According to New Scientist, Californian company Sonitus Medical has created a small device that connects around the teeth and uses bone conductivity to translate sounds picked up by a microphone in the deaf ear into vibrations transmitted through the jawbone and "heard" by the one working ear. Tests are already underway for the device to see how it deals with other forms of deafness, with plans to submit findings to the FDA next year for a late 2010 release.

No news as of yet for a similar device for toothless hobos. Perhaps in 2011.

2010 preview: Tooth-mounted hearing aid for the masses [New Scientist]

The West Mata undersea volcano, located 200 kilometers from Samoa, erupted in May. Researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent the remotely operated underwater vehicle Jason to record the explosive action. In addition to tossing up lava and chunks of rock, West Mata also released a significant amount of sulfuric acid into the water, rendering its acidity somewhere between battery acid and stomach acid. The research team collected various samples and is analyzing them and the footage to better understand these deep sea eruptions and the life that exists around these deep underwater volcanoes. Meanwhile, we get a spectacular view of the eruption itself.

Cameras catch underwater volcano in the act [Science News]

You can see more here.

New Scientist reports that researchers involved in something called the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search may have found dark matter particles in an abandoned iron mine in Northern Minnesota. Emphasis on the "may":

When the CDMS-II team looked at the analysis of their latest run – after accounting for all possible background particles and any faulty detectors in their stacks – they were in for a surprise. Their statistical models predicted that they would see 0.8 events during a run between 2007 and 2008, but instead they saw two.

The team is not claiming discovery of dark matter, because the result is not statistically significant. There is a 1-in-4 chance that it is merely due to fluctuations in the background noise. Had the experiment seen five events above the expected background, the claim for having detected dark matter would have been a lot stronger.

Unable to prove that it is or isn't evidence of dark matter, the team are working on creating equipment three times as sensitive to use in the same area next year.

Clearest sign yet of dark matter detected [New Scientist]

This was the decade of the first face transplant, the first extinct species brought back from the dead, and printable human tissue; a decade that brought us closer to synthetic life forms and the invisibility cloak. But we've whittled it down to ten of the decade's biggest science stories, with discoveries, advances, and topics that are sure to change our lives in the next ten years.

It's Full of Planets: This was a big decade for planets, and not just because Pluto got a downgrade. In 2005, astronomers discovered Eris, a dwarf planet larger Pluto (as well as smaller dwarf planets Haumea and Makemake). Eris' discovery prompted the International Astronomical Union to actually define the term planet, leading to Pluto's demotion to dwarf planet. But the discovery of Eris after all this time suggests there is still a lot to learn about our solar system.

We also got our first direct look at exoplanets, worlds outside our solar system, thanks to the Hubble Telescope. In 2008, astronomers at the Keck and Gemini captured the first images of planets orbiting distant stars. And the planetary discoveries just keep getting more exciting; just this week, astronomers announced that they had observed a super-Earth that might be made largely of liquid water.

Water, Water Everywhere: The world watched on as the Phoenix Lander dug through the Martian terrain for signs of water on the Red Planet. In the summer of 2008, NASA announced it had found definitive proof of water ice on Mars. More recently, scientists discovered that large deposits of water ice exist beneath the planet's surface. This fall, the moon became the center of our watery attention when astronomers found evidence of water throughout the moon's surface. Although the supervillainous plot to bomb the moon didn't seem as initially impressive as we had hoped, the probe did confirm researchers' suspicions that the moon does, in fact, contain a significant amount of frozen water. These discoveries not only reveal more about our solar system, they indicate that, should humans try to colonize Mars or the moon, there will be resources to make survival a little easier.

Shaking Up the Human Family Tree: Humanity got a new great-great-grandmother (or perhaps she's our great-great-great-aunt) in Ardi, a fossilized hominid skeleton found in Ethiopia. Granted, Ardipithecus ramidus was discovered in 1992, but it wasn't until 2009 that she was revealed as a significant addition to our family tree. Although there's technically no "missing link" because humans didn't evolve from chimpanzees, Ardi is, so far, our closest link to chimps, and brings us closer to the common human-chimp ancestor than ever before. Analysis of Ardi's skeleton and probably anatomy reveals just how unlike either chimps that common ancestor is bound to be. One of the Ardi researchers even quipped that when we find that common ancestor, it might look less like we evolved from a chimp-like creature and more like chimps evolved from creatures more like us.

The Book of Life Recorded: Our understanding of human genetics reached a new milestone with the mapping of the human genome. The Human Genome Project announced a rough draft of the human genome in 2000, followed by a more complete version in 2003; the sequence of the last chromosome was published in 2006. Though the genome hasn't been 100 percent mapped, the Human Genome Project has completed its mapping goals. We still have to interpret the sequences we have recorded, but hopefully as we translate the book of our genetic lives, we will get a better understand of how our genes interact and improve our treatment of genetic diseases. Plus, the project has paved the way for sequencing other critters and plants, and, just this week, the lung cancer and melanoma genomes were sequenced.

Changing Your Genes: The promises of genetic engineering have really begun to bear fruit in the last few years, in ways far beyond Alba, the glowing transgenic bunny that grabbed headlines in 2000. In 1999, an 18-year-old with a, inherited liver disease died during a gene therapy trial, after suffering an unanticipated immune reaction to a viral vector. But in more recent years, gene therapy and genetic engineering have shown their promise. In 2000, scientists reported the first gene therapy success, having provided a patient with severe combine immunodeficiency (commonly known as "Bubble Boy" syndrome), though SCID gene therapy treatments were halted when patients developed leukemia. This year, gene therapy successfully treated children with a congenital form of blindness, giving them the ability to see for the first time in their lives. Meanwhile, genetic engineering experiments on animals have cured color blindness in monkeys, created super-strong monkeys, created drug-producing rats, and enabled animals to pass their altered genes to their offspring.

Stem Cells Grow Up: Embryonic stem cells have been a source of contention for years, but in 2007, Shinya Yamanaka helped sidestep that issue when he found a way to reprogram adult skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. Stem cells themselves have continued to aid important medical advances. In 2008, researchers generated motor neurons from elderly patients with ALS, an advance that could help researchers better understand the disease. A newly released study has suggested that a mini stem cell transplant could reverse sickle cell disease, and stem cell research has lead to advances in HIV research and the treatment of heart disease.

Climate Change Takes Center Stage: One of the biggest science stories of the decade has been less about scientific advances than about how the public responds to scientific research. Reports that the glaciers are melting faster than expected, a decade of record warmth, and Al Gore's Nobel Prize have all been part of the conversation on climate change and to what extent humans are responsible.

Commercial Spacecrafts Prepare to Take Flight: Amidst NASA budget cuts, commercial spaceflight has come to the forefront. The Ansari X Prize, first offered in 1996 for the first private enterprise that could fly a three-passenger vehicle 100 kilopmeters into space twice in one week. In 2004, the prize was finally won by Mojave Aerospace Ventures' SpaceShipOne. That same year, Virgin Galactic was founded to further space tourism. The company recently unveiled SpaceShipTwo, the first commercial spacecraft. 2004 also saw the certification of the Mojave Air and Space Port, the first licensed facility for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft in the US. In anticipation of the spaceflight business, one company claims it's readying a space hotel.

Our Cyborg Present: In the last decade, humans and machines have gotten closer than ever. We have machines that can read our memories, computers that let us type with our brains, and robotic arms controlled by monkey minds. Perhaps the most impressive cyborg advances have come in the last few months, with researchers hooking amputees up to robotic arms that not only respond to electrical signals from the human brain, but also provide tactile feedback.

The LHC Comes Online: The Large Hadron Collider has just begun colliding proton beams, but its construction represents one of the most ambitious scientific undertakings ever. The immense particle accelerator will hopefully give us first-hand observations of aspects of the universe that have been, thus far, the realm of theoretical physics. Despite fears from doomsayers that the LHC would destroy the world and a series of mishaps that led to claims that the device was being sabotaged from the future, the LHC came online this year and quickly got to smashing protons at record-breaking speeds.

The ISS. The closest thing we currently have to a space colony is the International Space Station. While it can be considered a success in terms of international cooperation and scientific research, the ISS far from self-sufficient. Sweat and urine can be recycled into fresh water and filters and scrubbers keep the air breathable, but without regular resupply missions, the station's occupants wouldn't last long. Still, the future looks bright up there – NASA has several ISS missions scheduled for 2010, expanding the station and adding new components (as well as spare parts).

Lunar Colonization. The best prospect for a human colony on the moon seems to be NASA's Constellation project. The Altair Lunar lander will be able to carry a crew of four astronauts to the moon and support them there for a seven-day mission. Alternately, it can descend robotically to the moon carrying critical infrastructure for a longer-term lunar outpost. When completed, that outpost will support a crew of four for up to 180 days. NASA has a slick interactive website that explains Constellation.

A great deal of thought is being put into what astronauts will live in on the moon. The first moon base will likely be an inflatable dome. NASA has been testing such a design at McMurdo Station in Antarctica to see how it deals with extreme cold. Although there are no blizzards on the moon, the test will also prove whether or not the "lunar bounce house" is tough enough for a long-term mission. An inflatable habitat has the advantages of being light-weight and only requiring a few hours to set up.

Beyond that preliminary outpost, lunar settlers will require something a bit more sturdy and permanent. Rigid, durable building materials are too heavy to send from the Earth's surface to the moon – it would be impossibly expensive. The best option, then, is to create building supplies from the raw materials already present on the moon. The recent discovery of a large amount of water on the moon makes the production of concrete using lunar regolith much more feasible, but even without water, it's possible. In 2007, a paper published in the Journal of Aerospace Engineering explained how the regolith could be processed into sulfur, which could then be mixed with regolith to make waterless concrete. They even examined the physical properties of said concrete, and proposed a cylindrical habitat structure.

A more recent paper in the same journal studied potential lunar colonization in-depth, examining potential structural designs, insulation, power needs and other factors. If you're not willing to take the researchers' word for it, you could always study space architecture yourself. The University of Houston College of Architecture boats the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSAl). Students design and model space vehicles, orbital stations, and lunar and Martian habitats. Many of their designs come directly from NASA requests. While fun, it is a challenging curriculum, since designers must incorporate radiation shielding and variations in gravity, problems terrestrial architects rarely have to consider.

Martian Colony. We're a long way from colonizing Mars – decades, at least. However, NASA's Constellation program does have a Martian outpost as its ultimate goal. Creating a colony on the moon will generate an enormous amount of data that will directly aid the quest to put humans on Mars.

The European Space Agency isn't waiting around, though. They're currently screening volunteers to take part in a 520-day simulated mission to Mars. This year, they wrapped up a 105-day precursor simulation. The long-term test will examine the physical and psychological effects of such a mission.

Candidates should be aged 20-50, motivated, in good health and no taller than 185 cm. They should speak one of the working languages: English and Russian. Candidates must have a background and work experience in medicine, biology, life support systems engineering, computer engineering, electronic engineering or mechanical engineering.

Beyond. The "moon to Mars" path for human colonization of space isn't the only idea out there. In 2008, a group of researchers proposed a "company town" model for creating a space mining colony. What would they be mining? Water. Where would they be mining it? From the inside of comet 4015 Wilson-Harrington. Sometimes considered an asteroid, 4015 may in fact be a burned-out or intermittently active comet. The researchers believe that finding a large supply of water somewhere other than Earth is the key to post-Earth survival of the human race. Their company town model proposes an entire economic system that would support up to 10,000 colonists.

Image: NASA Ames Research Center

According to Science editor Bruce Alberts:

[The Ardipithecus research] changes the way we think about early human evolution, and it represents the culmination of 15 years of painstaking, highly collaborative research by 47 scientists of diverse expertise from nine nations, who carefully analyzed 150,000 specimens of fossilized animals and plants.

Nicknamed Ardi, the hominid lived in what is now Ethioipa, and is a million years older than Lucy, the ancient hominid sometimes called the "missing link" between apes and humans. In fact, there is likely no one "missing link," and instead scientists have discovered there are many stages between proto-humans and what we would recognize as homo sapiens today.

Indeed, a release about the discovery explains:

After analyzing the skull, teeth, pelvis, hands, feet, and other bones, they determined that Ardipithecus possessed a mix of "primitive" traits, shared with its predecessors-the apes of the Miocene epoch-and "derived" traits, which it shared exclusively with later hominids. However, many of its traits do not appear in modern-day African apes. One surprising conclusion, therefore, is that it is likely that the African apes have evolved extensively since we shared that last common ancestor, which thus makes living chimpanzees and gorillas poor models for the last common ancestor and for understanding our own evolution since that time.

In other words, humans did not evolve from apes at all. Present-day apes and humans are radically different from their common ancestor.

Other breakthroughs this year, according to Science, included:

Pulsars Detected by Fermi: NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope helped to identify previously unknown pulsars-highly magnetized and rapidly rotating neutron stars-and shed light onto their unique gamma-ray emissions.

Rapamycin: Researchers found that tinkering with a key signaling pathway produces life-extending benefits in mice-the first such result ever achieved in mammals. The discovery was particularly remarkable because the treatment did not start until the mice were middle-aged.

Graphene: In a string of rapid-fire advances, materials scientists probed the properties of graphene-highly conductive sheets of carbon atoms-and started fashioning the material into experimental electronic devices.

Plant ABA Receptors: Solving the structure of a critical molecule that helps plants survive during droughts may help scientists design new ways to protect crops against prolonged dry periods, potentially improving crop yields worldwide and aiding biofuel production on marginal lands.

LCLS at SLAC: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory unveiled the world's first x-ray laser, a powerful research tool capable of taking snapshots of chemical reactions in progress, altering the electronic structures of materials, and myriad other experiments spanning a wide range of scientific fields.

Gene Therapy Comeback: European and U.S. researchers made progress in treating a fatal brain disease, inherited blindness, and a severe immune disorder by developing new strategies involving gene therapy.

Monopoles: In an experimental coup, physicists working with strange crystalline materials called spin ices created magnetic ripples that model the predicted behavior of "magnetic monopoles," or fundamental particles with only one magnetic pole.

LCROSS Finds Water on the Moon: In October, sensors aboard a NASA spacecraft detected water vapor and ice in the debris from a spent rocket stage that researchers deliberately crashed near the south pole of the Moon.

Hubble Repair: In May, a nearly flawless final repair mission by space-shuttle astronauts gave the Hubble Space Telescope sharper vision and a new lease on life, resulting in its most spectacular images yet.

via Science

The authorities have already evacuated everyone living within an eight-kilometer radius, as small earthquakes, glowing lava at the peak, and falling ash created fears that the volcano was going to erupt once again. According to NASA:

On the evening of December 14, the local volcano observatory raised the alert level to Level 3, which means "magma is close to the crater and hazardous explosive eruption is imminent."

This natural-color image of Mayon was captured on December 15, 2009, by the Advanced Land Imager on NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. A small plume of ash and/or steam is blowing west from the summit. Dark-colored lava or debris flows from previous eruptions streak the flanks of the mountain. A ravine on the southeast slope is occupied by a particularly prominent lava or debris flow.

According to local news reports from December 16, fragments of lava were continuously detaching from the lava filing the crater and cascading down slope up to 3 kilometers. Lava flows reached several hundred meters from the summit, but they were still confined to ravines.

[NASA Earth Observatory]

The article looks at a few of the key scientific aspects of Avatar and fact-checks them for plausibility, explaining the innovations we would need to make them a reality. The challenges of easy interstellar travel apply to tons of movies, but there is also a fascinating discussion on the possibility of habitable worlds in the Alpha Centauri system, where Pandora is supposedly located.

The least plausible scientific advance? The very Avatar technology that is central to the movie's plot. Although neuroscientists are working on brain-machine interfaces have allowed humans and other primates to control the movements of machines, Miguel Nicolelis, the Duke University neuroscientist Popular Mechanics consulted, notes that the transfer of one's consciousness into a biological body is several orders of magnitude beyond what is currently feasible.

But Hollywood can help inspire technological innovation, and the article identifies the RDA's AMP exosuit as an idea that's not yet feasible, but gets inventors' gears turning:

"Movies like Avatar are good to get us thinking about the possibilities," says David Audet, leader of the Soldier Mobility and Mission Enhancement Team at the Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center in Massachusetts that has a point role in developing XOS. And while there is "a lot of Hollywood going on" with the AMP suit, it suggests the immense logistical work that such devices could render and serves as, Audet says, "an example of a foundational platform that with very little modifications can perform a large suite of attacks."

The Science Behind James Cameron's Avatar [Popular Mechanics]

Known by the designation GJ1214b, this planet is, according to a paper published yesterday in Nature, one of just two super Earths found recently. It has "a composition of primarily water enshrouded by a hydrogen–helium envelope," and its atmosphere has evolved a great deal over time (much like Earth's). Unlike another super Earth discovered recently, CoRoT-7b, this new super Earth has an atmosphere that can be studied fairly easily due to the size of its star and close proximity.

What's most intriguing is that this super Earth appears to be made up of possibly 75 percent water. Unlike Earth, which has a molten rock and metal core, GJ1214b probably has a core made of water too. (Those of you who read Iain M. Banks' novel The Algebraist are probably grinning right now.) Astronomers aren't entirely certain that the planet is water - this is just an educated guess based the planet's density, which was calculated by observing how much the red dwarf dimmed when this planet passed in front of it.

Given its distance from the dwarf, GJ1214b's surface temperature could be as much as 530 degrees Fahrenheit. On Earth, water at that temperature would boil off into steam. So it's likely that something about GJ1214b's atmosphere is keeping its oceans in an ultrahot liquid state. Basically, we've got a giant boiling ball of water - the perfect place to breed weird new life.

via Nature

A team of California researchers discovered that they could create blood cells by layering hemoglobin and other proteins on top of a microscopic, donut-shaped polymer mold. When the proteins had a stable structure, they removed the polymer mold and presto - they had a classic blood-cell shaped hollow vessel. The cells are also biodegradable, so you wouldn't have synth-cells roaming your body forever. Here are typical red blood cells, below.

One synth-cell could carry oxygen through the blood just like a typical red blood cell, its unique shape allowing it to squeeze through tiny capillaries. But it could also carry drugs like anti-coagulant heparin, releasing it gradually. This could prove a boon for doctors trying to administer drugs to highly-targeted areas fed by the circulatory system. And of course it could prove a perfect system for hiding data or other sensitive substances in your bloodstream. One injection of synth-cells and you're carrying secret plans around in your blood that can't be detected by anyone.

via PNAS

Surendra Pal, associate director of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Satellite Centre, told news outlet DNA India that the Chandrayaan-1 probe detected chemical signals of what may be organic matter on the moon's surface. The information is currently being analyzed by ISRO researchers as well as peer reviewed. At a press conference yesterday, NASA's own chief lunar scientist Mike Wargo indicated that NASA is intrigued by the possibility and very interested in learning more about ISRO's results.

ISRO is also exploring how organic matter might have found its way to the lunar surface in the first place — whether it might have be the result of meteor or comet strikes, or even left behind by a human instrument.

If it turns out that the moon does hold organic matter that wasn't placed there by humans, it could help us better understand how organic matter travels through the universe and could provide yet another natural resource for an eventual lunar colony.

Indian scientists detect signs of life on Moon [DNA India via Universe Today — Thanks to Enon for the heads up]

Deluxe Editions Of Science Fiction/Fantasy Classics

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Discover The Art Of Science Fiction, And Drool Over Collectibles

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Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

In 2006, Haering's company was drilling in Basel, Switzerland, as part of a project to convert heat in the underground rocks into electricity. But Swiss authorities charge that the drilling activated the major fault line that runs underneath the city, triggering a series of small earthquakes. Although the most intense of these quakes only rated a 3.4 on the Richter Scale and resulted in no injuries, the Swiss government claims Haering's drilling caused $9 million worth of property damage. Furthermore, they claim there is a 15 percent chance that, had the drilling continued, it would have triggered a major quake that could have caused $500 million in damage.

If Haering is found guilty of deliberately triggering the quakes, he could be jailed for up to five years. But this wouldn't be the first time human actions led to shaky ground. Wired lists five ways humans can cause earthquakes of their very own, including examples of a handful of other accidental Lex Luthors.

Switzerland geologist on trial for 'causing quakes' [BBC via Slashdot]

New Scientist reports on the possibility that NASA's FERMI satellite may be about to do that very thing, according to researchers for the University of California, Irvine. FERMI was created to detect gamma rays, and one of the expected sources of these rays is the annihilation of dark matter made up of "weakly interacting massive particles." Except, the researchers believe, the annihilation of these particles may also result in the creation of one photon and one giant particle... like the Higgs boson. According to the team's Tim Tait:

If there is a strong connection between the physics of dark matter and the physics of mass generation, those dark matter particles probably like to interact with the Higgs boson... FERMI has very good prospects of discovering the Higgs if this model is true.

Other scientists accept that this theory may not be entirely outside the realms of possibility. There's even a chance that the satellite has already discovered it, and we haven't realized it yet; FERMI has already captured data, but scientists haven't gone through it entirely. LHC scientists: The race is on.

Higgs in space: Orbiting telescope could beat the LHC [New Scientist]

Humans living on the Indonesian coast frequently discard halved coconut shells in the ocean, and it turns out that their eight-legged neighbors have been making use of them. Researchers have filmed veined octopi, Amphioctopus marginatus, moving the shell halves by placing their bodies inside the hollowed-out portion, draping their legs over the edges, and bringing the shells along for the ride. When the coconut-carrying octopus feels threatened, it will pull the half shell over its body (or sometimes pulls two halves of a whole coconut over itself), and wait inside their armored home until the threat passes.

Veined octopi have been seen hiding out inside coconut shells before, but researchers hadn't realized that the creatures were deliberately carting the shells around for this purpose. Marine biologist Julian Finn of Melbourne's Museum Victoria caught a lucky glimpse of a veined octopus carrying and using the shells, and has since filmed four octopi doing the same thing.

Finn and other researchers argue that this is the first reported use of tools by an invertebrate species, as this is a sophisticated, costly behavior in which an animal manipulates an object for future plans. While others argue that it does not fit the standard definition of tool use, since the octopus isn't using the object to act on another object, it may still require a sophisticated level of cognition, and we should investigate what makes such foresight possible.

Octopuses use coconut shells as portable shelters [New Scientist]

OK, I admit it: These really are pieces of jewelry, created by twentieth century American artist John Paul Miller, who was fond of using precious metals and enamel to recreate spiders, insects, and various cephalopods. I love how these piece look beautiful and disturbing at once.

You can see more of Miller's work in this online gallery. [via feuilleton]

The theory comes after researchers managed to inhibit the FoxL2 gene in fully-grown female mice, resulting in ovary cells changing into fully developed, testosterone-producing cells found in male testes, increasing their levels of testosterone 100 times higher than the average female level - the level of fully grown males, in fact. The international team of scientists, led by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, believe that this discovery could be used to remove the need for gender reassignment surgery in humans, according to the team's Robin Lovell-Badge:

We take it for granted that we maintain the sex we are born with, including whether we have testes or ovaries, [b]ut this work shows that the activity of a single gene, FoxL2, is all that prevents adult ovary cells turning into cells found in testes. If it is possible to make these changes in adult humans, it may eventually remove the need for surgery in gender-reassignment treatment... It's still very speculative, but it's possible that this approach could produce an alternative to surgery and the removal of gonads – ovaries and testes.

From Minnie to Mickey (and all they did was turn off a gene) [Independent.co.uk]