NASA launches two probes to the moon

NASA launched two probes into space in the first step of a long journey to return mankind to the moon in 2020.

The dual LRO and LCROSS missions were launched on Thursday on an Atlas V rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre on a landmark lunar exploration mission to scout for water sources and landing sites on Earth’s satellite.

Bad weather delayed the launch by about 20 minutes, before officials from the US space agency gave the go-ahead for the mission to blastoff.

‘Throwing light’ on moon’s craters

PEGI ratings ‘need improvement’

The videogame trade association, Tiga, say the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) rating systems has “room for improvement”.

Tiga’s chief, Dr Richard Wilson, said changes were needed to make the logos “instinctively recognisable”.

“There needs to be an advertising campaign and publicity as to what these pictograms actually mean,” he said.

The government backed the PEGI system as part of the Digital Britain report, removing responsibility from the BBFC.

Speaking to the BBC, Dr Wilson broadly welcomed the system but said more could be done.

“Game developers will welcome the new PEGI system, as it makes classification easier, especially those who export to the European market.

“While the age ratings are fairly clear, there needs to be improvement to the system - especially the pictograms - because they are not instinctively recognisable,” he said.

Laurie Hall - the director general of the Video Standards Council, which administers the PEGI system in the UK - agreed with Dr Wilson and told the BBC that more work needed to be done.

“I think people need to be made more aware,” he said.

“Take the spider logo: that means ‘fear’. In other words, people might find the game scary, but you might not immediately jump to that conclusion looking at the box.

“Our plan is to have a big awareness campaign and also put consumer information about the game on the packaging, in English, which will help.”

The decision to go with PEGI, rather than the BBFC, goes against the recommendations of Dr Tanya Byron’s review into protecting children from harmful content in the digital age, where she advocated the BBFC system.
Games focus

The announcement was one of a number of measures brought in as part of the Digital Britain report.

The government also said it would consider tax relief on video game production.

That news came in the same week that an all party Parliamentary group for the video games industry was set up, chaired by Bill Olner MP with Lord Puttnam filling in as vice chair.

At the event, Dr Wilson said that without tax breaks the games industry stood to lose more than 1600 jobs over the next five years.

John Whittingdale, the Conservative MP who chairs the all party committee on culture, media and sport, said the UK games industry was “under assault” from other countries.

“We were third largest game developer, behind the United States and Japan.

“Now we are the fourth, overtaken by Canada because they have offered substantive tax breaks.”

Experts at the launch of the all party group stressed that there was a skills shortage in the UK which, coupled with high recruitment costs and a lack of relevant university courses, meant that games firms had to invest considerable money and effort into getting graduate recruits up to speed.

“Tax relief would level the playing field somewhat,” said Dr Wilson.

It is thought video games development contributed more than £1bn to the UK’s GDP in 2008.

Protein in stem cells ‘linked to cancer’

Scientists have found that a protein abundant in embryonic stem cells plays a major role in cancer, which they claim offers a possible new target for drug development.

A team at the Stem Cell Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, led by Indian-origin scientist Srinivas Viswanathan, has discovered that LIN28 protein can transform cells to a cancerous state, and that it is abundant in a variety of advanced human cancers like liver cancer and ovarian cancer.

According to them, LIN28 and a related protein, LIN28B, may be involved in some 15 per cent of human cancers.

By blocking or suppressing LIN28, it might be possible to revive the let-7 family’s natural tumour-suppressing action.

“Linking this protein to advanced cancer is a very exciting new result. It gives us a new target to attack, especially in the most resistant and hard-to-treat cases,” team member George Daley said.

LIN28, which is abundant in embryonic stem cells and prevents them from differentiating into specific cell types, was originally discovered to influence embryonic development in worms some 25 years ago.

Development, stem cell generation and carcinogenesis are known to be closely related, but until last year’s study connected LIN28 to let-7, it hadn’t been clear how.

“LIN28 is a fascinating protein that acts in stem cells and cancers, and is teaching us that cancer is often a disease of stem cells,” Daley said.

The findings are published in the latest edition of the ‘Nature Genetics’ journal.

Swedish pirates capture EU seat

Sweden’s Pirate Party has won a seat in the European Parliament.

The group - which campaigned on reformation of copyright and patent law - secured 7.1% of the Swedish vote.

The result puts the Pirate Party in fifth place, behind the Social Democrats, Greens, Liberals and the Moderate Party.

Rickard Falkvinge, the party leader, told the BBC the win was “gigantic” and that they were now negotiating with four different EU Parliamentary groups.

“Last night, we gained political credibility,” said Mr Falkvinge.

“People were not taken in by the establishment and we got political trust from the citizens.”

The profile of the Pirate Party and issues surrounding copyright law have dominated headlines in Sweden over the past few months.

Rallying cry

In April, a court in Sweden sentenced the four men behind The Pirate Bay, the world’s most high-profile file-sharing website, to a year in jail and ordered them to pay $4.5m (£3m) in damages.

Mr Falkvinge said it had played a significant role in getting them the vote.

“The establishment is trying to prevent control of knowledge and culture slipping from their grasp.

“When the Pirate Bay got hit, people realised the wolf was outside the front door.

“That happened one month before the ballot opened, so it had quite a rallying effect,” he said.

Parties within the European Parliament tend to join one of the big voting blocs, otherwise their MEP can become marginalised.

Mr Falkvinge said they were still considering their position.

“We’re looking at four different EU Parliament groups,” he said.

“However, we’re probably going to join either the Green block or the ALDE group.”

The biggest loser in Sweden’s election was the eurosceptic June List party, which saw its share of the vote fall by more than 10 points to 3.6% of the vote. The Left Party also saw its vote halved to 5.6%

Nintendo unmoved by rivals’ plans

Nintendo’s philosophy is to try to create new forms of entertainment”

Nintendo’s veteran games developer Shigeru Miyamoto has told the BBC that the firm is “not worried at all” by Microsoft and Sony’s new controllers.

The Japanese firm has enjoyed huge success with its Wii console, in large part due to its motion control system.

At the E3 games show in Los Angeles, both Microsoft and Sony have shown off new control systems which aim to make gaming more accessible.

Mr Miyamoto said Nintendo was flattered by the approach taken by the firms.

He told BBC News: “The fact that both of those companies are looking at getting the gamer off the couch, taking advantage of motion control, and getting them to control the game by moving their body shows that they have looked at what we have done with Wii.

“And now they are moving in the same direction. To that end we are very flattered, he said.

While both the Sony and Microsoft showcases at E3 have featured new technology and techniques for motion controllers, Nintendo’s event was decidedly low key.
The only “new technology” on offer was a modification to the Wii controller, called the Wii Motion Plus, which was announced last year, and a pulse measuring device called Wii Vitality Sensor, although that is still in the early stages of development.

“Just as we enable you to see the centre of your body balance with Wii fit, the Wii Vitality Sensor enables you to see the information related to the inner world of your body,” said Nintendo’s chief, Satoru Iwata, at the event.

There was a mixed reaction to Nintendo’s announcements.

Patrick Garratt, editor of Videogaming 24/7, said: “Nintendo’s conference was infinitely more impressive than last year’s, but I can’t help thinking a tiny, very vocal minority moulded the firm’s line-up after the reaction to the 2008 announcements.

“There were a lot of calls for Nintendo to show it has learned a lesson from sticking to mass market products like Wii Music in its E3 presentation, and I’d really hoped they were above it.”

He added: “That said, it’d be churlish to be disappointed at Galaxy 2, the Wii Super Mario Bros game and Metroid.

“It’s worth noting that the second 3D Mario title - and Miyamoto’s subsequent announcement that a Zelda Wii reveal’s likely for next year - means it’s extremely unlikely we’re going to see the back of Wii for a long time yet.”
Mr Miyamoto said Nintendo was using its experience in motion control to perfect game experiences.

“What we’re really focused on at this point is taking all the experience we gained over the past five years and applying that in a way that creates extremely deep game play experiences that takes advantage of motion control,” said Mr Miyamoto.

“Based on the announcements we’ve seen here [from Microsoft and Sony] they are still in the initial stages and are trying to create experiences that at this point don’t seem like they have the type of depth that we’re able to provide with Wii Motion Plus.”

Nintendo also showcased a number of titles at the event, including Metroid: Other M, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Kingdom Hearts 358/2, and a new James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club game on DS.

Also on offer - after a four year absence - were two new Mario games: Super Mario Galaxy 2 and New Super Mario Brothers Wii.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 features giant worlds (such as those found in Super Mario Bros 3) and is a follow up to the first 3D Mario Galaxy; New Super Mario Brothers Wiii is a four player take on the classic 2D Mario found on the SNES and N64 with a very retro feel.

Mr Miyamoto denied that he was re-inventing the wheel.

“People may mistake the game as a straight port of Super Mario Brothers Nintendo DS. This is an all new game. The levels are not the same, it’s all new content.

“I think the idea of taking a four player element of a classic game adds a new element of fun to the Super Mario Brothers series we have not seen before,” he said.

Microsoft unveils new controller

Steven Spielberg and Xbox’s Don Mattrick on the ‘revolutionary’ hands-free control system

Microsoft has unveiled its new control system for the Xbox 360 console, at E3 in Los Angeles.

Project Natal is a fully hands-free control system that will use face recognition and motion sensors to allow users to play games.

Film director Steven Spielberg, attending the launch, said it was “a window into what the future holds”.

Although still in the early stages, Microsoft has sent prototypes to all the main game developers.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Spielberg said he had always stated that “the main barrier stopping people getting into video games was the complexity of a games controller,” and that Natal was “a whole new world”.

“There is technology now that recognises not just your thumb, it recognises your entire person. The technology knows who you are,” he said.

Mr Spielberg drew an analogy with the film industry, saying it was evolutionary step for games.

“It’s like the square screen we saw all of our movies on in the early 1950s. Then The Robe came out in Cinemascope. And then came CinRam and Imax followed. That’s what [Natal] is.
During the demonstration, British developer Peter Molyneux showed how Natal could not only recognise faces, it could recognise facial expressions to determine what mood a player was in and react accordingly.

Mr Spielberg said this offered new opportunities for game development

“The video games industry has not allowed us the opportunity to cry, because we were too busy putting our adrenalin rush into the controller, or wherever we swing our arm with a Wii controller to get a result,” he said.

“Because of that, there is no room for a video game to break your heart. We now have a little more room to be a little more emotional with Natal technology than we did before.”

Speaking to the BBC, Piers Harding-Rolls, senior analyst with Screen Digest, said the success of Natal depended on a number of different factors.

“I think the technology looks very interesting but its success depends on the content and how easy it is to use,” he said.

“The other aspect is cost and how they will get it out to the user base,” he said.

“That said, I think Microsoft would like to get it out sooner, rather than later.

“Sales of the Xbox 360 hit their peak in 2008 and are now expected to decline, in terms of console sales, so you would expect them to get it out as soon as possible to rekindle interest in the platform.”
Lionhead Studios’ Peter Molyneux shows a Natal character that recognises and responds to players’ moods

Leak

The details of Project Natal had already leaked out a few weeks ago when the US patent office released documents, filed by Microsoft, of a “motion sensor that makes use of face recognition software and biometrics”.

At the time, most experts believed that Microsoft was patenting concepts, rather than an actual application, and would focus on a motion detector similar to the Nintendo’s Wii controller.

Speaking to the BBC, Shane Kim, Microsoft’s Cooperate Vice-President of Xbox Strategy and Development, said it was worried the story was going to break before the official launch.

“Most of the information was out there, but no one was able to put the full story together,” he said.
Games bonanza

Project Natal was not the only big announcement from Microsoft.
The company unveiled 10 new games for the Xbox 360, including Beatles Rock Band, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Tony Hawk Ride and Final Fantasy XIII.

Tony Hawk Ride comes with its own skateboard controller, similar to the Wii Balance board, although this is the first time such a device has been available for the Xbox 360.

Tony Hawks, who was at the launch to promote his game, said it was something he had wanted for some time.

“I always wanted to do a game with a skateboard controller but the technology wasn’t there until now,” he said.

“It will allow anyone to grind rails and catch big airs; even if you have never been on a skateboard, it will let people achieve skate supremacy in the comfort of their own living rooms.”

And in a follow up to the news that Microsoft had signed a deal with Sky to show content via Xbox Live, Microsoft said it had entered a joint agreement with Facebook and Twitter to create what Mr Kim called “full integration” between three of the largest social networking sites on the planet.

“For us, it’s a very big priority to make Xbox Live the next generation of social networking,” he said.

Both Nintendo and Sony consoles stream video content using the BBC iPlayer.

Mr Kim played down allegations that Microsoft had opted to team up with Sky purely to differentiate itself from its competitors.

“Our partnership with Sky is about bringing great video and entertainment to our UK customers. That was our focus,” he said.

PSP Go is the talk of E3 opening

A new version of Sony’s PlayStation Portable games console is expected to be launched at the E3 video games show.

Video and photos of the PSP Go have been leaked online, revealing a smaller, more lightweight console that has dropped the failed UMD disk format.

There have also been reports that Sony will announce a re-designed, slimmer PlayStation 3 but BBC News understands this will not be launched at E3.

The new PS3 model will be out later this year, BBC News understands.

Microsoft will kick start proceedings at E3 in Los Angeles with a press conference on Monday, at which the company is expected to showcase a raft of new features for its online games and content service, Xbox Live.
There have been reports that Microsoft will show off a new controller that uses many of the same features as Nintendo’s Wiimote, as the company tries to broaden the appeal of its console to non-gamers.

Sony is expected to unveil the PSP Go on Tuesday, following a number of high-profile leaks of announcements to come out of the firm in the last few weeks.

The most recent, about the PSP Go, came after an official video showcasing the new device was mistakenly posted to a Sony website before being hurriedly pulled.

In the video, Sony’s John Koller said: “It’s a 3.8-inch screen, it’s 43% lighter than the PSP-3000, 16 gigs flash memory, Bluetooth support and all digital content so the UMD drive goes away.

“So it’s going to be something a lot of consumers like - download straight to a hard drive.”

A spokesman for Sony would not confirm the launch of the PSP Go but said any announcements would be given on Tuesday.

Industry leader Nintendo is expected to focus on new software for its popular Wii console.

It is also likely to announce the availability of its Wii Motion Plus device, which adds greater sensitivity and control to its controllers, along with games that support the add-on.

Nintendo needs a big show after last year’s announcements were criticised for being lack lustre, and recent evidence of a slow down in sales of its Wii console.

Analyst Mike Hickey, of Janco Partners, told the AFP news agency: “Nintendo needs something; everyone is saying that.”

Ranchers driving wind revolution

Texan cattle rancher Mike Baca seems an unlikely evangelist for the American green revolution.

When he voices a visceral dislike of the “Washington liberals” there seems to be little hint of the environmentalist beneath the cowboy hat and saucer-sized belt-buckle.

But Mike is proof that renewable energy now unites the partisan debate on climate change.

Many Republicans sceptical of climate science support a major expansion of renewables to ease their nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

In Mike’s case, the tantalising prospect of pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars from wind turbines on his ranch proves an extra incentive.

The sprawling ranch lies in the Texas panhandle on the high plains near Amarillo. Mike will not say how much land he owns but it stretches way beyond the horizon in all directions.

These high plains were considered low-grade land until engineers developed the fan-shaped wind pump to suck water from the shallow Ogallala aquifer and create cattle country.
The aquifer is running dry but engineers have again harnessed the wind to bring income to the relatively small number of people who own these vast empty spaces.

Mike is one of them. His nearest neighbours are miles away.

From the porch of his ranch-house - Tuscan with a Texan twist - at the floor of a verdant canyon he can sip bourbon and watch the giant blades turning a perpetual profit.

“I like them. And I like the cheque that comes with them,” he says.

“I could do with a few more of them. We have to be concerned about what the world will be like for our grandchildren. If the turbines get noisy I can just switch on the fountain.”

Texas utilities are planning a high voltage loop around the Panhandle to carry the power to the population centres of Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.
Donny Allred, the local county judge, is lobbying to lure the power lines to Amarillo.

“This is the most perfect marriage of two industries - wind and cattle ranching,” he says.

“They were made for each other.”

The power lines will carry about 50% wind power and 50% from coal and gas to ensure security of supply.

The great river of wind that flows from Texas to the Canadian border is one of the finest renewable energy reserves in the world and the American Wind Energy Association estimates that it could power America twice over.

Ranch land is plentiful and the cows don’t protest that their view is being spoiled - in fact they shelter in the shade of the turbine towers.

The profits are so easy that while energy investments have been plummeting worldwide, the high plains have been distracting the footloose energy giants from their planned offshore wind projects in the UK.

The Obama administration is now working with American utilities nationally to create interconnectors to get the power where it is needed to the great cities on the coasts.
Some of the “wind states” have passed local laws stipulating the use of wind energy but some have been slow to capitalise.

The Waxman-Markey Climate Bill going through Congress would mandate a minimum 20% renewables target for all states by 2020.

The proposal has been watered down from 25% renewables in 2025. It is resisted by some politicians in south-eastern states where there is high dependence on Appalachian coal and less plentiful wind or solar power.

The US energy secretary Steven Chu told BBC News that the 20% target was easily achievable. But environmentalists oppose it for that very reason.

They say many states are on track to achieve more than 20% renewables by 2020.
Jennifer Layke from the World Resources Institute in Washington told BBC News: “I think that we could do more with the emissions targets on the renewables front.

“I think this is a political compromise to manage issues associated with specific geographical concerns for the southern part of the United States and other areas.”

“As such, I think it creates the floor for action. That’s a big improvement. It does not necessarily create the exponential scale-up of renewable technology that we need to combat climate change.”

Either way, the renewable revolution has widespread support. At a rally of the Goldwing Road Riders in Amarillo we met bikers from both sides of the political divide. They were united over wind.

Biker Wayne Jones said: “Oh lord! Climate change. I think that the wind is better than oil. It is a whole lot cleaner. Mother nature has given you the wind. It is free energy.”

Deborah Jones, another biker at the rally, told BBC News: “We need to be self-sufficient. As a nation, we need to rely on the United States.”

UK broadband ‘notspots’ revealed

About three million homes in the UK have broadband speeds of less than two megabits per second (2Mbps) according to research commissioned by the BBC.

The government has promised to provide all homes in the UK with speeds of at least 2Mbps by 2012.

The research revealed that so-called notspots are not limited to rural communities, with many in suburban areas and even streets in major towns.

The government has pledged a range of technologies to fill the gaps.

“We had assumed that these notspots were in remote parts of the countryside. That may be where the most vocal campaigners are but there is a high incidence of them in commuter belts,” said Alex Salter, co-founder of broadband website SamKnows.

No Twittering

The SamKnows map offers an insight into where the homes are that the government needs to reach out to and connect to faster broadband.

It was created by comparing a sample of UK postcodes with a database of information about which providers offered services in the 5,500 telephone exchanges around the UK.

By working out how far properties were from a particular exchange, a picture of the speed of services can be determined as line length is a crucial factor in determining how fast broadband services will operate.

To get speeds of 2Mbps or more homes need to be 4km or less from an exchange.

Click on the left hand map for more details of the NotSpots around the UK and on the right for broadband speed results in the UK.

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