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 Molecular
Mechanism Underlying Anthrax Infection Described By UCSD
School Of Medicine Researchers
The
mechanism by which inhaled anthrax disarms and evades the
immune system, enabling the potentially lethal bacteria
to rapidly spread throughout the body, has been described
by researchers at the University of California, San Diego
(UCSD) School of Medicine.
Published
online Aug. 29 in Science Express, the website
of the journal Science, the lab-culture research
with mouse cells describe how a complex of Bacillus anthracis
(anthrax) proteins called lethal toxin (LT) inhibits and
destroys macrophages, the large white blood cells that
act as the body's first defense against pathogens, and
also disables the signaling mechanism triggering immune
activation. This allows the bacteria to spread through
the body unchecked by the immune system, resulting in
rapid and potentially lethal anthrax infection. Full
story
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Researchers Develop First Oral Drug To Treat Smallpox Infection
March 20, 2002 – An oral drug that halts the deadly
action of smallpox and related orthodox viruses in lab tissue
culture cells and in cowpox-infected mice has been developed
by researchers at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare
System (VASDHS) and the University of California, San Diego
(UCSD) School of Medicine, and is being evaluated by the
U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
(USAMRIID). Full
story
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Computer Chips Found to Possess Explosive Properties Useful
for Chemical Analysis and Nanoscale Sensors
 January
9, 2002 – Chemists at the University of California,
San Diego have discovered that silicon wafers, the raw starting
material for computer chips, can be easily made into tiny
explosives that might be used one day to chemically analyze
samples in the field or serve as power sources for tiny
electronic sensors the size of a speck of dust.
The UCSD scientists provide the technical details for some
of these futuristic applications in a paper featured on
the cover of the January issue of Advanced Materials, a
scientific journal based in Germany. Full
story
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UCSD Chemists Develop Tiny Silicon Wires To Detect Trace
Residues of Explosives
 July
1, 2001 – Chemists at the University of California,
San Diego have developed a silicon polymer "nanowire,"
some 2,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human
hair, that is capable of detecting trace amounts of TNT
and picric acid, an explosive commonly used in terrorist
bombs.
The
achievement, detailed in the June 1 issue of the German
chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie, provides a sensitive
new tool to combat terrorist attacks and locate unexploded
mines and bombs on land as well as in the ocean.
"The
chief advantage of this polymer is that it’s stable
in air and water, as well as extremely sensitive to explosive
residues," says William C. Trogler, a professor of
chemistry and biochemistry at UCSD. "With relatively
crude engineering, we were able to detect the presence
of TNT down to about one part in a billion in air and
some 50 parts per billion in seawater."
Full story
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UCSD Chemists Develop Portable Nerve Gas Sensor
 August
21, 2000 – Using a silicon chip and parts from an
inexpensive CD player, chemists at the University of California,
San Diego have developed a portable nerve-gas sensor capable
of detecting "G-type" nerve agents, such as
sarin, soman and GF.
The
achievement should eventually permit the development of
a large number of small and inexpensive sensors that could
be deployed by soldiers across a battlefield or by police
after a terrorist explosion to rapidly detect the presence
of certain nerve agents and to track the movements of
the deadly plumes.
"With
multiple sensors that have a radio transmitter attached
to them, you can tell how big the cloud is and where it
is moving and relay that information to a base station,"
says Michael J. Sailor, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry
at UCSD. Full
story
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