#Hierarchically-porous polymers with fast absorption Professor Myungeun Seo and his research team from the Graduate school of Nanoscience
and Technology at KAIST has developed a method to form micropores of less than 2 nanometers within porous polymers where 10 nanometers long mesopores connect like a net.
The advantage of the porous polymers is fast absorption of molecules. Porous polymers with micropores of less than 2 nanometers like a zeolite have a large surface area.
They are used as a means to store hydrogen-based molecules or as a catalytic support that can be used as a surface to convert a material into a desired form.
The research team solved the issue by implementing a self-assembly of block polymers to easily form a netlike nanostructure from mesopores of 10 nanometers.
The team created hierarchically-porous polymers consisting of two different types of pores by using a hypercrosslinking reaction along with the self-assembly method.
The reaction creates micropores within the chain after the polymer chain is confined by a chemical bond.
This porous polymer has micropores that are smaller than 2 nanometers on the walls of mesopores
while 10 nanometers long mesopores forming 3-dimensional net structures. Because of the self-assembly method the size of mesopores can be adjusted within the range of 6 to 15 nanometers.
This is the first case where a porous polymer has both well-defined mesopores and micropores. The research team verified the effect of hierarchically-porous structures on absorption of molecules by confirming that the porous polymer had faster absorption speeds than a polymer consisting only of micropores.
Professor Seo said The study has found a simple way to create different sizes of pores within a polymer.
He expected that the hierarchically-porous polymers can be used as a catalytic support in which fast diffusion of molecules is essential or for molecule collection.
The research was sponsored by National Research Foundation of Korea and published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society y
#Oils fats innovation: Use of nanotechnology in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals A Faculty of science Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) lecturer Professor Dr Mahiran Basri not only succeeded in producing new useful substances made of oils
and fats for the industry but also managed to produce them through environmental-friendly ways. This organic synthesis uses enzymes and it is produced through nanotechnology.
Our focus is to process new substances derived from oils and fats she said in an interview at her office.
In the field of cosmetics for instance she said there are antioxidants and antiaging substances through the use of nanotechnology those substances can easily absorb through the skin.
This way they would be more effective she added. What is also important is that the materials are clean
Professor Mahiran said in pharmaceuticals an innovation has produced successfully a drugs delivery method to penetrate the'blood brain barrier'especially for diseases that are associated with the brain such as Alzheimer Parkinson epilepsy and meningitis.
'Thus we created drugs through nanotechnology and that way we hope they are more effective she said.
Meanwhile in the agro-chemcial field Professor Mahiran said the formulation was made in a nano form to kill weeds
and also perform as a cleaning agent to the environment thus improve the development of the agricultural industry y
#Insights into a rare genetic disease Recently a grassroots effort initiated by families and clinicians led to the discovery of a human genetic disorder with severe consequences that is linked to a mutation in the human NGLY1 gene.
In a big step towards understanding the effects of this mutation research by scientists at the RIKEN-Max Planck Joint Research center in Japan implicates the enzyme ENGASE as the factor responsible for deficient protein degradation that occurs in the absence
of mouse Ngly1 gene expression. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science the paper details how lack of the Ngly1 protein results in the incomplete removal of the sugar portion of glycoproteins--a process called deglycosylation.
The result is that proteins that should be broken down in the cytosol are aggregated instead in the cells.
The ability of proteins to function and interact with other molecules properly often depends on their three-dimensional configuration
People with the NGLY1 mutation have many severe symptoms from delayed development and epilepsy to abnormal liver function
and the inability to make tears. The leader of the research effort Tadashi Suzuki notes that
while it is currently unclear how these symptoms correlate with reduced protein degradation caused by insoluble aggregates
if the abnormal aggregation of this type of glycoprotein is somehow related to them it is tempting to speculate that inhibition of ENGASE activity may serve as a therapeutic target for patients carrying mutations in the NGLY1 gene.
#Predatory sea snails produce weaponized insulin It is very unlikely that it is serving a different purpose said lead author Helena Safavi-Hemami a research assistant professor at the University of Utah.
It is shorter than any insulin that has been described in any animal said senior author Baldomero M. Olivera a distinguished professor of biology at the University of Utah.
and aims it like a gun barrel at fish which become disoriented and stop moving even as the snail's mouth part slowly advances
and other vertebrate animals to regulate energy metabolism. The insulin genes were expressed more highly in the venom gland than genes for some of the established venom toxins.
Chemical analysis of venom confirmed that it contained abundant amounts of this insulin. The type of insulin found in venom glands seems to match the prey of a given cone snail.
But the Utah researchers found no evidence of fish insulin in the venom of five species of fish-eating cone snails that are ambush hunters that attack with a harpoon-like organ.
For more clear-cut evidence that snails use insulin as a weapon Joanna Gajewiak a research assistant professor at the university came up with a fast way to synthesize enough of the insulin to directly test its effects on fish.
The snail insulin could prove useful as a tool to probe the systems the human body uses to control blood sugar and energy metabolism.
The snail insulin consists of 43 amino acid building blocks fewer than any known insulin. Its stripped down size and odd chemical modifications may have evolved as a way to make it better at causing hypoglycemia in prey y
#New cellular pathway triggering allergic asthma response identified Researchers at the University of California, San diego School of medicine,
with collaborators in Korea and Scotland, have identified a novel signaling pathway critical to the immune response of cells associated with the initiation of allergic asthma.
The discovery, they say, could point the way to new therapies that suppress the inflammatory allergic response, offering potential relief to millions of Americans with the chronic lung condition and potentially other allergic diseases.
The results are published in the January 19 online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
the scientists demonstrated that T helper 2 (Th2) type inflammation in allergic asthma involves dendritic cells (DC), a type of white blood cell,
which trigger a reduction in the production of CYCLIC AMP or camp, a key messenger molecule for signaling inside cells.
In mouse models, deletion of the gene that codes for a protein that promotes the production of camp resulted in spontaneous bronchial asthma,
which shares many similarities with human asthma. Conversely, increasing camp levels inhibited the cells'inflammatory response that results in asthma's characteristic symptoms."
"These findings and the related mechanism are very different from the current residing view of activation of specific T helper cell responses,
"said principal investigator Eyal Raz, MD, professor of medicine.""The role of camp formation and action in dendritic cells in the induction of allergic response was added really surprising
co-author Paul Insel, MD, professor of pharmacology and medicine.""It suggested to us that this signaling pathway is involved in other immune-related functions."
"The immune response of humans, mice and other vertebrates consists of two fundamental components. The first is the innate immune system,
which recognizes and responds to pathogens in an immediate, but generalized, way and does not confer long-lasting immunity.
The second is the adaptive immune system in which highly specialized T and B cells eliminate or prevent pathogen growth
--and create immunological memory in case of future encounters with the same pathogen. Th2 immunity is one of two major aspects of adaptive immunity.
Th1 responses target intracellular pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria that have invaded host cells. The Th2 response is more effective against extracellular pathogens (such as bacteria
parasites and toxins that operate outside of cells) and also plays a major role in allergic reactions and related diseases.
Allergic asthma is triggered by inhaled allergens, such as pet dander, pollen, mold and dust mites. It is characterized by inflammation
and narrowing of the airways, resulting in wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, coughing and other symptoms.
The common form of allergic asthma is associated with an exaggerated Th2 immune response. Allergic asthma affects people of all ages, most often appearing in childhood.
More than 25 million Americans suffer from the condition.""This research will open a new field of exploration of DC-related molecules as mediators that influence Th2 induction
and Th2'bias,'"said Jihyung Lee, Phd, a postdoctoral fellow and first author of the study."
"We have identified already some of these molecules. Others are under investigation and we hope to identify them in the near-future."
professor of medicine and a member of the Veteran's Affairs San diego Healthcare System, said"such molecules
or ones that mimic or block them might be used as novel therapeutics of allergic and asthmatic diseases."
"Raz noted that the genetic mouse model developed for the research shares multiple similarities with human allergic asthma,
"We are quite optimistic the mice will reveal additional, novel insights into human allergy, "he said d
#New laser for computer chips: International team of scientists constructs first germanium-tin semiconductor laser for silicon chips The transfer of data between multiple cores as well as between logic elements and memory cells is regarded as a bottleneck in the fast-developing computer technology.
Data transmission via light could be the answer to the call for a faster and more energy efficient data flow on computer chips as well as between different board components.
Signal transmission via copper wires limits the development of larger and faster computers due to the thermal load and the limited bandwidth of copper wires.
The clock signal alone synchronizing the circuits uses up to 30%of the energy--energy which can be saved through optical transmission explains Prof.
Detlev Grützmacher Director at Jülich's Peter Grünberg Institute. Some long-distance telecommunication networks and computing centres have been making use of optical connections for decades.
They allow very high bandwidths even over long distances. Through optical fibres signal propagation is almost lossless and possible across various wavelengths simultaneously:
a speed advantage which increasingly benefits both micro-and nanoelectronics. The integration of optical components is advanced already well in many areas.
However in spite of intensive research a laser source that is compatible with the manufacturing of chips is not yet achievable according to the head of Semiconductor Nanoelectronics (PGI-9). The basis of chip manufacturing is silicon an element of main group IV of the periodic table.
Typical semiconductor lasers for telecommunication systems made of gallium arsenide for example however are costly and consist of elements from main groups III
or V. This has profound consequences on the crystal properties. Such laser components cannot therefore be applied directly onto silicon.
They have to be produced externally at great effort and subsequently glued to the silicon wafer.
However the lifetime of this kind of component is reduced greatly due to the fact that the thermal expansion coefficients of these elements are significantly different from that of silicon.
In contrast semiconductors of main group IV--to which both silicon and germanium belong--can be integrated into the manufacturing process without any major difficulties.
They are classed among the indirect semiconductors. In contrast to direct semiconductors they emit mostly heat and only a little light when excited.
That is why research groups all over the globe are intensively pursuing the objective of manipulating the material properties of germanium
The scientists at Julich's Peter Grunberg Institute have succeeded now for the first time in creating a real direct main group IV semiconductor laser by combining germanium and tin
For the first time we were able to introduce more than 10%tin into the crystal lattice without it losing its optical quality reports Phd student Stephan Wirths.
Phd student Richard Geiger fabricated the laser structures there. That way we were able to demonstrate that the germanium-tin compound can amplify optical signals as well as generate laser light reports Dr. Hans Sigg from the Laboratory for Micro and Nanotechnology.
The laser was excited optically for the demonstration. Currently the scientists in Dr. Dan Buca's group at Julich are working on linking optics and electronics even more closely.
The next big step forward will be generating laser light with electricity instead and without the need for cooling if possible.
The aim is to create an electrically pumped laser that functions at room temperature. The laser beam is not visible to the naked eye.
or biomolecules also display strong absorption lines at this boundary between near and mid-wavelength infrared.
Hence sensors made of Gesn promise a new possibility of detecting these compounds. Along with computer chips completely new applications that have not been pursued so far for financial reasons may
thus benefit from the new laser material. Gas sensors or implantable chips for medical applications which can gather information about blood sugar levels
or other parameters via spectroscopic analysis are examples. In the future cost-effective portable sensor technology--which may be integrated into a smart phone--could supply real-time data on the distribution of substances in the air
or the ground and thus contribute to a better understanding of weather and climate development m
New method improves single-cell genomics analyses Single-cell RNA-sequencing is a relatively new technology that helps scientists understand how genes are expressed in different types of healthy tissue and in cancers.
It provides data on the gene expression profiles of hundreds of individual cells in a single experiment producing an exact picture of the individual cell types.
However the fundamental complexity of single-cell transcriptome profiles has posed a major challenge to making sense of the data.
and controlled for thereby allowing relevant biological signals to be identified more easily. We've defined how factors such as cell-cycle stage measurement noise
or biological processes can be taken into account making it possible to create a more accurate picture of gene expression in different cell types
and subtypes says Florian Buttner who led the research at EMBL-EBI as an EMBO Visiting Scientist from the Institute of Computational biology at Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen.
If all you have is gene expression data from single cells you need a way to identify
so you can reveal the underlying biology explains Oliver Stegle Research Group Leader at EMBL-EBI.
Cancer cells differentiation processes and the pathogenesis of various diseases can be explored better and understood when they are based only on known detailed cell profiles.
#New high-speed 3-D microscope--SCAPE--gives deeper view of living things Her study is published in the Advance Online Publication (AOP) on Nature Photonics's website on January 19 2015.
The ability to perform real-time 3d imaging at cellular resolution in behaving organisms is a new frontier for biomedical
The emergence of fluorescent proteins and transgenic techniques over the past 20 years has transformed biomedical research even delivering neurons that flash as they fire in the living brain.
Although confocal and two-photon microscopy can image a single plane within a living sample acquiring enough of these layers to form a 3d image at fast enough rates to capture events like neurons actually firing has become a frustrating
and her collaborators have used already the system to observe firing in 3d neuronal dendritic trees in superficial layers of the mouse brain.
SCAPE can also be combined with optogenetics and other tissue manipulations during imaging because unlike other systems it does not require any movement of the imaging objective lens
Hillman and her students built their first SCAPE system using inexpensive off-the-shelf components. Her aha moment came
After several years of trial and error Hillman and graduate student Matthew Bouchard came up with a configuration that worked
As a member of the new Zuckerman Institute and the Kavli Institute for Brain science at Columbia Hillman is working with a wide range of collaborators including Randy Bruno (associate professor of neuroscience Department of Neuroscience) Richard Mann
(Higgins Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics) Wesley Grueber (associate professor of physiology and cellular biophysics and of neuroscience Department of Physiology & Cell Biophysics
) and Kimara Targoff (assistant professor of pediatrics Department of Pediatrics) all of whom are starting to use the SCAPE system in their research.
and manipulating the activity of neural circuits in natural settings says Thomas M. Jessell co-director of the Zuckerman Institute and Claire Tow Professor of Motor neuron Disorders the Department of Neuroscience and the Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia. Hillman's sophistication in optical physics has led her to develop a new imaging technique that permits large-scale detection of neuronal firing in three-dimensional brain tissues.
This methodological advance offers the potential to unlock the secrets of brain activity in ways barely imaginable a few years ago o
#Volcanic eruption on Cape verde Island A team from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences is currently conducting research to support local partners
and Information system) the GFZ has started to observe the volcano eruption and to provide support on data acquisition and interpretation.
Our team the GFZ Hazard and Risk Team HART works in close collaboration with the University of Cape verde the Volcano Observatory of the Canary islands and the German Aerospace Centre says GFZ-volcanologist Dr
. Thomas Walter. On one hand we are analysing data from the newest remote sensing satellites to develop models of the magma ascent path.
On the other we are collecting data on the lava flows directly in the field by installing volcano monitoring instruments.
The satellite data which is acquired by the European space agency's Sentinel-1 satellite enables the measurement of ground movements associated with the volcano eruption.
The GFZ scientists have succeeded in locating and following the path of the magma from depth to its point of eruption.
As a result the location of the ascent paths at depth explains well why the eruption site is off-centered with respect to the volcano summit.
which allows for regular updates on the ground movement and the magma ascent path beneath.
This remote sensing data is complemented by an expedition team that is making different types of measurements.
This data allows us to quantify the erupted lava volumes and also to better assess the hazard associated with lava flows to come.
The magma's eruption rate has decreased but concerns have arisen about a recent increase of the explosive character of the eruption and related ash dispersion.
Instead of making their microscopes more powerful they have discovered a method that enlarges tissue samples by embedding them in a polymer that swells
Instead of acquiring a new microscope to take images with nanoscale resolution you can take the images on a regular microscope.
You physically make the sample bigger rather than trying to magnify the rays of light that are emitted by the sample says Ed Boyden an associate professor of biological engineering and brain and cognitive sciences at MIT.
Lead authors of the paper are graduate students Fei Chen and Paul Tillberg. Most microscopes work by using lenses to focus light emitted from a sample into a magnified image.
For example if you are using blue-green light with a wavelength of 500 nanometers you can't see anything smaller than 250 nanometers.
Unfortunately in biology that's right where things get interesting says Boyden who is a member of MIT's Media Lab and Mcgovern Institute for Brain Research.
Protein complexes molecules that transport payloads in and out of cells and other cellular activities are organized all at the nanoscale.
or understand how cancer cells are organized in a metastasizing tumor or how immune cells are configured in an autoimmune attack you have to look at a large piece of tissue with nanoscale precision he says.
To achieve this the MIT team focused its attention on the sample rather than the microscope.
Their idea was to make specimens easier to image at high resolution by embedding them in an expandable polymer gel made of polyacrylate a very absorbent material commonly found in diapers.
or proteins that they want to examine using an antibody that binds to the chosen targets.
This antibody is linked to a fluorescent dye as well as a chemical anchor that can attach the dye to the polyacrylate chain.
And the cast itself is swollen unimpeded by the original biological structure Tillberg says. The MIT team imaged this cast with commercially available confocal microscopes commonly used for fluorescent imaging
but usually limited to a resolution of hundreds of nanometers. With their enlarged samples the researchers achieved resolution down to 70 nanometers.
The expansion microscopy process...should be compatible with many existing microscope designs and systems already in laboratories Chen adds.
and are limited in their ability to image large samples by optical scattering and other aberrations.
There are lots of biological questions where you have to understand a large structure Boyden says. Especially for the brain you have to be able to image a large volume of tissue
but also to see where all the nanoscale components are. While Boyden's team is focused on the brain other possible applications for this technique include studying tumor metastasis
and angiogenesis (growth of blood vessels to nourish a tumor) or visualizing how immune cells attack specific organs during autoimmune disease e
#Gene tied to profound vision loss discovered by scientists An exhaustive hereditary analysis of a large Louisiana family with vision issues has uncovered a new gene tied to an incurable eye disorder called retinitis pigmentosa,
according to an examination led by scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHEALTH).
It is a family of eye diseases that affects more than 200,000 in the United states and millions worldwide The retina converts images into electrical signals that can be processed by the brain.
It acts much like the film in a camera. Retinitis pigmentosa damages this film (the retina) and its early symptoms include decreased night vision and peripheral vision.
Once it starts, the loss of vision is relentlessly progressive, often ending in blindness. In the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, UTHEALTH's Stephen P. Daiger, Ph d,
. and his colleagues report their discovery of a new gene tied to retinitis pigmentosa, which brings the total of genes associated with this sight-threatening disease to more than 60.
The gene is called hexokinase 1 (HK1. This information is important because it helps affected families cope with the disorder,
helps explain the biologic basis of these diseases and suggests targets for drug treatments and gene therapy, said Daiger, the report's senior author and holder of the Thomas Stull Matney Ph d. Endowed Professorship in Environmental and Genetic sciences at UTHEALTH School of Public health."
"The challenge now is to block the activity of these mutations and clinical trials are underway to do just that,
"he said.""Dr. Daiger is trying to make a breakthrough in potentially blinding diseases with no known treatments,
"said Richard S. Ruiz, M d.,professor of ophthalmology and holder of the John S. Dunn Distinguished University Chair in Ophthalmology at UTHEALTH."
"Right now, we address the symptoms of the disease and help patients make the most of their existing vision."
"For approximately three decades, Daiger, a member of the Human genetics Center at the UTHEALTH School of Public health, has been following the progress of hundreds of families across the country with retinitis pigmentosa."
"We've found the cause of disease in 80 percent of the families we have studied,
"Daiger said.""Our goal is to find the cause in the remaining 20 percent.""Equipped with the genetic profiles of family members, Daiger's team has identified differences in the genetic makeup of those with the disease.
The researchers also use family histories and DNA tests to glean information about the condition's hereditary nature.
There are different types of retinitis pigmentosa and Daiger's laboratory is focused on the autosomal dominant type.
This means that only one parent needs the mutation in order to pass the disease to a child.
This type accounts for about a third of all cases and many of its disease-causing genes have been discovered
several by Daiger's research group.""The story of the HK1 mutation is itself interesting.
What we found is a mutation present in families from Louisiana, Canada and Sicily. Our evidence suggests the mutation arose in a common ancestor who lived centuries ago,
"Daiger said.""The mutation spread in Europe and North america, and may be common among Acadians in Louisiana.
This is called a founder mutation
#Ancient'genomic parasites'spurred evolution of pregnancy in mammals An international team of scientists has identified large-scale genetic changes that marked the evolution of pregnancy in mammals.
They found thousands of genes that evolved to be expressed in the uterus in early mammals,
including many that are important for maternal-fetal communication and suppression of the immune system. Surprisingly, these genes appear to have been recruited
and repurposed from other tissue types by transposons--ancient mobile genetic elements sometimes thought of as genomic parasites.
The study, published online in Cell Reports on Jan 29, sheds light on how organisms evolve new morphological structures and functions."
"For the first time, we have a good understanding of how something completely novel evolves in nature, of how this new way of reproducing came to be said
study author Vincent Lynch, Phd, assistant professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago.""Most remarkably, we found the genetic changes that likely underlie the evolution of pregnancy are linked to domesticated transposable elements that invaded the genome in early mammals.
So I guess we owe the evolution of pregnancy to what are effectively genomic parasites."
"To study genetic changes during the evolution of pregnancy in mammals, Lynch and his colleagues used high-throughput sequencing to catalog genes expressed in the uterus of several types of living animals--placental mammals (a human, monkey, mouse, dog, cow, pig, horse and armadillo
), a marsupial (opossum), an egg-laying mammal (platypus), a bird, a reptile and a frog. Then they used computational and evolutionary methods to reconstruct
The team found that this process was driven by ancient transposons--stretches of non-protein coding DNA that can change their position within the genome.
Sometimes called"jumping genes""transposons are thought generally to be genomic parasites that serve only to replicate themselves.
Many of the ancient mammalian transposons possessed progesterone binding sites that regulate this process. By randomly inserting themselves into other places in the genome,
transposons appear to have passed on this activation mechanism to nearby genes.""Genes need some way of knowing
"Lynch and his colleagues note their findings represent a novel explanation for how entirely new biological structures
genome-wide changes that allowed numerous genes to be activated by the same signal--in this case, progesterone,
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