Science Behind Things

Peering Inside Molecules with Greater Precision

September 17, 2008 on 11:19 pm | In Health News, Medical News | 1 Comment

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are collaborating with scientists across the United States, Germany and Sweden to utilize high-energy X-ray beams and complex algorithms to obtain detailed, high-resolution images of the atomic structure of cellular molecules.  Using high-energy, extremely short-pulses (less than 1/1,000,000,000,000,000th of a second, or 100 femtoseconds) X-ray beams to examine nanoscale objects.  Having a known reference object makes it easier to reassemble an image, and so the scientists are using a very special reference object called a uniformly redundant array (URA), where a combination of complex formulas known as a Fourier Transform and a Hadamard Transformare utilized to convert the data into an image that represents the object being examined.

Such technology will enable doctors to examine patients’ molecules with greater precision than ever before, helping them diagnose diseases and other conditions faster and more efficiently.  Praise God.

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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080916144006.htm