Accuratelymodeling detonation shock fronts is a critical challenge for explosiveengineers in aerospace, defense, mining, drilling, and demolition. Currently available level set-based modelsuse a computationally intensive process to model every point on a definedplane, resulting in extreme accuracy at speeds so slow that many users neverrun high resolution models at all. Particle-based models run more quickly, but are difficult to implementand likely to miss splits and merges in the wave front.

Bacterialresistance to antibiotics is a growing problem. Phophonic and phosphinic acids are compounds with a carbon-phosphorusbond with P in the reduced form. They sharestructural similarity with phosphate esters and carboxyalte-containingcompounds which are ubiquitous metabolites in cellular biology, making themless toxic to the host organism. Inaddition, because these compounds exist in a reduced form, these compounds arehighly resistant to hydrolysis and enzymatic cleavage, making them morestable.

Cancer researchers are focusing their efforts on identifying central pathways that trigger or enhance the invasiveness of tumor cells. One such target is EMMPRIN (Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer). It has been shown that EMMPRIN expression is linked to various cell signaling pathways that lead to an increase in tumor cell vascularization. Researchers are focusing efforts on elucidating the role of EMMPRIN in a number of disorders including cancer, arthritis, tissue repair and numerous inflammation-dependent diseases. 

Advanced molecular imaging tools combinedwith investigative tools like biochemical and cell based assays have thepotential to unravel complex molecular processes. These tools combined withhigh throughput screening can significantly impact diagnostics for cancerscreening and accelerate drug discovery. The present inventions are two new FluorescenceResonance Energy Transfer (FRET) biosensor pairs, one composed of two newcolors, mOrange2 and mCherry and the other composed of a modified high-sensitiveECFP/YPet pair that can significantly enhance the dynamic range of a variety ofbiosensors.

Domestic soybean cultivars used in the U.S. are highlysusceptible to soybean rust disease caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi. The rapid spread of the disease and its abilityto cause significant yield losses (ranging from 13 to 80% of total yield) canresult in major economic losses for soybean producers. Synthetic fungicides areheavily used (~74 million acres in US in 2007) to prevent rust disease buttheir effect on human health and the ecosystem is unknown.

Strategiesfor bio-integrated electronics must overcome the numerous challenges associatedwith the mismatch between the hard, planar surfaces of semiconductor wafers andthe soft, curvilinear tissues of biological systems. These differences between the surfaces leadto low fidelity coupling at the biotic/abiotic interface as well as limitedlong-term tissue health. Even extremelythin, flexible systems can only wrap around shapes with zero Gaussian curvature(such as developable surfaces such as cones and cylinders).

Soybean aphid is an invasive insect pest that was first discovered in North America in 2000. Since then, these aphids have become a significant pest in the soybean producing regions of the northern USA and southern Canada. Currently, millions of acres of fields are sprayed with insecticide each year, which is both costly and has potential environmental implications. Researchers at the University of Illinois and USDA – Agricultural Research Service have identified a gene that can confer aphid resistance for soybeans.