Update: December 12, 2007

GOOD VIBRATIONS AND OTHER SCIENCE TOPICS

By Pam Eastlick for THE DEEP on line

Welcome to The Deep science and technology column where we cover topics from the deep sea to deep space and beyond.

GOOD VIBRATIONS AND OTHER SCIENCE TOPICS
We’ll start this week’s excursion into the wonderful world of science with a little archeology.  Archeologists at Cornell University are rewriting history with the help of tree rings from 900-year-old trees and wood found on ancient buildings.  They’re using radiocarbon dating and chemistry to analyze the wood.

By collecting thousands of years worth of overlapping tree rings, with each ring representing a tree's annual growth, the researchers have created long-term records in the eastern Mediterranean that allow them to precisely date such historical milestones as when Hammurabi, "the law-giver," reigned, when the massive Santorini volcanic eruption occurred, and the timelines of the Bronze and Iron ages, as well as many more recent events.

Dendrochronology is the science of comparing growth patterns in tree trunks to date past events or climate changes.  Cornell's dendrochronology laboratory now holds more than 40,000 tree-ring samples, including many from the eastern Mediterranean.

Trees of the same species from the same geographical area have fairly similar ring patterns because they are exposed to similar climatic conditions.  By starting with living trees and then finding samples from slightly older trees used in buildings and still older trees from more ancient sites, archaeologists have been able to overlap tree-ring data to create chronologies that date back thousands of years.
Radiocarbon dating, statistical analysis, researchers' trained eyes and prior knowledge of events in the area are then used to match new samples with tree-ring chronologies from the same area.  The Cornell researchers have used these techniques to verify, for example, the likely origins of a painting by one of Rembrandt’s students. He showed that the oak board of the painting came from the same tree as the board of another painting, whose origins are known and which hangs in a museum in Krakow, Poland.
Similarly, scholars have debated for more than 150 years about the dates of the ancient civilizations of the Babylonians, the Assyrians and the lifetime of Hammurabi, the Babylonian king who helped create the oldest set of written laws.  Scholars have proposed dates for his reign that differ by 300 years.
Using ancient beams from palaces of known contemporaries of Hammurabi, Cornell researchers combined radiocarbon dating techniques with dendrochronological evidence to date Hammurabi to around 1792 B.C.

Similar techniques used on wood buried beneath volcanic ash allowed the researchers to date the Santorini volcanic eruption, one of the largest in the last 10,000 years, as most likely occurring in the late 17th century B.C., 100 years earlier than previously believed.  The discovery may rewrite the late Bronze Age history of Mediterranean civilizations.

That’s the marvelous thing about science.  Everything has a story to tell if we only have the equipment and intelligence to listen.

And in an astounding breakthrough, scientists confirmed what they had created by listening to the Beach Boys.  Specifically “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys.

First Fully-functional Radio Made From A Single Carbon Nanotube

FIRST FULLY FUNCTIONAL RADIO MADE FROM A SINGLE NANOTUBE
Make way for the real nanopod and make room in the Guinness World Records.  A team of researchers at the University of California at Berkeley has created the first fully functional radio from a single carbon nanotube, which makes it by several orders of magnitude, the smallest radio ever made.

The world’s smallest radio is 10,000 times smaller than a human hair.  Carbon nanotubes are much smaller than the wavelengths of visible light so they can’t be seen, even with the highest powered optical microscope.  The nanotube does interact with radio signals (which have longer frequencies) by vibrating to the frequency and then acts as both amplifier and demodulator.  The nanotube radio can pick up both AM or FM.  With such a small receiver or transmitter, you could put a tracking collar on a bacterium.
Given that the nanotube radio essentially assembles itself and can be easily tuned to a desired frequency band after fabrication, the researchers believe that nanoradios will be relatively easy to mass-produce.  Potential applications, in addition to incredibly tiny radio receivers, include a new generation of wireless communication devices and monitors.  Nanotube radio technology could prove especially valuable for biological and medical applications.

The entire radio could easily fit inside a living cell, and this small size allows it to safely interact with biological systems.  It’s possible that these nanoradios could interface with brain or muscle functions, or be used as radio-controlled devices moving through the bloodstream.”

It is also possible that the nanotube radio could be implanted in the inner ear as an entirely new and discrete way of transmitting information, or as a radically new method of correcting impaired hearing.
The carbon nanotube radio consists of an individual carbon nanotube mounted to an electrode in close proximity to a counter-electrode, with a DC voltage source, such as from a battery or a solar cell array, connected to the electrodes for power.  The applied DC bias creates a negative electrical charge on the tip of the nanotube, sensitizing it to oscillating electric fields.  Both the electrodes and nanotube are contained in vacuum, in a geometrical configuration similar to that of a conventional vacuum tube.
Although it has the same essential components, the nanotube radio does not work like a conventional radio.  Rather than the entirely electrical operation of a conventional radio, the nanotube radio is in part a mechanical operation, with the nanotube itself serving as both antenna and tuner.

Incoming radio waves interact with the nanotube’s electrically charged tip, causing the nanotube to vibrate.  These vibrations are only significant when the frequency of the incoming wave coincides with the nanotube’s frequency, which, like a conventional radio, can be tuned during operation to receive only a pre-selected segment, or channel, of the electromagnetic spectrum.

To demonstrate the radio’s capability the researchers launched an FM radio transmission of the song “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys.  After being received, filtered, amplified, and demodulated all by the nanotube radio, the emerging signal was further amplified by a current preamplifier, sent to an audio loudspeaker and recorded.  The nanotube radio faithfully reproduced the audio signal, and the song was easily recognizable.

When the researchers deliberately detuned the nanotube radio from the carrier frequency, mechanical vibrations faded and radio reception was lost.  Using a slightly different configuration, the researchers successfully transmitted and received signals across a distance of several meters.
Good Vibrations indeed.  I’ll expect to hear more about nanoradios!

And now a little medical news.

MOLECULES WITH INTERESTING ANTI-CLOTTING PROPERTIES DISCOVERED
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have discovered a new mechanism to inhibit key enzymes that play a major role in clotting disorders, which could lead to novel therapies to treat clots in the lungs and those localized deep in the body in areas such as the legs.

Antithrombotic disorders occur when the effect of thrombin, a protein involved in coagulation, is inhibited, rendering blood unable to clot effectively.  These disorders are considered common and can be fatal.  Although there are a number of anticoagulation drugs available -- heparins and warfarins -- some patients develop adverse reactions to the therapy and must be closely monitored.

In a recent paper, the researchers reported on the design of three highly complex molecules with unique anticoagulant properties that were prepared in the laboratory.  These molecules were able to inhibit the ability of critical enzymes involved with the cascade of events involved in blood clotting.  Specifically, the molecules prevent the normal action of thrombin, the critical enzyme targeted by current anticoagulant therapy.

The researchers said they have identified a new mechanism that may prevent clotting and result in new drugs for the treatment of thrombotic disorders, including pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and more.

The molecules may have several advantages over currently available anticoagulation drugs.  The new anti-clotting therapies may result in reduced hospital stays for patients, fewer side effects, and possibly an overall cost reduction in therapy because these molecules can be synthesized inexpensively.  The researchers are currently investigating exactly how these complex molecules are responsible for anti-clotting activity.

And now we move from getting rid of the clots to getting rid of the bacteria.  As a female prone to bladder infections, I’ve known for years that there was a certain critical window at the beginning of the infection.  If I drank cranberry juice during that period, the symptoms stopped.  Years ago, I mentioned this to my doctor and he said, “There may be something to that.”  He was right.

COMPOUNDS IN CRANBERRIES MAY BE ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS
Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have found that compounds in cranberries change E. coli bacteria, (responsible for a host of human illnesses from kidney infections to gastroenteritis to tooth decay), in ways that render them unable to initiate an infection.

This research has begun to reveal the biochemical and biophysical mechanisms that underlie the beneficial health effects that have long been ascribed to cranberries and cranberry juice--in particular, the ability of cranberry juice to prevent urinary tract infections.  But until the current research, the mechanism by which cranberry juice prevents such infections was not clear, although scientists had suspected that compounds in the juice somehow prevented bacteria from adhering to the lining of the urinary tract.

The researchers discovered that the compounds prevent E. coli from adhering to body cells (a necessary first step in infections) in several ways:

The chemical changes caused by cranberry juice create an energy barrier that keeps the bacteria from getting close to the urinary tract lining.

Direct measurements show that the adhesive forces between E. coli and cells of the urinary tract are greatly reduced when at least a 5 percent solution of cranberry juice cocktail is present.
Cranberry juice causes tiny tendrils (known as fimbriae) on the surface of the type of E. coli bacteria responsible for the most serious types of UTIs to become compressed, reducing the bacteria's ability to latch onto the lining of the urinary tract.

E. coli grown in cranberry juice are unable to form biofilms.  Biofilms, clusters containing high concentrations of bacteria, are required for infections to develop. 

When E. coli are cultured over extended periods in solutions containing various concentrations of either cranberry juice, their cell membranes undergo changes that hinder the bacteria's ability to attach to cells of the urinary tract.

The researchers also noticed that cranberry juice inhibited the ability of E. coli to produce IAA, a molecule involved in a phenomenon known as quorum sensing.  Bacteria produce IAA to let other bacteria know they are there.  Quorum sensing enables bacteria to sense that their population is large enough to initiate an infection, or to form a biofilm.  Keeping bacteria from producing IAA may be another way that cranberry compounds can hinder their ability to cause serious infections.

The researchers say that their work indicates that the benefits increase the more juice or cranberry products one consumes. So when it comes to this year's Christmas feast, don't spare the cranberry sauce!

So . . . would you like to glow in the dark, too?

HIGH-TECH TEXTILES PAVE THE WAY FOR GLOWING GARMENTS
Researchers at The University of Manchester in England have developed high-tech battery-powered textile yarns that can be used to make clothing glow in the dark.  The yarns have the potential to be incorporated into clothing worn by cyclists, joggers and pedestrians.

Current high visibility products -- such as those used by emergency services, cyclists and highway maintenance workers -- depend on external light sources to make them visible.  They can be ineffective in low light situations and require a light source from something like vehicle headlights to make them visible.  This can lead to the wearer being seen too late. The latest clothing, made from electroluminescent (EL) yarns, allows the wearer to be permanently visible and therefore improves personal safety.  EL yarn is a novel technology, which emits light when powered by a battery.  Its development has been based on thin film electroluminescent technology. The yarn consists of an inner conductive core yarn, coated with electroluminescent ink -- which means it emits light when an electric current is passed through it -- and a protective transparent encapsulation, with an outer conductive yarn wrapped around it. Although the current yarn is less flexible than conventional yarns, it’s more flexible than plastic fiber optic threads, which have also been used to light up clothes.

Glowing clothes on a mannequin

Glow in the dark clothes.  I’m ready! 

And now for a lighter piece.

LIGHT HUMOR IN THE WORKPLACE IS A GOOD THING, STUDY SHOWS
It is commonly believed that kidding around at work isn’t a good thing.  Well, it is, says a University of Missouri-Columbia researcher, who has examined how workplace humor affects the working environment.

Chris Robert, assistant professor of management at MU, says that humor – particularly joking around about things associated with the job – actually has a positive impact in the workplace.  Occasional humor among colleagues, he said, enhances creativity, department cohesiveness and overall performance.

In his paper, Robert focuses on three primary areas:

- How humor works and its cognitive effects, which the researchers said influences creativity

- Why humor has a positive effect within an organization

- The influence of humor on positive emotions and the link between positive emotions and improved performance in organizations, and how culture influences the use of humor – particularly in multinational organizations where people might have differences in their sensibilities and sense of humor

Robert stressed the international aspect is an important part of the research and said the paper addresses some of the key cultural differences between the United States and Asian economic powerhouses such as China and India.

“Humor is difficult in cross cultural situations,” he said.  “It’s hard to know what’s going to be funny or when to use humor.  Some people have suggested that you just avoid it all together; don’t be funny, don’t try to make jokes.  We basically reject that and offer some ground rules for understanding when and what kind of humor might be appropriate.”

So, basically, go ahead and yuk it up at work.  As long as the humor isn’t offensive and your boss doesn’t mind.  Laughter; it does a body good!