Nanotechnology may well be one of the most talked about industries of the last few years. Predicted to value US$173.95 billion globally by 2025, this fast-moving sector is already delivering major sustainability, health and well-being benefits to society. Nanomaterials, as the name suggests, are very small, less than a millionth of a metre in [...]
The idea that we might create machines more intelligent than ourselves is not new. Myths and folk stories abound with creations such as the bronze automaton Talos, who patrolled the island of Crete in Greek mythology. These stories reflect a deep, atavistic fear that there could be other minds that bear the same relationship [...]
Catalysts are chemical matchmakers: They bring other chemicals close together, increasing the chance that they’ll react with each other and produce something people want, like fuel or fertilizer. Since some of the best catalyst materials are also quite expensive, like the platinum in a car’s catalytic converter, scientists have been looking for ways to [...]
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers used an ingenious experimental setup and high-energy X-ray beams to observe a high-temperature, high-pressure chemical reaction to establish how the formation of two varied nanoscale crystalline structures in the metal cobalt is controlled. The method enabled continuous analysis of cobalt nanoparticles as they formed from clusters that include tens [...]
These days, movies and video games render increasingly realistic 3-D images on 2-D screens, giving viewers the illusion of gazing into another world. For many physicists, though, keeping things flat is far more interesting. One reason is that flat landscapes can unlock new movement patterns in the quantum world of atoms and electrons. For [...]
When people are in the early stages of an undiagnosed disease, immediate tests that lead to treatment are the best first steps. But a blood draw—usually performed by a medical professional armed with an uncomfortably large needle—might not be quickest, least painful or most effective method, according to new research. Now a technique using [...]
A team of neuroscientists and engineers has developed a tiny, implantable device that has potential to help people with bladder problems bypass the need for medication or electronic stimulators. The team -- from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Feinberg School of Medicine at [...]
The body of knowledge about the human brain is growing exponentially, but questions big and small remain unanswered. Researchers have been using electrode arrays to record the brain’s electrical activity for decades, mapping activity in different brain regions to understand what it looks like when everything is working, and what is happening when it [...]
Viruses are Nature’s delivery vehicles. Millions of years of evolution have molded them into remarkable machines capable of performing a monumental task vital to their survival: the delivery of genetic material into other organisms. Viruses are shells made up of proteins and sometimes lipids that carry genetic information into cells. The type of genetic [...]
NanoApps Medical is investigating the possibility that superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPIONs) (Figure 1) and other classes of nanoparticles (e.g., gold coated nanoshells) (Figure 2) might have the capacity to target cancerous tumors, metastasizing cancer cells, pathogens, etc. to deactivate/eliminate them via hypothermia. This means that once the nanoparticles are adhered to their targets, they would [...]
