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Podcast TranscriptThe Naked Scientists: Science Radio & Science Podcasts |
| 20th Jan 2002 | < Previous Show | Next Show > | |||||||||
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Hot Spring Brings Hope for Life on Mars
People who believe that little green men will be found on Mars are bound to be disappointed - the conditions would be far too harsh. But the discovery of a new community of microbes in Idaho means that finding microscopic lifeforms on Mars is increasingly likely. A team of US scientists made their discovery in a hot spring 200 metres below the surface. They were amazed to find a microbial community living almost exclusively on carbon dioxide and hydrogen from rocks, releasing methane as a by-product. Unlike the vast majority of life forms, these microbes live completely independently from the Sun. But why should something in Idaho be relevant to Mars? Well, the Martian atmosphere has plenty of hydrogen and carbon dioxide which these microbes could live off. And although the other vital ingredient for life - water - is missing from the surface of Mars, scientists reckon that water might be found deep underground. This discovery was so unexpected that, at first, the researcher analysing the samples assumed she had made a mistake. A hundred years ago biologists went on expeditions to find new species of animals. Now it is the turn of hidden microscopic lifeforms to reveal their secrets.
Show featuring extreme bacteria (extremophile) expert Prof. Philip Wright
Scientists discover extreme bacteria living up to 3km underground near Hawaii
20th Jan 2002
Australians Build Robots Based on Nature's Designs
Australian scientists are using a freshwater crayfish, known as the Yabby, as their inspiration to help build miniature robots for NASA's exploration of Mars. Platoons of robo-yabbies could soon explore the red planet searching for water or analysing the atmosphere and the planet's crust - tasks that are currently impractical for humans. The copying of natures' best designs for use in robotics is known as biomimetics, but it isn't as easy as merely taking apart an animal or plant and copying what you see. "Evolution doesn't always come up with the best solution from an engineer's perspective," according to Professor Macmillan, one of the researchers. Professor Macmillan has focused his research on the Yabby's powerful tail. "The tail of the Yabby acts like a hinged lever, changing form to act as a sail for steering or a powerful paddle for swimming,". The arrangement of muscles and nerves presents a clever solution to problems associated with the dynamics and control of multi-jointed levers, which could be useful in design of multi-jointed legs for mobility over difficult terrain, or in activities requiring precision lifting and leverage. "By studying invertebrates like the Yabby and its marine relatives, it may be possible to reverse engineer their neurological systems and build miniature, lightweight and autonomous robots capable of performing the range of complex tasks needed to explore Mars and beyond."
20th Jan 2002
A New Kind of Lie Detector Test
Traditional lie detector tests measure blood pressure and sweat on the surface of the skin to work out when someone is lying, but scientists writing in this week's Nature magazine have come up with an even simpler technique - thermal imaging. When a person lies they rapidly increase the temperature of the skin around their eyes. Although these changes are not visible to the naked eye, a high definition camera can pick out the tell-tale warming signs in at least 75% of people. It also correctly identifies 90% of people who are telling the truth. Because the technique requires physical contact with the individual or expertise to operate, the inventors suggest that it might be useful at, for instance, airport check in desks.
20th Jan 2002
Fighting Bacteria with Viruses
Scientists from America are using viruses to kill deadly bacteria that have become resistant to traditional antibiotics. Bacteriophages are viruses that attack and kill bacteria, but are harmless to animals and humans. Researchers had begun using them to treat bacterial infections as long ago as the early 20th century, but the arrival of penicillin meant that the work was apparently no longer necessary and scientists and doctors largely lost interest. But with the arrival in the 1980s and 90s of strains of bacteria resistant to many types of antibiotics, interest has again turned to bacteriophages, which are looking promising. In one recent experiment, a team of scientists infected mice with deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The mice were then treated with bacteriophages at varying times after infection. All of the mice treated within 5 hours of infection survived, and half of the mice treated 24 hours after infection. The mice that did not receive bacteriophage treatment all died within 48 hours. These results are exciting since antibiotic resistant bugs are now a major problem in hospitals throughout the world, so a new way to deal with them will be warmly welcomed by doctors everywhere !
New weapon against superbugs - dormant bacteriophages re-awakened from their genome
Show on superbugs, MRSA, bdellovibrio, and bacteriophage (phage) therapy
20th Jan 2002
Doctors Wary of the Internet
Frequently patients coming to the doctors these days have spent time browsing the internet for information about their condition or symptoms, but doctors warned in the Lancet this week that information given on the internet is often incomplete and may be incorrect. A team of US doctors looked at pages providing information on melanoma, a common form of skin cancer. Worryingly they checked 75 websites sites against a checklist containing 35 pieces of information that they regarded as essential to informing people properly about melanoma, but found that over 60% of the sites had fewer than 8 of the most important facts. More importantly, 14% of them gave incorrect information. This means that you should be very careful when looking up information, particularly health-related information, on the internet, mainly because there are no controls in place to check the accuracy of what you are reading. It is therefore important to 'read around' the subject by looking at lots of sites, rather than relying on just one, to get a balanced view of a topic. The authors of the study also suggest that doctors should take an active role in helping their patients to find accurate internet information.
20th Jan 2002
The Japanese Are Working Themselves to Death
You might think you're overworked but did you know that in Japan, people often die from working too hard? They call it "karoshi" - death by Overwork. Until now its been very hard for relatives to prove that overwork was the cause of death - although 40 compensation claims are made each year, they rarely get paid out. But now a team of Japanese researchers have proved that there's a connection. In a survey, people who worked more than 180 hours overtime in 10 months were far more likely to die than people who hadn't worked as many hours.
20th Jan 2002
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