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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…)

Tiny Amounts of Alcohol Dramatically Extend A Worm’s Life, But Why?

By Guest PostJanuary 21, 2012Science1 millimeter, alcohol, alcohol consumption, alcoholic beverages, beer, biochemistry of aging, brian young, c elegans, caenorhabditis elegans, cardiovascular, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, dna damage, effect, ethanol, health benefit, human aging, larval stage, longevity, minuscule, neurological effects, novartis research foundation, paola castro, protein repair enzyme, san diego, shilpi khare, steven clarke, stuart wolpert, tiny worm, trivial explanation

Minuscule amounts of ethanol, the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, can more than double the life span of a tiny worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans, which is used frequently as a model in aging studies, UCLA biochemists report. The scientists said they find their discovery difficult to explain.

“This finding floored us — it’s shocking,” said Steven Clarke, a UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry and the senior author of the study, published Jan. 18 in the online journal PLoS ONE, a publication of the Public Library of Science. (more…)

When It Comes To Accepting Evolution, Gut Feelings Trump Facts

By Guest PostJanuary 21, 2012Scienceacceptance of evolution, gut feeling, intuitive notion, knowledge level, theory of evolution

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For students to accept the theory of evolution, an intuitive “gut feeling” may be just as important as understanding the facts, according to a new study. (more…)

Gaseous Ring Around Young Star Raises Questions

By Guest PostJanuary 21, 2012Sciencegaseous ring, planet forming disk, planetary rings, shepherding planets, young stars

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Astronomers have detected a mysterious ring of carbon monoxide gas around the young star V1052 Cen, which is about 700 light years away in the southern constellation Centaurus. (more…)

What Bacteria Don’t Know Can Hurt Them

By Guest PostJanuary 20, 2012Scienceantibiotic sensitive bacteria, biofilm bacteria, clusters of bacteria, engineered bacteria, resistance of biofilms, starved bacteria

Many infections, even those caused by antibiotic-sensitive bacteria, resist treatment. This paradox has vexed physicians for decades, and makes some infections impossible to cure. (more…)

University of Toronto/Royal Ontario Museum Scientists Discover Unusual ‘Tulip’ Creature

By Guest PostJanuary 20, 2012Scienceburgess shale, burgess shale animals, tulip beds, tulip creature, tulip shaped creature

Lived in the ocean more than 500-million years ago

A bizarre creature that lived in the ocean more than 500-million years ago has emerged from the famous Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies. (more…)

Study Provides New Insights into Antibiotics and Pig Feeds

By Guest PostJanuary 19, 2012Scienceabundance, antibiotic resistant gene, antibiotics, benli chai, chickens, diversity, e coli, farm animals, feed efficiency, gastrointestinal microbes, gastrointestinal tract, growth rates, in feed antibiotic, intestinal microbial communities, james tiedje, kurt stepnitz, livestock, michigan state university, pig feed, population, robert stedtfeld, tiffany stedtfeld, tim johnson, woo jun sul

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Antibiotics in pig feed increased the number of antibiotic resistant genes in gastrointestinal microbes in pigs, according to a study conducted by Michigan State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.

Published in the current edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the comprehensive study focused on understanding the effects of conventional, in-feed antibiotics in U.S. farms. (more…)

Markerless Motion Capture Offers A New Angle On Tennis Injuries

By Guest PostJanuary 19, 2012Science, Sports3d volume, ajit chaudhari, alison sheets, baseball, characteristic spin, computer program, game, game like situation, geoffrey d abrams, injury, kick serve, marc safran, markerless motion capture, motion capture technology, ohio state university, orthopedic injuries, racquet, rehabilitation protocols, researchers, shoulder injury, stanford university, stroke, tennis ball, tennis injuries, tennis player, thomas p andriacchi, timothy hewitt, upper body, vertical center line

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new approach to motion capture technology is offering fresh insights into tennis injuries – and orthopedic injuries in general.

Researchers studied three types of tennis serves, and identified one in particular, called a “kick” serve, which creates the highest potential for shoulder injury. (more…)

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