#ick and mixsmart materials for robotics Researchers have combined successfully multiple functions into a single smart lifelike material for the first time.
These'designer'materials could be used in the robotics, automotive, aerospace and security industries. Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed a simple'recipe'for combining multiple materials with single functions into a single material with multiple functions:
movement, recall of movement and sensing--similar to muscles in animals. The materials could be used to make robotics far more efficient by replacing bulky devices with a single, smarter, lifelike material.
The results are published in the journal Advanced Materials. The new designer materials integrate the structure of two or more separate functions at the nanoscale,
while keeping the individual materials physically separate. The gaps between the individual elements are so small that the final material is uniformly able to perform the functions of its component parts.
and cross-linked at the nanoscale.""We're used to thinking of synthetic materials as structural,
rather than functional things,"said Dr Stoyan Smoukov of the University's Department of Materials science and Metallurgy,
Smart polymers were developed first several decades ago, but multiple functions have not been combined effectively in the same material,
since previous efforts have found that optimising one function came at the expense of the other.
In these new materials, the individual functions are integrated yet kept separate at the nanoscale. The researchers combined two different types of smart materials:
an ionic electro-active polymer (i-EAP), which bends or swells with the application of voltage and are used in soft robotics;
and a two-way shape memory polymer (SMP), which can be programmed to adopt and later recall specific shapes, in a type of muscle memory.
Due to the fact that the separate components are meshed at the nanoscale, there are unbroken paths within each component from one side of the material to the other,
yet there are nanoscale boundaries between them as well. Such IPNS are highly resistant to cracks, making them very mechanically stable.
and also report on their environment. The movement in these hybrid materials can be controlled in several different ways,
temperature, chemicals, electric field or magnetic field. These various stimuli can be used to make the materials change colour,
emit light or energy, or change shape. Making IPNS has been tried before with a type of plastic known as a block copolymer,
but it has been difficult to fine-tune their exact structure because of difficult synthetic procedures. These difficulties limit the types of functionalities that can be combined,
In this case the researchers were able to use phase separation combined with ordinary polymer syntheses to achieve the complex structures.
However, scientists at the Swedish Medical Nanoscience Centre (SMNC) at Karolinska Institutet in collaboration with collegues at Linköping University, have created now an organic bioelectronic device that is capable of receiving chemical signals,
"Our artificial neuron is made of conductive polymers and it functions like a human neuron, "says lead investigator Agneta Richter-Dahlfors, professor of cellular microbiology."
"The sensing component of the artificial neuron senses a change in chemical signals in one dish,
by adding the concept of wireless communication, the biosensor could be placed in one part of the body,
or possibly a remote control, new and exciting opportunities for future research and treatment of neurological disorders can be envisaged."
"This study was made possible by funding from Carl Bennet AB, VINNOVA, Karolinska Institutet, the Swedish Research Council, Swedish Brain Power, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Royal
In rare instances, the internal chemical response of a cell can cause unregulated cell growth, leading to cancer.
we can create electric fields that attract and move around droplets containing any chemical solution, "says first author Alphonsus Ng who recently graduated with a Phd from the U of T Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical engineering (IBBME) and Donnelly Centre,
and is now a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Professor Aaron Wheeler. Ng and his team's method allows the scientists to deliver a quick-fire sequence of chemicals to small groups of cells stuck to the surface of the board.
For example, the first drop might contain a hormone that tells cells to grow faster. Within seconds, this hormone sets off a chain reaction called a"phosphorylation cascade,
They then deliver a third drop containing fluorescent antibodies that stick only to the proteins modified in the cascade.
Looking at the antibodies in a microscope provides a snapshot of what has changed and what hasn't. By building up a series of snapshots at different time intervals,
scientists can see how the cascade progresses.""It's like a flipboard; each snapshot gives us a static image,
or action,"says Dean Chamberlain, a postdoctoral researcher at IBBME, the Donnelly Centre and the Department of chemistry.
or proteins that could be targeted by drugs, eventually leading to new medicines to fight cancer r
#Novel microscope for nanosystems LMU/MPQ-scientists can image the optical properties of individual nanoparticles with a novel microscope.
Nanomaterials play an essential role in many areas of daily life. There is thus a large interest to gain detailed knowledge about their optical and electronic properties.
when particle size falls to the range of a few ten nanometers where a single particle provides only a vanishingly small signal.
The possibility to study the optical properties of individual nanoparticles or macromolecules promises intriguing potential for many areas of biology, chemistry, and nanoscience.
Spectroscopic measurements on large ensembles of nanoparticles suffer from the fact that individual differences in size, shape,
and molecular composition are washed out and only average quantities can be extracted. There is thus a large interest to develop single-particle-sensitive techniques."
"Our approach is to trap the probe light used for imaging inside of an optical resonator,
Because of the resonator, the signal gets enhanced by a factor of 50000.""In the microscope, built by Dr. David Hunger and his team,
one side of the resonator is made of a plane mirror that serves at the same time as a carrier for the nanoparticles under investigation.
The counterpart is curved a strongly mirror on the end facet of an optical fibre. Laser light is coupled into the resonator through this fibre.
The plane mirror is moved point by point with respect to the fibre in order to bring the particle step by step into its focus.
the scientists used gold spheres with a diameter of 40 nanometers.""The gold particles serve as our reference system,
By combining higher order modes, the scientists could even increase the resolution to around 800 nanometers.
"In our experiment we use gold nanorods (34x25x25 nm) and we observe how the resonance frequency shifts depending on the orientation of the polarization.
resulting in two different resonance frequencies for both orthogonal polarizations"explains Matthias Mader, Phd student at the experiment."
"This birefringence can be measured very precisely and is a very sensitive indicator for the shape and orientation of the particle.""
from the characterization of nanomaterials and biological nanosystems to spectroscopy of quantum emitters. e
#Nanostructure design enables pixels to produce two different colors depending on polarization of incident light Through precise structural control,
A*STAR researchers have encoded a single pixel with two distinct colors and have used this capability to generate a three-dimensional stereoscopic image.
Figuring out how to include two types of information in the same area was an enticing challenge for Xiao Ming Goh, Joel Yang and their colleagues at the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering.
including ultrahigh-definition three-dimensional color displays and state-of-the-art anti-counterfeiting measures. So they set about designing a nanostructure architecture that could provide more'bang for the buck'.
'Having previously used plasmonic materials to generate color prints at the optical diffraction limit by carefully varying the nanostructure size and spacing,
Yang thought polarization would be a promising direction to pursue.""We decided to extend our research to prints that would exhibit different images depending on the polarization of the incident light,
Goh and Yang trialed two aluminum nanostructures as pixel arrays: ellipses and two squares separated by a very small space (known as coupled nanosquare dimers.
Each pixel arrangement had its own pros and cons. While the ellipses offered a broader color range
Furthermore, the researchers used these pixel arrays to generate a three-dimensional stereoscopic image. They achieved this by using ellipses as pixel elements,
carefully offsetting the images and choosing background colors that minimized cross-talk.""Being able to print two images onto the same area and,
Complex nanostructures, including circularly asymmetric shapes, offer many more options.""By employing additional circular polarizations, we could encode multiple images that is, not just two,
#Unlocking fermentation secrets open door to new biofuels"This work advances our fundamental understanding of the complex,
system-level process of clostridial acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation, "explained Ting Lu, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Illinois."Simultaneously,
it provides a powerful tool for guiding strain design and protocol optimization, therefore facilitating the development of next-generation biofuels."
which a microbe uses nutrients and generates energy to live and reproduce. It typically involves complex biochemical processes implemented through the orchestration of metabolic reactions and gene regulation,
as well as their interactions with environmental cues. One canonical example is the ABE fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum, during
which cells convert carbon sources to organic acids that are reassimilated later to produce solvents as a strategy for cellular survival."
"Clostridium is very much like a factory during fermentation which converts carbon sources into renewable, advanced biofuels that can be used directly to fuel your cars,"added Lu,
who is affiliated also with the Department of physics and Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at Illinois."The complexity and systems nature of the process have been largely underappreciated,
rendering challenges in understanding and optimizing solvent (ABE) production.""Array"To our knowledge, this framework elucidates, for the first time, the complex system-level orchestration of metabolic reactions, gene regulation,
and environmental cues during clostridial ABE fermentation,"Lu said.""It also provides a quantitative tool for generating new hypotheses
and for guiding strain design and protocol optimization--invaluable for the development of efficient metabolic engineering strategies, expediting the development of advanced biofuels.
More broadly, by using the ABE fermentation as an example, the work further sheds light on systems biology toward an integrated and quantitative understanding of complex microbial physiology
"and wearing your computer on your sleeve, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of engineering have designed a responsive hybrid material that is fueled by an oscillatory chemical reaction
and can perform computations based on changes in the environment or movement, and potentially even respond to human vital signs.
The material system is sufficiently small and flexible that it could ultimately be integrated into a fabric
Ph d.,distinguished professor of chemical and petroleum engineering, and Steven P. Levitan, Ph d.,John A. Jurenko professor of electrical and computer engineering, integrated models for self-oscillating polymer gels and piezoelectric micro-electric-mechanical systems to devise a new
reactive material system capable of performing computations without external energy inputs, amplification or computer mediation. Their research,"Achieving synchronization with active hybrid materials:
Coupling self-oscillating gels and piezoelectric (PZ) films,"appeared June 24th in the journal Scientific Reports,
By working with Dr. Victor V. Yashin, research assistant professor of chemical and petroleum engineering and lead author on the paper,
"allowing the material to be used for computation. Levitan adds, however, the computations would not be general purpose,
but rather specific to pattern-matching and recognition, or other non-Boolean operations.""Imagine a group of organ pipes,
and respond accordingly, thereby performing the actual computing.""Developing so-called"materials that compute"addresses limitations inherent to the systems currently used by researchers to perform either chemical computing or oscillator-based computing.
Chemical computing systems are limited by both the lack of an internal power system and the rate of diffusion as the chemical waves spread throughout the system,
enabling only local coupling. Further, oscillator-based computing has not been translated into a potentially wearable material.
The hybrid BZ-PZ model, which has never been proposed previously, solves these problems and points to the potential of designing synthetic material systems that are powered self.
Magnetic sensor 100 times more sensitive than silicon equivalent Scientists have created a graphene-based magnetic sensor 100 times more sensitive than an equivalent device based on silicon.
Bosch has long been involved in sensor technology, notably in the automotive sector. In 2008, the company expanded beyond its pressure, acceleration and gyroscopic motion sensors, to geomagnetic, temperature, humidity,
air quality and sound pressure devices, including for use in consumer electronics devices such as mobile phones. Interested in whether graphene could enable new applications and improved sensor performance,
Bosch has been investigating the use of the two-dimensional material in its pressure, magnetic, humidity, gas and sound pressure devices.
The first step was to look at fabrication methods. Top-down approaches to graphene device fabrication such as mechanical and chemical exfoliation would not work on a commercial scale,
so Bosch focussed instead on bottom-up techniques such as the thermal decomposition of silicon carbide, and chemical vapour deposition onto metal surfaces.
Roelver cautioned that graphene-based sensor applications will require 5-10 years before they can compete with established technologies.
who in the case of their magnetic sensor settled on hexagonal boron nitride. This is for reasons of both cost and technical performance.
Bosch's magnetic sensors are based on the Hall effect, in which a magnetic field induces a Lorentz force on moving electric charge carriers, leading to deflection and a measurable Hall voltage.
Sensor performance is defined by two parameters:(1) sensitivity, which depends on the number of charge carriers,
and (2) power consumption, which varies inversely with charge carrier mobility. It is high carrier mobility that makes graphene useful in such applications,
and the results achieved by the Bosch-led team confirm this. Comparing and contrasting materials, Roelver in his Graphene Week presentation showed that the worst case graphene scenarios roughly match a silicon reference.
In the best case scenario, the result is a huge improvement over silicon, with much lower source current and power requirements for a given Hall sensitivity.
In short, graphene provides for a high-performance magnetic sensor with low power and footprint requirements. In terms of hard numbers
the result shown by Roelver centred on a direct comparison between the sensitivity of a silicon-based Hall sensor with that of the Bosch-MPI graphene device.
The silicon sensor has a sensitivity of 70 volts per amp-tesla, whereas with the boron nitride and graphene device the figure is 7, 000.
That is a two orders of magnitude improvement. After summarising this stunning research result, Roelver concluded on a high note,
#First hospital light fixture to kill bacteria safely, continuously becomes commercially available in North america Indigo-Clean#is a light fixture manufactured through an exclusive licensing agreement with the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland,
which developed, proved and patented the technology. The light operates continuously and requires no operator, kills bacteria in the air and on all surfaces,
Indigo-Clean#was unveiled just before the annual meeting of theassociation for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) in Nashville."
"Indigo-Clean#represents a breakthrough in helping to reduce HAIS, "said Jim Hawkins, CEO of Kenall."
"It bolsters current disinfection efforts by infection preventionists and environmental services professionals in the fight against HAIS."
"Indigo-Clean#uses a narrow spectrum of visible indigo-colored light at an output of 405 nanometers (nm) on the light spectrum.
it is lethal to pathogens but is safe for use in the presence of patients and staff."
"As part of Strathclyde's clinical engagement in the U k. over the last seven years, this technology has proven effective in killing bacteria in hospital settings.
We are proud that the University of Strathclyde selected Kenall to commercialize this in the U s,
"Breaking the chain of infection, from an infected patient, to the environment, to new patient, is vitally important,
a large teaching hospital operated by NHS (National Health service) Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The technology and its effectiveness have been the subject of more than 20 peer-reviewed academic publications and 30 conference presentations since 2008.
The HINS-light project was voted U k. Research Project of the Year in 2011 by Times Higher education magazine.
and developing HINS-light technology for the purpose of reducing the environmental transmission of pathogens
We chose Kenall because of its extensive experience in providing lighting for the most challenging healthcare environments where infection prevention is a key consideration."
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports around 1 in 25 hospital patients in the US have at least one infection contracted in the health care setting.
and 99,000 deaths in acute care hospitals in the U s. and add $35-45 billion in excess health care costs each year.
Battling an HAI can often add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of treating a single patient.
HAIS can also result in significant financial penalties for hospitals under the Affordable Care Act.
those providers scoring poorly in the Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) program receive lower Medicare reimbursements.
while current methods of disinfecting the healthcare environment are effective, the methods are episodic and results are short-lived as bacteria immediately re-populate the space.
The ability of Indigo-Clean#to continuously treat the air as well as hard and soft surfaces,
Indigo-Clean#is automatic and continuous.""As an innovator in healthcare lighting and a leader in LED lighting and controls, we can bring healthcare providers this effective,
game-changing tool to ensure the safest and best environment for their patients, "said Hawkins
#RNASEH1 mutations impair mtdna replication, cause adult-onset mitochondrial encephalomyopathy Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology offers an incredible opportunity for the rapid and relatively low-cost characterization of individual genomes,
giving us a chance to make a substantial leap ahead in the molecular dissection of all mitochondrial disorders in humans.
This technology has led to the identification for the first time of pathological mutations in the RNASEH1 gene in six subjects from three unrelated families.
but also an accumulation of partly deleted mtdna molecules. These alterations cause impaired energy production in the cells and therefore, lead to the disease.
The clinical manifestations of affected individuals are chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO), a slowly progressive paralysis of the extraocular muscles,
and exercise intolerance in early adulthood, followed by cerebellar and brain stem atrophy and a general weakness of the muscles affecting locomotion,
The identification of a new mitochondrial disease gene not only provides valuable basic information about the biological function
but also widens out knowledge on the mechanisms leading to disease and provide the basis for developing new and more effective therapies s
#Iron: A biological element? Arrayclark Johnson, a professor of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
and former postdoctoral researcher Weiqiang Li examined samples from the banded iron formation in Western australia. Banded iron is the iron-rich rock found in ore deposits worldwide, from the proposed iron mine in Northern Wisconsin to the enormous mines of Western australia.
These ancient deposits, up to 150 meters deep, were begging for explanation, says Johnson. Scientists thought the iron had entered the ocean from hot,
mineral-rich water released at mid-ocean vents that then precipitated to the ocean floor. Now Johnson and Li
who is currently at Nanjing University in China, show that half of the iron in banded iron was metabolized by ancient bacteria living along the continental shelves.
The banding was thought to represent some sort of seasonal changes. The UW-Madison researchers found long-term swings in the composition,
With little oxygen in the atmosphere, many organisms derived energy by metabolizing iron instead of oxygen.
Biologists say this process"is really deep in the tree of life, but we've had little evidence from the rock record until now,
you want to know the source of the minerals so you know where to explore.""The research also clarifies the evolution of our planet--and of life itself--during the"iron-rich"era 2. 5 billion years ago."
that early biological molecules may have been based iron.""NASA has made the search for life in space a major focus and sponsors the UW-Madison Astrobiology Institute,
"In my introductory geochemistry textbook from 1980, there is no mention of biology, and so every diagram showing
what minerals are stable at what conditions on the surface of the Earth is absolutely wrong."
and research at this university, geomicrobiology gives you the answer. It has turned completely geoscience on its ear
#Building a better semiconductor Arraythe electrical properties of semiconductors depend on the nature of trace impurities, known as dopants,
which when added appropriately to the material will allow for the designing of more efficient solid-state electronics.
""The material we studied is an unconventional semiconductor made of alternating atomically thin layers of metals
an associate professor of physics and astronomy who led the research effort at MSU.""This combination allows many unusual properties,
and possibly optically controlled switching devices employing undoped semiconductor materials.""A semiconductor is a substance that conducts electricity under some conditions
but not others, making it a good medium for the control of electrical current. They are used in any number of electronics,
including computers s
#Eco-friendly oil spill solution developed An eco-friendly biodegradable green'herding'agent that can be used to clean up light crude oil spills on water has been developed by researchers.
Derived from the plant-based small molecule phytol abundant in the marine environment, the new substance would potentially replace chemical herders currently in use,
City College of New york researchers led by chemist George John have developed an eco-friendly biodegradable green"herding"agent that can be used to clean up light crude oil spills on water.
According to John, professor of chemistry in City College's Division of Science,"the best known chemical herders are chemically stable, non-biodegradable,
""Our goal was to develop an eco-friendly herding molecule as an alternative to the current silicone-based polymers,
such as seawater, reduce the surface tension. In the case of oil spills, when they are added along the periphery of an oil spill slick,
a professor of chemical engineering in CCNY's Benjamin Levich Institute for Physicochemical Hydrodynamics who participated in the study.
John's research team also included Deeksha Gupta, a postdoctoral student now at the Royal Society of Chemistry,
and Vijay John of Tulane University. Their finding will be published in the June 26 issue of Science Advances.
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by City College of New york. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Gel that can make drugs last longer A drug-delivering hydrogel has been developed to treat chronic diseases such as hepatitis C a liver disease that kills around 500,000 people worldwide every year.
Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of A*STAR have developed a drug-delivering hydrogel to treat chronic diseases such as hepatitis C a liver disease that kills around 500,000 people worldwide every year."
and well-being of patients suffering from chronic diseases such as hepatitis C,"said IBN Executive director Professor Jackie Y. Ying.
The standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C infections includes a weekly injection of a protein drug called PEGYLATED interferon.
The frequent injections increases patient discomfort, is time-consuming, and can cause depression and fatigue.
and duration by creating a gel with 3d microscopic structures of a polymer compound called polyethylene glycol (PEG) that resembles"reservoirs."
The study by the IBN researchers showed that a onetime administration of the hydrogel containing the PEGYLATED interferon medication was as effective as eight injections of the medication alone
"Our hydrogels can significantly extend the half-life of hepatitis C drugs by up to 10 times longer than current treatment.
This work improves the therapeutic efficiency of the drugs, while reducing the need for frequent injections,
"said Dr Kurisawa. The study was published recently in the leading journal, Biomaterials, and conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Molecular and Cell biology of A*STAR.
Up to 150 million people globally suffer from chronic hepatitis C infections according to the World health organization.""I believe that our method can pave the way for more effective and safe treatment of hepatitis C. We are also testing the microstructured gel for the treatment of other chronic diseases besides hepatitis C,"added Dr Kurisawa.
Story Source: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference: Ki Hyun Bae, Fan Lee, Keming Xu, Choong Tat Keng, Sue Yee Tan, Yee Joo Tan, Qingfeng Chen, Motoichi Kurisawa.
Microstructured dextran hydrogels for burst-free sustained release of PEGYLATED protein drugs. Biomaterials, 2015; 63: 146 DOI:
10.1016/j. biomaterials. 2015.06.00 0
#Mechanism of T cell self/non-self'education'The immune system discriminates between self and non-self and responds specifically to remove non-self pathogens invading our body.
T cells play a central role in the immune response to non-self pathogens. The T-cell repertoire is shaped by"education"that occurs in the thymus.
A huge number of immature T cells, each of which can recognize a single antigen, are generated first,
and these immature T cells are sorted out through positive selection, which keeps potentially useful cells able to detect non-self pathogens alive,
and negative selection, which kills self-reactive cells. The research group has revealed previously that the thymoproteasome,
a protease complex exclusively expressed in the thymus, plays a pivotal role in positive selection.
However, how the thymoproteasome governs positive selection was understood not. The research group of Professor Shigeo Murata at the University of Tokyo Graduate school of Pharmaceutical Sciences used mass spectroscopy, capable of identifying unknown substances,
and found that the thymoproteasome produces peptides with unique sequence motifs that are produced not by other types of proteasomes
and clarified that the unique peptides efficiently induce the positive selection of immature T cells and thus promote differentiation to killer T cells."
and may provide clues to the development of therapies for infectious diseases, cancers and immune diseases.,"
"says Professor Murata a
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011