02-05-2008, 08:44 PM
Is it possible that a leak from this research is the cause of Morgellon's? Didn't that disease originate in the Texas area? Or am I making a great leap here?
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/05...01-ae-0001
Nanowires Built From DNA
Eric Bland, Discovery News
Feb. 5, 2008 -- By stirring DNA into a chemical solution and exposing it to ultraviolet light, scientists have come up with a simple, cheap method to create nanowires that could be used to create tiny computers and medical devices.
"The process is very simple stuff," said Hong Liang of Texas A & M University, one of the authors of the paper, which appears in the current issue of Advanced Materials.
"Basically you put the solution and DNA into a beaker, stir it around, and expose it to light."
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, contains the blueprints for all life. The Texas researchers used it as a scaffold, a structure that other molecules can bind to. Since DNA naturally forms long chains, the researchers started by creating wires, but making other shapes and structures from the solution are possible.
The researchers mixed the DNA with a solution containing cadmium, a metal, and stirred it around before exposing it to UV light.
"The UV light triggers a reaction, and the cadmium looks around for something to attach to," said Liang. "They find the DNA and grab it."
By controlling the concentration of the solution, the scientists can control the thickness of the wire. The wires form along the length of the DNA molecule, so cutting the DNA results in wires of different lengths.
As any beachgoer knows, UV light can degrade DNA, causing problems like cancer. To avoid damaging their DNA solution, the researchers used low-intensity UV light, much less intense levels that damage DNA.
The reaction uses and produces no toxic chemicals and takes place at room temperature and room pressure; no elaborate set-up is needed. The wires maintain their properties for three months.
Simple as it may be, the research could one day be used as a new way to see inside the body using either X-rays or other imaging techniques.
The metal-coated DNA could be injected into the blood stream and would congregate in tumors or damaged areas. Since the molecules are made of electrically conductive metal, they would show up in an X-ray or other electromagnetic diagnostic scan.
It could also be used to create tiny circuit boards and computers or anything that uses electricity.
As Sri Sridhar, a professor of physics at Northeastern University, points out, researchers are borrowing tricks from Mother Nature.
"It's a very hot thing right now," said Sridhar. "While DNA is the basis of life, we are not using those properties," he said. Instead, researchers are "taking the tricks that evolution developed as a basis for a new type of electronics that is DNA-based."
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/05...01-ae-0001
Nanowires Built From DNA
Eric Bland, Discovery News
Feb. 5, 2008 -- By stirring DNA into a chemical solution and exposing it to ultraviolet light, scientists have come up with a simple, cheap method to create nanowires that could be used to create tiny computers and medical devices.
"The process is very simple stuff," said Hong Liang of Texas A & M University, one of the authors of the paper, which appears in the current issue of Advanced Materials.
"Basically you put the solution and DNA into a beaker, stir it around, and expose it to light."
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, contains the blueprints for all life. The Texas researchers used it as a scaffold, a structure that other molecules can bind to. Since DNA naturally forms long chains, the researchers started by creating wires, but making other shapes and structures from the solution are possible.
The researchers mixed the DNA with a solution containing cadmium, a metal, and stirred it around before exposing it to UV light.
"The UV light triggers a reaction, and the cadmium looks around for something to attach to," said Liang. "They find the DNA and grab it."
By controlling the concentration of the solution, the scientists can control the thickness of the wire. The wires form along the length of the DNA molecule, so cutting the DNA results in wires of different lengths.
As any beachgoer knows, UV light can degrade DNA, causing problems like cancer. To avoid damaging their DNA solution, the researchers used low-intensity UV light, much less intense levels that damage DNA.
The reaction uses and produces no toxic chemicals and takes place at room temperature and room pressure; no elaborate set-up is needed. The wires maintain their properties for three months.
Simple as it may be, the research could one day be used as a new way to see inside the body using either X-rays or other imaging techniques.
The metal-coated DNA could be injected into the blood stream and would congregate in tumors or damaged areas. Since the molecules are made of electrically conductive metal, they would show up in an X-ray or other electromagnetic diagnostic scan.
It could also be used to create tiny circuit boards and computers or anything that uses electricity.
As Sri Sridhar, a professor of physics at Northeastern University, points out, researchers are borrowing tricks from Mother Nature.
"It's a very hot thing right now," said Sridhar. "While DNA is the basis of life, we are not using those properties," he said. Instead, researchers are "taking the tricks that evolution developed as a basis for a new type of electronics that is DNA-based."