Peter C. Johnson, M.D., the President and CEO of Scintellix, a biomedical consultancy out of Raleigh, NC, is offering a new cipher to decode. The winner gets $1,500 and accompanying bragging rights for being the first to solve the puzzle. Organizers of the puzzle are giving out a new clue every week until a winning entry is discovered.

The challenge requires not only skill and scientific experience to crack but also a strong appreciation for biological studies. “96 Well was created to convey both the beauty of the ELISA plate and the power of its retained information by encoding within it a powerful message using a specific cryptographic technique,” points out Dr. Johnson.

Here’s the announcement: Take GEN’s Cryptogram Challenge for Your Chance to Win $1,500…
Link: Cryptogram Challenge
Flashback: MicroArray $1500 Challenge… Hurry Before Jethro Ciphers It First!

Scientists from New York University, Purdue, and Argonne Lab created truly three dimensional DNA crystal structures which may end up being used in electronic components or as tools for identification of biomolecular compounds. Visualization of the structures via X-ray crystallography was done at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Structural Biology Center at Advanced Photon Source in Argonne.

In the work reported in Nature…, the researchers expanded on the earlier efforts by taking advantage of DNA’s double-helix structure to create 3D crystals. The 2D crystals are very small—about 1/1000th of a millimeter—but the 3D crystals are between 1/4 and 1 millimeter, visible to the naked eye.
DNA’s double helices form when single strands of DNA—each containing four molecular components called bases, attached to backbone—self-assemble by matching up their bases. The researchers added sticky ends to these double helices, forming single-stranded overhangs to each double helix. Where these overhanging sticky ends were complementary, they bind together to link two double helices. This is a common technique used by genetic engineers, who apply it on a much larger scale. By linking together multiple helices through single-stranded sticky ends, the researchers were able to form a lattice-like structure that extends in six different directions, thereby yielding a 3D crystal.
The scientists also expect that they can organize biological macromolecules by attaching them to these crystals. This can help in the development of drugs because macromolecules arranged in crystals can be visualized by a technique known as x-ray crystallography. By adding drugs to these crystals, their interactions with these biological components can be visualized.

Press release: Chemists Reach from the Molecular to the Real World with Creation of 3D DNA Crystals…
Abstract in Nature: From molecular to macroscopic via the rational design of a self-assembled 3D DNA crystal
Flashback: Stereochemistry of DNA Structure Imaged with cryoEM

Researchers from the University of Sheffield, with collaboration of a team from the University of Edinburgh, are experimenting with a voice replacement technique for people who are about to lose their vocal cords. The group partnered with a woman that was going to have her vocal cords removed in a scheduled cancer surgery. Prior to the procedure, her voice was recorded on a computer and then used as a template to create a digitized voice that sounds very much like her. We are 100% for this new technology, as we can’t stand that terrible, scary, artificial voice converter that’s being used nowadays.

The voice was built using around seven minutes of speech from the client, which amounted to 100 sentences. This method is therefore much more practical than established `Voice Banking´ technologies which require two or three hours of recording to build a voice.
The client´s regenerated voice was developed by University of Sheffield Master´s student Zahoor Khan as part of his dissertation, with guidance from research student Sarah Creer, whose doctoral work uses the same technique to improve the voices of people with speech disorders. Their work forms part of the research done within the CAST (Clinical Application of Speech Technology) group, which is a multidisciplinary research group interested in applying speech technology in clinical areas such as assistive technology, speech and language therapy and electronic control systems.
Researchers have since assessed the quality of the recordings by getting listeners to judge the similarity of the simulated voice with the original and by asking Mrs Chapman and her family what they think of the voice. All listeners have thought the regenerated voice sounded very similar to the original.
Researchers in CAST hope to use these personalised synthetic voices in communication aids for people whose speech has become intelligible, speaking for them like a human interpreter.
Bernadette Chapman [the study subject] said: “For many years the Servox machine, or artificial larynx, has been the main means of communication for patients following laryngectomy or for those who have had severe speech impairment. The machine tends to sound very like a dalek and can be very embarrassing to use, especially in public places.”

Press release: Researchers rebuild a voice
Image: soundman1024
(hat tip: The Engineer Online)