Tales from the Test-tube
A STUDY into the chemical effects of semen has led to the discovery that women who use condoms during sex are more likely to become depressed than those who don't. It was also found that women who have sex using condoms become increasingly depressed the longer they abstain, and they are more likely to find a new partner straight after a break-up. It may be that women who regularly have sex without a condom have personality traits that make them less likely to become depressed. The study was conducted by Gordon Gallup, State University of New York at Albany.
Radio waves could be used to build large constructions in space. The idea was inspired by the concept of 'acoustic shaping' whereby intense sound fields can move small particles in confined spaces. If the gravitational field is removed, even finer control can be gained over the particles. Narayanan Komerath of the Georgia Institute of Technology reasoned that in the vacuum of space electromagnetic waves would be able create a force field to move objects. Radio waves would be required to move objects the size of bricks.
Work has resumed on the expansion of the International Space Station with the installation of a 14-metre-long truss. The addition took seven hours and was performed by crew members of the Shuttle Atlantis which was launched October 9. The truss will support a solar array which will power the stations laboratories.
Staphylococcus aureas, a bacterium responsible for the majority of hospital acquired infections, has become resistant to vancomycin. The resistant form of the bacteria was discovered in the foot ulcer of a man in Pennsylvania. The evolution of a vanomycin resistant strain had been expected ever since the discovery of vanomycin-resistant entercocci in 1998.
Science Careers Fair Sat 26th Oct, 11am-3pm Park View Cafe, Holder Building, Engineering Dept.
Alex Griffiths (BBC Natural History Unit) "Filming Mammals for the BBC"- with sneak previews.
17th Oct 2002