tiny motor

Nerve-Destroying Chemicals are Model for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Tiny motor proteins delivering vital nutrients along the length of nerves are a target for two common chemicals known for their neurotoxicity, says a Medical College of Georgia researcher. Acrylamides – used in water purification, paper manufacturing, mining and recently found in potato chips, French fries, baked cereals and other carbohydrates cooked at high temperatures – and hexanes — an organic solvent used in glues, paints and shoe manufacturing – can shut down these motor proteins, says Dr. Dale W. Sickles, MCG neurotoxicologist.

Researchers Develop Chemical Switch to Control Biomolecular Motor

Researchers have created a tiny motor that they can turn on and off at will, bringing scientists one step closer to using such devices to repair cellular damage, manufacture medicines and attack cancer cells. As reported in this month’s Nature Materials, the researchers have developed a chemical switch that gives them control over a biomolecular motor just 11 nanometers, or 11 billionths of a meter, in size ? hundreds of times smaller than the width of a human hair.