news from the lab

Medicine/Pharmacology - Chemistry - 21.02
How Good Cholesterol Turns Bad
Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found new evidence to explain how cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) mediates the transfer of cholesterol from "good" high density lipoproteins (HDLs) to "bad" low density lipoproteins (LDLs).

Chemistry - Physics/Astronomy - 20.02
To make better fuel cells, study the defects
Engineers trying to improve fuel-cell catalysts may be looking in the wrong place, according to new research at Cornell. There is growing interest in forming the catalysts that break down fuel to generate electricity into nanoparticles.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Chemistry - 16.02
Successful human tests for first wirelessly controlled drug-delivery chip
Clinical trial of the programmable, implantable device shows promise in treating osteoporosis. About 15 years ago, MIT professors Robert Langer and Michael Cima had the idea to develop a programmable, wirelessly controlled microchip that would deliver drugs after implantation in a patient's body.

Chemistry - 7.02
Early warning system for microbial invaders
Deadly viruses are first detected by our immune system by MDA5, a receptor that recognizes viral RNA soon after it infects the cell. Yale University researchers show that pairs of these molecules assemble along this viral RNA in long filaments, which scientists Yorgo Modis and Ian Berke propose trigger a partner signaling molecule, MAVS (seen in red), which in turn instructs the cell to mount an antiviral inflammatory response.

Chemistry - Life Sciences - 30.01
Ferroelectric switching discovered for first time in soft biological tissue
The heart's inner workings are mysterious, perhaps even more so with a new finding. Engineers at the University of Washington have discovered an electrical property in arteries not seen before in mammalian tissues.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Chemistry - 24.01
Methamphetamine Use Increasing Again, Researchers Find
AUSTIN, Texas — Use of methamphetamines is on the rise nationally after a decrease a few years ago, according to university researchers. Use of meth dropped significantly in 2007 and 2008 after laws limiting the availability of pseudoephedrine went into effect made it much harder to obtain key ingredients.

Chemistry - Earth Sciences - 18.01
Study Confirms Estimates of Gulf Oil Spill Rate
— Coral Gables — By combining detailed chemical measurements in the ocean, oil slick, and air, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Miami, and elsewhere have independently estimated how fast gases and oil were leaking during the BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill in 2010.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 16.01
Study uncovers how DNA unfolds for transcription
The human genome contains some 3 billion base pairs that are tightly compacted into the nucleus of each cell. If a DNA strand were the thickness of a human hair, the entire human genome would be crammed into a space the size of a softball, but if it were unraveled and all the strands lined up, they would stretch from Ithaca, N.Y., to Boston.

Chemistry - Life Sciences - 12.01
Worm Seeks Worm: Caltech Researchers Find Chemical Cues Driving Aggregation in Nematodes
Scientists have long seen evidence of social behavior among many species of animals, both on the earth and in the sea. Dolphins frolic together, lions live in packs, and hornets construct nests that can house a large number of the insects.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 21.12.2011
Scientists Pioneer New Method for Watching Proteins Fold
A protein's function depends on both the chains of molecules it is made of and the way those chains are folded. And while figuring out the former is relatively easy, the latter represents a huge challenge with serious implications because many diseases are the result of misfolded proteins.

Physics/Astronomy - Chemistry - 15.12.2011
Discovery of a ‘Dark State’ Could Mean a Brighter Future for Solar Energy
AUSTIN, Texas — The efficiency of conventional solar cells could be significantly increased, according to new research on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion led by chemist Xiaoyang Zhu at The University of Texas at Austin.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 15.12.2011
Team designs a bandage that spurs, guides blood vessel growth
CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Researchers have developed a bandage that stimulates and directs blood vessel growth on the surface of a wound. The bandage, called a “microvascular stamp,” contains living cells that deliver growth factors to damaged tissues in a defined pattern.

Physics/Astronomy - Chemistry - 9.12.2011
Slow road to stability for emulsions
Physical equilibrium, assumed to be almost instant, may take months or years for particles in oil-water mixtures By studying the behavior of tiny particles at an interface between oil and water, researchers at Harvard have discovered that stabilized emulsions may take longer to reach equilibrium than previously thought.

Physics/Astronomy - Chemistry - 30.11.2011
Fully printed carbon nanotube transistor circuits for displays
Since the invention of liquid crystal displays in the mid-1960s, display electronics have undergone rapid transformation. Recently developed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have shown several advantages over LCDs, including their light weight, flexibility, wide viewing angles, improved brightness, high power efficiency and quick response.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Chemistry - 29.11.2011
Gene acts as a brake on breast cancer progression
Newly published research explores the role of 14-3-3 ? in tumour suppression New research out of McGill University's Goodman Cancer Research Centre provides compelling new evidence that a gene known as 14-3-3? plays a critical role in halting breast cancer initiation and progression.