Latest news with #BrianCunningham
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Researchers create incredible 'DNA NanoGripper' that could revolutionize medicine: 'This approach has bigger potential'
University of Illinois researchers have created a nanorobot that can cling to individual virus cells, according to Nice News. "We wanted to make a soft material, nanoscale robot with grabbing functions that never have been seen before, to interact with cells, viruses and other molecules for biomedical applications," said lead researcher Xing Wang in a release by the school. "We are using DNA for its structural properties. It is strong, flexible and programmable. Yet even in the DNA origami field, this is novel in terms of the design principle. We fold one long strand of DNA back and forth to make all of the elements, both the static and moving pieces, in one step." The so-called NanoGripper has been initially used to bind to COVID-19 cells. Thanks to a little collaboration with computer scientists, researchers have been able to make a highly accurate COVID test on par with what's used in hospitals. When you're choosing health and beauty products, which of these factors is most important to you? Cost Brand name Ingredients Packaging Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "Our test is very fast and simple since we detect the intact virus directly," electrical and computer engineering professor Brian Cunningham said. "When the virus is held in the NanoGripper's hand, a fluorescent molecule is triggered to release light when illuminated by an LED or laser. When a large number of fluorescent molecules are concentrated upon a single virus, it becomes bright enough in our detection system to count each virus individually." Researchers foresee many uses for this technology, including preventative medicine, diagnostics, and treatment for a wide range of serious diseases. "This approach has bigger potential than the few examples we demonstrated in this work," said Wang. It would be great to see a tool like this aimed at problems introduced by microplastics in the body, or the effects of particulate pollution, assuming it is as flexible as suggested. Of course, we aren't likely to see practical, large-scale applications of this technology for a few years, but it's certainly a novel and promising development. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Readers sound off on boosting state education, dismantling USAID and family preference
Manhattan: The latest results from the Nation's Report Card make one thing painfully clear: New York is spending more on education than any other state, yet our students are falling further behind. Right now, only one-third of New York City's fourth-graders are proficient in math, and 28% can read at grade level. The numbers are just as alarming for eighth-graders, with 23% proficient in math and 29% proficient in reading. Despite record-high education spending, New York students are performing below the national average. The numbers don't lie — our system is failing and our students are paying the price. More money isn't the answer; smarter investments are. Students need real, research-backed interventions that accelerate post-pandemic learning recovery. Here are two clear-eyed solutions: invest in high-impact tutoring (HIT), an evidence-based strategy that delivers real academic gains, and expand school choice, giving families more options and ensuring that every child has access to a high-quality education. We're advocating for both policies this legislative session with partners in the public charter school sector and collaborating with Assembly Member Brian Cunningham to launch a statewide tutoring pilot program. While HIT and school choice won't solve New York's reading and math crises, they are both critical tools to help students catch up and get back on track. New York's education system is broken. How much longer will we keep paying for failure? It's time to stop the waste and invest in what works. Jacquelyn Martell, executive director, Education Reform Now New York Manhattan: I am writing to voice my strong support for physicians and health care providers. Congressional bill H.R. 879 will fix the physician fee schedule debacle that is creating an impediment to patient care. Rising costs make it more important than ever to create a sustainable payment platform for providers. As founder and CEO of the largest physical therapy company in the New York metro area, keeping our patients out of the ER is both smart and cost effective. Please support this much-needed physician fee schedule fix to keep access open to our patients. Dan Rootenberg Brooklyn: It was a pleasure to turn to 1010 WINS on the radio yesterday morning and hear Paul Murnane's voice. He and Wayne Cabot are very much missed, as well as WCBS Newsradio 880. L. Veneroni Manhattan: Kobayashi Issa, the haiku master, discovered that the medium was destructive of the message because the warm urine 'makes a very straight hole.' The article '3 swastika bigots strike at Wash. Sq. Pk., St. John's U.' (Feb. 4) reports that 'the NYPD's hate crimes task force' was seeking help in identifying the two 'hatemongers' who were suspected of drawing swastikas on the snow near St. John's University. Ownership of snow depends upon what state the snow falls in. In New York, it appears that snow is common property. If ownership of snow is a murky question, can there be a graffiti misdemeanor? As to a hate crime, the symbolism of drawing an offensive image on an impermanent surface suggests the opposite. Graffiti on snow plus midwinter's warming sun rays equals melted messages. Michele P. Brown Manhattan: I eat sushi for breakfast at 7 a.m. outside! Eva Tortora Bronx: If you take pleasure and delight in watching immigrants being arrested and deported when their only crime was crossing the border to achieve a better life for their families, I guarantee that you would have been yelling, 'Crucify him.' Search your souls, for you are godless. John Cirolia Mohegan Lake, N.Y.: To Voicer Michael P. Devine: Yes, the sky is falling. Nongovernmental organizations can be forced out of business when the Trump administration cuts their government-sponsored funding because many NGOs rely heavily on grants and contracts from agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to finance their operations and programs. A sudden reduction in funding can jeopardize their ability to continue. The freeze established by the Trump administration has led to a number of educational and health programs worldwide, particularly in Latin America and Ukraine, halting operations. By removing senior officials from USAID, it looks like Trump wants to dismantle this agency. The sky is falling for researchers who work to prevent child deaths by creating more effective vaccines. Research partners were told to stop working. This abrupt halt could put medical progress back by years. The sky is falling for humanitarian aid projects in Ukraine that depended on this funding. Nancy Reinhardt Ridgefield, Conn.: President Trump and his partner Elon Musk have axed USAID. Of course, they did so because Trump said the Biden administration committed fraud and he has the evidence. He promised to give us a report later on. Mr. President, will we see your evidence within two weeks? Millions of needy fellow human beings around the world need to know why they are going to be forgotten by the United States. Michael Pickering Manhattan: 'Scare Away Voting Efforts' is a more honest acronym than the one being used (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) to promote a measure meant to obstruct voting. It would require in-person registration, eliminating those who can't get to a registration location easily or at all. Real IDs would not be sufficient for registration. Rather than making it easier to vote — one of our most basic rights — the promoters of the bill use an acronym designed to mislead, making it look like the legislation supports voters rather than disenfranchising them. Voting should be easy. However, given the election lies that have mounted in recent years, this legislation is no surprise. Scare Away Voting Efforts tells the truth. It broadcasts the dangers in the proposed legislation. It says to call or write your senators and representatives and tell them to vote no on legislation that will make it harder to vote. Alida Camp Manhattan: I've been reaching out to both New York senators and I've been immensely disappointed with the lackadaisical approach they've taken while the Trump/Musk administration breaks federal law. Democracies die in daylight if you let them. We're experiencing almost daily challenges to the rule of law. But our senators do not seem up to the challenge. What will it take for them to wake up and stand up for the voters who elected them? The U.S. Senate is not a retirement center. Stand up or resign! Jim Behrle Brooklyn: To Voicer Claudette Mobley: I agree, our democracy is at its highest risk in its entire history. We simply can't put up with this. has just started a petition to Congress to remove the president and vice president for many reasons. Congress will not accept it today, but maybe in the 2026 midterm elections we can swing the majority back to sanity. There is also Indivisible. Brought together by a practical guide to resist the Trump agenda, Indivisible is a movement of thousands of group leaders and more than a million members taking regular, iterative and increasingly complex actions to resist the GOP's agenda, elect local champions and fight for progressive policies. Sign the petition and find your local Indivisible group or start one. Greg Ahl Queens Village: Taken right out of the JD Vance Project 2025 playbook, a woman's right to her own lifestyle will be determined by the government if she is not married or has no kids, and where she lives by zip code! The government will hold back federal money for improving the subway system only because there are no children living there?! What? One has nothing to do with the other. Did I read this right? Oh yes, the abominable Trump administration is discriminating in the most vile way in its discretion, reminiscent of 'The Handmaid's Tale.' Your Sunday front-page news along with the article on pages 10-11 (' 'Breed and butter' transit plan: Fed money will go to nabes with most families,' Feb. 2) speaks for itself. A person who married three times, had a kid out of wedlock and continues to lie is still OK according to his own religion. The Republicans continue to be hypocritical in everything they say or do. Joan Silaco
