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11-04 :: April/May 2011
nanotimes News in Brief
Researchers at Arizona State University, USA, pre- sent in Science a strategy to design and construct self-assembling DNA nanostructures that define intricate curved surfaces in three-dimensional (3D) space using the DNA origami folding technique. A series of DNA nanostructures with high curvature – such as 2D arrangements of concentric rings and 3D spherical shells, ellipsoidal shells, and a nanoflask – were assembled.
COVER Schematic representations of DNA nano- structures with complex curva- tures including two-dimensional arrangements of concentric rings and three- dimensional shapes, inclu- ding a nanoflask 70nm tall and 40nm wide (DNA molecule is not shown to scale). © Dongran Han and Hao Yan, The Biodesign Insti- tute and Department of Chemistry and Biochemi- stry, Arizona State University / Science
Dongran Han, Suchetan Pal, Jeanette Nangreave, Zheng- tao Deng, Yan Liu and Hao Yan: DNA Origami with Complex Curvatures in Three-Dimensional Space, In: Science, Vol. 332(2011), No. 6027, April 15, 2011, Pages 342-346, DOI:10.1126/science.1202998: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1202998
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CEA-Leti and five partners are combining their ex- pertise to develop a self-powered cardiac pacema- ker eight times smaller than current models.
The Heart-Beat Scavenger (HBS) Consortium, which also includes the Sorin Group, TIMA, Cedrat Technologies, Tronics and EASII IC, is targeting an energy self-sufficient device that harvests me- chanical energy from the movements of the heart, eliminating the need for batteries and post-implant surgeries to replace them.
A longer-term goal of the project is to reduce healthcare expenditures. Heart failure represents one of the biggest public-health costs today in Euro- pe and the United States. Financed by the Minalo- gic competitive cluster in Grenoble, the HBS project goals include:
• Developing a self-powering pacemaker by harvesting the mechanical energy produced by the movements of the heart and eliminating the need for batteries that must be replaced every six to 10 years.
• Reducing the size of a cardiac pacemaker by a factor of eight, from 8 cm3
to 1 cm3 . This reduc-
tion will make it possible to attach the pacemaker directly to the epicardium, eliminating the need for intravenous introduction of cardiac probes.