News about Science, Technology and Engineering at Iowa State University

News about Science, Technology and Engineering at Iowa State University

Ice bound For six weeks this spring, Ames Laboratory scientist Jim Liljegren will work in a most unusual lab setting -- a drifting arctic ice pack. Liljegren is one of several researchers participating in a five-year, international project called the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA). The project is expected to provide scientists with a better understanding of polar climates and how global change affects them.

One of SHEBA's main components is the research effort aboard the Des Groseilliers, a Canadian icebreaker that has been frozen into the arctic ice for 13 months and is drifting west with the ice pack. Scientists have placed several types of instruments on the ship and the surrounding ice to gather data on the interactions among land, air and sea in polar climates. Liljegren, an atmospheric researcher in Ames Lab's Nondestructive Evaluation Program, is responsible for microwave radiometers -- instruments that measure the amount of water vapor and liquid water in clouds.

"Because of the remoteness of the arctic, data on polar clouds have been extremely limited," Liljegren said. The new data will be used by climate modelers to build better models for predicting the effects of global climate change. "If the climate models don't treat the processes near the arctic very well, then their estimate of the impact of global warming may be incorrect," he added.

SHEBA scientists are taking rotating shifts aboard the icebreaker. Liljegren will be on it from May 13 to June 23 when sunlight is continuous so that he can see the clouds his equipment is measuring. Contact Liljegren, (515) 294-8428, or Susan Dieterle, Ames Lab Public Affairs, (515) 294-1405.

Tool studies cancer from pollution An Iowa State University technology, used to study how cancer-producing compounds damage cellular DNA, has been combined with a separation technique to form a powerful laboratory tool. Ames Laboratory researchers Ryszard Jankowiak and Gerald Small joined their fluorescence line-narrowing spectroscopy (FLNS) technique with capillary electrophoresis (CE), a widely used analytical chemistry method. Although CE and FLNS are powerful techniques for the separation and characterization of molecules, each has certain limitations when used to study complex biological mixtures. Together, the limitations are eliminated, providing a powerful tool for chemical structural characterization.

The combined technology has been used to identify byproducts in urine that result from the reaction between cancer-producing pollutants, such as those found in cigarette smoke, and cellular DNA. The identification of these byproducts, called DNA adducts, is important to understanding the first step of a cancer -- the chemical attack of carcinogens on DNA. Positive identification of CE-separated adducts is possible with the structural information obtained using FLNS. The key to combining the two techniques was the construction of a cryostat, a compact cooling device that in less than a minute can cool the analytes (compounds) from room temperature to -450 F, the temperature necessary for use of FLNS. The patent-pending technology is available for licensing and is being investigated by several companies.

The power of FLNS was demonstrated in work with the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which led to the discovery of a new pathway to DNA damage by chemical carcinogens. "The use of CE-FLNS makes such research easier and misidentification of analytes far less likely," said Jankowiak. "Its on-line capability is especially important when dealing with minute quantities of biological materials."

Although the new technology has only been used for research on cancer from chemicals so far, Jankowiak and Small -- a distinguished professor of chemistry at ISU -- expect it will be used in other areas of biological research, as well as forensic science. For more information, contact Jankowiak, (515) 294-4394, Small, (515) 294-3859, or Anita Rollins, IPRT Information, (515) 294-1113.

Gearing up for Science Fair '98 The Iowa State Science and Technology Fair (ISSTF) will be held March 27-28, 1998, at Iowa State University. It is the only statewide general science fair for middle- and high-school students in Iowa.

"The fair gives students the chance to develop a research project and then gives them the opportunity to tell and show people what they've done is an educational experience," said Sande McNabb, university professor of plant pathology and forestry at ISU and chair of the ISSTF Board of Directors. McNabb said more than $30,000 will be given in awards and scholarships at this year's science fair.

Students interested in participating in the fair must submit project proposals. All projects need to adhere to regulations set by the fair's committee, and proposals must be developed under the guidance of a teacher or other professional. The science areas covered are broadly divided into physical and biological sciences. Deadlines for entry into the science fair is March 13.

Last year, nearly 450 students from across Iowa participated in the fair. Stephanie Staub, a West Des Moines Valley High School student won a combined $11,000 for her project, "Is it probable to create a truly random number generator? Phase III." In all, there were 88 fair awards and approximately 200 special awards given to students who participated in last year's fair.

For more information on the Iowa State Science and Technology Fair and an entry booklet contact McNabb, (515) 294-3120, or Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917.

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