Search results for author:(John Hewitt)

Evolution Jun 12, 2014

The energetic origins of life

(Phys.org) —Imagination is perhaps the most powerful tool we have for creating the future. The same might be said when it comes to creating the past, especially as it pertains to origin of life. Under what conditions did ...

General Physics Jan 29, 2014

Light field microscopy for whole brain activity maps

(Phys.org) —Advances in light-sheet microscopy have led to impressive images and videos of the brain in action. With this technique, a plane of light is scanned through the sample to excite fluorescent calcium sensors which ...

Cell & Microbiology Jan 21, 2014

Actin cytonauts at play in the cell

(Phys.org) —Actin "comets" are scaffolds of polymer that various bacteria and viruses construct within cells. Party-crashers, like Listeria or Shigella bacteria, are able to seed structures using special patches of their ...

Evolution Jan 2, 2014

Fly dreams and the boundaries of evolutionary science

In 2002, Secretary of state Donald Rumsfeld made a statement regarding weapons of mass destruction that today is still well known. He famously parsed the evidence (or lack thereof) into "known knowns, known unknowns, and ...

Cell & Microbiology Dec 13, 2013

Mechanical forces in development

(Phys.org) —Early embryonic development is a marvel of mechanics. Its signature step is the production of three tissue layers—mesoderm, ectoderm, and endoderm—through a topological maneuver known as gastrulation. While ...

Cell & Microbiology Dec 10, 2013

The dynamic cytoskeleton in bacterial cell division

(Phys.org) —The cytoskeletal proteins of eukaryotes polymerize into self-organized patterns even as pure solutions. However, to see more complex dynamics, like filament sliding or rotation, various motor proteins and cofactors ...

General Physics Oct 24, 2013

World's most powerful MRI gets set to come online

(Phys.org) —The most powerful MRI machine in the world is nearing completion. The new instrument will be able to generate 11.75 Tesla, a field strong enough to lift 60 metric tons. Squeezing out those last few Tesla (the ...

Cell & Microbiology Oct 16, 2013

Mapping subcellular temperature profiles with genetically-encoded thermosensors

(Phys.org) —If you asked a biologist what any given cell is going to do next, they might ask you first to tell them its electrical potential, oxygenation, pH, osmolarity or glucose concentration. Depending on how finely-scaled ...

Cell & Microbiology Oct 15, 2013

The inheritance of the primary cilium and the soul of the cell

(Phys.org) —The primary cilium plays the role of conductor, and antenna, to many kinds of cells. In photoreceptors, the cilium has been morphed into an expansive pigment-infused photon sieve, while in olfactory cells it ...

Other Oct 10, 2013

Culinary biomimicry

(Phys.org) —As any chef knows, preparing good food is just physics, or was that chemistry? Either way, the state of the art in cooking increasingly looks to science for inspiration. Engineers at MIT have partnered up with ...

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