News: Research

The Dinner Group described a new multi-stage process for the migration of a membrane protein's voltage sensor across the membrane. Their publication in Nature Communications discusses how tracking a few amino acids through their models revealed several distinct stages of curling and shifting.

The Tian group invented a new pacemaker technology that translates light into heartbeats using membranes woven with silicon wafers. Their paper in Nature describes how they designed the nanoporous wafers to convert light into precise voltage pulses that stimulate only the necessary muscles.

The Jaeger group discovered a new method of observing the behavior of non-Newtonian fluids. Their paper in PNAS shows how measuring the conductance of fluids made with piezoelectric nanoparticles can reveal the interactions of the particles inside.

The Mazziotti group introduced a modified version of density field theory that can better describe molecular electronic behavior. Their publication in Physical Review Letters describes how they integrated two-electron reduced matrix theory to account for interactions between electrons.

The Murugan group found that a DNA system was capable of pattern recognition through the process of self-assembly. Their paper in Nature suggests this may be a pathway for decision-making in biological systems.

The Tian group invented granular hydrogels, a potent new medical technology. Their Nature Chemical Engineering publication describes how they modified hydrogel patch materials to release cell-sized granules that can deliver treatment directly to the cells.

The Voth group discovered how the HIV-1 virus enters the nucleus: its cone-shaped capsid shell allows it to pass through nuclear pores. Their work in PNAS details how a cone-shaped capsid not only requires less energy to enter the nucleus but also lends entropic elasticity.

The Jaeger group created an aggregate robot which can alternate between liquid and solid behaviors. Their Science Robotics article on the Granulobot explains how the units use magnets and gear-like wheels to recreate the shifting, interlocking behaviors of sand and other granular solids.

The Gagliardi group identified a new mechanism for copper catalysis. Their article in JACS discusses how the copper(II) atom suspended between two organics makes it favorable for nearby nitrogen or oxygen to form radicals, resulting in radical-radical reactions.

The Gardel group discovered the limit of cell division is the volume of the genome, rather than the cell cycle. Their paper in Cell found epithelial division stopped at this size, as shown in the picture, to protect genes from damage.

The Voth group revealed that compression of the microtubule lattice is essential to controlling shrinkage of its length. Their publication in PNAS models the reaction—see the image for an example—to show how compression lowers the energy barrier of hydrolysis.

The Chin group observed superchemistry in action by capturing Cesium atoms in a tuned magnetic field. Their paper in Nature showed that the dynamics of these reactions followed a three body model, as seen in this figure.

The Guyot-Sionnest group created quantum dots that emit infrared with quantum efficiency (EQE) of 4.5%—close to commercial LEDs. Their work, published in Nature, proposes a cascading mechanism, shown in the figure to the left.

The Park group designed 2D wafers with the ability to guide visible light on a millimeter scale. Their publication in Science shows how they use different surface features, as shown in this image, to enable the wafers to refract, focus, or modulate the intensity of light.