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THE Gaia space probe, launched in 2013, has mapped more than a billion stars in the Milky Way, vastly expanding the inventory of known stars in our galaxy, the European Space Agency has revealed.
Released to eagerly waiting astronomers around the world, the initial catalogue of 1.15 billion stars is “both the largest and the most accurate full-sky map ever produced,” said French astronomer Francois Mignard, a member of the 450-strong Gaia mission team, yesterday.
Image Credit: AFP/European Space Agency/ESA/Gaia/DPAC
Recent News
A mass production method for biodegradable microrobots
Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST, President Yang Kook) Professor Hongsoo Choi’s team of the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering collaborated with Professor Sung-Won Kim’s team [...]
DNA nets capture COVID-19 virus in low-cost rapid-testing platform
Tiny nets woven from DNA strands can ensnare the spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19, lighting up the virus for a fast-yet-sensitive diagnostic test—and also impeding the [...]
Dissolvable Optical Switches Control Neurons With Light
Roughly two decades ago, a strategy called optogenetics emerged to control brain activity with lasers. It uses viruses to insert genes into cells that make them sensitive to light. Optogenetics has [...]
Single Dose Nanovaccine Developed to Help Tackle Shigella
Shigella bacteria, which causes Shigellosis, is the primary cause of bacterial diarrhea and diarrheal death among juveniles under five years of age. Because of the antibiotic resistance of Shigella strains, no commercial [...]
Tiny robots with ‘brains’ can walk autonomously inside your body
Scientists have built microscopic robots equipped with electronic “brains” that are capable of walking autonomously. A team from Cornell University in the US developed the solar-powered bots as part of research [...]
Long COVID patients show signs of autoimmune disease a year after infection
Blood samples from patients with long COVID who are still suffering from fatigue and shortness of breath after a year show signs of autoimmune disease, according to [...]
Inhibiting Ovarian Cancer Growth Using Gold Nanoparticles
High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is among the deadliest human cancers and its prognosis remains extremely poor. An article published in Advanced Science explored the self-therapeutic properties of gold nanoparticles to [...]
New Strategy To Help Chitosan Nanocrystals Target Cells
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity and lyse microbial cells by interaction with biomembranes, offering great potential in designing new therapeutics. The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) [...]
Drug turns cancer gene into ‘eat me’ flag for immune system
Tumor cells are notoriously good at evading the human immune system; they put up physical walls, wear disguises and handcuff the immune system with molecular tricks. Now, UC San [...]
New Adjustments to Hyperspectral Microscopy of Nanomaterials
Hyperspectral microscopy is an advanced visualization technique that combines hyperspectral imaging with state-of-the-art optics and computer software to enable rapid identification of nanomaterials. Since hyperspectral datacubes are large, their [...]
Nanoplatforms in Imaging-Guided Brain Tumor Treatment
Malignant brain tumors are cancerous growth in the brain with the possibility of spreading to other parts of the central nervous system (CNS). Brain tumors are highly invasive and [...]
Through the quantum looking glass
An ultrathin invention could make future computing, sensing and encryption technologies remarkably smaller and more powerful by helping scientists control a strange but useful phenomenon of quantum mechanics, according [...]
Good Biocompatibility for Nanocapsules with Healthcare Applications
Methacrylate-based materials are often used in bone cement and dental resins. However, they have high failure rates as they undergo damage within ten years, impacting the quality of patient’s [...]
Portable SARS-CoV-2 Sensor Using Freestanding Laser-Induced Graphene
Early diagnosis of an infectious viral disease can help the patients and health care professionals monitor the outbreaks accurately and provide treatment at the early stage of a disease, [...]
“Nanorattles” shake up new possibilities for disease detection
Researchers at Duke University have developed a unique type of nanoparticle called a “nanorattle” that greatly enhances light emitted from within its outer shell. Loaded with light scattering dyes [...]
Modified microwave oven cooks up next-gen semiconductors
A household microwave oven modified by a Cornell Engineering professor is helping to cook up the next generation of cellphones, computers and other electronics after the invention was shown [...]
How Can Ion Diffusion Kinetics Influence Nanopore Sensing?
Nanopore sensing has emerged as a versatile approach to detecting and identifying biomolecules. Within this frame of reference, the fast-responding ionic current is considered an essential criterion for [...]
A plastic film that can kill viruses using room lights
Graphical abstract. Credit: Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2022.112551 Researchers at Queen's University Belfast have developed a plastic film that can kill viruses that land on its [...]
Bone formation comes down to the nanowire
Nanotechnology that accelerates the transition of stem cells into bone could advance regenerative medicine. A nanotechnology platform developed by KAUST scientists could lead to new treatments for degenerative bone [...]
How nasal-spray vaccines could change the pandemic
Are sprays the future of COVID-19 vaccines? That’s the hope of dozens of research groups and companies working on new kinds of inoculation. Rather than relying on injections, these [...]
Is COVID-19 winding down? Scientists say no
Is the coronavirus on its way out? You might think so. New, updated booster shots are being rolled out to better protect against the variants circulating now. The U.S. [...]
Bacteria for New Antibiotics Found in Chilean River
Scientists have discovered two bacteria with great antibiotic potential in a river in Chile. A scientist works with a microscope in a lab on August 12, 2020, in Lima, [...]
Lightweight Graphene Filter to Block Airborne Nanoparticles
The primary function of personal protection equipment (PPE), including facemasks and gloves, is to filter out nanoparticulate aerosols, which are present in the air. PPE is widely used in [...]
Making nanodiamonds out of bottle plastic
What goes on inside planets like Neptune and Uranus? To find out, an international team headed by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the University of Rostock and France's École Polytechnique [...]
Low testosterone may increase risk of COVID-19 hospitalization for men
Among men diagnosed with COVID-19, those with low testosterone levels are more likely to become seriously ill and end up in the hospital than men with normal levels of [...]
Nanoparticles Enhance Vaccination Effect of Radiation Therapy
Although combining radiation therapy (RT) with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) could activate an in situ vaccine effect, RT limits the tumor antigen presentation and cannot overcome suppressive mechanisms in the tumor [...]
Near-infrared-triggered nanozyme for synergistic cascade tumor therapy
A joint research team led by Prof. Wang Hui, Prof. Zhang Xin and Prof. Qian Junchao from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of [...]
Development of Nano-Skin to Prevent Post-Operative Adhesion
Several difficulties have been associated with developing robust nanoscale coating on the surface of electrospun nanofibers. In a recent study published in Nature Communications, scientists have successfully produced a facile, controllable, [...]
Using Nanoantibiotics to Counter Antibiotic Resistance Gains US Patent
Over 2.8 million Americans get antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections annually, and about 35,000 of those patients do not make it through their infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control [...]
Durable coating kills COVID virus, other germs in minutes
There may soon be a new weapon in our centuries-old battle against germs: the first durable coating that can quickly kill bacteria and viruses and keep on killing them [...]
Impact of COVID-19 on Mitochondrial-Based Immunity in Aging and Age-Related Diseases
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a deadly pandemic with surging mortality rates and no cure. COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 [...]
Research reveals cetylpyridinium chloride in mouthwash shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects
A recent study published in Scientific Reports has demonstrated the antiviral effectiveness of cetylpyridinium chloride against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Cetylpyridinium chloride is an ammonium compound commonly [...]
Why do some people develop long Covid? New research offers a potential clue.
Striking decreases in the stress hormone cortisol were the strongest predictor for who develops long Covid in new research that identified several potential drivers of the lingering symptoms afflicting millions of [...]
Weird quantum experiment shows protons have more ‘charm’ than we thought
A proton is one of the subatomic particles that make up the nucleus of an atom. As small as protons are, they are composed of even tinier elementary particles known as [...]
Nanomedicine Specifically Targets Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
In an article recently published in the journal ACS Applied Bio Materials, researchers discussed the utility of neutrophil cell membrane coating of a self-assembly nanoconstruct to enable high specificity for [...]
Nanorods overcome tigecycline resistance of Klebsiella pneumonia
Long-term and excessive use of antibiotics has caused the spread of antibiotic resistance. The time- and cost-consuming process of new antibiotic development results in the much slower emergence of [...]
First bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine approved by UK medicines regulator
The adapted COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna targets two different coronavirus variants – the original virus from 2020 and the Omicron variant An updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine [...]
Nanomotor with Multiple Cancer Photo-Theranostic Functions
Artificial nanomotors with advanced functions, such as motility and miniaturization, enabled the exploration of new strategies for cancer treatment. However, these nanorobots do not contain multiple functions that could [...]
Building blocks of the future for photovoltaics
An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has, for the first time, observed the build-up of a physical phenomenon that plays a role in the conversion [...]
Discovery of ‘weak spot’ in COVID-19 variants could lead to better treatment options
A discovery by a team of B.C. researchers may lead to improved COVID-19 treatment options that are effective against several variants of the disease. Researchers at the University of [...]
Biopharma Creates New Generation LNPs In A Run For A More Efficient COVID-19 Vaccine
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for fast-produced and adaptable vaccines that could be equally distributed around the world. Developing an efficient mRNA vaccine that is effective, thermostable, and [...]
Researchers Assess How Well Machine Learning Predicts Nanotoxicology
Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have found their applications in various technologies and consumer products. Manipulating chemicals at the nanoscale range introduces unique characteristics to these materials and makes them desirable [...]
Smart nanoparticle shows that intermittent fasting may protect the heart from damage during chemotherapy
Although chemotherapy can be a lifesaving treatment for patients with cancer, some of these medications can damage the heart. A team led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) [...]
From nasal vaccines to pills: the next defences against Covid
When the autumn booster programme begins next month, many people are likely to receive Moderna’s new bivalent vaccine, designed to protect against the original Covid strain and the more transmissible [...]
Novel design for nanoparticles that train immune cells into fighting cancer
Scientists of the department of Advanced Organ Bioengineering and Therapeutics (TechMed Centre) recently published a novel cancer immune therapy in the scientific journal Nature Communications ("Cancer immune therapy using engineered ‛tail-flipping’ [...]
Smart contact lenses for cancer diagnostics and screening
Scientists from the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) have developed a contact lens that can capture and detect exosomes, nanometer-sized vesicles found in bodily secretions which have the [...]
Novel Nanoplatform Found Effective Against Esophageal Cancer
Among the total number of deaths caused by different types of cancer, esophageal cancer is the sixth most significant. Several conventional treatments, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery have [...]
Stem Cell Membrane-Coated Nanoparticles in Tumor Therapy
Cell membrane-coated nanoparticles, applied in targeted drug delivery strategies, combine the intrinsic advantages of synthetic nanoparticles and cell membranes. Although stem cell-based delivery systems were highlighted for their targeting [...]
The TB Vaccine Mysteriously Protects Against Lots of Things. Now We Know Why
When babies in the African countries of Guinea Bissau and Uganda were given the tuberculosis vaccine, something remarkable happened. Instead of the vaccine only protecting against the target bacteria – Myocbacterium tuberculosis – the tuberculosis vaccine [...]
Extinct Pathogens Ushered The Fall of Ancient Civilizations, Scientists Say
Thousands of years ago, across the Eastern Mediterranean, multiple Bronze Age civilizations took a distinct turn for the worse at around the same time. The Old Kingdom of Egypt and the Akkadian [...]
The Origins of Covid-19 Are More Complicated Than Once Thought
IN OCTOBER 2014, virologist Edward Holmes took a tour of the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, a once relatively overlooked city of about 11 million people in the central Chinese province [...]
Self-Healable, Human-Like Artificial Skin
Self-healable ionic sensing materials with fatigue resistance are imperative in robotics and soft electronics for extended service life. The existing artificial ionic skins with self-healing capacity were prepared by [...]
Nanoparticles increase light scattering, boost solar cell performance
As demand for solar energy rises around the world, scientists are working to improve the performance of solar devices—important if the technology is to compete with traditional fuels. But [...]
Scientists Use Shrimp Shell Nanoparticles to Strengthen Cement
When shrimp shell nanoparticles were mixed into cement paste, the material became substantially stronger — researchers propose an innovation that could lead to less seafood waste and fewer carbon [...]
Does This Video Show A Nanobot Inseminating Egg With “Lazy” Sperm?
A black-and-white video shared on social media showed a microscopic corkscrew-shaped helix as it appeared to consume a sperm, transport it, and ultimately lead the little swimmer [...]
Study Could Help Reduce Environmental Risk of Quantum Dots
Polymers containing quantum dots (QDs) are considered crucial components of next-generation consumer items, but ambiguity remains regarding how these compounds may negatively affect public health and the environment. A pre-proof [...]
New nanocomposite copper coating could be the next superbug fighter
A new copper coating that kills bacteria quicker and in greater amounts than current formulations could soon be available for hospitals and other high-traffic facilities. Although current formulations made [...]
Vaccinating against cancer? A new class of nanoparticle vaccines developed
A vaccination as tumor therapy - with a vaccine individually created from a patient's tissue sample that " attaches" the body's own immune system to cancer cells: the basis [...]
New Insight Into Nanoassemblies for Specific Cancer Therapy
Although retinoic acid (RA) can induce cell death, its weak anticancer efficacy limits its clinical applications. To this end, stimulus-responsive self-assembling prodrug-based nanomedicines are promising candidates that enable controlled [...]
Affordable Sources of Commercial Graphene for Energy Applications
Graphene is a multifunctional carbon nanomaterial widely synthesized for its applications in composites, energy storage, and sensors. Although previous reviews mentioned that achieving an increased yield compromises graphene quality, [...]
Centaurus: what we know about the new COVID variant and why there’s no cause for alarm
A new COVID variant has recently been detected in several countries including the UK, US, India, Australia and Germany. Called BA.2.75, it’s a subvariant of omicron. You might have also [...]
First-of-its-kind sprayable multiscale coating to shield surfaces from viruses, bacteria
A first-of-its-kind sprayable coating that can prevent the surface spread of infection from bacteria and viruses - including COVID-19 - over a sustained period –– has been developed by [...]
Let’s call monkeypox what it is: A pandemic
Eric Feigl-Ding is an epidemiologist and co-founder of the World Health Network. Kavita Patel is a physician and former director of policy for the White House Office of [...]
Stretchable Sensor Successful in Environmental and Respiratory Monitoring
The precise, continuous monitoring of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) in high humidity is a tough challenge for low-cost and stretchable gas sensors. A recent article published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering describes [...]
Carbon Nanotube Biosensors Help Detect Alzheimer’s Disease
Although blood-biomarker-based tests help in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, the low abundance of blood protein biomarkers related to Alzheimer’s disease and the complexity of the human serum [...]
New Metrological Technique Uses Stress for Nanotomography
Researchers from Skoltech and their colleagues in Russia and Spain have reported a proof-of-concept demonstration of a new radiation-safe method for mapping the internal structure and stress distribution in [...]
Light-Driven Neutrophils May be Used as Medical Microrobots
Using lasers to precisely control white blood cells in living fish, researchers have demonstrated that some of the body’s native cells can be “remotely controlled” to accomplish a variety [...]
Nanofluidics Sharpens Mass Spectrometry’s Sensitivity to Ultrasmall Samples
Single-cell level protein analysis utilizing mass spectrometry (MS) with picolitre sample volumes needs sensitivity in the range of zeptomole to attomole. An article published recently in the journal Analytical Chemistry discussed [...]
Nano Pom-Poms: A New Method to Detect Cancer Biomarkers
Nanosized extracellular vesicle (EV) exosomes serve as reliable biomarker sources. However, cancer biomarker identification through exosome multi-omic molecular information mapping is challenging due to heterogeneous populations of exosomes derived [...]
Nanoparticles can save historic buildings
Many historical buildings were built of limestone, such as Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral. Limestone is easy to work with, but does not withstand weathering well. It consists mainly of [...]
Genetically Engineered, Sound-Controlled Bacteria That Seek and Destroy Cancer Cells
Since its inception, chemotherapy has proven to be a valuable tool in treating many kinds of cancers, but it has a significant drawback. In addition to killing cancer cells, [...]
Nanoparticle ‘backpacks’ restore damaged stem cells
Within a newborn's umbilical cord lie potentially life-saving stem cells that can be used to fight diseases like lymphoma and leukemia. That is why many new parents elect to [...]
Removing Antibiotics from Wastewater with Nano-Bioadsorbents
An article recently published in the journal Scientific Reports discussed the removal of azithromycin (Azr) antibiotic from contaminated wastewater using hematite nanoparticles (α-HNPs), which were biofabricated from a perennial medicinal herb, [...]
Bioengineered Nanocomposites for Control of Rice Crop Disease
The bacterial strain Xanthomonas oryzae pv.oryzae (Xoo), which causes bacterial leaf blight (BLB) infection, significantly impacts rice yield. Nano-enabled techniques have lately gained popularity as a long-term framework for improving crop [...]
Physicists see electron whirlpools for the first time
Though they are discrete particles, water molecules flow collectively as liquids, producing streams, waves, whirlpools, and other classic fluid phenomena. Not so with electricity. While an electric current is [...]
Nanotherapeutic Technologies to Target Common Brain Cancer
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a malignant brain cancer in adults with a median survival period of 15 months from the point of diagnosis. Residual tumor cells that remain beyond the [...]
New screening technique could accelerate and improve mRNA therapies
Therapeutics based on messenger RNA, or mRNA, can potentially treat a wide range of maladies, including cancer, genetic diseases, and as the world has learned in recent years, deadly [...]
The Current State of Nanotechnology in Europe
Nanotechnologies – technologies that work with matter on the nanoscale of size between 0.1 nm and 100 nm – have proven potential for impact in advanced fields, including materials, [...]
Samsung Is First to Start Mass Production of 3-Nanometer Chips
Samsung Electronics Co. kicked off mass production of 3-nanometer chips that are more powerful and efficient than predecessors, beating rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to a key milestone in the race to [...]
SARS-CoV-2 virus undertakes a massive takeover of the body’s fat-processing system
The virus that causes COVID-19 undertakes a massive takeover of the body's fat-processing system, creating cellular storehouses of fat that empower the virus to hijack the body's molecular machinery [...]
Ultra-Small Nanodots Could Boost Na+ Storage Performance
Antimony-based substances have good prospects as anode materials in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of their great hypothetical capacity. Unfortunately, the high volumetric growth and limited ion conduction in the electrolytic [...]
T cells protect against COVID-19 in absence of antibody response
Vaccines developed early in the COVID-19 pandemic still provide strong protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death. But SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to mutate. Many of [...]
New technology helps reveal inner workings of human genome
Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Genome Center researchers, in collaboration with Oxford Nanopore Technologies, have developed a new method to assess on a large scale the three-dimensional structure [...]
Clay-Based 2D Nanofluidics Supports Highly-Efficient Blue Energy Harvesting
Clay-based 2D nanofluidics are potential candidates for boosting the practical implementation of osmotic energy harvesting because they are inexpensive and easy to prepare on a large scale. However, they [...]
Using Nanotechnology to Detect Animal-Borne Diseases
AZoNano speaks with Dr. Laurene Tetard from the University of Central Florida about her upcoming research into the development of nanotechnology that can detect animal-borne diseases. The hope is that such technology can [...]
Can our mitochondria help to beat long Covid?
At Cambridge University’s MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, Michal Minczuk is one of a growing number of scientists around the world aiming to find new ways of improving mitochondrial health. This [...]
Lipid nanoparticles carry gene-editing cancer drugs past tumor defenses
As they grow, solid tumors surround themselves with a thick, hard-to-penetrate wall of molecular defenses. Getting drugs past that barricade is notoriously difficult. Now, scientists at UT Southwestern have [...]
Graphene Nanosensor Detects Biomarkers Through Tears
In an article recently published in the journal Talanta, researchers demonstrated a new approach to enable the specific detection of biomarkers in human tear by employing an aptamer-based graphene affinity [...]
How Nanotechnology Can Make a Splash in Aquaculture
Selenium (Se) is an essential element found in aquatic feeds that promotes the proper development, wellbeing, and fitness of marine animals. Selenium can be transformed into nanomaterials that are more [...]
Super-Resolution Imaging Method For Multiple Fluorescence Microscopy Applications
In an article recently published in the journal Nanotechnology, researchers employed a single particle imaging method for fluorescence excitation with moderate intensity to achieve spatial resolution. Here, the semiconductor nanocrystals [...]
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