PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Seeing the invisible: New CSI tool visualizes bloodstains and other substances

2010-11-11
(Press-News.org) Snap an image of friends in front of a window curtain and the camera captures the people - and invisible blood stains splattered on the curtain during a murder. Sound unlikely? Chemists from the University of South Carolina are reporting development of a camera with that ability to see the invisible, and more. Called multimode imaging in the thermal infrared, the new technology could find uses in crime scene investigations and elsewhere, they say in a series of three reports in ACS' Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal.

Michael Myrick, Stephen Morgan and their graduate student colleagues explain that the luminol test (mainstay method for detecting blood stains and other body fluids at crime scenes) has certain disadvantages. Luminol, for instance, is potentially toxic; has been reported to dilute blood solutions below DNA detection limits; can smear informative blood spatter patterns; and can provide false positive results.

In the reports, the scientists describe the construction and successful testing of a camera that takes images in several different ways. It captures hundreds of images in a few seconds, while illuminating its subjects with pulses of invisible infrared light waves. Some of these photos are taken through special filters, which block out particular wavelengths, allowing certain chemical components to stand out from their surroundings. The camera detects blood diluted to as little as one part blood in 100 parts water. In tests, the camera was able to make invisible stains and patterns emerge from a background of four different types of fabric, also distinguishing between blood, household bleach, rust, soda pop, and coffee. The camera also successfully detected an invisible watermark that the team printed on a piece of fabric.

"These results indicate that this system could be useful for crime scene investigations by focusing nondestructive attention on areas more likely to be suitable for further analysis," the report states.

INFORMATION:

The authors acknowledged funding from the National Institute of Justice.

ARTICLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Multimode Imaging in the Thermal Infrared for Chemical Contrast Enhancement, Part 1: Methodology, Part 2: Simulation Driven Design, Part 3: Visualizing Blood on Fabrics"

DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ARTICLES
http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/ac101109w (Part 1)
http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/ac101108z (Part 2)
http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/ac101107v (Part 3)

CONTACT:
Megan Sexton
Office of Media Relations
University of South Carolina
1600 Hampton Street, Suite 703
Columbia, SC 29208
Phone: 803-777-5400
Email: msexton@mailbox.sc.edu

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

DNA repair protein caught in act of molecular theft

DNA repair protein caught in act of molecular theft
2010-11-11
Scientists have observed, for the first time, an intermediate stage in the chemical process that repairs DNA methylation damage and regulates many important biological functions that impact health conditions such as obesity, cancer and diabetes. The observations focused on the bacterial DNA repair protein AlkB, but the results also apply to several proteins in the same family that play key regulatory roles in humans. Armed with these results, researchers may one day develop methods for blocking the protein's efforts to perform the biologically important demethylation ...

Trojan Horse ploy to sneak protective drug into brains of stroke patients

2010-11-11
Scientists are reporting development of a long-sought method with the potential for getting medication through a biological barrier that surrounds the brain, where it may limit the brain damage caused by stroke. Their approach for sneaking the nerve-protective drug erythropoietin into the brain is medicine's version of the Trojan Horse ploy straight out of ancient Greek legend. It also could help people with traumatic head injuries, Parkinson's disease, and other chronic brain disorders. Their report appears in ACS' Molecular Pharmaceutics, a bi-monthly journal. William ...

Soft drink could enhance effects of an anticancer drug

2010-11-11
Experiments with an artificial stomach suggest that a popular lemon-lime soft drink could play an unexpected role in improving the effectiveness of an oral anticancer drug. The experiments produced evidence that patients will absorb more of the unnamed drug, tested in Phase I in clinical trials, when taken with "flat" or degassed Sprite. The study appears in ACS' Molecular Pharmaceutics, a bi-monthly journal. Faraj Atassi and colleagues note that efforts are underway to develop more anticancer medications that patients can take by mouth. However, biological variations ...

U of A researchers can predict heart transplant patient's health earlier

2010-11-11
Michael Mengel, a pathology researcher with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, has found a new way to analyze biopsies from heart transplant patients by looking at their genes. This allows him to make an early prediction whether the transplant is working. This is extremely important in heart transplant patients because a successful outcome depends completely on doing a biopsy of the heart tissue and prescribing treatments if necessary. In other organs transplants, doctors can use other measurements. It's hoped the new technology and process developed in the Faculty ...

Guardian angels for seeds

2010-11-11
The seeds that you plant in your backyard garden next spring — and farmers sow in their fields — may have a guardian angel that helps them sprout, stay healthy, and grow to yield bountiful harvests. It's a thin coating of chemicals termed a "seed treatment" that can encourage seeds to germinate earlier in the season, resist insects and diseases, and convey other advantages. These new seed defenders are the topic of an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine. C&EN Senior Business Editor Melody Voith describes a boom ...

Stress takes its toll in Parkinson's disease

2010-11-11
CHICAGO --- We all know that living a stressful lifestyle can take its toll, making us age faster and making us more susceptible to the cold going around the office. The same appears to be true of neurons in the brain. According to a new Northwestern Medicine study published Nov. 10 in the journal Nature, dopamine-releasing neurons in a region of the brain called the substantia nigra lead a lifestyle that requires lots of energy, creating stress that could lead to the neurons' premature death. Their death causes Parkinson's disease. "Why this small group of neurons ...

New neuronal circuits which control fear have been identified

2010-11-11
Fear is an adaptive response, essential to the survival of many species. This behavioural adaptation may be innate but can also be a consequence of conditioning, during the course of which an animal learns that a particular stimulus precedes an unpleasant event. There is a large amount of data indicating that the amygdala, a particular structure in the brain, is strongly involved during the learning of "conditioned" fear. However, until now, the underlying neuronal circuits have remained largely unknown. Now, research involving several Swiss and German teams and a researcher ...

Researchers see ethical dilemmas of providing care in drug detention centers

2010-11-11
(Garrison, NY) Organizations that seek to provide health care, food, and other services to people held in drug detention centers in developing countries often face ethical dilemmas: Are they doing more good than harm? Are they helping detainees or legitimizing a corrupt system and ultimately building its capacity to detain and abuse more people? Such dilemmas are explored in an article coauthored by Nancy Berlinger and Michael Gusmano, research scholars at The Hastings Center, along with Roxanne Saucier and Daniel Wolfe of the Open Society Institute, and Nicholas Thomson ...

Circuit regulating anti-diabetic actions of serotonin uncovered by UT Southwestern researchers

2010-11-11
DALLAS – Nov. 11, 2010 – New findings by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center suggest that serotonin – a brain chemical known to help regulate emotion, mood and sleep – might also have anti-diabetic properties. The findings, appearing online this week in Nature Neuroscience, also offer a potential explanation for why individuals prescribed certain kinds of anti-psychotic drugs that affect serotonin signaling sometimes have problems with their metabolism, including weight gain and the development of diabetes. "In this paper, we describe a circuit in the brain ...

News tips from a special issue of the International Journal of Plant Sciences

2010-11-11
The November/December issue of the International Journal of Plant Sciences explores the current state of our knowledge of natural selection in plants. "Plants were crucially important to Darwin's development of the theory of natural selection (six of his books were on plants)," writes Jeffrey Conner, a biologist at Michigan State University and guest editor of the issue. "Plants are still crucially important to the study of natural selection in the field." The issue features reviews and original research articles that explore multiple aspects of this complex topic. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’

Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants

Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths

Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change

Researchers discover new way cells protect themselves from damage

Rivers choose their path based on erosion — a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration

New discovery reveals dopamine operates with surgical precision, not as a broad signal

New AI tool gives a helping hand to x ray diagnosis

New Leicester study reveals hidden heart risks in women with Type 2 Diabetes

Over 400 different types of nerve cell have been grown – far more than ever before

[Press-News.org] Seeing the invisible: New CSI tool visualizes bloodstains and other substances