the-BA : Science News Digest

In the news this week, sky rockets in flight, reactor crack fright and a horse that’s white. Plus stem cells, bionic limbs and renewable energy.

BBC News Online has been covering this week’s Discovery space shuttle mission. After thunderstorms that had threatened to postpone the launch for a third time remained at sea, Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Centre at 2.38pm (7.38pm British time), adding its own spectacular display to the American Fourth of July celebrations. NASA officials called the launch their Independence Day “gift to the nation,” but were concerned after several small pieces of insulating foam appeared to fall off the external fuel tank during the spacecraft’s ascent to orbit.
The crew of seven, including British-born astronaut Piers Sellers, spent much of Wednesday analysing the shuttle's wings and nose cap with a camera and laser attached to an external boom but found no apparent damage. Before docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, Discovery also performed a ‘backflip’ so that astronauts aboard the station could inspect the ceramic heat shield tiles that will protect the shuttle’s sensitive underbelly during re-entry. Discovery is scheduled to return to Earth on 16 July, having re-supplied the ISS and left behind German crew member Thomas Reiter, who will stay on at the station for a six-month mission.

North Korea provoked worldwide controversy and condemnation this week by test-firing seven missiles into the sea between Korea and Japan, reports the Telegraph. US officials stated that at least one of the missiles was a long-range Taepodong-2 ballistic rocket, thought to be capable of reaching American soil. The missile apparently failed 40 seconds into its flight but US President George W Bush stated that this did not lessen his concerns regarding North Korea’s nuclear program.

The Guardian reported on nuclear security concerns raised closer to home by documents which reveal that Government nuclear inspectors have raised “serious questions” over “major cracks” in the reactor cores of some British power stations. The documents, safety assessments obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, criticise British Energy, which operates 13 advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactors, including Hinkley Point B in Somerset. The assessments state that the company is unaware of the extent of the damage to its reactor cores, cannot monitor their deterioration and does not fully understand why cracking has occurred. A recent safety assessment of Hinkley, completed in April, warns that its continued operation is likely to increase the risk of an accident. BBC News Online reported the response from inspectors, who played down fears by stating that “matters have moved on” since April and they are now confident of safety at British Energy.

These reports will interest Conservative leader David Cameron, who ended his party’s long affinity for nuclear power this week by encouraging councillors attending the Conservative Local Government Association conference in Bournemouth to get behind “a new green energy revolution.” The Independent reported that, while Mr Cameron didn’t go so far as to oppose the construction of new nuclear power stations, his remarks suggest he is more of a nuclear sceptic than Tony Blair. This week the Prime Minister stated his convictions that the UK will still need nuclear energy when Britain’s ageing reactors come to the end of their active life.

You might think that Mr Blair has a point when you consider a report issued this week which suggests that the UK is lagging behind when it comes to renewable energy. The report, issued by government-funded organisation the Carbon Trust, reveals that wind power, wave power and other renewables will only meet 10% of the UK's power needs by the year 2020 (half of the government's target) and suggests that high costs and restrictive official policies are to blame. As the BBC reports, the Carbon Trust said that it still might be possible for renewables to meet the government target by 2020, with offshore wind power proving a particularly good prospect, and called for greater support for renewable technologies.

BBC News Online reports that survivors of the July 7 tube bombings, which occurred exactly a year ago, and other amputees may be helped by a breakthrough announced this week which allows artificial limbs to be attached directly to the human skeleton. The new technology, known as Intraosseous Transcutaneous Amputation Prosthesis (ITAP) was developed by scientists at Imperial College London by looking at the way that a deer’s antlers can grow through the skin without causing an infection. The work paves the way for ‘bionic’ limbs which could potentially be controlled by the nervous system of the amputee.

Disgraced South Korean stem cell biologist Hwang Woo-suk was in the news again this week, reports the Guardian. Testifying as part of his trial for accepting funds under false pretences, embezzlement and purchasing human eggs for research, he admitted ordering researchers to falsify stem cell data for a 2005 paper published in the journal Science. If convicted he faces at least three years in prison.

Those of you reading this on a PC rather than an Apple Mac may wish to switch off now, or at least that’s the advice of leading computer security firm Sophos security. BBC News Online reports the firm’s statement that the security threat posed by malicious software to PCs with Microsoft Windows has increased to such an extent that computer users should consider switching to a Mac in order to beat the bugs. Although Microsoft is currently working on the latest version of its operating system, known as Vista, and pledges that it will be the most secure yet released, Sophos says that the 10 most commonly found pieces of malicious software all target Windows machines, whereas none of the "malware" are capable of infecting the Mac OS X operating system.

New research from the US suggests that bird extinction rates are far worse than realised and are increasing rapidly due to human activities, reports New Scientist. The findings of a study by Peter Raven, of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis, and colleagues reveal that extinction rates are four times higher than traditional estimates and predict that the rate will accelerate to 10 extinctions per year by the end of the century. An increase on this scale would mean the loss of 12% of all 10,000 known bird species. Raven suggests that by the year 2100, “we will see total homogenisation – an end to regional diversity. The same few bird species will be seen everywhere, whether they are native or not".

And finally…

As BBC News Online reports, if you were feeling hot and bothered as the heatwave sent temperatures soaring this week, you should spare a thought for Humberside Police horse Blue, whose skin condition means that he blisters easily in the sun and gets through 10 bottles of sun cream a week. To protect Blue, whose nickname is Sunny, from a case of sunburn, mounted officers recently issued an internet appeal asking for help to keep him protected during patrols. Their call was answered by a high street chemist who provided five gallons of factor 50 suntan lotion.

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