Digest: $1 mil Science prizes, Folic Acid, 3 Rs

The most lucrative prize for science ever offered in New Zealand has been created with the Prime minister’s Science Prize offering to a scientist or team working on groundbreaking research in New Zealand.

The suite of prizes unveiled by the Prime Minister at Plant & Food Research total $1 million and also reward an emerging scientist, a science teacher, a secondary school student and a person with a scientific background pursuing science media communication. Victoria University’s John Watt, the winner of the MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year award sees himself also become the first recipient of the MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist prize, which comes with $150,000.

Of particular interest to journalists and their editors will be the $150,000 science media communication prize which will “support the recipient to carry out a programme of activities to further their understanding of the media communication sector and to develop skills that will make them an effective science media communicator in the future”.

The prize seemed designed to upskill a scientist to become a good science communicator capable of engaging actively with the media and seems like a good opportunity for a scientist to team up with media organisations to co-develop science coverage, In that respect, it is potentially a big boost for science in the media. Full details here.

The future of the science system

The Ministry of Research, Science and Technology has called for feedback on its priorities for science and technology in New Zealand which outlines everything from the investment structure in science to the priority areas of research.

There’s a fairly tight turn-around for feedback with a November 18 deadline for submissions. According to the schedule published in the document, plans for a revised investment structure in Vote RS&T will be presented to Cabinet in January.

Folic acid research shows low risk

New Research from Britain’s Food Standards Agency has backed up claims from local experts that folic acid fortification of bread does not pose a substantial cancer risk.

The agency found: “The new evidence does not provide a substantial basis to change [the] previous recommendation for the introduction of mandatory fortification” of bread flour.”

As the Herald points out today, the paper, which follows research highlighted by the University of Otago’s Dr Murray Skeaff during the height of the folic acid debate, brings into question the Government’s decision to defer its folate fortification plan to 2012.

Australia went ahead with mandatory fortification of bread with folate last month and this month bakers here were instructed to add iodised salt to bread.

Meanwhile, John Forman, executive director of the New Zealand Organisation for Rare Disorders is progressing with a Broadcasting Standards Authority complaint against TVNZ for its coverage of the folate issue. TVNZ’s complaints committee has already investigate the claims. Its conclusion: “The Complaints Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint”.

Three

US-NZ Declaration: hints of science

But in the text of the declaration and the associated speeches from Clinton, Prime Minister John Key and foreign affairs minister Murray McCully, there were brief mentions of increased cooperation on science-related issues.
Clinton, in her speech, referenced the “high science of the Antarctica” noting the that “Kiwi and American scientists are hard at work… studying samples of sediment and ice to understand how greenhouse gases may have effected glaciers in the past and giving us a glimpse of how climate change could affect us in the future”.

The focus on Antarctic research was a clear reference to ANDRILL, the Antarctic geological drilling project which New Zealand researchers are heavily involved in alongside scientists from the US and numerous other countries.

Murray McCully said experts from both countries would “meet regularly”: “There’s no point in working in isolation on issues like climate change, or non-proliferation and disarmament,” he said.

He also said the Wellington Declaration would see New Zealand and the US work on “practical projects” in the Pacific, in areas like “renewable energy and natural disaster readiness and response”. No detail was given on exactly what sort of science-related collaboration may result from the Wellington Declaration in areas like climate science. However, the US and New Zealand are part of the Global Research Alliance, a worldwide effort being spearheaded by New Zealand scientists to find ways of reducing emissions from agricultural production.

Earlier this year a three-day Global Research Alliance meeting in Wellington set the agenda for the work programme for the group which features 29 nations and significant commitments of research funding.

NZers misled by unfounded sea level claims

New Zealanders should not be misled by unfounded claims about dangerous rises in sea levels says Professor Nils-Axel M

Improving supply chain through science

Marks & Spencer visit AgResearch about improving supply chain through science

United Kingdom retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has brought a delegation to meet New Zealand producers and processors who supply lamb to their business. The visit organised by M&S will involve meeting relevant supply and processing partners.

As part of the week-long New Zealand tour AgResearch is hosting the M&S delegation and its local partners on 9 February at its Ruakura campus in Hamilton. The presentation will focus on science that can contribute to the world class supply chain that M&S has developed.

Representatives from Silver Fern Farms, Alliance Group and Beef+Lamb New Zealand will attend to discuss how science can support the farm, processing, transport processors and New Zealand farmers.

M&S Agriculture Manager, Steve McLean, says the visit is to work with suppliers to make production more sustainable through utilising best practice, reproductive technologies and animal welfare, and farm systems to improve quality and build trust in New Zealand lamb. “British consumers value New Zealand lamb and we want to see how we can build on this reputation and continue to improve quality through all aspects of supply.”

Dr Jimmy Suttie, AgResearch General Manager, Applied Biotechnologies, describes the M&S initiative as significant, “Marks & Spencer is a major partner with the New Zealand lamb industry, and the collaborative supply chain that gets our lamb to British consumers is incredibly important to our farmers. The challenge we are meeting to discuss is how to use science to make the journey from New Zealand farms to the retailer more efficient, sustainable and innovative.”

Particularly important is the presence at the meeting of Beef + Lamb New Zealand who has contributed to most of the science research using farmer levies.

The session will cover animal genomics and reproductive technologies, agricultural systems modelling, meat science, food processing, food safety and animal welfare.

Canon unveils new digital camera range

Canon unveils new digital camera range featuring enhanced TruCapture technology
New High Sensitivity Sensor makes it even easier to capture life’s precious moments

Churches say NO to cow human embryos in NZ

Hybrid embryos are not acceptable in New Zealand culture says the Interchurch Bioethics Council. Below they explain why.

British Parliament recently passed legislation to approve the formation of human:cow hybrid embryos. The technique would involve taking a cow’s egg and removing the nucleus. The cell would then be implanted with a nucleus taken from an adult human cell, such as a skin cell. The resulting hybrid would then be induced to develop into an embryo.

The embryo would be allowed to divide for up to fourteen days, which is the permitted time for which a human embryo may be maintained outside the human body. During that time scientists would use the embryo to try and produce stem cells for use in medical research and, it is hoped, ultimately stem cells for applications in medicine e.g. in organ and tissue repair.

This use of human gametes and embryos in biotechnology raises significant ethical questions. In New Zealand, under the HART (Human Assisted Reproductive Technology) Act 2004, it is prohibited to create hybrid human-animal embryos for reproductive purposes or to implant a hybrid embryo into a human or an animal.

The Interchurch Bioethics Council submission on the HART Bill recommended that we prohibit the artificial formation of a human-animal hybrid embryo for any purpose, reproductive or otherwise.

The bovine egg from which a nucleus is removed still contains some mitochondrial DNA in the cytoplasm of the egg. Maori and many others believe it is spiritually, culturally and ethically wrong to mix human and non-human DNA.

Within the broad Christian tradition, we understand that each creature has its own valued and unique identity and purpose and that recombining entities can on that basis be seen as undermining the Christian understanding of creation.

From a scientific point of view, there are risks in mixing animal and human cellular material, as already recognised in the xenotransplantation debate. One such risk may be the production of stem cells from a hybrid cell containing unknown potentially infective agents including viruses, introduced by the use of the bovine cell. There is also the potential for as yet unknown hazards.

Cannabis Ingredient May Prevent Mad Cow Disease

Cannabidiol may be effective in preventing bovine spongiforme enzephalopathy (mad cow disease)

Scientists at the National Centre for Scientific Research in France, have found that cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, may prevent the development of prion diseases, the most well-known being “mad cow disease” or BSE (bovine spongiforme enzephalopathy).

It is believed that the BSE may be transmitted to humans, where it is known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The condition is often fatal and spreads easily.

“The latest study adds to the huge amount of scientific evidence supporting the medicinal use of cannabis,” said NORML spokesperson Chris Fowlie.

“Green MP Metiria Turei’s bill to allow the medicinal use of cannabis should be supported by any MP with a clear head. Unfortunately most politicians act like mad cows whenever cannabis is mentioned.”

The infectious agent in prion diseases is believed to be a specific type of misfolded protein called prion. Misfolded prion proteins carry the disease between individuals and cause deterioration of the brain.

The French researchers, who noted that CBD may be a promising agent for the treatment of prion diseases, reported that the non-psychoactive cannabis constituent CBD inhibited the accumulation of prion proteins in both mouse and sheep prion-infected cells, whereas other cannabinoids were either weak or not effective.

Moreover, after infection with mouse scrapie, a prion disease, CBD limited accumulation of the prion protein in the brain and significantly increased the survival time of infected mice. CBD inhibited the nerve damaging effects of prions in a concentration-dependent manner.

Production Start for FCX Clarity Fuel Cell Vehicle

And first customers are announced including film producer Ron Yerxa and actress Jamie Lee Curtis –

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced that it has begun production of the new FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle, with the first vehicle (U.S. specification) coming off the line.

It also announced five of the first customers for its advanced new FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle and provided details of the world’s first fuel cell vehicle dealership network in the United States.

Film producer Ron Yerxa (Little Miss Sunshine and Cold Mountain) will take delivery of the first FCX Clarity in July. The remaining four early adopters for Honda’s next-generation fuel cell vehicle are author and actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest; business owner and car enthusiast Jim Salomon; actress Laura Harris; and Jon Spallino, already the world’s first retail fuel cell vehicle customer, who has been leasing the current generation FCX since 2005. Yerxa, Harris and Spallino attended the event in Japan.

The FCX Clarity is produced at the Honda Automobile New Model Center (Takanezawa-machi, Shioya-gun, Tochigi Prefecture). A new dedicated fuel cell vehicle assembly line was established, which includes processes unique to a fuel cell vehicle such as the installation of the fuel cell stack and hydrogen tank.

The fuel cell stack itself is produced at Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. (Haga-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture). In manufacturing fuel cells, exclusively designed automated equipment was introduced to ensure quality of the highest precision while enabling mass production of cells, with several hundred cells required for each fuel cell stack. Through these initiatives, Honda is making steady progress in the area of fuel cell vehicle production, in addition to fuel cell and fuel cell vehicle technologies, thereby moving closer to realizing its goal to achieve more widespread use of fuel cell vehicles.

The FCX Clarity was designed from scratch as a dedicated fuel cell vehicle. It is powered by the highly compact, efficient and powerful Honda V Flow fuel cell stack. Boasting a low-slung, dynamic and sophisticated appearance made possible by the innovative layout of the fuel cell power plant, the FCX Clarity offers superior design and driving performance as well as environmental responsibility. Lease sales are scheduled to begin in July in the U.S. and this fall in Japan.

The combined sales plan for Japan and the U.S. calls for a few dozen units within a year and about 200 units within three years. Additionally, the FCX Clarity will be exhibited at the Environmental Showcase in the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit to begin July 7, as one of a group of advanced environmental technologies.

To provide its customers with outstanding sales and service support and as a critical step in advancing fuel cell vehicles in the real world, American Honda announced the establishment of the first network of dealers to facilitate the sales and service of fuel cell vehicles. The three Southern California Honda dealers are Power Honda Costa Mesa (Costa Mesa), Honda of Santa Monica (Santa Monica) and Scott Robinson Honda (Torrance).

“This is an important day in the history of fuel cell vehicle technology and a monumental step closer to the day when fuel cell cars will be part of the mainstream,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. “Our customers and dealers share in our vision for a cleaner and more sustainable transportation future, and share in our challenge to embrace a new generation of automotive technology that we think will carry the auto industry and its customers into the future.”

About the FCX Clarity
The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, hydrogen powered fuel cell-powered vehicle. Propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the fuel cell, the vehicle’s only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile. Based on the entirely-new Honda V Flow fuel cell platform, and powered by a highly compact, efficient and powerful new Honda V Flow fuel cell stack, the FCX Clarity marks the significant progress Honda continues to make in advancing the real-world performance and appeal of the fuel cell car. Significant advances over Honda’s previous generation FCX include:

UC announces multi-million dollar research

Helping people with Alzheimers Disease, Parkinsons Disease and Downs Syndrome to communicate better; and finding new ways to combat diseases such as tuberculosis and provide early diagnosis of flu pandemics are some of the aims of two new multi-million dollar research institutes announced today by the University of Canterbury.

The University is making the multi-million dollar, multi-year investment to raise its international profile and allow it to become widely known as a world-class institution.

The new institutes, which have been selected through a contestable process, are The New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain and Behaviour; and The Biomolecular Interaction Centre.

The New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain and Behaviour will be a multidisciplinary centre dedicated to the study of human language. Its researchers will cover fields such as linguistics, speech production and perception, language acquisition, language disorders, special cognition, memory, brain imaging, cognitive science, bilingual education and interface technologies.

Its Director, Associate Professor Jennifer Hay, says researchers will study how language is learned and used from birth through to late in life. One important aspect of the institute’s work will involve the creation and analysis of large archives of audiovisual recordings of New Zealanders interacting. These recordings will cover speakers of a wide range of ages (including infants), and will include some speakers who are bilingual in English and Maori.

“One of our initial projects will look at whether bilingual speakers use different patterns of non-verbal behaviour, such as gesture and facial expression, when they are speaking Maori than when they are speaking English.”

Professor Hay says that the institute hopes to make breakthroughs which facilitate early diagnosis and effective treatment of a wide range of language disorders. She also says that the work is likely to impact the development of technologies “as we move rapidly toward an age of interacting with computers and mobile devices via speech rather than keyboards”.

The Biomolecular Interaction Centre researches molecular interactions critical to biological function. Understanding biomolecular interactions is central to a range of fundamental sciences, new treatments for disease, and a wide range of highly functional products.

The Institute is Co-Directed by Professors Juliet Gerrard and Conan Fee and involves researchers from the Colleges of Science and Engineering, as well as Education and Arts.

Professor Gerrard says researchers will focus on exciting projects at the interface of different disciplines. The emphasis is on fundamental science and engineering, but strong collaborations with several Crown Research Institutes and local universities will enable applications to be explored and maximise the chances of benefit being captured for New Zealand.

“We are very excited to have been given the opportunity to expand our research efforts and create a new Institute at UC. Biomolecular interactions are the key to fathoming out all the processes that go on inside living things; understanding them will lead to new discoveries; and capturing this understanding will lead to innovative new products and processes.

“The research we are doing uses state-of-the-art tools to answer questions about the molecules of life. We aim to harness our new knowledge in a diverse range of applications, from improved food to new approaches to drug design; from new diagnostics to novel materials.”

The Institutes, which will be research-driven and not dependent on commercial activities, will be centrally funded by the University for no less than three years during their establishment phases. Their budgets will be in the region of $1million per annum each with an additional $250,000 in the first year for equipment and set-up costs.

Each Institute will be supported by a UC College with a reporting line jointly to the relevant Pro-Vice-Chancellor and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor. The Director will hold a UC academic post at the appropriate rank based on normal UC policies for appointment.

A call for further applications will be made during 2010 if there is sufficient funding available.

Challenge for outright win

Motorsport personality and Miss Tourism World NZ challenge for outright win in a second Civic Hybrid

Honda New Zealand has entered a second Civic petrol-electric hybrid in EnergyWse Rally 2004. It will be crewed by Grant Aitken, promoter of the famous