This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about printing new skin; earthquake prediction; bears in space; innovation irritation; and more…
Foreshocks may warn that a big quake is coming—For the first time, a study has provided evidence that it may be possible to build a system to warn of impending large quakes up to an hour before they strike. An analysis by French and Turkish seismologists of events leading up to a devastating earthquake that struck Turkey in 1999 has found foreshocks about 45 minutes beforehand which they conclusively linked to the cataclysm.—Science
A New Scientist report can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20148-foreshocks-may-warn-that-a-big-quake-is-coming.html
4G network ‘will create GPS dead zones across the US’—Engineers from a satellite navigation manufacturer in the US say plans for a new network of 4G mobile telephone base stations will interfere with navigation signals of GPS satellites, jamming their service across wide areas of the US.—New Scientist
A New Scientist report can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928005.600-4g-network-will-create-gps-dead-zones-across-the-us.html
New skin for burns victims hot off the presses Using skin cells as ink, and the human body as paper, an American researcher has built a printer that can analyse a burn, design a patch, and print out all the layers of different skin cells needed—in less than an hour. His team has already used it to cover a 10 cm by 10 cm area on a pig.—AAAS Conference
A Science report can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/02/hot-off-the-presses-new-skin-for.html?ref=hp
Seaweed a source of potential antimalarial drug—A red seaweed from Fiji produces an antifungal compound which kills the malaria parasite, US researchers have found. If the compound proves effective in animal and human studies, it could become the newest weapon against the disease, replacing artemisinin to which resistance has appeared in Cambodia.—AAAS Conference
A Science report can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/02/seaweed-a-source-of-potential.html?ref=hp
Hibernating bears stay warm—The study of sleeping bears may help humans cope with long-haul trips into space, or with an enforced wait for medical treatment. Bears can hibernate for up to seven months, without eating, drinking, going to the toilet or losing muscle or bone tissue. And they don’t drop their body temperature much, either.—Science
A New Scientist report can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20144-sleepy-black-bears-stay-warm-through-the-winter.html
Poms love the net, but hate Big Brother—A British consultancy firm has compiled an Innovation Index from a survey of 2243 British consumers which ranks the products and services that contributed most and least to their lives over the past decade. On top by a considerable margin was home broadband, followed by on-line shopping and Google. And on the bottom was reality TV, followed by Facebook and pop-up advertising. Twitter was a close fourth..—The Foundation consultancy
A New Scientist blog can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/02/flashy-gadgets-make-tech-fans.html