Author Archives: Guest Post

Researchers Do Precise Gene Therapy Without A Needle

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the first time, researchers have found a way to inject a precise dose of a gene therapy agent directly into a single living cell without a needle.

The technique uses electricity to “shoot” bits of therapeutic biomolecules through a tiny channel and into a cell in a fraction of a second.

L. James Lee and his colleagues at Ohio State University describe the technique in the online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, where they report successfully inserting specific doses of an anti-cancer gene into individual leukemia cells to kill them. (more…)

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Africa’s Female Students Are Fighters and Survivors

The education of girls in developing countries is lagging by at least 30 years in comparison to the education of girls in developed countries. This is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa, where only a minority of women get a university education. Why does this disparity still exist today?

Valèse Mapto Kengne obtained her diploma last spring from the Université de Montréal Faculty of Education where she devoted her thesis to answering that very question. “I wanted to know the truth behind the numbers. Why do some girls drop out? And contrarily, what drives the others to persevere? (more…)

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Diamonds, Silver and the Quest for Single Photons

Tiny crystal towers enlighten understanding of photon emission, could inspire diamond microchips for quantum computing

Building on earlier work, scientists and engineers recently developed a manufacturing process that allows them to craft an assortment of miniature, silver-plated-diamond posts that enable greater control of light producing photons at the atomic scale. The research could prove important for future generations of quantum computers. (more…)

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IBM Completes Acquisition of Algorithmics

ARMONK, N.Y. – 21 Oct 2011: IBM today announced the closing of its acquisition of Algorithmics. The acquisition expands IBM’s business analytics capabilities in the area of financial risk. Algorithmics provides software and services for improved business insights at banks and investment and insurance organizations to assess risk and address regulatory challenges. The purchase price is $380.2 million

Algorithmics’ capabilities, combined with IBM’s recent acquisition of OpenPages, gives clients a full array of financial and operational risk technology offerings and services to help with these challenges. The ability to gain granular insight into financial risks in advance provides businesses with critical information vital to their operations. (more…)

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How Do Muslim Americans Use Popular Culture?

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Facing “Islamophobia” and widespread hostility, Muslim Americans have adopted cultural techniques to make their voices heard, according to Michigan State University faculty who will use a grant to conduct a yearlong study of Islam-inflected culture.

MSU’s Muslim Studies Program and Asian Studies Center were recently awarded $100,000 from the Social Science Research Council for “Migrations of Islam.” (more…)

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Hold the Phone for Vital Signs

WPI researchers turn a smart phone into a medical monitor

An iPhone app that measures the user’s heart rate is not only a popular feature with consumers, but it sparked an idea for a Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher who is now turning smart phones, and eventually tablet devices, into sophisticated medical monitors able to capture and transmit vital physiological data. (more…)

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Suggested Explanation for Glowing Seas–Including Currently Glowing California Seas

*Potential mechanism for dazzling blue flashes of light in oceans identified*

It has long been known that spectacular blue flashes–a type of bioluminescence–that are visible at night in some marine environments (currently including coastal California waters) are caused by tiny, unicellular plankton known as dinoflagellates. However, a new study has, for the first time, detailed the potential mechanism for this bioluminescence.

The study, which was partially funded by the National Science Foundation, is reported by Susan Smith of Emory School of Medicine, Thomas DeCoursey of Rush University Medical Center and colleagues in the Oct. 17, 2011 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). (more…)

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