Search for a cell’s inner life
UC researchers
found a noninvasive way to map biochemical reactions within living cells at a
high resolution. Since all molecules have a unique fingerprint, absorbing light
at different frequencies when reactions occur, passing light through a solution
is a common method of spectroscopic detection. But bioengineering professor
Luke Lee and colleagues created new local light sources using gold particles to
capture molecular signatures. While the standard test requires vast reserves of
molecules and often results in cell death, the tiny metallic particles make
“seeing” biochemical reactions easier and less destructive. The researchers
suggest their nanoplasmonic “stars” could usher in a new molecular imaging
approach for studying life at the molecular level as well as new drug discovery
techniques. www.nature.com/nnano/reshigh/2007/1107/full/nnano.2007.413.html
The air up there
That stuffed up,
headachy feeling you associate with air travel isn’t just the result of staying
up late packing and waiting in long lines at the airport. Civil and
environmental engineering professor William Nazaroff and colleagues say those
symptoms may be caused by ozone inside the aircraft. The naturally occurring
compound is found in high concentrations at altitude, where it protects the
Earth from harmful UV rays. But as it seeps in through the ventilation system,
it reacts with passengers’ clothing and skin oils to produce volatile
byproducts, including aldehydes that can irritate mucous membranes. The
researchers studied four-hour “flights” aboard a simulated cabin and published
their results last fall in Environmental Science & Technology, concluding
that all planes should employ ozone control in their ventilation systems. www.acer-coe.org
Park it here
Circling
endlessly for a parking space can be maddening, not to mention bad for the
planet. But UC Berkeley’s Institute
of Transportation Studies
(ITS) found that parking can be painless (and fast). They checked out Parking
Carma, a wireless guidance system that tells drivers where to go—and how to get
there—to find empty spaces using sensors underneath parking lots that feed
information to a server. Drivers access the system by phone and Internet.
Between 2004 and 2006, ITS tested Carma at the Rockridge BART station. Not only
was it popular, but it also upped ridership, so drivers burned fewer fossil
fuels searching for spaces and saved a road trip to boot. www.parkingcarma.com
Handy digital trainer
There’s a new weight-training
tool in town that fits like a glove. Really. Developed by EECS graduate student
Keng-hao Chang with professor John Canny, the system incorporates wireless
sensors called accelerometers in a pair of gloves and a belt that track
exercise type—bicep curl or bench press—and repetitions. Data loads by
Bluetooth to a computer, which acts as a digital personal trainer to log
progress and provide real-time tips. Chang hopes users will swap stories online
and form a virtual workout community. www.cs.berkeley.edu/~kenghao/
Busting nuclear smugglers
What do bananas
and nuclear bombs have in common? They can look the same to a radiation
detector. But a five-member group of UC Berkeley researchers led by nuclear
engineering professor Edward Morse—the Domestic Nuclear Threat Security team,
or DONUTS—received a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation
and the Department of Homeland Security to address the problem. Morse and
company are pursuing more efficient ways to hunt for dangerous material using
data mining, advanced image analysis and alternatives to germanium, which
requires a strict temperature regime. Their work could one day lead to new
detectors and improved domestic security. www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/09/14_NEgrants.shtml
Hyperlens is tops
Discover
magazine ranks mechanical engineering professor Xiang Zhang’s hyperlens one of
the top 100 science stories of 2007 in the January “Year in Science” issue. The
lens jumps the so-called “diffraction limit” by compressing evanescent light
waves, allowing images of nanoscale subjects to be projected in astonishing
detail up to a meter away. The technology could allow biologists to study
molecules in motion within living cells. www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/12/14_discover.shtml
