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Boston
University has a well-deserved reputation for
excellence in research in a wide range of disciplines
and a demonstrated commitment to fostering innovative
interdisciplinary research.
RESEARCH
BRIEFS
Punctuating
the Genome
by
Joan Schwartz, BU Bridge, 12/3/04
Recently
Natalia Broude, an ENG research
assistant professor at the Center for Advanced
Biotechnology, was searching through DNA for
specific sequences related to her research when
she perceived an unexpected
pattern. She enlisted the help of Lingang
Zhang , an ENG postdoctoral research
assistant. Using a rigorous computational analysis,
Zhang supported Broude's hypothesis: that she
had spotted genomic punctuation marks, common
characteristics that define transcriptional
boundaries, or the beginnings and ends of sequences
that control a particular cell process. Further
analysis by a research team that also includes
ENG Biomedical Engineering Professors Simon
Kasif and Charles Cantor
confirmed the hypothesis.
 On
Target
by
Joan Schwartz, BU Bridge, 11/5/04
Ideally chemotherapy should zero in on cancerous
tissue, flooding it with exactly the right amount
of drugs to kill the cancer cells and avoid
damaging surrounding normal cells.
Using
a process known as optical pharmacokinetics,
a new instrument developed by Irving
Bigio, an ENG professor of biomedical
engineering, shows promise for measure drug
concentrations in tissue, which can be used
to determine the optimum type and dosage of
light-activated chemotherapy agents for individual
patients.
Further
information about Bigio's work can be found
here.
Infrastructure
for the Really Big Picture
by
Joan Schwartz, BU Bridge, 11/12/04
Today's
scientists manipulate mind-boggling amounts
of data in their search to understand enormous
questions, such as how the universe began and
how living beings operate on a molecular level.
And increasingly, they collaborate across disciplines
and around the world.
Such
collaborative research has long outgrown the
capabilities of an Internet choked with spam,
commerce, and virtually non-stop communicating
and surfing by people from toddlers to grannies.
To
create more capacity for important science,
the Department of Energy has launched a new
initiative - known as UltraScience Net - that
is being specifically designed to accommodate
scientists working on the big questions.
David
Starobinski, an ENG assistant professor
of electrical and computer engineering, is building
a vital part of the infrastructure that will
make the new scientific megasuperhighway flow
smoothly.
Eliminating
Roadblocks
by
Joan Schwartz, BU Bridge, 10/29/04
According
to the American Social Health Association, 65
million Americans are currently infected with
a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and 15
million are newly infected each year.
Although early detection and treatment can help
control the spread of such diseases and prevent
complications, many factors - such as cumbersome
testing, large blood samples, uncomfortable
sampling methods, and long waiting periods for
results - hamper public health efforts.
However,
a new testing device being developed by a team
of researchers led by Catherine Klapperich,
and ENG associate professor of manufacturing
and biomedical engineering, may clear some of
these hurdles.
CHECK
IT OUT! Find out more about each department's
research:
For
University-wide research visit: www.bu.edu/research
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- Friday, February 4
Boston
University enjoys one of the finest reputations
of any business in the commonwealth, according
to a recent survey of Massachusetts executives,
second only to Harvard University and Children's
Hospital.