Using Viruses to Construct Electrodes and More

She harnesses viruses to make things

Manufacturing was once the province of human hands, then of machines. Angela Belcher, professor of materials science and engineering and biological engineering at MIT, has pushed manufacturing in another, much smaller, direction: Her lab has genetically engineered viruses that can construct useful objects like electrodes and wires.
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Her lab employed this method to form an electrode that can be used in a lithium ion battery like the rechargeable ones used in electronics. The result looks like an innocuous length of celluloid tape, the sort you could use to wrap a package.

“It’s self-assembled,” says Belcher. “The viruses make these materials at room temperature.” So there’s little pollution.
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Belcher hopes to be making prototypes within the next two years. “Actual devices are five to 10 years off.”

Related: Webcasts including: Viruses as nanomachines – Virus-Assembled Batteries – What Are Viruses? – Bacteria Sprout Conducting Nanowires – Biological Molecular Motors

New Understanding of Human DNA

Very interesting Genetic breakthrough that reveals the differences between humans (bozo website broke the link – poor usability):

The discovery has astonished scientists studying the human genome – the genetic recipe of man. Until now it was believed the variation between people was due largely to differences in the sequences of the individual ” letters” of the genome.

It now appears much of the variation is explained instead by people having multiple copies of some key genes that make up the human genome.

Until now it was assumed that the human genome, or “book of life”, is largely the same for everyone, save for a few spelling differences in some of the words. Instead, the findings suggest that the book contains entire sentences, paragraphs or even whole pages that are repeated any number of times.

Fascinating information that I must admit I am still trying to grok.

The studies published today have found that instead of having just two copies of each gene – one from each parent – people can carry many copies, but just how many can vary between one person and the next.

The studies suggest variations in the number of copies of genes is normal and healthy. But the scientists also believe many diseases may be triggered by an abnormal loss or gain in the copies of some key genes.

It will be very interesting to see how this understanding develops.

Related: Humans show major DNA differences – We’re more different than thought, genome map reveals – Old Viruses Resurrected Through DNA – National Geographic overview of human genetics – Scientists crack 40-year-old DNA puzzle – Where Bacteria Get Their Genes

A Robot to Clean Your Room

Robot learns to grasp everyday chores

Cleaning up a living room after a party is just one of four challenges the project has set out to have a robot tackle. The other three include fetching a person or object from an office upon verbal request, showing guests around a dynamic environment and assembling an IKEA bookshelf using multiple tools.

Developing a single robot that can solve all these problems takes a small army of about 30 students and 10 computer science professors—Gary Bradski, Dan Jurafsky, Oussama Khatib, Daphne Koller, Jean-Claude Latombe, Chris Manning, Ng, Nils Nilsson, Kenneth Salisbury and Sebastian Thrun.

Related: robotics related posts

Be Thankful for Marine Algae

photo of seaweed - algae

The Most Important Organism?

It is estimated that between 70% and 80% of the oxygen in the atmosphere is produced by marine plants . Nearly all marine plants are single celled, photosynthetic algae. Yup, that’s right, good ol’ scum on the pond…green gak…..slip slimein’ away. Even marine seaweed is many times colonial algae. They are a bunch of single cells trying to look like a big plant (see seaweed photo), but they are really individuals.

We need marine algae a whole lot more than they need us. Think about it….70% to 80% of all the oxygen we breathe comes from algae!

Photo: “Seaweed are not plants, but are algae. Not only does algae provide much of the Earth’s oxygen, they also are the base for almost all marine life.”

Related: Ginko Cells Host Alga – How Bacteria Nearly Destroyed All Life – Student Algae Bio-fuel Project

Research on Reducing Hamstring Injuries

Good sports: Hamstring findings may help injured athletes stay healthy:

The researchers’ computer simulations enable them to estimate how much load the hamstrings are under and how much they’re stretched. In animal models, says Thelen, the mechanical strain a muscle is experiencing is a good predictor of injury potential.

Now the researchers can translate what they’ve learned about hamstring muscle mechanics into how best to rehabilitate the muscle after injury. Sherry and Thomas Best, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, family medicine and orthopedics and rehabilitation, have discovered that exercise programs that strengthen the core muscles-the abs and lower back-are related to fewer hamstring re-injuries. “Through our experiments and simulations, we’ve been able to show that these muscles can have a large influence on pelvic orientation, which affects hamstring stretch-and thus, presumably affects injury potential,” says Thelen.

The Best Science Books

An interesting post from John Dupuis discusses several lists of the best and worst science books. Some of the best books from the lists, based on importance, what strikes my mood right now, what I enjoyed… (those I list could easily change on another day):

Please share your favorite science books.

Related: our science and engineering book page – 2005 Science book gift suggestions (from the list above The Selfish Gene, Chaos, A Brief History of Time and The Mismeasure of Man are likely the best gifts for the widest audiences).

Science Saves Driver from Ticket

Driver beats fine with schoolboy science:

“The photographs show the back of my car and the white lines at the side of the road. The second photograph shows that it was taken 0.5 seconds later by which time I had moved five white lines along.”

He remembered from school you could calculate speed if you had the correct distance and time. He said he looked on the internet and found an official website stating that lines on the motorway are spaced two metres apart.

“That meant I had driven 10 meters in 0.5 seconds or 20 meters per second. That works out at precisely 44.8mph.”

Are Our Vegtables Less Nutritious?

Grandma’s Veggies May Have Been More Nutritious:

“Of the 13 nutrients that we were able to study, we found statistically reliable declines in six of the 13,” he says. Levels of other nutrients stayed roughly constant over the years.

But a big word of caution: USDA nutritionist Joanne Holden says those 1950 numbers may not be trustworthy. For one thing, measurement techniques have changed, possibly changing the results. In addition, she says, no one knows whether the vegetables measured in 1950 were an accurate sample of the American diet.

100 Innovations for 2006

Popular Science has selected the Best of What’s New. Previous posts talk about some of these, such as: One Laptop Per Child, New Soccer Ball, Grand Canyon Skywalk. And they discuss other breakthroughs like: Memory Spot, Sony Reader. They seem to be stretching a bit to reach 100 – still there are some cool items and it is a fun read. And where are some others: Lifestraw, Lego Mindstorm, Re-engineered Wheelchair…

Related: Inventions of the Year