The School welcomes Prof Werner Blau on sabbatical

The School welcomes Prof Werner Blau on a six month sabbatical from Trinity College Dublin starting July 1st.

Prof Blau is internationally well known for his original work in molecular and polymer engineering carried out at Trinity College Dublin. His research group is one of the largest, most active and best-known Material Science groups in Ireland.

Prof Blau has also established and manages successfully the Polymer Research Centre of Materials Ireland. Up to recently, this centre was a part of the Materials Ireland PAT and is largely a technology-transfer and contract research institute for the Irish plastics industry. It will continue to serve all sectors including the medical device, pharmaceutical, electronics, and food processing, packaging and traditional polymer processing sectors.

Nano-treatment for glaucoma

Scientists at the University of Central Florida have developed a treatment for glaucoma involving the transport of ensymes into the eye using cerium oxide nanoparticles as transporter vectors. This may provide a future means of more effective treatment of the ocular disease

See spectroscopyNOW.com.

Has biology got it all wrong?

A recent series of articles in Nature and Science are increasingly pointing to the idea that DNA is not the governing force it has been considered to be, and in fact the myriad of RNA molecule types may be the real key to understanding cell operation, diversification and evolution. The concepts are causing a revolution in thinking in biology. For a good summary, read the attached from The Economist.

Economist_RNA.pdf

Perfect Si sphere as new kilogram standard?

Australian scientists are developing a perfect Silicon sphere for consideration as the successor to the old kilogram standard.

The project requires the development of perfect silicon spheres, and optical engineers at CSIRO's Australian Centre for Precision Optics — considered world leaders in the craft — are doing their part.

Scientists will use the spheres to determine how many silicon atoms make up a kilogram, and this will be used as the new definition — bringing the kilogram into line with other base units such as the metre and the second, which are all defined by physical constants.

See The Age.

DT222/4 Class of 2007

Congratulations to all those in 222/4 who received their results this week and best wishes for the future. Pictured are (click the photo for larger image) back row L to R, Dr Des O'Mahony Year Coordinator, James Ryan, Damian Flynn, Paul Sheridan, Kevin McDonnell, Marcus McInerney, Dr Breandan O hAnnaidh, and front row L to R, Adam Scarff, Vicky Kyne, Mary Timmons, Sinead Fleming, Charlie Stallard and Art O'Hare.

MIT team experimentally demonstrates wireless power transfer, potentially useful for powering laptops, cell phones without wires

A team from MIT's Department of Physics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) has experimentally demonstrated an important step toward accomplishing a vision of the future. Realizing their recent theoretical prediction, they were able to light a 60W bulb from a power source more than two meters away; there was no physical connection between the source and the appliance. The MIT team refers to its concept as "WiTricity" (as in wireless electricity). The work will be reported in the June 7 issue of Science Express, the advance online publication of the journal Science

See MIT Press Statement.

Nature Physics publication describes new record in sending information via quantum teleportation

A team of physicists has teleported data over a distance of 89 miles from the Canary Island of La Palma to the neighbouring island of Tenerife, which is 10 times further than the previous attempt at teleportation through free space.

As described in Nature Physics, the scientists exploit quantum entanglement - when the state of matter rather than matter itself is sent from one place to another.

See The Independent.