MINI cosm Today's science and discovery in brief

British? No ,you're inventing it British inventors have dreamed up dozens of things we now take for granted - but most of their countrymen don't appreciate their brilliance. That is the finding of a poll on what people know about our scientific achievments. Three-quarters did not realise cloning and jet engines began in Britains,only a few more knew DNA and computers were pioneered here and half did not realise a Briton built the first steam engine. The London Science Museum,which held the poll,said the level of ignorance was "staggering".
SMART ALGAE: One of the great mysteries of life on Earth has been unravelled - in a study of algae. The tiny plants are crucial in maintaining the balance of carbon in the air and they need vitamin B12 to grow properly. But they cannot make the vitamin themselves, and where they get it from has baffled experts But now scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Kent have found some algae work with bacteria to get their supply. In return for B12, they use sunlight to produce carbon to give to the bacteria. RANDY RATS: Forget Viagra - what females need to get them in the mood is a cup of coffee, Female rats, that is. Caffeine makes the rodents have sex more often, a study found, But don't go guzzling your cuppa just yet - loading up on caffeine is not expected to improve human sex drive 'The rats had never had caffeine before,' said Fay Guarraci, of Southwestern University in the US, said: 'In humans, it might enhance sex only among people who are not habitual users. X-RAY VISION: Soldiers will soon be able to emulate Superman and 'see' through walls, thanks to a new gadget. The home telephone-sized Radar Scope can sense movements as slight as breathing up to 15m (50ft) away and through 30cm (1ft) of concrete. US troops in Iraq are expected to test out the £570 device this spring its makers believe the 700g (1.5 lb) gadget will help soldiers prioritise which rooms to go into when they are on a house-clearing operation. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	HEP HOPE: Anew vaccine being tested on mice may help fight hepatitis C. The breakthrough could also help people who already have the disease. Researchers took immune cells from mice and exposed them to a protein in the hep C virus. The cells were then treated with a chemical that sparks an immune response. When they put the cells back in the mice, the researchers at Saskatchewan University found the new cells 'taught' other cells to battle the virus. SOY SHOCK: Tucking into a Chinese takeaway soaked in soy sauce could cause infertility. Scientists found genistein, contained in soy beans, disrupts the growth of ovaries in new-born female mice. In tests, rodents injected with a high dose of the plant chemical became infertile, US researchers found. More studies will show how this exposure could affect humans, said National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences director David Schwartz. SNIFF TEST: Perfumes are being used to keep track of logs in the forest. An electronic 'nose' has been developed which can keep track of timber as it is moved around. At the moment the device can track only one aroma at a time but Glen Murphy, a forest engineenng professor in Oregon, hopes to be able to track up to 25 aromas within five years which would enable him to tag more than 33million logs. 'A smell is like a fingerprint,' Prof Murphy said. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
GOOD VIRUS: Tobacco plants are being put to a new, healthy use - in the hunt for a cure for the bubonic plague, Scientists injected the plants with a genetically modified version of the tobacco mosaic virus. Instead of making the plant leaves wilt as the virus normally does, it helped the plants produce a protein which is now to be used as a plague vaccine. The vaccine was successfully tested on guinea pigs and the US scientists are now hoping to try it on humans. FAT FIGHTER: A way of reversing obesity has been found in a gene called the hedgehog. The protein guides the early development of animals and can tell cells whether to become bone or fat tissue The gene got its name frorn the bristly, skinny appearance of fruit flies when they were exposed to it. When the gene was blocked the fruit flies became fat. Eventually, US scientists hope that by activating the gene in elderly people, it will cut fat and reduce osteoporosis. GREAT GUNS: A 'smart gun' that can recognise a person's grip is close to being put on the market. A prototype of the weapon has just been unveiled. Using sensors in its handle, the gun locks its shooting mechanism when a hand it doesn't recognise picks it up. The feature would be useful if a criminal or a child got hold of it. 'The way you hold a gun and curl your fingers around is unique to everyone,' said one of the US researchers who helped develop the gun. LIGHTS SHOW: A huge stream of charged particles has been seen betweeen the Sun and the  Earth. Satellites from the European Space Agency and NASA observed the particles outside the Earth's magnetosphere, or magnetic shield. Understanding how the particles occur could explain what causes explosive phenomena, such as solar flares, gamma-ray bursts and 'aurora', or polar lights. The stream measuring 2.5million km, was observed for two-and-a-half hours Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	WAVE RIDERS: A group of scientists has abandoned the 1aboratory and taken to riding out on quad bikes and jet ski's just as a storm is brewing -all in the name of research. Experts from the univerisities of East Anglia and Liverpool were studying the effectiveness of coastal defences and needed to take measurements. Just before a storm to see how much damage was caused to the beach. They used the figures in a computer model which should help plan East Anglian sea defences. WAKE-UP CALL: We've had computer viruses and now it's only a matter of time before mobile phones are wiped out in the same way. In fact, it could happen sooner rather than later - by the end of 2007, say experts. Security analysts Gartner forecast there will be enough smart phones, which are capable of being infected, by that time to make the largescale passing around of a worm or virus possible. Phone users may be sceptical about the warning after several earlier false alarms. BRAIN ACHE: Have you ever wondered why you can't concentrate on something when someone is yakking in your ear? The problem is that your brain cannot cope with sights and sounds at the same time. One part of the brain has to switch off I while another is switched on, researchers found. This explains why drivers are more dangerous if they use a mobile - they have to pay less attention to looking at the road to listen to the conversation, the US researchers told The Journal of Neuroscience.
AUTISM GENE: Autisrn experts believe they are close to unlocking the key to the disease. They are examining the link between the genetic element the condition and brain functions to see if there are any patterns. Studies show genetics lie at the heart of autism, but researchers in Oxford and Cambridge have had limited success in identifying the genes responsible. They hope brain scans will reveal how genes affect the way autistic minds process information. NO TICKLING: Ever wondered why you don't laugh when you tickle yourself? It's all down to our need to be ready for the unexpected, research shows. The brain anticipates trivial sensations, such as your own touch, so it can focus on more important ones, such as a tarantula crawling up your neck. Sensation is less when the brain expects it and 'combining senses with the expected gives a picture of the outside world', researchers at University College London said. LOVE'S SPARK: When it comes to telling whether he loves you, it's all about the sparkle in his eyes-well, at least in the butterfly world. Females are attracted to the 'sparkle' from eyespots on the male's wtngs. it is actually reflected UV light and is more important in attraction than spot size, previously thought to be the key factor 'It shows size isn't everything in determining sexual choice,' said Dr Kendra Robertson of Buffalo University.	BLOOD BOOST: Blood could be useful for creating bones,scientists claim.They think umbilical cord blood stem cells kept at Europe's blood banks could be used to create bone structures.If their attempts are successful,the stem cells could be used to repair bone defects and make hip replacements more durable. The £2.5 million project at the University of York will also study the ethics of stem cell therapies. STORM CLUES: A new NASA satellite is helping predict when hurricane will become more devastating. The radar satellite is able to provide thermal and heat data from inside a tropical storm. It can also tell when ice particles found high up in the storm's clouds are melting at lower levels. That is a sign the hurricane is about to become 'extra-tropical' and release heavy rain away from the storm's centre. NOT AGAIN: Déjà vu is usually so brief it was thought impossible to study. But for some the feeling is persistent. Leeds psychologists are working with suffers of chronic déjà vu - who may even stop watching TV news because it seems  to be a repeat. Dr Chris Moulin first encountered chronic sufferers at a clinic. He said: 'One man said  there was no point in coming because he'd already been there - although it would have been impossible.' BABOON BLUES: The baboon mourns like a human,a study has revealed. Researchers found stress hormones called glutocorticoids increased in baboons who lost close family members.When Sylvia the baboon lost Sierra,her closest grooming partner,she looked to friends for support, Dr Anne Engh from the University of Pennsylvania said. 'With Sierra gone,Sylvia experienced what could only really be described as depression.' Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
SUN RISES : Construction of the world's first full-size artificial sun is to start in China The fusion device, which aims to generate limitless, clean. nuclear energy to offset the dearth of fossil fuels, will be built in Hefei, Eastern China. Scientists hope to extract the chemical deuterium from the sea and create a sun by fusing it with tritium under temperatures of 100 million ºC.The £21 million project also involves Russia, Japan, the US, the EU and Korea. WHITE LIES: Some of our memories may be stolen from other people, reseaarch shows. While our borrowing of memories is unintntional, it appears to be done for selfish reasons, scientists found. People claim achievements and misfortunes as their own but give away those involving wrong doing. 'Some of the memories in which we play a leading role might in fact have been the experiences of others,' researchers from the US and New Zealand wrote in the journal Genes, Brain and Behavior. SPACE FILLER : The day of the spacwalk may be numbered -soon spacecraft may be able to repair themselves. Engineers studied the way human cuts heal and a fibre which could be used to make Spacecraft components. When the fibre cracks, it could release a liquid resin that seals the breach. 'When we cut ourselves we don't glue ourselves together, our blood hardens to form a seal ' said Christopher Semprimoshnig. of the European Space Agency. ROBODOC : Patients are being followed by a robot which X-rays them as they move. The aim is to produce iamges of bones, muscles and joints which can be more useful than the static X-rays we are all used to. Scott Banks at the University of Florida, said: 'We want to observe and measure how muscles and joints move when people use them.' Patients wear an LED-lit patch on the body part in  question and the robot can zoom in on it. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	LET'S FACE IT: The English face is changing almost every year and in the last six centuries it has evolved less prominent features and larger brains. A Birmingham University team took measurements from radiographic films of skulls dating back to the 1348 Black Death and the wreck of the Mary Rose in 1545. They found that the mediaeval English had larger jaw bones and smaller brain sizes. Spokesman Dr Peter Rock said: 'The differences are striking.' GERM LINK : Infections could cause some forms of brain cancer, scientists said yesterday. Clusters of glioma rumours - the most common form of the disease - were found at the same places and at the same times in Brabant, Holland, over 18 years A team, led by Dr Richard McNally of Newcastle University, said people could not catch cancer but infections might trigger it in a few people already genetically at risk, according to a report in the European Journal of Cancer. LISTEN UP: Owls could hold the key to treating attention disorders.The birds of prey are able to 'tune in' to a particular noise and pair that sound with what it sees.They even block out competing noises from other directions. US neurologists wired up 12 owls in a bid to understand how their brains process the data. By mapping out neurotransmitters involved in signalling attention they hope to help humans suffering from attention disorders. DIRT BUSTER: Plants could be used tc' clean up land contaminated by explosives. Micro-organisms found in soil have beeri used to turn trees into pollution-busters because they use the explosives as a source of nitrogen for growth. The system will be used on tracts of land used for military training contaminated by RDX, one of the most widely used explosives. 'The enzyme helps bio-degarde the RDX.' a US researcher said. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
CUT ABOVE: Super-strong water jets could reptace surgical saws in hospitals. The industrial water cutters used to sever under sea cables are quicker and more accurate than existing instruments, doctors say. They require minimal contact with a patient and can be used at room temperature, reducing damage and blood loss. After five years of research at Edinburgh University, scientists are looking for industrial partners to take the project forward. JAB BOOST: Antibodies from chimpanzees could help to fix problems associated with the smallpox vaccine. In a small minority of people, the vaccine can trigger deadly side effects. It also fails to give instant protection, rendering it of little use in a chemical attack. But in tests on chimpanzees, a more robust vaccine was used, producing powerful antibodies. These might offer instant protection and help treat side effets,say US experts. BIG BLOB: Mountains can form in just a few million years by a process called "deblobbing" geologists say. This occurs when two plates of the Earth's crust collide and the swell of a mountain range develops. Below, in the solid portion of the upper mantle, a blob of materiel clings to the rising swell, acting like an anchor as the mountains rise slowly. At some point, the blob disconnects and the mountains spring upward. US experts told Science journal. EAR WE GO: When you scream maybe at a winning goal - brain cells kick in to protect your hearing from the sound of your own voice. The cells dampen the ability of our auditory neurons to detect incoming sounds .If you stop screaming, the signal stops and hearing returns to normal in a process called corollary discharge. Humans also have a middle ear refiex that protects hearing from loud sounds, experts at Cambridge University found. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	NO SHAKING : A plane that doesn't judder or a golf club that won't jar your hand when you hit a divot? A new material using nanotechnology could make that a reality. By using microscopic carbon tubes called nanotubes, vibration in traditional materials can be greatly reduced. This is because nanocomposites don't have the same weight as existing polymeric materials, say researchers from the Rensselaer Polytechnic institute in the US. FIN-CY THAT: There's a little bit of shark in all of us, a new study suggests.Researchers tried to discover how the feared predators can detect electrical signals while hunting. A network of cells in the predator's heads gives them their sixth sense, the Florida University study found. The cells, which are also found in human facial bones, migrate from the sharks brains to become 'electroreceptors'. SMOKE ALERT: Mother's who smoke during pregnancy may cause their children to be obese by the age of eight, a US study has found. Although prenatal smoking is known to cause low birthweight, a survey of nearly 35,000 children also revealed it raises the risk of miscarriage and premature delivery. By the age of eight,a child whose mother smoked has a 17 per cent greater chance of being overweight Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
SMILEY FACE : A good sense of humour really does make a man sexy, scientists say. Researchers carried out tests which appear to prove that laughter is an aphrodisiac for women. In the study,63 women were shown pictures of two equally attractive men. Each time a photo of one of the men was shown serious statements were presented with it. A picture of the  second man came with humourous sentences. Finally each female had to rate the men. 'Routinely,women preferred the funny guy,' said a US scientist. SMELLY GAS: A new test can detect trace amounts of chemical agents in sedconds.The US system uses tiny reusable microlenses. When antibodies on the lenses come into contact with an antigen they are set to detect they bind,causing the lenses to swell.'The system could be used to detect a chemical weapons attack and increase the speed of medical testing,' said one scientist. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	QUICK TOADS: They were introduced to Australia in the 1940s to tackle beetles ravaging sugar cane crops. But cane toads have now adapted so well to life Down Under they are growing longer legs ro cover the larger distances the country offers. The quickest toads have legs six per cent longer than average, scientists in Darwin found. The toads are now colonising new areas at a rate of 50km per year, compared with 10km per year in the 1940s. DOPE DIET: For dieters hoping for a magic bullet to tackle obesity a cannabis-inspired pill may offer some hope. Weight loss drug Rimonabant had modest success at helping people lose weight and keep it off in clinical trials, US scientists said. The drug blocks receptors in the endocannabinoid system, which is also affected by marijuana. However, the study was marred by the fact that almost half of the 3,000 volunteers did not complete the year-long tests. RED RUMP: We may have developed colour vision to help spot when our partners are sexually aroused, as a blushed face is a sign we are ready for monkey business. US scientists found that 36 primate species with the most colour-sensitive retinas were those which expressed sexual arousal through their faces and reddening their hare rumps. It had been thought we developed colour vision to help hunt for food. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
GROW'I'H PAIN: Obese peopie may be more sensitive to pain than thin people, a study says. Obese arthritis patients were found to have a greater physical response to electrical stimulation to their ankles. The stimulus was applied after a 45-minute muscle relaxing exercise. 'The relaxation procedure helped both groups,' said Charles Emery, psychology professor at Ohio State University. 'But the obese participants had a lower threshold for tolerating pain.' NOAH WAY: Flooding on the scale of the Noah's Ark story may have led to climate change, Nasa scientists claim. A computer model reproduced the spell of warmer weather tnat followed a huge freshwater flood in the North Atlantic when the glaciers melted 8,200 years ago. The results have been confirmed by ice core and tree ring data. 'We only have one example of how the climate reacts to changes, the past,' said researcher Gavin A Schmidt. SPIN CYCLE: Goalkeepers who miss a spinning ball are only doing what comes naturally, a study shows. In tests, footballers could not predict if a ball spinning at 600 revolutions per minute would end up in the net on a virtual reality display. 'Spinning balls don't occur naturally. So why would nature devise a visual system adapted to them?' said Dr Cathy Craig from Queen's University, Belfast. Her research was inspired by a spectacular 'banana' freekick goal by Roberto Carlos of Brazil. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	MAGIC EYE: A 'bionic eye' has been used to stimulate visual sensation in people suffering a rare form of genetic blindness. Small electrodes are placed on the surface of the eye and an electrical current is used to stimulate the retina to see light. While not giving full sight, it could enable blind people to negotiate their way across a room, scientists at the Bionic Eye Foundation in Sydney said. It is an exciting development for people suffering conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, where the retina's cells die but the optic nerve survives, a BEF spokesman said. QUIET DEER: Bambi could have been crying for hours but his mother would not have known. A study on fallow deer has revealed only adult females have distinctive calls. This means fawns can tell who their mother is but mothers are not able to distinguish between the calls of their own offspring and other fawns. This means the young deer have to lie silently in the undergrowth to avoid predators and do not call until they hear their mother return, University of Zurich researchers told The American Naturalist journal. LUNG TEST: People who eat large amounts of cured meats have a three per oent reduction in lung function compared with those who never consume these foods, a study shows. Such a difference may have a noticeable effect in a person with lung disease, such as bronchitis US researchers say. In tests, participants who consumed a lot of cured meats expelled 115ml less air per second than those who ate none. The nitrogen containing compounds used to cure meats may attack proteins that give the lungs their elasticity, experts suggest. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
SEE HEAR! If you ever thought some art and music fits perfectly, there is an explanation for it. Vision and hearing are interlinked in everyone's brains but only synaesthetes who have a rare condition in which the two senses mingle are conscious of it new research shows. They can hear as well as see artwork to the point where some paintings become music scientists at University College London said. LEAD FUEL Roadkill has been used to track the success of cars switching to unleaded petrol. Levels of potentially lethal lead found in the rib bones of dead otters in 2004 were less than a quarter of those in 1992. The results are important for humans because lead can damage the central nervous system including the brain Cardiff University scientist Dr Liz Chadwick said. KILLER GEAR A serial killer's clothing can help explain the Holocaust ,a scientist befieves.Prof Bruce Hood of the University of Bristol tries to convince people to wear a jumper belonging to Fred West.But even with a cash reward they won't put it on as they see it as evil. He said it provides an insight into how we can be ruled by superstition. And that feeling can lead to genocide as it means we can easily dehumanise other people,he claimed. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	ROAD SENSE Children are not the only ones who need lollipop patrols.Chimpanzees need adults' help to cross roads built through the jungle, a study shows. Dominant males walk ahead of their group and evaluate the risks before signalling to the others to cross. Other males bring up the rear to protect females and the young. The findings which centred on a road through a rainforest in Guinea, West Africa. are reported in the journal Current Biology. LARVAE LAUGH: The larvae of blister beetles imitate the sexual characteristics of female bees as a way of getting a free meal ticket. The insects, found in the Californian desert, mimic female bees so well male bees try to mate with them. They stack up on each other to look like female bees arid emit a bee-like smell. When the male bees take them back to their nests, the larvae feast on the bees' eggs, US scientist Leslie Saul-Gershenz discovered. PURPLE PATCH: Are you feeling depressed? Well. even if you are a non-smoker you night relieve your symptoms by wearing a nicotine patch, experts say. In tests, depressed non-smokers who wore a patch for at least eight days said they felt less miserable after the trial. One expert at Duke University in the US said'. 'The same areas of the brain that are stimulated by nicotine appear to be involved in the regulation of mood.' Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
QUICK LIFE: A fish that lives fast and dies young has entered the record books. The Australian reef pygmy goby has the shortest lifespan of any vertebrate. The fish lives for just three-and-a-half weeks and reaches sexual maturity in ten days. 'For small species living in areas with many predators, evolution often favours a live fast, die young strategy,' said a Queensland University spokesman. DRY PUMP: Trees have learned to survive by sucking water from clouds. A forested area in the remote Dhofar Mountains of Oman gathers water from ground fog during the wet season. The droplets sink into the soil and sustain the trees when the weather is dry. Although cloud forests are not rare. these trees are peculiar because they live in a desert, US scientists say. EYE KNOW: The oldest known fossilised eyes from jawed fish are shedding light on how eyes evolved in early vertebrates. Dr Carole Burrow, who found the 410 million-year-old specimens in New South Wales, used X-rays to prove that a primitive fish called a placoderm had an extra muscle attached to its eye. It was assumed that six muscles were the norm for all vertebrates. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	WING-CHILL: Urbanite birds find life in the city less stressful than their country cousins. Blackbirds adapt so well to a city envronment they have lower levels of stress hormones than rural birds. The findings come from tests on hand-reared blackbirds tested by German ornithological researchers. 'City life changes physiological coping mechanisms in wild animals,' the team said. SPACEBUGS: it's been used as a blueprint for predicting trade between countries and now the laws of gravity between planets can show how insects will spread disease. The closer and healthier two plants are, the more likely it is insects will fly between them, carrying disease, US scientists say. This is comparable to the attraction between planets, which is greater the closer and larger they are. ROOTED: Just as wary humans hide their cash in money belts, plants have the ability to stash away valuables when attacked, The tobacco plant shifts life-sustaining carbon away from rapidly expanding young leaves and into its root system when itcomes into contact with fatty acids in the mouth of the tobacco hornworm. The mechanism allows the plant to live to fight another day, German researchers say. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
DARK STUFF: The first direct evidence of mysterious 'dark matter' - invisible material which makes up 22 per cent of the universe - has been found. Observations of two colliding galaxy clusters l00million light years away showed ordinary matter and dark matter being wrenched apart. Dr Douglas Clowe, of Arizona University, said: 'A universe that's dominated by dark stuff seems preposterous but this is direct proof that dark matter exists.' WHALE BARK: Meet the killer whale that behaves like a parrot. A lone whale which became separated from its pod as a juvenile learned to bark like a sea lion, a study found. Many mammals have the ability to voluntarily oontrol when to use a vocalisation. But this whale, and another isolated animal, also showed a variation in the use of their normal calls compared to their pod's repertoires. Scientists believe it may he due to the absence of a tutor. CRAVINGS UP: Smokers who give up cigarettes get withdrawal symptoms within 30 minutes, a study shows. They are angry in an hour and, within three hours they are anxious, sad and can't concentrate. Cravings, mood disturbances appetite increases and sleep problems peak within three days of quitting, US researcher Thomas Brandon found. 'Quitters are not yet in the throes of full withdrawal but are not feeling right' he added. SUGARY MIND: Newly diagnosed schizoperenics have more glucose in their brains and spinal fluids than healthy people. This suggests they use a different energy source - lactate -because glucose is not being used effectively.Researcher Dr Elaine Holmes,of Imperial College London, said: 'We can now spot the changes which occur before it becomes a major problem.' There is not yet a test for schizophrenia,which affects one in 100 people. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	MEAN FEET: Wasps save their young from predators by sniffing out their enemies' stinky feet. Aphid parasitic wasps prevent their offspring being eaten by ladybirds by steering clear of areas contaminated by a pungent blend of chemicals that ladybirds deposit. Scientists at Hertfordshire-based Rothamsted Research have identified the chemicals involved and have also shown that the smell of different ladybird species repels different parasitic wasp species to varying degrees. ICE SEE: A formula has been found for how icicles form - they grow the same way as stalactites (the ones that come from the ceiling). Icicle growth is caused by the diffusion of heat away from the icicle by a thin layer of water and the resulting updraft of air over the surface. This occurs because an icicle is warmer than surrounding air, and convective heat causes the air around it to rise, a US study shows. As it rises, it removes heat from the water layer, some of it freezes and the icicle thickens and grows. WEED IT OUT: A new method has been devised for filtering poisonous weedkiller from drinking water. Current techniques use porous carbon filters to remove herbicides such as atrazine. However, the pores often get blocked by other organic material. A new cartridge filter created at the University of Illinois uses glass fibres coated with polymer resin, plus a catalyst to activate the fibres. It can lower atrazine levels in water to three parts per billion, the Royal Society of Chemistry reports. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
DOWN, SHEP: Dogs can be as jealous as humans and even deliberately get between their owner and a partner during romantic moments, a study has found. Such behaviour proves it is not just humans and chimps who experience emotions such as jealousy, guilt, shame and pride, researchers at the University of Portsmouth said. Dogs can develop animosity in particular when in a love triangle' involving their carer and another person or animal, they added. TOLKIEN ROT: Further doubt has been cast on claims that skeletal remains found on an Indonesian island in 2004 were those of 'hobbits' - a species of furry minihuman. Instead, the 90cm tall (3ft) creatures that died out 15.000 years ago were probably ancestors of pygmies who still live on Flores, scientists said. One specimen with an unusually small head may have suffered from microcephaly, a disease characterised by a shrunken skull, they added. LIGHTS OUT: Exposing premature babies to artificial hospital lighting can damage their development research suggests. It stops their biological clock from developing properly, according to scientists who carried out laboratory tests on baby mice. This could result in an increased risk of mood disorders such as. depression, the US researchers warned. They suggest keeping lighting in special care baby units to a minimum. ON THE RUN: It is an issue which has divided scientists for years, but now it has been confirmed that charging elephants are technically running. Using motion capture technology from The Lord Of The Rings films researchers photographed elephant leg movements up to 240 times per second. The results showed the beasts do bounce their legs a bit like pogo sticks. That is now widely accepted as a running style rearchers at the University of London said. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	WAVE WARNING: we will soon be able to predict where monster waves generated by hurricanes will strike. Nasa has developed new computer models of how waves created by hurrlcanes;typically move around, based on data from airplanes sent into major storms. The planes fired radar pulses at the ocean surface and recorded how long the echoes took to bounoe back. The technique is similar to those used by geographers to map terrain. DEADLY RIVALS: Just as siblings may fight over who gets the front seat or the TV remote control, some birds fight each other for prime position in the nest. But in their case it can actually be a matter of life and death. Alpine swift chicks will jostle each other to get in the best spot to receive food from their mother. However, the fights can be so fierce in very full nests that the weaker ones are pushed out and fall to their deaths, researchers in Glasgow and Switzerland found. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum SEXED UP: Ws official: marathon sex sessions and promiscuity are a good thing. The only catch is you have to be a queen bee, ant,or wasp. Honeybee queens that mated with multiple drones were shown to foster bee hives with wider genetic variation. This meant they were much better able to fend off a debilitating disease, US researchers reported in The New Scientist. Lead researcher David Tarpy said: 'Honeybee queens are hedging their bets by mating with many males.' VEIN HOPE: A method of giving drugs that could help prevent a heart attack after an angioplasty is being developed. In more than a third of patients given a coronary angioplasty - where a tube or 'stent' is inserted to clear a clogged artery - swellings of tissue form around the stent. The method involves delivering the precise amount of 'prodrug' to the stent site, Israeli researchers said. Lead scientist Noah Lotan said: 'It could also be useful for delivering chemotherapy drugs.'. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
BRAINSTORM: It may be possible to predict the volume of water stored in a storm doud simply by recording the amount of lightning it emits. Using satellites a US team found it was the amount of ice inside a cloud that determined the number of lightning bolts produced. 'Maybe we can count lightning under a cloud and say 'Hey, I know what the rainfall will be,' one expert told New Scientist magazine. CELL OUT: A new catalyst - a substance which speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction - has been created by Japanese scientists. Immune system cells that usually fight infection were altered so that, instead of seeking out invading viruses or bacteria. their antibodies targeted a compound of the metal rhodium, the Royal Society of Chemistry reported yesterday. GEMINI GENE: Multiple sclerosis can be affected by a pair of 'angel and devil' genes that fight to make a patient healthy or ill. While the DR2b gene increases a rogue immune response, its partner gene DR2a tries to stop the damage. This may be why some patients are more affected by the immune system disease than others, Oxford University researchers told Nature journal. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	LEAP UP mechanical leg that can jump is being hailed as a first in the world of robotics. The 1m device made by Toyota can clear the ground by as much as 4cm by bending and stretching its toe joint and another knee-like joint. The invention will help robots run faster and negotiate unpaved roads more easily. 'The technology can be applied to two- legged machines in future,' said a spokesman for Toyota. GAS VICTORY: The threat posed by chemical weapons has been reduced, after scientists found a way to detect Sarin gas. Experts have identf'ied a molecule which can be manipulated to flash up a fluorescent warning in milliseconds when it senses the deadly gas, the Royal Society of Chemistry roported. Sarin is a colourless, odourless gas which attacks the central rervous system. It was used in the Tokyo subway attacks of 1995. SUN SPOT: Changes in the Sun's brightness have little effect on the Earth's climate, new research has found. Data from the last millennium show that variations in the Sun's energy output were the result of dark sunspots and bright points called faculae, which do not significantly change the Earth's temperature. The research in the journal Nature says this destroys the arguments of critics of the greenhouse gas explanation for global warming. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
SCIENCE OF ART: Ever wondered what happens in the brain of an artist? Neuroarthistory might have the answer claims an art historian Prof John Onians, of East Anglia University, says the brain-scanning techniques explain why Florentine painters used more line and Venetian painters more colour. The reason is exposure to different environments causes different visual preferences. Prof Onians said: 'We are unlocking the door to a secret world.' AGEING ROCK: Even asteroids show signs of getting old - they get wrinkles. Their patchy surfaces in different stages of ageing, known as space weathering, help tell them apart from meteorites found on Earth. It is thought this process makes asteroids gradually darker and redder than the rocks chipped off them long ago. The differences in appearance are due to varying amounts of iron, researcher Takahiro Hiroi told Nature journal. PURE FISH: Fish farms can be freed of infection - thanks to a cheap and environmentally friendly system for cleaning polluted water. By adding porphyrin and light, oxygen species are created which attack disease- causing micro-organisms. The technique was developed to stop fungal infections in trout farms, Researcher Dr Michela Magaraggia told the Royal Society of Chemistry: It may be expanded to treat irrigation or drinking water" Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	BEHIND YOU: A perfectly sane patient thought a real -life shadow was standing behind her when there was nobody there. The young woman, who was being tested for epilepsy, also felt a figure hugging her when asked to clasp her own knees. Doctors had stimulated an area of her brain called the left temporoparietal junction. They believe the patient's reaction may help explain feelings of schizophrenia and even alien abduction, Nature reported. TWEETIE PIE: Girls look away - some mothers really do prefer their sons. A louse finch will protect her future sons from an infestation or blood-sucking mites by juggling the birth order of her offspring, US scientists say. She first lays eggs bearing daughters, because those eggs are usually more resistant to mites, and saves her sons till last. This means her vulnerable male chicks spend less time with the mites in the nest so have a better chance of surviving. SUN SIGNS: A spacecraft will blast off to the Sun tomorrow to help scientists understand more about its immensely powerful magnetic field. The Japanese Solar-B craft will measure the strength of the field, which is capable of triggering massive solar eruptions These eruptions hurl huge clouds of plasma into space which are powerful enough to cause malor disturbances to Earth's magnetic field, including knocking out power systems. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
STAR STRUCK: Cosmic contraceptives preventing the birth of new stars may have been found by an international team of astronomers. Most stars in large galaxies were born when the universe was in its infancy and since then only a handful have been born every year. One suggestion for this is that black holes release energy to dilute the gas from which stars are made. Prof Pieter van Dokkum of Yale said: 'Galaxies seem to have a very effective method of birth control.' BY A WHISKER: A more efficient way to clone mice has been found that could lead to the generation of tissue or organ transplants. In 1997 Dolly the sheep was the first animal cloned from an adult cell, but some scientists say she was actually created from young stem cells by accident - the failure of. most attempts using old cells points to this. But scientists at Pittsburgh University used blood cells from stem stage to maturity. Only the mature stage produced babies. SHOP ADDICT: It isn't just women who are hooked on shopping, men suffer just as badly, too. In a study of 2,513 adults, six per cent of women and 5.5 per cent of men showed signs of binge buying. Sufferers often rack up huge debts and lie about their purchases. Experts said the results were surprising as earlier studies suggested 90 per cent of addicts were women. 'The widespread opinion that most compulsive buyers are women may be wrong,' they wrote. CHECK OUT: Hotel guests with colds leave their germs on light switches and TV remote controls for a day after they check out. Sufferers spent a night in a hotel room, for the study. They had no visitors and were asked to wash their hands only after using the bathroom. After checkout participants were asked to name items they had touched. 'To my surprise nearly everything was contaminated,' said an expert from the University of Virginia. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	SMOKED OUT: A new way to make it as easy for women to quit smoking as men has been unveiled. Using the pleasure-blocking substance naltrexone alongside nicotine patches boosted success rates in women giving up smoking by alrnost 50 per cent. However, it made no difference to men. Women have histoncally had less success than men in giving up the habit but this study shows naltrexone closes the gap,' said researcher Andrea King, from Chicago University. PIXEL PERFECT: Scientists found a way to create photographs using just one pixel. The technique involves focusing an image on to tiny micrornirrors, which will produce a random pattern of bright spots. Their combined intensity is then recorded by the single pixel. IT'S A GAS: The green car of the future has moved a step closer - after scientists found a new way of storing and releasing hydrogen. They added magnesium to zeolite, a naturally occurring mineral which can be made synthetically. The modified zeolite then released the gas at a rate which would allow drivers to maintain a steady speed if it was ever used as car fuel, the Royal Society of Chemistry reported. YEAH BABY: Austin Powers shouldn't have worried about losing his mojo while he was cryogenically frozen. Sperm taken from mice who have been frozen for 15 years have fathered healthy offspring, a study has found. One in five female mice undergoing IVF with the extracted sperm produced healthy babies. The Japanese study offers hope to scientists trying to bring extinct animals back from the dead. LOVE BIRDS: Opposites really do attract - if you're a cockatiel. When the monogamous birds look for a mate they choose one with an opposite personality. Biologist Rebecca Fox used 45 adjectives - including 'gentle', 'bold', 'agreeable' 'feisty' and 'selfIsh' - to descrihe 20 cockatiels, When they were all put in together, the cockatiels sought out their opposites, she wrote in New Scientist magazine. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
NEW LAW: One of the fundamental laws of nature which has held good for 200 years is being challengeed by a physics enthusiast. The law of conservation of energy states that nothing can be created or destroyed, it can only be transformed however, part time physicist Gregor Bayer believes new stuff can be created in black holes. The American's theory has been ridiculed but was published in journal New Astronomy after being approved by a leading astrophysicist. FINE SIGHT: They may be black and white but giant pandas see in colour scientists believe. Although their vision is not brilliant the animals can differentiate between colours and various shades of grey. It had been thought that their visions was just black and white because they have such excellent senses of smell and hearing. Pandas could differentiate better  between red and grey than green and grey in a series of tests by scientists at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia. SKIN DEEP: A banana looks yellow because that's what our brains tell us. Our perception of colour depends not only on its pigmentation but also our knowledge of what it is supposed to look like researchers claim in journal Nature Neuroscience. People were asked to alter images of fruit to make them appear to lack colour in a test by German Scientists Their preconception of the fruits colour affected how they changed them the tests revealed. BRAIN POWER: There is a new weapon in the fight to help people recover fom serious brain injuries - a female sex hormone.More patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) who were given progesterone survived than those given a plabebo in medical tests. Progesterone 'exerts effects on damaged brain tissue', said Dr David Wright, who led the research in Atlanta, Georgia. TBIs are often caused by falls or car crashes. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	RADIO REVAMP: Antennas 'painted' on to airships could be used for espionage and communications. The 'paint on' antennals sucessfully transmitted voice and data calls dunng test flights in Nevada. Experts say high altitude airships could be used for both defence and homeland security, including surveillance of battlefields, borders and ports. They are cheaper than satellites but can still operate above commercial air traffic and the jet stream, and are beyond the range of most ground-to-air missiles, says no-profit research group RTI, based in North Carolina . TICK TOCK: The world's most accurate clock has been created using a singie atom of mercury .It measures the oscillations of an electrically charged mercury atom held in an ultra cold electromagretic trap. It produces 'ticks at optical frequencies much higher than the microwave frequencies measured in caesium atorns in America's most accurate clock the NIST-F1 at the US National institute of Standards and Technoloigy. Physicists say it could measure the speed of light and, if run continuously, would neither gain or lose a second in 400million years. BEAK TWEAKED: Finches which inspired Darwin's theory of evolutlon are helping to confirm it -by  evolving. Faced with competihon from larger ground finches which flew in 20 years ago, the native finches of the Galapagos Islands have developed smaller beaks for eating seed. Their ancestors with larger beaks died out because they could not compete with their new rivals. Prof Peter Grant, of Princeton University, said this proved that the rate of evolutlonary change accelerates in species which is faced with a threat to its survival.
EERIE ERIE: For years it has been dismissed as an illusion but now experts say it has a basis in science. People living in Cleveland, Ohio, have claimed that when the whether is right they can see across Lake Erie and spot buildings 80km away in Canada. Physicists said the mirages happen when a layer of cold air over the lake is topped by layers of warm air. This causes light filtering through the layers to bend,creating an illusion of objects in the distance. ECO-BRICKS: Bricks made from waste ash produced by power stations could provide a green alternative to normal ones, it is claimed. An Australian team said it has found a way to recycle the huge amounts of ash from coal-burning power plants. The bricks are made entirely from ash,creating an eco-friendly material that cuts costs for builders. The bricks are 28 per cent lighter and 24 per cent stronger than clay bricks. The ash can also be turned into concrete. PECKING ORDER: A male dog will whine and beg in deference to a stronger dog but drop its tone to a guttural growl if it feels superior. And men subconsciously do a similar thing. Why? To impress the ladies, of course. The lower the pitch of a man's voice the stronger other men think he is. And men raise it when speaking to someone they think is more dominant according to research by the University of Pittsburgh In Pennsylvania. BIG DISCOVERY. They are the biggest things in the universe... literally. Gigantic filaments stretch across 200miillon light years and contain 30 concentrations of gas, each of which contains ten times the cass of the Milky way.The vast clouds are thought to have given birth to the universe's biggest galaxies. They were spotted by astronomers on Hawaii studying a section of the sky 12 billion light years from Earth. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	DOWN, SHEP: Dogs can be as jealous as humans and even deliberately get between their owner and a partner during romantic moments, a study has found Such behaviour proves it is not just humans and chimps who experience emotions such as jealousy guilt, shame and pride, researchers at the University of Portsmouth said Dogs can develop animosity in particular when in a love triangle involving their carer and another person or animal they added. TOLKIEN ROT: Further doubt has been cast on claims that skeletal remains found on an Indonesian island in 2004 were those of 'hobbits' a species of furry mini-human. Instead, the 90cm tall (3ft) creatures that died out 15,000 years ago were probably ancestors of pygmies who still live on Flores, scientists said. One specimen with an unusually small head may have suffered from microcephaly a disease characterised by a shrunken skull they added LIGHTS OUT: Exposing premature babies to artificial hospital lighting can damage their development research suggests. It stops their biological clock from developing properly, according to scientists who carried out laboratory tests on baby mice This could result in an increased risk of mood disorders, such as depression, the US researchers warned. They suggest keeping lighting in special care baby units to a minimum. ON THE RUN: It is an issue which has divided scientists for years, but now it has been confirmed that charging elephants are technically running. Using motion capture technology from The Lord Of The Rings films, researchers photographed elephant leg movements up to 240 times per second. The results showed the beasts do bounce their legs - a bit like pogo sticks. That is now widely accepted as a running style, researchers at the University of London said. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
SLEEP TIGHT: The reason some animals wake up briefly while hibernating may be an evolutionary mechanism to fight infection. Many warm-blooded animals slip into a sleepilke state to get them through winters when food is scarce and they need to stay warm - but their immune systems go into sleep  mode too.'Animals cannot tell when they need to wake up or if they are infected,' said Angela Luis of Penn State University. 'Production of antibodies and white blood cells is stopped.' CRUNCH TIME: Australia was on walkabout until 1.6billion years ago - because the continent was still split into separate chunks. 'If you looked south from Alice Springs,you  would have seen an ocean,' said Kate Selway, a PHD student at Adelaide Untversity. She measured the electrical conductity of the Earth to depths of hundreds of kilometres to calculate when the northern and central Australian land masses eventually joined together. POT HEAD: The same part of the brain which responds to marijuana provides 'onn demand' protection against seizures. The endocannabinoid system might be a target for developing drugs which could reduce or prevent seizures in disorders such as epilepsy a study suggests. Researchers at the Queen Mary University of London found part of the brain called the h~m~ has neurons where oann~bis recepthrs become hyperactive during sei~ures. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	HIV HOPE: HIV sufferers are being  given new hope after  a breakthrough by US scientists. Sufferers had key immune cells removed from their blood. The 'helper T-cells' were 'trained to recognise' the virus before being injected back into the bloodstream to kill infected cells, New Scientist reported. Previous attempts to find a cure failed because the virus can hide from the Imrnune system. ROBO SPHERE: A new type of robot moves by balancing on a ball rather than using legs or wheels. The Ballbot can negotiate difficult terrain, that may be beyond other robots inventor and Carnegie Mellon University robotics expert Prof Ralph Hollis said: 'We wanted to create a robot that can manoeuvre easily. It is omnidirectional. It can move easily in any direction without having to turn first.' WILD WORDS: Areas where there is the highest concentration of flora and fauna are also the areas where people speak the most languages. Non- profit organisation Terralingua found places renowned for their wildife -such as the Amazon and New Guinea - were the places where the tribes had the most dialects. Half the world's 7,000 languages were also endangered, the study found. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
SEA LIFE: Life on Earth began in the ocean and not on the planet's surface, scientists claim. Conditions on the surface 4billion years ago, such as volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts, would have stopped life emerging. But these helped regulate the temperature at the bottom of the ocean to a more favourable 20-50°C. French researcher Dr Isabelle Daniel told the Royal Society of Chemistry she was sceptical this could be proven. RED SPOT: An Earth-sized storm on Jupiter is growing more powerful, experts say. The storm appears as a Little Red Spot on Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope. The storm has been building for decade, resulting in winds of up to 650kph (400mph). ln 2005 it appeared as a white spot but changed colour as it intensified. Despite its intensity, it pales into insignificance compared with the Great Red Spot, which is three times its size. HANDS FREE: A boy has been taught how to play a game of Space Invaders using the power of thought alone. The 14-year old mastered the first two levels of play, using just his imagination, when engineers from Washirgton University hooked up the Atari software to react to his brain pulses. The experiment could prove to be a breakthrough in helping disabled people control prosthetic limbs purely by thinking about it. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	IVF DISCOVERY: Trying to conceive through IVF can be a heartbreaking experience - only a third ofwomen actually fall pregnant. But now mothers-to-be could be given a genetic test to determine whether the treatment is likely to be successful. Experts have identified a gene - the progesterone receptor - that affects a woman's chances of conceiving. The research could also help prevent multiple births, the journal Nature reported. BONE CURE: 'Magic bullet' compounds are being developed to fight bone diseases and help patients recover. Researchers found human proteins can be combined with bispeosphonates to target specific conditions such as osteoporosis. A team at Alberta University, Canada, is developing drugs to deliver the compounds in active form direct to a patient's bones and not the organs. The study was reported by the Royal Society of Chemistry. METALLICA: Ever thought why your hands smell of metal after you touch metallic objects? It is not the metal at all but your own body odour. Chemists at Leipzig University in Germany found that acids naturally present in sweat react with carbon and phosphorus impurities in iron. This creates smelly molecules called organophosphines which rnay explain why water often tastes metallic, Nature journal reports in its latest edition. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
FAULTY GENE: A defective gene could trigger inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), research suggests. The DNA of 500 people with Crohn's disease and 500 healthy volunteers was examined by scientists. They found people had different variants of the gene IL23R which controls inflammation. The mutation could determine if a person is at risk of getting IBD, it was reported in the journal Science. SWAN ABOUT: An icy comet that is 320,000km wide and full of poisonous cyanide gas will be visible with the naked eye tonight. Comet Swan can be seen above the rooftops in the western sky for the next fortnight. But it will appear only as a small, bright smudge to the naked eye. Those with telescopes can see its green tinge as it flies l49million km (92.5million miles) away. HIGH AND DRY: Thirty per cent of the world's land surface could be hit by drought by the end of the century because of the rise in greenhouse gases, scientists say. The first global projections predict that areas under extreme drought could increase from the current three per cent. Experts at Hadley Centre for Climate Change also calculate that by 2100 half the Earth could lie influenced by moderate drought at any one time up frorn the current 20 per cent. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	EYE EYE: A chemical found in car exhaust systems could provide a treatment for eye disease. Cerium oxide nanoparticles can be used to protect the retina against exposure to damaging levels of light. The compound neutralises the effect of chemicals called reactive oxygen intermediates, which cause cells in the eye to die. The particles could also be used to treat degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, said journal Nature Nanotechnology. DEEP DOWN: Calling all Beatles fans! You could spend a week on a yellow submarine (or one of any other colour) breathing the same air without suffering any ill effects. Tests by Swedish students revealed that hazardous airborne compounds did not build up over a submersion period of eight days. Sophisticated systems will allow the air to remain acceptable for even longer periods under water. the Royal Society of Chemistry's Journal of Enviromental Monitoring found. JET LAGGED FLY: If you feel out of sync now the clocks have gone back it could be that you feel jet lagged on a molecular level, German professor RaIf Stanewsky has discovered that the body clock of a species of fruit fly is affected by two proteins nicknamed Timeless and Jet Lag which influence the flies' sensitivity to light. It was already known that the body clock of humans is similar to that of flies, so our timekeeping may be influenced in the same way. TESTING TIME: A new form of contraception has been developed that involves 'ungluing' sperm in the testicles. A study found rats can be made infertile by targeting sperm inside their testes. C Yan Cheng and his US team discovered that sertoli 'nurse' cells adhere to the sperm. If this adhesion is reduced, it can cause infertility. The technique worked so well on rats it may now be tried on men, said the study in the journal Nature Medicine. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
EMU-LATE: Emus can provide a clue to how two -legged Jurassic dinosaurs travelled along the prehistoric landscape. Unlike computer simulations, live emus can show how the dinosaurs actually moved, say researchers from the University of Wyoming. Emus look around as they walk, and cross one leg over the other, leaving tracks similar to the l65million year-old marks found at Red Gulch in northern Wyoming. It is believed the tracks belong to man- sized, meat-eating dinosaurs that walked in groups. WATER TRAIN: Tests have begun on a environmentally friendly train that emits only clear water, .The new trains is the world's first fuel cell hybrid. It runs on a combination of  hydrogen and battery power,as well as two 65kilowatt fuel cells.The train can reach sppeds of up to 100kph and can travel for up to 100km before it needs a  hydrogen refill. It was designed by a Japanese rail company which hopes the technology will be in widespreed use in ten to 20 years. RAT RACE: Being timid can give you cancer especially if you are a rat, a study shows. Scientists measured how far 81 young female rodents of a type known to develop breast and pituitary tumours were willing to walk into a new nonthreatening environment. By middle age, 80 per cent of tie timid rats had developed cancer, compared with just 38 per cent of their more confident siblings. 'The differences are striking,' said a scientist at the University of Chicago. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	ALL'S SWELL: As you sniffle through another miserable day at the office with a stinking cold remember, being ill is good for you. Developing a fever gives the immune system a boost scientists have found. By increasing the internal temperature of mice, they discovered the number of immune cells sent to the lymph nodes to destroy foreign bodies rose, 8 report in Nature Iminunology revealed. This is why, in illnesses such as mumps, the lymph nodes swell as the number of immune cells increases. IVF HOPE: A microchip that can measure the breath of tiny embryos could revolutionise IVF treatment for couples. The device has been used to monitor the oiygen used by mouse embryos at the earliest stages of development. Scientists hope the chip will be able to check the health of embryos during IVF, when eggs are extracted and fertilised outside the body, says the Royal Society of Chemistry journal. IVF is currently often unsuccessful. MIND SHOCK: Electrodes stuck to the scalp during sleep may help students with revision, research shows. Mild stimulation boosted volunteers' memory, enhancing a phase of sleep previously linked with word memory. Students in Germany were asked to memorise words and then given treatment to enhance 'slow wave' sleep. Their rate of recall increased by t3 per cent after sleep - more than three times that of volunteers given a sham procedure. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
SPY CLASS: The secret formula for an invisible ink used by the old East German secret police has been unravelled by academics. The once classified potion used by the Stasi was made by researchers at Michigan State University as a way of teaching their students a mix of chemistry and history. The academics pieced together the formula after stumbling across it in declassified Stasi files. Students were taught the basics and then asked to decode the message. NASTY BITE: Killer spiders use the same scare tactics to ward off predators as chilli peppers. A team fnom the University of California isolated three proteins from the venom of the West Indian tarantula Psalmopoeus cambridgei that cause pain. The team, whose findings are published in Nature, found the proteins activate the same chemical as capsaicin, the hot component in chilli peppers, indicating spiders share the same method of warding off predators. HANDY TIP: Good news for tired parents - research shows that massage helps newborn babies sleep more,cry less and have lower stress levels. Nine massage studies covering 598 babies uner six months old were studied by researchers from Warwick Medical School and the Institute of Education at the University of Warwick.They found massage also improved relationships between babies and mothers with postnatal depression. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	HAIRY GENE: A complete blueprint of Neanderthal DNA should be completed in two years experts say. By studying the DNA of 38,000 year old fossils, German scientists have been able to get a greater understanding of the way intelligent humans evolved. Early findings suggest Neanderthal and human DNA split about 500,000 years ago. It also supports the theory there was no largescale interbreeding between the two Nature journal reports. GOOD GRID: The first map of the worlds most powerful computer grids is to be unveiled this week. Nine of the largest grids are featured in the display at the supercomputing festival in Tampa Florida. The map uses Google Earth to pinpoint more than 300 sites on six continents. Grids are made up of hundreds or thousands of PCs linked together to create a supercomputer. They are vital for scientists who need extra computing power to process large amounts of data. STEEL STRONG: Carbon nanotubes those superstrong darlings of modern researchers - are anything but new. They were first developed by medieval Muslim swordsmiths fighting the Crusaders. Their Damascus blades were fashioned from a primitive steel-forging process which inadvertently created nanotubes and iron Carbide nanowires German researchers reported in the journal Nature. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
WINGING IT: A chicken has regrown its own wing in a scientific first. The development suggests all animals, even humans, may be able to regenerate lost body parts. Vertebrate regeneration is possible when the socalled Wnt signalling system is activated. Study leader Juan Carlos lzpisua Belmonte of the US said: 'By changing a few genes, you can enable vertebrates to regenerate their limbs, rebuild blood vessels, bone, muscles and skin.' APE SNIFF: Monkeys have started weanng perfume. Spider monkeys have been spotted rubbing themselves with chewed up leaves which German scientists believe act as perfumes. They use three types of leaves, including wild celery, which 'Spread an intensive and aromatic odour when crushed'. The scents are thought to help the monkeys communicate, signai social status and Increase sexual attractiveness. DRUG R~K: The reason why cannabis messes with the memory has been unravelled for the first time. The active ingredient in marijuana - tetrahydrocannabinoid or THO - was found by scientists to interfere with the synchronised activity between neurons in the part of rats' brains known to be important for memory. Animals performed less well in standard memory tests, an article in Nature Neuroscience journal said. MIND TASK: A machine that can be powered by the mind has been successfully tested. Users can use the power of thought to turn switches on and off. It uses an infrared light to map concentration of blood in the brain and translate changes involving brain activity Into voitage signals. In tests by Hitachi, users activated the power switch of a model train by performing mental arithmetic and reciting tasks. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum	You can't draw a square with one hand and a circle with the other unless you switch off your brain first, a US study suggests. Touch rather than brain power is the key to muiti- task actions like rubbing your stomach while patting your head. The discovery could help people with poor co-ordination, said Prof. David Rosenbaum, of Penn State University. He added people should rely on the sense of touch instead of asking the mind to go back and forwards between different tasks. TINIEST CUP: It may only be good for serving drinks to fleas but the world's smallest cup has been created. It was made during research in India Into ultra-small containers which are vital to many modern nanoparticle research projects. The cups can hold a femto liter One quadrillionth of a litre. The hope is that they can be used as inkwells for ultra-small particles. The molten metal cups were made by blasting solutions with a laser beam in a vacuum. BRAIN SPUN: Fine silicone threads that contain living human brain cells have been created by scientists using a process called electrospinning. The development which the team at University College London says was once thought impossible, could have a host of medical and bioengineenng applications. Among aspects of the process yet to be studied are how the spinning process affects the biological properties of the cells over the long term WHALE TALES: It may not be language as we know it but whales have no shortage of ways to make themselves understood. Some 622 separate sounds made by humpback whales have been identified by experts at Queensland University, Australia. Their 'language' includes 'wops' rnade by females, 'thwops' made by males, 'yaps' made when pods split and high-pitched cries that seem to express anger. They also communicate using body language. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
	DRUG TEST: Athletes who take the drug synacthen could soon be caught out by a blood test that is 10million times more sensitive than the current ones. When injected, synacthen stimulates the body to make natural steroid hormones which boost strength and stamina. Now a test has been developed that can find tiny traces of the chemical in human blood protein. Dr Mano Thevis of Cologne said it means athletes will no longer be able to cheat. HEAD ON: Brain injury can happen within a millisecond of a head smashing into a windscreen in a car accident. This means the injury occurs before the head moves back after impact. Researchers in New Mexico University and Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque made the finding after modelling early- time wave interactions in the head after impact. 'We wondered why people with similar head injuries have different outcomes,' said Paul Taylor of Sandia. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at Forum
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