Physical Sciences and Mathematics

ASU undergraduate Bryan Rolfe conducts research on isotope effects on environmental systems using mass spectrometry. He credits his father for his science-oriented mind, and a high school teacher for winning him over to the world of chemistry. --by Debra Fossum

mars update thumbWhen the Phoenix Mars spacecraft reached the Red Planet, fields of giant boulders threatened to destroy the lander on touchdown. ASU Mars researchers helped guide the lander to a safe, boulder-free spot using the Thermal Emissions Imaging System (THEMIS).

Plants need sunlight to produce energy, but too much light can injure or kill them. Plants use a sophisticated process to defend against this damage. ASU scientists designed a molecule that mimics this process in order to understand adaptive self-regulation, a critical feature for advancing nanotechnology. --by Skip Derra

Room for experiments on the Space Shuttle or the International Space Station is hard to come by. Sometimes scientists have to mimic the effects of space right here on Earth. --by Margaret Coulombe

Scientists have learned plenty about how life in outer space affects the human body. But what about germs and other nasty microorganisms? Cheryl Nickerson wants to know how disease-causing pathogens themselves are affected by space travel. --by Margaret Coulombe

The existence of "superbugs" like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) have raised public concern over bacterial infections. A mathematical model that looks at different strategies for curbing hospital-acquired infections suggests that antimicrobial cycling and patient isolation may be effective approaches when patients are harboring dual-resistant bacteria. --by Carol Hughes

One day soon a biosensing nanodevice may eliminate long lines at airport security checkpoints and revolutionize health screenings for diseases like anthrax, cancer and antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Even more incredible than the device itself, is that it is based on the world's tiniest rotary motor: a biological engine measured on the order of molecules. --by Margaret Coulombe (Read the full text in SOLS News)

Scientists using a Mars-orbiting camera have found the first evidence for deposits of salts in numerous places on Mars. These deposits show where water was once abundant and may also provide evidence for the existence of former Martian life. --by Robert Burnham

Scientists have long known that most compounds in living things exist in mirror-image forms. The two forms are like hands; one is a mirror reflection of the other. But amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, are all "left-handed," while the sugars of DNA and RNA are "right-handed." ASU scientists have found new evidence that extraterrestrial amino acids, found in meteorites, are also largely left-handed. Their work suggests that precursor molecules, the aldehydes, also carried an excess of left-handedness. --by Jenny Green

U.S. and Chinese high school students are taking aim at the Red Planet using an ASU-designed camera on a Mars-orbiting spacecraft. --by Robert Burnham