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Exploring nature of universe Genome clues on speech disorders Prof Yash
Pal THIS UNIVERSE Trends |
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Exploring nature of universe The world’s largest experiment into the fundamental forces of nature began on Tuesday in silent pursuit of the answers to some of the more esoteric questions of science.The Large Hadron Collider, a massive underground particle accelerator, successfully smashed two beams of sub-atomic particles together at three times the energy levels of any previous atom smasher — and without a sound. “It’s a great day to be a particle physicist. A lot of people have waited a long time for this moment, but their patience and dedication is starting to pay dividends,” said Rolf Heuer, head of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) in Geneva. Two beams of counter-circulating protons were accelerated to energies of 3.5 trillion electron volts (TeV). This meant they collided at a record energy of 7 TeV, a level that should begin to unravel a mysterious new law in phyics called supersymmetry and even lead to the discovery of the elusive Higgs boson, a sub-atomic particle that could explain the force of gravity. The Large Hadron Collider has been built in a tunnel 27km long. Normally, supercooled particle accelerators are closed down several months each year for routine maintainance but Cern will run the Large Hadron Collider continuously for two years. It will then be shut down for four months prior to re-opening in 2013 when it will be run at twice the current energy levels — producing collisions at a maximum of 14 TeV. “By starting with a long run and concentrating preparations for 14 TeV collisions into a single shutdown, we’re increasing the overall running time over the next three years, making up for lost time and giving the experiments the chance to make their mark,” Dr Heuer said. John Womersley of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, which funds Britain’s contributions to Cern, said that achieving collisions at 7 TeV marks the start of a new era in physics research. “The LHC aims to explore the nature of the universe just moments after the Big Bang and will increase our understanding of how it was created, and what it is made of and how it will evolve,” Professor Womersley said “In the next couple of years this could lead to the discovery of a new law of physics called super symmetry, which could explain the dark matter that seems to dominate our universe, and even to the discovery of the elusive Higgs boson particle,” he said. —
By arrangement with The Independent |
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Genome clues on speech disorders Scientists have cracked the genetic code of a songbird for the first time, identifying more than 800 genes linked to song learning in a finding that may shed light on human speech disorders. Baby zebra finches learn to sing in virtually the same way as human babies learn to speak—by copying their elders— which means the tiny bird should serve as a valuable model for understanding human learning and memory. ”Song learning is an excellent paradigm for all types of learning,” said Chris Ponting, a professor with the Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit at University of Oxford, who was involved in the research. “There are experiments that can be done that immediately provide information as to what changes occur in neurons (brain cells) upon the learning of a song. The zebra finch genome provides a tool that allows this exploration,” he said. The Australian zebra finch, which weighs less than half an ounce (14 grams), is only the second bird to have its genome sequenced, after the chicken in 2004. Baby finches, like human infants, start off by “babbling” before the young males learn to imitate their father’s song and eventually pass it on to the next generation. As they learn in such a predictable way and many of their genes are also found in humans, finches could provide a window onto the origins of speech disorders, such as autism, strokes, stuttering and Parkinson’s disease. It gives the zebra finch genome a “unique relevance to human neuroscience”, a team of international scientists led by Wes Warren of Washington University’s Genome Center reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday. Still, untangling the vast web of genetic and molecular factors involved in learning is not be easy. Experts previously thought there might be around 100 genes involved in zebra finch singing, however, the fact that at least 800 genes exist shows the complexity. They may have two birds in the bag, but scientists still want to learn more about these feathered descendants of the dinosaurs. Next up is the parrot genome, which researchers hope to complete by the end of this year. —
Reuters |
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THIS UNIVERSE How is the mass of heavenly bodies like planets, stars, etc.
determined? Let us first take the objects within the solar system, and it would be best if we learnt the way of measuring the mass of the earth itself. I will follow a non-historical approach, jumping straight off to the space age. If we launch a small satellite into a circular orbit at a distance of a few hundred kilometres above the surface of the earth, its orbital period comes out to be about 90 minutes. The orbital distance depends on the gravitational constant and mass of the earth. Gravitational attraction is proportional to the mass of the earth and it has to be balanced by the centrifugal force due to circular motion. Accurate measurements of this type have given the best measurement of the mass of the earth. But how did we measure the mass of the sun and various planets? In the 17th century Kepler had studied the orbits of various planets and come to the conclusion that their period of revolution was proportional to three half power of their distance from the sun. Since the distance to the sun was not known, the distances of various planets were only relative. We did not know the absolute size of the solar system nor the absolute masses of the sun and the planets. What was crucial to know was one of the distances then the other distances and masses of the planets would fall out. Such an absolute distance was realised through measurement of the transit of Venus across the disc of the sun and later, more accurately by radar measurements of the Venus distance. This is a beautiful story of combining the relative orbital periods of the planets and just one accurate determination of the distance of one of the planets to get the real size of the solar system and the masses of all the planets. You would appreciate the predictive power of Newtonian physics. It might be of interest to know that stars orbiting around black holes enable us to determine the masses of black holes. The rotation periods of galaxies are used to estimate the masses of galaxies. Such measurements have also led to the observation that dark matter that is not visible but does have a gravitational field is a very important component of the universe. Readers wanting to ask
Prof Yash Pal a question can e-mail him at palyash.pal@gmail.com |
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Trends WASHINGTON: A genetic mutation linked to schizophrenia appears to rupture communication between the two areas of the brain believed to be responsible for memory and may be an underlying cause of the brain disorder, U.S. researchers suggested in a study published on Wednesday. The study found that a genetic mutation, known as 22q11 deletion and common in schizophrenia patients, hinders communication between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, the researchers wrote in the journal Nature. Cigarette makers
defend menthol
WASHINGTON: Tobacco companies defended menthol cigarettes to a U.S. advisory panel on Wednesday as health advocates called for a government ban on the popular flavoring. About 19 million Americans smoke menthol cigarettes. Health advocates say the minty flavour masks the harshness of tobacco, making it easier to start smoking and harder to quit. Cancer link in Parkinson's drug evaluated
NEW YORK: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is evaluating clinical data that may suggest Novartis AG's Parkinson's disease treatment Stalevo is linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer. Data from a long-term clinical trial, known as STRIDE-PD, unexpectedly found that a greater number of patients taking Stalevo had prostate cancer compared to those taking another Parkinson's treatment, the FDA said. High vitamin K intake
tied to low cancer risks
NEW YORK: People with higher intakes of vitamin K from food may be less likely to develop or die of cancer, particularly lung or prostate cancers, than those who eat relatively few vitamin-K- containing foods, a new study suggests. The study, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, appears to be the first to look at the association between vitamin K intake and the risk of developing or dying from cancer in general. A previous report had linked it to lower prostate cancer risk. —
Reuters |
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The world’s largest experiment into the fundamental forces of nature began on Tuesday in silent pursuit of the answers to some of the more esoteric questions of science.The Large Hadron
Collider, a massive underground particle accelerator, successfully smashed two beams of sub-atomic particles together at three times the energy levels of any previous atom smasher — and without a sound.
Scientists have cracked the genetic code of a songbird for the first time, identifying more than 800 genes linked to song learning in a finding that may shed light on human speech disorders. Baby zebra finches learn to sing in virtually the same way as human babies learn to speak—by copying their elders— which means the tiny bird should serve as a valuable model for understanding human learning and memory.
Gene mutation may be key to schizophrenia
Cigarette makers
defend menthol
Cancer link in Parkinson's drug evaluated
High vitamin K intake
tied to low cancer risks
