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Researchers Devise New Means For Creating Elastic Conductors

By Guest PostJanuary 25, 2012Sciencebuckle nanotube, carbon nanotube, conductive material, elastic conductor, elastic electronic device, elastic substrate, electric signal, feng xu, nanotubes buckle, north carolina state university, ribbons, stretchable electronics, technique, yong zhu

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new method for creating elastic conductors made of carbon nanotubes, which will contribute to large-scale production of the material for use in a new generation of elastic electronic devices.

“We’re optimistic that this new approach could lead to large-scale production of stretchable conductors, which would then expedite research and development of elastic electronic devices,” says Dr. Yong Zhu, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State, and lead author of a paper describing the new technique. (more…)

Under the Electron Microscope – A 3-D Image of an Individual Protein

By Guest PostJanuary 25, 2012Sciencecryo electron microscope, lilliputian scale, microscopic image, single protein

The high resolution of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Gang Ren

When Gang Ren whirls the controls of his cryo-electron microscope, he compares it to fine-tuning the gearshift and brakes of a racing bicycle. But this machine at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is a bit more complex. It costs nearly $1.5 million, operates at the frigid temperature of liquid nitrogen, and it is allowing scientists to see what no one has seen before. (more…)

Winged Dinosaur Archaeopteryx Dressed For Flight

By Guest PostJanuary 24, 2012Sciencearchaeopteryx, archaeopteryx specimen, bird evolution, bird evolutionary tree, feather structure, winged dinosaur

*The iconic, winged dinosaur Archaeopteryx was dressed for flight, an international team of researchers led by Brown University has concluded. The group identified the color of the raven-sized creature’s fossilized wing feather, determining it was black. The color and the structures that supplied the pigment suggest that Archaeopteryx’s feathers were rigid and durable, which would have helped it to fly. Results appear in Nature Communications.*

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Since its discovery 150 years ago, scientists have puzzled over whether the winged dinosaur Archaeopteryx represents the missing link in birds’ evolution to powered flight. Much of the debate has focused on the iconic creature’s wings and the mystery of whether — and how well — it could fly. (more…)

Vision Improves Modestly in Patients after Human Embryonic Stem Cells Transplants

By Guest PostJanuary 24, 2012Health, Scienceblind patients, central visual rescue, clinical trials, Europe, eye diseases, eyes, human embryonic stem cells, immunosuppression therapy, lancet, macular degeneration, photoreceptor, retinal cells, retinal pigment epithelial, rpe, stargardts macular dystrophy, stem cells, steven schwartz, therapeutic use, transplantation, united states, vision

Researchers at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute and colleagues who successfully transplanted specialized retinal cells derived from human embryonic stem cells into the eyes of two legally blind patients report that the transplants appear safe and that both patients have experienced modest improvement in their vision.

The preliminary findings, published online Jan. 23 in the journal The Lancet, represent a milestone in the therapeutic use of stem cells and may pave the way for a new therapy to treat eye diseases, the researchers said. Because this is the first time physicians have applied the power of regenerative medicine to eye disease, the clinical trials are being watched closely by scientists, stem-cell therapy advocates and the public. (more…)

New U-M Computer Model Predicts Cholera Outbreaks Up To 11 Months in Advance

By Guest PostJanuary 23, 2012Environment, Scienceaaron king, annual monsoon flooding, attack rates, bacterium, Bangladesh, capital city, cholera cases, cholera outbreaks, climate change, climate factors, climate sensitive urban core, climate variability, computer model, cycles of cholera, dhaka, diarrheal disease, disease transmission, ecology, el niño southern oscillation, enso episode, fecal oral diseases, mercedes pascual, michael emch, mohammad yunus, pathogen, post monsoon, prediction, risk factors, robert reiner, sanitary conditions, space and time, spatial location, university of michigan, urban periphery, vaccination, vibrio cholera, warning system

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A new University of Michigan computer model of disease transmission in space and time can predict cholera outbreaks in Bangladesh up to 11 months in advance, providing an early warning system that could help public health officials there.

The new forecast model applies specifically to the capital city of Dhaka and incorporates data on both year-to-year climate variability and the spatial location of cholera cases at the district level. This allowed the researchers to study both local variation in disease transmission and response to climate factors within the megacity of 14 million people. (more…)

Chemists Unlock Potential Target For Drug Development

By Guest PostJanuary 22, 2012Scienceadditives, analytical methods, bleeding, blood flow, blood platelets, bloodstream, clotting, cystic fibrosis, dana spence, diabetes, diseases, drug testing, druggable receptors, enzymes, human body, hypertension, michigan state university, molecule, nf449, p2x1, p2y receptor, pharmaceutical target, platelets, receptor, red blood cells, sickle cell anemia

EAST LANSING, Mich. — A receptor found on blood platelets whose importance as a potential pharmaceutical target has long been questioned may in fact be fruitful in drug testing, according to new research from Michigan State University chemists.

A team led by Dana Spence of MSU’s Department of Chemistry has revealed a way to isolate and test the receptor known as P2X1. By creating a new, simple method to study it after blood is drawn, the team has unlocked a potential new drug target for many diseases that impact red blood cells, such as diabetes, hypertension and cystic fibrosis. (more…)

Ancient Domesticated Dog Skull Found in Siberian Cave

By Guest PostJanuary 22, 2012Scienceaccelerator mass spectrometer, altai mountains, atmospheric circulation, beam of carbon, belgium, best friend, carbon 12, carbon 13, carbon 14, carbon beam, carbon isotopes, cave, chihuahua, climate change, crowded, dog domestication, dog skull, domestication, earth, euro asia, glacial maximum, greg hodgins, half life, last glacial maximum, last ice age, lgm, man, mass spectrum, modern dogs, organic molecules, photosynthesis, plants, radioactive carbon, radiocarbon, radiocarbon age, razboinichya cave, rottweiler, Siberia, siberian mountain, teeth

*A 33,000-year-old dog skull unearthed in a Siberian mountain cave presents some of the oldest known evidence of dog domestication and, together with an equally ancient find in a cave in Belgium, indicates that modern dogs may be descended from multiple ancestors.*

If you think a Chihuahua doesn’t have much in common with a Rottweiler, you might be on to something.

An ancient dog skull, preserved in a cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia for 33,000 years, presents some of the oldest known evidence of dog domestication and, together with equally ancient dog remains from a cave in Belgium, indicates that domestication of dogs may have occurred repeatedly in different geographic locations rather than with a single domestication event. (more…)

Biochip Measures Glucose in Saliva, Not Blood

By Guest PostJanuary 22, 2012Sciencealec roelke, americans, biochip, biological device, blood, brown university, chip, convergence, diabetics, domenico pacifici, environmental substances, glucose concentration, glucose levels, grooves, human hair, human saliva, interaction of electrons, interference, jing feng, light, light intensity, maxima and minima, measure, microfluidic channels, milligrams per deciliter, Nanotechnology, ocean waves, photons, plasmonic interferometers, steve rhieu, surface plasmon polariton, surface plasmon waves, surface plasmonics, tayhas palmore, vihang mehta, vince siu, wavelength

*Engineers at Brown University have designed a biological device that can measure glucose concentrations in human saliva. The technique could eliminate the need for diabetics to draw blood to check their glucose levels. The biochip uses plasmonic interferometers and could be used to measure a range of biological and environmental substances. Results are published in Nano Letters.*

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — For the 26 million Americans with diabetes, drawing blood is the most prevalent way to check glucose levels. It is invasive and at least minimally painful. Researchers at Brown University are working on a new sensor that can check blood sugar levels by measuring glucose concentrations in saliva instead.

The technique takes advantage of a convergence of nanotechnology and surface plasmonics, which explores the interaction of electrons and photons (light). The engineers at Brown etched thousands of plasmonic interferometers onto a fingernail-size biochip and measured the concentration of glucose molecules in water on the chip. Their results showed that the specially designed biochip could detect glucose levels similar to the levels found in human saliva. Glucose in human saliva is typically about 100 times less concentrated than in the blood. (more…)

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