Tech Scrape

Two studies show that complete-genome sequencing can identify disease-causing genes. James Lupski , a physician-scientist who suffers from a neurological disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth, has been searching for the genetic cause of his disease for more than 25 years. Late last year, he finally found it–by sequencing his entire genome. While a number of human genome sequences have been published to date, Lupski’s research is the first to show how whole-genome sequencing can be used to identify the genetic cause of an individual’s disease.

The best of the rest from the Physics arXiv this week:

1366 Technologies hopes to cut the cost of solar with cheaper manufacturing. A new manufacturing process could cut the cost of making crystalline silicon wafers for solar cells by 80 percent. The process is being developed by Lexington, MA-based 1366 Technologies , which this week showed off the first solar cells made this way. The technology is key to the company’s plan to make solar power cheaper than the electricity generated from coal within 10 years.

The fluorescent molecule targets tumors to guide surgeons and provide pre- and post-op imaging. A new molecule designed to seek out and label cancer cells could help guide surgeons to hidden pockets of disease–a technology that could one day allow for more complete tumor removal and increase a patient’s chances of survival.

The best of the rest from Physics arXiv this week:

Experiments in mice show that the brain’s ability to adapt might not disappear with age. Transplanting fetal neurons into the brains of young mice opens a new window on neural plasticity, or flexibility in the brain’s neural circuits. The research, published today in the journal Science , suggests that the brain’s ability to radically adapt to new situations might not be permanently lost in youth, and helps to pinpoint the factors needed to reintroduce this plasticity .

Fuel made from waste by-products could lower greenhouse gas emissions. A novel chemical process developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison converts cellulose from agricultural waste into gasoline and jet fuel. It produces fuel by modifying what until now had been considered unwanted by-products (levulinic acid and formic acid) of breaking cellulose down into sugar. The work was described in this week’s issue of the journal Science .

Its 100-kilowatt modules have been sold to Google, eBay, and Walmart. The up-to-now secretive startup Bloom Energy took the wraps off its technology this week, unveiling a fuel-cell system that the company claims can run on a variety of fuels and pay for itself in three to five years via lower energy bills.

DNA changes could help doctors see if stray cancer cells remain after treatment. Tracking tiny amounts of a patient’s unique cancer DNA could provide a new way of detecting small tumors or stray cancer cells that linger after treatment. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Life Technologies Corporation , a biotechnology tools company, used fast and cheap sequencing methods to spot genetic alterations in breast and bowel cancers in individual patients. Once found, the researchers used stretches of rearranged DNA to construct personalized biomarkers that allow them to detect even faint traces of tumor DNA.

A system to detect brain chemicals may improve therapies for Parkinson’s and other disorders. Over the last decade, deep brain stimulation, in which an implanted electrode delivers targeted jolts of electricity, has given surgeons an entirely new way to treat challenging neurological diseases. More than 75,000 people have undergone the procedure for Parkinson’s and other disorders . But despite its success, scientists and surgeons know little about its actual effect on the brain or exactly why it works.