An ambitious project is underway to build the world’s smallest electronic nose.
If the project succeeds, it is expected that the technology would have many potential applications in areas such as environmental monitoring, healthcare and food safety.
The aim is to combine the odour sensors together with the signal processing components on to a single silicon chip, around a square centimetre in size. The instrument would require very little power and could be held comfortably
A new analysis of the mineral composition of meteorites suggests that theories concerning the development of the early solar system may need revision. Announcing their results today in the journal Science, researchers conclude that it took the earth only 20 million years to form from material floating around the early sun. Previous estimates, in contrast, had placed that figure at around 50 million years. The findings also re-open the debate over which types of supernovae could have produced our sola
New candidate cancer drug does damage only in tumours.
A new drug turns lethal only when it reaches cancer cells. In healthy cells it is harmless. Though not yet shown to work in humans, it is a step towards a magic bullet to knock out tumour cells selectively, with minimal side effects.
The drug works in mice implanted with human tumours, say chemists Lutz Tietze and colleagues at the University of Gottingen in Germany. Before being treated with the drug, the mice are giv
Ancestors of the flightless figurehead of extinction island-hopped.
The flightless dodo’s ungainly shape hid an island-hopping past, say researchers. DNA from the extinct bird has revealed its place in the pigeon family tree, and suggests how it came to end up on its home, and graveyard, the island of Mauritius 1 .
The dodo’s strange appearance led to centuries of wrangling over its ancestry. “It’s the figurehead of extinction, yet little is known about its e
Food quality will fall, food costs will rise and stored food will be damaged. Historical relics may be lost to insect attack, rodent and insect infestations on public transport will swell, and fungal contamination of stored food will increase. According to a recent meeting of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) Pest Management Group, these may be the consequences of a worldwide phasing out of the crop protectant methyl bromide (MB).
The SCI Pest Management Group invited acclaimed speaker
Researchers from the Basque University have discovered the relationship between E2F2 gene and autoimmunity. The Science Faculty team, leaded by Ana Zubiaga has published the results of its researches in the fifteenth issue of the Immunity magazine.
The team began analysing E2F2 gene and its family. This gene family is responsible for the cell proliferation and the aim of the research was to discover how they work. There are 6 genes on this family and experts do not know yet the reason why
New technique could help rapid detection of infecting organisms in hospitals and prove authenticity of foods such
Researchers at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) are about to put ultra-violet Raman spectroscopy through its paces as a new technique for studying biological materials.
Dr Roy Goodacre and colleagues in the Institute of Biological Sciences have been awarded a grant worth £306,291 by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to develop an
Alcoholics, especially those who relapse after frequent attempts to “dry out”, are damaging areas of their brain that recognise emotions, a University of Sussex study suggests.
Research on people’s responses to photographs of different emotional facial expressions shows that heavy drinkers who had previously tried to kick the bottle are more likely than either non-alcoholics, or alcoholics who had not previously experienced withdrawal symptoms, to read fear and sadness in all emotional expre
The eagerly awaited launch of ESA’s Envisat environmental monitoring satellite took place in Kourou, French Guiana, today at 22:07:59 hrs Kourou time (02:07:59 hrs CET). Envisat’s spectacular night-time launch also marked the return to business for Europe’s Ariane 5 launcher.
Lift-off was witnessed by dozens of cheering engineers, scientists and project members at the launch site and at ESA centres across Europe. Rising into a clear sky, the Ariane 5 propelled the Envisat towards a lofty v
ENVISAT, successfully launched this morning from the European spaceport at Kourou, French Guyana, by an Ariane 5 rocket, is the largest and most sophisticated Earth observation satellite ever built in Europe. From an altitude of 800 km, the 8.2-ton Environment Satellite – Europe’s new “eyes in space” – will deliver an unprecedented wealth of images and data that will help scientists better understand the Earth, and assist European Union decision-makers in reaching environmental and other policy goals
Authors of a French study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlight the link between a specific strain of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and a severe form of pneumonia in children.
Between 1986 and 1998, eight cases of community-acquired pneumonia due to S aureus strains carrying the gene for the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) were recorded in France, six of which were fatal. Jerome Etienne from the Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire of Lyon, France, aimed to assess the clinical feat
HIV patients at risk of a potentially fatal hypersensitive reaction to the antiretroviral drug abacavir could be identified by genetic testing before drug therapy has started, suggest authors of a fast-track study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.
The use of the HIV antiretroviral drug abacavir, a potent HIV-1 nucleoside-analogue reverse-transcriptase inhibitor, is complicated by a potentially life-threatening hypersensitivity syndrome in about 5% of cases. Genetic factors influencing the
A Commission survey on the patenting and publication by EU scientists and organisations from industry and academia involved in biotechnology and genetic engineering research, that highlights the need for support to and training of academics in the proper use of the patent system. Public research organisations can handle patent applications almost as professionally as industrial organisations and without significantly delaying the publication of results that are subject to patent applications. In cont
Homoeopathic remedies are no better than placebo for the treatment of asthmatic patients who are allergic to house dust mite, but there is a difference in response between homoeopathy and placebo, concludes a study in this week’s BMJ.
The research team identified 242 asthmatic people allergic to house dust mite. Participants received either homoeopathic therapy or placebo and were assessed over 16 weeks.
They found no improvement in lung function or quality of life between those tre
South Asian patients are less likely to receive treatment for coronary artery disease than white patients, finds a study in this week’s BMJ.
Researchers in London compared rates of coronary revascularisation (a procedure to restore adequate blood supply to the heart) in 502 south Asian and 2,974 white patients with heart disease.
Although the same proportion of south Asian and white patients were deemed appropriate to undergo revascularisation, south Asian patients were less likely
Linguists filter languages for sound before meaning.
Bilingual people switch off one language to avoid speaking double Dutch. By first sounding out words in their brain’s dictionary, they may stop one tongue from interfering with another.
Those fluent in two languages rarely mix them up. They switch between language filters that oust foreign words, Thomas Munte of Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany, and his team suggest 1 .
Their
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