In recent ASU research news:
Studies in how we age
ASU professor David Brafman and Mayo Clinic Dr. Richard J. Caselli received a two-year, $408,540 grant from the National Institute of Aging. The money will go toward their project researching treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. The project, “Generation and characterization of isogenic hiPSC lines with various ApoE genotypes,” allows them to generate cell types that are hard to find and valuable for study.
DNA Currents
In a collaboration with Duke University and New York University, ASU researchers developed and created a DNA circuit that can split electric currents similar to a wall adapter. The new advancements expand upon what researchers already knew about sending electrical currents through DNA. They used four strands of DNA, called guanine quadruplex (G4), which solved the issue of two strands of DNA not splitting charges, only conducting them.
Lizards, lizards and more lizards.
ASU scientists researching why there are such a large variety of lizards have found that changes in genes that control limb development and the interbrain were responsible for the variety. The researchers also suggest that the rapid rate of reproduction in lizards could have contributed. The study put together the family trees of three lizard species from Panama and one species from the American southeast.
The last week, from the Science and Tech desk:
ASU professor Lawrence Krauss accused of sexual misconduct
Relevant quote: I was told ... specifically, 'Be careful around Krauss.' ... He's best to be avoided.” – Theresa Fisher, doctoral student at the School of Earth and Space Exploration.
ASU's Interplanetary Initiative researchers study reactions to alien life
Relevant quote: "It's important to take it ahead of time how people will respond to (the discovery of extraterrestrial life) because historically, it's been that everyone is going to freak out. With every passing year, it seems more and more likely that there's life out there." – Douglas Vakoch, president of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
ASU Digital Prep offers college-level classes to high school students
Relevant quote: “Taking online classes … gives me more time for castings, auditions and all of my bookings. It just gave me more flexibility for life.” – Sixteen-year-old high school sophomore and ASU Digital Prep student Victor Faulring.
Picking up Slack's slack: ASU student creates University-specific messaging app
Relevant quote: "I think that it's great for my students who are trying to communicate with each other outside of class. The funny thing is you never know how these tools work with students. Like some of the students were sending notes, if a student in their group wasn't in class, they were messaging them, sending them a little note saying, 'Oh, here's what we talked about today.' " – Gregory Broberg, lecturer in the School of Social Transformation.
Reach the reporter at maatenci@asu.edu or follow @mitchellatencio on Twitter.
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