Cell phone that reads Ray Kurzweil describes a cell phone or mobile phone that can take a picture of text and then reads the text. It´s for blind and dyslexic people. Virtual tools to teach children with autism Children with autism had their communication skills improved when they played with virtual tools. Justine Cassell is trying to determine why children with autism can learn better from a machine than they can from people. New approaches to gene therapy In 1975 David Baltimore was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for his work on retroviruses. An obvious application was gene therapy. A virus could integrate its genetic material into the DNA of the cell. Replace the bad genes with good genes. David Baltimore explains why the idea didn´t work as hoped. New techniques will allow for the placement of genes in certain places in the cell. This is the new hope for gene correction. Another approach is to modify the structures made by the immune system and make them stronger and able to achieve more. As of 2008, David Baltimore says a vaccine for HIV is at least 10 years away, with no guarantee one will be found at all. Public perception of nanotechnology Steven Currall has looked at people´s willingness to use new commercial products containing nanomaterials. Elizabeth Corley has found that nanotechnology is the first emerging technology where scientists are more concerned about the risks than are the public. Dan Kahan reports on public perception to nanotechnology. TMT - Thirty-meter telescope Ed Stone outlines the plans for a thirty-meter telescope. It will be made from 492 hexagonal segments all controlled by a computer. The site for the telescope hasn´t been selected yet. New adaptive optics techniques, allows removal of the effects of the atmosphere. This gives the same resolution as the Hubble telescope has in space. Ed Stone cites dark matter as the area of astronomical physics that he´d be most pleased to have resolved! The James Webb space telescope The James Webb space telescope is an example of an international collaboration in physics. This telescope is planned to be the successor to the Hubble space telescope. It will look at the formation of stars, and how the Earth became habitable, amongst numerous other projects. Why spend up big on physics? Big physics searches for the answers to the big questions. The questions are fundamental. How did we get here? Where are we going? Are we alone? This research can only be done by way of collaboration. The large hadron collider in Cern is a prime example. And there are spin-offs. It is said the world wide web came out of study into particle physics. Meso diary - farewell Jim Holmes Jim Holmes contracted mesothelioma during 2007. He analysed his experience and reflected on his journey writing a four-part diary for The Science Show. Jim died this last week.

[ Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +1000 ]

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