Issue no. 25, 2006
Published: Jul 14, 2006 |
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 US scientists crack secret codes for EU satellite system |
| Should we flood the air with sulphur? |
| Food-crop biofuels given thumbs down |
| GPS satellites could help predict the weather |
| Paralysed man moves computer cursor through thought |
| Freescale unveils magnetic memory chip |
| MIT scientists create fibre webs that see |
| Image search at the speed of light |
| Inflatable spacecraft beams back images |
| Power-saving screen |
| France to offer low-cost PCs to families |
| Boffins chill out with solar-powered beer bottles |
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| US scientists crack secret codes for EU satellite system |
Secret codes used by the forthcoming European satellite navigation
system, Galileo, have been cracked by American scientists, casting doubt
on European Union promises that the EUR 3.4 billion project will pay for
itself through commercial fees.
Prof Mark Psiaki of Cornell University said that by using a dish on a
laboratory roof his team had worked out how to crack codes on data being
beamed down by a prototype satellite orbiting Earth. This has
potentially devastating consequences for the EU which wants to charge
high-tech firms 'licence fees' to access that same data, before they can
make and sell compatible navigation devices to the public.
Cornell's success in deducing the codes just by watching the skies means
that future users of Galileo will not have to ask the EU for the codes
and may be able to refuse to pay the EU for them. Galileo was set up as
a European rival to the US military-controlled GPS system, whose signals
are free for use. Galileo's founders boasted that it would be more
accurate than GPS and so people would want to pay to use it. |
| Daily Telegraph
Jul 11, 2006 |
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| Should we flood the air with sulphur? |
A soon-to-be-published paper by a Nobel laureate will seriously consider
injecting sulphur into the stratosphere to combat climate change. His
article is already creating a buzz, some of which is highly sceptical.
Paul Crutzen, co-winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for ozone
research, says he has been driven to explore the idea out of
'desperation', given the lack of international action to reduce
greenhouse-gas emissions. In his paper Crutzen argues that it might be
possible to cool Earth by injecting sulphate particles into the layer of
atmosphere that starts about 10 kilometres above the ground. This would
artificially enhance Earth's reflectivity to bounce a larger portion of
solar radiation back into space.
In essence, Crutzen suggests we mimic the after-effects of a volcanic
eruption. He admits that negative side effects are possible, such as
damage to the protective ozone layer and increased acid rain. The Nobel
laureate agrees that cutting emissions is the wisest course of action. |
| Nature / Climatic Change
Jul 12, 2006 |
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| Food-crop biofuels given thumbs down |
Producing biofuels such as ethanol from food crops is not worth the
effort. That is the conclusion of a new and painstaking study published
this week. Researchers should instead concentrate either on producing
ethanol from indigestible plant material such as cellulose, or on
synthetic hydrocarbon fuels.
The comprehensive study finds that if all the maize produced in the US
last year were removed from food supplies and turned into ethanol, just
12 per cent of US petrol demand would be offset. Turning soybeans into
diesel would account for only 9 per cent of US diesel demand.
Moreover, ethanol comes at the price of soil erosion and nutrient
runoff. Producing ethanol from cellulose is a much more environmentally
preferable option, according to the researchers.
Cellulose, an inedible plant fibre, could be obtained from switchgrass,
a prairie grass that could be grown on abandoned agricultural land. This
would avoid destroying natural habitats and would require small
pesticide input. The researchers also recommend investigating
synthetically manufactured fuels. |
| Nature / Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Jul 11, 2006 |
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| GPS satellites could help predict the weather |
Weather forecasts should be improved by a technique to track the
variable depth of the atmosphere's lowest layer, using the distortion to
signals sent between satellites, according to researchers at the
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Colorado, US.
The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is one of the most important layers
for weather forecasters. Its depth is determined by the character and
intensity of the thermodynamic processes going on inside it - such as
the convection that causes cumulus clouds to form - and variations in
the energy radiated into the atmosphere by the Earth. Researchers have
now developed a new way to monitor the ABL globally. It is an
improvement on the patchy information weather balloons currently provide
forecasters, they claim. Balloons only cover well-populated areas in
detail, leaving particularly big gaps over the oceans.
The new method exploits the fact that signals sent from GPS satellites
to satellites in lower orbits are bent, or refracted, by the atmosphere.
GPS satellites always transmit standard signals. This means that by
examining the signal that reaches a lower satellite, it is possible to
work out how it was bent by the atmosphere. |
| New Scientist / Geophysical Research Letters
Jul 10, 2006 |
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| Paralysed man moves computer cursor through thought |
A paralysed man using a new brain sensor has been able to move a
computer cursor, open e-mail and control a robotic device simply by
thinking about doing it, a team of scientists at Massachusetts General
Hospital said on Wednesday. They believe the BrainGate sensor, which
involves implanting electrodes in the brain, could offer new hope to
people paralysed by injuries or illnesses.
The scientists implanted a tiny silicon chip with 100 electrodes into an
area of the brain responsible for movement. The activity of the cells
was recorded and sent to a computer which translated the commands and
enabled the patient to move and control the external device.
In a separate study, researchers from Stanford University Schools of
Medicine and Engineering described a faster way to process signals from
the brain to control a computer or prosthetic device. From a performance
perspective, this type of prosthetic system is clinically viable,
according to the researchers. |
| Reuters
Jul 12, 2006 |
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| Freescale unveils magnetic memory chip |
Freescale Semiconductor this week announced the commercial availability
of a chip that combines traditional memory's endurance with a hard
drive's ability to keep data while powered down.
The chips, called magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), maintain
information by relying on magnetic properties rather than an electrical
charge. Unlike flash memory, which also can keep data without power,
MRAM is fast to read and write bits, and does not degrade over time.
Freescale said Monday it has been producing the 4-megabit MRAM chips for
two months to build inventory.
Sometimes referred to as 'universal' memory, MRAM could displace a
number of chips found in every electronic device, from PCs, cell phones,
music players and cameras to the computing components of kitchen
appliances, cars and airplanes. Ultimately, the technology could
displace the RAM found in PCs, enabling systems that boot up immediately
because data do not have to be reloaded into the memory chips. |
| MSNBM / AP
Jul 10, 2006 |
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| MIT scientists create fibre webs that see |
In a radical departure from conventional lens-based optics, MIT
scientists have developed a sophisticated optical system made of
mesh-like webs of light-detecting fibres. The fibre constructs are
currently capable of measuring the direction, intensity and phase of
light without the lenses, filters or detector arrays that are the
classic elements of optical systems such as eyes or cameras.
Ultimately the researchers expect the new system will have many
potential applications ranging from improved space telescopes to
clothing that provides situational awareness to soldiers or even the
visually impaired. The transparent fibre-webs could even enable huge
computer screens to be activated with beams of light instead of the
touch of a finger.
The human eye, digital and film cameras, and even the Hubble space
telescope rely on lenses and detector surfaces to create images. But
while these systems deliver excellent images, they are constrained by
their size, weight, fragility and limited field of view. In contrast,
the fibre webs are flexible and lightweight. Moreover, a fibre web in
the shape of a sphere can sense the entire volume of space around it. |
| MIT / Nature Materials
Jul 06, 2006 |
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| Image search at the speed of light |
A team of scientists at Columbia University have developed a new
technology that promises to turn the human brain into a super-fast
image-identifying machine. The 'cortically coupled computer vision
system' or C3 Vision - is intended to combine the brain's sight with a
computer's processing power.
The theory behind the device is that the brain can recognise an image
much faster than it can identify it. A person hooked up to the new
device, however, can speed through thousands of images, marking the
important ones for later study. Technically, this is a series of
electroencephalograms, or EEGs, that mark items the brain wants to
remember. The device can catalogue these and present them to the brain,
making the process much less time-consuming.
The technology would be especially useful to detectives and law
enforcement officials, who routinely examine thousands of images a year
in the pursuit of catching criminals. |
| Mobilemag.com / Wired News
Jul 12, 2006 |
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| Inflatable spacecraft beams back images |
An unmanned, inflatable spacecraft launched by a US real estate mogul on
Thursday beamed back the first images since it slipped into orbit and
expanded itself. Seven hours after entering orbit the watermelon-shaped
craft, which measured 4.6 metres long and 1.3 metres wide at launch,
successfully inflated to twice that width.
Genesis I sent back several photos taken by its dozen cameras showing
sections of the craft, according to its builder Bigelow Aerospace. The
experimental spacecraft rocketed into space Wednesday from Russia on a
mission to test technology that could be used to build an inflatable
commercial space station. Genesis I was healthy with functional onboard
computers, solar panels, battery power and pressure systems, said
company founder Robert Bigelow.
Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain, has lofty
dreams of building an expandable orbital outpost by 2015 to be made up
of several Genesis-like satellites tied together. He has promised to
invest $500 million to build a space habitat that could be used as a
space hotel, science lab or sports arena. |
| Yahoo! / AP
Jul 13, 2006 |
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| Power-saving screen |
Intel has a new idea for saving battery power in portable computers and
cellphones. Instead of blanking the whole screen if the computer has
been idle for a few minutes, a small part of the screen is left active -
like a window. So the device can still display incoming messages or a
website, while consuming far less power.
Intel's screen has two backlights, one of which illuminates the whole
display area, and another in a corner to provide light for an area
one-tenth the overall screen size. When the owner is working hard and
using several programs at once, the main backlight is on, making the
whole screen usable. But when only one program has been running for a
few minutes, such as email or music play, this light switches off, the
small corner backlight comes on, and the running program is displayed in
the corner window.
The mini-screen can still display text messages, tune titles or news
flashes, but consumes just one-tenth of the power of the whole screen.
When the owner wants to start using more programs, the screen lights
switch back to full-size display mode. |
| New Scientist
Jul 10, 2006 |
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| France to offer low-cost PCs to families |
Low-income French families will be equipped with a computer and an
internet connection for 1 euro a day under a new government proposal.
Families who sign up will receive a computer, a high-speed connection,
software and a class on how to use the equipment. The program is
expected to start early next year.
About half of French homes have a home computer - a figure that Prime
Minister Dominique de Villepin wants to boost to 68 per cent in three
years. Families in the program will contribute financially for three
years, the government said. The program will have both state and private
funding, with the state guaranteeing bank loans for families, while
internet providers give sharp discounts for access.
The project is in line with the government's 'equal opportunity' plan
for children from disadvantaged families. Boosting their prospects has
been a main concern since riots swept through France late last year in
troubled neighbourhoods where many immigrants live with their French-born
children. |
| MSNBC / AP
Jul 11, 2006 |
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| Boffins chill out with solar-powered beer bottles |
Beer bottles that use solar power to keep their precious contents cool
in the height of summer could be a welcome fringe benefit of thin-film
technology currently under development. The material being developed by
researchers at the US Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute sticks solar
cells and heat pumps onto surfaces, and could ultimately turn walls,
windows and even beer bottles into climate control systems.
The researchers have recently unveiled their prototype Active Building
Envelope (ABE) system. Comprised of solar panels, solid-state
thermoelectric heat pumps and a storage device to provide energy on
rainy days, the system accomplishes the jobs of cooling and heating, yet
operates silently and with no moving parts.
The researchers hope that a thin-film version of the ABE system will see
applications in a range of industries, from advanced thermal control
systems in future space missions, to the automotive sector where it
could be applied to windshields and sun roofs to heat or cool a car's
interior. |
| VNUnet UK
Jul 12, 2006 |
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