|
This week in European sciences -- week 17|2004 |
|
Süddeutsche
Zeitung asks whether Darwin isn't taught at Italian schools any longer.
Die Zeit on the establishment of a central European
database for medical studies. The Daily Telegraph on
good story writing by Richard Dawkins. FAZ about mapping
the genome, questioning climate modelling and the architecture of supra-molecular
polymers. Dagens Nyheter about a Swedish debate about
fundamental and applied research. FAZ about the search
for planets of distant stars. Dagens Nyheter on tissue
sampling in prostate cancer treatment. Der Spiegel about
the rebirth of analog electronics. Dagens Nyheter with
a piece about game addiction. Svenska Dagbladet about
genetic engineering of sheep improving wool production. Science
on the U.S. BioShield project and potential benefits for drug development
against infectious diseases. In addition: NY Times
on M.R.I. profiling of politics on the brain. Special Feature Philippe Busquin (EU) about his services' interest in nanotechnology >> debate on nanotechnology |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Italian Trouble about Teaching Darwin at School Scientists
criticized the new Italian school schedule that failed to mention explicitely
Darwin's theory of evolution to be teached for pupils of age nine to 12,
reports Christiane Kohl in Süddeutsche Zeitung (April
23, 2004). The Italian scientific community is worried that politicians
might try to ban evolution by a back door. But Kohl stresses that the
approach is rational in the sense of the recent educational reform: more
hands-on teaching, more workshop scenarios which enhance discussions and
decline worthless reiterating. In their first year main focus is on computer
science, engineering, mathematics and english - doesn't sound like a fall-back
into the middle ages. |
|
Süddeutsche
Zeitung |
|
|
Europe Gets a Medical Database When a German
doctor or patient wants to update himself on ongoing clinical studies
about a certain disease or treatment, he hasn't any chance to do so, states
Harro Albrecht in 'Die Zeit' (April
22, 2004). All modern databases in Europe are sketchy. This has a
whole bunch of reasons: The first and important one is the economic interest
of the pharmaceutical companies. They carry out a lot of studies but don't
publish the results. Second, all players in the 'pharma-game' are afraid
of industrial espionage. And third, negative results are published rarely.
If there is a central database a lot of patients could be treated better
according to the author - because numerous researchers develop "new" treatments
with negative outcome that already has been tested before. The EU got
aware of the problem. Starting in May, the new database on ongoing European
studies will be established. In the database all clinical trials are going
to be registered. But this good idea won't have any consequences, states
the author: The database is secret and will be closed for public and researchers.
|
|
Die
Zeit |
|
|
Richard Dawkins
on science writing in The Daily Telegraph (April
21, 2004*). He gives some advice to writing scientists and journalists
quoting Einstein: "Everything should be as simple as possible, but
no simpler." What Einstein meant to physic's theories, Dawkins extends
it to writing stories. "Don't shrink from choosing the exact word
that says it best, even if it drives your reader to the dictionary."
Not everybody would agree here. Further: "Seek to enlighten and inspire,
not impress" - agreed. Further advice: Work on your own style, "I
hate it when editors belabour me with their schoolarm rules." |
|
The
Daily Telegraph |
|
|
It is reported
in FAZ (April
21, 2004) that an international collaboration of 152 scientists out
of 40 countries map humane genome activities in a database that is free
accessible
on the Internet. |
|
Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung |
|
|
Swedish Controversy on Need-Driven Research The call
for a stronger control of fundamental research in Sweden by economic needs
by industry-biased contributors
to Dagens Nyheter has led to strong reactions. A group of researchers
and administrators connected to the Royal Academy of Sciences fervently
deny the factual basis underlying the demand (April
20, 2004). They point out that state support for need-directed research
is at the same level as 25 years ago. They further argue that there is
no evidence for the claim that most innovations with economic relevance
were the result of need-driven research. Also three representatives of
the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) join the counterattack
(April
20, 2004). They confirm that state sponsored, need-driven research
has remained constant over the past two decades. The issue is also taken
with the demand that large research institutes should be strengthened.
The authors of the reply contend that this is unnecessary: American biotech
industry has managed very well without intermediaries such as research
parks and large-scale institutes outside universities. |
|
Dagens
Nyheter |
|
|
"To
put a bit more science in political science," researchers at University
of California, Los Angeles, followed the brain activities of test persons
inside an M.R.I. apparatus while watching campaign commercials. According
to John Tierney in the New York Times (April
20, 2004) "the have already noticed intriguing patterns in how
Democrats and Republicans look at candidates." The tests have to
get finished until conclusions are drawn, but scientists are sure that
M.R.I. technology offers a powerful tool. Anyway, "there are so many
kinds of images and other stimuli in a political commercial that it's
notoriously difficult for any kind of research to pinpoint effects." |
|
New York Times |
|
|
Super-Wasp Watches For New Planets Günter
Paul reports in FAZ (April
19, 2004) about efforts of Spanish and British astronomers to discover
even more planets spinning around distant stars. Generally, two measurement
methods are used by scientists. First, the Doppler shift which is a measure
for tumbling stars forward and back by a surrounding planet. The received
light is thus shifted in frequency. Second, a small decrease in the intensity
of light received when a planet moves through the line of sight from earth
to the distant star. The project "Super-WASP" (short for Wide
Angle Search for Planets) just uses the latter method. Four telescopes
started duty last week at Las Palmas operated by astronomers from Queen's
University Belfast and the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. The telescopes
are rather small compared to others because not maxium resolution is the
issue but very tiny changes in the light intensity from a star. The angle
of aperture is about 8 degrees to scan wide streches of the night sky. |
|
Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung |
|
|
Biobank may help Prevent Biopsies of Prostate Cancer Patiens Chunde Li,
researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm is pioneering the
use of gene microarrays to diagnose prostate cancer more reliably, writes
Gunilla Eldh in Dagens Nyheter (April
19, 2004). A cooperation between Stanford University and the Stockholm
institute makes use of a unique collection of tissue samples from prostate
cancer patients, which were collected since the middle of the 80's. The
researchers hope that they can characterize a unique gene activity profile
of the cancer cells and that painful biopsies will become more rare. |
|
Dagens
Nyheter |
|
|
In the digital
age it's suprising to learn that large amounts of electronics equipment
depends on analogue circuitry. As Hilmar Schmundt writes in Der Spiegel
(April
19, 2004) about 15 to 50 percent of IC's in gadgets from cameras to
mobile phones are analogue chips. Engineers use them, first to avoid conversion
of signals into bits and bytes, also analogue chips need up to 90 percent
less power for processing data. Hence, "analog is cool again",
according to Wired magazine. |
|
Der
Spiegel |
|
|
Game Addiction and Brain Activity Approximately
4 percent of the Swedish population develop addictive gaming behaviour
during their lifetime. Per Snaprud reports in Dagens Nyheter (April
18, 2004) about new research that shows how game addiction is reflected
in brain activity and how the affliction is attempted to be cured. Game
addicts show an unusual low activity in the frontal lobes, where impulsive
behaviour is controlled. Yale University's Mark Potenza claims that the
brains of all persons may be affected in the same way by the temptation
of games, but that most people have efficient mechanism that suppress
the gaming urges. Current therapeutic attempts to control game addiction
include cognitive behavioural therapy and even pharmaceutical interventions.
The American psychiatrist John Grant has successfully tested the medicament
"Revia", which is usually used to prevent relapses in alcoholics, with
game addicts. It remains though still contentious if game addiction can
be compared to alcoholism and other drug addictions. Some researchers
claim that it has more in common with other compulsive behaviours like
pyro- and kleptomania. One problem is that there is no good animal model
for game addictions - laboratory rats can simply not be tempted by any
"game" to become addicted. |
|
Dagens
Nyheter |
|
|
Genetic Engineering in Wool Production Thousands
of years of domestication have led many sheep races to keep their woollen
coat - wild sheep replace their coat regularly like many other mammals.
This trait has been suppressed during domestication so that humans can
"harvest" the wool by shearing the sheep. In order to save work and -
so it is claimed - to avoid the stress of shearing the Australian company
"Bioclip" enlists the help of a protein, reports Bengt Jonsson in Svenska
Dagbladet (April 18, 2004).
Australian researchers have identified a protein that leads the sheep
to shed all its hair in a very short time. Sheep are covered in net, get
an injection of the protein and after a short time all the shed hair are
collected in the net. This methods leads to high-quality - but still expensive
- wool: all wool fibers are of a similar length and not cut into pieces
of different lengths and there are no skin pieces that contaminate the
wool. The acceptance of the technique in Australia so far has been mixed.
Some fear that the Australian sheep industry will have to confront consumer
fears like the ones directed at GMOs. Other wool producers, who first
were suspicious of the technique, changed their mind quickly after trying
it out. The Swedish veterinary Olof Schwan thinks that it is unlikely
that the technique will make it to Sweden. Swedish sheep are mainly used
for meat production. And Schwan also doubts that the new technique leads
to a stress reduction: the sheep don't have to be handled before and during
the shearing, but they still need to be handled when they are covered
with the wool-collecting net. |
|
Svenska
Dagbladet |
|
|
An Uncertain Call Against Infectious Diseases Claire M.
Fraser stressed in an editorial in Science magazine (April
16, 2004*) the well-known fact that there is a lack on drugs and drug
development against infectious diseases. He is director of the Rockville-based
institute for genomic research, U.S., and put lots of hope in the government
funded BioShield project. BioShield is meant to improve measures against
possible bioterrorist attacks, but - according to Fraser - could also
give drug development against new and re-emerging diseases a fresh boost.
"In the current economic climate, without such an incentive it is
almost certain that no company would heed the government's call to arms
and shift gears to focus on infectious disease research," writes
Fraser. |
|
Science
|
|
|
Feedback |
|
We are glad to receive your comments! Send us an e-mail | subscribe | unsubscribe |