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Compressed Sensing Allows Super-Resolution Microscopy Imaging of Live Cell Structures
Unusual protein helps regulate key cell communication pathway
ORNL microscopy yields first proof of ferroelectricity in simplest amino acid
State of Himalayan glaciers less alarming than feared
Research Shows Why One Bacterial Infection is so Deadly in Cystic Fibrosis
Changes in Brain’s Blood Flow Could Cause ‘Brain Freeze’
Controlling heat flow with atomic-level precision
Moxonidine - Hypertension drug aids heart function and survival independent of blood pressure

Compressed Sensing Allows Super-Resolution Microscopy Imaging of Live Cell Structures

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 06:39 AM PDT

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and University of California San Francisco have advanced scientists’ ability to view a clear picture of a single cellular structure in motion. By identifying molecules using compressed sensing, this new method provides needed spatial resolution plus a faster temporal resolution than previously possible.

Unusual protein helps regulate key cell communication pathway

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 06:29 AM PDT

Tiny pores, or channels, embedded in cell membranes are critical to the healthy functioning of cells. Charged atoms, or ions, move through these channels to generate the electrical signals that allow cells to communicate with one another.

ORNL microscopy yields first proof of ferroelectricity in simplest amino acid

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 07:32 PM PDT

The boundary between electronics and biology is blurring with the first detection by researchers at Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory of ferroelectric properties in an amino acid called glycine.

A multi-institutional research team led by Andrei Kholkin of the University of Aveiro, Portugal, used a combination of experiments and modeling to identify and explain the presence of ferroelectricity, a property where materials switch their polarization when an electric field is applied, in the simplest known amino acid—glycine.

State of Himalayan glaciers less alarming than feared

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 07:20 PM PDT

Several hundreds of millions of people in Southeast Asia depend, to varying degrees, on the freshwater reservoirs of the Himalayan glaciers. Consequently, it is important to detect the potential impact of climate changes on the Himalayan glaciers at an early stage. Together with international researchers, glaciologists from the University of Zurich now reveal that the glaciers in the Himalayas are declining less rapidly than was previously thought. However, the scientists see major hazard potential from outbursts of glacial lakes.

Research Shows Why One Bacterial Infection is so Deadly in Cystic Fibrosis

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 05:26 PM PDT

Scientists have found why a certain type of bacteria, harmless in healthy people, is so deadly to patients with cystic fibrosis.

The bacterium, Burkholderia cenocepacia, causes a severe and persistent lung infection in patients with CF and is resistant to nearly all known antibiotics. Cystic fibrosis is a chronic disorder characterized by a buildup of mucus in the lungs and other parts of the body, and various types of lung infection are responsible for about 85 percent of deaths in these patients.

Changes in Brain’s Blood Flow Could Cause ‘Brain Freeze’

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 05:21 PM PDT

‘Brain freeze’ is a nearly universal experience—almost everyone has felt the near-instantaneous headache brought on by a bite of ice cream or slurp of ice-cold soda on the upper palate. However, scientists are still at a loss to explain this phenomenon. Since migraine sufferers are more likely to experience brain freeze than people who don’t have this often-debilitating condition, brain freeze may share a common mechanism with other types of headaches, including those brought on by the trauma of blast-related combat injuries in soldiers.

Controlling heat flow with atomic-level precision

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:44 PM PDT

Through a combination of atomic-scale materials design and ultrafast measurements, researchers at the University of Illinois have revealed new insights about how heat flows across an interface between two materials.

The researchers demonstrated that a single layer of atoms can disrupt or enhance heat flow across an interface. Their results are published this week in Nature Materials.

Moxonidine - Hypertension drug aids heart function and survival independent of blood pressure

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 09:45 AM PDT

Japanese researchers found, using an animal model, that the anti-hypertensive drug, moxonidine, which acts on the imidazoline receptors in the cardiovascular center of the brainstem can improve heart function and survival independent of its effect on blood pressure. They also found that moxonidine had a favorable effect on oxidative stress, which is related to insulin resistance, the underlying abnormality in diabetes, which is common in people with heart failure.