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The Top Scientific Breakthroughs of
the 21st Century
Creation of the First Self-Replicating
Synthetic Life
Genomic science has greatly enhanced our understanding of the biological world. It is
enabling researchers to "read" the genetic code of organisms from all branches of life by
sequencing the four letters that make up DNA. Sequencing genomes has now become
routine, giving rise to thousands of genomes in the public databases. In essence, scientists
are digitizing biology by converting the A, C, T, and G's of the chemical makeup of DNA into
1's and 0's in a computer. But can one reverse the process and start with 1's and 0's in a
computer to define the characteristics of a living cell? We set out to answer this question.
Now, this scientific team headed by Drs. Craig Venter, Hamilton Smith and Clyde Hutchison
have achieved the final step in their quest to create the first synthetic bacterial cell. In a
publication in Science magazine, Daniel Gibson, Ph.D. and a team of 23 additional researchers
outline the steps to synthesize a 1.08 million base pair Mycoplasma mycoides genome,
constructed from four bottles of chemicals that make up DNA. This synthetic genome has
been "booted up" in a cell to create the first cell controlled completely by a synthetic
genome.
What did Venter's team do?
The cell was created by stitching together the genome of a goat pathogen called
Mycoplasma mycoides from smaller stretches of DNA synthesised in the lab, and inserting
the genome into the empty cytoplasm of a related bacterium. The transplanted genome
booted up in its host cell, and then divided over and over to make billions of M. mycoides
cells.
Venter and his team have previously accomplished both feats – creating a synthetic genome and
transplanting a genome from one bacterium into another – but this time they have combined the two.
"It's the first self-replicating cell on the planet that's parent is a computer," says Venter,
referring to the fact that his team converted a cell's genome that existed as data on a
computer into a living organism.
How can they be sure that the new bacteria are what they
intended?
Venter and his team introduced several distinctive markers into their synthesised genome.
All of them were found in the synthetic cell when it was sequenced.
These markers do not make any proteins, but they contain the names of 46 scientists on the
project and several quotations written out in a secret code. The markers also contain the key
to the code.
Crack the code and you can read the messages, but as a hint, Venter revealed the
quotations: "To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life," from James Joyce's
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man; "See things not as they are but as they might be,"
which comes from American Prometheus, a biography of nuclear physicist Robert
Oppenheimer; and Richard Feynman's famous words: "What I cannot build I cannot
understand."
Does this mean they created life?
It depends on how you define "created" and "life". Venter's team made the new genome out
of DNA sequences that had initially been made by a machine, but bacteria and yeast cells
were used to stitch together and duplicate the million base pairs that it contains. The cell
into which the synthetic genome was then transplanted contained its own proteins, lipids
and other molecules.
Venter himself maintains that he has not created life . "We've created the first synthetic
cell," he says. "We definitely have not created life from scratch because we used a recipient
cell to boot up the synthetic chromosome."
Whether you agree or not is a philosophical question, not a scientific one as there is no
biological difference between synthetic bacteria and the real thing, says Andy Ellington, a
synthetic biologist at the University of Texas in Austin. "The bacteria didn't have a soul, and
there wasn't some animistic property of the bacteria that changed," he says.
What can you do with a synthetic cell?
Venter's work was a proof of principle, but future synthetic cells could be used to create
drugs, biofuels and other useful products. He is collaborating with Exxon Mobil to produce
biofuels from algae and with Novartis to create vaccines.
"As soon as next year, the flu vaccine you get could be made synthetically," Venter says.
Ellington also sees synthetic bacteria as having potential as a scientific tool. It would be
interesting, he says, to create bacteria that produce a new amino acid – the chemical units
that make up proteins – and see how these bacteria evolve, compared with bacteria that
produce the usual suite of amino acids. "We can ask these questions about cyborg cells in
ways we never could before."
What was the cost of creating life?
About $40 million. Cheap for a deity, expensive if you are a lab scientist looking to create
your own synthetic bacterium. "This does not look like the sort of thing that's going to be
doable by your average lab in the near future," Ellington says.
This reminds me of Frankenstein's monster! Are synthetic cells
safe?
Yes. Venter's team took out the genes that allow M. mycoides to cause disease in goats. The
bacterium has also been crippled so it is unlikely to grow outside of the lab. However, some
scientists are concerned that synthetic organisms could potentially escape into the
environment or be used by bioterrorists.
Ellington brushes aside those concerns, noting that the difficulty of engineering cells is
beyond the scope of all would-be bioterrorists. "It's not a real threat," he says. "Unless you
are Craig Venter with a crew of 20 postdocs you're not going to do this."
However, George Church, a synthetic biologist at Harvard Medical School, is calling for
increased surveillance, licensing and added measures to prevent the accidental release of
synthetic life. "Everybody in the synthetic biology ecosystem should be licensed like
everybody in the aviation system is licensed."
Edited by Ahmed Mahmoud
Gene Silencing, A piece of the Puzzle for Individualized Cancer Therapy
Migrating breast cancer cell.
In a major cancer-research breakthrough, researchers at the McGill University, Department of Biochemistry have discovered that a small segment of a protein that interacts with RNA can control the normal expression of genes -- including those that are active in cancer. Human cells need to produce the correct proteins at the right time and in the appropriate
quantities to stay healthy. One of the key means by which cells achieve this control is by
"RNA interference," a form of gene silencing where small pieces of RNA, called micro RNAs,
obstruct the production of specific proteins by interacting with their genetic code. However,
not any piece of RNA can do this.
Immuno-fluorescence analysis of three Argonaute proteins .
In doing so, the team has discovered that Argonaute proteins can potentially be exploited to
enhance gene silencing.RNA interference could be used as a viable therapeutic approach for
inhibiting specific genes that are aberrantly active in diseases such as cancer.
Developing genetically based therapies that can be tailored to individual patients' particular
illnesses, may be the end of chemotherapy.
RNA Interference Cancer Treatment? Delivering RNA With Tiny Sponge-Like Spheres For the past decade, scientists have been pursuing cancer treatments based on RNA
interference -- a phenomenon that offers a way to shut off malfunctioning genes with short
snippets of RNA. However, one huge challenge remains: finding a way to efficiently deliver
the RNA.
A cluster of microsponges made of long strands of folded RNA, as seen by scanning electron microscopy.
(Credit: Hammond laboratory)
Most of the time, short interfering RNA (siRNA) -- the type used for RNA interference -- is
quickly broken down inside the body by enzymes that defend against infection by RNA
viruses.
"It's been a real struggle to try to design a delivery system that allows us to administer
siRNA, especially if you want to target it to a specific part of the body," says Paula
Hammond, the David H. Koch Professor in Engineering at MIT.
Hammond and her colleagues have now come up with a novel delivery vehicle in which RNA
is packed into microspheres so dense that they withstand degradation until they reach their
destinations. The new system, described Feb. 26 in the journal Nature Materials, knocks
down expression of specific genes as effectively as existing delivery methods, but with a
much smaller dose of particles.
Such particles could offer a new way to treat not only cancer, but also any other chronic
disease caused by a "misbehaving gene," says Hammond, who is also a member of MIT's
David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. "RNA interference holds a huge
amount of promise for a number of disorders, one of which is cancer, but also neurological
disorders and immune disorders," she says.
Genetic disruption RNA interference is a naturally occurring process, discovered in 1998, that allows cells to
fine-tune their genetic expression. Genetic information is normally carried from DNA in the
nucleus to ribosomes, cellular structures where proteins are made. siRNA binds to the
messenger RNA that carries this genetic information, destroying instructions before they
reach the ribosome.
Scientists are working on many ways to artificially replicate this process to target specific
genes, including packaging siRNA into nanoparticles made of lipids or inorganic materials
such as gold. Though many of those have shown some success, one drawback is that it's
difficult to load large amounts of siRNA onto those carriers, because the short strands do not
pack tightly.
To overcome this, Hammond's team decided to package the RNA as one long strand that
would fold into a tiny, compact sphere. The researchers used an RNA synthesis method
known as rolling circle transcription to produce extremely long strands of RNA made up of a
repeating sequence of 21 nucleotides. Those segments are separated by a shorter stretch
that is recognized by the enzyme Dicer, which chops RNA wherever it encounters that
sequence.
As the RNA strand is synthesized, it folds into sheets that then self-assemble into a very
dense, sponge-like sphere. Up to half a million copies of the same RNA sequence can be
packed into a sphere with a diameter of just two microns. Once the spheres form, the
researchers wrap them in a layer of positively charged polymer, which induces the spheres
to pack even more tightly (down to a 200-nanometer diameter) and also helps them to enter
cells.
After the spheres enter a cell, the Dicer enzyme chops the RNA at specific locations,
releasing the 21-nucleotide siRNA sequences.
Peixuan Guo, director of the NIH Nanomedicine Development Center at the University of
Kentucky, says the most exciting aspect of the work is the development of a new self-
assembly method for RNA particles. Guo, who was not part of the research team, adds that
the particles might be more effective at entering cells if they were shrunk to an even smaller
size, closer to 50 nanometers.
Targeting Tumors
Breast Cancer Cell
In the Nature Materials paper, the researchers tested their spheres by programming them to
deliver RNA sequences that shut off a gene that causes tumor cells to glow in mice. They
found that they could achieve the same level of gene knockdown as conventional
nanoparticle delivery, but with about one-thousandth as many particles.
The microsponges accumulate at tumor sites through a phenomenon often used to deliver
nanoparticles: The blood vessels surrounding tumors are "leaky," meaning that they have
tiny pores through which very small particles can squeeze.
In future studies, the researchers plan to design microspheres coated with polymers that
specifically target tumor cells or other diseased cells. They are also working on spheres that
carry DNA, for potential use in gene therapy.
Controlling Gene Expression, a new RNA-Based Therapeutic Strategies Small RNA-based nucleic acid drugs represent a promising new class of therapeutic agents
for silencing abnormal or overactive disease-causing genes, and researchers have discovered
new mechanisms by which RNA drugs can control gene activity.
Short strands of nucleic acids, called small RNAs, can be used for targeted gene silencing,
making them attractive drug candidates. These small RNAs block gene expression through
multiple RNA interference (RNAi) pathways, including two newly discovered pathways in
which small RNAs bind to Argonaute proteins or other forms of RNA present in the cell
nucleus, such as long non-coding RNAs and pre-mRNA.
The field of RNA mediated control of gene expression is rapidly evolving.
Edited by Shady Mohamed
Ice on Mars
Meteorites impacts have revealed ice on mars, scientists have found huge quantities of
water right under the surface of mars, it has been said to be “enough water ice to fill lake
Michigan twice”. The water is surrounding Mars’s south pole.
The south pole of Mars has a layer of dry ice that is 30 times thicker than previously thought,
a find that suggests the Red Planet may have had more liquid water on its the surface in the
distant past, scientists say.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed frozen water hiding just below the
surface of mid-latitude Mars. The spacecraft's observations were obtained from orbit after
meteorites excavated fresh craters on the Red Planet.
Scientists controlling instruments on the orbiter found bright ice exposed at five Martian
sites with new craters that range in depth from approximately 1.5 feet to 8 feet. The craters
did not exist in earlier images of the same sites. Some of the craters show a thin layer of
bright ice atop darker underlying material. The bright patches darkened in the weeks
following initial observations, as the freshly exposed ice vaporized into the thin Martian
atmosphere. One of the new craters had a bright patch of material large enough for one of
the orbiter's instruments to confirm it is water ice.
This map shows five locations where fresh impact cratering has excavated water ice from just beneath the surface of Mars
In these false-color maps of the Martian poles, deep-blue indicates soil enriched by hydrogen. The South Pole is surrounded by icy terain. The north pole contains water-ice, too, but it is hidden for the moment by a
wintertime layer of carbon dioxide fro
Water on the moon
The moon remains drier than any desert on Earth, but the water is said to exist on the moon
in very small quantities. One ton of the top layer of the lunar surface would hold about 32
ounces of water
Finding water on the moon would be a boom in the future, acting as a potential source of
drinking water and fuel.
India's first-ever moon probe, was aimed to map the lunar surface and determining its
mineral composition, While the probe was still active, NASA Moon Mineralogy Mapper
detected wavelengths of light reflected off the surface that indicated a chemical bond
between hydrogen and oxygen; this is sign of water or hydroxyl.
The Cassini data shows a global distribution of the water signal, though it also appears
stronger near the poles and low in the lunar Maria.
The Shackleton is a really interesting crater, almost 4.5 kilometers deep and 20 kilometers in
diameter," or about 3 miles deep and 12.5 miles wide. "It is the deepest crater for that size
range that I know of on the moon."
There are potentially two types of water on the moon: that brought from outside sources,
such as water-bearing comets striking the surface, or that has been originated on the moon.
Scientists analyzing tiny fragments of hardened lava from long-ago lunar eruptions report
that the fragments contain about as much water as similar magmas on Earth, meaning there
is plenty of water inside the Moon too.
At the moons north pole it is estimated that the amount of ice located there as shown in the
“Mini-RF” data is 600 million metric tons.
Turning water into fuel
Scientists from the California Institute of Technology have come up with a way to convert
“water into fuel using sunlight and an oxide of a naturally-occurring rare earth metal.
Professor Sossina Haile and her team from Caltech were able to utilize cerium oxide to act as
a renewable and inexpensive catalyst, effectively converting water or carbon dioxide into
hydrogen or carbon monoxide.”
“The report on the new fuel device explains that it uses cerium oxide to strip oxygen out of
water and essentially converting it into a usable, liquid fuel. This is accomplished by heating
water to over 1,600 degrees Celsius, or over 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit, in the presence of
the catalyst”.
This is a very cheap process to do and there are no resources wiped out. This technology is
going to make huge contributions to the global gasoline supplies.
In its current stage of development the device can produce roughly three gallons of fuel a
day, which can be used to power vehicles or even generate reserves of solar energy to help
offset home utility costs.
“An earlier study on solar-to-fuel technology published in the journal Solar Energy in 2006
found the same effect when applying cerium oxide and heat to water. Scientists observed
that the process produced pure hydrogen readily available for use directly in hydrogen fuel
cells.”
Edited By Hisham Hatem
Finding Another Building Block in the
Galaxy
There is strong argued theory that the universe was created by the big bang.
The only elements present at the time were hydrogen and helium, so everything that was
present and all matter was in the form of hydrogen and helium. And the clumping of both
elements would form the galaxies and the stars, now we all know the building blocks of life
are the elements that sustain life on earth. But they are not just found here in our galaxy and
they were not formed here either.
Upon the formation of the stars, there means there is an origin of a star. The birthplaces of
stars are certain areas in space “clouds of gas” called Nebulae and the nearest one to us is
the Orion Nebula. Explosions in the nebulae, is why and how stars are formed. But stars are
not born one at a time; they are produced in clusters, star clusters. We know how to
estimate the ages of stars by calculating the distance it is from its cluster. There are mainly
three star sizes, the large, medium and small. The small ones, white dwarfs, are the ones
that live the longest, as they sustain their energy and burn it slower in comparison to larger
stars. Our sun is considered to be a medium sized star, which is yellow rather than the blue
white dwarf. It has a reasonable age limitation and lives for billions of years.
The Orion Nebula
Now what I have been trying to reach was the large stars. They are massive, the can
reach to be a hundred times larger than our sun, which give off incredible amounts of energy
and burn their “fuel” at faster rates than the relatively smaller stars, and they eventually
burn it all and collapse. Stars don’t just collapse though, they explode due to their
gravitational pull of matter when it explodes, and when that happens atoms are flying at
incredible speeds and direction which find paths and collide with others and fuse. This is
how a hydrogen bomb works. They simulate the collision of atoms to produce all this
amount of energy.
The energy that all these molecular fusions give of is so immense that it creates new
elements. The building blocks of life, this is how our planet was formed and it would not be a
coincidence if we found another planet similar to ours with elements, which could sustain
life similar to ours.
Alternative Energy Sources
In the early 19th century the main substance that was used to lubricate lamps, was
whale oil. Then they adapted to using petroleum which here was then considered as an
“alternate”. Now we have a new definition to “alternative energy source” which has many
definitions actually, but they all agree on the fact that it is energy that is derived from any
source that does not cause harm or damage to nature or the environment.
Alternative here refers to the general idea of having other sources of energy that
could replace the burning of fuels and extensively manipulating and over consumption of
natural resources. Over time the meaning of alternative energy sources has changed, in the
early medieval times the dominant source of energy was wood but buy the early 1500s
people in Europe were running out of forests due to deforestation from over consuming
wood, fortunately they managed to save themselves from a disaster by turning to an
“alternative” energy source which was soft coal and cultivating potatoes and such.
Examples of what we might call alternative energy would be things like, solar
energy, which is mainly generating electricity from sunlight. Wind energy, also generating
electricity from wind energy. Biofuel and ethanol, also common alternative energy sources
which are substitutes of gasoline and are used to power vehicles. Another more
environmentally friendly alternative energy source is hydrogen which is clean fuel used for
spaceships, airplanes and other vehicles.
An ecologically friendly energy source could also be biomass, which is derived from
all wastes and converted to be a usable substance once more. It is an energy source which is
renewable, that consists of living and non-living organisms which can be used to produce
electricity or heat. This is all important to know, and to know the value of our natural
resources we should use this information to find other alternative sources of energy to save
our planet.
Edited By Alaa Khadour
Growing New Organs From Patients’ Own
Stem Cells
Human organs can fail for several reasons; genetic deformities,
injuries, an disease can all damage them. The patient can get an organ
transplant but thousands of people are waiting for organs transplants
and many of them die every day. The healthy organs are in very short
supply, moreover, the donor and patient have to be closely matching or
else the patient’s immune system may reject the transplant.
A new solution to this problem is growing organs from patients’
own stem cells. Some scientists knew that every organ has a
“scaffolding”- a structure that gives its shape- and many different types
of cells with different functions. They came up with ways to create an
organ’s scaffolding using biodegradable polymers and natural molecules
like collagen.
Another approach that the tissue engineers came up with was the
“decellularization” which is the digestion of the cells of the spare organs,
leaving the natural scaffolding.
The next step is draping the scaffolding with cells which are
usually adult stem cells. The adult stem cells are extracted from the
person who will be receiving the organ so that it won’t be rejected. The
adult stem cells orchestrate the process of assembly. In conclusion, once
the cells were seeded onto a familiar scaffold they knew what to do.
Nature assembles the jigsaw puzzle.
Treating HIV
What is HIV?
It stands for Human immunodeficiency virus. This virus destroys the infection-
fighting cells of the immune system. Therefore the immune system will not be able to fight
infections.
Transmission of HIV
HIV is transmitted through body fluids such as blood, semen,
genital fluids, and breast milk. Having unprotected sex with a
person carrying the HIV can cause this virus to be transmitted.
What is the treatment for HIV?
The recommended treatment for HIV is the antiretroviral therapy (ART). The ART
requires taking a mixture of three or more anti-HIV medications daily. The ART stops the HIV
from increasing and prevents it from destroying more infection-fighting cells. The anti-HIV
medications cannot cure the HIV but they help people enjoy living longer.
When to start the HIV treatment?
A person carrying the HIV infection may not need to start the treatment immediately.
Starting the treatment depends on several factors :
Your overall health
How well your immune system is working
The amount of HIV in your blood
Whether you’re pregnant or not
Your willingness to commit to a lifelong treatment
What is treatment adherence?
Treatment adherence is taking the right dose of each anti-HIV medication at the
right time and just as prescribed. This is necessary for the HIV treatment. Good adherence
affects the treatment in two ways :
It reduces the amount of HIV in the body
It prevents drug resistance
Difficulties of treatment adherence
Sometimes treatment adherence can be difficult because of :
Difficulty in taking the medications (
trouble swallowing pills)
Medication side effects
Being sick or depressed
Alcohol or drug abuse
Edited By Hinar Khaled
The Most Famous Inventions of the
Century
Environmentally Friendly Transformer fluid from vegetable oils By T.V. Oommen
A new transformer insulating fluid developed from vegetable oil sources is described. Its
development required the selection of suitable base oil, its purification to electrical grade,
and its stabilization by antioxidants. The new fluid, designated BIOTEMP, is fully
biodegradable and performs well at elevated temperatures. It is intended as an
environmentally friendly fluid for use in transformers located in areas where oil spills and
contamination of the surroundings are of concern
Artificial Heart By Abiomed
The pumping organ or the heart is one of the most precious gifts of god. At first there was
no replacement to it but the first ever artificial heart was approved by FDA in 2004.
It is made of plastic and titanium and is able enough to self contain. Artificial heart has
already done many miracles.
There have been few cases when people were declared too ill by the doctors for heart
transplant but artificial heart did wonders for them. This invention has proved to be ground
breaking in the field of medical science and was named Time’s invention of the year
Ginger Or Segway Transporter
Ginger is a brilliant invention created by Dean Kamen in the year 2001. There was a bit of
mystery around this invention but once it was demonstrated, its ability was appreciated
world wide.
The segway transporter is an electric power transportation machine. It is basically a personal
human transporter; it uses five gyroscopes and built in computer. The segway can move at a
speed of 12mph and it has no brakes. The speed and the directions can be controlled
manually by the rider shifting weight and with the help of handlebars.
So far the public demonstrations have shown that segway can easily travel through grass,
pavement and minute obstacles. Sensors in segway control the movement of segway. When
the person moves forward, the sensors detect the motion of the rider and thus enable the
segway to move forward and if the rider pushes backwards the segway moves backwards.
One battery costs 10 cents and lasts for almost about 15 miles so the fuel for the machine is
very affordable.
Artificial Liver
One of the most important and complex organs of human body is liver. Liver removes the
toxins from the blood and manufactures great amount of proteins, and also play part in
metabolism.
The device to replace original damaged liver is now in its final stages. This artificial liver is
used as a bridge for the liver transplant with as much minimal chances of liver failure as
possible.
In some cases it is used to give the damaged liver sufficient time to team which may result in
eliminating the need of liver transplant altogether.
iPod
We are living in a modern 21st century Smart Phone world. iPod is a portable media player
which was first launched in the year 2001. But since its inception, it has revolutionized the
world of modern gadgets.
High storage media devices became a cheap possibility after development of cheap and
compact hard drives, with huge capacities. Apple made its first move by introducing its
media player, that could store a whole library of songs. Later more versions were
introduced, including the touchscreen version called iPod Touch.
Its sleek design and the way it was marketed, made it a huge success.
iPhone
The first ever iPhone hit the market in the year 2007. Although smart phone have already
been in the market and still there are many companies which have their own smart phones
with unique capabilities. But we know the term smart phone more from the iPhone, which is
a brand of Apple Inc.
Today mobiles and handheld phones have become our personal hand held computers,
which have the power of computers which once took a whole room to fill. It can be further
projected that this technology will further progress and in some years to come, we will see
computers and smart phones at an entirely new level.
Large Hadron Collider
Its is possibly one of the greatest scientific inventions of modern times. It really more of an
extremely high tech engineering feat which was achieved in the year 2008 when protons
beam was successfully circulated for the first time.
By building such a large collider, scientists are aiming to unlock many mysteries of science
and our universe which will open new doors for many more discoveries and inventions. The
LHC is 27 km in circumference and buried 175 km beneath the Franco-Swiss border.
Self Cleaning Window invented by PPG industries
The revolutionary new glass provides two consumer-valued benefits: windows with
SunClean glass are easier to clean and stay cleaner, so homeowners can enjoy a cleaner view
with less hassle. A durable, transparent coating on the glass helps break down dirt particles
and sheets water so that rain or the light spray of a garden hose can rinse the exterior clean.
Additionally, the sheeting action provides minimal spotting for a cleaner appearance.
SunClean glass is the latest innovation from PPG -- a leading global manufacturer of glass
products. PPG has been serving homeowners and the residential construction industry since
1883, with more than 30 years of expertise in glass coatings technology.
"Over the past four decades, PPG glass products have helped homeowners be safer with
tempered glass and stay warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer and save on energy
costs with our low-E glass products," said Patrick J. Kenny, director of marketing for flat glass
products. "Now, we will help make homeowners' lives easier with the introduction of
SunClean self-cleaning glass."
How It Works
The self-cleaning properties of SunClean glass are made possible by a durable, transparent
coating of titanium dioxide (TiO2) applied during the manufacturing process. The application
process, patented by PPG, makes the coating an integral part of the glass, providing
homeowners with a durable, long-lasting product.
After a few days of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun, the coating becomes
energized and provides photocatalytic and hydrophilic properties. The coating and UV light
combine to create a photocatalytic action that helps to loosen and dissolve dirt and other
organic material. Since UV light is abundant even on cloudy days, this process works non-
stop throughout the day, and even remains at work during the night.
The hydrophilic properties of the glass make water droplets spread out, or sheet, across
the surface of the glass. When rain or even the light spray of a garden hose hits the window,
the dirt and organic materials are easily washed away. The sheeting action helps the window
dry without spotting or streaking like conventional glass.
"Washing the outside of your windows can now be as easy as watching a rain shower or
lightly spraying your windows while watering your flower beds," said Kenny.
Heat-Generating Jacket Inventor: Maiden Ventures, Polartec and North Face Research, Design & Development
Forget the down jacket, the long underwear and the extra-thick scarf. Designed for extreme
cold, the North Face MET5 jacket can keep you warm all by itself, thanks to a network of
microscopic, waterproof heating elements woven into the fabric. Working a control unit
stashed near the chest, you can dial the heat up to 114 degrees F. Small lithium-ion batteries
keep the juice flowing for up to five hours.
Mini Autonomous Robots Inventors: Ray Byrne, Ed Heller and Doug Adkins; Sandia National Laboratories
Imagine a robot small enough to crawl through pipes to check for chemical leaks or sneak
under doors to spy on intruders. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created
the Mini Autonomous Robot Vehicle Jr. to do just that. Smaller than a cherry and powered
by three watch batteries, MARV Jr. can cover 20 in. per min. on custom-made tracks
fashioned from strips of latex balloons. Future versions may include miniature cameras,
microphones and chemical microsensors.
Millenium Bridge Inventor: Wilkinson Eyre Architects and Gifford and Partners, civil engineers
Drawbridges are quaint, but they are so medieval. So when city planners in the industrial
town of Gateshead, in northeast England, picked a design for a new pedestrian and bike
bridge to connect Gateshead with the historic city of Newcastle across the winding river
Tyne, they decided that a break from tradition was in order. For most of the day, a single
steel arch vaults high above the water, fixed by 18 harplike suspension cables to a 413-ft.-
long, curved pathway below. When a boat approaches, however, the entire bridge pivots to
one side. As the lower deck rises into the air, the upper arch descends on the other side until
both halves are suspended opposite each other some 90 ft. in the air. Powered by
hydraulics, the $25 million Millennium Bridge can tilt back and forth in four minutes. The
bridge is the centerpiece of a multimillion-dollar urban-renewal plan that will eventually
connect a new arts center to hotels and restaurants on either shore.
Retail DNA Test
The Everything Game
It's blasphemy, brilliance or both to take the entire evolution of a species — from a single-
celled animalcule in a drop of water to a space-faring, galaxy-exploring sentient being — and
turn it into a video game. But that's exactly what Will Wright has done. Wright is the man
who createdThe Sims, a game about everyday life in suburbia, but apparently he found the
vast panorama of human experience too confining, because he then spent seven years
creating Spore, in which players design their own life-form and then manage every aspect of
its progress through the centuries, from savagery to civilization.
High-Tech Running Shoes
Nike and Adidas continued their long-running battle for sneaker supremacy this year. Nike
unleashed its Zoom Victory track spike (right), with a paper-thin surface that snugs runners
like a second skin. Narrow threads made of Vectran, a material used to sew landing balloons
on the lunar rover, run like cables from the laces to the bottom, supporting the foot at key
pressure points such as the heel. The threads keep the shoe together with a minimum of
extraneous material, allowing the spike to weigh in at under 100 grams, which makes it one
of the lightest performance shoes on record. Meanwhile, Adidas, working in tandem with
Porsche Design, engineered the Porsche Design Sport Bounce running shoe. It features
metallic springs that cushion the foot, making your run as smooth as a ride in a high-end
sports car
Edited By Rana Ahmed