Researchers at Aalto University, Finland, have developed a biosensor that enables creating a range of new easy-to-use health tests similar to home pregnancy tests (Advanced Materials, "Plasmonic Metaparticles on a Blackbody Create Vivid Reflective Colors for Naked-eye Environmental- and Clinical Bio-detection"). The plasmonic biosensor can detect diseased exosomes even by the naked eye. Exosomes, important [...]
Scientists at the universities of Kent and Bristol have built a miniature scaffold inside bacteria that can be used to bolster cellular productivity, with implications for the next generation of biofuel production (Nature Chemical Biology, "Engineered synthetic scaffolds for organizing proteins within the bacterial cytoplasm"). Because there is a growing need for agricultural or renewable [...]
Silicon microelectronics and biomedical fields could benefit from a safe and cost-effective way to synthesize nanoparticles. Oil and water do not mix, but a KAUST team has exploited the distinct interfaces between these substances to make plasma generation in liquids more efficient. This approach holds promise for high-yield synthesis of nanomaterials from liquid reagents or [...]
Excitonium has a team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign... well... excited! Professor of Physics Peter Abbamonte and graduate students Anshul Kogar and Mindy Rak, with input from colleagues at Illinois, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Amsterdam, have proven the existence of this enigmatic new form of matter, which has [...]
Tumor-targeting nanoparticles loaded with a drug that makes cancer cells more vulnerable to chemotherapy's toxicity could be used to treat an aggressive and often deadly form of endometrial cancer, according to new research by the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. For the first time, researchers combined traditional chemotherapy with a relatively new cancer drug [...]
Tiny pores at a cell's entryway act as miniature bouncers, letting in some electrically charged atoms--ions--but blocking others. Operating as exquisitely sensitive filters, these "ion channels" play a critical role in biological functions such as muscle contraction and the firing of brain cells. To rapidly transport the right ions through the cell membrane, the tiny [...]
Over the past few years, the building blocks of storage media have become ever smaller. But further miniaturization of the current technology is hindered by fundamental limits of quantum mechanics. A new approach consists of using so-called spin-crossover molecules as the smallest possible storage unit. Similar to normal hard drives, these special molecules can save [...]
The purely mathematical property – linear or circular – can have severe consequences in the world of materials. Since circular molecules lack any ends, which could serve as a starting point for degradation, they are more resistant and less entangled. Nature profits from this unique property of circular molecules to increase DNA’s and RNA’s resilience [...]
Nearly 75 years ago, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Erwin Schrödinger wondered if the mysterious world of quantum mechanics played a role in biology. A recent finding by Northwestern University's Prem Kumar adds further evidence that the answer might be yes. Kumar and his team have, for the first time, created quantum entanglement from a biological system. [...]
A new drug delivery system that uses a synthetic-biological hybrid nanocapsule could provide a smart technology for targeted treatment of a variety of serious diseases at the genetic level. The hybrid offers a way to correct diseased cells at the genetic level - while at the same time leaving healthy cells alone - to increase [...]
