Spectroscopy News and Research

RSS

Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between radiation (electromagnetic radiation, or light, as well as particle radiation) and matter.

Zilico receives funding to develop diagnostic device for oral cancer

Zilico Ltd has begun development work on a medical device which uses Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) in the detection and diagnosis of oral cancer following funding from the Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s innovation agency.

From Zilico 23 Jul 2014

Unnatural DNA bases: an interview with Professor Floyd E. Romesberg, The Scripps Research Institute

The natural DNA bases that form the letters of DNA are usually referred to as G, C, A, and T. Those are only the first letters of the chemical names. They’re often called nucleotides by their scientific name and all of them have in common a phosphate part, a sugar part and a nucleobase part.

21 Jul 2014

Drug for reduction of abdominal fat in HIV patients may also reduce fatty liver disease

The only drug to receive FDA approval for reduction of the abdominal fat deposits that develop in some patients receiving antiviral therapy for HIV infection may also reduce the incidence of fatty liver disease in such patients.

21 Jul 2014

Researchers use anti-tank Javelin missile detector to identify malaria parasites in blood

State-of-the-art military hardware could soon fight malaria, one of the most deadly diseases on the planet. Researchers at Monash University and the University of Melbourne have used an anti-tank Javelin missile detector, more commonly used in warfare to detect the enemy, in a new test to rapidly identify malaria parasites in blood.

18 Jul 2014

Researchers reveal molecular interplay between Roquin and RNA

The Roquin protein, discovered in 2005, controls T-cell activation and differentiation by regulating the expression of certain mRNAs. In doing so, it helps to guarantee immunological tolerance and prevents immune responses against the body's own structures that can lead to autoimmune disease.

16 Jul 2014

New femtosecond infrared light source helps to directly visualize hydrogen-bonded molecules

Using a newly developed, ultrafast femtosecond infrared light source, chemists at the University of Chicago have been able to directly visualize the coordinated vibrations between hydrogen-bonded molecules -- the first time this sort of chemical interaction, which is found in nature everywhere at the molecular level, has been directly visualized.

16 Jul 2014

Study to understand molecular interplay between Roquin and RNA to treat autoimmune diseases

Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU) and the Technische Universität München (TUM) have moved an important step closer to understanding molecular mechanisms of autoimmune diseases.

14 Jul 2014

Carbohydrates from Okra plant can improve quality of food products

Estonian-born Katerina Alba's research at the University of Huddersfield could help to improve the quality of some of the most popular emulsion-based food products - such as butter, mayonnaise, yoghurt and fruit drinks - and she is starting to gain an international profile for her work.

11 Jul 2014

2D IR spectroscopy reveals intermediate structure during amylin aggregation pathway

Amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, cataracts, and the spongiform encephalopathies, all share the common trait that proteins aggregate into long fibers which then form plaques.

11 Jul 2014

Telemedicine could improve quality of life of patients with chronic liver diseases

Although telemedicine could improve the quality of life of patients with chronic liver diseases, viable home care systems are still lacking. Scientists working on the EU-project "d-LIVER" mean to remedy this situation. Initial results have now been released.

9 Jul 2014

NMR Spectroscopy for In-Vitro Diagnostic Research

An interview with Dr. Manfred Spraul, discussing AVANCE, an advanced NMR spectrometer that is being applied to the fields of epidemiology and metabolomics.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 2 Jul 2014

Use of NMR in diagnostic research: an interview with Elaine Holmes, Imperial College

The Phenome Center developed out of the Olympic drug testing facility, and we've adapted it so that we use NMR spectrometry, which we have three spectrometers, and mass spectrometry, to take blood and urine from hundreds and thousands of people and profile them to get a biochemical fingerprint of every person.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 1 Jul 2014

Menopause-related changes in sex hormones linked to greater risk for heart disease

As hormone levels change during the transition to menopause, the quality of a woman's cholesterol carriers degrades, leaving her at greater risk for heart disease, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health discovered.

28 Jun 2014

New technique improves quality of flexible, conductive, transparent glass

A new technique developed by a Binghamton University physicist and his colleagues will improve the quality of flexible, conductive, transparent glass. (The sort that's needed for Minority Report-style giant computer displays.)

27 Jun 2014

Scientists use femtosecond lasers to tackle Parkinson's disease

Scientists are combining physics and neurobiology to tackle Parkinson's disease. The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University's Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit and Neurobiology Research Unit, along with collaborators at the University of Otago, New Zealand are using lasers, nanotechnology and neuroscience to develop a new, versatile drug delivery system.

26 Jun 2014

SLAC research reveals rapid DNA changes that act as molecular sunscreen

The molecular building blocks that make up DNA absorb ultraviolet light so strongly that sunlight should deactivate them - yet it does not. Now scientists have made detailed observations of a "relaxation response" that protects these molecules, and the genetic information they encode, from UV damage.

24 Jun 2014

Researchers find possible biological reason why people with diabetes are prone to depression

Researchers have found a possible biological reason why people with diabetes are prone to depression.

23 Jun 2014

Schizophrenia focus narrowed to dentate gyrus

The dentate gyrus is a likely site of pathology underlying schizophrenia, shows a study published in Molecular Psychiatry.

19 Jun 2014

UT Arlington researchers use portable device to map brain activity responses during cognitive activities

UT Arlington researchers have successfully used a portable brain-mapping device to show limited prefrontal cortex activity among student veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when they were asked to recall information from simple memorization tasks.