Новости науки и техники в "Scientific American"

SAVING VENICE

Project Moses, a controversial $3 billion government-funded scheme to keep Venice above water, has finally been given the go ahead by Italian officials. Construction of its novel floodgates is set to begin in December 2002, following years of false starts. But some scientists still object to the project, saying that it will damage local ecosystems and is doomed to obsolescence within years if the sea level rises as predicted by current climate-change models. Moses may yet have a few mountains to climb before parting Venice from the sea.

GENE STUDY EXPLAINS CHATTY HUMANS, SPEECHLESS APES

Humans share a number of characteristics with the great apes, but a handful of key traits set us apart, our silver tongue among them. In fact, language is believed by some scholars to have been a prerequisite for the development of human culture. Exactly how and when speech evolved in our ancestors has proved difficult to explain, however. To that end, analysis of a language-linked gene may offer new insight.

SILKWORMS' PRODUCT COULD RIVAL THAT OF SPIDERS

Spider dragline silk is one of the strongest materials known. But production of large quantities of the material for various industrial applications has been hampered by the animals' territorial nature. Now new research suggests that silk spun by silkworms could rival the strands produced by arachnids. The key, scientists say, lies in how it is collected.

WEARABLE DEVICE COULD SECURE LAPTOP COMPUTER FILES

Laptop computers get smaller, lighter and more powerful each year. But along with the ability to take work on the road, the machines bring security concerns because thieves find them all too easy to walk off with. This is particularly worrisome when the contents of the computer are confidential or a matter of national security. A new approach to computer encryption could help protect the files of stolen laptops.

FEVER REDUCTION MAY BE KEY TO COMBATING MALARIA

Unpleasant though they are, fevers are the body's way of fighting infection. In the case of malaria, however, that defense mechanism may backfire. Researchers have discovered that fevers enable malaria- infected red blood cells to stick to the walls of blood vessels, which can lead to death.

ASK THE EXPERT: HOW DO VENUS FLYTRAPS DIGEST FLIES?

Lissa Leege, a plant ecologist and assistant professor of biology at Georgia Southern University, explains.