ScienceCache
Vol. 147
Sept. 5, 2003
SIRTF UPDATE: TEST IMAGES SHOW UNIVERSITY GEAR WORKING WELL
The infrared detectors aboard NASA’s brand new infrared space telescope
have been tested in deep space and are working well -- good news for
the three University of Rochester astronomers who helped design the detectors.
This is the 11th day of the 90-day systems check during which scientists
fine-tune the telescope and begin cooling it to hundreds of degrees below
zero. The early tests consisted of rough images taken with the astronomers’ detectors. “We’re
extremely pleased, because these first images have exceeded our expectations,” said
Michael Werner, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility project scientist
at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “We
can’t wait to see the images and spectra we’ll get once the
telescope is cooled down and instruments are working at full capacity.” Professors
of physics and astronomy Judith Pipher, Bill Forrest, and Dan Watson
helped design and test the chips that are sensitive to infrared light
-- a wavelength of light that is invisible to the naked eye as well as
most telescopes. The ignition of fledgling stars, the evolution of solar
systems and activity within the most distant galaxies are among the events
the new telescope is specially designed to witness. SIRTF was launched
from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 25.
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EXPLORING THE HEALING POWER OF TOUCH FOR CANCER PATIENTS
Picture yourself lying down in a dimly lit room, listening to soothing
music, and receiving a form of touch therapy designed to ease stress
and release energy. For a group of patients at the James P. Wilmot Cancer
Center, this is one of the most pleasant ways imaginable to fight the
fatigue that often comes with radiation treatment. A year ago Sara Matteson,
instructor of radiation oncology, began researching the value of polarity
therapy. It’s a technique similar to acupuncture, except that a
polarity practitioner uses his or her hands and a light touch, rather
than fine needles, to unleash tension and restore energy. Seventeen cancer
patients voluntarily enrolled in Matteson’s project; she will evaluate
results later this year and may expand the program. “People really
seem to like it because it’s so relaxing,” says Matteson,
an investigator of both traditional and alternative therapies. “The
goal of our office is to find methods of reducing the distressing side
effects of cancer treatment, and we hope this will be one method of doing
so.” Radiation-induced fatigue is a common problem that is not
well understood, Matteson says. Most other research focuses on preventing
side effects at the site where radiation is administered, such as burns
or skin irritation. Her unique approach grew out of discussions with
a colleague, who survived cancer and personally used polarity therapy
to reduce fatigue.
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NEWS FLASH: RESEARCHERS TAKE A STEP TOWARD PHOTONS ON DEMAND
Carbon nanotubes, cylinders of tightly bonded carbon atoms, have dazzled
scientists and engineers with their seemingly endless list of special
abilities -- from incredible tensile strength to revolutionizing computer
chips. In today’s issue of Science, two researchers add another
feat to the nanotubes’ list: ideal photon emission. “The
emission bandwidth is as narrow as you can get at room temperature,” says
Lukas Novotny, professor of optics at Rochester and co-author of the
study. Such a narrow and steady emission can make such fields as quantum
cryptography and single-molecule sensors a practical reality. Novotny
and Todd Krauss, assistant professor of chemistry, illuminated a single
nanotube with a strongly focused laser beam; the tube then re-emitted
light in precise, discrete wavelengths. In addition, says Krauss, “The
emission wasn’t just perfectly narrow, it was steady as far as
we could measure.” Narrow and steady emissions have tempting implications
for single photon emitters -- devices needed to dependably release a
single photon on command. The U.S. Department of Defense is very interested
in developing quantum cryptography, a theoretically unbreakable method
of coding information, which necessitates a reliable way to deliver single
photons on demand. Other applications come in the form of sensors so
sensitive they can detect a single molecule of a substance
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