metal
Department of Energy-funded researchers have decoded and analyzed the genome of a bacterium with the potential to bioremediate radioactive metals and generate electricity. In an article published in the December 12th issue of Science, researchers at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, report that Geobacter sulfurreducens possesses extraordinary capabilities to transport electrons and "reduce" metal ions as part of its energy-generating metabolism.
The next generation of smart weapons may "see" targets with a manmade version of that wonder of the natural world, the insect eye. Inspired by the panoramic and precise vision of flies and other insects, researchers at several universities and institutions are working on biologically-inspired "eyes" for smart weapons and other self-guided machines. At the University of Florida, the focus of the "bio-optics synthetic systems research," sponsored by the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is on adapting mechanisms called "photon sieves" for visual purposes.
Metal detectors have become so commonplace that you might think we know all we need to about them. However, the law enforcement community must continually update performance standards for metal detectors to ensure that new products purchased in the marketplace operate at specified minimum levels. Further-more, they must know if exposure to the magnetic fields generated by metal detectors affects the functioning of personal medical electronic devices (such as cardiac defibrillators, infusion pumps, spinal cord stimulators, etc.)
Scientists at Ohio State University have found a way to boost the light absorption of a metal mesh up to 1000 times, possibly paving the way for powerful chemical sensors and laboratory instruments. Key to the technology is a new coating technique that enables the mesh to capture and transmit more light through its microscopic holes than would normally be possible. James V. Coe, associate professor of chemistry at Ohio State, and his colleagues also found that if they coated the mesh with molecules of fat, they could use heat to control the amount of light passing through.
Researchers have demonstrated that a chemical that permits plants to detoxify heavy metals can be transported from the roots to stems and leaves, a finding that brings the possibility of using plants to clean up soil contaminated with toxic metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium one step closer to reality.
A microdevice whose business end looks like the gold-coated spine of a very tiny mouse, with each "vertebrae" line separated from the next by about a third the width of a human hair, has been demonstrated to easily collect and release proteins in aqueous solution in less than a second. The device separates proteins from solution and from each other by electrically heating the tiny metal lines to alter surface properties.
One of the hottest nutritional supplements, currently manufactured by fermentation only in Japan, may eventually be synthesized in the United States thanks to research at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Bruce H. Lipshutz, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCSB, has developed a way to prepare coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ10 ) that he calls "short and sweet." His method is patented and he is already talking to U.S. companies regarding potential commercialization. The process is economically competitive, using transition metal catalysts along the way, such as inexpensive nickel and cobalt complexes.
Detecting the presence of hazardous lead paint could become as simple as pressing a piece of paper against a wall and noting a color change. Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a highly sensitive and selective biosensor that functions in much the same fashion as a strip of litmus paper.
How do you move a wounded, 2,080-pound patriot? Very carefully. Recently, under the watchful eyes of curators, conservators, surveyors, and engineers, a team of riggers deftly lifted the fragile Liberty Bell off of the supports on which it has been resting for a quarter century and confirmed the Bell can be safely moved into its new home this fall.
Researchers have invented a new technique for producing "Ultra High Density Nanowire Lattices and Circuits." The method, for which a patent is pending, is akin to intaglio printmaking processes in which printing is done from ink below the surface of the plate. Intaglio processes emboss paper into the plate's incised lines. The CNSI nanowires are like the embossed ink on a paper substrate, except that the nanowires are much, much smaller than ink lines. Take, for instance, a grid of crossed nanowires. Each cross represents the element of a simple circuit. The nanowire junction density reported in the "Science Express" article is in excess of 1011 per square centimeter.
A compound developed by British scientists early in World War II as a treatment against chemical weapons has value against today's threat of bioterrorism, according to Indiana University School of Medicine researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Researchers studying British Anti-Lewisite provide an overview of its historical uses, development and clinical implications today of the heavy metal chelating agent, detailed in the March issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine. BAL is a medical therapy to remove metal poisonings from the body.
Of the five basic senses, the sense of smell is the least understood. Now, scientists have sniffed out potential clues to how olfactory receptors in the nose detect odors. Those clues may also explain why dietary zinc deficiencies lead to a loss of smell.
To assess the wear and tear on jet engine parts, mechanics used an old technology called ferrography to run the aircraft's lubricating fluid through a magnetic device to separate out metal shavings and other ferrous engine debris. A University of Rhode Island researcher uses a similar process to assess the wear and tear on artificial hip and knee joints so patients can reduce the number of follow-up surgeries they must undergo or reduce the time spent in revision surgery.
A hoard of Roman coins discovered by metal-detecting enthusiasts on a farm near Longhorsley, Northumberland, could be evidence that entrepreneurial native Northumbrian settlers were recycling old bronze coins and making trinkets to sell back to soldiers in the Roman army, according to experts. The hoard of 70 Roman coins ? 61 sesterii and 9 dupondii ? dates from the reign of the Emperors Vespasian to the reign of Marcus Aurelius (AD69-180 ? a period when the Antonine Wall, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and not Hadrian's Wall, marked the frontier of the Roman Empire, and for a short period, Northumberland, which had until then been barbarian territory, became part of the Roman Empire.
A team of experimental and theoretical researchers from Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have observed that gold displays unexpected properties when it exists in extremely small particles. The current issue of Science magazine carries an article describing their research.
