[Source: BLAKE MORLOCK, Tucson Citizen] - The director of the federal agency designing planes that fly continuously for five years, plus low-cost titanium solar cells that would be efficient enough to power every house in Tucson and biofuel for jets was in town Friday. He's hoping to entice local brainpower to find the idea that could change the world.
Oh, yeah. And these are the folks who invented the Internet.
Tony Tether, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, spoke to researchers and business leaders at the University of Arizona's BIO5 Institute about the kind of cutting edge work his people do.
DARPA funds research in the private sector and on college campuses while directing projects of its own.
All that work - from prosthetics to unmanned aerial vehicles launched from ballistic missiles - starts with a "what-if?" he said, adding DARPA is ready to tackle research that may not pan out.
"We thrive on your ideas," Tether said
Tether, along with Rear Adm. Jay Cohen, undersecretary of Homeland Security for science and technology, were invited to speak here by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and the Southern Arizona Leadership Council.
BIO5 Director Vicki Chandler called DARPA a great conduit to grants for UA researchers.
Also, DARPA expects researchers to take risks.
"The world doesn't truly move forward without someone taking a risk," Chandler said.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Expert to present deep-sea research
[Source: The Arizona Republic] - John Delaney, a professor at the University of Washington School of Oceanography, will discuss how scientists and engineers are working to unlock deep-sea mysteries during a free public program at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway.
"The ocean depths are the last unexplored frontier on Earth," and a better understanding of that frontier "would revolutionize the ways humans can perceive and eventually manage their world," Delaney said. He is involved in the National Science Foundation's $335 million Ocean Observatories Initiative program to develop new technologies designed to probe the ocean depths.
Arizona State University researchers will be helping with research at the Center for Ecogenomics, which is based at ASU's Biodesign Institute and directed by Deirdre Meldrum, dean of the university's Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
Delaney and Meldrum are collaborating on studying ecosystems in the region of the Pacific Ocean that overlies the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate off the U.S. Northwest.
Meldrum's center at ASU is developing sensors to measure biological, chemical and physical aspects of the sea-floor environs at the microbial level. The sensors will provide real-time data and measurements to researchers on land via the Web.
"When this new system is connected to the Internet, it will allow scientists anywhere in the world to interact with the oceans," Delaney said.
"Such developing technologies allow us to design and perform entirely new types of studies as if we were actually in the ocean," Meldrum sa. "Now we can literally conduct oceanographic research from the desert, and make ASU a leader in this kind of remote environmental science."
For more information on the National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative, go to www.ooi.washington.edu.
"The ocean depths are the last unexplored frontier on Earth," and a better understanding of that frontier "would revolutionize the ways humans can perceive and eventually manage their world," Delaney said. He is involved in the National Science Foundation's $335 million Ocean Observatories Initiative program to develop new technologies designed to probe the ocean depths.
Arizona State University researchers will be helping with research at the Center for Ecogenomics, which is based at ASU's Biodesign Institute and directed by Deirdre Meldrum, dean of the university's Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
Delaney and Meldrum are collaborating on studying ecosystems in the region of the Pacific Ocean that overlies the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate off the U.S. Northwest.
Meldrum's center at ASU is developing sensors to measure biological, chemical and physical aspects of the sea-floor environs at the microbial level. The sensors will provide real-time data and measurements to researchers on land via the Web.
"When this new system is connected to the Internet, it will allow scientists anywhere in the world to interact with the oceans," Delaney said.
"Such developing technologies allow us to design and perform entirely new types of studies as if we were actually in the ocean," Meldrum sa. "Now we can literally conduct oceanographic research from the desert, and make ASU a leader in this kind of remote environmental science."
For more information on the National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative, go to www.ooi.washington.edu.
Friday, May 2, 2008
How Birds Navigate: Research Team Is First To Model Photochemical Compass
Source: ScienceDaily] - It has long been known that birds and many other animals including turtles, salamanders and lobsters, use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate, but the nature of their global positioning systems (GPS) has not been completely understood.
One school of thought hypothesizes that birds use magnetically-sensitive chemical reactions initiated by light (called chemical magnetoreception) to orient themselves, but no chemical reaction in the laboratory, until now, has been shown to respond to magnetic fields as weak as the Earth's.
Scientists from Arizona State University and the University of Oxford, whose work appears in the April 30 advanced online publication of the journal Nature, have synthesized and studied a sophisticated molecule that, under illumination, is sensitive to both the magnitude and the direction of magnetic fields as tiny as the Earth's, which is, on average, one-twenty thousandth as strong as a refrigerator magnet.
ASU's Devens Gust, professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, states that "although the chemical magnetoreception mechanism for avian magnetic navigation has been discussed by many investigators, our research provides the first proof that this mechanism can actually function with magnetic fields as small as those of the Earth."
Gust, who also is a faculty researcher in the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis at ASU, says "the design, synthesis and a few initial magnetic field effect studies were done at ASU in the context of artificial photosynthetic solar energy conversion. The Oxford group, led by Peter Hore, professor of chemistry, realized that these effects might be relevant to chemical magnetoreception, constructed the extremely sensitive apparatus needed to observe the phenomena, and carried out the appropriate experiments."
Ten years ago, a National Science Foundation-sponsored research team at Arizona State led by Gust, Thomas Moore and Ana Moore, professors of chemistry and biochemistry, synthesized a molecular "triad" and demonstrated that when the triad was exposed to light, it formed a short-lived, high-energy charge-separated species whose lifetime was influenced by magnetic fields.
The special molecules were originally synthesized as artificial photosynthetic reaction centers, being developed as chemical solar energy conversion systems. They were inspired by the way plants harvest sunlight, and had nothing whatsoever to do with bird navigation.
A related triad molecule was recently synthesized by Paul Liddell, assistant research professional working with Gust and the Moores, and studied by Hore and coworkers at the University of Oxford. The British researchers used lasers that sent out pulses of light lasting only one-thousand millionth's of a second to investigate the molecular properties. A major problem was to completely shield their experiments from the Earth's magnetic field.
The wonder molecule comprises three units (a carotene-porphyrin-fullerene triad). When excited by light, the triad molecule forms a charge-separated state with the negative charge on the soccer-ball-like fullerene (or buckyball) portion and the positive charge on the rod-like carotene portion. The lifetime of the charge-separated species before it returns to the normal state is sensitive to the magnitude and direction of a weak magnetic field, similar to that of the Earth. The triad molecule, in its charge separated state, could be thought of as having little bar magnets at either end -- so far apart that they interact with each other only weakly.
Gust and Liddell were joined in this research by Kiminori Maeda, Kevin Henbest and Christiane Timmel of the University of Oxford's inorganic chemistry laboratory and Filippo Cintolesi, Ilya Kuprov, Christopher Rodgers and Hore of Oxford's physical chemistry laboratory.
"These results provide a clear proof of principle that the magnetic compass sense of migratory birds is based on a magnetically-sensitive chemical reaction whose product yields and/or rate depend on the orientations of the molecules involved with respect to the geomagnetic field," adds Hore.
Gust also notes that understanding animal navigation systems is of great ecological importance because weak, man-made magnetic fields are produced by many widely-used technologies, such as power lines and communications equipment. In fact, this also allows for a diagnostic test of the magnetoreceptor mechanism, he says. Research has shown that both broadband radio noise (0.1-10.0 MHz) and constant frequency (7MHz) signals disrupted magnetic orientation in European robins.
"Of course," Gust adds, "this research does not prove that birds actually use this mechanism, only that they could. But, there is a large body of research on birds that is consistent with the magnetoreception idea."
The international research team is busily designing new molecules and experiments to further prove their case. This work has demonstrated that the ingenious chemical magnetoreception concept is indeed feasible. It certainly provides some insight into the structure and dynamic design features needed for a molecular interpretation of how the birds go about keeping their appointments in strange places across the world.
Adapted from materials provided by Arizona State University.
New cooling device helps treat babies
[Source: Ken Alltucker, The Arizona Republic] - Timing is everything for newborn Macie Chloe Reynolds.
A persistent doctor, loving parents and a life-changing technology certainly help, too.
This week, Macie became the first newborn at an Arizona hospital to be treated with the "cool-cap" machine, a new device that aims to help otherwise healthy, full-term infants recover from traumatic deliveries.
Macie appeared healthy and in good spirits Thursday following 72 hours of cool-cap machine treatments. And her parents were cautiously optimistic that their nine-pound, six-ounce baby girl would be the first of many Arizona infants to benefit from the new technology now available at Phoenix Children's Hospital.
"There is a light at the end of the tunnel," said Kevin Reynolds, Macie's father. "We just don't know how long the tunnel is."
Phoenix Children's Hospital is the first Arizona hospital to use the Olympic Cool-Cap device. The machine is used on newborns, such as Macie, that face complications due to a lack of oxygen during birth, a condition known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The condition can devastate babies and their families, causing such disabilities as dyslexia, cerebral palsy and even death. The cool-cap machine works to lower the infant's brain temperature to help counteract complications.
The whirlwind week for the Reynolds' took an unexpected turn Monday morning as mother Tarin had to undergo an emergency cesarean section due to complications with her pregnancy at Banner Gateway Hospital in Gilbert. Her placenta had separated before the baby was born, cutting off the baby girl's oxygen.
Macie was delivered shortly before 7 a.m. but she was not out of the woods. She was flown via medical helicopter from Banner Gateway to Phoenix Children's Hospital for treatment. Phoenix Children's had installed the cool-cap machine just last week.
"Before, if the baby had a brain injury at birth, there would be nothing we could do," said Dr. Cristina Carballo. "This is such an incredible thing to be able to do."
Carballo had learned about the cool-cap system from clinical trials that showed the device was safe and effective. It is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved device designed to aid infant brain injuries caused by a lack of oxygen. After learning about the device's potential impact, Carballo prodded the hospital's administration to purchase the device and related equipment.
Natus Medical, the San Carlos, Calif.-based company that sells the Oympic Cool Cap, gained FDA approval in February to sell the device in the United States. It's now used in fewer than 200 Level 3 neonatal intensive care units in the United States, company executives said.
Phoenix Children's is the only hospital in Arizona with the device, though a spokesman for Banner Children's hospital at Banner Desert in Mesa expects the hospital will soon consider purchasing the cool-cap system.
The device works by keeping the infant's brain cool while the rest of the body remains about three degrees below normal body temperature. It includes a helmet-like shell that is placed over the baby's head, and tubes circulate cold water through the cap for a cooling effect.
The overall system, which retails for about $75,000, includes a cooling unit, a control unit, temperature probes and the water-filled cap.
The condition hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE, occurs in an estimated two to four times out of every 1,000 births. The FDA estimates that the cool-cap device could annually help 5,000 to 9,000 babies in the United States. It should help at least five to six babies each year in the Phoenix area, Carballo estimates.
As Macie arrived at Phoenix Children's Monday morning, Kevin Reynolds said he experienced a swirl of emotions. His wife was still at Banner, following the difficult birth, and his daughter would become the first baby to undergo the cool-cap treatment in Arizona.
"I was overcome by the fact that I didn't know what was going to happen," said Reynolds, a Gilbert resident and high school Spanish teacher.
Time is critical in births, such as Macie's. The infant must be treated by the cool-cap within six hours of birth, and typical newborn procedures, such as putting the baby under a heat lamp, must be avoided.
Macie was put on the system within the required time and remained on the machine until just before noon Thursday. Her body temperature was gradually elevated to normal levels within four hours.
Macie will stay at Phoenix Children's for observation. Her mother, Tarin, arrived at her baby's side Wednesday.
Despite the stressful period, the Reynolds' said they look forward to soon returning home with their baby girl.
"You are going to do everything you possibly can do to help your child," Reynolds said.
Reach the reporter at ken.alltucker@arizonarepublic.com or (602)444-8285.
A persistent doctor, loving parents and a life-changing technology certainly help, too.
This week, Macie became the first newborn at an Arizona hospital to be treated with the "cool-cap" machine, a new device that aims to help otherwise healthy, full-term infants recover from traumatic deliveries.
Macie appeared healthy and in good spirits Thursday following 72 hours of cool-cap machine treatments. And her parents were cautiously optimistic that their nine-pound, six-ounce baby girl would be the first of many Arizona infants to benefit from the new technology now available at Phoenix Children's Hospital.
"There is a light at the end of the tunnel," said Kevin Reynolds, Macie's father. "We just don't know how long the tunnel is."
Phoenix Children's Hospital is the first Arizona hospital to use the Olympic Cool-Cap device. The machine is used on newborns, such as Macie, that face complications due to a lack of oxygen during birth, a condition known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The condition can devastate babies and their families, causing such disabilities as dyslexia, cerebral palsy and even death. The cool-cap machine works to lower the infant's brain temperature to help counteract complications.
The whirlwind week for the Reynolds' took an unexpected turn Monday morning as mother Tarin had to undergo an emergency cesarean section due to complications with her pregnancy at Banner Gateway Hospital in Gilbert. Her placenta had separated before the baby was born, cutting off the baby girl's oxygen.
Macie was delivered shortly before 7 a.m. but she was not out of the woods. She was flown via medical helicopter from Banner Gateway to Phoenix Children's Hospital for treatment. Phoenix Children's had installed the cool-cap machine just last week.
"Before, if the baby had a brain injury at birth, there would be nothing we could do," said Dr. Cristina Carballo. "This is such an incredible thing to be able to do."
Carballo had learned about the cool-cap system from clinical trials that showed the device was safe and effective. It is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved device designed to aid infant brain injuries caused by a lack of oxygen. After learning about the device's potential impact, Carballo prodded the hospital's administration to purchase the device and related equipment.
Natus Medical, the San Carlos, Calif.-based company that sells the Oympic Cool Cap, gained FDA approval in February to sell the device in the United States. It's now used in fewer than 200 Level 3 neonatal intensive care units in the United States, company executives said.
Phoenix Children's is the only hospital in Arizona with the device, though a spokesman for Banner Children's hospital at Banner Desert in Mesa expects the hospital will soon consider purchasing the cool-cap system.
The device works by keeping the infant's brain cool while the rest of the body remains about three degrees below normal body temperature. It includes a helmet-like shell that is placed over the baby's head, and tubes circulate cold water through the cap for a cooling effect.
The overall system, which retails for about $75,000, includes a cooling unit, a control unit, temperature probes and the water-filled cap.
The condition hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE, occurs in an estimated two to four times out of every 1,000 births. The FDA estimates that the cool-cap device could annually help 5,000 to 9,000 babies in the United States. It should help at least five to six babies each year in the Phoenix area, Carballo estimates.
As Macie arrived at Phoenix Children's Monday morning, Kevin Reynolds said he experienced a swirl of emotions. His wife was still at Banner, following the difficult birth, and his daughter would become the first baby to undergo the cool-cap treatment in Arizona.
"I was overcome by the fact that I didn't know what was going to happen," said Reynolds, a Gilbert resident and high school Spanish teacher.
Time is critical in births, such as Macie's. The infant must be treated by the cool-cap within six hours of birth, and typical newborn procedures, such as putting the baby under a heat lamp, must be avoided.
Macie was put on the system within the required time and remained on the machine until just before noon Thursday. Her body temperature was gradually elevated to normal levels within four hours.
Macie will stay at Phoenix Children's for observation. Her mother, Tarin, arrived at her baby's side Wednesday.
Despite the stressful period, the Reynolds' said they look forward to soon returning home with their baby girl.
"You are going to do everything you possibly can do to help your child," Reynolds said.
Reach the reporter at ken.alltucker@arizonarepublic.com or (602)444-8285.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Go Speed Racer! Revving Up The World's Fastest Nanomotors
[Source: ScienceDaily] - In a "major step" toward a practical energy source for powering tomorrow's nanomachines, researchers in Arizona report development of a new generation of sub-microscopic nanomotors that are up to 10 times more powerful than existing motors.
In the new study, Joseph Wang and colleagues point out that existing nanomotors, including so-called "catalytic nanomotors," are made with gold and platinum nanowires and use hydrogen peroxide fuel for self-propulsion. But these motors are too slow and inefficient for practical use, with top speeds of about 10 micrometers per second, the researchers say. One micrometer is about 1/25,000 of an inch or almost 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Wang and colleagues supercharged their nanomotors by inserting carbon nanotubes into the platinum, thus boosting average speed to 60 micrometers per second. Spiking the hydrogen peroxide fuel with hydrazine (a type of rocket fuel) kicked up the speed still further, to 94- 200 micrometers per second. This innovation "offers great promise for self-powered nanoscale transport and delivery systems," the scientists state.
This study is scheduled for the May 27 issue of ACS Nano.
Adapted from materials provided by American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis is One Thousand Steps Closer to a Cure for MS
[Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire] - Project for Multiple Sclerosis, a national nonprofit organization, today announced that they have completed their initial drive to collect one thousand blood and data samples to build the largest openly accessible, multi-disciplinary repository ever assembled for use in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.
"This is a major milestone for the Accelerated Cure Project", says Art
Mellor, founder of the Accelerated Cure Project. "Limited sample size is
one of the most frequently cited reasons for inconclusive results in MS
research. Our repository provides researchers with immediate access to a
far greater number of samples than most scientists could collect
themselves."
In addition, the repository will provide a common population of samples
useful for a wide variety of different studies, which will enable results
from different research perspectives to be easily combined and correlated.
The repository contains various types of samples and data that can support
scientists working in many fields - genetics, nutrition, virology, and
more. Researchers gaining access to the repository must return their
results to the database to be shared with other researchers; this will
allow cross-correlation of their results with all other studies performed
using the same samples.
Subjects enrolled in the repository will be followed over time to allow
new samples to be taken and to record important changes in clinical status.
Studying the same sample population over time, and pooling knowledge in a
central database, is a major step toward understanding what causes MS,
thereby accelerating a cure.
Additionally, samples and data are collected from a number of other
similar diseases including Transverse Myelitis, Neuromyelitis Optica, ADEM,
and Optic Neuritis to enable studies in these rare neurological disorders
and to provide controls for MS studies.
Collection Sites
Contributing to the success of the project is an impressive list of
research centers across the country that have joined Accelerated Cure
Project as collection sites for the repository. These include Johns Hopkins
Medical Center (Baltimore, MD), University of Massachusetts Memorial
Medical Center (Worcester, MA), University of Texas Southwestern (Dallas,
TX), Multiple Sclerosis Research Center of New York (New York, NY), Barrow
Neurological Institute (Phoenix, AZ) and the Shepherd Center (Atlanta, GA).
The Accelerated Cure Project intends to continue collecting samples
from as many as 10,000 subjects for its MS Repository. If you have MS (or
another demyelinating disease) or are related to someone with MS and would
like to participate in the project, please call 781/487-0008, visit
acceleratedcure.org/repository, or send an email to
info-web1207@acceleratedcure.org.
About Accelerated Cure Project
Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis,
http://www.acceleratedcure.org, is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to
curing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) by determining its causes. Accelerated Cure
Project believes this effort can be accelerated by organizing the research
process and encouraging collaboration between research organizations and
clinicians. A "Cure Map" is currently being developed by the Accelerated
Cure Project to establish what is known and what is not known about the
causes of MS. From the Cure Map, Accelerated Cure Project will facilitate
research most likely to reveal the causes of MS in the shortest time
through a large-scale, multidisciplinary, MS Repository. For more
information about the Accelerated Cure Project or to make a corporate or
individual donation, call 781/487-0008, visit acceleratedcure.org, or send
an email to info-web1207@acceleratedcure.org.
"This is a major milestone for the Accelerated Cure Project", says Art
Mellor, founder of the Accelerated Cure Project. "Limited sample size is
one of the most frequently cited reasons for inconclusive results in MS
research. Our repository provides researchers with immediate access to a
far greater number of samples than most scientists could collect
themselves."
In addition, the repository will provide a common population of samples
useful for a wide variety of different studies, which will enable results
from different research perspectives to be easily combined and correlated.
The repository contains various types of samples and data that can support
scientists working in many fields - genetics, nutrition, virology, and
more. Researchers gaining access to the repository must return their
results to the database to be shared with other researchers; this will
allow cross-correlation of their results with all other studies performed
using the same samples.
Subjects enrolled in the repository will be followed over time to allow
new samples to be taken and to record important changes in clinical status.
Studying the same sample population over time, and pooling knowledge in a
central database, is a major step toward understanding what causes MS,
thereby accelerating a cure.
Additionally, samples and data are collected from a number of other
similar diseases including Transverse Myelitis, Neuromyelitis Optica, ADEM,
and Optic Neuritis to enable studies in these rare neurological disorders
and to provide controls for MS studies.
Collection Sites
Contributing to the success of the project is an impressive list of
research centers across the country that have joined Accelerated Cure
Project as collection sites for the repository. These include Johns Hopkins
Medical Center (Baltimore, MD), University of Massachusetts Memorial
Medical Center (Worcester, MA), University of Texas Southwestern (Dallas,
TX), Multiple Sclerosis Research Center of New York (New York, NY), Barrow
Neurological Institute (Phoenix, AZ) and the Shepherd Center (Atlanta, GA).
The Accelerated Cure Project intends to continue collecting samples
from as many as 10,000 subjects for its MS Repository. If you have MS (or
another demyelinating disease) or are related to someone with MS and would
like to participate in the project, please call 781/487-0008, visit
acceleratedcure.org/repository, or send an email to
info-web1207@acceleratedcure.org.
About Accelerated Cure Project
Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis,
http://www.acceleratedcure.org, is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to
curing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) by determining its causes. Accelerated Cure
Project believes this effort can be accelerated by organizing the research
process and encouraging collaboration between research organizations and
clinicians. A "Cure Map" is currently being developed by the Accelerated
Cure Project to establish what is known and what is not known about the
causes of MS. From the Cure Map, Accelerated Cure Project will facilitate
research most likely to reveal the causes of MS in the shortest time
through a large-scale, multidisciplinary, MS Repository. For more
information about the Accelerated Cure Project or to make a corporate or
individual donation, call 781/487-0008, visit acceleratedcure.org, or send
an email to info-web1207@acceleratedcure.org.
Magazine cites Arizona, Tucson as budding biotech hubs
[SOURCE: ARIZONA DAILY STAR] - A national business magazine highlights Arizona in its March 2008 cover story about the top biotechnology industry growth areas.
Business Facilities, a national business magazine for site selectors and corporate real-estate professionals, credits Arizona's strong research base in genomics and personalized medicine as positioning the state as a major player in the biotech industry.
Tucson is singled out as one of the "rising biotechnology star" cities in Arizona, with the biosciences sector expanding through programs such as the Technology Research Initiative Fund, the Bio5 Institute at the University of Arizona, and the planned Arizona Bioscience Park.
The article also recognizes a recent $50 million grant from the National Science Foundation for Bio5's iPlant Collaborative, which will design computer infrastructure for plant scientists.
Business Facilities, a national business magazine for site selectors and corporate real-estate professionals, credits Arizona's strong research base in genomics and personalized medicine as positioning the state as a major player in the biotech industry.
Tucson is singled out as one of the "rising biotechnology star" cities in Arizona, with the biosciences sector expanding through programs such as the Technology Research Initiative Fund, the Bio5 Institute at the University of Arizona, and the planned Arizona Bioscience Park.
The article also recognizes a recent $50 million grant from the National Science Foundation for Bio5's iPlant Collaborative, which will design computer infrastructure for plant scientists.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)