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UCLA scientists create microscopic alphabet; Research could lead to tiny devices

UCLA scientists have designed and mass-produced billions of fluorescent microscale particles in the shapes of all 26 letters of the alphabet in an “alphabet soup” displaying “exquisite fidelity of the shapes.”

The letters are made of solid polymeric materials dispersed in a liquid solution. The research will be published March 29 in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, where it will be illustrated on the cover. The scientists anticipate that their “LithoParticles” will have significant technological and scientific uses.

Malaria vaccine prompts victims' immune system to eliminate parasite from mosquitoes

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have developed an experimental vaccine that could, theoretically, eliminate malaria from entire geographic regions, by eradicating the malaria parasite from an area's mosquitoes.

The vaccine, so far tested only in mice, would prompt the immune system of a person who receives it to eliminate the parasite from the digestive tract of a malaria-carrying mosquito, after the mosquito has fed upon the blood of the vaccinated individual. The vaccine would not prevent or limit malarial disease in the person who received it.

New mathematical model to add rigor to studies of disease genetics and evolution

USC College computational biologist Peter Calabrese has developed a new model to simulate the evolution of so-called recombination hotspots in the genome.

Published March 5 in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the mathematical model and its associated software bring much-needed rigor to evolutionary investigations of how natural selection acts on individual genes, said Calabrese, a research assistant professor of biological sciences.

And, they may also aid the search for disease-associated genes within the human genome.

Fantastic Voyage: From science fiction to reality

Some 40 years after the release of the classic science fiction movie Fantastic Voyage, researchers in the NanoRobotics Laboratory of École Polytechnique de Montréal’s Department of Computer Engineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering have achieved a major technological breakthrough in the field of medical robotics. They have succeeded for the first time in guiding, in vivo and via computer control, a microdevice inside an artery, at a speed of 10 centimetres a second.

New synthetic self-assembling macromolecules mimic nature

We take "self-assembly" for granted when it is carried out by the biopolymers which are our hair, teeth, or skin. But when scientists devise new ways for molecules to self assemble into new materials, it is an important achievement.

Postnatal health and sexual problems persist one year after delivery

Nearly one in three women still experience painful sexual intercourse a year after their baby is born and more than half have at least one sex-related health problem, according to research in the March issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing.

482 women who had attended maternity units in Birmingham, UK, took part in a self-administered questionnaire at least a year after their most recent birth.

"87 per cent complained of at least one health problem" says Midwife Amanda Williams, who is currently on secondment to the city's Perinatal Institute.

Notorious cancer gene may work by destroying messenger

A new study suggests how a notorious cancer gene may contribute to tumor growth.

The insight emerged from a long-running study of a protein called PMR1, the key player in an unusual mechanism that cells use to quickly stop production of certain important proteins.

Researchers discovered that PMR1 is activated – or “turned on – by another molecule, an energy-packing protein called Src (pronounced “sark”).

Advancing how computers and electronics work

Researchers have made an important advance in the emerging field of ‘spintronics’ that may one day usher in a new generation of smaller, smarter, faster computers, sensors and other devices, according to findings reported in today's issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

The research field of ‘spintronics’ is concerned with using the ‘spin’ of an electron for storing, processing and communicating information.

No sex for 40 million years? No problem

A group of organisms that has never had sex in over 40 million years of existence has nevertheless managed to evolve into distinct species, says new research published today. The study challenges the assumption that sex is necessary for organisms to diversify and provides scientists with new insight into why species evolve in the first place.

Small molecule derived from Rb2/p130 could act as cancer therapeutic

A small molecule derived from the spacer domain of the tumor-suppressor gene Rb2/p130 has demonstrated the ability to inhibit tumor growth in vivo and could be developed into an anti-cancer therapeutic, according to researchers at Temple University's Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine.

Severe mental retardation gene mutation identified

Researchers have identified a novel gene mutation that causes X-linked mental retardation for which there was no previously known molecular diagnosis, according to an article to be published electronically on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 in The American Journal of Human Genetics.

Investigators F. Lucy Raymond (Cambridge Institute of Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK) and Patrick S. Tarpey (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hixton, UK) describe the ZDHHC9 gene found in those with severe retardation as being mutated to the point of entirely losing function.

Triplex assay used to assay duplex genomic DNA

Direct detection of base sequence in duplex nucleic acid has long been an unfulfilled objective. Ingeneus Research will publish "Heteropolymeric Triplex-Based Genomic Assay® to Detect Pathogens or Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Human Genomic Samples" in the March 21st issue of the international, peer-reviewed, open access, online journal, PLoS ONE. In the article they present a wealth of data relating to the assay of pathogens in samples also containing human genomic duplex DNA and to the assay of SNPs present in human genomic samples.

LSU professor uncovers prehistoric hurricane activity

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita focused the international spotlight on the vulnerability of the U.S. coastline. Fears that a "super-hurricane" could make a direct hit on a major city and cause even more staggering losses of life, land and economy triggered an outpouring of studies directed at every facet of this ferocious weather phenomenon. Now, an LSU professor takes us one step closer to predicting the future by drilling holes into the past.

Root beer may be 'safest' soft drink for teeth

Exposing teeth to soft drinks, even for a short period of time, causes dental erosion—and prolonged exposure can lead to significant enamel loss. Root beer products, however, are non-carbonated and do not contain the acids that harm teeth, according to a study in the March/April 2007 issue of General Dentistry, the AGD's clinical, peer-reviewed journal. That might be something to consider during the next visit to the grocery store.

Disclosure laws provide only limited view of pharmaceutical company payments to physicians

Laws in two states requiring disclosure of pharmaceutical company payments to physicians do not provide the public with easy access to payment information and are of limited quality when accessed, according to a study in the March 21 issue of JAMA.