A peptide called magainin, first found in the skin of the African clawed frog, holds the secret to creating bacteria-killing surfaces, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. The Penn scientists have taken a joint experimental-computational approach to mimicking magainin. They designed, synthesized, tested, and then improved novel antibacterial compounds, using a combination of laboratory experiments and painstaking simulations on supercomputers. The resulting material could be an
Biasing spin statistics
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on pi-conjugated polymers offer significant advantages over other display materials. They are lightweight, flexible, easily tailored, operate on low voltages and can be deposited on large areas using simple techniques such as ink-jet printing or spin-coating.
By combining the electrical properties of metals and semiconductors with the mechanical properties of plastics, these materials are poised to provide a
New storage method amplifies cells available for science
Like many other kinds of cells used in biomedical research, human embryonic stem cells are stored and transported in a cryopreserved state, frozen to -320 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of their liquid nitrogen storage bath.
But when scientists thaw the cells for use in the lab, less than 1 percent awake from their frigid slumber and assume their undifferentiated state. This ’blank slate’ form is charact
Ordinarily, the cell membrane prevents invasion by foreign genetic material, which is why genetic engineers often have to use a pipette and forced air to jab a new piece of a gene through the cell wall into the genome in order to carry out gene therapy or introduce particular attributes into a crop or organism.
But an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech has figured out how to chaperone DNA across cell membranes. Amanda Rudisin of Lucinda, Pa., a senior in biology, will present her team&#
One of the most common groups of minerals on earth is the iron oxides, found in soils, rusting iron, and the dust of Mars.
Due to their importance in the environment, iron oxide minerals have been widely studied, providing insight into their properties and reactivities. But when the size of minerals decreases to 1 to 10 nanometers (billionths of a meter), many of their properties change. Andrew Madden of Blacksburg, a Ph.D. student in geosciences at Virginia Tech, will report on the
Surgeons battle time and the body’s defenses as they stitch together veins and arteries, whether after an injury or in the course of such treatments as transplants or bypasses. Loss of blood before a site is closed and too much clotting soon after challenge medical care.
Virginia Tech researchers are creating biocompatible adhesives for use with vascular tissue that will speed the process of mending tissue. They will present the research at the 227th annual meeting of the American Chemical
High quality outcomes allow researchers to identify cancer-related genetic changes that span years
For the first time, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have demonstrated the ability to extract RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples archived for up to five years. What’s more, the technology used retrieves high-quality samples, allowing researchers to identify cancer-related genetic changes. Accepted as a “late-breaking” abstract, the research was presented to
For two decades, chemists have been making great strides in analyzing the biological functions that drive living cells. But many biological substances still remain undetectable.
That will soon change, thanks to a biological sensor being developed by University of Arizona chemists. Their new sensor platform has many capabilities that current ones lack.
Most intracellular sensors are made from hard plastics (polymers). The plastic is formed into solid, nanometer-sized, BB-like beads,
The Asian soybean aphid — native to China, Korea and Japan — has invaded the United States. It was identified as a distinctly new crop pest on the North American continent in 2000, after appearing simultaneously in 11 states.
Having no natural enemies here to control it, the aphid expanded its range by more than 300 kilometers a year for the next two years, showing up in soybean fields from the Dakotas to Virginia and causing crop losses of more than $2.2 billion.
How did it get
Increases versatility of conducting polymers
A powerful one-step, “chain growth” method should make it easier to design and synthesize a variety of highly conductive polymers for different research and commercial applications, according to a presentation by the method’s developer, Carnegie Mellon University chemist Richard McCullough. McCullough, dean of the Mellon College of Science and professor of chemistry, is reporting his research Tuesday, March 30, at the 227th annual meet
The results and use of the model may have implications for cancer therapy
Zebrafish may prove to be an invaluable animal model with which to screen the effects of radiation, Jefferson Medical College researchers have found.
Adam Dicker, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of radiation oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Mary Frances McAleer, M.D., Ph.D., a resident in the Department of Radia
The findings could potentially lead to a better understanding of the role of stem cells in the development of colon cancer
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have uncovered a novel pattern of gene expression in the stem cell-rich bottom of tiny “crypts” in the tissue lining the colon. By identifying these patterns, the scientists hope to be able to identify mechanisms through which stem cells contribute to the development of colon cancer.
“Having a genetic signature f
Engineers from Duke University have described progress building so-called “smart nanostructures,” including billionths-of-a-meter-scale “nanobrushes” that can selectively and reversibly sprout from surfaces in response to changes in temperature or solvent chemistry.
In talks delivered during the March 28-April 1 at the American Chemical Society annual meeting in Anaheim, researchers from Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering also told how they are using an atomic force microscope to creat
The world’s largest insect emergence of “Brood X” cicadas in May will result in some damage to fruit trees and prized yard trees and shrubs, but the large insects will not cause crippling harm to common farm crops, an Indiana University scientist says.
“There will be some crop damage, especially to orchards, but we don’t expect a disaster,” said IU Bloomington biologist Keith Clay, who recently received a three-year, $300,000 National Science Foundation grant to study Brood X. “Th
Suggests people choose canines who resemble themselves
Long the subject of speculation, a new study says that dogs DO resemble their owners. At least this is the case with purebred canines, according to new research conducted at the University of California, San Diego, by social psychologist Nicholas Christenfeld and his UCSD colleague, Michael Roy. The full study, Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners?, appears in the May issue of Psychological Science, the journal of the American Psycholog
Many women report an increase in gingival inflammation and discomfort associated with their menstrual cycle, according to findings published in the March Journal of Periodontology. This is the first time this well-known phenomenon has ever been studied.
“What we found is that several women reported considerable oral symptoms prior to menses,” said Eli E. Machtei, D.M.D., Unit of Periodontology Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Rambam Medical Center and Technion Faculty of Medicine.
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