Heat resistant nanostructures using RNA

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A team of nanotechnology researchers at the University of Kentucky has discovered new methods to build heat resistant nanostructures and arrays using RNA.

Chemical polymers have seen extensive use in a variety of industries including clothing, piping, plastics, containers, bottles, cookware, tools and medical materials for drug delivery and tissue engineer materials because of their high stability and ability to hold their global shape and size. However, on the microscopic scale, these polymers form into random micro-structures, making their size and shape difficult to control.

The Guo lab reports that RNA (ribonucleic acid) can be used as an anionic polymer material to build nanostructures with controllable shape and defined structure. The researchers have fabricated a new RNA triangle structure that utilizes RNAs intrinsic control over shape and size on the nano scale, while demonstrating strong stability.

Previously, RNA was seen as structurally fragile and easily dissociable at a range of temperatures from 35-70 degrees Celsius, making its application feasibility in an industrial setting very limited. Using the special RNA motif discovered in Guo's lab and a new methodology, the researchers demonstrated that they can build RNA nanostructures and patterned arrays that are resistant to 100 degrees Celsius, the boiling temperature of water.

The new RNA triangular nanoarchitechtures can be used to form arrays with a controllable repeat number of the scaffold, resembling monomer units in a polymerization reaction. Thus, the Guo lab was able to produce a honeycomb RNA structure with the new RNAs, allowing for the production of RNA sheets.

Experts say this breakthrough pushes the field of RNA nanotechnology forward, positioning RNA to be a new, unique type of polymer with advantages over conventional chemical polymers.

"This research shows great potential for building stable RNA nanoparticles with properties that could be more easily controlled than standard polymers," said Jessica Tucker, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering program director for drug and gene delivery systems and devices. "The more control we have over the nanoparticles, the better we can tailor them for use in therapeutics for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes."

This story is reprinted from material from University of Kentucky, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier. Link to original source.

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Heat resistant nanostructures using RNA

Slimming ICs to a Single Molecule Wide

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Keeping heat and electricity from leaking out of integrated circuits becomes so difficult below the 20nm level that everyone from large chipmakers to academic researchers resort to pretty extreme measures to get chips to work right.

There are plenty of research efforts under way to develop reliable ways to build processors with circuits smaller than 14 nm (the current commercial state of the art). MIT researchers say that the circuits should assemble themselves. Others are putting their faith in exotic materials or super-refined versions of current methods that use high-energy ultraviolet light, rather than the tired old visible spectrum.

However, researchers at the University of Rochester have slimmed things down far below even the ambitious targets of those projects. They have found a way to send an electric charge across a circuit one molecule wide while insulating it enough to smother the static and field leakage that make microscale circuits (let alone nanoscale ones) difficult to use.

An inert organic layer one molecule thick insulates the conductor above, whose load capacity can be raised or lowered by tweaking its hydrogen content. (Source: University of Rochester)

"Until now, scientists have been unable to reliably direct a charge from one molecule to another," Alexander Shestopalov, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Rochester, said in a press release. "But that's exactly what we need to do when working with electronic circuits that are one or two molecules thin." His team published a paper describing the process in the April issue of the journal Advanced Materials Interfaces (registration required).

Shestopalov's team linked an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) to a power source using a microscopic strand of inorganic conductor laid across a one-molecule-thick layer of nonreactive organic material, which insulated the conductor from the underlying environment and allowed for a clean flow of electricity to the OLED.

The insulating layer also contained the charge well enough within the conducting layer to let the researchers closely control the flow by manipulating the charge or changing the hydrogen content in the conducting material to increase or decrease the rate of flow to match the volume required by the OLED.

The bi-layer approach counteracts the variability of even heavily insulated single-layer nanoscale conductors or those that function with little or no insulation.

The resulting product is relatively simple to manufacture, and its performance is consistent and predictable, but it is too fragile to be practical with the materials Shestopalov used as a proof point. "The system we developed degrades quickly at high temperatures. What we need are devices that last for years and that will take time to accomplish."

His goal is to create practical, effective materials that combine layers of semi-conductive materials into composites that can be used for high-efficiency solar cells and other photovoltaics and to increase the efficiency of optical devices by shrinking their components to nanoscale using techniques and materials that make it possible to microprint them easily and cost-effectively.

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Slimming ICs to a Single Molecule Wide

STEALTHY NANOROBOTS dress up as viruses, prepare to sneak into YOUR BODY

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US scientists have tackled two main stumbling blocks to the development of injectable nanomachines for medical and scientific use.

The breakthroughs were announced in a paper entitled "Virus-Inspired Membrane Encapsulation of DNA Nanostructures To Achieve In Vivo Stability", published in the journal ACS Nano on Tuesday.

Scientists from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard said they had worked out how to protect DNA nanostructures from nuclease degradation (when an enzyme found in blood breaks the bonds which hold DNA together), and also how to stop them triggering inflammatory immune system responses.

This gets rid of one of the main roadblocks to a future when illnesses such as cancer are treated via targeted "smart" medicine rather than extremely blunt tools such as chemotherapy, and people can augment their own bodies with swarms of nano machines: rejection by the body.

Here on El Reg's science faction desk we've spoken to boffins about breakthroughs such as programmable synthetic circuits and nanomotors that can be inserted into cells.

But as exciting as these breakthroughs are, they're worthless if the injectable nanomachines set off immune responses as they flow around the body and it's that barrier which the Wyss researchers think they have overcome.

The boffins made this breakthrough by taking inspiration from how naturally occurring viruses are able to infiltrate the body.

They were able to cloak the nanomachines by creating a "DNA NanoOctahedron" scaffold which had a diameter of around 50 nanometers, which was then coated it in a lipid layer (a "liposome").

They refined this design by giving the NanoOctahedron some "outer handles" to better bind the lipids onto it. This design ultimately proved resilient to nuclease degradation and also stopped immune system flare-ups.

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STEALTHY NANOROBOTS dress up as viruses, prepare to sneak into YOUR BODY

News & Events

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John J. OShea, M.D., scientific director at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), has been named the 2014 recipient of the Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine, conferred by the Feinstein Institutes peer-reviewed, open-access journal Molecular Medicine. The award will be given on June 9 at the New York Academy of Sciences in Manhattan, followed by scientific presentations by Dr. OShea and other prominent researchers. NIAMS is part of the National Institutes of Health.

NIAMS Scientific Director John J. OShea, M.D.

The award, which includes a $50,000 prize from Feinstein Institute board members Robin and Jack Ross, is bestowed upon an active investigator who has produced innovative, paradigm-shifting research that is worthy of significant and broad attention in the field of molecular medicine.

Johns scientific achievements in molecular immunology have been transformative. His work exemplifies the bridge between basic research and clinical practice. We are very proud of John and congratulate him on this honor, said NIAMS Director Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. OShea has been a physician and immunologist at NIH for 33 years. He has made fundamental discoveries related to the signaling of cytokines, molecules that are critical for the development and functioning of the immune system. His research also has focused on the molecular cause of primary immunodeficiencies, inherited conditions in which immune function is impaired, and the genetic basis of autoinflammatory disorders, conditions in which the body attacks its own tissues. He was awarded a U.S. patent for his work on Janus family kinase inhibitors as a new class of immunosuppressive drugs. Dr. OShea developed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which generated one such compound that is approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. OShea graduated Phi Beta Kappa from St. Lawrence University, Canton, N.Y., and he received an M.D. from the University of Cincinnati. After completing his residency in internal medicine at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, he received subspecialty training in allergy and immunology at NIH. He was appointed chief of the NIAMS Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch in 2002, and became scientific director of the NIAMS Intramural Research Program in 2005. Dr. OShea has been the recipient of numerous awards and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The mission of the NIAMS, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health, is to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases; the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research; and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases. For more information about the NIAMS, call the information clearinghouse at (301) 495-4484 or (877) 22-NIAMS (free call) or visit the NIAMS website at http://www.niams.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health

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Upload Unlimited Images To The Eyefi Cloud Service

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These days it hardly seems possible to buy a camera that doesnt have GPS, Wi-Fi or even a Smile Detection mode built in but do you really need all those extras? And what if you have a camera that is perfectly serviceable but doesnt offer Wi-Fi or is too old to have it? Well, there is a viable option for retrofitting a Wi-Fi function to your camera; whats more, this capability has been around for a while but has just undergone a bit of a facelift. With this in mind I decided to give the eyefi Mobi SD card another try, especially now that the company behind it has launched its very own photo storage service in the cloud.

The Mobi card is a standard Class 10 SD memory card that comes in 8, 16 and 32GB capacities but with one important addition. Shoehorned into the plastic casing of the SD card is a custom-designed ARM processor that turns the memory card into a very nifty way of wirelessly transferring your photos to a mobile device or computer so that you can then edit your images using a package like Google Snapseed, Photoshop or some other image manipulation package before sharing your images via Facebook or Twitter.

The brand new software from eyefiworks with iOS devices, Android, Kindle or PC and Mac desktop platforms. In essence the Mobi card transmits a Wi-Fi signal that you can connect to using your mobile device or computer. The software then sucks your images from your camera over the wireless connection and then saves it to your device. Many cameras actually have eyeficompatibility already burned into firmware but dont worry if your camera doesnt have compatible firmware because Mobi cards will work in virtually any SD slot.

So whats new with this latest Mobi card? Well, eyefinow offers aCloud service where you can store an unlimited number of photos for an annual membership subscription of $49. The eyefiCloud service can sync photos across multiple users and offers the opportunity to let you share your photos publicly. You can use multiple cameras and multiple cards on the same account so that an family can build up a family photo album. Likewise, a work group within a company could also share photos into one album, no matter where in the world they are. If you buy an Mobi card or are already an existing Mobi card user you can download the latest eyefisoftware and get a 90-day trial period of eyefiCloud for free. The offer is only available to North American residents at the moment but the eyefiCloud will be rolled out globally by the end of the year.

Using the Mobi card is actually fun in a studio environment too. I tried out a card in the second memory card slot of my Nikon D7000 DSLR and set up the software on my iPad. This enabled me to see my photos on the iPad screen as I was shooting. Its actually a very good way of checking picture quality during a photoshoot. Of course I put a large SD card in the first slot of my camera where I was storing shots in RAW file format and I set the camera up so that reduced-size JPEG files were being directed to the Mobi card in my second slot.

A Mobi card is also fun to shoot with on holiday; as soon as you sit down to enjoy a beer or coffee you can turn on your iPad and then connect to the Mobi card and watch your photos being transferred as you sip your drink. Then its really fun to edit and post your images using a package like Snapseed so you can straighten, crop and adjust your photos before applying any special effects. Its so much nicer to be able to polish a good shot rather than having to upload an average shot directly to the internet without editing as is often the case with cameras that have built-in Wi-Fi. AMobi card is obviously more expensive than a budget SD card but its definitely worth the outlay if you like to backup and edit your photos before uploading when youre on the move.

Mobi Card Prices

8GB card $49 16GB $$79 32GB card $99

More details: http://www.eyefi.com

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Volunteers in Medicine expanding services

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Volunteers in Medicine will open a new free clinic in Scranton and expand services in Wilkes-Barre thanks to two grants from the state Department of Health.

Kelly Ranieli, executive director of Volunteers in Medicine in Wilkes-Barre, said staff was researching the possibility of opening a free clinic in Scranton for some time.

We knew there was an absolute need for free health care in Lackawanna County. So when the notice came out (about about the grant availability) from the Department of Health, it seemed like the perfect opportunity, Ranieli said.

VIM applied to the departments Community-Based Health Care Grant Program and was awarded $500,000 to open and staff the new clinic and $185,450 to hire a medical director and nurse for the Wilkes-Barre clinic at 190 N. Pennsylvania Ave., as well as implement an electronic medical records system there.

Department spokeswoman Holli Senior called the program a core tenant of Governor (Tom) Corbetts Healthy Pennsylvania plan that strives to bring immediate preventative primary care services to underserved areas of the state. Programs like this one are critical to increasing access to care.

The VIM clinic in Lackawanna County is being established in collaboration with The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education and will be located at 640 Madison Ave. Services will be provided by The Wright Centers medical residents and volunteer healthcare providers.

Wright Center already operates an HIV clinic and a primary care facility in the Madison Avenue site. Staff hope for a soft opening of the free clinic on May 1. The new clinic will initially be open weekday afternoons; operations will expand to 40-plus hours per week as more medical professionals sign up to volunteer.

The new hires at the Wilkes-Barre clinic will ensure medical staffing for its 40-plus operating hours and allow walk-ins to be better accommodated.

Ranieli expects there will continue to be a need for free clinics far into the future, even with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

She cited a report by AmeriCares, a non-profit emergency response and global health humanitarian organization, that says millions of people who are uninsured will remain so not only in 2014, but for years to come, and millions more will move from uninsured to under-insured status.

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DAVAO MEDICAL SCHOOL FOUNDATION – ACTOR DELHI GANESH SPEECH: 9952922333 – 5 – Video

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DAVAO MEDICAL SCHOOL FOUNDATION - ACTOR DELHI GANESH SPEECH: 9952922333 - 5
IDEAL CHOICE FOR INDIAN STUDENTS TO GET FOREIGN MEDICAL STUDIES 3rd largest English Speaking country in the World 50% marks in Physics, Chemistry Biolo...

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DAVAO MEDICAL SCHOOL FOUNDATION - ACTOR DELHI GANESH SPEECH: 9952922333 - 5 - Video