt out minuscule droplets of liquid. Smaller nozzles produce smaller drops, but because tighter, more curved drops have a greater surface tension, it takes a higher pressure to force them out. That costs energy and tests the mechanical strength of the pipelines. Drops of about 10 picolitres are the smallest anyone has managed using round taps, at any rate. The researchers found that changing the shape can cut the droplet size by 20 per cent, with no increase in pressure. The optimum shape is a sort of sucked-in triangle. Only a small drop can squeeze out through the central hole, while the spiky corners lessen the curvature of the liquid's surface, so the pressure does not have to be so high.
New Scientist Nov 20, 2003	back to top

Hand-held device detects impaired drivers
A hand-held device designed to identify drivers impaired by drugs, alcohol or excessive tiredness, is being evaluated by the British police. The device is intended to deliver a quick yes or no verdict on whether a person is in a fit state to drive and works by assessing the driver's behaviour, rather than testing for particular substances. It is the first of its kind to be tested by police anywhere in the world. The 'impairment detector', developed by researchers at the University of Surrey, runs on a PDA. It provides two tests, which take about 10 minutes to complete, and assess whether a person is too impaired to drive. The main purpose of the device is to detect people who have taken illicit drugs. This is a growing problem in the UK, where 18 per cent of road casualties in 2002 were found to have traces of drugs in their bodies, compared with just 3 per cent 10 years ago. The detector would deliver a verdict similar to the way a breathalyser indicates how much alcohol is in the blood, with positive, negative and a grey area between the two.
New Scientist Nov 19, 2003	back to top

Microsoft news site to customise content
A news-gathering website that tailors the stories selected to individual users is being tested by Microsoft. Once MSN Newsbot is fully functional, Microsoft says the site will personalise results within 10 minutes of a user starting to browse. If successful, the site is likely to be a direct rival to the highly popular Google News, which clusters information from over 4000 news sources according to topics but does not customise results. Microsoft is not revealing exactly how its site will work. But experts say there are several possible types of algorithm that could be used. One is similar to those Amazon.com uses to recommend additional books a buyer might like. This algorithm analyses the other choices of people who have already bought the first book. A news site would instead group articles according to the reading patterns of previous users. Another approach would be to analyse the text of articles and relate them to each other via common words and phrases, assuming that a reader wants to read articles with similar content.
New Scientist Nov 18, 2003	back to top

A 'brain charger': The ultimate PDA accessory?
For those cynics who said nothing new would be unveiled at the Comdex computer trade show in Las Vegas, South Korean start-up DreamFree counters with the Peeg, a peripheral for PDAs that is said to stimulate brain activity. Peeg, short for 'personal electroencephalogram', is designed to stimulate different types of brain waves by sending positive waves to the wearer. The Peeg consists of a software application for Microsoft Pocket PC, headphones and a set of silver eyeglasses that look like the sort of thing triathletes wear. The lenses are made of opaque plastic. When Peeg is set on 'concentration, rhythmic pinging sounds are heard in the earphones while lights flash off and on inside the glasses. The frequency of the pings and the lights are meant to be synchronised so that they induce brain waves of the same frequency. By altering brain wave frequencies, Peeg can alter moods. There are settings to improve memorisation, induce relaxation, sleep, vitality and jet-lag recovery.
New York Times Nov 20, 2003	back to top