Paper documents self-healing membrane for fuel cell applications
Fuel cells, which offer a cleaner, more efficient alternative to the combustion of gasoline and other fossil fuels, are an important enabling technology for the nation’s energy portfolio. (more…)
Freiburger Forscher zeigen, wie eine molekulare Fassstruktur unterschiedliche Funktionen in Mitochondrien ausübt
Freiburger Forscherinnen und Forscher haben entdeckt, dass das molekulare Fassprotein Mdm10 durch Anbindung an Proteinmaschinen unterschiedliche Funktionen für die Entstehung und Aufrechterhaltung der Struktur von Mitochondrien ausführen kann. Diese produzieren als Kraftwerke der Zellen beispielsweise die Energie für deren Stoffwechsel. Das Team um Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Pfanner und Privatdozent Dr. Thomas Becker vom Institut für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie der Universität Freiburg hat gemeinsam mit weiteren Kolleginnen und Kollegen die Ergebnisse in der Fachzeitschrift „Nature Communications“ veröffentlicht.
Nanopores could provide a new way to sequence DNA quickly, but the physics involved isn’t well understood. That’s partly because of the complexities involved in studying the random, squiggly form DNA takes in solution. Researchers from Brown have simplified matters by using a stiff, rod-like virus instead of DNA to experiment with nanopores. Their research has uncovered previously unknown dynamics in polymer-nanopore interactions.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Nanopores may one day lead a revolution in DNA sequencing. By sliding DNA molecules one at a time through tiny holes in a thin membrane, it may be possible to decode long stretches of DNA at lightning speeds. Scientists, however, haven’t quite figured out the physics of how polymer strands like DNA interact with nanopores. Now, with the help of a particular type of virus, researchers from Brown University have shed new light on this nanoscale physics. (more…)
UD doctoral student studies ways to improve lithium battery performance
Lithium batteries are used in many devices such as cell phones, computers and cameras, among others.
University of Delaware doctoral student Wei-Fan Kuan is investigating ways to improve membranes used in lithium batteries by capitalizing on the innate properties of block copolymers.
It is work that he believes will become increasingly important as the components in electronic devices continue to get smaller. (more…)
Engineering faculty and students at the University of Colorado Boulder have produced the first experimental results showing that atomically thin graphene membranes with tiny pores can effectively and efficiently separate gas molecules through size-selective sieving.
The findings are a significant step toward the realization of more energy-efficient membranes for natural gas production and for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plant exhaust pipes.
Mechanical engineering professors Scott Bunch and John Pellegrino co-authored a paper in Nature Nanotechnology with graduate students Steven Koenig and Luda Wang detailing the experiments. The paper was published Oct. 7 in the journal’s online edition. (more…)
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…)
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has signed a $1.18 million agreement with the Flatley Discovery Lab in Charlestown, Mass., to investigate and supply marine microbial extracts as possible treatments for cystic fibrosis (CF).
The life-shortening respiratory disease has eluded attempts at a cure, although researchers have been successful in some cases at adding years to a person’s lifespan, primarily through treatment with antibiotics. (more…)
Cell-penetrating peptides, such as the HIV TAT peptide, are able to enter cells using a number of mechanisms, from direct entry to endocytosis, a process by which cells internalize molecules by engulfing them.
Further, these cell-penetrating peptides, or CPPs, can facilitate the cellular transfer of various molecular cargoes, from small chemical molecules to nano-sized particles and large fragments of DNA. Because of this ability, CPPs hold great potential as in vitro and in vivo delivery vehicles for use in research and for the targeted delivery of therapeutics to individual cells. (more…)
