Martian slip’n’slide

A lucky snap from the high resolution cameras onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has shown NASA scientists an avalanche in progress on the surface of the planet near its north pole.

While the cause is unknown, the result is spectacular:

Subsequent orbits of the planet will allow a closer look at the area to see how the terrain responds and to study the composition of the fallen material; already conclusions about the amount of ice involved have been drawn.

Wouldn’t you love to see this in person? One day perhaps…

Progress on HIV

Two big stories this week dealing with HIV.

First up, researchers at the University of Michigan Health System experimenting with different ways of introducing a vaccine – other than the traditional needle/syringe – have achieved success with a method involving a nasal spray. The process induces immunity not only in the mucosa (of the genital area too) but a full cellular immune response as well. The study included tests on mice using both HIV and smallpox. Summary and press release.

Next, a protein has been identified by scientists at the University of Montreal that confers protection against viral infection in certain people. This sounds pretty big. A single protein, called FOX03a, has been isolated and shown to promote the survival of memory cells that are responsible for ‘remembering’ viral foes. These are the cells that are normally destroyed by HIV in infected people. From the press release:

Beyond HIV treatment, Dr. Sékaly said his team’s discovery offers promise for other immune diseases. “The discovery of FOX03a will enable scientists to develop appropriate therapies for other viral diseases that weaken the immune system,” he said, citing cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis C, as well as organ or bone marrow transplant rejection.

Summary of main article.

Egg allergies

The number of people with life-threatening food allergies has been on the increase in recent years. The condition, called anapylaxis, can be caused by the smallest amounts of a food allergen.

Two of the more prevalent foods that can cause anaphylaxis are peanuts and eggs. Now, Swiss and German chemists have developed a technique to produce egg-derived food products with just 1% of the allergenic potential of normal eggs. Exposing raw egg to heat and enzymes breaks known allergens down into harmless by-products.

While the safety of this kind of product for people who are potentially anaphylactic is a long way from being assured, it will definitely allow people who have milder allergic responses to egg products to have their cake and eat it, too!

Professional learning opportunity

I wish I could get to this conference. Or ‘professional learning opportunity’ as we now call them…

It reminds me of the Far Side cartoon with the kid playing games on a console while his optimistic parents look on, dreaming of his magnificent career in highly-paid game-testing roles. I’d post a copy of it but I’d probably be swamped by hordes of lawyers.

Mind you, I went to uni with a bloke who started out programming racing games, but ended up working for the European Space Agency on their satellite guidance team.

So while we can appreciate the joke, there is in fact a huge growth potential in computer-centric entertainment. GamesEdu looks to be just one way of bringing together an industry and its ’suppliers’.