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Issue no. 39, 2007 Published: Dec 14, 2007
Opera files complaint over Microsoft
The Netherlands adopts Open-Source software
A greener way to recover methane
Hydrogen purifier
Venus flytrap inspires adaptive optics
DNA syringe
New radio antenna made of star material
Light source lasts 12 years without electricity
Do our brains work like Google?

Opera files complaint over Microsoft
The small Norwegian maker of web browsers, Opera Software, backed by an industry coalition, has filed the first complaint against Microsoft to the European Commission since the software giant lost a landmark antitrust case earlier this year. Opera Software claims that Microsoft illegally ties its web browser, Internet Explorer, to its dominant Windows operating system. Microsoft is also 'hindering interoperability by not following accepted Web standards', the company said. Both make it difficult for Opera to compete, it said. Opera is a member of the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS), a long-time opponent of Microsoft, and ECIS issued a statement critical of the software giant. Opera's complaint echoes a US case from 1998, in which the US Justice Department won a major judgment against Microsoft for competing illegally against another browser, Netscape. Opera asked the Commission to force Microsoft to unbundle Internet Explorer. It also asked the Commission to require Microsoft to follow 'fundamental and open web standards'.
Reuters Dec 13, 2007	back to top

The Netherlands adopts Open-Source software
The Dutch government has set a soft deadline of April 2008 for its agencies to start using open-source software programs, the Netherlands Economic Affairs Ministry said Thursday. Government organisations will still be able to use proprietary software and formats but will have to justify it under the new policy. Many governments worldwide have begun testing open-source software to cut costs and eliminate dependency on individual companies. But the Dutch have been among the most aggressive in taking action. Notably, the policy directs government organisations at the national level to be ready to use the Open Document Format (ODF) to save text files by April, and at the state and local level by 2009. It also says that governments should prefer open-source software and files whenever possible. The government estimates it would save USD 8.8m a year on city housing registers alone after switching to the ODF standard. The Economic Affairs Ministry also announced plans Wednesday for a tech support desk for agencies adopting open-source software and for a new agency to check whether government bodies are following the directive.
ABC News / AP Dec 13, 2007	back to top

A greener way to recover methane
Oil reservoirs could have an environmental make-over with the help of bacteria. A report in Nature has shown how crude oil in deposits around the world are naturally broken down by microbes to methane. Scientists say that increasing microbe activity would produce a more energy- efficient method of methane recovery. The ability to recover methane directly from deeply buried oil reserves means energy-intensive and thermal polluting processes are removed. But methods like injecting steam into the reservoirs to heat and loosen the heavy viscous oil, so it can be pumped to the surface, are no longer needed say the authors of the report. The scientists found that the main process of crude oil biodegradation occurs by anaerobic bacteria and that this produces methane. These microbes exist in oil reservoirs to a depth of 2km and a temperature of 80C. This process occurs via an intermediate separate family of bacteria that produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen from partly degraded oil, prior to it being turned into methane. To accelerate the process the scientists suggest feeding the microbes with fertilisers. The researchers also suggest that CO2 could be recycled as fuel in a closed-loop energy system once captured as methane, helping to prevent further CO2 release into the atmosphere.
BBC News / Nature Dec 12, 2007	back to top

Hydrogen purifier
Many energy experts expect hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in future. But one problem standing in the way of a hydrogen economy is that the polymer exchange membranes used to generate electricity from the conversion of hydrogen and oxygen to water are easily contaminated by gases such as carbon monoxide and methane. This contamination reduces the membranes' lifetime to such an extent that they cannot compete economically with fossil fuels. So Timothy Golden of Air Products and Chemicals, a supplier of gases based in Pennsylvania, US, has come up with a way to remove contaminants from hydrogen by pumping the gas through an adsorbent material known as CaLSX - calcium low silica x-zeolite - at pressures of up to 1000 atmospheres. This removes poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide and other gases like water vapour, oxygen, and nitrogen to leave pure hydrogen, which could significantly increase the lifetime of polymer exchange membranes. The team says that could provide a much needed kick-start to the hydrogen economy.
New Scientist Dec 10, 2007	back to top

Venus flytrap inspires adaptive optics
It may be best known for ensnaring flies, but now the Venus flytrap has inspired researchers at the University of Massachusetts to create a new material that can rapidly change its shape when stimulated by pressure, heat or electrical current. The team claims that the material could be used to create surfaces that change their reflectivity or lenses that switch between focal lengths. The movement of the Venus flytrap relies on a 'snap-buckling instability'. In a Venus flytrap this lethal flipping from convex to concave occurs when a fly crawls between the open jaws and touches one of many tiny hairs located inside. The researchers sought to create a structure that could exhibit this behaviour on small scales throughout. They began by moulding an array of circular protrusions onto a 1-mm-thick silicone layer. They then stretched the layer, and bonded another layer of unmoulded silicone underneath to create pockets or air. It is these air pockets combined with the rubbery nature of the material that gives way to the snap-buckling instability, so that all the protrusions can be triggered between the convex or concave state. The new material can be triggered by pressure, heat or an electrical current. When the individual protrusions change from convex to concave, the entire surface is modified in its reflectivity and focal length. This means that the material could be used in outdoor signs where the reflectivity of the surface keeps changing, or as an adaptive lens that can focus by itself.
PhysicsWorld / optics.org / Adv. Mater. Dec 04, 2007	back to top

DNA syringe
Apply an electric field to a cell and the permeability of the cell membrane increases significantly, a process known as 'electroporation'. Researchers have used this technique for some time to inject cells with drugs and even pieces of DNA, but only with cells in a lab dish. Now researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, US, have come up with a device that does a similar kind of thing for cells inside the body. The machine is a hand-held electrical stimulator that incorporates a syringe. The idea is that the DNA to be inserted into cells is injected into the body, which is then zapped with an electric voltage from a 7 volt battery, allowing the DNA to travel across cell membranes. The researchers say the device can also be used to improve wound healing and to stimulate peripheral nerves that have suffered damage.
New Scientist Dec 03, 2007	back to top

New radio antenna made of star material
A radio antenna made of electrified gas could lead to stealthy, jamming-resistant transmitters, research by US antenna company Haleakala R&D reveals. Electrified gas, or plasma, makes up stars and lightning and is what sheds light in fluorescent bulbs. Sealed glass, ceramic or even flexible plastic tubes of plasma can behave just like conventional metal antennas. Scientists are now developing remarkably simple and rugged plasma antenna prototypes that could soon find use in the military or telecommunications. These antennas only work when energised, effectively vanishing when turned off, with the plasma reverting back to normal gas. This is key for stealth on the battlefield - metal antennas can scatter incoming radar signals, giving away their presence. In addition, to counteract jamming attempts, plasma antennas can rapidly adjust which frequencies they broadcast and pick up by changing how much energy the plasma is given. This way, they avoid interference from enemy signals. Metal antennas, on the other hand, are each forced to receive and transmit only a given range of frequencies, making them vulnerable to jamming. The scientists are currently developing a 'smart' plasma antenna that can steer a beam of radio waves 360 degrees to scan a region and then find and lock onto transmitting antennas.
MSNBC / LiveScience.com Dec 05, 2007	back to top

Light source lasts 12 years without electricity
US company MPK is designing a light source that will glow continuously for more than 12 years without any additional energy. The material, dubbed 'Litrosphere', can cover a standard sheet of paper for a cost of about USD 0.35, and comes in a variety of colours. It is also flexible, and can take the form of either paint or injection-moulded plastic. The material is not affected by the heat or cold and stays on constantly. According to the company's patent, the material is based on betavoltaics and uses the radioactive gas tritium as the power source. The beta particles from the tritium radiation can be safely contained by phosphor-coated microspheres. Tritium has a half-life of about 12 years. MPK specialises in glow-in-the-dark paint and other glow products, although the new material does not need to be exposed to light in order to work. The company predicts that the technology could be used for light safety tape, lighted life rafts/flotation equipment, toys, sports/camping equipment, and bikes.
PhysOrg Dec 13, 2007	back to top

Do our brains work like Google?
Google's patented and powerful search algorithm, PageRank, may mimic the way the human brain retrieves information. Our memory for words can be modelled as a network in which each point represents a different word, with each linked to words that relate to it. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, wondered whether the ease with which the brain retrieves words is similar to the way that websites are ranked by PageRank: by the number of sites that link to them. It seems it might. In tests against other word-retrieval algorithms, PageRank most clearly matched the human model. The results suggest human memory studies could be improved by examining the tricks that search engines employ, and vice versa, the researchers say.
New Scientist / Psychological Science Dec 10, 2007	back to top