Wireless Probing, Shiny Bugs, Remote Scanning

brain-probeProbing the brain wirelessly – IR-absorbing lead selenide particles form the basis of a method for the study of neuronal activation in samples of brain tissues without the need for hard-wired electrodes. The technique instead utilises light-triggered nanostructured semiconductor photoelectrodes to probe activity.

Propagation improves MRI, allows remote scanning – Swiss researchers have succeeded in exciting and imaging nuclear magnetic resonance in the human body in a way that could represent a paradigm shift for imaging.

Plug and play molecular logic – A “plug and play” approach to building molecular logic units has been developed by chemists in the UK and Thailand. The team used various spectroscopic techniques, including fluorescence and NMR to monitor their logical constructions.

White light microscope – Silver nanoparticles that can generate white light could improve microscopy in research into cancer and bone diseases according to a paper in the March issue of Nano Letters.

Crystal structure not to be sneezed at – Researchers have obtained the X-ray crystal structure of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) bound to the lethal H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus A. The structure reveals that the heavy chain of the mAb inserts into a highly conserved pocket in the of the haemagglutinin protein stem.

Sperm assessment – Raman spectroscopy could enable fertility researchers and IVF clinicians to assess individual sperm. The process involves capturing an individual sperm cell between two highly focused beams of laser light with Raman pinning down features of the trapped wriggler’s DNA.