The motility assay of K. Visscher, M. J. Schnitzer, and S. M. Block (Nature, 400:184-189, 1999) in which the movement of a bead powered by a single kinesin motor can be measured is a very useful tool in characterizing the force-dependent steps of the mechanochemical cycle of kinesin motors, because in this assay the external force applied to the bead can be controlled (clamped) arbitrarily. How...

BACKGROUND Bodhi beads are a Buddhist prayer item made from seeds. Bodhi beads have a large and emerging market in China, and demand for the beads has particularly increased in Buddhism regions, especially Tibet. Many people have started to focus on and collect Bodhi beads and to develop a Bodhi bead culture. But no research has examined the source plants of Bodhi beads. Therefore, ethnobotanic...

DA Classen. Antibiotic bead pouch dressing. Can J Plast Surg 1996;4(4):199-202. The antibiotic bead pouch is a dressing consisting of antibiotic laden polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads placed in a wound, which is covered by a porous membrane (Opsite). This paper outlines the method, rationale and results of the use of this dressing technique for extensive wounds before definitive wound closur...

Many high-throughput analytical platforms, from next-generation DNA sequencing to drug discovery, rely on beads as carriers of molecular diversity. Microfluidic systems are ideally suited to handle and analyze such bead libraries with high precision and at minute volume scales; however, the challenge of introducing bead suspensions into devices before they sediment usually confounds microfluidi...