Human pluripotent stem cells, which can become any other kind of body cell, hold great potential to treat a wide range of ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries. However, scientists who work with such cells have had trouble growing large enough quantities to perform experiments — in particular, for use in human studies. Furthermore, most materials now used to grow human stem cells include cells or proteins that come from mice embryos, which help stimulate stem-cell growth but would likely cause an immune reaction if injected into a human patient.
To overcome those issues, MIT chemical engineers, materials scientists and biologists have devised a synthetic surface that includes no foreign animal material and allows stem cells to stay alive and continue reproducing themselves for at least three months. It’s also the first synthetic material that allows single cells to form colonies of identical cells, which is necessary to identify cells with desired traits and has been difficult to achieve with existing materials. Continue Reading »
Researchers have developed technology for large-scale solar power installations to self-clean.
Find dusting those tables and dressers a chore or a bore? Dread washing the windows? Imagine keeping dust and grime off objects spread out over an area of 25 to 50 football fields. That’s the problem facing companies that deploy large-scale solar power installations, and scientists have now presented the development of one solution — self-dusting solar panels ― based on technology developed for space missions to Mars.
In a report at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) on August 22, they described how a self-cleaning coating at first glance of solar cells could increase the efficiency of producing electricity from sunlight and reduce maintenance costs for large-scale solar installations. Continue Reading »
Scientists hoping to understand how cells work may get a boost from a new technique to tag and image proteins within living mammalian cells.
The new technique, developed by a research team led by University of Illinois at Chicago assistant professor of chemistry Lawrence Miller, provides the clearest, most dynamic view yet of protein-protein interactions in cells when viewed through a specially modified microscope. Continue Reading »
Throughout embryonic development, proteins known as Polycomb group complexes turn genes off when and where their activity should not be present, preventing specialised tissues and organs from forming within the wrong places. They also play a huge role in processes like stem cell differentiation and cancer. Continue Reading »
Developing countries will be producing at least twice as much electronic waste (e-waste) as developed countries within the next 6-8 years, according to a new study published in ACS’ semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology. Eric Williams and colleagues cite a dramatic increase in ownership of PCs and other electronic devices in both developed and developing countries. Continue Reading »
Physicists at JILA have demonstrated a new tool with regard to controlling ultracold gas as well as ultracold chemistry: electric fields.
As described in the April 29 issue of Nature,* JILA scientists discovered that applying a small electric field spurs a dramatic increase in chemical reactions in their gas of ultracold molecules. JILA is a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Continue Reading »
Jaume Pauné, a graduate of the Master’s Degree in Optometry and Vision Sciences at the UPC-Barcelona Tech’s College of Optics and Optometry, has designed an innovative new contact lens that will improve the vision quality of thousands of people without surgery.
The Spanish Association of Opticians and Optometrists has granted its National Award to Mr. Pauné for his innovative work in this field. Continue Reading »
Television’s Six Million Dollar Man foresaw a future when man and machine would become one. New research at Tel Aviv University is making this futuristic “vision” of bionics a reality.
Prof. Yael Hanein of Tel Aviv University’s School of Electrical Engineering has foundational research that may give sight to blind eyes, merging retinal nerves with electrodes to stimulate cell growth. Successful so far in animal models, this research may one day lay the groundwork for retinal implants in people. Continue Reading »
Searching for ways to improve the nutritional quality of leafy green vegetables, Lithuanian researchers have found success with new technology that features high-density photosynthetic photon flux generated by a solid-state illuminator. The technology, which can be applied in greenhouses for preharvest treatment of leafy vegetables, was found to decrease concentrations of harmful nitrates while allowing some beneficial nutrient levels to increase. Continue Reading »
The eruption of an Icelandic volcano that sent a huge plume of ash into the atmosphere and caused sweeping disruptions of air traffic over Great Britain and Scandinavia today will likely dissipate in the next several days, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder atmospheric scientist. Continue Reading »
