~Nanogirl News~
Sept 27, 99
*UCSC Researchers Obtain First Detailed Images Of A Complete Ribosome
Santa Cruz, CA -- Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz,
have taken a huge step toward solving one of the most fundamental and
daunting problems of molecular biology by obtaining images of the complete
structure of the ribosome, a key component of all living things.
http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/archive/99-00/09-99/complete_
ribosome.htm
Berkley labs report:
http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/ribosome-crystallography.html
*Hopkins-Led Team Developing New Ways To Handle Flood Of Data. (Science
archive database)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/09/990924115544.htm
*UCSD Physicist Pushes Ahead In Describing The "Pairing Glue" In Novel
Superconducting Materials. Dimitri Basov of the Department of Physics at the
University of California, San Diego, along with collaborators J.P. Carbotte
of McMaster University and E. Schachinger of the University of Graz, has
shed new light on one of the cornerstones of contemporary physics: finding
ways to describe the fundamental mechanisms behind superconductivity in
oxide superconductors, the materials that lose resistance to electricity at
unusually high temperature.
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/aglue.htm
*Virtual reality training tool pits emergency rescue teams against
computerized terrorist attack.
(BioSimMER, a virtual reality application that allows rescue personnel to
practice responding to a terrorist attack involving release of a biological
agent.)
http://www.sandia.gov/media/NewsRel/NR1999/biosim.htm
*Cinderella's shoe holds 500 sequencing machines. Imagine sequencing DNA
with a machine you can hold in your hand - a miniaturized device that works
far more quickly than current machines and uses fewer resources, too. In the
September issue of Genome Research, scientists turn imagination into
reality, reporting the first successful sequencing of "real world" DNA
samples with a microdevice fabricated from glass wafers.
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/cshl-csh091399.html
*Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) today announced that its tender offer for shares
of OmniQuip International, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMQP) common stock expired as
scheduled at 12:00 midnight EST on Friday, September 24, 1999, and that
approximately 93% of OmniQuip shares have been acquired pursuant to the
offer.
http://www.textron.com./newsroom/stories_04.html
*Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has created -quote-"The World's First Online
Animated Genetics Primer"
http://vector.cshl.org/
*To find its way around, all a robot needs is a headful of chemical goo--or
so, at any rate, claims an innovative team of specialists in artificial
life. Quote"Adamatzky believes that although his gooware is unlikely to
out-perform computational processors, it could nevertheless be useful in the
future for controlling nanorobots."
http://www.newscientist.co.uk/ns/19990925/newsstory3.html
*The Bouncing Baby Universe- New research by astronomers using the Hubble
Space Telescope indicates that the Universe is only 12 billion years old.
This could revive the old paradox in astrophysics that the Universe appears
younger than some of the stars in it.
http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast27sep99_1.htm
*The chemical element's the thing. -Quote from article- "The day may come
when silicon-based thinking machines surpass the intelligence of our own
carbon-based brains.And because silicon is less reactive than carbon,
computer chips have a kind of stability, and--dare I say it? - immortality
that our carbon-based brains lack."
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/270/science/_The_chemical_element_s_the_th
ing_+.shtml
*Stem, Fetal Cell Transplants Hold Promise. The experiments creating the
biggest buzz among spinal cord researchers are those involving fetal cell,
stem cell or embryonic stem cell transplants. So far, most of the research
is in animals, though some studies are beginning in people.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/270/science/Stem_Fetal_Cell_Transplants_Ho
ld_Promise+.shtml
*Human genes await private patenting. Harvard case seen as watershed. The
blueprints of life -- our genes -- are rapidly being claimed as private
property.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/stories/990926/2913122.html
And another of similar content:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/990926/2912727.html
*Muscle control. A molecule that expands and contracts in response to
electrical impulses could provide the fabric of artificial muscles for
robotics and prosthetic limbs.
http://helix.nature.com/nsu/990930/990930-3.html
*Justice Department adds science adviser to staff WASHINGTON The Justice
Department on Monday named Donald Prosnitz, a physicist from the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory in California, as its first chief science
adviser.
http://www.nandotimes.com/healthscience/story/0,1080,500038749-500062819-500
077237-0,00.html
*What’s ahead in technology developments for the next millennium? Some clues
will be found at the 1999 Advanced Technology Program National Meeting, Nov.
15-17, 1999, in San Jose, Calif. The second annual meeting will discuss
current ATP work in high-risk, high-potential technologies and explore
future R&D opportunities.
www.atp.nist.gov/nationalmeeting
michael.baum@nist.gov
*Students at Ruston High School in Louisiana are required to wear ID cards
around their necks as part of the added security measures at the school. The
ID cards contain the pictures of the student, a Pepsi logo, and the students
social security number in bar code form. The bar codes are in plain sight
and for all to see in clear violation of Federal Law. The school claimed
that the bar codes had been encrypted. Students have since broken that
trivial encryption.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_bresnahan/19990923_xex_tagged_stude.sht
ml
The second part of this story:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_bresnahan/19990924_xex_tagged_stude.sht
ml
How to crack the code:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bridge/1086/School/barcodes.html
*The new 3.40 version of the molecule file conversion, manipulation
and utility program Mol2Mol is now available from CompuChem Ltd
http://www.compuchem.com/mol2mol.htm
For more info see: http://www.compuchem.com/mol2mol.htm
and/or http://dragon.klte.hu/~gundat/mol2mola.htm
*Vortices Imaged in Bose-Einstein Condensates
JILA researchers (from NIST and the University of Colorado at Boulder) have
created and imaged the first vortices ever seen in Bose-Einstein
condensates, a form of matter first created in 1995 by another team at the
same institute. The condensate is a tiny, spherical ball of magnetically
trapped rubidium gas atoms cooled to less than a millionth of a degree above
absolute zero, in which the atoms exhibit their quantum mechanical wave-like
properties and coalesce into a kind of “superatom.” All along the axis of
the ball is a central region of swirling motion that resembles a
miniaturized tornado. The center of the vortex, like the “eye” of a tornado,
is filled with relatively calm, non-rotating gas. The concept of vortices
lies at the heart of scientific understanding of residual dissipation (i.e.,
resistance) in nominally viscosity-free substances such as superfluids and
superconductors. Ongoing studies of JILA’s “captive” vortex will shed light
on this complex problem. The JILA team reports this achievement in the Sept.
27 issue of Physical Review Letters. Its members are Michael R. Matthews
(CU), Brian P. Anderson (CU), Paul C. Haljan (CU), David S. Hall (now at
Amherst College), Carl E. Wieman (CU) and Eric A. Cornell (NIST). JILA is a
joint research endeavor of NIST and the University of Colorado at Boulder.
*(ASI) (Nasdaq: ANLT), a leading provider of customized data conversion and
digital mapping services for geographic information systems (GIS) and
related "spatial data" markets, today announced it has finalized a long-term
strategic alliance with India-based Infotech Enterprises, Ltd. The alliance,
which was originally announced in June 1999, provides ASI with a
cost-effective overseas source of data conversion and production services,
and represents a key step in ASI's efforts to capture a greater share of the
global market.
*Poor Galileo. Just a youngster and he's under arrest -- locked in a stall
and accused of being a freak. The young bovine's crime? He's a clone.
Galileo, billed as Italy's first cloned bull, was unveiled Thursday at a
dairy cattle show in Cremona. The backlash was swift from a government that
forbids cloning. The next day, the Health Ministry confiscated Galileo
pending an investigation into his creation. They also nabbed his dad, a
famous bull named Zoldo. Galileo was born at a laboratory in Cremona under
the guidance of Italian veterinarian Cesare Galli, who worked with the
Scottish scientist who created Dolly the sheep in 1997. On Saturday,
newspapers showed two handlers from the Health Ministry leading the puzzled
young bull away -- one pushing his gray rump, the other pulling his
cream-colored nose.
*Interleukin Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ Small Cap: ILGN) announced today the introduction of a saliva-based genetic test for periodontal disease. This collection method is expected to replace the Company's blood- based genetic test, and is designed to be quick, reliable and convenient so dental practices will incorporate genetic testing more readily. The new test is being launched at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Periodontology being held in San Antonio, TX from September 26 to 29, 1999. Dr. Ken Kornman, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Interleukin Genetics, stated, "Based on technical innovations, it is now possible to use saliva instead of blood as a reliable source of DNA. http://www.ilgenetics.com/
*(Nano) TEM Pictures of STM Tips at Purdue-images added to their site this
month.
http://www.physics.purdue.edu/nanophys/uhvstm/tip.html
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
http://www.nanoindustries.com
E-mail: nanogirl@halcyon.com
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