Science Highlights

Highlight Archive: 2009 | 08 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01

Tapering a Free-Electron Laser to Extract More Juice
Researchers from the NSLS and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) have demonstrated a technique that could be used to significantly improve the quantity and quality of light produced from a free-electron laser (FEL) – a source that provides pulses of light that can be 1,000 times shorter than those at conventional storage ring light sources. The research, conducted at the NSLS Source Development Laboratory (SDL), is the first to show an efficiency and spectrum enhancement in the FEL by tapering the device's undulator, the array of magnets that induces the electron beam to generate radiation. The results are published in the October 7, 2009, edition of Physical Review Letters.

Metal Deficit in Mouse Brain Plaques Guides Direction of Human Alzheimer's Disease Research
Minuscule plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease contain much less metal than the brains of affected humans, according to a study conducted at the NSLS. This surprising finding could help researchers pinpoint the effect of metal in the human disease, and, in the long term, lead to targets for drug development or prevention methods.

Breaking Down the Barrier for Smaller, Faster Electronic Devices
A team of international researchers is the first to uncover the chemical composition and structure of a microelectronics element that is vital to producing ever smaller – and, thus, cheaper and faster – devices. "The number of electronic devices that can be placed within an integrated circuit has followed almost perfectly an exponential increase in the past 40 years," said James Ablett, a researcher at Synchrotron SOLEIL in France. "However, to maintain this rate, a major change in the fabrication process is required."

Inhibitors of Important Tuberculosis Survival Mechanism Identified
Attempts to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) are stymied by the fact that the disease-causing bacteria have a sophisticated mechanism for surviving dormant in infected cells. Now, a team of scientists including researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University (SBU), Weill Cornell Medical College, and The Rockefeller University has identified compounds that inhibit that mechanism — without damaging human cells. The results, described in the September 16, 2009, issue of Nature, include structural studies of how the inhibitor molecules interact with bacterial proteins, and could lead to the design of new anti-TB drugs.

New X-Ray Technique Illuminates Reactivity of Environmental Contaminants
A chemical reaction can occur in the blink of an eye. Thanks to a new analytical method employed by researchers at the University of Delaware, scientists can now pinpoint, at the millisecond level, what happens as harmful environmental contaminants such as arsenic begin to react with soil and water under various conditions. Quantifying the initial rates of such reactions is essential for modeling how contaminants are transported in the environment and predicting risks.

High-Res View of Zinc Transport Protein
How much difference can a tenth of a nanometer make? When it comes to figuring out how proteins work, an improvement in resolution of that miniscule amount can mean the difference between seeing where atoms are and understanding how they interact. Case in point: New, improved-resolution views of a zinc transporter protein deciphered at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provide not just a structure but also a suggested mechanism for how cells sense and regulate zinc, an element that is essential for life, but which must be kept at a steady state to avoid problems like seizures, diabetes, and possibly Alzheimer's disease.

Chemists Reach from the Molecular to the Real World with Creation of 3-D DNA Crystals
New York University chemists have created three-dimensional DNA structures, a breakthrough bridging the molecular world to the world where we live. The work, reported in the latest issue of the journal Nature, also has a range of potential industrial and pharmaceutical applications, such as the creation of nanoelectronic components and the organization of drug receptor targets to enable illumination of their 3D structures.