Research
U.S. Air Force–sponsored researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts) are using what they call amplitude spectroscopy to accelerate the development of quantum, or high-speed, computers that help
the Air Force with cryptoanalysis, microwave electronics, and materials science. This technology analyzes how an atom responds
to different amplitudes of electromagnetic radiation at a fixed frequency in order to extract its energy-level structure over
broad bandwidth.
According to chief researcher Dr. William Oliver of MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and Research Laboratory for Electronics, his
team has demonstrated spectroscopy using superconducting artificial atom structures that use two superconductors linked by
a nonconducting barrier. "When the atoms are cooled to ultra low temperatures using dilution refrigeration followed by microwave-cooling,
they exhibit energy levels akin to a natural atom or molecule," Dr. Oliver said. Amplitude spectroscopy generates a unique
"fingerprint" of an artificial atom's energy-level structure.
As the researchers learn more about these superconducting structures, they continue to advance the technology needed to develop
quantum computers. • A team of researchers led by Spectroscopy columnist Dr. Kenneth L. Busch, professor of chemistry and co-director of the Center for Analytical Spectroscopy at Baylor University (Waco, Texas), has found a new way to determine the age of bones. They have applied a statistical method to chemical measurements to determine
the postmortem interval of bones, which is the time that has elapsed since a person has died.
"When we thought about how we could determine the age of bones, we thought that when bones die, they may begin to dry out,
and that the protein might start to decompose and break apart," said Dr. Busch. "So then we thought we could use spectroscopy
to follow that process." This is believed to be the first time that chemometric modeling of spectral data has been used to
determine the time elapse after death of skeletal remains.
The Baylor researchers are targeting their research toward forensic interest rather than archaeological studies. According
to Busch, "In any criminal investigation, the police need to establish when the person was last alive. That's why our research
is important." In laboratory tests using this method, the researchers found an error rate of only four to nine days for bones
that were up to 90 days old.
• Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), researchers at the University of Missouri (Columbia, Missouri) watched the HIV-1 protease mature from an inactive form into an active infection. "We actually saw the process occur," said
Chun Tang, assistant professor of biochemistry in the MU School of Medicine. "This is something that has never been done before.
We now understand more about the maturation process. We hope this will be a stepping stone to intervening before the infection
progresses."
The HIV-1 protease is responsible for releasing the essential building blocks of an infective HIV-1 viral particle, and it
is one of the primary targets of therapeutic treatment. However, the enzyme mutates constantly in an effort to gain drug resistance.
Tang and his colleagues used an NMR method known as paramagnetic resonance relaxation enhancement in their research. They
were able to see the temporary joining of two halves of HIV-1 protease precursor, which could not be seen using conventional
techniques. According to Tang, "The more we understand about the virus, especially about the maturation into infection, the
more we can do to identify novel therapeutics."
