According to the researchers, this method relies on length of the fragments obtained by the partial restriction digest rather than the actual content of nucleotide sequence.

“It is a method to encode a message in DNA in a way that does not require an expensive sequencing machine. The decoding still requires a wet lab procedure, but the experimental procedure is significantly easier,” said lead researcher Stefano Lonardi.

The human genome consists of the equivalent of approximately 750 MB of data. However, only about three per cent of DNA goes into composing the more than 22,000 genes that make us what we are. The remaining 97 per cent leaves room to encode information in a genome, allowing the information to be preserved as well as replicated in perpetuity.

Given the size of the DNA fragments, one could store a large amount of information in a very small space. By
storing messages within DNA, organisations can “tag” objects to verify authenticity, as well as to inconspicuously send data to a specific destination, according to the researchers.

Venus: Changeable weather

Astronomers have discovered that Venus, often referred to as the Earth’s sister planet, has an extraordinarily changeable and large-scale weather. Studying images from Venus Express, the astronomers have found that bright hazes appear in a matter of days across the planet’s skies, reaching from the south pole to the low southern latitudes and disappearing just as quickly, the European Space Agency said.

The images have revealed that the cloud-covered world of Venus is all but a featureless, unchangeable globe at visible wavelengths of light. Transient dark as well as bright markings stripe the planet, indicating regions where the solar ultraviolet radiation is absorbed or reflected, respectively.

According to the astronomers, such global weather suggests that fast dynamical, chemical and microphysical processes are at work on Venus. Brain structures in teens It turns out your mother was right: angst-ridden teens really do have something wrong with their heads.

A study found that teens who regularly get into fights with their parents have significantly different brain structures than their more laid-back peers.

Australian researchers mapped the brains of some 137 early teens and then videotaped them during “problem
solving” conversations with their parents about disagreements over issues like homework, bedtimes, or internet and cellphone use.

“What we found was there was actually a relationship between the size and the structure of the various parts of the brain and the way the kids behave in these interactions,” said lead researcher Nicholas Allen of the University of Melbourne.

No fruit in fruit drinks

Fruit content of many fruit-flavoured drinks and snacks sold all over the UK is either minimal or non-existent, a survey indicated.

The survey of strawberry flavoured drinks, yoghurts, jelly and other snacks found that fewer than 40 per cent
contained any real fruit. Of the 28 products examined by the campaign group, the UK Food Commission, only 11 contained real strawberries.

Five of these — Jordans Frusli All Fruit Strawberry bars, Jubbly Strawberry ice lollies, Asda Great Stuff Strawberry Milk and strawberry teabags produced by Sainsbury’s and Tesco — contained less than one per cent real strawberries.

There are about 2,700 flavourings that can be added to food, but manufacturers are not required to state on packaging which flavourings have been used and whether they are natural or artificial.

A catalogue of plants

Putting an end to repeated efforts to compile a list of every life form on Earth, scientists will unveil an Encyclopedia — cataloguing all 1.8 million plants and animals on the Planet.

The project’s first 30,000-page draft — covering large numbers of fish, amphibia, mammals and birds — will be soon released. With the help of software pioneered by internet sites such as Wikipedia, the 300-year-old problem of documenting such a vast array of the planet’s natural diversity has been resolved.

A team of researchers has found the solution with so-called mash-up software, which gathers huge amounts of information from diverse sources. According to its designers, based at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, it is intended partly as a resource for ‘those with an interest in the natural world but also as a tool for scientists and policymakers.