Fighting Demons, Fighting Cancer

Demons. I’m surrounded by demons. To my left, soul-draining succubi shoot balls of magic, to the right stand acid-flinging Cerberuses, and straight ahead, gigantic, fire-breathing balrogs lurk ominously. First I charge the succubi, killing them quickly with a barrage of Level 20 fireballs. Next, I take the Cerberuses using the same technique. The balrogs, however, are immune to fire. I push F4 to change my spell to chain lightning and electrocute the spawns of Satan. Now, on to Lazarus, the teleporting super demon. I’ll get him though, for I can teleport too

Nanotechnology May Replace Existing Treatments for Cancer

In summary, the techniques of drug delivery and hyperthermia using nanoparticles have the potential to decrease side effects while increasing the cure rate of cancer patients. These techniques promise a substantial improvement over chemotherapy and radiation. Over the next few years, if the research conducted on nanoparticles continues to find promising results, the treatment of cancer all over the world may be substantially altered. The cure for cancer may in fact be close at hand

Coal Power: Providing Energy, Asthma, Cardiovascular Disease, and Free Abortions

While coal power pollution affects people in a variety of ways, we are focusing on the direct physiological effects of pollution on humans. As such, we are not researching the heat trapping capabilities of carbon dioxide. Additionally, we will not be focusing on the environmental impacts on biodiversity due to nitrogen oxides. Instead, we concentrated on the cardiac, pulmonary, and developmental problems associated with pollution from coal power. ... While not all of these studies were directly linked to point source pollution from coal power plants, the fact that many pollutants released when coal is combusted in power plants are associated with negative health impacts is alarming. The potential damage caused by coal power pollution should reinforce pleas to maintain or increase existing emissions standards as declared in the Clean Air Act. Moreover, attempts to loosen regulations might cause an increase in chronic health problems, interference with children’s development, and premature death

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Size-resolved identification and quantification of micro/nano-plastics in indoor air using pyrolysis gas chromatography-ion mobility mass spectrometry

Humans are exposed to differing levels of micro-/nanoplastics (MNPs) through inhalation, but few studies have attempted to measure <1 µm MNPs in air, in part due to a paucity of analytical methods. We developed an approach to identify and quantify MNPs in indoor air using a novel pyrolysis gas chromatographic cyclic ion mobility mass spectrometer (pyr-GCxcIMS). Four common plastic types were targeted for identification, namely (polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The method was applied to size-resolved particulate (56 nm-18µm) collected from two different indoor environments using a Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactors (MOUDI) model 110 cascade impactor. Comprehensive two-dimensional separation by GCxcIMS also enabled the retrospective analysis of other polymers and plastic additives. The mean concentrations of MNP particles with diameters <10 µm and <2.5 µm in the laboratory were 47 ± 5 and 27 ± 4 µg/m3 respectively. In the private residence, the concentrations were 24 ± 3 and 16 ± 2 µg/m3. PS was the most abundant MNP type in both locations. Approximately 57-67% of MNPs were characterized by particle diameters <2.5 µm, and 50-60% of the total particulate matter in the private residence was plastic. Non-targeted screening revealed the presence of plastic additives, such as TDCPP (Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate) whose abundance correlated with that of polyurethane (PU). This is consistent with their use as flame retardants in PU-based upholstered furniture and building insulation. This study provides evidence of exposure to MNPs which constitute over half of PM2.5 indoors and underlines the need for further study of this route of exposure to MNPs and the plastics additives carried with them

Lessons from Nature: A Bio-Inspired Approach to Molecular Design

Metalloproteins contain actives sites with intricate structures that perform specific functions with high selectivity and efficiency. The complexity of these systems complicates the study of their function and the understanding of the properties that give rise to their reactivity. One approach that has contributed to the current level of understanding of their biological function is the study of synthetic constructs that mimic one or more aspects of the native metalloproteins. These systems allow individual contributions to the structure and function to be analyzed and also permit spectroscopic characterization of the metal cofactors without complications from the protein environment. This Current Topics is a review of synthetic constructs as probes for understanding the biological activation of small molecules. These topics are developed from the perspective of seminal molecular design breakthroughs from the past that provide the foundation for the systems used today

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least 4 m. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the 6.5 m James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 yr, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit