From Nanowerk News:
Researchers at the University of Tokyo used MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology to produce spherical vesicles (asymmetric giant lipid vesicles/liposomes) surrounded by a membrane that, like the membrane of our cells, has an inner and outer layer composed of different phospholipids. In contrast to conventional methods of creating vesicles, this new method leaves little trace of organic solvents inside the vesicle and is an important contribution as a fundamental technique for development of artificial cell models.
Giant liposome formation methods using MEMS technology can better control the size and the encapsulated concentration compared with conventional formation methods. However, when using these formation methods based on the MEMS technology, it is impossible to avoid incorporating organic solvents in the liposome membranes, greatly affecting the stability of the liposome and rendering such methods unsuitable as a tool for researching artificial cells.
Image Credit: Aki Sato
Recent News
Oxford University breakthrough on global COVID-19 vaccine
The University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, today announces interim trial data from its Phase III trials that show its candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019, is effective at preventing [...]
Altered ‘Coat’ Disguises Fatal Brain Virus From Neutralizing Antibodies
A genetic modification in the ‘coat’ of a brain infection-causing virus may allow it to escape antibodies, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. They say testing people for [...]
A DNA-based nanogel for targeted chemotherapy
Current chemotherapy regimens slow cancer progression and save lives, but these powerful drugs affect both healthy and cancerous cells. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Nano Letters have designed DNA-based nanogels [...]
Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines could be programmed to fight cancer, heart disease and more
The new technology behind Pfizer's and Moderna's coronavirus vaccines could be used to prevent everything from heart disease to cancer, experts say. The breakthrough vaccine 'platform' they use transforms the [...]
New technology allows more precise view of the smallest nanoparticles
Current state-of-the-art techniques have clear limitations when it comes to imaging the smallest nanoparticles, making it difficult for researchers to study viruses and other structures at the molecular level. Scientists [...]
The top emerging health technologies to end this pandemic and avert the next one
Virtual patients, vaccines, medicine-making biomachines and microneedles are examples of tech innovation that is meeting the moment to address the global health crisis. Health has been a strong [...]
Vancouver-based biotech company central in development of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
A Vancouver company is central to the news Monday morning that Pfizer is close to developing an effective vaccine against the coronavirus. Pfizer said Monday that an early peek [...]
Is social media ready for a Covid-19 vaccine?
On Monday, Pfizer and BioNTech announced in a press release that their vaccine candidate was more than 90 percent effective at preventing Covid-19 infection, based on initial results from their [...]
Covid vaccine: First ‘milestone’ vaccine offers 90 per cent protection
The first coronavirus vaccine can prevent more than 90% of people from getting Covid-19, a preliminary analysis shows. The developers - Pfizer and BioNTech - described it as a "great [...]
New Nanomedicine Approach Could Improve Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccine
Researchers led by the University at Buffalo (UB) have devised a new method that could enhance the effectiveness of vaccines against the novel coronavirus, the virus that is responsible for causing COVID-19. [...]
The strange ways that coronavirus can affect the brain
On March 17 this year, a man was taken to hospital in Israel suffering from a dry cough and a loss of sense of smell. He developed a fever and [...]
Oxford Covid vaccine works in all ages, trials suggest
One of the world’s leading Covid-19 experimental vaccines produces an immune response in older adults as well as the young, its developers say, raising hopes of protection for those most [...]
Researchers pin hopes on Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR-technology tests to detect coronavirus
Coronavirus tests performed in labs are the gold standard for accuracy and antigen tests are a fast and inexpensive alternative. But backers of a third type of test, developed [...]
New SBMT Paper Released: COVID-19 Review of a 21st Century Pandemic
COVID-19 is a severe infectious disease that has claimed >150,000 lives and infected millions in the United States thus far, especially the elderly population. Emerging evidence has shown the virus [...]
Intensive care capacity close to overload, warns top Swiss Covid-19 advisor
Switzerland’s Covid-19 scientific taskforce chief says hospitals across the Alpine country could be swamped with new coronavirus cases in the next two or three weeks unless the situation improves. “We [...]
Hunt on for future Covid mutations that cause treatments to lose potency
Scientists are to increase surveillance for new coronavirus mutations amid concerns that future strains of the virus could develop at least partial resistance to antibody treatments and Covid-19 vaccines. There [...]
COVID-19 causing virus can survive 28 days on surfaces
From the moment you turn off your morning alarm, to the time you hit the pillow, your life is full of surfaces. Swiping through your phone, opening doors, putting in [...]
‘Brain Fog’ Following COVID-19 Recovery May Indicate PTSD
A new report suggests that lingering “brain fog” and other neurological symptoms after COVID -19 recovery may be due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an effect observed in past human [...]
Pain Relief Caused by SARS-CoV-2 May Help Explain Coronavirus Spread
ClSARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can relieve pain, according to a new study by University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers. The finding may explain why nearly half [...]
‘Totally Under Control’ – Alex Gibney Uncovers Trump’s Coronavirus Failings in New Doco
Contrary to president Donald Trump’s repeated declarations, the coronavirus pandemic was not — and still isn’t — totally under control. That lie is central [...]
COVID-19 May Deplete Testosterone
Summary: A new study suggests COVID-19 may deplete testosterone levels in males. Findings reveal as testosterone decreased, the severity of coronavirus increased. Men who died from coronavirus infection had significantly [...]
UK scientists begin study of how long Covid can survive in the air
It is the question scientists around the world are trying to answer: how long can the coronavirus survive in the tiny aerosol particles we exhale? In a high-security lab near [...]
Glycans in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein play active role in infection
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, researchers are working overtime to develop vaccines and therapies to thwart SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the disease Many efforts focus on the coronavirus [...]
Coronavirus: found to be heat tolerant, self-healing and very resilient in lab tests
A research team in Hungary pinched the coronavirus with a fine needle to measure how much force it could take before popping like a balloon. It did not. The native [...]
Headaches and delirium: coronavirus can invade brain, study says
Headaches, confusion and delirium experienced by some Covid-19 patients could be the result of the coronavirus directly invading the brain, according to a study published Wednesday. The research is still [...]
Coronavirus Pandemic: Guidance for Better Mental Health
By Boris M | Published in Coronavirus During the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be a lot of information about the virus and its effects on mental health. That’s because coronavirus and [...]
The coronavirus is mutating — does it matter?
When COVID-19 spread around the globe this year, David Montefiori wondered how the deadly virus behind the pandemic might be changing as it passed from person to person. Montefiori is [...]
Expert: Bad reaction to Oxford COVID-19 vaccine likely ‘life-threatening’
A serious illness suffered by an Oxford University coronavirus vaccine trial participant was most likely “life-threatening”, a bioethics researcher says. But that doesn’t mean the clinical trials will be [...]
COVID-19: Who should get a vaccine first?
There are currently a number of potential coronavirus vaccines being researched. But once a successful one has been developed, it is likely to be in short supply. So how do we [...]
Two types of steroid found to save lives of some Covid-19 patients
Analysis of seven trials finds dexamethasone and hydrocortisone should be given in severe cases. Studies around the world have confirmed that steroids can save lives in the Covid-19 pandemic, [...]
Covid vaccine rush could make pandemic worse, say scientists
Experts say strong evidence of efficacy needed to avoid approval of inferior vaccines. The rush to immunise populations against Covid-19 could lead to the rollout of a vaccine that [...]
COVID-19 Messaging Less Effective When Tied to Trump
The COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the news cycle for the better part of 2020. As guidelines are continually updated to reflect changes in our understanding of how the virus [...]
Coronavirus reinfection – what it actually means, and why you shouldn’t panic
Scientists in Hong Kong have reported the first confirmed case of reinfection with the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, reportedly backed up by genetic sequences of the two episodes of the 33-year-old [...]
Breathalyzer from Israel: A gamechanger for Covid testing?
Could uncomfortable nasal swabs be swapped for a contactless two-second breathalyzer puff to check for Covid-19 infection? Prof. Hossam Haick thinks so. Haick, a professor of chemical engineering and [...]
Video: COVID-19 Update 101: T Cell Immunity vs. Antibodies & Prior Exposure to Other Coronaviruses
The relationship between antibodies for the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and immunity, vaccine efficacy, and spread of COVID-19 has received significant attention. Dr. Seheult is back to illustrate why [...]
Rogue planets could outnumber the stars
An upcoming NASA mission could find that there are more rogue planets – planets that float in space without orbiting a sun – than there are stars in the [...]
Impact of COVID-19 on the lungs of three patients versus healthy lungs
Images Description Three individuals were admitted to the hospital (ages 46–56; to men and one woman) with a multiday history of symptoms associated with the severe acute respiratory syndrome [...]
Nose ‘smell zone’ may be major entry point for COVID-19
Study of nose and throat reveals why people with COVID-19 may lose their sense of smell Researchers studying tissue removed from patients' noses during surgery believe they may have [...]
Covid vaccine tracker: when will we have a coronavirus vaccine?
Researchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 170 candidate vaccines now tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO). Vaccines normally require years of [...]
‘They’ve jumped the gun’: scientists worry about Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine
Rising chorus of concern over Sputnik V vaccine stems from opaque development and lack of mass-testing. In 1977 Scott Halstead, a virologist at the University of Hawaii, was studying [...]
Fauci: The important limitations about any future coronavirus vaccine
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the last three decades and an expert on pandemics for the last four decades, has been [...]
US records 5 million COVID-19 cases as almost 20 million infected worldwide
he United States has recorded 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases, while almost 20 million people are infected worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. Outside of the US, Brazil recorded [...]
90 per cent of recovered COVID-19 patients in Wuhan suffering from lung damage
According to the first phase results, 90 per cent of the patients'lungs are still in a damaged state, which means their lungs ventilation and gas exchange functions have not [...]
MIT’s machine learning designed a COVID-19 vaccine that could cover a lot more people
There are currently 25 vaccines to fight COVID-19 in clinical evaluation, another 139 vaccines in a pre-clinical stage, and many more being researched. But many of those vaccines, if they [...]
Gold nanosensor spots difference between Dengue, Zika
A new class of nanosensor developed in Brazil could more accurately identify dengue and Zika infections, a task that is complicated by their genetic similarities and which can result [...]
We Are Mutating Coronavirus, but It Is Evolving Back
Scientists investigating the evolution of the virus that causes Covid19 say that its mutation seems to be directed by human proteins that degrade it, but natural selection of the [...]
Novel Drug Delivery Particles Use Neurotransmitters as a ‘Passport’ Into the Brain
Biomedical engineers at the Tufts University School of Engineering have developed tiny lipid-based nanoparticles that incorporate neurotranmitters to help carry drugs, large molecules, and even gene editing proteins across [...]
Artificial Intelligence Allows Rapid COVID-19 Lung Imaging Analysis
UC San Diego recently announced that its health radiologists and other physicians are now leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to augment lung-imaging analysis in a clinical research study aimed at COVID-19 lung [...]
Second Coronavirus Strain May Be More Infectious—but Some Scientists Are Skeptical
The hubbub around mutations in the virus that causes COVID-19—and how they might make it more infectious—has been around since the early phase of the pandemic. A preprint study [...]
Oxford vaccine: Early trials suggest “double protection” from coronavirus
Human trials of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by scientists in Oxford are reported to have shown promising results. The researchers believe they have made a breakthrough after discovering the [...]
Leave A Comment