6 | NewScientist | 17 August 2013

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WANT to experiment with some of the weirdest stuff in the universe from the comfort of home? As part of an experiment to discover whether antimatter falls upwards, physicists are asking ordinary people to analyse particle tracks over the internet.

The AEGIS experiment at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, is preparing to shoot antihydrogen atoms at ordinary matter, causing both to annihilate and produce a host of other particles. These will then travel though liquid, creating visible tracks which can be analysed to reveal where the collision occurred, and in turn how gravity affects antimatter.

Existing computer algorithms

can trace particle tracks, but they need updating. The AEGIS crowdsourcing software invites volunteers to watch short animations based on real particle

Citizen antimatter annihilations and trace over lines that could be particle paths. Physicists will then use the human-spotted tracks to update the algorithms’ criteria for tracing tracks.

Such citizen science projects may be commonplace in astronomy and biology, but they are new to particle physics. “This is the first place I know of where particle physicists have turned round and said ‘actually, we do need humans’,” says Chris Lintott of the University of Oxford, who oversees several crowdsourcing sites, including Galaxy Zoo.

Obesity see-sawGOOD job US. Could do better UK. As childhood obesity drops on one side of the Atlantic, it continues to climb on the other.

A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found obesity decreasing in 19 of 43 US states and territories between 2008 and 2011 in the poorest pre-school children, who tend to be larger than their peers from wealthier families. Increases were seen in only three states. This compares with increases in 24 states

between 2003 and 2008, and decreases in nine, suggesting the tide has since turned.

In contrast, UK charity the British Heart Foundation (BHF) reported this week that childhood obesity rose in England between 1995 and 2011, from 11 to 17 per cent of boys and 12 to 16 per cent of girls.

Victoria Taylor of the BHF says lack of physical activity and eating too many unhealthy foods are the most likely explanations. In the US, the CDC attributes part of the turnaround to the provision of healthier subsidised meals, which include more fruit and vegetables.

Meals fit for Mars“FREEZE-DRIED ice cream, again?” Mars explorers may never need to utter such words, thanks to a food-focused mock space mission.

For those planning a stay on Mars, sell-by dates and menu fatigue demand a more creative approach to food than the dried supplies used on the International Space Station. So the NASA-funded Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation project put six people in a habitat on

–Next best thing to air con–

–”Can’t wait for my sushi dinner!”–

Power cuts as Korea wiltsTHE timing could hardly be worse. South Korea is roasting in a record-breaking heatwave but doesn’t have the electricity to crank up the air conditioning, as several power plants have shut down following a safety scandal.

Extreme heat struck much of east Asia in recent weeks. Temperatures in southern China have hit 42 °C, and in South Korea they hit an all-time high of 39.2 °C last Saturday.

Dozens of people are reported dead across the region, with babies and the elderly particularly at risk. A recent study showed that mortality rates in South Korean cities rise by 4.1 per cent during extreme heat events. Heatwaves in Seoul are particularly dangerous, increasing mortality by 8.4 per cent (Environmental Health

Perspectives, doi.org/fx7nkz).To make matters worse, South

Korea is in turmoil over its electricity supply. The country is heavily reliant on nuclear power, which has come under fire following the 2011 disaster at Fukushima. Then earlier this year, it emerged that safety tests on some of South Korea’s reactors had been faked. Three nuclear plants have been taken offline, and on Monday two coal-fired power plants were also shut down when they developed faults.

South Korea just does not have enough power to keep everything running. Government buildings have been ordered to turn off their air conditioning, and ministers say they may have to resort to rolling blackouts to prevent the grid from crashing.

“ This is the first I know of where particle physicists have turned around and said ‘we do need humans’ ”

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