Case Western Reserve University is one of the nation's leading independent research universities and the largest private research university in Ohio. CWRU ranks 12th among the nation's private research universities in federal awards to support research and development. The University attracts nearly $200 million in support for research and other sponsored projects.

Selected CWRU Research Contributions:

Microsystems: Next Stage Technology

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and NASA Lewis Research Center are developing microsystems that  combine miniaturized sensors and electronics on a single semiconductor chip. These microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) can be used to detect ice on airplanes, reduce air turbulence, and monitor tire pressure. They may one day be  used as a medical micro-implant that could monitor a person's vital signs. CWRU, NASA Lewis Research Center, and the State of Ohio will collaborate with industry on a five-year, $21 million initiative that could help companies in Ohio and  elsewhere cash in on microsystems technology.

Ten thousand micromotors, each no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence, make up the surface of a silicon disk. CWRU electrical engineer Mehran Mehreghany believes that micromotors promise to be as revolutionary as integrated circuit technology.

CWRU researchers create first artificial human chromosomes

Researchers at the School of Medicine and Athersys Inc. have created the first artificial human chromosomes. The synthetic chromosomes represent a breakthrough in medical research and provide scientists with a powerful new tool for the study of human genetics. Artificial chromosomes may also offer a new approach to gene therapy and the treatment of a broad range of genetic diseases.

At left: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) visualization of one of the artificial human chromosomes successfully created by investigators at CWRU's School of Medicine and Athersys Inc. The arrow highlights the synthetic microchromosome, a miniature version of the surrounding native human chromosomes. Chromosome materials, both native and synthetic, appears dark blue, with the centromeres (the chromosome component essential for the proper chromosome distribution during cell division) highlighted using centromere-specific antibodies tagged with fluorescent-green dye.

Transplanted nerve axons regenerated in adult animals

Neuroscientists from CWRU's School of Medicine have shown that transplanted adult nerve cells can regenerate their axons in the adult rat brain's nerve fiber pathways, challenging long-held beliefs that this is impossible. In their study, researchers found that nerve cells regenerated remarkably well and at relatively high rates of speed in 34 of 41 animals.

At right, lead author Stephen J. A. Davies (standing), a CWRU research associate, and Jerry Silver, professor of neurosciences

Surgical prosthesis can restore movement to paralyzed limbs

A 25-year struggle by researchers at CWRU and local hospitals to help paralyzed people use their hands again has met with success. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a neural prosthetic system that allows people with paraplegia to grasp, hold, and release objects by electrically stimulating their muscles. The Freehand System is the world's first surgically implanted device to restore movement to a paralyzed limb.

The system could benefit more than 125,000 adults with paralysis from the chest down due to spinal cord injury. It allows people to live more independently and perform routine activities like eating, personal grooming, and typing on computers so that they can function more fully. The Freehand System costs about $50,000, compared to a possible cost of more than $1.5 million in lifetime expenses for a person with quadriplegia.

Sixty-one people received the system in clinical trials and all reported improvement in their ability to grasp and move their fingers, according to the FDA.

Calculations show stars younger than they look

Is the universe younger than its stars? Case Western Reserve University physicists Lawrence Krauss (at right in photo) and Peter Kernan (in chair), in collaboration with colleagues at Yale and Arizona, have closed the gap between the age discrepancies with new estimates, finding the stars' ages as almost three billion years younger than previously thought.

New information gathered by the Hipparcos satellite, combined with a reanalysis of other distance data, has enabled the researchers to refine the lower age limit of the universe to 9.6 billion years.

Major ingredient in green tea kills cancer cells, spares healthy ones

In continuing studies of cancer preventing compounds in green tea, researchers at CWRU's School of Medicine have found an ingredient that kills cancer cells, while sparing healthy cells. Investigators tested the ingredient, called epigallocatechin-3-gallate, on cancerous human and mouse cells of the skin, lymph system, and prostate, and on normal human skin cells. In the test tube, it led to apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in the cancer cells, but left the healthy cells unharmed.

With origins dating to 1826, CWRU is recognized for its outstanding programs and international reputation for excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship. CWRU enrolls more than 9,900 students from every state and more than 80 nations. Campus buildings are linked to the Internet through CWRUnet, the University's high-speed, all-fiber-optic network.

CWRU offers more than 60 fields of study through the following major academic units:

• College of Arts & Sciences
• Case School of Engineering
• Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
• School of Dentistry
• School of Graduate Studies

• School of Law
• Weatherhead School of Management
• School of Medicine
• Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing

Visit CWRU's Office of University Communication Web site for more information on research and other news.