"We're finding that when you rub a natural biological surface that has an orientation - that has a grain, if you will - and you run that grain perpendicularly to the long axis of the ridges, we find a dramatic increase in friction, " Dr Dominy told BBC News.

BBC: Artificial finger tests evolutionary origin of prints

But grassroots unease about the long-term implications of the Blair-Ashdown axis is also bound to surface.

ECONOMIST: The party is either being very clever, or very stupid

As of last week, Clyde Union Pumps (formerly Weir Pumps) has been added to the long list, and Dundee's diagnostics firm Axis-Shield is resisting a takeover bid from the US - at least at the current bid price.

BBC: Who owns the best of Scotland?

To provide a better experience, Olympus has created the STYLUS SH-50, a new premium, compact long zoom camera that's equipped with 5-Axis Video Stabilization, 3-Axis Image Stabilization for stills and Full 1080p HD Video.

ENGADGET: Olympus SH-50 iHS touts 5-axis video stabilization in a compact, $300 camera (update: hands-on pics)

French elections are still three years off, and, as long as President Chirac remains in office, efforts to prop up the Franco-German axis will be firm.

ECONOMIST: Franco-German relations

Of particular concern is the possibility that the enthusiasm "Lula" has declared for resuscitating Brazil's long-dormant nuclear program could put atomic weapons and ballistic missiles into the hands of this axis and its unsavory friends (for example, Chavez has established close ties with virtually every terrorist-sponsoring regime and several terrorist organizations, notably Colombia's FARC and the IRA).

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Against Us