Pipes a Million Times Thinner Than Human Hair Could Deliver Personalized Therapies to Individual Cells:
Pipes a million times thinner than a human hair could deliver personalized therapies to individual cells, according to new research. The ‘world’s tiniest plumbing system’ could transform medicine by funneling drugs, proteins, or molecules to precisely targeted organs and tissue without any risk of side effects. It is made of many microscopic tubes that self-assemble and can connect themselves to different biostructures. These nanotubes form using DNA strands woven between different double helices. The tube structures have small gaps similar to woven bamboo tubes called Chinese finger traps and now with an engineered cork on the ends of the tubes, the system of tubing can turn the flow on and off in a controlled way. These improvements in the tubing design are a significant step toward creating the first network of its kind to combat a host of life-threatening diseases, allowing scientists to study diseases like cancer, and the functions of the body’s more than 200 types of cells.
First light at the most powerful laser in the US:
(From left) Laser engineer Lauren Weinberg, research scientist John Nees and research engineer Galina Kalinchenko pose for photos while working on the ZEUS laser at the NSF ZEUS laser facility in a Michigan Engineering lab. Credit: Marcin Szczepanski, Michigan Engineering
The laser that will be the most powerful in the United States is preparing to send its first pulses into an experimental target at the University of Michigan. Called ZEUS, the Zetawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System, it will explore the physics of the quantum universe as well as outer space, and it is expected to contribute to new technologies in many areas of medicine and electronics. They will use ZEUS to send infrared laser pulses into a gas target of helium, turning it into plasma. That plasma accelerates electrons to high energies, and those electron beams then wiggle to produce very compact X-ray pulses. While this is being done, the absorption of the pulses and the imaging results will be studied to see how the laser distinguishes different materials. Depending on how different materials, including soft tissue, receive the waves will produce different coloration and saturation allowing us to tell the identities of objects. The imaging produced by the high speeds of the laser will also allow for much more high-definition imaging, making it easier to view more microscopic differences in a medical context. Nevertheless, the technology seems incredibly promising and could prove to be useful for further advancement in medical technology and more.
Looking for a job? Lean more on weak ties than strong relationships:
The professional networking site LinkedIn helps users connect through a feature called People You May Know. It was used to test a 50-year-old theory that weaker connections are better than stronger connections for getting ahead in life. OHMZ/ISTOCK EDITORIAL/GETTY IMAGES PLUS
The key to landing your dream job could be connecting with and then sending a single message to a casual acquaintance on social media. This is the conclusion of a five-year study of over 20 million users on the professional networking site LinkedIn, researchers report. The study is the first large-scale effort to experimentally test a nearly 50-year-old social science theory that says weak social ties matter more than strong ones for getting ahead in life, including finding a good job. The entire study tests the weak tie theory which was proposed by Sociologist Mark Granovetter from Stanford. This theory claims that humans cluster into social spheres that connect via bridges that connect people to realms of new ideas and information, including job markets. In the study, conflicting evidence was found in regard to this theory. On the one hand, for those with more weaker connections (LinkedIn followers) a person applied to more jobs, resulting in more offers. However, this mostly applied to jobs typically in the digital realm while strong ties were better for getting jobs outside of it. Overall, the conclusion of the study proves that mid-level connections where a person knows you to a decent degree, but not in expansive detail are the most effective for job seeking regardless of occupation.
Sources:
First light at the most powerful laser in the US (phys.org)
Looking for a job? Lean more on weak ties than strong relationships | Science News