This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about deadly cucumbers; pre-crime detection; ailing frogs; distracting pain; and more
Treating the deadly outbreak from organic cucumbers—The bad news is that at least 16 people have died in Germany after eating organic cucumbers contaminated with a deadly strain of bacteria. The good news is that doctors have used the outbreak to test an expensive new drug—Science, Nature
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/05/on-the-fly-german-doctors-find-t.html?ref=hp
Is Minority Report-style detection already here?—The US Department of Homeland Security is already testing a program it calls Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST). It is described as ‘pre-crime’ detection designed to spot people intending to commit a terrorist act. Minority Report anyone?—Nature
A Nature story on this topic can be found at http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110527/full/news.2011.323.html
Digital human actors set to break into the big time—Already motion-capture technology has created realistic non-human movie characters, such as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and Na’Vi in Avatar. The time is fast approaching for a digital human to be cast in a leading role.—New Scientist
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028145.500-digital-human-actors-set-to-break-into-the-big-time.html
Satellite imagery uncovers up to 17 lost Egyptian pyramids—An American research team has announced that, by analysing high resolution satellite imagery of Egypt, it has discovered up to 17 lost pyramids, nearly 3000 ancient settlements, and 1000 tombs.—Science
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/05/satellite-imagery-uncovers-up-to.html?ref=hp
No safe haven for amphibians—Frogs around the world are facing twin threats of habitat loss and infection with the deadly chytrid fungus. Unfortunately, solving one problem may exacerbate the other. It seems that pristine habitats hold the greatest risk of fungal disease, according to US researchers.—Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
A Nature story on this topic can be found at http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110531/full/news.2011.336.html
Cross your arms to relieve pain—British researchers have shown that crossing your arms tends to ease pain. They think that placing your hands in unfamiliar positions relative to the body perhaps muddles the brain and disrupts processing of the pain message. In other words, it’s a distraction.—Pain
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028145.000-cross-your-arms-to-relieve-pain.html