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University of Central Florida

Second asteroid found to contain water

Fri, 10/08/2010 - 10:17 by Prince damin

Pasadena, Calif. -- The discovery of water on a second asteroid suggests water and ice may be more common in the solar system than previously believed, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida, who caused excitement among scientists in April for showing the first evidence of water ice and organic molecules on an asteroid, have discovered a second asteroid contains the same material, a university release said Thursday.

Study: New drugs may come from deep ocean

Tue, 06/29/2010 - 10:16 by Pankaj Damin

Orlanda, Fla. -- A drug to treat malaria, one of the world's deadliest diseases, could come from sponges, sea worms and other undersea creatures, a scientist says.

Debopam Chakrabarti of the University of Central Florida has analyzed samples of more than 2,500 marine organisms collected near Florida's coast in hopes of finding a key to treating malaria, the mosquito-borne illness that kills more than 1 million people worldwide annually, a university release said Monday.

UCF researchers conducted tests to evaluate growth inhibitory properties of these samples for malaria parasites.

Early tests indicate about 300 of the organisms sampled can kill the parasites, Chakrabarti said.

Light energy moves living cells in culture

Wed, 08/12/2009 - 22:56 by surajdogra

Orlando, Fla. -- University of Central Florida scientists say they have used light energy to guide and change the orientation of living cells within lab cultures.

The scientists said their achievement could be a major step toward harnessing the healing power of stem cells and guiding them to areas of the body that need help.

The research was led by optical scientist Aristide Dogariu and stem cell researcher Kiminobu Sugaya. They said long-term implications of their work include stimulating and controlling tissue regeneration for cleaner wound healing and the possibility of altering the shapes of cells and preventing malignant tumors from spreading throughout the body.

Bats removed from campus library

Fri, 06/19/2009 - 02:45 by Salinder Kumar

Orlando, Fla. -- A contractor hired to remove bats from a college library in Florida believes they got into the building to escape the rainy bad weather.

The bats, 75 in all, were transferred from the library at the University of Central Florida to the college's arboretum, WESH-TV, Orlando, reported. The contractor was to return Thursday to remove bats that may have been hiding in an apartment in the building.

Chad Binette, a spokesman for the university, said the bats were in administrative offices in the library and not in the public areas. He said employees worked in other buildings on campus while the bat-removal was going on.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.