What happens when lava and water meet? Explosive experiments with manmade lava are helping to answer this important question. By cooking up 10-gallon batches of molten rock and injecting them with water, scientists are shedding light on the basic physics of lava-water interactions, which are common in nature but poorly understood. The project — a…
3D Printers Have ‘Fingerprints,’ a Discovery That Could Help Trace 3D-Printed Guns
Portable Cancer Test Uses Smartphone, New Gold Biosensor
Early diagnosis of cancer greatly improves the odds of successful treatment. Yet many people, especially in developing countries, lack access to facilities to detect the disease. To address this issue, a University at Buffalo-led research team is creating a new cancer-spotting tool that health care providers could eventually use in areas that lack hospitals, clinics…
Research on Cancer-Frying Nanoparticles Heats Up
Need to kill tumors? Just add heat. That’s the promise of heated magnetic nanoparticles, a futuristic-sounding technology that could one day be used to fry and eradicate cancer cells without harming healthy tissue elsewhere in the body. New research led by the University at Buffalo advances this concept, with scientists developing nanoparticles that can zap…
Lego-Like Chemical Building Blocks Self-Assemble Into Catalyst for Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Lung-on-a-Chip Simulates Pulmonary Fibrosis
New Tool Analyzes Disease and Drug Effects With Unprecedented Accuracy and Consistency
A new protein analysis tool developed at the University at Buffalo could vastly increase the speed and precision with which disease and drug effects are analyzed. The groundbreaking tool, called IonStar, is the first to provide near-perfect accuracy when quantifying and comparing the abundance of proteins in the bodies of people who are healthy and…
Drug-Filled, 3D Printed Dentures Could Fight Off Infections
Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. denture-wearing population suffer frequent fungal infections that cause inflammation, redness and swelling in the mouth. To better treat these infections, called denture-related stomatitis, University at Buffalo researchers have turned to 3-D printers, using the machines to build dentures filled with microscopic capsules that periodically release Amphotericin B, an antifungal medication.…
Remnants of Antibiotics Persist in Treated Farm Waste
Each year, farmers in the U.S. purchase tens of millions of pounds of antibiotics that are approved for use in cows, pigs, fowl and other livestock. When farmers repurpose the animals’ manure as fertilizer or bedding, traces of the medicines leach into the environment, raising concerns that agriculture may be contributing to the rise of…
Ancient Paper Art, Kirigami, Poised to Improve Smart Clothing
Like a yoga novice, electronic components don’t stretch easily. But that’s changing thanks to a variation of origami that involves cutting folded pieces of paper. In a study published April 2 in the journal Advanced Materials, a University at Buffalo-led research team describes how kirigami has inspired its efforts to build malleable electronic circuits. Their…
Chemical Cluster Could Transform Energy Storage for Large Electrical Grids
To power entire communities with clean energy, such as solar and wind power, a reliable backup storage system is needed to provide energy when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t out. One possibility is to use any excess solar- and wind-based energy to charge solutions of chemicals that can subsequently be stored for…
Goodbye, Login. Hello, Heart Scan
Forget fingerprint computer identification or retinal scanning. A University at Buffalo-led team has developed a computer security system using the dimensions of your heart as your identifier. The system uses low-level Doppler radar to measure your heart, and then continually monitors your heart to make sure no one else has stepped in to run your…
Researchers Investigate Heart Scan for Computer Security Identification
Forget fingerprint computer identification or retinal scanning. A University at Buffalo-led team has developed a computer security system using the dimensions of your heart as your identifier. The system uses low-level Doppler radar to measure your heart, and then continually monitors your heart to make sure no one else has stepped in to run your…
Scientists Use Magnetic Fields to Remotely Stimulate Brain and Control Body Movements
Scientists have used magnetism to activate tiny groups of cells in the brain, inducing bodily movements that include running, rotating and losing control of the extremities — an achievement that could lead to advances in studying and treating neurological disease. The technique researchers developed is called magneto-thermal stimulation. It gives neuroscientists a powerful new tool:…
Sensor Can Detect Traces of Drugs in Blood, Bomb-Making Components, and Other Chemicals
Scientists searching for traces of drugs, bomb-making components and other chemicals often shine light on the materials they’re analyzing. This approach is known as spectroscopy, and it involves studying how light interacts with trace amounts of matter. One of the more effective types of spectroscopy is infrared absorption spectroscopy, which scientists use to sleuth out…
A Carnivorous Plant’s Prized Genetic Treasures, Unveiled
The carnivorous humped bladderwort plant is a sophisticated predator. Living in swamps and ponds, it uses vacuum pressure to suck prey into tiny traps at breathtaking speeds of under a millisecond. A new genomic analysis shows just how valuable this carnivorous lifestyle has been to the plant throughout its evolutionary history. Over millions of years,…
From Skin to Brain: Stem Cells Without Genetic Modification
Carbon-Dipped Paper Key to Effective Solar-Powered Water Purifier
You’ve seen Bear Grylls turn foul water into drinking water with little more than sunlight and plastic. Now, academics have added a third element — carbon-dipped paper — that may turn this survival tactic into a highly efficient and inexpensive way to turn saltwater and contaminated water into potable water for personal use. The idea,…
Glow-In-The-Dark Dye Could Fuel Liquid-Based Batteries
Could a glow-in-the-dark dye be the next advancement in energy storage technology? Scientists at the University at Buffalo think so. They have identified a fluorescent dye called BODIPY as an ideal material for stockpiling energy in rechargeable, liquid-based batteries that could one day power cars and homes. But the traits that facilitate energy storage are…
Protein Found to Regulate Cocaine Craving after Withdrawal
Veggie Juice that Illuminates the Gut
The pigment that gives spinach and other plants their verdant color may improve doctors’ ability to examine the human gastrointestinal tract. That’s according to a study, published today (July 11, 2016) in the journal Advanced Materials, which describes how chlorophyll-based nanoparticles suspended in liquid are an effective imaging agent for the gut. “Our work suggests that…