science blogspot

Once described by Albert Einstein as "spooky action at a distance," today we understand quantum entanglement as when a pair of particles that cross paths and interact with each other can become connected and stay that way, even when spaced very far apart. Once intertwined in this way, changes to one particle can immediately shape the other, an odd scientific phenomenon that has been proven through experiments with atoms and molecules, and more recently through entangled objects of   even larger scales . In practical terms, quantum entanglement is a key part of quantum mechanics, which forms the basis for fields such as  quantum computing and  cryptography , so there is considerable interest in advancing our understanding of it. For scientists at the University of Glasgow, this led them to study a form of quantum entanglement known as Bell entanglement, described by late physicist John Stewart Bell in the 1960s. The researchers set up an experiment where a st...

New biologically derived metal-organic framework mimics DNA  April 8, 2019 ,  Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne S SION-19, a biologically derived MOF based on adenine was used to ‘lock’ Thymine (Thy) molecules in the channels through hydrogen bonding interactions between adenine and thymine. Upon irradiation, thymine molecules were dimerized into di-thymine (ThyThy). Credit: Peter G. Boyd/EPFL The field of materials science has become abuzz with "metal-organic frameworks" (MOFs), versatile compounds made up of metal ions connected to organic ligands, thus forming one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures. There is now an ever-growing list of applications for MOF, including separating petrochemicals, detoxing water from heavy metals and fluoride anions, and getting hydrogen or even gold out of it. But recently, scientists have begun making MOFs, made of   building blocks   that typically make up biomolecules, e.g. amino acids for proteins or ...

ANTI-AGING DRUG THAT KILLS OLD CELLS PASSES FIRST HUMAN TRIAL FEBRUARY 15TH 19__KRISTIN HOUSER__ FILED UNDER: HEALTH & MEDICINE PIXABAY/TAG HARTMAN-SIMKINS Cleaning House Not all damaged cells die. Some stick around as senescent cells, unable to divide but still able to produce chemical signals — and they could play a major role in the battle against aging. “It is thought that these cells and the substances they produce are involved in the process of aging,” longevity researcher Nicolas Musi from the University of Texas at Austin  told  MIT Technology Review . “The idea is that removing these cells may be beneficial to promote healthy aging and also to prevent diseases of aging.” Based on the results of a very early trial, there may be something to that theory. Doubled Up In January , Musi and his colleagues published the results of a trial in which they treated 14 patients suffering from the fatal lung ...