Researchers from the ESNA (‘European sensor network architecture’) project are making communication lines easier for people. Using a standard architecture to facilitate smart device communications, ranging from environmental controls at home to domestic appliances and sophisticated control equipment in manufacturing facilities, the ESNA partners have developed their flexible framework for business-oriented wireless-sensor network applications. ESNA is part of the EUREKA ITEA (Information Technology for European Advancement) software cluster; EUREKA is the European platform for research and development (R&D).

ESNA provides better networking without burning big holes in pockets. The system is based on cheap wireless sensors in various business applications including energy-efficient environmental controls. To date, the project partners have demonstrated a series of implementations leading to real applications, namely energy monitoring and management in buildings, industrial process control and precision agriculture.

The range of intelligent machines is growing. Unconventional multimedia systems, along with household washing machines and heating and ventilation controls are joining the list. Our homes are becoming hubs for such innovation; various devices are connected and provide us with intensified control over our daily comfort and safety. With the Internet finding a niche in both our homes and at work, control and interactivity is intensified through the so-called ‘Internet of things’, from factory production to modern agriculture.

The Internet of things got a huge boost from the development of wireless networks facilitating the interconnection of all types of sensors using radio communications. According to the researchers, the devices can be fitted into almost any device because their size is so small. Another plus is that they can be fitted at lower costs.

Sources say that despite the fact that these types of devices are produced in Asia, Europeans are very interested in using such components for wireless sensor networks.

Power cabling becomes a thing of the past when battery power enters the picture. Another advantage is that the devices are multifunctional: nodes can be equipped with various sensor capabilities including humidity, temperature, radiation, movement, gases and light. It should be noted that if one node fails, the network automatically ‘rearranges’ itself to ensure it runs smoothly.

‘We discussed wireless sensor network applications at an ITEA brokerage event in Barcelona in 2005,’ says project leader Olle Olsson of the Swedish Institute of Computer Science (SICS). ‘We saw the way EUREKA operated was good, because it enabled the matching of product and application-oriented technology development in the same project. The result was a project that combined technology “geeks” and organisations keen to supply technologies for specific markets. We also had end users interested in using rather than selling technologies.’

Mr Olsson says they developed novel things. ‘We worked on a standards-compliant generic platform based on the emerging IPV6 Internet standard, developing the world’s smallest implementation of IPV6 in terms of lines of code,’ he says. ‘Overall, we have developed a strong European lead in wireless sensor networks in a field which is still emerging globally.’

For more information, please visit:
ESNA
EUREKA

In the same way humans can be divided into blood groups, EU-funded scientists have now discovered that we can categorise ourselves by gut type too. In a study published in Nature, an international team led by scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Germany showed that microbial genetic markers are related to traits like age, gender and body-mass index.

These findings are the latest from the METAHIT (‘Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract’) project, funded in part under the ‘Health’ Thematic area of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). METAHIT, which received EU funding to the tune of EUR 11.4 million, is a 4-year-long project that began in 2008 and brings together 14 partners from China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. The main aim of METAHIT is to find out what links there are between the genes of the human intestinal microbiota and our health and major diseases.

Bacteria exist in our guts to help digest food, break down toxins and produce some vitamins and essential amino acids, as well as form barriers against invaders. Yet the composition of these bacteria varies significantly from person to person.

The team first used stool samples to analyse the gut bacteria of 39 individuals from three continents (Europe, Asia and America). Later, they extended the study to include an extra 85 people from Denmark and 154 from America. They found that all of the people studied could by divided into three groups, depending on which species of bacteria occurred in high numbers in their gut.

‘We found that the combination of microbes in the human intestine isn’t random,’ explains Peer Bork, lead researcher from EMBL. ‘Our gut flora can settle into three different types of community – three different ecosystems, if you like.’

Although it remains unclear why gut make-up varies from person to person, the team speculates that it could be linked to differences in how immune systems distinguish between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria. Alternatively it could be related to the different ways of releasing hydrogen waste from cells.

The findings also suggest that although gut type remains independent of factors like age, gender and body-mass index, there are links. For example, the team uncovered that the guts of older people appeared more likely to have more microbial genes involved in breaking down carbohydrates than their younger counterparts. The team suggest that this boils down to the fact that as we age we naturally become less efficient at processing nutrients so it is bacteria who have to carry out this function if they want to survive in the gut.

Dr Bork explains the implications of these findings for diagnosis of diseases such as colo-rectal cancer.

‘The fact that there are bacterial genes associated with traits like age and weight indicates that there may also be markers for traits like obesity or diseases like colo-rectal cancer,’ Dr Bork says, ‘which could have implications for diagnosis and prognosis.’

For patients this means that in addition to finding out what blood type you are and finding out if you suffer from any allergies, your doctor could soon be asking you to tell him about your gut and what type of bacteria live there too.

For more information, please visit:  European Molecular Biology Laboratory

(New Jersey Institute of Technology) Ronald H. Rockland, Ph.D., chair of NJIT’s Department of Engineering Technology, has been named a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education. Rockland, of Parsippany, will receive the designation at the ASEE Annual Conference this coming June in Canada.

(University of Chicago Press Journals) According to a study published in the Spring issue of the Journal of Human Capital, marriages among movie stars can help unravel the reasons why people tend to marry partners of similar education levels.

(St. Michael’s Hospital) Widespread demands in Canada for clinical trials for a controversial treatment for multiple sclerosis show the growing power of the Internet and social media to influence research priorities, according to a paper published today in Nature.

(Norwegian Institute of Public Health) In urban communities, less than 1 in 100 inhabitants died from Spanish flu in 1918, but in isolated communities up to 9 out of 10 died. This could be due to different exposure to influenza in the decades before Spanish flu. People in urban communities probably had a higher degree of pre-existing immunity than those in isolated rural areas. This is shown in a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

(FECYT – Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) A study by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology shows a lack of standardization in the peer review systems whereby independent experts assess the content of scientific publications published in Spain. This results in a low level of international competitiveness among these publications.

(Commonwealth Fund) Ninety percent of American families living above the federal poverty level will be able to afford health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. The report finds that new subsidies available through health insurance exchanges established under the law will make premiums affordable for most families. But the authors also warn that high out-of-pocket costs will likely mean some families will still be unable to afford health-related expenses.

(Rice University) A team of scientists led by Rice University has figured out why the Colorado Plateau — a 130,000-square-mile region that straddles Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico — is rising even while parts of its lower crust appear to be falling. The massive, tectonically stable region of the western United States has long puzzled geologists.

(University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science) In a study published in the journal Nature, April 27, a global team of scientists led by University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Associate Professor Lisa Beal, suggests that Agulhas Leakage could be a significant player in global climate variability.