I,science The Imperial College science magazine
www.iscienceonline.co.uk
Issue 8 • Spring 2008
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I,science Issue 8 • Spring 2008
Editor-in-chief Edward Wawrzynczak Managing editor Tom Roberts News and Events Manisha Lalloo Gursharan Randhawa Features Brett Cherry Monica Rene Tim Sands Simon Shears Interviews Nira Datta Katrina Pavelin Tamsin Osborne Opinions Sarah Day Ciaran Ellis Reviews David Stacey Andrew Turley Images Mair Shepherd
From the Editor
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HE I,SCIENCE team is delighted to bring you this bumper forty-page issue of Imperial’s own science magazine to kick off 2008. As ever, we have a diverse mix of news and views, reports and articles from Imperial and beyond. Please take your time to explore and enjoy. A team of students from Imperial’s Institute of Systems and Synthetic Biology triumphed at the 2007 iGEM competition – find out what they invented, what goes on at the Institute, and why this new technology is so exciting. And we take a look at the pros and cons of biofuels – can they overcome our reliance on fossil fuels to meet our future energy needs? We talk to Professor Steve Bloom, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at Imperial, about the challenge of obesity and the prospect of viable solutions to the problem. Craig Venter, erstwhile creator of synthetic life and unashamed maverick, visited Imperial – what did he have to say and what did we think of his autobiography? I was released from the office for good behaviour and spent a week at the BA Festival of Science, the oldest and biggest annual feast of science. I’ll tell you what the Festival is all about and showcase some of the meeting’s highlights. Read about the importance of manned space exploration and meet a real rocket scientist. See what facial recognition technology can do and try it for yourself. And find out how we can look through solid objects with the brilliant light from the new Diamond synchrotron. As a relief from hardcore science, we hear from Chris Riley about the making of the acclaimed film In The Shadow of the Moon, visit the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit, take a look at why we laugh at jokes, surf the science ‘blogosphere’, review the latest popular science books, and, in our regular Opinions section, we blast away at scare-mongers, doom-merchants, crisis-queens and bull-peddlers! Finally, this is your magazine so if there are topics you’d like to see covered, you’re bursting at the seams to tell the world about your work, or you’d like to tell us what you think, then do please let us know. Edward Wawrzynczak
Graphics Agnes Becker Design Julia Bracewell Sarah Furnell Sonia Furtado Catherine Moloney Kamini Plaha Web Flora Graham
I,science is produced and published in association with Felix, the student newspaper of Imperial College Felix Newspaper Beit Quad Prince Consort Road London SW7 2BB T: 020 7594 8072 E: felix@imperial.ac.uk
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COVER ART Central view of the ATLAS detector, by Maximilien Brice. © CERN
Registered newspaper ISSN 1040-0711 Copyright © Felix 2008 Printed by St Ives Roche Ltd, St Austell, Cornwall PL26 8LX
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One of the spectacular images in a new collection of scientific images from Why the Lion Grew Its Mane, reviewed on page 36.
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Issue 8 • Spring 2008
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Features 09 | Biological Revolution The revolutionary science of living machines and modular biology – and it’s all at Imperial!
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24 | Sex, Drugs and Greed: obesity research – a fat lot of use? The problem of obesity and the challenge of finding solutions - we talk to Professor Steve Bloom.
Regulars
14 | No Laughing Matter? Geeks are allowed to laugh at jokes too – but what is it that we find funny?
17 | Feast of Science The BA Festival of Science – yesterday and today. To boldly go: space exploration – humans or robots? Face facts: facial recognition – security and genetics. Bright lights: Diamond – parchments and proteins.
26 | Biofuels: Powering the cars of tomorrow? Are biofuels a solution to our energy crisis, or just another problem?
Interviews 12 | Fly me to the Moon Chris Riley tells us about the conception and filming of In the Shadow of the Moon. Spring 2008
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04 | News and Events Infector detector – hungry mice – ‘shrooms’ – SIZE – pink balls – handshakes – magnetic personality – Drunksophila! Handlebar heroes! – Improbable but true! – Wellcome flesh! – Creator of life!
28 | Opinions Whatever happened to those deadly epidemics? Are we weighing ourselves down with worry? What should we make of ‘biodynamic’ food? Do we believe the fat controllers?
32 | Reviews Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year: the very best. Little beasts: strange goings on in South Kensington. The best of the ‘blogosphere’: some top science blogs. Pretty pictures: amazing scientific images. Spiders and hamsters: popular science books. Magical Moon: film review. Venter: the biography. I,science 3 1/2/08 19:12:09
NEWS & EVENTS OPINIONS INTERVIEWS
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News from Imperial... Hungry? We can read your mind
Feeling hungry? We can tell. Scientists at Imperial College can measure how hungry or full a mouse feels with a new technique that uses magnetic resonance imaging. Their groundbreaking technique enables observation of neuronal activity in regions of the brain regulating appetite. Researchers discovered that neurons firing action potentials can be visualised on a magnetic resonance imaging scan by using a contrast agent of manganese ions. The scientists used this innovative technique to monitor the activity of
‘hunger’ neurons in mice when giving them one of two types of hormone: either pancreatic peptide, which inhibits appetite, or ghrelin, which increases it. In a hungry mouse, these ‘hunger’ neurons showed increased activity, taking up the contrast agent and so ‘lighting up’ on the scan. The intensity of the signal decreased, implying less active neurons, as the mouse’s appetite was suppressed. Professor Jimmy Bell, an author of the study, said that this new method is more reliable and objective because researchers
can now directly look at neuronal activity. Appetite and appetite control varies greatly from one person to another and is one reason why people put on weight. Scientists are now working on developing similar methods to study neuronal activity in the appetite brain centres of humans to help answer why some people are more prone to obesity than others. But, there’s still a long way to go, so you’ll have to do lots of exercise to lose those extra pounds gained at Christmas. Ana Lesher
Silwood’s ‘shrooms’
detours from Silwood field trips to look for magic mushrooms, I,science has been reliably informed that this species is of ‘unknown edibility’. We could point out where proper magic mushrooms are found at Silwood (guilty shuffle), but that might encourage illicit activities. Don’t try it kids! Silwood scientist Professor Mick Crawley said: “Although it is unique for a new species to be named after a university campus, it is entirely fitting that a campus dedicated to the study of biodiversity should have a species named in its honour”. Fungus fans duly celebrated in style with a beer in the campus bar. David Stacey
Who says there isn’t mush-room at Silwood Park? Well, there is now! A new species of fungus has been discovered at Silwood and has been named in honour of the Imperial campus. Xerocomus silwoodensis was found by mushroom expert Alan Hills in the woods behind the William Penney halls of residence. Those familiar with the site might be surprised to learn that the fungus was not lurking in the showers. The fungus has a brown velvety cap and is related to the edible Cep mushroom, but before all you biology students take
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FEATURES REVIEWS
INTERVIEWS OPINIONS NEWS & EVENTS
SIZE really isn’t everything you know New findings by scientists at Imperial College London have cast doubt on the legacy of ‘the island rule’. The theory, which has been a core principle of island biogeography over the last few decades, states that in island environments small mammals such as rodents tend to evolve to be larger, and large mammals such as elephants tend to evolve to be smaller. Lead researcher Dr Shai Meiri explains: “If the island rule was correct, then most large mammals living on islands would be smaller than their continental relatives, and most small island mammals would be larger than those living on continents”. Meiri’s team analyzed a large data set of mammal body sizes and found that their
results contradicted the theory, indicating that size evolution on islands is not as straightforward as predicted by theory. The findings suggest that the evolution of mammal sizes on islands is dependent on a variety of factors, including the island’s physical environment, the presence of competing species, the abundance of food and prey, the presence of predators, and competition from other species inhabiting the island. So, there is no need to worry about giant rats taking over the British Isles just yet, because when it comes to evolution, size isn’t all that counts. Robert Dumas
Infector Detector
The US health service spends a staggering one billion dollars to treat the one million or so infections that occur every year in its hospitals. The principal source of these infections is urinary catheters, which are mainly used in elderly patients. In the labs of Imperial College, a team of second year undergrads and their supervisors, Professors Kitney and Freemont, addressed this widespread problem. By analysing how infections emerge, the team developed a way to detect them at an early stage. Infection-causing bacteria create a biofilm on the outside of a catheter but have been hard to detect before they get into the body and cause illness. With this in mind, the Imperial group set about to develop a bioengineered ‘neon-light’ that alerts medical staff to the presence of bacteria
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What colour are your balls?
by glowing fluorescent green. This unique molecular sensing device can be suspended in liquid, formulated as a spray or cream, and easily painted onto a patient’s catheter. The device consists of two proteins that work together to detect and signal the presence of bacteria, warning nurses of the need to change the catheter before the bacteria infect the patient. The team entered their ingenious solution, the ‘Infector Detector’ into the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition, held at MIT last November. They managed to impress an international panel of judges with their creation and were rewarded with a wellearned gold medal.
Pink is due to headline in cricket. Before you angst-ridden girls and guys get excited, we don’t mean the singer, but the colour. That’s right – no longer restricted to fairy tale princesses, the Pink Panther, or that crispy wafer biscuit at birthday parties for fiveyear-olds – pink is coming to a game near you. A fluorescent pink ball may soon replace both the traditional red cricket ball and the white version used in one-day internationals. Scientists at Imperial have been given the responsibility of producing the new pink balls to use in university and second XI matches at the beginning of next season. Why are the balls changing colour? John Stephenson, head of cricket at Marylebone Cricket Club, said that the problem with existing balls is that the paint flakes off and the balls wear out quickly. “The challenge is to produce a ball which retains its colour,” Stephenson said. Scientists are trying out several methods. They have impregnated the raw leather hide of the cricket balls with a bleach that stays within the ball. They have injected the leather of white balls with titanium dioxide particles using a paraffin wax. And they are looking into ways to prevent grass from discolouring balls. However, some are sceptical about moving away from the traditional red. “We can easily make a ball that doesn’t deteriorate but then it would not suit the natural skills of the game. It’s about the balance between batsmen and bowlers,” said Brett Elliott, managing director of Kookaburra UK, manufacturers of cricket balls. Cricket fans stay alert; the pink projectile may well be coming your way. Gursharan Randhawa
Anna-Katrin Bender
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...and beyond! Shake on it Girls, forget about Facebook and trawling through his old text messages – the key to your boyfriend’s past lies in his handshake. That’s according to researchers at the University at Albany, New York, who have discovered that a firm handgrip can shed light on a guy’s sexual history.
Evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup and his team quizzed 82 male students to determine whether the strength behind the squeeze revealed more than just an enthusiastic greeting. Their results showed that the men with the strongest handgrip were those who had sex at an earlier age and confessed to having more sexual partners. In addition, Gallup found that men with forceful holds tended to have higher levels of aggression. If these results make your other half sound like a bit of a man slut, don’t worry: the news isn’t all bad - a strong handshake can also be used as an indicator of fitness. Handgrip strength is strongly influenced by genetic factors and previous research has found that males who score highly by this measure are likely to live longer than those with flimsy grasps. And what about female handshakes? Whilst handgrip can be used to predict health, the study revealed no further correlations between female sexual activity and handgrip strength. Well, women have always been better at keeping secrets, haven’t they?
Drunksophila! What differentiates a lightweight from a heavyweight when it comes to drinking? Identifying the genes involved is tricky in humans due to a lack of control over both genetic and environmental factors. Enter Professor Trudy Mackay and her researchers at North Carolina State University who found an alternative way to answer the question. Their method? Drunken flies.
Manisha Lalloo
Magnetic personality Physical attraction has reached another level for Aurel Raileanu. The 40-yearold Romanian claims that he can attract metal, enabling him to stick objects – as small as a paper clip or as large as a TV set – directly to his body. “I might have had these abilities since I was a child, but I only realised about six years ago,” he said. “I was wearing a fairly heavy necklace and the clasp broke, but the chain stuck to my neck.”
Imperial’s very own magnetism expert, Professor Russell Cowburn, watched the ‘Human Magnet’ in action. “It is interesting because historically magnetism used to be thought of as a force which related directly to people.
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The French word for magnet – aimant – is similar to the word for lover.” Alas, this does not apply to Aurel who hasn’t managed to attract a female admirer in four years. Professor Cowburn set out to determine whether magnetism really was behind this superhuman power by testing the surface of Aurel’s body using a compass, a super-strong magnet, and a Gaussmeter, one of the most sensitive magnetic field detectors in the world. The experiments detected no abnormal fields around Aurel, suggesting that something other than magnetism was behind his bizarre ability. Christopher French, psychology professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a sceptic of paranormal phenomena, soon uncovered Aurel’s nemesis – talcum powder. “When I dusted it on Aurel’s chest, I found afterwards that objects slipped off. It seems to me that Aurel’s ability to hold things on his chest and face is down to the stickiness of his skin, caused by the amount of a sebum produced in glands.” So, sadly, Aurel is not so much a human magnet, more like a damp squib. Gursharan Randhawa
The scientist’s favourite experimental fly, Drosophila, is a good model to detect the genes behind alcohol sensitivity, because its genetics are well studied. What is more, scientists can stringently control the fly’s environment in experiments. When feeding, flies are naturally exposed to low concentrations of ethanol and this perks them up a bit. However, whack the alcohol level up and the flies behave more like humans: they lose balance, get drowsy, and develop alcohol tolerance upon repeated exposure. When testing her subjects’ alcohol sensitivity, Mackay’s weapon of choice is the ‘inebriometer’ – the fly’s equivalent of the pub. Consisting of a long glass tube fitted with slanted shelves, the flies inside are plied with booze in the form of ethanol vapour. It’s then simply a matter of time to wait and see which flies cling on the longest under the spirited conditions. Using artificial selection, Mackay created lines of flies that were either very sensitive to alcohol, taking around three minutes to topple off, or very resistant, hanging on for about 18 minutes. Consequently, her team identified 32 novel candidate genes that affect alcohol sensitivity, 23 of which have human analogues. Mackay’s research has given a new meaning to the phrase ‘dropping like flies’. Manisha Lalloo
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FEATURES REVIEWS
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AKE YOUR mind back to the month of November. Perhaps you noticed an increase in the number of mustachioed men walking our streets? If so, you may have been witness to some of the hundreds of men growing a moustache for charity. The event known as ‘Movember’ began in Australia in 2003. Its aim: to raise money and awareness for men’s health issues and, in particular, prostate cancer. Since then it has sprouted into a global event. Participating countries now include, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Spain and, for the first time, the UK. The concept is simple. The participants – known as ‘Mo Bros’ – begin cleanshaven and have one month to grow their ‘mo’, collecting sponsorship along the way. The Movember website provides an online community for Mo Bros and their supporters to share stories, photos and styling tips. All money raised by Movember goes directly to the Prostate Cancer Charity,
INTERVIEWS OPINIONS NEWS & EVENTS
which raised £800,000 in 2006 to fund prostate cancer research around the country. This included over £250,000 for
research projects here at Imperial College. Prostate cancer kills approximately 10,000 men in the UK each year and is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in this country. The world’s longest moustache belongs to Bajansinh Juwansinh Gurjar of Ahmedabad, India. He entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2004 with his 22-year-old ubertache having reached the astonishing length of 12 feet 6 inches. It may be some time before a Brit mo emerges to rival it. Sarah Furnell
Having fun with facial hair
Improbable ... but true!
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The Graduate Schools, who organised VER WONDERED how you the event, ran a competition to find could stop your photos being Imperial research worthy of an Ig Nobel spoiled by that stray blink? prize. The winner was Lennon O’Naraigh, Marc Abrahams and guests a postgraduate in the Fluid Dynamics had the answer for you at last November’s Improbable Research: Imperial and Otherwise. This entertaining evening highlighted some past winners and notable entrants of the Ig Nobel awards. The Ig Nobel awards were created in 1991 to honour research that first makes you laugh, then think. Previous winners include researchers who determined why sheets wrinkle, a device that produces a centrifugal force to assist women in labour, and an analysis of the forces when a shearer drags sheep across various surfaces. Who blinked first?
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Group, who determined the mechanics of mayonnaise and how much stirring is needed to keep it mixed. Joining Lennon was Professor Schroter of the Department of Bioengineering whose research examined how camels stay cool and the amount of work a dehydrated camel can perform. Oh, and for that perfect picture without a blink, you just need to follow a simple equation. If you are taking a picture in bad light, divide the number of people who are going to be in the picture by two, and use that number as the number of pictures you need to take to get a blink-free picture. In good light, or with a flash, you need to divide the number of participants by three and use that number. Happy snapping! Simon Shears
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NEWS & EVENTS OPINIONS INTERVIEWS
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Wellcome flesh
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ATE LAST year, the Wellcome Collection played host to ‘Materials Library Presents Flesh: an experimental and experiential insight into the materiality of flesh’. With an eclectic cast including a plastic surgeon, an artist, a surgical nurse, a master butcher, a biologist and a champion bodybuilder, we were invited to sew, draw, drill, saw, grope and taste flesh in all its guises. The event, devised by designer Martin Conreen, artist Zoe Laughlin and materials scientist Mark Miodownik of the Materials Library, King’s College London, was a powerful and thought provoking exploration into the wonders of flesh. As we fondled pig’s eyeballs, tugged on tendons, and feasted on cold cuts, the incredible nature of flesh and its fantastically diverse properties and behaviour were unveiled. The event played to a full house; the galleries were buzzing with laughter, gasps and grimacing – a truly engaged crowd. It was a thoughtfully produced
Relax: it’s actually the flesh of a fig event, which sat comfortably amongst the permanent collection at Wellcome, hosted by experts whose enthusiasm for their subject was contagious. The Wellcome Collection runs a series of exhibitions, talks and events
that challenge the audience to look at the connection between medicine, life and art in alternative ways. For details of upcoming events visit: www. wellcomecollection.org. Sally Leon
Creator of life visits Imperial
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N ANTICIPATORY buzz filled the Great Hall as we waited for the start of the Centenary Prestigious Lecture, to be given by Dr J Craig Venter, the new recipient of an Imperial honorary doctorate. As one of the most prominent – albeit controversial – scientists of this century, Craig Venter rose to fame as the ‘private’ face of the Human Genome Project. Venter has since moved on to sequence other genomes: in particular, those of the million or so bacteria and ten million viruses that occupy every millilitre of seawater. His research vessel, Sorcerer II, followed in the waves of the 1870s HMS Challenger expedition, looking for new species using DNA sequencing rather than microscopes. Venter’s team took samples every 200 miles, risking confrontation and arrest by those countries into whose waters they sailed, often having to agree to tag the newly discovered drifting genomes as the intellectual property of the country concerned. Now, having found over six million new microbial genes, Venter believes there is an enormous potential to tackle some of the greatest environmental issues faced by man. Armed with the knowledge that the
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Professor Craig Venter genetic code is to all intents and purposes universal, he wonders whether these numerous novel genes and the proteins they encode are the design components of
the future. Could entirely new genomes be synthesized with the potential to absorb excess carbon dioxide produced by global warming? Would it be possible to create bio-fuels without exhausting the land required for food? Might scientists apply this new-found information to drive the discovery and production of novel antibiotics and vaccines? To all these questions, Venter answers a resounding ‘Yes’. In fact, experiments currently under way may give rise to the first synthetic life form within a matter of weeks or months, albeit with only slight modifications from the bacterium on which it was based. But what about the ethics of such a momentous undertaking? Venter characterizes genomics as a field dominated by strategy and philosophy, rather than just technology, and feels that the ethical issues were adequately addressed by a review prior to experimentation. In his view, the risks posed by existing superbugs, such as MRSA, are a much greater threat than those associated with a synthetic genome containing a minimum number of genes. So, look out for the momentous announcement, any day now, that man has created life. Janet Cargill
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INTERVIEWS OPINIONS NEWS & EVENTS
Biological Revolution Living machines? Modular biology? These terms seem counterintuitive but they are becoming part of the vernacular at Imperial College’s Institute of Systems and Synthetic Biology. Brett Cherry and Tim Sands went to find out what they mean.
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ESEARCHERS AND students at Imperial College are witnessing the potential of two new branches of science, systems biology and synthetic biology, to not only revolutionize science, but also the society we live in. The organization responsible for bringing together a diverse mix of scientists under both of these fields at Imperial is the Institute for Systems and Synthetic Biology. What makes the Institute especially unique is that it hosts bold researchers at Imperial who find technical and creative insights through interdisciplinary approaches to science. The Institute of Systems and Synthetic Biology, which was founded during 2007, has brought together about fifty researchers from the life sciences, physics, mathematics, computer science and engineering. Two of the pioneers who founded the Institute are Professor Richard Kitney, Chair of the Institute and Professor of Biomedical Systems Engineering and Professor Paul Freemont, Head of the Division of Molecular Biosciences.
Imperial College is also one of the first universities to offer 3rd year students an optional module in systems and synthetic biology. Students working in synthetic biology have already exemplified its potential to transform the world we live in. A team that participated in the 2007 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, where they competed against other students from some of the top universities in the world, developed a unique device to detect urinary tract infections in hospital patients. Systems Biology vs. Synthetic Biology Professors Kitney and Freemont were first interested in how to deal with the issue of scale in life sciences by posing intriguing questions such as: how do you bridge data from different biological scales? Systems biology researchers tend to concentrate on the analysis of biological systems at the cellular and subcellular levels. The Institute takes this model further by integrating physiological research on entire systems of the human
body. The goal of the Institute is to research biological problems from the level of populations right down to cellular and molecular levels. How does one distinguish between systems biology and synthetic biology? Both are new approaches to existing science and are extremely interdisciplinary. Synthetic biology
“The goal of the Institute is to research biological problems from the level of populations right down to cellular and molecular levels.” essentially takes an engineering approach to biological systems, such as building an oscillator from bacteria. It is literally using techniques from engineering to synthesize entirely new biological systems, so producing new devices, materials, industrial processes and medical treatments based on knowledge generated from systems biology. To develop novel devices biologically, one must take into account how biological systems work on multiple scales. That is why a ‘systems’ approach is needed to understand the complexities involved. Systems biology is a holistic rather than reductionist approach to mapping biological systems. It seeks to understand such systems in terms of how their individual parts interact, providing useful insights into life as a whole. The goal of the Institute is to gather data from different fields in the life sciences and unite them. Interdisciplinary Approach
The 2007 Imperial iGEM team
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By their very nature, both systems biology and synthetic biology are truly interdisciplinary. Integrating data across levels of organisation poses a new challenge for biologists and the best approach to this requires the skills of groups of scientists trained in working with complex systems, such as engineers and physical scientists. These are both areas where Imperial has great strength. Professor Freemont also thinks there may be more to the success of interdisciplinary collaborations at
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NEWS & EVENTS OPINIONS INTERVIEWS Imperial than just quality research: “One of the advantages of Imperial College is that you get exposed to things that you never come across normally. Colleagues are very open to interaction – the people who come into this place are drawn here because of this interesting interdisciplinary mix of people we have.”
“Bringing together a diverse range of researchers and applying rigorous engineering principles to the development process is key” Professor Kitney agrees that this approach of combining the skills of a range of researchers is what offers such a huge advantage to synthetic biology: “The real advantage is you have a problem and when you bring these fields together they look at this problem and say: Hey, we have a technique that would work beautifully on this.” Indeed, Kitney strongly believes that bringing together a diverse range of researchers and applying
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rigorous engineering principles to the development process is the key to realising the efficiency and efficacy of synthetic biology: “When you do that with multiple disciplines, I believe a lot of these problems in biology can be solved fairly rapidly.” The Institute’s collaborative approach extends to interactions with industry. This commitment to translating research findings into real world applications is another feature of Imperial College, and one that offers a clear advantage to research at the Institute. Kitney is enthusiastic about these links: “That’s a key thing. It’s in the charter of Imperial College for a start, but the point is: we want to co-operate with a range of companies to tackle mutually important problems.” Technological concerns The kind of research in systems and synthetic biology going on at Imperial College shows much promise but has both scientific and social barriers to overcome. Understanding biology from an engineering perspective could produce technologies of phenomenal importance to humanity. Synthetic biology is expected to play a central role in new medical
treatments, biofuels, enzymes, methods of manufacturing, and biologically based devices. In broader terms, public acceptance of systems and synthetic biology is imperative to applying its methods for the benefit of society. “The whole point of doing any of this work is so you can apply it to help the community,” said Kitney. Both Professors Kitney and Freemont say that biosafety is a key concern to researchers within the Institute, especially in regard to synthetic biology. “I differentiate the word concern from worry,” said Kitney, “we’re not worried – we’re concerned.” Freemont agrees: “If you think about the engineering approach, you always design in safety issues.” Safety and ethics are clearly tremendously important considerations for this new technology as it has deep implications that extend far beyond the lab. Many of the issues are similar to those surrounding genetic modification, the use of stem cells and other biotechnologies. There are fears of synthetic organisms running out of control, of engineered biological weapons, and of scientists ‘playing God’. The extraordinary potential claimed for these methods, often seeming to verge on the hubristic, may serve to heighten these concerns. >>
The Living Computer
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NE OF the most fascinating potential devices to come from synthetic biology is a biological computer – a ‘living computer’ – capable of processing functions in the biological world, such as the inside of a human cell, or in environments where conventional computers cannot go, like the ocean floor. Researchers at Imperial developed an oscillator from E. coli bacteria earlier this year. This bacterial oscillator is an essential biological part – or ‘BioBrick’ –
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for building a biological computer. BioBricks are standardized biological parts that consist of strands of DNA that instruct a cell to behave in a certain way. If one is to build a computer biologically, one needs to employ approaches taken from engineering such as ‘modularity’. Modularity is systems theory combined with engineering design and understands systems as sets of parts. Oscillators, inverters, and logic gates produced from bacterial components are some examples of how techniques from engineering,
used to construct large machinery such as aircraft, are also useful on a biological scale. A biologically based computer is not the same thing as a laptop or desktop computer. You can’t build one in your garage, as it requires industrial facilities comparable to those used for producing microprocessors. But a computer constructed from bacteria would function similarly in the biological world. In order for a biological computer to function the way its programmer intends, there are barriers to overcome. Adequate controls need to be in place in order to design a biological computer that is suited to its environment. It is possible that once a biological computer entered an environment unintended mutations could occur, preventing control of the device. On the other hand, an intriguing advantage of the biological computer could be its ability to evolve– if the computer’s environment were to change, it could adapt to its new conditions. Unlike the constancies we take for granted in the physical world, which make everyday technologies like automobiles and cell phones possible, equivalent controls must also be found or developed for the biological world. This will be one of the greatest obstacles to overcome if living computers are to become a reality.
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Smart Medicines
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PPLYING ENGINEERING
principles to the manufacture of machines, albeit biological ones, seems intuitive but it also has enormous potential for engineering our own biology. Medical science has been extraordinarily successful in improving human health, but developing new therapies can be a very long-winded and expensive process, with little or no guarantee of success. Many therapies available today also have serious drawbacks, with patients often suffering unpleasant or dangerous side-effects, while others receive little benefit from clinical treatments. Furthermore, it can take decades and hundreds of millions of dollars to translate research into new drugs for clinicians. Synthetic biology, coupled to systems biology, offers ways around this problem and offers advantages for pharmaceutical companies too. Combining knowledge of disease mechanisms at different scales has the potential to provide a more profound understanding of the complexities and subtleties of how these biological systems work as a whole. Mathematical understanding of these systems and the application of systematic design principles using standardized parts will allow a much more reliable understanding of how drugs will work even before they are synthesized. The advantage is to reduce the failure rate of new drugs and their development costs. Refinements resulting from a cycle of repeated modelling, implementation and testing will increase their effectiveness. In the future, development of new drugs, systems and synthetic
>> Debate on ethical and safety issues forms a key part of every conference in the field and national and international bodies, including the Royal Society and the EU, have begun major public consultations on the topic. The early beginning to the debate over such a nascent technology perhaps reflects previous experience with genetically modified organisms. In that case, public debate arose just as practical applications were coming to fruition, leading to impression that it was an exercise in railroading the interests of big business through public opinion. The public debate is to be welcomed, but the breadth of synthetic biology’s scope makes it difficult to see how this debate will be framed. If one considers, for instance, that synthetic biologists routinely talk of constructing from scratch living “synthetic organisms”, questioning our notions of the nature of life, it becomes clear that the discussions
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biology will make it far easier to produce an array of related compounds that can be fine-tuned to individuals, ushering in an era of personalised medicine and greatly reducing the problems of side-effects and ineffective drugs. Beyond producing conventional drugs, synthetic biologists have even more ambitious ideas. Imagine a smart drug that combines the functions of a biological sensor and a bio-computer along with its drug payload. Such a drug could detect the molecular markers of disease or biochemical changes within cells, perform a diagnosis, decide on the course of treatment and then secrete the appropriate compound. The possibilities do not end with drugs. Synthetic organisms could be developed to operate within the body. Viruses are
already the agent of choice for delivering gene therapies to patients because of their natural ability to enter cells and incorporate their genes. Synthetic biology could allow engineering of viruses that are more efficient and sophisticated in their actions. The long-term possibilities of synthetic biology are extraordinary. The use of BioBricks will allow researchers to build increasingly sophisticated macromolecular assemblies, artificially engineered microbes and human cells. As synthetic biology progresses, it is conceivable that researchers will devise machines that could, for instance, stimulate our bodies to repair damaged tissues, give them the ability to detoxify chemicals, or let them fight infectious diseases.
will be complex and nuanced and may not provide any straightforward answers.
of biology, engineering and physics.” The Institute of Systems and Synthetic Biology at Imperial College is at the hub of this new generation of science and engineering and looks set to play a greater role in the future.
The future The industrial revolutions of past centuries ushered in the technological society we live in today. The World may be at the brink of a new revolution in science and engineering that is biologically driven. One thing is certain: if it is to take place with systems and synthetic biology, it will involve both biological and physical sciences in unison. In some cases, technology advances at such an astounding rate that one can hardly keep up, nor foresee what will come next. Professor Richard Kitney is optimistic: “In the last one hundred years, all of these industries developed extremely rapidly. That’s why I believe we’re on the cusp of a third industrial revolution, which is going to be biologically based – the confluence
“We’re on the cusp of a third industrial revolution.” As Professor Paul Freemont says: “One has to be imaginative here and think everything is possible. People are predicting these big things but genuinely we don’t really know. We haven’t got a clue what we can do with this science but we know there is a potential there. What it will evolve into in 20 years time? You have to let your imagination go wild at that point.”
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Fly me to the Moon Nira Datta and Tamsin Osborne talk to British documentary maker Chris Riley about his latest film, In the Shadow of the Moon.
I
N THE late 1960s and early 1970s, twelve American men became the first and only humans to have walked on the Moon. It was to be nearly forty years before much of the groundbreaking footage filmed by these men was shown to the world.
end of that project and said: ‘Look, I think there’s still something significant to be done with the Apollo crews – what are your thoughts on it in TV terms?’ So, he inspired the idea and then we just sort of ran with it.”
We asked Chris Riley, the co-producer and assistant director of the remarkable new British documentary In the Shadow of the Moon to tell us about his experiences trawling through NASA’s archives, meeting the astronauts, and making the film that won the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award.
“These men ... have done something significant in the history of the galaxy.” Did you always want to do a feature documentary?
What inspired you to make the film? “It was through Dave Scott, who was the commander of Apollo 15. I had worked on Space Odyssey, a drama-documentary series, with him at the BBC in 2003 and 2004. It was Dave who inspired the film because it was he who came to us at the
“I guess I never really imagined I would be making feature films. I realised that I wasn’t good enough to stay in science, but that I quite liked telling people stories. That’s what excites me, whether I’m writing it in a book, an article, doing a radio series, or making a film.” “Ultimately what makes a good film is how good a story it is. It doesn’t matter how you tell that story, whether it’s with real people, dramatic reconstruction, or archive, or pure drama. What makes it a compelling watch and a memorable film is how well the story’s told and how good the story is.” How did you come up with the title? “Gene Cernon makes a comment in the film about being ‘In the Shadow of the Moon’. When we were casting around for a title, we made out lists of probably a hundred titles, as it’s quite important for a film. In the Shadow of the Moon was on that list, actually. Then when we cut the film and Gene Cernon said it, it seemed to, sort of, chime with people, and we all agreed it was the right one to choose.” Was there a specific story you were looking to tell? “You do need to have a script to start off with, but it is not something you have to stick to. I don’t think I’ve ever made anything for television or film that is the same as the original script by the time you’ve finished the edit, because it always evolves.” “When we were doing the interviews, all we knew was that we’d got a bunch of very interesting men with a unique perspective
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on the latter 20th century. We simply wanted to get under their skin a bit, so the best thing to do was something that was quite detailed and biographical and that would trigger them to dig more deeply into their memory bank, and into their recollections.” How did you go about editing the footage? “What we ended up with was about 60 hours of interviews with these people, which we could shape in many different ways. That’s partly why the edit took so long – it took 7 or 8 months! We assembled all our best bits in an order that made sense and then we had to cut it down, which took about two-thirds of a year.” “That’s where the film was really born. It was a collaborative thing – I assembled the rough cut, and handed it over to David Fairhead, the film editor, and the principal director would come in and make suggestions and changes.” What were some of the challenges you faced in telling this story? “Our challenge was that it was a very complex story because, on the surface, Apollo seems dead simple: Kennedy says we’re going to go to the Moon, then there are a few ups and downs. They went to the Moon nine times – and you’ve got nine different stories about going to the Moon, all of them as compelling as Apollo 11 and all of them interlaced.” “So, early on we decided to use Apollo 11 as our overarching story line, which would then form the backbone to the film. If you haven’t met these people and spent a couple of years working with them you don’t know who they all are, and so that was really difficult. We worked really hard to make sure that was as easy to follow as possible, and I hope we’ve achieved it!” Towards the end, the film focuses on the personal impact of the experience on the astronauts – was that the intention? “The last part of the film is the most significant to me, because it’s about the astronauts looking back, and we picked comments that reflected what they all felt. Some of them felt that they were moved spiritually and some more conventionally in a religious sense: like Charlie Duke finding Jesus, compared with Gene Cernon who felt that there was some purpose to
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the Earth, but that it was something above the religions that we’ve created.” “Then there were those who didn’t see anything of religious significance but felt it was just humbling to cover up the Earth with your thumb, like Jim Lovell says, and that it had a significant impact on our environmental consciousness.” What do you think was the environmental legacy of the Apollo missions? “Apollo triggered the environmental movement. All the astronauts in the film talk about that very powerfully. After Apollo, the number of research papers on ecology and environmental science really kicked off. That’s something of a significant gift for this program. Back in the ‘70s, there was a journalist who wrote that ‘on the way to the moon we discovered the Earth’ and I think that’s significant.” “The legacy Apollo left in environmental terms is still something that is prevalent today. The baton has been taken up by the Earth observation missions that monitor the environment on Earth from space. We can watch the ozone hole deplete, and replete itself, and we can track temperature rises from space.” Between 1968 and 1972, there were nine successful Apollo missions to the
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Moon – why haven’t we gone back since? “The reason why we went in the first place was that the Americans went to beat the Russians. This was a race. And once a race is won, you stop running. For the last forty years that’s exactly what we’ve chosen to do.” “We’ve not gone back to the Moon because it’s very expensive to do. Now, in the early 21st century Bush Junior made a speech about going back to the Moon, and there’s a movement at NASA to achieve this.”
“If you look at the number of times that intelligent life has got going in our galaxy, it’s probably not that many. There are probably a handful of places where, over the lifetime of the galaxy, life has got advanced enough to leave the planet it started on and move to another planet, albeit for only a few days, and then come back even fewer times.” “So, in the lifetime of the galaxy, this is probably a rare event. And these men were one of the few groups of people in the galaxy who did it. So they’ve done something significant in the history of the galaxy.”
“The legacy Apollo left in environmental terms is still something that is prevalent today.”
After working on such an exciting story, it must be difficult to move on to different subject matter. Chris’s solution? Don’t! There is enormous public appetite for documentaries about space travel at the moment, and Chris believes there are still some fascinating stories to be told on the subject of the Apollo missions.
“But there’s no deadline; there’s no race. If China went to the Moon, the Americans would probably pull out all the stops to do it again. But it’s not of the same ilk as it was in the ‘60s with the Kennedy promise.”
His latest project is a six-part series for the Discovery Channel about the 400,000 engineers and scientists who worked on Apollo. These men and women are the unsung heroes of this story who sacrificed everything to make Apollo happen. One thing’s for sure: if his last venture is anything to go by, the next one will certainly be worth seeing! Watch this space…
You have said that these men achieved something of ‘galactic significance’ – what did you mean by that?
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No Laughing Matter? H
Alice Bell takes a look at humour in science and what makes us scientists chuckle.
AVE YOU heard the one about the atom who walks into a bar? If not, it’s probably a good thing. He’s lost an electron; the barman asks: “are you positive?” All together now, groan. How about a snappy one-liner? There are three types of mathematicians, those who can add and those who can’t. We just hired a molecular biologist; man, is he small. Did you hear the one about the statistician? Probably. Or, an oldie but a goodie, how many light bulbs does it take to screw up an astronomer? Boomboom. Thank you ladies and gentlemen, I’ll be here all week.
Q: How many lab mice does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A: Two, but the scientist was baffled about how they got in there. Such rare – and admittedly quite ugly – examples aside, we tend not to associate science with joke-making and telling. The few science comedians out there tend to market themselves on the supposed incongruity of their existence – the exceptions which prove the rule that science is a serious, humourless business. But it would be naive to assume scientific work exists without recourse to comedy. We’ve all experienced those delightful examples of academic humour: a Far Side cartoon at the start of a lecture, or a quote from the Simpsons to finish off a conference paper. Then, there are those oh-so-funny ‘you know when’ lists. Ten years ago, they would be annoyingly passed on by e-mail or pinned to the geekier notice-boards, but they have now found a new home on social networking sites such as Facebook. We’ve all seen the top ten mistakes made in high-school exams, or bad undergrad excuses for handing homework in late. We all know “you’ve worked in the lab too long when…” (a) you can spot the cheaper brand of white coat, (b) you’ve used dry ice to cool beer, (c) the strongest part of your body is your pipetting thumb muscle.
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But what does geeky humour mean? Philosopher John Morreall, in his 1983 book Taking Laughter Seriously, suggests jokes tend to come down to one of three things: a perception of incongruity, a form of psychological relief, or an articulation of superiority. These three categories are not exclusive; a single joke may act incongruously for psychological relief achieved by emphasising (and at once disrupting) a sense of social status. Yet such a typology only gives us clues to what we find funny. The underlying sociology – what it says about the beliefs, values and workings of the cultures of people who tell such jokes – is another matter. Sociologists of humour, somewhat perversely, can be a rather unfunny lot. They aim to unravel jokes and understand the politics and social beliefs behind them. This is useful, but it risks ‘spoiling’ things. As social psychologist Michael Billig suggests in his recent book Laughter and Ridicule, the idea of an analytical approach to humour sounds somewhat sinister. “It suggests bossiness or craziness. Either way, the prospect is not pleasant”.
Yet, Billig argues that a critical study of humour can be liberating. Rather than assuming laughter as necessarily a good thing, he advocates a somewhat puritanical ‘anti-humour’ approach to escape the pressure that “you’ve got to laugh, you’ve got to”. Billig makes some
Q: What weapon can you make from the elements potassium, nickel and iron? A: A KNiFe.
pertinent points, especially when he discusses the way comic stances allow racist and sexist ideas to go unquestioned. But an anti-humour approach does make for a rather dull life – it’s safe, but where’s the fun in that? Giselind Kuipers in her recent book, Good Humor, Bad Taste is slightly less damning of laughter. She suggests there are two types of humour. One acts to
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separate people, to show boundaries and keep outsiders out. The other is inclusive; it shows shared knowledge and understanding. Arguably this latter one is the type found in the ‘you know you’ve been in the lab too long’ lists. In short, it’s the difference between laughing at someone, and laughing with them. Both are important parts of social life, even if we don’t always agree
Indeed, sociologist Christie Davies, in his 1998 book, Jokes and their Relation to Society, argues that the most striking characteristic of humour in western society is the popularity of jokes told at the expense of so-called ‘stupid people’. As notions of rationality have become more highly prized, we increasingly tell jokes which distinguish ourselves from apparently less rational others. This, Davies argues, it particularly prevalent in professions where getting things right or wrong can be a matter of life or death, and he cites jokes made by astronauts and surgeons. The comic aspects of Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science column and blog (where you can buy a thong bearing the
Q: What is the difference bet ween a Quantum Theorist and a Beauty Therapist? A: The Quantum Theorist uses Planck’s Constant as a foundation, the Beauty Therapist uses Max Factor.
with the premise of one particular joke. Inclusive or exclusive, comedy can be a powerfully persuasive tool. A tutor makes a joke based on wordplay of a highly obscure piece of technical language, and you laugh. It is part politeness (what is ruder than denying someone a joke?) but it’s also because you don’t want to appear as if you didn’t understand the joke. As researchers have argued since Freud, the possible inclusion into a joke is in some respects a mini-test of intelligence.
Q: What’s a pirate’s favourite amino acid? A: Arrrrrrrrginine. Spring 2008
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word ‘nutritionist’ and the image of a rubber duck, i.e. ‘quack’), or some of the work of sceptic The Amazing Randi are good examples of this at work. Constructing the notion of the stupid person might be somewhat cruel (indeed, in many of Davies’ examples it is downright racist), but it is the price we pay for building a sense of community amongst those we push aside. Kuipers might argue that jokes either exclude or include, but the formation of communities – science included – often requires a bit of both. The inconstancy of humour – its ability to be one thing and another at one and the same time – arguably makes it a useful tool for articulating such complex boundaries. That we choose to laugh at the stupid person, displays not only worries about
There are only 10 types of people in this world... Those who understand binary and those who don’t. people who are ‘stupid’ enough to get things wrong or believe in the oddities of pseudoscientific beliefs, but that we are also slightly insecure about the very foundations of our sense of expertise. If the MMR vaccine really is that obviously safe, why exactly do we need to ridicule those who fear it? Whatever we may think about jokes, be they divisive or inclusive, we can’t ignore that they play a role in the everyday action of scientific work. Joking is political. It is about stating an opinion and showing where in society you choose to sit as well as dividing up and bringing together different social groups. Billig’s anti-humour approach may allow us to take a bland, situation-less stance – all quite appropriate in the scientific method, perhaps. But we all know science isn’t really quite so clean. Still, it may be worthwhile, at least occasionally, to ignore the pressure to laugh at a joke, and to reflect instead on what it is really about: who is it excluding, who is it including, and why? Such reflection can only make us better scientists. Think before you jest, that’s the trick.
What’s your favourite science joke? We’d really like to know... E-mail us at: i.science@ imperial.ac.uk and. If it makes us laugh, it might just end up in the next issue. I,science 15 1/2/08 17:24:11
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Feast of Science The British Association for the Advancement of Science recently returned to its spiritual home. Edward Wawrzynczak ventured to York to sample the delights on offer at the 2007 BA Festival of Science.
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HE ANNUAL BA Festival of Science is a firmly established feature of the UK science calendar. This week-long event, which is held in a different city each year, brings together professionals, interested amateurs, students, school kids and families to celebrate the achievements of science, engineering and technology. As ever, the 2007 BA Festival had a feast of treats to suit all tastes. From formal lectures to hands-on demonstrations, museum exhibits to innovative displays, student posters to celebrity interviews, early morning birdwatching on the university campus to evening debates in city pubs, architectural tours of the Minster to geological field trips, the biology of athletes to the physics of bungee jumping, the history of science past to visions of science future, there really was something for everyone to try.
How did it start? The first BA meeting was held in York in 1831 under the auspices of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, founded to study and preserve local geological findings and other antiquities. The headquarters of the Society were located just a short stroll from the famous Minster, appropriately so since the Reverend William Harcourt, son of the Archbishop, was one of the prime movers in the formation of the BA.
The profession of science did not exist; the word ‘scientist’ had not even been invented. The 1830s were a time of widespread industrialization, social upheaval and political unrest in Britain. Improved transportation – including the advent of the railways – meant that people of all classes could move about more freely. Towns in the provinces were no longer so isolated and it became easier to form new organizations with regional or national reach. It was into this climate
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of revolutionary change that the BA was born. The impetus for the BA’s establishment was provincial dissatisfaction with the decline of science in Britain, which was blamed on the unsupportive attitude of Parliament. The choice of York as venue was politically symbolic: the city lies central to England, Scotland and Ireland, and is some distance from the traditional seats of power in London, Oxford and Cambridge.
Dickens described it as ‘The Mudfog Association for the Advancement of Everything’. At the time, science was seen as a vocation or calling, available only to those who could afford it, and was certainly no way to make a living. The profession of science did not exist; the word ‘scientist’ had not even been invented. The participants in the first meeting were ‘gentlemen of science’ and included, without any hint of controversy, many well-off clergy of the Anglican Church.
What difference did it make? BA meetings proved popular and provided an opportunity for public discourse between the learned cultivators of science. Not everyone was impressed, however, with the theatrical posturing of the Association in its early days. Dickens described it as ‘The Mudfog Association for the Advancement of Everything’, and the satirical magazine Punch poked fun with ‘British Association for the Advancement of Everything in General, and Nothing in Particular’. Importantly, BA meetings also brought science to a wider audience. The meetings projected a particular image of science and, in part, helped to shape science as the dominant mode of knowing about the world, a value-neutral way of thinking to be distinguished from religious or political ideology. And, in due course, the Association contributed to the public image of the professional scientist. From time to time, BA meetings
became the battleground for some heavyweight contests. The Oxford meeting of 1860 has gone down in history as the most momentous. It was here that Thomas Huxley, known as ‘Darwin’s Bulldog’, defended the controversial theory of evolution by natural selection against what we might today characterize as a creationist assault from the slippery Bishop Samuel (‘Soapy Sam’) Wilberforce.
Why is it important now? The BA Festival of Science is the biggest science festival in Europe. Although major public spats may be something of a rarity nowadays, BA meetings are not afraid to debate controversial subjects. The impact of science on society, for good and bad, is as important a topic for discussion as the science itself. Even if the glorification of science is not the prime objective, the Festival nevertheless represents a useful forum in which to showcase topical advances. For one week of the year, the meeting acts as a focus for the release of news, reports, and other official announcements, all of which tussle for the attention of the media.
Some highlights In the following pages, I’ve selected some personal titbits from the York Festival. Here’s what’s on the menu.
To Boldly Go Space exploration is widely viewed as important to the UK but human involvement is in doubt – what are the rights and wrongs of the situation?
Face Facts Faces hold the secrets of our identity – what can they tell us and how good are we at recognizing them? And who do you think you look like?
Bright Lights The Diamond synchrotron generates exceptionally brilliant light – what can it do and how can scientists make use of it? Bon appetit!
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To Boldly Go ... Robots or manned missions? What is the future of UK space exploration fifty years on from Sputnik?
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PACE SCIENTISTS staged a major session at the BA Festival to review what space exploration has achieved so far and to predict what lies ahead. The UK government gave up on manned missions into space twenty years ago. Was this a sensible decision? Two talks presented the extremes of the argument and served to show that there is no single solution to the challenges and opportunities that await us in space. Professor Sir Martin Sweeting is a satellite boffin. He heads the Space Centre at the University of Surrey and runs Surrey Satellite Technology Limited. SSTL has an enviable and profitable track record in building satellites and successfully launching them. In this area
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of technology, at least, the UK can still claim to lead the world. One trend in satellite technology is to build satellites that are ever larger and more complex. But this makes them costlier, more difficult to construct, and harder to launch. Ironically, the technology on such satellites is already out of date by the time they go up. Sweeting compares them to dinosaurs and sees an opportunity for nimbler mammals to replace them. By taking advantage of modern microelectronics and using commercial, off-the-shelf technologies, SSTL builds ‘microsatellites’, which have payloads of up to 25kg and are compatible with a range of launch vehicles. Microsatellites are already in use to image the globe on a daily basis. Such imaging proved especially valuable in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004: satellite images revealed the extent of flooding, identified the damage to infrastructure, and helped to direct the relief effort. SSTL is currently developing a lowcost lunar satellite as part of a mission to test the feasibility of setting up a communications relay in the extreme
thermal environment of Moon orbit. Such a satellite would be capable of remote surface-sensing and could provide navigation signals to lunar rovers. The satellite is due for launch in 2011, followed by a rover mission in 2013. Next in line are ‘nanosatellites’, about the size of a beach ball, carrying just a few kilograms. Sweeting foresees the use of nanosatellites to keep a watch on the larger satellites already in the Earth’s orbit. In the future, it is conceivable that advances in technology will allow the development of ‘femtosatellites’, about the size of a credit card, working together in ‘swarms’ or ‘meshes’. From this perspective, the future is small and electronic. But automation and miniaturisation are not the whole answer to space exploration. Dr Ian Crawford of Birkbeck College presented the case for human space flight. While acknowledging that human exploration of space is expensive, Crawford argued that the benefits it brings to science and society are worth the investment.
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Putting humans into space has a number of advantages. It allows us to conduct complex experiments in conditions of microgravity that are impossible to mimic on Earth. It also gives us insights into human physiology, which are relevant to medicine on the ground as well as to health in zero gravity. In addition, astronauts can mend important and expensive satellites, such as the Hubble Space Telescope when they go wrong, and maintain them for years after launch. Unlike machines, humans bring agility, versatility and intelligence to space exploration. This is especially important when we explore the planets. Compare the Apollo missions with the recent Mars rover expeditions. On the Moon,
INTERVIEWS OPINIONS NEWS & EVENTS
astronauts guided the lunar rover over long distances, applied their know-how to sample multiple sites of interest, and used a range of different instruments. By contrast, the Mars rovers crawl along slowly and are limited in their sampling capacity. Robots are poorly suited to large-scale geological exploration. The UK Space Exploration Working Group recently found that, although many scientific questions had been answered through unmanned spacecraft and robots, important questions remain that can only be answered if humans are present. The Working Group’s report, published during the Festival, recommended that the UK should pursue both the robotic and the human elements of a space exploration strategy. Such a strategy was recently agreed by fourteen of the world’s leading space agencies, including the British National Space Centre and NASA. The Global Exploration Strategy provides a framework for the exploration of space. It foresees renewed exploration
of the Moon, beginning in about 2020, by a combination of machines and humans. The next step could be a permanently crewed lunar outpost that will enable scientific study of the Moon itself and help prepare for more ambitious projects. Although human exploration of Mars and other Near Earth Objects is a longer-term objective, it could begin as early as the 2030s. The scientific community has sent a clear message to the government that Britain should have its own astronauts. The question now is: will we be allowed to play a full role in the next major venture into space?
Want to be a rocket scientist? Meet former Imperial student, Dr. Maggie Aderin, rocket scientist.
M
AGGIE ADERIN studied physics at Imperial. In the course of her PhD in Mechanical Engineering, she developed new optical techniques to study engine oils and additives. For Maggie, the Imperial PhD was a “powerful tool” that worked to her advantage when career opportunities arose. With her know-how, Maggie has since created various novel instruments, from hand-held mine detectors to optical systems on space telescopes. She now leads the optical instrumentation group at the European space company Astrium, making satellite subsystems to monitor the Earth’s climate. Maggie also holds a ‘Science in Society’ fellowship from the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the research council responsible for funding astronomy and space science. She is passionate about enthusing children,
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especially girls and those from ethnic minorities, to take up fulfilling careers in science. In addition to her appearances on BBC TV, Maggie conducts her own Tour of
the Universe show, which gives children a taste of space via a journey that takes them from the Earth, past the planets, and beyond our galaxy. She is currently filming a new DVD – 50 Years of Space – to highlight the importance of UK space science. If that were not enough, our everenergetic rocket scientist also harbours the ambition to go to Mars. The problem is finding the cash needed to fund such a venture. Her answer: a new reality TVshow called Getting Maggie into Space. Think of it as Big Brother aboard a spaceship. The idea is quite simple really: take the contestants to the Red Planet and let the audience at home decide the winner. The catch is: only the lucky victor gets to come back to Earth! Even the risk of ending up with a one-way ticket, however, is one that Maggie would willingly take for the chance to kick up the Martian dust in the name of science.
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Face Facts Think we’re good at recognizing faces? Think a turn out to be a matter of life or death.
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E LIVE in a surveillance society in which our movements are increasingly monitored by security guards, CCTV cameras, and computer technologies. The consequences of misidentification can range from the merely inconvenient to the deadly serious. Remember the unfortunate death of the innocent Brazilian, Jean Charles de Menezes, mistakenly identified as a terrorist and gunned down by police on a London Underground train? Being able to identify faces correctly is crucial. Humans are pretty good at recognizing familiar faces but we cannot reliably match those with which we are unfamiliar. Dr Rob Jenkins of the University of Glasgow proved this convincingly to the audience of his BA Award Lecture. Asked to identify photographs of the speaker and to distinguish them from photos of another man of similar appearance, the audience was correct only about twothirds of the time. And that was with the speaker right in front of us! Can computers do better? It all depends. The most advanced, automated face recognition algorithms, comparing high quality images of faces held in the same position, taken with the same camera, under identical lighting, are successful about 99% of the time. To put this in perspective, a 1% failure rate would mean that more than 10,000 of Heathrow’s passengers would be misidentified each week. Clearly, this would not be acceptable. The success rate is much lower (54% in one trial) when computers are asked to compare real-world photo images taken under different conditions. The problem with such unmatched photos is that images of different faces can seem more similar than images of the same face. Fortunately, there is a way to minimize the limitations of machine recognition. By taking measurements from multiple images of the same individual, and using computer software to average them, it is possible to create an ‘average face’ that captures the subject’s facial characteristics. With average faces, the hit rate of facial recognition technology increases dramatically (from 54% to
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100%). Such digital technologies are likely to find increasing use in maintaining security and preventing fraud. Average faces are also proving important in medicine. In a highlight of the BA Festival, Professor Peter Hammond of the UCL Institute of Child Health in London demonstrated how complex 3-D facial images help to identify children who have rare genetic syndromes that are hard to diagnose without timeconsuming and expensive investigations. The development of the face and brain are intimately linked so genes that affect the brain often also affect the face. People with Down’s syndrome share certain genetically determined similarities in facial characteristics, which many of us would be able to recognize. Other less common disorders caused by chromosomal abnormalities – including Williams and Fragile X syndromes – involve more subtle effects on craniofacial development that are difficult even for experts to recognize. For example, the shape of the head, the nose or the lips can all be slightly altered in children with such syndromes. Using a sophisticated 3-D camera able to capture 25,000 data points from the surface of the head, Hammond and his colleagues assembled average faces from children with half-a-dozen confirmed syndromes, and from unaffected children as controls. By carefully measuring the face of a child suspected of having a syndrome, and then comparing it with the store of average faces, the system can predict the syndrome involved. In more than 90% of cases, such predictions have been confirmed as correct by subsequent clinical and genetic diagnosis. The 3-D camera system should be useful in training physicians to recognize the tell-tale signs of disease, could accelerate the speed of diagnosis, and might ultimately save the costs of exploratory genetic screening. The technique is now being investigated in children with other syndromes to see if it could prove valuable in more of the 700 or so genetic disorders that involve the face. More speculatively, facial imaging might help doctors in the future to recognize more common disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.
Williams S
Control su
Fragile X S
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Celebrity Match k again – it could
Always imagined you look like a film star? Now prove it!
T ms Syndrome
ol subjects
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HE MYHERITAGE
website lets you use advanced face recognition technology to search out the ‘celebrities’ that you most resemble. All you have to do is download a single digital photograph of yourself to the website. The site’s computer algorithm automatically recognizes your face, and then creates a virtual three-dimensional representation of it, in preparation for the search. Your 3-D representation is compared with 3-D models similarly generated from photos of the world’s ‘top’ 4,000 celebrities. This collection of famous faces includes not only film stars but also men and women of the last two centuries who have excelled in areas of art, music, science, literature, sport and politics. In the space of just a minute or so, the programme finds the ten closest matches to your digital features. If you are really keen, you can contribute more pictures and additional information about yourself to the website and let the system search its entire bank of other users. In principle, facial recognition can spot the genetically based similarities between relatives. So, by searching the database, you could identify people to whom you bear an uncanny resemblance – you might even find that you are related to them. How well does the system work? Well, your Editor-in-Chief was compelled to try for himself. Perhaps unsurprisingly, top of my celeb-search hit list was the fantastically talented and goodlooking film actor Vince Vaughn, giving a 73% similarity score, with heart-throb Russell Crowe and action-guy Kurt Russell as close runners-up! Hmmm, perhaps a new career awaits those rugged good looks. Convinced? Please form an orderly queue for autographs. Go on, now try it out for yourself at www.myheritage.com.
Vaughnczak
Croweczak
Wawrzynczak
Kurtczak?
I,science 21 1/2/08 17:36:22
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Bright lights We can make light 10 billion times brighter than the light from the Sun. Now what can we do with it?
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IAMOND LIGHT Source, the UK’s new national synchrotron facility located in South Oxfordshire, has officially opened for business. Housed in a doughnut-shaped building, which is over half a kilometre in circumference, Diamond is a state-of-theart light source. Costing £260 million to date, it is the largest scientific investment in the UK in over 40 years. The Diamond synchrotron whirls electrons round a giant storage ring, boosting them close to the speed of light. As the synchrotron’s array of massive magnets bends the beam, the electrons shed energy, which is harvested in the form of beam lines of focused light with different wavelengths, including X-ray, ultra-violet and infra-red. The exceptional intensity and quality of Diamond light lets scientists probe the structure of materials with an unprecedented degree of resolution. Academic, government and industry researchers from all areas of science can now benefit from this powerful facility. Physicists can analyse the structure of advanced materials such as semiconductors at the atomic scale.
Engineers can map the stresses deep within complex structures such as airplane wings. And biologists can determine the structure of molecules such as the complex proteins involved in cellular function. If all goes to plan, Diamond will eventually accommodate as many as 35 experimental stations, each with its own beam line and dedicated laboratory.
The BA Festival showcased a number of applications of synchrotron light. Among the more intriguing was the work of Professor Tim Wess, from the Institute of Vision at Cardiff University, who studies historical documents. Our most
important ancient manuscripts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Magna Carta, and the US Declaration of Independence, were written on highly durable animal parchment. Over time, however, the collagen molecules in dried animal skin degrade to form gelatine – the manuscripts literally turn to jelly. By using X-ray scattering, Wess and his colleagues have directly analysed the nanoscale structure of the collagen in such priceless manuscripts. Using this technology to study the process of deterioration, they also identified factors that can help to stabilize the collagen. Armed with this know-how, they can determine the state of fragile documents and recommend preservation measures. And third generation X-ray tomography now allows the writing within a rolled parchment to be imaged and deciphered without the need to first unroll the document and risk damaging it. Over the coming decades, the Diamond Light Source is likely to feature in many fundamental discoveries and new applications. And there is little doubt that the facility will play an important role in keeping the UK’s ‘bright lights’ at the forefront of their research fields.
Crystal clear Think that crystals look pretty? They’re not only nice to look at – they also help us to understand how complex proteins work.
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R LIZ Carpenter is a research fellow at Imperial College who figures out the structure of membrane proteins to learn more about how they function. She is the group leader for the Membrane Protein Laboratory, which is a joint venture between Professor So Iwata’s group in the Division of Molecular Biosciences, and the Diamond Light Source, funded by the Wellcome Trust. Membrane proteins are important. Of the 24,000 or so genes in the human genome, a substantial proportion of them – about 8,000 – encode proteins
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associated with the cell membrane. Such membrane proteins represent an important focus of study because they are the targets for more than 50% of the pharmaceutical drugs that we use today, which have annual sales worth more than $40 billion. A class of membrane protein with particular importance is the family of about 1,000 G-protein coupled receptors, which mediate molecular signaling across the cell membrane, sensing photons, ions, small molecules, hormones, peptides, and proteins. To assist in drug development, chemists need to have highly detailed information about the three-dimensional structure of these target proteins. Our most powerful tool to elucidate protein structure is X-ray crystallography. The technique has revealed the structures of about 45,000 different proteins to date. But we only have structures of a mere 140 membrane proteins and, of these, only a small number are derived from higher organisms. There is clearly a lot of ground to make up and this is where Dr Carpenter and the Membrane Protein Lab at Diamond come in.
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The Lab houses a world-leading robotic system that automatically grows and handles the notoriously delicate crystals of membrane proteins in preparation for crystallography. Diamond Light Source allows crystallographers to obtain detailed X-ray diffraction patterns of protein structures both rapidly and at high resolution by virtue of the intensity and quality of the X-ray beam. Together, these technologies should accelerate the rate at which new membrane protein structures are solved. The equipment and expertise of the Lab is available to anyone who wants to study membrane protein structures, and scientists can apply to work in the lab for a few days or for several weeks to learn how to crystallize membrane proteins and get the best crystals possible. Professor Paul Freemont, Head of the Division of Molecular Biosciences, considers the Membrane Protein Laboratory to be a model exemplar for how Imperial College, and other academic groups, can access world-class expertise and facilities such as Diamond Light Source.
I,science 23 1/2/08 17:37:21
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Sex, Drugs and Greed: obesity research – a fat lot of use? Katrina Pavelin talks over weighty matters with Imperial’s Professor Steve Bloom and finds that there is no easy solution to the obesity crisis.
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“As a net result – free availability of food, no need to take any exercise – you would predict this population would get fat.”
BESITY IS a Big Problem and sadly it looks set to stay that way. Globally there are at least three million clinically obese adults who are at a high risk of premature death from diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Every year obesity is estimated to cost the UK as much as £2 billion.
“Now, add in the fact that we are not evolved to carry lots of adipose tissue around, and metabolism fails under the strain, so we have heart attacks and diabetes. There are a thousand excess deaths in the UK every week from obesity.”
“There are a thousand excess deaths in the UK every week from obesity.” Why are so many people excessively overweight and what can be done to stall the obesity epidemic? I spoke to Professor Steve Bloom, Professor of Metabolic Medicine and Head of the Division of Investigative Science at Imperial College, and an internationally renowned expert on obesity.
The UK Government’s Foresight programme, which makes predictions about science and technology to aid policy making, claimed in a recent report that if current trends in obesity continue, around 50% of Brits will be obese by 2050. Surely something could be done to prevent this crisis? Professor Bloom is sceptical. Professor Steve Bloom by food supply, and our ancestors were periodically subjected to periods of famine. Professor Bloom explains what effect this had. “If you want to survive a famine, the right thing to do is to eat a lot as soon as there is food. So, if you want to live through the winter, you eat a lot in the summer. You also would not waste too much time running around.” “This produced a very powerful evolutionary pressure to make us physically a bit lazy and also rather greedy, so that we could set aside some reserves in the form of fat.” But this tendency to store lots of excess fat, which served our ancestors so well, is not so suitable for us in our present ‘obesogenic’ environment.
To understand why humans have a tendency to pile on the pounds, we need to consider what kind of an environment we are adapted to. For most of human history our numbers have been limited
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“Now you can walk through the environment, with Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s, and suddenly, there is no shortage of food. It is delicious, it is high calorie – you can just get a Mars bar out of your handbag.”
“Theoretically we could restrain our appetites, tax high calorie food, make kids play in playgrounds, and make everybody cycle to work. It does not look like we have got the willpower to do that, and any political party that tried to change this would be voted out of office.”
“The drug that we have been working on suppresses appetite and increases energy expenditure... “ What about the important role of the media in raising the public’s awareness and understanding of obesity? “On the whole, they are not doing a bad job. Unfortunately, the result of extra education on food is that the population has got heavier. Presumably, if you keep talking about food, everybody feels hungry, so it is all very complicated.”
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“The drug we are developing produces a 20 per cent or so increase in spontaneous activity. Basically you are more likely to feel like exercise if you have been fed.” There are currently three drugs licensed to treat obesity, but each comes with unpleasant side-effects such as nausea and depression. Other drugs have had problems too.
So is there anything that can help people battle obesity? For the morbidly obese, there is the drastic option of gastric surgery, but these procedures carry high surgical risk and there is a tendency for weight loss to eventually level out. Another option would be to develop drugs to combat obesity. “If one had a very safe drug that diminished your appetite down to the level necessary for our civilized conditions, with plenty of food and no need to exercise, this would be rather good – and girls might find me more attractive if I did not have a pot belly.”
“Now you can walk through the environment, with Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s, and suddenly, there is no shortage of food. It is delicious, it is high calorie.” In fact Professor Bloom and Dr John Burt (formerly Head of Medical and Life Sciences at Imperial Innovations) have set up a spin-out company, Thiakis, to develop an appetite-suppressing drug based on their research into gut hormones.
“There was a drug developed in the States which caused increased sexual activity while decreasing appetite, which is perhaps natural because after you have eaten you might not want to reproduce.” “But it was totally unacceptable to have people on this drug getting erections all the time so the drug has been withdrawn. So, we are looking for a drug that is effective without these sorts of side effects, or indeed anything worse.” On top of the immediate health risks associated with obesity, there are also socio-psychological problems associated with our evolutionary legacy. “We know that overweight people commit suicide more often, get married less, get divorced more, and their average wage is a third down. It is socially bad to be obese, and the reason for this, probably, is that what we find attractive is people that can have, and look after, children.” “You are attractive to me because you look as if you can have children and bring them up properly. That is built into us, to have sex, to be attracted to those that will then rear the next generation. And if you were attracted to the people that would not, your line would die out, your genes would disappear.” “So it is not a conscious thing, it is just the forces of evolution have led to the development of having a liking for anybody that can reproduce well, and people who are sick or ill are therefore unattractive to us – the obese do not look attractive.”
“The drug that we have been working on suppresses appetite and increases energy expenditure, because these two circuits are coupled in the hypothalamus in the brain.”
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“If we really do get on top of controlling the brain, and can alter people so that they feel less hungry and take more exercise, what else can we do while we are at it?” “Why shouldn’t dictators make their population compliant by putting something in the water? It’s much easier than having riots on the street.”
“The Nuffield Council on Bioethics recently published a report concluding that there are numerous elements creating the present obesity crisis, and so we will need a combination of different methods to tackle it.” “If I want to have sex with you, I will just slip a pill in that makes you want to have sex. It is not going to be good for society to have that sort of control over the human mind; making the workforce work harder, anything you like.” “When we discover how the brain works, and how to alter it, it will be more damaging to mankind than the discovery of the H-bomb.” So, it seems unlikely that there will be a single – or simple – answer to the complex obesity problem. There is no risk-free ‘magic bullet’ that will solve the problem. This conclusion is underlined by other studies.
The research has been focused on oxyntomodulin, a digestive hormone in the small intestine which is released after eating to signal to the brain that the body is full.
“This is appropriate physiological behaviour because when you have already eaten it is a sensible time to build a new hut, or to bring in the harvest because you now have enough fuel on board.”
Equally, important ethical questions arise in relation to fiddling with the inner workings of the brain.
But we have to be careful here, because the flip-side of a crusade against obesity might be an additional burden placed on those who are already struggling to control their weight.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics recently published a report concluding that there are numerous elements creating the present obesity crisis, and so we will need a combination of different methods to tackle it. Among these are: government regulation of the advertising of high fat foods to children, improved school education on healthy eating and exercise, and designing towns to encourage people to be more active. One thing is for sure: the Big Problem is going to need a Big Effort.
I,science 25 1/2/08 17:41:28
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Biofuels: Powering the cars of tomorrow? Simon Shears sorts the wheat from the chaff in the new world of energy production.
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HEN GEORGE Bush announced in his 2006 State of the Union address that the US needed to “change how we power our automobiles”, he proposed to achieve this through funding “additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol”, and thrust biofuels into the limelight.
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The need to reduce reliance on oil imports and increasing concern about global warming has led governments to look for alternatives with biofuels touted as one of the solutions. To increase the use of biofuels, the EU has set a target that 5.75% of all transport fuel should be derived from biofuels by 2010, while in Canada the government aims for 40% of gasoline consumption to contain at least 10% bioethanol. However, biofuels are not a new kid on the block. The use of biofuels in cars has been proposed since the beginning of automotive history. The inventor of the internal combustion engine, Nikolaus August Otto, designed it to run on ethanol, while Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, envisaged it to run on peanut oil. Cars today could already be running on biofuels had it not been for the discovery around the same time of huge reserves of crude oil, providing plentiful and cheap transport fuel. What are biofuels and will they provide a sustainable future for fuels? Biofuels are defined as liquid, solid or gas fuels derived from biomass and often used to power transportation. Currently, biofuels are made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using existing technology such as fermentation. Bioethanol is currently the most widely used biofuel in the world; Brazil has been mixing bioethanol with petrol since the 1980s. It is produced by fermenting sugars obtained from wheat, corn, sugar beet, or sugar cane. It is often used in a mix with petrol, commonly containing 5% bioethanol. In Brazil, they use a mix which can contain up to 30% bioethanol. Car manufacturers are now beginning to produce flex-fuel engines that will run on 100% bioethanol fuel. In Europe, biodiesel is the most commonly used biofuel. Biodiesel is made from oils or fats using transesterification and is a liquid that resembles diesel. It can be used in conventional diesel engines when mixed with diesel and is available at thousands of petrol forecourts across Europe. Many see the current biofuels as a short-term solution to producing fuels from biomass. A number of issues have arisen surrounding their sustainability and levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Biofuels have been promoted as a popular choice of fuel because of their perceived ‘carbon-neutral’ status. This
essentially means that the carbon emitted during the use of the fuel is reabsorbed by the growth of new plants for the next harvest of biofuel crops. However, this does not take into account the energy inputs required to grow the crops, such as the production and distribution of fertiliser, and the fuel required to power machinery and transport crops, among others.
“The use of biofuels in cars has been proposed since the beginning of automotive history.” A technique called Life Cycle Analysis is used to determine the amount of carbon dioxide put out. This takes a ‘cradle to grave’ approach to determine the net amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are emitted during the production process. Despite a net emission of carbon dioxide, biofuels do emit less than conventional fuels; bioethanol emits 30% less than gasoline. Another concern surrounding current biofuels is the environmental effect of growing them. As the main crops used for biofuels are food crops such as wheat, corn, sugar cane and sugar beet, land traditionally used to grow these for food will need to be given over to biofuel crops or forests will have to be converted to agricultural land. To meet the EU Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation by 2010, 11% to 28% of current agricultural land would have to be set aside solely for biofuels. Inevitably, this raises concerns about food production. Developing nations could lose out as land is converted from growing food to biofuels, paying farmers a greater income, but raising food prices as a consequence. With these concerns surrounding biofuels, many organizations, such as the Woodland Trust, feel that the current rush to use biofuels appears “to be driven more by political expediency than by a critical analysis of their environmental impact.” Instead of biofuels, these organizations advocate converting cropland to forest. This would “sequester 20-30 tonnes CO2
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and is advocated by Professor Somerville, is to use biobutanol as the first product because it separates from water in dilute solutions and would be compatible with the current fuel infrastructure. Land use remains an issue. BP supports the development of an internationally recognized sustainability assurance scheme for biofuels whereby production of biofuels would be conditional upon certification under the scheme. Even with these assertions from organizations, care needs to be taken that biofuel crop production does not impinge on current food production, which will be affected by population growth, the increasing energy requirement, and effects of climate change.
per hectare per year, 3- to 4-fold more than the emissions avoided by sugar cane derived biofuels.” While these proposals address concerns surrounding climate change, they do not provide a solution to the energy security issue - a political hot potato. With alternatives such as hydrogen fuel cells further away on the horizon, biofuels remain a realistic solution. Today’s ‘first generation’ biofuels should only be seen as a short-term solution – ‘second generation’ biofuels are being developed and offer a more sustainable solution. Many large energy firms are investing heavily in this technology. BP, for example, believes that “biofuels have the potential to play a key part in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the transport sector’s dependence on oil.” These second generation biofuels use
“Developing nations could lose out as land is converted from growing food to biofuels.” cellulose, which makes up most of the mass of a plant, as a source of complex carbohydrates. Cellulose is broken down to sugars using enzymes. The sugars are then fermented to produce lignocellulosic biofuels. Lignin is a by-product of this process and can be burned as a carbonneutral fuel to produce heat and power, possibly for the power plant or for nearby homes and businesses. The greenhouse gas emission savings for lignocellulosic bioethanol are greater than for first generation biofuels and have an overall saving in greenhouse gases of up to 90% compared to conventional petrol. As second generation fuels use cellulose as their source of sugars, the crops used can be non-food crops, such as fast
growing grasses. These can be grown on marginal land, require fewer inputs, and have a greater efficiency, as more of the plant is used to obtain the lignocellulosic biofuel. Despite these positive assertions surrounding second generation biofuels, they have a long way to go. Professor Chris Somerville of the Department of Plant Biology at Stanford University, USA, predicts that it will take “about ten to twelve years until we see a rapid expansion of commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities.” Currently, seven cellulosic plants are in the planning stage in the USA. While these will not be fullscale plants, they will allow R&D work that will help future commercial plants. As cellulose is the source of sugar required for fermentation, research is being carried out to determine ways to improve its breakdown with enzymes and to increase the amount of it that plants contain. Professor Somerville’s work is one part of this. His research is focused on understanding how plant cell walls are synthesized and assembled. He hopes that this work will be “relevant to the long-term goal of modifying cell walls to be a more useful source of material for biofuels and other applications.” Large companies such as BP “see the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels, in an economically attractive and environmentally sustainable way, as a long-term objective.” To achieve this, BP has established the Energy Biosciences Institute, which will research and develop new biofuels, among other goals. The main problems that are preventing the realization of the promise of second generation biofuels are the lack of cultivation of dedicated energy crops, such as fast-growing grasses, and of an efficient process to convert them to useable lignocellulosic biofuels. The existing conversion process can only produce bioethanol. However, to be viable, wide-scale adoption of this approach would require a huge change in our fuel infrastructure because ethanol, unlike petrol and diesel, is completely miscible with water. An alternative that is being examined by BP and DuPont,
“Second generation biofuels use cellulose, which makes up most of the mass of a plant, as a source of complex carbohydrates.” Biofuels have the potential to solve some of the immediate issues surrounding the future of transport fuels, though not in their current form. However, with the correct level of backing for R&D, and a clear direction from government and industry to develop the most efficient forms of second or even third generation biofuels, they could provide a solution to the growing concerns over energy use.
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1/2/08 17:45:51
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Whatever happened to...? FLORA GRAHAM wonders when the next deadly epidemic will come... and go to sepia-toned history books in our minds. Parents fear the MMR vaccine so much that they leave their kids unprotected, but ignore the other perspective: measles used to kill 100 children in the UK every year. I’m not suggesting that the newspapers shouldn’t cover the thrills and spills of health scares, but the positive side of the story can be equally interesting and may lead to a psychologically healthier nation. Here are a few health scares that left me asking: “What ever happened to…?” SARS: The disease killed fewer than 800 people worldwide. The last country to be removed from the WHO’s list of infected areas was Taiwan, in July 2003. The disease is considered very unlikely to re-emerge. Anthrax: No one was ever arrested for the anthrax-throughthe-post attacks which killed seven people in the US and triggered a series of a hugely costly hoaxes around the world. Conspiracy theories abound, but at least we all learned not to sniff other people’s mail. CJD: Ten years ago, headlines predicted 80,000 deaths from human mad cow disease. As of last year, only about 150 people have died. Scientists at the National CJD Surveillance Unit aren’t sure why fatalities were so low, but it’s certainly one less thing to worry about.
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’M SO pleased to see the re-emergence of bird flu in Norfolk. Not because I dislike Norfolk (I love Diss, if only for the name), but I’ve been missing the media frenzy. Bird flu coverage seems a bit lacklustre this time around. Where are the graphics showing the sweeping pandemic? Sad stories of turkey-less Christmases are all the drama that drowsy columnists can whip up. Remember how we were all going to die of SARS? I even saw the occasional over-excited person wearing a surgical mask on the street. Those people must be so disappointed to have nothing to worry about besides depleted Christmas turkey stocks. Frightening health stories make good copy, but positive
“The perverse thrill that we take in reading about another potentially deadly epidemic ... seems to leave us depressed and panting for the next horror story.”
Human cloning: Researchers insist on worrying about curing Parkinson’s disease instead of creating armies of pudding-faced clones that will ravage our towns. Spoilsports! Millennium bug: Not really health, but this ‘rise of the machines’ scare story still makes me smile. Bird flu: Thank God, it’s back! The Observer called the 1994 flesh-eating bacteria frenzy “a grim satire on our strange, mixed-up perception of risk in modern life.” Yet we see the same fear-mongering trotted out time and time again, without coverage of the hard work that leads to generally positive outcomes. Coverage of the recent bird flu outbreak in Norfolk hasn’t been half as fun as the last one. What happened to The Sun’s “Plague pits for 320,000 Brits”? Now it’s “Bird flu may cause NHS face mask shortage”. Surely they can do better than that? Or, alternatively, why don’t they include something that reflects the positive change in the bird flu mood. I suggest: “British boffins beat bird bug.”
developments don’t merit any space on the front-page. We get scare story after scare story, and never hear when things turn out all right. Instead of headlines reading, “Deadly SARS will kill your whole family”, we could read, “Public health protected by quick response from local doctors”. Or how about, “Enjoy a beef burger thanks to DEFRA ninjas”? The perverse thrill that we take in reading about another potentially deadly epidemic is fun, but instead of leaving us glad to be alive, it seems to leave us depressed and panting for the next horror story. Surveys keep showing that people see the world going to hell-in-a-hand-basket despite the fact that formerly populationdecimating diseases like smallpox and polio have been relegated
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1/2/08 18:35:57
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Road to Ruin? Ciaran Ellis finds how optimism rather than doom-mongering can lead to positive change.
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ORMAC MCCARTHY’S novel The Road follows the progress of a father and son in a derelict, postapocalyptic landscape. At the end of 2007, this setting is as timely as it is poetic. In a year when the realities of climate change finally reached all areas of public thought, the message was clear: human beings are on a one-way road to self-destruction and we are taking all other living species down with us. But is all this doom-mongering helpful? Environmentalists seem to think so, but a constant bombardment of pessimism leads to apathy, not action. Everyday, the problems seem to get larger, more complex and ultimately less solvable until a default reaction cuts in; forget it, there’s nothing we can do. People are already switching off from the green debate and it is easy to see why: climate change has gone from being a problem that people could deny to one so certain that action seems futile. Although it’s important to consider the potential impacts, presenting these without solutions leads to despair. Yet, despite apocalyptic warnings, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The global scale of the issue makes it a huge challenge, but also gives hope through the power of cumulative effort and a common goal. Changes in personal behaviour can have a massive effect when many individual efforts are added together. In the case of climate change, it really is ‘every little helps’. By making small changes, such as switching to green energy tariffs, using a laptop rather than a desktop, and eating local, unprocessed food, an individual can save up to 8 tonnes of CO2 per year. Multiply this by the UK population of 60 million and we could save a total of 480 million
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tonnes of CO2. Even if only a third of the population did this, we would slash UK emissions by more than a quarter. The global scale of the problem also means that intellectual resources are abundant and shareable. Never before have all nations of the world faced the same challenge, and novel solutions could spread quickly if successful. In technology, Nepal’s ‘Biogas Support Program’, which uses cow dung to provide biogas, is regarded as an international model for sustainable rural energy. On the policy side, Japan’s successful ‘Top Runner Program’, which sets energy efficiency standards by the most efficient product in a sector, is being considered for
“Perhaps we should stop thinking about what the World can do for us – now or in the future – and start protecting it for its own sake.” adoption by the EU and beyond. In The Road, McCarthy’s characters never lose hope despite the surrounding destruction. The message here is perhaps less ‘protect something for future generations’, and more ‘protect the future generations for something’. The need to protect what little good is left in the world spurs the father to protect his son at all costs. Could this type of unconditional protection work in the fight against climate change? Perhaps we should stop thinking about what the World can do for us – now or in the future – and start protecting it for its own sake. When faced with a doubtful future people turn to what makes them happy. With climate change, ignorance really is bliss, or certainly more blissful than a nagging guilt over climate. By highlighting positive developments, not doom-scenarios, people are more likely to stay engaged with the issue and feel empowered to act – because action seems worthwhile. The grey landscape of The Road left only dreams in colour. It’s important to remember how very far away we are from that.
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brilliant or a load of bull? Thomas Tapper tickles his trusty taste-buds with some top totty tuck.
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ACK IN early October, hungry and curious, I decided to visit the launch of the Biodynamic Food Fortnight at Borough Market. Already sold on the idea of organic food – and generally keen to avoid consuming agrochemicals – I wanted to find out what ‘biodynamics’ could bring to my life. So what did this newfangled gastronomic fashion have to offer?
“Pricing biodynamic produce out of the reach of the consumer has made it fashionable for the wealthy elite in society.” The concept of biodynamic agriculture started way back in 1924, founded by the liberal philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Broadly speaking, it is an entirely self-sustaining agricultural system. This holistic approach to farming is said to harmonize the relationship between minerals, plants, animals, and humans whilst being in tune with the natural rhythms of the Moon, the planets and the stars. For example, a cow is fed by produce from the farm; its manure, along with other local organic matter and herbal concoctions are used to fertilise the soil, which in turn feeds the cow, and generates produce to sell. Ingenious! Like some sort of agricultural utopia, it strives for self-sustainability! Sadly, however, I didn’t react this ecstatically when the butcher tried to charge me £56.80 per kilo of fillet steak. Talk about daylight robbery – for that sort of money, I could buy a bloody farm and rear the heifer myself!
Choices, choices ... so many choices.
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O.K, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. Biodynamic agriculture does have scientific backing. A 1993 report in Science showed that soils on biodynamic farms, in comparison to those on conventional farms, were of higher biological and physical quality. They had significantly higher levels of organic matter, content and microbial activity. They also had more earthworms, better soil structure, lower bulk density, easier penetrability, and thicker topsoil. Yet this can’t hide the fact that the costs of biodynamic farming are higher and crop yields are significantly lower - not a great combination if you’re looking to compete with the likes of ASDA. Perhaps more importantly, the benefits, in terms of quality of produce, aren’t that dissimilar to organics. Had I actually chosen to go for the hyper-inflated biodynamic fillet over the already expensive organic beef, it would have begged the following question: am I merely paying for some agricultural preacher-come-astronomer, to prepare his compost by amassing horsetails, stuffing the bladders of red deer with yarrow blossoms, filling the skulls of domesticated animals with oak bark, and preparing his field by burying cow horns filled with actual bullshit? I kid you not: all of these preparations are recommended biodynamic farming techniques intended to aid fertilization and to strengthen the ‘life force’ of the land.
“Many of us don’t hesitate to blow forty quid on booze on a big night out.” I can’t help but think that only the likes of Paris Hilton will swallow such overpriced celestial produce. Pricing biodynamic produce out of the reach of the mainstream consumer has made it fashionable for the wealthy elite in society. But sustainable agricultural practice should not be seen as a sales gimmick – it should become a baseline standard for the industry. If the cash-strapped consumer is presented with two similar products, he or she will undoubtedly choose the cheaper option. So, if we are serious about sustainability – and we should be – we should strive to plant sustainable agricultural practice into the production of every product on the shelves, however big the challenge. But perhaps, as students, we’ve just got our priorities wrong. Many of us don’t hesitate to blow forty quid on booze on a big night out in the city – literally pissing most of it away. So here’s the solution: let’s scrap the fancy imported beers and hit the biodynamic fillet instead for a sustainable future.
Spring 2008
1/2/08 18:37:39
FEATURES REVIEWS
INTERVIEWS OPINIONS NEWS & EVENTS
A Killer at Large? Sarah Day is alarmed by the fat controllers.
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N INDEPENDENT film company is apparently planning to release a documentary called Killer at Large. Sounds dramatic. Maybe it’s about terrorism, or a deadly virus set to terrorise the world. Carry out a bit of research, however, and you’ll discover it’s about something far more terrifying: obesity. That’s right, the film examines the ‘startling details’ of the American obesity crisis and how it has crossed over from ‘public health crisis’ to a ‘national security issue’. Wait, a national security issue? According to a former Surgeon General interviewed in the film, obesity deserves this title because it is ‘a terror within’: “It is destroying our society from within and unless we do something about it, the magnitude of the dilemma will dwarf 9/11 or any other terrorist event that you can point out”. Deploy the missiles!
“The obesity epidemic seems like the latest in a long series of alarmist, newsworthy stories that use dubious scientific evidence.” Ok, let’s all calm down a bit. As a popular topic for media outcry, this is nothing new. Nor is it confined to the US. Over here, talk of the ‘obesity epidemic’ (yes, apparently it’s become contagious now) is everywhere. The Government is telling us it’s a crisis on the same scale as climate change. Headlines scream that in fifteen years time most of us will be overweight, children will be likely to die before their parents, life expectancy will be cut by thirteen years. What they don’t often tell us is that these headline-grabbing claims aren’t actually supported by a great deal of evidence. No wonder there was little media coverage of the Governmentcommissioned Foresight report, which came out in October. Looking at the future trends of obesity, it found that there will be very little impact on life expectancy – if anything, it’s going to improve. No one’s denying that, as a nation, we are getting larger but does this trend justify such headlines as: “Obesity worse than HIV/AIDS”? It seems like part of the problem is how the Government classifies obesity. It uses the Body Mass Index (BMI), which divides your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in metres. A BMI above 30 defines a person as obese. The trouble is, as a classification system, the BMI overlooks a lot of factors, the most important of which is the difference between fat and muscle. According to the scale, for instance, George Clooney is obese and Brad Pitt is overweight. Anyone else confused?
“George Clooney is obese and Brad Pitt is overweight. Anyone else confused?” What the scale does do is give the government, and the media, some pretty terrifying statistics to work with. If we stick with the BMI, by 2050, 60% of men and 50% of women will be clinically obese. Eighteen per cent of children aged 2 to 15 years already are. But (wait for it) if we started using international standards for calculating obese and overweight children, this figure would be cut in half. Nine per cent just doesn’t sound particularly terrifying, does it? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for healthy eating (well, some of the time at least). Obviously, obesity is a Bad Thing. But in a
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Not looking in the least bit concerned. world where our image of what constitutes a healthy weight is becoming increasingly skewed, is all this scaremongering about the dangers of going too far in the other direction particularly helpful? Supposedly, 98% of Western women hate their bodies. There are entire websites dedicated to glorifying anorexia, idolizing figures such as Victoria Beckham for the ‘beautiful bones sticking out of her chest’. And now we’re being told George Clooney is obese?
“There are entire websites dedicated to glorifying anorexia, idolizing figures such as Victoria Beckham.” Call me old fashioned, but I’ve always wondered if the best way to deal with issues like obesity, or anorexia for that matter, might be to make less noise, rather than more. Not according to the Government, who have proposed spending more time weighing school children as one of their methods to tackle the upcoming crisis. They couldn’t come up with a better way to produce a generation of children with eating disorders if they tried! Unfortunately, “Let’s try not to get too stressed out over our weight” doesn’t make for a particularly catchy headline. The obesity epidemic seems like the latest in a long series of alarmist, newsworthy stories that use dubious scientific evidence to convince us our panic (and Government intervention) is justified. Maybe if we all took a deep breath, began viewing the future in a more positive way, and stopped taking every ‘crisis’ headline quite so seriously, we might be able to enjoy the occasional double cheeseburger without fear of a ‘killer at large’.
I,science 31 1/2/08 18:38:01
NEWS & EVENTS OPINIONS INTERVIEWS
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Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year David Stacey admires the winner of the 2007 competition and some worthy runners-up.
Overall Winner: Elephant Creation © Ben Osborne/Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007
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T’S THAT time of year again when all things beautiful and dramatic are brought together for the world’s largest and most prestigious wildlife photography competition. Organised by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine, the competition has been running for more than 40 years and this year attracted over thirty thousand entries. Displayed in the current show are the hundred or so winning and commended pictures. I went along to the Natural History Museum to check them out. Visiting during late morning when there were not many people about, I managed to get close to the pictures. Each image is a truly stunning insight into a detail of the natural world, captured flawlessly by professional and amateur alike, some even as young as eight! It was easy to get lost in the moment, the eerie background music adding to the atmosphere. All the photos are presented as backlit images rather than prints, accompanied by a comment from the photographer and some biology about the subject. The photographer of a brown bear gives
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one of the more exciting stories. He had been snapping salmon in a river when the bear came up behind him. The bear approached to within a metre before he noticed it, but he still had the presence of mind to take a photo! The pictures are grouped into themed categories and ranked according to their winning status. Nature in black and white was particularly interesting, where the contrast between light and dark is used to create some beautifully dramatic animal portraits. Of course, there was the annual overemphasis on birds, bears and all things snowy. I lost count of the number of penguins. As someone with a background in entomology, I was disappointed to find only one insect photograph in the whole show. Also, in the ‘Praise of Plants’ section, no photographer received recognition any better than a ‘highly commended’ award, suggesting that these are areas of nature that are either less explored or less attractive to photographers. I don’t agree that plants or insects make less interesting subjects, and they are not necessarily any less challenging
Bear Glare © Sergey Gorshkov/Shell Wildlife Phot
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1/2/08 18:44:11
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Song of the Corn Bunting © Gastone Pivatelli/ Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007
to photograph. However, I suspect that those taking the snaps know what makes a popular (and thus winning) photo. The introductory commentary says: “Life is about being in the right place at the right time”, and standing knee-deep in Arctic snow might get the photographer more credit than standing in a field in Somerset. I am not an expert in photography (my digital camera seems to know what it’s doing, and I don’t tend to argue with it), but it was apparent that the judges recognized originality and technical proficiency over and above a picture’s more obvious appeal. Therefore, the merit of the overall winning photo – an elephant spraying mud on itself – was not quite as immediately apparent as, for instance, the oh-so-cute meerkats. My ‘winner’ was a charming portrait of a corn bunting. The bird is singing on a chilly morning, backlit by the rising sun, its breath forming little rings for each note sung. The exhibition includes an excellent interactive area where you can vote for your favourite snap, as well as read the judges’ comments and even e-mail the photos to yourself. Overall, the show is well presented and uses the space well, making it worth the admission fee. The striking images inspired me to pick up my camera and have a go.
Entrance fee: £7 full, £3.50 concessions. The show runs until 27th April 2008.
Think you’ve got what it takes to win? Next year’s competition opens in January 2008. Full details and an entry form can be found at www. nhm.ac.uk/ wildphoto fe Photographer of the Year 2007
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Polar Meltdown © Arne Naevra/Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007
I,science 33 1/2/08 19:25:22
NEWS & EVENTS OPINIONS INTERVIEWS
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You little beasts! Strange goings on in South Kensington — David Stacey investigates.
Little Savages by Tessa Farmer Natural History Museum until january
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RT AND science connect in this macabre yet fascinating exhibition that combines the naturalistic with the fantastic. Inspired by a residency at the Natural History Museum, artist Tessa Farmer brings together taxidermy, insect parts, and themes of infestation in a sculptural installation, short film, and set of drawings. Although bizarre and grotesque, this show is definitely worth popping into the museum for – after all, it’s free and just around the corner from College – and should appeal to lovers of the lab and more arty types alike. Use it as an excuse for a break between lectures – you’re likely to be done in 20 minutes – or as an introduction to the Museum as a whole if you’ve not visited it before. The size of the exhibition matches the miniature scale of the exhibits. After walking past the huge Diplodoccus skeleton in the Central Hall, a rapid refocusing is required to take in the full detail of Farmer’s work. She has unleashed an army of tiny fantastical creatures that look set to take over the Museum. The first piece of the exhibition is a rather tattered-looking stuffed fox being assaulted by bits of butterfly, bird, cocoon, and (upon closer inspection) a team of capricious, intelligent sprites. These are Tessa Farmer’s fairies. Less than a centimetre high and made from tiny pieces of plant root and insect wings, their skeletal delicacy draws you in, whilst their swarming intent repulses. The torment in the fox’s eyes appears genuine. These fairies are more Grim Reaper than Brothers Grimm and are not the sort to take kindly to having a Christmas tree stuck up their backside. Be very afraid if you find these guys at the bottom of your garden! Farmer’s feint pencil Images courtesy of Tessa Farmer
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sketches of parasitized insect larvae demonstrate her talent for illustration. These are very good, and fans of fine art might want to see more of them. The third piece in the show is an animated film in which the process of stop-motion animation that the artist used echoes the patience and precision she put into making her drawings and sculptures. The film tells a story of the fairies learning how to hunt a huge insect, eventually trapping, killing, and dismembering their prey. On the surface, this is a simple story akin to one an anthropologist might tell about a primitive tribe of humans, but there is a creepy and disturbing undercurrent to the plot, rather like watching cute chimps biting off the head of a live monkey they have just caught. (In fact, the film carries a warning that it is unsuitable for young children.) Ominously, the fairies are cunning and are enjoying themselves a bit too much. As Farmer admits: “My fairies are gory. Their ultimate ambition is to attack humans - they are just practising on the fox.” The exhibition ties Farmer’s art with the Museum itself, and not just because the subject material is biological in origin. The Museum as an institution is under threat by the fairies. It is this that makes the show a success. The public walks around it blind to all the activities going on behind the scenes. For all they know, the building could be slowly getting consumed from the inside by these creatures. The Museum has missed a trick though. A short display covering the true life-cycles of parasitic wasps and other hymenopterans would have been an excellent way to link the art with the biology, and expose the public to a little-publicised wonder of nature. Without this link, Little Savages seems a bit distanced from the rest of the Museum’s displays. Perhaps the Museum’s staff wants to keep it this way.
Spring 2008
1/2/08 18:51:55
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The best of the blogosphere Flora Graham surfs the net in search of the most useful and entertaining science blogs.
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LOGS OFFER something different from mainstream science coverage: an opportunity for scientists to speak for themselves, an injection of humour, a personal perspective, and a place for people from all fields to say what they’re really thinking. Blogs are becoming even more pervasive because of RSS feeds. Subscribing to an RSS feed is like getting your newspaper delivered, instead of going to the shop to buy it every day. Subscribe to an RSS feed from a feed reader, and it will download new content automatically, so that you don’t have to visit the sites online to see if there’s something new. Many
browsers and mobile devices now have a feed reader built in and there are many available free online, and most blogs give the address of their RSS feed from a button on their home page. Since blogs are written with a personal voice, it takes some reading around to find your favourite. Of the four blogs I’ve reviewed below, some are great and some just OK, but all of them have links to other blogs that are worth looking at. Also, a science-friendly aggregator blog such as BoingBoing (www.boingboing.net) is a good place to visit since it often points to the latest and greatest posts from around the blogosphere.
WIRED SCIENCE blog.wired.com/wiredscience One of several collaborative blogs from the writers at Wired magazine, such as freelance science writer Brandon Keim. Based on its contributors, it should do a much better job offering a light-hearted counterpoint to the excellent science coverage of the main site. It does have the big advantage of a large budget – one post points to their own commissioned microphotography images. This US-based blog also offers an interesting across-thepond perspective: who knew you could buy bread in a can?
BAD SCIENCE www.badscience.net A handy source for all things Ben Goldacre, including his Guardian columns, articles in The Lancet and plenty of blogonly entries. A good extra is the MiniBlog, where Goldacre supplements the main blog with short posts linking to what he’s reading at the moment. The blog suffers from a partial RSS feed which only shows part of each entry and doesn’t provide access to the lively and well-informed comments, and the site’s heavy black design could be easier to read and more subtle, especially when you’re trying to hide your surfing from your boss.
TIERNEY LAB tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com This blog is written by a journalist, rather than a scientist, who claims he “went into journalism because its peer-review process was a great deal easier to sneak through.” He makes a superior effort to connect with his readers, offering topics – and sometimes prizes – that promote energetic discussion in the comments. The readable online design is due to the blog’s home at the New York Times (which also hosts the excellent semiscience Freakonomics blog), but so is its dismal partial RSS feed.
SCIENCE PUNK www.sciencepunk.com This personal blog is a quality mixed bag of science posts, from longer researched posts to snappily summarized links, by young science-graduate-turned-media-whore (sound familiar?), Frank Swain. The blog has an easy-to-read online design, but it could be much improved by a full RSS feed.
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I,science 35 1/2/08 18:55:46
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Pretty pictures Andrew Turley is impressed by a new collection of spectacular scientific images.
Why The Lion Grew Its Mane by Lewis Smith Papadakis Publishers// pages
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HY THE Lion Grew Its Mane is the first book from Lewis Smith, an environment and science reporter at The Times newspaper. Visually, it is a sumptuous tome, which combines stunning imagery with the latest scientific developments. The book’s big glossy pages brim with breathtaking shots, from insects captured in incredible detail to the mighty machinery at CERN. Each double page spread provides a different story on a recent scientific discovery or development. These are divided into nine distinct chapters, which span an eclectic range of disciplines. Predictably, the content mirrors the interests of the mass media with space, genetics, and new technologies given prime
Also, there is no continuity in a book built of individual, unrelated articles and, as such, there no is flow to take the reader from one page to the next. Perhaps flicking from one eye-catching image to the next – briefly, but most likely incompletely, reading some text in between – is the intended mode of interaction, but many are sure to find this unsatisfying. The problem with focusing on new, snappy developments is that they do not stay new and snappy for long. Indeed, if you are someone who subscribes to a popular science periodical there is a good chance you will have read about some of these developments already. This would be fine if the book explored events in greater depth but the format largely prevents this. So the reader is left with what feels like a scrapbook of exquisitely illustrated magazine cuttings. All said and done, Why the Lion Grew Its Mane is an undeniably beautiful book, and there are some great things to discover inside. If you enjoy pouring over luscious shots of a loosely scientific nature, without too much mental gymnastics, then this is the book for you. Clouded Leopard billing. But it is photography that drives the book, and as the most photogenic area of science by far, wildlife makes up the largest part. Any areas lacking both popular kudos and visual allure, such as chemistry and mathematics, are noticeably underrepresented. But who wants the dull and the ugly anyway? There is enough of that in text books. Why the Lion Grew Its Mane is a book about new science and genuinely interesting things to gawp at. To that end, it more than fulfils its remit. There is plenty of engaging text as well, with a clear attempt to go beyond trivial captioning and provide fuller explanations of the phenomena illustrated. There are, however, some minor inconsistencies with the format. For a book intended to be consumed in small chunks, it is far too big to carry around, making it difficult to imagine when it might get read. It would make an attractive addition to your coffee table, where it could provide guests with some pleasant distraction whilst waiting for the coffee, but it seems unlikely to receive serious attention.
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Nanostructures
Spring 2008
1/2/08 18:57:41
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Take a hamster... Tom Wells is not wholly convinced about turning his home into a laboratory.
How to Fossilise Your Hamster: And 99 Other Experiments to Try at Home by Mick O’Hare Profile Books// pages
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S THE saying goes, no one likes a know-it-all, yet this book seems pretty smug about being one. Reading it feels something akin to spending time with an elderly uncle who takes great pleasure in disabusing you of your childhood misconceptions. It begins with a pompous homily about the beauty of ‘science by experimentation’ before serving up a collection of ‘experiments’ that can be done in the home, each coupled with some scientific sounding explanation of what you will have observed. But, if someone did get you this book for Christmas, do not despair. Aside from the fact that you are told what is going to
Dodgy present A sloppy compilation of eclectic scientific questions fails to please Andrew Turley.
Why Don’t Spiders Stick To Their Webs? And Other Everyday Mysteries of Science by Robert Matthews Oneworld Publishers// pages
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HY DON’T Spiders Stick to Their Webs? is a collection of the best bits from Robert Matthews’ weekly column in The Sunday Telegraph, in which he tries to answer science questions posed by his curious readers. It is a lively little book, exhibiting a broad range of questions from where the stripes in striped toothpaste come from to how the Universe began, and a great deal in between. Not all the questions are of a strictly scientific nature although a connection with some scientific phenomenon can usually be discerned. Helpfully, therefore, the questions are sectioned by type into ten chapters and there is a thorough index in the back. As might be expected from a former science correspondent, Matthews writes in punchy journalistic prose well suited to the quick-fire nature of the book. He includes many brief digressions into his personal life that mostly add colour to what might otherwise be a stale compendium of facts. His answers are also amusing, gently mocking the overly esoteric nature of much
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INTERVIEWS OPINIONS NEWS & EVENTS
happen in all the experiments, thus making them somewhat obsolete, it is quite a good read. Falteringly engaging, it is nevertheless a genuine attempt to demonstrate some fairly nifty observations and make their explanations accessible. You could not accuse O’Hare of dumbing down in that quest either. The first demonstration walks you through the pattern that cream makes on the surface of Tia Maria, and why this is a perfect example of Maragoni convection, and the rest of the book continues along similar lines. Some of the observations are more trivial but by the end of a first chapter, which is largely based around alcoholic drinks, you may find yourself enjoying the book rather more than you would prefer to admit. The experiments move through the house, explaining away little oddities that can be observed. Some will be familiar, others quite surprising. That warm water freezes quicker than cold has to be seen to be believed and, for 007 fans, there is a credible explanation of why a ‘shaken, not stirred’ martini is something more than lazy Bond writing. This is neither laugh-a-minute nor Nobel-prize-winning stuff, but an afternoon of armchair experiments has got to be better than spending time with Great Aunt Vera’s beard. There are a few niggles. In the effort to explain everything, O’Hare is occasionally patronising. “In fact, if it wasn’t for the sides of your mug constraining the liquid, it would simply flow out over the table top” particularly rankles. He also falls into the trap of attempting to make science ‘cool’, suggesting little demonstrations to try at parties – don’t be tempted. So, how do you fossilise a hamster? Perhaps a better question is: who cares? If you do, buy this book. If not, save your money and think of something else to talk to Great Uncle Ebenezer about – unless the book turned up in your stocking, that is.
scientific research, although his humour will not suit everyone. This is not an original format, however. New Scientist has already published books of this type based on its Last Word column, which begs the question: how much of this material has already been covered elsewhere? Potential buyers might also be put off by the fact that most of the articles appear online, for free, on the Telegraph website, a careless bit of policy that fails to inspire a feeling of worth. The lack of fresh content aside, the book feels poorly finished in other ways. There are a host of typos for example, which is annoying given the text must have gone through an editing cycle for the newspaper. Worse still, on more than one occasion, whole explanations are repeated, a natural consequence of the transfer from newspaper column to book without a second round of editing. There is also an obvious problem with having just one person approach such an eclectic mix of issues. At one end of this spectrum, there are questions such as: why is it so difficult to get ketchup out of a bottle? Matthews, whose scientific background is in physics, is on home turf here and is well equipped to give a snappy little reply. At the other end of this spectrum however, he faces questions such as: is it rational to believe in God? While he has an admirable stab at an answer, he is clearly out of his depth. Perhaps the best answers are those that dispel the myths commonly held by scientists themselves, such as why old panes of glass are thicker at the bottom. Apparently, molecular creep is not the culprit. But, these are all too often interspersed with far more banal offerings, such as why eggs are egg-shaped and why the clocks go back two months before the shortest day, but forward three months after. In the end however, none of this really matters, since you are unlikely to have actually bought this book. Why Don’t Spiders Stick to Their Webs? is just the sort of kooky, krazee, askprofessor-boffin-head type of science writing that people who know nothing about science are likely to have bought you as a present. If it kept you interested while Granny snored through The Great Escape, I bet it didn’t last as long as the cold turkey sandwiches.
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Magical Moon Georgia Gale Grant gives the thumbs up to the story of the men in the Moon.
In The Shadow of the Moon Director: David Sington released in uk: november
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HARLIE DUKE, who is familiar as the voice of Mission Control for the first lunar landing, opens this documentary: “My father was born just after the Wright brothers. He could hardly believe I went to the Moon. My son was five years old at the time and he didn’t think it was that big a deal.” Despite the countless documentaries, films and programming hours devoted to the Apollo missions, few before have succeeded in capturing the essence and enormity of what it was like to fly to the Moon. David Sington, however, has achieved something close to that. With thorough, human – not technical – interviews with astronauts from all the Apollo missions, wonderfully remastered archive footage (this is the Moon in its slate-grey glory, as you’ve never seen it before) and no intrusive voice over, this story comes straight from the heart. The director has filmed the interviews straight into the camera, forming a personal bond with the audience. Phillip Sheppar’s soundtrack is emotionally charged, and dramatizes the stunning footage very effectively. Broadly, the story is presented chronologically. It starts with President Kennedy’s optimistic ambition of landing a man on the Moon within a decade and charts the progress from the first
Life with Venter Flora Graham gets a little bit irritated. A Life Decoded: My Genome, My Life by J Craig Venter Allen Lane// pages
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HERE IS a certain kind of self-aggrandising anecdote that you can only tell your partner, your parents, or someone else who loves you very much, because anyone else would find you boastful and pompous. This is the kind of anecdote that fills Craig Venter’s autobiography, A Life Decoded. Biographies rely on the charm of the writer, and Venter comes across as too self-obsessed to be charming. His tale of grabbing, killing, drying, and mounting a poisonous sea snake that brushed against his leg during a war-time swim is utterly obnoxious rather than inspiring. He later refers to the snakeskin as a piece of ‘Venterabilia’ – an obsession with his own name that occurs throughout the book. Thus a merger of his three companies – The Institute for Genomic Research, the J. Craig Venter Science Foundation, and the Venter Institute – becomes the J. Craig Venter Institute. Presumably, the name Venter
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American space flight through the competition with the Russian space program to the Apollo 11 mission, taking in the death of President Kennedy and the fire that killed three astronauts during simulation for the Apollo 1 mission. If anything, the narrative is too long, especially during the ’drama’ of returning the lunar lander to Michael Collins, orbiting the moon in the command module, and there is perhaps not enough emphasis on subsequent missions. The Apollo 13 crisis is well handled, though, and Jim Lovell, the flight commander on that mission, is given air time to talk about Apollo 8, the first flight out of the confines of the Earth’s gravity and into that of the Moon. This is just one of the new insights the documentary offers; others being the beautiful archive footage from the top-of-thegantry, wide-angle camera shots from the Apollo 17 night launch in December 1972, and the pre-prepared speech to be delivered by the President had the Apollo 11 mission not succeeded. Buzz ‘Dr Rendez-Vous’ Aldrin is a delight, but the hidden gem is Michael Collins who speaks candidly about the ‘magic’ as, despite the eyes of 3 billion people watching them, nothing went wrong. Then there is the footage from the TV game show 10 years before Neil Armstrong made history, when an unsuspecting, prophetic host asked Armstrong’s mother: “How would you feel if you son was the first man to walk on the Moon?” Six time astronaut and Moon-walker John Young puts things into perspective: “There’s a lot of things like urban pollution, and you can see that when you hit orbit now. You can see that big cities all have their own set of unique atmospheres. We ought to be looking out for our kids and our grandkids. [Instead] what are we worried about? The price of a gallon of gasoline.”
Venter Venter Venter Institute was already taken. Nevertheless, Venter’s story is interesting. After barely finishing secondary school, a stint as a medic in the Vietnam War inspired him to go to university, and he ended up as one of the leading lights of genetic research. The stories of his tour in Vietnam and his discovery of the excitement of scientific detection are the strongest parts of the book. The narrative struggles when the genome project story begins. In between tediously recounted sailing trips, Venter tells how he spearheaded the development of a speedy method for sequencing genes that led him to a White House stage, announcing the decoding of the human genome – his own, in fact, which makes perfect sense in this ‘Venterfest’. Venter’s description of his many run-ins with corporate masters, federal funding bodies, and other scientists – including several with DNA guru James Watson – would be interesting for people who want a personal perspective on the race to sequence the genome. Otherwise, a history of the characters and events written by an outside observer would tell the story in a less irritating tone.
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1/2/08 19:00:42
macmillanscience: big ideas, great stories, fine writing
available now
Hardback £16.99/$24.95 978-0-230-01980-5
Hardback £14.99/$24.95 978-0-230-52716-4
Paperback £8.99/$14.95 978-0-230-52725-6
Amusingly argued case that the symbiosis of science and science fiction has shaped what we see, do and dream.
A passionate explanation of why the digital age is the first thing in 1500 years to truly change the book.
Updated edition of the story of light, the greatest puzzle in our universe, and those who have grappled with it.
forthcoming in may 2008 ‘Chris Turney has unveiled a climate crystal ball. It’s made of ice, covered in mud, and tells the past and likely future of life on Earth. Join him as he delves expertly into the layered depths of climatic history and exposes the stark warnings to all fossilfuelled humanity that they hold.’ Dr Dave Reay, University of Edinburgh, UK and author of Climate Change Begins at Home
Hardback £14.99/$24.95 978-0-230-51757-8
Hardback £15.99/$24.95 978-0-230-55382-8
A fascinating look at the biggest medical issue of the age, the future of death.
order from www.macmillanscience.com 39 Ad.indd 38
1/2/08 19:04:23
Apollo missions BA Festival of Science biodynamic food biofuels blogosphere Craig Venter Diamond synchrotron epidemics face recognition geek humour living machines obesity popular science books science news sex, drugs and greed space exploration systems biology wildlife photography
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