Post by Summer on Jan 30, 2009 19:08:25 GMT -5
for all of you who think you have no power....Harness this...
January 29, 2009Human Cells have Electric Fields as Powerful as Lighting Bolts -A Galaxy Classic
Using newly developed voltage-sensitive nanoparticles, researchers have
found that the previously unknown electric fields inside of cells are
as strong, or stronger, as those produced in lightning bolts.
Previously, it has only been possible to measure electric fields across
cell membranes, not within the main bulk of cells, so scientists didn't
even know cells had an internal electric field.This
discovery is a surprising twist for cell researchers. Scientists don't
know what causes these incredibly strong fields or why they' are there.
But now using new nanotools, such as voltage-sensitive dyes, they can
start to measure them at least. Researchers believe they may be able to
learn more about disease states, such as cancer, by studying these
minute, but powerful electric fields.University of Michigan
researchers led by chemistry professor Raoul Kopelman encapsulated
voltage-sensitive dyes in polymer spheres just 30 nanometers in
diameter. Testing these nanoparticles in the internal fluid of
brain-cancer cells, Kopelman found electric fields as strong as 15
million volts per meter, up to five times stronger than the field found
in a lightning bolt. However, this discovery goes beyond being
incredibly interesting; the finding will likely change the way
researchers look at disease."They have developed a tool that
allows you to look at cellular changes on a very local level," said
Piotr Grodzinski, director of the National Cancer Institute Alliance
for Nanotechnology in Cancer in Technology Review. Grodzinski believes
many developments in cancer research, for example, over the past few
years have been "reactive" rather than proactive. Despite how far
cancer treatments have come, the way that cancer, and other diseases,
progresses at the cellular level in the first place is still not well
understood. With a better understanding, researchers could improve
diagnostics and care. "This development represents an attempt to start
using nanoscale tools to understand how disease develops," said
Grodzinski.Kopelman has developed encapsulated voltage-sensitive
dyes that aren't hydrophobic and can operate anywhere in the cell,
rather than just in membranes. Because it's possible to place his
encapsulated dyes in a cell with a greater degree of control, Kopelman
likens them to voltmeters. "Nano voltmeters do not perturb [the
cellular] environment, and you can control where you put them," he says.The
existence of strong electric fields across cellular membranes is
accepted as a basic fact of cell biology. The fact that cells have
internal electric fields as well, however, is a whole new revelation.
Scientists previously did not know of the existence of internal
cellular energy fields, and are just in the earliest stages of
understand the phenomenon. Kopelman presented his results at the annual
meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology this month. "There has
been no skepticism as to the measurements," says Kopelman. "But we
don't have an interpretation."Daniel Chu of the University of
Washington in Seattle agrees that Kopelman's work provides proof of
concept that cells have internal electric fields. "It's bound to be
important, but nobody has looked at it yet," Chu says.Posted by Rebecca SatoRelated Galaxy posts:Scientists Create A Cancer-proof Mouse
New Stem-Cell Breakthrough Rewrites the Ethical Debate
"X" Cells! Five Super-powered Single Celled Organisms
The 'Dying Gasp' of A Single Cell Now AudibleLinks:
www.umich.edu/~koplab/research2.html
www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/19841
This is really amazing to me. It is another email that I found in my inbox today that I just had to share here. ;D
January 29, 2009Human Cells have Electric Fields as Powerful as Lighting Bolts -A Galaxy Classic
Using newly developed voltage-sensitive nanoparticles, researchers have
found that the previously unknown electric fields inside of cells are
as strong, or stronger, as those produced in lightning bolts.
Previously, it has only been possible to measure electric fields across
cell membranes, not within the main bulk of cells, so scientists didn't
even know cells had an internal electric field.This
discovery is a surprising twist for cell researchers. Scientists don't
know what causes these incredibly strong fields or why they' are there.
But now using new nanotools, such as voltage-sensitive dyes, they can
start to measure them at least. Researchers believe they may be able to
learn more about disease states, such as cancer, by studying these
minute, but powerful electric fields.University of Michigan
researchers led by chemistry professor Raoul Kopelman encapsulated
voltage-sensitive dyes in polymer spheres just 30 nanometers in
diameter. Testing these nanoparticles in the internal fluid of
brain-cancer cells, Kopelman found electric fields as strong as 15
million volts per meter, up to five times stronger than the field found
in a lightning bolt. However, this discovery goes beyond being
incredibly interesting; the finding will likely change the way
researchers look at disease."They have developed a tool that
allows you to look at cellular changes on a very local level," said
Piotr Grodzinski, director of the National Cancer Institute Alliance
for Nanotechnology in Cancer in Technology Review. Grodzinski believes
many developments in cancer research, for example, over the past few
years have been "reactive" rather than proactive. Despite how far
cancer treatments have come, the way that cancer, and other diseases,
progresses at the cellular level in the first place is still not well
understood. With a better understanding, researchers could improve
diagnostics and care. "This development represents an attempt to start
using nanoscale tools to understand how disease develops," said
Grodzinski.Kopelman has developed encapsulated voltage-sensitive
dyes that aren't hydrophobic and can operate anywhere in the cell,
rather than just in membranes. Because it's possible to place his
encapsulated dyes in a cell with a greater degree of control, Kopelman
likens them to voltmeters. "Nano voltmeters do not perturb [the
cellular] environment, and you can control where you put them," he says.The
existence of strong electric fields across cellular membranes is
accepted as a basic fact of cell biology. The fact that cells have
internal electric fields as well, however, is a whole new revelation.
Scientists previously did not know of the existence of internal
cellular energy fields, and are just in the earliest stages of
understand the phenomenon. Kopelman presented his results at the annual
meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology this month. "There has
been no skepticism as to the measurements," says Kopelman. "But we
don't have an interpretation."Daniel Chu of the University of
Washington in Seattle agrees that Kopelman's work provides proof of
concept that cells have internal electric fields. "It's bound to be
important, but nobody has looked at it yet," Chu says.Posted by Rebecca SatoRelated Galaxy posts:Scientists Create A Cancer-proof Mouse
New Stem-Cell Breakthrough Rewrites the Ethical Debate
"X" Cells! Five Super-powered Single Celled Organisms
The 'Dying Gasp' of A Single Cell Now AudibleLinks:
www.umich.edu/~koplab/research2.html
www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/19841
This is really amazing to me. It is another email that I found in my inbox today that I just had to share here. ;D