Analytical Instruments
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.
Nanocomposite brain probe causes less scarring
November 3, 2011 6:54 am | News | CommentsInspired by the skin of the sea cucumber, which is normally soft and flexible but becomes rigid in self defense, biomedical engineers at Case Western Reserve University have built a nanostructured polymer mesh that is firm enough to reach the cortex, but begins unlinking in water, causing less brain damage.
Genographic Project confirms humans migrated from Africa through Arabia
November 2, 2011 10:40 am | by Paul Livingstone | News | CommentsFor the last six years, researchers at IBM and National Geographic have been conducting one of the most ambitious genomic studies in history. With the help of an algorithm that uses recombinatorial information contained in the unstudied 99% of the human genome, they may have redrawn the map of human migration history.
Physicists develop a method for detecting counterfeit whiskey
November 2, 2011 4:46 am | News | CommentsScientists have shed new light on counterfeit whiskey, thanks to the power of lasers. Using a ray of light the size of a human hair, the team of researchers at the University of St Andrews have developed a new method for testing whether a whiskey is genuine or not.
Scientists chart gene expression in the brain across lifespan
October 28, 2011 12:41 pm | News | CommentsA new study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutes traced genetic changes in the brain during a lifetime, has found surprising reversals after fetal development and connected to Alzheimer’s disease findings. Previous investigations have combined transcriptional and genetic analyses in human cell lines, but few have applied these techniques to human neural tissue.
Pythons' big hearts hold clues for human health
October 28, 2011 11:06 am | by Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer | News | CommentsWhen a python swallows an animal whole, something extraordinary happens. Its heart swells in size, by as much as 40% in just a few days. Researchers have finally cracked the mystery of why and how the snakes do this, and how it might help our knowledge of human heart health.
Longevity's secrets sought in DNA of 100-year-olds
October 27, 2011 7:09 am | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsThe Archon Genomics X Prize competition is offering $10 million in prize money to researchers who decipher the complete DNA code from 100 people older than 100. The goal? To find out what genetics advantage people who live beyond 100 years have that others do not.
First-of-a-kind tension wood study broadens biofuel R & D
October 25, 2011 12:44 pm | News | CommentsTension wood, which forms naturally in hardwood trees in response to bending stress, possesses unique features, such as double the cellulose density of regular wood, that make it attractive as a bioenergy feedstock. For the first time, a comprehensive study of this wood and it’s suitability for sugar release has been conducted.
Plants feel the force
October 21, 2011 10:23 am | News | CommentsIn the 1980s, work with bacterial cells showed that they have mechanosensitive channels, tiny pores in the cells membrane that open when the cell bloats with water, letting charged atoms and other molecules to rush out of the cell. A scientist at Washington University in St. Louis believes plants have similar mechanisms, and is using this theory to learn how plants sense touch, gravity and other physical forces.
Cells crawl all over our bodies, but how?
October 18, 2011 12:15 pm | by Libby Fairhurst | News | CommentsFor 35 years Tom Roberts at Florida State University has studied the means by which amorphous single cells propel themselves throughout the body without the use of muscles, bones or brains. Human cells are especially difficult to study, but he and his team have found a new and bizarre way to emulate this movement.
Team defines first-ever sequence of biologically important carbohydrate
October 18, 2011 12:06 pm | by Sam Fahmy | News | CommentsUntil now, scientists have been unable to determine the structure of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) proteoglycan, or have even agreed whether these complex molecules have well-defined structures. The recent breakthrough should help research into certain types of cancers and may enable certain drug development pathways.
Complete automation for cell cultivation
October 10, 2011 4:44 am | News | CommentsUntil now, the basis of day-to-day research work in cell-based laboratories involved the tending of cell cultures by hand. Scientists in Dresden have now created system that completely automates the process of cultivating cells, offering the potential for faster research.
NIH acquires LLNL's bioAMS instrument
October 6, 2011 6:25 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently received $3 million from the National Institutes of Health to acquire a new biomedical accelerator mass spectrometry (bioAMS) instrument. The instrument will provide faster analysis for medical and other biological research.
Tiny insect takes top honors in Nikon’s photo challenge
October 4, 2011 6:03 am | News | CommentsWhen a small bug landed on Dr. Igor Siwanowicz's hand and began "fiercely digging its mandibles" into his skin, he didn't swat it away. Instead, he captured and began taking photomicrographs. To his surprise, the image took first place in the 2011 Nikon Small World competition.
Caltech engineers build smart petri dish
October 3, 2011 12:26 pm | News | CommentsImaging sensor chips that form the heart of built-in cameras helped engineers at the California Institute of Technology create a "smart" petri dish. The ePetri is a compact, lens-free microscopy imaging platform that does away with the need for bulky microscopes and significantly reduces labor for the researcher.
Simple optics transforms iPhone into medical imaging device
October 3, 2011 10:36 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers from the University of California, Davis has accomplished the MacGyver-esque task of using everyday iPhones to accomplish high-quality medical-quality imaging and chemical detection. The key is adding spectrometry to the smart phone’s optics.
SLAC invention measures stroke damage in the brain
September 28, 2011 1:30 pm | News | CommentsA technique scientists at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center invented for scanning ancient manuscripts is now being used to probe the human brain, in research that could lead to new medical imaging methods and better treatments for stroke and other brain conditions.
New technique maps twin faces of smallest Janus nanoparticles
September 27, 2011 9:15 am | News | CommentsNew drug delivery systems, solar cells, industrial catalysts, and video displays are among the potential applications of special particles that possess two chemically distinct sides. These particles are named after the two-faced Roman god Janus and their twin chemical faces allow them to form novel structures and new materials. However, as scientists reduced the size of Janus particles their efforts have been hampered because they lacked an accurate way to map the particles surfaces. Until now.
Brain imaging reveals the movies in our mind
September 22, 2011 1:05 pm | by Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | News | CommentsUsing functional magnetic resonance imaging and computational models, University of California, Berkeley researchers have succeeded in decoding and reconstructing people’s dynamic visual experiences—in this case, watching Hollywood movie trailers.
Vacuum-like device makes cellular exploration easier
September 20, 2011 12:03 pm | News | CommentsImagine a microscopic jet vacuum cleaner, the size of a pen nib that hovers over cell surfaces without ever touching them. Then picture the jet delivering various molecules selectively to the cells. A new device matching this description has been built by McGill University technologists to study a range of cellular processes.
Prototype microscope sees with holograms, not lenses
August 31, 2011 5:42 am | News | CommentsWeighing about as much as a medium-sized banana and fitting easily in the palm of a hand a compact, lightweight dual-mode microscope made by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles using mass-produced electronics can achieve a spatial resolution of 2 ?m.
Age-related brittle bones are more than a loss of mass
August 29, 2011 1:00 pm | News | CommentsLoss of bone mass is the well-established reason that bones become more brittle as we grow older. At microscopic dimensions, however, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found that age-related loss bone quality can be just as important as loss in quantity.
Scientists man bioterror front lines
August 26, 2011 7:41 am | by Marcus Wohlsen, Associated Press | News | CommentsOver the past decade, federal research laboratories such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have shifted from Cold War-era defense R&D to meeting the challenges of new terror threats, developing a nationwide system to sniff the air for germs such as anthrax and smallpox.
Scientists reengineer antibiotic to overcome resistent bacteria
August 25, 2011 7:32 am | News | CommentsA team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have successfully reengineered an important antibiotic to kill the deadliest antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The researchers report the finding has clinical significance.
In the early life of an embryo, a monster lurks
August 24, 2011 12:26 pm | by Morgan Kelly | News | CommentsResearch based at Princeton University has revealed that newly fertilized cells only narrowly avoid degenerating into fatal chaos. Embryos have also acquired a mechanism to contain this dangerous instability, a finding that could help biologists unravel other mysteries about the first hours of life.
