MRSA
How does MRSA become so severe?
How does MRSA lead to other serious infections?
Is there any special genetic or biological difference that makes the bacteria potent?
How come MRSA is common in hospital settings?
Does the contribution of PVL in different species vary?
Is PVL a factor in CA-MRSA?
How does PVL cause inflammation?
How does PVL make a big immune response and recruit so many leukocytes?
Does MRSA have other virulent factors?
Some of the mechanism is how does CA-MRSA spread?
How does Staph acquire resistance from other bacteria?
What are antibiotics or synthetic antibioitics to combat the bacteria?
Is PVL a contributer to the spread and severity of CA-MRSA?
How does MRSA infect healthy individuals?
How did MRSA become so prominent in community?
Vancomyocin is the only treatment for MRSA, what happens when MRSA becomes resistant to that?

VACCINIA
How does Vaccinia change protein production?
How does the virus “bump” off other viruses?
Why is the virus not harmful in humans?
What is vaccinia pathogenesis?
What are the research findings?
Is there any known inection associated with the virus?

RETINA
How will the information rely to the brain?
Some ganglion can work, but what if there is limited amount of functional ganglion neurons, how will the signal relay to the brain?
How will the retina be implanted into the eye?
Improvements on the vision that it can give
In producing this, how will the intpretation of color be? Will it will be black and white?
Will other parts of the eye have to be adjusted, such as the lens?

MRSA is a community and hospital acquired disease. It is most prominent in the hospital settings. Usually from individuals with weak immunaity or post-surgery, an infection occurs. Health care providers are sometimes carriers if they don’t wash their hands or disinfectant themselves. Recently, the community acquired MRSA is more prominent. MRSA is becoming a great concern because of its ability to gain resistance to antiobiotics. More specifically, antibiotics that are beta-lactam. These drugs are most commonly used for gram positive bacteria. MRSA is resistant to most of these beta-lactam drugs. Typically, vancomyocin is the last resort drug to treat MRSA. However, there are a few MRSA bacteria that are resistant to vancomyocin. These bacteria are not common but it has raised alarm to health care providers, as they need to make new antibiotics to counteract the increasing antibiotic resistance of MRSA. It is important to discover other antibiotics or even synthetic drugs to keep up with raising antibiotic resistance.
Vaccinia is a virus that was used for small pox vaccination because the two viruses look similar. The virus has the ability to alter protein production on the cell membrane surface. A long protein flagella like knocks off any virus trying to invade the cell. Vaccinia is not harmful to humans and does not cause disease. Viruses that can invade a cell and bump out other viruses. Scientists have been trying to utilize its mechanisms to try to cure other viruses. There are other viruses with a similar invasion method such as herpes. If Scientists can understand this concept better and iutilize it, it can be used to cure or surpress the disease.
Artificial retina is important for people who have lost sight. These synthetic retinas should beable to reflect light and rely it to the brain. Eyesight requires ganglion and bipolar neurons to fire an actionpotential to the brain for intergration. I don’t know a lot about artificial retina production.

I would like to further study MRSA and finding a vaccine for it. It is becoming more prevalent in our society. There is no cure and most vaccines don’t work on the bacteria.
Another interesting topic is this virus that “bumps” off other viruses that goes near a host cell. The virus is not viral to humans but it invades the cell. It alters its proteins and maybe the cell membrane. So when another virus tries to latch on, it extends a protein string and bumps it off. Other viruses have ta similar invasion method. It would be interesting to study how the virus affects the cell. This could protentially help in finding ways to prevent those viral infections. Such as herpes.
Another interesting research topic is studying retina substitute. I found an article about it but the articfical retina would provide minimal vision. This would be good to studying for those who can’t see well. They still have functional eye receptors to help factilate function.

My current career goal is to do research. I would like to study the proteins in the body or even how bacteria use proteins to invade the body. Right now, I would like to do research on a disease or bacteria or a virus. I would like to study more about MRSA, which is becoming prevalent in our society. It is in hospitals and society. This is not good because it is resistant to most antibiotics. This is bad because patients cannot recover and could potentially spread it to other people. It could also lead to death. This bacteria is still being studied and trying to make a vaccine to stop the bacteria.
My major is biochemistry and my minor is software engineering. Biochemistry is helpful in my career goal. Biochemistry is the study of metabolic activity in the body. It more specifically studies the various proteins in the body. This is important because bacteria use proteins or alter a cells protein to help its own survival. Software engineering complements this major. In research in any science field, programming is vital. In some careers, software engineers or CS majors are needed to make programs for the company. Making a program could help organize data and help in research.
In the future, im not sure where I will be. I atleast know that if im marired and could potentially have kids, I would like to work part time. I would like to take care of my kids. Im not sure where I will be career wise. Im not sure if I can do research part time. I could go back to school and teach general chemistry in highschool. Or even teach AP chemistry in hgihschool. My far future is unclear for now, but I just know I would like to be with my future family.

My first event or incident was in my AP biology class. My teacher would comment on my lab reports and say how detailed my lab reports were. I went detailed and went straight to the point. My close family friends, I use to make them edit my English papers. They would comment on the same thing. But in these papers, they noted I was straight forward, organized, and concentrated on giving the facts. At first, I thought this wasn’t being a writer. But as I thought about it, I really liked science and later on this could be helpful. I was observing details which is helpful in research. I thought it was something that came naturally and I should probably utilize it in a career.
The second event was also in my AP biology class. We went on a field trip to heart surgery at the Fairfax hospital. I m ay not want to be a doctor but it inspired be to do go in science. The patient had a huge heart. The typical healthy heart is the size of your fist. This persons heart is bigger and had noticeable amounts of fat around it. I was really amazed at watching this surgery. At that moment, I wanted to research on the cause of how heart disease affected the metabolic activities of the body. This is the study of biochemistry. The study of metabolic activity and proteins. Even the different instruments they used to open the heart and used the suction of the heart in once place. It also made me remember my father. He also had bypass surgery like the patient. Right now, Im not sure if I would want to study heart disease. But it helped me search for other research in the medical field. It allowed me to look at other research topics and opportunities.
I don’t have another significant event.

My father made a big impact on my career choice. He originally wanted me to be a doctor. There weren’t a lot of families who were doctors, so he wanted me to be successful and make money. When I was younger, my father had a mustache. His hair was like jet black. He would always have a suit on because when I saw him he came from work.
The second person to make an impact was my AP biology teacher. She was a biochemistry major and I was inspired by her one day as I discussed about my work. She described her education and occupations she obtained. She even described her thesis in graduate school and the problems she faced. She talked about how having a career in biochemistry, depending on the field, could affect if one day you are pregnant. She told methe different options of career choices I had. I remember she had yellow blonde hair. She had blue eyes and usually had on red lipsticks. She was goofy in class and always had a smile on her face. She was small in height, probably 5’2. I remember she would always be willing to help and gave encouragement remarks on our work.
The third person was my biochemistry teacher. He inspisred me on the ttype of research I would like to concentrate in. His research was on proteins, so a lot of our class lectures went in depth with proteins. He even gave examples of current research in studying proteins. Even talking to him in his office hours, he was very helpful on the course schedule and classes I should take if I wanted to do research. I remember he had blue eyes and blonde hair. He was balding. He would always have a diet coke with him in class and would occasional stop to drink it. During his lectures, he would always give a visual example and it was usually funny. It helped me understand the material. Through talking to him, I wanted to study proteins and how its affected in diseases and disorders.

The furthest memory memory I have was when I was in Houston, Texas. I remember two of my houses. I remember this one incident where my sister was running and I ran with her. We had a brick wall that could be sued for pictures. I was very small, so when she ran her hip kknc=ked my head on the corner of the brick wall. I remember the brick wall was my height and had several of our family photos on top of it. A few feet from it was our white couch in front of a fireplace. I don’t remember feeling the pain but I remember falling to the ground and everyone surrounded me.
The next memory I had was also in Houston. Our Pomeranian dog had babies. In our kitchem, we had a small indoor fence to keep the pups from running around. There were about 5 of them. With newspaper everywhere. I remember the distinct dog smell. They were all black and very yappy. Also in the kitchen, was my box full of ponys. I would play with them on our small kitchen table as the puppies would play. I remember the kitchen was small. Our living room connected to the kitchen. The kitchen floor was white tiles.

Students'-eye view of Webcam spy case

Students at Herriton High School in Lower Merion School District are given Apple MacBook laptops to use both at school and at home. The ones issued to the students have a Webcam. Not only can the students take pictures but the school district can also use it to take photographs of whoever is using the computer. A student filed a civil complaint under the federal court. Blake Robbins received a notice that he was engaging in improper behavior in his own home. They had photographs from the webcam to prove it. In an interview with CBS Evening News, plaintiff Blake Robbins said he was unaware that the camera could be activated at his house. The district defended themselves and stated that the webcam was used in case of stolen or missing laptops. The tracking-security feature was limited to that and not used for any other purposes. As a result of the case, the district Superintendent of Schools Christopher W. McGinley sent a letter to parents stating that the security tracking feature is being disabled and that there will be "a thorough review of the existing policies for student laptop use."
On the CBS Early Show, Harriton High sophomore Savannah Williams said she keeps the laptop in her bedroom and says that its on while she is "getting changed, doing my homework, taking a shower, everything." Some students see it as an invasion of privacy.
No judge has yet ruled on the plaintiff's claim and the school has denied that it has used the cameras for anything other than help recover missing laptops. However, the fact remains that staff members had the ability to turn on the camera is problematic.


L. Magid. "Students'-eye view of Webcam spy case." CNET Review, 2/17/2010. 2/20/2010 <http://news.cnet.com/8301-30977_3-10457077-10347072.html?tag=rtcol;pop>.

New virus-detecting lab on a chip gets even Better

Some chemists and engineers at Brigham Young University (BYU) recently created a silicon microchip.  They claim that the microchip can detect certain proteins and viruses from samples of low concentrations.  The microchip scans particles solely by their size by trapping them, thus making detection of viruses and proteins earlier.   Researches claim that capturing these particles can also advance the pace of research.  This can allow Scientists to continually obtain pure samples for research of viruses and their behavior.

Production of this chip is not cheap, it costs in the millions.   The team in BYU has found a way around this by using a more simple machine.   The team is currently working on making smaller slots.  This will allow for single samples can be separated by varying sizes. 

E. Moore. "New virus-detecting lab on a chip gets even Better." CNET News, 2/3/2010. 2/15/2010. <http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-10447052-247.html>

More 'turnkey' options for thermal solar

eSolar, which was created by Idealab, makes utility-scale thermal solar systems.  It uses solar panels to transform light into electricity.  These solar plants have heliostats that reflect sunlight to its centralized tower.   The sunlight produces heat and creates steam, thus rotating the turbine that generates electricity.  eSolar already has a significant list of projects in China and the Southwest of the U.S. But eSolar is not the only company using "turnkey" solar thermal option for utilities. In August 2009,  Solar Trust acquired rights to about 726 megawatts worth of solar projects for Southern California Edison.  It is designing, building, and installing the solar thermal plants.  The two thermal plants are similar. Both Solar Trust and eSolar offer thermal solar solutions.  However, a key different is that Solar Trust uses parabolic troughs to reflect sunlight and heat liquid for steam instead of heliostats.



C. Lombardi. "More 'turnkey' options for thermal solar." CNET News, 2/18/2010. 2/20/2010 <http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10455666-54.html>.

Brain Imaging Lets Vegetative Patient Communicate

In the New England Journal of Medicine, a study has found that people once thought to be lost in a vegetative state are now being re-diagnosed. The problem in determining awareness to those who lack controllable motor skills has for years left even doctors to believe most of these patient are in fact vegetative. However, according to this breakthrough study, Five out of Fifty Four patients thought to be vegetative were found to have the ability to answer simple yes or no questions thanks to Instant-MIR technology. This technology scans the brain looking for certain areas to light up that correspond to those of a healthy person if asked the same question. Instant MRI technology is time consuming and requires zero movement; the hope is that future research will quickly yield methods of testing using Electroencephalography (EEG) devices, which are both portable, and relatively inexpensive.




E. Singer. "Brain Imaging Lets Vegetative Patient Communicate." Technology Review, 2/4/2010. 2/18/2010
<http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24475/page1/>.

Guilt Free Plastic for Composting in Your Yard.

A team of scientists and engineers are making a innovative degradable material from a new sugar-based polymer. At the Imperial College Londom, these sugars are derived from the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass, which is the biomass produced by cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin found in agricultural waste. The most significant is that the plastic cup can absorb water and breakdown quickly. Most plastics are harmful, these innovative plastics leave no harmful products. In addition, it can safely degrade within the human body without harm. This can make changes in the medical field; this biodegrable polymer is a candidate for stitches or as a vehicle for medicine delivery.
This is a big break through because about 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels.

C. Lombardi. “Guilt free Plastic for Composting in your Yard.” CNET Review, 2/19/2010. 2/19/2010 <http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10456612-54.html?tag=mncol;title>.

Busting Blood Clots with Sound Waves

InSightec's high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) device is lined with more than 1,000 ultrasound transducers. Each transducer can be focused and can converge on a spot only four millimeters wide, accurate enough to hit an artery-blocking clot and dissolve it in under a minute. It can be used without damaging the skull. One day, it might be used to break stroke-causing blood clots in the brain. So far, it has only been tested on animals, but researchers want to start human testing by the end of 2011. In studies in rabbits, it has been shown that the InSightec system can break clots in the brain without harming healthy tissue. Today, only two proven methods are in use to destroy clots. A drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which dissolves clots. It must be administered within three hours of the stroke. The second method is physically removal of the clot from a blood vessel, but few hospitals practice this technique. There are many questions about this technique, including how radiologists will be able to pinpoint the clot's exact location in the brain.


L. Gravitz. “Busting Blood Clots with Sound Waves.” Technology Review, 2/17/2010. 2/17/2010 <http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24548/>.

A Form-fitting Photovoltaic Artificial Retina

Loss of photoreceptor cells has caught Scientist’s attention for a while. Scientists and engineers have attempted to produce retina artificial retina. A problem is how to get the power and data into a retinal chip, which is implanted to the back of a person’s eye. A team from Stanford University has worked on engineering a device. The device includes a video camera that captures images, a pocket PC that processes the video feed, and a bright near-infrared LCD display built into video goggles. The 900-nanometer-wavelength image can produce electricity in the chip. Some patients might still have a few functional photoreceptors that could be stimulated by visible light. The array is a series of pixels, each formed from a three photovoltaic cells of three different sizes. The purpose of the multiple sub-pixels, say the Stanford researchers, is to increase the amount of current sent to the functional photoreceptors. Recently, the Stanford researchers are trying to improve the system but allowing it to fit the curvature of the eye. They used flexures that allow the array to curve along with the natural shape of the retina. Despite how advanced this is the vision it provides is limited. Based on its size, it would give a visual acuity of about 20/200. In the best-case scenario, it would have a visual acuity of 20/100. That would allow face recognition and for reading large fonts.


W. Jones, “A Form-fitting Photovoltaic Artificial Retina,” IEEE Spectrum, 12/22/2009. 2/18/2010 <http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/bionics/a-formfitting-photovoltaic-artificial-retina>.

NASA Engineers Bring the Internet to Astronauts


“Hello Twitterverse...”

Astronaut TJ Creamer sent the first live tweet from space aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Engineers used the station’s communication link, which heavily relies on the Ku radio band. The Ku band is the most common frequency spectrum used for satellite communication. A software modification was simply needed to transform the communication network to personal internet use. “The system will provide astronauts with direct private communications to enhance their quality of life during long-duration missions by helping to ease the isolation associated with life in a closed environment,” NASA stated. This is one step closer to creating vast communication in space. Vinton Cerf, one of the co-inventors of the TCP/IP internet protocol, has been working on a protocol that could integrate various communication devices in space. He has been working alongside NASA for over a decade attempting to make these devices work together like on Earth. However, this has many obstacles. Transmission scrambling solar storms, periodical blackouts and the enormous distances could add up to a large amount of corrupted or lost data. Overcoming these obstacles outside of Earth’s atmosphere is a challenge. “It’s great that astronauts can tweet from space, update their Facebook accounts and browse a friend’s Flickr album, but this personal internet upgrade is not exactly a revolution in communication.”



E, Ortlip. “NASA Engineers Bring the Internet to Astronauts.” IEEE Spectrum. 2/3/2010. 2/17/10 <http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/space-flight/nasa-engineers-bring-the-internet-to-astronauts>

A Form-fitting Photovoltaic Artificial Retina

Telomeres act as protective caps on chromosomes, which keep the DNA stable. It prevents the DNA from unraveling.  As we age and as cells replicate, these telomeres shorten.  Thus, the cell becomes more prone to death. US research suggests that physical or emotional abuse during childhood could speed up this aging process. Previous studies have shown that telomeres shorten at a faster rate when exposed to toxins.  This includes radiation and cigarette smoking.  In the same way, psychiatric problems and stress can have a similar effect. This has raised concerns because shorter telomeres can be linked to certain diseases and aging.  In this study, scientists looked at 22 women and 9 men.   This sample size had a mix of happy childhoods, emotional, physical or sexual abuse or neglect.  There are many different factors that could have explained their reduced telomeres such as cigarettes, obesity, lack of exercise etc.  The small sample size is not sufficient enough to link abuse with shorter telomeres, however, it could be a contributing factor.



W. Jones. “A Form-fitting Photovoltaic Artificial Retina.” IEEE Spectrum, 12/22/2009.  2/18/2010 <http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/bionics/a-formfitting-photovoltaic-artificial-retina>

Prion Protein Keeps Nerves Happy

Prions (misshapen proteins) are notorious to wreak havoc in the brain when let loose, such as in mad cow disease. Believe it or not, Prions start life off as normal, healthy proteins called PrP. PrP is everywhere in the brain, which some scientists now say plays an important role in maintaining myelin. Eleven years ago, a Japanese group published a paper claiming that mice without PrP had damage to their peripheral nerves. Adriano Aguzzi, a neuropathologist was intrigued by this finding. First, his team examined five strains of mice missing the PrP gene. He found that all the mice showed this peripheral nerve damage by 10 weeks of age. Then, they studied mice that lacked PrP to see what caused the demyelination. When PrP was present only in axons, it prevented disease. But when it was lacking in axons but present in the Schwann cells the mice got sick. Aguzzi theorizes that PrP is a signaling molecule in axons that's needed to "keep Schwann cells happy." Aguzzi is now interested in learning if PrP might be part in human demyelinating diseases. Other human diseases "look very similar to what we see in these mice," notes Aguzzi.


J. Couzin-Frankel, “Prion Protein Keeps Nerves Happy,” Science, Jan 25, 2010. Retrieved on Feb 18, 2010: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/01/25-04.html .

 Greedy Virus Helps Spread Disease

The vaccinia virus seems to have an interesting invasion method. “‘Mine, all mine!’ That's what the vaccinia virus seems to be saying after it invades a cell and prevents its companions from following suit.” The strategy actually helps the virus spread. This discovery may give raise to innovative ways to combat viral infections. Vaccinia doesn't cause diseases in humans but it has actually aided us in fighting viral infections. It has a resemblance to the smallpox virus. Researchers were able to use it as a vaccine for the small pox virus until it was eradicated in the late 1970’s. Vaccinia is continually researched in hope of developing other vaccines. Virologist Geoffrey Smith of Imperial College London noticed that vaccinia spread four times faster than its replication cycle. "No one seemed to have done the arithmetic," Smith says. So, Smith and his colleagues decided to research this more. They discovered that vaccinia produces two proteins after it infects a cell. This result in a superinfection; the vaccinia proteins form a complex on the cell's surface that inhibits other vaccinia virus from entering the cell. As a vaccinia viruses come closer, long projections of actin, shoot out from the cell membrane. This shoos the virus away. Many other viruses, such as herpes simplex virus, have a similar infection strategy. If researchers could utilize the same protein complex as vaccinia, it could help in fighting these infections by blocking the interaction of the two proteins.

S. Lundin, “Greedy Virus Helps Spread Disease,” Science, 1/22/2010. http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/01/22-02.html, [2/19/2010].

Artificial Platelets Catalyze Clotting

Researchers reported they have designed a synthetic platelet that can potentially help in fatal hemorrhaging. Naturally, platelets can quickly stop the bleeding from a small cut, but the hemorrhaging caused by a car crash or a battlefield wound might overwhelm the cell fragments. After an injury, platelets attach to the walls of the damaged vessels and to each other creating a plug. Platelet transfusions can increase clotting in wounded patients, wounded soldiers, and patients with low platelet counts. However, donated platelets have its limitations. It has a shelf life of only 5 days--versus 6 weeks for red blood cells--and a risk of bacterial infections. Six years ago, James Bertram, then a graduate student at Yale University, started developing a substitute for platelets. His design used spheres “about one-tenth the diameter of a platelet and composed of the same biodegradable polyester used in absorbable sutures.” The spheres carry molecules of polyethylene glycol with RGD (3-sequence amino acid). The idea is that the spheres will attach to the platelets and help create a clot. It was tested on rats that had a cut in a large vessel in their hind leg. An injection of the synthetic platelets, given right after the cut, reduced the bleeding time by 23%.The team now wants to use the synthetic platelets in larger animals, such as pigs, that are more similar to humans. Some experts see the results as promising but some say it isn’t. John Hess, a hematologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, argued that patients with severe bleeding are losing large amounts of platelets, so an approach that relies on recruiting platelets might not work.


M. Leslie, “ Artificial Platelets Catalyze Clotting,” Science, 12/16/2009. http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2009/12/16-02.html
, [02/17/2010].

New Source of an Isotope in Medicine Is Found

Technetium 99 (tech 99m) is a very important and valuable isotope in the medical field. It is used to measure blood flow in the heart and help in diagnosing bone and breast cancers. Tech 99m is a product of rapid decay of another radioactive isotope, molybdenum 9, which is from the spilt atoms of uranium 235. Tech 99m emits gamma rays that are easy to spot in a patient’s body. However, the isotope also decays rather quickly. As a result, doctors have to schedule procedures late at night and on weekends to make use of the isotope before it vanishes. About two thirds of the world’s supply comes from two reactors. The reactor in Onatrio, which has been shut down for repairs for 9 months, and the other reactor is in the Netherlands, which has closed for 6 months. This has raised enormous alarms among the medical community. Some patients have been forced to revert to inferior materials and techniques that have stopped usage 20 years ago for treatment. The US has increasingly looked abroad for radioactive materials. The inspector general of the Energy Department reported those supplies were sometimes unreliable. It either was delivered late or did not meet specifications. Covidien, a company in St Louis, announced they signed a contract with the operators at the Maria reactor, near Warsaw. The Maria rector is one of the world’s most powerful research reactors. However, the Maria will only fill a small fraction of the wide gap left from the shutdown other two reactors. Anrzej Strupczweski, chairman of the nuclear safety commission in Polish institute of Atomic energy, stated it would be tricky to produce tech 99m at the Maria reactor. He said that it lacked a force-air system to cool the uranium but a recent test went well.

M. Walid, “New Source of an Istope in Medicine Is Found,” NYTimes, 2/16/2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/health/17isotope.html?ref=science
, [2/18/2010].

Blood Test Developed for Deadly Transplant Complication


Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a deadly complication among bone marrow transplant patients. This is similar to the body rejecting an organ donation. Scientists are finding blood sample tests to diagnose and extent of this disease in patients. What causes the disease? An immune cell in the donated bone marrow identifies the patient’s cells as a foreign invader and launches an immune attack. This attack most commonly results in a visible skin rash. The immune response can progress and damage internal organs (30% to 40% of the cases prove to be fatal.)

In response, clinicians begin treatment with high doses of steroids. Steroids can suppress the body’s immune response. This strategy can be dangerous and deadly. It raises the risk of infection and can potentially cause a relapse in cancer patients. Scientists found a potential blood sample test. Elafin is an anti-inflammatory protein that is produced by the body in response to skin GVHD. The protein is in relatively high amounts in GVHD victims. James Ferrara, a coauthor of study at the University of Michigan, and his team took weekly blood samples from patients who received bone marrow transplants. The team compared the levels of elafin in 10 patients who have developed GVHD and 20 patients who didn’t. On average, the elafin level in patients who developed skin GVHD were three times higher than those who didn’t develop GVHD. Next, 159 patients with the disease were separated into two groups; those with higher elafin and those who have lower than average, and followed each groups long term survival. After 12 months, three times as many patients died in the high-elafin group from GVHD and its complications than in the low-elafin group. If elafin levels rise before GVHD symptoms develop, it might be possible to identify patients at risk.



 T. Wogan, “Blood Test Developed for Deadly Transplant Complication, “ Science, 1/5/2010. http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/01/06-04.html, [2/15/10]

In the Case of Droplets, Opposites Repel

Coulomb’s law states that an opposite electric charges--positive and negative--attract each other. According to this law, oppositely charged water droplets mutually attract each other. This attraction pulls the droplets together, deforming them and forming a shape called a Taylor cone on its surface. Usually the cones touch to form a bridge between the droplets, which then merge. A recent discovery showed a different result than expected from Coulomb’s law. Droplets with a whole lot of charge bounce off each other. In 2005, chemical engineer William Ristenpart was studying the effects of electric charge on droplets of water in oil. His team discovered that if the droplets are carrying low or moderate charges then the cones are short and wide, with a large angle at the top. The surface tension pulls the drops together into one big droplet. However, if the droplets are highly charged, then they pull on each other so strongly that the cones become tall and skinny, with a small angle at their tips. The high surface tension causes the bridge to break, thus making the electric field become virtually negligible. There is no electric charge between them, so they rebound each other. The researchers’ state there is a “critical” angle which droplets do not merge. This finding could cause a rethinking on some important industrial processes, such as the electrostatic separation of water from crude oil.


 P. Berardelli. “In the Case of Droplets, Opposites Repel .” Science, 10/16/2009. 2/18/10  http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2009/09/16-02.html.