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Science News for October 29, 2001


Movement of single molecules imaged in live organism

Researchers successfully imaged single molecules of cAMP binding to receptors on the surface of living amoebae, providing new insights into chemotaxis and cell movement. The study's real-time video reveals how receptors behave when detecting cAMP gradients, allowing cells to respond faster to changes in their environment.

SourceJohns Hopkins Medicine·JournalScience·DateOct 29, 2001

Who ya gonna call?

The NRL's Humvee-based communications system can provide two-way satellite commercial links and a private cellular telephone network. It can also handle streaming video, making it an essential tool for emergency response teams.

Anthrax dectectors are coming

A researcher has developed a new detector that can identify airborne anthrax and other biological particles in under 30 minutes. The device uses lasers and acoustic sensors to detect the presence of microorganisms, offering significant improvements over existing methods.

Fusion spin-off makes high-res images of tiny objects

Researchers at Cornell University's Laboratory of Plasma Studies have developed a new X-pinch imaging technique that produces extremely high-resolution images of minute objects. The technique, which uses powerful electrical currents to create plasma, has been used to image objects as small as house fly hairs and even living ants.

Finding a face in a crowd

The FaceIt face recognition system uses local feature analysis to capture tiny components of the face, allowing it to recognize faces even when only a portion is visible. It can track up to 10 faces simultaneously and search for matches against a database at a rate of 60 million/minute.