MURJ Journal 3.2000
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volume 3, 2000 MURMassachusettsMassachusetts Institute Institute of of Technology Technology Undergraduate Undergraduate Research Research Journal Journal Journal SCIENCE & POLICY IN FOCUS elcome to the fall 2000 issue of the MIT Undergraduate Research Journal (MURJ). In this edition of our journal, we pre- Wsent to you a series of science and policy papers discussing often-controversial issues arising in academia. We have, as always, included along with our informational essays a series of research reports from students investigating questions from fields as distinct as anthropology and physics. UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH Those undergraduates who are familiar with MURJ will know that this JOURNAL issue’s focus on science and policy reflects our wider goal to present national MIT Undergraduate Research Journal and international topics of concern to the MIT audience, allowing students Issue 3, Fall 2000 to read about and discuss important ethical issues arising in science. In this issue, we explore topics as varied as Internet security and global warming, Editorial Board: and urge students to read essays that affect more than just their primary field Sanjay Basu Faisal Reza of study. Minhaj Siddiqui Given the specialization of many students, however, we have also chosen Abhishek Singh to continue presenting original research in each edition of our journal; what Stephanie Wang is included in our Reports section, however, has been written in a style com- Associate Editors: fortable to all undergraduates, unlike conventional research reports. As Samantha Brenner always, MURJ editors have attempted to orient the content of this journal Beryl Fung Roy Esaki toward the common undergraduate reader, allowing undergraduates study- Shaudi Hosseini ing nearly any discipline to read the research and analysis presented in Jean Kanjanavaikoon our publication. Martin Vasilev Kurtev Jenny Lee While introducing this third issue of MURJ, it is also essential that we give Georgia Panagiotakos credit not only to broad national and international topics we discuss in this Lynn Punnoose edition, but also to those that strike close to home. Science and public policy Catherine Shaw intersect right here in Cambridge, and in recognition of this fact, MURJ edi- Advertising Manager: tors will be preparing a series of talks and conferences over the next few Peter Stansbury months to discuss science policy as it moves across the Cambridge-World Contributors: axis. These talks and conferences will be announced to the entire MIT com- Allen Chen munity, and all members of the public are welcome to participate. David Foxe Of course, this effort would not be complete without the assistance of Jasper James Chen Stuart Jackson many individuals who have guided us and have made MURJ a sustainable Robert Lin production. Thanks to our advisor, Dean Les Perelman, for his continued Manway Liu support, and to those professors who have spent their time reviewing our Jane Maduram research submissions. Advisor: After reading this issue of MURJ, we encourage you to consider joining Les Perelman our group or perhaps submitting your own research to our next edition, which will appear on newsstands at the end of the spring term. Undergraduate Research Journal, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Sanjay Basu, Cambridge, MA 02139 Editor-in-Chief 00-07-0543 Table of Contents Genetics in Focus News 5 Whitehead triumphs over human genome project Martin Kurtev 5 Unique biomaterial may revolutionize neural regeneration 25 Gene Patenting 6 Genetic culprit infecting animals apprehended in plant cousins A Threat to Science and More? 6 EyeGen wins $50K for the dye to die for 7 MIT applies ‘Star Wars’ technology to breast cancer Technology in Focus 7 Neural receptor affects breathing and memory 7 Miller models memory one neuron at a time Minhaj Siddiqui 8 Ion-collision experiment uncovers Big Bang secrets 29 A Database Nation? 9 Rocket team fires up Security and New Challenges to Privacy 9 Nuclear waste containers convert to clay given time 9 MIT scientists provide new spin on unique pulsars Reports 10 Discover Magazine awards technological innovation 10 Manus robot rehabilitates stroke victims Jane H. Maduram 10 Surgical disaster sparks innovation 31 On the Structure & Discovery of Facial 11 Microvillages solve housing shortages in Turkey Processes: Hidden Markov Models 11 Coaxial cables succeed to perfection through perfect mirrors Development through Entropy 11 Feedback loops enhance electronic circuits to brain circuits Minimization Algorithms 12 Powerful pulsed superconducting magnet passes initial testing 13 World Science News in Review Allen Chen and Stuart Jackson 13 Genetic basis to alcoholism revealed 39 SPHERES: 13 Key brain receptor controls response to opiates A Testbed for Spacecraft Formation 13 Deadly spider toxins may protect plants Flight Research in Microgravity 14 Natural antibiotics diversify protection Conditions 14 Synthetic molecule mimics hormones 14 Stem cells clear away the clouds for cornea patients David Foxe 15 Cell fusions create genetically engineered sheep 47 Specificity in Context: 15 Waste becomes clean energy source Selected Studies in Architecture and 15 Antibodies fight chemical warfare Te chnolog y for E duc at ion 16 Killer T cells lose their bite when HIV hits 16 ‘Super-aspirin’ inhibits cancer Robert W. Lin 16 Gene driving metastasis discovered 61 Early Cost Estimation for the 17 Chocolate keeps arteries clean Manufacturing of Tooling in Resin 17 Depression influences developing fetuses Transfer Molding 17 Laser shines from chemicals in a beaker 17 Lightning misses the point Michael Manway Liu 18 Potent sensor amplifies signal 65 Image Processing Issues with Fast, 18 Diamond yields to beta-carbon nitride in hardness Real-Time In Vivo Optical Coherence 18 Synthetic surface binds proteins at will Tomog r aphy Systems 19 Additives make carbon dioxide better solvent 19 Scientist plumbs gravity at atomic level Environment in Focus 19 Teles cop e data confirms Euclidean nature of universe at the Big Bang 20 Scientists indirectly measure ‘dark’ matter Patsy Sampson 20 Brown dwarves flare like other stars 71 The Science and Politics of Global 20 The search for aliens turns to Jupiter Warming: The Climate of Political 21 Mother Earth may wreck anti-pollution drive Change at MIT 21 Vol c a n o e s b oi l s u l f u r aw ay 21 Molecular transistors show some ‘gain’ Health Care in Focus 21 Metal-binding peptides attract nanocrystals 22 Lasers stretch cells Jasper James Chen 22 Optical torch to distinguish single molecules soon 77 A Modernized Medicine for Our Times: 22 Atomic manipulation reveals possibility for quantum chips Reforming the American Health Care 22 Quantum logic gate structure proposed System 23 Device detects the sound of breaking bonds 23 Miniature balance counts bacteria bose 4.c ad (film supplied) 4 MURJ Volume 3, 2000 Science News in Review MIT Science News in Review IOCHEMICAL CIENCES “We deserve to be proud of our accomplishments and bask in B S this glory as the world’s attention focuses on us.The credit goes to all the individuals at the Whitehead Genome Center who have Whitehead triumphs over worked hard to make us the flagship center ofthe Human Genome Project Consortium. Everyone associated with this pro- human genome project ject should feel proud,”said Professor Lander. n June 26th, the Human Genome Project and Celera OGenomics announced the primary assemblies of the human genome, a feat accomplished with the help of the Unique biomaterial may revolutionize Whitehead/MIT Center for Genome Research. Whitehead was neural regeneration the single largest contributor to the project, accounting for long-sought goal of molec- nearly a third of the sequences assembled by an international Aular neuroscience has been consortium of sixteen laboratories. to perform the seemingly Researchers at the Whitehead Institute were responsible for impossible: to regenerate nerve laying the groundwork for the project and were also crucial in cells after damage. Since the completing its final phase, producing over one billion DNA base accident of actor Christopher pairs in the past year. Reeve, the concept has gained The consortium’s goal for the spring of 2000 was to produce a widespread attention in the “working draft” version of the human genome, an assembly con- biology community, but few sci- taining overlapping fragments of roughly ninety percent of the entists have presented definitive results to suggest that the feat genome, with some gaps and ambiguities. The ultimate goal is to could be easily accomplished. produce a “finished” sequence with no gaps and 99.99 percent In the June 6 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy accuracy. of Sciences, MIT researchers collaborating with New York The international Human Genome Project consortium cen- University scientists reported that they have designed a new ters have produced far more sequence data than expected material that may function as a scaffolding for regenerating nerve (approximately 22.1 billion bases of raw sequence data), resulting cells. The scaffold, made of proteins, acts as a fence to a vine, in a working draft substantially closer to the ultimate finished allowing neurons to grow fibers along it and ultimately recon- form than expected at this stage. structing functional synapses. This “finished” sequence will be crucial in obtaining all possi- The biomaterial brings researchers one step closer to the ulti- ble information from human sequence data. As of now, this has mate goal of growing replacement nerve cells for victims of spinal already been achieved for about 24 percent of the genome,includ- cord injuries and other nerve disorders “Further development of biological materials and related cell- ing chromosomes 21 and 22. based therapies may bring us closer to the elusive goal of repair- In a similar announcement, Celera Genomics announced the ing the damaged nervous system,” wrote Melitta Schachner, a completion of its first assembly of the human genome. While researcher in molecular neurobiology at the University of both the private and public projects used similar sequencing Hamburg in Germany.