A sneak preview of my spectroscopyNOW ezine headlines for June 1:
Bi-curious microcylinders – A team in the US has produced micrometre-wide discs and elongated rods from bi-coloured and multicoloured compartments. The composite materials could have novel applications in diagnostics, drug delivery, and a new type of display technology.
X-shooter snap the cosmos – The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope now has an X-shooter, a second-generation spectroscopic instrument that can record the entire spectrum of a celestial object in a single shot – from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared – with high sensitivity. This unique new instrument will be particularly useful for the study of distant exploding objects known as gamma-ray bursts.
Attacking antibiotics – The crystal structure of a penicillin-binding protein 1B (PBP1b) has been obtained by a team in Taiwan. The research could represent a major step forward in the development of novel antibiotics against resistant strains of bacteria.