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15th Sep 2008

Spy Planes, Spam Filters and Space Bugs


Chris Smith
The Naked Scientists News Flash

In the very first Naked Scientists News Flash, we find out how unmanned spy-planes can speed up medical diagnoses in rural countries, how Internet anti-spam technology is helping to interpret ancient manuscripts, and the first water bears in orbit - how tardigrades survived a trip into space, without a suit!  Plus, we hear how the human heart can be pre-conditioned to cope better with a heart attack, and the plans for a giant Solar Power Tower in Nambia.

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News

(c) Spc. James B. Smith Jr

Robotic Carrier Pigeons

As rural areas especially in developing countries are very spread out and often have an awful transport infrastructure clinics can be many hours if not days away from the nearest hospital with a lab able to do tests.  This means that any treatment that depends on the results could be delayed by...

(c) BMaurer @ wikipedia

CAPTCHA-ing old texts

Anyone who’s a regular web user will be familiar with CAPTCHA’s – the little box of oddly shaped letters that you have to type out in order to access certain web pages.  CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, and it’s a highly effective se...

(c) Bob Goldstein

Bugs in space

A handful of common tiny soil-dwelling animals from Earth have successfully gone where previously only bacteria and lichens have been before by surviving a trip into low Earth orbit where they were exposed to the void of space. Known as tardigrades these animals are known to be very robust and can...

(c) Trexer at Wikipedia

The convoluted family tree of a Lager

Scientists at Yale university have been studying the family tree of the yeasts which are used to brew Lagers.  To do this they have been studying the DNA of the yeasts used to make both modern beers, and that preserved in yeasts up to 130 years old. They discovered that there are two major fam...

(c) Alex Ex

Med diet prevents major disease

Back in July, Greek researchers working as part of EPIC, the largest study of diet and cancer ever undertaken, showed that the more Mediterranean a person’s diet is, the lower the risk of cancer. That’s a diet that contains lots of fruit, veg, grains, nuts and fish, along with a splash of olive oil,...


Interviews

(c) Stanwhit607 @ wikimedia

Preparing the Heart for Attack

In some cases, the human heart can be 'pre-conditioned', and as such can withstand the damage of a heart attack. Now, researchers have found a way to re-create pre-conditioning, and possibly save lives...

(c) Kilohn limahn

The Super Solar Power Tower

A new proposal for an absolutely massive solar power tower in Namibia forces the issue of electricity in Africa - Christina Scott discusses the energy options...




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