國際科技信息

國際科技信息

NIH千人基因組計劃數(shù)據(jù)集將免費對外開放

美國國立衛(wèi)生研究院（NIH）3月29日宣布，他們的千人基因組計劃的全部數(shù)據(jù)將免費對外開放。這些數(shù)據(jù)總量達到200TB，是世界上最大的人類基因變異數(shù)據(jù)集。亞馬遜旗下的云計算公司——“亞馬遜網(wǎng)絡服務”將存儲這個龐大的數(shù)據(jù)庫。

千人基因組計劃旨在為基因變異如何影響健康以及與疾病間關系的研究奠定基礎。所有數(shù)據(jù)免費對外開放意味著更多科學家可以利用這些數(shù)據(jù)進行研究，以更快的速度得出基因型與癌癥、糖尿病等疾病間關系的發(fā)現(xiàn)。

這項計劃于2008年啟動，立基于全世界26個國家和地區(qū)的2600多人的基因組。其中1700人的DNA排序結果將在不久后公布并進行云存儲，余下900人的DNA將在2012年進行排序。

國立衛(wèi)生研究院的千人基因組計劃是一項規(guī)模更大的舉措組成部分，用于管理科學研究產生的海量數(shù)據(jù)——數(shù)據(jù)管理本身就是一門科學。由于類似千人基因組計劃這樣的數(shù)據(jù)集規(guī)模龐大，很少有研究人員具備處理能力，因此也就無法使用。根據(jù)國立衛(wèi)生研究院的計算，千人基因組計劃的數(shù)據(jù)如果打印出來，可放滿1600萬個檔案柜；如果使用標準DVD存儲，需要3萬多張DVD。

對于科學家和他們所在的研究機構來說，千人基因組計劃數(shù)據(jù)進行云存儲無疑是一個好消息，他們無需擁有更大帶寬，數(shù)據(jù)存儲和分析處理能力便可獲取這些數(shù)據(jù)。亞馬遜網(wǎng)絡服務公司首席產品經理德帕克·辛格表示：“這意味著所有研究人員和實驗室都可以獲取完整的千人基因組計劃數(shù)據(jù)，無論它們規(guī)模大小和預算多少。他們可以立即對這些數(shù)據(jù)進行分析，而無需在這方面投入資源。通常情況下，他們需要大量硬件、設施和人員才能獲取這些數(shù)據(jù)。由于無需投入資源便可獲得研究所需數(shù)據(jù)，科學家可以加快研究步伐?！?/p>

對于亞馬遜網(wǎng)絡服務公司來說，存儲千人基因組計劃的數(shù)據(jù)可能也是一個好消息。美國《紐約時報》報道稱，處理如此海量數(shù)據(jù)需要極大的運算能力，亞馬遜網(wǎng)絡服務公司可以要求獲得額外的資源，用于進一步處理或者分析這些數(shù)據(jù)。

白宮認為云存儲千人基因組計劃數(shù)據(jù)是他們的“大數(shù)據(jù)研究和發(fā)展倡議”所提出的解決方案的一個典范。美國科學和技術政策辦公室29日宣布，將有2億多美元投向6個聯(lián)邦機構，用于推動大數(shù)據(jù)計算領域的研究——包括大數(shù)據(jù)分析——以及大數(shù)據(jù)在科學探索、環(huán)境和生物醫(yī)學研究、教育以及國家安全領域的應用。

World's Largest Dataset on Human Genetic Variation Goes Public

The entire contents of the National Institutes of Health's 1000 Genomes Project—all 200-terabytes of it—will be made freely available to the public, the agency announced today. The project is touted as the world's largest set of data on human genetic variation. Amazon's cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services, will store the database.

The project aims to provide a foundation for investigating how human genetic variation contributes to health and disease. Making the whole thing available for free means more scientists can use the data and, hopefully, conclusions about the relationship between genotype and such diseases as cancer and diabetes will be drawn at an accelerated rate.

The project was initiated in 2008 and is based on the genomes of more than 2600 people from 26 populations around the world. Results from sequencing the DNA of 1700 of those people will be released on cloud now. The remaining 900 samples will be sequenced this year.

The NIH's initiative is part of a larger movement to manage the deluge of "big data" in science, which has become a scientific discipline in itself. Such data sets have become so massive that few researchers have the computing power to use them. The NIH has calculated that the 1000 Genomes Project is the equivalent of 16 million file cabinets filled with text, or more than 30 000 standard DVDs.Making it available on cloud is a good deal for scientists and their institutions, who won't have to take on the costs of acquiring more bandwidth, data storage and analytical computing capacity just to access the data. "This means researchers and labs of all sizes and budgets have access to the complete 1,000 Genomes Project data and can immediately start analyzing and crunching the data without the investment it would normally require in hardware, facilities and personnel," says Deepak Singh, a principal product manager at Amazon Web Services. "Researchers can focus on advancing science, not obtaining the resources required for their research."

It may also end up being a good deal for Amazon Web Services (A.W.S.). Manipulating this much information requires a lot of computing power, and A.W.S. will be charging for additional resources that can be used to further process or analyze the data, reports the New York Times.

The White House, for its part, sees the 1000 Genomes Project on cloud as one example of the kind of solutions it is proposing through its Big Data Research and Development Initiative. The Office of Science and Technology Policy announced today that more than $200 million will be doled out to six federal agencies in an effort to make the most of the mountains of data being created for scientific discovery, environmental and biomedical research, education, and national security.

歐盟農業(yè)和科技界高層會聚布魯塞爾 重新認識農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新

兩大相互關聯(lián)又錯綜復雜的突出問題嚴重困擾著歐盟農業(yè)的可持續(xù)發(fā)展：一是人口持續(xù)增長、糧食食品安全、資源日益枯竭、能源對外依賴、生態(tài)環(huán)境退化和氣候變化壓力對農業(yè)的嚴峻挑戰(zhàn)；二是農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新的邊際效應下降，造成公共和私人農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新投入的逐年減少。兩大突出問題相互制約，形成農業(yè)不可持續(xù)的惡性循環(huán)，解決問題刻不容緩。

2012年3月7日，歐盟農業(yè)和科技界高層聚會布魯塞爾，探討研究解決問題的路徑，重現(xiàn)認識農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新的重要意義，形成加強農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新投入強度、加速農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新突破的共識。

歐委會負責農業(yè)事務的委員喬羅仕（CIOLOS）認為，歐盟21世紀的農業(yè)必須依托研發(fā)創(chuàng)新，基于知識的研發(fā)創(chuàng)新是解決如此復雜問題的唯一途徑。歐委會負責科研與創(chuàng)新事務的委員奎恩（QUINN）女士表示，科學技術支撐和創(chuàng)新解決方案是農業(yè)及食品加工業(yè)可持續(xù)發(fā)展的關鍵。歐盟輪值主席國丹麥農業(yè)部長吉奧斯古（GJERSKOV）女士指出，農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新的重要意義是決定性的，農業(yè)可持續(xù)與應對各類社會挑戰(zhàn)息息相關，必須增加農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新公共財政投入，研發(fā)創(chuàng)新可以解決投入少產出多，在緩解生態(tài)環(huán)境壓力的同時促進經濟增長和擴大就業(yè)。歐盟議會農業(yè)委員會主席卡斯特洛（CASTRO）強調，需要進行一場綠色革命，充分利用研發(fā)創(chuàng)新成果提高農業(yè)生產率，解決資源匱乏，消除農業(yè)、能源和生物基產品相互爭資源，限制農業(yè)對水、能源、農藥和化肥的消耗，同時降低農產品浪費。法國農科院（INRA）院長貴瑤（GUILLOU）女士代表科技界發(fā)言，歐盟創(chuàng)新伙伴關系計劃（EIPs）是解決農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新和可持續(xù)的有效手段，三大主要問題需要農業(yè)研發(fā)創(chuàng)新的突破：1）食品需求增長與食品大量浪費的矛盾；2）糧食產量提高與可再生生物質產品的矛盾；3）糧食生產率與土壤、水、生物多樣性、生態(tài)環(huán)境的矛盾。

E.U. conference examines innovation in agriculture

More than 300 stakeholders, researchers, academics and officials met in Brussels, Belgium on March 7 for a conference on "Enhancing innovation and the delivery of research in EU agriculture.”

This conference marked an important step in the discussions on the ways to enhance innovation and the translation of research results in the farming sector, as outlined in the Commission's CAP reform legislative proposals on Oct. 12, 2011, the E.U. said.

In his opening speech to the conference, E.U. Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Ciolo? said, "Fostering research, knowledge transfer and innovation in the agricultural sector is vital for improving productivity, sustainability and competitiveness. Today I would like to issue a general call for action on the question of agricultural research and innovation, a subject which has for too long been left to the relative obscurity of scientific laboratories and academic publications. It is an area in which the European Commission has tabled very ambitious proposals. We are going to double the funding available and to put in place a complete toolbox. Apart from the budget, we need to ensure that all stakeholders are working together in an integrated way and that good ideas do not remain confined to scholarly publications but are, instead, made available to all players."

The objective of the conference was to discuss the main building blocks of EU support to research and innovation for the agricultural sector after 2013. After setting the stage of agricultural research and learning from recent experiences, the conference strived to highlight the critical aspects necessary for research to impact the agricultural sector. In particular, the role played by networks, advisory services, education and other actors in the translation of research results and in fostering innovative approaches were investigated.

The conference brought together:

· CAP stakeholders, European and national farmers' organisations;

· Representatives of Member States (Ministries, delegates of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) and of the Programme Committee of DG RTD, representatives of national advisory bodies);

· Researchers and academics;

· Commission services and other EU institutions: EP, CoR, EESC.

日本用新型光源實現(xiàn)量子加密長距離傳輸

日本沖電氣（OKI）公司成功開發(fā)了一種在理論上不可能泄密的量子加密方式，并可以在城市間實現(xiàn)長距離通信。該公司利用光的“量子糾纏”特性在驗證試驗中實現(xiàn)了140公里無中繼信息傳輸。這一研究成果將在2015年投入使用。日本和歐洲都在進行關于量子加密通信的研究，但通信距離短一直是這一課題的難點。新的研究成果使這一技術的實用性得到大幅度提高。

量子加密通信是在被稱為光子的光粒子上載荷密碼的加密方式，沖電氣公司為此開發(fā)了能夠產生光子的新型激光光源。這種新型光源不但比現(xiàn)有的量子加密通信光源成本更低，而且能夠兼容現(xiàn)有光通信系統(tǒng)中的光器件，有較好的實用性。沖電氣公司以2015年為目標，計劃首先在金融機關和醫(yī)院等保密性要求較高的專用線路上應用。然后逐步向公眾通信網(wǎng)普及。

沖電氣公司在實驗系統(tǒng)中，有效利用了兩個一組的光子特有的“量子糾纏”特性。在進行加密通信時，將處于糾纏狀態(tài)的兩粒光子分別送到相距140公里的收、發(fā)兩端，收發(fā)兩端各取一粒光子作為僅限雙方使用的通用密匙。發(fā)送端利用光子的物理特性，在“看到”光子的某一瞬間決定密匙的形式，接收端會使用這一密匙解密所收到的信息。在傳輸過程如果中遭到竊密，會殘留“光痕跡”，系統(tǒng)能夠立刻發(fā)現(xiàn)。

在現(xiàn)有的光通信系統(tǒng)中，由于激光光源強度較弱，無中繼通信距離僅能達到100公里左右，新型光源技術使

得長距離通信成為可能，沖電氣公司將與其他企業(yè)和大學協(xié)作，研發(fā)新型光通信系統(tǒng)。

【量子加密通信方式】

光具有“波”和“粒子”的兩重性，從粒子的角度看被稱為光子。上述研究的主要方向是利用光子載荷密匙，發(fā)送者和接收者通過共有密匙實現(xiàn)量子加密通信。根據(jù)物理學定律，光子在被第三者“看到”的瞬間，其物理狀態(tài)會發(fā)生變化并留下“痕跡”，因此在該加密系統(tǒng)理論上是不可能失密的。

OKI Develops the World's Purest Quantum Entangled Light Source and Establishes Practical, Next-Generation Quantum Cryptography Technologies

OKI Develops the World's Purest Quantum Entangled Light Source and Establishes Practical, Next-Generation Quantum Cryptography Technologies

Drawing on proprietary technologies, OKI has developed a quantum entangled light source that offers the highest level of purity achieved to date. It has successfully generated the highpurity, entangled photon pairs for the first time anywhere in the world operating at room temperature and for conventional optical communication bands that are currently in use. Joint demonstrations performed with the research group conducted by Professor Shuichiro Inoue at Institute of Quantum Science, Nihon University confirm a signalto-noise ratio more than 100-fold better than optical fiber light sources. Transmission tests using this light source with standard optical fibers have successfully transmitted quantum entangled photon-pairs over a distance of 140 km, demonstrating the feasibility of next-generation quantum cryptography communication systems1 covering metropolitan area.

"Quantum cryptography technologies apply the principles of quantum mechanics for eavesdropping detection. They have attracted attention as an exceedingly high-security service for a smart community due to their potential to achieve indecipherable encoding. A number of major hurdles confront research and development teams working to achieve practical applications, including the need for ultra-lowtemperature cooling for light sources and the generation of light at wavelengths beyond the optical communications band, as well as difficulties achieving the photon purity needed," says Takeshi Kamijoh, General Manager of Research and Development Center at OKI. "In response, OKI has developed a quantum entangled light source based on cascaded nonlinear optical effects using a proprietary periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) ridge-waveguide device.2 Operating at room temperature and configurable at optical fiber communications wavelengths alone, the device represents a practical next-generation quantum cryptography technology."

The performance of this quantum entangled light source has been tested using a semiconductorbased single-photon detector developed by Institute of Quantum Science, Nihon University, which can detect photons with low noise and high efficiency at high repetition rates of 1 GHz. These tests show that the signal-to-noise ratio for the photon pairs generated is one to two orders of magnitude greater than for conventional light source and detector combinations and demonstrate the feasibility of quantum cryptography communications at low signal error rates, using the quantum entangled light source developed in this research program and the singlephoton detector.

Other tests performed to transmit generated quantum entangled photon pairs confirm that the quantum entanglement state can be sufficiently maintained even when transmitted over a distance of 140 km over standard optical fibers. This performance is sufficient for quantum cryptography communications over metropolitan area.

OKI will continue to refine this new quantum entangled light source while working to reduce size and cost to achieve a practical quantum cryptography communications system.

美發(fā)明空中風力渦輪機數(shù)百米高空“收風”發(fā)電

美國麻省理工學院下屬的Altaeros風能公司最近成功研制出一款空中風力渦輪機（AWT），能利用高空中的風力發(fā)電。

AWT實際上是風車和飛艇的結合，它有一個充滿氦氣的外殼，能漂浮在空中收集風力發(fā)電，然后通過電纜傳回地面。Altaeros公司日前在緬因州做了一項測試，AWT上升至107米的高度，收集到兩倍于常規(guī)風電塔的電量后成功降落。

AWT控制風的能力是風電塔的5倍，還可以減少65%的能量消耗，安裝也僅需幾天時間。

另外，它幾乎沒有環(huán)境和噪音污染，很少需要維護。未來，AWT將取代柴油發(fā)電機應用于偏僻的工業(yè)區(qū)、軍事陣地和村莊，為那里的設施和人員提供能源。

AWT的發(fā)明者本·格拉斯是Altaeros公司的首席執(zhí)行官，他說，“數(shù)十年來，風力發(fā)電都需要用起重機和巨大的塔吊將渦輪放置在離地面幾百英尺的塔頂上”，如今，“可充氣材料能輕而易舉將風力渦輪機帶到任何有強勁風力的地方”。

Altaeros公司計劃讓AWT升至305米的高空，那里的風力更加強勁持久。

Altaeros Energies Achieves Breakthrough in High Altitude Wind Power

The company recently completed testing of a 35-foot scale prototype of the Altaeros Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT) at the Loring Commerce Center in Limestone, Maine. The prototype, fabricated in partnership with Doyle Sailmakers of Salem, Massachusetts, achieved several key milestones. The AWT climbed up 350 feet high, produced power at altitude, and landed in an automated cycle. In addition, the prototype lifted the top-selling Southwest Skystream turbine to produce over twice the power at high altitude than generated at conventional tower height. The turbine was successfully transported and deployed into the air from a towable docking trailer.

Altaeros is developing its first product to reduce energy costs by up to 65 percent by harnessing the stronger winds found over 1,000 feet high and reducing installation time from weeks to days. In addition, it is designed to have virtually no environmental or noise impact and to require minimal maintenance. The Altaeros AWT will displace expensive fuel used to power diesel generators at remote industrial, military, and village sites. In the long term, Altaeros plans to scale up the technology to reduce costs in the offshore wind market.

“For decades, wind turbines have required cranes and huge towers to lift a few hundred feet off the ground where winds can be slow and gusty,” explained Ben Glass, the inventor of the AWT and Altaeros Chief Executive Officer.“We are excited to demonstrate that modern inflatable materials can lift wind turbines into more powerful winds almost everywhere—with a platform that is cost competitive and easy to setup from a shipping container.”

The AWT uses a heliumfilled, inflatable shell to ascend to higher altitudes where winds are more consistent and over five times stronger than those reached by traditional tower-mounted turbines. Strong tethers hold the AWT steady and send electricity down to the ground.

The lifting technology is adapted from aerostats, industrial cousins of passenger blimps that for decades have lifted heavy communications and radar equipment into the air for long periods of time. Aerostats are rated to survive hurricane-level winds and have safety features that ensure a slow descent to the ground.

The emerging airborne or“high altitude” wind sector was recently featured on the cover of the March 2011 issue of Popular Mechanics. In December 2011, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released draft guidelines allowing the new class of airborne wind systems to be sited under existing regulation.

Altaeros Energies is currently seeking partners to join its effort to launch the first commerciallyavailable high altitude wind turbine in the world.

About Altaeros:

Altaeros Energies was founded in 2010 to generate low cost renewable energy by harnessing the strong winds found at higher altitudes. Altaeros Energies won the 2011 ConocoPhillips Energy Prize, and has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the California Energy Commission, and the Maine Technology Institute.

科學家首次發(fā)現(xiàn)人腦神經纖維排列方式

對于肉眼來說，人類大腦最顯著的特點便是其波浪般的腫塊和溝槽模式。

然而發(fā)表在3月30日出版的美國《科學》雜志上的一項最新研究指出，這些曲線當中實際上是由大約成直角的彼此交叉的神經纖維構成的網(wǎng)格。

研究人員利用一種新近開發(fā)出的方法——名為擴散光譜成像技術——推斷了人類活體大腦中的神經纖維的位置。

這些掃描揭示了一種有序的神經纖維編織方式——這是一種比許多科學家之前所預想的要簡單得多的結構。

研究人員對4種靈長類動物進行的掃描得出了一個類似的模型。

美國波士頓大學的腦神經學家Douglas L. Rosene和同事推斷，這種像網(wǎng)格一樣的結構或許在大腦的發(fā)育過程中是有利的，它的作用相當于高速公路的車道標記，從而幫助生長中的神經纖維找到通往目的地的道路。

這些發(fā)現(xiàn)為人們提供了一種分析大腦的新的框架，例如，科學家或許能夠用這一坐標系統(tǒng)來精準地查明患病和健康大腦之間的差異。

大腦是由兩種組織構成的，即由具有特定功能的神經細胞組成的灰質，以及由長長的相互連接的纖維組成的白質構成。

這些纖維的形狀和軌跡——即它們在其行程中在何處及如何交叉和相遇——長期以來一直被認為是復雜且難以掌握的。而新的發(fā)現(xiàn)表明，這些纖維的形狀是有組織的并具有幾何形狀，且驚人的簡單。

Brain Wiring a No-Brainer?

The brain appears to be wired more like the checkerboard streets of New York City than the curvy lanes of Columbia, Md., suggests a new brain imaging study. The most detailed images, to date, reveal a pervasive 3D grid structure with no diagonals, say scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health.

“Far from being just a tangle of wires, the brain’s connections turn out to be more like ribbon cables — folding 2D sheets of parallel neuronal fibers that cross paths at right angles, like the warp and weft of a fabric,” explained Van Wedeen, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and the Harvard Medical School. “This grid structure is continuous and consistent at all scales and across humans and other primate species.”

Wedeen and colleagues report new evidence of the brain’s elegant simplicity March 30, 2012 in the journal Science. The study was funded, in part, by the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Human Connectome Project of the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, and other NIH components.

“Getting a high resolution wiring diagram of our brains is a landmark in human neuroanatomy,” said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, M.D. “This new technology may reveal individual differences in brain connections that could aid diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders.”

Knowledge gained from the study helped shape design specifications for the most powerful brain scanner of its kind, which was installed at MGH’s Martinos Center last fall. The new Connectom diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner can visualize the networks of crisscrossing fibers– by which different parts of the brain communicate with each other – in 10-fold higher detail than conventional scanners, said Wedeen.

“This one-of-a-kind instrument is bringing into sharper focus an astonishingly simple architecture that makes sense in light of how the brain grows,”he explained. “The wiring of the mature brain appears to mirror three primal pathways established in embryonic development.”

As the brain gets wired up in early development, its connections form along perpendicular pathways, running horizontally, vertically and transversely. This grid structure appears to guide connectivity like lane markers on a highway, which would limit options for growing nerve fibers to change direction during development. If they can turn in just four directions: left, right, up or down, this may enforce a more efficient, orderly way for the fibers to find their proper connections – and for the structure to adapt through evolution, suggest the researchers.

Obtaining detailed images of these pathways in human brain has long eluded researchers, in part, because the human cortex, or outer mantle, develops many folds, nooks and crannies that obscure the structure of its connections. Although studies using chemical tracers in neural tracts of animal brains yielded hints of a grid structure, such invasive techniques could not be used in humans.

Wedeen’s team is part of a Human Connectome Project Harvard/MGH-UCLA consortium that is optimizing MRI technology to more accurately to image the pathways. In diffusion imaging, the scanner detects movement of water inside the fibers to reveal their locations. A high resolution technique called diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) makes it possible to see the different orientations of multiple fibers that cross at a single location – the key to seeing the grid structure.

In the current study, researchers performed DSI scans on postmortem brains of four types of monkeys – rhesus, owl, marmoset and galago – and in living humans. They saw the same 2D sheet structure containing parallel fibers crossing paths everywhere in all of the brains – even in local path neighborhoods. The grid structure of cortex pathways was continuous with those of lower brain structures, including memory and emotion centers. The more complex human and rhesus brains showed more differentiation between pathways than simpler species.

Among immediate implications, the findings suggest a simplifying framework for understanding the brain’s structure, pathways and connectivity.