04.06.2010

“Mit Hilfe modernster nanotechnologischer Methoden haben britische Wissenschaftler jetzt das optische Prinzip der irisierenden Flügel eines tropischen Schmetterlings nachgebaut. Wie sie in „Nature Nanotechnology“ berichten, lassen sich die durch Nanostrukturen erzeugten Signale auch als Fälschungsschutz beispielsweise für Banknoten einsetzen. [...]“

Source/article: Scinexx

02.06.2010

“[...] Scientists have embedded a nano-sized transistor inside a cell-like membrane and powered it using the cell’s own fuel.

The research could lead to new types of man-machine interactions where embedded devices could relay information about the inner workings of disease-related proteins inside the cell membrane, and eventually lead to new ways to read, and even influence, brain or nerve cells.

“This device is as close to the seamless marriage of biological and electronic structures as anything else that people did before,” said Aleksandr Noy, a scientist at the University of California, Merced who is a co-author on the recent ACS Nano Letters. “We can take proteins, real biological machines, and make them part of a working microelectronic circuit.” [...]“

Source/article: Discovery

02.06.2010

“The Shimizu Corporation, a Japanese construction firm, has recently proposed a plan to harness solar energy on a larger scale than almost any previously proposed concept. Their ambitious plan involves building a belt of solar cells around the Moon’s 6,800-mile (11,000-kilometer) equator, converting the electricity to powerful microwaves and lasers to be beamed at Earth, and finally converting the beams back to electricity at terrestrial power stations. The Luna Ring concept, the company says, could meet the entire world’s energy needs. [...]“

Source/article: PhysOrg

01.06.2010

“Setpoint Medical, a startup based in Boston, is developing a nerve stimulator designed to dampen the out-of-control immune system that triggers autoimmune diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The technology is based on a decade of research elucidating how the brain controls the immune system, particularly inflammation. The treatment has not yet been tested in patients, but based on animal research, scientists hope it will provide an alternative treatment that is more effective and have fewer side effects than existing drugs. [...]“

Source/article: Technology Review

02.06.2010

“DNA-based logic gates that could carry out calculations inside the body have been constructed for the first time. The work brings the prospect of injectable biocomputers programmed to target diseases as they arise.

“The biocomputer would sense biomarkers and immediately react by releasing counter-agents for the disease,” says Itamar Willner of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, who led the work.

The new logic gates are formed from short strands of DNA and their complementary strands, which in conjunction with some simple molecular machinery mimic their electronic equivalent. Two strands act as the input: each represents a 1 when present or a 0 when absent. The response to their presence or absence represents the output, which can also be a 1 or 0.

Take the “exclusive OR” or XOR logic gate. It produces an output when either of the two inputs is present but not when both are present or both are absent. To put the DNA version to the test, Willner and his team added molecules to both the complementary strands that caused them to fluoresce when each was present in isolation, representing a logical 1 as the output. But when both were present, the complementary strands combined and quenched the fluorescence, representing a 0 output. [...]“

Source/article: New Scientist

31.05.2010

“For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been cultured under chemically controlled conditions without the use of animal substances, which is essential for future clinical uses. The method has been developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and is presented in the journal Nature Biotechnology [...]

A research team at Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) has now managed to produce human stem cells entirely without the use of other cells or substances from animals. Instead they are cultured on a matrix of a single human protein: laminin-511.

“Now, for the first time, we can produce large quantities of human embryonic stem cells in an environment that is completely chemically defined,” [...]“

Source/article: PhysOrg

01.06.2010

“A prototype computer vision system can generate a live text description of what’s happening in a feed from a surveillance camera. Although not yet ready for commercial use, the system demonstrates how software could make it easier to skim or search through video or image collections. It was developed by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, in collaboration with ObjectVideo of Reston, VA. [...]“

Source/article: Technology Review

24.05.2010

“Researchers at Joseph Fourier University in France have created a new biofuel cell that harnesses oxygen and glucose from the body to produce electricity. Glucose biofuel cells (GBFCs) were placed inside the bodies of rats, and displayed peak energy densities of 24.4 microwatts per milliliter – better than many pacemaker batteries. Glucose and oxygen flow into the fuel cell, and waste products flow out, but the enzymes and metals inside don’t contiminate the body. The work was detailed in a paper published in PLoS. The JFU team hopes that a new generation of GBFCs will be able to power all kinds of implants in humans. This is another small step towards creating cyborgs.

 Humans are already fitted with cybernetic implants on a regular basis. While pacemakers are the most obvious example, there are implants to help with heart monitoring, epilepsy, blindness, diabetes, and other conditions. [...]

A glucose based biofuel cell would provide a clear advantage – it is dependent only on chemicals already present in the body (sugar and oxygen). GBFC powered implants could laste longer between replacements, and thus reduce the number of necessary surgeries. Big benefits are to be had in patient safety and lower costs. [...]“

Source/article: Singularity Hub

31.05.2010

“Researchers from the University of Wyoming have developed a way to incorporate spiders’ silk-spinning genes into goats, allowing the researchers to harvest the silk protein from the goats’ milk for a variety of applications. For instance, due to its strength and elasticity, spider silk fiber could have several medical uses, such as for making artificial ligaments and tendons, for eye sutures, and for jaw repair. The silk could also have applications in bulletproof vests and improved car airbags. [...]“

Source/article: PhysOrg

31.05.2010

“ When the first warm rays of springtime sunshine trigger a burst of new plant growth, it’s almost as if someone flicked a switch to turn on the greenery and unleash a floral profusion of color. Opening a window into this process, scientists at the DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have deciphered the structure of a molecular “switch” much like the one plants use to sense light. Their findings, described online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of May 31, 2010, help explain how the switch works and could be used to design new ways to modify plant growth. [...]“

Source/article: PhysOrg

26.04.2010

“The discovery over a decade ago that snippets of RNA can be used as gene silencers in worms garnered a Nobel prize in 2006. Now, for the first time, RNA interference (RNAi) has been proven effective against a human disease – a common respiratory virus.

Under RNAi, short strands of RNA are added to cells to destroy any native RNA molecules with a complementary sequence of letters. Since genes use RNA molecules to make proteins, these snippets effectively “silence” genes that carry the same sequence. In animals, RNAi has shown promise, but progress in people has been slow. [...]“

Source/article: New Scientist

26.04.2010

“[...] A Russian company is marketing a devastating new cruise missile system which can be hidden inside a shipping container, giving any merchant vessel the capability to wipe out an aircraft carrier.

Potential customers for the formidable Club-K system include Kremlin allies Iran and Venezuela, say defense experts. They worry that countries could pass on the satellite-guided missiles, which are very hard to detect, to terrorist groups.

“At a stroke, the Club-K gives a long-range precision strike capability to ordinary vehicles that can be moved to almost any place on earth without attracting attention,” said Robert Hewson of Jane’s Defense Weekly, who first disclosed its existence.

A promotional video for the Club-K on the website of Moscow-based makers Kontsern-Morinformsistema-Agat shows an imaginary tropical country facing a land, sea and air attack from a hostile neighbor. [...]“

Source/article: NY Times

23.04.2010

“Scientist David Latotzky of Freie Universitaet Berlin sits on the passenger seat of a car turning the steering wheel with his eye movements in Berlin, Friday, April 23, 2010. The scientists developed the software “EyeDriver” to steer their car “Spirit of Berlin” just by movement of the eyes. [...]

Scientist David Latotzky of Freie Universitaet Berlin sits on the passenger seat of a car turning the steering wheel with his eye movements in Berlin, Friday, April 23, 2010. The scientists developed the software “EyeDriver” to steer their car “Spirit of Berlin” just by movement of the eyes. [...]“

Source/article: npr

26.04.2010

“The next generation of implantable medical devices will rely on a high-tech material forged not in the foundry but in the belly of a worm. Tufts University biomedical engineer Fiorenzo Omenetto is using silk as the basis for implantable optical and electronic devices that will act like a combination vital-sign monitor, blood test, imaging center, and pharmacy–and will safely break down when no longer needed.

Implanted electronics could provide a clearer picture of what’s going on inside the body to help monitor chronic diseases or progress after surgery, but biocompatibility issues restrict their use. Many materials commonly used in electronics cause immune reactions when implanted. And in most cases today’s implantable devices must be surgically replaced or removed at some point, so it’s only worth using an implant for critical devices such as pacemakers. Silk, however, is biodegradable and soft; it carries light like optical glass; and while it can’t be made into a transistor or an electrical wire, it can serve as a mechanical support for arrays of electrically active devices, allowing them to sit right on top of biological tissues without causing irritation. Depending on how it’s processed, silk can be made to break down inside the body almost instantly or to persist for years. And it can be used to store delicate molecules like enzymes for a long time. [...]“

Source/article: Technology Review

26.04.2010

“Better understanding of mechanisms involved should improve reprogramming of embryonic-like cells

Scientists may be one step closer to being able to generate any type of cells and tissues from a patient’s own cells. In a study that will appear in the journal Nature and is receiving early online release, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine (MGH-CRM) and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), describe finding that an important cluster of genes is inactivated in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that do not have the full development potential of embryonic stem cells. Generated from adult cells, iPSCs have many characteristics of embryonic stem cells but also have had significant limitations. [...]“

Source/article: EurekAlert

26.04.2010

“A team of Houston scientists has unveiled a new technique that uses magnetic nanobeads to levitate cells, allowing them to grow into three-dimensional structures. This technological leap from the flat Petri dish has the potential for significant impact on cancer research, where recent studies have demonstrated that cancer cells growing in two-dimensional sheets are not the optimal systems for studying potential anticancer agents. In fact, techniques for growing cells in three-dimensional structures could save millions of dollars in drug-testing costs. [...]“

Source/article: PhysOrg

26.04.2010

“Information processing circuits in digital computers are static. In our brains, information processing circuits—neurons—evolve continuously to solve complex problems. Now, an international research team from Japan and Michigan Technological University has created a similar process of circuit evolution in an organic molecular layer that can solve complex problems. This is the first time a brain-like “evolutionary circuit” has been realized.

This computer is massively parallel: The world’s fastest supercomputers can only process bits one at a time in each of their channels. Their circuit allows instantaneous changes of ~300 bits.

Their processor can produce solutions to problems for which algorithms on computers are unknown, like predictions of natural calamities and outbreaks of disease. To prove this unique feature, they have mimicked two natural phenomena in the molecular layer: heat diffusion and the evolution of cancer cells.

The monolayer has intelligence; it can solve many problems on the same grid.

Their molecular processor heals itself if there is a defect. This remarkable self-healing property comes from the self-organizing ability of the molecular monolayer. No existing man-made computer has this property, but our brain does: if a neuron dies, another neuron takes over its function.

The work is described in the Nature Physics paper “Massively parallel computing on an organic molecular layer.” It is coauthored by Ranjit Pati, of the Michigan Technological University Department of Physics. Lead author is Anirban Bandyopadhyay, National Institute for Materials Science, National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Japan.”

Source/article: EurekAlert

22.04.2010

“A 100-year-old networking trick could boost transmissions over telephone infrastructure.

Alcatel-Lucent has developed a prototype technology that could dramatically increase the speed of data communications over the copper wires that make up the majority of the world’s telephone infrastructure. The technology combines three existing techniques, known as bonding, vectoring, and DSL phantom mode. It can reach speeds of 300 megabits per second at a distance of 400 meters from a communications hub, and 100 megabits per second at one kilometer.

Squeezing more speed out of copper connections is an important goal for telecommunications companies in the United States. They want to compete with the 50-megabit-per-second speeds offered by cable providers, but DSL connections transmit data through telephone lines–a fundamentally different technology from that used by cable companies. Alcatel-Lucent’s technology could help these companies extend high-speed Internet access before next-generation fiber-optic networks become widely available. [...]“

Source/article: Technology Review

22.04.2010

“A research team led by a University of Utah neuroscientist has identified a gene whose expression can be linked to intelligence.

Science has suspected that human intelligence is largely genetic, but how specific genes affect cognitive ability has remained a puzzle, one that Julie Korenberg is hoping to unlock.

She and colleagues at California institutions performed genetic testing on 65 patients with Williams Syndrome, an uncommon congenital developmental disorder that appears in only one in 20,000 births. People with the syndrome are genetically similar to other individuals except they are missing 27 genes. [...]“

Source/article: The Salt Lake Tribune

20.04.2010

“Zum ersten Mal haben Forscher Embryonen mit drei genetischen Elternteilen erzeugt: Die Kern-DNA stammte von Vater und Mutter, die normalerweise nur über die mütterliche Eizelle vererbte mitochondriale DNA jedoch von einer fremden Spenderin. Dieser jetzt in „Nature“ veröffentlichte Transfer von mtDNA kann vererbte Störungen der Mitochondrienfunktion vermeiden, wäre allerdings nach geltenden Gesetzen noch verboten. [...]“

Source/article: Scinexx