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when you say nothing at all- Ronan Keating

New help for nerve disorders

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

The researchers use Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology to measure neurological responses of individuals with environmental stimuli. Image: Henrik5000/iStockphoto A Curtin University engineer has helped to develop a technology with the potential to provide rehabilitation, intervention and treatment for patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), severe paralysis, and stroke. Associate Professor Tele Tan, of Curtin’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computing, said his research used Electroencephalography (EEG) signals as a brain computer interface (BCI) technology to measure the neurological responses of individuals when presented with environmental stimuli. “EEG involves the recording of spontaneous electrical activity from the brain, in response to sight, sound, touch, movement and smell, which is transmitted by multiple electrodes placed on an individual’s scalp,” Associate Professor Tan said. “Using this as a BCI means we are connecting this neurological activity to a computer interface, allowing us to control a computer program or external device through these neurological responses.” Associate Professor Tan said using BCI technology in this way meant his research could be tailored to study human perception as a way to provide physical and neurological rehabilitation. “One of the strengths of BCI is that it can be used to quantify a person’s neurological response and how well or poorly they have responded to stimuli, which can tell us quite a lot about their condition,” he said. “For example, we have used BCI to measure visual target spotting, which can provide measureable evidence as to whether using the latest in 3D visualisation technology can help image interpreters perform better at their jobs. “The same technique can be adopted to treat people with disorders like ADHD, ASD and stroke by embedding BCI into rehabilitation and intervention methods, with the aim of increasing the efficacy and response of these treatments.” Associate Professor Tan said BCI was a multi-disciplinary field involving contributions from a range of disciplines, including engineering, computing, neuroscience, psychology and occupational therapy. “With this technology there is the potential to provide a channel of communication for severely paralysed people, motor rehabilitation for stroke sufferers and treatment for patients with ADHD and ASD,” he said. “The problem with machine-centred models is that they are designed to largely ignore the human elements in a decision making process and I wanted to pursue research which included ways of quantifying human perception and experience.” In 2009, Associate Professor Tan set up the Studio for Experiential Sensing and Virtual Environment to promote BCI research activity in Western Australia. Most recently, Associate Professor Tan and Professor Torbjorn Falkmer, of Curtin’s School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, have initiated a project aimed at studying the physiological and neurological patterns of people performing facial recognition functions. Curtin University has established a research partnership with the Brain Computer Interface Laboratory at the Institute for Infocomm Research, Singapore. This research collaboration involves the study of ocular artefact available from EEG signals and using it as a BCI. Associate Professor Tan supervises two Curtin PhD students working on this program. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Clay locks carbon, boost soil health

CRC CARE

Adding clay materials to compost is a low-cost solution to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere while boosting soil fertility. Image: beardean/iStockphoto Environmental researchers have developed a low-cost, novel solution for reducing carbon in the atmosphere while improving soil fertility, using natural materials. Professor Nanthi Bolan from The University of South Australia presented cutting-edge research to the CleanUp 2011 conference in Adelaide, which shows that adding compost containing clay materials to soil can help lock up carbon – while increasing fertility. “Traditional ways to lower carbon emission while increasing soil fertility include spreading organic wastes, such as composts and manures, on agricultural land - but research has shown that these degrade quickly,” he says. “This results in the release of carbon dioxide.” Prof. Bolan explains that another popular method in recent times involves converting organic wastes to biochar by burning, which turns carbon into a form that cannot easily escape back into the atmosphere. “However, biochar production, especially in large amounts, takes a lot of energy. Burning it can also release other greenhouse gases, such as carbon monoxide and methane, into the air. At the same time it will also destroy precious plant nutrients such as nitrogen,” he says. “Our challenge was to come up with a method that will allow us to tie carbon added through manures and composts to the soil while keeping their fertiliser value. So we tried co-composting manures and composts with compounds such as iron oxide, aluminium oxide and allophane clay, and spreading this mixture on agricultural soils. “These compounds are easily obtained from nature, especially allophane clay, which can be found in locations that contain volcanic ash.” The researchers found the compost enriched with clay not only locked up more carbon, it also contained more nutrients to fertilise the crops. Prof. Bolan says that although the compost has a shorter life than biochar in soil, avoiding pyrolysis of manure and compost to produce biochar can save their fertiliser value and prevent the emission of other greenhouse gases. “The long-term carbon storage function of biochars contradicts their fertiliser value, which requires that certain biochar materials be biodegradable. Our method, by co-composting of the organic material with clay materials, has proven to effectively stabilise soil, and can add to the long-term soil carbon pool. “Adding these materials to compost means that farmers only need to buy these ‘value added’ composts and spread it on their soil. Our next step is to find practical ways to produce large quantities of this material, and identify the ideal quantities for binding carbon and retaining fertility.” Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Diamond planets, climate change and the scientific method

MATTHEW BAILES, THE CONVERSATION

Recently my colleagues and I announced the discovery of a remarkable planet orbiting a special kind of star known as a pulsar. Based on the planet’s density, and the likely history of its system, we concluded that it was certain to be crystalline. In other words, we had discovered a planet made of diamond. Following the publication of our finding in the journal Science, our research received amazing attention from the world’s media. The diamond planet was featured in Time Magazine, the BBC and China Daily, to name but a few. I was asked by many journalists about the significance of the discovery. If I were honest, I’d have to concede that, although worthy of publication in Science, in the field of astrophysics it isn’t that significant. Sure, there are probably somewhere between six and a dozen quite important theoretical astrophysicists around the world who would have been thrilled at the news (after all, the diamond planet fills a gap in the binary pulsar family). But in the overall scheme of things, it isn’t that important. And yet the diamond planet has been hugely successful in igniting public curiosity about the universe in which we live. In that sense, for myself and my co-authors, I suspect it will be among the greatest discoveries of our careers. Our host institutions were thrilled with the publicity and most of us enjoyed our 15 minutes of fame. The attention we received was 100% positive, but how different that could have been. How so? Well, we could have been climate scientists. Imagine for a minute that, instead of discovering a diamond planet, we’d made a breakthrough in global temperature projections. Let’s say we studied computer models of the influence of excessive greenhouse gases, verified them through observations, then had them peer-reviewed and published in Science. Instead of sitting back and basking in the glory, I suspect we’d find a lot of commentators, many with no scientific qualifications, pouring scorn on our findings. People on the fringe of science would be quoted as opponents of our work, arguing that it was nothing more than a theory yet to be conclusively proven. There would be doubt cast on the interpretation of our data and conjecture about whether we were “buddies” with the journal referees. If our opponents dug really deep they might even find that I’d once written a paper on a similar topic that had to be retracted. Before long our credibility and findings would be under serious question. But luckily we’re not climate scientists. Our work is part of the astonishing growth in our knowledge of the universe, made possible by huge leaps forward in instrumentation and telescope technology. Method It may come as a big surprise to many, but there is actually no difference between how science works in astronomy and climate change – or any other scientific discipline for that matter. We make observations, run simulations, test and propose hypotheses, and undergo peer review of our findings. We get together (usually in nice locations around the world) and discuss and debate our own pet theories, become friends and form a worldwide community. If you are a solid state physicist, an astronomer, or doing laser optics, the world is happy to celebrate your discoveries, use them in new products such as WiFi, and wonder about the growth in knowledge and technology. Of course we all make mistakes. But eventually the prevailing wisdom of the community triumphs and the field advances. It’s wonderful to be a part of that process. But on occasion those from the fringe of the scientific community will push a position that is simply not credible against the weight of evidence. This occurs within any discipline. But it seems it’s only in the field of climate science that such people are given airtime and column inches to espouse their views. Those who want to ignore what’s happening to Earth feel they need to be able to quote “alternative studies”, regardless of the scientific merit of those studies. In all fields of science, papers are challenged and statistics are debated. If there is any basis to these challenges they stand, but if not they fall by the wayside and the field continues to advance. When big theories fall, it isn’t because of business or political pressures – it’s because of the scientific process. Sadly, the same media commentators who celebrate diamond planets without question are all too quick to dismiss the latest peer-reviewed evidence that suggests man-made activities are responsible for changes in concentrations of CO2 in our atmosphere. The scientific method is universal. If we selectively ignore it in certain disciplines, we do so at our peril.

ஞானக் குறள் -அவ்வை

தருமம் பொருள் காமம்வீடெனு நான்கு
முருவத்தா லாய பயன்

எங்கும் நிறைந்திருக்கும் பரவெளி இவ்வுடலெனும் உருவம் கொண்டதன் பயனானது அறநெறி,செல்வம், காமம் மற்றும் தன்னைத் தானறிந்து பரவெளியாம் வீடு அடைதல் என்பதாகும்.


ஓசை பரிசமுருவஞ் சுவை நாற்ற
மாசை படுத்து மளறு

உயிர் காந்த சக்தியின் மாற்றங்களான(பஞ்ச தன் மாத்திரைகள்) ஒலி, ஊறு உணர்வு, காட்சி, சுவை, மணம் என்ற அடிப்படை இச்சைகளே வினைப்பதிவுகளை உருவாக்கும்.


பரமாய சத்தியுட் பஞ்சமா பூதந்
தரமாறிற் றோன்றும் பிறப்பு

பரவெளிச் சக்தியானது தன்னுள் இணைந்து விண்,வாயு, அக்னி,நீர், நிலம் என்ற ஐம்பூதங்களுள் உயிராக விளங்குவதால் பிறப்பு என்பது உருவாகிறது


ஆதியாய் நின்ற வறிவுமுத லெழுத்
தோதிய நூலின் பயன்.

கல்வி என்பதின் பயன் ஆதிப் பொருளாய் நிற்கும் இறைநிலையை உணர்வதாகும்

Intel Chases a More Power-Efficient Future

An improved microprocessor and a deal with Google could lead to more Intel chips in mobile devices.

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

• BY WILL KNIGHT

Audio »

New deal: This prototype tablet, on display at the Intel Developer Forum, is powered by an Intel microprocessor and runs on the Android operating system.
Credit: Technology Review

Intel has announced a line of more power-efficient microprocessors for smart phones and tablets that could help recapture some of this increasingly valuable market segment. At the Intel Developers Forum (IDF) in San Francisco this week, the company also announced that it's forming an alliance with Google to get the Android operating system released more quickly for Intel hardware.

Intel now finds itself in an unfamiliar, and uncomfortable, position. Having dominated the computer landscape for years by churning out faster and faster chips, it now lags behind in the race to create more energy-efficient microchips for smart phones and tablets—two rapidly growing hardware categories that are eating into sales of desktop and laptop computers.

The majority of smart phones and tablets on the market today, including those used in Apple's iPhone and iPad, use chips designed by ARM, a U.K. company that licenses microchip designs. Nvidia, Freescale, Texas Instruments, Samsung, and other companies manufacture ARM chips. The first Intel microchip aimed at the mobile market—the Atom—was released in 2008, but it proved less power-efficient than comparable ARM chips. Because battery life is prized in mobile devices, no major manufacturer is using Atom chips in its devices. 

That could change next year. During his keynote speech at IDF 2011, Intel CEO Paul Otellini demonstrated a new version of Atom that promises to be much more power-efficient and capable than the original. The chip, code-named Medfield, is a refined Atom design that solves many issues that previously hurt the chip's power efficiency. Otellini and Google's Android chief, Andy Rubin, showed a prototype smart phone powered by the chip running the latest version of the Android operating system.

Intel and Google also announced on Tuesday that new versions of Android will be optimized for Intel hardware and released along with versions made for other hardware. That's an important strategic move for Intel—in the past, it's had to wait several months for new versions of Android to be ported to its hardware. The move could persuade hardware manufacturers to use Intel's Atom instead of ARM-based chips, since they could launch their products more quickly. Intel-powered tablets running Android were also demoed on the floor at IDF 2011.

Not coincidentally, Microsoft, Intel's longtime software collaborator, announced a similar strategic deal around the same moment that the Intel-Google announcement was made. At theBuild conference, in Anaheim, California, an event also aimed at software developers, Microsoft revealed that it would make its next operating system, Windows 8, compatible with ARM chips. Windows 8 is designed to run on both touch-screen and conventional computers. The deal is a concern for Intel, partly because it could encourage smart-phone and tablet manufacturers to continue using ARM chips, but also, more worryingly, because it could help ARM make a transition to supplying chips for more powerful server and desktop computers, thereby posing a threat to Intel's core business.

Quinn Bolton, a senior analyst specializing in semiconductor technology at equity research firm Needham, says another, more fundamental hardware innovation from Intel—a tri-gate, or three-dimensional processor made with components that are just 22 nanometers in size—could have an even bigger impact on Intel's efforts to be more competitive in mobile.

The tri-gate design "improves device performance, but more important, significantly reduces leakage current and therefore power consumption relative to traditional transistor designs," Bolton says. "As mobile devices are very sensitive to power consumption, the tri-gate architecture should enable Intel to further reduce the power consumption of its mobile-device processors without sacrificing performance."

Intel could also be several years ahead of the competition in using this hardware. "It appears the rest of the industry is not likely to adopt tri-gate transistors in volume production until closer to the middle of this decade," says Bolton. "I expect Intel will begin to manufacture its mobile-device processors using the new 22-nanometer tri-gate process technology in early 2013."

Regardless of the advances, Intel hopes to squeeze further life out of its existing technology. At IDF, several computer makers demonstrated a new class of very light and thin laptops, dubbed an "ultrabook," that uses an updated version of Intel's line of laptop microprocessors.

The microprocessor used in these machines, code-named Ivy Bridge, is also made using a 22-nanometer process and includes greater on-board graphics capabilities as well as better performance. Intel's longtime competitor AMD will launch its own line of chips to compete in this area.

The prototype ultrabooks on show at IDF 2011 used solid-state drives instead a spinning hard-disk drive, and offered battery life in excess of six hours. Most resemble Apple's popular MacBook Air, but some were even thinner and lighter. The first are expected to go on sale in November, and some may sell for slightly less than Apple's machine. 

SHIRDI

Hanuman Ashtak by Gulshan Kumar

Women farmers increasing productivity of farms. Ethiopia—thinkEQUAL

With help from the World Bank, the Ethiopian government runs a program helping local farmers find new ways to use their land in an area devastated by erosion. The project is creating jobs for both men and women. It's time to think EQUAL for women and girls

Day/night cycle even more important to life than previously suspected

Researchers at USC were surprised recently to discover just how much the rising and setting of the sun drives life on Earth – even in unexpected places.

Posted by Biomechanism 

Their findings, which appear this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “speak volumes to the evolution of life on Earth,” according to USC scientist Andrew Y. Gracey.

“Everything is tied to the rotation of the planet,” he said.

In all organisms, a certain amount of gene expression (the process by which products are created from the blueprint contained in genes) is rhythmic. In creatures that live on land, that rhythm is unsurprisingly tied to the 24-hour day, known as the circadian cycle.

Mussels – which Gracey chose to study – instead spend their entire lives in dark shells in an area between the land and the sea, submerged or exposed depending on the tide.

Most of their physical activity is based on the tidal cycle; when mussels are exposed to the air, they close their shells and switch to an anaerobic metabolism, starving for oxygen, and when submerged they breathe and feed.

“It’s a really profound change in their biology as they go from sea to land,” said Gracey, assistant professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

One would expect, then, that the tidal cycle would be the clock that drives their gene expression. But in fact, as Gracey’s tests discovered, while a “tidal clock” probably does exist for mussels, the lion’s share of their gene expression is instead driven by the circadian cycle.

“The circadian cycle is trumping the tidal cycle,” Gracey said.

Gracey and USC graduate student Kwasi Connor constructed an aquarium with an artificial tide by pumping water in and out every six hours. For four days straight, Connor collected samples every two hours – getting excellent data, but not much sleep.

“That’s why this paper is so good; we have such a high resolution,” Gracey said.

Connor shrugged off the sacrifice in the name of science: “It’s critical that you get up and do measurements in a precise manner, otherwise you lose the value of the data,” he said.

Later, Gracey and Connor ran a similar simulation in a more natural environment by suspending cages of mussels off of a dock, this time for 50 hours.

The results were unexpected. Of the genes that showed rhythmic expression, between 80 and 90 percent were driven by the circadian cycle.

Hebrew University research team discovers path to blocking fatal toxins

Posted by Biomechanism
A team of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says it has found a way to block a group of fatal bacterial toxins that have to date resisted all attempts to arrest them through the use of conventional drugs.

Caption: This is Professor Raymond Kaempfer of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Credit: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

These toxins, called superantigens, are produced by a group of “violent” staphylococcal and streptococcal bacteria. When these bacteria attack humans, they set off an extreme immune reaction described as an “immune storm,” that is, an immune response of a magnitude higher in intensity than during a regular immune reaction. The result is often fatal toxic or septic shock brought on by the excessive immune response.

Working to develop the first effective antidote under funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Department of Defense and the US National Institutes of Health, the laboratory headed by Prof. Raymond Kaempfer of the Institute for Medical Research Israel Canada (IMRIC) at the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine, has studied how superantigen toxins engage the immune system. The researchers discovered that in order to exert its harmful action, a superantigen must first bind to a protein on the surface of the human immune cell, a receptor called CD28.

CD28 has been known for a long time as a key participant in every immune response, but its ability to recognize microbial components — the superantigens — came as a complete surprise. The Kaempfer team discovered that superantigens do their lethal work by co-opting CD28 as their receptor, and that binding of a superantigen to CD28 is the key in the pathway to an immune storm.

They mapped the regions where the superantigen and CD28 contact each other and found that to induce an immune storm, superantigens must bind specifically into that part of the CD28 molecule where, normally, it pairs with another CD28 molecule.

Using that insight, they next designed decoys, short protein fragments that mimic the contact domain in the superantigen or in CD28. Such decoys, they could show, act as a monkey wrench that blocks the engagement of CD28 receptor by the superantigen toxin, thereby inhibiting the overly strong immune response and protecting animals from the toxic consequences, including from death.

All the superantigen toxins function via the same CD28 receptor, rendering the decoys broadly effective as protective agents. The decoys proved safe in healthy, normal, laboratory animals.

These findings provide a novel therapeutic approach against toxic shock. The decoys are host-oriented therapeutics, directed at the human immune system itself, rather than at the pathogen. Using a host-oriented therapeutic, resistance cannot arise in the infecting bacteria or in the toxins because the decoy targets a human immune receptor that is constant and will not change.

____________

The work of Kaempfer and his team was published in the PLoS Biology journal on Sept. 13. Reviewers who have seen an advanced copy have called the work “a surprising result with enormous implications” and “a paradigm shift in superantigen research.”