Science Highlights

Highlight Archive: 2008 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01

Landmark Study Opens Door to New Cancer, Aging Treatments
Researchers at The Wistar Institute used the NSLS to decipher the structure of the active region of telomerase, an enzyme that plays a major role in the development of nearly all human cancers. The landmark achievement opens the door to the creation of new, broadly effective cancer drugs, as well as anti-aging therapies.

Slippery Customer: A Greener Antiwear Additive for Engine Oils
Titanium, a protean element with applications from pigments to aerospace alloys, could get a new role as an environmentally friendly additive for automotive oil, thanks to work conducted at the NSLS by materials scientists from Afton Chemical Corporation in Richmond, Va., and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In a recent paper published in the journal Tribology Transactions, the researchers established that a titanium compound added to engine oil creates a wear-resistant nanoscale layer bound to the surface of vulnerable engine parts, making it a credible substitute for older compounds that do not coexist well with antipollution equipment.

Cracking the Structure of a Key Cancer-Related Protein
A team of researchers from The Wistar Institute, the University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University has bettered the understanding of an enzyme that is linked to some of the deadliest human cancers. Using x-ray crystallography at the NSLS, the researchers solved the 3-D structure of a protein called p300/CBP, which belongs to a family of enzymes known as histone acetyltransferases (HATs). These enzymes activate genes by attaching chemicals called acetyl groups to chromosomes, altering gene function.

Creating an Electron Avalanche without Electronics
Dilute elements – those with low concentrations in a material – are extremely hard to pinpoint because of their weak signals and interfering noise. Recently, though, a team of scientists from the NSLS and Southern University have tested a way to amplify these small signals for x-ray fluorescence experiments, creating a signal stronger than those produced by traditional detectors.

First Nanoscale Image of Soil Reveals an 'Incredible' Variety
A handful of soil is a lot like a banana, strawberry, and apple smoothie: Blended all together, it is hard to tell what’s in there, especially if you have never tasted the fruits before. But when you look at soil’s organic carbon closely, it has an incredible variety of known compounds. And looking closely is exactly what Cornell researchers have done for the first time – at a scale of 50 nanometers (1 nanometer equals the width of three silicon atoms). Until now, handfuls of soil humus (or the organic component of soil, formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material by soil microorganisms) looked remarkably similar.

Scientists Determine Drug Target for the Most Potent Botulinum Neurotoxin
Botulinum neurotoxin – responsible for the deadly food poisoning disease botulism and for the beneficial effects of smoothing out facial wrinkles – can also be used as a dreaded biological weapon. When ingested or inhaled, less than a billionth of an ounce can cause muscle paralysis and eventual death. Although experimental vaccines administered prior to exposure can inhibit the destructive action of this neurotoxin – the most deadly protein known to humans – no effective pharmacological treatment exists. Now, scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) have taken the first step toward designing an effective antidote to the most potent form of the toxin. They have found that they can trick the toxin to bypass its normal binding protein, thereby blocking its deadly action. The results of their research are reported in the April 22, 2008 online issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.