Five new genes linked to Alzheimer's

Source: AFP

PARIS - Scientists said on Sunday they had uncovered five genes linked to the onset of Alzheimer's disease, doubling the number of genetic variants known to favour the commonest form of dementia.

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Seaweed offers clues against malaria

Source: AFP

Seaweed emits a natural chemical response to ward off fungi that would otherwise colonise an injured plant, a process that could help the search for anti-malaria drugs, a US scientist said Monday.

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Ink-jet printers inspire scientists to make skin

Source: PDI

Ink-jet printing technology has inspired scientists to look for ways to build sheets of skin that could one day be used for grafts in burn victims, experts said Sunday.

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Cell-based flu shot beats current vaccine: study

Source: AFP

Flu vaccines made from lab-grown cells work at least as well as those derived from viruses cultivated in

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'Bubble Ball' iPhone app inventor is Utah eighth grader

Source: Reuters

The world's most frequently downloaded free iPhone application, an engrossing mini-video game called "Bubble Ball," is the creation of a 14-year-old boy who spent weeks developing it at a public library in Utah.

Eighth-grader Robert Nay, who also happens to be a young musical prodigy -- he plays piano, trumpet and mandolin -- said he was inspired by his enthusiasm for electronic games in general and his interest in tinkering with computers.

"I just wanted to make an iPhone app. I thought it would be cool. And I wanted to see if I could do it," Robert said in a recent interview with Reuters. "I played games that were similar to it. I just took what I liked from different games, and, like, add my own stuff."

But Robert's "Bubble Ball," a puzzle and game of strategy that involves the principles of physics in moving a floating bubble from one point to another, is anything but a knock-off of other apps.

"He spent countless hours working on it, and the final product includes more than 4,000 lines of code. He sent it to the Apple app store on December 22. It appeared for download at the app store December 29," said his mother, Kari Nay.

Robert first began working on his invention in November.

"Bubble Ball" was downloaded 1 million times in its first two weeks of release from Apple's iTunes website and has since surpassed the 2-million mark, replacing "Angry Birds" as the site's most popular free app.

Robert, who also enjoys pizza and books, became interested in computers at an early age and said that most of what he knows about them is self-taught. Not surprisingly, his favorite subject in school is math.

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Modified chicken to stop spread of bird flu

Scientists 'make' chickens that don't spread bird flu

SOURCE: AFP

European scientists have found a way to genetically modify chickens so that they don't transmit bird flu, according to research published on Thursday in the journal Science.

Bird flu, also known as H5N1 avian influenza, usually afflicts poultry but can cross over to humans and cause lethal respiratory problems and other complications.

The first cases detected in humans were in Hong Kong in 1997. A wider global outbreak took hold in 2004 and cases have flared across parts of the world ever since.

Scientists from the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh said the modified chickens could get bird flu but could not pass it on to other chickens.

"Chickens are potential bridging hosts that can enable new strains of flu to be transmitted to humans," said Laurence Tiley, of the University of Cambridge's Department of Veterinary Medicine.

"Preventing virus transmission in chickens should reduce the economic impact of the disease and reduce the risk posed to people exposed to the infected birds."

However, Tiley noted that the research still in its early stages, and the birds they developed are not intended to be eaten by people.

"The genetic modification we describe is a significant first step along the path to developing chickens that are completely resistant to avian flu," Tiley said.

"These particular birds are only intended for research purposes, not for consumption."

The birds were altered by a new gene that makes a "decoy" molecule that imitates an element of bird flu virus.

Then the virus is "tricked into recognising the decoy molecule instead of the viral genome and this interferes with the replication cycle of the virus," the study said.

When scientists infected the genetically modified chickens with avian influenza, the birds fell ill but did not spread the flu to other birds, whether those birds were genetically modified or not.

"The results achieved in this study are very encouraging," said researcher Helen Sang of the University of Edinburgh.

"Using genetic modification to introduce genetic changes that cannot be achieved by animal breeding demonstrates the potential of GM to improve animal welfare in the poultry industry," she said.

"This work could also form the basis for improving economic and food security in many regions of the world where bird flu is a significant problem."

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Invention: Mirror that can detect flu

Japanese firm invents mirror to spot the flu

SOURCE: AFP

A Japanese technology firm on Tuesday unveiled a mirror-like thermometer that can identify a person who is feverish.

"Thermo Mirror," which looks like a table mirror, measures the skin temperature of the person looking into it, without the need for physical contact, said the firm, NEC Avio Infrared Technologies.

The person's temperature is displayed on the surface, and the device has an alarm that will beep when detecting a subject who is feverish.

With two versions priced at 98,000 yen and 120,000 yen ($1,180-$1,440) each, the product costs less than 10 percent of thermography cameras used at airports to screen for people who might have communicable diseases, the company said.

"We foresee uses at corporate receptions, schools, hospitals and public facilities," NEC Avio said in a statement.

The company said it aimed to sell 5,000 units in one year.

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Charge your gadgets while walking

Gadget charger harnesses walking power

SOURCE: AFP

A US company has come up with a baton-shaped device that charges gadgets using power generated by walking, hiking or running.

Tremont Electric was in Las Vegas on Tuesday for the Consumer Electronics Show, where it will tout the nPower PEG (personal energy generator) as ideally suited for today's gizmo-dependent lifestyles.

"It's for any outdoors enthusiast who is deep in the woods and doesn't have access to a power outlet or for a commuter who constantly needs backup battery power," said Jessica Davis of Tremont.

"You could use this for an emergency situation or just for your commute."

PEG batons measure nine inches (23 centimeters) and weigh 11 ounces (312 grams). Electricity is generated when floating magnets slide through coils, according to Davis.

The batons can be put in a backpack, brief case, or runner's pouch where they synch to up-and-down motion to generate power.

"It tunes to optimize the amount of power being produced," Davis said.

PEG works with more than 3,000 handheld devices that are USB 2.0 compatible.

The Ohio-based company began selling the 160-dollar "kinetic" chargers in September and has been scrambling to catch up to demand.

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