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Absolute Match DNA Specimen Verification Launched by AIBioTech

Sierra Monica B. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:48:42 +0000

AIBioTech launched a new DNA specimen verification test called Absolute Match, which promises to offer total confidence for patients in biopsy procedures, that the specimen used in tests is their own, avoiding the problem of switching patient specimens by mistake.

The American International Biotechnology Services will perform the test at its Fairfax Identity Laboratories using the latest technologies in DNA identity verification. They collect a cheek swab from the patient and seal it, which is enough to be compared to the DNA of the biopsy tissue.
Absolute Match is presented as the most accurate DNA testing available at the moment, which is non-invasive and lasts only 30 seconds. The results are received withing a few days.

The American International Biotechnology Services is specialized in drug discovery and development of diagnostics, focusing on providing new services and products on the market. Among these are laboratory-based services for molecular biology, microbiology, immunology, virology, bio-safety testing, bio-organic, assay development and validation, protein chemistries and peptide.
Its Fairfax Identity Laboratories are in charge with DNA profiling methods, collaborating with legal entities, clinical genetics, crime laboratories and child support agencies.

Researchers use Piezoelectrics to Power Cars and Planes

Sierra Monica B. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:57:29 +0000

Based on the principle of piezoelectricity which involves converting the kinetic energy of motion into a form of electricity, researchers at the City College of New York created a system that generates power for cars and planes. They will demonstrate the concept at this year’s edition of Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics that will be hosted at the Minneapolis Convention Center, between November 22 and 24.

The devices that will be presented measure 1 x 0.5 inches and can be installed on a car’s tail or roof, as well as on the plane fuselage. They would vibrate and produce the output voltage required to power control panels or cell phones inside the vehicle. It’s not powerful enough to make an alternative to combustion engines.

Currently in the optimization phase, the innovative devices could be setup in the wake of a cylinder on the back of the vehicle so that the air flow will enable them to vibrate.
ScienceDaily includes in its article the words of Yiannis Andreopoulos of the City College of New York: “These devices open the possibility to continuously scavenge otherwise wasted energy from the environment.”

Recent Study Shows how Avatars Affect Users Thoughts

Sierra Monica B. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:10:12 +0000

From a recent article published by the University of Texas at Austin we found out that avatars that people are using to recognize each other on the Internet in a funnier way can affect uses negatively. This is the result of a research conducted by a professor at the university and reveals that our self-representations in the form of avatars used in virtual environments can affect our thoughts.

A first study on this matter, led by Jorge Pena, an assistant professor at the College of Communication, showed that using avatars can wakeup anti-social thoughts while inhibiting pro-social thoughts. You can read more about this study in Communication Research December 2009 issue. It was written by Jeffrey T. Hancock, professor at the Cornell University and the graduate student Nicholas A. Merola from the University of Texas at Austin.

There were two experiments involving assigning subjects avatars with physicians, dark or white masks, transparent avatars or avatars with Ku Klux Klan uniforms. Subjects were then asked to write stories about a specific picture, play video games with virtual teams, and later discuss with each other about dealing with infractions.
The results showed that those who used avatars with dark masks or with the Ku Klux Klan uniforms had negative and even anti-social behavior in team collaboration, as well as during writing assignments.

“By manipulating the appearance of the avatar, you can augment the probability of people thinking and behaving in predictable ways without raising suspicion,” explained Jorge Pena. “Thus, you can automatically make a virtual encounter more competitive or cooperative by simply changing the connotations of one’s avatar.”

CRi inForm Hels Researchers Image Tissue Structures in a Matter of Minutes

Sierra Monica B. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:25:32 +0000

A new complex software was launched to help biologists and cancer researchers identify and evaluate markers in tissue samples. It was developed by Cambridge Research & Instrumentation, in short CRi, and it’s called inForm.

The image analysis software is powered by the Machine Learning System and works by combining image processing and learning elements for automatic image processing.
The advanced software can detect and quantify tissue structures, as well as protein markers in each cell, eliminating the problem of markers blending together into masses of color that are indistinguishable.

inForm has a friendly user interface and is easy to use, requiring short training time, according to CRi, while allowing specialized users create reliable algorithms in several minutes. System requirements are those of a standard laptop computer.

There are many research organizations using the software, such as the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of Pennsylvania.
Its developer is specialized in optical imaging systems used in biometrical research, as well as in development of drugs and diagnostics.

“The combination of multispectral imaging and pattern-recognition based image analysis create a powerful tool for extracting key molecular information from tissue samples,” said Massimo Loda, pathology researcher at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. “The information revealed using CRi’s inForm product enables a wide range of clinically-significant research.”

The Discovery of BAHD1 Protein May Help in Treating Cancer

Sierra Monica B. — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:30:20 +0000

Professors Hélène Bierne and Pascale Cossart from the Pasteur Institute teamed up with the French National Center for Scientific Research and the French Agricultural Research Institute and discovered a new protein called BAHD1, which is in charge with the DNA structure changes and silencing the genes’ expression.
The study funded by ERA-NET PathoGenoMics was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, highlighting that the new protein enables new possibilities in the cancer and genetic disorders treatment.
This research is part of a project called Spatelis, which is an initiative of the European Comission, focusing on the human-pathogenic microorganisms based on the genome.

Scientists try to find ways to regulate the chromatin structure to avoid alteration that leads to the development of abnormalities, including cancers and neurological disorders. They have observed that even if all of our cells have the same genetic information, there are different cell types, and this is because each type of cell activates only a small number of genes based on regulating the chromatin structure.
The newly discovered BAHD1 protein behaves as a chromatin condensation machine and silences the gene active during the development of the embryo.

“The discovery of the BAHD1 complex contributes to the understanding of how genes in cells of our body are regulated,” said Dr. Marion Karrasch-Bott, Coordinator of ERA-NET PathoGenoMics. “Such knowledge could lead to new cancer therapies aimed at re-silencing inappropriately activated genes or to new prognosis markers

New PEM Fuel Cells Produce Energy at 150 Degrees Celsius

Sierra Monica B. — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:16:45 +0000

ScienceDaily informs us about the discovery of a new method of creating better fuel cells that would eliminate the need for using fossil-based fuels for fields like home heating, transportation and remote emergency.
The new solution was presented by chemists Jeff Hurd, from the University of Calgary, and George Shimizu, professor at the University of Calgary, Department of Chemistry. They focused on advanced design aspects and came up with a new material that enables polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells to function in higher temperatures, which increases efficiency at lower costs.

George Shimizu filled an US patent last year, while together with Jeff Hurd, Venkataraman Thangadurai and Ramanathan Vaidhyanathan from the University of Calgary, and Igor Moudrakovski and Christopher Ratcliffe from the Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences at the National Research Council, have published their research paper in Nature Chemistry, the monthly journal that hosts reports on the latest researches covering all chemistry areas.

Standard fuel cells can transform hydrogen and oxygen elements into electrical energy and water, while polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are capable of producing energy from hydrogen under the boiling point of the water.
Well, the new PEM recipe coming from the chemists can produce energy at up to 150 degrees Celsius, which would remove the need for using platinum and other expensive metals required in high temperatures.

Honda Reveals New Research in Nanotechnology

Sierra Monica B. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:56:15 +0000

Honda Research Institute USA, the University of Louisville and the Purdue University conducted a research in the nanotechnology field demonstrating that microscopic carbon nanotubes that are 100,000 times thinner than a human hair can be used for faster electricity transport over greater distances, consuming lower energy.
Combining miniaturization with energy efficiency could lead to the development of a new class of electronics. The technology would be used in powerful and compact computer systems, electrical cables, solar cells, batteries, electrodes for supercapacitors, fuel cells, artificial muscles, energy storage materials, composite material for planes and automobiles, as well as hybrid vehicles.

The carbon nanotubes grow on the metal nanoparticles’ surfaces and take the tubular shape having carbon atoms in their tips. Their strength increases considerably when exhibiting metallic conductivity and this strength level is comparable with steel, while their conducting heat efficiency is equal with diamonds’, but remain light as cotton.

If the previously achieved success rates in using metallic conductivity for carbon nanotubes was of up to 50%, Honda managed to reach 91%.

“Our finding shows that the nanotube configuration which defines its conductivity depends not only on the size of the metal nanocatalyst used to nucleate the tube as was previously believed, but importantly also is based on its shape and crystallographic structure, and we learned to control it,” said Dr. Harutyunyan, from the Honda team.

Project Indect Monitors Online Communication Channels for Possible Violent Behavior

Sierra Monica B. — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:03:12 +0000

Telegraph.co.uk informs us about a new intelligent project sponsored by the European Union with about £10 million, which involves monitoring the online communication channels to detect abnormal behavior sources that could evolve in violence. This is called the Project Indect and is based on artificial intelligence, using advanced computer programs designed to work like monitoring agents in the online world, processing information from discussion boards, web sites, file servers, individual computers and P2P networks.
The automatic monitoring started earlier this year and is controlled by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, computer specialists at the York University and other specialists in nine countries across Europe, all collaborating to fight against terrorism, crimes and migration problems.

While many consider that Project Indect is raising questions on individual liberty, its founders describe it on the official website as an intelligence gathering system working at the Internet level that’s both active and passive. The York University is in charge with developing computational linguistic techniques for learning and collecting information from the web, including entity resolution, relationship mining, sense induction, sentiment analysis, as well as social network analysis.

There’s also a similar project funded by the European Union and called Adabts, or Automatic Detection of Abnormal Behavior and Threats in crowded Spaces, which has received £3 million in funds to search for suspicious behavior detected with CCTV and other techniques, based on people’s body movement and voices.

“People usually don’t start to fight from one second to another,” said Dr Jorgen Ahlberg at the Swedish Defense Research Agency. “They start by arguing and pushing each other. It’s not that ‘oh you are pushing each other, you should be arrested’, it’s to alert an operator that something is going on.”

Wireless Sleep Staging System Could Solve the Sleep Disorder Problems

Sierra Monica B. — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:07:10 +0000

Researchers at the IMEC and the Holst Center detailed an innovative system that could solve the sleep disorder problem that many people suffer from. ScienceDaily wrote about a miniaturized wireless sleep staging system that can be used from the comfort of your home, while providing early screening of sleep abnormalities.
The system was validated in the laboratory at the University Hospital Center from Charleroi, André Vésale Hospital, in Belgium, where it proved to be ready for commercialization.
What researchers plan to achieve after the system enters mass production is to enable remote sleep monitoring via a wearable headset.

According to the latest statistics, 10% of the US population suffers from sleep apnea, while no less than 1 billion people worldwide complain about chronic nasal congestion.
The wearable wireless sleep staging system is said to be lightweight, featuring a smart design for comfort, and consists of a head band, three sensor nodes in charge with the electroencephalogram monitoring for brain activity, electro-oculogram measurement for the eye activity, and electromyogram monitoring for the chin muscle activity.
Based on the ultra-low power bio-potential read-out application-specific integrated circuit in charge with amplifying and filtering the five ExG signals, the system sends these signals wirelessly to a recording computer.

Test results showed that this new system type could replace the existing monitoring systems in the near future.

SpaceX to Launch Orbcomm’s Satellites on Falcon 1e Vehicles

Sierra Monica B. — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:53:57 +0000

Orbcomm is a New Jersey-based global satellite data communications company specialized in developing and providing Machine-to-Machine communication solutions, while SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies, is a corporation headquartered in California, focused on developing launch vehicles and spacecraft for space transportation. The two have been working together to launch the 18 Orbcomm Generation 2 (OG2) satellites starting the fourth quarter of the next year through 2014.

SpaceX technologies will transport the second generation satellites from Orbcomm into the orbit, enabling new features and improving the Machine-to-Machine and the Automatic Identification System of Orbcomm’s constellation of satellites.
The new satellites will enable enhanced communication capabilities, allowing up to 12 times the subscriber capacity over Machine-to-Machine, increasing the size of the messages and adding the Automatic Identification System support.
They will be launched on several Falcon 1e vehicles, which are the enhanced versions of the SpaceX Falcon 1 that has recently launched the RazakSAT satellite into the orbit. New features of the Falcon 1e include upgrades at the propulsion, structures and avionics systems level.

“SpaceX is pleased to be Orbcomm’s choice for these important missions,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX. “By leveraging the flight-proven architecture of the Falcon 1 launch vehicle, the Falcon 1e will provide the OG2 satellites with a highly reliable and cost-effective ride to orbit.”