Thursday, August 1, 2013

Nanothermometer Takes the Temperature of Living Cells

cell

Researchers have heated specific parts of a cell using laser light and taken temperature readings using nanodiamonds. Image: Georg Kucsko

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A tool originally developed for quantum computers can now map temperature changes within a living cell.

The technique exploits quantum effects in tiny diamond crystals, or 'nanodiamonds', to detect changes down to a few thousandths of a degree. The researchers were also able to heat selected parts of the cell using a laser. ?We now have a tool to control temperature on a cellular level, and we can study how biological systems react to temperature change,? says Peter Maurer, a physicist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a member of the team publishing the result today in Nature.

Diamond has emerged as a useful material for handling quantum information. In classical computing, information is stored in binary digits, or ?bits?, which can be either a 0 or a 1. But a quantum bit, or ?qubit?, can assume both states and an infinite number of states inbetween. Diamond stores qubits in the electron states of impurities in its carbon crystal lattice. The impurities typically comprise one nitrogen atom that has replaced one of the carbon atoms and a single-atom gap, or vacancy, next to the nitrogen.

Researchers have successfully manipulated such nitrogen?vacancy centers ? a step towards using them to perform quantum calculations. And because the nitrogen?s electrons are extremely sensitive to magnetic fields, diamond crystals have also shown promise in magnetic resonance imaging. Such magnetic probes are very sensitive to small temperature fluctuations. But researchers have begun to turn that potential weakness into a strength by using the probes as precise thermometers, and now Maurer and his colleagues have put this tool to work in biology.

Seeing red
For the latest technique, the researchers used a nanowire to inject diamond crystals into a human embryonic cell. They then shone green laser light on the cell, causing the nitrogen impurities to fluoresce with red light.

Variations in local temperatures inside the cell affect the intensity of red light emitted by the nitrogen?vacancy centers. The researchers were able to measure that intensity and use it to calculate the temperature of the corresponding nanodiamond. As diamond conducts heat well, the nanocrystal is likely to be the same temperature as its immediate cellular environment.

The researchers also injected the cell with gold nanoparticles, then trained a laser on them to heat up different parts of the cell. Thanks to their tiny diamond thermometers, they were able to precisely control where the temperature was rising and by how much.

A diamond-based thermometer could be a useful tool in basic biology, Maurer says, noting that a number of biological processes, ranging from gene expression to cellular metabolism, are strongly affected by temperature. For example, biologists could study the development of simple organisms, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, by controlling temperature locally. ?You could heat individual cells and study whether surrounding cells slow down or speed up? their rate of reproduction, Maurer says.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/sciam/basic-science/~3/5kbX3hgY2LY/article.cfm

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Liza Liza Liza, a New Play About Liza Minnelli, to Receive World Premiere at London's Fringe Tabard Theatre

News: International

Liza Liza Liza, a New Play About Liza Minnelli, to Receive World Premiere at London's Fringe Tabard Theatre

By Mark Shenton
31 Jul 2013

Liza Liza Liza, a new play about Liza Minnelli, is to receive its world premiere at the Fringe Tabard Theatre in Chiswick in west London, beginning performances Sept. 4 prior to an official opening Sept. 6, for a run through Sept. 29.

??It is written by Richard Harris, whose previous West End plays include Stepping Out, Outside Edge and The Business of Murder. Stepping Out, which also played a short Broadway run in 1986, was subsequently made into a feature film in 1991 that starred Minnelli.

?According to press materials, Harris unearths and examines the tremendous and tragic tale of Liza?s journey so far in his new play, using interview and biographical quotes from Liza herself. The play turns back the years, and peels back the veneer on one of Hollywood?s most compelling living icons. The professional and private lives of Liza Minnelli have experienced dizzying highs and crashing lows, all ruthlessly captured and sold by the world's media.

??In a press statement, Harris has commented, "Celebrities come and go every hour. Liza's story is different. It covers nearly every corner of the showbusiness world. Now that's a challenge to achieve. Even for the biggest stars out there. And yet she's still here. Entertaining the world - onstage and off.? What?s not to love about her?"



The production is directed by Kenn Oldfield, and produced by Colin Hilton for Pulling Focus. Full cast and creative team are still to be announced.

??To book tickets, visit www.tabardtheatre.co.uk







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Source: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/180646-Liza-Liza-Liza-a-New-Play-About-Liza-Minnelli-to-Receive-World-Premiere-at-Londons-Fringe-Tabard-Theatre

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WWE Star Randy Orton Attacked by Fan in South Africa, Gets Clocked in the Groin--Watch Now

by Alexis L. Loinaz Today 6:12 AM PDT

Now this wasn't part of the act, was it?

WWE brawler Randy Orton was seemingly attacked earlier this week during a match in Cape Town, South Africa, after a fan hopped into the ring and proceeded to deliver an excruciating blow to the wrestling pro. And the fan clearly hit Orton where it would hurt most.

In video shot by several spectators and posted online, Orton can be seeing standing on the ropes to pump up the crowd when a male fan jumps into the ring, sneaks up to Orton and delivers an undercut to the wrestler's groin from behind.

WATCH: Mariah Carey wheeled out of hospital after dislocating shoulder

Orton collapses to the ground, but, undaunted, he quickly gets back on his feet and calmly walks after the fan before security folks tackle the offender and boot him out of the ring.

With the stage to himself, Orton seems unfazed as he continues to rile up the crowd, at one point stepping back up on the ropes and flipping the bird with both fists, seemingly taunting his stealth nemesis.

Naturally, the incident immediately left viewers skeptical that it was all part of a preplanned stunt.

But, per USA Today, the WWE later issued a statement insisting that the fracas was not in the playbook and said that the fan in question had been arrested and was facing criminal charges.

WATCH: Total Divas season premiere has John Cena and a WWE diva meltdown

"WWE.com has learned that Randy Orton was violently attacked by an audience member during a SmackDown World Tour Live Event in Cape Town, South Africa, this evening," the organization said in a statement.

"Footage of the attack was captured by a WWE fan and posted to YouTube, and shows the perpetrator striking Orton from behind. The matter is currently under investigation by the local authorities, and the South African fan is being held in jail pending criminal charges. The extent of Orton's injuries are unknown at this time."

PHOTOS: Ouch! Injured celebs

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/444784/wwe-star-randy-orton-attacked-by-fan-in-south-africa-gets-clocked-in-the-groin-watch-now?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories

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Kenya: Rugby expanding soon to the height of South Africa?: In Africa, rugby is...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/modernghanaweb/posts/10151473855681199

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10 advantages Windows 8 tablets have over the iPad and Android

10 advantages Windows 8 tablets have over the competition

The iPad is still king in the tablet space when it comes to market share and Android is trying to grab more share all the time. Microsoft designed Windows 8 to run on tablets in an attempt to bring the OS into the hot tablet segment.

See also: Galaxy Note 8.0: Still the best small tablet | ThinkPad Tablet 2: Best Windows tablet

Android tablets and the iPad are solid tablets, but Windows 8 has distinct advantages over both of the other platforms. Windows 8 is a full PC OS and that brings some important capabilities to the tablet.

The 10 features in this collection that give Windows 8 an advantage over the competition are by no means the only ones. They are significant enough to break them out from the rest.

Note: some of these advantages exist on Windows RT tablets but not all of them. This article was written for tablets with Windows 8 Pro. Windows 8 Pro is used on numerous tablets currently available.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/10-advantages-windows-8-tablets-have-over-the-ipad-and-android-7000018732/

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Debt collection company closes Houston office, slashes jobs

Pentagroup Financial Services LLC, a debt collection company, will close its Houston location, eliminating 123 positions.

Pentagroup Financial Services LLC, a debt collections company, will close its Houston location, eliminating 123 positions.

The location, at 5959 Corporate Drive, will close on Sept. 27, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.

The affected employees are not represented by a union, but almost all of them have the opportunity to relocate to the company?s other U.S. locations, according to the letter.

The company was not immediately available for comment. Pentagroup Financial is a CBV Collections Services company.

According to a press release posted to insideARM.com, a website for the accounts receivable management industry, Canada-based CBV Collection Services Ltd. announced earlier this year its Phoenix-based subsidiary Primary Financial Services LLC would acquire Pentagroup Financial. Terms of the deal, which were to go into effect in March, were not disclosed.

In addition to Phoenix, Primary Financial Services also has a location in Amherst, N.Y., according to its website.

Olivia Pulsinelli is the web producer for the Houston Business Journal's award-winning website. Follow her on Twitter for more.

Source: http://feeds.bizjournals.com/~r/bizj_houston/~3/GqptvTnDKlY/debt-collection-company-closes-houston.html

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: UCLA's prized recruit Eddie Vanderdoes cleared to play by NCAA after leaving Notre Dame

Five-star defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes has been cleared to play immediately for UCLA after an appeal with the National Letter of Intent committee, officially ending his dramatic exit from Notre Dame.1

The touted recruit initially committed to the Irish on National Signing Day in February, but asked out of his national letter of intent due to an illness in the family. The Placer High grad decided on UCLA to be closer to his home in the Sacramento area.

Rick Kimbrel of recruiting website BruinBru.com first reported Vanderdoes' immediate eligibility, a boon for a UCLA defensive line struggling with health. Had Vanderdoes not been released to play, he would have had to sit out the upcoming fall as well as lose a year of eligibility -- leaving him with only three seasons of college football.

Notre Dame had declined to release Vanderdoes from his letter of intent "in order to protect the integrity of that very important program," head coach Brian Kelly said in a statement in early June. Many Irish fans argued that if Vanderdoes were allowed to leave, letters of intent would become meaningless -- introducing more chaos into a recruiting world in which verbal commitments can flip week to week.

College coaches, of course, are not bound by any such restrictions; Kelly himself left Cincinnati for Notre

Dame in 2009, buying out of a contract that extended to 2013.

As it now stands, Vanderdoes has regained all four years of eligibility. Rated the No. 3 recruit in California by Rivals.com, he will immediately bolster the Bruins' defensive line if he lives up to his billing.

Already praised by head coach Jim Mora for his work ethic, the 6-foot-3, 310-pound freshman could immediately slide in as the Bruins' starting defensive end.

All-Pac-12 selection Datone Jones graduated from the spot and became UCLA's first first-round draft pick since 2006. Jones' likely successor, rising senior Owamagbe Odighizuwa, underwent hip surgery in the offseason and is questionable to return. If Vanderdoes can impress enough early on, the UCLA staff could even elect to redshirt Odighizuwa -- a former five-star recruit himself -- to save him for a full season.

Defensive line depth also wasn't helped when backup nose tackle Brandon Tuliaupupu tore his ACL near the end of spring camp.

The other side of the line, however, is held down by returning starter Cassius Marsh, a physical player who was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention. He had 50 tackles in 2012, and projects as a mid-round draft pick in next spring's draft. Senior Seali'i Epenesa made 10 starts at nose tackle last season and should keep the spot this fall.

UCLA begins training camp Aug. 7 at Cal State San Bernardino.

Source: http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_23765387/college-football-uclas-prized-recruit-eddie-vanderdoes-cleared?source=rss

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