A group of Scientists from the California Institute of Technology have discovered a way to visualize the behavior of biological nanostructures in space and time. A Femtosecond laser using 4D electron microscopy to bounce a stream of electrons off of DNA to create high resolution structures of the biological nanostructures was used to do this research. Cutting away a thin portion of the DNA's thin carbon film, the laser was able to produce a three-dimensional, free standing structure under the microscope. Then using the lasers heat to excite oscillations in the DNA structure produced electron pulses to measure time. By measuring the frequency and amplitude of these oscillations a measure of the DNA's stiffness was made. This is a major step in the study of biological nanostructures and their mechanical properties as scientists will be able to cut into and observer smaller parts of different structures. The scientists have begun to study protein assembles called amyloids which are believed to be a key role in neurodegenerative diseases.Nature of Science themes:
4.) Role of credibly: It has to be high end scientific person or persons that discover something this important otherwise people would believe it was a fluke.
8.) Importance of repeatably: At such a small scale data errors are very possible and likely, tests must be repeated for more accurate results.
-Nic McKenney
Hour 1
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