Chloé Sharrocks

A British engineer has devloped a microchip which has the potential to change the lives of paraplegics with its Blue-tooth style technology.

Reported in The Telegraph today, Dr Sprately, has created a chip which can be implanted onto the brain’s surface and controlled by thought alone.

Paraplegics may have lost the ability to move their limbs, but electronic impulses are still produced by their brain when they try and move.  This new microchip is able to capture the electronic impulses and transmit them wirelessly to a receiver housed in a simple computer potentially allowing paraplegics to control a range of simple devices.

The technology was developed by Sprately whilst he was studying for a PhD at Birmingham University and according to The Telegraph article, it is hoped that “paraplegics, amputees or those with motor neurone disease, such as Stephen Hawking, could be able to operate light switches, PCs and even cars by the power of thought alone.”

Microchips similar to these could be implanted in the brains of paraplegic patients - Image courtesy of David Henry

The chips can be implanted in the brain using minimally-invasive surgery and pick up signals from the brain’s motor cortex capturing the paralysed patient’s ‘thought’ as they imagine to use their limbs.

Dr Sprately now works for specialist engineering company 42 Technology, who are based in Cambridgshire, and was awarded the MediMaton prize by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Unilever, the company responsible for the ice-cream brands Ben & Jerry’s and Wall’s have come up with a new way to help save the planet.

The FMCG giant has decided to make a low-carbon ice creame which will only be frozen when shoppers take the product home.  Instead the ice cream will be transported and sold at room temperature, meaning that Unilever will be reducing their carbon footprint by saving on refrigerated transportation, as well as reducing their energy costs.

Image of Cherry Garcia ice cream, copyright of Don.chulio, published on Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License

The food scientists haven’t yet unveiled how they’re going to produce this ‘ambient’ ice cream whilst still maintaining the fab taste that consumers will expect at a reasonable price

According to Marketing Magazine, the research is part of a wider plan of Unilever’s to reduce the environmental impact of their brands and the product is being undertaken in partnership with academics at Cambridge University.

Anyone in London until 27th August should check out this brand new sci-art exhibition set up in the courtyard outside Burlington House (home of the Royal Academy of Arts and the Royal Society of Chemistry).  Graeme Jones, a chemical ecologist and keen science communicator, has created three wonderful exhibits on the theme of Carbon Rapture.

To read a full account of the exhibition click here, to see my post on London’s Nature Network.

Just a quick update – Bang Goes The Theory is due to start on Monday July 27th on BBC One and not July 29th as stated in my preview post, so make sure you don’t miss it!

Selective breeding has taken on a new meaning after South Korea announced that the “world’s first cloned sniffer dogs” have reported for duty after completing a 16-month training programme.

The six dogs, named Toppy – a combination of “tomorrow” and “puppy” are part of a litter of seven puppies born in late 2007 who were cloned from a Canadian Labrador called Chase who was considered to be “superb” at sniffing out drugs being smuggled in/out of the country.  Only 6 went on to become official sniffer dogs, after one of the puppies had to withdraw from training due to injury.

According to the BBC website, the South Korean customs agency belies clones help to lower crime-fighting costs because it is difficult to find and then train good sniffer dogs.  Only about 30% of sniffer dogs reach the grade after training, but now scientists believe that using the cloning method this figure will rise to 90%.

Park Jeong-Heon, a customs spokesman at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, told AFP news agency “They are the world’s first cloned sniffer dogs deployed at work.  They showed better performance in detecting illegal drugs during the training than other naturally-born sniffer dogs that we have.”

The scientists who carried out the cloning are based at Seoul National University and were the researchers responsible for creating the world’s first cloned dog – an Afghan Hound named Snuppy.  The project was state-funded and cost around 300m won, which is equivalent to around £140,000.

Scientists have found a molecule that intensifies allergic reactions which could mean they can reduce the risk of children suffering serious allergic reactions to food such as peanuts.

The team of researchers from Glasgow University have also created a biological agent which they hope can reduce allergy symptoms.

Their work,published in the Proceedings of the National Association of Sciences of the USA (PNAS) journal, could dramatically reduce the number of fatal cases of anaphylactic shock, or severe allergic reaction, across the world.

Many different things can cause allergic reactions.  Common food which can cause problems include peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, dairy products and eggs.  People can also suffer allergies to wasp or bee stings, rubber, penicillin and many other drugs or injections.  The symptoms sufferers may experience include generalised flushing, skin reactions and breathing difficulties.  In severe cases cardiac arrest and death can occur, which is why researchers are battling to learn how to prevent allergies.

In the UK alone 500,000 people are thought to have an acute food allergy and we have the highest prevalence of allergies in Europe.  Allergic reactions are treated with adrenaline and those thought to be at risk of a severe reaction are prescribed pre-loaded adrenaline injection kits, often known as EpiPens.

This latest research is a world-first.  The team, led by Dr Alirio Melendez and Professor Eddy Liew, found that the novel cytokine (immune hormone), IL-33, plays a significant role in the development of anaphylaxis.

By studying patients who had experienced anaphylaxis during surgery they were able to discover that IL-33 was involved in the anaphylactic shock and has allowed the scientists to discover how to intervene to reduce the severity of the reaction.

Dr Melendez said: “An anaphylactic shock prompts a massive inflammatory reaction which often is so severe that it constricts breathing. In our study we found that the severity of the shock is linked to the IL-33 molecule, which acts as an amplifier to the inflammatory reaction. This can lead to a fatal constriction of the airway and, ultimately, death.”

The scientists then went on to develop a mouse model which shows that by blocking the IL-33 molecule reduces the severity of an anaphylactic shock.  They are now continuing their study and are going to be investigating in more depth allergic reactions specific to food, venoms and medicinal drugs.

I was recently invited by the founder of Barnmice.com (a successful international equestrian community) to contribute to their website with a weekly equine science news column.

The column will be coming out every Friday and will be a round-up of the latest science news from the equestrian world and it will also feature an equine science trivia question at the end.

My first post has just gone live on the website, so make sure you check it out here.

As published on the London Blog of Nature Network:

Scientists frequently encounter voids within science – empty spaces in their knowledge.  Usually they attempt to fill these gaps in their understanding, but now one scientist is trying to cross a 2.5 metre void…all in the name of entertainment.

Tomorrow evening sees the launch of a brand new science-entertainment programme on BBC One: ‘Bang Goes the Theory’ (BGTT).  Exploring the world’s most exciting scientific breakthroughs, it aims to inspire the public through the use of scientific experiments.  Travelling around the world the team of four presenters are planning to test ideas from a range of fields including geology and neuropsychology.

The BGTT team, (L-R): Dallas, Liz, Yan and Jem

In keeping with its title, the show aims to start with a bang.  Tuesday evening sees a high-tech ’science stunt’ aired live on tv between The One Show (1900hrs) and EastEnders (1930hrs) on BBC One.  Nicknamed ‘The Big Contraption’ the stunt will see Dr Yan Wong, one of the presenters, propelled across a 2.5 metre void.  After online voting by the public Dr Wong will cross the void using magnetism, a Van de Graaf generator, fireworks propelled through water and, if the BBGT’s official blog is anything to go by, a giant bunny.  This feature of public voting will carry on throughout the series and the producers have announced that there will also be many interactive resources and free events (organised in conjunction with the Open University who are also co-producers), including a London roadshow in the not too distant future – although exact details for this are currently under tight wraps.

Part of ‘The Big Contraption’ which will be unveiled live on Tuesday evening

However, the BBC team involved in this latest science programme are keen to stress that their new project is distinct from the pop-sci show Brainiac, the successful brainchild of Sky television.

The BBC team told me that “it is true that BGTT will incorporate experiments and visual demonstrations into programming, but they will be secondary to the exploration of topics and theories. The programme will not put fun ahead of good science (although we’re sure that some of the show moments will turn out to be quite amusing).”

They also added that “the production team will apply their extensive expert knowledge (ranging from those passionate about science to PhDs) by explaining science subjects to a broad audience that is interested in gaining a better understanding of the world around them. BGTT is also about participation and interaction and will be backed by the website offering further information on scientific theories raised by the programme.”

The programme certainly looks to be a step in the right direction towards improved public engagement, whilst also a welcome opportunity to return science to the prime BBC channel.

Make sure you tune in tomorrow evening for The Big Contraption live on BBC One and then again from 29th July for the 10-show series.  Also keep reading this blog for details as soon as they emerge on the subsequent London roadshow.

Researchers from North Caroline State University have discovered that a dog’s genome may be man’s new best friend, rather than the actual canine.

Comparison of human and canine genomes have allowed scientists to discover that the gene commonly believed to be responsible for one-in-four brain tumours may not be as important as originally thought.

Meningiomas are brain tumours which grow in the space between the brain and the skull, rather than on the organ itself.  The condition is associated with genetic defects of large segments of chromosomes, making it hard to understand which of the specific genes is involved – it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.

However, now Dr Matthew Breen, professor of genomics at NC State, and a host of colleagues from other universities have published a study in the Journal of Neurooncology.  The scientists, including Natasha Olby a veterinary neurologist, have compared the tumours found in both humans and dogs to narrow down the search for the offending gene.

“[W]e compare the affected areas of a human chromosome with related areas on dog chromosomes.  This works because dogs and humans are genetically similar and both get the same kind of cancers” explained Breen.  “While we share much of our genetic material, the DNA of a dog is organized differently to our own and this makes it possible to isolate smaller ’shared’ regions of genetic data rather than looking at an entire chromosome.”

By studying samples of canine and human meningiomas the researchers have narrowed down their research to focusing on human chromosome 1 and 22, after being able to discard other chromosomes after correlating with the results found in dogs.

Breen is hopeful that this research will allow researchers to narrow down the search for the specific genes involved with the disease and believes his study will benefit both species.

“It’s proof of the ‘One Medicine’ concept – the idea that human and animal health relies on a common pool of medical and scientific knowledge and is supported by overlapping technologies and discoveries.”

Shameless plug here I’m afraid…I’ve just launced a brand new website dedicated to the latest equestrian science news that also features short veterinary articles.

I’m going to be updating it as soon as equine science news develops and over time I’m going to be expanding the selection of veterinary features available too.

The website is called Equine Science News, and can be accessed by clicking here, so please visit it and check it regularly.  You can also follow ESN’s latest developments by subscribing to our twitter feeds: