#Researchers develop basic computing elements for bacteria The riendlybacteria inside our digestive systems are being given an upgrade,
which may one day allow them to be programmed to detect and ultimately treat diseases such as colon cancer and immune disorders.
researchers at MIT unveil a series of sensors, memory switches, and circuits that can be encoded in the common human gut bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron.
These basic computing elements will allow the bacteria to sense, memorize, and respond to signals in the gut,
with future applications that might include the early detection and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease or colon cancer.
such strains are only found at low levels within the human gut, according to Timothy Lu, an associate professor of biological engineering and of electrical engineering and computer science,
a professor of biological engineering at MIT. e wanted to work with strains like B. thetaiotaomicron that are present in many people in abundant levels,
The team developed a series of genetic parts that can be used to precisely program gene expression within the bacteria. sing these parts
we built four sensors that can be encoded in the bacterium DNA that respond to a signal to switch genes on and off inside B. thetaiotaomicron,
These can be food additives, including sugars, which allow the bacteria to be controlled by the food that is eaten by the host,
and report on pathologies in the gut, including signs of bleeding or inflammation, the bacteria will need to remember this information and report it externally.
To enable them to do this, the researchers equipped B. thetaiotaomicron with a form of genetic memory.
and respond to signs of disease could also be used elsewhere in the body, he adds.
In addition, more advanced genetic computing circuits could be built upon this genetic toolkit in Bacteroides to enhance their performance as noninvasive diagnostics and therapeutics. or example,
and specificity when diagnosing disease with engineered bacteria, Lu says. o achieve this, we could engineer bacteria to detect multiple biomarkers,
and only trigger a response when they are all present. Tom Ellis, group leader of the Centre for Synthetic biology at Imperial College London, who was involved not in the research,
says the paper takes many of the best tools that have been developed for synthetic biology applications with E coli
and moves them over to use with a common class of gut bacteria. hereas others have developed tools and applications for engineering genetic circuits,
or biosensors, in bacteria that are placed then in the gut, this paper stands out from the crowd by first engineering a member of the Bacteroides genus,
or even in-situ synthesis of therapeutic molecules as and when they are needed. Source: MIT, written by Helen Knigh
#Tumor-suppressing gene lends insight to cancer treatment Cell duplication and growth is essential to sustaining life,
Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have found that if PTEN, a known tumor-suppressor gene, has mutated
or is absent, this delicate replication process derails and can lead to cancer development. The study, published in Nature Communications,
could influence how future cancer patients are treated based on their genetic makeup. umors without PTEN are more sensitive to chemotherapies that work by targeting DNA replication,
while normal cells or cancers with active PTEN resist these treatments, said Dr. Wen H. Shen, the study lead investigator and an assistant professor of cell biology in radiation oncology at Weill Cornell. ased on our research,
knowing PTEN status is critical for guiding treatment choices. n the late 1990s, scientists discovered the PTEN gene,
and growing evidence has shown that PTEN is a powerful tumor suppressor. Less clear, however, has been whether
and how PTEN works when it comes to DNA replication and if loss of PTEN could impact this central process of genome transmission to allow development and progression of cancer.
The Weill Cornell research team found that when the PTEN gene is missing or mutated,
DNA is left unprotected in the duplication process and can become damaged or corrupted. NA replication is an error-prone process,
and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell. s the DNA double helix unwinds and separates, forming A y-shaped open structure,
leading the cell to produce stress signals. Cancer can result when the stress signals accumulate
or when cells with unreplicated DNA rush into cell division prematurely to produce an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell, a condition called aneuploidy.
PTEN function is absent in a wide variety of cancers for example, 70 percent of prostate cancers have PTEN mutation or deletion.
Because of this, researchers are testing PTEN to see if it a marker of aggressive cancer
and for personalized cancer treatment. atients whose cancers have lost PTEN or harbor mutations in the gene are known to have poorer outcomes than patients with active PTEN,
Shen said. ur expectation is that a PTEN blood test in the near future will help clinicians decide on the right therapies for each cancer patient,
and in particular, to benefit this subgroup of cancer patients carrying PTEN mutations. ource: Cornell Universit u
#HIV vaccine: Pushing the Envelope A new study led by scientists at Harvard Medical school and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical center demonstrates that a heterologous prime-boost HIV-1 vaccine regimen protected 50 percent of vaccinated nonhuman primates against challenges with the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV),
a virus similar to HIV that infects nonhuman primates. Published in the July 2 online edition of Science, these new findings provide a new strategy for the clinical development of this novel HIV-1 vaccine candidate. espite the urgent need for a safe and effective
global HIV-1 vaccine, only four vaccine concepts have been evaluated for protective efficacy in humans over the past 30 years,
said lead author Dan Barouch, HMS professor of medicine and director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess. e are encouraged very by the results of this latest preclinical HIV-1 vaccine study
and believe the findings may lead to a clear path forward for evaluating this HIV vaccine candidate in humans.
In this work, nonhuman primates were given first a dose of adenovirus serotype 26 vectored vaccine to rimethe immune system to mount an antibody response
and then received a oostwith a purified HIV envelope protein (the surface protein of HIV),
which enhances the immune system over time. Adenovirus 26 is responsible for the common cold and is engineered to serve as a carrier,
or vector, to deliver pieces of SIV into cells.)The study results showed that the prime-boost vaccine regimen provided complete protection in half of the vaccinated nonhuman primates against a series of six repeated challenges with SIV. ur previous studies
of viral vector-based HIV-1 vaccine candidates showed much lower levels of protection against SIV,
said Barouch. hese new findings show that the envelope protein boost following the viral vector priming increases the magnitude
and functionality of antibody responses and improves protection. Based on these preclinical data, the HIV-1 version of this vaccine regimen is now being evaluated in an ongoing international clinical study sponsored by Crucell Holland BV
one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & johnson. More than 35 million people worldwide are infected with HIV
and more than 2 million new infections develop each year. lthough antiretroviral therapies have prolonged the lives of HIV-1 infected patients,
the definitive solution to this epidemic will likely be said a vaccine Barouch. hese new findings represent an important step forward. s
#Discovery of a eat-storage ceramicresearchers at the University of Tokyo have discovered a new type of material which stores heat energy for a prolonged period,
which they have termed a eat storage ceramic. This new material can be used as heat storage material for solar heat energy generation systems or efficient use of industrial heat waste, enabling recycling of heat energy,
since the material releases the stored heat energy on demand by application of weak pressure. A novel eat-storage ceramicdemonstrated in stripe-type-lambda-trititanium-pentoxide.
a) The material stores heat energy of 230 kj L-1 by heating and releases the energy by a weak pressure (60 MPA).
In addition, this material stores heat energy by various approaches such as (b) electric current flow or (c) light-irradiation.
Image credit: Shin-ichi Ohkoshi. Materials capable of storing heat include those such as bricks or concrete that slowly release the stored heat,
and others such as water or ethylene glycol that take in heat when they transform from a solid to a liquid.
However, none of these materials can store heat energy over a long period as they naturally release it slowly over time.
A material that could store heat energy for a long time and release it at the exact timing desired would be a boon for the field of renewable energy.
The heat storage ceramic discovered by the research group of Professor Ohkoshi at the University of Tokyo Graduate school of Science preserves heat energy for a prolonged period.
This material called stripe-type-lambda-trititanium-pentoxide, is composed of only titanium atoms and oxygen atoms,
and can absorb and release a large amount of heat energy (230 kj L#1). This heat energy stored is large at approximately 70%of the latent heat energy of water at its melting point.
Additionally, applying a weak pressure of 60 MPA (mega Pascal) to stripe-type-lambda-trititanium-pentoxide induces a phase transition to beta-trititanium-pentoxide,
releasing the stored heat energy. Besides direct application of heat, heat energy can be stored by passing an electric current through the material
or irradiating it with light, enabling the repeated absorption and release of heat energy by a variety of methods.
The present heat-storage ceramic is expected to be a new candidate for use in solar heat power generation systems,
and also for efficient use of industrial heat waste. This material also has possibilities for use for advanced electronic devices such as pressure-sensitive sheets, reusable heating pads, pressure-sensitive conductivity sensors, electric current driven type resistance random access memory (Reram
and optical memory. Source: University of Toky i
#Researchers Build a Transistor from a Molecule and A few Atoms An international team of physicists has used a scanning tunneling microscope to create a minute transistor consisting of a single molecule and a small number of atoms.
The observed transistor action is markedly different from the conventionally expected behavior and could be important for future device technologies as well as for fundamental studies of electron transport in molecular nanostructures.
The physicists represent the Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik (PDI) and the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB), Germany, the NTT Basic Research Laboratories (NTT-BRL), Japan,
and the U s. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Their complete findings are published in the 13 july 2015 issue of the journal Nature Physics.
Scanning tunneling microscope image of a phthalocyanine molecule centered within a hexagon assembled from twelve indium atoms on an indium arsenide surface.
The positively charged atoms provide the electrostatic gate of the single-molecule transistor. See more at:
http://www. nrl. navy. mil/media/news-releases/2015/researchers-build-a-transistor-from-a-molecule
-and-a few-atoms#sthash. sfyr4um9. dpuftransistors have a channel region between two external contacts and an electrical gate electrode to modulate the current flow through the channel.
In atomic-scale transistors, this current is extremely sensitive to single electrons hopping via discrete energy levels.
In earlier studies, researchers have examined single-electron transport in molecular transistors using top-down approaches, such as lithography and break junctions.
But atomically precise control of the gatehich is crucial to transistor action at the smallest size scaless not possible with these approaches.
The team used a highly stable scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to create a transistor consisting of a single organic molecule
and positively charged metal atoms, positioning them with the STM tip on the surface of an indium arsenide (Inas) crystal.
Dr. Kiyoshi Kanisawa, a physicist at NTT-BRL, used the growth technique of molecular beam epitaxy to prepare this surface.
Subsequently, the STM approach allowed the researchers to assemble electrical gates from the+1 charged atoms with atomic precision
and then to place the molecule at various desired positions close to the gates. Dr. Stefan Fölsch, a physicist at the PDI who led the team,
explained that he molecule is only weakly bound to the Inas template. So when we bring the STM tip very close to the molecule
and apply a bias voltage to the tip-sample junction, single electrons can tunnel between template
similar to the working principle of a quantum dot gated by an external electrode. In our case, the charged atoms nearby provide the electrostatic gate potential that regulates the electron flow
and the charge state of the molecule. ut there is a substantial difference between a conventional semiconductor quantum dotomprising typically hundreds or thousands of atomsnd the present case of a surface-bound molecule.
Dr. Steven Erwin a physicist in the Center for Computational Materials science at NRL and expert in density-functional theory, pointed out that,
he molecule adopts different rotational orientations, depending on its charge state. We predicted this based on first-principles calculations
Dr. Piet Brouwer, a physicist at FUB and expert in quantum transport theory, said, his intriguing behavior goes beyond the established picture of charge transport through a gated quantum dot.
Instead we developed a generic model that accounts for the coupled electronic and orientational dynamics of the molecule.
This simple and physically transparent model entirely reproduces the experimentally observed single-molecule transistor characteristics.
The perfection and reproducibility offered by these STM-generated transistors will enable researchers to explore elementary processes involving current flow through single molecules at a fundamental level.
which they can leadill be important for integrating molecule-based devices with existing semiconductor technologies.
NEC installs high-precision sensors that measure vibrations of water pipes to collect data on leaks in a community water system.
The data from the sensors is collected via networks and analyzed remotely through the cloud and then can be used to identify the locations of water leaks.
the NEC team installed a series of 33 sensors at two main sites in the Arlington water system.
#Glasses-free 3d screen technology Stereo-Step-Eclipse technology provides the ability to display video in stereoscopic 3d on a screen.
A scene can be visible from multiple angles depending on the viewer position relative to the screen.
Different users will see different views when looking from different positions. Unlimited viewer count: Multiple users can look at the screen
and all of them will see the view from their perspective, as there is no user tracking.
Thin layer and lightweight construction: Only three thin, additional layers are applied on top of standard LCD panels.
Low power consumption: The system requires only small amount of electricity or computational power for its operation.
The primary power consumption is from a special LCD shutter that creates the 3d viewing experience.
No image resolution loss: The lens and shutter technology allows precise focusing of the view
and keeps the same image resolution as the primary image display. Available now for license, the SSE technology provides a full 3d viewing experience that is viewable from multiple angles without the need for special glasses or other wearable devices such as contact lenses, monoculars or helmets.
It does not require viewer head tracking and, unlike existing applications, 3d Tau enables any number of viewers, arrayed at any angle,
to see the 3d image on the screen. This makes it ideal for gaming and other entertainment applications as well as training simulations
remote medicine and a wide variety of other business, civil and military uses. 3d Tau SSE technology is designed to be embedded directly into a new generation of screens for televisions, movie theaters, computer displays, game
consoles, advertising and conference/exhibition panels and avionics/navigation systems among others. The SSE screen consists of three thin layers on top of a standard LCD screen:
a rear-facing lenticular, an LCD shutter and a front-facing lenticular. While enabling the multi-angle display of 3d images,
SSE technology preserves the full native screen resolution of the primary LCD screen. It requires no complicated holography equipment
and takes up roughly the same space as a traditional screen. In addition to showing images in 3d,
the SSE optical scheme can be used for augmented reality applications, when real and virtual objects are shown on the same screen simultaneously.
This provides a new and impactful way to display modern video graphics content in 3d
with applications in entertainment, education, scientific modeling and simulators for training, transportation and industrial uses.
Other applications that can benefit from the 3d Tau SSE technology include the display of topographical maps,
surveillance and dispatching systems and visual aids for navigation, robotics and avionics among other uses.
The 3d Tau SSE technology can also be used to allow different viewers of a single screen to view different content based on their viewing angle.
For example, parents can view one video while their children, sitting a short distance to the side, can view a completely different video all on one single screen.
This also provides a new opportunity for aviation and transportation dashboards where, for example, a pilot can see her set of video instruments
while the copilot sees his own set of instruments from the same, centrally-located screen e
#Environmentally Friendly Lignin Nanoparticle reenssilver Nanobullet to Battle Bacteria North carolina State university researchers have developed an effective
and environmentally benign method to combat bacteria by engineering nanoscale particles that add the antimicrobial potency of silver to a core of lignin,
a ubiquitous substance found in all plant cells. The findings introduce ideas for better, greener and safer nanotechnology and could lead to enhanced efficiency of antimicrobial products used in agriculture and personal care.
Environmentally benign nanobullet (center) attacks bacteria (left) and neutralizes it (right). In a study published in Nature Nanotechnology,
NC State engineer Orlin Velev and colleagues show that silver-ion infused lignin nanoparticles, which are coated with a charged polymer layer that helps them adhere to the target microbes,
effectively kill a broad swath of bacteria, including E coli and other harmful microorganisms. As the nanoparticles wipe out the targeted bacteria,
they become depleted of silver. The remaining particles degrade easily after disposal because of their biocompatible lignin core,
limiting the risk to the environment. eople have been interested in using silver nanoparticles for antimicrobial purposes, but there are lingering concerns about their environmental impact due to the long-term effects of the used metal nanoparticles released in the environment,
said Velev, INVISTA Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular engineering at NC State and the paper corresponding author. e show here an inexpensive and environmentally responsible method to make effective antimicrobials with biomaterial cores. he researchers used the nanoparticles
to attack E coli, a bacterium that causes food poisoning; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common disease-causing bacterium; Ralstonia, a genus of bacteria containing numerous soil-borne pathogen species;
and Staphylococcus epidermis, a bacterium that can cause harmful biofilms on plastics like catheters in the human body.
The nanoparticles were effective against all the bacteria. The method allows researchers the flexibility to change the nanoparticle recipe in order to target specific microbes.
Alexander Richter, the paper first author and an NC State Ph d. candidate says that the particles could be the basis for reduced risk pesticide products with reduced cost
and minimized environmental impact. e expect this method to have a broad impact, Richter said. e may include less of the antimicrobial ingredient without losing effectiveness
while at the same time using an inexpensive technique that has a lower environmental burden. We are now working to scale up the process to synthesize the particles under continuous flow conditions. ource:
NC Stat c
#Researchers create model of early human heart development from stem cells Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley,
in collaboration with scientists at the Gladstone Institutes, have developed a template for growing beating cardiac tissue from stem cells,
creating a system that could serve as a model for early heart development and a drug-screening tool to make pregnancies safer.
In experiments to be published Tuesday, July 14, in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers used biochemical and biophysical cues to prompt stem cells to differentiate
and self-organize into micron-scale cardiac tissue, including microchambers. e believe it is the first example illustrating the process of a developing human heart chamber in vitro,
said Kevin Healy, a UC Berkeley professor of bioengineering, who is co-senior author of the study with Dr. Bruce Conklin,
a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular disease and a professor of medical genetics and cellular and molecular pharmacology at UC San francisco. his technology could help us quickly screen for drugs likely to generate cardiac birth defects,
and guide decisions about which drugs are dangerous during pregnancy. Screening for drug toxicity To test the potential of the system as a drug-screening tool,
the researchers exposed the differentiating cells to thalidomide, a drug known to cause severe birth defects.
They found that at normal therapeutic doses the drug led to abnormal development of microchambers, including decreased size,
problems with muscle contraction and lower beat rates compared with heart tissue that had not been exposed to thalidomide. e chose drug cardiac developmental toxicity screening to demonstrate a clinically relevant application of the cardiac microchambers,
said Conklin. ach year, as many as 280,000 pregnant women are exposed to drugs with evidence of potential fetal risk.
The most commonly reported birth defects involve the heart, and the potential for generating cardiac defects is of utmost concern in determining drug safety during pregnancy.
The new milestone comes nearly four months after Healy and other UC Berkeley researchers publicly debuted a system of beating human heart cells on a chip that could be used to screen for drug toxicity.
However, that heart-on-a-chip device used pre-differentiated cardiac cells to mimic adult-like tissue structure.
In this new study, the scientists mimicked human tissue formation by starting with stem cells genetically reprogrammed from adult skin tissue to form small chambers with beating human heart cells.
Conklin lab at Gladstone, an independent, nonprofit life science research organization affiliated with UC San francisco, supplied these human induced pluripotent stem cells for this study.
The undifferentiated stem cells were placed then onto a circular-patterned surface that served to physically regulate cell differentiation and growth.
location, location By the end of two weeks, the cells that began on a two-dimensional surface environment started taking on a 3d structure as a pulsating microchamber.
cells along the edge experienced greater mechanical stress and tension, and appeared more like fibroblasts,
which are critical to the development of heart tissue. his spatial differentiation happens in biology naturally,
a UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher in bioengineering. he confined geometric pattern provided biochemical and biophysical cues that directed cardiac differentiation and the formation of a beating microchamber.
and how that process can go wrong. he fact that we used patient-derived human pluripotent stem cells in our work represents a sea change in the field,
which is an imperfect model for human disease. The researchers pointed out that while this study focused on heart tissue,
#Could dissolvable microneedles replace injected vaccines? The microneedle patch can dissolve in the skin, delivering the flu vaccine painlessly.
New vaccine patch protects against flu in humansflu vaccines delivered using microneedles that dissolve in the skin can protect people against infection even better than the standard needle-delivered vaccine,
according to new research published in Biomaterials. The authors of the study, from Osaka University in Japan, say their dissolvable patch the only vaccination system of its kind could make vaccination easier, safer and less painful.
According to the World health organization, immunization prevents an estimated 2-3 million deaths every year. The continued threat of pandemics such as H1n1 swine flu and emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola makes vaccine development and mass vaccination a priority for global healthcare.
Most vaccines are injected under the skin or into the muscle using needles. While this is an effective delivery method,
it requires medical personnel with technical skills and brings the risk of needle-related diseases and injuries.
The new microneedle patch is made of dissolvable material, eliminating needle-related risks. It is also easy to use without the need for trained medical personnel,
making it ideal for use in developing countries, where healthcare resources are limited. ur novel transcutaneous vaccination using a dissolving microneedle patch is the only application vaccination system that is readily adaptable for widespread practical use,
said Professor Shinsaku Nakagawa, one of the authors of the study from Osaka University. ecause the new patch is so easy to use,
we believe it will be particularly effective in supporting vaccination in developing countries. he new microneedle patch Microhyala is dissolvable in water.
The tiny needles are made of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance that cushions the joints. When the patch is applied like a plaster,
the needles pierce the top layer of skin and dissolve into the body, taking the vaccine with them.
The researchers compared the new system to traditional needle delivery by vaccinating two groups of people against three strains of influenza:
A/H1n1, A/H3n2 and B. None of the subjects had a bad reaction to the vaccine,
showing that it is safe to use in humans. The patch was also effective: people given the vaccine using the microneedles had an immune reaction that was equal to
or stronger than those given the vaccine by injection. e were excited to see that our new microneedle patch is
just as effective as the needle-delivered flu vaccines, and in some cases even more effective, said Professor Nakagawa.
Previous research has evaluated the use of microneedles made of silicon or metal, but they were shown not to be safe.
Microneedles made from these materials also run the risk of breaking off in the skin, leaving tiny fragments behind.
The new dissolvable patch eliminates this risk as the microneedles are designed to dissolve in the skin. e have shown that the patch is safe and that it works well.
Since it is also painless and very easy for non-trained people to use, we think it could bring about a major change in the way we administer vaccines globally,
said Professor Nakagawa. Source: Eurekaler a
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