such silky legs

Scientists May Have Solved the Secret of Silk

Scientists say they may have worked out how spiders and silkworms are able to produce such strong fibers to spin their webs and cocoons.

They say that if they are right, their research could be used to produce silk in the laboratory for extra-strong protective clothing, sports equipment and even replacement bone tissue.

Silk is the strongest natural fiber known to man but scientists have yet to replicate its strength. They have managed to purify silk into powder but have not been able to turn it into material.

"The problem is that when people take these purified powders and try to make useful materials, they fall well short," said David Kaplan, professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

Kaplan and his team say the secret to silk production lies in how spiders and silkworms control silk protein solubility in their glands.

"The entire process is controlled by the amount of water, which is so simple," he told Reuters.

"The organism dumps protein into the gland but as it does that, it regulates how much water it leaves in there. That controls the entire process."

He said the research, published in this week's edition of science journal Nature, could have far-reaching applications, particularly in medicine.

Bioengineers at Tufts have already developed a strategy for using silk to repair damaged knee ligaments and say it could also be used to make artificial bone tissue.

Kaplan said some companies had expressed an interest in using silk to make ultra-strong clothing, hiking gear and outdoor equipment.

sentient particles

California Chemists Develop 'Smart' Particles

Grains the size of dust that can sense their environment, orient themselves and assemble in groups have been developed by a team of California chemists who want to build miniature robots.

The particles can identify and surround drops of oil or other pollutants in water, according to the researchers at the University of California, San Diego.

And they hope the research could be a first step to developing minute robots for use in medicine, pollution monitoring and even bioterrorism surveillance.

"This is a key development in what we hope will one day make possible the development of robots the size of a grain of sand," Michael Sailor, leader of the research team, said in a statement.

"The vision is to build miniature devices that can move with ease through a tiny environment, such as a vein or an artery," he said.

"Such devices could be used to monitor the purity of drinking or sea water, to detect hazardous chemical or biological agents in the air or even to locate and destroy tumor cells in the body," said Sailor, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry.
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this is why religion and politics shouldn't mix

Buried Structure Resembles Hindu Temple

Archaeologists say the ruins of an ancient structure buried beneath a disputed site in northern India resemble a Hindu temple, according to a report. Rival Hindu and Muslim claims to the site have sparked riots and attacks that have killed thousands of people.

A series of lotus designs, circular shrines and pillars in a long-buried structure "are indicative of remains which are distinctive features found associated with the (Hindu) temples of north India," said the report by the Archaeological Survey of India, obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The report was given to the High Court in Uttar Pradesh, which aims to determine the history of the site and rule on whether it belongs to Muslims or to Hindus, who want to build a temple there.

The report adds a new layer of dispute to an issue that has been a flashpoint in India's Hindu-Muslim divide. Hours after its release Monday, twin car bombings blasted through a jewelry market and a tourist site in Bombay, killing 50 people.

It was not immediately known whether the blasts were connected to the report. Bombay has seen other bombings blamed on Islamic militants seeking revenge in the dispute.
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(no subject)

Yesterday, I heard strains of Yanni on the radio, so I wandered over to the cube and asked, "Who here likes Yanni?" One of my co-workers said, "This isn't Yanni, but I love him. I have so much of his stuff...." We chatted; I made some copies; then she came back to my cube and gave me a printout of Yanni's mug. Heh. So now I have a picture of Yanni up in my cubicle. I wonder if I will be prosecuted for sexual harassment.

(Yeah, the Yanni on the radio was muzak Yanni. Now tell me that's not frightening.)

a nice bus stop story

I met a woman at the bus stop today. Actually, she and I had shared the same stop yesterday, and today her bus almost pulled off without letting her off. That's how she started talking. We chatted for some time. We got on the bus and I asked if I could sit next to her. Eventually this sentence came out of my mouth:

"I knew you were cool when I saw you reading science fiction."

To which she replied, "By the way, I'm Liza."

So there you have it. It's okay for me to meet women at the bus stop, because they, as the odds have it, aren't trying to strike up a relationship with me. :)

Really, though, right when she started talking, I thought, "Wow, she'd totally fit at Table...." And she's older; got more grey hair than I do.