They will if they can make money on it, but anyhow...maybe someday soon we can see our silver particles. I haven't seen a Doc in over 20 years.
Ken At 03:13 PM 3/19/02 -0600, you wrote: >This all sounds wonderful, but I don't believe the powers that be will allow >a cure for any of these money making illinesses. The Pharms will not allow >it!!!!!! >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Ode Coyote" <coy...@alltel.net> >To: <silver-list@eskimo.com> >Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 8:03 AM >Subject: CS>Amazing new microscope (article, UC Berkeley). > > >> >> >> <http://www.berkeley.edu/>Berkeley >> Microsized microscopes: UC Berkeley researchers develop microlens and >> scanner that can provide views inside living cells >> 13 March 2002 >> >> By Sarah Yang, Media Relations >> >> Berkeley - Imagine a future where doctors can view the DNA of tumor cells >> inside a patient as cancer drugs are delivered, or where anti-terrorism >> units can identify single molecules of a biowarfare agent on site with a >> portable detector. With a significant development in miniaturized >> microscopes at the University of California, Berkeley, scientists are >> inching closer to such possibilities. >> >> Luke Lee >> Assistant Professor Luke Lee is developing a micro-lens smaller than the >> period at the end of this sentence. Peg Skorpinski photo >> >> micro-CIA >> Shown is an image of a scanner of the micro confocal imaging array, or >> micro-CIA, taken by a scanning electron microscope. The photopolymer >> microlens in the center of the scanner is shaped by surface tension, not >by >> etching, and is therefore extremely smooth. Comb-drives on opposing sides >> of the scanner power the side-to-side movements using electrostatic >forces. >> The "fingers" of the comb-drives are spaced 2-5 microns apart. >> >> micro confocal imaging array >> As seen in this schematic of a micro confocal imaging array, the staging >> platform that holds the sample is on the bottom. Three scanners stacked >> vertically above the platform scan each of the three axes (X, Y and Z) for >> three-dimensional images. The fluorescent signal detector sits above the >> scanners. >> >> >> Luke P. Lee, assistant professor of bioengineering at UC Berkeley, and his >> doctoral student Sunghoon Kwon have captured an image of a plant cell with >> a microlens smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. >> >> "It's shrinking a million dollar machine down to a size that can balance >on >> the tip of a ballpoint pen," said Lee, who presented the results at a >> recent International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. "The >> microlens and scanner we've made is a crucial part of a microscope that is >> 500 to 1,000 times smaller than anything in its class." >> >> In testing the accuracy of the microlens and scanner, Kwon placed a cell >> sample taken from a flowering lily, Convallaria majalis, onto the platform >> of a conventional confocal microscope. Without moving the sample, they >> captured a cross-sectional image of the cell wall, first with the >> traditional microscope, then with the microlens scanner. They found that >> the two images matched, showing for the first time that his microscopic >> lens could perform as well as a conventional one. >> >> "Honestly, we were shocked," said Lee, who also is co-director of the >> Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center. "What we've finally shown is a proof of >> concept. We have tested only 2-D images now, but it's just a matter of >time >> and manpower before we get the first 3-D image." >> >> The microlens and scanner are part of a device Lee is developing called >the >> micro confocal imaging array, or micro-CIA. The micro-CIA belongs to a >> group of devices known as Bio-Polymer-Opto-Electro-Mechanical-Systems, or >> BioPOEMS. Invented by Lee, BioPOEMS marry the world of optics to that of >> microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, for use in biological >applications. >> >> The size and sensitivity of the micro-CIA would allow technicians to >> quickly test even trace amounts of anthrax or smallpox in the field. It >> could become a crucial part of a "lab-on-a-chip," where researchers can >> study genes and proteins in ways unimagined decades ago. Lee is >> particularly excited by the potential for advancements in medicine >possible >> with a miniaturized microscope. >> >> "You could put this device on the tip of an endoscope that could be guided >> inside a cancer patient," said Lee. "Doctors could then see how tumor >cells >> behave in vivo. It would also be feasible to deliver drugs directly to the >> tumor cell, and then view how the cell responds to the drugs." >> >> High-end confocal microscopes, which house several lasers, take up to a >> meter of desk space, can cost more than $1 million and typically require >> highly-trained operators to run them, said Lee. The high cost of owning >and >> running confocal microscopes limits the amount of research that can be >done >> with them, he said. >> >> "My goal is to not only shrink the size of these microscopes, but to make >> them as easy and as cheap to use as a digital camera," said Lee. It is >with >> a hint of populist sentiment that Lee began devising a teeny version of >the >> confocal microscope, the micro-CIA. He envisions a future where confocal >> microscopy is as common as a Bunsen burner in academic and industry >> research labs. >> >> Unlike scanning electron microscopes, which construct 3-D topological >> images of dead cells, confocal microscopes can capture images of nanoscale >> activity inside living cells. Confocal microscopes also allow researchers >> to focus on specific components inside the cell, such as DNA strands, or >> mitochondria. >> >> Cell parts marked with a fluorescent dye are "excited" by the laser and >> emit light back at specific wavelengths. Mitochondria, for instance, emit >a >> fluorescent red color while nucleic acids emit a fluorescent blue, >> depending upon the molecular labeling of each component in the cell. To >> form 3-D images, 2-D slices are stacked together in a way similar to how >an >> MRI image is formed. >> >> Equipped with a microlens about 300 microns in diameter, the microscopic >> scanner Lee tested is a square of about 1 millimeter on each side and can > >> move a distance of 50 to 100 microns. Lee is also testing a nanolens as >> small as 500 nanometers in diameter, or 200 times thinner than a strand of >> human hair, and smaller than the average red blood cell. >> >> Lee's design of the micro-CIA will include three scanners stacked >> vertically above the staging platform where samples are studied. The >> scanners will measure each of the three axes - X, Y and Z - in >> three-dimensional space. >> >> To make the scanner and lens, Lee employed technology similar to that used >> to manufacture microchips. The lens is made of a tiny drop of polymer >> shaped by surface tension and hardened by exposure to ultraviolet light. >To >> focus the lens, Lee and Kwon adjusted the distance between the lens and >> sample. While it is also possible to focus by changing the shape of the >> lens, Lee said doing so would likely increase the cost and complexity of >> production, something he wants to avoid. >> >> Comb-drives on each side of the microlens act as microactuators, tiny >> engines powered by electrostatic forces that move the microlens back and >> forth 4,500 times per second. Sensors then pick up fluorescent signals and >> feed the data back to a computer where the image is displayed in real >time. >> >> Lee's work is part of UC Berkeley's Health Sciences Initiative, which >> brings together scientists from disparate fields in the pursuit of major >> advances in health and medicine. >> >> The research is part of a three-year project funded by the Defense >Advanced >> Research Projects Agency. >> >> >> >> >> -- >> The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. >> >> To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: >> silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com -or- silver-digest-requ...@eskimo.com >> with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. >> >> To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com >> Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html >> List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@eskimo.com> >> > >
