Industry
The Space Shuttle Atlantis recently visited the Hubble Space Telescope for the first time since 2002. During one of the mission's
five spacewalks, astronauts swapped the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) device for the new Cosmic
Origins Spectrograph (COS). COSTAR is the device that corrected Hubble's original blurred vision during the first servicing
mission. Since all of Hubble's instruments after that point were designed with the correction built in, COSTAR is no longer
needed. COS is designed for ultraviolet spectroscopy and will be used to study such areas as galaxy evolution, the formation
of planets and the rise of the elements needed for life, and the cosmic web of gas between galaxies. For more information,
visit http://www.spectroscopyonline.com/.
Research
Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), researchers from the Agricultural Research Service, New England Plant, Soil, and Water Laboratory (Orono, Maine) showed that conventional and organic dairy manures from commercial dairy farms differed in concentrations of plant nutrients,
including phosphorus, metals, and minerals. They used both solution NMR spectroscopy and solid-state NMR spectroscopy to pinpoint
these differences. Solution NMR spectroscopy is a widely used method for analyzing phosphorus content in manure, but the added
use of solid-state NMR enabled the researchers to detect at least 17 different chemical forms of phosphorus that varied in
concentration. The team found that the organic dairy manure contained higher levels of phosphorus, calcium, potassium, manganese,
zinc, and magnesium than the conventional manure. In addition, the organic manure had more types of phosphorus that are comparatively
slow to dissolve. If the organic manure were used as fertilizer, this slow-release characteristic would increase the likelihood
that the nutrients would be taken up by crops rather than being washed out of fields and into groundwater sources. - Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (Cambridge, Massachusetts) have created an "astro-comb" to help astronomers detect lighter, Earth-like planets around distant stars. In most cases,
extrasolar planets are detected through spectroscopy, which reveals the chemical composition of the star and, through the
Doppler effect, can also indicate the presence of a planet orbiting the star. Current spectroscopy techniques can determine
star movements to within a few meters per second. Using their new method, the Harvard researchers were able to calculate star
velocity shifts of less than 1 m/s, which allows them to pinpoint a planet's location more accurately.
The method involves the use of a frequency comb as the basis for the astro-comb. With this technique, a special laser system
is used to emit light at a series of frequencies that are evenly spaced across a wide range of values. A plot of these energy
components would look like the teeth of a comb, which is where the method gets its name. The energy of these comblike laser
pulses can be used to calibrate the energy of light coming in from a distant star, which essentially sharpens the planet-detection
process.
The Harvard group was scheduled to present their results at the 2009 Conference on Lasers and Electro Optics/International
Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/IQEC) on June 1, 2009, in Baltimore.
- Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), a researcher at Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia) has developed a way to analyze human hair for forensic purposes. Using this technique, scientists can analyze hair even after
immersion in water, making it a useful tool for identifying victims of a tsunami. Unlike DNA, human hair can survive in relatively
harsh environments. This technique makes it possible to obtain the infrared profile from only a tiny part of a strand of hair
and then interpret the profile using mathematical methods that compare it with similar profiles collected from reference hair
samples. The technique can establish a person's gender, race, and whether they had chemically treated their hair (as well
as what the original hair color was). The availability of portable NIR instruments enables this technique to be used at crime
scenes and disaster scenes.
Education
As recently reported in the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), Bangor High School senior Anne Marie Lausier will travel to Anchorage, Alaska, to compete in an international competition known as the Stockholm
Junior Water Prize. Ms. Lausier has spent most of her free time over the last several months conducting Ph.D.-level research
with synchronous-scan fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) to detect pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the waters of
three area lakes. SFS measures electron activity to test water samples without separating particles from the water. To Ms.
Lausier's knowledge, no other local researchers have used SFS for this purpose.
- Mitchell Dobberpuhl, a senior at South Dakota State University (Sioux Falls), was recently one of 10 students to receive Schultz-Werth Awards for his research paper on the use of solid-phase microextraction
and GC–MS to detect sulfur mustard. According to Dobberpuhl, current methods for the detection of sulfur mustard (a chemical
warfare agent) lack sensitivity and must be performed soon after exposure because the body metabolizes sulfur mustard to thiodiglycol
(TDG) rapidly. Dobberpuhl's use of solid-phase microextraction showed a substantial increase in sensitivity compared to the
more common method of direct injection analysis.
