10.03.2010

Antifreeze Proteins Can Stop Ice Melt

The same antifreeze proteins that keep organisms from freezing in cold environments also can prevent ice from melting at warmer temperatures, according to a new Ohio University and Queen's University study published in the Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Antifreeze proteins are found in insects, fish, bacteria and other organisms that need to survive in cold temperatures. These proteins protect the organisms by arresting the growth of ice crystals in their bodies. more10.03.2010

Light Sculpts Three-Dimensional Crystals

Engineering and guiding light by artificial structures is one of the most actual questions in photonics, allowing optical information processing to open new horizons for waveguiding, storing, and processing light. Three-dimensional structures have been a challenge up to now, either due to the complex formation method or the lack of appropriate material. Especially the creation complex quasi crystals that have a number of advantages features as e.g. better control of the transmission features by larger und more homogeneously distributed band gaps, is an actual challenge. more09.03.2010

Probe of Hidden Dynamics of Molecular Biology

Funded by a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, University of Chicago scientists are aiming to develop a systematic method for determining how biological processes emerge from molecular interactions. The method may permit them to "rewire" the regulatory circuitry of insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells, which play a major role in type-2 diabetes. more04.03.2010

International Micrograph Competition

The Royal Microscopy Society's biennial International Micrograph Competition has been launched. This highly respected event will culminate with winners being announced on 30th June at Microscience 2010. As always, there will be stunning prizes on offer, and the companies that donate them can be very imaginative. This year, one lucky winner will receive a diamond. Yes, a diamond! In addition there are "must-have" consumer electronics, such as cameras and iPods, and cash prizes. more04.03.2010

Boost for Production of Scanning Probe Microscopes

The Supervisory Council of Rusnano has approved the corporation's participation in a project to widen production of measuring-analytical equipment for nanotechnology in material sciences, biology, and medicine. The project will bring existing production of scanning probe microscopes and atomic scales at Advanced Technologies Center, project initiator, to a new level of high-tech sophistication. The total budget for the project is 387 million rubles. The company will invest 140 million rubles in the project company. more02.03.2010

Life’s Smallest Motor

Life's smallest motor, a protein that shuttles cargo within cells and helps cells divide, does so by rocking up and down like a seesaw, according to research conducted by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Brandeis University. The researchers created high-resolution snapshots of a protein motor, called kinesin, as it walked along a microtubule, which are tube-shaped structures that form a cell's "skeleton." The result is the closest look yet at the structural changes kinesin proteins undergo as they ferry molecules within cells. more26.02.2010

Cancer Research Facility Opens at UQ

University of Queensland (Australia) researchers will have access to some of the world's leading cancer imaging equipment with of a US-$ 2.5 million facility funded by the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF). The ACRF Cancer Biology Imaging Facility, the most advanced of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, was officially opened by the Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency Dr. Penelope Wensley AO. more26.02.2010

When Molecules Leave Tire Tracks

When "mother nature" does the engineering, molecules can self-organize into complex structures - a first step in the formation of membranes, cells and other molecular systems. Some classes of molecules are capable of arranging themselves in specific patterns on surfaces. This ability to self-organize is crucial for many technological applications, which are dependend on the assembly of ordered structures on surfaces. However, it has so far been virtually impossible to predict or control the result of such processes. Now a group of researchers led by Dr. more