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Clued into infrared
forensics
Crime scene investigators detect forgeries and counterfeits and trace
the origins of all kinds of materials using infrared light. Now forensics
enters new territory with synchrotron infrared from the Advanced Light
Source, helping the Secret Service characterize ink on paper and analyzing
chemical "sweatprints," as unique and ubiquitous as physical
fingerprints.
A hook
to knit damaged DNA
Researchers have discovered a metal-mediated interface between proteins,
the "zinc
hook" the essential Mre11/Rad50 complex uses to link broken DNA
strands so they can be rejoined. It's the first major result of the multi-institutional
Structural Cell Biology of DNA Repair Machines project, aimed at understanding
DNA repair at every level.
Geology
on the nanoscale
A new field
of study called nanogeoscience looks at geological processes involving
particles only a hundred millionths of a meter in size -- tiny but critical
participants in carbon sequestration, air pollution, the removal of toxins
from soil, and other key processes on land, sea, and in the air.
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