New Horizons Magazine from Uppsala University 1:2 2011
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NEW HORIZONS MAGAZINE FROM UPPSALA UNIVERSITY 1:2 2011 THEME: SURFACE YOUR TELLTALE FACE 12 UNDER THE SURFACE OF A FOREST LAKE 10 TREATMENT FOR ALZHEIMER’S TESTED 14 GOLDMINE FOR DINOSAUR RESEARCHERS 24 KARATE CALMS HIM DOWN FOR STUDYING 26 1 New Horizons 1/2011 Uppsala University JUNE 2011 THEME: SURFACE 4 Revolution in the nanosphere New Horizons is Uppsala University’s magazine about 6 Everything can be studied with synchrotron light research and education. It is issued twice a year, in 8 Earthquake here at home English and in Swedish, Nya horisonter. The magazine 10 Under the surface of a forest lake can be ordered free of charge or be downloaded as a PDF at the address: www.uu.se/infomaterial 12 Your face reveals your empathy Address: Division for Communication and External Relations Under the RESEARCH Uppsala University 19 Control over calories P. O. Box 256 surface 20 Nobel Prize graphene – with own methods SE-751 05 Uppsala, SWEDEN 23 Mechanisms of stammering being revealed 24 Uppsala hot for dinosaur researchers Editor: Annica Hulth [email protected] Editorial board: Magnus Alsne, Anders Berndt, EDUCATION Johannes Borgegård, Helena Edström, Rickard 26 Karate facilitates studying Källgren, Anna Malmberg, Siv Ohlsson, Gunilla 28 The clinic where students work together Sthyr, Anneli Waara, Birgitta Sinder Wilén. 29 Rotary opens Peace Center Executive editor: Urban Lindberg Layout: Torbjörn Gozzi English translation: DS MacQueen & Associates LLC Printing: Tabergs Tryckeri INNOVATION 30 More efficient drug development 31 Space trip for minimal instrument PHOTO: MIKAEL WALLERSTEDT PHOTO: PERNILLA BJÖRK THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM puter and TV games. In front of World of TO BE. Something is lurking under the Warcraft, for example, you can hone your Director of Communication surface. Some things are just what you see. leadership skills, research shows. CULTURE Students tend to swing back and forth 32 Chairs – specially crafted for the University They are all surface. Surfaces constitute 33 Focus on nurses borders, but they can be crossed, analysed. between surface and depths. Parties and What is hidden under the surface of a for- club life serve as a necessary complement est lake, for instance? Can facial expressions to demanding studies. Student life may be reveal character traits? In nanotechnology that extra something that creates long-last- surfaces are crucial to the properties of ma- ing connections to Uppsala University. terials. The bigger the surface the better. That’s how it was for Eric Liu, a former ALUMN So the University’s researchers and stu- student who is now back home in Beijing. 34 Back in China after studies in Uppsala 35 Alumn network growing dents have many good reasons to stop and He has set up a network there for Uppsala ponder the surface, to study the shell before students. At their gatherings, they discuss probing deeper into the core. In this issue their career opportunities, get to know each By choosing to use this paper we have reduced of New Horizons you will find many ex- other better, and have fun together. our climate impact by approximately 35%. The amples of this. Gravity and playfulness. Surface and paper is produced in Sweden and the amount of Even in our personal lives it can pay depth. That’s everyday life at a university. n water used in its production is uniquely low. The COLLABORATION to pursue superficial activities like com- 37 Chemistry, chemistry … all year forest raw materials come from “FSC forests.” 38 His present was a researcher SO THE UNIVERSITY’S RESEARCHERS AND STUDENTS HAVE MANY GOOD REASONS TO STOP AND PONDER THE SURFACE. 2 NEW HORIZONS 1:2 3 THEME: SURFACE TEXT: ANNBRITT RYMAN PHOTO: STAFFAN CLAESSON GRAPHICS: KALLE ÅSTRAND Revolution in the nanosphere In nanotechnology, the size of NANO MEANS one billionth and comes eficial properties that add up to excellent thereby spread it to local physicians’ offices the surface is crucial. The smaller from the Greek word nanos, which means preconditions for us to load up the surface or even into the home. The magnetic na- the particles are in a material, dwarf. If you divide a meter into a billion with other materials that have the func- noparticles we’re working with now can be parts, you get one nanometer. It is at this tions we’re looking for. provided with DNA on the surface, and in the larger the total area is. And level that Maria Strømme, professor of na- Cellulose is a naturally insulating fibrous Same mass a single sample it will be possible to meas- the larger the area, the more notechnology, is working to find new ap- material (biological polymer, called carbo- Different surface area ure the concentration of bacteria, viruses, or functions there are. plications for a technology that is still in its hydrate in everyday language). What Maria genes, using extremely simple electromag- Tiny nanoparticles’ access infancy. Strømme’s research team wanted to find netic circuits. – In nanotechnology the surface is of tre- out was if it could be made conductive by to large surfaces is going to mendous importance. The smaller the par- covering the surface with conductive poly- Risk of diseases revolutionize our existence. ticles a material consists of, the larger the mers. More concretely, it’s about a tiny prick of surface you get to work with, says Maria – We saw a potential for several biotech- the finger being able to show what percent- Strømme. nological applications, such as dialysis of Advantages of a large surface. age risk you run of suffering from cardio- This might sound like a contradiction to patients with kidney failure. Biotechnology vascular diseases, for instance. Or whether the uninitiated, but it’s really quite logical. is our base after all. By controlling a material down to the nano level, you can determine and optimize your sore throat is from a virus or a bac- Imagine a bag of sweets of a certain weight. In this dialysis work the researchers the function of a construction. Chemical and physical reactions and processes occur terial infection. And this is something you The smaller the candies are, the larger the made a major discovery. primarily on the surface of a material. The larger the surface, the more efficiently could do yourself at home, with the help of aggregate surface of the candies will be. – We saw that this cellulose can function you can use the material. a little mechanical monitor. Ultimately nearly all atoms will be on the as an electrode in a battery. That’s when we – This has the potential to change medi- surface, which means that it’s virtually all started to develop the so-called alga bat- cal care dramatically, Maria Strømme be- surface. (The matter of how tasty such tery. lieves. candy would be is not the subject of this And this is also what motivates her to article …) Global attention keep going. – On the surface you can attach other The discovery attracted attention around – I need to see a goal for my research. molecules that have the properties required the world, and certain applications are al- To me this is about finding applications to achieve the functions you want. If you ready about to be tested in prototypes for that are beneficial for people and society. If One billionth have access to a large surface, it’s also easier light home electronics gadgets. One of the I see any potential for this, I can get bogged to raise the reaction speeds for various proc- first might turn up on the coffee table in down in basic research for any amount of esses. Nanotechnology entails, as far as we your living room in the form of an envi- time. But I have to have some idea of where can see, incredible possibilities in a number ronmentally friendly, compostable remote If you want to fasten a compound to the surface, such as a catalyst, you have room it might be going. of areas, says Maria Strømme. control that can be incinerated with no en- for more the larger the surface is. This is true whether the material is divided into As early as the beginning of the 2000s vironmental impact. small particles or the surface is folded. the Foundation for Strategic Research sin- If you Battery from algae However, the alga battery is not capable gled out Maria Strømme as one of its 21 divide the The application that was perhaps least ex- of propelling a car as it functions today. It is before she answers the question of what Antibiotics on demand, in other words. research leaders of the future, five of whom circumference of the pected, but aroused the greatest interest so simply too weak. long-term means in nanotechnology. Something that could reduce the use of are women. Today, ten years later, she has earth into a billion parts, far, is the development of a battery based – But the concept is highly interesting: – At least ten years ... at least! We know antibiotics, which would be welcome be- turned 40, and the gender ratio hasn’t you’ll bet roughly the length on a tiny alga called Cladophora glomerata. both environmentally friendly and easy to how to do it, but it’s going to take a tremen- cause of the problem of growing resistance. changed very much. of a match. Something we’re most familiar with as an produce. What’s more we now see how we dous amount of work to get there. Clinical trials on people with this method – Just look at this place, says Maria unpleasant feature of the water where we could turn it into a high-energy battery that are just about to get underway, says Maria Strømme with a sweeping gesture taking swim when it blooms in the summer.