They have based their findings on an analysis of 16 meteorites that fell from the Red Planet to Earth. The amounts of neodymium 142 these meteorites contain are found to be subtly different from those of objects in the asteroid belt, Nature reported.

According to lead scientist Alex Halliday of Oxford University, “The Earth, Moon and Mars appear to have formed in a part of the inner solar system with a ratio of samarium to neodymium that is around five per cent more than could be found in the asteroid belt”.

“It is this ‘family resemblance’ that we see today when we compare oceanic basalts from Earth with Moon rocks and Martian meteorites. Such differences may be the result of the erosion of planetary crusts during formation events; alternatively, this composition arose from the sorting of clouds of partially melted droplets or grains — known as ‘chondrules’.”

Earth has a long geological history of recycling the materials that make up its crust and mantle. However, Mars and the Moon are believed not to have been as active during their lifespan.

Defending biological war

Scientists have developed “designer enzymes” which they claim will have applications for defences against biological warfare and for creating more effective medications. According to them, the designer enzymes are created for a chemical reaction called the Kemp elimination which is a non-natural transformation in which
hydrogen is pulled off a carbon atom.

“The design of new enzymes for reactions not normally catalysed in nature is finally feasible. The goal of our research is to use computational methods to design the arrangement of groups inside a protein to cause any desired reaction to occur,” said lead researcher Kendall Houk.

Houk of University of California and his fellow researchers at the Washington University used algorithms and supercomputers to design the active site for the enzymes — the area in which the chemical reactions take place. Then they used their computer programmes to design a sequence of amino acids that folded to produce an active site like the one designed.

Subsequently, the scientists determined the precise three-dimensional arrangement of these chemical groups, which is critical for the specificity and activity of the designer enzymes with an accuracy of less than a hundredth of a nanometre.

‘Micro’ fan for laptops

Indian origin scientist and founder of Thorrn Micro Technologies Vishal Singhal and his fellow Dan Schlitz have developed a microchip-sized “fan” that has no moving parts, yet it produces enough wind to cool a laptop.

The scientist duo say that the RSD5 solid-state fan, developed with support from NSF’s Small Business Innovation Research programme, is the most powerful and energy efficient fan of its size. According to them, their fan produces three times the flow rate of a typical small mechanical fan and is one-fourth the size.

The new device is a result of six years of research. The researchers have revealed that the RSD5 incorporates a series of live wires that generate a micro-scale plasma, an ion-rich gas that has free electrons that conduct electricity.

The wires lie within un-charged conducting plates that are contoured into half-cylindrical shape to partially envelop the wires, they say. Within the intense electric field that results, ions push neutral air molecules from the wire to the plate, generating a wind.

Schizophrenia: New hope

Researchers at the Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre at Monash University led by an Indian origin boffin have found that Oestrogen patches could be used to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in women.

Lead researcher Jayashri Kulkarni said that women with schizophrenia who were given the oestrogen patches during the study showed a dramatic reduction in auditory hallucinations.

According to Jayashri, the results, if replicated, could lead to new treatments for severe mental illness.

The researchers conducted an eight-week trial, in which 102 Melbourne-based women of childbearing age with schizophrenia were involved.

The researchers randomised women in the double-blind study to receive either a 100 microgram oestradiol patch, commonly used in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to relieve menopause symptoms, or a placebo patch.

The participants continued to receive standard antipsychotic treatment during the trial.

Jayashri said this is the first scientific evidence that has emerged to show oestrogen has a protective role in the onset of severe mental illness.