Spin 59 all

ISSUE

59

July/August 2013

€5 including VAT £4 NI and UK

SCIENCE

SPIN

IRELAND’S SCIENCE NATURE AND DISCOVERY MAGAZINE

www.sciencespin.com

The view from above Beneficial bugs Fingal rocks Weird and wonderful animals

What is life?

What’s inside the box?

Billions of neurons and up to 240 trillion connections

Memories are made of this

Short recall is not much use to us without long term storage

Don’t upset the biological clock

What sets our internal clock and why the graveyard shift may be the death of you

The sensational brain

We hear, we feel, we smell, we see, but how does the brain make sense of all this information, and why do our eyes sometimes deceive us?

Getting all emotional

Where do we hide our fears, and why are children, and crocodiles, so emotional?

How to become smarter

If some people can be a bit slow, why are they often better at getting the right answers?

Out of our minds

Madness is hard to define but imaging makes it easier to spot what’s actually going wrong

Getting high

Why do people take drugs, and why are they so addictive?

Girl brain, boy brain

ERIES

ISBN 0 906002 16 8

OV ISC ER

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Albertine Kennedy Publishing Cloonlara, Swinford, Co Mayo. Ireland.

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Is there a difference, or does the sex of your brain matter?

Published in association with Ireland’s science and discovery magazine Science Spin

THE SENSATIONAL BRAIN by VERONICA MILLER

Dr Veronica Miller, researcher and writer, lifts the lid on what goes on inside our head

THE SENSATIONAL

BRAIN What is it and how it works Dr Veronica Miller

SCIENCE

SPIN

Dr Veronica Miller explains all you ever wanted to know about the brain — what it is and how it works. Lots of facts without the jargon in a fully illustrated book that will appeal to everyone.

Have you ever wondered what’s inside the box? Why do we get so upset by working odd hours, or what are memories actually made of?

Do boys really have different brains from girls, and is there anything we can do to become smarter? The answers are all here and lots more in this entertaining and highly informative book.

Dr Miller, who studied at TCD and UCD before before undertaking brain research in the UK is currently Research Assistant Professor at the Wadsworth Centre in New York.

The Sensational Brain by Dr Veronica Miller Hardback, full colour, 160 pages. €25.00 Available now from www.sciencespin.com, GSI store, Amazon and independent bookshops.

Cerebellum granular cells and white matter from an older man.

COLOUR

INK often be anuscripts can a traced back to stery through particular mona by the scribes. the inks used nces have been an analysis of variety of substa wide a m of flow, g For writin ements; freedo the basic requir Boiled tree found to meet permanency. rooms, high degree of by ink-cap mush clarity, and a mush produced root of the yellow bark, the black powdered , A owers have been used. blue from cornfl bark even strong coffee flag iris, and winter blackened made from the or glue. One milk black ink was with twigs mixed galls, the of blackthorn made from oak was ink of One oak trees. common type d by insects on pounds of iron round balls forme , ration was five formula for prepa s of gum, 12 gallons of water pound galls. sulphate, five gallon of oak by volume, 12 12 gallons must and measuring h oak galls for s how big the Collecting enoug lt but it just show more extensive have been difficu even an On gum, and was. lampblack and demand for ink dirty was made from although very scale Indian ink became a big, grained soot soot, lampblack, n Europe. The producing fine of south easter printers’ ink. industry in parts make to d linsee 63 was mixed with

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COLOUR

The quality of medieval inks had to be high for manuscripts such as this to survive.

This is a page from a medical manuscript, the Book of the O’Lees, preserved at the Royal Irish Academy.

of how colours gives a good idea the colour from The colour wheel By subtracting opposite hue. relate to each other. wheel we get the one side of the

saturation, and Colour has hue, three dimensional brightness, and gh harder to modelling, althou ate to more accur visualise, led ication. systems of classif

The science and art of colour explained by Margaret Franklin and Tom Kennedy. A colourful and informative paperback. €15 post free from www.sciencespin.com

cliff above against a granite schist lying up Vegetation covered Wicklow. is Lough Oular, Co ne Granite which

rous plants

Carbonife

hibernicus, A. Palaeopteris Co Kilkenny. from Kiltorcan, loachitica, B. Alethopteris Tipperary.

Ballynstick, Co lonchilides, C. Alethopteris colliery, Co from Drumnagh Cork. dendron, D. Root of Lepido Laois.

Towerstown, Co Photographs: Tom

Kennedy.

tion is the Mour during initial event. The excep it developed n years old and to the melting only 55 millio , possibly due Atlantic Ocean basalts (see ding Antrim opening of the crust by the ascen ” earlier). of the Earth’s Rocks other Volcanic the base of in and e lts granit “Basa of hot molten plates: The generation movement of the by is driven l plate sinks to the Earth’s crust over-ridden crusta e (see Figure the e, collid where they liquid granit it melts to form they release extremely a depth where plates pull apart the crust it in turn melts 3). Where those which e mantl the hot basalt from The granite with granite rocks. is well-endowed out from the Figure 15. Ireland northeast stands Mountains is the er — only 55 million years old. of the Mourne significantly young others in being

67

ROCK AROUND IRELAND

Peadar McArdle guides us around Ireland’s diversified geology.

Paperback €15 postfree from www.sciencespin.com In 1795, the chance discovery

SCIENCE SCIENCE

SPIN SPIN Publisher Science Spin Ltd 5 Serpentine Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. www.sciencespin.com Email: tom@sciencespin.com Editor Tom Kennedy tom@sciencespin.com Editorial support Con O’Rourke Production support Marie-Claire Cleary marieclaire@sciencespin.com Contributing editor Seán Duke sean@sciencespin.com Business Manager Alan Doherty alan@sciencespin.com Design and Production Albertine Kennedy Publishing Cloonlara, Swinford, Co Mayo Picture research Source Photographic Archive www.sourcelibrary.net Printing Turner Group, Longford

Upfront Weird and wonderful animals

Sive Finlay introduces us to the axolotl, the animal that avoids growing up 9

Teagasc resesearch update Monitoring grass growth

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Working at the cultural end of the scientific spectrum

Marie Catherine Mousseau talked to Gethin McBean about being creative in science

13

Fingal rocks

Geological heritage sites are being included in country development plans

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Food science and beneficial bugs

We have more bugs in our gut than cells in the body and good health depends on helping the good ones thrive

19

What is life?

A new sculpture at the National Botanical Gardens celebrates the double helix discovery

22

Looking down on Earth

A selection of images captured by satellites and crew members of the International Space Station Subscribe for just €30 a year, six issues.

Register to receive our occasional alerts. www.sciencespin.com

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Young scientists

Fluoride in soft drinks, flame retardants and tracking magnetic storms

Dr How’s science wows Exploring forensics

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www.sciencespin.com

Climate change

UPFRONT

Ancient irish Annals are helping to cast light on climatic changes in the past. While best known as a record of major historical events, the Annals note a number of exceptionally cold periods, and, according to Dr Francis Ludlow, who is leading a study of these records, 38 such events, recorded over a period of 1,200 years, correspond to deposits from volcanic eruptions that have been preserved in Greenland ice.

As the researchers point out in a paper published in the Open Access journal, Experimental Research Letters, much of what we know about the link between volcanic eruptions and climate is limited because is based on quite recent records, but more confidence can be placed in the irish Annals because they cover a much longer period.

Lab on a disk

DAnieL Kirby, a postgraduate researcher at Dublin city University, had been presented with the institute of Physics Ross Medal for his presentation on detection of cancer using a novel labon-disk device.

Daniel had to compete with 35 physics postgraduates before making it through to the finals which were held in Galway.

At the finals eight postgraduate gave a short presentation before an audience and a panel of judges who selected the winner.

Daniel explained that his goal was to develop a biomedical device that could determine whether or not a patient had developed cancer. the detection is made from a blood sample, but as Daniel said, spotting the cancer cells is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. the cancer cells are hidden among millions of healthy cells. to make detection easier, Daniel found that he could selectively attach tiny particles of iron to the cancer cells.

Because the iron particles were only attached to the cancer cells they could be extracted from a whole blood sample and drawn into the same sort of tiny channels that are readily available in a massproduced cD or DcD disk. the iron particles made it possible to detect the cancer cells passing through a magnetic field.

According to Daniel, this sampling device could be made for just a few euro, and it could be used at home or in a doctor’s office.

The Orion Bullets

these giant gas clouds are on the outskirts of the Orion nebula, 1,500 light years distant from earth. Glowing with light from ionized atoms they are travelling along at hundreds of kilometres per second leaving trails of hot hydrogen gas. the trails are about one fifth of a light year long. The image was captured by the 8.1 metre Gemini south telescope in chile. special adaptive optics enabled the telescope to counteract the blurring effect of the Earth’s atmosphere. the observatory is one of two optical/infrared telescopes built and operated in a partnership between the Us, canada, chile, Australia, Brazil and Argentina.

African soils

the soils of Africa are mapped and described in an information-packed atlas published by the european commission. A great part of Africa is dry and many of the soils are highly weathered, so making them productive for agriculture can be a challenge. One of the motivations behind this mapping project is to provide good solid information to back up sustainable development of agriculture in Africa. the atlas has been published as a book and is also available for downloading. the files for downloading are quite big, but have an enormous amount of information about soil types and how they developed. http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/library/maps/africa_atlas/index.html

Open access

MORe than fifty scientific organisations in Europe have formally committed themselves to open access for publicly-funded research. this has been an ongoing issue which came to a head mainly because a growing number of researchers had been rebelling against the high price being charged for access to scientific papers, while at the same time publishers were making high profits. the organisation, science europe, has now issued a set of principles underlying the move towards open access. science europe wants an end to barriers, such as doublepricing, and if contributors are being charged, journal subscriptions should come down.

As the President of science europe, Paul Boyle, commented, the transition towards open access presents some challenges, but researchers, and science in general, will benefit from the change. the position statement from science europe is available for downloading from: www.scienceeurope.org/downloads

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 59 Page 2

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UPFRONT

The 505 million year old fossil acorn worms in Burgess Shale, and right, a pair of modern enteropneusts. Photos: fossils, J B Carron, Smithsonian Institute, and modern acorn worms of apx 32mm length, C B Cameron, University of Montreal.

Old worms

Ancient ancestors of present day acorn worms were found in the Burgess Shales, a remarkably productive source of exceptionally well preserved fossils in canada. the 505 million year old fossil worms were found by christopher cameron and his colleagues from the University of Montreal Department of Biological Science.

Given the name Spartobranchus tenuis, the animals belong to the acorn worms group. these are classed as hemichordates, a group that includes sea stars and sea

urchins. the fact that their soft bodies have been preserved in such detail makes this find all the more significant. the well preserved details have enabled the researchers to answer one of the questions that biologists have been pondering over since the 19th century, and that is when did two main groups of hemichordates branch off from each other. these two branches are known as the enteropneusts and the pterobranchs, and modern molecular analysis had shown that they are closely related. the fossil, Spartobranchus tenuis, is similar to

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present-day acorn worms, which belong to the enteropneusts, but they also made fibrous tubes, which is characteristic of the other, pterobranch, group. this shows that the fossil worms existed before the two groups branched off from each other. it is thought that Spartobranchus tenuis had a flexible body and the bulbus structure at the end may have acted as an anchor. A number of specimens were found, the largest complete ones being about 10 cm long. Many were preserved in protective tubes, which the animals had apparently burrowed into.

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Early mining

The history of mining goes back thousands of years, but scientists at Pittsburgh University claim that extraction of metal began earlier in North America than in europe, Asia or South America. The evidence for this comes from lead pollution in the northern part of Michigan.

David Pompeani, reporting these findings in Environmental Science and Technology, said that lake sediments show that mining in the Keweenaw Peninsula began about 8,000 years ago.

A team from the university, including experts in paleoclimatology and geology were drawn to the peninsula because it is the largest known source of native copper in North America, and since the 19th century it was known that prehistoric workings were in the area.

Sediments were collected from three lakes located near the old mine workings and these were analysed for titanium, magnesium, iron, lead and organic matter. Increased levels of lead pollution in the sediments coincided with periods of mining activity, and according to the researchers, these activities pre-date similar traces from any other part of the world by thousands of years.

In europe lead contamination from mining in the Sierra Nevada range, Spain, has been traced back 3,900 years.

Scientists from the Andalusian Institute for earth Science, the University of North Arizona and other institutions found this contamination in a remote lake, 3,020 metres up in the mountains.

As metal working increased, so did contamination, rising to a peak in the La Laguna de Rio Seco Lagoon 2,900 years ago. high levels of lead also occur in the south of the Iberian Peninsula coinciding with the rise of the Roman empire, and then later, during the Industrial Revolution.

Rural innovation

SofTwARe engineer and part-time farmer, Albert Moylan from Gort, Co Galway, has won an innovation award for his Moominder product. The JfC Innovation Awards, sponsored by JfC manufacturing, and supported by Teagasc and the Irish Farmers’ Journal attracted 67 entries. Albert Moylan’s winning product monitors a cow’s temperature, and sends an alert to the farmer when this drops. Shortly before calving a cow’s temperature drops, so this is a good indicator that something is about to happen. A sensor is attached to the cow’s ear, and the same approach has the potential to check if animals are sick or ready for mating.

More details from www.moominder.ie

UPFRONT

Researchers from the NUI Galway AirSea Laboratory deploy the ASIP device, from left: Dr Brian Ward, and PhD students Graig Sutherland and Anneke ten Doeschate.

The salty sea

To understand what’s going on at sea scientists usually probe below the surface. however this can mean that the upper surface is being ignored and, to get around this problem, researchers from the AirSea Group at NUI Galway developed specialised instruments that can be towed behind a ship.

The scientists from NUI Galway, Dr Brian ward and two of his PhD students, Graig Sutherland and Anneke ten Doeschate, have been on board a Spanish research vessel, Samiento de Gamboa, investigating the salinity of the sub-tropical North Atlantic.

As Dr ward explained, the area they were working in has the highest salinity concentration of any of the world’s oceans, and the upper surface is important because it forms the interface between the sea and the atmosphere. The scientists found that freshwater often occurred intermingled with the salty background, and local turbulence can have an impact on air-sea exchange. The oceans and the atmosphere, he said, are a coupled system, and therefore they should be studied in unison. In this study, data from towed instrumentation was combined with satellite observations.

Detecting explosives

A CoNSoRTIUM, backed by the european Commission and headed by Indra, a multinational based in Spain, has developed an impressive bomb detection system.

According to the consortium extremely small quantities of explosives can be detected at 20 metres distance.

The ability to detect explosives at a distance has been made possible by using advanced optics. A laser beam is used to scan objects, such as steering wheels or door handles, and extremely small traces of explosive substances can be detected and identified.

The system produced by the optix consortium is portable, so it can be brought into streets or car parks and operated from a distance.

A number of industrial and academic partners are involved in the optix consortium, including the Swedish Defence Research Agency, and universities in Germany, Austria and Spain.

The project makes use of two main types of technology for detection, LIBS spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, both of which can identify specific molecular structures.

Some idea of how effective the system is can be seen in the promotional video: http://vimeo.com/48946352 By an odd and very unfortunate coincidence, details about the successful launch of this system were announced just at a time when a UK company director is being questioned by police for charging over €52 million for bomb detectors that technical experts have confirmed could not possibly work. Unfortunately, the crook, a former police officer, saw an opportunity to cash in on the real need for remote detection of high explosives, and there is little doubt that at least 100 people have died in Iraq because car bombs were able to pass through checkpoints equipped with the fraudulent detectors. The Iraqi authorities are reported to have paid £20,000 each for 1,500 of these bogus detectors and it has emerged that orders were placed by officials in return for bribes.

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of Latin, English choral music and a repertoire of traditional Irish music spanning the 9th - 21st centuries.

Instrumental pieces were also played

by Uilleanne piper Eugene Lambe and harpist Kathleen Loughnane.

Orator of the event, Professor John Delaney of the University of Washington, presented marine he Marine Institute and Galway science and geology through high based choir Cois Cladaigh, who definition graphic presentations are responsible for the creation of The and video footage demonstrating Longest River, showcased the marine Uilleanne piper Eugene Lambe and harpist how the seas support our life on earth. science, music and literacy event to an Kathleen Loughnane performing at The “Poets and scientists alike are powerfully audience of over 200 people as part of the Longest River in Brussels, Photo: Cushla drawn to the sea for inspiration and celebration of Ireland’s Presidency of the Dromgool-Regan. resolution. It is in their nature to ask Council of European Union, at Eglise du questions, to seek answers and to explore “Communicating how research and Saint – Sacrement in Brussels. through research and development, innovation deliver societal benefits is The concept of The Longest River poetry, music, film and photography in important to the mission of the Marine was initiated by Dr Brendan O’Connor, order to illuminate some piece of the Institute,” according to Dr. Peter managing director of AQUAFACT and great mystery of our oceans and share its Heffernan, CEO of the Marine Institute.

Director of the choir Cois Cladaigh, Unique photography of marine scenes, beauty,” he said.

Professor John Delaney of the University The Longest River event was under the species and video footage of extreme of Washington and Dr Peter Heffernan, environments under the deep ocean were patronage of both Ms Maria Damanaki Chief Executive of the Marine Institute. and Ms Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, also shown during the performances of The unique collaboration has created Members of the European Commission.

Cois Cladaigh choir, who sang a selection an innovative means of engaging new Commissioner Damanaki audiences and raising the commented, “Our Atlantic Ocean awareness of the science of our is the bridge between all Atlantic oceans and the importance of States. I am delighted to be the deep seas that support our associated with The Longest River life on earth. as it demonstrates the importance Multidisciplinary research of international collaborations on and international cooperation ocean research – as such research is essential in achieving will be central to the success of the healthy marine ecosystems Action Plan for the implementation – which is a key goal of the of the Maritime Strategy proposed Irish Government’s Integrated by the European Commission in Marine Plan for Ireland order to deliver smart, sustainable Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth. and inclusive growth in the Atlantic With an aim to double Ireland’s Ocean area”. marine sectors contribution to (L-R): Dr Brendan O’Connor, Director Cois Cladaigh, The event was kindly sponsored GDP by 2020, having a better Professor John Delaney of the University of Washington, understanding of the oceans Maria Damanaki, EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and by Culture Ireland and Tourism Ireland. is key to generating social, Fisheries, and Dr Peter Heffernan, Chief Executive of the cultural and economic benefits.

Marine Institute. Photo: Cushla Dromgool-Regan.

Cushla Dromgool-Regan reports that the marine science, music and literacy creation was a big hit in Brussels.

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The Longest River: Our World — Our Ocean event was also presented to over 100 primary school students at the Ecole Europeenne de Brussels IV in Brussels. Professor John Delaney, Dr Peter Heffernan and Dr Brendan O’Connor took the students on a journey around the world explaning the importance and wonders of the ocean.

The students were introduced to Irish musicians Eugene Lambe and Kathleen Loughnane who spoke about the history

of their instruments and played the Uillean pipe and Irish harp.

Dr Brendan O’Connor, Director of Cois Cladaigh also taught the students how to perform The Rondes by Folke Rabe, which is a contemporary performance extending the expression of vocal sounds that cannot be found in any language, yet are possible sounds inspired from deep within the ocean.

Supporting the Marine Institute and the development of The Longest River,

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Dr. O’Connor said “this event has enabled Cois Cladaigh to raise its profile amongst a wider audience as well as contribute to the ethos of evoking innovative arts and science literacy”.

School materials relating to the ocean, that can be used within the primary school curriculum, are available on the Explorers education website: www.explorers.ie

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Star dust

UPFRONT

As stars reach the end of their life and explode elements are created and this process underlies the evolution of planets. However, as an astrophysicist at Monash University in Melbourne has found, the dying puffs are not so common as was previously thought. After checking back through observations simon Campbell began to suspect that not all stars follow this pattern, and may not actually have had an explosive end.

Using the EsO Very Large Telescope, Campbell and his colleagues studied the light coming from a globular star cluster, NGC 6752 which lies in the southern Pavo constellation. This particular cluster has first and second generation stars so the two types could be compared. As Campbell reported, the results came as a surprise. The only first-generation stars that were showing signs of coming to an explosive end were low in sodium. At the same time none of the second-generation stars that were high in sodium were going into the explosive end of life phase.

From this Campbell concluded that stars have to be on a low-sodium “diet’ before ending their life in a massive explosion. As many as 70 per cent of stars, he suggested, may skip this phase, so some of our assumptions will have to be revised.

University of Oxford geologist Stephen Hesselbo (left) and Paul Olsen carefully document the physical relationship of the coffin layer to other components of the cliffs, in an effort to understand how, or whether, it relates to the extinction.

Mass extinction

THE mass extinction at the end of the Triassic Era 201,564,000 years ago corresponds to an enormous eruption of lava.

Although it is generally accepted that these eruptions led to a mass extinction, the fourth in the Earth’s history, the details of how this happened are not clear.

Terrence Blackburn from the Carnegie Institution and other scientists have managed to work out more precise dates for some of these major eruptions to produce a more complete picture of what happened over a 600,000 year span. According to the scientists two and a half million cubic miles of lava erupted over this period. At that time almost all land was massed into one huge continent, and the eruptions are thought to have initiated the rift that eventually evolved into the Atlantic Ocean.

The star cluster, NGC 6752, in the southern Pavo constellation.

The scientists used the known rate of decay in uranium isotopes to date basalt rocks that had been produced by these eruptions. This dating revealed that the eruptions in what is now Morocco, came first. Basalts from Nova Scotia and New Jersey were formed 3,000 to 13,000 years later.

Shortly before the eruptions began the Earth’s magnetic polarity did a flip. Reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field happens occasionally, and this particular change has helped to confirm that eruptions were of global proportions. Mineral grains in sedimentary layers immediately below the basalt have retained this magnetic signature, showing that they are of the same age.

Further evidence that extinction occurred within a geologically short period comes from the Earth’s wobble, known as its precession. This is a cyclic change in the angle of the Earth’s axis.

The changing tilt of the Earth produces alternate drying out and filling in of lake basins. Based on the assumption that the Earth’s wobble has been consistent, Paul Olsen, a geologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, estimated that the catastrophic events occurred within a 20,000 year time frame.

Olsen came to this conclusion after carefully cataloguing basalt and sedimentary layers from the end of the Triassic Era. Olsen maintains that the initial stage of mass extinction occurred within 20,000 years, and perhaps in a lot less time than that.

As a result of these eruptions the sulphur-laden atmosphere would have blocked out the sun, and with each pulse of volcanic activity carbon dioxide levels doubled. Cold shock was followed by heat stress, and in acidic oceans shell-building creatures could not survive.

A giant meteorite either contributed or sparked off the eruptions. In 2010 a large meteorite crater was found near Rochechouart in western France and this has been dated to just before the Triassic-Jurassic extinction.

The impact is thought to have been big enough to produce a tsunami up to 300 metres high and an earthquake 100 times greater than anything ever experienced by humans. Even so, Olsen maintains that the meteorite strike alone could not have caused such destruction, and other factors may have been at work.

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UPFRONT

Restoring hearing

A prizEwinning Young Scientist project from 2009 has led to the setting up of a high-technology start up company. The project began when two students from the Ursuline College in Sligo, rhona Togher and Eimear O’Carroll, together with their physics teacher, Anthony Carolan, began investigating tinnitus, the ‘ringing’ that people hear after exposure to high levels of noise. with some people tinnitus becomes a persistent problem and the young scientists wanted to find out why the ringing occurs, and what could be done about it. rhona went on to study physics at UCD, and Eimear is now a fourth-year physics student at the University of Edinburgh.

Together with Anthony Carolan, they continued working on tinnitus, and they have formed a company, restored Hearing, based at nova UCD, to launch a therapeutic product.

Our ears have tiny hairs, and sound waves cause them to move, enabling us to hear as sensory cells pick up the signals.

However, excessive noise causes these hairs to flatten, and our brain interprets this as a phantom noise.

The treatment developed by restored Hearing uses lowfrequency sound to make these hairs stand up again. According to the developers, the treatment has a very high success rate in curing tinnitus, and clinical trials are about to start in Edinburgh.

Enterprise ireland is assisting the company to attract venture capital so that a product can be launched onto the world market.

Celebrating 50 years

An archive of material from previous Young Science Exhibitions has been launched by BT ireland. Complete with exhibition catalogues, the site, which is searchable, has lots of material on previous winners. Many of these have gone on to distinguished careers in science and industry, and the exhibition itself has expanded since 1965 when 230 projects were received. For the 2013 exhibition there were 1,879 projects, making this one of the largest and most successful events of its kind in the world.

Winner in the first competition was John Monahan, founder of an international biotechnology company, Avigen.

Like many other students who entered projects, participation in the exhibition was a life-changing experience.

The archive is at: www.btyoungscientist.com/archive The next BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition takes place at the RDS from 8th to 11th January. The closing date for entries is 2nd October 2013. www.btyoungscientist.com

Oileáin Árann Órchiste an Nadúir

The Aran Islands — Treasury of Nature The institute of Biology of ireland (info@ibioli.net) has produced a 20-minute CD on the flora, fauna, geology and climate of the Aran islands. it is based on Nature Guide to the Aran Islands (The Lilliput press, 2006) and Dulra Oileáin Árann (Cois Life, 2012 ‘Leabhair na Bliana’) and on iBioll courses (tri Ghaeilge) for second-level students and trainee primary teachers on the islands over the past 30 years.

The CD, with a powerpoint slide show to run on a pC or laptop, is available in an irish-language version and in a combined irish+English version. it is suitable for students, teachers, colleges, libraries, museums, interpretive centres and tourists.

Available from Con O’rourke, 01 2697537, conorourke7@eircom.net The Aran island are an extension of the world-renowned Burren region and have a similar geology, fauna, flora and climate.

The CD features geology, climate, flora, birdlife and traditional farming.

info@ibioli.net

Marine Institute Foras na Mara

Ireland's National Agency for Marine Research and Innovation

Young Science bootcamp

SOME of the BT Young Scientists have gone on to participate in a business development bootcamp at novaUCD. The bootcamp was developed to enable innovators to acquire business skills.

After evaluation of projects, awards were presented to a number of winners. The winning team, consisting of Anna Fitzpatrick, Sean reilly, Sean Murphy, Émer Hickey and Aaron Hoffmann, had developed a medical database that can be accessed quickly in an emergency situation using a personalised Qr code.

Awards were also presented to Eoin McMahon and rory Hughes, both students at gonzaga College in Dublin.

All winners have been offered summer placements at different universities.

Shay walsh, Managing Director of Business at BT said that the project had helped embed a spirit of innovation in 30 young students.

Our Ocean

A Shared Resource

www.marine.ie

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UPFRONT

Good timing

Michael O’Connor, Communications Manager for Siemens in Ireland and first year UCD Engineering Students

Rugby Robots

Hands-on experience is one of the best ways to learn how to put engineering theory into practice, and every third-level students are presented with an opportunity to compete with each other in applying their knowledge. In the siemens sponsored RoboRugby Competition college students have to meet the challenge of creating a working robot from scratch. The robots have to show their superiority against rivals by being better at getting a ball to the try line on a games table.

In this year’s competition 62 students making up 21 teams pitted their creations against each other over 41 matches. The winning robot, named “How I Met Your Motor” as developed by Michael French, Shane Skelly and Dan Sullivan, three first year engineering students at UCd. Brian Mulkeen from the UCd school of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering is an enthueastic supporter of the competition, explaining that it helps students to think inventively and independently.

Healing wounds

OnE of the consequences of having diabetes is that ulcers form and often fail to heal, and this can make amputation necessary.

Ulcers can affect up to a quarter of those with diabetes so this is a serious and widespread problem. scientists at the nUI Galway have reported that a new type of treatment, based on adult stem cells, is likely to reduce this problem. dr aonghus O’loughlin, working with the Regenerative Medicine Institute at nUI Galway, and Galway University Hospital, said that there had been considerable success with a technique in which adult mesenchymal stem cells with a support of collagen are applied to ulcers. according to dr Timothy O’Brien, director of REMEdI, mesenchymal stem cells can he isolated from adults and are easy to culture in the laboratory making it possible to meet demand.

Clinical trials are to follow, and once approval is given, treatment using this approach would become generally available.

Dr O’Loughlin presenting results at a Molecular Medicines Ireland meeting.

dRUGs taken in the morning may not have the same effect as those taken in the evening. This is because many of our internal processes are influenced by our body clock.

Researchers at the salk Institute have found that this can have a significant bearing on the side-effects resulting from cancer therapy. Mice were subjected to radiation treatment and it was found that they suffered 85 per cent hair loss if treated in the morning, compared to 17 per cent hair loss if treated in the evening. Hair growth and repair was found to be influenced by the body clock.

The discovery could make it possible to minimise the negative side-effects of cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy. These treatments often result in damage to hair and bone marrow.

However, as the researchers point out in a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, our body does not just have one central clock, and different organs can have their own unique rhythm. One of the lead researchers, satchidananda Panda, said that delivering treatments while an organ is inactive could mean that a more potent dose could be administered.

When cells divide errors can be made in replicating the genetic code, and, up to a point, the body can make repairs.

With hair growth in mice it was found that these repairs are carried out during a period of active growth, which occurs once a day. Humans show the same kind of pattern, as shown by the five pm shadow, a day-time feature that does not appear in the morning after shaving at night.

There is a further advantage in timing treatment to coincide with the body clock. Cancer cells are not regulated by the clock, they keep on dividing, but this makes them vunerable at a time that is safer for cells that are healthy. satchidananda Panda commented that local clocks within the body are likely to have an influence on other disorders and not just with cancers. For example, organs such as the stomach or pancreas might be ‘woken up’ by demand to process food at a time when they should be ‘sleeping’, thus contributing to the onset of conditions such as obesity or diabetes.

Primary education

WHaT are the factors that lead some pupils to do well while others perform badly in subjects such as mathematics and are not so good in reading? not surprisingly, pupils with a games machine or television in the bedroom are likely to underachieve at school, but a report issued by the Education Research Centre in dublin provides more details on the factors that help or hinder learning in primary schools. In the report, dr Cliona Murphy from st Patrick’s College, drumcondra, looks at teaching of science.

The report, edited by Eemer Eivers and aidan Clerkin can be downloaded as a PdF from http://www.erc.ie/documents/pt2011_context_report.pdf

Working knowledge

dUBlIn City University wants to make it easier for entrepreneurs to acquire patented know-how. a fast-track licencing scheme allows companies or entrepreneurs to get access to applied research results using a template licence agreement that defers payment of royalties for four years, and after that the rate will be just one per cent of nett sales.

The initiative, said Richard stokes, director of Innovation at dCU, makes the whole process easier, quicker, and more transparent. as another incentive, entrepreneurs who come up with a credible business plan do not have to provide up-front payments.

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 59 Page 8

Weird and wonderful animals

Sive Finlay introduces us to the Axolotl, the amphibian that never grows up.

ften referred to as “Mexican walking O fish”, axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) are very strange-looking, even for amphibians. With long, newt-like bodies, stumpy legs, a spade-shaped head and feathered gills waving out from their necks, they always remind me of Medusa’s tadpole-shaped cousin.

Axolotls are a textbook example of an evolutionary trait known as neoteny; sexually mature adults that retain their juvenile characteristics throughout their lives. Most amphibians undergo metamorphosis to change from their larval tadpole stages to fully formed adults. These changes are regulated by hormones, particularly thyroxine.

From an evolutionary perspective, metamorphosis is quite costly because of the extra energy required to transform and maintain a land-dwelling adult’s body compared to an aquatic juvenile.

Axolotls are native to just a few lakes in central Mexico. Their habitats are relatively poor in nutrients, particularly iodine which is necessary for the production of thyroxine. Axolotls have evolved a clever strategy to cope with

the challenges of their environment; they don’t metamorphose.

These Peter Pans of the amphibian world have genetic mutations which mean that they retain juvenile characteristics throughout their lives. They become sexually mature, breed and produce their next generation without ever reaching an adult form.

Interestingly, though, axolotls have not completely lost their metamorphosing capabilities. If larval stages are given high-iodine diets or else injected with iodine directly, they will metamorphose and develop into adult forms.

Unlike their neotenous brethren, metamorphosed adults lose their external gills, develop different colouration and are mainly terrestrial rather than aquatic.

Sadly, their lake habitats have been so extensively drained and altered that axolotls are now classified as critically endangered and there is a very real risk of them going extinct in the wild.

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 59 Page 9

Ambystoma mexicanum photographed at at the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco,

by Stan Shebs.

Fortunately, though, there are thriving captive axolotl populations thanks to their vital importance to scientific research. Aside from their curiosity status as examples of genetic neoteny, these strange looking creatures could help us to unlock one of the Holy Grail secrets of biomedical research; how to regenerate lost limbs.

Axolotls are famous for their ability to grow new limbs when they lose their original appendages. Their remaining limb bud stumps can produce a fullyfunctioning limb within a matter of months without any of the scar tissue which is usually associated with replacing body parts. All vertebrate limbs develop using a similar set of genes and following the same basic patterns of growth. If we can understand the genetics and development of regeneration in axolotl limbs then there’s a possibility of applying these principles to regenerate limbs in mammal models such as mice and, eventually, even in humans. We are still very far away from this goal but the idea of re-growing an amputee’s limb may not be as farfetched as it seems.

Whether you see them as strange Medusa-like salamanders, examples of an evolutionary quirk of development or part of the puzzle for developing regenerative therapies, axolotls are undoubtedly weird and wonderful animals.

For more information about axolotl limb generation research, visit the excellent UC Irvine Limb Regeneration webpage; regeneration.bio.uci.edu Sive Finlay, a Zoology graduate, is currently working as a postgraduate scholar with the Macroecology and Macroevolution group at TCD.

Observing the fodder shortage from space

S

ince last autumn a number of projects using satellite observations have been underway to monitor grassland production and management throughout Ireland. The current shortage of fodder has highlighted the need to provide timely advice and advance warning so that farmers can take appropriate action.

As a result of these projects undertaken

by Teagasc and UCC, a Vegetation Anomaly Map, based on ten years of MODIS NDVI satellite images has been produced. The map provides a valuable indicator of change by comparing the vegetation detected over a 16 day period with normal levels over the past decade.

The mapping resolves vegetation levels into 1km pixels and this is colour coded from brown for extremely low, through orange for very low, to blue for normal, and green to show that growth is above average.

By looking at these maps it can be seen that up to the end of April grass levels were far below normal, and while there was some improvement by the end of May, growth, particularly in the mid west was lower than that of what would

Awards for bioscience and ICT inventions A new cardio-protective bacterial probiotic and a new software platform for air handling units have received Invention of the Year awards from University College Cork.

Dr Catherine Stanton, an investigator at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, a SFI funded Teagasc-UCC CSET, won a bioscience award for her discovery of a probiotic bacterial strain that could help consumers to avoid heart disease. The research involved close collaboration between Teagasc, UCC Microbiology and the Centre for Vascular Biology.

Probiotics are microorganisms that are beneficial to health, and this particular one has the potential to reduce cholesterol levels by 53 per cent within 12 weeks of consumption.

be regarded as a “bad” year. Also, while growth in the south had returned to normal, farmers had already lost the first cut of silage.

Overall, these observations confirm that the fodder crisis is a cumulative

event. A late summer drought or a wet autumn would make the situation worse, but these maps would help farmers to anticipate and possibly avoid having to deal with fodder shortage problems before they arise.

Vegetation growth anomaly Left: 7th to 23rd April 2013. Right: 9th to 25th May 2013

MODIS data were obtained through the online Data Pool at the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC).

GGAA 2013 T

eagasc and UCD recently held an international Greenhouse Gases in Animal Agriculture conference. “Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time and is hugely significant for global agriculture which must both adapt to changes in climate and find ways to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural activity,” explains Dr Frank O’Mara, Director of Research, Teagasc.

In Ireland, agricultural emissions account for approximately 30 per cent of national emissions, and most are associated with our livestock industries.

This is due to the importance of beef and dairy production in Ireland. While our highly managed grass-based systems of production are very efficient in terms of emissions per kg of milk or meat produced, research and knowledge transfer is necessary to reduce them further. “Given the importance to Ireland of finding ways to reduce animal-related GHG emissions, Teagasc is delighted to co-host the 2013 ‘Greenhouse Gas and

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 59 Page 10

Animal Agriculture’ conference with UCD,” says Frank.

This major international conference brings together over 450 scientists from across the globe to present the most up-to-date research on emissions from animal agriculture. The challenge for research is to find win-win solutions, where measures adopted improve farm profitability (and thus will be Collecting data from grazing cows. In Ireland agriculture accounts for about 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

readily adopted by farmers), as well as reducing GHG emissions or emissions intensity. Some measures are currently available that meet these criteria and these measures are mostly based on improved genetics, management and more efficient use of resources. Teagasc recently produced a ‘Marginal Abatement

Cost Curve’ for GHG emissions in Ireland, which demonstrates the potential impact of such measures. Teagasc has also developed a knowledge transfer tool called the ‘Carbon Navigator’ which can be used to give guidance to farmers on measures they can adopt to reduce their GHG emissions and improve profitability.

“While much progress has been made, there is still an urgent need to develop new technologies to reduce animal GHG emissions. Scientific conferences like the GGAA, which allow scientists to meet and exchange up-to-date scientific information, are an important mechanism to assist this,” says Frank.

chromosomes (male offspring), resulting in 90 per cent likelihood of the desired offspring. In total, 394 dairy farms participated. Each ejaculate that arrived at the lab was divided and processed one of four ways: • Conventional fresh • Sexed fresh (2 million sperm per straw) • Sexed fresh (1 million sperm per straw) • Sexed frozen (2 million sperm per straw).

As a result of sorting breeders can choose to have male or female offspring with a high degree of success.

Sexed semen trial for dairy and beef cattle D

uring spring 2013, a laboratory was set up at Teagasc Moorepark to facilitate sorting of semen. A field trial was planned and implemented

by Teagasc and ICBF with cooperation from AI studs, meat processors and the Agricultural Trust.

Sexing Technologies is an American company that hold the global licence to sort semen in a range of mammalian species. They moved equipment and staff to Moorepark in March and April, and commenced sorting semen just before the spring breeding season began. A large trial was conducted during April and May to compare the fertility performance of conventional (i.e., not sexed) and sexed semen (X-sorted, 90%).

Semen generally contains roughly equal amounts of sperm bearing X (female offspring) and Y chromosomes (male offspring). As a result, the likelihood of male and female offspring are both roughly 50 per cent. Sexed semen is enriched in sperm containing either X (female offspring) or Y

T

There were 15,200 inseminations carried out on cows and heifers.

Conventional frozen and sexed frozen semen is currently being prepared for a trial with suckler cows. Terminal beef sires are being Y-sorted and maternal sires are being X-sorted.

Ireland’s first food Économusée

he Connemara Smokehouse, one of the few remaining specialists in Ireland producing smoked wild salmon and smoked tuna, has opened Ireland’s first food Économusée. An Économusée is an artisan business that opens its doors to the public to provide a learning and interpretive experience for visitors. The Économusée concept originated 20 years ago in Quebec, Canada; where there are now over 50 Économusée. It is an initiative to support cultural tourism and contribute to the sustainability of rural areas through the creation of direct employment and by providing an attraction that disperses tourists to rural

Graham and Saoirse Roberts, The Burren Smokehouse, are pictured with Dr Kevin Heanue, Teagasc.

Teagasc, Head Office, Oak Park, Carlow. Tel: (059) 917 0200

Website: www.teagasc.ie

regions. Ireland’s involvement arose from an invitation to Teagasc to become a partner in an EU Northern Periphery Programme funded-project to bring the concept and business model to selected rural areas in Europe.

Dr Kevin Heanue, who is leading the project for Teagasc, said: “The Économusée concept is an innovative model of rural enterprise support which helps artisan producers diversify their businesses into the cultural tourism market by providing them with a six-step template to help them structure the visitor experience.”

European Space Agency European Space Agency

European Space Agency European Space Agency

ZERO ROBOTICS ROBOTICS →→ ZERO → ROBOTICS →ZERO ZERO ROBOTICS Spheres ISS challenge Spheres ISS challenge Spheres SpheresISS ISSchallenge challenge WhatisisZero ZeroRobotics?

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SPHERES provides contains own power, propulsion,processing, processing, sensing, contains itsitsown power, propulsion, sensing, a arisk-tolerant environment forforadvanced research of of risk-tolerant environment advanced research andcommunication communicationsystems, systems,allallcontrolled controlledautonomously autonomously and estimation, control, and autonomy algorithms.

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Each satellite through onboard computer. through anan onboard computer. contains itsits own power, propulsion, processing, sensing, contains own power, propulsion, processing, sensing, and communication systems, all all controlled autonomously and communication systems, controlled autonomously Didacticgoals: goals: Didactic through anan onboard computer. onboard computer.

• Learn about strategy and brainstorming • through Learn about strategy and brainstorming Application mathematics and physics real-life problems • • Application ofof mathematics and physics toto real-life problems

Didactic goals: goals: • Code advanced computer programmes • Didactic Code advanced computer programmes (C)(C)

• Learn about strategy and brainstorming Learn about strategy and brainstorming • Learn the basics robotics and satellite navigation • • Learn the basics ofof robotics and satellite navigation • Application of mathematics and physics to real-life problems • Application of mathematics and physics to real-life problems Learn work a multicultural environment • • Learn toto work inin a multicultural environment • Code advanced computer programmes (C)(C) • Code advanced computer programmes • Learn thethe basics of of robotics and satellite navigation • Learn basics robotics and satellite navigation Schedule Schedule • Learn to to work in a multicultural environment • Learn work in a multicultural environment May - September Registration open and practise May - September Registration open and practise September September 77

Kickoff webcast live from MIT Kickoff webcast live from MIT

Schedule Schedule September - November Online Online simulations September - November simulations

May - September Registration open and practise May - September open and practise October 2D simulation deadline October 66 2DRegistration simulation deadline September 7 7 Kickoff webcast livelive from MIT September Kickoff webcast from October simulation deadline MIT October 2727 3D3D simulation deadline September - November Online simulations September November Online simulations November Alliance formation event November 22 Alliance formation event October 6 6 2D2D simulation deadline October simulation deadline December Alliance submission deadline December 33 Alliance submission deadline October 27 27 3D3D simulation deadline October simulation deadline December Final submission deadline December 17 17 ISSISS Final submission deadline November 2 2 Alliance formation event November Alliance formation event January 2014 Final Event live from ISS! January 2014 Final Event live from ISS! December 3 3 Alliance submission deadline December Alliance submission deadline December 17 17 ISSISS Final submission deadline December Final submission deadline January 2014 Final Event livelive from ISS! January 2014 Final Event from ISS!

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• Go to to www.zerorobotics.org • www.zerorobotics.org for the EU only tournament forGo the EU only tournament • Create anan Account and loglog in in • Create Account and • Create a team and invite other users • Create a team and invite other users • Click onon Tournaments and register • Click Tournaments and register Visit Resources tutorials and start • • Visit Resources forfor tutorials and start forfor thethe EUEU only tournament only tournament programming the online IDE! programming inin the online IDE! • Create a team and invite other users • Create a team and invite other users • Visit Resources forfor tutorials and start • Visit Resources tutorials and start ForPartners Partners For programming in the online IDE! programming in the online IDE! The Zero Robotics team is actively seeking regional partners The Zero Robotics team is actively seeking regional partners support the growth the programme.

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Working at the scientific end of the cultural spectrum Marie-Catherine Mousseau talked to Gethin McBean about how scientists, like artists, are driven to succeed because they are naturally curious and creative.

G

ethin McBean, Head of the School of Biomolrcular and Biomedical Science at UCD, started her science career with a BA (Mod) in biochemistry from TCD. For her, choosing to study science came naturally. Her love of nature, of animals, coupled with her natural curiosity, led her to always try to understand the underlying processes of life. “I thought of doing vet at one stage, because of my love of animals, but realised I was more interested in finding out about how they worked”, she laughed. “Simply I had a scientific mind, and there was never any real question in my mind as to what I wanted to do.”

In school she liked chemistry, and she chose biochemistry because of its link to biology. “You will use biochemistry to explore the fundamentals of how biological systems work; this is really what biochemistry is all about”, she said.

“I felt that was how you could explain how things really worked at a molecular level.”

Moving to the brain

After she graduated, her idea was to work as a clinical biochemist in a hospital pathology laboratory. She spent a year in a private pathology lab in Harley street in London, but as she wanted to progress she realised she needed a PhD. She then came across an advert in Nature about a PhD in physiology and pharmacology in Southampton. “It was really neuropharmacology, neuroscience”,

When not immersed in research or administration Gethin Mc Bean enjoys gardening, cooking and working at her weaving loom. she explained, “as it had to do with understanding neurotransmitters in the brain.” She took up the position, and her background in biochemistry proved to be very useful in identifying particular molecules that were neurotransmitters.

So to some extent it appears that she went into neuroscience by chance.

“I had very little neuro-biochemistry, or biochemistry of the nervous system in my primary degree. It was a new starting off point for me,” she said. “So it was very challenging, but I definitely got a sense that it was a time of great discovery,” she added. Indeed, her PhD was about proving that glutamate was a neurotransmitter in a particular part of the brain.

It may sound surprising now, but it took the scientific community a long time to realise that glutamate was a neurotransmitter. Outside the community of biomedical scientists, glutamate is probably best known as “monosodium glutamate” or “MSG” which is used as a food flavour enhancer.

But glutamate is also now considered to be the major mediator of excitatory signals in the brain of mammals and is involved in most aspects of normal brain function including cognition, memory and learning.

“In the light of what we know about the key role of glutamate today, it was the beginning of a very big area,” she said.

Gethin’s contribution in understanding the biochemistry of the brain unfolded from this point. She

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 59 Page 13

moved back to Dublin to do a postdoctorate in Trinity, before taking up a one-year contract in UCD which eventually became permanent.

Everyday tasks

Now she is dividing her time between teaching students, research, and her role as Head of the School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science in UCD, a position she was offered in 2007. With about 34 academic staff, 15 technical staff, 7 or so administrative staff, the management of the school is a lot of responsibilities.

These include staff management, teaching development, setting up new programmes, or more precisely, as she explained, putting together the team that would plan new programmes.

Between teaching, meetings, planning, she admitted that her days were very busy and there was not a typical day. “I think that is true for a lot of academics, it is a very varied job. You may spend a day designing a lecture, and then another day in a lab, or researching for grant application.”

She enjoys interacting with people, which is a big part of her management role. “I like to support staff, particularly giving the support they need to younger staff, those that have been newly appointed,” she indicated. “When you take up a leadership role, it is not for your benefit really; it is to try to support other staff which I think is very important, and hopefully I do that to the best of my ability.”

What she enjoys less is having to go to a lot of meetings, and some part of the administration that is a bit ‘tedious’, ‘the duller side of management’ as she put it, although she quite enjoys the financial aspects. She also acknowledged that writing grants is very challenging and hard work, especially as the funding is very competitive. “I like writing though.

I like to write scientific reviews, scientific papers and I really like to analyse data,” she added on a positive note.

Research

In spite of her hectic timetable, she tries to keep a day a week for research. “I think it is important, and it is what I like to do, though it is a very big challenge to try and do both jobs,” she said, “but if you’re an academic member of staff you are expected to do research, so you have to try to keep up and that of course informs your teaching as well.”

And judging by the way she talks, it is obvious that she loves research. Her research includes investigating ways by which the brain protects itself from neurodegenerative diseases, as well as parallel ways that may lead to brain cancer.

What does she like about her research? “Putting the lack of funding aside, which is of course a big complication for everybody,” she said, “mainly the excitement of making new discoveries and contributing to a greater understanding of brain function.” This excitement is actually shaping the way

she sees her future, as she looks forward to having more time for research and teaching once she is finished with her position of Head of School.

Advice

Though she now reckons it was tough, and she considers herself being very lucky, she still believes the path can be relatively smooth for students who know what they want to do. “The first thing you must have is the interest. And you have to be prepared to work hard, and also prepared not to take a very direct route,” she said. “But if you know what you ultimately want to do, then the path will find itself,” she added.

“Even if that aim changes, at least have an aim,” she continued. According to her, lots of CVs do not reflect an overall aim, as many students are not trying to develop a particular strength for a particular thing. “It is far better to say to an employer, yes I would really like to do this, therefore I have done this and this.”

She also has other advice: “Always take what you’re offered, and never think: ‘the job is not exactly what I want, therefore I don’t think I’ll take it,’ because you never know where that will lead, and you learn new things on the way.

So always make the best of what you’re given. And always be committed as you possibly can be.”

Her last recommendation may seem quite straightforward, but to her is essential. “Always be very polite

with the people you work with.” She believes people who get on well with their colleagues are the most successful.

“In anything, no matter what you do, it’s always important to have good manners.”

Science as art

Any regrets? I asked. Her answer came swiftly. “I don’t think I have any,” she said, “I consider myself to be very lucky; I like doing what I am doing.” She still admitted that she would love to have more time to follow her other passions and hobbies, which include weaving, gardening, and cooking. Indeed, with a sister who is a sculptor, Gethin has a creative bent as well. “My family is artistic,” she said “and there is a very creative side of me that isn’t just the science side.”

Though, according to her, in many respects science and art may well be branches of the same tree. “One of the similarities between the artistic mind and the scientific mind, is that both have to be very self-driven, and both have to be very individual,” she said. “Also you have to be imaginative and creative if you are to be successful as a scientist,” she added thoughtfully. Science and art may thus merge in the mystery of creativity. And as suggested by Einstein’s inspirational quote, “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious—the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.”

How the brain protects itself GETHIn describes some aspects of her research: “My research is about understanding how glial cells in the brain (astrocytes and microglial cells) act in supporting neuronal function.

In particular, I am interested in how astrocytes protect neurons from oxidative stress and hyperactivation of receptors for the neurotransmitter glutamate.”

Indeed, glutamate and oxidative stress may both play a part in a number of brain diseases.

Because glutamate regulates the development and elimination of neurons and synapses, it has to be present in the right concentration in the right place at the right time. This means that glutamate is both essential and highly toxic at the same time. One role of glial cells surrounding neurons is to protect them from glutamate toxicity.

Oxidative stress is another damaging process happening in neurons where

glial cells may have a protective role.

“Oxidation” actually refers to the process of removing electrons from an atom or molecule. The result of this change can be destructive – this is what causes iron to rust or apples to turn brown. Oxidation in the brain can be caused by normal byproducts of metabolism – pro-oxidants called free radicals. Antioxidants (including some substances in our diets such as vitamin C and E) are used as defences; they can neutralise free radicals by donating electrons to them.

However, oxidative stress can happen when there is an unbalance between free-radicals and anti-oxidants i.e. the cumulative damage done by free radicals is inadequately neutralised by antioxidants (which can be associated with aging).

“Oxidative stress is perceived as a final common pathway for a number of neurodegenerative disorders”,

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 59 Page 14

Gethin indicated, “so it is clearly important to determine how astrocytes support neurons through provision of antioxidants, such as glutathione.”

“I am also interested in the association between antioxidant defence and the immune response in the brain. This is important for understanding mechanisms of neurodegeneration associated with some neurological disorders, for example Motor neurone Disease,” she continued.

Another disease area that she is particularly interested in is brain cancer.

“The majority of brain cancers are astrocytomas or gliomas and these cells have evolved a mechanism of increasing their antioxidant status, so that they can grow rapidly,” she explained, “at the same time they release glutamate that kills off surrounding neurons, which provides the cancer with space to grow.”

FINGAL ROCKS

The past as revealed in rocks is as much part of our heritage as literature and local history.

Local authorities have begun to include geologically significant sites in development plans so that they can be preserved and protected. Fingal County Council recently published an account listing 21 sites and Tom Kennedy picks out some of the highlights.

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uildings and historical records are obviously part of our heritage, but so are the rocks that give an area its underlying character. A number of local authorities around the country have come to recognise that geology is a valuable part of our heritage, and that some sites merit the same kind of care and protection that would normally be extended to outstanding buildings.

For many years the Geological Survey of Ireland has been recording features, such as old mines or formations that are of significance, and one of the aims has been to inform planners that these are sensitive sites. A number of local authorities have taken this a step further by commissioning audits to identify and assess geological features in their area. In 2007 three geologists, Matthew Parkes, Aaron Clarke and Sarah Gatley undertook such an audit for Fingal County Council. Sarah and Matthew had already been working on the GSI Irish Geological Heritage Programme which covers the entire country, and for this audit they focused on Fingal, an area of approx 455 km2 area of north Dublin that includes Howth, Malahide, Blanchardstown and Balbriggan.

Historically rich, the county, named ‘Fine Gall’, tribe of the foreigners, from the Scandinavians who settled there, is also geologically diverse.

There are no less than six islands, rocks formed over 500 millions years ago, quarries, and volcanic remains.

Bearing in mind that lots of things are of geological interest, the geological assessors concentrated on identifying the features of most significance, and finally settled on 21 sites.

Above, the coast facing Shenick’s Island with Lambay in the background.

An outline of the geology to show main groups of rock by age and the 21 geological heritage sites 1 Fancourt shore 2 Ardgillian House boulder 3 Balrickard quarry 4 Walshestown Stream 5 Nag’s Head quarry 6 Milverton quarry

7 Curkeen Hill quarry 8 Skerries to Rush 9 Portrane shore 10 Lambay Island 11 Malahide Point 12 Malahide coast

13 Feltrim quarry 19 Ireland’s Eye 14 Claremont Strand 20 Shenick’s Island 15 Balscadden Bay 21 Rockabill 16 Hill of Howth 17 Bottle Bay 18 Mulhuddart Holy Well

Carboniferous Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous

10 kilometres 1

Silurian 5

21

2

3

6

4

20 7 8

10

Ordovician Cambrian

9

Faults 11 12

13

North 19

18

14 15 Outline chart based on Fingal Geological Heritage report and “Islands, Coast and Quarries.”

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These sites, and the reason why they are considered important, were outlined in a report which is available for downloading from the web. This report enabled the county planners to incorporate geological sites of importance into their heritage protection plans. Later it was decided to issue the report in a format that would be more accessible to the public, so late last year the County Council published “Islands, coast and quarries, the geological heritage of Fingal.”

The rocks making up the nose of Howth, like those of Ireland’s Eye are the oldest in Fingal.

The beginning

In terms of age, the most ancient rocks in Fingal are the Cambrian slates, mudstones and quartzites of Howth and Ireland’s Eye. Hard enough to withstand the ages, the quartzites were formed from the sandy deposits created by the break down of the Earth’s early crust.

Because these quartzites are so hard, they now stand out as the summit and nose of Howth. Stained with iron oxide, this brown, yellow and orange rock, has become popular in walls and buildings as “Howth Stone.”

Although life as we know it had begun to emerge, fossils in rocks this old are a rarity. Although hard to find, a trace fossil, Oldhamia, occurs in the siltstone, and this radiating pattern is thought to have been formed as worm-like animals burrowed into what was then just mud.

Although nothing remains from the animals themselves, the tracks left by their burrowing shows that they did exist but we can only guess at what they might have looked like.

These burrowing worms inhabited an ocean that no longer exists. This was the Iapetus Ocean, which eventually closed up as continental plates came together. The movements were slow in human terms, but the forces involved were immense, and as the ocean floor was pushed under the crust, volcanoes erupted in a ring of fire. At Lambay and Balbriggan eruptions forced their way up to create volcanic islands, spewing lava and ash over the area.

These great eruptions occurred before the Iapetus Ocean had fully closed, and the orientation of magnetic particles embedded in the rocks show that these volcanoes were far from their present position, and were situated on the margins of a continent that existed in the southern hemisphere.

Deposits were laid down in shallow waters around the volcanoes, and the Silurian Era limestone at Portrane is from this time, as are the greywackes, rocks formed in disturbed waters from a

jumble of poorly sorted fragments. Rocks from this time are fairly widespread in Fingal, but are mostly hidden as they are seldom exposed at the surface.

As the subduction process continued, there was considerable disruption and older rocks and sediments were scraped up squeezed and mounded up against the northern margins.

This was a period of mountain building known as the Caledonian Orogeny. The existing rocks were pushed up into folds, generally running northwest-southwest.

In turn these mountains pushed the underlying crust down deep enough for it to melt. This molten magma, trapped below the surface, cooled slowly, forming granite which only becomes exposed when the covering layers of rock are eroded away. Although bared for all to see in south County Dublin and Wicklow, the granite in Fingal is only exposed on Rockabill island, but it is also known to lie deep below Drogheda further to the north.

For a long period of time, millions of years, there is a gap in the geological record because no traces from this time have been left in Fingal. Whatever rocks were on the surface must have been eroded away, but from other areas we know that during what is known as the Devonian Era, a hot dry desert sloped down into a giant delta to the south.

Some beds of red material near Navan, in the adjoining county, Meath, are thought to be the remnants of Devonian hills.

By the end of this “missing” period, the sea had started to advance northwards and while the southern end of Fingal had become a deep marine basin, the northern part was under the shallow waters of a tropical sea.

Unlike the much earlier periods, life

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was abundant in these warm waters, especially the shell builders, and as these died their calcium accumulated as an ever deepening sea-floor deposit that eventually became consolidated into rock. This was the Carboniferous Era, a long period beginning about 355 million years ago that produced most of the limestone rock that we now see not just in Fingal, but right across the Central Plain of Ireland.

In waters that became progressively deeper, mounds of carbonate mud formed, and these have become fossilrich rocks exposed at some locations, such as Claremont Strand by Howth Head. These former muddy mounds lack the usual layering seen in most other Carboniferous limestones.

The formation of these rocks was far from being a uniform smooth process, and sometimes the underlying beds gave way under the stresses and strains to produce deep faults.

Blocks could be left like shallow platforms surrounded by deeper water. Over time, fragments from the platform edge would fall off to join the sediments that had begun to fill the deeper basins.

This period of limestone building came to a close as the sea retreated before a delta advancing from the north depositing muds and sands in water that became progressively shallower.

The land became exposed, and once again the slate was wiped clean, so we miss the Jurassic giants and the chalk. With over 200 million years of weathering and erosion, all traces of these rocks have been washed away to form sediments in distant offshore basins.

In Fingal, we have to skip forward to the relatively recent times when the landscape disappeared under a deep cap

Ireland’s Eye and looking down on Howth with south County Dublin in the background. Photos TK Source Archives. of ice. This did not just happen once, but several times, and at present we live in an interglacial period which only began about 10,000 years ago.

The weight of ice was enough to push the Earth’s crust down, and on melting back a race began between rising water and the rebound of land. Where the land

won, there are raised beaches, shelves by the shore above current sea level. If sea levels were to rise, Skerries and Howth would become islands, and without blown sand they would already be cut off from the mainland. Technically known as a tombolo, the neck of sand at Sutton is Howth’s connection to the mainland.

The landscape is still being shaped, and one of the best examples of change is at Malahide, where the spit of sand facing the village continues to grow.

Waves approaching the shore at an angle deposit their load of sand, but the flow of the Broadmeadow River prevents the spit from closing in to form a lagoon.

Some geological features in Fingal Loughshinny THE spectacular folding exposed along the shore shows how rocks laid down in perfectly horizontal layers can become more deformed than heaped up blankets on a bed. Although the carboniferous limestone has retained its bedding, the strains of bending have caused lots of cracks. Hot, mineral rich fluids often find their way into these cavities, and this is how copper chalcopyrite ore came to be deposited at Loughshinny. Just north of Loughshinny is “Smuggler’s Cave” where miners made a tunnel extending about 300 metres into the rock. The miners had mixed success, and it seems that the only time the venture produced a profit was when the Napoleonic wars made the price of copper go up. In 1807 a record was made stating that 36 tons of Loughshinny ore were sold to a smelter in Swansea realising 16 pounds, nine shillings and six pence. This may well have been a peak in returns, for in 1845 mining ceased and the all the equipment was sold off in an auction.

Lambay CLAudIuS Ptolemy, the 1st century scholar, knew of this island as Limnus, and this name in turn is believed to have come from the Old Norse reference to lambs. Certainly, apart from its geological origins as a sub-sea volcano, Lambay,

The folding of Carboniferous rocks at Loughshinny photographed by Slim Sepp, geologist and writer. because of its rocks, has a long history.

During the Neolithic period Lambay was an important production centre for stone axes. A hard volcanic rock, greenish-grey porphyry, occurs on the island, and this was quarried, shaped and polished for export by some of the earliest inhabitants in Ireland.

The island retained its importance as shown by the discovery of Iron Age and Romano-British items, and during Sitric’s reign as King of dublin, the Grace dieu nuns were given the right to collect tax on any rabbits caught on Lambay.

Lambay was also used as a prison camp, and after the Battle of Aughrim over 1,000 of the Earl of Tyrconnel’s men were held there throughout a severe winter and the survivors were only allowed leave if they swore loyalty to the Crown. The island is also associated with a famous and tragic wreck in which the Tayleur, a clipper bound to Melbourne on her maiden voyage, went off course

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and went onto the rocks of Lambay. Of the 579 passengers, 297 died, and 90 of these were buried on the island. In 1957 members of the Irish sub-Aqua Club located the wreck, and the anchor is now a memorial at Rush on the mainland.

The anchor is not the only link with the mainland, and on the northern shores of Portrane we have lavas from the Ordovician volcano on Lambay and just behond the Martello tower there are limestones that were formed in lagoons that surrounded the dormant core.

Howth Harbour LaNDiNg in dublin was a problem.

Conditions in the Bay can be severe, wrecks were common, and the sand bar off Dublin was a major hazard. Ships bound for dublin preferred to land at Howth or dalkey. In 1800 a decision to make Howth the “packet station” for

mail was approved, and naturally there were lots of different opinions on how a new harbor should be constructed. One proposal, seriously considered, was to build a pier all the way out to Ireland’s Eye, and another plan was to construct a canal leading ships from Howth into Dublin.

After making a start, real progress was made when the engineer, John Rennie took charge of this massive undertakening. To form a solid base quartzite, quarried from Kilrock, which is situated above Balscadden Bay, was piled up and allowed settle. This was quite satisfactory, but it seems that no one had considered that the stone might have to be paid for. Most of the area was owned by Lord Howth, head of the Lawrence family, whose ancestors are said to have caused offence by failing to open their doors to Granuaile, the celebrated ‘pirate’ from Mayo as she came back via Howth from her visit to Elizabeth I. The 19th century Lord may also have failed to notice what was going on in his backyard, but a few years after quarrying had begun he demanded that four pence would have to be paid for every ton extracted from Kilrock. Up to 1809 91,000 tons had been quarried, and until payment was agreed not as much as a pebble of quartzite could be taken out.

An agreement could not be reached, so 600 men were dismissed and for about a year work came to a halt.

Conditions for the quarrymen were undoubtedly hard, and this disruption probably contributed to a riot in 1811 which was put down when Lord Howth called in a detachment of soldiers.

John Rennie took great care to create a robust structure, and apart from the core material from Kilrock, he had rock for foundations shipped in from Runcorn near Liverpool.

Once the core was in place, granite, ferried across the bay from the big quarry in Dalkey was used to face the harbour walls, and this is the rock that people see today.

The original quarry about 1km above Balscadden Bay, just south of the harbour, has been long abandoned, but it still exists.

Feltrim FELTRIM Hill, the name coming from faoil, roughly translates as “ridge of the wolves” and it was always a prominent feature in the area. The elevated position was chosen by the builders of a large windmill, one of a number in the county

The brick base of the Feltrim Hill mill. Photo: Patrick Healy collection, South Dublin County Library. including the restored example in Skerries.

The mill, of which only the base remains, was built in 1668 by craftsmen from Holland using Dutch bricks. There is a history of brickmaking in the area, notably at Old Portmarnock, but for reasons best known to themselves, the Dutch craftsmen brought their own, and these are the only items to remain of what must have been an impressive structure.

The mill, which also served as a semaphore relay station, transmitting message along the coast, was busy until the end of the 18th century when the Corn Laws banned the export of flour from Ireland. Then the final blow came in 1839, the Night of the Big Wind which carried away the sails.

For geologists the big quarry below the mill has long been a source of Carboniferous fossils, and a number of species were first described from this site.

The quarry has been in active use since the eighteenth century, and while blocks for construction might have been more important in the past, most of the rock is now being crushed for aggregate.

Feltrim is just one of the quarries in Fingal, and five km south of Naul is Nag’s Head which is also noted as a site of importance. The Nag’s Head quarry is

enormous both in area and depth, but it is nearing the end of its productive life.

This has led the geologists to suggest that simply backfilling everything is not always the best option, and indeed at this site one of the few exposures of Upper Carboniferous sandstone was covered as work in that section ended. Matthew Parkes, one of the authors of the heritage report, points out that it is possible to make good use of old quarries both for recreation and education. Recreational opportunities include rock climbing, open air spaces can become venues for events, and from an educational point of view, rock faces provide a rare cross-section view down through the landscape.

In reporting on the sites the geologists argued that maintaining access to exceptional exposures would be of great benefit to students and everyone else with an interest in geology, and, as is done with old ruins of historical significance, some rocks should be kept exposed in old abandoned quarries.

Matthew Parkes also commented that a similar approach could be adopted by road engineers. Exposed rocks are more interesting to look at than endless grassy banks, and besides, leaving them bare would save money.

Ardgillan House Boulder At Ardgillan House there is a large boulder with distinctive circular markings.

Originally thought to have been made by humans, like those at Newgrange, the markings are in fact much older. During the volcanic undersea eruptions about 470 million years ago, hot lava on coming into contact with the water immediately formed a pillow-like crust trapping gas bubbles inside. The boulder was found near the shore at Ardgillan, and was saved from being dumped when the Senior Parks Superintendant, Michael Lynch, recognised its geological heritage value.

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FOOD SCIENCE

Sponsored by Megazyme the award winning developer of diagnostic technology — www.megazyme.com Compared to other sectors a higher proportion of export earnings from food are ploughed back into the economy and the Food Harvest 2020 report sets out ambitious plans for expansion.

GettinG smart about food Tom Kennedy reports that inovation is providing food entrepreneurs with a recipe for growth

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any Irish food producers were stuck in a low-technology rut until they discovered that growth can be achieved by adding value. While there is always a local, but limited demand for good wholesome meat and vegetables, the market for processed foods is global and there is plenty of room for expansion.

Ireland has a natural advantage when it comes to producing the raw materials but it is the ability to add value that has made the food sector so important. IBEC, the business and employers organisation, points out that food and drinks are the most important sectors in Irish-owned industry, and not only is the annual payroll at €1.7 billion higher than any other manufacturing sector, but most of the profits come back into the economy.

IBEC has reported that 76 per cent of the benefits remain in Ireland compared to just 30 percent from manufacturing in general. Food production is intimately connected to agriculture, and overall there is a €24 billion turnover a year with 230,000 employed in agri-food, which is way ahead of the 146,908 full-time jobs

declared for all the Enterprise Ireland client companies.

The food business is driven by innovation, and this is why research is being taken seriously. As our feature in this issue on probiotics shows, Ireland is one of the global leaders in this fast-developing field, and the need to innovate is also behind the ambitious four-way partnership to create a major research centre near Naas, Co Kildare.

Dairygold Food Ingredients, Glanbia Nutritionals, Carbery and Kerry Ingredients Ireland are being backed

by Enterprise Ireland in setting up this €100 million centre. One of the reasons for this investment, which, according to Enterprise Ireland, is the largest by the food industry to date, is the anticipated increase in milk supply as EU restrictions on production are scrapped.

The spin-off to the food sector from developments such as this are likely to be big, and researchers at University College Dublin have said that the Naas centre of excellence will provide “unparalleled opportunities” for their researchers to create new products.

The targets being set for Ireland’s food sector are high, and according to the Government’s Food Harvest 2020 report the aim is to generate an extra €1 billion a year from exports. This aim can only be achieved by adding value, and one of the areas that research is being focused on is on what are known as functional foods.

Like probiotics, these are foods that have an extra benefit that would otherwise be lacking, such as omega three oil.

Speaking about this last year, Joe Healy from the Food Division in Enterprise Ireland, said that “Ireland is recognized as a leader in commercialising science in the functional ingredient space.”

Left, an appetising combination of craft beer and a cheese sandwich, photo Bord Bia, and right, prepared foods can be exported to supermarkets around the world.

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While many Irish food producers are well aware that their future depends on an ability to work in collaboration with researchers, the push is on to accelerate innovation. Science Foundation Ireland and Teagasc are working together on inviting submissions under a Future Agri-Food call. The aim is to boost collaboration on R&D because agri-food has been identified as one the sectors with the best potential for growth with a high rate of return. Under another move, Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and Teagasc have launched Food Works, a project developed to help turn food producers into entrepreneurs.

The range of research being conducted by institutions and industry in Ireland is quite broad, and while some scientists are working on the use of ultrasound to replace salt in cured pork, others are developing ways to recover valuable ingredients from by-products, and proteins from milk have been made into biodegradeable packaging that may be used to displace plastics. This growth in expertise is gaining an international reputation for excellence, and is one of the reasons why Ireland is hosting the World Food and Technology Innovation Forum next year.

Unlike many other sectors which are often highly mobile or based on fluctuating demands and fashions, there is always going to be a demand for food, and with the help of science and technology, Irish producers can look forward to a long period of secure growth with a healthy return to the local economy.

In every gram of large bowel content there are about 1011 bacteria made up of over 400 different species, and compared to the human, they have 50 to 100 times the number of genes.

FOOD SCIENCE

Beneficial Bugs The study of probiotics — the live bugs in our gut that are beneficial to health — is of increasing importance and Ireland, reports Tom Kennedy, is playing a leading role in international probiotic research.

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o one likes the idea of getting a tummy bug, but actually our tummy is packed full of them. An average adult carries around about ten times more microorganisms in their gut than there are cells in the body. As Professor Fergus Shanahan, who heads up the Alimentary Probiotic Centre at University College Cork, explains, we all carry around several hundred different types of bacteria in our gut, and we can’t live without them. These microorganisms break down foods, the good ones keep pathogens in check, and they produce vitamins that are essential for health.

The hard-working population of gut microorganisms are so important to us that many scientists now think of them as constituting one of our major organs.

The bugs are hidden away and work so well that we only notice them when

things go wrong. The gut population is a mixed community, and sometimes, as in society, the bad ones gain the upper hand, so we get a ‘tummy bug’.

Because our focus was always on the negative side, scientists were completely unaware of just how important our gut microorganisms are until, about a century ago, a brilliant biologist from the Ukraine, Élie Metchnikoff, observed that people who lived in regions where fermented milk products were part of the daily diet not just tended to live a long time but they remained healthy well into old age. The Lactobacillus bugs that cause milk to go sour appeared to be good for health, and furthermore Metchnikoff suggested that its presence in the gut prevents toxic bacteria from causing premature ageing.

Professor Fergus Shanahan. Photo: Tomas Tyner, UCC.

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For a long time Metchnikoff’s observations were largely ignored as unproven “folk wisdom”, but about thirty years ago interest in probiotics intensified as food producers began to realise that brewers and bakers were not the only ones that could benefit from fermentation. By the 1980s a large group of food scientists, involving 64 partner organisations from 16 countries had begun collaborating on probiotics under what was known as the Proeuhealth project. While that particular project ended in 2006, it gave rise to a network of collaborators, and most of the big food producers in Europe are now actively involved in developing products that incorporate probiotics. Under the banner, Global Alliance for Probiotics (GAP), many of the big brand names are actively campaigning to have the healthenhancing benefits of these products recognised by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

This gives rise to a problem in that a distinction has to be made between food for nutrition in a traditional sense, and food promoted and sold as a medicinal drug. There is no real problem in accepting that probiotics are good for general health, the issue is not one of safety, but of claiming medicinal benefits.

Drugs always have to undergo extensive clinical trials before getting approval and, to claim medicinal benefits, probioticenhanced foods would have to go through the same procedure.

Although this is not an entirely satisfactory situation, scientists working on probiotics are pleased enough that approval is hard to obtain. As Prof Shanahan pointed out, the term probiotic has often been used as a marketing ploy,

FOOD SCIENCE and until a ban was declared there was nothing to stop producers making healthenhancing claims. Yet, as he pointed out, there is in reality no strict divide between food and health, and the fact is that foods incorporating probiotics are good for us is based on very solid science, and with research this evidence is getting better.

Naturally this research is of great interest, both to food producers and health professionals. At a meeting of food scientists organised by Teagasc as part of the European Science Open Forum conference last year in Dublin, delegates heard how a study of elderly people confirmed that there is indeed a strong link between general health and probiotics. Dr Paul O’Toole from the Irish agricultural research institute, Teagasc, who had made a study of 178 elderly people living in the south of Ireland, reported that those with an impoverished gut microbiota population also had the poorest health. Of enormous significance, was the finding that making people leave the community to go into residential care has a negative impact on the gut population and this in turn accelerates ageing. People in long-term residential care are no longer exposed to the wider community and they are on a more restricted diet, so their gut population declines. “The healthiest people live in a community setting,” said Dr O’Toole. The findings, published recently in Nature, came as a big surprise to many scientists, including the researchers themselves.

“I knew we would find an affect,” said Prof Shannahan, “but I never thought it would as strong that if affected their general health and frailty.”

In a normal healthy individual the bugs may be out of sight, but in terms of numbers, they are way ahead of us. When we are born, explained Prof Shanahan, “we enter the world sterile, but we leave it almost entirely microbial.” As adults 90 per cent of the cells in our gut and resident on our skin are microbial, so on numbers, rather than volume, we end up about 10 per cent human.

We can’t live without our little passengers, and this is why acquiring them early in life is important. As Prof Shanahan explained, a baby starts to build up a gut population as soon as its born, and this coincides with the development of the immune system. For this reason, he said, it is not a good idea to use antibiotics during the first year of life because they knock out the good as well as the bad bugs. An adult, he said, can recover, but in a baby the

Catherine Stanton, Tony Ryan and Paul O’Toole who work together in the APC on ageing related projects from infancy to the elderly. Photo: Tomas Tyner, UCC. impact could have serious long-term consequences.

One of the discoveries made by the scientists at Cork is that bacteria are needed in early life to produce serotonin, often known as the “happy hormone” because it regulates mood and emotions.

Studies on mice revealed that an absence of gut bacteria in early life reduces the level of serotonin in the adult brain.

Antidepressant drugs target serotonin, and significantly, studies indicated that the adverse effects in early life cannot be reversed, and they are more marked in males. One of the researchers, Prof John Cryan, said that these findings “open up opportunities for microbial-based treatment of brain disorders.”

Additional research by the group suggests that there may be a link between gastrointestinal disturbances and autism.

In studies of mice, absence of a normal Prof John Cryan. Photo: Tomas Tyner, UCC

gut population resulted in a change of behavior. Instead of being social these mice became withdrawn and exhibited repetitive behaviour instead of seeking out the company of others. While being careful not to jump to conclusions, the researchers noted that gastrointestinal disturbances are commonly associated with autism.

These discoveries are highly significant, and as Prof Shannahan pointed out, probiotic research while still in the early stages has enormous potential all the way across from food to pharmaceuticals.

Undoubtedly we are going to see many more products based on probiotics, not just foods. In one EU-funded project, Biocla, a group of scientists from Italy, Scotland, France and Finland, led by Dr Catherine Stanton at Teagasc in Cork, successfully transferred a fatmodulating gene from one bacterium, Propionibacterium acnes, into one of our friendly bugs, Lactobacillus. This modified bug, said Dr Staunton, produces linolic acid which reduces body fat in animals including humans, and has the potential to reduce the viability of colon cancer by 92 per cent. As Dr Staunton commented, these results show that ingestion of live cultures as probiotics has real therapeutic relevance. Fat is not just an inert layer around our bodies, she said, it increases the risk of diseases, including cancers, and there is the potential to control these risks through microbe-host interactions in the gut.

Research on probiotics is a fast developing field, and the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC) in Cork with about 160 on the staff, is among the world leaders with links to multiple partners.

What is life?

The discovery that the code for life is stored in the form of a double helix is one of those great defining events in science. As James Watson, co-author of the scientific paper that first described the molecular structure of deoxy-ribonucleic acid commented, he had no idea then where all of this was going to lead.

Tom Kennedy reports that sixty years later James Watson was at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin to help celebrate the momentous discovery with a specially commissioned sculpture.

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or thousands of years plant and animal breeders knew that they could select for desirable traits, but they had no idea of how these traits were inherited. In 1944 the distinguished Director of Physics at Ireland’s Institute for Advanced Studies, Erwin Schrödinger, concluded that inheritance had to involve a material process, and he published this view in a booklet, titled “What is life?” As Schrödinger noted, this was a physicist’s view, yet it had a huge impact on biology.

James Watson, who with Francis Crick, first described the by now familiar double helix structure of Deoxy-ribonucleic acid, DNA, said that he had been inspired by Schrödinger’s observation that replication and transmission of genetic information had to have a molecular basis. When Watson and Crick published their paper in 1953, one of the first things they did was to send a copy to Schrödinger.

What Crick and Watson had done, said Professor John Atkins from University College Cork, was to show that indeed inheritance in all living things has a physical basis, an astounding discovery, yet one that did not even get a mention in the world’s press.

Since then there has been an explosive growth both in our our understanding and in our application of this knowledge.

Genes now often hit the headlines, and the DNA twisted ladder had become the familiar icon of everything and anything to do with genetics.

Professor John Atkins from UCC and Professor David McConnell from the Department of Genetics at TCD were keen to acknowledge the significance of this discovery, and to mark the 60th anniversary of Watson and Crick’s paper they commissioned a sculpture, which now adorns a grassy mound in Dublin’s Botanic Gardens.

James D Watson at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin and the sculpture representing DNA and RNA

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Guest of honour was no less than the co-author, James D Watson, and as he commented, no one could have anticipated how much we have learned about inheritance over the past 60 years.

Clearly as enthralled as ever about developments in this field, he said “it certainly wasn’t obvious to me, at least not at the beginning” where all of this was going to lead. It is no longer just DNA, he said, but a whole new field has opened up with RNA (ribonucleic acid), initially thought to be just a messenger, but now known to play a much more significant role. As he admitted, “the whole thing has become really complicated,” and with wry amusement he added that “it took a lot of courage to think that you can get something up there to make people understand it.”

Watson, who confessed to having had to endure lots of “dreary discussions” about the “two cultures” was clearly

pleased that the shiny aluminium creation by sculptor, Charles Jencks, has successfully brought the arts and sciences together.

He was also pleased that an essay competition for schools was run to coincide with the occasion. With an essay, he said “you can’t be trite, you have to think,” and for this reason he thought it would be good to continue this competition.

Encouraging young people to think, he suggested, is the way to produce the next generation of scientists, and his own success he attributed in part to the support he had received as a student from the Irish side of his family.

DNA upstaged by RNA

Professor John Atkins remarked that Jim Watson had continued to be an influence long after the initial paper on DNA. Sequencing the millions of base pairs that make up the human genome, he said is now much easier to achieve, and this is due in part to Jim Watson’s appearance before the US Congress to argue in support of funding the sort of technology that has since made this rapid sequencing possible.

As Prof Atkins explained, describing the structure of DNA was the beginning of a long saga of discovery, with quite a few startling surprises along the way.

One of the biggest surprises was the upstaging of DNA by RNA. Both have a very similar structure, but while DNA is made up of adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). RNA has uracil instead of thymine, so instead of being ATGC it is AUGC. DNA was seen as holding the master plan, which is then transcribed onto RNA, which acts as a messenger, bringing the instructions for protein synthesis to the ribosomes. The ribosomes are like factories, assembling proteins according to these instructions.

All of this seemed relatively straightforward until the realisation that not only is RNA much more versatile than DNA, it may even have evolved first. For scientists this is a quandary, because to function, DNA requires RNA and RNA requires DNA, so, as Prof Atkins commented, this is the classic chicken or egg question — which came first?

It seems that RNA could have evolved first, but DNA is much more stable, so could act as a store while RNA was left to do all the work. This view, in turn, has turned out to be just part of an everdeepening understanding of how the process has been refined over millions

James J Watson with the sculptor, Charles Jencks. The aluminium sculpture has been based on our current understanding of how the molecular code for life unfolds. of years. In short, it is now known that there are many different forms of RNA, and there is feedback to regulate gene expression. Transcription is far from being a one-way process. Assembly of amino acids to make proteins is not even the end of the story, for these big molecules can fold into different forms.

The sculpture

The sculpture, which in some ways is like a representation of the molecular machinery but 20 million times larger than the real thing, is one of a series created by Charles Jencks. The sculptor said that he got great satisfaction from working with such important ideas, and

it struck him that DNA’s well defined double helix was a bit like a beautiful woman, while the untidy and convoluted coils of RNA were like the man who has to do all the heavy lifting.

Matthew Jebb, Director of the National Botanic Gardens, said the sculpture, celebrating the discovery as well as representing what we have learned since, has great educational value. Incorporated into the sculpture, which is spread over a grassy mound, are quotes, messages and visual clues reminding visitors of significant milestones in our search for an understanding of how life unfolds.

SChoolS ComPETITIoN To coincide with the unveiling of “What is life”, a competition for schools was organised in which secondary and junior students were invited to write about DNA. Through the West Cork Education Centre, schools in County Cork were invited to participate, and the national competition was open to secondary pupils throughout Ireland.

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 59 Page 23

Niamh Maher from 6th year in St Angela’s Secondary School in Waterford, and Éabha Wall, from Coláiste na Toirbhirte, Bandon, were declared joint winners in the post-primary section.

Millie Smith from Our Lady’s National School in Bantry came first in the primary section, and although he came from outside the designated

area, the submission from eight year old Cormac Farrelly from Rowandale National School, Armagh, was considered exceptional so he was presented with a special honourable mention.

The prizes were presented by James Watson, and for Niamh this was a wish come true as she had read his book and looked forward to meeting him. Prof John Atkins said Niamh and the

many of the other entrants had expressed similar views, saying that until their attention had been drawn to the subject they had not really known a great deal about DNA or RNA but were glad to have learned so much. This suggests, said Prof Atkins, that there is an imbalance between the current school curriculum and students desire to learn.

A Day in the Protein Playground

tRNA then dragged mRNA away they went back to enter the fray

Niamh Maher

DNA asked “Where’s RNA?” “RNA is waiting in the wings for you to come undone replied the ribosome The enzyme arrived to unzip DNA First DNA had to uncoil Before allowing the enzyme near To get into gear DNA invited RNA to play Cytosine only wanted Guanine Likewise with Adenine and its RNA friend Uracil Adenine always ditched Thymine for Uracil Then RNA polymerase made all The RNA join hands Their group was now mRNA Messenger Ribonucleic Acid and ready to play

Many amino acids folded They became protein off to control reactions and cause actions While DNA remains In the nucleus In a double helix Controlling all the tricks This is the story Its first chapter published

By Watson and Crick With help of the Rosalind Franklin chick Each second the process starts It all occurs in our bodies Deoxyribonucleic Acid comes out to play with the transfer, messenger, ribosomal family show

RNA marched straight to the ribosome That was the place to be Hanging out with rRNA there tRNA also, to bond with the pair Instead of linking hands mRNA and tRNA Joined codon to anticodon, opposites attracted, Amino acids compacted Amino acids formed a new chain mRNA dictated the groups

The Story of DNA & RNA Éabha Wall

It’s been a hard day at the office, coding all day long Working in the nucleus, ensuring nothing copies wrong DNA unwinds, relaxes, workers go their separate ways; Adenine, Thymine, Cystosine and Guanine, All part of the day mRNA arrives, offers carriage to the Ribosome, 3 bases go to the factory, but Thymine stays at home Cytosine and Guanine make the perfect pair Thymine thought Adenine was his soulmate — If only he knew about the affair; She’s not as ‘purine’ as he thinks On her night shift at the Ribosome it’s Uracil she works with.

They bond together, making Polypeptide chains, If only he knew, things would never be the same

RNA runs her factory and tries not to complain, That her older brother DNA has gained so much fame ‘Just because he’s a double helix, he thinks he’s all that, I do more work and that’s a fact.’

In 1795, the chance discovery of a nugget was immediately followed by a gold rush as people were drawn by the prospect of picking up instant wealth from Wicklow’s Goldmine River.

In this entertaining and highly informative book, Peadar McArdle, former Director of the Geological Survey of Ireland, describes how the frenzy has never really died down, and to this day, panners hope to be rewarded by the glimmer of gold.

Gold Frenzy

The story of Wicklow’s gold Peadar McArdle

Hardback €20 From Dubray, GSI, and selected bookshops, or buy post free from www.sciencespin.com

Albertine Kennedy Publishing ISBN 0 906002 08 7

SUBSCRIBE TO SCIENCE SPIN Ireland’s science and discovery magazine 6 issues a year, €30 post included. www.sciencespin.com

The view from above

Prominent features on Earth captured by satellites and seen by astronauts on board the International Space Station

The Grand Canal snaking through Venice, the floating city, a high-resolution image acquired by the Ikonos-2 satellite in 2008.

The square island, San Michele, was once a prison, but during the Napoleonic occupation it became the city’s cemetery.

Looking down on the Sarychev Volcano on Matua Island, northwest Japan during an eruption in June 2009. The plume is a combination of ash and steam, and a pyroclastic flow of ash can be seen flowing down the side of the volcano.

The photograph was taken from the International Space Station using a digital camera with a 400 mm lens.

The Toquepala open pit copper mine in Peru. High in the Andes, the pit is 2.5 km across and it goes down more than 700 metres. Tiered heaps of spoil lie above the pit and a railway line comes out from the centre bringing copper ore to Ilo, a port 95 km to the southwest.

The photograph was taken from the International Space Station in September 2003 using a digital camera with a 400mm lens.

The Mangistau region, east of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan.

The web-like lines are roads into the Karakuduk oil field. The area has enormous oil and mineral reserves, giving rise to it being referred to as the ‘treasure peninsula’ of Kazakhstan. The image was captured by the Korean Kompsat-2 satellite in 2012.

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 58 Page xx

An unusually cloud-free view of Ireland, Britain and France acquired by the ESA’s Envisat satellite in March 2012.

Rotating arms for irrigation make circles in the agricultural landscape of Minas Gerais in Brazil, southwest of Perdizes. The different colours show the variety of crops incuding sunflowers, wheat, potatoes, coffee, rice, soyabeans and maize. The photograph was taken using a digital camera fitted with an 800 mm lens from the International Space Station in 2011.

The Namib desert and the Tsauchab river bed which only flows when rain falls on the Naukluft Mountains which lie to the east. The desert, with its wave-like dunes, stretches for more than 2,000 km along the African coast from Angola to South Africa. The faint line running through the river bed is a road. The image was captured in January 2012 by Korea’s Kompsat-2 satellite.

As winds encounter barriers they change direction and speed, forming eddies. These Karman cloud vortices were photographed near the Aleutian Islands from the International Space Station in 2007.

The sands of Dasht-e-Kavir, northern Iran’s mineral-rich salt desert viewed from the Ikonos-2 satellite in 2008. The high-resolution images, up to one metre per pixel, are used by geologists to explore areas which otherwise are difficult to access.

Lake Natron, the world’s most caustic body of water, in Africa’s Great Rift Valley.

Salt-tolerant microorganisms thrive by hotsprings, and blue-green algae pass on their red pigment to flocks of flamingoes.

An accumulation of volcanic ash resulted in the formation of ‘soda’ lakes, and while this is a hostile environment for most life, millions of flamingoes congregate there, safe from predators. However, at times, when rainfall is low, the temperature rises, and the alkalinity of the water can become strong enough to be fatal. The image was captured in 2003 by the Terra satellite.

The Spider Crater in the Kimberly Region of north west Australia recorded by NASA’s Terra satellite’s thermal emission and reflection radiometer in 2000. The crater, in this false-colour image, is 11 to 13 kimometres across and it was formed some time between 900 and 600 million years ago by the impact of a meteorite. At the time Earth was undergoing a series of severe ice ages.

The crater has a central dome 500 metres in diameter, and beds of weathered sandstone radiate from this.

BT YOUNG SCIENTIST AND TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITION

A well equipped school lab helped Aoife Nash to detect fluoride in drinks.

Fluoride in drinks OpiniOns differ on whether or not the public water supply should be topped up with fluoride, and while many dentists argue that it is needed to prevent tooth delay, others, less enthusiastic, point out that it should be an option.

Aoife nash, a Fourth Year student at St Mary’s College, Derry, explained that compounds of fluorine occur naturally, but concentrations in water supplies vary. In the Republic of Ireland fluoride is added to the public supply, but in the north of ireland, like many other parts of the UK, a decision was made to do without. One of the reasons for this decision is that fluoride is already an ingredient in many types of toothpaste and mouthwashes.

As Aoife pointed out, this does not mean that Northern Ireland is a fluoridefree zone, and a high percentage of the population, possibly the majority, consume fluoride without being aware of it.

Aoife’s attention was drawn to this by reports of brown staining of teeth, a sign that fluoride levels are far too high. In Northern Ireland the possibility of this happening seemed unlikely, so apart from toothpaste, where was all this fluoride coming from?

A large part of the explanation, said Aoife, is that many of the soft drinks sold in northern ireland are made in the irish republic, and while consumers

Safe flame retardants

often check on contents such as sugar, there is no obligation on the part of manufacturers to specify the level of fluoride.

To verify that many popular drinks, compared to tap water, have elevated levels of fluoride, Aoife decided to conduct a series of tests. As she explained, there are different laboratory tests to determine the presence of fluoride. One quick and effective test involves a colour indicator, and she also carried out analysis using a spectrophotometer. By measuring how light is absorbed this instrument determines the amount of specific materials in a solution with a very high degree of accuracy. St Mary’s, said Aoife, is quite unusual in that is possibly the only school in northern ireland with such sophisticated analytical equipment, and like other students there, she was encouraged to make good use of the spectrophotometer.

“When I first heard about fluoride i didn’t know what it was, so i started to look it up,” she said. “I love doing chemistry, you find out a lot of things that you didn’t know about,” said Aoife. Having a family and teachers who are supportive, she added, is a great help, and in particular she stressed how important is was to have access to resources. Spectrophotometers are very expensive, she said, but it was a good decision to provide the students with an opportunity to use such advanced equipment. “When the school has the gear,” she said, “the project can be done.”

Fires can spread quickly, and a surprising number of household materials, bedding, curtains and even our clothes are highly inflammable. Chemical flame retardants were introduced to reduce the risk of people being engulfed by flames before they could escape, but as students from Donegal pointed out the benefits can come at an unacceptable price. Exposure to number of flame retardants, they said, have been found to be so harmful that their use has been banned. Some widely used flame retardants were found to be carcinogenic and others are thought to induce hormonal abnormalities.

Roisin Chapman, Tara Fergus-Sheridan and Sarah Van Staveren from Lough Eane College in Donegal at the BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition.

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 58 Page xx

One of the biggest concerns was that young children and babies were among those most exposed to these dangerous chemicals, so the three Transition Year students, Roisin Chapman, Tara FergusSheridan and Sarah Van Staveren from Lough Eane College in Donegal, wanted to find out if there are safer alternatives.

After investigating a number of options they found that alginates have some potential to act as flame retardants and they pose no risk to health. These gum-like polysaccharides are naturally abundant in brown seaweeds, and because they have such useful properties, they are widely used, for instance as a gelling agent in ice-creams and cosmetics.

One of the chemical compounds, sodium alginate is readily available commercially as a white powder, so the students got to work to see how well it works as a flame retardant. Compressed pellets of hay, widely used in boilers, provided the fuel.

With the help of their teacher Yvonne Higgins, the students set up their test in the school lab. After spraying the pellets with a dissolved solution of the sodium alginate, the students recorded how long they took to burn over a Bunsen burner. As they explained, everything was measured carefully, with five grams of pellets being allowed to burn for fifteen seconds before the

Tracking magnetic storms

ash was weighed to record the change in mass.

To their surprise, a stronger solution did not produce the best results, and the optimum flame retarding action was found with a relatively dilute 0.1 per cent sodium alginate.

Undertaking the project has sparked off the students’ interest in finding out more about how alginates compare to other commercially-available flame retardants, and also they would like to find out more on how alginates could be extracted directly from seaweeds which grow so abundantly along the Donegal coast.

The last big storm was in 2003, but as the students pointed out, we can’t rule out even more severe events and these could do more than just upset our navigation. It would be possible for a solar flare up to be of sufficient magnitude to knock out electronic appliances.

Is this something we should worry about? With a rising dependency on increasingly miniaturised electronics, said the students, the risks of getting caught out by a solar storm are going to increase.

John Regan, Zach Meade and Shaun Massey from Coláiste Phádraig in Lucan.

In some ways the sun is like an open fire, burning fairy steadily for a lot of the time, but sometimes sending up flares that shower the Earth with a storm of energized particles. We often see evidence of this as the colourful aurora borealis displays light up the northern skies.

Solar flares also have a big impact on communications and three second year students from Coláiste Phádraig in Lucan, Dublin, John Regan, Zach Meade and Shaun Massey, became more aware of this when their teacher, Kevin Casey, gave them some homework. He asked everyone in the class to use their mobiles to get a Global Positioning System (GPS) location for their homes, and this bit of homework made them realise that coordinates are not always accurate.

During a geomagnetic storm, they said,

charged particles in the ionosphere can interfere with radio signals causing errors.

This got them interested in just how much influence these storms have, and how big they have to be to cause serious problems. They found that about every 900 days there was a minor event, but of more serious concern are the extreme storms that occur for about four days every eleven years or so.

The influence of these storms varies from place to place, but in the areas most affected, the GPS coordinates can be off by anything from several metres to over a kilometre.

This susceptibility to error, said the students, is why navigators cannot put their complete trust in GPS. In landing an aircraft the smallest of errors could result in a crash.

Tom Kennedy reporting from the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

SCIENCE SPIN Issue 59 Page 31

Dr. How's

Science Wows!

What is Forensic Science?

Forensic Science is the investigation of a crime using different scientific techniques.

Everyone‛s fingerprints are unique so the pattern of a fingerprint can be used to identify a person

..exploring Forensic Science!

Junior science by Dr. Naomi Lavelle

Let‛s learn more!

When a crime is committed Forensic Scientists help collect the evidence.

Forensic Scientists may use Chemistry, Genetics, Biology, Pathology, Entomology and Toxicology to examine the clues.

There are two types of fingerprints usually left at a crime scene: 1. VISIBLE PRINTS: you can see these prints with your own eyes

Some of the evidence gathered at a crime scene could include hair, skin cells, fibres from clothes or carpets, footprints, fingerprints and blood samples.

DNA can be extracted from hair or skin cells found at the crime scene and can be used to link a suspect to a crime.

2. LATENT PRINTS: you may not be able to see them but they are left due to sweat or oils on the skin Some surfaces are difficult to lift fingerprints from. In such cases a flourescent powder is used to bind to the organic matter in the fingerprint and the print is then visible under UV light.

Hair and fibre samples found at crime scenes can also give vital clues to solving the crime.

These samples can be viewed under high powered microscopes.

Hair samples can give an idea of a person‛s age, general health and hair dyes or hair styling products can also be identified.

Forensic ballisitcs is the examination of bullets and firearms in order to identify the weapon used in a crime.

Forensic entomology is the study of insects found on or near a dead body, in order to determine the time of death.

Certain insects will lay eggs in a dead body and the eggs hatch into maggots.

Forensic Science Experiments you can try

Forensic chemistry techniques can reveal a lot about fibres such as the type of dye used, the type of fabric, where the clothes were made

Make a fingerprint!

You will need.. Rub your finger on your scalp then push a glass, a soft brush the pad of your finger onto the side of (like a make up brush), the glass. cellotape, cocoa Use the soft brush to gently cover the powder, white fingerprint with cocoa powder. paper Take a piece of cellotape and place it over the fingerprint. Carefully peel back the cellotape and stick it on to the white paper. You should be able to see your fingerprint.

So what is happening?

By working out how old the maggots are the scientist can determine how long the body is dead.

When you rub your finger on your scalp it covers your finger in natural body oils. When you push your finger to the glass the oils transfer the pattern of your fingerprint to the glass. Adding the cocoa powder lets us see the print.

If you want to know HOW something works why not write to Dr. How and ask? Send your e-mail to naomi@sciencespin.com

Downpatrick Head, Co. Mayo. Limestone, Shale and Siltstone cliff face dropping into the Atlantic Ocean. Photo by Jonathan Moran, Marschacht, Germany. First prize in 2012.

Du Noyer Geological Photography Competition 2013 Entries are invited for the Du Noyer Geological Photography Competition George Victor Du Noyer, who served as a geologist with the Geological Survey of Ireland from 1847 to 1869, was a skilled field artist whose numerous sketches and pictures, with their combination of artistic skill and technical accuracy, were the “field photographs” of their day.

This competition seeks to encourage the same blend of artistic and scientific skills through the medium of photography.

Prizes will be awarded in two categories, Irish and Foreign, and a prize fund of €500 applies Entrants may submit a maximum of 4 photographs illustrating any aspect of field geology or scenic landscapes. Previously published photographs are not eligible for entry, and the organisers are not in a position to return entries The competition will be judged by a panel including representatives of the Irish Geological Association, the GSI and external nominees and their decision will be final. Entries will be exhibited and prizes awarded at a GSI Cunningham Awards ceremony in early December 2011.

The competition will be judged by a panel including representatives of the IGA, the GSI and external nominees and their decision will be final. Entries will be exhibited and prizes awarded at Cunningham Awards ceremony in the Dublin offices of GSI on December 13.

GSI reserves the right to reproduce entries in its publications and promotional activity with due acknowledgement.

Entried accepted by e-mail only and sent to: DuNoyerPhotoCompetition@gmail.com You must include a name and postal address, a short description of the geological content, the place and aproximate date.

What are the judges looking for?

Creativity, technical skill, and above all, good geological content.

Closing date for entries: Friday 11th October 2013 The competition is not open to GSI staff

Smart Futures Smart Futures STEM Factor Competition STEM Factor Competition The The

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