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Penn Research Makes Advance in Nanotech Gene Sequencing Technique

The allure of personalized medicine has made new, more efficient ways of sequencing genes a top research priority. One promising technique involves reading DNA bases using changes in electrical current as they are threaded through a nanoscopic hole.

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An illustration of a single-stranded DNA homopolymer translocating through a silicon nitride nanopore.

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NASA's Fermi, Swift See 'Shockingly Bright' Burst

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The maps in this animation show how the sky looks at gamma-ray energies above 100 million electron volts (MeV) with a view centered on the north galactic pole. The first frame shows the sky during a three-hour interval prior to GRB 130427A. The second frame shows a three-hour interval starting 2.5 hours before the burst, and ending 30 minutes into the event. The Fermi team chose this interval to demonstrate how bright the burst was relative to the rest of the gamma-ray sky. This burst was bright enough that Fermi autonomously left its normal surveying mode to give the LAT instrument a better view, so the three-hour exposure following the burst does not cover the whole sky in the usual way.

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'Going negative' pays for nanotubes: Rice University lab finds possible keys to better nanofibers, films

A Rice University laboratory's cagey strategy turns negatively charged carbon nanotubes into liquid crystals that could enhance the creation of fibers and films.

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Crown ether “cages” trap potassium ions but leave nanotubes with a repellant negative charge in solutions that will be valuable for forming very strong, highly conductive carbon nanotube fibers. The Rice University discovery appears in ACS Nano.

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How graphene and friends could harness the Sun’s energy

Combining wonder material graphene with other stunning one-atom thick materials could create the next generation of solar cells and optoelectronic devices, scientists have revealed.

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China Receives US$95 Million Grant to End Production of Ozone-Depleting Global-Warming Gases to help Meet its Targets under the Montreal Protocol

China, the world's largest producer of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), received a US $95 million grant on April 23, 2013 to help reduce its production of HCFCs. These substances, used primarily in refrigeration and air-conditioning and in the manufacture of foam products, deplete the ozone layer and exacerbate climate change. The grant is from the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which provides the funds in exchange for verified annual reductions of HCFC production levels.

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'Tis the Season -- for Plasma Changes at Saturn

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This is an artist's concept of the Saturnian plasma sheet based on data from Cassini magnetospheric imaging instrument. It shows Saturn's embedded "ring current," an invisible ring of energetic ions trapped in the planet's magnetic field.

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'Going negative' pays for nanotubes: Rice University lab finds possible keys to better nanofibers, films

A Rice University laboratory's cagey strategy turns negatively charged carbon nanotubes into liquid crystals that could enhance the creation of fibers and films.

47384.jpg
Crown ether “cages” trap potassium ions but leave nanotubes with a repellant negative charge in solutions that will be valuable for forming very strong, highly conductive carbon nanotube fibers. The Rice University discovery appears in ACS Nano.

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Injectable Nano-Network Controls Blood Sugar in Diabetics for Days at a Time

Diabetes mellitus, a disorder of glucose regulation, is a global burden affecting 366 million people across the world. An artificial "closed-loop" system able to mimic pancreas activity and release insulin in response to glucose level changes has the potential to improve patient compliance and health. Herein we develop a glucose-mediated release strategy for the self-regulated delivery of insulin using injectable and acid-degradable polymeric network. Formed by electrostatic interaction between oppositely charged dextran nanoparticles loaded with insulin and glucose-specific enzymes, the nanocomposite-based porous architecture can be dissociated and subsequently release insulin in a hyperglycemic state through the catalytic conversion of glucose into gluconic acid. In vitro insulin release can be modulated in a pulsatile profile in response to glucose concentrations. In vivo studies validated that these formulations provided for improved glucose control in Type 1 diabetic mice subcutaneously administered with a degradable nano-network. A single injection of the developed nano-network facilitated stabilization of the blood glucose levels in the normoglycemic state (< 200 mg/dL) for up to at least 10 days.

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The nano-network releases insulin in response to changes in blood sugar.

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NASA Study Projects Warming-Driven Changes in Global Rainfall

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Model simulations spanning 140 years show that warming from carbon dioxide will change the frequency that regions around the planet receive no rain (brown), moderate rain (tan), and very heavy rain (blue). The occurrence of no rain and heavy rain will increase, while moderate rainfall will decrease.

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An Anarchic Region of Star Formation

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The Danish 1.54-metre telescope located at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile has captured a striking image of NGC 6559, an object that showcases the anarchy that reigns when stars form inside an interstellar cloud.