51. Computer Rosetta Stone
Deciphering an unknown language is a challenge even for veteran linguists. But in July, MIT computer scientist Regina Barzilay proved that a computer can do the job well and with astonishing speed. She and her colleagues developed a program that deciphered large chunks of Ugaritic, an ancient Middle Eastern language, in just a few hours.
Barzilay used a statistical approach that compared Ugaritic with Hebrew, a known related language. By assessing structural similarities between the two, her software calculated the probability that a particular Ugaritic word was a cognate—a functional equivalent—of a selected Hebrew word. (The French pain and Spanish pan are an example of a cognate pair; both mean “bread.”) Because Ugaritic had already been decoded by scholars, the MIT team was able to confirm the program’s success.
Barzilay thinks the software could tackle languages that no human has been able to crack, even if it is not obvious which known tongue it most strongly resembles. “This technique allows you to quickly test several candidate languages
to see which is closest,” she says. She plans to set it loose on one of the dozen or so undeciphered ancient languages, perhaps beginning with Etruscan, once spoken in what is now northern Italy.
Barzilay used a statistical approach that compared Ugaritic with Hebrew, a known related language. By assessing structural similarities between the two, her software calculated the probability that a particular Ugaritic word was a cognate—a functional equivalent—of a selected Hebrew word. (The French pain and Spanish pan are an example of a cognate pair; both mean “bread.”) Because Ugaritic had already been decoded by scholars, the MIT team was able to confirm the program’s success.
Barzilay thinks the software could tackle languages that no human has been able to crack, even if it is not obvious which known tongue it most strongly resembles. “This technique allows you to quickly test several candidate languages
to see which is closest,” she says. She plans to set it loose on one of the dozen or so undeciphered ancient languages, perhaps beginning with Etruscan, once spoken in what is now northern Italy.
52. Large Hadron Collider Gets Going With a Bang
The long wait for the world BIGGEST PHYSICS experiment ended last March 2010. After 25 years of planning and billion spent in construction, the Large
Hadron Collider started smashing protons together at more than 99 percent of the speed of light in a 17- mile-long circular tunnel beneath the Swiss-French
border. Each collision creates a subatomic fireball that mimics the first trillionth of a second of the universe’s existence.The first year’s collisions have produced an unexpected wealth of particles. “ The number is percent higher than what was predicted by the models,” says Sergio Bertolucci, director of research at CERN, which mbuilt and operates the collider. It will take at least several months before physicists know exactly what is happening in those collisions; first they will have to sift through the . gigabytes of data that pour from the detectors every second. Among the new particles emerging from the
collider’s mini- reballs, physicists hope to nd the Higgs boson, which according to theory is responsible for endowing all other particles with mass. “I
personally think that we will nd the Higgs in the next year or year and a half,” Bertolucci says. Other quarry include so-called supersymmetric particles,
a possible constituent of the dark matter that holds galaxies together. e is scheduled for a -month shutdown in to make sure it can handle the even higher energies it was designed for. But that date is flexible. “If in we have hints of new physics, we will not stop; we will keep going,” Bertolucci says. “ ere’s an
old saying: e best is the enemy of the good.”
Hadron Collider started smashing protons together at more than 99 percent of the speed of light in a 17- mile-long circular tunnel beneath the Swiss-French
border. Each collision creates a subatomic fireball that mimics the first trillionth of a second of the universe’s existence.The first year’s collisions have produced an unexpected wealth of particles. “ The number is percent higher than what was predicted by the models,” says Sergio Bertolucci, director of research at CERN, which mbuilt and operates the collider. It will take at least several months before physicists know exactly what is happening in those collisions; first they will have to sift through the . gigabytes of data that pour from the detectors every second. Among the new particles emerging from the
collider’s mini- reballs, physicists hope to nd the Higgs boson, which according to theory is responsible for endowing all other particles with mass. “I
personally think that we will nd the Higgs in the next year or year and a half,” Bertolucci says. Other quarry include so-called supersymmetric particles,
a possible constituent of the dark matter that holds galaxies together. e is scheduled for a -month shutdown in to make sure it can handle the even higher energies it was designed for. But that date is flexible. “If in we have hints of new physics, we will not stop; we will keep going,” Bertolucci says. “ ere’s an
old saying: e best is the enemy of the good.”
53. Medical Secrets Inside a 2,000-Year-Old Pill
ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXCAVATING an ancient Greek shipwreck near Tuscany two decades ago unearthed a unique find: a medicine chest whose contents included a tin of 2000-year-old medical tablets. Last year DNA analysis of the pills nally shed light on their makeup. Geneticist Robert Fleischer and historian Alain Touwaide of the Smithsonian Institution identifed the remedies by comparing DNA sequences against a reference genetics database. The green
tablets, each about an inch wide and one- fth inch thick, contained a garden’s worth of ingredients, including carrot, parsley, celery, cabbage,
alfalfa, and wild onion. e pills match prescriptions described by early physicians —a dream come true for historians. “It is the fi rst proof that the ancient texts can be trusted,” Touwaide says. Drug companies may want to take note too. “ ere may be herbal combinations in these pills that no one’s tested,”
Fleischer says.
tablets, each about an inch wide and one- fth inch thick, contained a garden’s worth of ingredients, including carrot, parsley, celery, cabbage,
alfalfa, and wild onion. e pills match prescriptions described by early physicians —a dream come true for historians. “It is the fi rst proof that the ancient texts can be trusted,” Touwaide says. Drug companies may want to take note too. “ ere may be herbal combinations in these pills that no one’s tested,”
Fleischer says.
54. Airplanes Can Pull Snow From Clouds
While you are passing through a cloud with your seat back upright and your tray table in the locked position, your airplane could be triggering a freak snow shower. Last June microphysicist Andrew Heyms held from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, showed that planes can punch holes in clouds, like the one at right, and change the weather below. Ice crystals do not form easily, so water droplets can persist in the atmosphere even at temperatures far below freezing. Airplanes entering such supercooled clouds just after takeo or before landing can cause disruptions that instantaneously freeze those droplets, Heyms eld says. When turboprop aircraft force air behind the propeller blades, or when jets cause moist air to ow over the wings to provide lift, the air expands and cools. Either one of those aircraft e ects can drop the air temperature by more than
degrees Fahrenheit, ash-freezing the water vapour. that frozen vapor quickly forms
ice crystals that drop out of the cloud as snow. Heyms eld thinks this might explain some of those winter travel delays. “ The main effect will be locally induced precipitation,” he says. “Around airports, especially during wintertime, more snow is generated.”
degrees Fahrenheit, ash-freezing the water vapour. that frozen vapor quickly forms
ice crystals that drop out of the cloud as snow. Heyms eld thinks this might explain some of those winter travel delays. “ The main effect will be locally induced precipitation,” he says. “Around airports, especially during wintertime, more snow is generated.”
55. First Peek at the Solar System’s Outer Edge
Far beyond Pluto, beyond even the comets, lies the solar system’s true edge—the heliosheath, where
charged particles blowing outward from the sun crash into those flowing from other stars to create a vast
protective magnetic bubble. In September scientists produced the most comprehensive study yet
of this distant boundary, finding it improbably dynamic. The observations come from NASA’s Interstellar
Boundary Explorer (IBEX), which detects neutral atoms that are sent streaming toward Earth after
breaking free from the heliosheath. In 2009 IBEX data revealed a long ribbon of those atoms, with a knot in
it, crossing the sky. Just six months later, the knot had unwound. Mission leader Dave McComas of
the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio says there is no good theory for why the heliosheath
would be so jittery tens of billions of miles from the sun despite its tremendous size, or for why the ribbon
even exists. Initially scheduled to end next month, IBEX’s mission was extended so that McComas can monitor the heliosheath over a longer timescale. “We have to analyze this as a dynamic structure—breathing,
changing, and evolving,” he says. NASA astronauts would be likely to agree: When the heliosheath is
weaker, it provides less protection from interstellar particles that could cause cancer in anyone embarking
on a lengthy interplanetary mission.
charged particles blowing outward from the sun crash into those flowing from other stars to create a vast
protective magnetic bubble. In September scientists produced the most comprehensive study yet
of this distant boundary, finding it improbably dynamic. The observations come from NASA’s Interstellar
Boundary Explorer (IBEX), which detects neutral atoms that are sent streaming toward Earth after
breaking free from the heliosheath. In 2009 IBEX data revealed a long ribbon of those atoms, with a knot in
it, crossing the sky. Just six months later, the knot had unwound. Mission leader Dave McComas of
the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio says there is no good theory for why the heliosheath
would be so jittery tens of billions of miles from the sun despite its tremendous size, or for why the ribbon
even exists. Initially scheduled to end next month, IBEX’s mission was extended so that McComas can monitor the heliosheath over a longer timescale. “We have to analyze this as a dynamic structure—breathing,
changing, and evolving,” he says. NASA astronauts would be likely to agree: When the heliosheath is
weaker, it provides less protection from interstellar particles that could cause cancer in anyone embarking
on a lengthy interplanetary mission.
56. Synthetic Antibodies Cure Infected Mice
Our immune system cannot always make antibodies —proteins that surround and deactivate pathogens— quickly enough to neutralize aggressive viruses. Vaccines prime the system to build antibodies before infection, but they can be expensive to develop, slow to produce, or elusive. In March chemists created a promising alternative: a synthetic antibody that can disable a pathogen in a living animal. Ken Shea and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine,
used melittin, the toxin in bee venom, as the antigen (the substance triggering an immune reaction). Melittin particles hold a positive charge, so Shea created a negatively charged polymer. He added melittin so the polymer particles formed with a molecular imprint of the toxin’s shape. The plastic nanoparticle
attracted the toxin and fit it like a cast, neutralizing it. Shea gave mice a lethal dose of melittin, then injected half the animals with his plastic antibodies. All the unprotected mice died, but almost 60 percent of the treated ones survived. The experiment shows how antibodies might be built quickly
in the lab, “a decided advantage if some unknown horrible disease might appear.
used melittin, the toxin in bee venom, as the antigen (the substance triggering an immune reaction). Melittin particles hold a positive charge, so Shea created a negatively charged polymer. He added melittin so the polymer particles formed with a molecular imprint of the toxin’s shape. The plastic nanoparticle
attracted the toxin and fit it like a cast, neutralizing it. Shea gave mice a lethal dose of melittin, then injected half the animals with his plastic antibodies. All the unprotected mice died, but almost 60 percent of the treated ones survived. The experiment shows how antibodies might be built quickly
in the lab, “a decided advantage if some unknown horrible disease might appear.
57. Bioethicist Hank Greely speaks out on the vast benefits and troubling
risks of sequencing personal genomes for pennies on the gene.
The helical molecules of our DNA are becoming increasingly entangled in our everyday lives.
Universities propose genetic testing for incoming freshmen, Indian tribes sue to retrieve their genetic samples, crimes are solved through new forms of forensic analysis, and individuals routinely learn about their genetic predisposition to disease.
Regulations, meanwhile, are lagging far behind the new scientific possibilities.
Bioethicist Hank Greely, director of the Center for Law and Biosciences at Stanford Law School, is seeking a sensitive path through this ethical thicket.
Universities propose genetic testing for incoming freshmen, Indian tribes sue to retrieve their genetic samples, crimes are solved through new forms of forensic analysis, and individuals routinely learn about their genetic predisposition to disease.
Regulations, meanwhile, are lagging far behind the new scientific possibilities.
Bioethicist Hank Greely, director of the Center for Law and Biosciences at Stanford Law School, is seeking a sensitive path through this ethical thicket.
58. The 13 Faces of Lyme
The LYME disease the most prevalent tickborne infection in the United States, can vary greatly from one person to the next. e hallmark is said to be a bull’s-eye rash, yet the rash can take other shapes or not appear at all. Some patients su er nerve damage, others heart block or swollen joints. Almost percent report a ulike condition marked by myalgia, arthralgia, and fatigue. Intensity veers wildly too: In one patient symptoms may be barely discernible; in another so incapacitating that life is derailed. Now the reason for this inconsistency is becoming clear. In October a team of scientists published the sequences of the genomes of strains of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. “Different strains have di erent capacity to cause disease,” explains infectious-diseases physician Benjamin Luft of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. “We now have a more complete picture of the pathogen and the genes that may be related to the disease.” For patients the payo could be great. Scientists have had to develop diagnostic tests and vaccines without information from the genomes. But now “the approach can be reset using the bacterial and human genomic data,” says immunologist Steven Schutzer of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. “For instance, diagnostic tests could be tailored to different strains or stages of the disease,” and vaccines could be designed to skirt interaction with the human body.These results, along with imaging technologies that capture pathogens in the living host, form a “sca old” for future research into Lyme disease, says Joseph Breen, bacteriology program o cer at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which funded the work.
59. Active Volcanoes on Venus?
It seems that Earth’s wayward twin—where surface temperatures hover around 900 degrees Fahrenheit and the clouds rain sulfuric acid—is an even more hellish place than previously known. New observations of Venus by a European spacecraft, described in the journal Science last April, indicate that the planet is dotted with active volcanoes. Ever since NASA’s Magellan probe mapped Venus’s surface in detail in the early 1990s, scientists have known that the landscape there is remarkably unblemished by impact craters but rich in apparently dormant volcanoes. Researchers developed two theories to explain the planet’s smooth surface: Either our sister world underwent a planetwide paroxysm of lava flows about 500 million years ago, before falling into a geologic coma, or it has been awake all along, resurfacing itself in small eruptive spurts. Infrared readings from the Venus Express—a probe currently orbiting the planet—add weight to the second theory. Suzanne Smrekar of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and her colleagues deduced that lava flows on the flanks of several Venusian volcanoes appear unweathered, meaning that the flows must be no more than 2.5 million years old. Some of these volcanoes could be erupting right now. So the planet is not geologically dead after all. It is alive and may be ready to rumble
60. Fighting Crime With Mathematics
One major problem in crime-fighting is that a police crackdown in one neighborhood may simply push criminal behavior into a nearby area. In March two mathematicians, working with an anthropologist and a criminologist, announced a way to quantify this reaction. “Crimes tend to cluster together in
space and time, forming hot spots,” says UCLA mathematician Martin Short, the study’s lead author. Drawing on real-world data, his team developed
a model showing that hot spots come in two varieties. One type forms when an area experiences a large-scale crime increase, such as when a park is overrun
by drug dealers. Another develops when a small number of criminals—say, a pair of burglars—go on a localized crime spree. The model suggests that a focused police response can relatively easily extinguish larger hot spots because the criminals there scatter randomly, making it unlikely that they will resume
coordinated unlawful activity nearby. But for smaller crime waves, crooks just migrate together into an adjacent neighborhood, where they are likely to
start another spree. By analyzing police reports as they come in, Short hopes to determine which type of hot spot is forming so police can handle it more
effectively.
space and time, forming hot spots,” says UCLA mathematician Martin Short, the study’s lead author. Drawing on real-world data, his team developed
a model showing that hot spots come in two varieties. One type forms when an area experiences a large-scale crime increase, such as when a park is overrun
by drug dealers. Another develops when a small number of criminals—say, a pair of burglars—go on a localized crime spree. The model suggests that a focused police response can relatively easily extinguish larger hot spots because the criminals there scatter randomly, making it unlikely that they will resume
coordinated unlawful activity nearby. But for smaller crime waves, crooks just migrate together into an adjacent neighborhood, where they are likely to
start another spree. By analyzing police reports as they come in, Short hopes to determine which type of hot spot is forming so police can handle it more
effectively.
61. Rivers at Risk Worldwide
The worlds rivers are in PERIL. Pollution, urbanization, and construction of dams and reservoirs are jeopardizing the water supply for nearly 80 percent of the global population, an international team of environmental scientists concluded in a comprehensive study published in September. Combining data on precipitation, topography, habitat changes, dam construction, and pollution, the researchers created detailed maps of the threats to rivers around the world. those maps show that degradation of freshwater systems a ects both developed and developing countries; the majority f the populations of the United States, Europe, India, and China all live in areas at risk for water shortages a ecting drinking supplies, sanitation systems, or agricultural use. Study coauthor Peter McIntyre, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin, notes that wealthier nations can manage the problem with complex sanitation facilities and other engineering schemes while the underlying issues—water scarcity and pollution—continue to intensify. “Our technology gives us a false sense of security. When we go home at night, we can turn on the faucet and have clean running water,” he says. But in the natural systems that ultimately supply that water, “we’re already at a crisis point.” McIntyre hopes the study will highlight the need for a shift in the way water resources are managed, moving from engineering solutions to protecting the natural watersheds that keep people and ecosystems healthy.
62. Glia: The Other Brain Cells
Neurons seem to be the brain’s workhorse cells, carrying out all the crucial electrical communications. The rest of the brain’s cells, called glia, were long considered little more than scaffolding. But one kind of glial cell, the star-shaped astrocyte, actually appears to take an active role. In a report published in Science in July, British and American researchers showed that when rats inhale excess carbon dioxide, astrocytes in the brain stem sense
the resulting increase in blood acidity. The team tagged these astrocytes with a protein that fluoresces in response to cellular activity and saw that the cells signaled the neurons that influence breathing. The rats then breathed more deeply, taking in more oxygen. “These guys are even more sensitive than neurons,” says Sergey Kasparov, a University of Bristol molecular physiologist.
the resulting increase in blood acidity. The team tagged these astrocytes with a protein that fluoresces in response to cellular activity and saw that the cells signaled the neurons that influence breathing. The rats then breathed more deeply, taking in more oxygen. “These guys are even more sensitive than neurons,” says Sergey Kasparov, a University of Bristol molecular physiologist.
63. Ghost Particles Shake Physics
In May an international group of physicists studying the elusive particles known as neutrinos man anounced that they had spotted one spontaneously transforming from one type to another. Such an ability indicates that neutrinos, long thought to be weightless, have mass, a finding with profound theoretical and cosmological implications. Neutrinos come in three varieties: muon, tau, and electron. Previous experiments had suggested that one variety can turn into another, and scientists finally caught one in the act. They fired a billion billion muons from CERN in Switzerland toward the OPERA detector in Italy, hoping to discover one of them transforming into a tau neutrino, and in late 2009 they did. The standard theory of particle physics does not allow that to happen. (A separate 2010 experiment at Fermilab found evidence of a fourth type of neutrino —another major puzzle.) OPERA physicist Antonio Ereditato notes that neutrinos are so common that although their mass is tiny, collectively they must account for a noticeable fraction of the bulk of the universe.
64. What Color Is Your Dinosaur?
Some 125 million years ago, a chicken-size Sinosauropteryx, an early relative of T-rex, scampered through northeastern China. From its remains, we know a lot about this dinosaur: It was covered with spiny hair, it ate meat, and it walked on its hind
legs. And now we know what color it was. Last January researchers determined that Sinosauropteryx sported a striped chestnut and white tail—the first time anyone has been able to describe a dinosaur’s color. Mike Benton, a paleontologist at the
University of Bristol in England, had set out to show that Sinosauropteryx’s hair-like bristles were precursors to the feathers on today’s birds. Examining those fossilized bristles through a powerful microscope, he did more than confirm his hypothesis: He also noticed that the bristles were brimming with melanosomes, color-bearing cell parts found in modern avian feathers. The shape of melanosomes determines their hue, and the more packed they are, the darker the shade. The round melanosomes in Sinosauropteryx indicate a dark red shade arranged in a striped pattern. Now that he knows what to look for, Benton hopes to unveil the colors of other feathered dinosaurs, helping scientists trace their relationship to birds and even decode their social behavior. “These primitive feathers evolved before wings,” he says, “so it’s likely they first evolved for insulation and display rather than flight.”
legs. And now we know what color it was. Last January researchers determined that Sinosauropteryx sported a striped chestnut and white tail—the first time anyone has been able to describe a dinosaur’s color. Mike Benton, a paleontologist at the
University of Bristol in England, had set out to show that Sinosauropteryx’s hair-like bristles were precursors to the feathers on today’s birds. Examining those fossilized bristles through a powerful microscope, he did more than confirm his hypothesis: He also noticed that the bristles were brimming with melanosomes, color-bearing cell parts found in modern avian feathers. The shape of melanosomes determines their hue, and the more packed they are, the darker the shade. The round melanosomes in Sinosauropteryx indicate a dark red shade arranged in a striped pattern. Now that he knows what to look for, Benton hopes to unveil the colors of other feathered dinosaurs, helping scientists trace their relationship to birds and even decode their social behavior. “These primitive feathers evolved before wings,” he says, “so it’s likely they first evolved for insulation and display rather than flight.”
65. Animals Survive Without Oxygen
Last April Italian and Danish deep-sea re searchers described multicellular animals that conduct their entire lives without respiring oxygen. The crew found the three new species of Loricifera (jellyfish-like animals less than a millimeter long) in the sediment of L’Atalante Basin, a zone of salty, oxygen-depleted water at
the bottom of the Mediterranean. When Antonio Pusceddu of the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy and his colleagues found the Loricifera, they assumed the animals had fallen to the seafloor after dying. “We thought it was impossible that they could live there,” Pusceddu says, but tests conducted on two subsequent expeditions indicated that the specimens were alive. The Loricifera have unique adaptations to an oxygen-free environment. Instead of mitochondria (the cellular engines that convert oxygen to energy, present in all other known animal cells), these creatures contain structures resembling
hydrogenosomes, the organelles that anaerobic microbes use to generate energy. The finding raises the possibility that complex animal life could exist in all kinds of harsh, oxygen- free environments—on Earth and perhaps on other worlds, too.
the bottom of the Mediterranean. When Antonio Pusceddu of the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy and his colleagues found the Loricifera, they assumed the animals had fallen to the seafloor after dying. “We thought it was impossible that they could live there,” Pusceddu says, but tests conducted on two subsequent expeditions indicated that the specimens were alive. The Loricifera have unique adaptations to an oxygen-free environment. Instead of mitochondria (the cellular engines that convert oxygen to energy, present in all other known animal cells), these creatures contain structures resembling
hydrogenosomes, the organelles that anaerobic microbes use to generate energy. The finding raises the possibility that complex animal life could exist in all kinds of harsh, oxygen- free environments—on Earth and perhaps on other worlds, too.
66. Synthetic Lung Takes a Breath
Combining tissue Engineering and the same micro-fabrication techniques that are used to produce computer chips, Harvard University cell biologist Don Ingber and his colleagues have built a living, breathing synthetic lung—albeit one just the size of a quarter. Last June Ingber’s team reported that it had placed
human lung lining cells and human capillary cells on either side of a porous, exible polymer membrane. As the two cell types exchanged air and nutrients
through the membrane, the researchers used on-and-o suction to make it expand and contract, mimicking a lung’s natural movement. “ e whole thing breathes, just like we do,” Ingber says. is lung-on-a-chip could someday replace animal testing, Ingber suggests. His team has shown that the synthetic lung responds to pathogens much like the real thing does. After “inhaling” E. coli, for instance, the lung attracted human white blood cells to attack and kill the bacteria, a process scientists have long understood but never before witnessed in vitro. Other, noninfectious nanoparticles traveled across the membrane interface, showing that the laboratorycreated lung also reacts much like a live lung to air particulates. Ingber and his colleagues are working on analogous models of other organs, too, including a beating heart and a gut capable of a peristaltic wave. Could a “human-on-a-chip” be very far behind?
human lung lining cells and human capillary cells on either side of a porous, exible polymer membrane. As the two cell types exchanged air and nutrients
through the membrane, the researchers used on-and-o suction to make it expand and contract, mimicking a lung’s natural movement. “ e whole thing breathes, just like we do,” Ingber says. is lung-on-a-chip could someday replace animal testing, Ingber suggests. His team has shown that the synthetic lung responds to pathogens much like the real thing does. After “inhaling” E. coli, for instance, the lung attracted human white blood cells to attack and kill the bacteria, a process scientists have long understood but never before witnessed in vitro. Other, noninfectious nanoparticles traveled across the membrane interface, showing that the laboratorycreated lung also reacts much like a live lung to air particulates. Ingber and his colleagues are working on analogous models of other organs, too, including a beating heart and a gut capable of a peristaltic wave. Could a “human-on-a-chip” be very far behind?
67. Marine Census Completes Its Count
October marked the completion of the ambitious, decadelong Census of Marine Life.
More than 540 international expeditions sailed to coral reefs, hydrothermal vents, seamounts, and open ocean waters to assemble a comprehensive picture of the diversity, habitats, and abundance of animals and microbes living in the sea.
Oceangoing researchers found life even in some of the hottest, coldest, and most chemically inhospitable places on the planet.
They also reported that microbes may account for as much as 90 percent of the mass of all ocean life.
The census turned up more than 6,000 new species candidates, including the pair depicted here: an acorn worm (above) from the deeps of the North Atlantic, and a polychaete worm (right) found on a whale carcass near Japan. The estimated number of marine species now stands at 250,000.
More than 540 international expeditions sailed to coral reefs, hydrothermal vents, seamounts, and open ocean waters to assemble a comprehensive picture of the diversity, habitats, and abundance of animals and microbes living in the sea.
Oceangoing researchers found life even in some of the hottest, coldest, and most chemically inhospitable places on the planet.
They also reported that microbes may account for as much as 90 percent of the mass of all ocean life.
The census turned up more than 6,000 new species candidates, including the pair depicted here: an acorn worm (above) from the deeps of the North Atlantic, and a polychaete worm (right) found on a whale carcass near Japan. The estimated number of marine species now stands at 250,000.
68. Emotions Survive After Memories Vanish
People suffering from anterograde amnesia—caused by damage to the brain’s hippocampus—can remember details about their past but lack the ability to form new memories. Not everything gets lost, however. In April University of Iowa researchers observed that emotions persist in these amnesiac individuals even after they forget the cause, an important clue about how the brain stores different kinds of information. Neuropsychologist Justin Feinstein and his collaborators showed a group of patients with severe anterograde amnesia two series of video clips (including scenes from The Notebook and America’s
Funniest Home Videos) to induce sadness and happiness in their subjects. Memory tests administered several minutes later showed that the patients retained few, if any, specific details about the clips. But emotion measurements showed that the feelings induced by the videos lingered, with sadness outlasting happiness. “Even though emotions seem fused together with memories in our stream of consciousness, it turns out that this is not the case,” Feinstein says. Patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia have damage to the hippocampus similar to that seen in people with anterograde
amnesia. The new study therefore suggests that a visit or telephone call with such patients could have profound positive effects even if the interaction is soon forgotten.
Funniest Home Videos) to induce sadness and happiness in their subjects. Memory tests administered several minutes later showed that the patients retained few, if any, specific details about the clips. But emotion measurements showed that the feelings induced by the videos lingered, with sadness outlasting happiness. “Even though emotions seem fused together with memories in our stream of consciousness, it turns out that this is not the case,” Feinstein says. Patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia have damage to the hippocampus similar to that seen in people with anterograde
amnesia. The new study therefore suggests that a visit or telephone call with such patients could have profound positive effects even if the interaction is soon forgotten.
69. IS life chemistry cooking on titan?
Saturn’s moon Titan is wrapped in a thick, hazy atmosphere whose chemistry may mirror conditions on Earth before life emerged here some 4 billion years ago. In October Sarah Hörst reported that the resemblance is more than superficial. She simulated Titan’s haze in the lab and found it naturally cooks up the molecular building blocks of biology. Hörst, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, began studying Titan’s chemistry after the NASA Cassini probe detected complex organic molecules in the atmosphere. To mimic Titan’s environment, her team combined cold nitrogen, methane, and traces of carbon monoxide and exposed the mix to micro waves (which simulate the sun’s ultraviolet rays) and oxygen (which rains down on Titan from eruptions on the nearby moon Enceladus).The resulting concoction contained amino acids, the fundamental units of proteins, as well as the five chemical bases that constitute DNA and RNA. Perhaps the most notable aspect of Hörst’s experiment is what she left out: liquid water, which is crucial for terrestrial life but absent from most of the cosmos, including Titan. “In the right kind of atmosphere, you can have extremely complex chemistry going on without water,” she says. Titan’s surface temperature of –290 degrees Fahrenheit probably rules out life as we know it, but the simulation shows that organic compounds can arise even under hostile conditions. Perhaps life’s precursors formed in a similar haze around early Earth before plunging into surface pools
70. The Proton Gets Small(er)
Few things in physics have been more thoroughly studied than the proton, a fundamental building block of atoms. So it was a shock in July when Paul Knowles of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland claimed the proton is 4 percent smaller than everyone has thought for more than 50 years. In the past, physicists have used electrons to measure the proton’s size indirectly. When a laser zaps an electron orbiting a proton, the electron undergoes what is called
the Lamb shift, absorbing energy and jumping to a higher energy level. According to quantum electrodynamics, the Lamb shift is partly a function of the proton’s size; this allows physicists to infer its measurements. But instead of lasing electrons, Knowles examined protons with particles called muons, which he calls “the electron’s fatcousin.” Muons, he says, are more sensitive to the proton’s size, and so their Lamb shift gives a much more reliable estimate. In quantum physics, a 4 percent mistake is a mighty error. “Either there’s a problem with quantum “or there’s some funny physics going on that no one understands yet.”
the Lamb shift, absorbing energy and jumping to a higher energy level. According to quantum electrodynamics, the Lamb shift is partly a function of the proton’s size; this allows physicists to infer its measurements. But instead of lasing electrons, Knowles examined protons with particles called muons, which he calls “the electron’s fatcousin.” Muons, he says, are more sensitive to the proton’s size, and so their Lamb shift gives a much more reliable estimate. In quantum physics, a 4 percent mistake is a mighty error. “Either there’s a problem with quantum “or there’s some funny physics going on that no one understands yet.”
71. Fossil Prints Rewrite History
The mountains of central Poland, once a stomping ground for ancient reptiles and amphibians. Now a paleontologist at the University of Warsaw, he is building on his youthful explorations: Last year he discovered two sets of fossil footprints that add to our understanding of life’s key evolutionary transitions.
e rst group of prints—a - million-year-old track created by a four-legged land vertebrate—made the cover of Nature last January. Niedźwiedzki’s nd is
million years older than any previous evidence of land animals. “Many basins are terrible at preserving delicate bones but very good at capturing footprints,” says Steve Brusatte of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, who works with Niedźwiedzki. “ These prints are pushing back the oldest
representatives of animal groups.” In October Niedźwiedzki and Brusatte reported another major end, -million-year-old fossilized footprints that represent the
oldest evidence of the dinosaur’s forebears. “ ese footprints are only or million years younger than the Permian-Triassic mass extinction,” Brusatte says. “ e rise of dinosaurs is intimately related to this event. Many species went extinct, but for dinosaurs and their close relatives it was an opportunity to blossom.
e rst group of prints—a - million-year-old track created by a four-legged land vertebrate—made the cover of Nature last January. Niedźwiedzki’s nd is
million years older than any previous evidence of land animals. “Many basins are terrible at preserving delicate bones but very good at capturing footprints,” says Steve Brusatte of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, who works with Niedźwiedzki. “ These prints are pushing back the oldest
representatives of animal groups.” In October Niedźwiedzki and Brusatte reported another major end, -million-year-old fossilized footprints that represent the
oldest evidence of the dinosaur’s forebears. “ ese footprints are only or million years younger than the Permian-Triassic mass extinction,” Brusatte says. “ e rise of dinosaurs is intimately related to this event. Many species went extinct, but for dinosaurs and their close relatives it was an opportunity to blossom.
72. Stone-Age Romeos and Juliets
In May an international group of biologists announced that Neanderthals and modern humans
probably had interbred in the Middle East shortly after migrating out of Africa, possibly as long
as 100,000 years ago. As a result, many humans today carry 1 to 4 percent Neanderthal genes.
Svante Pääbo and his team at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig,
Germany, analyzed DNA in three Neanderthal bones from the Vindija cave in Croatia, comparing
their genomes with those of five present-day humans from southern Africa, West Africa, Papua
New Guinea, China, and Western Europe.
Neanderthals showed more similarity to people in Europe
and East Asia than to those in Africa. “The gene flow between the two groups most likely occurred
before modern humans came to Europe about 30,000 to 40,000 years ago,” Pääbo concludes.
Pääbo’s findings are echoed in work from genetic anthropologists at the University of New
Mexico. They studied genetic data from 1,983 living individuals across Africa, Europe, Asia,
Oceania, and the Americas and concluded that Neanderthals or another ancient hominid group
must have interbred with our ancestors at least once, in the eastern Mediterranean, soon
after humans migrated out of Africa. That is why we see the Neanderthal genetic fingerprint in
all non-Africans, not just in Europeans. Says study investigator Keith Hunley, “We are currently
trying to pin down how much interbreeding occurred.”
probably had interbred in the Middle East shortly after migrating out of Africa, possibly as long
as 100,000 years ago. As a result, many humans today carry 1 to 4 percent Neanderthal genes.
Svante Pääbo and his team at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig,
Germany, analyzed DNA in three Neanderthal bones from the Vindija cave in Croatia, comparing
their genomes with those of five present-day humans from southern Africa, West Africa, Papua
New Guinea, China, and Western Europe.
Neanderthals showed more similarity to people in Europe
and East Asia than to those in Africa. “The gene flow between the two groups most likely occurred
before modern humans came to Europe about 30,000 to 40,000 years ago,” Pääbo concludes.
Pääbo’s findings are echoed in work from genetic anthropologists at the University of New
Mexico. They studied genetic data from 1,983 living individuals across Africa, Europe, Asia,
Oceania, and the Americas and concluded that Neanderthals or another ancient hominid group
must have interbred with our ancestors at least once, in the eastern Mediterranean, soon
after humans migrated out of Africa. That is why we see the Neanderthal genetic fingerprint in
all non-Africans, not just in Europeans. Says study investigator Keith Hunley, “We are currently
trying to pin down how much interbreeding occurred.”
73. NASA has not designed a new manned spacecraft since the shuttle
started to fly in 1981. Entrepreneur Robert Bigelow wants to step in
with a private fleet of space taxis.
In the brave new world of private spaceflight, Robert Bigelow may be the brashest player of all. Having built his fortune on the Budget Suites of America hotel chain, the Las Vegas entrepreneur is shooting for the stars, betting an estimated $500 million on his company, Bigelow Aerospace.
He launched the Genesis space modules in 2006 and 2007 and now plans a fleet of space taxis, space hotels—even a private moon base.
In July he and executives from Boeing’s Space Exploration division announced plans for a low-cost manned spacecraft called Crew Space Transportation 100, capable of carrying cargo and up to seven passengers into orbit by 2015.
As NASA winds down its space shuttle program, the outspoken space cowboy
has a lot to say about our missions of the future—and the past.
He launched the Genesis space modules in 2006 and 2007 and now plans a fleet of space taxis, space hotels—even a private moon base.
In July he and executives from Boeing’s Space Exploration division announced plans for a low-cost manned spacecraft called Crew Space Transportation 100, capable of carrying cargo and up to seven passengers into orbit by 2015.
As NASA winds down its space shuttle program, the outspoken space cowboy
has a lot to say about our missions of the future—and the past.
74. New Species:Found Today,Lost Tomorrow
Call it the,Now you see them soon you won’t” phenomenon. In a year that the United Nations declared the International Year of Biodiversity, scientists announced a bevy of newfound species that appeared to be already teetering on the brink of extinction. In January a team from Israel’s University of Haifa at Oranim announced the discovery of Cerbalus aravensis, a spider with a leg span of more than ve inches. Unfortunately, its sole habitat is a desert region in Israel called the Dunes of Samar, an area once covering about 7square kilometers but reduced to a fraction of that size by agriculture and mining. Also in January, the nonprofit group Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International (RAEI) announced that an expedition to the rain forests of coastal Ecuador had found new reptiles, insects, and amphibians whose habitat is threatened by climate change and eforestation. Paul Hamilton, leader of the RAEI Ecuadoran expedition, worries that some of these species may disappear before they are even formally described. The Caquetá titi monkey of Colombia (a remarkable animal resembling a leprechaun, first described in August) is threatened, as are Borneo’s Microhyla nepenthicola, the Old World’s smallest frog (also announced in August), and Durrell’s vontsira, a mongooselike carnivore from Madagascar whose discovery was announced in October. And things aren’t looking much better for plants. A team of American and British scientists, publishing in the Proceedings of the British Royal Society, estimated that of all the plants on earth, some , species remain to be found. Disproportionately, the scientists say, recently discovered species live in fragmented, fragile habitats—and therefore they, too, may number among those that are most threatened.
75. Social Life Begins in the Womb
Humans are so social that new born babies are able to imitate facial expressions of the people around them. In fact sociability begins even earlier, in the womb, according to Umberto Castiello and his team at the University of Padova. ey used state-of-the-art ultrasound to monitor the movements
of ve pairs of fetal twins, between and weeks of gestation. The results, reported last October, show that even the youngest fetuses in the study recognized
and responded to the other twin. When reaching toward the cotwin— mespecially around the eyes and mouth—their motion was relatively slow and delicate. When the fetuses touched themselves, on the other hand, they were less cautious(although they approached their own eyes and mouth more gingerly thanother parts of their body). They were roughest toward the uterine wall, kicking and shoving it with force. “Insome very primitive form,” Castiello
says, “it appears that the fetus by the second trimester already has a sense of ‘self ’ that is di erent from ‘other.’ ” Andrew Meltzo , the psychologist
who discovered infant facial imitation back. “If these ndings are right,” he says, “the birth of sociality occurs before physicalbirth—a fascinating prospect.”
of ve pairs of fetal twins, between and weeks of gestation. The results, reported last October, show that even the youngest fetuses in the study recognized
and responded to the other twin. When reaching toward the cotwin— mespecially around the eyes and mouth—their motion was relatively slow and delicate. When the fetuses touched themselves, on the other hand, they were less cautious(although they approached their own eyes and mouth more gingerly thanother parts of their body). They were roughest toward the uterine wall, kicking and shoving it with force. “Insome very primitive form,” Castiello
says, “it appears that the fetus by the second trimester already has a sense of ‘self ’ that is di erent from ‘other.’ ” Andrew Meltzo , the psychologist
who discovered infant facial imitation back. “If these ndings are right,” he says, “the birth of sociality occurs before physicalbirth—a fascinating prospect.”