Analytical Instruments
Biologists replicate key evolutionary step in life on Earth
January 16, 2012 12:21 pm | News | CommentsJust how single-celled organisms began forming multi-cellular clusters—that ultimately became plants and animals—500 million years ago has remained a mystery. Evolutionary biologists believe they’ve cracked the puzzle, however, and have recently replicated this crucial step in the laboratory using common Brewer's yeast, a single-celled organism.
Chemists debunk myth about powerful drug amphotericin
January 16, 2012 12:04 pm | News | CommentsAn elegant approach to synthesizing amphotericin B, which has been used extensively as an antifungal for more than 50 years, has allowed researchers to learn its elusive mode of action. The finding may change drug development directions and improve antifungal treatments, but there is still a downside to the drug.
Automated imaging to greatly speed whole-brain mapping efforts
January 16, 2012 7:52 am | by Peter Tarr | News | CommentsUntil now, methods to obtain highly detailed anatomical images of whole brains have been painstakingly slow and available only to a handful of specialized research teams. Neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have adapted two-photon microscopy to open 3D whole brain mapping to a much wider field of researchers.
‘Bubblegram’ imaging reveals inner working of viruses
January 12, 2012 10:49 am | News | CommentsDespite cryo-electron microscopy’s ability to resolve viruses, scientists have been unable to clearly visualize structures inside of viruses because radiation is used to image them. Reserachers at the National Institutes of Health invented a new technique that turns this radiation into an imaging asset.
Company announces low-cost DNA decoding machine
January 12, 2012 10:05 am | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsBiotechnology company Life Technologies Corp. announced it has developed a machine to decode an individual's DNA in a day for $1,000, a long-sought price goal for making the genome useful for medical care.
Lab method uses mass spectrometry to detect staph infections
January 12, 2012 5:25 am | News | CommentsResearchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have developed a new laboratory test that can rapidly identify the bacterium responsible for staph infections. This new test takes advantage of unique isotopic labeling combined with specific bacteriophage amplification to rapidly identify Staphylococcus aureus .
Integrated nanopore detector could revolutionize DNA sequencing
January 6, 2012 1:19 pm | by Peter Reuell, Harvard University | News | CommentsScientists in a Harvard University lab have invented a tiny device designed to read the minute electrical changes produced when DNA strands are passed through tiny holes—called nanopores—in an electrically charged membrane. The device can do this quickly and cheaply offering the possibilities of millions of arrays.
Device finds cancer cells before they become tumors
January 5, 2012 11:53 am | News | CommentsCurrently, physicians use computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans for melanoma cancer detection. Soon, however, commercial production of a device invented by University of Missouri researchers that measures melanoma using photoacoustics, or laser-induced ultrasound, will begin. The device will be available to scientists for cancer studies.
New endoscope can image the interior of a single cell
December 21, 2011 11:28 am | by Lynn Yarris | News | CommentsA team of researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley have created an endoscopy device that can capture high-resolution optical images of the interior of a single living cell without injuring or damaging that cell.
Quantum computing could make electron-diamond imager work
December 20, 2011 5:28 am | News | CommentsAn innovative design for a small-volume molecular imaging instrument by University of Pittsburgh physicists has been hampered by a major question: How does one measure a magnetic field accurately using the resonance of single electrons within a diamond crystal? It’s too difficult with normal computers, but the scientists think they may now have an answer.
Scientists discover second-oldest gene mutation
December 16, 2011 7:31 am | News | CommentsA new study has identified a gene mutation that researchers estimate dates back to 11,600 B.C., making it the second oldest human disease mutation yet discovered. Researchers say that although the mutation, which causes a rare vitamin deficiency, is found in vastly different ethnic populations, it originated in a single, prehistoric individual and was passed down to that individual's descendents.
Taxi driver training changes brain structure
December 8, 2011 7:12 pm | News | CommentsThose who want to be London taxi drivers must acquire what's known as "the Knowledge," learning 25,000 complicated streets over a time span of three to four years. According to a recent study, the experience actually changes the very structure of the trainees’ brains.
Evolution reveals a link between DNA and protein shape
December 8, 2011 6:44 pm | News | CommentsFifty years after the pioneering discovery that a protein's 3D structure is determined solely by the sequence of its amino acids, an international team of researchers has taken a major step toward predicting the structure of a protein from its sequence alone.
Bioelectrical alterations cause tadpoles to grow eye in back, tail
December 8, 2011 2:59 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Tufts University were surprised to discover that when they manipulated the membrane voltage in a tadpole’s back and tail, it caused the growing animal to develop eyes in those locations. It could be the first recorded instance of deliberate organogenesis through altered bioelectric communication.
New biometric data standard adds DNA and footmarks
December 7, 2011 8:11 am | News | CommentsOnce limited to fingerprints, faces, and irises, forensic scientists can now have shared access to a greatly expanded set of biometric recently approved and standardized by NIST. It is the first international standard for the exchange of DNA data.
Frogs' amazing leaps due to springy tendons
November 16, 2011 6:49 am | News | CommentsThe frogs jumping in Calaveras County, Calif., might be special, but even ordinary frogs can leap several times farther than their physiology would seem to allow. Using high-speed X-ray video technology, a Brown University research has determined that the frog’s tendons are what gives it the ability to soar.
Perfect micro rings can’t escape from ‘absorbing state’
November 15, 2011 11:20 am | News | CommentsScientists refer to a state that a system that cannot escape from as an absorbing state. In a surprise finding, researchers in Germany have succeeded in building a simple biological model system of an absorbing state consisting of only three components: fibers, motor proteins and cross-linking molecules.
Even the cleanest wastewater contributes to “super bacteria”
November 15, 2011 4:09 am | News | CommentsA new University of Minnesota study has revealed that the release of treated municipal wastewater—even wastewater treated by the highest-quality treatment technology—can have a significant effect on the quantities of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, often referred to as "super bacteria", in surface waters.
Bats can quickly change their ear shapes, aiding biosonar abilities
November 14, 2011 8:32 am | News | CommentsWithin just one tenth of a second, certain species of bat are able to change their outer ear shapes, transforming the animals’ ultrasonic hearing pattern. Using a combination of high-speed stereo vision and high-resolution tomography, researchers have reconstructed the 3-D geometries of these dramatic physical changes.
Leica, German institutes jointly pursue super-resolution
November 11, 2011 9:12 am | News | CommentsLeica Microsystems has signed an agreement with the Max Planck Society and the German Cancer Research Center for the development of the next generation of super-resolution STED (stimulated emission depletion) microscopy. The new STED nanoscopy will provide improved spatial resolution over confocal microscopy in living cells.
Plasma bags to greatly benefit live cell treatments
November 11, 2011 5:30 am | News | CommentsUsing plasmas, researchers have found that sealed plastic bags can be modified at atmospheric pressure so that human cells can adhere to and reproduce on their walls. Cell culture bags of this kind may eventually replace the Petri dishes used today.
Bedside test finds awareness in vegetative brains
November 10, 2011 4:52 am | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsIn recent years, scientists have learned that some patients believed to be in a vegetative state actually have some awareness. A new study suggests a portable brain monitor can detect signs of this, perhaps making it possible someday for doctors to easily double-check the diagnosis at the bedside.
Cave painters were realists, DNA study finds
November 8, 2011 3:46 am | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsPrehistoric paintings of horses found in caves through France have depicted black, brown, or spotted horses, leading to speculation about whether the artists were dreaming up patterns or painting what they saw. DNA analysis of fossilized horse bones and teeth suggest they were more like da Vinci than Dali.
New device uses light to screen for melanoma
November 7, 2011 9:08 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a first-of-its-kind device, called MelaFind, that makes detailed digital images of skin growths and uses a computer to analyze them for signs of cancer, offering a sort of second opinion to doctors.
Analysis reveals malaria as ancient, adaptive and persistent foe
November 3, 2011 11:18 am | News | CommentsOne of the most comprehensive analyses yet done of the ancient history of insect-borne disease concludes for the first time that malaria is not only native to the New World, but it has been present long before humans existed and has evolved through birds and monkeys.
