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Issue no. 9, 2007 Published: Mar 09, 2007
UN launches consortium to tackle e-waste
Humans created 161 exabytes of data in 2006
Researchers store data in bacterial DNA
Virtual tours could help build better policy decisions
Robo-salamander's evolution clues
Robot aims to take heat off Israeli infantry
Invention: Electronic treats

UN launches consortium to tackle e-waste
The UN has set up an initiative to extend the life of computers and electronic equipment and tackle the growing problem of 'e-waste' in the developing world. The Solving the E-waste Problem (StEP) is a consortium of major hardware manufacturers and software companies - including Cisco Systems, Dell, HP and Microsoft - the UN and partner organisations. The initiative highlights how many electronic items sent to developing countries in the name of charity often end up unused. The key goals of the initiative are to draw up global standards for recycling, extending the life of products thus creating markets for their reuse, and harmonising world legislation and policy toward e-waste. It will also take a 'wealth from waste' approach, arguing that it is in the interest of manufacturers to recycle, enabling them to recover many expensive metals - such as Indium used in flat-screen monitors and mobile phones. Discarded electronic equipment can contaminate soil and water, and is a growing problem in developing countries as information technology becomes increasingly popular.
SciDev.net Mar 06, 2007	back to top

Humans created 161 exabytes of data in 2006
The digital equivalent of 12 stacks of books stretching from the Earth to the Sun was created by humanity in 2006, according to new research. A report from IDC measured and forecast the amounts and types of digital information created and copied in the world. In 2006, 161 exabytes (161 billion gigabytes) of digital information was created and copied, continuing an unprecedented period of information growth. This digital universe equals approximately three million times the information in all the books ever written. According to IDC, the amount of information created and copied in 2010 will surge more than sixfold to 988 exabytes, representing a compound annual growth rate of 57 per cent. IDC estimates that the world had 185 exabytes of storage available last year and will have 601 exabytes in 2010, meaning that we are rapidly running out of physical space to store this level of information. IDC researchers believe that the rapid uptake of technologies such as CCTV cameras, and regulations regarding the long-term preservation of corporate data, are key factors behind the massive increase in data creation.
VNUnet UK Mar 06, 2007	back to top

Researchers store data in bacterial DNA
Scientists at the Keio University in Tokyo have developed a way of using bacterial DNA to store data almost indefinitely by creating an artificial DNA containing the data to be preserved. Each artificial DNA strand can hold up to 100 bits of data and is preserved by making multiple copies of the DNA and inserting the original as well as the identical copies into the bacterial genome sequence. It is these copies that work as back-ups of the data to counteract natural degradation. The researchers managed to encode the phrase 'E=MC2 1905' into the genome of Bacillus Subtilis. This message was then recovered some time later from the bacteria. The process is currently very slow, taking several days, but the technique may prove very useful for data where speed is less of an issue, but longevity is important. Current data storage only lasts around 100 years, but this technology could allow the safe storage of data for millions of years. Bacteria have particularly compact DNA which is passed down from generation to generation. Although mutations do occur as the data is passed from generation to generation, the rate should be slow enough to maintain the data integrity.
VNUnet UK Mar 02, 2007	back to top

Virtual tours could help build better policy decisions
How would a sneak preview of the destruction caused by rising sea levels affect how much you'd be willing to invest now in carbon-capture technologies? Researchers at the University of Central Florida want to check on the impacts of realistic sneak previews. Their first project will tackle the issue of forest management - checking how a virtual experience of walking through a burning forest, or of flying over the scorched trees, affects people's decisions about how much to invest in measures that reduce the risk of wild fires. Each person will be given a patch of imaginary land and a few hundred real dollars. Over the 30-year simulation, compressed to an hour in real time, people will be able to watch wild fires as they happen, check on factors such as wind speed and temperature, and see first hand the damage done. Each person will then choose a forest-management policy whereby controlled burns reduce the risk of severe damage but incur a predictable cost every 3-5 years, or a high-risk strategy, whereby nothing is paid over 30 years but the risk of an enormous blaze is much higher. They will be given money back based on the end value of the land. The researchers predict that the more comprehensive and realistic a picture people get during the survey, the more likely their policy choices will converge with those of the experts.
Nature Mar 02, 2007	back to top

Robo-salamander's evolution clues
A robot is being used by a Franco-Swiss team to investigate how the first land animals on Earth might have walked. The bot looks a lot like a salamander; and the scientists can change the way it swims, slithers and crawls with commands sent wirelessly from a PC. The group says it provides new insight into the nervous system changes aquatic lifeforms would have had to acquire to move to a terrestrial existence. The first animals capable of walking on land are thought to have emerged during the Devonian Period. Palaeontologists have found fossils dating back some 360m years that show a process where fins are transformed into limbs. Before the appearance of these tetrapods all backboned animals were confined to water. Precisely how they came out on to the shore is not clear - but the latest research indicates the transition would not have required a huge leap in brain power. The researchers have shown how even the simple nervous system of a lamprey (a primitive eel-like fish) can, with a few modifications, drive walking motion in a creature that resembles a salamander. The computer system that runs their robot is based on just such a nervous system. The computer sends signals through the machine's 'spinal cord' to the limbs, allowing the bot to switch effortlessly between swimming and walking. The research group has demonstrated how salamanders can control their locomotion using largely just their spinal cord.
BBC News / Science Mar 09, 2007	back to top

Robot aims to take heat off Israeli infantry
A new, smart Israeli military robot can fight its way down dark alleys, through caves and over rubble, seeking out bombs and booby traps along the way and warning human foot soldiers of enemies and danger ahead. Elbit Systems, one of Israel's leading defence electronics companies, said its robotic point man, designated VIPeR, is small and light enough to be carried into battle on a soldier's back, but the 25 pound, 9 inch tall tough guy packs a full-size punch. The remote-controlled unit can be fitted with a mini-Uzi automatic pistol, fragmentation, stun and smoke grenades, explosives sniffer and day and night vision cameras, Elbit said. It can climb stairs and find its way around with preprogrammed mapping software. The company said that the Israeli military was planning to carry out operational trials with the VIPeR with a view to deploying it with infantry units.
CNN / AP Mar 08, 2007	back to top

Invention: Electronic treats
Sticking to an exercise regime is always easier if there is some sort of reward or punishment involved. Sony Ericsson reckons that a phone or PDA could provide just the right incentive. A wireless device could have a pedometer that set to a target – say 10,000 steps in a week. If the owner hits the target the device then downloads a ring tone, a music track or video clip by way of reward. Or, if the owner slacks off and misses the target, the device malevolently deletes a file from its memory. If two people are competing to help each other lose weight, Sony says such devices could compare users' exercise scores. The person who clocked up most steps then steals a reward from the loser’s device. Whoever has walked the most gets a free song or video as well as the bonus of seeing the loser deprived of one. The loser might then wager even more rewards for the following week’s workout.
New Scientist Mar 05, 2007	back to top