295 posts · 161,820 views
I received a PhD in analytical chemistry in Sep 2005, completed postdoctoral research in Jun 2007, and taught chemistry survey and organic chemistry from Sep 2009 - May 2010. I am currently a freelance technical science editor. Phased presents science journalism written for a lay audience. My goal is to discuss technical content (from the technical journals) without sacrificing readability. The topical focus is diverse, but tends to focus on chemistry, technology, and cell biology.
Phased
295 posts
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- October 12, 2009
- 12:45 PM
- 496 views
Direct Visualization of Carbon-Hydrogen Bonds
by Michael Long in Phased
Leo Gross (IBM Research, Switzerland) and coworkers have directly imaged small atoms, and the bonds between them, with atomic force microscopy. This news feature was written on October 12, 2009.... Read more »
Gross, L., Mohn, F., Moll, N., Liljeroth, P., & Meyer, G. (2009) The Chemical Structure of a Molecule Resolved by Atomic Force Microscopy. Science, 325(5944), 1110-1114. DOI: 10.1126/science.1176210
- October 11, 2009
- 03:10 PM
- 426 views
Ultrasound Facilitates Molecular-Based Cancer Diagnosis
by Michael Long in Phased
Sanjiv Gambhir, Gary Glazer (Stanford University, California) and coworkers have used low-frequency ultrasound to enhance cancer biomarker levels in blood, while also providing information on the location of the tumor. This news feature was written on October 11, 2009.... Read more »
D'Souza, A. L., Tseng, J. R., Pauly, K. B., Guccione, S., Rosenberg, J., Gambhir, S. S., & Glazer, G. M. (2009) From the Cover: A strategy for blood biomarker amplification and localization using ultrasound. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(40), 17152-17157. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0903437106
- October 10, 2009
- 08:35 PM
- 478 views
Easily Detecting Fake Antimalaria Drugs
by Michael Long in Phased
Jean-Robert Ioset and Harparkash Kaur (London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine) have developed a quality control assay for antimalaria drugs that is suitable for use in the field and in remote locations. This news feature was written on October 10, 2009.... Read more »
Ioset, J.-R., & Kaur, H. (2009) Simple Field Assays to Check Quality of Current Artemisinin-Based Antimalarial Combination Formulations. PLoS ONE, 4(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007270
- October 10, 2009
- 01:00 PM
- 546 views
A Racial- and Class-Based Solution for Private Environmental Conservation Efforts
by Michael Long in Phased
Patricia Zaradic (Red Rock Institute, Pennsylvania) and coworkers suggest that large non-governmental environmental conservation organizations need to recruit people other than rich white folk to their cause if they want to remain financially viable in the long-term. This news feature was written on October 10, 2009.... Read more »
Zaradic, P. A., Pergams, O. R. W., & Kareiva, P. (2009) The Impact of Nature Experience on Willingness to Support Conservation. PLoS ONE, 4(10). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007367
- October 4, 2009
- 08:30 PM
- 494 views
Identifying Pigments for Preserving Artwork
by Michael Long in Phased
Richard Van Duyne (Northwestern University, Illinois) and coworkers have utilized surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy towards characterizing dyes in artwork, for the purposes of artist identification and preservation. This news feature was written on October 4, 2009.... Read more »
Brosseau, C. L, Rayner, K. S., Casadio, F., Grzywacz, C. M., & Van Duyne, R. P. (2009) Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy: A Direct Method to Identify Colorants in Various Artist Media. Analytical Chemistry, 81(17), 7443-7447. DOI: 10.1021/ac901219m
- September 27, 2009
- 01:30 PM
- 540 views
Violating the Principles of Open Access
by Michael Long in Phased
Caroline Savage and Andrew Vickers (Memorial-Sloan Cancer Research Center, New York) have shown that many scientists who publish in technical science journals, under an open access agreement, are noncompliant with explicit data sharing requirements. This news feature was written on September 27, 2009.... Read more »
Savage, C. J., & Vickers, A. J. (2009) Empirical Study of Data Sharing by Authors Publishing in PLoS Journals. PLoS ONE, 4(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007078
- September 12, 2009
- 06:55 PM
- 605 views
The Cost and Duration of Drug Discovery Must Decrease
by Michael Long in Phased
Ray Dorsey (University of Rochester, New York) and coworkers have shown that biomedical scientists are not making optimal use of the money they receive for research. This news feature was written on September 12, 2009.... Read more »
Dorsey, E. R., Thompson, J. P., Carrasco, M., de Roulet, J., Vitticore, P., Nicholson, S., Johnston, S. C., Holloway, R. G, & Moses III, H. (2009) Financing of U.S. Biomedical Research and New Drug Approvals across Therapeutic Areas. PLoS ONE, 4(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007015
- September 11, 2009
- 04:50 PM
- 699 views
Rugged Enzymes for Chemical Synthesis
by Michael Long in Phased
Zhi Li (National University of Singapore) and coworkers have enhanced the utility of enzymes for chemical synthesis, through the aid of metal nanoparticles. This news feature was written on September 11, 2009.... Read more »
Wang, W., Xu, Y., Wang, D. I. C., & Li, Z. (2009) Recyclable Nanobiocatalyst for Enantioselective Sulfoxidation: Facile Fabrication and High Performance of Chloroperoxidase-Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles with Iron Oxide Core and Polymer Shell. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 131(36), 12892-12893. DOI: 10.1021/JA905477J
- September 10, 2009
- 08:30 PM
- 627 views
Microalgae: Biodiesel Factories of the Future?
by Michael Long in Phased
Laurent Lardon (INRA, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research) and coworkers have investigated the prospects of harvesting microalgae as biodiesel production factories, and recommend technical improvements necessary to improve their fuel production efficiency and reduce their environmental impact. This news feature was written on September 10, 2009.... Read more »
Lardon, L., Hélias, A., Sialve, B., Steyer, J. P., & Bernard, O. (2009) Life-Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel Production from Microalgae. Environmental Science , 43(17), 6475-6481. DOI: 10.1021/es900705j
- September 3, 2009
- 04:05 PM
- 810 views
Towards Cheap, Efficient Solar Cells
by Michael Long in Phased
Brian Krogel (University of Texas at Austin) and coworkers have worked towards developing efficient solar cells via cheap materials and protocols. This news feature was written on September 3, 2009.... Read more »
Steinhagen, C., Panthani, M. G, Akhavan, V., Goodfellow, B., Koo, B., & Korgel, B. A. (2009) Synthesis of Cu2ZnSnS4 Nanocrystals for Use in Low-Cost Photovoltaics . Journal of the American Chemical Society, 131(35), 12554-12555. DOI: 10.1021/ja905922j
- August 31, 2009
- 02:45 PM
- 566 views
Using Chemistry to Track the Source of Seized Methamphetamine
by Michael Long in Phased
Niamh Daeid (University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom) and coworkers have identified the chemical impurities which arise from different synthetic routes to methamphetamine, aiding efforts aimed at drug network disruption. This news feature was written on August 31, 2009.... Read more »
Kunalan, V., Nic Daéid, N. N., Kerr, W. J., Buchanan, H. A. S., & McPherson, A. R. (2009) Characterization of Route Specific Impurities Found in Methamphetamine Synthesized by the Leuckart and Reductive Amination Methods. Analytical Chemistry, 81(17), 7342-7348. DOI: 10.1021/ac9005588
- August 31, 2009
- 11:15 AM
- 594 views
Cautionary Note on the Toxicity of Titanium Oxide Nanofilaments
by Michael Long in Phased
Arnaud Magrez (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland), Beat Schwaller (University of Fribourg, Switzerland), and coworkers have shown that titanium nanofilaments can be toxic, serving as a further warning that the toxicity of nanomaterials needs to be fully investigated for the sake of public health and the environment. This news feature was written on August 31, 2009.... Read more »
Magrez, A., Horváth, L., Smajda, R., Salicio, V., Pasquier, N., Forró, L., & Schwaller, B. (2009) Cellular Toxicity of TiO2-Based Nanofilaments. ACS Nano, 3(8), 2274-2280. DOI: 10.1021/nn9002067
- August 30, 2009
- 10:15 AM
- 742 views
Mucus Promotes Biochemical Reactions
by Michael Long in Phased
Michael Gozin (Tel Aviv University) and coworkers have shown that proteins in mucus promote biochemical reactions under physiological conditions, possibly overturning the assumption that the only role of the mucosal barrier is to provide physical protection for organs. This news feature was written on August 30, 2009.... Read more »
Shraga, N., Belgorodsky, B., & Gozin, M. (2009) Organic Reactions Promoted by Mucin Glycoproteins. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 131(34), 12074-12075. DOI: 10.1021/ja9040626
- August 21, 2009
- 03:15 PM
- 587 views
Single Cell Analyses on a Limited Budget
by Michael Long in Phased
Shih-hui Chao (Arizona State University) and coworkers have developed a cheap, easy technique to pattern arrays of individual cells, which are required to extract useful biological information that would be lost in the average behavior of a large population of cells. This news feature was written on August 21, 2009.... Read more »
Lin, L.-I., Chao, S.-h., & Meldrum, D. R. (2009) Practical, Microfabrication-Free Device for Single-Cell Isolation. PLoS ONE, 4(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006710
- August 21, 2009
- 12:30 PM
- 604 views
Improving the Efficacy of a Common Medical Diagnostics Tool
by Michael Long in Phased
Tania Vu (Oregon Health and Science University) and coworkers have improved the efficacy of western blotting, a technique widely utilized in medical and biological laboratories for cheaply and reliably quantitating protein concentrations in blood serum and cell extracts. This news feature was written on August 21, 2009.... Read more »
Scholl, B., Liu, H. Y., Long, B. R., McCarty, O. J. T., O’Hare, T., Druker, B. J., & Vu, T. Q. (2009) Single Particle Quantum Dot Imaging Achieves Ultrasensitive Detection Capabilities for Western Immunoblot Analysis. ACS Nano, 3(6), 1318-1328. DOI: 10.1021/nn9000353
- August 20, 2009
- 04:20 PM
- 749 views
Biodiesel Production Aided by a Shrimp Shell Catalyst
by Michael Long in Phased
Xinsheng Zheng (Hua Zhong Agriculture University, China) and coworkers have shown that the environmental impact of biodiesel production can be reduced today via a catalyst based on shrimp shells. This news feature was written on August 20, 2009.... Read more »
Yang, L., Zhang, A., & Zheng, X. (2009) Shrimp Shell Catalyst for Biodiesel Production. Energy , 23(8), 3859-3865. DOI: 10.1021/ef900273y
- August 20, 2009
- 01:40 PM
- 608 views
Cheap and Easy Chromium Ion Detection in Water
by Michael Long in Phased
Yuqing Wu (State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, China) and coworkers have developed a cheap, easy-to-use sensor for chromium ions in water, which can conceivably be rejiggered to detect other toxic metal ions besides chromium. This news feature was written on August 20, 2009.... Read more »
Dang, Y.-Q., Li, H.-W., Wang, B., Li, L. L., & Wu, Y. (2009) Selective Detection of Trace Cr3 in Aqueous Solution by Using 5,5′-Dithiobis (2-Nitrobenzoic acid)-Modified Gold Nanoparticles . ACS Applied Materials , 1(7), 1533-1538. DOI: 10.1021/am9001953
- August 20, 2009
- 11:35 AM
- 570 views
Retaining Protein Biological Activity on Magnetic Nanoparticles
by Michael Long in Phased
Shik Tsang (University of Oxford, United Kingdom) and coworkers have developed an easy, versatile method for preparing protein-coated nanoparticles that retains the function of the protein, rendering these constructs more useful for biological applications. This news feature was written on August 20, 2009.... Read more »
Al-Saadi, A., Yu, C. H., Khutoryanskiy, V. V., Shih, S.-J., Crossley, A., & Tsang, S. C. (2009) Layer-by-Layer Electrostatic Entrapment of Protein Molecules on Superparamagnetic Nanoparticle: A New Strategy to Enhance Adsorption Capacity and Maintain Biological Activity. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 113(34), 15260-15265. DOI: 10.1021/jp903100j
- August 19, 2009
- 05:15 PM
- 558 views
Improving the Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
by Michael Long in Phased
Neil Pschirer (BASF Research, Germany), Gerrit Boschloo (Uppsala University, Sweden), and coworkers have improved the power conversion efficiency of solid-state solar cells that utilize derivatives of the cheap, stable, light-absorbing molecule perylene. This news feature was written on August 19, 2009.... Read more »
Cappel, U. B., Karlsson, M. H., Pschirer, N. G., Eickemeyer, F., Schöneboom, J., Erk, P., Boschloo, G., & Hagfeldt, A. (2009) A Broadly Absorbing Perylene Dye for Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 113(33), 14595-14597. DOI: 10.1021/jp906409q
- August 16, 2009
- 02:45 PM
- 525 views
Long-Term Automated Probing of Insulin Waves in Living Cells
by Michael Long in Phased
Kendra Reid and Robert Kennedy (University of Michigan) have begun to unravel the biochemical basis of one of the physiological changes observed in diabetics which has thus far evaded characterization. This news feature was written on August 16, 2009.... Read more »
Reid, K. R., & Kennedy, R. T. (2009) Continuous Operation of Microfabricated Electrophoresis Devices for 24 Hours and Application to Chemical Monitoring of Living Cells. Analytical Chemistry, 81(16), 6837-6842. DOI: 10.1021/ac901114k
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