Japanese scientists have cloned mice whose bodies were frozen for as long 16 years and said on Monday it may be possible to use the technique to resurrect mammoths and other extinct species.
Mouse cloning expert Teruhiko Wakayama and colleagues at the Center for Developmental Biology, at Japan's RIKEN research institute in Yokohama, managed to clone the mice even though their cells had burst.
"Thus, nuclear transfer techniques could be used to 'resurrect' animals or maintain valuable genomic stocks from tissues frozen for prolonged periods without any cryopreservation," they wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Wakayama's team used the classic nuclear transfer technique to make their mouse clones. This involves taking the nucleus out of an egg cell and replacing it with the nucleus of an ordinary cell from the animal to be cloned. When done with the right chemical or electric trigger, this starts the egg dividing as if it had been fertilized by a sperm.
Although this process provides an opportunity to preserve endangered mammalian species, says the team, the “resurrection” of frozen extinct species such as the woolly mammoth is impractical because no live cells are available and the genomic material that remains is inevitably degraded.
New research, out today, Tuesday, Nov. 4, published in Institute of Physics Publishing's Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, shows how knowledge gained from the pursuit of nuclear fusion research may reduce the threat to acceptable level for future exploration, such as a Mars mission. Solar energetic particles, although just part of the 'cosmic rays' spectrum, are of greatest concern because they are the most likely to cause deadly radiation damage to the astronauts. According to many agencies, this “space weather” is the single greatest obstacle to deep space travel.
Space craft visiting the Moon or Mars could maintain some of this protection by taking along their very own portable "mini"-magnetosphere. The idea has been around since the 1960's but it was thought impractical because it was believed that only a very large (more than 100km wide) magnetic bubble could possibly work.
Researchers at the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, the Universities of York, Strathclyde and IST Lisbon, have undertaken experiments, using know-how from 50 years of research into nuclear fusion, to show that it is possible for astronauts to shield their spacecrafts with a portable magnetosphere—scattering the highly charged, ionised particles of the solar wind and flares away from their space craft.
Computer simulations done by a team in Lisbon with scientists at Rutherford Appleton last year showed that theoretically a very much smaller "magnetic bubble" of only several hundred meters across would be enough to protect a spacecraft.
Now this has been confirmed in the laboratory in the UK using apparatus originally built to work on fusion. By recreating in miniature a tiny piece of the Solar Wind, scientists working in the laboratory were able to confirm that a small "hole" in the Solar Wind is all that would be needed to keep the astronauts safe on their journey to our nearest neighbors.
Move over, oil, gasoline, and coal. Researchers are describing key advances in developing new fuels to help supply an energy-hungry world in the 21st century in the eighth and ninth episodes in the American Chemical Society's Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions series. Those fuels include "green gasoline," "designer hydrocarbons," "the ice that burns," and other sources that can help power an energy-hungry world into the future.
Part One of New Fuels begins by describing the vision of automobile pioneer Henry Ford, who predicted almost 70 years ago that cars of the future would run on ethanol.
That is today's No. 1 biofuel—a genre of fuels produced from plants. Ford actually designed the Model T to run on ethanol. It then describes the latest research advances in biofuels, such as producing ethanol from non-food sources such as grass, that could be more sustainable than corn-based ethanol. ACS will issue a Spanish-language version of this podcast later in November.
Part Two describes how "the ice that burns"—gas hydrates—offer a potential new bonanza of natural gas, with rich deposits in the U.S. and elsewhere. Another segment explores artificial photosynthesis and describes researchers' efforts to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen in order to produce clean-burning hydrogen fuel.
The podcast also highlights how scientists are continuing to make strides toward less expensive but more efficient solar cells and safer nuclear power.
Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions is available without charge for listening on computers and downloading to portable audio devices at iTunes (requires iTunes software) and other podcasting sites. They also can be accessed on ACS's Global Challenges web site. American Chemical Society
NASA has awarded a $206.5 million contract to United Space Alliance of Houston to provide mission and flight crew operations support for the International Space Station and human space exploration activities after the space shuttle is retired.
The two-year, 11-month Integrated Mission Operations Contract covers ground-based human spaceflight operations capability development and execution, including support to mission planning and preparation, crew and flight controller training, and real-time mission execution. The initial period of the contract extends from Nov. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30, 2011.
The cost-plus-award-fee contract provides for an optional one-year extension, which would increase the total value of the contract to $371 million. The extension period, if exercised, would be from Oct. 1, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012.
Top hydrogen-absorbing metal alloy 60 percent lighter than battery.
Dutch-sponsored researcher Robin Gremaud has shown that an alloy of the metals magnesium, titanium and nickel is excellent at absorbing hydrogen. This light alloy brings us a step closer to the everyday use of hydrogen as a source of fuel for powering vehicles. A hydrogen 'tank' using this alloy would have a relative weight that is 60% less than a battery pack. In order to find the best alloy Gremaud developed a method which enabled simultaneous testing of thousands of samples of different metals for their capacity to absorb hydrogen. The British company Ilika in Southampton has shown considerable interest.
The major problem of using hydrogen in transport is the secure storage of this highly explosive gas. This can be realized by using metals that absorb the gas. However, a drawback of this approach is that it makes the hydrogen 'tanks' somewhat cumbersome. The battery, the competing form of storage for electrical energy, comes off even worse. Driving four hundred kilometers with an electric car, such as the Toyota Prius, would require the car to carry 317 kg of modern lithium batteries for its journey.
With Gremaud's light metal alloy this same distance would require a hydrogen tank of “only” 200 kg. Although this new metal alloy is important for the development of hydrogen as a fuel, the discovery of the holy grail of hydrogen storage is still some way off.
Read more about Gremaud analytical technique here.
FEI’s Titan Krios TEM Selected by Leading Life Science Research Centers in Asia
November 03, 2008 05:00 PM US Eastern Timezone
Three top institutes will use the world’s most powerful cryo-TEM to investigate the molecular machinery of biological systems
FEI Company scored a few wins in Asia this week, announcing on Nov. 3 that three of the top life sciences research centers in Asia—National Univ. of Singapore, Tsinghua Univ. (Beijing), and the Institute of Biophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing)―have chosen the Titan Krios transmission electron microscope (TEM) to support their research programs in structural molecular biology. The Titan Krios is typically used to create three-dimensional molecular-level images of biological material in its native hydrated state.
More significantly, on Monday, the company said that the National Institute for Materials Science had ordered a Titan3 80-300 transmission/scanning electron microscope (STEM). This is one of the most powerful commercially available STEMs available and will be installed by 2010 at the Advanced Nano-Characterization Center in Tsukuba, Japan.
Several of the keynote speakers for the upcoming BIO-Europe 2008 in Germany plan to focus on the ongoing revolution in drug discovery. Big Pharma is looking more and more outside of its corporate boundaries for the expertise and ideas that it will need in order to survive. And in this brave new world the organizations that can put together the best R&D teams from academia, biotech and pharma will thrive.
As for the rest? Not so much.
"The inexorable move toward partnering is being driven by economic forces within big pharma, the growing strength of innovation from external sources, and the worldwide commoditization of R&D expertise," says Ted Torphy, CSO and head of external research and early development at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals. "These trends will fuel a surge in partnerships between the pharmaceutical industry, biotech and academia that will fundamentally and irreversibly change the model by which new drugs are discovered and developed."
"The goal at AstraZeneca is to align all business development activities behind the delivery of clearly articulated strategic priorities, and the current economic climate hasn't changed the fundamental principles of what makes for a successful partnership," says Shaun Grady, AstraZeneca's VP of deal management, strategic planning and business. "Where an opportunity fits a strategic need and offers the potential to create value, we expect to see partnering playing an increasingly important role across the entire value chain in shapes and forms well beyond in-licensing and acquisitions."
The Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA Nanoscience) is collaborating together with the Univ. of Hamburg in the development of composite materials based on semiconductor nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes as functional materials for efficient light emitting diodes and photovoltaic devices.
Dr Beatriz H. Juárez, from IMDEA Nanoscience, is working on the preparation of hybrid materials with high coverage without modifying the electrical properties of the tubes. Furthermore, the monodispersity of the nanoparticles with high crystallographic quality and a close contact between nanoparticles and nanotubes are also under investigation. The composites show photoelectrical response, injecting charge carriers in the nanotubes upon nanoparticle excitation. Although in an initial stage, the results obtained up to now points out the high potential of these composites to build up photovoltaic devices and solar cells.
In this day and age, people engage in their right to vote from all over the world. But this Nov. 4, few ballots will have traveled as far as those cast by two NASA astronauts.
Commander Edward Michael Fincke and Flight Engineer and Science Officer Greg Chamitoff are living and working onboard the International Space Station. Though they are 220 miles above Earth and orbiting at 17,500 miles per hour, they will still be able to participate in the upcoming election. A 1997 bill passed by Texas legislators sets up a technical procedure for astronauts—nearly all of whom live in Houston—to vote from space.
A secure electronic ballot, generated by the Harris and Brazoria County Clerk's office, is uplinked by NASA's Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center. An e-mail with crew member-specific credentials is sent from the County Clerk to the crew member. These credentials allow the crew member to access the secure ballot.
The astronauts will cast their votes and a secure completed ballot is downlinked and delivered back to the County Clerk’s Office by e-mail to be officially recorded.
To highlight their unique voting situation and to encourage others to exercise their civic duty, Fincke and Chamitoff sent a special message that will air on NASA TV starting Monday, Oct. 27.
Joined by Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, Fincke and Chamitoff also beamed down a message celebrating the upcoming 10th anniversary of the station's launch.
The first station piece, the bus-sized Zarya module, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Nov. 20, 1998. In the 10 years since, 76 flights have been launched to the complex. The orbiting laboratory has now grown to a mass of almost 600,000 pounds and an inside volume larger than a four-bedroom house.
Athens, Greece (AP)—For thousands of years the Acropolis has withstood earthquakes, weathered storms and endured temperature extremes, from scorching summers to winter snow.
Now scientists are drawing on the latest technology to install a system that will record just how much nature is affecting the 2,500-year-old site. They hope their findings will help identify areas that could be vulnerable, allowing them to target restoration and maintenance.
Scientists are installing a network of fiber optic sensors and accelerographs—instruments that measure how much movement is generated during a quake. The greatest danger for the preservation of these monuments is earthquakes. Understanding how the structure react to the earth’s movement is paramount to this effort.
Six accelerographs are to be installed starting this week at various parts of the Acropolis: at the base of the hill, part of the way up where the geology changes, and on the Parthenon, the Acropolis' most famous monument, built between 447 and 432 B.C. in honor of the goddess Athena. The fiber optics are installed on parts of the wall to measure subtle changes caused by changing weather conditions or earthquakes, while the accelerographs can help determine how the earth's movement affects the monuments.
The first accelerograph was placed on the hill about two years ago as a pilot program. Another two were installed in late September on the Parthenon, one at its base and one on the top of the columns on the architrave, as part of a study by Japan's Mie Univ. and the National Technical University of Athens.
The fiber optic sensors, meanwhile, can detect even minor changes in the structure: slight expansion during hot weather, contraction in the cold of winter, the buildup of pressure from a particularly heavy rainfall. And, of course, shifts caused by earthquakes.
The Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion (CRSP) is launching 12 novel solar research projects totaling more than $1.1 million in its inaugural round of R&D funding. CRSP—led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory—is the newest research center of the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory. The center concentrates on ways to directly convert the sun's energy to clean, low-cost electricity and fuels. The 12 CRSP projects “represent the leading edge of research into both new ways to generate electricity and liquid and gaseous fuels directly from the sun and improving our approaches toward these goals," NREL Senior Research Fellow and CRSP Scientific Director Arthur Nozik said.
Specific details on the 12 CRSP project are available here.
A new study published in the September/October issue of the journal Marketing Science claims to reveal the world's most innovative countries, with Japan and the Nordic countries earning top spots and the U.S. finishing in sixth.
The study, which evaluated 31 countries based on the time it takes for new products to take off, involved the analysis of 16 different product categories over a time span of 50 years. These categories, which included so-called “fun” products such as cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras and broadband, and practical products like household appliance, were mostly unrelated to high-technology R&D.
New products take off faster in Japan (5.4 years) than any other nation, closely followed by Norway and its north European neighbors of Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark.
The U.S. (6.2 years), Switzerland and Austria ranked high, as well. The results also revealed that newly developed or developing countries, like South Korea and Venezuela, saw faster product take off times than more established Mediterranean nations with longer histories of industrialization. The authors find that take off is driven by culture and wealth, in addition to product class, product vintage and prior take offs. More importantly, "time-to-takeoff" is shortening over time and converging across developed countries.
The report was co-authored by Deepa Chandrasekaran, assistant professor of marketing at Lehigh Univ., and Gerard J. Tellis, director of the Center for Global Innovation and professor of marketing at the Univ. of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.
As the astronauts offload the cargo from the Shuttle Endeavour to the ISS today to facilitate growing the crew from three to six astronauts, one item in particular is getting a lot of press: the new toilet. This is not just any toilet: this is a $250 million loo that will recycle the astronauts’ urine, sweat, and other wastewater back into drinkable water. This is a great application of technology and could cut the annual delivery water costs for the station by about 743 gallons, according to NASA officials. Besides which, this filtering process is just an accelerated version of what happens here on Earth to produce our drinking water. In fact, the water from this system is up to some of the highest standards of water in the U.S.
With all of that said, I’m not sure I’d be able to stomach the recycled water, especially after reading Endeavour’s mission specialist Don Pettit’s description of the system as a high-tech coffee maker: "It turns yesterday's coffee into today's coffee and, in turn, it makes today's coffee into tomorrow's coffee. It's one of these great, circle of life things." Maybe for the astronauts, but not for me. I’ll take my morning coffee without thinking about what it was yesterday, thank you.
