Tag Archives: technique

Aging Cells Lose Their Grip on DNA Rogues

By Guest PostFebruary 3, 2013Scienceabigail peterson, aging bodies, aging cells, balls of protein, barbara mcclintock, brown university, chromatin, chromosomes, computational biologist, desirable genes, DNA, edward peckham, eliza hamm, enzyme, essential genes, euchromatin formations, faire, genetic material, genome, genomic havoc, heterochromatin, heterochromatin prison system, high stakes warfare, hiv drugs, human fibroblast cells, human retrotransposons, jayameenakshi manivannan, jill kreiling, john sedivy, l1, marco de cecco, mobile strands, molecular parasites, nicola neretti, nobel prize, nucleosomes, parasitic strands, reverse transcriptases, rna, sara hillenmeyer, senescent, senescent cells, steven criscione, technique, transposable elements, transposons, transposons in maize, useful genes

Transposable elements are mobile strands of DNA that insert themselves into chromosomes with mostly harmful consequences. Cells try to keep them locked down, but in a new study, Brown University researchers report that aging cells lose their ability to maintain this control. The result may be a further decline in the health of senescent cells and of the aging bodies they compose.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Even in our DNA there is no refuge from rogues that prey on the elderly. Parasitic strands of genetic material called transposable elements — transposons — lurk in our chromosomes, poised to wreak genomic havoc. Cells have evolved ways to defend themselves, but in a new study, Brown University researchers describe how cells lose this ability as they age, possibly resulting in a decline in their function and health. (more…)

Researchers Create Flexible, Nanoscale ‘Bed of Nails’ for Possible Drug Delivery

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2013Sciencealuminum substrate, anatoli melechko, balloon, bed of nails, brain, bryan anderson, carbon nanofibers, drug delivery systems, elastic membrane, elastic silicone membrane, embedding carbon nanofibers, joseph tracy, justin railsback, liquid silicone polymer, mehmet sarac, nanofibers, nanoscale, needle like, north Carolina, ryan pearce, state university, technique, timothy mcknight

Researchers at North Carolina State University have come up with a technique to embed needle-like carbon nanofibers in an elastic membrane, creating a flexible “bed of nails” on the nanoscale that opens the door to development of new drug-delivery systems.

The research community is interested in finding new ways to deliver precise doses of drugs to specific targets, such as regions of the brain. One idea is to create balloons embedded with nanoscale spikes that are coated with the relevant drug. Theoretically, the deflated balloon could be inserted into the target area and then inflated, allowing the spikes on the balloon’s surface to pierce the surrounding cell walls and deliver the drug. The balloon could then be deflated and withdrawn. (more…)

Breakthrough Technique Images Breast Tumors in 3-D with Great Clarity, Reduced Radiation

By Guest PostOctober 23, 2012Health, Science3d picture, alberto mittone, aniko sztrokay, blind evaluation, bone, breakthrough, breast cancer, breast tissue, computing algorithm, ct scanner, digital, dual view, equally sloped tomography, est, european, european colleague, france, Germany, image, jianwei miao, ludwig maximilians university, mammogram, mammography, maximilian reiser, oscillation, paola coan, patient, paul claude diemoz, radiation, radiation facility, researcher, scientist, screening, sergei gasilov, susanne liebhardt, synchrotron, technique, three-dimensional, tomography, tumor, ucla, united states, xray, yunzhe zhao, zhifeng huang

Like cleaning the lenses of a foggy pair of glasses, scientists are now able to use a technique developed by UCLA researchers and their European colleagues to produce three-dimensional images of breast tissue that are two to three times sharper than those made using current CT scanners at hospitals. The technique also uses a lower dose of X-ray radiation than a mammogram.

These higher-quality images could allow breast tumors to be detected earlier and with much greater accuracy. One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime.

The research is published the week of Oct. 22 in the early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

IBM Scientists First to Distinguish Individual Molecular Bonds

By Guest PostSeptember 14, 2012Scienceafm, alejandro criado, atom diameter, atomic force, bandwidth wireless, bond, buckyball, c60, carbon carbon, carbon monoxide, chemical bond, chemical structure, ciqus, co, diego pena, diodes, enrique guitian, graphene, hexagon, ibm, individual molecule, leo gross, light emitting, microscopy, noncontact, oleds, organic, pahs, pentagon, polyaromatic systems, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, scientist, technique

Atomic force microscopy helps scientists to reveal the bond order and length of bonds within molecules

Technique can be used to study future devices made from graphene

Zurich, Switzerland – 14 Sep 2012: IBM scientists have been able to differentiate the chemical bonds in individual molecules for the first time using a technique known as noncontact atomic force microscopy (AFM).

The results push the exploration of using molecules and atoms at the smallest scale and could be important for studying graphene devices, which are currently being explored by both industry and academia for applications including high-bandwidth wireless communication and electronic displays. (more…)

Researchers Develop New, Less Expensive Nanolithography Technique

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2012Scienceabsorb, albena ivanisevic, approach, biomedical application, chapel hill, humidity, marcus a kramer, micron, nanolithography, nanoscale, north Carolina, polymer, silicon strip, spore, state university, substrate surface, surface, technique, water

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new nanolithography technique that is less expensive than other approaches and can be used to create technologies with biomedical applications.

“Among other things, this type of lithography can be used to manufacture chips for use in biological sensors that can identify target molecules, such as proteins or genetic material associated with specific medical conditions,” says Dr. Albena Ivanisevic, co-author of a paper describing the research. Ivanisevic is an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and associate professor of the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nanolithography is a way of printing patterns at the nanoscale. (more…)

Nano-Sandwich Technique Slims Down Solar Cells, Improves Efficiency

By Guest PostJune 29, 2012Scienceamorphous silicon, Berkeley, cadmium telluride, chemical fuel, efficiency, electricity, linyou cao, nano-sandwich, nanometer, nanostructures, nm, organic materials, paul alivisatos, solar cells, solar energy, substrate, technique, Technology, university of california, vivian ferry

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found a way to create much slimmer thin-film solar cells without sacrificing the cells’ ability to absorb solar energy. Making the cells thinner should significantly decrease manufacturing costs for the technology.

“We were able to create solar cells using a ‘nanoscale sandwich’ design with an ultra-thin ‘active’ layer,” says Dr. Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research. “For example, we created a solar cell with an active layer of amorphous silicon that is only 70 nanometers (nm) thick. This is a significant improvement, because typical thin-film solar cells currently on the market that also use amorphous silicon have active layers between 300 and 500 nm thick.” The “active” layer in thin-film solar cells is the layer of material that actually absorbs solar energy for conversion into electricity or chemical fuel. (more…)

Curcumin Shows Promise in Attacking Parkinson’s Disease

By Guest PostApril 1, 2012Healthalpha synuclein protein, amino acid, basir ahmad, body temperature, clumping, curcumin, disease, folding, lisa lapidus, parkinson's, protein, spice, technique, turmeric

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Curcumin, a compound found in the spice turmeric, is proving effective at preventing clumping of a protein involved in Parkinson’s disease, says a Michigan State University researcher.

A team of researchers led by Basir Ahmad, an MSU postdoctoral researcher, demonstrated earlier this year that slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of clumping, or aggregation, which is the first step of diseases such as Parkinson’s. A new study led by Ahmad, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that curcumin can help prevent clumping. (more…)

Yale Research Offers New Way To See Inside Solids

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2012Science3d mris, animal bone, array, artifact, assess, biological sample, bone quality, cow bone, gas bearing rock, hydrogen atom, joseph a madri, joshua n vanhouten, karl l insogna, magnetic resonance imaging, material, merideth a frey, michael michaud, mouse liver, mri, oil, phosphorus content, quadratic echo mri, quantum computing, radio wave, sean barrett, solid object, technique, tissue, yale university

Researchers at Yale University have developed a new way of seeing inside solid objects, including animal bones and tissues, potentially opening a vast array of dense materials to a new type of detailed internal inspection.

The technique, a novel kind of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), creates three-dimensional images of hard and soft solids based on signals emitted by their phosphorus content. (more…)