science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Σάββατο 7 Σεπτεμβρίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

LADEE Launches, Heads for the Moon
Scientists Use DNA to Assemble a Transistor From Graphene
Research yields first detailed view of morphing Parkinson's protein

Posted: 06 Sep 2013 09:55 PM PDT

The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is headed toward the moon after launching on a Minataur V rocket Friday night from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The mission will study the lunar atmosphere, conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust.

Scientists Use DNA to Assemble a Transistor From Graphene

Posted: 06 Sep 2013 10:37 AM PDT

DNA is the blueprint for life. Could it also become the template for making a new generation of computer chips based not on silicon, but on an experimental material known as graphene?

That’s the theory behind a process that Stanford chemical engineering professor Zhenan Bao reveals in Nature Communications.

Research yields first detailed view of morphing Parkinson's protein

Posted: 06 Sep 2013 10:00 AM PDT

Researchers have taken detailed images and measurements of the morphing structure of a brain protein thought to play a role in Parkinson's disease, information that could aid the development of medications to treat the condition.

The protein, called alpha synuclein (pronounced sine-yoo-cline), ordinarily exists in a globular shape. However, the protein morphs into harmful structures known as amyloid fibrils, which are linked to protein molecules that form in the brains of patients with neurodegenerative diseases.