- Email: [email protected]
Local microbes can affect the flavour and aroma of wine
REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
in Brief Paralysed man thinks to walk
Local microbes can affect the flavour and aroma of wine RAISE a glass to the real winemakers: yeast. Research is starting to show just how important microbes can be for creating a distinctive taste. Matthew Goddard at the University of Lincoln, UK, and Sarah Knight at the University of Auckland in New Zealand isolated yeast from six regions and used them to ferment the same batch of grape juice from Sauvignon Blanc fruit, which had been sterilised to kill off any existing microbes. They then analysed the concentrations of 39 flavourimparting chemicals in wines produced from the different
yeasts. They found that 29 of them varied depending on where the yeast had come from, suggesting that the local varieties of yeast affect the taste of wine. This explained around 10 per cent of the total variation in the chemical profiles of wines (Scientific Reports, doi.org/7v5). “The microbial component is only one of many influences, so by itself wouldn’t weigh in massively,” says Goddard. Other big elements come from human factors, such as when the grapes are picked and the blend of grapes. “But we’re suggesting here that even though it’s a small component it’s still a significant component.” Hervé Alexandre at the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France, agrees that soil and climate play a bigger role.
The hawks that hunt together THEY’RE the world’s only raptor pack. Some Harris’s, or Harris, hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) in the wild work in teams to chase down prey like rabbits and lizards. Jennifer Coulson of the Orleans Audubon Society in Pearl River, Louisiana, and her husband – both avid falconers – trained a hunting team of the birds, allowing them to see the unusual behaviour up close.
During the airborne hunt, a single lead hawk will be flanked by wingmen ready to step in if the first hawk dives but misses the target. And if the prey takes cover, some birds sacrifice their chances of making the kill by noisily wading through the bush to force the animal back into the open. Strangest of all, the birds will hop on top of each other when perched – “like a hawk totem
pole”, says Coulson – to afford the top bird a better view. The hawks share their kills afterwards, but why they cooperate is a mystery. Coulson thinks it might be because they occupy a landscape with few prey animals and lots of cover – team work might be the only way to stay alive (The Auk, vol 130, p 548). Ongoing efforts to study the habitats where the hawks do and don’t team up may help shed light on the puzzle.
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who is paralysed in both legs has walked for the first time in five years – just by thinking about it. Functional-electricalstimulation devices activate the nerves in leg muscles at the push of a button. But many people who are paralysed have little sensation in their arms, so can’t easily use buttons. Zoran Nenadic at the University of California, Irvine, and his colleagues developed an electrode cap that detects when a person is thinking about walking or standing still. They tailored it to pick up brain signals from their volunteer – a man who has had little sensation below his shoulder blades for five years. “He walked 1.8 metres to a traffic cone, could stop for 30 seconds, and then continue the length of a 3.6-metre course,” says Nenadic (Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation, doi.org/7wc).
Two became one to form comet 67P CRASHING in slow-mo. The Rosetta spacecraft has confirmed that comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko was formed by two small bodies coming together at less than walking speed. Matteo Massironi, a geologist at the University of Padova, Italy, and his colleagues have studied high-resolution images of the comet. Layers of material – called strata – are visible, but their 3D arrangement makes them look like two onions stuck side by side. This confirms that the comet was once two separate rocks. The strata of 67P could only be preserved if its two halves collided at about 1 metre per second – a little slower than most people walk (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/ nature15511). 3 October 2015 | NewScientist | 17
in Brief Paralysed man thinks to walk
Local microbes can affect the flavour and aroma of wine RAISE a glass to the real winemakers: yeast. Research is starting to show just how important microbes can be for creating a distinctive taste. Matthew Goddard at the University of Lincoln, UK, and Sarah Knight at the University of Auckland in New Zealand isolated yeast from six regions and used them to ferment the same batch of grape juice from Sauvignon Blanc fruit, which had been sterilised to kill off any existing microbes. They then analysed the concentrations of 39 flavourimparting chemicals in wines produced from the different
yeasts. They found that 29 of them varied depending on where the yeast had come from, suggesting that the local varieties of yeast affect the taste of wine. This explained around 10 per cent of the total variation in the chemical profiles of wines (Scientific Reports, doi.org/7v5). “The microbial component is only one of many influences, so by itself wouldn’t weigh in massively,” says Goddard. Other big elements come from human factors, such as when the grapes are picked and the blend of grapes. “But we’re suggesting here that even though it’s a small component it’s still a significant component.” Hervé Alexandre at the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France, agrees that soil and climate play a bigger role.
The hawks that hunt together THEY’RE the world’s only raptor pack. Some Harris’s, or Harris, hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) in the wild work in teams to chase down prey like rabbits and lizards. Jennifer Coulson of the Orleans Audubon Society in Pearl River, Louisiana, and her husband – both avid falconers – trained a hunting team of the birds, allowing them to see the unusual behaviour up close.
During the airborne hunt, a single lead hawk will be flanked by wingmen ready to step in if the first hawk dives but misses the target. And if the prey takes cover, some birds sacrifice their chances of making the kill by noisily wading through the bush to force the animal back into the open. Strangest of all, the birds will hop on top of each other when perched – “like a hawk totem
pole”, says Coulson – to afford the top bird a better view. The hawks share their kills afterwards, but why they cooperate is a mystery. Coulson thinks it might be because they occupy a landscape with few prey animals and lots of cover – team work might be the only way to stay alive (The Auk, vol 130, p 548). Ongoing efforts to study the habitats where the hawks do and don’t team up may help shed light on the puzzle.
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who is paralysed in both legs has walked for the first time in five years – just by thinking about it. Functional-electricalstimulation devices activate the nerves in leg muscles at the push of a button. But many people who are paralysed have little sensation in their arms, so can’t easily use buttons. Zoran Nenadic at the University of California, Irvine, and his colleagues developed an electrode cap that detects when a person is thinking about walking or standing still. They tailored it to pick up brain signals from their volunteer – a man who has had little sensation below his shoulder blades for five years. “He walked 1.8 metres to a traffic cone, could stop for 30 seconds, and then continue the length of a 3.6-metre course,” says Nenadic (Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation, doi.org/7wc).
Two became one to form comet 67P CRASHING in slow-mo. The Rosetta spacecraft has confirmed that comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko was formed by two small bodies coming together at less than walking speed. Matteo Massironi, a geologist at the University of Padova, Italy, and his colleagues have studied high-resolution images of the comet. Layers of material – called strata – are visible, but their 3D arrangement makes them look like two onions stuck side by side. This confirms that the comet was once two separate rocks. The strata of 67P could only be preserved if its two halves collided at about 1 metre per second – a little slower than most people walk (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/ nature15511). 3 October 2015 | NewScientist | 17