ISSUE 22 May 07 €3 including VAT £2 NI and UK
SCIENCE
SPIN
IRELAND’S SCIENCE WILDLIFE AND DISCOVERY MAGAZINE
SHIP WRECKS Mapping rocks NEW WORLDS Climate change Running short on radio waves
COOL SEAS
What’s wrong with science education? Bird watching
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SCIENCE SPIN Issue 21
SCIENCE
SPIN UPFRONT
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8 John Moore writes that New worlds A Tompot Blenny, photographed by John Collins off Inishmeain, Aran Islands.
Publisher Duke Kennedy Sweetman Ltd 5 Serpentine Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. www.sciencespin.com Email: tom@sciencespin.com Editors Seán Duke sean@sciencespin.com Tom Kennedy tom@sciencespin.com Business Development Manager Alan Doherty alan@sciencespin.com Design and Production Albertine Kennedy Publishing Cloonlara, Swinford, Co Mayo Proofing Aisling McLaughlin Printing Turner Print, Longford Contributors in this issue: John Collins, Enda Gallagher, Mark Heaton, Michael Keeney, Norman McMillan, John Moore, Marie-Catherine Mousseau, Clodagh O’Brien, John Taggart.
the discovery of new planets brings us closer to finding that we are not the only inhabitants of the Universe.
More males
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Clodagh O’Brien reports that infected women produce more sons.
Discover Science and engineering
13 Wireless 14 Marie-Catherine
Mousseau reports that smarter use of the air waves will stop us running out of broadcast space.
17
Life in the lab
Michael Keeney describes what it’s like to work on tissue engineering.
18
Geo mapping
Enda Gallagher writes about the pioneering surveyors who went out to map Ireland’s rocks.
23
Educational Challenge
Norman McMillan and Mark Heaton take a critical look at where we are going with education in science.
Cool waters
John Collins dives into the wonders of the cooler seas.
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Climate change
Tom Kennedy looks at how the Environmental Change Institute is preparing us for the future.
30 Portfolio 32 John Taggart has been watching the birds.
Wind blow Coford
experts look at the risks to forestry.
35 Wrecks 36 Seán Duke reports
on the discovery of unknown wrecks in Irish waters.
NOTICE BOARD
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Articles published in Science SPIN may reflect the views of the contributors and not the official views of the publication, its editorial staff, its ownership, or its sponsors.
SPIN
Geological Survey of Ireland Suirbhéireacht Gheolaíochia Éireann
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 22 Page 1
Higher Education Authority An tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas
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UPFRONT Naturally, the weevils have struck up a balance with their local parasites, but around the world there are many different species of fungi, and some of these are considered as suitable candidates for biological control. However, as Michael gaffney reports, the approach can be expensive, and climatic factors, such as temperature, can be a problem. At Teagasc, attention is focusing on one particular strain of Metahizum. Tests on plants such as Primulas, Begonias, and Fuchsias showed that this fungal strain was as effective in controlling weevil larvae as the usual chemicals, and the benefits continued into a second growing season. Strangely enough, the fungi surviving into the second round, seems to acquire added virulence. The researchers at Teagasc believe this is due to starvation, and as the fungi runs out of food, the genes that initiate attachment and infection become more heavily expressed. Following good results from Kinsealy, commercial trials are being conducted in Irish and UK nurseries. Top: one of the 35,000 species of Curculionidae, photographed by Peter Hollinger, the snout nosed weevils. The plant feeding weevils have jaws adapted for boring their way into plants, and many of the species cause damage to crops around the world. Above: the Black Pine Weevil, makes a meal of nursery stock, but parasitic fungi could be used to keep them under control. The larvae, to left, have been infected by fungi, which feeds on body tissues until it eventually breaks through the skin, releasing millions of spores.
Bio-control AccordINg to Teagasc, over half the pesticides used in nurseries on hardy stock goes into the control of the black pine weevil. The larvae make a meal of the roots, and by the time the damage has been done, the wilting plants have become unfit for sale. The adult weevils, small slate blue beetles, emerge during May and June, and they are good at hiding. Feeding by night, they tuck their legs and antennae in if disturbed, and during the day they keep themselves out of sight. once they come on the scene they are hard to eradicate, and they don’t even need males to reproduce. Between July and September, the adult weevils can produce up to 1,500 fertile eggs without mating, and as soon as
they hatch, the larvae begin feeding. Michael gaffney, from the Teagasc research centre at Kinsealy, who has been studying these creatures, believes that it might be possible to keep them under control with fungi rather than chemicals. In the Teagasc inhouse magazine, T-Research, Michael gaffney reports that the larvae are susceptible to attack by some types of soil fungi. Fungal spores attach themselves to the outside larvae cuticle, and on germinating, a ‘germ tube’, assisted by a cuticle degrading enzyme, breaks through the surface. once inside the body cavity, the fungi grows, killing the larvae by a combination of physical disruption and poisoning. The fungi continues to feast, until it breaks through to cover the outside with spore producing conidia.
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Research careers ReseaRcheRs spend a lot of time wondering about their career. Researchers often love the work, but worry about the future. While business graduates head off to well paid jobs, researchers stay in the labs on short term contracts. We highlighted the problem in the January issue of Science Spin, and readers might like to know that contract researchers in Trinity have issued a position paper on the topic. Prof Michael Ryan, Dean of Postdoc studies and training at UcD, was among those who welcomed the paper, saying that it provides the sort of information that the universities can act on in developing a better environment for researchers. The ‘Frontline Perspective’ position paper can be downloaded as a pdf from:
www.tcdlife.ie.trsa
SPIN
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UPFRONT Eye care
AN optometry education facility has been opened at Kevin Street DIT as a national resource for eye care professionals. The Centre’s Director, Dr Mary Cregg, said the facilities will give students an opportunity to develop professional skills with patients in a clinical setting. About 500 optometrists, previously known as ophthalmic opticians, are working in Ireland.
Patents PHIllIPS leads the way in the number of patents filed with the World Intellectual Property Organisation, followed by Matsushita, and Siemens. last year Phillips filed 2,495 patents with WIPO, Matsushita 2,344, and Siemens 1,400. According to Siemen’s head of intellectual property, Prof Dr Winfried Buttner, filing patents with WIPO is a lot more efficient than going through a similar procedure in up to 184 member states and it has made it easier for companies to secure protection internationally.
Catching bats BATS are more likely to get caught by hooks instead of fishes. In The Irish Naturalists’s Journal, Conor Kelleher, from Macroom, noted that discarded fishing hooks can be a hazard for bats. On one occasion, members of the Cork County Bat Group witnessed a whiskered bat, Myotis mystacinus, being snagged as it attempted to fly away from an alder tree. One of the group climbed up and released the bat, but others are not likely to have that kind of help at hand. Bats, notes Conor Kellaher, can also mistake the flying hooks, when lines are cast, for insects.
Ulysses THE Ulysses spacecraft, launched in 1990, is heading into a third orbit of the Sun’s polar caps, and this time, there will be a significant difference. The magnetic poles of the Sun have switched, and on Earth that would be the equivalent of having our compasses point S rather than N. After the first orbit of Ulysses, the Sun’s magnetic fields disappeared, and now they have re-emerged, but the other way around. Ulysses is unusual in that it crosses the planetary orbital plane. It takes energy to break free from that plane, so Ulysses used the gravity of Jupiter as a sling, to go off at an angle.
Biomedical research A fOUr-yEAr research project relating to the use of polymers in biomedical engineering is getting underway at Athlone Institute of Technology. Postdocs and postgrads will become involved in the multi-disciplinary research under Dr Paul Tomkins, Dr Sinead Devery, Dr Neil Owan, and Michael Nugent. Prof Ciarán Ó Catháin, Director of the college, welcoming an award of €400,000 to support the research, noted that the project draws on the core strengths of Athlone in polymers, biomedical engineering, toxicology, and sterilisation technologies. The research also involves collaboration with institutions abroad, Georgia Tech and Strathclyde University, and with industry, Elan, and Isotron. The Athlone researchers are concentrating on synthesising nanoparticles that have an ability to deliver drugs to specific areas of the lung. To facilitate these types of projects the college has formed two centres, the Centre for Biopolymer and Biomolecular research, and the Centre for Nanotechnology and Materials research. In these areas there is considerable scope for development, and Prof Ó Catháin said he expected the project to continue after the initial four year period.
Bat drawing by Gregory O’Corry Crowe
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Singles WOMEN have two X chromosomes, but only one is active. It appears that the second X is shut down to avoid over-expression by being wrapped up in a protein. The protein is produced by a gene, known as XIST. Until now, no one understood how female cells chose one X for shutting down and not the other, but there is now evidence to show that the slightest flaw in symmetry can tip the balance one way or the other. In the Physics News it is reported that each X has a 50/50 chance of being shut down. This made physicist, Mario Nicodemi at the University of Napels, think that this is an example of symmetry breaking. This appears to be the case. Just before the shutdown, the two X chromosomes line up, and the XIST gene is expressed a protein aggregate which forms as a single entity in close proximity. The aggregate binds to one of the X chromosomes, effectively silencing it. The aggregate can only bind to one of the X chromosomes, and this is where any flaw in symmetry comes into play. The researcher suggests that a similar mechanism could also determine which of a gene pair is expressed in non-sexual chromosomes
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UPFRONT
In the dark We can’t see it, but scientists are convinced that most of the matter in the Universe is invisible. Gravity, the pull of mass throughout the known Universe, can only be explained if there is a lot more out there than we can see. Computer simulation suggests that we only see one sixth of the total
evolution Survey, COSMOS, recently presented this model before a meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Nick Scoville from the Californian Institute of Technology said it represented the largest project yet undertaken using the Hubble Telescope. Ground based telescopes around the world were also involved, and their combined resultes show that dark matter appears to be in the form of giant clumps. Originally, it is thought that the distribution of dark matter was more uniform, and over billions of years slight differences caused it to become ‘lumpy’. The image here is like a map of time, with the far left representing the distribution 6.5 billion years ago, the middle, 5 billion years ago, and left, the more obvious clumping of the relatively more recent 3 billion years ago.
mass, and the rest is ‘dark’. In an effort to gain more understanding of what this dark matter is, astronomers have assembled data from thousands of observations on how light from distant sources is bent by gravity, and using this they have constructed a computer model of how this mysterious matter is distributed throughout space. Scientists involved in the Cosmic
Resistance Whether or not you are likely to become infected with malaria or tB can be a matter of inherited luck. A protein, known as Mal, discovered by Prof Luke O’Neill at tCD in 2001, is now known to play a major role in our defence against a number of infections. Since its discovery, Mal was known to be involved in the immune system, and further SFI funded research at tCD under Prof O’Neill, and at Oxford under the Professor of human Genetics there, Adrian hill, has confirmed its importance. As Prof O’Neill explains, Mal acts as an alarm for the body’s defence system. receptors, known as tLrs (toll-like receptors) first lock onto the invader, and relay the alert via Mal to the immune system. recently it was found that there are two types of Mal, and while one works well, the other causes the body to over-react. “If you have the overactive type,” said Prof O’Neill, “you are twice as likely to succumb to infection because your immune system goes into overdrive, and disease results, in a manner akin to ‘friendly fire’.” During a study of Mal, over 6,000 people with malaria, tB or pneumonia, were examined, and it was found that the overactive type doubled the risk of developing the full blown disease. the discovery means that researchers could target Mal in developing disease treatments. Malaria and tB are big killers, causing over 5 million deaths a year.
in association with
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UPFRONT
resolution the distribution of ions, joining each individual part of a lipid, can be detected. on examination, it was found that the ions are being shared, in effect making an interlinked mesh, like a line of people holding hands. Because of this interlinking, the cell wall gains strength. Understanding how the fast moving ions give additional strength to the cell wall is expected to help in the design of better drug delivery systems.
Where can I buy Science Spin? Cell walls Before they can act drugs have to be able to pass through cell walls, and it is the same for a virus. Understanding how a cell wall is built can give us a better idea of what could influence its effectiveness as a barrier. In a paper, published in the Physical Review Letters scientific journal, Takeahi fukuma, Michael Higgins and Suzanne P Jarvis
reported how a multidisciplinary team of researchers at TCD have been using ultrasensitive probes to ‘feel’ how the building blocks of a cell wall are put together. By applying the sort of noise reduction techniques used to make CD and DVD players, the team has been able to achieve sub-angstrom resolution in a probe that can detect details 100 times smaller than a common cold virus. At this level of
Marine Institute
SCIenCe SPIn is available through many newsagents north and south of Ireland. Sometimes hard to spot among the hundreds of glossy magazines, but here are some of the best known outlets: reads in nassau Street, Dublin. easons in o’Connell Street, Dublin. The Dundrum Shopping Centre. Liffey Valley, Lucan. eason, Donegall Place, Belfast. eason, Botanic Ave, Belfast. eason, Portadown. eason, Lisburn. Page one bookshop, newtownards.
Speaking of science
Foras na Mara
on THUrSDAy 3rd May post-graduates from Irish universities will talk about their research at the rDS in Dublin. The post-graduates will be competing to be the best in communicating what they do. A panel of judges, chaired by Pat Kenny of rTe, will decide on which presentations are the best in explaining about scientific concepts in terms that everyone can understand. The event, Science Speak, starts at 7pm at the rDS, and everyone is welcome. Admission is free.
Robots
www.marine.ie Marine Institute Rinville Oranmore Co. Galway telephone 353 91 387 200 facsimile 353 91 387 201 email institute.mail@marine.ie
Foras na Mara
SoMe tasks, such as bomb disposal, are so dangerous that robots are sent in to do the job. Some years ago production of robots began at Kilbrittain, Co Cork, and in 2004 the company became part of the Canadian Allen-Vanguard Group. The Canadian company supplies security forces around the world. In the latest development, a substantial investment is being made in r&D at Kilbrittain. The number of people involved in developing smarter robots at Kilbrittain is set to rise from 9 to 16 by next year. This will create the largest robots group in Ireland, and the team will combine elecronics, software and engineering expertise.
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UPFRONT
Fissi
o
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possible m i
Off to the USA
Institute of Physics in Ireland finalists for the Rosse Medal Award at Birr. From left, Thejesh Bandi of the Cork Institute of Technology; Barry Fitzgerald, University of Limerick; Jonathan Anderson, University College Dublin, Iris Choi, University College Cork (winner), the 7th Earl, Brendan Parsons; Dr. Vincent Casey, Chairperson of the Institute of Physics in Ireland pictured in front of the giant telescope at Birr Castle. EnErgy was the hot topic at the Institute of Physics annual Spring meeting at Birr in March. A number of energy experts explored the topic of how to break Ireland’s almost total dependence on imported fuel. At the meeting, physics graduate, Iris Choi from the Tyndall Institute, was presented with the inaugural rosse Medal Award for her poster presentation on quantum cryptography. The medal commemorates the telescope building 3rd Earl of rosse, William Parsons, and appropriately, the award was presented to Iris by the 7th Earl, Brendan Parsons.
Machine control
TrInITy graduate, donnchadha Quilty, is on his way to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under a Fulbright Award to work on physics. donnchadha, currently studying mathematics at Cambridge, said he had been originally hooked on the subject by his teacher. donnchadha is one of many students, who over the years have been able to gain valuable experience in the US under the Fulbright programme. Final year and post graduate students are invited to submit applications for awards in 2008-09. The web site for the Fulbright Commission is www.fulbright.ie and the deadline is Friday 11th May 2007.
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Athlone wins support
SlIgo IT lecturer, Kevin Collins, has published a book on programming for automation. Many processes in industry are almost totally automated, and one of the key components in control are the PlCs, programmable computers. like nerve ganglia in our body, the PlCs make a lot of on the spot decisions without having to send messages on for processing in the main computer. Kevin’s text is aimed at engineering students and people in industry, and the book can be used with a PlC simulator, downloadable free from the Internet. Kevin Collins, photo Declan Bray
European collaboration UndEr the European Collaborative research Scheme, scientific agencies are being offered support on collaborative projects. research teams interested in collaborating with others across Europe have until 1st June to submit proposals. More information on web site: www.esf.org/eurocores
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Athlone Institute of Technology has won an award worth €400,00 to undertake research into the affect of polymer nanoparticles on lung function. The research, being led by dr Clement Higgenbotham, involves a number of scientists at Athlone IT, and there is collaboration with georgia Tech, Strathclyde University, and industry through Elan and Isotron. director of AIT, Prof Ciarán Ó Catháin, said the project, which is expected to grow in size and significance, will help in the development of novel drug delivery systems. At Athlone researchers at the Centre of Biopolymer and Biomolecular research are working on how tissues behave in the presence of natural and synthetic materials, and on the same site, scientists at the Centre for nanotechnology and Materials research are working on polymer material synthesis. Both groups are involved in this interdisciplinary project.
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UPFRONT Liquid fuel
hyDrOGEn has big attractions as a potential fuel, but the problem is that it takes a lot of energy to separate the h2 from the O, so much so that some scientists think it’s not worth the bother. however, a project being co-ordinated by Dr athanasios Konstandopolulos from Greece, could change that view. Lots of natural reactions would slow to a virtual stop without the aid of enzymes and catalysts, and these are at the core of the hyDrOSOL project. Scientists from Greece, Germany, Denmark, and the UK have been collaborating on the creation of a solar powered thermo-chemical reactor. Their device, resembling the catalytic converter in a car has lots of ceramic channels coated with nano scale watersplitting materials. as water vapour passes through, it is catalytically converted into oxygen and hydrogen. In March the hyDrOSOL project was selected as one of the top three winners in the Ec Descartes competition. The Descartes prizes for innovation worth €1 million were shared out between three winners. apart from hydrosol, awards were given to the high Energy Stereoscopic System group, hESS, and to a team working on programmed cell death, apoptosis. The hESS group, which includes Irish participation, has developed a system to share data for analysis by young astronomers and astrophysicists.
Delegates at the Mapping European Seabed Habitats Conference in Dublin Castle.
MESH In March marine scientists from around the world were in Dublin to finalise a common framework for mapping marine habitats. according to the Marine Institute, increasing activities on the sea bed could lead to conflicts and environmental damage, so establishing an internationally agreed framework for mapping is important. Prof Gary Green from the US Moss Landing Marine Laboratories told the conference that just as we need accurate maps for land-based developments, detailed information about the sea is of increasing importance to oil, gas, fishing, aquaculture and other activities. Under the Mapping European Seabed habitats (MESh) project a standardised marine habitat atlas is being developed. In Ireland, said Marine Institute cEO, Dr Peter heffernan, the MESh techniques have been incorporated in the Irish national Seabed Survey.
DECARTES WINNERS
Mentoring Joan Lally, Mentoring Officer with NUI Galway commented that: “there is a world of difference between college life and the realities of the workplace.” The college would like to make it easier for students to make the transition, and for the past three years a “career connect” programme has been providing them with “real life” exposure. Past graduates make a return to college as mentors. To become a mentor, contact Joan Lally at the Careers Service, NUI Galway; tel 091 492053.
Good communications
Shiela Donegan and Eoin Gill from Waterford Institute of Technology were named in the Ec Descartes competition as Europe’s top science communicators. Sheila and Eoin, directors of caLMaST, the centre for the advancement of learning of Maths, Science and Technology, created a colourful four page weekly science magazine for children, EUrEKa, featuring stories, puzzles, cartoons and activities for primary school pupils. Shiela and Eoin were the first in five projects chosen from over 30 entries submitted from across Europe.
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Searching for
LIFE other than our own
Is Earth the only place in the Universe to support life? With the discovery that planets are much more common than we thought, John Moore reports that the search for extraterrestrial life has intensified.
T
hey’re popping up everywhere! Just when we were getting to grips with knowledge about our own solar system of eight planets (Pluto excluded), other systems of planets (exoplanets) orbiting around other stars appear very common in our universe. Ever since the first exoplanet 51 Pegasi b was discovered in 1995, advances in observational methods have catalogued up to 209 Jupitersized exoplanets to date. But now the hunt is on for Earthlike, rocky planets similar to our own. A new space mission recently launched will try to find the first of these elusive objects by mid 2007, and over the coming years several
more missions will go even further, searching for possible extraterrestrial life.
Planets, planets everywhere
Of the 209 exoplanets so far discovered, 40 percent are what astronomers like to call “hot Jupiters” – giant gaseous planets sometimes tens of times the mass of Jupiter. Orbiting extremely close to their parent stars, these planets haven’t literally been seen by any telescopes, because light from their nearby stars obscures them. Instead, astronomers detect the planets by observing the ever so slight motion, or ‘wobble’, that the huge mass of the
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hot Jupiters has on the star as they gravitationally tug at it. This “radial velocity” technique, as it is called, is responsible for discovering 197 of the list of exoplanets so far to date; the smallest of which is just over 7 times the mass of the Earth. What astronomers would like to find, however, are the so-called “good Jupiters” – planets whose orbits are nearly circular and at roughly the same distance that Jupiter is from our Sun (about 5 times the Earth-Sun distance). Such extrasolar systems could give rise to Earth-like planets (and possibly life-bearing planets) existing inside a “habitable environment”, or ‘Goldilocks Zone’ as it’s sometimes called; where water can remain liquid without it being always a gas or always frozen. Because little is known about the formation of habitable environments, astronomers want to know if such environments can sustain terrestrial planets, and if so, how frequently do they arise and are they favourable enough for the assembly of complex organic molecules and have energy sources to sustain metabolism. Interestingly enough, recent computer models conducted by Professor Barrie Jones from the Open University Department of Physics and Astronomy suggest that up to half of the exoplanetary systems we know of to date could have Earths in stable orbits around these habitable zones. And while their models suggests the fact that distant massive Jupiters sometimes may migrate inwards through the habitable zone and SPIN
Artist’s impression of the COROT telescope. Image: ESA.
disrupt, or even eat, any Earth-forming planets there, such events could still give rise to Earths afterwards. But detection of these Earths is somewhat problematic, as their smaller masses just don’t have a strong enough gravitational tug on the star to produce the wobble effect. So astronomers have to turn to new observing techniques, and to new horizons. And that’s where the current spate of planet-finding space missions about to be launched in the next few years comes on the scene.
The search begins
Last December, a French-led space mission called Corot started the ball rolling to find Earth-like planets, using a method known as the ‘transit’ technique. Transiting works on the principle that if you are already seeing the light from a star in your telescope and an unseen Earth-sized planet happens to pass (transits) in front of it, a diminution in the light from the star is observed. The problem, however, with detecting these planets is that they are 10 times smaller in radius than the hot Jupiters. This means that Corot, with its 10.5-inch telescope onboard, will have to detect a dip in light several thousand times fainter than the star. However, as it’s going to monitor up to 120,000 stars, the possibility that it will detect the first rocky planets, smaller than the massive hot Jupiters but several times larger than Earth, are good. Corot, in effect, is paving the way and will open up the heavenly doors for more advanced planet-finding missions,
such as NASA’s Kepler to be launched next year. Kepler will use the same transiting method as Corot, but with its 0.95-metre telescope capable of detecting the first ever Earth-sized planet in an Earth-like orbit, NASA estimates that it should discover up to 50 Earth-sized planets, close to 180 planets 30 percent larger than Earth, and up to 600 planets twice its size during its four-year mission. It still won’t be easy, however, as observing transiting planets – no matter how big or small – depends upon them being correctly orientated towards us to monitor the faint dips of starlight.
While space-based telescopes will be much more sensitive to these dips in light, especially in the infrared wavelengths not accessible to telescopes on the Earth, it’s still comforting to know that nearly all of the planets officially catalogued to date have been discovered from the ground. A team led by Geoffrey Marcy at Berkeley in California has found 121 of the known exoplanets using Earthbased telescopes, and his team is set to announce several more this year. The main problem with ground-based observations is in overcoming the effects of our atmosphere – it makes detecting smaller, rocky planets, like Earth extremely difficult. However, new ‘adaptive optic’ instruments on the next generation of Very Large Telescopes coming online soon have the potential to bring major advances in ground detection. Dr Nicholas Devaney in the Applied Optics Department in NUI Galway is working on such planet-finding instruments known as ‘extreme adaptive optics’. “We’re designing systems incorporating a small ‘flexible’ mirror that corrects the affected starlight many times per second coming into a telescope, by adjusting the mirror using an array Some of the techniques astronomers use to detect exoplanets. The ‘transit’ technique (a) relies upon the slight diminution in light from the star as a planet transits in front of it. The ‘astrometric’ technique (b) depends on how the gravitational tug of an exoplanet orbiting around a star slightly displaces its observed motion (white cross represents the common centre of mass while the red line represents the motion of the star as the exoplanet orbits around it). The ‘gravitational microlensing’ technique (c) relies on how objects with mass (like a star or exoplanet) can curve spacetime and light. Normal lensing of light from a distant star by a foreground star produces a smooth observed lightcurve, however, if an unseen planet happens to be orbiting around the foreground star, its influence causes an additional perturbance, or peak (blue), in the lightcurve.
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of actuators attached. This extreme adaptive optics system has to be very fast to correct for the wavefront of light hitting the primary telescope mirror, and everything needs to be of very high precision.” In effect, Devaney’s actuators’ adjustments on the mirror are able to counteract for the distortions created in the atmosphere above the telescope. While these small flexible mirrors can be some 10 to 20 centimetres in diameter, the telescopes he’s designing them for are far, far bigger. Devaney is currently involved with instruments for the 8.2-metre telescope (the Very Large Telescope) in Chile, the two 8.1-metre Gemini telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, and the planned 42metre Extremely Large Telescope to be built sometime within the next decade. Astronomers, however, aren’t going to stop there at trying to get the best images of exoplanets they possibly can; they’ll want to analyse those planets in detail that show the most favourable conditions for life. Two missions, NASA’s Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) and the European Space Agency’s Darwin – both presently facing funding cuts but still awaiting launch sometime around 2014 – will try to obtain the spectra of atmospheric gases like water vapour,
Whether, in the coming years, they find that the biosignatures of life on these exoplanets are quite common and that they all have the necessary ingredients, the question that then has to asked is have they combined in such a way as to form life. And if they have, is this life a form of complex organic molecule or a highly developed civilization? Either way, the answer is really going to be significant.
Life as we don’t know it
The first direct image of a possible exoplanet orbiting around a brown dwarf star (a kind of ‘failed star’) called 2M1207. Initially detected in 2004 by the Very Large Telescope in Chile, the planet has a mass of between 2 and 5 times that of Jupiter and orbits 2M1207 once every 1,500 Earth years. methane, and particularly ozone. This highly reactive gas is not normally found in planetary atmospheres, unless something on the surface is supplying it – that something, as we call it on Earth, is “life”. Both missions will involve a flotilla of infrared telescopes that can network together, which should allow them to observe Earth-like planets orbiting stars some 25 light years away.
COROT Last December the COROT space telescope was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The latest version of the Soyuz launcher put the telescope into a polar orbit. Work on the French led project began in 1994, and the aim is to search along stars at the edge of the Milky Way. Planets are detected by measuring the slight loss of light as they pass over the stars. This is a tiny fluctuation of light, and by comparison, when the Earth passes in front of the Sun, brightness diminishes by just 0.01 per cent over a period of three hours. Scientists at the French national centre for space research, explain that this is
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So what are the likely occurences that there is “life” out there on exoplanets, and if so, what is it going to be like? Answering those questions from our current understanding of life “as we know it” poses a problem – it presumes that we already have a definition of life. On Earth, all life as we know it has developed from a universal common ancester, it uses virtually the same twenty amino acids (the ‘building blocks of life’), and it shares nearly the same genetic code (the ‘language of instruction’ living cells use to read encoded in DNA). In effect, life on our planet is a self-propagating chemical system that has adapted to its environment. But this single sample may not be a representative of all forms of life in the universe. Other forms of life may be using a different set of amino acids, different genetic
too small a difference for COROT to record, but it can detect a change of 0.05, so while Earth sized planets are not going to be noticed, anything 1.5 times larger, and solid, will be picked up. The scientists expect to observe 150,000 or more stars, and it is quite likely that hundreds of planets will be detected. (TK)
These extremophile microbes thrive in a salty environment and they can endure low temperatures. Life is adaptable, and survival on planets, such as Mars, would not be a problem. last 3.85 billion years has allowed a variety and diversification of life across all ecological niches to evolve and survive, would it not be right to assume that possible life elsewhere on other planets has done the same?
codes, or even may be living through processes that we, with our bias towards a carbon-based, multicellular life, just don’t, and can’t possibly, understand. Thus, to recognise life in the Universe “as we don’t know it”, the parameters that we use may not be applicable. We just don’t know enough right now to pose the question, “What is life?”, as we don’t know exactly how it evolved, adapted to diverse environments, or increased in complexity. But if life, as we know it, is already flourishing on other planets, other moons, then from our own experiences of discovery of new life, this would suggest that it’s going to be at a microscopic level. Microbes on Earth make up 90 percent of the biomass, and were once responsible millions of years ago for creating the oxygen-rich atmosphere we breathe today. New forms of mocroorganisms are being discovered every day, and of special note are a group barely surviving on verges of the extreme known as “extremophiles”. Extremophiles have been discovered living under the frozen deserts of Antarctica, found thriving around hydrothermal vents kilometres below the ocean’s surface, growing comfortably around the nuclear rods in nuclear stations, and coexisting as uninvited guests with astronauts onboard the International Space Station. If these extraordianry microbes were suddenly to find themselves transported to environments such as the permafrost of Mars, the suspected briney ocean under Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, or the gaseous methanic world of Saturn’s moon Titan, they would feel quite at home in all three. It raises another question then. If the evidence and limits of our own planet – from geological to environmental changes – over the
Life everywhere?
Of all the 10 billion Earth-like planets that simple statistical models predict to exist in our galaxy, much less the 1,000 billion, billion (1 with 21 zeros after it) such planets expected to be in the Universe alone, has life in some form or another blossomed? In the 1960s Frank Drake came up with an equation that was able to break down the process in to pieces. First, you start with the number of stars. Then estimate the fraction of stars with planets. Then the fraction of planets that are Earth-like and suitable for life. Then the fraction of life actually evolving on those planets. And so on. If we do the multiplication, the equation (while open to interpretation depending on the figures you put in) suggests that life may have arisen, at least once, on one-third of all the planets above. Taking those estimates even further, the equation also suggests that a third again of those planets would produce a technical civilisation. From those figures, it seems that the Universe must be brimming with civilisations like us. But wait, the figures also have a downside. If we were to take into account the percentage of those civilisations that end up selfdestructing – through either
technology or carelessness for their environment – so as not to emerge again before their parent star dies, the numbers get quite frighteningly small. The downside to the figures, in fact, is that there would be no chances of life arising in our own galaxy, which means we’re totally alone, and only 30 others in the whole Universe. However, if we consider the alternative, the prospect that some do survive total self-destruction; the figures change dramatically upwards from millions of planets with civilisations in our own galaxy to billions in the Universe. But wait again. If we take these optimistic figures as is, don’t we encounter a strange paradox which suggests that if intelligent life is common in the Universe then shouldn’t there be obvious signs of it? So, suppose that civilisations arise around 1 in a million stars. That would put nearly 100,000 civilisations in our own Milky Way galaxy. Now if these civilisations arose when their stars were typically 4 billion years old, say, in similar circumstances to our own 10 billion year-old Milky Way galaxy, would this not suggest that these 100,000 civilisations have been around for the last 6 billion years or so? The paradox then is if these civilisations are some 6 billion years ahead of us technologically, then why don’t we see some kind of sign that they are out there, or, in fact, initiate some kind of contact? Like all paradoxes, however, there are several answers. Is it that all civilisations in the Universe eventually lead to self destruction? Is it that there are plenty of civilisations out there but are deliberately ignoring us until our civilisation reaches maturity of thought and actions? Or is it simply that we are the first? If this is the case, then we are truly the originators of life, and may be uniquely privileged to have survived for so long. In the words of Simon Conway Morris, a palaeontologist and expert on palaeobiology and evolution, “Life may be a universal principle, but we can still be alone.” A methanogen, thriving in airless conditions. This methane producing microbe needs no oxygen to survive and such anaeobic organisms were among the first life forms on planet Earth.
Parasite causes women to have more sons
A common parasite is raging a silent war in utero. A new study has discovered that women that are infected with the parasite, toxoplasma are more likely to give birth to sons, writes Clodagh O’Brien.
T
he researchers came across the sex ratio phenomenon by accident. “It was just a product of another study. We tried to collect the data confirming the effect of Toxoplasma on the length of pregnancy. During a thesis study, my PhD student Sarka Kankova found the sex ratio shift,” Dr Jaroslav Flegr at Charles University in Prague told Science Spin.
Gender link
This is the first study to link a parasite infection to the gender of a child. On average worldwide, the sex ratio is 0.51 although it can vary in different countries due to stress, age and socioeconomic status. The team found that women with Toxoplasma gave birth to more male children than women without the parasite. In infected women they found the sex ratio had increased to 0.72, which means that for every 260 boys born, only 100 girls are born. Additionally, there was more chance of a boy being born with increasing levels of antiToxoplasma antibodies in the mother’s bloodstream.
The parasite toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common parasites found in humans. It’s most common host is the cat, although it can survive in most red-blooded animals including humans. The resulting infection can affect a human’s immunological and psychological system and can have serious effects on an unborn foetus. The main source of this parasite is from eating raw or uncooked meat and ingesting food or water contaminated with soil containing cat faeces. There are two different forms of Toxoplamsa depending on the stage of infection and immune system of the host. One form is acute toxoplasmosis which is identified by the presence of tachyziotes in which the parasite is mobile in the blood and other tissues. The second type is asymptomatic when there is no evidence of the infection so the parasite is dormant. This type is a life long infection with the presence of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies.
Sex bias
In previous studies involving infected animals, the parasite caused impaired memory along with impairment in motor function and coordination. However, Toxoplasma causes the most damage to foetuses during pregnancy. Women who are infected have been found to have a high number of premature babies. Additionally, in a
The most common cause of infection is from contact with cat faeces. If a cat has been infected, it sheds the parasites with the faeces, so it’s a good idea to wash your hands after cleaning out the litter box. Although serious health problems may arise, most people are never even aware that they have become infected, but the risks of developing severe toxoplasmosis is higher in pregnant woman and people with a weak immune system. In a pregnant woman, the parasite can infect the foetus.
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study involving 94 mothers it was found that up to 84 per cent of children born had Down syndrome. Dr Flegr’s research involved studying clinical records from 1,803 infants from 1996 to 2004 in three maternity clinics in Prague. The mother’s age, concentration of antiToxoplasma antibodies, previous deliveries, abortions and the sex of the newborn were analysed. Dr Flegr believes the resulting male-biased ratio, incidence of premature birth and the link to Down syndrome in infected women could be a by-product of other activities of the parasite or as a result of the way it modulates and suppresses the immune system. The parasite is thought to interfere with the natural screening of the embryo by preventing selective abortion through a miscarriage. Dr Flegr said: “Normally, defective embryos are aborted as there is some kind of quality control in normal or uninfected women. In Toxoplasma infected women and also in older women this quality control is less stringent.” This means that foetuses that would not normally have survived are able to remain in the womb and develop along side the parasite. The infection is very resilient and can remain in the body for a person’s lifetime. “It is impossible to get rid of the infection. However, only a relatively fresh infection results in male biased sex ratio,” stated Dr Flegr. The presence of the parasite fluctuates widely from five to 90 per cent dependent on the country. “The effect on sex ratio is similar in different countries — in high frequency countries most women get their infection very early and have a low concentration of antibodies in pregnancy. A low concentration of antibodies seems to result in an unbiased or even a femalebiased sex ratio,” he stated. The researchers caution that while this study suggests that toxoplasmosis may be the cause of this increase in male births, the definitive cause and effect are unknown. Dr Flegr believes that further study is required to investigate these findings further. “We have confirmed the existence of the effect in laboratory animals. Now, we will search for the mechanism of relaxed stringency of quality control in Toxoplasma-infected pregnant mice.” Reference: “Women infected with parasite Toxoplasma have more sons”Naturwissenschaften, Vol. 94, Number 2, February, 2007; pages 122-127
SPIN
DISCOVER SENSORS LORETO COLLEGE, CRUMLIN, DUBLIN
Liam Byrne has been teaching science for the past five years and was delighted to invite Discover Sensors into his Science class. ‘Loreto College Crumlin took part in the Discover Sensors project pilot phase and I felt immediately interested because it sounded futuristic and intriguing’.
Mr. Liam Byrne, science teacher at Loreto College Crumlin, Dublin, explores the use of data-logging equipment with his students.
Discover Sensors is a project run by Discover Science & Engineering, the national integrated science and engineering awareness programme. If you are a junior certificate science teacher and wish to join the project in autumn 2007 please register on www.discoversensors.ie For more information please contact: Stephanie O’Neill at 01 607 3014 or by email at stephanie.oneill@forfas.ie
REGISTER NOW FOR AUTUMN 07
WWW.DISCOVERSENSORS.IE
The initial introduction to Discover Sensors comprised of training, both theoretical and practical, giving teachers confidence to carry out new tasks using the sensors with their students. ‘I found that the training was very well organised, providing a series of experiments to guide us, along with ideas and tips on how to make the most of the sensor equipment’. Most importantly, the Discover Sensors training demonstrates to teachers that the technology is not difficult or complicated to use. ‘Before I joined Discover Sensors I considered these hand held machines to be quite complicated, but once I experienced the training I had no problem. In fact I can safely say that Discover Sensors has opened up a whole new learning curve, not only for my students, but for me also!’ The temperature probe appears to be a great hit with Liam’s students as they made the most of the equipment within minutes of being introduced to them. ‘My students began to measure everything from body temperatures
to tap water, adding ice cubes to cups of tea – monitoring temperatures as they plummeted’. Liam believes that because the results are instantaneous, the equipment keeps students involved and interested. ‘The students look at the results they are getting, and definitely need less management as a result. As a teacher, I can now stand back and observe the groups as they challenge the boundaries of science’. More freedom to think and to consider is a key offering from Discover Sensors, giving both teachers and students more time to discuss results following experiments. ‘I would greatly encourage science teachers to embrace Discover Sensors. Sensors and probes have the ability to open up a whole new world of investigation, which ties in brilliantly to the new Junior Certificate syllabus’. Following an experiment confirming that sea water conducts electricity better than tap water, Liam’s students may now consider measuring the voltage of an electric eel in sea water – now that would be interesting!
— Mr. Liam Bryne, science teacher at Loreto College, Crumlin, Dublin.
I W
E S L S E R
Marie-Catherine Mousseau reports that radio communications have developed to such an extent that we need to take care not to run out of spectrum.
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hey are everywhere. In telecommunications, broadcasting and public mobile services, aviation, shipping and defence services, these invisible entities, commonly referred to as radio waves, are now an essential part of our lives. And yet some 100 years ago they were almost unknown and therefore completely unused. The first wireless communication dates back to 1897, when Guglielmo Marconi — an Italian engineer with an Irish mother — succeeded in sending wireless telegraphic signals between the Italian coast and a boat. Mind you it was nothing fancy, just a plain simple message in Morse code. But this was a huge step forward if you think that previously the only way we had to communicate over long distances without cables was via semaphore, mirrors or smoke signals. From that first step things evolved at a prodigious speed …
9–30 kHz Submarine communication, wireless heart rate monitors
30–300 kHz Navigation, time signals, AM longwave broadcasting
300–3000 kHz Shortwave broadcasts and amateur radio
So, where are we now and where are we going? This was the topic of an international conference held in UCD — a workshop that brought together OECD and ComReg representatives (ComReg being the national Commission for Communications Regulation), along with economists and scientists, to talk about “Flexible Spectrum Use”. The radio spectrum refers to radio waves — that is a range of electromagnetic waves characterised by their frequencies (number of oscillations per second). And the interesting thing about them is that signals with different frequencies can be separated to constitute different channels of communication (see box). However, these need to be used wisely.
Current rigidity
A main concern is that we are using more and more of the spectrum. In addition to the traditional ‘public’ usage such as broadcasting and defence, the spectrum is now positively inundated by wireless and mobile phone providers promoting wireless data communication. But the spectrum is like water. It is always
To understand the full extent of the debate, you have to understand how wireless communications work. The basic principle is quite straightforward: first of all, the information relies on electricity; the signal is then transformed and transported via electromagnetic radiation, the famous radio waves, before it is received and transformed back to electricity. Electromagnetic waves are characterised by their frequency (number of oscillations or cycles per second, with 1 cycle per second = 1Hz, 1000 cycles=1KHz, 1 million cycles=1MHz, 1 billion cycles = 1GHz). The radiofrequency spectrum is arbitrarily divided into a number of wavebands, from very low frequencies (long wavelengths) to ultra-high and microwave frequencies (short wavelengths). Because these frequencies can be separated, they are capable of transferring signals simultaneously and in the same space. As the technology evolves, we are getting better at producing and separating frequencies, so we’re able to conduct more information on the same wavebands (see Digital dividend) and thus make better use of the spectrum.
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30–300 MHz AM (Medium-wave) broadcasts
300–3000 MHz Television broadcasts, mobile phones, wireless LAN
3–30 GHz Microwave devices, 3G mobile phones, radars
30–300 GHz Radio astronomy
Above 300 GHz Night vision
there, but it is also limited (even though continuous). So, in regard to the growing number of applications, we need to use it more and more efficiently. According to Dr Linda Doyle, Research Leader at the Centre for Telecommunications Value Chain Driven Research, Trinity College Dublin, this is far from being the case. “Ninety per cent of the time, blocks are not used,” she points out. In fact there is an artificial scarcity; because it is linked to the available technology, everybody is fighting for the same frequencies. Obviously much effort has already been expended in regulating spectrum use. Sections of the spectrum have been allocated by international agreement for use by telegraph, telephonic speech, and radio and television broadcasting. But the core of the debate was that regulations alone may not be the ultimate solution. Mobile phone service providers are big purchasers of spectrum, and they represent one of the potential pitfalls facing regulators. As Dr Doyle explains, mobile operators spent billions on securing an allocation for their 3G licence, but it was years before they were able to use it. Robert Mourik, Head of Regulatory Affairs, O2 Ireland agrees that the problem arises because of the current rigidity of spectrum use. SPIN
A look into the future of broadcasting, May 1926 cover of Radio News, and above, David Asbury, from Philadelphia, circa 1922, one of the radio hams who led the way onto the airways.
The digital dividend
Because, “spectrum is tied to a specific technology, and because of the multiplicity of technologies and services, there are many costs and risks involved in the decisions we make,” Robert Mourik says.
The Smart Radio
So obviously what we need is more flexibility. Both Robert Mourik and Linda Doyle are convinced that technology may be part of the answer. They’re not the only ones to think that way. “The radio frequency landscape is a multidimensional maze,” says Dr Paul Kolodzy, former director of the Spectrum Policy Task Force at the Federal Communications Commission, US. “What we need is a technology that enables us to navigate in this very complex environment.” The solution may just be around the corner. With her team in TCD, Dr Doyle is working on a technology that could change the face of wireless communications. It
is called “reconfigurable radio” and according to her, it has the potential of “redefining the communication of the future.” The reconfigurable radio she is working on would be a smart radio, or ‘cognitive radio’, that can change itself to adapt to its environment like a chameleon. These devices would be “frequency agile”. She explains: “they are able to think and develop an understanding of the environment they find themselves in. If the signal is bad at these frequencies, they will try to change some characteristics to improve the situation.” In other words there is a cognitive part in the device which decides what’s best to do and how to do it. What’s more it can learn from its errors. “There are different ways that they can learn,” Dr Doyle explains. “We’re more interested in the whole infrastructure, but you can put in whatever kind of algorithm you like, such as a genetic network algorithm for instance.” “We think that’s the way communications are going”, she concludes.
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The smart radio technology may not be here yet, but other technologies also designed for more efficient spectrum use are already spreading. Digital TV is one of them. As Tom Butler, Public Affairs Manager at ComReg, points out, “in 10 years time all TV will go digital in Europe.” In fact, the target date for all Europe is 2012. Digital broadcasting is due to take over because the digital technology has many advantages compared to standard analogue broadcast. Why is that? Because the information is coded differently on the spectrum, digital TV works on much higher frequencies. As explained by Tim Butler, “more information passes on smaller strips of bandwidths.” This means that all frequencies formerly used for analogue TV will be made available for other uses (ex broadband, WiFi….) — a benefit which is referred to as “the digital dividend.”
Privileged Ireland
Thus, technology advances might unblock the situation and overcome the apparent spectrum scarcity. This might actually be even truer for Ireland, which benefits from a particularly innovation friendly environment. As pointed out by Tom Butler, the country makes the most of vacant spectrum for research purposes.
“Ireland is the first country to give unrestricted test licences”, he says. “They are some requirements but a lot of freedom to test in real conditions,” Linda Doyle confirms. Talking about their software radio experimentation licences, she says: “it’s a very open type of licence; we can do what we want with it, as opposed to being licenced for specific tests only.” Currently the research team is conducting its research using 50MHz of RF spectrum – with 25MHz centred at 2.08GHz and another 25MHz centred at 2.35GHz. And the cost of the year-long licence under ComReg’s Wireless Test Licence scheme is no more than €200. You might think that if spectrum use was completely free, it would be even more innovation friendly. In fact to a certain extent you would be right. The WiFi technology - the technology you use for wireless connection in the famous hot spots found in a numbers of cafes, airports, etc.– uses a particular set of frequencies that are not licensed. Being able to freely use unlicensed spectrum wouldn’t work for all frequencies and applications because it means accepting a certain level of interferences; but according to Linda Doyle, for WiFi, “it works very well,” and “a lot of innovation has sprung from there.” So what factors explain Ireland’s privileged position compared to other EU countries? Firstly, the country is well served by efficient regulators. According to an OCCD spokesman, “ComReg is very good with a long view, very proactive.” But beyond that, there is Ireland’s privileged situation as a country. Because Ireland has no direct neighbours, there is much less potential for interference compared to most other EU countries. Also there are less people, which means more vacant spectrum so more flexibility in spectrum use and more potential for research. Finally, Ireland is not part of NATO, unlike countries such as France or Germany where military communications take up significant parts of the spectrum. Here again, this
means more vacant spectrum available for innovative purposes.
Bringing together politics, economics and science
The international community might already be aware that spectrum wise Ireland is worth a closer look. Or, if not, they will get the opportunity to look closer in the very near future. As pointed out by Linda Doyle, a major conference in the area took place in Dublin in April 2007– IEEE DySPAN 2007. The first and only conference of that kind took place in 2005 in the US. She commented that this was a very interesting conference, as it brought together policy makers, economics, engineers and scientists. So are we getting close to a general consensus favouring flexibility via a more efficient and dynamic spectrum use? Maybe not quite yet. The question still remains as to “how we use this dynamic spectrum,” in an economic and regulatory sense. Linda Doyle is convinced that the smart radio technology would combine perfectly with a “fluid market-based spectrum assignment” — which basically means letting the market (i.e. spectrumuser companies) decide instead of regulators – a strategy that, along with several other speakers, she is encouraging. Because regulators are slow, and, “market players know better than administrations about
3G
The term used to describe the third generation of wireless communication technology. 3G offers a big increase in transmission speeds, up from 9.5k to 2M bit/sec. The 3G network is rapidly expanding to cover all parts of Ireland, with lots of promotion based on additional downloading capacity of music and TV highlights.
business cases”….“we need an automated trading floor,” she says, “a fluid system whereby people can buy and change frequency units over time.” However, not everybody is pro a full market-based solution. The ardent defenders of EU harmonisation are not that comfortable with the idea of something as critical as national and international communications left uncontrolled, with the door open to anything that might spring from fierce competition. Ruprecht Niepold, Head of Radio Spectrum Policy Unit, European Commission, warns that there can’t be one single approach. “A lot of wireless applications can share bandwidths with other users; and where there is sharing, the access is virtually unlimited, therefore trading does not make any sense.” He adds: “Also, there are public services like security where public bodies need to be able to allocate themselves specific frequencies.” Nevertheless, others are more optomistic. “Overall it looks that even though participants do not all share the same view, we’re all going in the same direction,” says Dr Benoist Deschamps, from the Agence Nationale des Fréquences, France. The smart radio project and the digital dividend achievement both provide a good illustration of what could be done in bringing technology together with thoughtful political and economic considerations. Benoist Deschamps still warns that the widespread use of digital TV may result in people wanting more — more interactivity, more options …. But isn’t that always the way it goes; advances in technology give more scope for further advances in an endless spiral. A process which might also mean that running out of radio spectrum may never become a reality. Marie-Catherine Mousseau did a PhD in neuroscience at Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris, and has a MSc in Science Communications from DCU/ Queen’s.
COLOUR
All you ever wanted to know about colour — test your sight, and find out why yellow was banned in Ireland — beautifully illustrated paperback, €15 retail, or Spin subscribers can order from us direct at a special price of €12 euro, post included. Order, with cheque, to: Science Spin, 5 Serpentine Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
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LIFE IN THE LAB
Bio-engineering NUI Galway PhD student Michael Keeney, explains how his work in the field of tissue engineering may have applications in bone regeneration.
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he aim of tissue engineering is to persuade the body to heal itself. This is achieved by providing supporting structures on which different types of repair tissues can grow. My project involves designing biomaterial scaffolds for bone regeneration. I fabricate scaffolds and apply in vitro laboratory testing to determine what sort of conditions are needed to maximise cell infiltration. We use bone development in real life as a model, and try to mimic this in our design of biomaterial scaffolds. I am based in the biomaterials lab at the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science (NCBES) and work with a group of over 20 researchers under the supervision of Prof Abhay Pandit of the NCBES and the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering. The expertise available when working with a large group of researchers is really valuable. For example, we use collagen in our scaffolds and I was trained in the technique to isolate collagen from bovine tendon by another researcher in the group. The atmosphere in the lab is very social and this keeps you going at times when the project presents challenges. There are peaks and troughs; times when everything is going well and times when you think you are getting nowhere. I spend about 50 per cent of my time in the lab optimising techniques to improve the properties of the scaffold. For example, growth of blood vessels is essential for bone regeneration, and we add various growth factors to induce vascularisation. A lot of time is spent researching past work; reading publications to become familiar with what others have done in the area. The project builds on the work of others
Michael Keeney is based at the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science. and progresses this previous work by finding areas of novel research. To fabricate the scaffolds we combine collagen and calcium phosphate in a chemical interaction and compress the scaffold into a mould containing a micro-network of tubing. When the scaffold is removed with the inverted structure, it is freeze dried to remove any water. Then it is category tested for chemical composition and tested for cellular infiltration and response. We use human osteosarcoma cells, which are a standard osteoblast cell line. I will continue to test different growth factors to promote angiogenesis (growth of blood vessels). Ultimately the project has applications for bone regeneration, for example in osteoarthritis or in the case of damage following trauma sustained in an accident.
A bonus of working in a progressive research group at the NCBES is the opportunity to travel to international conferences. Last year I travelled to Nantes, where I won the Best Poster Award at the European Society for Biomaterials Meeting. I have also presented at a conference at Madeira, Portugal and hope to go to conferences in London and Switzerland this year. My PhD is funded by IRCSET, and the project is part funded by Enterprise Ireland and a grant from DEBRA Ireland. DEBRA Ireland supports research into the rare skin disorder, Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a genetic disorder that causes skin layers and body linings to separate and blister at the slightest touch. As well as the applications in bone regeneration, the project will also contribute to ongoing research at the NCBES to develop a tissue engineered treatment for EB.
I WAS always interested in construction and design, and studied physics, construction and technical graphics for the Leaving Cert. I had 13 engineering courses down in my CAO application so I was sure that engineering was the way I wanted to go. However, I didn’t know what type of engineering to choose so went to NUI Galway as they offered a first year undenominated course, and being from Donegal Town it was the best option in terms of location. This was fortuitous as Galway was the only place at that time offering Biomedical Engineering and this turned out to be the area I enjoyed most. I did my 3rd year work experience at Abbott, working on drug eluting stents and I went back to Abbott for my final year project. This gave me valuable experience in the lab and I was very happy to get the opportunity to go on to a PhD in tissue engineering.
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SPIN
Charting Ireland’s rocks Field geologists were pioneers in mapping the rocks of Ireland’s landscape. Enda Gallagher describes how the charts they made were so good that they are still in use today.
M
aps are a form of illustration and illustrations often communicate a complex message more effectively than words. This is particularly true of geology, where maps are better than words in showing us the distribution of rocks. But where did geological maps come from originally? What kinds of people researched them and how did they do it?
Responding to demand
As far back as 1786 saw one of the first public calls for a geological map of Ireland, the rationale being that it would assist in identifying mineral resources. The first geological maps produced in Ireland, and indeed predating a map produced by William Smith for England and Wales,
generally considered to have been the ground-breaker for geological maps, date back to around 1800. The main problem facing these early surveyors was that they did not have ready made maps on which to record their observations. Field geologists were already at work before the decision was taken in 1824 to establish the Ordnance Survey of Ireland. Once established, the survey progressed rapidly, and by 1846 the entire country had been mapped in amazing detail, 1:10,650, six inches to ever mile on the ground. In 1845 the Geological Survey of Ireland was formed, and these lavishly scaled maps meant that every detail and rock outcrop could be charted. Apart from topographical detail, the maps themselves were big, making them ideal for marking up observations. The Geological Survey’s brief was to map the entire country, a process that started in Co Wexford, and finished 42 years later in Co Donegal.
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While the six inch scale was useful in the field, it was realised that publishing geological sheets to the same scale was too mammoth a task, and besides it was hardly necessary. So, from the 1850s onwards the geological sheets were published at the newer OS one inch scale. The resulting one-inch series (1:63,360) finally numbered 205 sheets. The sheets were accompanied by descriptive memoirs, and by 1890 the one-inch maps provided coverage of the whole island.
How was it done?
During the 42 years of this mapping the field geologist (always male) was despatched to an area with two copies of the six-inch and two of the one-inch (OS sheets). One of the six-inch sheets was a working sheet onto which all exposures of rock had to be marked in pencil during the day’s fieldwork. In the evening his job included the tracing of all notes and illustration in Indian ink on a fair copy. Also he had to find time during evenings or SPIN
A section from one of the hand coloured 1 inch Geological Survey maps, sheet 168, covering Waterford. As reproduced here, the line above represents one mile. wet days to duplicate his work on the second sheet. He then had to transfer his work to each of the two one-inch sheets. When a one-inch sheet was complete it had to be sent off to HQ in London for approval. Then followed a series of returns until all parties were happy that all details were included. The approved sheets were sent on to England to the colourists. All maps were individually hand-coloured, and the colouring was done in one place to ensure a high level of consistency.
Life in the field
When the field geologists ventured out into the landscape, what were conditions like at the time? In many areas there were tracks rather than roads, and railways were new. At times it must have been a lonely existence, among strangers, and far away from home. We can’t paint a vivid picture of their lives without some degree of guesswork. Yet there are some interesting insights in records of the day. We can discern for instance that the men were well educated and often from England. It seems certain that some of them felt that the people amongst whom they had to move and live were peasants and socially far beneath them. One of the first written descriptions of life as a field geologist is contained in a letter, written by a gent named Smyth in 1845. Writing to his superior, Smyth mentions two of his colleagues — a “Welsh Squire” who was “in misery in Ireland” and “the captain who sports a ferocious pair of egg-brown moustaches.” From the records we know that the surveyors travelled on foot for most of the day, and rented lodgings nearby by night. In 1847 Wicklow was the main area of interest and parts of the county proved to be quite remote. One of the officers involved in the survey there was Willson who, it seems, was unable to find lodgings for the area around Kings River and Table Mountain. So, he sought and was granted permission
to hire a horse and cart by day to get him to these areas in a timely fashion. However, a later record from 1856 indicates a low budget for such incrementals: “... and always the staff were wasting long hours tramping between their lodgings and their ground because there was never available sufficient money to allow for the regular hire of cars and horses.” The records also reveal how the weather, the seasons and other natural conditions had an influence on the mapping programme. In 1847 we find mention of the famine which was obviously creating problems. In March of that year officers were given a day’s leave in recognition of the ”great tragedy unfolding“. Bad weather in 1852 rendered impossible surveying for two full months. In 1854 there are reports of officers meeting delays with “extensive spreads of peat and impenetrable thickets of furze.” In 1856 another bad summer was recorded having particularly adverse effects on mapping. In the face of all these difficulties, the surveyors persisted, moving across the countryside until in 1887 the final county to be mapped, Donegal, was completed. The last bit was around Ramelton and surveying was delayed until after the harvest because it was easier to gain access to the area then.
Who were the Field Geologists?
Many of the field geologists were studious in all aspects of natural history and produced engaging and important books, articles and studies on all kinds of topics including archaeology, bats, fish, botany, meteorology and zoology. Many of them were also accomplished artists and original sheets are often decorated with all kinds of illustrations. Some of the sketches are relevant, such as details of landscape, but others, such as a fair day scene or a drawing of a dog chasing a hare, are just items that caught the artistic eye. Perhaps irrelevant then, but these quick sketches are of great interest to us now. Sketches illustrating important points in geology were often worked up into drawings and made into woodblocks for printing. This was quite an elaborate process, requiring a great deal of skill and artistic talent. The first step was to draw the image
Drawn onto the block but never engraved. For the image to appear the right way around in print, the drawing had to be a mirror image. The wood grain of the uncut block can be made out in the background. onto a fine grained block of wood, and then an engraver would cut around the lines to make them stand out in relief. Lines could be solid, or cross hatched and stippled to give various shades of grey, and the end result was similar to a rubber stamper, but much finer in detail. By inking the surface, the image could be printed, and at at the time this was how books were illustrated. Thus, many of the sketches made by the surveyors ended up as illustrations in the memoirs, printed to accompany the maps. Apart from exercising their artistic talents, the field geologists managed to find time to indulge other passions such as fishing and shooting. Indeed on occasion, complaints were relayed to superiors by gamekeepers about members of the mapping team. One of the mappers, a man named Wilkinson, in his autobiography tells us that his most noteworthy day’s shooting resulted in 125 successful shots at game and fowl in the bogs of Co. Mayo! A further successful day for him, this time with a rod
instead of a gun, resulted in him landing 102 salmon and grilse in and around Lough Melvin in Leitrim and Fermanagh!
Lasting impressions
Perhaps the most amazing thing about these men is that the maps they produced in the second half of the nineteenth century are still in constant use today by the geological survey. Their value remains undiminished with the passing of years, and now that we have digital technology, these old maps have been given a new lease of life. Enda Gallagher is Marketing Executive at the Geological Survey of Ireland. Research and quotes from: North from the Hook, G. Herries Davies, GSI, 1995, and Illustrating Irish Geology exhibition 2000, organised by Matthew Parkes, Petra Coffey, abd Elaine Roche, Cartography Section GSI.
WRITTEN IN
STONE
Written In Stone by Pádhraig Kennan.
Originally produced as a series of television programmes, Pádhraig Kennan’s explanation of how Ireland was formed is available on DVD. The entire series of TV programmes is all on one disk Programme 1 –introduces rock types and geological time. It illustrates how rocks can be dated and how ancient fold mountains developed. Programme 2 – this highlights deformation and has good images of folds and faults and the plate tectonic setting in Ireland. It links modern day earthquake examples to what it would have been like in Ireland when it was a destructive plate margin. Programme 3 - introduces volcanic and intrusive activity in Ireland.
In these programmes Pádhraig Kennan brings us on a tour of Ireland’s rocks. He explains how these features formed, and, as he keeps reminding us, the history of Ireland did not start with the arrival of humans. The entire DVD runs for 150 minutes, but the individual programmes can be viewed one by one. A simplified geology map of Ireland and guidance notes for schools linked to the DVD/video can Programme 4 - takes a journey through time and demonstrates how the rocks relate to continental drift and how the palaeo-latitiude and palaeo-climate influence the rock formation. Programme 5 - shows how water has influenced the landscape and focuses on the glacial impact on the rocks. Programme 6 - looks at the resources available in Ireland
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be downloaded from the GSI website — www.gsi.ie The DVD and booklet are available for €32 including post and packing, from GSI. Order from Enda Gallagher, Marketing, GSI, Beggar’s Bush, Dublin 4. Email: enda.gallagher@gsi.ie Web site: www.gsi.ie
EducaTIOnal
challEngE
Mark Heaton and Norman McMillan look at how education in science, engineering and technology needs to match our long-term objectives.
H
aving successfully attracted the multinationals to Ireland in national schools, to get students involved in developing it is interesting to note that so many have created Irish practical skills. firsts, such as nicotine patches, Viagra, and Cardizem. Minister Micheál. Martin T.D. in November 2006 highlighted This in turn has prompted policy makers to conclude that the impressive success achieved with the Science Clubs and Ireland should strive to compete as a knowledge-based pointed to the need for these kind of initiatives to carry economy. It is assumed that better education and higher through to second level. skills will allow Ireland to abandon the low-cost model, used Few doubt such developments are highly beneficial, but initially by the IDA ‘job creator’ to attract industry from these at second level really need to be backed up by technician abroad. support rather than further pressuring teachers to take on Closer examination reveals two fundamental flaws in these another burden. assumptions. The first serious error is to think Another notable motivational initiative that low-wage countries are also low in science. was the Mathematics Week and the Hamilton The assumption Not so. Bangalore, to take just one example, is walk that followed on from the 2005 Science now home to some 2,000 information technology that low-wage Week. As an aside here, schools perhaps companies. The second mistake is to think that require some indemnity against the growing economies are we have the best education in the world. We safety lobby when taking students out on don’t. Junior and Leaving Certificate results field trips. also low in have highlighted a continuing strategic problem Despite achieving some truly outstanding for science education in Ireland. The present science is simply results in the European Young Scientist trend is not only for lower standards of science competition, Ireland, when measured wrong. results, but also for less students taking science against international standards, still remains at Leaving Certificate level. While the Junior substandard in science education. Thus, science results and entry level is holding, there nevertheless despite the unprecedented governmental disbursement of remains a problem. Only a 6 percent of the overall 80 percent €2.6 billion up to 2006 through the Science Foundation transmission to Leaving Certificate takes physics. Perhaps Ireland (SFI), the Programme for Research in Third Level more worryingly, 90 percent of all points in the Leaving today Institutions (PRTLI), and the Irish Research Council for come from the arts subjects against only 70 percent from Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET), the country’s numerate subjects. technological future is far from secure. This has consequences at third level where Institutes of Technology are being pressured to take students with SuccESSES foundation level mathematics. A study of Leaving results There have been some notable successes, such as the linking against eventual final course performance in Carlow by one of the Higher Education Authority and IDA strategies in 2002, of the authors as long ago as the early 1980s, found that while which in turn made it possible to aim for better integration overall Leaving Certificate performance and the final result in promoting expansion. The IDA has been bolstering new achieved in both technician and technology courses were technology industries, and, in one notable case, the recent uncorrelated, the results obtained in Leaving mathematics €30M funding for Bell Labs is both as significant for Ireland as taken on its own, predicted performance levels in all these it is for securing Europe’s position as a major regional player third level courses. This result applied across the board from in the field of information technology. business, through science and on to engineering. There are, however, some problems, not least being that So many school pupils are taking the easy option of pass SFI and Enterprise Ireland are working to different agendas. level mathematics that problems are likely to arise with third In research, there is also a danger that specialities relevant to level courses. new technologies, may become sidetracked, as SFI focuses funding on a few dominant areas, principally biotech, and IT. PRIORITIES This focusing is not universally popular within the research Ireland spends less on education than Turkey. Indeed, only community. Furthermore, the IRCSET programme, although one EU country, Slovenia, at number 30, spends less. it does not share this narrow focus, had only a funding success This is not to say that there have been no promising rate of 15 percent. As a result, formerly competitive physics initiatives, such as the compulsory experimental modules departments have experienced a severe funding imbalance,
In research, there is also a danger that specialities relevant to new technologies, may become sidetracked, as SFI focuses funding on a few dominant areas, principally biotech, and IT SCIENCE SPIN Issue 22 Page 23
SPIN
Academic freedom is becoming a distant memory has to be admitted that local industries have been painfully leaving essential areas of research short of support. Professor slow to become involved in research, but this is only part of Martin Henry of DCU, and chairman of the Institute of the problem. The new policies being promoted by SFI and Physics in Ireland, has made some telling comments on this Enterprise Ireland make the idea that institutes of technology topic recently. He believes that the IRCSET success rate would are centres of regional development seem old fashioned. be a lot higher if SFI had a broader remit. There is a need to consider priorities in how we are going The situation in physics for our immediate neighbour is about supporting research, a point accepted by Senator John also a cause of concern. Over the past decade, 19 UK physics Minihan, who chairs an all-party group, Friends of Science. departments, which, to their credit, have trained some 4,000 In his view, science has to become a priority within the wider Irish postgraduate students, have closed. In Ireland, physics political debate. departments are struggling to keep up numbers In view of these changing priorities, and quality. It has to professional bodies are reviewing their modus Two factors are not helping to resolve these The Institute of Physics in Ireland is for problems. Career guidance is not responding be admitted operandi. example taking a proactive approach in education to strategic requirements, and a laissez-faire to counter a fall in the numbers taking physics marketing approach is being applied to a that local in both second and third level. Advantages are proliferation of courses in third level education. industries seen in broadening the curriculum, and taking Physics is not the only casualty, and engineering education away from traditional, and what some schools are also increasingly under threat. As have been see as restrictive, disciplines. Critics indeed physics becomes combined with other subjects, it becomes seen as less of a subject in its own right. painfully slow suggest that such views are merely defensive political positions of vested interests, rather than While noting that there is a need to maintain to become facts established by good solid research. The a high standard in traditional departments, involved in game is afoot, with government agencies and such as physics, it is important to realise that many of the new developments will come from research, but professional institutes perhaps beginning to lock horns over some of these issues. multidisciplinary centres, such as those at TCD, this is only Queen’s and DCU. These multidisciplinary centres are already part of the FAST TRACK helping Ireland compete internationally at a Aiming to fast track to early professional success research level. For example, Professor MacCraith’s problem is a definite government objective. Such a policy team at DCU is leading the world in the use of relies, as in the UK, on promotion of dedicated new waveguide technologies with detector arrays specialisation. This over-specialisation can in integrated sensors. become a handicap in dealing with emerging interdisciplinary technologies, such as nanotechnology. While students should not be constrained by a narrow SETTING THE AGENDA approach, it is unfortunate that many of those who teach The progressive privatisation of third level education is in the areas of science, engineering and technology are forcing researchers to follow the requirements of the large not in tune with a flexible multidisciplinary approach. multinationals. Those working in the education sector should Many of these teachers have a background in the trades, not underestimate this trend. Sacred establishment cows are they have been trained to take a narrow approach, so it is being sacrificed on the altar of bold progress; radical change is understandable that they have a difficulty in adapting to the order of the day. A serious issue is that academic research different requirements. is losing the advantages that once made it strong. Adaptability has become one of the essential requirements, Increasingly, academics are being told what can, and and many of those trained to meet the cannot be published, so that institutes can pursue comparatively low-level requirements of the commercialisation of patents and develop spinoff companies. Academic freedom is becoming a Teachers with computer industry of the 90s, now urgently retraining so that they can apply their skills distant memory. a background need in other areas. As yet there are few retraining Up to now, the institutes of technology have in the trades courses to help such graduates acquire new made good progress in developing their own skills, yet many new technologies require highdistinctive postgraduate programmes, but faced have been level computer design expertise. This is seen by with a limited set of priorities, many courses the example of the computer graphics games could become a luxury which they can ill afford trained to company, HAVOC, which failed in an attempt to to maintain. Such groups as Síle ni Chormac’s take a narrow recruit Irish graduates. Quantum Optics Group at Cork Institute of This type of weakness has been recognised at TCD, Technology, and David Dowling’s Bioremediation approach where advanced online computer and mathematics Group at the Institute of Technology Carlow, training courses were established in 2006. have secured SFI funding, but life in the slower Perhaps, third level and FÁS courses could also do more research lanes is going to become a lot harder and this has a in this regard. Software design skills, linked to professional bearing on their role in assisting industry. skills in civil/mechanical/electronic/optical/management/ In spite of considerable efforts by industrial liaison engineering might be what is needed rather than just IT departments, the role of assisting industry has not been a skills. great success, and the number of linkages remains low. It
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The current policy of cherry-picking and backing winners is seriously flawed. THREAT
that serious errors of judgement could be made which would lead to a catastrophic failure in the system. The expectations Courses being run at the institutes of technology are under a are high, but the number of options are low. New emerging double threat. Apart from increasing duplication of their courses technologies like nano and biotechnology are being relied by the universities, their course content has had to be adapted to upon to deliver significant returns. This is not the first time address retention issues. There are moves to include more design that big investments have been made in the hope of getting and technology components, relevant business elements and so a return. The Programmes of Advanced Technology (PATs) forth. Courses that do not meet the challenge will disappear and have delivered limited results, and so far Irish academia has indeed many old established programmes are under increasing not been notable for spawning industrial spin-offs. pressures as new more competitive technology courses On the positive side, Ireland is economically a begin to appear. Even such programmes as those run Excluding young country with the youngest workforce in the by the Cork Applied Physics and Instrumentation EU. It does not have the benefit of decades of heavy Department, that so clearly address the strategic half the investment in education, science, engineering and demands especially of the Munster Region with its population technology, but neither does it have the inertia that concentration of manufacturing, have had to give serious consideration to the design of their course is not the such an established system produces. Donal O’Malley’s push for free education programmes in the face of falling standards at intake. best way forty years ago and his establishment of Regional Colleges provides a good national model to compete Technical NEW COURSES of successful educational/state reform. Today, new At DIT a Nanotech MSc is planned, while at the with China, initiatives are needed that are just as farsighted to Institute of Technology Carlow an optoelectronics help the next generation. A serious capital investment where course started in 1986 may be used as a platform certainly has to be made and more policies exercised for a flexible distance education MEng due to begin women have in schools, colleges and universities so that real in 2008. This course is being aimed at working returns can be seen. The population of no such long-term engineers and scientists. the country is increasing at a rate of 2,000 every two The need is not just for new courses, but also for reservations weeks, (approx the population of a large secondary innovation in delivery, and they need students. The school). Ad hoc policies are thus never going to give OECD has reported on the low level of computer about Ireland the competitive edge it needs in the future use in schools, while commenting on the failure of global market. embracing technical courses to attract enough students. It seems inevitable that science, engineering and Mr B Butler, Director of ICT Ireland has suggested science, technology policy will become ever more centralised, that core science subjects should become compulsory, given this reality, government decision-making engineering but and courses should be made attractive to both sexes. processes will certainly need to be streamlined. Certainly excluding half the population is not the and The current policy of cherry-picking and backing best way to compete with China, where women winners is seriously flawed. Worshipping the have no such reservations about embracing science, technology acomplished fact is always a safe bureaucratic option, engineering and technology as a career. as a career but it does not address some of the fundamental issues in underlying success in science, engineering and technology. Creativity, which is the real basis INDEPENDENCE for success, needs to be given an environment where it can The institutes of technology are becoming increasingly gain in confidence and thus produce results. Education has independent, and some, such as Waterford, Galway, and Cork carried Ireland internationally to the forefront and it remains want to jump ship, emulating the transformation of Dublin the only thing that can really sustain the national success. NIHE to DCU. The institutes have to work within proscribed Ireland is simply not producing enough technical people and and finite resources, so their options in development are is particularly below par in engineering, as evidenced most limited. Some, such as those in Cork and Galway could graphically by the growing difficulties in Intel with regards to consider merging with the universities, and thus find a way out manpower. of what is seen by some as a cul-de-sac. Ireland has done extremely well up to now, but it would be One of the serious problems for the institutes is student a mistake to assume that we are doing everything right. Some retention. The universities are achieving larger induction imaginative reforms are needed otherwise it will be difficult numbers by the simple artifice of accepting lower standards, for Ireland to sustain its high-wire act. but the institutes cannot do this and thus suffer in a dog-eatdog situation.
BACKING WINNERS
Throughout the world the banner of unified research is being hoisted by more and more State organisations, and in Ireland, EI, SFI and the HEA are effectively driving an R&D agenda through the control of funds. While these organisations freedom from close democratic scrutiny makes it possible to implement actions by diktat, there is always the possibility
Dr Norman McMillan is a Senior Lecturer at Carlow Institute of Technology, and editor of Prometheus’s Fire, a history of scientific and technological education in Ireland. Dr Mark E Heaton, Imperial College London, is a prominent researcher in nanotechnology with the Optical and Semiconductor Devices Group, and was on the organising committee of last year’s Opto Ireland conference.
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Weedy Sea Dragon, Waterfall Bay, Tasmania. Left: John Dory fish photographed off Inisheer, Aran Islands.
Cold waters — emerald seas Diving in temperate waters John Collins THE temperate seas are not just extensive, they are packed with life. John Collins, when not running his pharmacy shop in Kinsale, spends his time diving into these seas, capturing an amazing diversity of images with his camera. John, who describing himself as a passionate photographer from his early teens, learned how to suba dive as a student at Trinity College Dublin, and from then on he was hooked. Since the 1980s he had been diving into seas around the world, and while everyone else seems to have headed off for the tropics, John has focused his attention on the temperate seas. The relatively cool waters, like those off the Irish coast, are much richer in life than most of us realise. In fact we Irish are only beginning to rediscover the sea. John recalls how he was so amazed by his first experience of opening his eyes underwater that he embarked on a lifelong journey that eventually led him into the chilly Pacific, the seas off Africa, Tasmania, and the blue-green Atlantic off Irish islands. SCIENCE SPIN Issue 22 Page 26
SPIN
Great White Shark, Dyer Island , South Africa
John is a skilled and creative photographer, and from all these diving trips he has amassed a wonderful record in colourful images, more than 140 of which appear in this book. It’s a handsome production, one of the best illustrated books to be published last year, and it is good to see that very few of the big international houses came up with anything matching the style and content of this completely
Irish production. Maybe there is a lesson here, for it seems to me that many of the big international publishers have lost the plot, at least in terms of production. True, they command the world market, they have the cash to pay generous advances, and they churn out a mind boggling list of titles, but they rarely come up to this high standard in presenting the work of their authors. By contrast, this book
John Collins getting ready for another dive. Southern Jewel anemones, Tasmania.
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from Cork University Press, under the banner Atrium, shows how smaller operators could become the smart mammals snapping at the tails of the big old dinousaurs in publishing. Naturally, no one can create a great book out of nothing, and John Collins’ arrival coincides with a rising interest in the temperate seas, so readers will want to buy this book. However, a lot of the credit must go to John Foley, the designer, for making the best use of the material, and to the publishers for having the good sense not to opt for a standard cut-price print package from abroad. Tom Kennedy Cold waters — emerald seas Diving in temperate waters John Collins Cork University Press, 2006. 200pp hardback. €29.95.
Compass Jellyfish with juvenile Whiting, from St Finian’s Bay, Co Kerry
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Above; Pearl Chain jellyfish photographed in St Finian’s Bay, Co Kerry. Left; Giant Kelp from Fortescue Bay, Tasmania. Right: Tompot Blenny, Inishmean. Aran Islands
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Ahead in
CHANGE
A clean environment by the west coast of Europe, and a history of monitoring the atmosphere made Galway a natural choice to establish an institute to monitor change. Tom Kennedy reports that by providing researchers with a common platform, the Environmental Change Institute is helping us to prepare for a cleaner, more energy efficient future.
T
hese days climatic change is in the news, but the world we live in has never been static. Within the last ten thousand years Ireland has been covered by ice, and it had a long warm period, before returning to the cool Atlantic dampness that caused so much of the landscape to be blanketed in peat. The discovery that climate is far from static comes to many as a surprise, but the realisation that our own activities might now be precipitating, or indeed accelerating these changes, makes it important for us to know a great deal more about the processes involved. Climate change has an enormous impact on how we live, and as the recently published forecasts predict, we can expect heavier rain and storms in the North West of Ireland, and the South East is likely to suffer from drought.
Left: Prof Gerry Jennings at the Environmental Change Institute, and, above, a fine mist along the slopes of Croagh Patrick.
“We are becoming increasingly confident in these predictions,” said Professor Gerry Jennings from the Environmental Change Institute at NUI Galway, and in part this confidence stems from a history of observing the atmosphere as it should be in environmentally pristine conditions. The observations made from the most westerly facilities in Europe provide the background against which changes in other more populated and industralised areas can be measured. For the past 50 years, since Dr O’Connor from UCD moved west to be beside the Atlantic, scientists at Mace Head, near Carna, have been keeping watch on the atmosphere. Under the Department of Physics at NUI Galway the Mace Head station became one of the five sites around the world to monitor chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases, and it is now one of the designated points for
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collection of samples for measurement of global fossil fuel emissions. Professor Jennings, who headed up the Atmosphere Research Group, said that the scientists at Mace Head were far from being alone in the study of the environment. At NUI Galway, there has been a long tradition of studying marine life; the college was the first in Ireland to appoint a Professor of Oceanography, the establishment of the Martin Ryan Marine Institute was another significant development, and Professor Emer Colleran in microbiology had initiated research into biodiversity. Taken together, explained Prof Jennings, there was a lot of work being done relating to the environment, but there were not that many formal links, so groups tended to work in isolation. Securing €9.48 million under the Higher Education Authority’s Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) to
establish the Environmental Change Institute, changed all that, for it gave the research groups a common focus, and it gave them access to shared facilities. “Without the funding some of the work would have continued,” said Prof Jennings, “but not in such a co-ordinated way, and it would have been difficult to achieve what we have done since.” Having Mace Head, said Prof Jennings, was a major factor in getting PRTLI support, but the fact was, and is, that the location is ideal for an institute of national and international importance. Long before people were so aware of climatic change, scientists at Galway were taking advantage of the location. “We didn’t jump on the bandwagon,” said Prof Jennings, “we were the bandwagon.” Since 2000 the ECI has gone from strength to strength. Although located on the NUI Galway campus, the Institute has a much wider reach, nationally and internationally. While being careful not to diminish the quality of work being carried out elsewhere, Prof Jennings remarked that; “it’s the natural place to conduct environmental research,” a point repeated by the Irish Marine Institute, which is also based in Galway for this reason. Location alone would not be enough to put the ECI on the international map, and as Prof Jennings explains, in some areas of climate change, the Galway researchers are, as he said, the lead people. “We are ahead in looking at properties of air, and certainly so with aerosols, no doubt about that.” The tiny fragments of suspended organic matter, derived from plankton, are of great significance as rain makers, so this knowledge about aerosols is of great interest to countries around the world. In August this year the ECI will be hosting an international conference on this topic. The marine aspect of these studies, explained Prof Jennings, has become more important. “The ocean atmosphere is pivotal in the area of atmosphere and climate,” so not surprisingly, joint projects with the Marine Institute are on the increase. Through the Marine Institute, ECI researchers have been able to gather data from far out into the Atlantic, and soon additional instrumentation will be deployed on offshore buoys.
Testing biofuels at the ECI. By bringing engineers, biologists and other specialists together, ECI could turn some of our current problems into future solutions.
In climate change, explained Prof Jennings, “you cannot treat land on its own, the atmosphere on its own, the ocean on its own, it’s an integrated coupling.” While some researchers are looking out to sea, others are studying evidence of change on land. At Letterfrack, for example, one of Prof Jennning’s PhD students ran tests to determine the level of heavy metals. Surprisingly, elevated levels of mercury were found, and this was due to activities at the nearby Kylemore Abbey back in the 1870s. A lime-kiln had been set up to help in construction of the gardens, so from this longforgotten activity, we see evidence of how so many of the things we do can have a long-term impact on our environment. Another area where ECI researchers are active is anaerobic digestion. Micro-organisms that thrive in airless conditions play an essential role in the break down of waste, but they can do a lot more than just break down sewage. They can, for example, be used to generate methane biogas, for use as a clean fuel. Under Prof Vincent O’Flaherty research on anaeobics has become one of the strengths of the ECI, and this is relevant to work being done there on biofuels. “Biofuels is an area that we are getting into more,” said Prof Jennings, and the research is a good illustration of synergy at work. Vincent O’Flaherty has expertise in microbiology, while Donal Leech contributes on chemistry, and Henry Curran is looking at how these fuels burn. In one of the four ECI laboratory areas post-graduate researchers are culturing micro-organisms in a search for high yielding strains. It’s just as simple as selecting out one strain,
because, as the researchers have found, a mixture of strains can be a lot more productive. Across the corridor, in another laboratory area, a room length stainless steel combustion chamber has been set up, and here, different biogases are being tested and compared for performance. About 80 to 100 researchers are working either in the ECI or on projects affiliated with it. Prof Jennings explained that the ECI is encouraging young researchers to diversify into emerging areas. We can expect to see a lot more happening with biofuels, he said, and interest in conversion of waste into fuel is growing. At the end of last year the ECI ran a workshop on this topic, and as a result a local group in Oranmore has come up with a proposal to harvest energy from domestic waste. The network of links to other organisations includes Met Eireann, and the ECI is working with them on climatic modelling, and, at European level, Prof Jennings is working with the JRC (Joint Research Council) on drawing up policy documents. The ECI is a partner with the French national research organisation, CNRS, on a large scale study of carbon, and Mace Head is one of the key sites designated by the World Meteorological Assocation for keeping watch on the atmosphere. “These stations,” said Prof Jennings, “are looking at change, not just over a year or two, but over decades.” “Climate, environment, and energy,” he said, “are going to be of great importance to future generations. We as an institute will play a major role, and we want to lead in those areas.” SPIN
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Mute swans on Lough Neagh. Photographed with a Cannon camera using a 500 mm lens. Below, Northern Gannet photographed with a Cannon and 70-200 zoom lens.
JOHN TAGGART PORTFOLIO
JOHN TAGGART is a professional photographer with 20 years experience, of which 10 have been spent specialising in portraiture and weddings. When not busy in his Antrim studio, John turns his cameras on nature, and this year his photograph of the swans was judged Best Photograph in a competition run by the Northern Ireland
Ornithologists Club. John was also presented with the top award for his portfolio of bird photographs. The Ornithologists Club was founded in 1965 and for the past 35 years it has been presenting awards for outstanding bird photographs. This year’s SCIENCE SPIN Issue 22 Page 32
winners were selected by David Tipling, 2001 European Nature Photographer of the Year. For more information about John visit his site: www.johntaggartphotography.com. SPIN
Above, Redshank, Dundrum Bay, Co Down. Left: Great Black-Backed gull on Ireland’s Eye. All on this page taken with a Canon and a 500mm lens.
NI Ornithologists Club
More information about the Club and the work of Northern Ireland bird photographers can be found by visiting www.nioc.fsnet.co.uk. The competition results
Left: Mallard at Six Mile Bay, Co Antrim. Below: Oystercatcher on Great Saltee.
Beginners Best Photograph - Allen Gillespie from Belfast. Best Portfolio - Allen Gillespie. Intermediate Best Photograph - Adrian McGrath from Scarva. Best Portfolio - Adrian McGrath. Advanced Best Photograph - John Taggart from Antrim. Best Portfolio - John Taggart. Digiscope Best Photograph - Allen Gillespie from Belfast.
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150 new research posts
SFI is createing 150 new research posts in €18 million-a-year programme
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is to invest up to €18 million a year in a new programme that will create 150 extra research posts in Irish Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). science foundation ireland fondúireacht eolaíochta éireann
The SFI Stokes Chair and Lectureship Programme is aimed at recruiting senior, worldclass academics as well as entry-level academics and senior post-doctoral researchers. Successful candidates will be internationally-competitive, research-active academics, performing at the highest level appropriate to their career point. Commenting on the new programme, Mr. Micheál Martin TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said: “Over the past five years SFI has built up the research base in Ireland. However, the Strategy for Science, Technology & Innovation (SSTI) announced last year by the Government requires significant support for new posts at Ireland’s HEIs. The Stokes Programme is an important step in meeting this need.” Under the National Development Plan 2007 - 2013, the Government is investing €8.2 billion in scientific research over the next seven years, building on its continued drive towards making Ireland a knowledge-based economy. In response, between now and 2010 SFI plans to fund at least 150 Stokes posts. This comprises 100 Lectureships - early career-level academics; and 50 Chairs - professorshiplevel posts. The envisioned ramp up is 2007: 55 posts - 40 Lectureships; 15 Chairs 2008: 45 posts - 30 Lectureships; 15 Chairs 2009: 30 posts - 20 Lectureships; 10 Chairs 2010: 20 posts - 10 Lectureships; 10 Chairs Holders of the posts will be expected to contribute to the teaching programmes of the applying Department and will expand on its current strengths. Dr Gary Crawley, a Director of SFI, said: “The Stokes Programme will allow more flexible and proactive recruiting by HEIs of key personnel at junior and senior levels. It should allow departments to strategically plan their staffing, to integrate quality staff into the current base of permanent staff and to add to their net pool of expertise.” Direct funding will be €180,000 for Stokes Chairs and €90,000 for Stokes Lectureships. The funding should be largely used for a candidate’s salary. All institutions eligible for funding under other SFI initiatives are eligible to apply for the Stokes programme. Prospective Stokes post holders will be expected to have a proven record of internationally-recognised independent research accomplishments and to have at least two years of independent research experience beyond PhD level. The Stokes Programme is named after Sir George Gabriel Stokes (1819-1903), the Irish mathematician and physicist who was born in Skreen Co.Sligo. Stokes made several important contributions to fluid dynamics (c.f., Navier-Stokes equations), optics and maths physics (c.f., Stokes Theorem). Like Isaac Newton, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, a Parliamentary representative for Cambridge University and a President of the Royal Society. Stokes made key contributions to the foundations of, what we now call, Information & Communications Technology and Biotechnologies.
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Windthrow is a major constraint to profitable forestry in Ireland.
Managing forests and predicting windthrow risk in ireland
D
amage to trees by strong winds (windthrow) is one of the most serious hazards in forestry in Ireland. Windthrow can happen before trees reach commercial maturity and this is a major constraint to profitable forestry. During the period 1971 to 1993 an average of 85,000 cubic metres of timber were windthrown on an annual basis – about 9% of the harvest. Volume losses from are expected to increase as forests established under recent public and private afforestation programmes reach heights where they are susceptible to windthrow. Research has identified that a range of stand, site and silvicultural factors
influence the occurrence of windthrow. Site factors including soil, site elevation and slope, and silvicultural factors such as ground preparation (including drainage), as well as thinning type, have all been shown to play a role in windthrow. A number of classification systems have been developed to assess the risk of wind damage to forests in Ireland and Great Britain. However, these models have tended to be deterministic, ranking the relative risk on different sites and/or from silvicultural treatments but not assigning a probability to the likelihood of damage. No model is currently used to assess the risk of
windthrow in forest stands in Ireland. Instead subjective assessments of risk are used to guide decisions regarding thinning and rotation length. In 1999, COFORD funded a study, the objective of which was to devise a windthrow risk model for Ireland which would yield estimates of the probability of windthrow for a combination of site and silvicultural factors. Data were collected for a range of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) stands growing on a variety of sites in Ireland. Of the fifteen factors examined, five were shown to contribute significantly to the probability of windthrow: • top height of the stand - the taller the trees the more likely they are to blow over; • the location of the stand in the country - stands located in the southwest, where wind speeds are greater and gusts more frequent, are more likely to blow over than those in the midlands, while those in the east coast are least likely to blow over; • the soil type on which the stand was established - the risk of windthrow is greater in stands on wet soils such as gleys and blanket peats while it is lowest on welldrained brown earth and brown podzolic soils; • the altitude of the site - higher windspeeds are recorded at higher altitudes hence the risk of windthrow is greater at higher altitudes; • whether or not the stand had been thinned - opening up the canopy by thinning increases the risk of windthrow. A model was developed that includes these factors and provides estimates of the probability of windthrow occurring in a stand. A user-friendly interface for the model has recently been developed and this will shortly be available on the COFORD website (www.coford.ie). For further information, contact Dr Áine Ní Dhubháin, School of Biological and Environmental Science, UCD Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Phone +353 1 7167755; Fax +353 1 7161104; Email: aine.nidhubhain@ucd.ie
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 22 Page 35
SPIN
WRECKED
The Queen Mary ploughing through the Curacoa, from a book about the disaster by David A Thomas, and inset, moments later, photographed by an American GI soldier. Seán Duke reports that hundreds of shipwrecks have been found in Irish waters, many of them previously unknown.
I
reland might be a small country, but its offshore area certainly isn’t. The massive Irish offshore area of 850,000 square km reaches out towards Iceland, North America and the Iberian peninsula. This watery realm has devoured many vessels and seafarers. Until recently, much of the hard data on shipwrecks lying in Irish waters was fragmented and very confused. However, a project to survey shipwrecks in Irish waters by combining all the known information, and generating new data along the way has proven extremely successful. The shipwreck project supported by the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) and the National Monuments Service (NMS) was completed at the
end of 2006. It used the latest seafloor imaging techniques to produce spectacular 3-D images of famous wrecks such as the Lusitania — as they appear today on the seabed. The project managed to increase the number of shipwreck records, from 140 when it began, to 246 when it was completed. Many of these new records correspond to ‘new shipwrecks’ previously unknown. In time, their identity could now be revealed either by divers, or robotic submersibles. Dr Stuart Bennett, a TCD geologist and one of the lead researchers on the project said that the inclusion of 71 ‘new wrecks’ in the database is quite exciting. These lie outside any of the known wreck positions so there was no record of their existence. Funding from the NMS through its underwater archaeology unit supported the work of Dr Stuart Bennett who worked on the wreck survey between April and November 2006 before returning to TCD.
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 22 Page 36
The survey was the brainchild of Dr Eibhlin Doyle of the GSI, and Fionbarr Moore and Karl Brady of the NMS, who all had seen the logic of bringing together all existing records into a single wreck database which could then be published.
Background
The first attempt to survey and map the Irish offshore area — since the days of the British Admiralty charts — came with the establishment of the Irish National Seabed Survey, or INSS. In 1999 the government provided €33 million to set up the INSS with the goal of surveying and mapping Irish waters. Its work was completed at the end of 2005. The work began in 2000, and was managed by the GSI and the Marine Institute. First to be surveyed were the deep waters, with depths defined as greater than 200 metres. Here survey technologies called multi-beam, sub-
The Map gives an idea of just how many wrecks lie around our coast.
Top left: one of the many wrecks off NW Donegal. Above left: The two halves of the Curacoa lie close together, and, left, the same data can be processed to give more precise information about height of structures. bottom, gravity and magnetics were used. The deep water work was completed in 2002. The next job was to survey waters less than 200 metres in depth, and Marine Institute research vessels were used for this purpose. There were a number of bays surveyed by the INSS team such as Clew Bay, Mulroy Bay and Killala Bay, using airborne laser surveys, commonly known to geologists as LIDAR. In the process of the INSS work mapping the Irish seabed many
features were observed, including submarine slides, mound features, deep canyons, ice marks and shipwrecks. Some of the shipwrecks observed by the INSS were later on found to be ‘new’ wrecks. The INSS has been succeeded by a new project called the Integrated Mapping for the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s Marine Resources, of INFOMAR, which has continued where the first project left off. The goal of INFOMAR, which has funding up to 2013, and again
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 22 Page 37
is managed by the GSI and Marine Institute, is to complete the mapping of the Irish offshore, including the near shore areas, and all of the bays.
Interest
There is a great deal of interest in shipwrecks from divers, and the general public. The tale is dramatic, recounting a desperate, life-anddeath struggle that took place in Irish waters over two World Wars involving German U-Boats and the British Navy. Older boats sank too, of course, just think of the Spanish Armada, but these boats were made of wood and, thus, very little is likely to remain on the seabed from such earlier times. The oldest known shipwreck in Irish waters is the Queen Victoria, which sank in a storm off Howth in 1853. This was a wooden vessel, and all that is left of it now are its metal boilers. The project to survey shipwrecks, name and locate them is not exclusively of interest to divers, who can be fanatical in their enthusiasm for wrecks, and members of the public with an interest in naval history. Others are interested too, for example, fishermen. Shipwrecks
The Lusitania, sunk in 1915 by a U boat with an appalling loss of over 1,000 lives.
provide a hazard for fishing vessels whose nets can get caught in them, so the fishing community would like to know precisely where all the wrecks are located. For marine biologists, meanwhile, wreck data provides an opportunity to study the unique micro-habitats that exist around wrecks, while marine geologists can learn more about sub-sea sedimentary
processes, by looking at how sediments behave around the wrecks. There is talk of producing a publication that would satiate all this widespread interest in wrecks in Irish waters. Each page would contain the name of a wreck, an image of what the boat looked like before it sank, what it looks like now on the seafloor — if such an image is available —
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 22 Page 38
information on how it sank, and a map to indicate its exact location.
DATasets
Shipwrecks were identified and catalogued under INSS, and this will now continued under INFOMAR. So this dataset is likely to continue to grow in the coming years.
This is not the only dataset in town, however, far from it. Since 1997, the NMS has been compiling its own inventory of shipwrecks lying in Irish waters. This inventory includes all wrecks up to and including 1945, and there are about 10,000 records in the database at this stage. The NMS database was compiled from a number of sources including
Lloyd’s List, British parliamentary records, newspaper records, books and specialist websites that have information from divers such as www. irishwrecksonline.net and www.uboat. net. There are other data sets that are worthy of integration with the rest, including those from the Coastal Resource Centre in Cork, the
Petroleum Affairs Division (PAD) of the Department of Communication, Marine and Natural Resources. The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is another very useful database as it contains information on wrecks in Irish waters such as the vessel name, its dimensions and the circumstances of its loss. SPIN
The Lusitania photographed in 1907.
The LusItania
This ‘protected’ shipwreck is the most famous one lying in Irish waters. The huge steam passenger liner, which was sunk off Cobh, was attacked by a German U-20 submarine in 1915. Conspiracy theories abound about the sinking of the Lusitania, which is not surprising, as this was a key turning point in World War I prompting as it did the US decision to enter the war on the Allied side. The boat was en route from New York to Liverpool and approximately 1,200 lives were lost after it sank following a torpedo hitting its starboard side. According to divers, the wreck is a mess on the seabed, lying on its starboard side, with its different floors having slid past each other.
The Leinster
This was a Royal Mail ship, built in Birkenhead in 1896. It was torpedoed and sunk about 25 km east of Dublin when it was crossing the Irish Sea between Dublin and Holyhead. This sinking is regarded as Ireland’s worst maritime disaster. The ship was torpedoed a number of times and there was an attempt to tow it back to Dublin. British navy ships set sail from Dublin to rescue it, but the Germans got wind of this and torpedoed it again. It sank not far east of Dublin, where it now lies between sandbanks, and broken mid ships.
The Queen Victoria
This is the oldest known wreck named in the database. It was a wooden, paddle steam ship, built in 1837, that sank in a snow storm off Howth Head in 1853. The ship was travelling from Liverpool
to Dublin when the storm hit off Howth, and it sank close to the lighthouse there. There were 112 people, plus general cargo on board, and 40 people survived. Today, given that this was a wooden ship, there is little by way of the shape of a ship on the seafloor. According to divers, the metal boilers are the most prominent remnants that remain at the wreck site, and these are still standing tall on the seafloor.
The CuracoA
In 1942, at the height of World War II, the Curacoa was in a convoy escorting the Queen Mary when a decision was made onboard to chase a u-boat that had apparently been sighted nearby. Unfortunately, for all aboard the Curacoa, it crossed the path of the Queen Mary in its pursuit of the u-boat and was promptly cut in two in a resulting collision, and sunk. The Queen Mary did not attempt to stop and rescue survivors from the Curacoa. She was too busy trying to survive a potential u-boat attack by engaging in zigzag avoiding manoeuvres. The Curacoa lies northwest of Bloody Foreland, Donegal. The two parts of the ship lie on the seafloor about 500 metres apart from each other.
The Athenia
The first civilian casualties of World War II were lost, not in Poland, but about 380 km to the west of the west of Ireland coastline when the Athenia, a larger passenger liner was sunk. The sinking occurred on the 3rd September 1939 just as England and France were declaring war on Germany. The Athenia was mistaken for an armed merchant cruiser, torpedoed by U-30 and
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 22 Page 39
sunk. A lot of people were rescued in this event. The boat lies in deep waters so it is harder to image than with wrecks lying in shallower waters.
The Empire Heritage
This vessel was torpedoed and sunk by a U-Boat, which may have been operating as part of a ‘wolf pack’ of submarines, off the northwest coast. Another boat in the area, the Pinto went to rescue the survivors, but it too was sunk by a U-Boat. The Empire Heritage, was carrying a cargo of tanks, and the tanks have been seen by divers dramatically littered across the seabed. Multibeam data picked up the presence of some of the tanks.
German U-Boats
Ireland may have been neutral, but its offshore was the scene of a life-and-death struggle between German U-Boats and the British Navy. Who eventually won that struggle is testified by the fact that there are up to 40 submarines recorded at the bottom of Irish waters. Off the north coast, there is a cluster of U-Boats that are the result of Operation Deadlight at the end of the war. This operation, carried out by the British Navy, involved the deliberate scuttling of seized U-Boats. The submarines were towed out to sea, towards a designated area, but some broke their lines and had to be shelled and sunk closer to shore than was planned. The U-Boats are quite obvious when seen with multibeam data on the seafloor, given their long and narrow shape.
NOTICEBOARD For inclusion contact Alan Doherty at 01 2842909 or email: alan@sciencespin.com
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