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Wind map shows where houses will burn
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60 SECONDS
to be supervised. But the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a Washington DC-based think tank, says it will be hard for Iran to safely turn the uranium into reactor fuel elements. Some western governments say they fear the move is a prelude to producing weapons-grade uranium, enriched to 80 per cent or more. According to ISIS, by enriching natural uranium to 20 per cent the Iranians will already have done almost all of the work needed to get it to 80 per cent. Less “separative work” is needed as concentrations of uranium-235 increase.
Anti-HIV gel hope
the virus found in the recipient to the DNA and RNA versions in the semen of the man who infected him, it was most closely related to the RNA, which suggests RNA is the culprit (Science Translational Medicine, vol 3, p 1).
VAGINAL gels to protect women against HIV have failed to work, but new insights into how the virus is transmitted could change this. HIV in semen takes two forms: as DNA in white blood cells and free-floating RNA in seminal fluid. “Vaginal gels could help women whose The two are genetically distinct. male partners refuse To find out which transmits to wear a condom” the disease, Davey Smith and colleagues at the University Gels, which could help women of California, San Diego, took whose male partners won’t wear samples from six pairs of condoms, have been focused on homosexual men in which HIV physically blocking HIV. Newer had been transferred from one to ones could target RNA, says Smith. the other. When they compared
Half-power ahead
Where the worst fires will be
NEXT week, engineers at the Large Hadron Collider will prepare the particle-smasher to run at 7 teraelectronvolts (TeV) – half the energy it was designed for. So what will it find? Greg Landsberg, a member of the CMS collaboration, which operates one of the four experiments at the LHC, says the first few months should generate accurate measurements of the properties of particles like the W and Z bosons and the top quark. Particles that hint at extra dimensions or supersymmetry could also be discovered during the run, provided they are light enough – although probably not until at least the latter half of 2010, he says. Higgs particles in the lighter predicted range could be produced, but they may be hidden by background signals. After two years at 7 TeV, the collider will be shut down for the whole of 2012 to check the splices between the superconducting magnets, one of which failed disastrously in 2008. In 2013 the energy will be ramped up to its maximum of 14 TeV. The LHC’s operators are being cautious, “but given what happened in 2008, who can blame them?” says Jon Butterworth of the UK ATLAS collaboration, another experiment.
THIS year, southern California will burn – you can count on it. But we may now be able to predict which areas will be worst hit, thanks to this map. It was compiled by Max Moritz’s team at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the first to take into account fire-friendly weather. Wild fires cause millions of dollars of damage each year in California and elsewhere. Fire researchers typically identify risk areas by looking for flammable vegetation and features like canyons that can funnel fires. There is a third factor, however, that stokes many of the worst infernos: hot, dry winds, like the Santa Ana winds of southern California and the sirocco around the Mediterranean. Moritz and his colleagues used a
computer model of fine-scale weather patterns to predict temperature, wind speed and humidity at 6-kilometre intervals across southern California during Santa Ana wind events, then calculated the fire risk at each point. When they compared their map with historical fire records, the researchers found that the areas they had identified as being at high and low risk were equally as likely to burn, but the impact of fire was greatest in a highrisk area (Geophysical Review Letters, DOI: 10.1029/2009GL041735). Moritz’s map may help planners guide housing development away from the riskiest areas. The approach could also be used in other fire-prone regions like South Africa and western Australia, he says.
Santa Barbara
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory was scheduled to launch this week. The probe will watch the sun for the evolving magnetic fields and interior pressure waves that are the prelude to solar storms, and could provide better forecasting of the events. A severe storm could cripple power grids and telecommunications.
Neural comeback? For the first time, a drug has shown signs of reversing cognitive decline in people with Huntington’s disease, an inherited neurodegenerative condition. The 45 recipients of dimebon – also active against Alzheimer’s disease – averaged a 1-point increase in cognitive scores on a standard 30-point scale after three months (Archives of Neurology, vol 67, p 154).
Stammering enzyme The discovery of gene mutations in some unrelated people with a stutter suggests an enzyme may contribute to the condition. The gene in question produces an enzyme involved in recycling cell contents. Enzyme replacement might help some stutterers (The New England Journal of Medicine, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa0902630).
Ancient genome A 4000-year-old, brown-eyed man from Greenland has become the first ancient human to have his genome sequenced (Nature, vol 463, p 757). Analysis of DNA collected from oncefrozen tufts of hair shows the man had A+ blood, dark skin and, possibly, dry earwax. His ancestors migrated out of Siberia about 5500 years ago.
All the farms in China
Los Angeles
NIA OR LIF CA
San Diego US Fire risk High MEXICO
Staring at the sun
100 km
Low
China’s farms generate more water pollution than its factories, according to a government-commissioned report. It shows that agriculture is dumping most of the phosphorus and nitrogen found in rivers and lakes. Both pollutants are responsible for aquatic dead zones.
13 February 2010 | NewScientist | 7
60 SECONDS
to be supervised. But the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a Washington DC-based think tank, says it will be hard for Iran to safely turn the uranium into reactor fuel elements. Some western governments say they fear the move is a prelude to producing weapons-grade uranium, enriched to 80 per cent or more. According to ISIS, by enriching natural uranium to 20 per cent the Iranians will already have done almost all of the work needed to get it to 80 per cent. Less “separative work” is needed as concentrations of uranium-235 increase.
Anti-HIV gel hope
the virus found in the recipient to the DNA and RNA versions in the semen of the man who infected him, it was most closely related to the RNA, which suggests RNA is the culprit (Science Translational Medicine, vol 3, p 1).
VAGINAL gels to protect women against HIV have failed to work, but new insights into how the virus is transmitted could change this. HIV in semen takes two forms: as DNA in white blood cells and free-floating RNA in seminal fluid. “Vaginal gels could help women whose The two are genetically distinct. male partners refuse To find out which transmits to wear a condom” the disease, Davey Smith and colleagues at the University Gels, which could help women of California, San Diego, took whose male partners won’t wear samples from six pairs of condoms, have been focused on homosexual men in which HIV physically blocking HIV. Newer had been transferred from one to ones could target RNA, says Smith. the other. When they compared
Half-power ahead
Where the worst fires will be
NEXT week, engineers at the Large Hadron Collider will prepare the particle-smasher to run at 7 teraelectronvolts (TeV) – half the energy it was designed for. So what will it find? Greg Landsberg, a member of the CMS collaboration, which operates one of the four experiments at the LHC, says the first few months should generate accurate measurements of the properties of particles like the W and Z bosons and the top quark. Particles that hint at extra dimensions or supersymmetry could also be discovered during the run, provided they are light enough – although probably not until at least the latter half of 2010, he says. Higgs particles in the lighter predicted range could be produced, but they may be hidden by background signals. After two years at 7 TeV, the collider will be shut down for the whole of 2012 to check the splices between the superconducting magnets, one of which failed disastrously in 2008. In 2013 the energy will be ramped up to its maximum of 14 TeV. The LHC’s operators are being cautious, “but given what happened in 2008, who can blame them?” says Jon Butterworth of the UK ATLAS collaboration, another experiment.
THIS year, southern California will burn – you can count on it. But we may now be able to predict which areas will be worst hit, thanks to this map. It was compiled by Max Moritz’s team at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the first to take into account fire-friendly weather. Wild fires cause millions of dollars of damage each year in California and elsewhere. Fire researchers typically identify risk areas by looking for flammable vegetation and features like canyons that can funnel fires. There is a third factor, however, that stokes many of the worst infernos: hot, dry winds, like the Santa Ana winds of southern California and the sirocco around the Mediterranean. Moritz and his colleagues used a
computer model of fine-scale weather patterns to predict temperature, wind speed and humidity at 6-kilometre intervals across southern California during Santa Ana wind events, then calculated the fire risk at each point. When they compared their map with historical fire records, the researchers found that the areas they had identified as being at high and low risk were equally as likely to burn, but the impact of fire was greatest in a highrisk area (Geophysical Review Letters, DOI: 10.1029/2009GL041735). Moritz’s map may help planners guide housing development away from the riskiest areas. The approach could also be used in other fire-prone regions like South Africa and western Australia, he says.
Santa Barbara
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory was scheduled to launch this week. The probe will watch the sun for the evolving magnetic fields and interior pressure waves that are the prelude to solar storms, and could provide better forecasting of the events. A severe storm could cripple power grids and telecommunications.
Neural comeback? For the first time, a drug has shown signs of reversing cognitive decline in people with Huntington’s disease, an inherited neurodegenerative condition. The 45 recipients of dimebon – also active against Alzheimer’s disease – averaged a 1-point increase in cognitive scores on a standard 30-point scale after three months (Archives of Neurology, vol 67, p 154).
Stammering enzyme The discovery of gene mutations in some unrelated people with a stutter suggests an enzyme may contribute to the condition. The gene in question produces an enzyme involved in recycling cell contents. Enzyme replacement might help some stutterers (The New England Journal of Medicine, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa0902630).
Ancient genome A 4000-year-old, brown-eyed man from Greenland has become the first ancient human to have his genome sequenced (Nature, vol 463, p 757). Analysis of DNA collected from oncefrozen tufts of hair shows the man had A+ blood, dark skin and, possibly, dry earwax. His ancestors migrated out of Siberia about 5500 years ago.
All the farms in China
Los Angeles
NIA OR LIF CA
San Diego US Fire risk High MEXICO
Staring at the sun
100 km
Low
China’s farms generate more water pollution than its factories, according to a government-commissioned report. It shows that agriculture is dumping most of the phosphorus and nitrogen found in rivers and lakes. Both pollutants are responsible for aquatic dead zones.
13 February 2010 | NewScientist | 7