the-BA : The BA Science News Digest

In the science news this week: how your computer keyboard could be dirtier than a toilet, why oestrogen is the new testosterone, and astronomers spot a black hole 600 times the mass of the Sun.

As if causing repetitive strain injury wasn’t enough, new research shows that computer keyboards could be covered in more bacteria than you would find on an average toilet seat which can cause diarrhoea and vomiting.

Which? Computing magazine published research by a microbiologist who examined samples from 33 keyboards and found a variety of bugs including the deadly E. coli and S. aureus, which can cause skin infections and make people ill.
Sarah Kidner, Which? Computing’s editor, said: 'Most people don’t give much thought to the grime that builds up on their PC, but if you don’t clean your computer, you might as well eat your lunch off the toilet.'

The survey, in which more than 4000 people were questioned, found that 22 per cent cleaned their keyboard and 27 per cent their monitor on a monthly basis. Just over one in 10 said they never cleaned their keyboard, while 20 per cent said they cleaned their mouse. Read more in the Guardian.

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The babble of young songbirds has been likened the noises that human babies make before they learn to speak in a study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Telegraph reported this week.

The study examines the way in which immature and adult birdsongs are driven by two separate brain pathways, rather than one pathway that slowly matures. This could offer insights into how birds, and potentially people, learn new behaviours and what they do when it goes wrong. Existing research shows that the zebra finch has two distinct brain circuits dedicated to song - known as the motor circuit - and another for producing the song.

Dr Michale Fee says: 'The idea that there are circuits in the brain that drive exploration is also exciting to me in the context of creativity. When we think creatively, we are putting ideas, words and thoughts together in new and often surprising ways, the same way a young bird puts sounds together in new and surprising ways.'

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Taking an aspirin every day could reduce a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer by up to 16 per cent, a study of more than 26,000 women has shown.

It is thought that aspirin reduces cancers by stopping an enzyme called cyclooxygenase from working. This is in turn lowers oestrogen levels. The results are now available in the journal Breast Cancer Research.

Liz Baker, science and information officer at Cancer Research UK, said that anybody considering taking aspirin regularly should first consult their doctor. 'Weighing up the risks and benefits, it’s too soon to recommend aspirin as a way of reducing the risk of cancer.' Read more in the Guardian.

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An empowering surge of the hormone oestrogen could be the secret behind every strong competitive woman, the Telegraph revealed this week.

The force driving the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Thatcher and businesswoman Nicola Horlick could be oestrogen, fuelling feminine feelings of power, drive and competition in much the same way that testosterone does in men.

A study by Steven Stanton at the University of Michigan, published in the journal Hormones and Behaviour, looked at how oestrogen or testosterone was affected when women competed in a one-on-one dominance contest.
It was found that before the women began the contest, those with higher oestrogen levels were more motivated to win. Winners of the contest showed even further increases in oestrogen after the contest, but only if they had a strong need for power. It was also noted that this could still be measured a day after the contest was over.

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The discovery of a fourth fundamental unit of electronic circuits – the ‘memristor’ – could revolutionise computing as we know it, perhaps bringing an end to frustrating waits for computers to boot up. The existence of the memristor, abbreviation of ‘memory resistor’, was first suggested in 1971, but it is only now that researchers have succeeded in creating a real, working example.

'A memristor is essentially a resistor with memory,' explained Stan Williams of HP Labs in Palo Alto, California, in Nature. What this means is that a computer created from memristive circuits can ‘remember’ what has happened to it previously, and freeze that memory when the circuit is turned off. This could allow computers to turn on and off again in an instant instead of having to ‘boot up’.

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The oil giant Shell came under ferocious attack from politicians and environmentalists last night as it pulled out of the London Array wind farm, set to be the largest wind farm in the world.

Caroline Lucas, Green MEP for the South East of England, said that she could not condemn Shell strongly enough for their decision to pull out as the last key negotiations over equipment contracts took place. The loss of one of the three investors in the London Array wind farm is a serious setback for the future of renewable energy in this country, at a time when the UK is already struggling to meet its EU targets for renewables.

Greenpeace chief policy adviser Benet Northcote berated Shell for repeatedly selling off its renewable assets while at the same time investing millions of pounds extracting oil from the Canadian tar sands, something he claimed was one of the most climate-wrecking forms of fossil fuel extraction known to man. To learn more read the Guardian.

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Nature reported this week that astronomers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, have discovered a black hole 600 million times the mass of the Sun.

If confirmed, the discovery would be a validation that has been a long time coming for many theorists that have tried and failed to find evidence of such massive black holes before now.

The findings could raise a lot of questions for astronomers, as it would mean that some galaxies may no longer have black holes at their centres as it is thought that black holes are crucial in controlling the growth of galaxies.

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And finally – amazing photos can be seen in the National Geographic of a giant freshwater stingray caught in the Bang Pakong River in Chachoengaso, Thailand, which then gave birth shortly after its capture.

Possibly the largest freshwater fish in the world, the rays can grow as large as 450 kilograms.
They are extremely difficult to catch, attempting to bury themselves in the mud when hooked. The ray was caught after weeks of combing remote Southeast Asian rivers as part of the National Geographic’s Megafishes Project.