100-million-year-old mistake provides snapshot of evolution
“Research by University of Leeds plant scientists has uncovered a snapshot of evolution in progress, by tracing how a gene mutation over 100 million years ago led flowers to make male and female parts in different ways.
The findings – published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Online Early Edition – provide a perfect example of how diversity stems from such genetic ‘mistakes’. The research also opens the door to further investigation into how plants make flowers – the origins of the seeds and fruits that we eat.
In a number of plants, the gene involved in making male and female organs has duplicated to create two, very similar, copies. In rockcress (Arabidopsis), one copy still makes male and female parts, but the other copy has taken on a completely new role: it makes seed pods shatter open. In snapdragons (Antirrhinum), both genes are still linked to sex organs, but one copy makes mainly female parts, while still retaining a small role in male organs – but the other copy can only make male.
“Snapdragons are on the cusp of splitting the job of making male and female organs between these two genes, a key moment in the evolutionary process,” says lead researcher Professor of Plant Development, Brendan Davies, from Leeds’ Faculty of Biological Sciences. “More genes with different roles gives an organism added complexity and opens the door to diversification and the creation of new species.”
By tracing back through the evolutionary ‘tree’ for flowering plants, the researchers calculate the gene duplication took place around 120 million years ago. But the mutation which separates how snapdragons and rock cress use this extra gene happened around 20 million years later.”"
Read more at Physorg (Thanks Mark)
New industrial application for revolutionary forensic metal fingerprinting technique
“Groundbreaking research into fingerprint detection developed at the University of Leicester now has an industrial application, thanks to a new invention by the scientist who developed the technique.
Dr John Bond’s method of identifying fingerprints on brass bullet-casings, even after they have been wiped clean, was based on the minuscule amounts of corrosion which can be caused by sweat. First announced in 2008, this breakthrough was cited as one of the technologies ‘most likely to change the world’ by a panel of experts for BBC Focus magazine and was included in Time magazine’s list of ’50 best inventions of the year’.
Now, working with scientists in the University of Leicester Department of Chemistry, Dr Bond has applied the same technique to industry by developing a simple, handheld device which can measure corrosion on machine parts. Corrosion leads to wear and tear and needs to be carefully monitored so that worn parts are replaced at the appropriate time so this invention should prove a boon to the manufacturing sector.
“This is a new, quick, cheap and easy way of measuring the extent of corrosion on copper and copper based alloys, such as brass,” explains Dr Bond, who is an Honorary Research Fellow in the University’s Forensic Research Centre and Scientific Support Manager at Northamptonshire Police.
“It works by exploiting the discovery we made during the fingerprint research – that the corrosion on brass forms something called a ‘Schottky barrier’ – and we use this to see how much the metal has corroded.
“Such measurements can already be made but this is quick, cheap and easy and can be performed ‘in the field’ as it works off a nine-volt battery.”"
Read more at Lab Spaces (Thanks Mark)
Are DARPA and NASA planning interplanetary travel?
A SENIOR NASA official has promised to deliver a spaceship that will travel between alien worlds “within a few years”. Speaking at a conference in San Francisco on Saturday, NASA Ames director Simon Worden said his division had started a project with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency called the “Hundred Year Starship”.
The project was kicked off recently with $1 million funding from DARPA and $100K from NASA and hopes to utilise new propulsion ideas being explored by NASA. Star Trek fans, prepare to get excited – electric propulsion is here, according to Mr Worden.
“Anybody that watches the (Star Trek) Enterprise, you know you don’t see huge plumes of fire,” he said. ”Within a few years we will see the first true prototype of a spaceship that will take us between worlds.”
Full story at News.au
Time Dilation – a short introduction
Take your brain for a run with this one.
Via Science & Reason.
Vintage Posters Discovered in Abandoned London Tube Station
“The London Underground is an incredible maze of subterranean railways, stations and ticket halls – and that doesn’t account for the myriad abandoned passageways that are strictly off limits to the public, let alone the ageing relics that linger on in this dark underworld.
But a 2010 upgrade to Notting Hill Gate “tube” station revealed a series of vintage posters dating to between 1956 and 1959. The posters, which will be left intact once the modernisation work is completed, include advertising for Pepsodent Toothpaste and the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition, as well as films like Around the World in 80 Days and The Horse’s Mouth, starring Alec Guinness.
The vintage collection was uncovered in an abandoned lift passageway closed to the public after Notting Hill Gate was last upgraded in the late 1950s. The ’50s facelift saw the “two” Notting Hill Gate stations of the District and Circle lines linked by a sub-surface ticket hall beneath the road. Escalators down to the deeper Central Line platforms replaced the ageing elevators, which were sealed off by the time the station reopened on March 1, 1959.
When the latest upgrades are complete, the posters will once again be hidden from prying eyes in the disused area of the tube station. Mikey Ashworth, who discovered and photographed the collection, wrote: “We will be leaving these intact – and please do not pester the station staff as the posters are wholly inaccessible – which is why they’ve probably survived 50 odd years!”
Notting Hill Gate station opened in 1868 as part of the Metropolitan Railway’s extension from Paddington to Gloucester Road. The deep-level Central Line platforms, accessed by the lift passageways where the posters were found, opened in 1900. The vintage artifacts may not be viewable, but it’s fun to think there’s a place deep within the bowels of London that still advertises the “latest work” of David Niven, Rita Hayworth et al. ”
See more photos at Urban Ghosts Media
Facebook Admits Advertising ID Breaches
“Facebook has become embroiled in another privacy controversy after confirming that millions of items of personal information were being shared without users’ consent. The social networking site blamed popular third-party applications for violating its rules and transmitting identifying information to advertising and internet tracking companies. “In most cases, developers did not intend to pass this information, but did so because of the technical details of how browsers work,” Facebook engineer Mike Vernal said in a blog post. “We are talking with our key partners and the broader web community about possible solutions.”
Mr Vernal said press reports had exaggerated the implications of the situation and that getting user identification (UID) information did not provide access to private data without express permission. “Nevertheless, we are committed to ensuring that even the inadvertent passing of UIDs is prevented and all applications are in compliance with our policy,” he added. “We take strong measures to enforce this policy, including suspending and disabling applications that violate it.”
His comments came after a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) investigation which found that the issue affects tens of millions of Facebook application users – including people who set their profiles to be completely private. The practice breaks Facebook’s rules and renews questions about its ability to keep secure identifiable information about the activities of its members. “Our policy is very clear about protecting user data, ensuring that no one can access private user information without explicit user consent,” Mr Vernal said. “Further, developers cannot disclose user information to ad networks and data brokers.”
The WSJ said applications were providing access to Facebook members’ names and, in some cases, their friends’ names, to companies that build detailed databases on people in order to track them online. All of the 10 most popular applications on Facebook were transmitting unique user ID numbers to outside companies, it said. They include Zynga’s FarmVille, with 59 million users, Texas HoldEm Poker and FrontierVille. The WSJ said several applications became unavailable to Facebook users after the newspaper informed the California-based social network that they were transmitting personal information. Facebook is the world’s most popular social network with around 500 million users but has faced persistent complaints about privacy protection.”
Read more at Yahoo News
Lamp That Can Read Your Mind – It Turns The Colour You’re Thinking About
“Is today’s idea brilliant or a bomb?
The Idea: The Mind Lamp is a $189 electric lamp with a random-event generator (REG) built in. When plugged in, the lamp gives off a white light before cycling through eight other colors. It then stays on the one that you’re thinking about.
How does this mind-matter interaction occur? Scientists aren’t sure, but they claim that products that use REG behave “very differently” when subjected to human consciousness.
The inventors attempt to explain the phenomenon: “The REG uses a quantum phenomenon called electron tunneling, which is measured as a randomly fluctuating current across a potential barrier in an electric circuit. Surprisingly, and in a way that violates conventional theories in science, the PEAR researchers found statistically significant correlations between the output of the device and human intention in a variety of well-controlled experiments. The mechanism by which this occurs is unknown, and is the subject of ongoing research.”
Whose Idea: Princeton, NJ-based Psyleron, a for-profit company and a non-profit research cooperative, based on the findings of the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory.
Why we like it: The concept of a mind lamp is fascinating because it draws a direct connection between the mind and physical objects. It’s almost like the lamp is a living being – you stare at it and it knows what vibe you’re giving off. Maybe this all sounds a little hard to believe (or even scary), but according to John Valentine, CEO and co-founder of Psyleron, “We are taking something that science says should be totally random, and we have evidence that suggests it’s not actually random, that people’s thoughts influence it.” The Mind Lamp can be used to represent the human mind and, if anything, certainly helps us understand it.”
Read more at Business Insider (Thanks Mark)
Svengali 2011/2012 Tour Artwork
We have received the new Svengali tour poster through! 
(Tour dates and links to tickets can be found at http://derrenbrown.co.uk/tour-dates/svengali/)
Enormous freaky ring developing on the Sun
What is this strange ring that has been developing on the Sun during 16-Oct?
Sunspot 1112, located in the southeast quadrant, has been the source of a giant filament that is currently stretching 400,000 km across the surface of the Sun. However, today, there appears to be development of a enormous circular ring which looks to be linking with the huge magnetic filament of sunspot 1112. Most of today’s various wavelength images of the Sun all show this feature over at the SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) – NASA website.
SpaceWeather.com today reports,
A vast filament of magnetism is cutting across the Sun’s southern hemisphere today. A bright ‘hot spot’ just north of the filament’s midpoint is UV radiation from sunspot 1112. The proximity is no coincidence; the filament appears to be rooted in the sunspot below. If sunspot flares, it could cause the entire structure to erupt. This active region merits watching…
Modern Survival Blog – (Thanks MarkeyMark)
Next generation tattoos are implantable LEDs
Researchers in the US, China, Korea and Singapore have collaborated to develop flexible ultra-thin sheets of inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodetectors for implantation under the skin for medical monitoring, activating photo-sensitive drugs, and other biomedical applications.
The PDMS substrate is flexible enough that the circuits can still function even if twisted or stretched by even as much as 75 percent. Rogers said most research has concentrated on organic LEDs (OLEDs), which are extremely sensitive to water and oxygen, but the flexible arrays are encapsulated in a thin layer of silicon rubber, which makes them waterproof and allows them to function well when implanted or completely immersed in biofluids. The design also eliminates the mechanical constraints normally imposed on such devices by the inflexible semiconductor wafers that support them.
The researchers successfully tested the LEDs by integrating a sheet into the fingertip of a vinyl glove, which they then immersed in soapy water, and they have also implanted an array beneath the skin in an animal model.
Full story and more details at Physorg
