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Algorithms find genetic cancer networks

By Guest PostJune 4, 2013Scienceacute myeloid leukemia, algorithms, aml, ben raphael, blood cancer, brown team, cancer causing mutations, cancer types, ccmb, cellular pathway, dendrix, eli upfal, fabio vandin, genetic cancer networks, genetic profile, genetics, genetics of cancer, hot networks, hotnet, hsin ta wu, max leiserson, pan cancer project, washington university

Researchers at Washington University in St., Louis, using powerful algorithms developed by computer scientists at Brown University, have assembled the most complete genetic profile yet of acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer. Findings are reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Powerful data-sifting algorithms developed by computer scientists at Brown University are helping to untangle the profoundly complex genetics of cancer.

In a study reported on May 1, 2013, in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis used two algorithms developed at Brown to assemble the most complete genetic profile yet of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive form of blood cancer. The researchers hope the work will lead to new AML treatments based on the genetics of each patient’s disease. (more…)

New Technique May Open Up an Era of Atomic-scale Semiconductor Devices

By Guest PostJune 2, 2013Scienceair, atomic scale, chun li, era, leds, light emitting diodes, linyou cao, molecules, molybdenum chloride, mos2, new technique, north Carolina, partial pressure, researchers, self limiting growth, semiconductor devices, solid atoms, state university, substrate, thin layer, vapor pressure, yifei yu

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating high-quality semiconductor thin films at the atomic scale – meaning the films are only one atom thick. The technique can be used to create these thin films on a large scale, sufficient to coat wafers that are two inches wide, or larger.

“This could be used to scale current semiconductor technologies down to the atomic scale – lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), computer chips, anything,” says Dr. Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper on the work. “People have been talking about this concept for a long time, but it wasn’t possible. With this discovery, I think it’s possible.” (more…)

Pebbly Rocks Testify to Old Streambed on Mars

By Guest PostMay 31, 2013Scienceatmospheric conditions, bradbury landing, conglomerate rocks, environmental conditions, evidence, gale crater, goulburn, hottah, imperial college, london, mars, mars rover curiosity, martian surface, mastcam, microbial life, NASA, old streambed, outcrop of rocks, pebble rich layers, pebbly rocks, planetary science institute, rebecca williams, sand layers, sanjeev gupta, stream flow, tucson, water ice

PASADENA, Calif. – Detailed analysis and review have borne out researchers’ initial interpretation of pebble-containing slabs that NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity investigated last year: They are part of an ancient streambed.

The rocks are the first ever found on Mars that contain streambed gravels. The sizes and shapes of the gravels embedded in these conglomerate rocks — from the size of sand particles to the size of golf balls — enabled researchers to calculate the depth and speed of the water that once flowed at this location. (more…)

Keeping beverages cool in summer: It’s not just the heat, it’s the humidity

By Guest PostMay 31, 2013Scienceevaporative cooling, heat of condensation, hot day, keeping beverages cool, summer

In spring a person’s thoughts turn to important matters, like how best to keep your drink cold on a hot day. Though this quest is probably as old as civilization, University of Washington climate scientists have provided new insight. (more…)

How the turtle got its shell

By Guest PostMay 31, 2013Nature, Scienceallison y hsiang, armadillos, China, eunotosaurus, eunotosaurus fossils, evolutionary origin, evolutionary pathway, fossil record, fossil reptile, gabe s bever, histological analysis, history of life, how, jacques a gauthier, modern turtle model, modern turtles, molecular divergence, most living turtles, placodonts, secret of shell, shell, smithsonian institution, South Africa, torsten m scheyer, turtle, turtle shell, tyler lyson, universitaet zuerich, various lizards, vertebrae, yale peabody museum, yale university

The turtle has been in no rush to give up the secret of its shell — but after two centuries of close study, scientists are filling in the story of a structure unique in the history of life.

New research led by Tyler Lyson of Yale University and the Smithsonian Institution pushes back the origins of the turtle shell by about 40 million years, linking it to Eunotosaurus, a 260-million-year-old fossil reptile from South Africa. The work strengthens the fossil record and bolsters an existing theory about shell development while providing new details about its precise evolutionary pathway. (more…)

Forecast for Titan: Wild Weather Could be Ahead

By Guest PostMay 30, 2013Sciencebig lakes, cassini spacecraft, cornell university, data, energy, equatorial plane, equinox, european space agency, forecast for titan, Germany, hurricanes, hydrocarbon liquid, hydrocarbon seas, infrared mapping spectrometer, ithaca, lake, lake huron, liquid ethane, methane, NASA, northern hemisphere, northern summer solstice, saturns moon, scott edgington, sea surface, seawater evaporation, tetsuya tokano, titans gravity, university of cologne, vims, visual, wild weather, wind waves

Saturn’s moon Titan might be in for some wild weather as it heads into its spring and summer, if two new models are correct. Scientists think that as the seasons change in Titan’s northern hemisphere, waves could ripple across the moon’s hydrocarbon seas, and hurricanes could begin to swirl over these areas, too. The model predicting waves tries to explain data from the moon obtained so far by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Both models help mission team members plan when and where to look for unusual atmospheric disturbances as Titan summer approaches.

“If you think being a weather forecaster on Earth is difficult, it can be even more challenging at Titan,” said Scott Edgington, Cassini’s deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “We know there are weather processes similar to Earth’s at work on this strange world, but differences arise due to the presence of unfamiliar liquids like methane. We can’t wait for Cassini to tell us whether our forecasts are right as it continues its tour through Titan spring into the start of northern summer.” (more…)

Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films

By Guest PostMay 30, 2013Scienceantireflection effects, moth eyes, nanostructures, rainbow sheen, solar device, thin film interference

Inspired by the structure of moth eyes, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed nanostructures that limit reflection at the interfaces where two thin films meet, suppressing the “thin-film interference” phenomenon commonly observed in nature. This can potentially improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. (more…)

Diamond in the rough

By Guest PostMay 28, 2013Scienceatoms, chaoying ni, conductivity for oxygen, conductor of oxygen, costume jewelry, cubic zirconia, Diamond, electrolyte, joshua hertz, jun jiang, oxide fuel cells, university of delaware, weida shen, xiaocao hu, yttria stabilized zirconia

UD researchers manipulate cubic zirconia to improve conductivity in fuel cells

Cubic zirconia has long been favored for its use in costume jewelry.

Known scientifically as yttria-stabilized zirconia, it is also a known conductor of oxygen, making it useful as an electrolyte in solid oxide fuel cells.

Researchers at the University of Delaware recently fabricated the material into very thin films on the surface of sapphire crystals using a technique called sputtering to determine whether the conductivity for oxygen could be improved, enabling solid oxide fuel cells to become a more economical and efficient electrical power source. (more…)

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