[Credits] [NIST Update Archives] [Media Contacts]
[Subscription Information] [NIST Update Search]

Health

Organ Transplant Advance Results from ATP Project

On Jan. 2, 2002, researchers at PPL Therapeutics Inc. in Blacksburg, Va., announced a significant milestone in the campaign to develop technology to produce genetically altered pigs whose organs and tissues can be transplanted into humans without rejection. In a project co-sponsored by the NIST Advanced Technology Program, PPL scientists successfully cloned five female piglets that had been genetically modified to eliminate a gene linked to the acute rejection of pig organs by the human immune system.

To help meet the increasing demand for transplant organs, pigs have been considered a non-human, or xenotransplant, tissue alternative. Porcine organs are approximately the same size as human equivalents, and the physiology between the two species is quite similar. Xenotransplantation, however, faces major obstacles. Unlike most mammals, humans (and other primates) lack a particular sugar attached to the surface of cells, and the presence of this sugar on the cells of pig organs triggers an immediate, acute immune-system response by the human body that kills the transplanted pig tissue in a matter of minutes. Using genetic engineering techniques, PPL researchers successfully “knocked out” one copy of the gene responsible for the sugar complex in each of the five piglets.

Because animal cells carry two copies of each gene, the next step is to use these pigs, or others like them, to create a viable line of animals lacking both copies of the sugar gene. While safe and practical xenotransplants face several other major technical and regulatory hurdles, the PPL accomplishment is considered an essential first step in the development of a technology that could revolutionize transplant therapies for a wide variety of diseases, including cell-level therapies for diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer's Disease.

The project at PPL Therapeutics is one of several ongoing ATP projects in xenotransplantation research, including additional work at PPL, and projects at Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Cheshire, Conn.) and Immerge BioTherapeutics Inc. (Charlestown, Mass.).

Details of the PPL project may be found at www.atp.nist.gov, while the PPL Therapeutics news release is located at www.ppl-therapeutics.com.

Media Contact:
Michael Baum, (301) 975-2763

 

Awards

Two NIST Researchers Receive PECASE Honors

President Bush has named two NIST scientists as recipients of the sixth annual Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. John M. Butler and Eric K. Lin were among the U.S. researchers chosen for the 2001 PECASE award.

Butler, a research chemist in the Biotechnology Division of NIST’s Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, is recognized “for his outstanding contributions to the field of DNA typing for forensics and human identification; for developing advanced techniques for high-throughput analysis of mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome markers; and for work of critical importance to forensics, genomics [the study of genes and their function] and proteomics [the study of all proteins produced by cell type and organism].”

Lin, a physical scientist in the Polymers Division of NIST’s Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory, is honored “for developing methods of measuring characteristics of polymer films critical to their use in advanced electronics applications and for scientific insights into the properties of polymers at nanoscale dimensions.”

Both scientists receive five-year research grants to further their studies in support of critical government missions.

Media Contact:
Michael E. Newman, (301) 975-3025

 

Computer Security

NIST Holds Series of Regional Small Business Security Workshops

Information security is as vital a concern for small businesses and non-profit organizations as it is for large enterprises. Smaller organizations, however, may not have the staff resources or know-how to protect themselves against the increasing number of threats coming from both inside and outside. Hackers, as well as disgruntled employees, easily could disrupt a firm’s core operations unless safeguards are put in place. To help these organizations, NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory, in co-sponsorship with the Small Business Administration and the National Infrastructure Protection Center’s InfraGard Program, is holding one-day regional security workshops around the country.

The workshops are designed to raise awareness of information security risks and vulnerabilities. NIST experts will provide an overview of what small and medium-sized firms in any industry are facing, along with the basics of computer security. Workshop participants will be shown simple tools and techniques to help them safeguard their critical information assets.

The next workshop will be held on Feb. 20, 2002, in Birmingham, Ala. In the coming months, workshops will be scheduled for cities in the Northeast, Midwest and Southwest United States, and on the West Coast.

Registration information for the Birmingham workshop and updates on future ones can be found on NIST’s Web site at http://csrc.nist.gov/Bus_Regional_Mtgs/.

Media Contact:
Philip Bulman, (301) 975-5661

 

 

Electromagnetic Technology

Josephson Synthesizer Circuit Demonstrated

NIST researchers recently demonstrated sine-wave synthesis on three superconducting integrated circuit chips using palladium-gold barrier junctions. The demonstration chips were used to make comparisons with conventional alternating current (AC) voltage standards at the part-per-million level, and provided 0.1 volt and 5 megahertz sine-wave outputs.

This is a major step toward the goal of developing a waveform synthesizer—using Josephson junctions—which would provide precisely defined output voltages (up to one volt), frequencies (up to one gigahertz) and waveforms of any arbitrary shape. Such a system would have practical application as an AC voltage standard source and for calibrating high-performance test and measurement instruments.

The research so far has led to a circuit with the largest direct current (DC) output voltage per junction to date using two series-coupled 3,750-junction arrays (for a total of 7,500 junctions). Constant voltage steps were measured on this circuit across a broad range of frequencies from 3 to 18 gigahertz. Also, due to the improved microwave filters incorporated in the circuits, a different circuit with 1,000 junctions was driven at bit stream drive frequencies more than a factor of two higher than any previous Josephson array circuit. This is significant because higher drive frequency directly corresponds to higher output voltage.

This progress has provided confidence that circuits can be fabricated for use with a fixed-speed, 10 gigabits-per-second, low-cost bit stream generator that is under construction.

For technical information, contact Sam Benz, (303) 497-5258; and Paul Dresselhaus, (303) 497-5211.

Media Contact:
Collier Smith (Boulder), (303) 497-3198

 

 

Quality

Learn From First Baldrige Education Recipients at April Conference

The upcoming Quest for Excellence conference will be the initial opportunity to learn about the exceptional practices and results of the first education recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—Chugach School District (Anchorage, Alaska), Pearl River School District (Pearl River, N.Y.) and the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie, Wis.). The conference also will feature Pal’s Sudden Service (Kingsport, Tenn.), the first recipient in the restaurant industry, and Clarke American Checks Inc. (San Antonio, Texas).

During the three-day conference, senior leaders and others from each of the five 2001 Baldrige Award recipients will give presentations and answer questions about their best practices and lessons learned on their journey to performance excellence. A free, pre-conference workshop will provide information about the Baldrige criteria for performance excellence and help attendees begin a self-assessment process using the criteria.

The conference is being held April 7-10, 2002, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. The advance registration fee, due by March 17, 2002, is $895. The fee after that date is $995. A discounted fee for education faculty is $600 (advance) and $700 (regular).

For further information, call (301) 975-2036 or visit the Baldrige National Quality Program Web site at www.quality.nist.gov.

Media Contact:
Jan Kosko, (301) 975-2767

 

 

Chemistry

Patent Issued for Purification Process for Liquefied Petroleum Gas

A U.S. patent (No. 6,334,949, Jan. 1, 2002) has been issued to two scientists for a process that selectively removes carbonyl sulfide, a potentially problematic impurity, from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). NIST researcher Thomas J. Bruno and post-graduate student Anthony F. Lagalante of the Physical and Chemical Properties Division in NIST’s Boulder, Colo., laboratories discovered the carbonyl sulfide process accidentally while researching the extraction of metals.

Commercial sources of LPG are primarily composed of propane gas and used as fuel for outdoor grills, recreational vehicles, rural residences and businesses. In addition to propane, LPG may contain butane, ethane and some unfavorable impurities that ultimately can form corrosive products. One such impurity is a sulfur compound called carbonyl sulfide. In the presence of water, this compound can hydrolyze to form hydrogen sulfide, a deadly and corrosive gas that is not permitted in commercial LPG.

While conducting research on supercritical fluid extraction, Bruno and Lagalante discovered that carbonyl sulfide forms a stable complex with a macrocyclic organic molecule called paratertiary-butylcalix[4]arene. Additional work showed that caliz[4]arene selectively removed the carbonyl sulfide from LPG; this led to the newly patented process.

For licensing information, contact the NIST Office of Technology Partnerships, (301) 975-3084, otp@nist.gov. For technical information, contact Bruno at (303) 497-5158; bruno@boulder.nist.gov. Lagalante is now an assistant professor of chemistry at the Pennsylvania State University, Scranton.

Media Contact:
Fred McGehan (Boulder), (303) 497-3246