Monthly Archives: October 2012

UK science blog prize

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You must be based in the UK and writing a science blog to be eligible  for the first UK Science Blog prize. Kahlil A. Casimally’s Oct. 11, 2012 posting on the Scientific American blogs (specifically the SA incubator) mentions (Note: I have removed links),

The Good Thinking Society, chaired by science writer, Simon Singh, recently announced the inaugural UK Science Blog Prize. The prize sets out to recognise the majesty’s nation’s best science blog of the year. Yes, this means that the winner will probably be able to include a “2012’s best science blog in the UK” logo in his or her blog’s sidebar. Wonderful.

Here’s more about the contest from the Good Thinking’s UK Science Blog Prize 2012 webpage,

Although there are already several prizes established in the UK for science books, general science writing and even skeptical blogging, there appears to be no dedicated recognition for science bloggers.

We’d like this to change, as we feel that some of the best science writing currently being produced is being written by science bloggers.

…

First prize is £1,000. There will be at least three runners up prizes of £100 each.

You are asked to self-nominate an entry which must have been published in 2012 by the deadline of Oct. 15, 2012 (today!). The organizers have declared all kinds of science blogging is eligible (from the blog prize webpage),

Other than that, we’re open to all science blogs and that means science in its broadest sense (i.e. pure science, applied science, engineering, mathematics, technology, statistics, health).  [emphasis mine] We also encourage bloggers from all backgrounds to apply, ranging from teenagers to learned professors. We wish to keep the criteria as open as possible. It’s likely the runners up prizes will go to specific category winners, such as best student blog or best pure science blog.

I’m not sure I’d call this science in its broadest sense since they have left out the social sciences. Minor quibble aside, the judges are an interesting lot (from the blog prize webpage),

In addition to Simon Singh at Good Thinking, the following will also be on the judging panel:

Ben Goldacre is a doctor and writer, who’s work focuses on unpicking the real evidence behind scientific claims from quacks, journalists, drug companies, and government reports.

Mark Henderson is a former Science Editor at The Times and author of The Geek Manifesto, detailing the relationship between science and politics. He is Head of Communications at the Wellcome Trust and doesn’t blog as often as he should.

Roger Highfield was the Science Editor of The Daily Telegraph for two decades and the Editor of New Scientist between 2008 and 2011. Today, he is the Director of External Affairs at the Science Museum Group.

Síle Lane is Director of Campaigns at Sense About Science and is a former stem cell researcher.

Martin Robbins is science writer, podcaster and journalist who blogs for The Guardian about science, pseudoscience and the role of science in politics.

Sid Rodrigues is the organiser of the world’s first Skeptics in the Pub, based in London and has served as consultant/organiser for science outreach events for over 5 years. He previously spent ten years as a scientist in applied genetics, analytical chemistry and forensics. He currently works at London’s home of free thought, Conway Hall.

Connie St Louis is Director of City’s Science Journalism MA, is an award-winning freelance broadcaster, journalist, writer and scientist. She presents and produces a range programmes for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service.

I hope to hear more about this contest when the winners are announced.

Thanks to @BoraZ’s tweet for alerting me to this science blogging initiative.

Nanoscale book ‘Teeny Ted from Turnip Town’ in* Guinness World Records

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Professor Karen Kavanagh (Simon Fraser University [SFU] in Vancouver, Canada) and Robert Chaplin, a self-styled artist and publisher, have announced that their nanoscale book title  ‘Teeny Ted from Turnip Town’ has just been declared the world’s smallest book by Guinness World Records. From the SFU Oct. 9, 2012 news release,

Teeny Ted from Turnip Town is officially the world’s tiniest reproduction of a printed book. Produced in Simon Fraser University’s Nano Imaging lab and measuring a mere 0.07 X0.10 millimeters, the 30-micro-tablet book has been added to the Guinness Book of World Records.

The book’s publisher, Robert Chaplin, created the nano book in 2007, after being trained to use a focused gallium ion beam (FIB) by the SFU lab’s managers Li Yang and Karen Kavanagh.

Chaplin designed and carved each page of the book into a polished piece of single crystalline silicon by sending the FIB system instructions about where to mill. The FIB has a gallium beam with a diameter of little more than seven nanometers, so each letter consisted of lines with 40 nm widths.

“Each letter takes a few seconds, so a whole book adds up in time to something probably not useful yet for commercial production,” says Kavanagh. “We need more beams moving in parallel – which is not impossible. Once scribed into silicon the book will last for a million years or more.”

Reading Teeny Ted from Turnip Town requires the use of a scanning electron microscope.

The book is a tinier read than the two smallest books formerly cited by Guinness: the New Testament of the King James Bible (5 X 5 mm, produced by MIT in 2001) and Chekhov’s Chameleon (0.9 X 0.9 mm, Palkovic, 2002). The head of a pin is about 2 mm.

A framed copy of the certificate from the Guinness folks hangs on the lab’s wall while the book, valued at around $15,000, is kept in a tiny box in a bank vault.

Kavanagh goes on to discuss the five-year wait to hear about their Guinness World Records application and Chaplin notes his future plans for ‘Teeny Ted’.

“Guinness has many requests and they take some time to weed out the good ones,” says Kavanagh of the near five-year wait. While there were plans to sell copies, only the one book was made.

Chaplin now has plans to make hardcopy versions of the nano book – a fable written by his brother about Teeny Ted’s victory in the turnip contest at the annual county fair – and is currently seeking investors via kickstarter.ca.

I have previously menti0ned ‘Teeny Ted’ both in a May 21, 2009 posting (scroll down to the final paragraph and then 1/2 way down the paragraph) and in my Nanotech Mysteries wiki here on the Scientists get literary page.

*’is’ changed to ‘in’ on March 20, 2023

Science and Technology Week in Canada starts today (Oct. 12, 2012)

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I see the coordinators of Canada’s 2012 National Science and Technology Week (Oct. 12 – 21) have organized what they hope will be a record-breaking “Largest Practical Science Lesson,” from the event page,

This October join the Science.gc.ca team, its partners, and thousands of Canadians in establishing a new Guinness World Record for the Largest Practical Science Lesson at multiple locations.

The record-breaking event will take place on Friday, October 12, 2012 at exactly the same time across Canada,  …

For those of us on the West Coast, the time will be 10 am, today. What a shame this wasn’t on the website when I checked for National Science and Technology Week events for my Sept. 11, 2012 posting. Happily, the event list for BC has grown and it’s not too late to participate,

British Columbia

Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre

ShawTitle of Event: Floating Ideas Lecture Series; Playing with Giants: Enrichment of Giant Pacific Octopus in Captivity

Location: Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre

Date: October 18, 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30)

Description: Learn how the Aquarist Team at the SODC is putting the giant Pacific octopus to the test and researching how to enrich the time they spend within the Centre.

Kootenay Association for Science & Technology

KASTTitle of Event: RoboGames

Location: Nelson, BC

Date: Training Sessions – October 18th, 25th; November 1st, 8th Competition – November 10th

Description: Robotics circuit training (4 sessions) and team-based competition. Open to kids aged 11 – 18, in the West Kootenay region.

Telus World of Science

Telus World of ScienceTitle of Event: Grade 8-10 Practical Science for the Classroom

Location: Telus World of Science – Vancouver

Date: October 19th, 2012, 8:30am – 3:15pm

Description: A full day of Professional Development for Grade 8 – 10 Science Teachers. http://www.bcscta.ca/

Title of Event: SWEET presents On The Edge, an inside look at Parkour

Location: Telus World of Science – Vancouver

Date: October 12, 6:30 to 10pm

Description: Cost is $10 + HST, to purchase your tickets in advance please go to http://www.scienceworld.ca/teen(Tickets will also be available at the door)

Title of Event: Westport Innovations Connection weekend

Location: Telus World of Science – Vancouver

Date: Oct 20 & 21, 10am to 6pm

Description: Included with your general admission to Science World. Please go to http://www.scienceworld.ca/aroundthedomefor updated information.

Title of Event: TEDx Kids BC

Location: Telus World of Science – Vancouver

Date: Oct 20, 9am to 5pm

Description: An awesome mix of British Columbia’s finest youth speakers. Please go to http://www.tedxkidsbc.com/ for more information. Attendance for this event is fully booked.

Title of Event: Café Scientifique: Changing Landscapes, Science in Canada’s North

Location: Telus World of Science – Vancouver

Date: Oct 20, 6:30 to 9pm

Description: This is a free event with limited space. Please go to http://www.scienceworld.ca/specialprograms#cafeto RSVP

Title of Event: Opening the Door

Location: Telus World of Science – Vancouver

Date: Oct 12 2012, 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Description: A science career networking event for student’s grade 10 – 12. This is a free event but you must preregister.

Title of Event: Community Science Celebration – NSTW Western Canadian Launch

Location: Telus World of Science – Vancouver

Date: Oct 13 & 14, 10 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Description: This is the first event of its kind at TELUS World of Science, and we want you to be there. Let’s celebrate the science all around us at the Vancouver Community Science Celebration! Included with your general admission to Science World. http://www.scienceworld.ca/aroundthedome

BIG Little Science Centre

BLSCTitle of Event: Fun Hands on Science at the BIG Little Science Centre

Location: The BIG Little Science Centre. 985 Holt Street, Kamloops BC.

Date: We are open year round Tuesday to Saturday. Closed Sundays, Mondays and Holidays.10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Description: Everyone is invited to visit the BIG Little Science Centre for interactive FUN science! Vistit our website www.blscs.org for more information.

Title of Event: Fantastic Kite Day

Location: BIG Little Science Centre

Date: Saturday October 13, 2012, 10am to 4pm

Description: BIG Little Science Centre’s FANTASTIC KITE DAY! Fly your old kite, build a new one, experiment with Bernoulli’s principles of lift and learn about the physics of kite flying. Hands on colour and excitement on the ground and in the air.

Perimeter Institute [emphasis mine]

Perimeter InstituteTitle of Event: 2012 CBC Massey Lectures – What Banged?

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Date: October 16, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Description: Neil Turok, Director of Canada’s Perimeter Institute, delivers the 2012 CBC Massey Lectures in five locations across Canada. Turok explores how the human mind can unlock the universe and transform the future. Please order Massey Lecture tickets directly from each lecture venue. Find a list of venues here.

Gairdner Foundation

Title of Event: Gairdner Foundation High School Outreach Program Lecture at the University of British Columbia

Location: University of British Columbia

Date: 22-Oct-12

Description: Science can be intimidating for teenage students. This is why the Gairdner Foundation’s laureates travel throughout Canada, sharing their personal stories about pursuing a career in research with students from over 120 schools. Today, the University of British Columbia will host a group of high school students for a lecture by Dr. William Kaelin Jr. and Dr. Jeffrey V. Ravetch.

Simon Fraser University

Title of Event: Saturday Morning Lecture Series

Location: SFU Surrey

Date: Saturday October 13, 2012, 10:00 a.m.

Description: TRIUMF, UBC, and SFU are proud to present the 2012-2013 Saturday Morning Lecture series. The lectures will be at a level appropriate for high school students and the general public. Event is free, however please register for tickets so that we can make sure we accomodate everyone. Everyone welcome.

The Exploration Place

Title of Event: National Science and Technology Demonstrations at The Exploration Place!

Location: The Exploration Place, Prince George, BC

Date: October 17th, 18th, 19th

Description: Have some fun with us as we celebrate National Science and Technology Week. Enjoy exciting hands-on activities, interactive daily demos, visit with our critters and tour the galleries.

Let’s Talk Science

Title of Event: Brighouse Science Bash

Location: Richmond, British Columbia

Date: October 19, 11 am to 3 pm

Description: In partnership with Genome BC and Richmond Public Library the 6th annual Science Bash takes place from 11am to 3 pm and will include interactive displays, fun experiments and other hands-on activities.

I’d like to note that the Perimeter Institute/CBC Massey Lectures is running a contest for  tickets to the various talks, books, and a grand prize of a trip to the Perimeter Institute and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (European Particle Physics Laboratory). Here’s more about the contest and about the book by Neil Turok which forms the basis for this Massey Lectures series, the CBC Massey Lectures page,

ENTER TO WIN tickets to the Massey Lectures, books and a grand prize trip to the Perimeter Institute in Ontario, Canada and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland!

Every technology we rely on today was created by the human mind, seeking to understand the universe around us. Scientific knowledge is our most precious possession, and our future will be shaped by the breakthroughs to come.

In this personal, visionary, and fascinating work, Neil Turok, Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, explores the transformative scientific discoveries of the past three centuries – from classical mechanics, to the nature of light, to the bizarre world of the quantum and the evolution of the cosmos. Each new discovery has, over time, yielded new technologies causing paradigm shifts in the organization of society. Now, he argues, we are on the cusp of another major transformation: the coming quantum revolution that will supplant our current digital age. Facing this brave new world, Turok calls for creatively re-inventing the way advanced knowledge is developed and shared, and opening access to the vast, untapped pools of intellectual talent in the developing world.

Elegantly written, deeply provocative and highly inspirational, The Universe Within is, above all, about the future –  of science, society and ourselves.

The Universe Within: From Quantum  to Cosmos will air on Ideas November 12 – 16.

Good luck with the contest and enjoy this wealth of  science events.

Two science communications jobs at Cambridge for the British Antarctic Survey

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The deadline is coming up pretty sharply (Oct. 28, 2012 at midnight GMT) for both science communications positions on the Cambridge-based communications team of the British Antarctic Survey. As far as I can determine, you are not required to be British to apply for the either position.

The first position is for a Communications Officer, (from the job vacancy page on the British Antarctic Survey website),

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), part of the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC], aims to undertake a world-class programme of scientific research, and to sustain for the UK an active and influential regional presence and a leadership role in Antarctic affairs.

We are now looking to recruit a Communications Officer to be responsible for delivering ‘Communications, Knowledge Exchange and Engagement’ plans for NERC  and EU-funded [European Union] high profile science programmes.

Qualifications: University degree or equivalent in relevant subjects.

Duration: One year fixed term appointment – maternity cover

Salary: Salary will be in the range of £26,180 to £29,410 per annum. We offer a generous benefits package including a defined salary pension scheme, free car parking, flexible working hours and 30 days annual leave.

The other position is for a Press and PR (public relations) Manager offers a remarkably similar description to the Communications Officer position (from the job vacancy page on the British Antarctic Survey website),

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), part of the Natural Environment Research Council, aims to undertake a world-class programme of scientific research, and to sustain for the UK an active and influential regional presence and a leadership role in Antarctic affairs.

The Press & PR Manager will be responsible for contributing to and implementing British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) communications strategy to explain and engage a range of target audiences in its world-leading science and operational activity. British Antarctic Survey is a component of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Qualifications: University degree or equivalent in relevant subjects.

Duration: 2-year fixed term appointment

Salary: Salary will be in the range of £26,180 to £29,410 per annum. We offer a generous benefits package including a defined salary pension scheme, free car parking, flexible working hours and 30 days annual leave.

There are more formal job descriptions, information about specific skills needed, and instructions on how to apply on the job vacancy pages (look for the tabs below the job title and application reference number)  for each position, respectively.

Thank you to Heather Martin, Polar Communications Specialist for the BAS, who listed the jobs in the Science Public Relations discussion group on LinkedIn.

A mini Tools of Change (TOC) at the Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver (Canada)

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O’Reilly Media, which has been producing the Tools of Change for Publishing Conference in February in New York for a number of years, will be presenting a mini Tools of Change in Vancouver on Oct. 20, 2012 (with a set of pre-conference workshops on Oct. 19).  Here’s more about the event from the Centre for Digital Media events webpage on the Great Northern Way Campus website,

O’Reilly Media has teamed with SFU [Simon Fraser University] and the Centre for Digital Media to bring the first Mini-TOC to Canada!

The well-rounded program features speakers from the Vancouver area as well as speakers who have frequented our TOC in New York program.

100 lucky participants (50 in each workshop) will get to choose between our “Tech Workshop” and our “Secrets to Ebook Success” day-long workshops [on Oct. 19, 2012]. The Tech workshop will include sessions on HTML5, and OpenSource tools for mobile publishing. The Secrets to Ebook Success will feature a 1/2 day ebook publishing primer (including best practices for ebooks), and a 1/2 day on Social Media, online marketing, and promotional strategies for ebooks and book apps.

Mini TOC Vancouver will be topped off by the first ever TOC Vancouver Ignite [emphasis mine] spotlighting 10 brave local souls willing to share their innovative, world-altering (or potentially world-altering) bookish/techy/artsy stories in a breath-takingly brisk format!

At Mini TOC, the presentations are just the jumping off point for discussions that involve everyone in attendance. We mix up the format so there will be some “thinky” idea-oriented sessions where presenters will lead discussions post-preso — and some “do-y” technical Q+As, where attendees can ask the experts on things like digital conversion, layout, and UX. It’s BookCamp [a local epublishing biannual event produced by Simon Fraser University’s Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing], meets unconference, meets TOC.

Taking place at the brand new Centre for Digital Media.

For anyone not familiar with an Ignite talk (from the Wikipedia essay; Note: I have removed links and formatting),

Ignite is a global event, organized by volunteers, where participants are given five minutes to speak about their ideas and personal or professional passions, accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, and slides are automatically advanced. The Ignite format is similar to Pecha Kucha, which features 20 slides displayed for 20 seconds each. The presentations are meant to “ignite” the audience on a subject, i.e. to generate awareness and to stimulate thought and action on the subjects presented.

The first Ignite was held in 2006 in Seattle, Washington, and was the brainchild of Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis. It was sponsored by O’Reilly Media and Make magazine. Since its inception, more than 50 Ignites have been started in cities around the world. O’Reilly has continued to support Ignite …

Getting back to the mini TOC, I believe ‘early bird pricing’ is available until tomorrow (Oct. 12, 2012), so you may want to sign up sooner rather than later. Here’s the Oct. 20, 2012 programme (from the Registration page of the O’Reilly mini Tools of Change web space),

9:00 – 10:00am            Check-in and Coffee

9:30 – 09:40am            Welcome and Announcements (Suzanne Norman, Kat Meyer)

9:40 – 10:10am            Opening Keynote: Corey Pressman (Exprima Media), “From Caves to Clouds: The Journey to Contentopia”

10:10 – 10:55am          Designing for Multiple Screens (Igor Faletski)

10:55 – 11:40am          Disrupting Academic Publishing One Mobile App At A Time: the OJS mobile app (Richard Smith and Brandon Yuh)

11:40am – 12:25pm     Digital Meets Traditional (Ryan Nadel)

12:25 – 12:30pm          Qbend (John Costa)

12:30 – 1:25pm            Lunch

1:25 – 1:55pm  Lean Publishing (Peter Armstrong)

1:55 – 2:25pm  Discovery in the App Marketplace (Brenda J. Walker)

2:25 – 2:55pm  Publishing, the Continuing Evolution: New Opportunities in Getting Stories Created and Out to Audiences (Robin Goldberg)

2:55 – 3:40pm  “To e-, or Not to e-“: Book Designers Discuss the Pros, Cons, and In-betweens of eBooks (Peter Cocking, Roberto Dosil, and Talent Pun)

3:40 – 3:55pm  Break

3:55 – 4:25pm  Rights of Creation: Legal Conundrums & Ethical Paradoxes (Jon Festinger)

4:25 – 5:00pm  Closing Keynote – Peter Meyers (Citia), “The Downside of Digital Devices”

5:00 – 5:30       Reception

5:30 – 6:00       IGNITE

Here’s the address:

Centre for Digital Media
685 Great Northern Way
Vancouver, BC

Follow the ‘graphene brick’ road

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Today (Oct. 11, 2012), I’m highlighting a second article in Nature. This time it’s a “A roadmap for graphene ” (behind a paywall) in the Oct. 11, 2012 online issue of Nature written by Nobel Prize-winner Professor Kostya Novoselov of the University of Manchester; V. I. Fal′ko Department of Physics, Lancaster University;  L. Colombo, Texas Instruments Incorporated; P. R. Gellert, AstraZeneca; M. G. Schwab, BASF SE; and K. Kim, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology.

If you can get behind the paywall, the article offers excellent insight into the state of graphene research and the state of graphene applications.  The authors cover:

Challenges in Production

Chemical vapour deposition

Synthesis on SiC

Other growth methods

Graphene electronics

Flexible electronics

High-frequency transistors

Logic transistor

Photonics

Photodetectors

Optical modulator

Mode-locked laser/THz generator

Optical polarization controller

Composite materials, paints, and coating

Energy generation and storage

Graphene for sensors and metrology

Bioapplications

You can get more details about the article from the Oct. 11, 2012 news release from the University of Manchester,

The authors estimate that the first graphene touchscreen devices could be on the market within three to five years, but will only realise its full potential in flexible electronics applications.

Rollable e-paper is another application which should be available as a prototype by 2015 – graphene’s flexibility proving ideal for fold-up electronic sheets which could revolutionise electronics.

Timescales for applications vary greatly upon the quality of graphene required, the report claims. For example, the researchers estimate devices including photo-detectors, high-speed wireless communications and THz generators (for use in medical imaging and security devices) would not be available until at least 2020, while anticancer drugs and graphene as a replacement for silicon is unlikely to become a reality until around 2030.

I notice the lead authors are from the University of Manchester and Lancaster University. These UK educational institutions are part of the FET (Future and Emerging Technologies) GRAPHENE-CA flagship project, which is in competition for one of two prizes of 1B Euros for research. As I’ve noted previously in my Feb. 21, 2012 posting and many others, the UK is leading a tremendous public relations/marketing campaign on behalf of this project and the UK’s own interests. Good luck to them as I believe the announcement of which are the two winning projects from a field of six should be made in the next few months.

The current international infatuation with roadmaps sometimes reminds me of The Wizard of Oz and the Yellow Brick Road,

I always appreciate the optimism shown by the lead character, Dorothy, as she takes off for parts unknown.

ETC group replies to Nature’s “Nanotechnology: Armed resistance” article

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In late August 2012, Nature ran an open access article about terrorism used to fight nanotechnology research, “Nanotechnology: Armed resistance,” where more ‘moderate’ activist groups such as the ETC Group (Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration) were implicated. From my Aug. 31, 2012 posting about the Aug. 30, 2012 Nature article by Leigh Phillips,

Phillips’ article goes on to discuss some of the more moderate groups including the Canada-based ETC Group, which has an office in Mexico,

Some researchers in Mexico say that more-moderate groups are stoking fears about nanotechnology. One such body is the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC, pronounced et cetera), a small but vocal non-profit organization based in Ottawa, Canada, which was one of the first to raise concerns about nanotechnology and has to a large extent framed the international discussion. Silvia Ribeiro, the group’s Latin America director, based in Mexico City, says that the organization has no links to the ITS.

….

When you analyze it, Phillips’ article is just as emotionally manipulative as the ETC Group’s communications. Including the ETC Group with the eco-anarchists in an article about terrorism and nanotechnology is equivalent to including the journal Nature with North Korea in an article about right-wing, repressive institutions framed from beginning to end to prove a somewhat elusive point.

Silvia Ribeiro, Latin America director of the ETC Group who is based in Mexico City, has replied in a letter to Nature published Oct. 4, 2012, which is behind a paywall. From Ribeiro’s letter (Note: I have removed a link),

You contend that most nanotechnology researchers now acknowledge that some areas of their work raise legitimate environmental, health and safety concerns (Nature 488, 576-579; 2012). …

In 2002, scientists could point us to only one peer-reviewed study of nanotube toxicity, and companies were still sending a Material Safety Data Sheet for graphite with carbon nanotube shipments. ETC’s concerns were dismissed as alarmist. We welcome the change in attitude.

While I’m not convinced that the reason for the scarcity of safety research was due to a huge majority of the scientific community being blind to possible health and environmental issues (perhaps there were other reasons for the lack of nanotoxicity research?) as Ribeiro implies, she does make a telling point here and elsewhere in her letter. I do find it a bit strange that this letter is behind a paywall when the article is open access; it seems like preferential treatment for one point of view and I expect better of Nature and its editors.

Ponce de León, new therapies against aging, and Spain

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ScienceDaily published an intriguing Oct. 3, 2012 news item about anti-aging research in Spain,

A team of Spanish scientists has developed an intelligent nanodevice that lays the foundations for the future development of new therapies against aging. The device consists of nanoparticles that can selectively release drugs in aged human cells. Its potential future use ranges from the treatment of diseases involving tissue or cellular degeneration such as cancer, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, among others, to accelerated aging disorders (progeria).

…

“The nanodevice that we have developed consists of mesoporous nanoparticles with a galactooligosaccharide outer surface that prevents the release of the load and that only selectively opens in degenerative phase cells or senescent cells. The proof of concept demonstrates for the first time that selected chemicals can be released in these cells and not in others,” says Ramón Martínez Máñez, researcher at the IDN Centre — Universitat Politècnica de València and CIBER-BBN member.

…

The researchers have evaluated the utility of the new nanodevices in primary cell cultures derived of patients with accelerated aging syndrome dyskeratosis congenita (DC). Such cultures show a high percentage of senescence characterized by elevated levels of beta-galactosidase activity, an enzyme characteristic of senescent state. “The aging cells overexpress this enzyme so we have designed nanoparticles that open when detected and release their contents in order to eliminate senescent cells, prevent deterioration or even reactivate for their rejuvenation,” explains Murguía [José Ramón Murguía, a researcher at the Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (UPV-CSIC) and also a CIBER-BBN member]. “There are a number of diseases associated with premature aging of tissues, many of which affect very young patients and for whom there is no therapeutic alternative, as in the case of DC or aplastic anemia. Other diseases affect adults, as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or liver cirrhosis. These nanoparticles represent a unique opportunity to selectively deliver therapeutic compounds to affected tissues and rescue their viability and functionality” explains Rosario Perona, researcher at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (CSIC/UAM) and CIBERER member.

While this team is discussing therapeutic applications in the news item, they do note there are cosmetic applications.

Nicholas Wade in a Nov. 2, 2011 article for the New York Times explores some research in the US on senescent cells, aging, and possible therapies,

Senescent cells accumulate in aging tissues, like arthritic knees, cataracts and the plaque that may line elderly arteries. The cells secrete agents that stimulate the immune system and cause low-level inflammation. Until now, there has been no way to tell if the presence of the cells is good, bad or indifferent.

The answer turns out to be that the cells hasten aging in the tissues in which they accumulate. In a delicate feat of genetic engineering, a research team led by Darren J. Baker and Jan M. van Deursen at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has generated a strain of mouse in which all the senescent cells can be purged by giving the mice a drug that forces the cells to self-destruct.

…

Aging research is a relatively young field because until 20 or so years ago the prospect of defeating age seemed hopeless. Then researchers found that the lifespan of laboratory animals could be extended by manipulating certain genes, setting off a hunt for drugs that might influence the corresponding genes in people. This line of research remains promising but has produced few tangible results so far. The discovery that senescent cells seem to be the cause of tissue degeneration opens out a new direction for researchers on aging to explore.

In both mice and people, senescent cells are few in number but have major effects on the body’s tissues. Killing the cells should therefore have large benefits with little downside. The gene-altering approach used on the mice cannot be tried in people, but now that senescent cells appear to be harmful, researchers can devise ways of targeting them.

…

The purpose of research on aging, she said, is not to let people live a thousand years, as portrayed in science fiction, but to increase health span, the proportion of people’s natural lives that they live in good health.

“People used to see aging as a rusting nail — there’s nothing you can do about it,” Dr. Campisi [Judith Campisi, at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging] said. “But we now know that there are processes that are driving aging, and that those processes can be meddled with.”

It appears that this relatively new understanding of senescent cells has provided the basis for the work in Spain where they have successfully targeted senescent cells in vitro, the next step will be to test the device on animal models. You can find out more about this work in Spain at RUVID, although you will need Spanish language skills.

As for Juan Ponce de León, he was not quite the Fountain of Youth seeker we’ve been led to believe (from the Wikipedia essay; Note: I have removed links and footnotes),

Juan Ponce de León … (1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named. He is associated with the legend of the Fountain of Youth, reputed to be in Florida.

…

According to a popular legend, Ponce de León discovered Florida while searching for the Fountain of Youth. Though stories of vitality-restoring waters were known on both sides of the Atlantic long before Ponce de León, the story of his searching for them was not attached to him until after his death. … Most historians hold that the search for gold and the expansion of the Spanish Empire were far more imperative than any potential search for the fountain.

UN’s International Telecommunications Union holds patent summit in Geneva on Oct. 10, 2012

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The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) patent summit being held today (Oct. 10, 2012) in Geneva, Switzerland was announced in July 2012 as noted in this July 6, 2012 news item on the BBC News website,

A rash of patent lawsuits has prompted the UN to call smartphone makers and others mobile industry bodies together.

It said the parties needed to address the “innovation-stifling use of intellectual property” which had led to several devices being banned from sale.

It said innovations deemed essential to industry standards, such as 3G or Jpeg photos, would be the meeting’s focus.

It noted that if just one patent holder demanded unreasonable compensation the cost of a device could “skyrocket”.

Microsoft and Apple are among firms that have called on others not to enforce sales bans on the basis of such standards-essential patents.

However, lawyers have noted that doing so would deprive other companies of way to counter-attacking other types of patent lawsuits pursued by the two companies.

Here’s a sample of the activity that has led to convening this summit (excerpted from the BBC news item),

“We are seeing an unwelcome trend in today’s marketplace to use standards-essential patents to block markets,” said the ITU secretary general Dr Hamadoun Toure.

…

Motorola Mobility – now owned by Google – managed to impose a brief sales ban of iPhone and iPads in Germany last year after Apple refused to pay it a licence fee. The dispute centred on a patent deemed crucial to the GPRS data transmission standard used by GSM cellular networks.

…

Samsung has also attempted to use its 3G patents to bar Apple from selling products in Europe, Japan and the US.

…

However, industry watchers note that Apple has used lawsuits to ban Samsung products in both the US and Australia and attempted to restrict sales of other companies’ devices powered by Android.

Mike Masnick commented briefly about the summit in his July 12, 2012 posting on Techdirt,

The UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) — the same unit looking at very questionable plans concerning taxing the internet — has apparently decided that it also needs to step in over the massive patent thicket around smartphones. It’s convening a summit … it looks like they’re only inviting the big companies who make products, and leaving the many trolls out of it. Also, it’s unclear from the description if the ITU really grasps the root causes of the problem: the system itself. …

There’s more information on the ITU summit or patent roundtable webpage,

This Roundtable will assess the effectiveness of RAND (reasonable and non-discriminatory) – based patent policies. The purpose of this initiative is to provide a neutral venue for industry, standards bodies and regulators to exchange innovative ideas that can guide future discussions on whether current patent policies and existing industry practices adequately respond to the needs of the various stakeholders.

I was particularly interested in the speakers from industry (from the Patent Roundtable programme/agenda),

Segment 1 (Part II: Specific perspectives of certain key stakeholders in “360 view” format):

Moderator: Mr. Knut Blind, Rotterdam School of Management [ Biography ]

Perspectives from certain key stakeholders:

  • Standard Development Organizations:
    Mr. Antoine Dore, ITU
    [ Biography ]
    Mr. Dirk Weiler, ETSI
    [ Biography ]
  • Industry players:
    Mr. BJ Watrous, Apple
    [ Biography ]
    Mr. Ray Warren, Motorola Mobility
    [ Biography ]
    Mr. Michael Fröhlich, RIM [emphasis mine]
    [ Biography ]
  • Patent offices:
    Mr. Michel Goudelis, European Patent Office
    [ Biography ]
    Mr. Stuart Graham, United States Patent and Trademark Office
    [ Biography ]
  • Academic Institution:
    Mr. Tim Pohlmann, Technical University of Berlin

I was surprised to note the presence of a Canadian company at the summit.

In general, hopes do not seem high that anything will be resolved putting me in mind of Middle Eastern peace talks, which have stretched on for decades with no immediate end in sight. We’ll see.

Come, see my etchings … they detect poison gases

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Inviting someone over to come see your etchings is an old seduction line made laughable through endless repetition. Maybe this latest innovation, will bring the line back into vogue. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have devised a gas sensor that you can create/etch with a simple mechanical pencil and paper imprinted with gold electrodes.

The Oct. 9, 2012 news item on Nanowerk provides details,

Carbon nanotubes offer a powerful new way to detect harmful gases in the environment. However, the methods typically used to build carbon nanotube sensors are hazardous and not suited for large-scale production.

A new fabrication method created by MIT chemists — as simple as drawing a line on a sheet of paper — may overcome that obstacle. MIT postdoc Katherine Mirica has designed a new type of pencil lead in which graphite is replaced with a compressed powder of carbon nanotubes. The lead, which can be used with a regular mechanical pencil, can inscribe sensors on any paper surface.

The sensor, described in the journal Angewandte Chemie (“Mechanical Drawing of Gas Sensors on Paper”), detects minute amounts of ammonia gas, an industrial hazard. Timothy Swager, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Chemistry and leader of the research team, says the sensors could be adapted to detect nearly any type of gas.

The Oct. 9, 2012 MIT news release by Anne Trafton, which originated the news item, describes how the scientists developed this new fabrication system,

Swager and Mirica set out to create a solvent-free fabrication method based on paper. Inspired by pencils on her desk, Mirica had the idea to compress carbon nanotubes into a graphite-like material that could substitute for pencil lead.

To create sensors using their pencil, the researchers draw a line of carbon nanotubes on a sheet of paper imprinted with small electrodes made of gold. They then apply an electrical current and measure the current as it flows through the carbon nanotube strip, which acts as a resistor. If the current is altered, it means gas has bound to the carbon nanotubes.

The researchers tested their device on several different types of paper, and found that the best response came with sensors drawn on smoother papers. They also found that the sensors give consistent results even when the marks aren’t uniform.

Two major advantages of the technique are that it is inexpensive and the “pencil lead” is extremely stable, Swager says. “You can’t imagine a more stable formulation. The molecules are immobilized,” he says.

The new sensor could prove useful for a variety of applications, says Zhenan Bao, an associate professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University. “I can already think of many ways this technique can be extended to build carbon nanotube devices,” says Bao, who was not part of the research team. “Compared to other typical techniques, such as spin coating, dip coating or inkjet printing, I am impressed with the good reproducibility of sensing response they were able to get.”

It’s interesting but where carbon nanotubes are concerned I would like to know if they’ve considered safety issues. Given their similarity to asbestos fibres, it would seem researchers might want to indicate it’s safe to use carbon nanotubes in this new fabrication process.