Short news science

DNA hooks
The membrane of a cell’s nucleus functions as a coat-stand that holds a large part of the DNA in place. That’s what Dr. Wouter Meuleman discovered in his PhD research performed at the TU ‘s faculty of Electrical Engineering Mathematics and Computer Science and the Netherlands Cancer Institute NKI. He wondered how 2 meters of the helix-shaped molecule could be stored within a 6-micrometre nucleus. It’s like stuffing 20 kilometres of fibre into a tennis ball. Meuleman: “We showed that large pieces of DNA are positioned near the nucleus’ wall. This suggests the membrane forms sort of hooks onto which the DNA is attached. The organisation changes a little over various cell types, but the basal chromosomal architecture has changed remarkably little over the 75 million years that separate mouse and man in evolution.” Meuleman has shown this basal architecture is mostly directly coded in the DNA and suggests it may function as a loop.
Wouter Meuleman, ‘Computational Biology in Clinical Proteomics and Chromatin Genomics’, 27 January 2012, PhD supervisor Prof. Marcel Reinders.

Bluerise
The Kairos 50 (K50) annually recognises the world’s most innovative ventures started by university students. Among this year’s selection, presented last weekend at the NY stock exchange, is the TU start-up Bluerise, a company that aims to produce power from combining deep cool ocean water with tropical surface water. The K50-membership provides entrepreneurs with access to world market leaders. Next month will see the inauguration of Bluerise’s demo plant.
www.kairos50.com

Robot

(Photo: Tomas van Dijk)

‘Eva, go fetch me a soda.’ While student Jelle ten Kate is tranquilly reading his paper, Eva is getting him his drink. Without hesitation she picks the right object from the table. The Kinect in her head – which is part of the Xbox 360 game console – enables her to recognize objects. Last week students from the minor robotica course presented this robot they built, which must ultimately help elderly in retirement homes.