A New Source of Electrical Energy? Biofuel Cell Works in Cactus 3 Ocean Geoengineering Scheme No Easy Fix for Global Warming 5 Atom Interferometer Provides Most Precise Test Yet of Einstein's Gravitational Redshift 7 Silicon-Coated Nanonets Could Build a Better Lithium-Ion Battery 10 NASA's Chandra Reveals Origin of Key Cosmic Explosions 12 Pan-Frying Meat With Gas May Be Worse Than Electricity for Raising Cancer Risk 14 New Type of Genetic Variation Could Strengthen Natural Selection 16 Stillbirths Drop Dramatically After Newborn-Care Training in Developing Countries 18 Random Fluctuations Give Rise to Odd Genetic Phenomenon 20 Has This Library Solved "The Mystery Of The Mummy Paper?" 22 Take This Museum and Shape It 24 History Lesson in Abstraction, Cutting Across the Americas 27 Academy Gives Art Some Wiggle Room 30 Colossi, Both Kitschy and Compelling 32 Under a Strange, Soulful Spell 34 Tolstoy & Co. as Objects of Obsession 37 Keep Calm and Never Mind, Britain Says in Its X-Files 39 Empathy Conducive to Creativity 40 Breaking through the noise of social media 42 Happiness wards off heart disease 44 Fridge-free vaccine hopes raised 46 Cancer detection blood test hope 48 Chemists Devise New Way of Optimizing Enzymes for Industrial Applications 50 Non-Invasive Testing, Earlier Surgery Can Stop Seizures in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 53 Soccer Practice May Significantly Reduce Blood Pressure in Inactive People 55 Highly Absorbing, Flexible Solar Cells With Silicon Wire Arrays Created 56 Stress and Trade-Offs Explain Life's Diversity: A New Model 58 The Rhythm of Our Star 60 Particle May Be Leading Candidate for Mysterious Dark Matter 62 Free Trade, Loss of Support Systems Crippling Food Production in Africa 64 'Fingerprinting' Method Reveals Fate of Mercury in Arctic Snow 66 Brain-Controlled Cursor Doubles as a Neural Workout 68 Children More Likely to Visit the Dentist If Their Parents Do, Too 70 Biologists Image Birth of Blood-Forming Stem Cells in Embryo 72 Most Patients Gain Weight After Knee Replacement Surgery 74 Nano for the Senses 76 Even Single-Celled Organisms Feed Themselves in 'Smart' Manner 78 Sistema de Infotecas Centrales Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila Pharmacy Students Practice Diagnostic Skills on Robotic Patient 80 Why We Gain Weight As We Age 82 Rational Or Emotional? Your Brain On Food 84 Come On, Get Happy. It May Help Your Heart 87 Who the Heck is Herwart von Hohenburg? 89 Drugs 'could stop spread of Aids' 92 Sex hormone trial for head injury 94 Singing 'rewires' damaged brain 96 Dolphins have diabetes off switch 98 Nap 'boosts' brain learning power 100 Triumph of the Cyborg Composer 102 Forecast: Warm With a Chance of Denial 110 More Power? No, More Empowerment! 112 The True Cost of Tobacco 114 Teaching an Old Immune System New Tricks 116 Frog reveals secret of monogamy 117 Threat from e-waste 'mountains' 120 The happy place on the podium 122 "This Book Is Overdue!": Hot for librarian 124 Imaginary fiends 127 The sweet smell of morality 130 From ocean to ozone: Earth's nine life-support Systems 133 Acid oceans 135 Ozone depletion 136 Fresh water 137 Biodiversity 138 Nitrogen and phosphorus cycles 139 Land use 141 Climate change 142 Aerosol loading 144 Chemical pollution 145 Can we trust the IPCC on the big stuff? 146 Mathematicians offer tip-offs to LAPD 150 Cellphone traces reveal you're so predictable 151 Iran showing fastest scientific growth of any country 152 Drug laws are painful for cancer patients 154 New weapons trained on blindness 155 Good vibrations aid mind-controlled steering 159 Memory-melting protein is key to fly forgetfulness 161 Fight HIV with HIV: 'safe' virus proposed as vaccine 162 Even in the virtual world, men judge women on looks 165 Innovation: Who wants ultra-fast broadband? 167 Latex could silence noisy neighbours 169 For sustainable architecture, think bug 170 Experts Offer Predictions Regarding Internet as of 2020 173 Best Sellers in Computer Science 175 Ten rules for writing fiction 177 A Burial Ground and Its Dead Are Given Life 193 Computers Turn Flat Photos Into 3-D Buildings 197 Designed to Help Uplift the Poor 199 2 Infoteca’s E-Journal No. 105 March 2010 Sistema de Infotecas Centrales Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila A New Source of Electrical Energy? Biofuel Cell Works in Cactus Biofuel cell inserted in a cactus and graph showing the course of electrical current as a function of illumination of the cactus (black: glucose, red: O2). ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2010) — Scientists in France have transformed the chemical energy generated by photosynthesis into electrical energy by developing a novel biofuel cell. The advance offers a new strategy to convert solar energy into electrical energy in an environmentally-friendly and renewable manner. In addition, the biofuel cell could have important medical applications. These findings have just been published in the journal Analytical Chemistry. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert solar energy into chemical energy. In the presence of visible light, carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H20) are transformed into glucose and O2 during a complex series of chemical reactions. Researchers at the Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal (CNRS) developed a biofuel cell that functions using the products of photosynthesis (glucose and O2) and is made up of two enzyme-modified electrodes. The cell was then inserted in a living plant, in this case a cactus. Once the electrodes, highly sensitive to O2 and glucose, had been implanted in the cactus leaf, the scientists succeeded in monitoring the real-time course of photosynthesis in vivo. They were able to observe an increase in electrical current when a desk lamp was switched on, and a reduction when it was switched off. During these experiments, the scientists were also able to make the first ever observation of the real-time course of glucose levels during photosynthesis. This method could offer a new means of better understanding the mechanisms of photosynthesis. Furthermore, the researchers showed that a biofuel cell inserted in a cactus leaf could generate power of 9 µW per cm2. Because this yield was proportional to light intensity, stronger illumination accelerated the production of glucose and O2 (photosynthesis), so more fuel was available to operate the cell. In the future, this system could ultimately form the basis for a new strategy for the environmentally-friendly and renewable transformation of solar energy into electrical energy. Alongside these results, the initial objective of this work was to develop a biofuel cell for medical applications. This could then function autonomously under the skin (in vivo), drawing chemical energy 3 Infoteca’s E-Journal No. 105 March 2010 Sistema de Infotecas Centrales Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila from the oxygen-glucose couple that is naturally present in physiological fluids. It could thus provide power for implanted medical devices such as, for example, autonomous subcutaneous sensors to measure glucose levels in diabetic patients. Story Source: Adapted from materials provided by CNRS (Délégation Paris Michel-Ange). Journal Reference: 1. Flexer et al. From Dynamic Measurements of Photosynthesis in a Living Plant to Sunlight Transformation into Electricity. Analytical Chemistry, 2010; 82 (4): 1444 DOI: 10.1021/ac902537h http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218092846.htm 4 Infoteca’s E-Journal No. 105 March 2010 Sistema de Infotecas Centrales Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila Ocean Geoengineering Scheme No Easy Fix for Global Warming This map displays simulated additional surface warming (in Celsius) for the year 2100 caused by the temporary use of artificial upwelling in the green areas for the time period 2011-2060. (Credit: IFM- GEOMAR) ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2010) — Pumping nutrient-rich water up from the deep ocean to boost algal growth in sunlit surface waters and draw carbon dioxide down from the atmosphere has been touted as a way of ameliorating global warming. However, a new study led by Professor Andreas Oschlies of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) in Kiel, Germany, pours cold water on the idea. "Computer simulations show that climatic benefits of the proposed geo-engineering scheme would be modest, with the potential to exacerbate global warming should it fail," said study co-author Dr Andrew Yool of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS). If international governmental policies fail to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide to levels needed to keep the impacts of human-induced climate change within acceptable limits it may necessary to move to 'Plan B'. This could involve the implementation of one or more large-scale geo-engineering schemes proposed for reducing the carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere. One possible approach is to engineer the oceans to facilitate the long-term sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It has been suggested that this could be done by pumping of nutrient-rich water from a depth of several hundred metres to fertilize the growth of phytoplankton, the tiny marine algae that dominate biological production in surface waters. The aim would be to mimic the effects of natural ocean upwelling and increase drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide by phytoplankton through the process of photosynthesis. Some of the sequestered carbon would be exported to the deep ocean when phytoplankton die and sink, effectively removing it from the system for hundreds or thousands of years. A previous study, of which Yool was lead author, used an ocean general circulation model to conclude that literally hundreds of millions of pipes would be required to make a significant impact on global warming. But even if the technical and logistical difficulties of deploying the vast numbers of pipes could be overcome, exactly how much carbon dioxide could in principle be sequestered, and at what risk? 5 Infoteca’s E-Journal No.