Lifeboat Foundation

One of the distinct advantages of working in the IT industry for over 35 years is all of the direct and indirect experience that brings, as well as the hindsight that comes with that.

One of the more personally interesting experiences for me has been watching the growth and ultimate success of the Open Source Software (OSS) movement from a fringe effort (what business would ever run on OSS?) to what has now become a significant component behind the overall success of the Internet. I was initially reminded of the significance of the Open Source Software movement, and how long it’s actually been around when the technology press recognized the 25th anniversary of the Linux kernel. That, and the decision in January of 1998 by Netscape Communications Corp to release the complete source code for the Communicator web browser, are two of the top reasons for the Internet taking off. Well, the first specification for HTTP helped a little as well, I suppose.

There are, of course, many other examples of OSS software that power the Internet, from the numerous Apache Foundation projects, relational and other database management systems like Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB, and Cassandra. The list of markets and technologies for which there are OSS resources is essentially endless.

Research from Linda Griffith’s laboratory group at MIT will be presented at SPIE Photonics West 2017.

The traditional path for most drugs is to start in a petri dish containing a single cell tissue culture, move to small animals such as rodents then on to primates, and finally on to clinical trials in humans. Along the path, every step could encounter results that deem the drug a failure and not suitable for the desired outcome.

In Brief

• Researchers have created a 3D bulk material from silk fibroin that can be programmed to activate specific tasks when exposed to conditions like temperature or infrared light.
• The material could be used to create everything from hormone-emitting orthopedics to surgical pins that change color when they near their mechanical limits.

Engineers from Tufts University have just created a new, versatile material that could be optimized for a number of purposes, particularly within the medical field. The material was constructed out of special proteins called silk fibroins, and it can be programmed for specific biological, chemical, or mechanical tasks. The study was published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The team used water-based fabrication methods inspired by protein self-assembly to produce 3D bulk materials from silk fibroin. Fibroin, the structural protein that gives silk its durability, was chosen because it allowed for the easiest manipulation of the resulting substance’s form, as well as smoother modification of function. It’s also completely biodegradable.

Continue reading “Biotech Breakthrough: Engineers Made a New Material That Can Be Programmed” »

A Harvard research team led by biologist Douglas Melton has retracted a promising research paper following multiple failed attempts to reproduce the original findings.

• Earth Science

Researchers fabricate high performance Cu(OH)2 supercapacitor electrodes.

Luv this.

Tufts University engineers have created a new format of solids made from silk protein that can be preprogrammed with biological, chemical, or optical functions, such as mechanical components that change color with strain, deliver drugs, or respond to light, according to a paper published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Using a water-based fabrication method based on protein self-assembly, the researchers generated three-dimensional bulk materials out of silk fibroin, the protein that gives silk its durability. Then they manipulated the bulk materials with water-soluble molecules to create multiple solid forms, from the nano- to the micro-scale, that have embedded, pre-designed functions.

Continue reading “Researchers Develop Preprogrammed Silk-Based Solid Materials with Pre-Designed Functions” »

Breakthrough could be a boon for next-generation MRAM.

“We know that very small things act quantum, but then big things like you and me don’t act very quantum,” says William Burton, with the MIT physics department. “So we can see how far apart we can stretch a quantum system and still have it act coherently when we bring it back together.”

KITCHENER — Just a few days are left to see Themuseum’s quantum exhibit before it packs up to tour the country.

Quantum: The Exhibition is at the downtown Kitchener museum until Jan. 1.

“It’s a really cool exhibit,” said David Marskell, Themuseum’s chief executive officer.

Continue reading “Quantum exhibit soon leaves Kitchener for nationwide tour” »