http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Lara Estroff and colleagues have taken a deep, detailed look at the way lab-created calcite crystals, similar to those found in nature, grow in tandem with proteins and other large molecules. http://www.physorg.com/news178823885.html Chemistry Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:19:17 EST news178823885 In the fruit fly Drosophila, oskar mRNA, which is involved in defining the animal`s body axes, is produced in the nuclei of nurse cells neighbouring the oocyte, and must be transported to the oocyte and along its entire length before being translated into protein. http://www.physorg.com/news178448851.html Biology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:20:01 EST news178448851 Two new studies reveal in unprecedented detail how the ribosome interacts with other molecules to assemble new proteins and guide them toward their destination in biological cells. The studies used molecular dynamics flexible fitting (MDFF) to examine the interaction of the ribosome with two prominent molecular partners. http://www.physorg.com/news178207518.html Biology Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:20:41 EST news178207518 If you're watching the complex processes in a living cell, it is easy to miss something important -especially if you are watching changes that take a long time to unfold and require high-spatial-resolution imaging. But new research makes it possible to scrutinize activities that occur over hours or even days inside cells, potentially solving many of the mysteries associated with molecular-scale events occurring in these tiny living things. http://www.physorg.com/news177763702.html Nanotechnology Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:00:03 EST news177763702 Silicon nanowires are attracting significant attention from the electronics industry due to the drive for ever-smaller electronic devices, from cell phones to computers. The operation of these future devices, and a wide array of additional applications, will depend on the mechanical properties of these nanowires. New research from North Carolina State University shows that silicon nanowires are far more resilient than their larger counterparts, a finding that could pave the way for smaller, sturdier nanoelectronics, nanosensors, light-emitting diodes and other applications. http://www.physorg.com/news177171851.html Nanotechnology Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:24:43 EST news177171851 (PhysOrg.com) -- The catalytic processes that facilitate the production of many chemicals and fuels could become much more environmentally friendly thanks to a breakthrough achieved by researchers from Lehigh and Rice Universities. http://www.physorg.com/news177006900.html Nanotechnology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:20:09 EST news177006900 (PhysOrg.com) -- A genetic mutation found in four children born with multiple abnormalities may provide insight into potential treatments for newborn lung distress and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). http://www.physorg.com/news174827807.html Medicine & Health Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:50:01 EST news174827807 The molecular architecture of a protein complex that helps determine the fate of human cells has been imaged for the first time by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Known as a human RISC-loading complex, this structure consists of snippets of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that control whether genetic messages are silenced or expressed. http://www.physorg.com/news174651185.html Chemistry Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:14:03 EST news174651185 (PhysOrg.com) -- Quantum mechanics could help build ultra-high-resolution electron microscopes that won't destroy living cells, according to MIT electrical engineers. http://www.physorg.com/news174035443.html Physics Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:12:08 EST news174035443 Using state-of-the-art electron microscopy techniques, a team led by researchers from Caltech has for the first time visualized and described the precise arrangement of chemoreceptors -the receptors that sense and respond to chemical stimuli -in bacteria. In addition, they have found that this specific architecture is the same throughout a wide variety of bacterial species, which means that this is a stable, universal structure that has been conserved over evolutionary time. http://www.physorg.com/news173024669.html Biology Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:25:42 EST news173024669 A tiny neuron is a very complicated structure. Its complex network of dendrites, axons and synapses is constantly dealing with information, deciding whether or not to send a nerve impulse, to drive a certain action. http://www.physorg.com/news172166873.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:08:26 EST news172166873 A network of proteins underlying the plasma membrane keeps epithelial cells in shape and maintains their orderly hexagonal packing in the mouse lens, say Nowak et al. The study will appear in the September 21, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (online September 14). http://www.physorg.com/news172145515.html Biology Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:12:44 EST news172145515 (PhysOrg.com) -- Peering at single molecules within an organism that makes its home near thermal vents, Yale University scientists have discovered the structure of a key player in the creation of protein-making factories in humans. http://www.physorg.com/news171812800.html Chemistry Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:20:02 EST news171812800 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, IBM researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, have taken a 3D image of an individual molecule. Using an atomic force microscope, the researchers constructed a "force map" of pentacene, an organic molecule just 1.4 nanometers long. As the researchers explain, the technique is roughly analogous to how an x-ray machine images bones in the human body by looking through flesh. In this case, the scientists could look through the electron cloud and see the atomic backbone of the molecule. http://www.physorg.com/news170685108.html Nanotechnology Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:34:27 EST news170685108 A non-toxic and environmentally friendly way to make tiny nanorods of zinc oxide has been developed for the first time by researchers in Saudi Arabia. The approach, described in the current issue of the International Journal of Nanoparticles, could allow the nanorods to be used safely in medical and for other applications. http://www.physorg.com/news169901230.html Nanotechnology Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:49:13 EST news169901230 (PhysOrg.com) -- The veil is being lifted from the once unseen world of molecular activity. Not so long ago only the final products were visible and scientists were forced to gauge the processes behind those products by ensemble averages of many molecules. The limitations of that approach have become clear with the advent of technologies that allow for the observation and manipulation of single molecules. A prime example is the recent first ever direct observations in real-time of the growth of single nanocrystals in solution, which revealed that much of what we thought we knew is wrong. http://www.physorg.com/news168874003.html Nanotechnology Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:27:13 EST news168874003 Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) cause plants to store GM proteins in special 'protein bodies', insulating them from normal cellular degradation processes and increasing the overall protein yield. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology have visualised the mechanism by which the synthetic biopolymer increases the accumulation of recombinant proteins. http://www.physorg.com/news168806270.html Biology Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:10:01 EST news168806270 (July 29, 2009) - Recycling is a critical component in the process of transmitting information from one neuron to the next, and a large protein called Tweek plays a critical role, said an international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the current issue of the journal Neuron. http://www.physorg.com/news168092690.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:40:02 EST news168092690 (PhysOrg.com) -- Finding a way to observe and record the behavior of matter at the molecular level has long been a holy grail among physicists. That ability could open the door to a wide range of applications in ultrafast electron microscopy used in a large array of scientific, medical and technological fields. http://www.physorg.com/news165510685.html Physics Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:11:58 EST news165510685 How do white blood cells - immune system 'soldiers' - get to the site of infection or injury? To do so, they must crawl swiftly along the lining of the blood vessel - gripping it tightly to avoid being swept away in the blood flow - all the while searching for temporary 'road signs' made of special adhesion molecules that let them know where to cross the blood vessel barrier so they can get to the damaged tissue. http://www.physorg.com/news160649845.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 May 2009 10:02:28 EST news160649845 Even after nine months soaking in the womb, a newborn's skin is smooth - unlike an adult's in the bath. While occupying a watery, warm environment, the newborn manages to develop a skin fully equipped to protect it in a cold, dry and bacteria-infected world. http://www.physorg.com/news156512767.html Chemistry Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:46:41 EST news156512767 (PhysOrg.com) -- Try to picture putting some atoms under a microscope. Even if you could pick them up, put them on a slide and get them to stay still, you still could not see them with even the most powerful optical microscope. http://www.physorg.com/news155235288.html Nanotechnology Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:55:22 EST news155235288 Imagine unloading a pile of bricks onto the ground and watching the bricks assemble themselves into a level, straight wall in only a few minutes. While merely a fantasy for builders in the everyday world, these types of self-assembled structures are a reality for those who build materials in the nanoworld. Michael C. Tringides, a senior physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, has shown that nanoscale "straight wall" lead islands on silicon are spontaneously and quickly created by unusually mobile atoms. http://www.physorg.com/news153668283.html Nanotechnology Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:39:50 EST news153668283 Research shows that it is possible to produce copper about 4 times stronger than commercial material - and doing so while also having a ductile material. As the thermal and electrical conductivity are also good, the manufacturing of, for example, electrical conductors with improved mechanical properties looks promising. http://www.physorg.com/news152963281.html Nanotechnology Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:48:28 EST news152963281 Two new high-resolution transmission electron microscopes, co-financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), are set to open up new opportunities for research in physics and materials science. The new research microscopes at RWTH Aachen University and the University of Ulm will enable exceptional, state-of-the-art developments in the field of electron optics in Germany and be available to a broad group of users. http://www.physorg.com/news148816641.html Physics Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:57:21 EST news148816641 More than a century ago, the development of the earliest motion picture technology made what had been previously thought "magical" a reality: capturing and recreating the movement and dynamism of the world around us. A breakthrough technology based on new concepts has now accomplished a similar feat, but on an atomic scale--by allowing, for the first time, the real-time, real-space visualization of fleeting changes in the structure and shape of matter barely a billionth of a meter in size. http://www.physorg.com/news146409320.html Nanotechnology Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:15:20 EST news146409320 Flexible filamentous viruses make up a large fraction of known plant viruses and are responsible for more than half the viral damage to crop plants throughout the world. New details of their structures, which were poorly understood, have been revealed by scientists using a variety of sophisticated imaging techniques at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborating institutions. http://www.physorg.com/news142076334.html Biology Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:38:54 EST news142076334 They have worked for almost seven years in secret. Most people did not know that the work in Ray Goehner's materials characterization department at Sandia National Laboratories was contributing important information to the FBI's investigation of letters containing bacillus anthracis, the spores that cause the disease anthrax. The spores were mailed in the fall of 2001 to several news media offices and to two U.S. senators. Five people were killed. http://www.physorg.com/news138591034.html Technology Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:30:34 EST news138591034 Jülich scientists have succeeded in precisely measuring atomic spacings down to a few picometres using new methods in ultrahigh-resolution electron microscopy. This makes it possible to find out decisive parameters determining the physical properties of materials directly on an atomic level in a microscope. Knut Urban from Forschungszentrum Jülich, a member of the Helmholtz Association, reports on this in the latest issue (25 July) of the scientific high-impact journal Science. http://www.physorg.com/news136127214.html Physics Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:06:54 EST news136127214