Follower
For the past 250,000 years, and perhaps for longer, an asteroid has been following the Earth. First spotted by Apostolos Christou and David Asher from Armagh observatory, the asteroid was detected by the WISE infrared satellite, launched in 2009. Dr Christou reports that the orbit is almost identical to the Earth’s, and this in turn suggests that we may even share an origin. Because of the orbit’s configuration, the asteroid, which has been estimated to be 200 to 400 metres across, never comes closer to Earth than 50 times our distance to the Moon. According to the astronomers, the asteroid, known as 2010 So16, is “not that difficult” to spot with a mediumsized professional telescope, As for its origins, the astronomers think that it may represent some of the relict materials left over from the formation of the Earth, Moon and other inner planets four and a half billion years ago.
Invading hare
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ThE Irish hare, often seen standing up before bounding away, is facing stiff competition from a European competitor. Scientists from Queen’s Belfast have drawn attention to the spread of the European Brown hare in mid Ulster and west Tyrone. Dr neil reid from the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, said that the European hare, originally confined to southwest Europe and parts of Asia, has been extending its range. Dr reid said the European hare may have a competitive edge over our native species, which has been resident since the last glacial age.
The European Brown hare, Leptus europaeus, is moving in to Ireland. Under the director of laboratory research, Dr Sharon Glynn, a bank of tissues is to be built up so that molecular and genetic markers for this particular form of cancer can be identified. As with breast cancer, identification of these markers can help in diagnosis and in developing more effective treatments. one of the priorities at the Institute is to develop better therapies against relapse in patients currently unresponsive to existing treatments. Development of novel treatments involves joint collaboration between nUI Galway and TCD under the Institute’s scientific director, Prof Frank Giles.
Prostrate cancer
Walking molecules
WhEn molecules are repelled by water, they can skip across the surface, in a movement a bit like crossing a stream, on stepping stones. The notion that this could happen has been known in theory for some time, but as UCC Tyndall researcher, Dr Damien Thompson has explained, tests by his colleagues at Twente in The netherlands, show that computer simulations are correct. Two legged molecules can indeed move across a wet surface as predicted. As Dr Thompson points out, on a small enough scale, hydrophobic molecules do not just flow over water, but they can clump and skip across. To put theories to the test, the researchers at Twente devised an experiment in which two pronged molecules were tracked using a fluorescence microscope as they moved along a wet surface. The molecules, reported Dr Thompson, exhibited a surprising agility, going from walking to hopping to flying, depending on environmental conditions. The study, involving intensive computer modelling, represents a significant advance in manipulation of materials at a molecular level.
ThE aim of the recently launched Prostate Cancer Institute at nUI Galway is to reduce the incidence of this disease which causes more than 500 deaths a year in Ireland. The Institute, directed by Prof Frank Sullivan, draws on the considerable expertise available in Galway, while working with research institutes in Ireland and abroad. Galway University hospital, one of the eight specialist cancer treatment centres in Ireland, and has considerable experience in this form of the disease.
GAInInG access to land has become more of an issue since urban dwellers have gone walk-about in the countryside. Gates left open, unprotected fires near forestry, fences trampled down and disturbance of stock are among the concerns making farmers cautious about allowing uninvited guests to wander across their land. One of the knock-on effects of this is that scientists have a lot less freedom to record flora and fauna or to examine interesting rock exposures. The threat of expensive litigation hangs over everyone, and the recent experience of the Dublin naturalists’s Field Club is a good example. For generations, members have been recording Ireland’s wildlife, and among the specialist groups is one for butterflies. Hard to imagine what harm butterfly recording could do, but when invited to provide records to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, DNFC members were sufficiently concerned about possible litigation, that they asked for some form of indemnification. The problem, when records become detailed, is that the person submitting the records, can be identified, so if a landowner makes a claim for damages, whether real or imagined, the poor old recorder who strayed from the path could end up in court. Unfortunately, there was no resolution to that issue, so the national Parks and Wildlife Service withdrew their invitation to the DnFC, and put the recording of the Marsh Fritillary out to tender. According to DNFC’s Butterfly Ireland group, “recorders would be extremely unhappy at releasing records at a resolution finer than 1 km, and that such a happening would most likely result in an end to access to many sites.” The DNFC group will continue their recording of butterflies, but care is being taken not to disclose the identify of recorders. For lots of information about Irish butterflies visit the DNFC site: www.butterflyireland.com
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Access barred by threat of litigation
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 47 Page 2