Most of the work since submitting the previous report has concentrated on software implementation. We have developed a platform in which artificial creatures composed of rigid three-dimensional (3D) blocks and controlled by neural networks may interact physically with their environment and with each other. The design of this platform is mostly based on the experiments of Karl Sims [6, 5], with ...

Live-cell single-molecule imaging was introduced more than a decade ago, and has provided critical information on remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton, the motion of plasma membrane proteins, and dynamics of molecular motor proteins. Actin remodeling has been the best target for this approach because actin and its associated proteins stop diffusing when assembled, allowing visualization of sing...

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) data are complex, even for the simplest systems. Yet it is within this complexity that information about sample composition, molecular orientation, surface order, chemical bonding, sample purity, etc. is contained. The challenge is how to easily extract this information from the spectra and images. Multivariate analysis (MVA) has shown p...

Tissue samples from renal cell carcinoma patients were analyzed by electrospray droplet ion beam-induced secondary ion mass spectrometry (EDI/SIMS). Positively- and negatively-charged secondary ions were measured for the cancerous and noncancerous regions of the tissue samples. Although specific cancerous species could not be found in both the positive and negative secondary ion spectra, the sp...

Single-molecule speckle (SiMS) microscopy is a powerful method to directly elucidate biochemical reactions in live cells. However, since the signal from an individual fluorophore is extremely faint, the observation area by epi-fluorescence microscopy is restricted to the thin cell periphery to reduce autofluorescence, or only molecules near the plasma membrane are visualized by total internal r...

Because of the requirements of large molecule characterization and high-lateral resolution SIMS imaging, the possibility of improving molecular ion yields by the use of specific sample preparation procedures has recently generated a renewed interest in the static SIMS community. In comparison with polyatomic projectiles, however, signal enhancement by a matrix might appear to some as the alchem...

Multivariate statistical methods have been advocated for analysis of spectral images, such as those obtained with imaging time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). TOF-SIMS images using total secondary ion counts or secondary ion counts at individual masses often fail to reveal all salient chemical patterns on the surface. Multivariate methods simultaneously analyze peak intens...

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is capable of imaging biological molecules across single cells with several hundred nanometer lateral resolution, and has the potential to examine the functional segregation of lipids in cell membranes. Lipids are believed to play a crucial role in fundamental biological functions, such as intercellular communication. For example, high curvature lipids may...

A method for in situ U–Pb isotopic analyses by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) has been developed for uranium minerals with a range of chemical compositions. This method combines the advantages of conventional U–Pb dating (i.e., use of concordia) and in situ analysis, and therefore is ideally suited for the study of chemically complex and fine-grained uranium oxides associated with urani...

Mass spectrometric imaging is a powerful tool to interrogate biological complexity. One such technique, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) imaging, has been successfully utilized for subcellular imaging of cell membrane components. In order for this technique to provide insight into biological processes, it is critical to characterize the figures of merit. Because a SIMS ...