[[Jeanette may like to know about Cat's Cradle if she hasn't met it yet.]] > Great!! Old Bucky created "Ice 9" before he died!! Ice 9 * it almost may yet prove to be. But Bucky didn't actually create it (or even discover it). Buckminster Fuller died in July 1983, 1~2 years before the discovery of Fullerenes in 1985. It (=3D C60 =3D Buckminsterfullerene) and Fullerenes in general were named in his honour due to the obvious similarity to the geodesic dome structure which he did 'invent'. The existence of the C60 "Buckyball" form of carbon was predicted in 1970 by Eiji Osawa of Toyohashi University of Technology. Russell * Ice 9 was a fictional invention of Kurt Vonnegut in his story "Cat's Cradle". Ice 9 is an allotrope of water (a molecular packing arrangement of the atoms in water and of the water molecules)(essentially another form of ice) which is horrendously stable (can't be melted) and which catalyses the conversion of any water that comes in contact with it into more ice 9. Once ice 9 has escaped into the environment it is only a matter of time before all water on earth turns into ice 9 and all life on earth dies. It does and it does and it does. ____________ Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullerene Safety issues: Although C60 has been thought in theory to be relatively inert, a presentation given to the American Chemical Society in March 2004 and described in an article in New Scientist on April 3, 2004, suggests the molecule is injurious to organisms. An experiment by Eva Oberd=F6rster at Southern Methodist University, which introduced fullerenes into water at concentrations of 0.5 parts per million, found that largemouth bass suffered a 17-fold increase in cellular damage in the brain tissue after 48 hours. The damage was of the type lipid peroxidation, which is known to impair the functioning of cell membranes. There were also inflammatory changes in the liver and activation of genes related to the making of repair enzymes. At the time of presentation, the SMU work had not been peer reviewed. Pristine C60 can be suspended in water at low concentrations as large clusters often termed nC60. These clusters are spherical clumps of C60 between 250-350 nm in diameter. Thus, nC60 represents a different chemical entity than solutions of C60 in which the fullerenes exist as individual molecules. Recently, results presented at the ACS meeting in Anaheim, CA suggest that nC60 is moderately toxic to water fleas and juvenile largemouth bass at concentrations in water of around 800 ppb. The first study of its kind on marine life, these preliminary results quickly spread across the scientific community. However, the overwhelming evidence of the essential non-toxicity of C60 (not nC60) in previously peer-reviewed articles of C60 and many of its derivatives indicates that these compounds are likely to have little (if any) toxicity, especially at the very low concentration at which it is used (~1-10 =B5M). [citation needed] A new study published in December 2005 in Biophysical Journal raises a red flag regarding the safety of C60 when dissolved in water. It reports the results of a detailed computer simulation that finds C60 binds to the spirals in DNA molecules in an aqueous environment, causing the DNA to deform, potentially interfering with its biological functions and possibly causing long-term negative side effects in people and other living organisms.[3] _ > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Russell McMahon > Date: Saturday, December 30, 2006 6:43 am > Subject: [EE]:: Buckyballs could disrupt DNA. > To: PIC List > >> >> These results are from computer simulations but give cause for >> concern. >> >> >> >> http://electrons.psychogenic.com/modules/altern8news/article.php? > storyid=3D59 >> New Scientist >> >> http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=3Ddn8439 >> >> Brightsurf >> >> >> http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/view.article.php? > ArticleID=3D22037 >> >> >> ______________________ >> >> "The binding energy between DNA and buckyballs is quite strong," >> Cummings says. "We found that the energies were comparable to the >> binding energies of a drug to receptors in cells." >> >> It turns out that buckyballs have a stronger affinity for DNA than >> they do for themselves. "This research shows that if buckyballs >> can >> get into the nucleus, they can bind to DNA," Cummings says. "If >> the >> DNA is damaged, it can be inhibited from self-repairing." >> >> Computer simulations >> The computer simulations showed that buckyballs make first contact >> with the DNA molecule after one to two nanoseconds. Once the C60 >> molecules bind with the DNA, they remained stable for the duration >> of >> the simulation. >> >> Researchers tested the most common forms of DNA, the "A" and "B" >> forms. The "B" form is the most common form. In a stronger saline >> solution, or when alcohol is added, the DNA structure can change >> to >> the "A" form. A third, rarer form, "Z," occurs in high >> concentrations >> of alcohol or salt and was not tested. >> >> The researchers found that buckyballs docked on the minor groove >> of >> "A" DNA, bending the molecule and deforming the stacking angles of >> the >> base pairs in contact with it. The simulations also showed that >> buckyballs can penetrate the free end of "A" form DNA and >> permanently >> break the hydrogen bonds between the end base pair of nucleotides. >> >> As expected, the buckyballs bound most strongly to single helix >> DNA, >> causing the most deformation and damage. While buckyballs did bind >> to >> "B" form double-strand DNA, the binding did not affect the overall >> shape of the DNA molecule. More research needed >> >> What the researchers don't know is whether these worrisome binding >> events will take place in the body. "Earlier studies have shown >> both >> that buckyballs can migrate into bodily tissues and can penetrate >> cell >> membranes," Cummings says. "We don't know whether they can >> penetrate a >> cell nucleus and reach the DNA stored there. What this study shows >> is >> that if the buckyballs can get into the nucleus they could cause >> real >> problems. What are needed now are experimental and theoretical >> studies >> to demonstrate whether they can actually get there. Because the >> toxicity of nanomaterials like buckyballs is not well known at >> this >> point, they are regarded in the laboratory as potentially very >> hazardous, and treated accordingly." >> >> -- = >> http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive >> View/change your membership options at >> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist >> > -- = > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > -- = http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist