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Flawed Diamonds: Gems for New Technology

By Guest PostOctober 4, 2013Scienceatom, carbon atom, crystal structure, data storage, Diamond, diamonds, dmitry budker, edward muybridge, electronic properties, femtoseconds, flawed diamonds, galloping horses, gems, graham fleming, molecule, nanosecond, new technology, nitrogen vacancy center, optical, quantum computing, three dimensional lattice, ua, ultrafast spectroscopy, university of arizona, vanessa huxter, vibrational mode

Using ultra-fast laser pulses, a team of researchers led by UA assistant professor Vanessa Huxter has made the first detailed observation of how energy travels through diamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy centers – promising candidates for a variety of technological advances such as quantum computing.

A team of researchers led by University of Arizona assistant professor Vanessa Huxter has made the first detailed observation of how energy travels through diamonds that contain nitrogen-vacancy centers – defects in which two adjacent carbon atoms in the diamond’s crystal structure are replaced by a single nitrogen atom and an empty gap. (more…)

Invasion in the Desert: Why Some Plant Species are Survivors

By Guest PostSeptember 25, 2013Environment, Natureblooming chaenactis stevioides, brassica tournefortii, changing environment, desert, desert plants, doctoral student, dry environments, dune, environmental policy, environmental variation, field ecologist, fitness density covariance, habitat, invasion, invasive species, max li, mohawk valley, native desert plants, peter chesson, plant species, research, sahara mustard, sand, sonoran desert, southern arizona, Space, survivors, time, university of arizona, winter rainfall

Max Li’s research could inform policies to promote sustainable native environments and curb the invasion of alien plant species.

Max Li, a University of Arizona doctoral student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is studying mechanisms that determine how competing desert plants can coexist with each other and what factors can cause the destruction of this stable coexistence.

His research could help inform policies to curb the spread of invasive species. (more…)

Rabies Research Designed for Prevention

By Guest PostSeptember 17, 2013Health, Sciencecdc, heidi brown, hot-spot, human populations, michael acoba, mount lemmon, pima county, pima county officials, prevention, public education, rabies case, rabies research, robert clark, surrounding mountains, university of arizona, viral disease, wildlife

UA undergraduate researcher Robert Clark, his public health mentor and Pima County officials collaborated on an investigation of rabies cases in Pima County.

In a volunteer opportunity turned research project, University of Arizona undergraduate researcher Robert Clark has developed a comprehensive, multi-year snapshot of animal cases of rabies in Pima County.

Clark began working with a mentor in the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and county officials to learn about the seasonality of rabies in animals and identify exactly where rabid animals were most often found. (more…)

Effects of Climate Change on West Nile Virus

By Guest PostSeptember 11, 2013Environment, Healthandrew comrie, brain, canada, cdc, changes in climate, climate change, climate change models, climate-driven, cory morin, culex quinquefasciatus, effect, encephalitis, immune response, infectious cycle, inflammation, meningitis, mosquito population model, mosquito populations, North America, precipitation, southern us, species, temperature, united states, university of arizona, virus carrying mosquitoes, west nile vector, west nile virus

A study projects how climate change may affect virus-carrying mosquitoes across the southern U.S. Changes are expected to vary with region, and the southern states should see a trend toward longer seasons of mosquito activity and smaller midsummer mosquito populations

The varied influence of climate change on temperature and precipitation may have an equally wide-ranging effect on the spread of West Nile virus, suggesting that public health efforts to control the virus will need to take a local rather than global perspective, according to a study published this week in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

Spider Venom Reveals New Secret

By Guest PostAugust 31, 2013Natureaffect, brown recluse spider, cell membranes, chemical product, clark college, cyclic molecule, cyclical chemical product, daniel lajoie, genus loxosceles, greta binford, humans, loxosceles laeta, matthew cordes, north, phospholipid molecules, plastic surgeon, portland, protein, south america, species of loxosceles, spider bite, spider venom, syndrome, tissue damage, tissue suicide, toxin, united states, university of arizona, vahe bandarian

Venom of the brown recluse spider causes a reaction in the body that is different from what researchers previously thought, a discovery that could lead to development of new treatments for spider bites.

University of Arizona researchers led a team that has discovered that venom of spiders in the genus Loxosceles, which contains about 100 spider species including the brown recluse, produces a different chemical product in the human body than scientists believed.

The finding has implications for understanding how these spider bites affect humans and for the development of possible treatments for the bites. (more…)

How Neurons Get Wired

By Guest PostAugust 15, 2013Health, Sciencealzheimers, apkc, asymmetric shape, atypical protein, cognitive functions, developing nerve cells, kinase c, mechanism, multiple axons, neurodegenerative diseases, neuronal polarity, neurons, newborn nerve cell, par3, protein, sara parker, signaling enzyme, sophie hapak, sourav ghosh, spinal injuries, university of arizona

Two different versions of the same signaling protein tell a nerve cell which end is which, UA researchers have discovered. The findings could help improve therapies for spinal injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.

University of Arizona scientists have discovered an unknown mechanism that establishes polarity in developing nerve cells. Understanding how nerve cells make connections is an important step in developing cures for nerve damage resulting from spinal cord injuries or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

In a study published on Aug. 12 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UA doctoral studentSara Parker and her adviser, assistant professor of cellular and molecular medicine Sourav Ghosh, report that the decision which will be the “plus” and the “minus” end in a newborn nerve cell is made by a long and a short version of the same signaling molecule. (more…)

One Tree’s Architecture Reveals Secrets of a Forest, Study Finds

By Guest PostAugust 6, 2013Nature, Sciencebranching pattern, brian enquist, carbon dioxide, cathy hulshoff, course of evolution, ecosystem, Environment, journal ecology, leonardos rule, lisa patrick bentley, oxygen, secrets of forest, species, symmetrical y, theory, tree architecture, ua ecologists, ua ecology professor, university of arizona, university of oxford

Behind the dazzling variety of shapes and forms found in trees hides a remarkably similar architecture based on fundamental, shared principles, UA ecologists have discovered.

Researchers in the University of Arizona’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology have found that despite differences in appearance, trees across species share remarkably similar architecture and can tell scientists a lot about an entire forest.

Just by looking at a tree’s branching pattern, it turns out, scientists can gather clues about how it functions – for example how much carbon dioxide it exchanges with the atmosphere or how much water transpires through its leaves – regardless of the tree’s shape or species. (more…)

Water Geysers on Saturn’s Moon

By Guest PostAugust 1, 2013Sciencecassini spacecraft, christophe sotin, cornell university, data, enceladus, enceladus plume, galileo, gravity, hydrocarbon composition, icy surface, instrument, ithaca, jet propulsion laboratory, linda spilker, matt hedman, moon, moon of saturn, NASA, organic material, robert brown, saturn, saturn gravity, saturnian moon, seismological signs, tiger stripes, titan, university of arizona, vims, water geysers

A new study published in Nature this week describes the forces that control the jets of water and organic material that erupt from the icy surface of Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. UA scientists contributed data to the study.

The intensity of the jets of water ice and organic molecules that shoot out from Saturn’s moon Enceladus depends on the moon’s proximity to the planet, according to data obtained by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. The finding, detailed in the journal Nature this week, is the first clear observation that shows the Enceladus plume varies in a predictable manner. (more…)

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