Quick test for quality beer, milk

To guarantee a high quality of their beer, breweries monitor the production process very closely. With a new polymer powder, this monitoring will be able to be faster and simpler in the future. Manufacturers can also test drinks such as milk, juice, cola and red wine with the quick check.

It tastes full-bodied and spicy, is tasty and is a welcome refreshment, especially in the hot summer months -- Beer is very popular throughout the world. For brewers, a consistently high quality of the drink is essential. To ensure this, the companies try to keep the product free from harmful microorganisms. This is because pathogens that enter into the beer during the brewing process can spoil the pleasure of the drink. They not only provide strong variations in taste and smell; the beer can also become cloudy, sour and unwholesome.

Therefore, ongoing quality controls accompany the production process. However, conventional microbiological methods require five to seven days to detect beverage-spoiling organisms, such as bacteria and yeasts. It is often too late at that point to take corrective action. In collaboration with the company GEN-IAL from Troisdorf, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam have developed a polymer powder that significantly simplifies these tests and shortens the time that they require. The company supplies breweries with analysis tools for quality control.

From the test to the reliable result takes two to three days. The reason: Until recently, beer has been filtered in special equipment. In this process, the bacteria remain on a membrane and are then elaborately cultivated in a special culture medium before they can be examined microscopically. The new polymer powder from the IAP replaces this process: The powder is added to the liquid sample. The powder's functionalized surface binds the bacteria efficiently. The pathogens adhere to the 100 to 200 micron powder particles. These can be easily removed along with the microbes in a specially developed system and analyzed directly using various microbiological methods. The time-consuming enrichment in a nutrient medium is no longer necessary.

Quality control of large quantities of beverages possible

With the new method, food experts can investigate beer and other beverages for infection by pathogens, which was hardly or not at all possible with the traditional membrane filtration method. "Membrane filtration is not suitable for the quality control of beverages such as fruit juices, milk, cola and red wine. They contain so much solid or suspended matter that the filter clogs quickly," explains Dr. Andreas Holländer, scientist at the IAP. Breweries have also only been able to examine small sample volumes of up to one liter via membrane filtration. With the polymer powder, tests with 30 liters or more are possible. "Wherever a small amount of microbes has to be extracted from a large amount of liquid, the new technique can be useful," adds Holländer. "Through the use of the powder, food safety is increased, since it is more likely to find trace contaminants in large volumes of the beverages," says Dr. Jutta Schönling, managing director of Gen-IAL.

Also the equipment with which the surface of the powder particles is functionalized has been developed by Dr. Holländer and his team from the IAP. This equipment will now be used by the company GEN-IAL for the pilot production. The launch is planned for 2015, and interested users will already be able to buy the powder in the spring of this year.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

First detailed microscopy evidence of bacteria at the lower size limit of life

Scientists have captured the first detailed microscopy images of ultra-small bacteria that are believed to be about as small as life can get. The research was led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley. The existence of ultra-small bacteria has been debated for two decades, but there hasn't been a comprehensive electron microscopy and DNA-based description of the microbes until now.

The cells have an average volume of 0.009 cubic microns (one micron is one millionth of a meter). About 150 of these bacteria could fit inside an Escherichia coli cell and more than 150,000 cells could fit onto the tip of a human hair.

The scientists report their findings Friday, Feb. 27, in the journal Nature Communications.

The diverse bacteria were found in groundwater and are thought to be quite common. They're also quite odd, which isn't a surprise given the cells are close to and in some cases smaller than several estimates for the lower size limit of life. This is the smallest a cell can be and still accommodate enough material to sustain life. The bacterial cells have densely packed spirals that are probably DNA, a very small number of ribosomes, hair-like appendages, and a stripped-down metabolism that likely requires them to rely on other bacteria for many of life's necessities.

The bacteria are from three microbial phyla that are poorly understood. Learning more about the organisms from these phyla could shed light on the role of microbes in the planet's climate, our food and water supply, and other key processes.

"These newly described ultra-small bacteria are an example of a subset of the microbial life on earth that we know almost nothing about," says Jill Banfield, a Senior Faculty Scientist in Berkeley Lab's Earth Sciences Division and a UC Berkeley professor in the departments of Earth and Planetary Science and Environmental Science, Policy and Management.

"They're enigmatic. These bacteria are detected in many environments and they probably play important roles in microbial communities and ecosystems. But we don't yet fully understand what these ultra-small bacteria do," says Banfield.

Banfield is a co-corresponding author of the Nature Communications paper with Birgit Luef, a former postdoctoral researcher in Banfield's group who is now at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.

"There isn't a consensus over how small a free-living organism can be, and what the space optimization strategies may be for a cell at the lower size limit for life. Our research is a significant step in characterizing the size, shape, and internal structure of ultra-small cells," says Luef.

The scientists set out to study bacteria from phyla that lack cultivated representatives. Some of these bacteria have very small genomes, so the scientists surmised the bacteria themselves might also be very small.

To concentrate these cells in a sample, they filtered groundwater collected at Rifle, Colorado through successively smaller filters, down to 0.2 microns, which is the size used to sterilize water. The resulting samples were anything but sterile. They were enriched with incredibly tiny microbes, which were flash frozen to -272 degrees Celsius in a first-of-its-kind portable version of a device called a cryo plunger. This ensured the microbes weren't damaged in their journey from the field to the lab.

The frozen samples were transported to Berkeley Lab, where Luef, with the help of Luis Comolli of Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division, characterized the cells' size and internal structure using 2-D and 3-D cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. The images also revealed dividing cells, indicating the bacteria were healthy and not starved to an abnormally small size.

The bacteria's genomes were sequenced at the Joint Genome Institute, a DOE Office of Science User Facility located in Walnut Creek, California, under the guidance of Susannah Tringe. The genomes were about one million base pairs in length. In addition, metagenomic and other DNA-based analyses of the samples were conducted at UC Berkeley, which found a diverse range of bacteria from WWE3, OP11, and OD1 phyla.

This combination of innovative fieldwork and state-of-the-art microscopy and genomic analysis yielded the most complete description of ultra-small bacteria to date.

Among their findings: Some of the bacteria have thread-like appendages, called pili, which could serve as "life support" connections to other microbes. The genomic data indicates the bacteria lack many basic functions, so they likely rely on a community of microbes for critical resources.

The scientists also discovered just how much there is yet to learn about ultra-small life.

"We don't know the function of half the genes we found in the organisms from these three phyla," says Banfield.

The scientists also used the Advanced Light Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility located at Berkeley Lab, where Hoi-Ying Holman of the Earth Sciences Division helped determine the majority of the cells in the samples were bacteria, not Archaea.

The research is a significant contribution to what's known about ultra-small organisms. Recently, scientists estimated the cell volume of a marine bacterium at 0.013 cubic microns, but they used a technique that didn't directly measure the cell diameter. There are also prior electron microscopy images of a lineage of Archaea with cell volumes as small as 0.009 cubic microns, similar to these bacteria, including results from some of the same researchers. Together, the findings highlight the existence of small cells with unusual and fairly restricted metabolic capacities from two of the three major branches of the tree of life.

Game|Life Podcast: Is It a Good Idea to Bring Guitar Hero Back?

Rock Band 3. Harmonix

Are Rock Band and Guitar Hero really coming back? And is that a good idea? We investigate on this week’s Game|Life podcast.

We also have an Amiibo update, namely that Nintendo and Walmart are debuting a Gold Mario Amiibo on March 20, which is of course already sold out online. And some news about the next games that will be coming to Nintendo’s and Sony’s online stores.

(Hint: Only Sony has a game that’s anything like Metroid.)

This Week’s Best TV: Conan O’Brien Goes Boyfriend Hunting

It’s finally happened! After months of campaigning and outrage and think pieces, awards season for Hollywood has finally come to an end, and that means the glut of what Variety affectionately calls “kudocasts” has drawn to a close. But as the red carpets get rolled up and put back in moth balls, we’ve got some post mortem to do. Lady Gaga reinvented herself on Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast. Jimmy Kimmel had fun with the help/at the expense of many rich and beautiful people. And then in the wake of it all, Parks and Recreation quietly took its final bow, and our Saturday Night Live conduit, Seth Meyers, treated us to an hour-long special with the whole cast. Our hearts are aflutter! It’s never easy to say goodbye. And we will love again. But until then, enjoy your final moments with the gang from Pawnee, and distract yourself with laughs a-plenty from other corners of the late night circuit. Here’s our favorite TV of the week.

Conan—Conan & Billy Eichner Join Grindr

Conan is really nailing it with his buddy adventures lately. And it only makes sense that after his spa day in Korea Town with Steven Yeun he would workshop a Grindr profile with fellow Giant Comedian Billy Eichner. Who wouldn’t want a piece of this Rich Ginger?

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart—The Gall of Rudy

Why doesn’t Rudy Giuliani have his own reality show yet? No, but seriously. He’s basically Donald Trump at this point.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!—‪The Kimmel School of Perfect Acting Part 1‬

Thanks to his position at ABC, Jimmy Kimmel is the Academy’s go-to on-air after party guy, which means he gets the most V of VIP talent on board to celebrate Oscar night. And by that we mean he gets all the celebrities we want to have at our backyard BBQ. Then he gets them to embarrass themselves. Everyone wins!

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon—‪Ice-T Sounds Off On Fifty Shades of Grey, Winter Olympics‬

Ice-T on Fifty Shades of Grey: “One shade of black. That’s all you need.”

Late Night with Seth Meyers—The Parks and Recreation Cast Sings “Bye, Bye Li’l Sebastian”

Watch Aubrey Plaza (April) and Jim O’Heir (Jerry) unable to contain themselves during the surge of emotion packed into one final round of “Li’l Sebastian.”

Jimmy Kimmel Live!—Bella Thorne Eats an Onion

So this one requires a little bit of context. In her new movie The Duff, Bella Thorne plays the resident Regina George. You know, she’s Hottie With An Iron Fist. And Thorne’s resting bitch face is so effective the words her character says are basically irrelevant. But then she shows up on Jimmy Kimmel and is so aggressively ordinary it’s like the composition of her face changes. It’s almost like watching an optical illusion fade away on live television.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart—The Audacity of Grope

Joooooeeeeeeeee staaaaahhhhhhp!

The 87th Annual Academy Awards—Lady Gaga’s The Sound of Music Tribute

Fame Monster. Tony Bennett’s Girl Friday. Fraulein Maria in training. Lady Gaga delivered the most talked about moment of the Oscars this past Sunday with her four-song tribute to The Sound of Music, followed by a tearful introduction to The Julie Andrews. This is… It’s just… Wow. Hats off to you, Gaga. You honored the woman just right. And if we can never hear the sweet voice of Ms. Andrews again, at least we can have this.

Bonus Track: Late Night with Seth Meyers—Web Exclusive: The Parks and Recreation Cast Answers Fan Questions

How weird! We have the same ideal “Treat Yo Self!” day as Retta!

Ellen Pao’s Work Reviews Changed After She Sued Kleiner

Ellen Pao leaves the Civic Center Courthouse along with her attorney, Therese Lawless, left, during a lunch break in her trial Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in San Francisco. Eric Risberg/AP

After Ellen Pao filed her gender-bias suit against big-name venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, there was a change in the way her superiors evaluated her performance at the company, court testimony shows.

Before the company had any knowledge that her planned to sue, Kleiner partner Ted Schlein confirmed today in court, the firm’s partners generally rated her performance as positive, as did her peers and the board members of the outside companies she was involved with. But after she filed her lawsuit, Schlein testified, her performance fell “below expectations.”

Schlein was testifying as the Pao case approached the end of its first week in a San Francisco court. His deposition provided another window into on the inner workings of one of the most prominent venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. As the trial continues to unfold, it provides an unusually detailed look at gender issues within the world of high-tech, and it could have far-reaching consequences over how the tech industry views and treats women in the future. Pao was eventually dismissed from the company, and with her suit, she said that gender bias played a role in her dismissal.

In 2010, Pao’s review did include some criticism, including that she needing “more seasoning and time,” and that she had a “sense of entitlement.” But by the time Pao’s performance was being evaluated in 2012, Pao’s lawyer tried to show, there was large change in the way this review was worded.

At one point during his testimony, Schlein said he was likely aware that Pao intended to sue the firm as he was providing input for her June 2012 review (she sued that May). And according to Schlein’s testimony, he wasn’t the only member of senior management who was aware Pao might be suing the firm. Even board members of the companies Pao was working with had likely read about the lawsuit in the media.

As her legal team showed, one bullet point in Pao’s review from that year read: “CEOs/board members of companies where EP is involved have asked other KP Partners for help because EP was not providing desired level of impact or leadership.” One year before, the team showed, Pao’s boss and longtime mentor John Doerr had written: “I don’t know how a junior partner could have had a better year than Ellen had.” In a 2011 review, some Kleiner partners had suggested Pao find a position with a portfolio company; but Doerr fought for Pao to stay on.

In court on Friday, Pao’s legal team also tried to paint a picture of a firm that didn’t give women a seat at the table. At the 2009 CIOSE conference—a conference for chief information officers, which Kleiner Perkins routinely attends—Pao was asked to sit in the back with staff, while four Kleiner Perkins parters—Schlein, Murphy, Nazre, and Lane—sat at the front table.

At the trial, Schlein testified that the conference organizer had said someone from the firm had to sit in the back. “Why didn’t you go sit in the back?” Pao’s lawyer asked Schlein in court. “That’s not how the meetings work,” Schlein responded.

Schlein, responding to an email in which Pao voiced her concerns about the situation, wrote: “I really did not think it was a very big deal to us in who sits at a table or does not…Ellen is always sensitive to her ‘status.’ I actually think this is a personality flaw of hers.”

With its rebuttal, the Kleiner’s legal team tried to show that there was no retaliation against her suit. Although Pao was not promoted within the company, the Kliener lawyers said, there were actually very few promotions within the firm—and implied Pao was reaching for opportunities she was not yet qualified for. Schlein testified that Kleiner had only promoted three people—Doerr in 1982, Joseph Lacob in 1992, and Doug Mackenzie in 1994—in its first thirty years. It promoted Aileen Lee in 2005. And, while there were no female managing members at the firm, there have only been eight managing members at Kleiner Perkins in all of its history, according to Schlein’s testimony.

Game|Life Podcast: Return of the Rock?

Rock Band 3. Harmonix

Are Rock Band and Guitar Hero really coming back? And is that a good idea? We investigate on this week’s Game|Life podcast.

We also have an Amiibo update, namely that Nintendo and Walmart are debuting a Gold Mario Amiibo on March 20, which is of course already sold out online. And some news about the next games that will be coming to Nintendo’s and Sony’s online stores.

(Hint: Only Sony has a game that’s anything like Metroid.)

This Week’s Best TV: Conan O’Brien Goes Boyfriend Hunting

It’s finally happened! After months of campaigning and outrage and think pieces, awards season for Hollywood has finally come to an end, and that means the glut of what Variety affectionately calls “kudocasts” has drawn to a close. But as the red carpets get rolled up and put back in moth balls, we’ve got some post mortem to do. Lady Gaga reinvented herself on Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast. Jimmy Kimmel had fun with the help/at the expense of many rich and beautiful people. And then in the wake of it all, Parks and Recreation quietly took its final bow, and our Saturday Night Live conduit, Seth Meyers, treated us to an hour-long special with the whole cast. Our hearts are aflutter! It’s never easy to say goodbye. And we will love again. But until then, enjoy your final moments with the gang from Pawnee, and distract yourself with laughs a-plenty from other corners of the late night circuit. Here’s our favorite TV of the week.

Conan—Conan & Billy Eichner Join Grindr

Conan is really nailing it with his buddy adventures lately. And it only makes sense that after his spa day in Korea Town with Steven Yeun he would workshop a Grindr profile with fellow Giant Comedian Billy Eichner. Who wouldn’t want a piece of this Rich Ginger?

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart—The Gall of Rudy

Why doesn’t Rudy Giuliani have his own reality show yet? No, but seriously. He’s basically Donald Trump at this point.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!—‪The Kimmel School of Perfect Acting Part 1‬

Thanks to his position at ABC, Jimmy Kimmel is the Academy’s go-to on-air after party guy, which means he gets the most V of VIP talent on board to celebrate Oscar night. And by that we mean he gets all the celebrities we want to have at our backyard BBQ. Then he gets them to embarrass themselves. Everyone wins!

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon—‪Ice-T Sounds Off On Fifty Shades of Grey, Winter Olympics‬

Ice-T on Fifty Shades of Grey: “One shade of black. That’s all you need.”

Late Night with Seth Meyers—The Parks and Recreation Cast Sings “Bye, Bye Li’l Sebastian”

Watch Aubrey Plaza (April) and Jim O’Heir (Jerry) unable to contain themselves during the surge of emotion packed into one final round of “Li’l Sebastian.”

Jimmy Kimmel Live!—Bella Thorne Eats an Onion

So this one requires a little bit of context. In her new movie The Duff, Bella Thorne plays the resident Regina George. You know, she’s Hottie With An Iron Fist. And Thorne’s resting bitch face is so effective the words her character says are basically irrelevant. But then she shows up on Jimmy Kimmel and is so aggressively ordinary it’s like the composition of her face changes. It’s almost like watching an optical illusion fade away on live television.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart—The Audacity of Grope

Joooooeeeeeeeee staaaaahhhhhhp!

The 87th Annual Academy Awards—Lady Gaga’s The Sound of Music Tribute

Fame Monster. Tony Bennett’s Girl Friday. Fraulein Maria in training. Lady Gaga delivered the most talked about moment of the Oscars this past Sunday with her four-song tribute to The Sound of Music, followed by a tearful introduction to The Julie Andrews. This is… It’s just… Wow. Hats off to you, Gaga. You honored the woman just right. And if we can never hear the sweet voice of Ms. Andrews again, at least we can have this.

Bonus Track: Late Night with Seth Meyers—Web Exclusive: The Parks and Recreation Cast Answers Fan Questions

How weird! We have the same ideal “Treat Yo Self!” day as Retta!

Your First Look at Google’s Reconfigurable, See-Through HQ

Google's new proposed campus ditches rigid walls for flexible, see-thru canopies. Google

Google's new proposed campus ditches rigid walls for flexible, see-thru canopies.

Google

Apple is building a massive spaceship-like ring around a private eden dotted with apricot trees. Facebook is working on a forest-topped hanger, reportedly with a single room big enough to house 3,400 workers. Now, we have our first glimpse of what Google’s envisioning for its own futuristic headquarters: A series of see-through, tent-like structures, draped in glass, whose interior workspaces can be reconfigured on a massive scale according to the company’s needs.

In a new video released this morning, Google showed off an ambitious proposal for a future North Bayshore campus in Mountain View. The concept was produced by the firms of Thomas Heatherwick and Bjarke Ingels, two of architecture’s fastest rising stars. Heatherwick Studio, based in the UK, was responsible for the torch at the London Olympics. The Bjarke Ingels Group, based in Denmark, is working on a trash-to-power plant in Copenhagen that will double as a ski slope.

The plan they came up with for Google is every bit as radical as one would expect. As Bjarke Ingels puts it, the structures proposed for the new campus would do away with rigid walls and roofs and instead “dissolve the building into a simple, super-transparent, ultra-light membrane.” Inside, giant layers could be stacked, Lincoln Log-style, into different work environments. Plant life is infused throughout the campus, outdoors and indoors.

The proposal will undoubtedly add to the on-going, often-contentious discussion around where today’s Silicon Valley giants reside—and where their employees live. Google already owns over 7 million square feet of office space in Mountain View, spread out over 80-some properties. It employs 15,000 people there. Its presence has been a tax windfall for the city of 80,000, but it’s also sent residential real estate prices soaring and contributed to nasty traffic.

The video touches on this topic, if vaguely, suggesting that the campus could serve not just Google but the public, too. It’s unclear what exactly that could mean at this stage, but if they’re serious about it, that could mark an interesting shift. In Cupertino, Apple is building a beautiful, seamless campus, hermetically sealed to all outsiders. Google, as it has in other areas in the past, seems to see value in a more open approach.

The Internet Remembers Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy as Dr. Spock on the set of the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture, in 1979. Rex Features/Everett Collection

Leonard Nimoy, the legendary actor known to the world as Star Trek‘s Mr. Spock, died at his home in Los Angeles this morning. He was 83. Almost as soon as word of his passing hit the Internet, friends, former co-stars, and fans began expressing grief over the actor’s passing.

Nimoy was hospitalized earlier this week for chest pains, and his wife Susan Bay Nimoy has confirmed that he died from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He announced his sickness in February of last year, blaming it on his smoking habits of decades earlier.

“As you all know, my Grandpa passed away this morning at 8:40 from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” Nimoy’s granddaughter, Dani, posted via the actor’s Twitter. “He was an extraordinary man, husband, grandfather, brother, actor, author-the list goes on- and friend. Thank you for the warm condolences. May you all LLAP.”

In addition to his career-making role as Spock—which he held from the show’s first unaired pilot through the most recent movie in the franchise, 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness—Nimoy appeared in a number of other series, including the original Mission: Impossible and J.J. Abrams’ Fringe. He was also the host of the documentary series In Search Of…, a stage actor, a photographer, a singer, and a movie director, helming Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Three Men and a Baby.

As news of Nimoy’s death spread, his friends, co-stars, and fans almost immediately began posting remembrances of the actor. “We will all miss his humor, his talent and his capacity to love,” his Star Trek co-star William Shatner said in a statement. George Takei, who played Sulu, posted on Facebook, “Today, the world lost a great man, and I lost a great friend. We return you now to the stars, Leonard. You taught us to ‘Live Long And Prosper,’ and you indeed did, friend. I shall miss you in so many, many ways.”

Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in Abrams’ Star Trek films, posted a picture of Nimoy on Instagram with the message, “My heart is broken. I love you profoundly my dear friend. And I will miss you every day.”

He had written two memoirs, charting his relationship with his most well-known alter ego: 1975’s I Am Not Spock, and 1995’s I Am Spock. An avid user of Twitter, his last tweet from four days ago, seems oddly fitting as his last public statement (LLAP, his traditional Twitter sign-off, stands for “Live Long and Prosper,” a salutation from Star Trek‘s Spock): “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory,” he wrote. “LLAP.”

He will be deeply missed.

Untangling DNA with a droplet of water, a pipet and a polymer

Researchers have long sought an efficient way to untangle DNA in order to study its structure -- neatly unraveled and straightened out -- under a microscope. Now, chemists and engineers at KU Leuven, in Belgium, have devised a strikingly simple and effective solution: they inject genetic material into a droplet of water and use a pipet tip to drag it over a glass plate covered with a sticky polymer. The droplet rolls like a ball over the plate, sticking the DNA to the plate surface. The unraveled DNA can then be studied under a microscope. The researchers described the technique in the journal ACS Nano.

There are two ways to decode DNA: DNA sequencing and DNA mapping. In DNA sequencing, short strings of DNA are studied to determine the exact order of nucleotides -- the bases A, C, G and T -- within a DNA molecule. The method allows for highly-detailed genetic analysis, but is time- and resource-intensive.

For applications that call for less detailed analysis, such as determining if a given fragment of DNA belongs to a virus or a bacteria, scientists opt for DNA mapping. This method uses the longest possible DNA fragments to map the DNA's 'big picture' structure.

DNA mapping can be used together with fluorescence microscopy to quickly identify DNA's basic characteristics.

In this study, researchers describe an improved version of a DNA mapping technique they previously developed called fluorocoding, explains chemist Jochem Deen: "In fluorocoding, the DNA is marked with a coloured dye to make it visible under a fluorescence microscope. It is then inserted into a droplet of water together with a small amount of acid and placed on a glass plate. The DNA-infused water droplet evaporates, leaving behind the outstretched DNA pattern."

"But this deposition technique is complicated and does not always produce the long, straightened pieces of DNA that are ideal for DNA mapping," he continues. It took a multidisciplinary team of chemists and engineers specialised in how liquids behave to figure out how to optimise the technique.

"Our improved technique combines two factors: the natural internal flow dynamics of a water droplet and a polymer called Zeonex that binds particularly well to DNA," explains engineer Wouters Sempels.

The 'rolling droplet' technique is simple, low-cost and effective: "We used a glass platelet covered with a layer of the polymer Zeonex. Instead of letting the DNA-injected water droplet dry on the plate, we used a pipet tip to drag it across the plate. The droplet rolls like a ball over the plate, sticking the DNA to the plate's surface. The strings of DNA 'captured' on the plate in this way are longer and straighter," explains Wouters Sempels.

To test the technique's effectiveness, the researchers applied it to the DNA of a virus whose exact length was already known. The length of the DNA captured using the rolling droplet technique matched the known length of the virus' DNA.

The rolling droplet technique could be easily applied in a clinical setting to quickly identify DNA features, say the researchers. "Our technique requires very little start-up materials and can be carried out quickly. It could be very effective in determining whether a patient is infected with a specific type of virus, for example. In this study, we focused on viral DNA, but the technique can just as easily be used with human or bacterial DNA," says Wouters Sempels.

The technique could eventually also be helpful in cancer research and diagnosis. "After further refining this technique, we could be able to quickly tell the difference between healthy cells and cancer cells," says Wouters Sempels.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by KU Leuven . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Your First Look At Google’s Reconfigurable, See-Thru Headquarters

Apple is building a massive spaceship, enclosing a private eden dotted with apricot trees. Facebook is working on a forest-topped hanger, reportedly with a single room big enough to house 3,400 workers. Now, we have our first glimpse of what Google’s envisioning for its own futuristic headquarters: A series of see-through, tent-like structures, draped in glass, whose interior workspaces can be reconfigured on a massive scale according to the company’s needs.

In a new video released this morning, Google showed off an ambitious proposal for a future North Bayshore campus in Mountain View. The concept was produced by the firms of Thomas Heatherwick and Bjarke Ingels, two of architecture’s fastest rising stars. Heatherwick Studio, based in the UK, was responsible for the torch at the London Olympics. The Bjarke Ingels Group, based in Denmark, is working on a trash-to-power plant in Copenhagen that will double as a ski slope.

The plan they came up with for Google is every bit as radical as one would expect. As Bjarke Ingels puts it, the structures proposed for the new campus would do away with rigid walls and roofs and instead “dissolve the building into a simple, super-transparent, ultra-light membrane.” Inside, giant layers could be stacked, Lincoln Log-style, into different work environments. Plant life is infused throughout the campus, outdoors and indoors.

The proposal will undoubtedly add new on-going, often-contentious discussion around where today’s Silicon Valley giants reside—and where their employees live. Google already owns over 7 million square feet of office space in Mountain View, spread out over 80-some properties. It employs 15,000 people there. Its presence has been a tax windfall for the city of 80,000, but it’s also sent residential real estate prices soaring and contributed to nasty traffic.

The video touches on this topic, if vaguely, suggesting that the campus could serve not just Google but the public, too. It’s unclear what exactly that could mean at this stage, but if they’re serious about it, that could mark an interesting shift. In Cupertino, Apple is building a beautiful, seamless campus, hermetically sealed to all outsiders. Google, as it has in other areas in the past, seems to see value in a more open approach.

The Internet Remembers Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy as Dr. Spock on the set of the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture, in 1979. Rex Features/Everett Collection

Leonard Nimoy, the legendary actor known to the world as Star Trek‘s Mr. Spock, died at his home in Los Angeles this morning. He was 83. Almost as soon as word of his passing hit the Internet, friends, former co-stars, and fans began expressing grief over the actor’s passing.

Nimoy was hospitalized earlier this week for chest pains, and his wife Susan Bay Nimoy has confirmed that he died from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He announced his sickness in February of last year, blaming it on his smoking habits of decades earlier.

“As you all know, my Grandpa passed away this morning at 8:40 from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” Nimoy’s granddaughter, Dani, posted via the actor’s Twitter. “He was an extraordinary man, husband, grandfather, brother, actor, author-the list goes on- and friend. Thank you for the warm condolences. May you all LLAP.”

In addition to his career-making role as Spock—which he held from the show’s first unaired pilot through the most recent movie in the franchise, 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness—Nimoy appeared in a number of other series, including the original Mission: Impossible and J.J. Abrams’ Fringe. He was also the host of the documentary series In Search Of…, a stage actor, a photographer, a singer, and a movie director, helming Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Three Men and a Baby.

As news of Nimoy’s death spread, his friends, co-stars, and fans almost immediately began posting remembrances of the actor. “We will all miss his humor, his talent and his capacity to love,” his Star Trek co-star William Shatner said in a statement. George Takei, who played Sulu, posted on Facebook, “Today, the world lost a great man, and I lost a great friend. We return you now to the stars, Leonard. You taught us to ‘Live Long And Prosper,’ and you indeed did, friend. I shall miss you in so many, many ways.”

Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in Abrams’ Star Trek films, posted a picture of Nimoy on Instagram with the message, “My heart is broken. I love you profoundly my dear friend. And I will miss you every day.”

He had written two memoirs, charting his relationship with his most well-known alter ego: 1975’s I Am Not Spock, and 1995’s I Am Spock. An avid user of Twitter, his last tweet from four days ago, seems oddly fitting as his last public statement (LLAP, his traditional Twitter sign-off, stands for “Live Long and Prosper,” a salutation from Star Trek‘s Spock): “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory,” he wrote. “LLAP.”

He will be deeply missed.

A Picture-Sharing App That Lets You Experience the Life of a Total Stranger

Introducing Tworlds, an app from a Dutch designer that aims to answer the question: “Is there anyone else out there doing this exact same thing at this exact same moment?” Tworlds

Introducing Tworlds, an app from a Dutch designer that aims to answer the question: “Is there anyone else out there doing this exact same thing at this exact same moment?”

Tworlds

Tworlds offers a sizable handful of themes. Pick one, and snap a photo of whatever you're doing at that moment that pertains to the theme. Tworlds

Tworlds offers a sizable handful of themes. Pick one, and snap a photo of whatever you're doing at that moment that pertains to the theme.

Tworlds

The app then pairs your moment with a moment from another user, from anywhere in the world. Tworlds

The app then pairs your moment with a moment from another user, from anywhere in the world.

Tworlds

A split-screen diptyque of a moment frozen in time appears on your screen. It feels a little like Snapchat, except it's not ephemeral. Pictures can be saved. Tworlds

A split-screen diptyque of a moment frozen in time appears on your screen. It feels a little like Snapchat, except it's not ephemeral. Pictures can be saved.

Tworlds

Unlike other photo-sharing apps, Tworlds doesn't let you use filters or editing to fix up the moments. It's meant to be a more pure distillation of that moment. Tworlds

Unlike other photo-sharing apps, Tworlds doesn't let you use filters or editing to fix up the moments. It's meant to be a more pure distillation of that moment.

Tworlds

The best part of the Tworlds experience? an instant connection with someone halfway around the globe, maybe even from somewhere you’ve never heard of. Tworlds

The best part of the Tworlds experience? an instant connection with someone halfway around the globe, maybe even from somewhere you’ve never heard of.

Tworlds

It’s the stuff of schmaltz and bad screenplays, but nevertheless: Everyone, at one point or another, has wondered, “Is there anyone else out there doing this exact same thing at this exact same moment?”

That question used to be more romantic, before social media came along and gave us phone-sized windows into the lives of others. But even those glimpses are curated according to who you already know, the manicured moments they’ve cherry-picked, and when they choose to share them. So when the question floated through Dutch designer Antoine Peters’s mind (while he was staring out a window, no less) he got the idea to build an app that would answer the question in the most literal sense possible. He found a local group of developers, Noodlewerk, to build it, and had his girlfriend design some playful black-and-white graphics.

Tworlds is simple. Log in, and allow the app to know your location (but, “No worries, it’s only to the level of city,” the app assures you), and then choose one of the 20 or so subject prompts. Say you tap on “#rainbow.” Snap a picture of that gorgeous rainbow (or maybe of some Skittles. Whatever! Be creative.) and Tworlds will immediately share that photo with someone else who, at that same moment, is doing something #rainbow. In return, you’ll get that person’s picture, and the two will turn into a diptyque of a moment frozen in time. As Peters sees it, this could yield all kinds of experiences, ranging from competitive and playful to ones that take the edge off of loneliness, maybe “helping you when you’re feeling sad, or when you can’t sleep.”

I gave Tworlds a whirl. With limited scenery around, I tapped “#relax,” and sent a picture of an armchair with some throw blankets out into the wild. In return, I got a picture of someone’s bedspread in Riga, Latvia. Next, I chose “#book,” and snapped a shot of a stack of books (some Michener, Life by Keith Richards, an art book), and got back a picture of The Da Vinci Code from someone in Kitchener, Canada. So far, nothing earth shattering popped up. In fact, the most interesting thing about both exchanges wasn’t the content, it was the speed with which it happened.

So it turns out that in practice, Tworlds is pretty mundane. But that might be it’s appeal. Some of that banality is by design, in that Tworlds doesn’t offer the filters and photo editing that typically glam things up. But it’s also just reflective of everyday life, and could allow for the same kind of stranger-empathy that other similar projects, like the 20 Day Stranger app from MIT’s Playful Systems Group, are after. There’s shades of Snapchat, or even Chatroulette, to Tworlds. It promotes the same kind of spontaneity and grit that makes (made) those weird corners of the Internet so addictive. And here, there’s a new layer: an instant connection with someone halfway around the globe, maybe even from somewhere you’ve never heard of.

You can download Tworlds (iOS) for free.