Subra Suresh and Nanobiomechanics (Update)

The Suresh Research Group investigates mechanical properties of engineered and biological materials at the nano to macro-scale using experimental, analytical, and computational techniques.The group’s current research projects include studies of nanostructured materials as well as exploring connections between biological cell mechanics and human disease states.

Most people don't think of the human body as a machine, but Subra Suresh does. A materials scientist at MIT, Suresh measures the minute mechanical forces acting on our cells.

Medical researchers have long known that diseases can cause -- or be caused by -- physical changes in individual cells. For instance, invading parasites can distort or degrade blood cells, and heart failure can occur as muscle cells lose their ability to contract in the wake of a heart attack. Knowing the effect of forces as small as a piconewton -- a trillionth of a newton -- on a cell gives researchers a much finer view of the ways in which diseased cells differ from healthy ones.

 

[Click here for images of this process.] (Kevin says it actually helps a lot)

 Suresh spent much of his career making nanoscale measurements of materials such as the thin films used in microelectronic components. But since 2003, Suresh's laboratory has spent more and more time applying nanomeasurement techniques to living cells. He's now among a pioneering group of materials scientists who work closely with microbiologists and medical researchers to learn more about how our cells react to tiny forces and how their physical form is affected by disease. "We bring to the table expertise in measuring the strength of materials at the smallest of scales," says Suresh.

 

I still can't say I completely know what is going on, but think it sounds very cool.

That may be true at some level, depending on how one defines "tapped," but according to the White House definition, which is the one that matters, this information is false.

"No decision has been made," says Rick Weiss, who handles communications at the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Weiss' boss is John Holdren, the president's chief science advisor, who would presumably know.

Weiss didn't have much to add beyond that. He said he couldn't confirm Suresh as a potential or leading candidate, nor could he provide any clues as to the timing of an announcement.