If you cannot see the html version of this email then you can view it online at: http://www.planet-science.com/wired/wiredNL/index.html
randomised heading

Friday 3rd February 2006 Issue: 40

Welcome to Wired Up! It’s Friday again and what a week it’s been. A new British super-warship has been launched and there’s a possible vaccine to the deadly bird flu. What a great week for science! Get reading.

  1. SCINET – BBC Jam. Not a patch on strawberry though…
  2. GEAR FOR GRABS – Science and chocolate mmmmmmm!
  3. YOU WHAT? – Earwax? Since when has that been so fascinating?
  4. THE WIRE – Daring to launch an Air Defence Destroyer
  5. WINNERS – Going Ape over Flipside

Scientists in Atlanta claim to have produced a vaccine against the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. A genetic engineering technique has been used to protect mice from the virus. The scientists injected one group of mice with the vaccine and the other group with a saline solution. The animals were then infected with the H5N1 virus. Although the vaccinated mice had low or no antibodies they did not lose weight or die.

The experts say that production can be easily scaled up.  This means that stock can be built up in case there’s a pandemic.  A pandemic is defined as the worldwide outbreak of a disease. It can be made much more quickly than conventional vaccines and enough doses could be produced to protect people at risk. It is also effective against newer strains of flu.
1. SCINET – You don’t have to surf the Internet alone…

A new website aimed at helping children learn school subjects has been launched, called BBC Jam. The free broadband service for five to 16-year-olds uses video games, sound and animation, allowing you to learn what, when, where and how you want.

You can already learn six subjects online, with 20 planned by the end of 2006 and more over the next two years.

The subjects already available are maths, English, science and geography for primary school children and French and business studies for secondary pupils.

The BBC is also planning to produce Welsh versions of science, RE, music, history, maths and geography, and Scots Gaelic and Irish versions of maths and geography.

https://jam.bbc.co.uk/Auth/Welcome.aspx

Maths not really your thing?  You prefer history? Well that could be because your brain is working in a more feminine way. Some researchers say that men can have 'women's brains' and that women can think more like men.

Find out more about the differences by taking the Gender ID test, a series of visual challenges and questions used by psychologists.

  • Get a profile and find out if you think like a man or a woman.
  • See if you can gaze into someone's eyes and know what they're thinking.
  • Find out why scientists are interested in the length of your fingers.
  • See how your results relate to theories about brain gender.

See how your mind works - you may be surprised at what you find

<< back to top
2. GEAR FOR GRABS – You’ve got to be in it to win it...

Back by popular demand! This half term Science of Chocolate, at Newcastle’s Centre for Life, uncovers the science of your favourite snacks.  Between 18 – 26 February get ready for plenty of sweet surprises and find out how chocolate is made, if it can really alter your mood and how long it takes to burn off a single Smartie.

Put your love of chocolate to the test by trying a chocolate dipped bug or something more appetising at the chocolate fountain. There is also an opportunity to get your hands on even more of the sweet stuff in the Food for Thought Lab, which will use experiments to investigate if chocolate really can change the way you think!

Plus! This is your last chance to see Mars Quest, an amazing exhibition which takes you on a journey to uncover the mysteries of Mars.

5 lucky readers can win a family pass to the Centre for Life during February half-term. To win just answer the question below and send it in an email with your name, age and address to: randomised.news@nesta.org.uk with ‘CHOCOLATE!’ as the subject. The winners will be picked at random at 5pm, on Thursday 16th February.

Question
Where is Science of Chocolate taking place?

If you aren't lucky, want to book places or need more information visit www.lifesciencecentre.org.uk or call (0191) 243 8210

Good luck!

<< back to top
3. YOU WHAT? - Science facts that might make you go “Hmm?”

Some people have the strangest jobs! A team of international scientists have spent time finding out why some people have got wet earwax and some have dry earwax.  Apparently a single gene decides what type of wax your ear makes - wet or dry. But even after the huge study, they still aren't sure what earwax is for.

Possible suggestions include to trap insects, to help your ears keep themselves clean and to prevent the passages inside your ear drying out.

The study of 33 types of people around the world found that dry earwax is seen in 95% of people from East Asia.  Yet only 3% of people from Europe and Africa have dry earwax and wet wax is much more common. Fancy that! Baffling though all this is - some experts think this research may also help understand how different populations moved around the planet. Pardon?  Sorry – you’ll have to speak up.  I’ve a terrible problem with earwax.

<< back to top
4. THE WIRE  – Science news straight to your Inbox…

This week saw the launch of the first of the Royal Navy's new Type 45 Destroyers, HMS Daring. There will be six in total and the others are to be known as Dauntless, Diamond, Dragon, Defender and Duncan.  The Daring, or 'D' Class will replace the fleet’s Type 42 destroyers, in service since 1978.The Type 45s, at around 7350 tonnes, will be the biggest and most powerful air defence destroyers ever built for the Royal Navy. They will carry the world leading PAAMS (Principal Anti-Air Missile System) which will monitor the airspace for hundreds of miles around the fleet she is protecting. They also carry the Sampson multi-function radar; an example of world-beating British technology. Plus the full electric propulsion system is by Rolls Royce.

HMS Daring will have more firepower than the combined fleet of Type 42 destroyers. With a price tag of £605m, the 150m long vessel weighs in at 7,350 tons. It will officially come into service in 2009.

And if its size and power weren’t awesome enough – no expense has been spared for the crew who will serve on her.  Gymnasiums and even Internet access in every berth!  No more writing long letters home and waiting weeks for a reply.  One mouse click and it’s ‘Hey Mum! Send us some more toothpaste and a jar of Marmite’.

If you want to find out more about this amazing vessel then here’s a few websites to interest you.

HMS Daring
http://www.daring.org.uk/content/royal_navy.htm

Film showing development, assembly, sea trials and deployment of a type 45 destroyer
http://www.baesystems.com/programmes/sea/movies/index.htm

Type 45 Air Defence Destroyer
http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/1973.html

The story behind HMS Daring
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/horizon/

<< back to top
5. WINNERS – Has your name been picked out of the bag?

Remember issue no. 39?  We offered 5 lucky readers the chance to win a copy of Flipside magazine with King Kong on the cover.  The winners are:

Nikki Patel (15) from Middlesex, Matthew Husselby (13) from Portsmouth, Scott McEvoy (12) from Cambridgeshire, Bek Hargreaves (9) from Dumfriesshire and Tim Dunn (11) from Southport.

Congratulations and enjoy!
THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

Got Wired-Up? Got clued up!

Don’t forget that Wired-Up will be hitting your inboxes every fortnight from now on, but in the meantime, send any questions, comments, jokes or experiment ideas to: randomised.news@nesta.org.uk

If you would like to see any past Wired newsletters check out the archive page.

Until then, why not pay the Planet Science website a visit, by clicking here:
http://www.planet-science.com

P.S. If you wish to unsubscribe from Wired-Up then reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE as the subject.