Avi Blizovsky
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Researchers at Tel Aviv University who studied the mechanism for the formation of precipitates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients discovered that the protein segment responsible for the formation of the precipitates forms hollow nanometer-sized tubes (billionths of a meter). These tubes can be used as a miniature casting mold to create electronic circuits that are significantly smaller than those that exist today. This is according to an article published yesterday in the journal Science.
Dr. Ehud Gazit and research student Mital Raks studied the protein that sinks into the brains of Alzheimer's patients and leads to cell death and subsequent impairment of cognitive function. The researchers mapped a very small part of the protein capable of mediating the molecular recognition process that leads to the formation of the precipitate. When they examined that tiny part of the protein with an electron microscope, they discovered that the same element forms nanometer-sized hollow tubes.
This discovery is extremely important for understanding the nature of those deposits in the brains of patients and is the first experimental evidence for the proposal of the late British-Jewish Nobel laureate Max Perutz, shortly before his death, that those deposits in the brains of patients are nanometer tubes filled with water. Besides the great importance of the discovery for understanding the mechanism for the creation of Alzheimer's disease and ways to prevent the disease, the researchers decided to use the discovery for the purpose of nanotechnology development that is not related to the disease. The researchers used the nanometer tubes as a miniature casting mold. They "poured" metallic silver into those tubes and then digested the protein tubes. The result is the creation of nanometer silver threads. This method constitutes a breakthrough in the creation of nanotechnological elements, which due to their tiny size cannot be produced by the usual industrial methods accepted in the field of microelectronics. The tiny wires can be used to create electronic circuits that are much smaller than existing circuits, which have almost reached the end of the road in terms of their miniaturization capability. The researchers are now trying to use the casting molds to create nanometer-sized magnets that could be used for much smaller memory devices than currently exist.
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