Research Roundup

Optical Scientists Transform Metal Colors

Chunlei Guo, associate professor of optics, and postdoctoral researcher Anatoliy Vorobeyv have turned pure aluminum, gold—and blue, gray, and other colors. Using an ultra-brief, ultra-intense laser burst, the two scientists have demonstrated a way to change nanoscale and microscale structures of metal to give the surface the appearance of specific colors or combinations of colors. The results were reported in the February 1 issue of Applied Physics Letters. The research follows Guo’s work to create “black metal” in 2006, when his team created nanostructures on metal surfaces that absorbed virtually all light, making something as simple as aluminum into one of the darkest materials ever created.

Study: Metabolic Syndrome Affects Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. Teens

About 9 percent of teenagers may have metabolic syndrome, a clustering of risk factors that puts them on the path toward heart disease and diabetes in adulthood. That’s according to a study led by Stephen Cook, assistant professor of pediatrics, and published in the February issue of the Journal of Pediatrics indicating that 2.9 million American teens, including more than a third of obese teens, meet the definition for the syndrome. The findings represent one of the first concentrated efforts to define and measure metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents.

Grant Boosts Web Site Preservation Project

Staff at Rush Rhees Library will develop a plan for preserving and storing online data and create a prototype computer system, thanks to a new grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In developing the new system, called the Ephemeral Web Archive, the Rochester team also will develop a community of universities and institutions that will take part in the wide-scale implementation of the system. The University was one of four institutions to receive the grants.

Babies Excrete Vaccine Mercury Quickly, Study Says

Infants’ bodies excrete thimerosal—a mercury-containing preservative routinely used in several childhood vaccines until the late 1990s—much more quickly than previously thought, according to a Medical Center study led by Michael Pichichero, professor of microbiology & immunology, pediatrics, and medicine. Pichichero, who has served as consultant to the World Health Organization, says the study shows that the preservative’s quick departure leaves little chance for a progressive buildup of the toxic mercury in children. The findings were published in the February issue of Pediatrics.

Research Takes New Look at Drugs for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Powerful drugs used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a profound, previously unrecognized effect on the immune system, a Medical Center team has found. In a study led by the team of Ignacio Sanz, professor of medicine and microbiology & immunology, and Jennifer Anolik, assistant professor of medicine, researchers found that drugs known as anti-TNF compounds help eliminate abnormal B-cell activity in patients, raising the possibility that the drugs improve the health of patients in ways not realized before. The study was published in the Journal of Immunology.