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Inspired by Insects

By Guest PostApril 25, 2012Sciencebioactive hydrogel matrices, biomimetic, cell adhesion, cicadas, degradation, elastic, frequency, gel, grasshopper, hmscs, human mesenchymal stem cells, kristi kiick, microsecond, multipotent cells, phonation, polypeptide hydrogel, protein, radio wave, regenerative power, resilin, speak, susan thibeault, timothy mcculloch, tissue, torsional wave apparatus, united states, university of delaware, vibratory stimulation, vocal folds, voice problem, words, xinqiao jia

For treatment of vocal fold disorders, UD researchers look to insect protein

A one-inch long grasshopper can leap a distance of about 20 inches. Cicadas can produce sound at about the same frequency as radio waves. Fleas measuring only millimeters can jump an astonishing 100 times their height in microseconds. How do they do it? They make use of a naturally occurring protein called resilin.

Resilin is a protein in the composite structures found in the leg and wing joints, and sound producing organs of insects. Highly elastic, it responds to exceptionally high rates of speed and demonstrates unmatched resilience after being stretched or deformed. (more…)

Plant Scientists Find Mechanism That Gives Plants ‘Balance’

By Guest PostApril 23, 2012Sciencearabidopsis, decision, defense mode, disease, gibberellins, growth mechanism, harsh weather, hormone, jasmonates, michigan state university, narrow leafed plant, phenomenon, plant, sheng yang he

EAST LANSING, Mich. — When a plant goes into defense mode in order to protect itself against harsh weather or disease, that’s good for the plant, but bad for the farmer growing the plant. Bad because when a plant acts to defend itself, it turns off its growth mechanism.

But now researchers at Michigan State University, as part of an international collaboration, have figured out how plants can make the “decision” between growth and defense, a finding that could help them strike a balance – keep safe from harm while continuing to grow. (more…)

First Atomic-Scale Real-Time Movies of Platinum Nanocrystal Growth in Liquids

By Guest PostApril 23, 2012Sciencealex zettl, alivisatos zettl collaboration, anisotropic particle, atomic scale, berkeley lab, crystallographic direction, daniel hellebusch, DNA, electron beam, electron microscope, gold tem mesh, grapheme, graphene liquid cells, growth, growth trajectory, jeong yong lee, jong min yuk, jungwon park, kwanpyo kim, liquid, lynn yarris, membrane, metal, michael crommie, movie, nanocrystal, nanometer scale, nanoparticle growth, ncem, paul alivisatos, peter ercius, platinum nanocrystal, protein, real-time, solution, subnanometer resolution, tem grid, transmission electron microscope, university of california

Berkeley Scientists Create Graphene Liquid Cells for Electron Microscopy Studies of Nanocrystal Formation

They won’t be coming soon to a multiplex near you, but movies showing the growth of platinum nanocrystals at the atomic-scale in real-time have blockbuster potential. A team of scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley has developed a technique for encapsulating liquids of nanocrystals between layers of graphene so that chemical reactions in the liquids can be imaged with an electron microscope. With this technique, movies can be made that provide unprecedented direct observations of physical, chemical and biological phenomena that take place in liquids on the nanometer scale. (more…)

Scanning the Brain for Impending Error

By Guest PostApril 22, 2012Sciencebrain scanning, brain states, brain wave data, cognitive workload

UA computer science doctoral student Federico Cirett is using new technology to predict, in advance, when people will make a mistake. He’s been testing subjects taking the SAT exam in math

Our bodies and brains tend to give us good cues about when we are becoming stressed, fatigued or overwhelmed. (more…)

Amateur Astronomers to ‘Target Asteroids!’

By Guest PostApril 21, 2012Scienceamateur astronomers, asteroid sample, carbonaceous asteroid, robotic telescopes, rotation rates, target asteroids

Researchers on NASA’s robotic asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx, are turning to amateur astronomers for new data on near-Earth asteroids in a citizen science observing campaign called Target Asteroids!

Amateur astronomers are about to make observations that will affect current and future space missions to asteroids. (more…)

Cassini Finds Titan Lake is Like a Namibia Mudflat

By Guest PostApril 20, 2012Scienceatmosphere, bonnie buratti, cassini spacecraft, earth, ethane, etosha salt pan, geological feature, groundwater level, hydrocarbon cycle, lake, liquid hydrocarbon, methane, moon, mudflats, NASA, ontario lacus, propane, rainy season, saturated sand, saturn, south polar, thomas cornet, titan

A new study analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft suggests that the lake, known as Ontario Lacus, behaves most similarly to what we call a salt pan on Earth.

A group led by Thomas Cornet of the Université de Nantes, France, a Cassini associate, found evidence for long-standing channels etched into the lake bed within the southern boundary of the depression. This suggests that Ontario Lacus, previously thought to be completely filled with liquid hydrocarbons, could actually be a depression that drains and refills from below, exposing liquid areas ringed by materials like saturated sand or mudflats. (more…)

Yale Anthropologist Unlocks Real Story of The Chimpanzee

By Guest PostApril 20, 2012Sciencechimp behavior, chimpanzee, david watts, disney movie, ngogo forest, poachers, ugandan jungle, university of michigan, yale anthropologist

Deep in the Ugandan jungle, David Watts, Yale anthropologist and consultant for new Disney movie “Chimpanzee,” has studied the behavior of humanity’s closest relative. The Ngogo forest boasts one of the largest chimpanzee populations in the world, which not only makes it a great location to film movies, but an unparalleled place to explore chimp […]

Global Health: Students Build Wiki of Medical Devices Designed for Low-Income Countries

By Guest PostApril 20, 2012Education, Scienceamir sabet, anemia, appropedia project, autologous blood transfusion, blood sample, caitlin winget, communication vehicle, database, diime, dynamic compendium, education, electricity, filtering syringe, ghana, hemafuse, humboldt state university, iran, james azazili, kathleen sienko, knowledge, lonny grafman, medical device, megan bland, new wiki, nicaragua, open source inventory, policymaker, project, rachel strauss, salad spinner centrifuge, sofia merajver, startup, Technology, turkey, university of michigan, wiki appropedia, world

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— In parts of the world without reliable electricity, a pedal-powered nebulizer could provide life-saving asthma treatments. Small wax-filled sleeping bags could keep premature infants warm. A salad spinner centrifuge for blood samples could help clinicians diagnose anemia.

University of Michigan researchers have cataloged more than 100 such technologies in a new wiki of medical devices designed for resource-limited settings. The Global Health Medical Device Compendium, an open-source inventory, is hosted by the popular appropriate technology wiki Appropedia. It is expected to serve as an important communication vehicle for end users, non-governmental organizations, researchers and others to help advance such technologies. (more…)

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