Pioneering research using human brain tissue removed from people suffering from epilepsy has opened the door to new treatments for the disease.

Scientists at Newcastle University have for the first time been able to record spontaneous epileptic activity in brain tissue that has been removed from patients undergoing neurosurgery. Led by Newcastle University’s Dr Mark Cunningham, the research has revealed that a particular type of brain wave pattern associated with epilepsy caused by electrical connections between nerve cells in the brain rather than chemical ones. This means the traditional drugs are useless to them.

Published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), Dr Cunningham said the findings marked a huge step forward in our understanding of a disease which affects an estimated 45 million people worldwide. “Until now we have only been able to mimic epilepsy using experimental animal models but this can never give you a true picture of what is actually going on inside the human brain in epilepsy,” explained Cr Cunningham who is based in Newcastle University’s Institute of Neuroscience.

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Google has moved a step closer to creating the world’s biggest on-line library.

The search engine has struck a landmark deal in the U.S. with publishers and writers allowing it to digitally scan and store their books.

The controversial proposals have received preliminary approval from some British publishing bodies.

But some authors in this country remain angry over what is seen as Google’s high –handed attitude to making books available online.

They are still unhappy that Google initially starting scanning books without permissions – and fear that their copyright could be infringed.

Google has reached a provisional settlement with American writers’ groups which would allow books published in the U.S., Britain, Canada or Australia to be available online to American users. A deal for UK readers is likely to follow within 12 months. The new service will allow scholars, students and readers to search, preview and purchase online access to the works. Under the deal, authors receive a one-off payment for their work, followed by further reimbursement depending on how often their material is used.

Google has said it has already copied ten million books, even million of which were out of print.

A new generation of ultra small transistors and more powerful computer chips using tiny structures called semi conducting nanowires are closer to reality after a key discovery by researchers at IBM, Purdue University and the University of California at Los Angeles.

The researchers have learned how to create nanowires with layers of different materials that are sharply defined at the atomic level, which is critical requirement for making efficient transistors out of the structure. “Having sharply defined layers of materials enables you to improve and control the flow of electrons and to switch this flow on and off,” said Eric Stach, an associate professor of materials engineering at Purdue.

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