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New Scientist - English | Trường Đại Học Hạ Long
New Scientist - English | Trường Đại Học Hạ Long được sưu tầm và soạn thảo dưới dạng file PDF để gửi tới các bạn sinh viên cùng tham khảo, ôn tập đầy đủ kiến thức, chuẩn bị cho các buổi học thật tốt. Mời bạn đọc đón xem!
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STEMMING THE T How to fight rising levels before it’s too UNIVERSAL ORGA Switching blood types co transform transpla BABY ROBO Meet the machines t reproduce by themse
WEEKLY February 26 - March 4, 2022 BEATING LONG COVID
Finally there is hope for those who can’t shake the disease HOW TIME STRETCHES Most precise atomic clock proves Einstein right (again) 9 .9 9 $ PLUS N A US CRYPTO CRACKDOWN / C 9 .9
ARTIFICIAL WHALE POO P / 6 S$ ORANGUTANS WITH TOOLS U 5 7 3 3
Science and technology news www.newscientist.com o N This week’s issue
44 Stemming the tide On the 44 Features How to fight rising sea cover
levelsbefore it’s too late “ A 5-metre se level rise by
38 Beating long covid
12 Universal organs
Finally there is hope for those Switching blood types could 2150 would who can’t shake the disease transform transplants basically be
21 How time stretches 48 Baby robots Most precise atomic clock Meet the machines that a disaster proves Einstein right (again) reproduce by themselves that we can’ 15 US crypto crackdown 14 imagine” Artificial whale poo
22 Orangutans with tools Vol 253 No 3375 Cover image: Pete Reynolds News Features
8 After the floods
38 Long-haul fight Can Germany adapt News
As millions battle long covid, the tothefuture climate?
condition is finally getting the
scientific attention it deserves
10 Wrapped in plastic Red material helps boost
44 The high seas cropyields
As sea level rises due to global warming, how can we respond
16 No new neurons to this slow-motion disaster? We may be unable to grow new brain cells after we
48 Evolving robots enteradulthood The amazing machines that produce competing offspring Views The back pages 25 Comment Creative thinking is key to
52 Stargazing at home science, says Hannah Cloke How to measure the sky
26 The columnist 53 Puzzles Graham Lawton on hopes Try our crossword, quick quiz
ofaplastic pollution treaty andlogic puzzle 28 Aperture
54 Almost the last word Dust devils create a surreal
Why do other people’s farts sme scene on the surface of Mars so much worse than ours? M O .C L 30 Culture P E 55 Tom Gauld for R U
The Man Who Tasted Words T A New Scientist /N serves up a sensory treat N E
A cartoonist’s take on the world S R E G R E 37 Letters B N 56 Feedback E P Here’s how to make the S E Property rights on the moon circulareconomy a reality
14 Carbon droppings How to replace whale faeces’ vital ecosystem role andwriggling carbon savings
26 February 2022 | New Scient Elsewhere on New Scientist Academy Newsletter Podcast Everyday “ Homo erectu quantumphysics existed for This course will reveal how theworld around you is the far longer
wayitisdue to quantum
physics– fromthe technology than other
you use toeveryday objects,
andpossiblyeven lifeitself. human Learn online at your own groups, but pacefrom a hand-picked N E
groupofthe world’s experts. S L E we don’t Findoutmore online now. N W E H T
academy.newscientist.com T A know why” M
Hot stuff Lichens evolve super slowly in response to climate change Event New Scientist Live Newsletter
A mind-blowing festival of ideas
and discoveries for everyone who
is curious about science. Following our multi-award-winning shows in London, we are running the Y R A R
festival in Manchester, UK, on IB L O
12to 14March 2022. Join us to T O H
hear more than 40 unforgettable P E C N speakers and see dozens of IE C /S
exhibits. Book your tickets online. S E N Y A newscientist.com/events .D /E LY IL A L .P P Podcast
Mystery hominin How does Homo erectus relate to other humans? Weekly A personalised medicine programme in Australia has Video saved the lives of more than Newsletter
150children with aggressive cancer. We hear a moving See the Endurance Our Human Story interview with one of their getcrushed by ice Get Michael Marshall’s parents. Plus, we learn why
The British Film Institute has wonderful newsletter about Essential guide lichens take much longer to
restored footage taken during one human evolution delivered evolve in response to climate
of Ernest Shackleton’s expeditions
freeto your inbox each month.
How did the universe begin? Wha change than you might think.
to Antarctica, including the poignant
Inthelatest edition, he looks at
is it made of? Do black holes exist
Then, we get the latest on tests moment when the mast of his
Homo erectus, simultaneously
Albert Einstein’s space and time- of “enhanced weathering”,
ship,the Endurance, collapsed one of the best known and
warping theories of relativity have
atechnique to fight climate
asthe vessel was crushed by sea
mostbaffling species of ancient
revolutionised our view of the change by using ground-up
ice. Despite the sailors’ perilous human, and how it is related
cosmos over the past century. Fin rocks to draw carbon dioxide
predicament, Shackleton insisted tothe many other hominins.
out how in the 10th New Scientis outof the atmosphere.
that the nitrate film was salvaged. newscientist.com/
Essential Guide, available now. newscientist.com/nspod
youtube.com/newscientist our-human-story shop.newscientist.com
2 | New Scientist | 26 February 2022 The leader The long covid dividend
Research into the syndrome could help others with similarly mysterious conditions
TOO many people are ill and can’t be
ofwhich may be in use this year (see page
manyconditions can be tracedback to
properly treated. They have “functional
38). This will have felt like a protracted wait infections with mild initial symptoms.
disorders” like myalgic encephalomyelitis
for many of those with long covid, but is
Long covid isn’t the only post-viral
(ME), aka chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS),
still an incredibly fast turnaround.
condition: for example, there is also a
that are life-altering and often disabling,
Other functional disorders need the
post-Ebola syndrome. Multiple sclerosis,
but with unclear causes. Doctors struggle
same attention. In some cases, like ME/
adegenerative nervous system condition,
to find anything out of the ordinary in
CFS, we have clues to what is going on,
seems almost exclusively to arise in
blood tests and other investigations. All
even if that hasn’t yet led to treatments.
people infected with the Epstein-Barr
they can do is try to relieve symptoms.
virus behind glandular fever, or “mono”.
Now, tens of millions have developed
“ Just because a condition
Functional disorders have been
afunctional disorder at the same time:
isunexplained, it doesn’t
neglected for too long, despite their toll
long covid. This can set in after infection
meanitisunexplainable”
onpeople’s well-being and society. The
with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and last for
research momentum that has built up
months or even years. Despite being
Others, like fibromyalgia, a condition
around long covid offers hope to the
initially dismissed by many doctors,
ofwidespread pain, are more mysterious.
millions of people who have it, but also to
people with long covid have campaigned
Diagnoses may be umbrella descriptions,
millions with other functional disorders.
for the illness to be recognised and studied. hiding a range of physical goings-on that
Long covid looks like proof that these
Researchers have now identified manifest as similar symptoms.
conditions, if they are pursued with
possible underlying causes, and are
But “unexplained” doesn’t mean
enough determination and rigour, can
devising and testing treatments, some
“unexplainable”. There is evidence
beunderstood and properly treated. ❚ PUBLISHING & COMMERCIAL EDITORIAL
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New Scientist ISSN 0262 4079 is published weekly except Tim Boddy
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for the last week in December by New Scientist Ltd, England.
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Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper and printed in USA
Editors Timothy Revell, Chelsea Whyte Ben Townsend, Piotr Walków
by Fry Communications Inc, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 Reporter Leah Crane
26 February 2022 | New Scient News Tick-tock Ancient genes Powering up Amphibians attack Handy apes Rats can track time “Fossil” virus AI put in charge Are poisonous toads Orangutans can’t and judge how well foundin the human
ofanuclear fusion killing Madagascar’s make stone tools, they do it p10 genome p15 reactor p19 native snakes? p20 butcan use them p22 Public health messaging in Bolton,UK the most recent figure, with around 1000 people admitted t
hospital daily, while deaths hav
been relatively stable at more th
100 a day for most of February. One glimpse into the future may come from Denmark, whic
lifted all legal covid-19 mitigatio
on 1 February. “I think it has
proved to be the right decision,”
says Troels Lillebaek at Statens Serum Institute, Denmark. Case have subsequently S E andare now falling. G A IM Denmark has been accused Y T T E bysome people of seeing /G G N
surgingdeath rates after the O L R U
relaxation, but Lillebaek says th F R E H stems from a misunderstandin P O T about how Denmark counts IS R H C
deaths. Currently, about 60per
cent of people dying with covid- Coronavirus
are dying due to the disease, an
40 per cent due toother causes
England ends covid-19 rules With the delta variant, covid-19 was causing around 80 per cent
ofdeaths inpeople who had
Mandatory self-isolation ends in England as the country scraps thedisease. Despite pressure on the
itsremaining coronavirus laws, reports Adam Vaughan
healthcare system, it hasn’t bee overwhelmed, says Lillebaek.
A “LIVING with covid” plan for Whether the government An end to free testing will
Mostpeople are either discharg
England announced this week by
is“following the science”, as it impact the UK’s covid-19
immediately or the next day aft
UK prime minister Boris Johnson
claimed in the early stages of the surveillance infrastructure. being assessed, he says. will see the country rely on
pandemic, is an open question. At
TheUK’s flagship monitoring
“It’s going as good as you guidance rather than legal
a press conference on 21 February,
scheme, the Office for National
couldhave hoped. We have bee
rulesbacked with enforcement,
the chief scientific adviser to the
Statistics’ covid-19 infection through the wave: in Copenhage almost two years after
UK government, Patrick Vallance, survey, will continue, with a
and Zealand it has already peake
said: “There’s no guarantee the by age and region to says Lone Simonsen at Roskilde
next variant is as reduced severity
help track the disease. However, University, Denmark. Extremel It is about “moving
as omicron. It could be the same,
another random swabbing survey,
high booster vaccination rates
fromgovernment restrictions to
itcould be more, could be less.”
REACT, run by Imperial College
inolder age groups in Denmark
personal responsibility”, he told
“It’s not a science decision:
London, is expected to be axed have been key for making the
the UK’s parliament on Monday.
noneof the recent SAGE [Scientific
atthe end of March, New Scientist relaxation possible, she says. Self-isolation of people who
Advisory Group for Emergencies] understands. Officially, no Nonetheless, she says that
testpositive for the coronavirus
minutes suggest this is a good time decision has been taken.
evenwith the protection offered became guidance rather than a
to be doing this,” says Christina Whether the lifting of legal by vaccinations, many people
legal requirement on 24 February, Pagel at University College
ruleswill drive a surge in England’s
arestill getting mildly sick. and routine contact tracing
London. “We still have some of
covid-19 figures remains to be
“It’snot fun. [But] once you’ve
ceased. Testing will be scaled back,
thehighest infection rates we’ve seen. The rolling seven-day
hadit, you can enjoy the silver
with PCR and lateral flow tests
had. I think it is the wrong time
average for daily cases stands at
lining of an excellent immunity
no longer free for all from April.
and sends the wrong message.”
around 37,000 as of 13 February, says Simonsen. ❚
26 February 2022 | New Scient News Climate change The day the floods came
Devastating floods in Germany last year have left deep scars that serve as a grim
portentofEurope’s climate future, reports Adam Vaughan from the Ahr val ey
“I SAW a tree with people sitting IF A
init, crying and screaming. I could /LREM
hear them despite all the noise. M A L
But I couldn’t help them. I didn’t K ID V A
know what to do,” says Melanie D
Schultz-Coerne, crying too as she
recalls the traumatic night last year when Germany experienced
its worst floods in six decades. She
doesn’t know what happened to
the campers she saw, but 134 people
in the country’s Ahr valley died
during the floods in mid-July, withhundreds more injured. The increasing threat of such
extreme weather events and their economic and human costs will
come to the fore on 28 February
when scientists release a major assessment of the impacts of
climate change and, crucially, how
we adapt to them (see “A road map
for adaptation”, right). The last
Clockwise from above: A message
Kreienkamp at Germany’s National Despite these lasting scars,
version of this report, published
for volunteers in Rech near the Meteorological Service. A low-
acolossal recovery effort is un
by the Intergovernmental Panel
Ahr river, Germany; remains of
pressure system sat in place for
way. Alongside an army ofoff
on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2014,
a broken bridge in Rech; rubble
days, drawing warm, wet air from contractors rebuilding roads
identified the harm wrought by
clearance in Dernau near the Ahr
the Mediterranean that fell as rain infrastructure is a movement
floods as a key risk facing Europe.
over a wide area of north-west volunteers, with many travell One of the worst-hit areas
Below: Alexandra Preste
Europe. The extent and duration from across Germany to help
lastyear was Ahr, named after
atDeutzerhof vineyard
of the rain was striking, leaving While there has been occas
theusually placid river snaking
the ground saturated and setting
hostility to these helpers– so
through it. Weeks after the flood Bottom: Markus Kelter
the stage for a historic event, says
are on an “ego triptaking self
hit Ahr, researchers linked it to inWalporzheim Kreienkamp. Rain on the day
says one local– they have also
climate change, finding the event
ofthe floods was heavy but not
welcomed, asthe “Danke”, “We
to be a 1-in-500-year disaster.
extreme– 100 to 150millimetres–
Valley” andother messages da Walking alongside the Ahr
but it was too much for the valley. on damaged buildings attest.
now,it is hard to imagine the
The area’s steep hills and flat has been the biggest interven
riverwreaking destruction on
floodplain amplified the impact.
in our history,” says Sabine La
thisaffluent wine-growing region, Water was funnelled through
which is popular with hikers and thevalley, destroying more
“ We were a little paradis
tourists. “We were a little paradise,
than80bridges, many of them
with vineyards, a small
with vineyards, a small river, formidable stone structures
river, bicycles. Then, one bicycles. Then, one night, thatwere hundreds of years
night, everything’s gone
everything’s gone,” says Markus
old.Travelling through the valley
Kelter in Walporzheim. Standing seven months on, you see that at the Federal Agency for Tech
in the gutted interior of the house
theskeletons of some bridges Relief, which coordinated nea
where his family have lived since stand by temporary pontoons. 17,000 volunteers in Ahr over
the 19th century, he is thankful Railway tracks remain swept sixmonths.
that this time only the building IF
away;piles of wood, mud and However, much of the aid h A
was damaged. In 1804, children /L R otherdebris stand by the been self-organised. Schultz- E
inhis family died in a flood here. M M
roadside;and high watermarks Coerne has been serving food A L The conditions for the 2021 K ID remain above ground-floor
atamakeshift canteen for mo V
floodwere foreseen, says Frank A D heighton many buildings.
than12hours a day to volunte
8 | New Scientist | 26 February 2022
clearing up around her village,
with today’s level of warming–
Mayschoß. “It definitely was a Paradise lost
about 1.1°C globally since the
wayto help myself too,” she says.
The Ahr river flooded nearby settlements in July 2021
industrial revolution– adaptatio Thomas Putz, whose medical will be hard and sometimes supplies business in Bad impossible in high-income
Neuenahr-Ahrweiler was flooded,
countries, let alone poorerones
responded by creating the “Helper
There is little Ahr could have don
Shuttle”, using social media to
to prepare for these freak floods HESSE rapidly coordinate thousands r Bad
“Itshowed that everyone isaffec h
ofvolunteers. The aid involved A Neuenahr- Rh Ahrweiler i by climate change. Sometimes n
notjust clearing mud and debris, e Walporzheim
think, in Europe, we are rich and
but also helping people who were Mayschoß
can deal with it,” says Elco Koks
grieving. “We don’t only need
the Free University ofAmsterda
yourmuscle, we need your ears,” RHINELAND- Putz told volunteers. PALATINATE A mixed picture Guido Orthen, the mayor of
BadNeuenahr-Ahrweiler, says
Ahr’s recovery offers a mixed
thechallenge is long term. “The picture on future-proofing hom
reconstruction of our city is a Applied Sciences. The weather
house” while he waits for his flat for more extreme weather or to
mammoth task,” he says. Power
wasforecast and early warnings
inMayschoß to be renovated, says
contribute less to climate chang
and water were restored within
issued to local authorities, but
he will stay. He is fatalistic about
Some houses’ oil-based heating
weeks, schools have resumed and
those didn’t always make it down
the prospect of more floods as systems, which spilled and
pop-up shops have been created.
to officials and residents in Ahr,
theworld warms. “If it happens, contaminated water during the
Nonetheless, he thinks restoring
says Fekete (see page 25). A mobile ithappens,” he says. floods, are being swapped for
all infrastructure, from roads and
phone broadcasting system went
Researchers agree that the risk lower-carbon options. But in
lighting to parks and playgrounds,
unused and there were no sirens
of flooding in Europe is increasing. mostcases, homes are being
will take five to 10 years due to the
when the floods hit: Putz resorted Warmer air holds more water rebuilt with little sign of
sheer amount of damage. “We still
to throwing sandbags at buildings
andclimate change may also be
adaptation, such as moving livin
have a long way to go,” he says. to wake people in the night.
increasing the chance of weather areas above the ground floor.
Meanwhile, questions are being
While some people have left in
systems getting “stuck” like they
Nonetheless, last July’s event
asked about what lessons can be
the flood’s aftermath, several tell
did last July, due to a weakening have influenced the discourse
learned. “Germany seems to have
New Scientist they are committed
of the jet stream. But that is still
onclimate change nationally.
been unprepared in terms of the to the area. Leonard Kneips,
just a hypothesis, says Friederike
“This event changed everything
disaster unfolding,” says Alexander ayoung construction worker
Otto at Imperial College London. says Enno Nilson at the German
Fekete at Cologne University of
temporarily staying in a “tiny
The events have shown that even Federal Institute of Hydrology.
Hesays there is now a big focus o
flood risk in addition to drough
A road map for adaptation which had been the main area o
discussion for climate impacts
Scientists in Working Group II (WGII)
early April, will focus on how
such as heatwaves. More emphasis
inGermany, following wrecked
of the Intergovernmental Panel
toavert catastrophe by curbing
will be placed on the differing harvests in 2018.
onClimate Change are currently
emissions and removing carbon
vulnerability and exposure The floods have changed how
agreeing the final version of a
dioxide from the air. The fourth,
ofpeople around the world,
people think in Ahr, too. Alexan
landmark report on the impacts of
tobe published in September,
depending on their ability to pay
Preste at Deutzerhof vineyard s
climate change and how we might
willsynthesise the previous three.
for ways to adapt. The report is
the valley’s topography used to
adapt to them. This is the second
Debra Roberts, a co-chair of
also expected to highlight the
make people feel safe, and the
of four documents comprising the
WGII, says the report will have a
“implementation gap” between
floods flipped that. “I felt we we
sixth in a series of “assessment
more detailed regional breakdown
what researchers say needs to be
living in the promised land. It’s
reports”. The first document,
of impacts than in the past because
done– from better flood defences
like we’ve lost our innocence,” s
published last year, found that
“people respond to places they
and planting new crop varieties
says. But that could lead to mor
humanity’s role in warming to date
know”. A stronger focus will be
tocooling cities with trees – and
climate action, she says. “Peopl
was “unequivocal”. A third, due in
given to climate impacts in cities,
what is happening in reality. only change their behaviour
whenthey see something.” ❚
26 February 2022 | New Scienti News Animal behaviour Agriculture Rats can track the
Covering plants with red passage of time and judge their accuracy
plastic boosts crop yields Carissa Wong Alice Klein
RATS can time their actions to gain THE yields of some crops can of sunlight and re-emits them several other crop trials ove
areward – and they can judge how beboosted by covering them
asred ones. LLEAF can be hung next five years. The Depart
accurately they performed.
ina material that increases the over existing greenhouses and of Primary Industries is tria
To explore rats’ abilities to track
amount of red light they receive. creates a soft pink light inside. it with blueberries, but resu
time, Tadeusz Kononowicz at the
This technology could help feed
“It’s quite pretty,” says Soeriyadi. aren’t available yet.
Polish Academy of Sciences and his
the world’s growing population, In greenhouse trials, the One important consider
colleagues trained 16 rats either to although more research is researchers found that the is whether taking green lig
leave 3.2 seconds between presses
needed to see if it affects the
material increased plant yields from plants and giving the
of a lever or to hold the lever down
flavour and nutrition of plants. by an astonishing amount for extra red light might harm
for this length of time. Red wavelengths of sunlight
various crops, including 37 per them, says Tissue. He notic
Once the rats consistently
are the biggest drivers of plant
cent for pak choi. The material
produced responses very near to the growth because they stimulate
isnow being tested in bigger,
3.2-second target, the researchers 37%
leaves to make the chlorophyll independent trials run by
gave them a way to report on their
needed for photosynthesis. This Western Sydney University
Increase in pak choi yields
accuracy. This was achieved by
is why some farms have started andthe New South Wales
whengrown under red plast
using two “reward ports”.
shining red LED lights on crops government’s Department
The precise leeway each rat
to boost their yields. But these ofPrimary Industries. that lettuces grown under t
wasgiven for its timekeeping during
are costly, energy-draining and David Tissue at Western material had an orange tin
the testing depended on its training
don’t distribute light as evenly Sydney University and his probably because the altere
performance. In each test, if the to plants as sunlight. colleagues recently completed sunlight changed their To address these issues,
atrial of the material. They composition of carotenoid
“ Our results add a whole Alexander Soeriyadi and
installed it over a greenhouse andother pigments. “But w
new richness to the way Alexander Falber at the
tocover a 200-square-metre plot need to do further research
that rats represent time University of New South Wales
of lettuces next to an identical tosee if this changes the intheir minds”
in Sydney, Australia, developed
plot of lettuces that wasn’t
flavouror nutrition,” he say
amaterial called LLEAF that covered by LLEAF. The yield Robert Coe at CSIRO,
animal was judged to be close
passively converts some of the
ofcos lettuce, also known as Australia’s national science
tothetarget time– within about
green wavelengths in sunlight–
romaine, rose by 14per cent
institute, says it is also uncl
250milliseconds, on average– it which are less important for under the material, while how well the technology w
had the option of poking its nose
plant growth– to red ones.
thatofbutterhead lettuce work for other types of crop
into the port on the left to receive It is a transparent plastic increased by 27 per cent.
likecereals. “But I think it’s
two food pellets. There were no containing a fluorescent dye Tissue is now testing LLEAF worth exploring,” he says.
pellets in the right port.
that absorbs green wavelengths on cucumbers, with plans for Soeriyadi and Falber are
However, if the rat’s timing was nowdeveloping a library o
judged to be less precise– if it was dyesto tailor their materia
off by around 500 milliseconds, todifferent crops. They hop
onaverage – the left port no longer that boosting crop product
delivered a reward. But the rat could will help meet growing foo
still get one food pellet from the demand, which is expected port on the right.
toincrease by up to 56per c
The team found that rats that globally from 2010 to 2050
hadbeen precise enough with their By manipulating the ligh
timing approached the left port for a that plants receive, they be
large reward more than 60 per cent it may even be possible to g
of the time. Those that had been crops in parts of the world D
less precise approached the right T thatdon’t normally suit L Y T
port for a small reward more than P
them,ifother variables like F A E
60 per cent of the time (PNAS, DOI: L temperature and humidity I/L
10.1073/pnas.2108850119). D A arealso controlled. ❚ IY R
“Our results add a whole new E O S R
richness to the way that rats LLEAF is a transparent E D N
represent time [in their minds],” A
red plastic that absorbs X E L says Kononowicz. A ❚ green wavelengths
10 | New Scientist | 26 February 2022 News Medicine
Lung changed to new blood type is a
step towards universal donor organs Alex Wilkins RESEARCHERS have successfully
could be made type O, for example changed the blood type of a the lungs from someone with
donated human lung by treating
blood type A, this could be a help. it with enzymes, marking an
To try this, Cypel and his team important step towards making
used a pair of enzymes that are universal donor organs.
normally found in the human gut
“We still have a way to go to
to digest sugars. They found that
show safety in clinical trials,” says the enzymes removed more than
Marcelo Cypel at the University of
99 per cent of type A antigens
Toronto, Canada. “But assuming
from red blood cells and 97 per K
that the results on clinical trials
cent in lungs from a type A donor R O W are similar to the results we
in 4 hours. This meant the cells T E N observed here, this will be a had been effectively changed H LT major breakthrough.” to blood type O. A E H
Blood types are largely defined
After this treatment, the altered Y IT S by the presence or absence of lungs were kept alive using a R E IV
certain sugar molecules called system known as ex-vivo lung N U
antigens on the surface of cells.
perfusion, which supplies organs
These can occur not just on the
with nourishing fluid so they are
organ dysfunction,” says Cypel. A researcher with a
cells of the blood itself, but also ready for transplantation. Although cells stripped of system to deliver fluid
other tissues, such as those in the
To simulate a transplant, Cypel’s antigens tend to produce new to lungs in the study
lung. If an antigen isn’t recognised team then added type O blood,
ones over time, Cypel hopes that
by the body’s immune system,
which contains antibodies that
the lack of antigens would last
to assess whether the resurfaced
it will mount an attack on these would attack type A antigens,
long enough for the body to get
antigens could eventually have
cells. This leads to the rejection
to the fluid supplying the lungs.
through the perilous first few
a negative effect, says Jasvir of transplanted organs from a The three treated lungs had
days and weeks after a transplant. Parmar at Royal Papworth
donor with a different blood type. minimal antibody damage
The team now intends to test the Hospital, Cambridge, UK. People with the most common compared with untreated lungs procedure in animals.
“We can’t [yet] say whether re-
blood type, O, lack these antigens
(Science Translational Medicine, The study only looked exposure of these antigens or
on their cells, so their organs can doi.org/gphgf5). “When we at the effects of a simulated
the changes that come with that
be accepted by people with other
perfused the lung with old blood,
transplantation over the short
are going to be deleterious in the
blood types. If all donor organs
there was no sign of rejection or
term, which isn’t enough time
long run or not,” he says. ❚ Technology
builds numerous small 3D models,
information on the exact location
recalled from memory when needed Driverless car photos
each covering just over one city in which each image was taken. In a recreation of the Alamo used to create virtual
block. These are then seamlessly
The models are computationally Square neighbourhood in San San Francisco
stitched together to create a large
intensive to create and run, and
Francisco, California, which is and navigable virtual world.
until now they have been limited
around 960 metres by 570 metres,
SOFTWARE can analyse millions of
The researchers declined to be
in the size of the objects they the team used 35 Block-NeRFs.
photos of city streets taken atop cars
interviewed, but said in a paper that can reproduce in virtual 3D.
To do so, it used 2.8 million imag
and construct a realistic 3D model
their work builds on a tool called
But Block-NeRF cleverly stitches taken over three months.
that could be used to train driverless
Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs),
together models of individual city Because those drives were made cars or create immersive maps. which constructs 3D models of
blocks to keep the size of the overall
at different times of day and in Block-NeRF was created by a
small objects from a collection model small enough to run on
different weather, the tool is able
team at driverless car firm Waymo
of still images so that they can be
modest hardware. New blocks are
to change the virtual conditions
and Google Research, which are
viewed from any angle – even those
at will from any location – mak both owned by Alphabet. The
for which no photos were taken.
the scene night-time or daytime, 2.8m
tool uses vast numbers of photos
The technique uses an AI trained to cloudy or sunny (arxiv.org/ taken by cameras mounted on
produce accurate 3D models from
Number of images used to recreate abs/2202.05263). ❚ Waymo’s autonomous cars and
large sets of images, complete with
a neighbourhood in San Francisco Matthew Sparkes
12 | New Scientist | 26 February 2022 News Climate change A substitute for whale poo
Whaling left oceans with less of the animals’ faeces, which drives algal blooms that lock
away carbon. Now scientists are trying to mimic this process, reports Adam Vaughan AN INTERNATIONAL project block solar radiation. But he to see whether humans can acknowledges that for marine
artificially emulate the benefits biomass regeneration to make of whale faeces for ocean
a difference to fish numbers and ecosystems will begin off the
carbon removal, it will need to
west coast of India within the be undertaken at huge scale. next two months. The hope is The group that is exploring
the technique will simultaneously
the approach is made up of the boost fish populations and
University of Hawaii and Woods tackle climate change.
Hole Oceanographic Institution i
The experiment is the first in a
Massachusetts, which are leading
wider effort by David King, former
on research in the Pacific Ocean,
chief scientific adviser to the UK Y M
the Institute of Maritime Studies A
government, and a coalition of L /A
in Goa, India, on the Indian Ocean L six universities and research R E the University of Cape Town H
centres to test the potential for C S
on the Southern Ocean, and the IR an approach they have dubbed D D University of Cambridge and R marine biomass regeneration. A H
the UK’s National Oceanography IN
Whales naturally fertilise the E R Centre on the Atlantic Ocean.
ocean surface when they defecate,
leading to phytoplankton blooms Sperm whales
waste product – which will act as Help for island economies
that can feed billions of fish. fertilise the oceans
rafts to carry the material on the Improving biodiversity is the when they defecate sea surface.
Together, the group will explore
main aim of the approach, but a To comply with the London
the challenges of restoring the rol
side benefit will come from the
Convention, a treaty that covers
played by whale faeces, plus issu
phytoplankton absorbing carbon the dumping of matter in the around governance and public dioxide from the atmosphere.
oceans, King says the “very limited
attitudes. “As long as there’s no
When fish eat the plankton and “ Key will be ensuring the
experiment” will be small-scale potential harm to the oceans, die, some of the carbon will fake faeces has the right
and will last just three weeks or we believe these experiments be locked away in the seabed. mix of nitrates, silicates,
so. The main aim is to see whether
need to be conducted,” says King
Marine biologists call this effect phosphates and iron”
the rice husks are a good way of
If the idea of artificial whale
a biological pump. The hunting
delivering the artificial faeces.
faeces can be shown to work safely
of whales in the past century has The timing of the experiment
at scale, King thinks one economi
weakened this ecosystem service.
will depend on the weather, but it
model could be coastal and island
“We are trying to repopulate the
will mark an important first step
communities paying for it to boost
ocean,” says King, who now heads Faeces from a pygmy
for King, who has previously said fish catches.
the Centre for Climate Repair at blue whale floating that similar approaches could Other researchers are
Cambridge, UK. “I don’t know in the Indian Ocean
lock billions of tonnes of carbon
exploring the idea of mimicking
whether the experiment will be
dioxide away each year. Humanity
whale faeces to capture carbon.
the final answer. I’m very attracted emits about 40 billion tonnes
Australian researchers, calling
to the idea that after a while… if
a year, so it is likely that we will themselves WhaleX, dispersed
the whale population [recovers], have to remove large amounts a mix of nutrients about
we can leave the whales as the of greenhouse gas from the 10 kilometres off the coast biological pump.” atmosphere to avoid ever-more of Sydney last December. Precisely what the artificial dangerous warming under They are planning larger-scale
whale faeces will be made of is yet climate change.
demonstrations in a bid to win
to be decided, but iron-rich sand or Biomimicry, or aping natural
a share of the $100 million XPriz
volcanic ash are two options being Y
processes, is at the heart of King’s Carbon Removal contest.
considered. Key will be ensuring M A
approach. He says that what the Edwina Tanner at WhaleX say L
it offers the right mix of nitrates, /A M
researchers are doing shouldn’t be
of their and King’s plans: “It is O
silicates, phosphates and iron, says .C L
conflated with geoengineering, or
great to finally see… experiments P
King. The material will be loaded E R U
large-scale interventions in Earth’s
are being conducted to support T
onto baked rice husks – a factory A N
climate systems, such as efforts to our hypothesis.” ❚
14 | New Scientist | 26 February 2022 Biology Analysis Cybercrime Ancient ‘fossil’
Crackdown on cryptocurrencies The launch of specialist virus found in the
teams to tackle blockchain crimes and scams shows the issue human genome
has become too big to ignore, says Chris Stokel-Walker Michael Le Page AROUND 106 million years ago,
THE profile of cryptocurrencies
at the University of Sussex, UK.
cryptocurrency – and bitcoin
the DNA of a virus somehow got such as bitcoin has continued
“There’s always been fraud in
in particular – as the favoured
integrated into the genome of one
to rise, including as a method to
crypto indeed, but I think that means of monetising crimes, of our mammal ancestors. Two
pay for goods and services in the
there is growing concern about
especially the ever-increasing
million years later, something mooted next generation of the
the scale of some of the frauds.” scourge of ransomware,”
similar happened again with the
internet, Web3. But as more money While there are many says Alan Woodward at the same kind of virus. Now, the pours into the so-far loosely
legitimate uses for the technology, University of Surrey, UK.
ancient remnants of that virus
regulated currencies, government
cryptocurrencies are also used At the same time,
have been found inside our cells. scrutiny is also increasing.
for money laundering and other
cryptocurrency has broken out o Our genomes are strewn with
On 17 February, the US Justice
illicit financial transactions. A
an online niche and is now seen
“fossil” viruses, but almost all are Department announced that
recent analysis of 29 unregulated
retroviruses, which actively insert it was launching a National
cryptocurrency exchanges, where
DNA copies of their RNA genes into 1000%
Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team
people can trade the currencies,
the genomes of the cells they infect.
(NCET) to monitor blockchains,
found that up to 70 per cent of
Rise in value of cryptocurrency
If this occurs in cells that give rise
the underlying technology behind
cryptocurrency trades were “wash scams from 2020 to 2021
to sperm or eggs, the virus-derived
cryptocurrencies, for any ill-gotten
trading” – where an investor sells DNA can be passed down the
gains. It will work with various
and buys the same asset to create a more mainstream investment.
generations. Over time, the viral groups, including the FBI’s
artificial interest in an investment, Large cryptocurrency exchanges
genes mutate and eventually can’t newly launched Virtual Asset often distorting the price.
ran adverts featuring Hollywood
lead to infectious viruses. Between Exploitation Unit, which also That research studied
stars during the Super Bowl on
5 and 10 per cent of our genome focuses on cryptocurrency. exchanges up to 2019. A
13 February, one of the world’s
consists of retroviral remnants. “With the rapid innovation
more recent analysis, conducted most-watched sporting events. The newly discovered virus
of digital assets and distributed by blockchain data platform While cryptocurrency exchan
instead belongs to an ancient group ledger technologies, we have
Chainalysis, estimates that at
are legitimate businesses, the
of DNA viruses called Mavericks.
seen a rise in their illicit use by
least $25 billion in cryptocurrency increased prominence of the
Fossil Mavericks have been found
criminals who exploit them to fuel
held on exchanges is from illicit
technology makes it easier for
in various animals, including fish, cyberattacks and ransomware sources. That compares with
people to fall victim to scams.
amphibians and reptiles, but until
and extortion schemes; traffic estimates of money laundered
“Cryptocurrency scams and othe now had never been spotted in
in narcotics, hacking tools and
every year worldwide of between crimes are impacting more and
mammals (bioRxiv, doi.org/hg94).
illicit contraband online; commit $800 billion and $2 trillion. more people in a plethora of
Aris Katzourakis and José Gabriel thefts and scams; and launder “The FBI, along with many
different ways,” says Matthew
Niño Barreat at the University of
the proceeds of their crimes,” said other law enforcement Shillito at the University
Oxford think these viruses plagued Kenneth Polite Jr from the US agencies, have made no bones of Liverpool, UK. mammals from the time these
Justice Department in a statement. about the fact that they see In May 2021, the US Federal animals first evolved around The news comes weeks after Trade Commission (FTC) said 180 million years ago during
the department charged a couple Bitcoin has long been it saw a 12-fold increase in
the Jurassic Period until at least
with laundering bitcoins worth seen as a useful tool the number – and 1000 per 105 million years ago during
$4.5 billion, and just after the UK for criminals and scams
cent rise in value – of report the Cretaceous Period, when
tax authority, HMRC, announced cryptocurrency scams, compared the insertions took place.
its first seizure of non-fungible
with a year before. The volume After that, Mavericks appear
tokens (NFTs), digital assets that
scams rose significantly througho
to have died out in mammals for
are paid for with cryptocurrencies. 2020 and 2021, the FTC said.
reasons that aren’t clear. They might
And in January, a New Scientist
In a sense, the creation of the
still infect other animals, such as investigation revealed that NCET is an acknowledgment th
fish, but, as yet, no free-living UK police forces have seized
cryptocurrencies are set to play a
Mavericks have ever been found.
£300 million in bitcoin in the
increasingly important role in th “There aren’t that many past five years. US economy, and therefore mus non-retroviral viruses in our
Taken together, it seems to add
be policed as such. “The instabil 0
genome,” says Katzourakis. “This
up to a cryptocurrency crackdown. Z Y and fraud have been tolerated O
is the only DNA virus in the human
“This is excellent news for anyone /C K
until now, but as more and more C
genome that we know of, and it’s who has been watching the O ST
people sink their savings into R
certainly the oldest non-retroviral
space for a long time, and is long E T T
crypto, the danger of collapse insertion in our genomes.” ❚
overdue,” says Andres Guadamuz U SH
is more real,” says Guadamuz.
26 February 2022 | New Scientist | 15 News Neuroscience
We may be unable to grow new brain cells after we enter adulthood Jason Arunn Murugesu
ADULTS may not be able to create
“One is the olfactory bulb and samples. This method targets neurons. Other studies have new neurons in the brain –
the other is the hippocampus.”
the nuclear RNA molecules that found DCX in the human adult contrary to previous findings. The human olfactory bulb,
help turn DNA code into proteins
hippocampus, but Arellano argues
The question of whether adults
which is vital for our sense of
and can characterise the cell,
their methods were unreliable. can form new neurons, called
smell, is considered incapable of
which can help establish its age. Using a more fine-tuned neurogenesis, has long been
adult neurogenesis, says Arellano,
They found that just 0.003 per technique, he and his team
a source of controversy. While
but there is still debate when
cent of their human sample cells
didn’t find any of this protein researchers have discovered it comes to the hippocampus.
had a nuclear RNA profile that
in their samples. Combined with
adult neurogenesis in mice and The researchers used a
suggested they were newly created
the nuclear RNA data, this suggest
macaques, the evidence for this
technique called single-nucleus
neurons. For comparison, about
to them that adult neurogenesis
ability in humans is less clear. RNA sequencing to study the
6.6 per cent of the cells in the same
doesn’t exist in humans (Neuron, The hippocampus, which
hippocampal cells in the brain
region in mice and 2 per cent in doi.org/gnmgrb). has been linked with adult macaques could be new neurons.
If they are right, that makes the
neurogenesis, is vulnerable to Neural progenitor cells, The researchers also looked human brain truly remarkable,
Alzheimer’s disease and other precursors of neurons,
in their brain samples for DCX,
says Rakic. “I’m over 88 years ol neurodegenerative conditions. grown in the lab
a protein marker for newly formed
and I have billions of neurons tha
This has led to arguments that
have lasted a lifetime,” he says.
adult neurogenesis may hold the
“That’s more impressive to me
key to treating these conditions.
than the idea that mice can make Jon Arellano and Pasko Rakic
new neurons. Everything that I’ve at Yale University and their
learned is still there in my brain.”
colleagues examined the brains Sebastian Jessberger at the of six deceased people, with
University of Zurich in Switzerla Y an average age of 53, who had R A R
thinks it is too soon to conclude donated the organ to science. IB L
that adult neurogenesis doesn’t O They also studied the brains T O H occur. “The paper now shows P
of seven macaques and 18 pigs, E C
absence of evidence, using their N
and looked at data from studies IE C
approach for single-cell isolation /S of mouse brains. E C
and data analyses,” he says. N
“There are two regions where IE C
“But that absence of evidence neurogenesis occurs [in non- F S O
certainly is not proof for the E
human animals],” says Arellano. Y E
absence of neurogenesis.” ❚ Medicine
“A lot of pain studies have been
cell. This showed that pain neurons
promote chronic pain between mal Map of pain neurons
conducted in mice and there’s been
in humans seem to be geared to and female humans compared to may lead to more
some lack of translation when it
respond to all kinds of pain, such as
sex differences in rodent models,” effective drugs
comes to looking for drug targets
heat or mechanical pain, whereas
says co-author Theodore Price,
for humans,” says Diana Tavares- rodent pain neurons are more
also at the University of Texas. A NEW atlas of pain-sensing
Ferreira at the University of Texas.
specific (Science Translational
Identifying which proteins are
neurons in the body could help To learn more about the Medicine, doi.org/hg6d).
involved in generating different
in the development of improved differences between species, The researchers also looked
types of pain is an important step treatments for chronic pain. she and her team mapped the
at sex differences in the human
towards new drugs, and this map Chronic pain, defined as that
pain neurons in eight deceased
samples. “We found that there’s
will help researchers do that, says
lasting 12 weeks or more, affects people who had donated their
probably more differences in the
Peter McNaughton at King’s Colle between one-third and a half bodies to science and then underlying mechanisms that
London. “This study is among
of all adults in the UK. It is more compared these findings with
the first to use human sensory
prevalent in older groups. Finding data from mice and macaques.
“ A lot of pain studies have
neurons,” he says. “It is certain to new treatments and therapies The team used a method called been conducted in mice
act as a reference work – a sensory
is becoming more urgent as the
spatial transcriptomics to determine and there’s been some lack
neuron atlas – for years to come.” world’s population ages.
which genes were active in each of translation to humans” JAM
16 | New Scientist | 26 February 2022 AL FR L E S E UBS Subscriber Event ONLINE EVENT SPACE: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
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