Science & Tech
Diaper compound to help scientists see tissues clearly
Washington: A modified form of the super-absorbent chemical used in disposable diapers can expand brain structures to four and a half times their original size, a recent study shows.
The process called expansion microscopy may enable scientists to take super-resolution pictures of healthy and diseased tissue throughout the body using common microscopes.
“For centuries, a scientist’s ability to look at cells has been constrained by the power of the lenses they used to magnify them. We decided to try something different, and physically magnify the cells themselves,” said Edward Boyden, associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
Boyden linked brain cell proteins to a mesh of sodium polyacrylate and added water.
The polyacrylate mesh swelled and greatly expanded the size of protein complexes while preserving their normal structural arrangement in the cell.
This allowed the scientists to see previously hidden submicroscopic details of cell structures.
To demonstrate the technique’s potential, the scientists took pictures of cell protein complexes before and after swelling.
They performed experiments on both rodent brain slices and cells grown in petri dishes.
Before treating with acrylate, scientists took pictures of certain parts of the cells with a high powered microscope designed to capture fine protein complex details.
Then they applied the acrylate, polymerised it to form a mesh, used enzymes to clear away unlinked proteins from the mesh and expanded the structures with water.
After expansion, they took pictures of the same locations using a lower powered microscope.
The overall three dimensional protein complexes within a certain brain cell circuit could be successfully enlarged.
“Our results show that we can scan large chunks of brain tissue with nanoscale precision. We think this can be applied to a variety of tissues and help answer a lot of different questions in science and medicine,” Boyden concluded.
Business
Apple is giving a huge discount on its gadgets: Details inside
If you want to buy an iPhone and were waiting for a nice offer, then we have a piece of good news for you! Amazon Summer Sale May 2022 has begun and they are offering major discounts on various smartphones, laptops, and smart TVs, among others.
The sale is live now on the e-commerce platform with no-cost EMI options and exchange discounts on various products. In addition to this, Amazon has also partnered with several banks including ICICI, Kotak Bank, and RBL so that customers get instant discounts of up to 10% using their cards and EMI transactions.
Customers can easily enjoy this summer sale and get massive discounts on iPhones. They can also compare prices on Flipkart Big Saving Days Sale 2022 before making a purchase.
Amazon Summer Sale May 2022: Discount offer on iPhone 13
Apple’s coveted phone model iPhone 13 in the 128 GB storage model will be available during the Amazon Summer Sale May 2022 for Rs 64,900. The MRP of the phone is Rs 79,900. This means that the customers will be able to enjoy a discount of up to Rs 15,000 on the purchase of the iPhone 13.
If you have an old iPhone in working condition then you will also be eligible to receive another additional discount worth up to Rs 17,000 on the iPhone 13.
Buy at Rs. 64,900 (MRP – Rs. 79,900)
Features of Apple iPhone 13
The iPhone is powered by an A15 Bionic processor with 6 core CPU. Apart from this, it has 16 core neural engines. With the iPhone 13, up to 512 GB of storage will be available. The iPhone 13 has a 6.1-inch Retina XDR display with 1000 nits brightness.
The iPhone 13 has a 12-megapixel dual rear camera setup. This time a new wide-angle camera has been given, whose aperture is f/1.6. With this, there is support for sensor optical stabilisation. Night mode has been made better than before. The second lens is also 12 megapixels ultra-wide and has an aperture of f/2.4.