German and romanian scientists from the university hospital in Bonn and the university hospital in Cluj-Napoca now found a gene (ABCG8) that increases the risk of getting a biliary colic disease threefold. An estimated ten percent of the european population is carrier of this gene. The gene is causing an increased activity of a molecular pump which is a transporter of cholesterin from the liver into the biliary tract. Gallstones consist primarily of cristalin cholesterin. The study was conducted in 178 individual which are suffering from biliary colics. It revealed that 21% of the participants have the gene ABCG8 compared to a control group with only 8%.

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Nature often creates more complicated structures using less energy than we can with our technology. Engineers and biologists, therefore, work together in the field of biomimetics and use inspiration from nature to develop new technology. One promising area is the development of small nano-crystals to give surfaces an iridescent and/or a metallic look. Such visual effects are found in many birds, fishes and insects and are used to attract mates or startle predators.

These effects have applications in a wide range of areas including the counterfeiting industry, in cosmetics and in paints. Traditionally biomimetic photonic crystals have been made by focused ion beam chemical vapour depositions. A method that relies on powerful ion beams to irradiate vapour free nitrogen radicals and other compounds at high temperatures onto a surface and thereby slowly building up the structure. This method, however, is very costly and thus only commercially relevant for production of very expensive nanostructures...

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In sharks, as in many other animals, it is possible to get an idea of the animal’s behavioural state by paying attention to changes in behaviour and displays of the body and appendages. Such information can potentially be life saving for divers or surfers who regularly come into contact with the big sharks. The biologist R. Aidan Martin from the University of British Columbia has described various agonistic displays by sharks in order to learn more about these warning signals.

Displays include hunching of the back, fin flexing and rapid approach followed by sharp turns used as threat signals. The great white shark, furthermore, breaches the surface and splashes with the tail as a sign of a high aggression level.

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