Highlights
IgE
Subverting the sneeze
22 April 2014Disease-causing IgE antibodies are kept under wraps to avoid allergic responses
Heart
Building a heart
22 April 2014Newly identified hormone ELABELA regulates the generation of the embryo’s endoderm and is required for the normal formation of the heart
Transmission Line
More speed, less interference
22 April 2014A semi-analytical model can compute electromagnetic interference on an electronic circuit board ten times faster than existing commercial software
Photonics
A transistor for light
22 April 2014A high-performance ‘photonic transistor’ that switches light signals instead of electronic signals could revolutionize optical signal processing
DNA
The significance of silence
22 April 2014An enzyme that silences DNA activity may be crucially involved in health and cancer
Energy Harvesting
Multilayer polymers spring into action
8 April 2014Flexible plastics that turn mechanical vibrations into electrical energy could spur the development of self-powered sensors and devices
Influenza
Flu vaccine enables rapid response
8 April 2014A more efficient production process for influenza vaccines could help to cope with future pandemics
Plasmonics
A modern twist on Young’s slits
8 April 2014A landmark experiment on wave interference from the early 1800s is revisited using gold nanoparticles
Lithography
Microbeads are easily fixed
8 April 2014A passive method for sorting and fixing microbeads of different sizes could lead to cheaper and more functional biological assays
Diabetes
Sweet sensing
8 April 2014A highly sensitive and specific biological assay requires only a tiny sample volume to monitor glucose levels in patients with diabetes
Metal-organic Frameworks
Metal–organic ‘micromushrooms’ repel all
8 April 2014A clever chemical transformation yields surface-bound microstructures that efficiently drive away oil- and water-based contaminants
Hypothalamus
The power of proteins to battle the bulge
25 March 2014Improved understanding of the proteins that help the body to control appetite may be useful for the treatment of obesity
A*STAR Institute Of High Performance Computing (A*STAR IHPC)
Finding the right mix
25 March 2014Computer simulations indicate that mixing silicon with other materials improves the diversity of nanoscale electronic devices
