Understanding the origins of cancer
GT Research Horizons, Winter/Spring 2009  Cancer is the most-feared of human diseases, often striking without warning and seemingly without identifiable cause. Researchers  at Georgia Tech are pursuing many different directions in their quest to understand how cancer arises. They are adding their findings to a deepening understanding of the complex molecular pathways that turn a normal cell into a malignant one. This latest issue of Research Horizons features the groundbreaking work of 6 School of Biology professors involved in cancer research.   ( full story-follow the links there at top to view all articles )

Group recycles prosthetic parts for use in other nations
The Whistle, July 27  By collecting donated, unused and unwanted items, Georgia Tech School of Applied Physiology Research Scientist Rob Kistenberg and students are working to provide prosthetics and orthotics for patients in developing countries. (full story | Rob Kistenberg )

Using scientific tools in an international war on fake drugs
New York Times, Jul 21 "Let's use some Atlanta drug money," said Dr. Facundo M. Fernandez as he picked out a limp, ratty dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to one of his graduate students. Minutes later, after running the bill through the laboratory's high-tech machinery, the chemists had found what they were looking for: traces of cocaine. Fernandez, a professor at Georgia Tech, said that the demonstration, which he repeated with other bills provided by a reporter, showed both how pervasive cocaine was in the United States and how sensitive his machines were. . . . But Dr. Fernandez's main focus is counterfeit pharmaceuticals, especially in poorer countries, where government regulation is weak.... (full story - requires free registration  |  pdf  |  podcast  | Facundo Fernandez )

Saharan lizard slithers like snake through sand
GT Newsroom, Jul 16 To survive in its hot habitat, the sandfish, like other desert-dwelling creatures, spends a lot of time underground. But this lizard doesn’t just lie around in a burrow - it travels quite quickly through the sand. The question has been, how? Daniel I. Goldman, a physicist at Georgia Tech, and colleagues have come up with an answer, using a high-speed X-ray imaging system that can record the animal's underground movement. The sandfish, they report in Science, tucks it's legs and slithers like a snake by creating a wave motion with it's body. (full story | video clip | Goldman Lab)