| science
and technology 6 |
real
world attacks using the web
“They also discovered that simple software could be launched
to automatically recognize and fill in fields such as "name,"
"address" and "city," and then submit the catalog
request online. "It could be set up to send 30,000 different catalogs
to one person or 30,000 copies of one catalog to 30,000 different recipients,"
said Rubin. "This could create a great expense for the sender,
a huge burden for local postal facilities and chaos in the mail room
of a business targeted to receive this flood of materials."
Links to more detail provided.
related material
the
turing test continues to be useful
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science020503_2 |
02.05.2003
related material
the
turing test continues to be useful |
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oh
what fun—clones in any variety
“Researchers would then treat the ES cells with molecules that
encourage them to develop into either sperm or eggs - the necessary
signals, Jaenisch says, should soon be discovered. The resulting cells
could be fused with the sperm or egg of the other partner by in vitro
fertilization, and the embryo could then be implanted. "It's a
technical problem, not a principle one," argues Jaenisch.”
So Daddy could be Mummy and Mummy could be Daddy, or Mummy could be both
Daddy and Mummy, etc.
“"These are infertile couples with defective eggs or sperm,
for whom current assisted-reproduction techniques do not work but who
are desperate to bear a child that is genetically their own.
"Most don't want a clone - just a baby," says Wertz."”
No, they do not “just want a baybeee”.
I have to wonder at the ability (or is that eagerness) to likely pass
on traits that made them infertile in the first place, quite apart from
issues of ego.
This should give the amateur noseys a few sleepless nights, ‘thinking’
about the deep philosophy, I mean.
Opening on a street near you sometime soon, The Baybeee Boutique.
“$50 for the basic model, sir, madam; blonde hair $30 extra; brain
overdrive with linked hard drive only $170.
“Yes, of course we do credit.”
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science020503 |
02.05.2003 |
human-chimp
genome percentage difference may require review
“The data call for some revision of the estimated genetic similarity
between us and our closest relatives. Previously, human and chimp genetic
sequences were quoted as being nearly 99% identical, with a difference
of only a few DNA's letters. In fact, the similarity may be as low as
94-95%, says Todd Taylor of the RIKEN Genomic Sciences Center in Yokohama,
Japan.”
Note: this is a shallow, sloppy report.
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science010503_2 |
01.05.2003 |
here’s
a neat piece about watching the microscopic
“The novelty of this study is that, for the first time, we've
been able to watch the birth of microtubules in plants and watch them
go streaking across the cell,”
Streaking across the cell?
“Time-lapse imagery revealed that an individual microtubule starts
out in a random "pick-up stick" position, then treadmills
across the cell at an average rate of 0.5 microns per minute (one micron
equals one-millionth of a meter),”
A thousandth of a millimeter in 2 minutes! Two thousand minutes to move
a millimeter, more than a day, as long as you work all night. And I know
people who streak that fast when there is work to be done.
“Using time-lapse imagery, the scientists discovered that new
microtubules emerged near the outer wall of the plant cell - not in
the cell interior where animal microtubules originate. Time-lapse imaging
also revealed that plant microtubules appear to move in the cell by
a process known as "treadmilling," which occurs when bits
of protein (known as "subunits") are added to the leading
end of the microtubule and simultaneously removed from the trailing
end.
“With treadmilling, the microtubule looks like it's moving in
one direction, but in reality, one end is growing while the other is
shortening," Ehrhardt noted.”
And here is some idea of how it is done, from Enc. Brit.—confocal
scanning microscopy:
“In this technique, two microscopes are used, examining the same
region of an object from opposite sides of the object. A small illuminated
aperture is focused onto the object by the illuminating microscope.
The receiving microscope is configured identically, with a photodetector
following a small aperture in the magnified focal plane of the receiving
microscope. The two microscopes are adjusted to focus on the same region
in space. This effectively prevents any extraneous light or any light
scattered at the confocal image region from reaching the detector. The
object is then scanned to build up an image from the detected signal.
“The confocal scanning microscope has the unique ability to produce
images of a single plane, or optical section, of an object. Because
the rejection of scattered and extraneous light is excellent in the
confocal arrangement, the image is formed only by light from a specific
region. If several scans are made with the pair of microscopes successively
focused upon different depth planes in the object, a three-dimensional
structure can be inferred from this complete set of imagery.
And this lot are doing it with time-lapse photography—clever stuff!
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science010503 |
01.05.2003 |
| getting
to know our backyard in space 
“The Heliosphere (APOD) Where does the Sun's magnetic influence
end? The heliosphere extends past the orbits of Neptune and Pluto. How
far, no one knows. The shape of the heliospheric current sheet affects
space weather and the propagation of cosmic rays through the solar system.”
With several animations, illustrations and links.
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science300403_2 |
30.04.2003 |
| welcome
the march of the droids
“The Hybrot, a small robot that moves about using the brain signals
of a rat, is the first robotic device whose movements are controlled
by a network of cultured neuron cells.”
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science300403 |
30.04.2003 |
| total
eclipse of the moon, coming very soon
A link to a neat diagram with times in 3 zones.
Go
here for NASA information, complete with technical descriptions
of the events, on all four lunar and solar eclipses occuring in 2003.
The diagram for the route of the May 16th
moon eclipse is
here.
A lunar eclipse naturally always occurs when there is a full moon (look
at the linked diagram!). On the 30th May this year, at the time of the
new moon, it will be a black moon; that is, the second
new moon to occur during one calendar month.
A blue moon is the second full moon
to occur in a calendar month. On average, every century there are 41 months
that have two full moons, and 41that have two new moons. Thus, there is
a blue moon once about every two and a half years, hence the folk saying
“once in a blue moon” as an expression of rarity.
This site has a
Blue Moon calculator.
When the moon actually looks blue, this is because of
large quantities of dust that have been thrown up by volcanic eruptions
or by forest fires. The dust particles scatter light from the moon (or
sun) in every direction. However, red light is scattered more than blue
light, so less red light will go straight through the dust or smoke. This
results in the moon looking as if it tinted blue.
This is the reverse of the light scattering that occurs at sunrise or
sunset, the reversal resulting from a different distribution of particle
sizes. At sunrise or sunset, ‘ordinary’ dust particles scatter
the light from the sun so much that it appears in a range of orange, red
and pink hues.
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science240403 |
24.04.2003 |
| a
useful bit of technology advance to note—electro-flexing materials
“Nanomuscles weigh just one gram but can lift 140 grams, and
are preferred
to electric motors as they are far cheaper to produce: 50 cents each
compared to US$300. They also make less noise and operate more smoothly.”
And they generate much less heat than motors.
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science230403 |
23.04.2003 |
| internet
usage stabilising at about 60% in the usa
A
general short summary
and .....
the
full 46-page PDF report.
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science210403 |
21.04.2003 |
| the
return of the ants
“In these countries ants had been used for centuries to control
crop pests, but with the availability of cheap pesticides in the 1960s,
the ants were edged out. Now, insecticides are becoming much more expensive
- and so ants are once again an attractive option.”
An interesting article, recommended reading.
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science200403 |
20.04.2003 |
| new
data bank of dioxin contamination in vietnam promises analytic progress
“The new analysis, performed by a group led by Jeanne Mager
Stellman at Columbia University in New York, provides the most detailed
and sophisticated computerized maps ever produced of herbicide spraying
in Vietnam. For the first time, the authors say, it is possible to calculate
an exposure index for individuals and populations that is accurate enough
for the epidemiological research that is needed for firm links with
health data.”
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science170403_3 |
17.04.2003 |
| a
reasonable statement on depleted uranium
The first reasonable realistic report on this subject that I have seen
in straight-forward language—recommended reading.
Most people worry too much, and about the wrong things:
From Danger Ahead by Larry Ludan, 0471134406:
-
p.133:
“A study by the Rand Corporation suggests that a sedentary
person can add 21 minutes to their life for each mile walked.”
Consider how long walking a mile will take you, especially
if you change before and wash and change after. And if you drive
to your walking place, of course, you will add to your risks.
[ I have even seen people exercising with a lighted dummy in
their mouths.]
If every able-bodied American jogged for an hour a day, approximately
500 would die from the exertion (roughly 200,000 deaths a year).
From p.134
“If every american adult took a stress test before jogging,
15,000 to 20,000 would suffer a fatal coronary during the test.”
From p.80
estimated lifetime risk of cancer—
from food: 6.59%
from food additives—spices and flavourings, pesticides,
drugs given to animals you eat, food preparation
total.—about •1%.
|
-
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science170403_2 |
17.04.2003 |
| problems
with cloning—this is no simple road
Pig clones reported to differ from the parent. The article suggests they
will still breed as if they are original animal from which the clone was
taken. I will wait and see.
Meanwhile, primate
cloning has run into difficulties not experienced in non-primate
cloning.
“Cloning has worked in mice, sheep and other animals because
their eggs
contain back-up supplies of these proteins, says Schatten. The
conventional technique "will have to be modified" to make
it work on
primates, including humans, agrees Roger Pedersen, who studies cloning
at
the University of Cambridge, UK.”
Cells age with the body. I continue to wonder about the serious viability
of clones developed from adult body cells. In my view, there is still
a very great deal to learn.
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science170403 |
17.04.2003 |
| increasing
applications of uavs (unmanned aerial vehicles)
“... the Silver Fox will track, and provide evidence against,
poachers of elephants and other endangered species. The plane also could
fly in front of oil tankers and
ships to protect them from barriers. Mulligan said eventually the Silver
Fox would have a 1,500-mile range that would enable it to survey difficult
to explore regions, like the Arctic.”
—
“the craft first was meant for tracking whales, to protect the
mammals from naval exercises.”
Drones have been used already in Afghanistan and Yemen to fire on hostiles.
Soon to be flying over your high street or back yard!
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/science6.htm#science150403 |
15.04.2003
|
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