SUMMER 2012 • ISSUE 2
I D E A S
•
M A LTA
•
R E S E A RC H
•
P E O P L E
•
U N I V E R S I TY
21ST CENTURY
WOMEN
Juggling research
and motherhood
THE TANGLED
BRAIN
Treating Alzheimer’s
and Parkinson’s disease
RESEARCHERS
MEET ART
UNDERWATER
ROBOTS
Exploring a 4,000
year old temple
Transforming Valletta
this September
LOOKING UP
TO THE SKIES
The largest telescope
ever built
DIGITAL
EDITION
THINKIDEA
SMALTARE
ARESEARC
HPEOPLEU
EUNIVERSI
THINKIDEA
MALTARE
RESEARCH
HPEOPLEUN
Cover photo
Artist’s impression of a baby star still surrounded by a protoplanetary disc in which planets are forming. Using
ESO’s very successful HARPS spectrograph, a team of astronomers has found that Sun-like stars which host
planets have destroyed their lithium much more efficiently than planet-free stars. This finding does not only
shed light on the low levels of this chemical element in the Sun, solving a long-standing mystery, but also provides astronomers with a very efficient way to pick out the stars most likely to host planets. It is not clear what
causes the lithium to be destroyed. The general idea is that the planets or the presence of the protoplanetary
disc disturb the interior of the star, bringing the lithium deeper down into the star than usual, into regions
where the temperature is so hot that it is destroyed.
ASMALTA
ESEARCHP
CHPEOPLEU
UNIVERI
ITY
ASMALTAR
ESEARCHP
HPEOPLEU
NIVERCOVER STORIES
12
A balancing act
Motherhood and
research: how to make
them work?
Research
matters reborn!
n the December 2011 issue of Research Matters, did I promise you that the University will continue to blow its trumpets?
Well here we are again albeit piping a new tune.
After only one issue, Research Matters has rebranded and is
now Think! This rebirth heralded by our resident editor has
created more space for a broad spectrum of articles illustrating what
it is that we get up to on campus, but, this time the articles do not
only feature one research project after another; they open a window on the experiences and challenges of our researchers, students,
alumni, and professors. You will find, moreover, some short features
covering interesting challenges, discoveries, and phenomena taking
place around us. In short, Think is now more fun, human, and hopefully more appealing than ever.
So take a journey from cocaine addiction, to how MEMS devices
are deployed in microsystems that we use on a daily basis; from the
impact of chatting on spelling, from dancing with the economy to
the tune of market bulls and bears; from capturing the wind for
energy generation, to the experience of a researcher juggling studies, work, and kids; from our participation in the creation of the
largest telescope ever built, to our work on moving objects with
our thoughts; from research on new compounds in the Mediterranean diet that can combat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease,
to the creation of routine monitoring techniques to continuously
test computer systems to ensure that they work when needed and
as intended.
Just flick through the pages and read all about it, and more!
I hope you find this issue interesting and if you wish to contribute
to the growing research activity at the University of Malta, please do
not hesitate to contact us.
We are always pleased to explore how we can collaborate to expand our horizons.
Juanito Camilleri
RECTOR
14
Looking up to
the skies
How Malta is taking
part in the continent
spanning telescope: the
Square Kilometre Array
28
Targeting the
tangled brain
Dr Neville Vassallo
is finding novel
treatments for
Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's disease
40
Maps, Bots and
a Neolithic site
American and
Maltese scientists use
underwater robots to
explore Tas-Silġ — a
4,000 year old site
47
Researchers
meet art this
September
How Valletta will be
transformed with a
science and art festival
3
CONTENTS
OPINION
Attention, research ahead!
13
Dr Ernest Cachia imagines
a world without technology
FEATURE
Trusting
the machine
One surprise
after another
Computers are
everywhere and so are
hackers, so how can we
build safer systems?
T
he University of Malta is full of stories. Within
these pages be prepared to discover a handpicked
selection of our best and brightest researchers. I
have sat down with people whose eyes lit up when
recalling being lowered into a 13-metre hole (pg. 40) and
others full of passion while sharing their big idea (pg. 34).
With Think, we are building on the solid foundation of
the first issue called Research Matters to bring our readers
more access, more insight, and more engagement with the
University of Malta — blogs, tweets, and Facebook posts
are in the pipeline.
Apart from in-depth articles, we’ve sneaked in a fun section with reviews about Super Mario 3D and Elephants
on Acid, fact or fiction questions, and a 100-word idea to
change Malta (pg. 54–55). Please contact us to share your
thoughts.
We hope this magazine will inspire more stories from
University. If you’re a University of Malta student, alumnus, or staff, come talk to us about your work — there are
many ways to contribute.
For the next issue, we have a few surprises, a hint: laughter is the best medicine.
Dr Edward Duca
EDITOR
edward.duca@um.edu.mt
Twitter: @DwardD
31
CULTURE
Visible, virtual,
visceral
Imagine culture,
imagine Valletta
48 in 2018
ALUMNI
Alumni talk
50
Four stories from four
graduates: punk, gender,
stars, and cells
58
CULTURE GENES
Meme
From Darwin to cats, some
jokes and cartoons trending
on the internet
CONTENTS
6
STUDENTS
Students' thinking
About: cocaine, smartphones,
offshore wind power, online
chatting, economic turmoil,
and even keeping an eye on
government
FEATURE
Moving objects with your thoughts
21
Never lift a finger again; brain patterns can be interpreted
by computer programmes to move curtains, wheelchairs
and more
THEORY
34
Why did humans
develop a large brain?
Dr Yves Muscat Baron shares his
theory, a hint: gravity
THINK
I D E A S
•
M A LTA
•
R E S E A RC H
•
P E O P L E
•
U N I V E R S I TY
SUMMER 2012 - ISSUE 2
EDITORIAL
Dr Edward Duca EDITOR
PRODUCTION
Jean Claude Vancell
Supporting University
research... it pays
Making research matter through the RIDT
49
PRINTING
THINK is a quarterly research magazine published by the University of Malta.
RESEARCH
Gutenberg Press, Malta
ISBN: 978-99957-0-277-9
Copyright © University of Malta, 2012
The right of the University of Malta to be identified as Publisher of this
work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright Act, 2001.
University of Malta, Msida, Malta
Tel: (356) 2340 2340
Fax: (356) 2340 2342
www.um.edu.mt
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the
purpose of research and review, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
TRIBUTE
Peter Serracino
Inglott
The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for
external websites referred to in this magazine are correct and active at
the time of going to press. However the publisher has no responsibility
for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live
or that the content is or will remain appropriate.
Ranier Fsadni gives us
a fresh perspective
56
Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any
have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to
include any necessary credits in any subsequent issues.
5
STUDENT
students’
THINKing
From why prices are remaining stable to how drugs affect the brain, students at the University
of Malta have been finding answers to local and international problems. Here is a selection of
the best and brightest.
Better, cheaper smartphones
MICRO-electro-mechanical systems
(MEMS) are about the width of a human
hair. They can tell a smartphone which way
is ‘up’, enable inkjet printers to eject ink precisely, and are even found in high definition
displays. These chips have sensors that detect a physical quantity such as temperature
or direction, which is then converted into an
electrical signal. The signal can be passed on
to a customised computer chip designed for
a specific use, called an application-specific
integrated circuit (ASIC). A MEMS device
operating through an ASIC is called a microsystem, commonly found on handheld
devices. Students at the University of Malta
are currently researching ways to crucially
improve these devices.
Over the past years, research into MEMS
has developed sensors for temperature, pressure, inertial forces, chemical properties,
magnetic fields, radiation, and more. These
tiny microsensors outperformed their larger
counterparts at a lower price. Recently, they
were adapted for gas and liquid flow control,
optical switches, and mirrors found in video
projectors.
Locally, the Department of Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics is collaborating
with STMicroelectronics, which is funding
postgraduate studies in both MEMS and
ASIC design. They are investigating accelerometers that, for example, enable a smart-
6
Ansel Briffa, Jean Marie Darmanin and Kristian Grixti using a probing station to test novel microsystems to improve smart devices. Inset: A 3D model of a 2-axis accelerometer, found in smartphones.
phone or a gaming console to know how
the device is being held. The Department is
using the latest manufacturing techniques to
test its research innovations.
Accelerometers have two main functions:
sensing direction using an MEMS chip, followed by processing the information using
an ASIC. Both chips are placed on a single
package. The research focuses on reducing
power consumption and cost, which will
enable smartphones to perform better at a
lower price.
“Training in this field will hopefully entice industry to develop research and design
teams focused on this rapidly expanding
field,” says Dr Ivan Grech, senior lecturer at
the Faculty of ICT. The development of microsystems is an attractive and exciting area
of study, which provides new and innovative
ways to use smart devices for everyday applications.
•
Research in this area was carried out by Ansel
Briffa, Jean Marie Darmanin and Kristian
Grixti, as part of their Master of Science in
Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics at the
Faculty of Information and Communication
Technology. They were supervised by Dr Ing.
Edward Gatt, Dr Ivan Grech, Dr Ing. Owen
Casha and Prof. Ing. Joseph Micallef.
THINK STUDENT
Cocaine leads
to information
overload
COCAINE CAN HIJACK the
brain. Once taken, recovery for a user is
a long and difficult road, with life threatening risks and ruined social interactions
hindering their ability to stop taking the
drug. Research from the University of
Malta has now revealed a possible explanation for cocaine relapse.
Around the world, 21 million people
take cocaine. Unfortunately, even one-time
or occasional users can become addicts.
This makes recovery a lengthy lifelong process with numerous challenges. Regardless
of how tough a user is or how hard they try,
relapsing after detoxification or rehabilitation always remains a sombre possibility.
To discover why cocaine addicts
are prone to relapse, Roderick Spiteri
(supervised by Prof. Richard Muscat)
compared 19 cocaine users to 19 average
individuals. Using methods developed
in Bordeaux, both groups were tested on
their ability to filter out useful information from a torrent of noise. For people
to function they need to extract information by blocking irrelevant clatter. This
prevents sensory and cognitive overload.
When an individual attempts to deal with
too much information it leads to errors
and poor choices.
The research shows how cocaine users
lose their ability to block irrelevant information that leads to cognitive overload. This is like a virus causing a computer system to crash, leaving only one
choice: restart. Sadly, the same cannot
be done for a cocaine addict. Cognitive
overload leads to an inability to choose,
usually leading to bad decisions.
Integrating this new knowledge to
psychological treatments like cognitive behavioural therapy might help addicts on the long road of recovery and
social integration. If everyday situations are likely to overwhelm a cocaine
user’s brain, they may need more frequent breaks between tasks in order to
cope.
•
This research was performed as part of a
Masters in Biomedical Science from the
Faculty of Medicine & Surgery.
Banking sectors that bounce back
IN 2007, THE BANKING sector collapsed. Today, several banks are still
struggling to stand on their own two feet.
To help shore them up against recurrent catastrophic collapse, the world’s top Group of
Twenty economies has proposed a new set
of regulations called the Basel III regulatory
framework. Local analysis of this framework hints that while beneficial, it would
not prevent another bust.
Governments needed to bail out banks
in 2007 because banks could not pay back
their loans. Banks must make sure that they
maintain a ratio of capital (some form of
money ranging from property to shares) to
the amount of money they lend, called capital ratio. The minimum currently stands at
4% (Tier 1), meaning that banks only need
to hold less than one in twenty of the money
they are lending, which does not leave much
of a ‘cushion’ if things go wrong. A bank’s
liquidity can quickly dry up damaging other
banks.
The Basel III framework introduces a
new set of standards that amongst other
things raises the minimum Tier 1 capital
ratio to 6%. Marica Bonavia (under the
supervision of Mr Michel Said) assessed
the impact of the new framework on the
American and European banking systems.
Her work reveals how the largest American
banks already conform. On the other hand,
the position of European banks ranges from
German banks that are raising new capital,
to Swiss and British regulators who want
higher capital ratios.
The dissertation suggests that the real impact of Basel III still needs to be seen and
although the new regulations are a big step
forward, further efforts are needed.
•
This research was performed as part of a
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the
Faculty of Economics, Management and
Accountancy.
7
STUDENT
On Bulls
and Bears
HEDGE FUNDS ARE pooled
money that has few investment restrictions. The money usually comes
from pension schemes or university
endowments and their flexibility allows good hedge fund managers consistently net high returns. Hedge
funds always beat the market, or so
states economic theory. Simon Psaila
(supervised by Mr Joseph Portelli)
analysed markets from the 1990s up
to the recent financial crisis finding
a much more complicated scenario
than is generally perceived.
The 1990s were a bull market, so
called for having a consistently upward trend. In this confident atmosphere, it was found that hedge fund
managers did not outperform other
market indices, such as the Standard
& Poor 500 — an index of 500 stocks
of companies in the USA. The same
was evident for the bull market of the
mid 2000s. Only when the markets
dipped into a bear market (downward
trend) in the early 2000s did hedge
funds perform better than other strategies. The reverse occurred during
the recent recession starting in 2007,
which proved problematic for hedge
funds and many investors pulled out
of the industry.
Taken as a whole, this analysis
shows that hedge funds do not consistently perform better than other
strategies and depend on the market
environment.
•
This study was performed as part of a
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) at
the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy.
8
Online chatting and spelling
ability: myth, speculation
and reality
THE GUTENBURG printing
press revolutionised the world in 1455.
It brought the written word to the
masses, though in its day critics thought
it would corrupt language. Today, text
and instant messages are the new technologies that critics are accusing of degrading writing.
Research from Coventry University
shows that online chatting can improve
spelling, questioning the popular mythology spread by the media. Building on
this foundation, Lara Vella (supervised
by Professor Sandro Caruana) studied
online chatting extracts by Maltese secondary school students. She found some
evidence which shows that students who
chatted online for several hours had a
lower spelling ability.
To measure chatting behaviour, she
distributed a questionnaire to 205
Maltese secondary school students (95
males and 110 females, who were about
14 years and 5 months old). These students were assessed on their spelling by
two different tests and an analysis on extracts of online conversations. In Malta,
it seems that chatting might be linked
to a lower spelling score in both Maltese
and English.
Chatting and instant messaging is normally assumed to be dotted with spelling errors and abbreviated words, like:
u, lol, abt, c, msg, tks, rofl and others.
Her study showed that only 16.21% of
the words used included such alternative
spelling. Stereotypical beliefs did not
hold true and were clearly outweighed by
normal spelling.
Taken together, the study clearly shows
that the relationship between spelling and online chatting is not clear-cut.
Vella cautions that other factors affecting
spelling need consideration. Speculation
about the effect of online chatting needs
to be replaced by research aimed at separating fact from fiction. Research will allow strategies to be developed that help
improve literacy for Maltese students in
the online world.
•
This research was performed as part of a
Masters in Education at the Faculty of
Education.
THINK STUDENT
Government to the rescue
THE ECONOMIES of small states
are vulnerable. Their size and open nature
leaves them exposed to economic shocks.
William Gatt (supervised by Dr Gordon
Cordina) from the University of Malta and
Central Bank of Malta modeled an economy to study the effects of government policies in limiting economic turmoil.
The researcher used a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model
of a small, open economy to simulate an
economy similar to Malta. The model could
study an economy over time, determine its
reaction to random shocks, and the effect
of changes in policy. Mr Gatt compared a
government policy which directly shored up
‘at risk’ households to another policy with
which government boosted economic activity by directly buying goods from the market. Direct transfers to households accelerated a faster economic recovery after drops
in foreign demand.
Further studies showed that government
intervention is more beneficial when more
‘at risk’ households exist. The downside to
this policy is a requirement of a large eco-
Imports
Private
Savings/Debt
Households
Optimising | Rule-of-Thumb
Labour
Transfers
Wages
(including Central Bank)
Private
Consumption
Firms
Public
Consumption
Public
Savings/Debt
Government
Exports
Domestic economy
‘Rest of the world’
nomic surplus. Government would need to
save when the economy is strong to buffer
in times of distress. In this light, the role
of government is as a saver, meaning that it
should ensure precautionary savings adjusting policy targets for a budget surplus.
•
Europe, inflation, interest rates,
and a financial crisis
THE WORLD IS currently going through the greatest financial crisis
since the 1930s. To reverse the economic
crunch, central banks lowered the rate of
interest to reverse the slowdown in credit
availability, a popular economic policy.
Such approaches are based on solid economic theories. However, the unique crisis could have really changed how economies react.
Stephen Piccinino (supervised by Professor Josef Bonnici) analysed the relationship between inflation and interest rates in
the euro area between 1999 and 2011. The
Rest of Union
Income
Tax
economic theory called the Fisher effect defines this relationship, and assumes that if a
central bank injects money too quickly into
an economy it would simply raise the rate of
inflation.
From January 1999 to August 2008, the
Fisher effect held true and the rate of inflation increased with the rate of interest in a
one-to-one fashion. While between September 2008 and March 2011, this relationship
fell apart due to intervention by the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB lent retail banks large sums of money at favourable
rates. It also removed limits on how much
This research was undertaken as part of a
Master of Arts in Economics from the Faculty
of Economics, Management and Accountancy. Opinions expressed are those of the author
and not necessarily those of the Central Bank
of Malta.
banks could borrow and reduced interest
rates. These changes influenced the relationship between interest rates and inflation.
During this period, inflation rose faster than interest rates, which meant that
money held in bank accounts had a lower
return than in previous years. These findings mirrored the Federal Reserve’s policy
interventions in the US between 1979 and
1982.
•
This research was undertaken as part of a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Economics.
9
STUDENT
Price
persistence
in Malta
PRICES REFLECT economic information. However, some prices reveal more
about the health of an economy than others.
The most indicative prices are those for goods
that do not fluctuate greatly, which exclude
fresh food, energy, and a few others. Changes to
prices of stable, core goods (insurance policies,
some services, and others) should ring alarm
bells with policymakers who need to consider
them when setting targets for inflation.
For an in-depth analysis of the local situation, Reuben Ellul (supervised by Dr Gordon
Cordina) estimated core inflation using an
unconventional approach, called a trimmed
mean index, which allowed the pinpointing
of pressures within the Maltese economy.
Local inflation is susceptible to international price changes, especially for energy
and food. From 1999 to 2010, (particularly
between 2005 and 2010) Maltese inflation
rates fluctuated more than in euro area countries. The Maltese economy responds poorly
to sudden price changes and shocks appear to
last longer. On the other hand, the prices of
certain locally provided services tend to be
more stable. These sectors might be unable to
negotiate new prices quickly, or reflect conditions in an unliberalised market.
The author suggests that, taken together,
these findings help to more accurately iden-
tify the pressures in an economy. Similar
approaches could aid policymakers, as core
inflation rates may portray a more realistic
picture of an economy.
•
This research was performed as part of a
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) at the
Faculty of Economics, Management & Accountancy. Opinions expressed are those of the
author and not necessarily those of the Central
Bank of Malta.
Assessing government
PUBLIC SERVICES should be audited. Their financial reports need to be
reviewed by agencies independent of government (external audits), while government itself has to assess its own operations
to maximize efficiency, minimize fraud,
and comply with the law (internal audits).
Despite their importance, most studies on
the Maltese situation have focused on the
private sector, neglecting the public sphere.
To analyse the degree of communication
between the internal and external auditors,
Sharon Zammit (supervised by Mr Peter J.
Baldacchino) interviewed officials from the
National Audit Office (NAO: external) and
Internal Audit and Investigations Depart-
10
ment (IAID). She concluded that effective
communication between these departments
is still in its infancy, leaving lots of space for
improvement.
She identified four main barriers. The first
is an ingrained culture promoting a lack of
cooperation for investigating fraud and irregularities. The second is overreliance on
informal communication that affects their
cooperation in audit planning and internal
controls. The third is mutual misperceptions
that limit sharing of reports. The fourth is a
lack of resources that limits time for communication between the offices.
Such ‘walls’ prevent the organisations
from reaping the benefits of cooperation.
To change this situation the author recommends an official written agreement between the two entities (NAO and IAID).
This would support a programme of regular meetings, decentralisation of internal
audit function, sharing expertise to prevent duplication, and when appropriate
combined auditing of government activities. Ms Zammit hopes that both organisations can come to be “seen as complementing each other, rather than as treading on
each other’s toes.”
•
This research was performed as part of a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours) at the Faculty
of Economics, Management & Accountancy.
THINK STUDENT
The making of
Offshore Wind
Energy
MALTA HAS a problem. It relies
heavily on fossil fuels such as oil to meet
its energy needs. Whenever oil prices increase, either the people or the government
take the brunt of the cost. The country also
faces a strict deadline: by 2020 it needs to
supply 10% of its energy needs from renewable sources such as wind, solar, or wave.
To help reach this goal, a new project at the
University of Malta is custom-designing
offshore wind turbines.
Malta’s territorial waters are quite extensive but deep. The Hurd Bank area is the
most suitable site at a depth of 50 to 70
metres. These depths are beyond the reach
of current commercially available technology and the latest project in the windy, turbulent North Sea reaches 45 metres (The
Beatrice Project).
To construct a wind turbine for the
Maltese region, Thomas Gauci (as part of
a team consisting of University academics and industrial partners) is designing a
structure specific to Malta. Seventy-metre
deep waters will increase costs. On the
other hand, the Mediterranean is relatively
calm compared to the North Sea, so the
support structure keeping the wind turbine in place can be lighter, which shaves
off tons of raw materials and reduces the
final price.
An offshore wind turbine needs to resist
waves, corrosion, and storms. The design
process of an offshore support structure
is essential to keep it in place and starts
with determining exactly where
the turbines will be embedded and
how they will be supported. After
these questions are answered, the
turbines’ exact specifications need
to be determined, such as material,
height, width, and what forces it
can resist over a number of years.
Speed of blade rotation also needs
to be checked to make sure it does
not cause discomfort to nearby
humans and animals. Mr Gauci’s
concept design meets all of these
needs in compliance with international and EU standards. At
this stage, the design needs to
be costed, right down to the installation and maintainance of
the turbines.
If Malta builds these offshore
wind turbines it would easily
meet the 10% baseline set by the
EU. Undeniably, such a large
project will face numerous challenges, but perhaps Mr Gauci
said it best: “not a day goes by
when I don’t learn something
new.”
•
This research was performed
as part of a Masters of Science
from the Faculty of Engineering
and is supported by MCST
(Malta Council for Science and
Technology).
11
OPINION
A balancing act
I
am writing this in a sports complex cafeteria, waiting to pick up my daughter
from her ballet lesson. In the meantime, my eighteen-month old son tugs
persistently at my sleeve — he wants to
lick the froth off my capuccino and bang on
the keyboard to make the screen respond. If
this sounds familiar to you, then you may
be one of those researchers who are juggling
studies, work, and kids.
I am on the eve of submitting my Ph.D.
dissertation. Since I started, there has not
been a single birthday, Christmas, or ‘sick’
day when I was not at my laptop, working on
my research. During the first year I found it
difficult to concentrate. I was alone at home,
with a lot of time on my hands, and there
were days wasted on Facebook and eBay.
Thankfully, I was brought back to my senses
and managed to start focussing on my work.
As the first year rolled into the next, my
son was born. Perhaps this was irresponsible,
but then again, one cannot put life on hold
to achieve a degree. The pregnancy was not
easy and even necessitated hospital admission for a short time. To complicate matters,
I had an important exam in the week my son
was meant to be born, so I spent many sleep-
12
Ms Michelle Attard Tonna
less nights to complete my work in advance
and take the exam earlier. Pregnancy even
complicated flights, since I was refused airtickets when 33 weeks pregnant.
I usually work during the night, when the
world is asleep, although this is not always
guaranteed when babies share your habitat. I plan my work around their schedule,
intensively writing while they sleep, and
performing simpler tasks while they are running around the house and destroying every
piece of furniture in the process.
Being a mum keeps me grounded. I
now respect deadlines religiously, finishing early means I am able to spend more
time with my loved ones. Kids can be
very unpredictable — they fall sick at the
eleventh hour, just before you are expected
to email a chapter to your supervisors. A
mother needs to attend school open days
and sports days, stick holy pictures to Religion project books, and keep their hair
free of lice. I either work on my research
in every waking hour after I have satisfied
mummy duties, or else have to compromise
between family and studies. As far as possible, I do not let this happen. I do not have
any superpowers and have never reached a
work-life balance. I just make priorities. I
may have laundry baskets overflowing with
clothes waiting to be folded, but I prefer to
take my kids to the playing field or watch a
movie. I can do much more, of course, as
a mother, and I do sometimes fail. When
time is tight, to finish writing I can spend
hours at my laptop with little interaction
with my kids. Otherwise, it would be difficult to focus and to regain the thread of
my thoughts.
For my studies, I need to visit campus
abroad and to present at conferences. I usually take my son along with me. He’s too
small to leave behind for more than a couple
of days. Last summer I took him to Portugal for a conference and had to board three
planes, a train and a bus. I am sometimes
met with pitying glances, but very often
people are helpful and understanding.
I may not be inspiring my kids to become researchers when they grow up. Indeed, my daughter wishes that I had taken
up something more ‘glamorous’, but I
believe and hope that my sense of diligence will rub off on them. That it will
motivate them to chase their own dreams,
as I am chasing mine.
•
THINK OPINION
Attention,
Research ahead!
T
he word research can conjure
images of people in lab coats
busy with baffling devices. The
research community has contributed to this perception by
being inactive in promoting and explaining
their work. What follows is perhaps some
insight into the world of research.
Research is an essential human endeavour.
It uses in-depth study, experimentation, construction, and evaluation of conceptual or
real-world physical processes. For example,
in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), research is needed to provide
the key ingredients that drive innovation
and creativity. Those ingredients include
new technologies, standards, approaches,
and concepts that come together to form
the right research atmosphere.
Imagine a world where research ceased to
exist. Industry, and therefore society, would
be forced to redeploy existing technology for
other uses without ever inventing anything
new. For example, without research in video
data compression, online video streaming
Dr Ernest Cachia
would stop; one of the possible effects is no
improvement in modern home entertainment systems — forget video on demand.
3D Game graphics would also stop evolving
without research into the mathematics behind object rendering and transformation.
If this stopped, game graphics evolution
would suffer, limiting the realism of future
games and other virtual environments. The
list is open-ended: research is vital.
The above examples show how technological progress needs support from a
healthy and active research community.
Successful organisations tend to find their
competitive edge through an ability to innovate, brought about by their ability to
“We can compete in
terms of research
capability, flexibility,
ingenuity and
creativity.”
invest in and carry out research. It is not
surprising to note that some of the most
successful and renowned companies, such
as IBM, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and
Apple, have a strong Research and Development (R&D) arm.
Malta is starting to recognise the competitive niche that research can enable us to
occupy, even on a global scale. The economy
of numbers is definitely not in our favour.
We cannot compete in terms of sheer graduate output. We can however very effectively
compete in terms of research capability, flexibility, ingenuity, and creativity. On these
attributes, we are on equal standing with far
larger countries. That is why researchers welcome the interest being shown by both local
industry and government. Hopefully, the
right funding framework will follow this interest. After all, research in ICT has become
as important as, say, research in healthcare.
Interesting times lie ahead.
•
The author is the Dean of the Faculty of
ICT at the University of Malta.
13
Looking
up to the
Skies
The Square Kilometre Array
14
THINK FEATURE
Malta is involved in the creation of the largest telescope ever built. The telescope
will be composed of 10 million antennas, process petaflops of data per day, and
cost 1.5 billion euros. When built the array will peer deep into space to see how
the first stars were born and attempt to solve the riddle of our origin. Words by
Dr Kris Zarb Adami and Dr John Abela.
ESO’s VLT reveals the Carina Nebula’s hidden secrets. Image: ESO/José Francisco
15
FEATURE
The Square Kilometre Array core, showing the different receiver technologies,
from antennas to dishes, depending on the frequency of observation.
Dr Kris Zarb Adami
Dr John Abela
S
ince the dawn of civilisation we
have been fascinated with the
sky. From worshipping the planets as gods and using the stars to
navigate, to more esoteric applications
that attempt to predict our romantic and
financial endeavours. What is seldom reflected upon is how the first planets, stars,
and galaxies in our universe were formed.
Over the past 12 billion years galaxies have formed from congregating stars.
As stars form, dust circling around them
binds together forming planets. On some
of these planets there exists life. Life that
is as complex as the universe itself.
Most human beings question where they
come from. The query might seem straight
forward but is challenging to answer, while
the outcome could help the human race. To
tackle this age-old concern, humans have
been developing techniques and instru-
16
ments that allow them to look further and
deeper into the night sky.
So how far back can we actually see?
With today’s equipment we can observe
the universe a few micro-seconds after
it burst into existence, some 13.7 billion
years ago. The first few seconds of its existence were extremely turbulent and it took
approximately 2 billion years for the universe to cool from this hot, dense primordial state to a somewhat cooler, peaceful
environment. When things cooled down,
gravity brought together the simple atoms
formed at birth, namely hydrogen and helium, with enough force to start off a nuclear
fusion reaction, which powers stars.
Exactly when the first stars formed has
been a bone of contention amongst scholars for the past sixty years. By building
the largest telescope the world has ever
seen, we shall actually be able to see these
stars and resolve the debate. The telescope
would pick up the explosive signature of
the first stars. Being so far away, these stars
are so faint that it would need an aperture
of at least one square kilometre. The aperture of a telescope is the area capturing
the radio waves passing through the middle of the telescope. A giant, single one
square kilometre telescope is impossible
to construct.
The Largest Telescope ever
built
Enter the Square Kilometre Array (SKA),
the world’s largest telescope fifty times more
sensitive than anything ever assembled. It
is capable of surveying the entire sky one
hundred times faster than any other existing
instrument and spans an entire continent
(Pictured). SKA’s location will be shared
between the African and Australian continents. The telescope will have the capability
of resolving and more importantly recognising the signature of the first stars in the universe. If this behemoth were to be pointed
towards Mars it would pick up a mobile
phone signal. Pointed towards a nearby star,
let’s say 50 light years away (a light year is
how far a beam of light travels in a year, or
around 9 x 1015 meters), it would detect an
airport radar on its fiery surface. Our sun is
only 8 light minutes away.
The price tag for such sensitivity is 1.5 billion euros. SKA consists of thousands of antennas picking up enough data every day to
fill ten million iPods. These technological
feats are driving the next generation of High
Performance Computing technology by the
likes of Samsung, IBM, CISCO and Nokia.
The companies are working with the SKA
consortium, using it as a testing ground for
THINK FEATURE
the next generation of computing and technology platforms. Coming up with feasible
designs for this telescope will change the
face of technology forever.
SKA will be built over the next eight
years by twelve countries, including Malta,
and over fifty institutions. The EU has already pledged millions, while South Africa
and Australia, who will both host SKA are
promising around one hundred million
euros. The siting of such an instrument
is currently a hot issue, since it will attract
massive foreign investment and change the
host country’s landscape. The reason is the
extreme sensitivity of this telescope. Since
it operates in frequencies used by terrestrial
TV and FM radios, the telescope needs to
be placed in very remote areas to minimise
human interference. Otherwise, rather than
the signature of the first stars we will be listening to ‘Dejjem tiegħek Becky’!
Location is not the only challenge - another problem is size. The SKA is unlike
an optical instrument, which usually uses
a few large mirrors (Very Large Telescope,
VLT, pictured). SKA will be made up of
around 10,000,000 antennas (rather similar
to roof-top TV antennas) and each one of
these antennas will produce data at a rate of
10-gigabit(s) per second (that is how you
fill up so many iPods). Each of these antennas needs to be carefully placed and »
An image of the strange asteroid
Lutetia from the ESA Rosetta probe.
Image: ESO/José Francisco
17
FEATURE
linked to a central processing system. The
fibre optic cabling needed to connect everything could wrap the world twice over. The
system required to process the data is equivalent to 100 million home PCs. It needs
to handle the equivalent of approximately
1000 times the entire world’s internet traffic
every second, a mind boggling 1018 operations, or the number of stars in three million
galaxies. The cherry on the cake is that SKA
must be isolated and built smack in the middle of a desert.
Malta’s Role
In 2007, Malta became involved in SKA
through Dr Zarb Adami (University of
Malta and Oxford University), who coauthored this article. I left one of the
world’s largest semiconductor companies (STMicroelectronics) to develop
engineering and ICT solutions for SKA.
These answers will keep the telescope
within budget and maintain its high
technical specifications. I am involved
in designing the antennas and the digital
processing systems needed to crunch the
massive data produced by SKA. To make
sense of the data, fast and efficient algorithms are needed to de-blur the images
and extract maximal information from
scans of the night sky.
SKA is not just about physics. To solve
some of its challenges, I collaborated
with the computer engineer Dr John Abela (the
second co-author) to
solve the problem of optimally locating 10 million antennas. It is nearly
impossible by classical brute-force
methods to consider all the possible
solutions and choose the best one. Instead, we employed some ideas
from biology to computer
science. We used biological
evolution to ‘evolve’ a
solution to the problem, by using so called
genetic algorithms.
The method starts off by randomly
choosing a number of candidate solutions.
These telescope placements are called the
‘initial population’. Each configuration in
the initial population is represented by a
An example of the Square Kilometre Array realisation in the southern Africa
site. Each dot represents an SKA-station, each containing 11,000 antennas.
Fingers crossed, there might be a white dot on Malta in the future!
18
THINK FEATURE
The VLT in Chile, the world’s largest optical telescope with its four mirrors.
Note in comparison the SKA will have ten million receiving elements.
digital code, or ‘chromosome’ – essentially
a string of characters. For the following explanation replace the word ‘chromosome’
with telescope arrangement. The genetic
algorithm mates the different chromosomes
to come up with new offspring. Each progeny relates to a new placement. To add some
random fun the algorithm processes the
‘chromosomes’ to ‘mutate’ the offspring.
The hope is that the babes will have better
‘chromosomes’. If, for instance, one parent is
clever but ugly and the other parent is beautiful but dumb then one of the offspring will
be clever and beautiful and the other will be
ugly and dumb as (sometimes) happens in
nature. After the chromosomes are mated,
the children are screened to decide which
should survive and which should die. The
cycle then starts all over again with a new
initial population until, after many generations, a near optimal solution emerges. For
SKA, genetic algorithms helped optimise
the layout of the 10 million antennas.
Dying stars sometimes explode as supernovae, although they usually only last one or
two milliseconds. To be able to find them, the
sky needs to be scanned continuously. The
Maltese team developed fast computer algorithms to process these scans using ALBERT,
“...such challenges are the very
essence of humankind. The quest
for answers to these fundamental
questions is central to our very
being”
Malta’s very own supercomputer. The algorithms were fast enough to process the data
on the fly as the sky is observed. The researchers solved the problem by using Neural Networks (similar to the structure of our brain).
Through these efforts, Malta is now being
considered to host a prototype SKA-station.
This station would consist of a Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) station of two hundred
antennas that form a part of an EU wide initiative with the same aims as SKA. Malta’s role
is important because it will be the furthest
station from the main computing facility of
LOFAR, which is located in the Netherlands.
It is an ideal test-bed for long distance, fast
data links, while helping to improve the resolution of both LOFAR and SKA.
People often ask, why in the midst of
such a financial crisis should governments
line up to support such a lofty goal? Cynically people might think that it shows,
yet again, how removed government is
from the thoughts and concerns of its
citizens. The reason in my opinion is simple. Such challenges are the very essence
of humankind. The quest for answers to
these fundamental questions is central to
our very being. Through deductive logic
and rational reasoning these scientific
endeavours harness, humans will learn to
live together more harmoniously. These
projects inspire technological leaps that
will help us live healthier, longer, and enriched lives.
•
19
20
THINK FEATURE
OBJECTS
with your thoughts
Decades-long research into the field of brain to computer interface (BCI) devices seems
close to bearing fruit. These devices could provide communication tools to Malta’s
growing number of older people and the disabled, while local gaming companies could
exploit a new niche entertainment market. Words by The Editor.
Y
Prof. Kenneth Camilleri
Mr Owen Falzon
Ms Tracey Camilleri
es, this is the ability to control
objects with your thoughts,”
confirmed Mr Owen Falzon.
Such phrases were previously
the domain of witch doctors
and madmen; this situation has changed
since the 1990s, when the concept started
to come under intense scientific study. It
is also attracting economic interest from
companies ranging from healthcare providers to game developers. The technology
offers a new way to navigate the web, play
games, and give new ability to the elderly
and disabled.
Mr Owen Falzon forms part of a team
at the University of Malta led by Professor Ing. Kenneth Camilleri, which
studies brain to computer interface
(BCI) devices. In other words,
brain signals are translated
Main photo by Edward Duca. Profile photos by Darrin Zammit Lupi, courtesy of The Sunday Times.
moving
into commands using computer software.
Those commands perform specific actions
depending on the setup, for example, to
move a wheelchair.
For BCI devices to understand commands the computer needs to distinguish
between different brain patterns. These
commands are then identified by the computer by interpreting different brain patterns, such as imagining moving your arm
left or right, thinking of a square or circle.
When the computer detects that you are
imagining moving your arm to the left, it
performs the command, such as turning a
wheelchair in the same direction.
To identify different brain patterns first
the computer detects brain activity. Detection is nothing new, Hans Berger discovered it in 1924 by sticking silver wires under
the scalps of his patients and hooking »
21
FEATURE
An example of the sleep EEG data (black line), labelled as either a sleep spindle or K complex by an algorithm adapted by Ms
Tracey Camilleri. The lines below compare an expert’s labeling (red line) with the computer programme (blue, green, and purple).
Spindle
Spindle
Spindle
K complex
0
1
Sleep EEG data
2
Expert label
3
4
Lower Bounding 1
5
6
Lower Bounding 2
EEG setup that measures brain activity,
University of Malta. Photo by Darrin
Zammit Lupi courtesy of The Sunday Times
7
8
9
10
IMM
them up to a voltmeter, which let him
detect the brain’s electrical activity. Our
brains are filled with neurons that carry
messages through electrical pulses from
one part of the brain to another.
What Owen uses for his research to
measure brain activity is a bit more sophisticated and much more comfortable.
A scalp cap is attached to the user’s head
and electrodes are screwed into the cap
which touch the wearer’s skin. Not the
most attractive device, but these electrodes
detect the electrical activity in the wearer’s
brain and display it on a screen, called an
electroencephalogram (EEG; sample data
pictured). It lets researchers study brain
patterns.
The brain speaks to itself
Research into brain to computer interface
devices tend to study locations individually, Mr Falzon’s latest work aims to make
BCI devices more accurate by “focusing
on interactions between different parts of
the brain.” The brain is split into different
areas specialised for specific functions.
The occipital lobe, for example, translates the 2D image on our retina into the
sophisticated 3D image we live and work
in, while the temporal lobe processes visual information and lets our brains make
sense of it all. Both areas of the brain are
needed to look and remember.
For human beings to function, multiple
areas of the brain need to interact together to complete a single task. Mr Falzon’s
research “developed an algorithm [a sequence of instructions that carry out a
task, similar to what Google uses to search
the web] that can automatically discrimi-
22
THINK FEATURE
nate between different mental tasks.” The
algorithm takes advantage of a phenomenon
called phase locking, which occurs when
two parts of the brain are synchronized
with each other, or interacting. Phase locking involves two sets of neurons in different
parts of the brain firing at the same rate as
each other and synchronized together like
instruments being played in an orchestra to
achieve a pleasant harmony. The electrodes
can read the electrical signals, while the
computer can recognise the phenomenon.
By finding out which parts of the brain
are phase locked, Mr Falzon’s algorithm can
“identify the best interactions of the brain.”
By looking at more than one brain area at
the same time, the computer programme
should be better at figuring out whether
a person is thinking about moving left or
right, and can be used to control the direction of a motorised wheelchair.
Unfortunately, this new approach was not
very useful for interpreting movements. Al-
Phase locking occurs when different parts of the brain are active simultaneouly. The brain patterns are
synchronised at the same time and frequency.
though, “it was still a good exercise” said Mr
Falzon, since it gave insight into which parts of
the brain were communicating with each other,
but it did not make the system more accurate.
For left and right hand movements, taking
simple brainpower is enough. This approach
can identify minute differences between brain
signals, making it more useful for deciphering
higher level thoughts, like speech.
Since at least 2009, reports have leaked
from the Pentagon about DARPA’s (the
US military’s outlandish research arm featured in the film “men who stare at goats”)
research into BCI devices that could let
soldiers speak to each other only by thinking about it. The brain generates specific patterns before it vocalises speech, if
they manage to turn these patterns into »
Through assistive living technology one can control devices through special equipment and one’s thoughts. In the example shown above, a television set is
switched on by a person simply looking at a flashing LED light. The person’s brain signals synchronise with the LED. Brain activity is then read by a specialised headset which connects to a computer. The computer programme interprets the signal and sends the appropriate command to switch on the TV. This
phenomenon is called SSVEP (Steady State Visually Evoked Potentials) and could allow many devices to be controlled using one’s thoughts.
23
FEATURE
EYE GAZE TRACKING FOR VISUAL IMPAIRMENT
Assistive eye tracking technology at Mada (Qatar Assistive Technology Center) in Doha. Infrared light tracks eye movement allowing users to control a cursor on a computer screen. Using this
technology, individuals with impaired movement can use a computer. Stefania Cristina, a student of Prof. Camilleri, is developing a system with a similar function. Her approach uses computer
software to track eye movement with a simple and inexpensive
webcam. Once fully developed, the technology would be cheaper
and available on any computer. Photo by Edward Duca
24
THINK FEATURE
words efficiently: telepathy could be within
reach with some simple headgear. Mr Falzon’s algorithm might be applicable to interpreting these signals.
Unlocking new commands
The human brain has a strange property.
Parts of the brain respond to a flashing light
by oscillating at the same frequency. Like a
pendulum swinging and hypnotising a person, a set of LED lights flashing at 20 times
per second (20Hz) force the brain to flash
in sync. This phenomenon is called SSVEP
(Steady State Visually Evoked Potentials),
an easy brain pattern for researchers to identify, pick up, and interpret. This approach
could allow them to expand the vocabulary
of commands that a brain could give a computer (Pictured).
One of the major problems of BCI devices is the reliability of brain pattern interpretation by a computer. Currently, most
applications are restricted to one or two
commands. In gaming, only one or two
degrees of freedom exist, a game of Pacman is still too complicated. With assistive
devices, a wheelchair can simply move left
or right. Fine-tuned movements are problematic. More ambitious projects to move
cursors around screens with thoughts, ear,
and eyebrow movements take hours to train
on, which makes current eye-tracking technology superior. SSVEP technology could
reverse this trend.
Prof. Camilleri’s team can use this phenomenon to figure out where a person is
looking, a powerful ability. So how could it
work? Imagine a room with flashing lights,
a light flashing at 10 Hz is connected to
blinds, 15 Hz curtains, 20 Hz a door leading to the kitchen, 25 Hz for a door leading into the bedroom and 30 Hz switches
on the TV. With simple headgear to read a
person’s brain pattern, a computer can easily
work out if a person is looking at curtains
and can thus close them darkening a room.
This can be followed by a quick glance at a
TV switching it on to watch a favourite series. For someone with mobility problems
or wheelchair bound, these advances could
be revolutionary to their quality of life.
As the example above highlights, SSVEP
can be connected to many more commands
than other methods. It allows a huge degree
of freedom; one of the best examples is its
use in keyboards, they are constructed with
flashing lights to allow people to type. Mr
Falzon emphasised, “it is one of the most
reliable methods that exist.” The opportunities this approach could unlock are mindboggling.
As might be expected, the spanner in
the works is that flashing lights can cause
discomfort and trigger serious conditions
such as epileptic fits. The solution is a more
limited frequency that does not cause these
problems and can be adjusted to the user’s
comfort zone. Limiting the frequency reduces the number of commands, so to get
round this problem researchers can use
flashing lights that have different time delays. For example, a time delay of 0.025 seconds could be introduced between two sets
of lights flashing at 20 times per second. A
computer algorithm would then distinguish
between the time delays — a phenomenon
called phase differentiation. Prof. Camilleri
and his team have developed one of the best
algorithms currently available. With the
right push, the above scenario could become
a reality and help those who need it most.
Making them faster
Mr Falzon’s research is linked to Ms Tracey Camilleri’s, another member of Prof.
Kenneth Camilleri’s team working at the
Biomedical Engineering Laboratory of the
Department of Systems and Control Engineering. Her latest work builds upon the
research of Prof. Ing. Simon Fabri (from the
same department) who developed an algorithm that detects when a machine changes
its mode of operation, and learns the new
mode’s characteristics. She adapted this system to interpreting brain signals. The aim
was to use less computer processing power
to identify brain patterns making it faster
than conventional approaches — so fast »
25
FEATURE
that patterns can be labeled as they are read
with no appreciable delay.
Professor Fabri’s work is applicable to
situations where abrupt system behavioral
changes occur. For example, airplane sensor-failure detection technology, or for
tracking fast-moving objects, like drone
aircraft. In her latest work, Ms Camilleri
adapted this algorithm to sleep patterns
in the brain. When a person is asleep their
brain passes through different phases of
activity. The brain continuously has some
background activity, but it can also give
bursts of activity, such as a sleep spindle or
K complex. A sleep spindle is thought to
inhibit brain processing keeping a person
asleep, while a K complex seems important
for sleep-based memory.
The algorithm labeled the sleep patterns
by continuously applying three models on
every data set, known as a Switching Multiple Model approach. Each model was
‘trained’ on either background, a sleep spindle, or a K complex. The model which best
matched the data ‘won’. Her programme did
this every one hundredth of a second. Fast
enough to capture the signals they were interested in, while not too fast that the signal was swamped with noise. After being
trained the programme could also learn
new additional patterns, so called adaptive
learning.
The speed and accuracy of her labeling
algorithm was just as good as other more
computationally intensive (and complete)
approaches or an experienced clinician. The
benefits of her approach were that it could
“label the data on the fly” and in real-time
“reducing the time lag”, she explained. This
technology could save a clinician valuable
time.
Labeling brain sleep pattern data is nothing new. Abnormal patterns have been
linked to mental diseases from schizophrenia to epilepsy. In epilepsy, it is a common
procedure. Ms Camilleri’s advance was to do
it in real-time using little computing power
when compared to what’s out there already.
Prof. Camilleri envisions how in the future
such labeling could be used in other medical
26
“Imagine a wheelchair user is trying to
move left or right with thoughts alone. The
person would want to move it quickly and
reliably, especially while avoiding obstacles
like an oncoming car.”
applications, such as the early detection of
an epileptic fit. In this case, the programmed
algorithm could be linked to a wireless device that sends an early warning signal to the
epileptic sufferer and loved ones. Even better, “ you could also have a system that may
inject the user with a drug when the onset of
an epileptic fit is detected.” Obviously, this is
still in development.
Before such radical advances, Tracey
would “like to put this into an application”;
to use more complex data like brain patterns
that can move a cursor on a screen. She
hopes that “if a person is totally paralysed
you can at least give him, or her, a source
of communication.” Her algorithms could
make this technology work conveniently in
real time.
Vision for Malta
Qatar is a small gulf state awash with gas reserves. It has used its wealth to become one of
the most influential and progressive of Middle
Eastern Arab states. It is the home of Al Jazeera, the Qatar Foundation (a multi-billion
educational and research institution), and a
leading assistive living centre. The centre is
flush with devices that can help disabled people and paraplegics communicate and become
productive.
The centre works by sourcing the latest assistive technology and offering the devices at
a subsidised rate: 50% off. Malta is not sinking
in fossil fuel gold, so we couldn’t afford this approach. So what form of assistive centre would
work? Prof. Camilleri’s suggestion needs both
government and industry support.
The Centre for Biomedical Cybernetics is
a good first step. “The University has invested
in and placed itself in a very strong position to
grow in this [BCI] area. ... As a University, our
main priority remains research and transfer of
knowledge to students and other people.” He
can easily see how other stakeholders outside
the University can work together with the
Centre to create a similar assistive technology
centre. It would “provide short courses and an
advisory and technical assistance role to agencies and institutes in Malta.”
The next step would be for research funds
to be funneled towards developing the technology. Working together with the elderly
and disabled, they could make a site-specific prototype for companies to turn into
products. Researchers could also reengineer
the product for local needs. Some form of
assistive technology centre would help the
Health, Elderly and Community Care Department within Government to achieve its
goal to treat more people at home and maintain their dignity.
To fulfill these roles this centre would need
“to create a practical team of clinicians, engineers and care workers — [that] needs some
funding infrastructure on the ground,” continued Prof. Camilleri. In his opinion, “University cannot drive this alone… there is a missing
link locally between the research and the commercial aspect. That [structure] which makes
[such collaborations] feasible does not exist”, a
situation which needs to change.
Problems for
Commercialisation
The market for BCI devices is ripe. It has
been ripe for many years and startups are
already present in most imaginable applications. Companies abound in health, sci-
THINK FEATURE
entific research, digital art, gaming, military
applications, edutainment, ICT and even
economics is not left out.
In 2008, the world saw the first commercial headgear initially priced at $300. This
BCI device was marketed for gamers; it
could respond to a wearers emotions and
insert emoticons (J, L) for a player’s character or whilst chatting. It could even make
objects in a game move, but this is highly
limited to up or down movement. Not the
most exciting gameplay!
Right now the technology is limited.
Two major problems are the reliability of
interpreting users’ brain commands and
the rate of communication. Mr Falzon’s
work will help increase reliability, while Ms
Camilleri’s method could identify patterns
in real time. Imagine a wheelchair user is
trying to move left or right with thoughts
alone. The person would want to move it
quickly and reliably, especially while avoiding obstacles like an oncoming car.
There are more invasive approaches that
would add commands and reliability. However few people want electrodes stuck under
their skin or bored through their skull just
to play a computer game. Such invasive procedures also spiral costs beyond the reach of
those that need it the most: the aged, disabled or wheelchair bound individuals.
The best solution seems to reside in perfecting the physical devices and the computer algorithms needed to interpret the
brain patterns. Once these are developed,
people with limited movement could wear
a cheap headset and navigate the web easily. They could open doors and curtains
by looking at them. Change TV channels
without needing to press a remote. Or,
move an online avatar, like in Second Life.
Simply put, they could lead an easier and
better life. Inevitably these technologies
will enter the commercial market. Who
wouldn’t love to play puzzle games simply by looking at a door, or thinking that
it should open? Mr Falzon finished off by
saying that “for healthy users within 5 years
we’ll see reliable systems” — I cannot wait
for that future.
•
A shorter version of this article first appeared
in TechSunday, the technology supplement of
The Sunday Times.
Braille laptop being used by a visually
impaired person at MADA (Qatar Assistive
Technology Center). Photo by Edward Duca
FURTHER READING
• The first developer of a commercial BCI device:
http://www.emotiv.com/
• Good articles on the assistive
benefits of BCI devices: Science
daily:
http://tinyurl.com/braincompint
AND The economist:
http://www.economist.com/
node/21527030 AND BBC
(Video): http://tinyurl.com/bbcbrainpower
• Slideshow on “The marketability of brain to computer
interfaces”:
http://tinyurl.com/prezimarket
• Prof. Kenneth Camilleri’s team
latest scientific articles:
http://tinyurl.com/sleepeeg
AND
http://tinyurl.com/motorimagery
27
Targeting the
BRAIN
Local research is finding new compounds
in the Mediterranean diet that can combat
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Words
by Dr Neville Vassallo.
28
Dr Neville Vassallo
THINK FEATURE
O
n a dull November day in
1901, Dr Alois Alzheimer
(1864-1915), senior psychiatrist at the Asylum for
the Insane and Epileptic
(Frankfurt am Main), sat down and greeted
his new patient.
“What is your name?”
“Auguste.”
“Family name?”
“Auguste.”
“What is your husband’s name?”
“I believe Auguste.”
“Your husband?”
“Oh, my husband…”
“Are you married?”
“To Auguste.”
So began the conversation that was to
change medical science forever. Auguste D.
would become the first patient diagnosed
with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common
cause of dementia worldwide. Dr Alzheimer
was known as “the psychiatrist with the microscope”, since he spent years peering down
a microscope looking at slides of brain tissue
to find the origin of brain diseases. Five years
after interviewing Auguste D. he connected
the deposition of “plaques” in the brain to
dementia. The microscope lab he set up at
the University of Munich had borne fruit.
Amongst Dr Alzheimer’s students was
the young Fritz Heinrich Lewy, who in 1912
made another major discovery. He described
the neuronal “tangles” found in the brains
of Parkinson’s disease patients. Parkinson’s
disease is the most common movement
degenerative disorder, a relentless condition found in the elderly leading to tremors,
muscle rigidity and slow movements. Today,
we know that these tangles are clumps of
sticky protein called amyloid, which cause
both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
The protein clumps kill dopamine neurons
over many years, long before any effects are
seen. The protein is toxic to nerve cells, so
understanding this protein could lead to developing a powerful new class of medicines.
At the University of Malta, I lead a group
whose ambitious goal is to develop new
treatments to cure these diseases. Our ap-
Auguste D. The first patient to be diagnosed with
dementia by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1901.
proach is to identify small-molecule druglike compounds and natural extracts, which
hinder the initial aggregation of sticky amyloid or keep their stickiness under control.
Such therapy would delay Alzheimer’s and
Parkinson’s disease. But where to look for
these vital compounds and extracts? The
answer: in Mother Nature’s ‘drug cabinet’.
Over the past decade, several studies have
shown that a healthy Mediterranean diet
helps stave off many age-related conditions.
These epidemiological studies involve observing thousands of people and their habits. They have linked a high consumption of
fruits, vegetables, whole grains and olive oil,
together with a glass of red wine (not more),
to a lower risk of dementia and Parkinson’s
disease. Risk can even be reduced by 40%,
nearly cut in half. The Mediterranean diet is
particularly rich in naturally occurring compounds called polyphenols. Dietary polyphenols form a large class of compounds
being the most abundant antioxidants in
our diet. Their health benefits include helping prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer,
and brain disease linked with the amyloid
protein.
In the lab, my team first replicate the formation of the sticky amyloid aggregates to
simulate the initial disease process. »
“Over the
past decade,
several studies
have shown
that a healthy
Mediterranean
diet helps
stave off many
age-related
conditions”
Amyloid plaque deposition (blue) in the brain of a mouse
model of Alzheimer’s disease (neurons in green).
29
Figures shows effect of black tea extract on formation of amyloid aggregates that can lead to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Protein aggregates are shown as yellow dots in top-right figure. In the
presence of black tea, very few aggregates are formed (lower-left). Moreover, addition of black tea to
pre-formed aggregates results in their destabilisation and disaggregation (lower-right).
O
•
30
FURTHER READING
• Vassallo, N. (Editor). (2008). Polyphenols & Health: New and Recent
Advances. Nova Publishers, New
York, USA.
• Caruana, M., Hoegen, T., Levin, J.,
Hillmer, A., Giese, A. and Vassallo
N. (2011). Inhibition and disaggregation of alpha-synuclein oligomers by natural polyphenolic compounds. FEBS Lett. 585, 1113–1120.
• Gauci, A. J., Caruana, M., Giese, A.,
Scerri, C. and Vassallo, N. (2011).
Identification of polyphenolic compounds and black tea extract as
potent inhibitors of lipid membrane
destabilization by amyloid beta-42
aggregates. J. Alzheimer’s Dis. 27,
767–779. O
O
compounds all prevent toxic amyloid clumps
from forming, which means they could be
useful for treating these brain diseases. The
same five compounds could also neutralise
the inherent stickiness of amyloid clumps
to structures within cells called membranes.
Protecting a nerve cell’s membrane is essential for its survival. We published these
results in several top international scientific
journals including the Biochimica Biophysica
Acta (one of the 100 most influential journals in Biology & Medicine).
These publications helped us attract
the attention of the Ludwig-MaximiliansUniversity of Munich, whose researchers
are helping us expand the research project
into animal disease models. Testing our
compounds in these models is essential to
find out if our compounds will help combat the disease in human beings. Data from
our project has also helped the national Department of Health favour our traditional
Mediterranean diet. All of this research has
only been possible because of funds from the
University of Malta and the Malta Council
for Science & Technology (MCST).
Natural products from the Mediterranean diet and marine plants are providing
exciting new directions in medicinal discovery. Although useful,
these findings still need translation into therapy by further testing in animal models. Our final
goals remain in sight: preserving
the function of the human brain
into old age, so that memories
and movements will no longer be
Our research project: neurons (left), polyphenols (centre) and
lost with dying nerves.
extracts (right).
• Högen, T., Levin, J., Schmidt, F., Caruana, M., Vassallo, N., Kretzschmar,
H., Boetzel, K., Kamp, F. and Giese, A.
(2012). Two different binding modes
of alpha-synuclein to lipid vesicles
depending on its aggregation state.
Biophys. J. 102, 1646–1655.
• Caruana, M., Neuner, J., Högen, T.,
Levin, J., Schmidt, F., Kamp, F., Scerri.,
C., Giese, A. and Vassallo, N. (2012).
Polyphenolic compounds are novel
protective agents against lipid
membrane damage by alpha-synuclein aggregates in vitro. Biochim.
Biophys. Acta. (Biomembranes)
doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2012.05.019
O
O
Next, we use innovative, robust molecular screens to identify Mediterranean
diet polyphenols and extracts that inhibit
and/or destabilise protein clumping. Such
screens use technology like fluorescence
correlation spectroscopy, which uses a laser beam to detect single molecules. This
technique is ideal for studying the clumping of proteins and allows us to directly
visualise the aggregation of proteins that
lead to the disease. By applying different
compounds on the proteins we monitor
how effective a drug is over time. My team
also developed a method (lipid vesicle permeabilisation) to assess how sticky amyloid
clumps are to structures within a cell. Using
this technique, we could tell whether certain compounds reduced stickiness. These
agents are known as anti-amyloid and can
help treat disease.
By partnering with the Institute of Cellular Pharmacology (ICP) Ltd, we have access
to technology that can produce high quality
vegetal extracts on a large scale. Extracts are
made from the produce of Maltese farmers
and from a Mediterranean alga harvested
by local divers. ICP Ltd. provide us with extracts from the Mediterranean prickly pear
and pomegranate fruits, and an extract from
the marine alga Padina pavonica. These
readily available supplies allow us to test for
anti-amyloid agents, in our hunt for new
treatments.
Results obtained over the past four years
are highly encouraging. We have identified three polyphenols (apigenin, baicalein,
nordihydroguaiaretic acid) and two plant
extracts (black tea, Padina pavonica) that
repeatedly show a striking anti-amyloid activity in all the assays described above. The
O
O
FEATURE
O
N
N
N
S
O
THINK FEATURE
Trusting the
machine
Prof. Gordon Pace
Mr Christian Colombo
As the 21st century unfolds, computers are becoming a natural part of our lives. Children are
now growing up with a computer always within easy reach. This raises the need for secure
and consistent computer systems. Runtime monitoring is a technique to continuously test
systems to ensure they work correctly. This approach is being used in areas from astronomy to
online casinos. Words by Prof. Gordon Pace and Mr Christian Colombo.
C
omputers are everywhere, in
phones, fridges, airplanes,
and cars, which leads us to
take them for granted. Only
when they stop working do
we realise their importance. As users,
we expect computers to work: reliably,
correctly, consistently, and quickly. Fail-
ure to meet these expectations carries a
high cost.
Disappointed customers quickly turn to
alternative software packages and services.
Computer software loopholes allow malicious users to gain access to confidential
information, sometimes for a profit. Disgruntled users have even sued companies
for damages. History is riddled with such
stories; patients were over-radiated by
the Therac-25 radiation therapy machine
when software failed, while the Ariane-V
rocket was lost because of malfunctioning
software. Some lower profile incidents include phone software bugs allowing Wi-Fi
password theft, and online store backend »
31
FEATURE
programming errors permitting fake financial transactions. Computer science focuses
on the development of techniques that support the construction of large, reliable, and
efficient systems.
Software development needs rigorous
testing during which a system’s behavior is
checked against questions such as: Do the
financial accounts controlled by the computer
system always balance at the end of the day?
Is the system response fast enough when processing up to 100 concurrent users? Before
the system is deployed and used, it is tested
against various user inputs and situations.
This allows developers to discover errors in
their code and fix them before the system is
used. However, no matter how thoroughly
tested, it is impossible to check every single
scenario and errors will always crop up.
A complementary technique to testing is
runtime verification. Using this approach,
the software continues checking for errors even when the system is being used. If
anything goes wrong while the program is
running, the code monitoring the system
notices the error and raises an alarm. For example, if the system has stored client credit
card information in a location which is accessible to outside users, the information is
moved to a secure location or deleted. By
using actual user input, the system bypasses
the need to create hypothetical user inputs
— the main difficulty in testing – while also
guaranteeing that if something goes wrong
it can be fixed immediately.
The approach may seem straightforward but is actually full of challenges. The
authors and Dr Adrian Francalanza form
“…more than
a million
transactions
have been
verified…”
a local team addressing these challenges
aimed towards practical solutions. One
major challenge is the monitoring costs inbuilt into this approach that eat computing
power and storage. Reducing computer usage is crucial to allow its adoption to reallife applications. Another challenge is how
to monitor systems that are physically in
different locations. For example, a doctor
might use a laptop to access and modify a
patient’s medical records that are kept in a
hospital’s database, while medical test results are kept in the laboratory’s database.
We are currently trying to address how
all data is kept synchronised and correct,
while ensuring that the system does not expose private information.
We have built and provide several software tools to other academics and developers. LARVA is the most widespread tool
since it can monitor Java-based systems
( Java is a programming language) used all
over the Internet and on Android smartphones. It has been used in projects with
various industrial partners, and applied
to real-life software, from checking financial transactions to detecting intruders on
file-transfer servers. We have also released
other tools to handle other programming
languages and special customised settings.
What follows are some examples of how
runtime verification is applied in the real
world.
Financial transactions
Financial transactions need high security.
Flaws in financial transactions result in loss
of user trust and direct losses through fraud.
Financial systems support so many different
services (different currencies, payment methods, user types, promotional offers and so on)
that testing all possible real-life scenarios is
virtually impossible. To make matters worse,
a minor financial error or fraud like the loss
of one cent on every transaction, might go
undetected. To immediately detect errors,
software can continuously monitor transaction validity as they are happening, which
provides an added security layer.
32
THINK FEATURE
Computing at ESO, controlling the very large telescopes. Image: ESO/José Francisco
In Malta, we have applied this approach at
Ixaris Ltd, an international provider of virtual
credit cards and payment services. To date,
more than a million transactions have been
verified through runtime monitoring.
Online Betting
Online betting companies are important
for Malta’s economy. They share similar
problems to companies carrying out financial transactions, with two additions.
Firstly, online betting needs to be fair to
all players. Local authorities need to check
this fairness quickly to uncover abuse. By
using runtime monitoring, online betting companies can continuously monitor
their own operations and prove that they
play fair. Secondly, the same online betting company can host different casinos
run by external parties. For every casino,
the company forms a unique contract and
partnership agreement. For example, for
licensing reasons, the betting company
may restrict a casino from making certain
games available in particular countries. To
ensure that contracts are being followed,
the casino can use runtime monitoring
to continuously check on the providers.
We are trying to solve these problems by
developing new contract languages and
tools for betting companies.
Gaming
Games are serious business and errors have
major consequences. Unexpected errors tarnish a user’s experience, while allowing other
players to cheat. In games with multiple players, cheating is a long running problem. Especially when money is involved, it threatens
the trust of players in the fairness of the game.
Cheat detection is very hard because
there are too many real-life situations to
simulate, a laboratory environment would
never catch them all. Constant monitoring
of a gaming system through runtime verification is the best approach to try and detect
cheats. Runtime verification lets companies
easily observe users and cheats. By detecting abnormal behaviour, this approach can
harvest rich game information without any
changes to the game’s structure.
Astronomy
Scientists scan the skies with radio telescopes
which keep getting bigger to look deeper into
space. The largest telescope in the production
pipeline is the Square Kilometer Array (for a
feature on SKA see pages 12–17), which uses
areas covered by hundreds of radio telescopes
to observe stars with phenomenal clarity. The
large number of telescopes generate data at
an enormous rate that needs super efficient
processing to ensure quick results. For this
application, runtime verification helps detect
objects in space while minimising data processing costs .
Our team has detected astronomical phenomena called pulsars using runtime monitoring. Pulsars are highly magnetized, rotating
neutron stars that emit a beam of radiation
detected by the telescopes. The beam has a
highly regular time interval making it easy
to pick up. Its predictable properties make
pulsar detection similar to software error pattern recognition. With this in mind, we could
modify our techniques to detect pulsars from
telescope data with great success.
Computers will continue integrating
themselves within our lives. More research is
needed to make them work better, simpler,
and more reliably. The more trust we hand
over to computers the more secure they need
to become. Because of increased complexity,
computer scientists need to design solutions
that are more intelligent. Like never before,
users will forget the computer behind their
devices.
•
FURTHER READING
For more about this group’s
research see:
http://www.cs.um.edu.mt/svrg/
33
Dr Yves Muscat Baron
34
THINK THEORY
Homo sapiens
Why did humans
develop a large brain?
“Of all animals, man has the largest brain in proportion to his size” — Aristotle. Dr Yves
Muscat Baron shares his theory on how humans evolved large brains. The theory outlines
how gravity could have helped humans develop a large brain — the author has named the
theory, ‘The Gravitational Vascular Theory’.
T
he tension in the secondstage delivery room is palpable.
“Now push Mrs X, push,
puSH, PUSH”, I urge on.
The baby’s breech starts
to appear and with every push it advances
a little bit more out of the birth canal. It is
a slow process. The foetal heart holds out,
but a close eye and ear are kept on the baby’s
heart monitor. This is the worst time for the
baby’s heart rate to give out. At this point, it
is crucial that the birth proceeds naturally.
Intervention could disturb the natural manoeuvres the baby’s body needs to make to
negotiate and gain safe passage through the
birth canal. The baby’s breech slowly appears and slips out as I disengage its lower
limbs. With another “PUSH”, sluggishly
the baby’s body follows.
Thirty minutes after the mother started pushing, the tip of the shoulder blade
emerges. At this moment, the baby’s body is
gently rotated in harmony with the mother’s
pushing. One shoulder is freed, delivering
the upper limb and the whole process is gently repeated in the opposite direction to free
the other shoulder and arm.
The tension in the delivery room rises a
notch. Now the baby’s head needs to be »
Breech Births: During pregnancy breech presentation at birth is when a baby’s legs are delivered
first, rather than the baby’s head.
35
THEORY
clotron. Breech presentation at the end of a
singleton pregnancy only constitutes 3% of
all deliveries. Is it natural and moreover safe
to deliver a baby in this manner? The word
natural directed my thoughts towards Darwin’s mechanism for evolution – Natural
Selection.
Charles Darwin in the final words of his
“Descent of Man” (1871) said:
“[…] it seems to me, that man with all his
noble qualities, with sympathy which feels
for the most debased, with benevolence
which extends not only to other men but to
the humblest living creature, with his godlike intellect which has penetrated into the
movements and constitution of the solar system — with all these exalted powers — Man
still bears in his bodily frame the indelible
stamp of his lowly origin.”
The words “god-like intellect” worry an
Obstetrician. Would a child delivered by
breech still have a “god-like intellect”?
Delivery of foetal abdomen and thorax.
Foetal ankles
elevated by
assistant
Direction of traction of obstetric forceps
Obstetric forceps for the delivery of the foetal head.
delivered. An assistant takes hold of the
foetal ankles and gently raises them. Carefully, I apply the Obstetric forceps (that resemble a pair of tongs; Image 3) parallel to
the baby’s head.
“Now give us a final PUSH”, Mrs X is
egged on and with gentle traction on the
Obstetric forceps, the foetal head is gently
delivered. A 3.8 kg baby girl (normal weight
is around 3.2 kg) is born.
The paediatrician assesses the baby’s
condition and quickly tells us, “the baby is
bradycardiac and pale” confirming that the
baby’s heart is slow and oxygen levels dwindling. The baby is at risk of brain damage or
death. After sucking out fluid from the baby’s
mouth, the team supplies oxygen and a gentle
heart massage to try and save her.
36
Silence pervades the delivery room and
we all start to get a sinking feeling. My hands
go through routine motions, I swallow hard
and inwardly start to count. Then, after 15
long seconds, the baby tenses up and emits
a shrill cry.
I carried out this breech delivery at 2.00am
in a hospital in the U.K., way back in 1990.
That same night a colleague of mine in a hospital 12 miles away also delivered a breech
baby. The outcome was not favourable.
After the breech delivery, I staggered
back to my rest room exhausted by the overwhelming, conflicting emotions of fear and
elation. As I start to relax, I reflect on the
whole sequence of events.
One thought swirls around my brain and
gains speed like a beam of protons in a cy-
“...trying to give
birth to a breech
baby without
the intervention
of doctors has
a much higher
chance of
complications,
even death.”
Ten years later, the results emerged from
the much-awaited Term Breech MultiCentre Trial in singleton pregnancies by Dr
Mary E. Hannah and co-workers. The trial
confirmed that it is safer for a breech baby
to be delivered by Caesarean Section. Foetal
death or serious damage could be prevented
by a planned caesarean section rather than a
normal birth (17 of 1039 Caesarean births
[1.6%] versus 52 of 1039 normally deliv-
THINK THEORY
Age of foetus and relation to breech presentation
Gestational Age of Foetus
Breech Presentation %
21–24 weeks
25–28 weeks
33 %
28 %
29–32 weeks
14 %
33–36 weeks
37–40 weeks
9%
7%
Taken from Tunde-Byass et al (2003).
ered births [5.0%] suffered complications).
For the mother, there were no large differences between the groups (41 of 1041 births
[3.9%] versus 33 of 1042 births [3.2%]).
While reliving the events surrounding
the breech delivery, I recalled my experience
and the research I had read on breech births.
In 2003, Dr Modupe O. Tunde-Bypass
and co-workers from Sweden showed that
breech presentation becomes progressively
less common from the middle to later on
in pregnancy.
After 40 weeks pregnancy, babies are delivered legs first only 3% of the time. There
seems a clear link that the later a baby is
born the more likely for the birth to be normal and born headfirst. It is very tempting
to suggest that natural selection may have
had a decisive role in this phenomenon.
As my personal experience suggests, trying to give birth to a breech baby without
the intervention of doctors has a much
higher chance of complications, even death.
Natural selection would be ruthless in such
cases, and that baby girl may not have survived in more primeval circumstances.
Following the breech delivery, I recalled three key words that may guide the
hidden hand of natural selection and led
to modern humans. Those factors are, cephalic (headfirst) births, bipedalism (the
upright gait), and the high encephalization quotient (high brain to body ratio,
or large brains). In the vast animal kingdom, all three are uniquely human, making them unlikely to be present by coincidence. These three qualities could easily
have influenced the evolution of each other, fuelling human development.
I continued to mull over the three key
words trying to eek out any linkage. The solution to this puzzle could lie hidden within
natural selection, with a sequence of events
unravelling in humanity’s evolution.
In human evolution walking upright was
an important initial step. ‘Our’ descent
from trees in the African savannah of Eastern Kenya was gradual but crucial in determining the particular direction human evolution would take. »
Cephalic presentation occurs in 97% of births.
37
POSSIBLE
SEQUENCE IN THE
EVOLUTION OF
HOMO SAPIENS
THEORY
BIPEDALISM
INCREASE IN BODY
SIZE
INCREASE LENGTH
OF PREGNANCY
CEPHALIC
PRESENTATION
HIGH ENCEPHALISATION
QUOTIENT
38
Anthropological studies show that our
predecessors first walked upright then
gained size and height. One of the first upright, bipedal primates named “Lucy” (Australopithecus afarensis), was only three feet
tall. An improved diet, rich in high protein
meat could have helped these hominids gain
stature and a longer duration in the length
of pregnancy. Subsequent hominids including the first Homo, Homo habilis, started
getting taller. Coupled to height, brain size
seems to have followed. It is unlikely that
brain size grew before body weight and
height since this would lead to a “top-heavy”
species!
For the last three million years, brain size
has been steadily increasing. Then, around
200,000 years ago, suddenly, abruptly, brain
size shot up by 30%. Our predecessors had
much smaller brain sizes, take Homo erectus
with a brain volume of 909cc, and compare
that to modern human brains at 1,350cc.
Oxonian neurobiologist Colin Blakemore
suggests that genetics had a role to play.
He postulates that the intelligence of early
hominids arises from a macromutation in a
single human being 200,000 years ago. Human beings could have been a freakish genetic accident. Yet, scientific evidence does
not support this theory, since no single genetic mutation linked to big brains has been
found. More reasonable theories suggest
that environmental influence such as diet
could have switched on latent mutations.
The interaction between genetic make-up
and environmental factors is called epigenetics, and it could have kicked in leading to a
jump in brain size.
Another possibility is that the increase in
brain size is linked to a headfirst presentation
at birth. As the physical size of the hominids
increased, so did the length of pregnancy. As
pregnancy increased in length, early delivery
became rarer since it leads to death and birth
defects, two factors which easily lead to natural selection. Moreover, breech births became rarer with a longer pregnancy.
Breech births at the end of singleton
pregnancies, are linked with brain deficits.
Studies from Denmark led by Dr Lone
Krebs and his team, have shown how language problems are more frequent in breech
births rather than normally delivered infants
(10.6% versus 3.2%). Further studies by this
team highlighted increased social and language disabilities in children born by breech.
These abilities are intrinsic human traits,
which may have been crucial in the process
of natural selection.
As headfirst births became more common in hominids, another variable may
have kicked in: gravity. Was it possible that
headfirst births coupled to an upright gait
increased blood supply, which supplemented
more oxygen and nutrition to the head helping increase brain size? A clue may lie in the
THINK THEORY
Twin 1
Twin 2
FURTHER READING
• Darwin C. 1871. The Descent of
Man and Selection in Relation to
Sex. London: John Murray.
Twin 1 is larger than twin 2 in the majority of multiple pregnancies, possibly
due to gravity.
results of multiple pregnancy (twin) studies.
Both body weight and brain volume in twin
births are significantly larger in the lower,
first-born twin, compared to the higher second born twin. Imaging studies of newborn
brains by Dr Hulshoff and co-workers, suggest that second born twins have a smaller
brain volume. In triplets a similar pattern is
seen, with a progressive decrease in brain and
body weight from the first to the third baby.
Gravity has a powerful effect on the
body. Varicose veins appear in the legs
of people as they age. Loss of gravity in
space makes the facial veins of astronauts
bulge. Their faces tend to become plump,
while thinned out legs become “bird-like.”
Blood supply can also control organ size:
the higher the blood flow, the larger the
organ. A prime example is the kidney, with
blood supply clearly correlating with size.
The brain is no exception, the size of the
left and right hemispheres are influenced
by blood supply. In the frontal brain areas,
greater blood flow in the right hemisphere
enhances its size. The opposite applies to
the posterior brain areas, with the left hemisphere becoming larger than the right. The
size of the brain is linked to blood supply.
Once the human brain gains an edge at
birth, the “head”-start is sufficient to outstrip all other species. Gravity’s effects on
brain blood supply have a part to play until
at least the first year of life. At birth, the human brain weighs, on average, 450 grams.
In contrast, newborn chimpanzees (Pan
troglodytes) of a similar body weight have a
brain weighing only 150 g. When a human
infant is one year old its brain size doubles
in weight to around 1 kg. The great leap
could be linked to a baby’s inability to walk
upright. By six months, most human babies
would just about be able to sit up. Spending
more time lying prone could assist gravity in
supplying more blood to the nutrient hungry brain. The enlarged human brain attains the largest brain volume to body size
amongst all life forms.
My thoughts go back to those early hours
in the delivery room, rekindling the emotions
surrounding the breech delivery I had performed. Those thoughts and emotions in the
early hours of the day may have shed light on
the dawn of the greatest attribute in humanity’s evolution — the human brain.
•
• Hannah ME, Hannah WJ, Hewson
SA, Hodnett ED, Saigal S, Willan
AR. 2000
• Planned caesarean section
versus planned vaginal birth for
breech presentation at term: a
randomised multicentre trial.
Term Breech Trial Collaborative
Group
• Lancet;35:1375-83.
• Tunde-Byass MO, Hannah ME.
2003 Breech vaginal delivery at
or near term. Semin Perinatol.
27:34-45.
• Costandi M. 2010. Blakemore:
Plasticity Made Us Human. DANA
Foundation Report .
• Krebs L, Langhoff-Roos
J, Thorngren-Jerneck K.
2001. Long-term outcome in
term breech infants with low
Apgar score­— a populationbased follow-up. Eur J Obstet
Gynecol Reprod Biol. 100(1):5-8.
• Hulshoff Pol HE, Posthuma D,
Baaré WF, De Geus EJ, Schnack
HG, van Haren NE, van Oel CJ,
Kahn RS, Boomsma DI. 2002.
Twin-singleton differences
in brain structure using structural
equation modelling. Brain.;
125:384-90
39
The underwater world beneath Tas-Silġ
Maps, Bots, and
a Neolithic Site
FEATURE
40
A team of American and Maltese scientists has recently mapped the water system underneath the
Neolithic temple site at Tas-Silġ. No picks and
shovels were involved; instead, high-tech wizardry
let the team create a 3D picture of this underground
world. Words by The Editor.
T
he VideoRay Pro III dipped
and slammed into the pool wall.
I cringed and hoped I didn’t
break the robot, I quickly realised how tricky it is to manoeuvre these machines in murky water.
I was clumsily driving an American
robot in the University of Malta’s pool.
This machine had just mapped the underground water cisterns at Tas-Silġ, a
Neolithic temple around 4000 years old
with a rich history that includes the Punic
and Roman periods until around 400 AD.
A team of American computer engineers
is currently collaborating with Maltese
archaeologists to explore Malta’s underground wells and cisterns.
The number of people working on this
project and the breadth of disciplines is
remarkable. Here are their stories.
THINK FEATURE
I
t all started five or six years ago when
Dr Christopher Clark (California Polytechnic State University [CalPoly] and
Princeton University) met Christopher
Olstad (Marine Resources Development
Foundation) at a conference in America.
Olstad was showing some gritty filming of
an underwater site by robots, which Clark
knew he could improve. Then, Olstad introduced him to a Maltese archaeologist called
Timmy Gambin, who quickly arranged for
a one-week trip to Malta. In that first year,
they explored eight underground water cisterns in a week. This year they are on their
fourth visit and brought 11 students to map
over 30 cisterns and two caves.
For Dr Clark, using robots to map these
underground places is a challenge. Before
this collaboration, he used to map swimming pools, which are neither fun nor have
much real world application. Mapping ancient cisterns is useful for archaeologists
and helps him push robot technology to its
limits. The researchers usually have no idea
how large an underground space is. Above
ground, all you will see is a small hole or
two, when they lower the robot “you have
no idea what it’s going to be like […] this is
the exciting part” said Dr Clark. Exciting,
but it poses many challenges.
The most obvious problem is the water itself. Everything is waterproofed. Dr Clark usually buys off-the-shelf equipment, “I want to
buy the best stuff that doesn’t break so often.”
He travels around the world and transportation tends to break robots. He does not want
to fix broken equipment in a country whose
language he does not understand and with little idea from where to source spare parts. Industry built robots have been tested repeatedly, they tend to last longer than lab-built ones.
Water also scatters light. Land based robots use lasers to quickly and efficiently scan
an area. Underwater, lasers would not work
since debris scatters light quickly. Instead,
roboticists use sonar. Sound waves travel
further and faster underwater, although “it’s
the speed of light versus the speed of sound.”
The robot has to move much slower to gather the same detail. »
DR CHRISTOPHER CLARK
Mr SharkBot
“I’m just the robot guy”
Students using robots to explore Tas-Silġ, a site under the care of Heritage Malta.
41
FEATURE
SharkBot
Image: Flickr/joncrowell
Dr Chris Clark collaborates with the shark expert Dr Chris Lowe (California
State University) to track sharks with robots. Clark uses a torpedo-shaped
robot made by OceanServer called the Iver2. The process involves catching
a shark, attaching an acoustic tag, then releasing it. The robot can now use
the tag to track the shark using sonar.
Tracking sharks helps researchers know where a shark’s location is to
learn more about its behaviour. Biologists have traditionally followed
sharks around for hours on a boat keeping their receivers within range, or
had stationary receivers in areas they knew were visited by sharks. Neither
solution is ideal. “A robot can last longer and follow the shark in a better
way” said Chris Clark, the researchers just picks up the bot, collects, and
interprets the data.
The next step is attaching more sensors on the robot like salinity, temperature, and so on. These will help “see if there is some correlation between
the environment and what the shark is doing.” The robots also need to last
longer, move faster, with more manoeuvrability, “something super small,
quick and with a long battery life” — that’s Dr Clark’s ideal SharkBot.
T
as-Silġ is one of the most complicated cisterns Dr Wood and her
team has mapped. “We never know
what they [the cisterns] will look like. It’s
always very exciting. Is it a single chamber or a large complicated chamber like
Tas-Silġ?” This neolithic site simply has
three large entry points above ground.
When they lowered the robot through
these holes they discovered multiple
chambers, tunnels and an immense networked area that could provide water
to multiple areas on the temple site. An
incredible early example of convenient
water “on tap.”
Being underwater complicated mapping, “on land they can do things they
can’t quite do in water.” For Dr Wood to
create these 3D maps, her team needs to
take the sonar data collected by the robots and turn it into a geometric model.
“Sonar is much less accurate than laser
[…] there are problems with noise, gaps
in the data and aligning everything.”
42
The data they handle is essentially a
number of dots surrounding the robot.
The dots represent the distance between
the robot and the nearby wall as determined by sound waves. As the robot is
controlled around the chamber it gathers
a bunch of other dots, by knowing the robot’s location a computer programme can
then join the dots to make a 3D map. The
programme they use is called the marching cubes algorithm that was originally
developed for medical data to “create 3D
surfaces of the brain.” This is a very novel
application but means that the raw data
needs to be filtered and adjusted to fit the
model. The computer-generated map also
needs smoothing and data gaps are filled
using probability theory (pictured in red)
to make everything look as it should. On
top of this skeleton a texture is applied
(usually camera images of the actual site),
which gives an even closer approximation
to the cave’s actual appearance — they can
even fill it up with water. ■
The biggest research challenge
is for the robot to know its location. Without this knowledge, “there is no point in
taking a scan.” “There is no GPS down in
the Cistern”, so the researchers need to develop techniques like SLAM (Simultaneous localization and mapping) that help
the robot scan and map itself at the same
time. In a cistern, the robot can do this in
two ways. One is a smart tether that links
the robot to the joystick control (manual
manoeuvring). Sensors along the line’s
length take measurements that can locate
the robot. Another method uses computer
algorithms to figure out location. The robot can send sound waves in multiple directions and use the overlapping waves to
pinpoint itself. There are many different
ways a robot can do this, but the result is
the same: the robot measures where it is
and where the walls of the cistern, well, or
cave are, so how does this get transformed
into a 3D map? ■
Top: Cisterns of private homes in Gozo.
Below: Water system under Tas-Silġ.
THINK FEATURE
I
suspect it is a well,” said Keith Buhagiar nonchalantly. “What do you
mean, are you saying that Tas-Silġ is
a well not a cistern, should I change
the title of my article?” I replied naively
(previous title: Using Underwater Robots
To Explore The Cistern Under Tas-Silġ).
“Cisterns and wells can be confused,” he
replied. “Tas-Silġ has the appropriate geology” for a well, which could explain its
ancient nature.
Trying to recover from my confusion
I simply asked for definitions. “A cistern
would be a subterranean or above ground
reservoir, a water storage tank. […] The
first form of waterproofing was simply a
mixture of cement with ground pottery
and lime, which could retain water. […] A
well should be a shaft that taps an underground source,” which is what they think
occurred at Tas-Silġ.
More sensors on the robot would help Mr
Buhagiar be certain. In particular, “an analy-
“Being in the
space would
help me better
detect the
evidence”
sis of the actual water,” would help identify
the difference between a well and a cistern,
since one collects rain runoff, while the
other directly taps the water table. The tests
would identify the water’s source,
for example, detection of high levels
of chemicals like nitrates and calcite
deposits identify wells. Apart from
robotics, Mr Buhagiar believes that
he will only be certain after going
down there himself. “Being in the
space would help me better de“I identify which is which”
tect the evidence, give me a better idea of the clay deposits […]
these clues would be difficult to detect eras, which suggest that the well was exusing the [robot], for now human access panded to its current size from those times.
should back up the data.”
Timmy Gambin also suggests that “the comThe Tas-Silġ well system is also one plexity of the tunnels aimed to keep a flow
of the most complex structures the of water throughout the system. […] It must
team has ever seen. The team has theo- have been necessary to make them intricate,
ries but does not have all the answers. […] to efficiently feed different areas, every“It is still a work in progress […] one of thing boils down to efficiency.”
the concerns must have been to secure
Advanced robotics and 3D mapping
a water supply,” the inhabitants could made this possible, but further sensors,
have tapped water from multiple loca- high-definition photography, and sampling
tions. The well’s entry points are from might give the archaeologists all the answers
areas built in the Punic and Roman they need. ■ »
MR KEITH BUHAGIAR
The Water Expert
DR ZOE WOOD
The 3D Map-Maker
“I do all the computer graphics”
43
FEATURE
DR TIMMY GAMBIN
The Maltese Connector
“I act as a catalyst”
Marine Biology
and Robotics
“Another wonderful story of collaboration. We
worked with Dr Joseph Borg from the Department of Biology and under his guidance we are
starting to formulate a plan to go back to marine
caves to gather data that he and his students
could use. […] The caves can be 100 meters deep
with narrow entrances. It would be extremely
difficult and dangerous for a diver to reach the
inner depths of a cave. The robot is safer and
more economical,” explained Gambin. The potential is incredible. If they manage to retrofit
robots to measure oxygen levels, salinity, temperature, and so on, then merge the data with
the marine life present, the researchers could
have a 3D picture of cave ecology.
44
D
r Timmy Gambin initiated the ‘Ancient Cisterns Exploration Project’, which brought this team of people together to
explore the wells and cisterns of historic buildings around
Malta and Gozo. He believes that “the archaeologist and roboticist
can work on their own, but why reinvent the wheel when you both
stand to benefit? […] Dr Clark brings in the technological firepower.
For him it was much more interesting and much more tangible because he was seeing the practical use of his computer codes. […] Now
he was working in a real environment.”
Dr Gambin is also a researcher and collaborates with Keith Buhagiar. His research interest is on how to merge technology with archaeology. “Not just technology for the sake of technology, but how
we can merge technology with a practical research use. […] It is essential for technology and archaeology to move ahead together.” Dr
Gambin’s out-of-the-box thinking has driven this innovative project.
Apart from bringing everyone together, Dr Gambin helps the US
team hit the ground running. “I took care of logistics, daily transport,
timetables, things that may sound trivial but are absolutely essential.
They find two vans waiting for them with their project name, the
vans take them to the apartment, the apartment has everything even
grocery shopping, they find the timetable, I meet them at the apartment, I brief them as to what the timetable is […] everything is taken
care for them. I also need to organise access to the sites, requests for
permits, and so on. We plan months ahead” ■
THINK FEATURE
The Research Question and answer
“In a nutshell, one of the research questions that we
asked was: do the water management systems existing in modern day Rabat or Mdina reflect the architectural shell that surrounds them. What does that mean?
Does a baroque palace in Mdina have a well or cistern
that dates to the baroque period, or could it have something older? The only way to find out is to go into these
wells. Some of these wellheads are too small, some of
them are too dangerous. So we chose robots.”
“The robots took videos and generated 3D maps. On
the basis of these data, together with Keith Buhagiar,
we were able to start deducing the different typologies.
You have the standard bell-shaped well which is omnipresent in most houses that predate the 1950s, but
then you have other shapes, you have rectangular, rectangular with tunnels, and shafts that tap straight into
the water table. Some are recent, some are ancient”
— Dr Timmy Gambin.
Mr Keith Buhagiar explained how before bell-shaped
wells and cisterns there existed structures shaped like
a bottle of wine or like a square, since they were converted from disused quarry sites. “The most impressive site is at Tal-Kaċċaturi close to Borġ In-Nadur in
Birżebbuġa”
T
he most unexpected part of this project wasn’t the age of the site, or
complexity of the tunnel, but Dr Jane Lehr, a researcher in ethnic
and gender studies. What did she have to do with robots and temples? “I study ways in which graduating engineers can be best prepared to
interact in an international context, […] by developing training specifically
focused not only on cultural differences but also how these cultural differences might matter in a technical context.”
At a conference on Engineering Education, a director from Boeing,
which employs over 150,000 people, emphasised how “we need to tear
down the walls of the disciplinary silos, so that the students can be prepared
to work in agile organisations, where they can interact with engineers, customers, sales staff, accountants, and so on,” reflected Dr Lehr. By teaching
students skills to work with people from other engineering disciplines,
backgrounds, and cultures, they are helping them get a job. That is why Dr
Lehr ran a module on Maltese history for all the American students on this
project. In Malta, the students had to juggle learning about a new culture,
a technical project, and conduct research on the Maltese education system,
attitudes towards climate change, or strategies on its water resources. Within three months of graduating, eighty-two percent of engineering students at CalPoly find a job. ■ »
DR JANE LEHR
The Cultural Wizard
“What it means to be a global engineer”
45
FEATURE
Robot used to train students at the University of Malta.
R
obotics in Malta has historically
focused on making land machines
more intelligent and less dependent
on humans, “on this level we are at par with
international research” emphasised Professor
Simon Fabri from the Faculty of Engineering,
University of Malta. The department is industry focused, and till now there is no industrial demand for underwater robots. Robots
might be able to do much more than divers,
but the initial capital investment has been offputting for companies. By collaborating with
the Americans, Maltese researchers might
finally have a good reason to invest in underwater robotics explained Prof. Fabri.
Timmy Gambin shares this vision. He
hopes that this collaboration will “kickstart
a process of funding applications” for Malta.
Prof. Fabri and Dr Clark are also eager to
apply for funds together. Dr Gambin continued, “having our own robot would enable
us to become more autonomous; autonomy
not to isolate us, but for further collaborations.” Gambin sees two possibilities, “one,
we can collaborate with people who are
already established. Look, we’re building
an ROV [remotely operated vehicle], you
built one five years ago, but can we better
yours? Two, hooking up with [for example]
the University of Benghazi and saying: we
have five years experience in geoscience, let’s
collaborate. They need geoscientists to see
where mud is, where sand is, where underwater springs are” he clearly sees Malta taking a lead in this field.
Apart from the hardware, collaboration
has also helped Maltese students. This year
Maltese students from the Faculty of En-
46
gineering joined the expedition and were
taught how to manoeuvre the robots. Attracting funds would also help fund muchneeded Ph.D.s and postdocs, who usually do
the bulk of research in science. As Prof. Fabri
said, “you need to employ someone who is
working full-time on research. […] My role
is that of mentor.” Malta recently got over
half a million euros from European Union
ERDF funding to train the next generation
of roboticists. After they graduate these students need to find research jobs.
The applications for robots, and the researchers that accompany them, are endless.
The “technology starts in the lab, developing the algorithms, making them perform
better,” explained Prof. Fabri. “But, if it stops
there I’m not happy, I would like to see them
applied to real-life situations.” Roboticists
can collaborate with health practitioners
using robotics for rehabilitation, or aiding
physiotherapy, cleaning, or transporting
goods around a large building. “In Malta,
we rarely get this opportunity,” normally industry buys its technology from abroad and
does not research. “University could help
specialise the robot for them and improve
on it.” When Simon saw this “new application in archaeology, [he was] all for it.” ■
Next year, should see the American
team bring an even better robot, with better cameras, sensors, and software. It will
help explore new underwater worlds and
solve more research puzzles. I am really
looking forward to driving the improved
robot, hopefully not into a wall but into an
unknown ancient cistern, or well.
•
PROF. SIMON FABRI
Robots ‘r’ Us
“Making the machine more intelligent”
FURTHER READING
• The Malta Cistern Mapping site:
http://tinyurl.com/maltamapping
• The CalPoly and Princeton students’ blog:
http://tinyurl.com/gozocisterns
• The Aurora Trust:
http://auroratrust.com
• Some stunning pictures of the
new Engineering Lab at UoM
(Warning: includes cute robots):
http://www.um.edu.mt/eng/
sce/facilities/control
• The American scientist’s talk
details:
http://tinyurl.com/exptechs
• Dr Chris Clark’s Robotics Lab:
http://lair.calpoly.edu/
• Smart Tether technology tested
to localise robots underwater:
http://www.smarttether.com/
• If you want to buy your very own
yellow robot:
http://www.videoray.com/
THINK FESTIVAL
Researchers
meet
art
this September
I
magine passing by the National Library of Malta in Valletta and seeing a
giant brain hanging between its arches.
Imagine watching five-foot tall fruit
flies sitting on benches, sipping coffee,
or playing the guitar. Imagine an old Maltese
bus built as a circle. On 28 September, all of
these ideas will become reality.
The installations are part of ‘Science
in the City’, a festival filled with scienceinspired art, music, dance, and theatre. The
festival will be launched on 28 September
as part of Researchers’ Night, an EU-wide
event that celebrates researchers, placing them on centre stage. From 18:00hrs
onwards, activities will run from St James
Cavalier, through Merchant’s Street, past St
John’s Co-Cathedral, into Republic Street,
and end in St George’s Square. Two satellite
events are located in Strait Street and Sappers Street.
The main event is a live science TV show
packed with entertainment giving a memorable night for all the family. Pawlu Borg
Bonnaci will host the show, guiding the
audience through live experiments, comedy,
and games. Families will also be treated to
a science themed carnival parade. Maskri
Grotteski will be carried, pushed, or driven
down Valletta’s main streets bringing robots,
characters from the game Angry Birds, and
Malta’s own beloved Temi Zammit to life.
For the following month, St James Cavalier will be transformed into a science discovery centre. The Upper Galleries will
host a science and art
exhibition by some
of Malta’s upcoming
as well as established
artists (Raphael Vella,
Elisa Von Brockdorff,
Norbert Francis Attard, and others). The
theatre will run plays
including the acclaimed QED, a play
about a day in the life
of the eccentric Nobel
Prize winner Richard
Feynman. This scientist
wrote several novels, took part in the Manhattan project, and died of cancer in 1988,
aged sixty-nine. It will also run a kids area,
film festival, science cafés, and more.
Many of these activities will run during
Notte Bianca, bringing science for the first
time to Malta’s largest all-night cultural initiative. Apart from the EU FP7 Programme,
Science in the City is also supported by the
Malta Arts Fund. The event is coordinated
by the University of Malta with the participation of the Malta Chamber of Scientists,
Valletta Local Council, PBS, AP (Architecture Project), MEUSAC, Lily Agius Gallery, and MARes (Where’s Everybody).
•
The full programme will be available nearer
the date at www.scienceinthecity.org.mt
and Facebook (search for Science in the City
Malta).
47
CULTURE
culture:
VISIBLE,
VIRTUAL,
VISCERAL
I
Imagine Valletta in 2018
f you thought the year 2018 was a long
way off, think again. Preparations are
already underway for Valletta to win
the title of European Capital of Culture 2018. To win the title, the Valletta
2018 Foundation is preparing a Cultural
Programme filled with some of Malta’s best
ideas. The V.18 bid includes all of Malta and
Gozo, supporting the development and promotion of every form of cultural activity.
V.18’s vision is to set in motion a process
of culture-led regeneration. Maltese citizens
will engage through a creative forwardlooking evolution set within a broad European and Mediterranean context. Through
this, V.18 aims to create an Environment of
Exchange, which allows for ideas, dialogue,
and creativity to flow freely within Valletta
and the Maltese islands. V.18’s mission is to
develop the conditions for a Visible, a Vir-
48
tual, and a Visceral Culture to develop in
Valletta and Malta; a Visible Culture by sustaining a cultural infrastructure to support a
long-term legacy; a Virtual Culture through
nurturing technological structures that enhance communication; and a Visceral Culture that enables a debating society.
V.18 recently held the second edition of
Imagine 18, a two-day public conference
and forum, where artists and cultural operators came together to develop the Cultural Programme for 2018. The foundation
has already received hundreds of proposals from artists, creative professionals, and
the public at large. From these projects
the foundation will create a Cultural Programme that will be finalised over the next
few weeks for an August submission.
In October, Valletta will hear if it has won
the title of European Capital of Culture
2018. The title will give a huge boost to arts
and culture in Malta. V.18 hopes it will also
create a positive ripple effect felt throughout
all sectors of Maltese society, in the run up
to 2018 and far beyond.
•
THINK RESEARCH
Supporting University
research… it pays
Images: Tufigno.com
A
growing number of talented
researchers are quietly making this world a better place to
live in. More often than not,
University researchers work
behind the scenes, in their laboratories, in the
library, or in their office, steadily developing
new ideas that improve technology, enhance
public policies, nurture a healthier and happier community, and quietly change the world.
From time to time, one will make news with
the announcement of a major discovery.
The Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) of the University of
Malta was established in 2011 to create a
supporting structure that sustains and expands this research, by providing additional
funds that supplement the existing modest
resources. The future of the University’s
research activities will rely heavily on funding resources. Government has provided
the initial seed capital of €500,000 for the
RIDT, but now this trust needs the support
of other stakeholders so that research activity prospers.
The University of Malta belongs to the
whole community and serves this community. University research helps businesses
in their technological advancements and
product development; it helps civil society
in its pursuit to resolve social, political, and
environmental issues; it helps government
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
public policies. University research helps
students by bringing them closer to where
innovation is happening. In a world that is
constantly changing, research is becoming
even more crucial to so many issues. Researchers are committed to do the work that
makes it possible for business, government,
and community leaders to make smart, informed decisions about the issues that matter most in our daily lives.
•
For more information about RIDT log onto
www.ridt.org.mt
49
ALUMNI
ALUMNI talk
Life after University: four stories from four graduates.
Stopping inflammation
DR JESMOND DALLI
talks about his journey
from Malta to Harvard
MY RESEARCH STARTED in a
completely different discipline: rays and sharks.
I studied these animals during a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biology, and a Masters
of Science in Biology at the University of Malta. I saw how these fish lived, where they were
found, how they developed and the affect of local human pressures on their survival. The data
was needed to help get to know these species
and figure out how best to protect them from
fishing impacts. An important achievement
was finding the Portuguese dogfish (Centroscymnus coelolepis) — a first in Maltese waters.
When I continued my studies abroad, I
changed my specialty to immunopharmacology. For my Ph.D., (Queen Mary University
of London), I worked in the laboratory of Prof.
Mauro Perretti exploring the therapeutic potential of a protein called Annexin A1. We
made small proteins based on the structure of
Annexin A1 that reduce inflammation and
helped return the tissue to its pre-inflammatory
state. Inflammation is usually a normal bodily
response, but over a long time it can cause disease ranging from heart disease and obesity to
arthritis and cancer.
My research focused on treating rheumatic
disease like arthritis. The findings were promising, so we applied for a patent on these small
proteins, which might help treat disease. Al-
50
Laser microscopy image of an experimental model to determine how white blood cells interact with blood vessels. Blue: DNA, green: capillary wall, magenta: microparticles.
though it will take years, it would be really satisfying to see this research actually curing people.
At the same time, I studied certain immune
cells called neutrophils that regulate inflammation. These cells release microparticles that
control swelling and prevent bodily harm. I
helped pinpoint how the particles work and
because of these findings, in 2010, I won the
William Harvey Young Investigator Award.
After my Ph.D., I moved to America to
continue researching inflammation through
a post-doctoral fellowship in Dr Charles Serhan’s laboratory at Harvard Medical School.
This lab has discovered a specific family of fatty
acids, which are enriched in fish oils, that protect tissue by controlling inflammation, pain
and promote tissue regeneration. We are now
identifying new members of this family and
working out exactly how they work.
•
Ed: I first met Jesmond during my undergraduate studies at University when he introduced me
to numerous fishermen at the pixkerija. We met on
the docks of Marsa at 2 a.m. to the smell of dead
fish and the sea — an unforgettable experience
and my first research project.
THINK ALUMNI
Punk,
Shakespeare,
and Stand-up Comedy
MS KRISTA BONELLO RUTTER GIAPPONE talks to us about the punk in
Shakespeare
I GRADUATED from the University
of Malta with an undergraduate degree in
Law and English, and went off to study
Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon,
England. I emerged with a Masters in
Shakespeare Studies.
My dissertation was on tragicomedy,
metacomedy (where characters realise that they are living in a comedy),
and parody in Early Modern Drama. I
focused on the poets and dramatists
John Marston and Thomas Randolph,
as well as Shakespeare. While researching, I took a little detour through punk
productions of Shakespeare, which
soon became the springboard for my
Ph.D. proposal.
I received AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) funding to research the interrelationship between
punk performance and alternative standup comedy. Under the supervision of pioneering academic and stand-up comedian
Dr Oliver Double (University of Kent),
I am looking at the traces of music hall
theatrical entertainment in punk performance and punk’s influence on comedy.
My argument is that early 1980’s alter-
native comedy is infused with a punk attitude — from the way these comedians
interact with audiences, to their reinvention of stand-up comedy, with an emphasis on ‘honest’ obscenity. Through punk,
they have even returned to certain music
hall values.
Punk kindled a renewed sense of political responsibility in alternative comedy.
Yet, I have not abandoned my passion
for the Early Modern, and a part of my
thesis is dedicated to Johnny Rotten’s declared reappropriation of Shakespeare’s
Richard III.
•
51
ALUMNI
First Light
MR JOSEPH CARUANA talks to us about his
love for astronomy
I FIRST BECAME interested in astronomy as a child. The sight of a
starry night sky got me hooked and I knew right then that I wanted to become an astronomer. The ensuing fascination with science led me to read
for a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Mathematics and Physics at the
University of Malta. During this time, I participated in astrophysics summer projects with Dr Kristian Zarb Adami and Dr Victor Debattista. In
my fourth year, I did my dissertation under Dr Debattista’s supervision, investigating how stars migrating ‘horizontally’ in disk galaxies affect galaxy
thickness. I also analysed computer simulations of galaxies and compared
them with what we observe in reality.
At the University of Oxford, I started my doctoral studies as a fellow
of ELIXIR, which is a European network of scientists involved with the
NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This telescope is the
successor of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). My research is on the early
universe and involves identifying the most distant galaxies from data obtained with the HST. The light from these objects has travelled billions of
years to reach our telescopes. Therefore, our observations are a snapshot
in the Universe’s early history. This light can show how some of the first
galaxies formed and their effect on the infant universe. I use observatories
located on remote mountaintops (like Mauna Kea, in Hawaii) to carry out
spectroscopic measurements, which allows for confirmation of galaxy distance and gives us clues about their properties. This research helps us understand the “Dark Ages”, a time when the universe was permeated by a “fog” of
neutral hydrogen, the lightest atom in the Universe. We think that this “fog”
was cleared by radiation emanating from the first objects.
My doctoral studies provided opportunities to travel widely for meetings,
conferences, and workshops related to the JWST, enabling me to receive
additional training on space instrumentation from
NASA and ESA project scientists. During this time,
I remained involved in science outreach activities
and taught General Relativity and Cosmology at
Christ Church in Oxford.
Later this year, I shall be moving to Berlin to start
postdoctoral research on the early stages of galaxy
formation and evolution. At the Leibniz Institute for
Astrophysics in Potsdam, I will be working on MUSE
(Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer), a state of the art
spectrograph for the European Southern Observatories’ Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. MUSE
brings together a consortium of seven major research institutes and more than a hundred scientists
and engineers. At the end of the year, research will
get very exciting when the instrument goes online.
•
52
THINK ALUMNI
Teachers never stop learning
MY JOURNEY STARTED in
1994, when I read for my first degree at the
University of Malta, a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree within the Faculty of
Education. Together with a friend of mine, I
researched how gender identity develops in
primary school children.
A few years later, I read for a Diploma
in Library and Information Studies. These
studies were followed by a Master of Arts
in Comparative Euro-Mediterranean Education Studies, when I researched the organisation of the teacher training scheme
INSET (in-service education and training)
in Malta. I interviewed teachers and ran focus groups to gauge their past experiences.
After interviewing key stakeholders and
policymakers, I concluded that teachers
learn in very unique and individual ways.
They have different learning methods and
can be faced with constraints that may
restrict their professional development.
INSET provision needs to be sensitive to
these needs.
Image courtesy of worldarchitecturenews.com
MS MICHELLE ATTARD TONNA talks to us about her long interest in teacher
learning and development.
The library at the University of Aberdeen.
I am currently completing my Ph.D. studies at the University of Aberdeen on teacher
training. I gathered data from teacher interviews and private online forums, then
analysed it in an interpretive manner, generating my theory from the data itself. In
this way, the text itself helped me construct
meaning. The texts were also analysed in
their social context.
My investigations strongly suggest that
teachers’ dispositions and perceptions
of professional learning impact on their
degree of training. Teachers who eagerly
pursue their career development thrive
on collaborations and social interactions.
Schools need to foster a positive environment to encourage these teachers to engage the company and support of their
colleagues.
•
For the author’s experience as a mother and
researcher, see page 12
For a related project
on astronomy, see our
feature on page 14
Opposite page: Joseph Caruana in Christ Church Upper Library in Oxford.
Above: Some of the observatories located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
53
BOOK REVIEW
by The Editor
FUN
. 99.
100
6. 4
7. 4
. 51. 50. 49. 4 8. 4
4
5. 4
41. 40. 3
42.
9.
3.
.4
98
.9
. 93. 92 1. 90. 8
. 94
9.
. 95
8
96
7.
9
.
. 76. 75. 74. 73. 7
. 77
2.
7
78
1
.7
9.
0.
69 .
6 8. 67,
66
65, 64. 63. 6
2.
38. 37
9
. 36
61
.
1.
. 25
.6
. 34. 33. 32. 31. 30
.
. 83. 82.
5. 84
81.
6. 8
80
.8
.7
87
8.
52
.2
28. 27. 26. 2 5
, .
4 . 23. 22. 2
.
56. 55. 54.
53.
2
20. 19. 1 8. 1 7
. 16
. 1 5. 14. 13
. 11. 10. 9.
12
8
. 7 . 6. 5. 4
0. 59. 58
.5
2. 1
7.
3.
100
WORD
Elephants
on acid
Alex Boese
ideas to
change
MALTA
An Artlab for
contemporary
visual production
by DR VINCE BRIFFA
Global cultural production has in recent years expanded far beyond any
previous phenomenon in visual arts
history. At the same time, the humanities have lost exclusiveness over image
production. In fact many scientific
fields indulge in lavish image-making
as potential thinking and working support tools. A merger between the artist’s studio and the research laboratory
is perhaps now called for. This place
would encourage research; produce
and disseminate the contemporary
image; bridge the sciences and the humanities and address the totality of the
image in the full spectrum of contemporary culture at the intersection of
art, science, technology, and society.
•
54
WHAT DO YOU think would happen if you were to inject 3,000 times the
human dose of LSD into an elephant?
The answer is at the end of this book review. Alex Boese’s Elephants on acid is the
perfect bathroom read. He has collected
short snippets of bizarre and sadly entertaining experiments. They will make you
laugh out loud, cry, and learn.
The book is split into 10 chapters. Each
chapter is themed as a collection of short
stories on a topic. You will be horrified
by Frankenstein’s Lab, a section that talks
about real life mad scientists who created
zombie kittens and two-headed dogs. Apparently, when in 1780 Luigi Galvani
discovered that electricity caused a frog’s
muscles to contract moving its limbs, others decided to try it on pretty much everything, including humans. Electricity
was seen as part elixir of life, part public
demonstration. Thankfully, human demonstrations were eventually banned due
to public outrage, but might even have inspired Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein.
Other experiments have less shock
value, yet are still incredibly interesting.
Take Chapter 4, Bedtime Stories, when
Boese writes about sleep experiments. In
one story, the author sheds light on how
the myth of sleep-learning came about.
In 1942, Professor Lawrence LeShan kept
reciting the phrase, after his gramophone
broke down, “My fingernails taste terribly
bitter” to 20 young sleeping boys. They
heard it over 16,000 times and the Professor concluded that this stopped them
biting their nails via their subconscious.
It didn’t cross his mind that having an old
man talking whilst you’re trying to sleep
biased the results. By the 1950s, carefully
controlled studies dispelled this myth,
although it still keeps cropping up —
every crank likes a good story to spin,
and sell. I wish it were true, it is such a
shame I cannot learn quantum physics in
my sleep: shoot!
By chapter 5 (Animal Tales), Alex Boese
visits the book’s title. In 1962, animal ethics hardly existed; injecting LSD into an
elephant was definitely a poorly thought
out experiment. But, it didn’t stop Louis
Jolyon “Jolly” West and Chester M. Pierce
from trying it out on an adult male. After
nearly two hours of charging, collapsing,
and panting, the elephant met its maker.
Perhaps this is how the term pink elephants
became linked to the drug.
This book will interest anyone who likes
bizarre scientific facts. Inside its covers are
the perfect party stories. It is a very entertaining read, though I could not read it for
long periods. It’s the type of book you pick
up, read a few stories, and then put down.
Expect to learn a fun fact or two, a bit of
science, and lots of entertaining history.
One of the most entertaining books I’ve
read this year, highly recommended.
•
GAME REVIEW
by Costantino Oliva
Super Mario 3D
Land delivers the
Mario heritage to
a new generation
GAMES SERIES continuously repeat
concepts, content, and mechanics. Nintendo’s idea of digital gaming consists largely in
establishing franchises and expanding endlessly. The most famous series is Super Mario,
and its main character has appeared in more
than 20 games. The Italian plumber has
confirmed some reassuring notions: you kill
goombas by jumping on them, mushrooms
make you bigger, and yes, the princess has
been kidnapped.
As you might expect, Super Mario 3D
Land does not do much to destroy our ex-
pectations, but builds on top of them to construct an experience carefully aimed at both
veteran players and newcomers. It successfully hits both targets.
With an intelligent use of 3D space, the
game keeps you running frantically for your
life while keeping an eye open for that last
golden coin, hidden thanks to an astute perspective trick. The attention is constantly
shifted through 2D and various interpretations of 3D, constructing dozens of minor
levels, each with a different experience.
Many Mario classics are brought back for
a true nostalgia-fest: the tanooki suit from
Super Mario Bros 3, spooky ghost houses,
and even the classic boss fight from the original Super Mario Bros — with a twist. Such
homages and citations are used to bring back
memories in Super Mario 3D Land, a joyful
ride topped with new perspective innovations.
Newcomers are going to find one of the
most carefully balanced Mario games ever:
frustration is calmed by power ups appearing
only when you seem stuck on the same level.
Originality in games is a problem and massive franchises can bar new gaming concepts,
but there is a deep heritage, history and culture connected with series like Mario. In Super Mario 3D Land, these aspects have been
tastefully reconstructed and reinvented. The
future of videogames seems bright.
•
FACT or FICTION?
SITTING
ABSOLUTELY
STILL
«»
Everything moves. Our galaxy rotates with our sun spinning in
its arms. The Earth zips round the
sun at 107,300 kilometers per hour,
while its surface rotates faster than
a rocket. Even atoms constantly vibrate. However, when we close our
eyes it still seems as if the Universe
has stood still.
ARE WE ALL MADE FROM
STARDUST?
«» Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction:
yes, we all are made of stars. The oxygen we
breathe, the calcium found in our bones, the
carbon that forms the core of all our molecules,
they were all once in the heart of a giant star.
Less than a second after the big bang, the
simplest elements (hydrogen and helium)
formed. Four hundred thousand years later,
matter started to cool down and more complex
atoms took shape. The drop in energy let particles coalesce and stars begin to form.
At the heart of a star, temperature, pressure, and density are high enough to form iron
(found in our blood). It requires a supernova,
a star exploding, to form the heavier elements.
From this mix, our sun, the Earth and then we
were formed.
55
TRIBUTE
Peter Serracino Inglott
the one and the many
Mr Ranier Fsadni
T
here is a widespread public image
of Peter Serracino Inglott as an
absent-minded professor, lost in
the jungle of thought and learning, spell-binding in explaining
and interpreting what is seen and unseen in
his listeners’ all too human life, but himself
somehow oblivious to important aspects of
the world of practical action.
There are good reasons why this image
of Fr Peter is so prevalent. It’s simple, it’s
familiar and, yes, there are plenty of true
anecdotes that might count as corroborating evidence (such as the one that begins
with Fr Peter rowing a small boat on Lake
Victoria to contemplate alone the splendour
of the African dawn, oblivious to a family of
baby hippopotami, and which ends with Fr
Peter swimming frantically for the shore after the protective mother rammed his boat
and chomped one end off ).
But it’s also a misleading image. It does
not make sense of some fundamental
choices he made. It’s based on a certain understanding of mind and knowledge that Fr
Peter strongly rejected — both in how he
lived and as a description of what makes a
good thinker and of how true knowledge is
created out of information.
Fr Peter was many things to many people
— a friend, a priest, a teacher, a mentor, an administrator, a philosopher, a strategic thinker
56
and advisor, a counsellor,
and confidant. He was
sought out by people who
had virtually no connection to the world of higher
education and research. He
was truly multifaceted. So,
rather than substitute one
overly simple image for another, I will focus on some
choices he made concerning his research and academic life, and how these
choices related to his idea
of knowledge and truth.
What follows is a preliminary reconnaissance
exercise. Any person’s
life can be read in multiple ways; Fr Peter led an
eventful one that requires
long discussion for its
lineaments and surprises
to come into focus. Currently, any overall shape
that can be given to his
works is necessarily premature, since the papers he left at his death
still need sifting and include several unpublished works.
My starting point is the peculiarity of
Fr Peter’s academic distinction. In the history of the University of Malta his career is
probably unique given the sheer number of
offices he held. At one point or another he
served as Librarian, Head of Department of
Philosophy, Acting Head of the Department
of Economics, Dean of the Faculty of Arts,
Chairman of the Mediterranean Institute,
and Rector in two non-consecutive periods;
the subjects he taught included literature
Fr Peter at
the opening
ceremony of the
academic year
1995/1996.
(both criticism and creative writing), philosophy, and Mediterranean Studies. None
of these roles were held as pure formality or
without consequence. In teaching literature
he helped cultivate the talent of some writers who went on to become leading poets;
his headship of the Economics department
coincided with the student years of several
men who later took leading roles in government and economy; his teaching of Mediterranean Studies led to the founding of a
journal.
He was not a dabbler. He edited and annotated two anthologies of contemporary
THINK TRIBUTE
Reading Mediterraneo II: Coltrane & Caterina/
The Pursuit of Transcendence — closing night
of Evening on Campus 2011.
Photo by Daphne Pia Kelleher
Maltese poetry that remain standard works
of reference. His published analysis of the
1970s Cold War in the Mediterranean is
a model of its kind, bringing together developments in military, food, and mineral
technologies to shed light on the arms race’s
economic dimension; Prof. David J. Attard,
a world authority on the Law of the Sea,
openly thanks Fr Peter for sparking his initial intellectual interest in maritime affairs.
Meanwhile, in philosophy, Fr Peter’s published articles on the rights of future generations eventually led to an invitation to
lecture on the philosophy of law at the Sorbonne; while his work on philosophical and
theological aesthetics led to and was fuelled
by his editorship of the Milanese journal,
Arte Cristiana.
Despite being committed to working in a
research-oriented university, he chose not to
follow paths that were surely open to him.
He studied politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford (1955–58) and theology
in Paris (1958–60) and Milan (1960–63),
distinguishing himself in all three places
when each institution was enjoying a golden
age in his chosen subject. His teachers and
good friends included some of the most celebrated 20th century names in philosophy
and theology. However, he didn’t use his
networks to embark on a professional career
abroad. He did not even use to the full all
opportunities: in the 1990s, when the Sorbonne invited him to be a visiting professor
for a whole semester — it was an opportunity to write and discuss in a world-renowned
centre of scholarship and culture — he accepted to go for a much shorter period.
Fr Peter spent 60 years of his life associated with one university or another, acquiring
various promotions and honours along the
way, without quite pursuing academic life as
a career. He committed his life to research
and imparting knowledge, and published
prolifically on several subjects, as various as
the philosophy of language, ethics and law;
aesthetics (film, music, literature, paint-
ing, and the plastic arts, architecture, and
myth); the philosophy of Maltese prehistory, history, and myth; the consequences
of changing modes of communication for
society, polity, and Church... But he never
published an extensive work of fundamental
research. His two books on philosophy —
a general introduction and an introduction
to the philosophy of language — had to be
torn out of his hands and taken to the publisher; other books — one on the philosophy of food, another a study of Homer’s Calypso, yet another a study of the Maltese nun
Adeodata Pisani, and perhaps others — remain unpublished.
“his career is
probably unique
given the sheer
number of
offices he held”
Naturally, some friends thought that he
was spreading himself too thinly, that he
needed a narrower and more focussed programme, and he did sometimes entertain the
question. Was there a unifying coherence to
the work of the man of many parts?
Considering two factors, a certain coherence does emerge. First, Fr Peter subscribed
to the Aristotelian idea that knowledge and
intellectual excellence should lead to action.
A man of knowledge is a man of energy. He
rejected a strict separation between theory
and practice; neither did he believe that
pure research should be dismissed as ‘mere
theory’. Reflective research and energetic
action, knowledge and project, were different necessary phases of a fulfilling human
life. For example, he studied the arts — but
he also composed libretti for opera, helped
establish an art school in Burundi, and coproduced audiovisual materials for liturgical
renewal. Throughout his life he combined
reflection with practical action, making significant contributions to the development
of several institutions and projects.
Second, he spoke with warm respect
about the ideal of the medieval Muslim
philosopher, whose duties were to include
those of court theologian, musician, and
physician: the combination of roles was
meant to lead to a holistic understanding
of humanity’s physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions. Fr Peter subscribed to the
view that the body was the best picture of
the soul, the retina of the mind’s eye.
He thought of himself primarily as a priest
— someone whose life was given shape and
identity not by a career but by heeding the
call to be ‘all things to all men’ (1 Corinthians 9: 22), that is, to meet all challenges
where one’s talents are needed. The most
striking aspects of this ethical commitment
were two. He believed faith should free the
mind of prejudice, not gag and bind it, and
he treasured experience. Fr Peter professed
to be a member of the learning Church, eager to see how new knowledge might deepen one’s experience of life’s mystery. Every
country, every city, the remotest village,
any person encountered was an occasion
to discover human fraternity; how a shared
remote past converged in the present; how
nature coevolved with language and culture;
how the universal aspects of human experience shaped the most particular of episodes
and how life’s kaleidoscope expanded understanding of our very own, deeply personal possibilities.
He had a gift for communicating this
spirit, at once archaic and modern, to those
who sought his advice, who often entered
his room with many entangled thoughts
and emerged feeling they had discovered
fire.
•
57
MEME
culture genes
MEME
THINK
58
ISBN: 978-99957-0-277-9
www.um.edu.mt
I D E A S
•
M A LTA
•
R E S E A RC H
•
P E O P L E
•
U N I V E R S I TY