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Issue no. 27, 2010 Published: Sep 03, 2010
UN climate panel urged to reform, stick to science
Scientists create 'dry water'
Scientists hail health benefits of black rice
New maize could prepare farmers for climate change
Technique to trace persistent CFCs
Physicists divided over life extension for US collider
New optics sharpens telescope's focus
Bacteria make gold nuggets

UN climate panel urged to reform, stick to science
The UN climate panel should make predictions only when it has solid evidence and should avoid policy advocacy, scientists said in a report this week that called for thorough reform of the body. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was widely criticised after admitting its 2007 global warming report wrongly said Himalayan glaciers would vanish by 2035 and that it overstated how much of the Netherlands is below sea level. Such firm forecasts should be made 'only when there is sufficient evidence', said a review group. The report said the IPCC's mandate calls for it to be 'policy relevant' without advocating specific policies. But some senior IPCC officials have been criticised for remarks that appeared to support specific policy approaches. The review said the limit of two six-year terms for the chair of the IPCC was too long and should be shortened to one term, as should the terms of other senior officials on the UN climate panel. The report also called for an overhaul of the panel's management, including the creation of an executive committee that would include people from outside the IPCC. The report noted the IPCC lacks a conflict of interest policy and recommended it adopt a 'rigorous' one to avoid biases. The next IPCC report will be published in 2013 and 2014.
Reuters Aug 30, 2010	back to top

Scientists create 'dry water'
It may sound like a contradiction in terms, but scientists from the University of Liverpool have created 'dry water'. The substance resembles powdered sugar and could revolutionise the way chemicals are used. Each particle of dry water contains a water droplet surrounded by a sandy silica coating. In fact, 95% of dry water is 'wet' water. Dry water may prove useful for storing methane and expanding the energy source potential of the natural gas. Tests show that it is also more than three times better at absorbing CO2 than ordinary water. Another application demonstrated by the team was using dry water as a catalyst to speed up reactions between hydrogen and maleic acid. This produces succinic acid, a key raw material widely used to make drugs, food ingredients, and consumer products. Usually hydrogen and maleic acid have to be stirred together to make succinic acid. But this is not necessary when using dry water particles containing maleic acid, making the process greener and more energy efficient. The technology could be adapted to create 'dry' powder emulsions, mixtures of two or more unblendable liquids such as oil and water, the researchers believe. Dry emulsions could make it safer and easier to store and transport potentially harmful liquids.
Daily Telegraph Aug 26, 2010	back to top

Scientists hail health benefits of black rice
Black rice - revered in ancient China but overlooked in the West - could be one of the greatest 'superfoods', according to scientists at Louisiana State University. The cereal is low in sugar but packed with healthy fibre and plant compounds that combat heart disease and cancer. Black rice was known as 'forbidden rice' in ancient China because only nobles were allowed to eat it. Today it is mainly used in Asia for food decoration, noodles, sushi and desserts. Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health-promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar, and more fibre and vitamin E antioxidants, according to the researchers. Research suggests that plant antioxidants, which mop up harmful molecules, can help protect arteries and prevent the DNA damage that leads to cancer. Food manufacturers could potentially use black rice bran or bran extracts to make breakfast cereals, beverages, cakes, biscuits and other foods healthier, the researchers say.
The Independent Aug 27, 2010	back to top

New maize could prepare farmers for climate change
New varieties of drought-tolerant maize could deliver a USD 1.5 bn gain in food and income in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as helping smallholders cope with the effects of climate change, according to a study carried out in 13 countries in the region. Researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Mexico, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria, said the varieties produce yields up to 50% higher than commercial varieties, and also store well. They developed the maize under the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa initiative (DTMA). The new varieties, which are not genetically modified, were developed to help farmers cope with climate change as they are more resilient under severe drought than other varieties. Four varieties have been released in Ghana this year - which, as well as being drought-tolerant, are more nutritious than conventional varieties - and two in Malawi last year. Maize is a staple crop for more than 300 million people in Africa. If drought-tolerant maize completely replaced existing varieties in the countries studied there would be a USD 1.5bn benefit in food and income, according to the researchers.
SciDev Sep 02, 2010	back to top

Technique to trace persistent CFCs
Ultrafine measurements of atmospheric gases could help track down persistent sources of CFCs thought to be slowing the recovery of the ozone layer. The use of CFCs was restricted by a global treaty in 1987, but they have stayed in the air longer than many expected. A UK-German team has now shown how it is possible to chemically 'fingerprint' CFCs to potentially trace their origin. The researchers from the universities of East Anglia and Frankfurt worked on samples of atmosphere retrieved from high in the stratosphere (up to 35km). Using mass spectrometers, they were able to detail the ratios of different isotopes of chlorine atoms present in very small concentrations of chlorofluorocarbon-12 (CFC-12), one of the dominant man-made ozone-eating gases. The new research shows that the higher you go in the atmosphere, the more of a heavier chlorine atom (chlorine-37) is present in any sample of CFC-12. The sharp falls in global emissions of CFCs seen in the early years following the Montreal Protocol have levelled off, and it is clear that some chlorofluorocarbons are still in use. The ability to make fine measurements of the type reported opens the door to chemical fingerprinting - of being able to tie a particular sample to a known origin. It is established that different manufacturing techniques will produce gases with particular isotopic ratios. Such information could help the authorities identify continuing sources.
BBC News / Science Sep 03, 2010	back to top

Physicists divided over life extension for US collider
The ageing Tevatron particle smasher can still compete with the upstart Large Hadron Collider, says a committee of physicists that has recommended keeping the older accelerator alive for three more years. But its director has not yet endorsed the idea, which would delay other experiments planned at the lab. The Tevatron, near Chicago, Illinois, has been crashing particles together since 1983. It is officially set to shut down in September 2011, but a panel of physicists that advises Fermilab, the institution that manages the Tevatron, says it should be run until 2014. It is still possible for the Tevatron to beat the LHC in Geneva to spotting the Higgs boson, which is thought to endow other particles with mass, according to the advisory committee. And even if the LHC is first to see the Higgs, the Tevatron is more sensitive to studying the decay of the Higgs into fundamental particles called quarks. But it is not clear where the USD 150m would come from to keep the Tevatron running for three more years. Furthermore, an extension would delay Fermilab's other projects, including the Nova experiment, which is designed to help pin down the masses of neutrinos. The decision on the extension is in the hands of Fermilab's management and the US Department of Energy, and could take a few months.
New Scientist Sep 03, 2010	back to top

New optics sharpens telescope's focus
While lovers may find it romantic to look at stars twinkle on a velvet black sky, for astronomers it is a problem. Different layers, densities and air temperatures create turbulence, which causes stars to twinkle. To remove the twinkle astronomers can either move the telescope above the atmosphere or they can use telescopes equipped with adaptive optics. Adaptive optics works by focusing on a very bright guide star and measuring its movement, or twinkle. Tiny actuators controlled by computer carry out tiny modifications to the shape of the telescope's main mirror to correct for the turbulence, eliminating the twinkle. While adaptive optics has worked well for the past 20 years, one drawback is the further away from the reference star you point your telescope, the less effective adaptive optics is. Now a team of scientists from the University of Arizona describe an enhancement to the system known as ground-layer adaptive optics or GLAO. Instead of focusing on a bright reference star, GLAO fires a laser beam into the sky to measure atmospheric distortion. The latest enhancement of GLAO, which has been fitted to the 6.5-metre MMT telescope in Arizona, splits the laser beam into five separate beams, which provide atmospheric data over a far wider area of sky.
ABCnet / Nature Aug 05, 2010	back to top

Bacteria make gold nuggets
Gold nuggets are often the creations of bacterial biofilms, say Australian researchers who have demonstrated the process and even identified the bacteria at work. Layers of bacteria can actually dissolve gold into nanoparticles, which move through rocks and soils, and then deposit it in other places, sometimes creating purer 'secondary' gold deposits in cracks and crevices of rocks. The process overturns the long-held belief by some scientists that gold ore is created only by 'primary' physical geological processes. By looking at the DNA in biofilms that grow on gold grains collected from the Prophet gold mine in Queensland, Australia, the University of Adelaide researchers discovered that 90% of the bacteria were of just two species - Delftia acidovorans and Cupriavidus metallidurans. The bacteria share genes that make them resistant to the toxic effects of heavy metals. The discovery is especially important because it could point to a new high tech way to prospect for gold. One thing that makes it particularly hard to find new gold deposits is that the rocks over most of Australia are some of the oldest on Earth and have been largely ground down and buried by many metres of soil. The presence of the bacteria could be a quick way to test if gold is present in the ground. Field geologists could even someday use biosensors that are tuned to detect the genes of these gold-specific microbes.
MSNBC /Discovery Channel Sep 01, 2010	back to top