
Nanotechnology refers to the capacity for the controllable manipulation of matter at the molecular and atomic levels toward the synthesis of unique materials, and for the creation of myriad useful devices and other products that exhibit extraordinary attributes with superior functionality. Nanotechnology is also fundamentally enabling; thus it will have strong potential to initiate significantly positive paradigm shifts across virtually every sector of society. The above said, we must be mindful as with any potentially very powerful technology, that stringent safeguards, testing standards, and comprehensive assessments of the physiological, biological, and environmental fates of the nanomaterials and processes involved, must be designed and implemented toward its development.
There are currently over 1,600 nanotechnology based consumer products already on the market. These range from the integration of nanoparticles into cosmetics and sunscreens (to enhance their appearance or performance) to spray on superhydrophobic treatments (which combine microscopic and nanometric bumps) based on the Lotus Effect whereby water droplets and any dirt always sit above the surface, meaning that the surface never actually gets wet. A clear illustration of this is provided the company NeverWet by who makes a spray on superhydrophobic treatment for textiles and other surfaces. Other nanotechnological applications are applied to the enhancement and texture of foods and the taste of beverages through the use of nanoscale colloids and emulsions.
One of the most significant and important facets of nanotechnology will likely be its application to medicine, or what is called nanomedicine. Progressively rapid and exciting advances within this discipline are occurring globally, which hold great promise for the initiation of positive paradigm shifts across multiple medical domains. There is a powerful and quickly increasing trend toward the emergence of more compact, minimally invasive, smarter, more precise, and efficacious medical technologies. Nanomedical diagnostics and therapeutics operate at the cellular, organellar, and molecular levels; precisely where many disease processes have their genesis, and from which they emanate. Hence, nanomedicine has strong potential for the accurate preemptive diagnoses and treatment of many diseases, prior to their having the opportunity to proliferate.
News
Silver nanoparticles show promise in fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria
In a new study, scientists with the University of Florida have found that a combination of silver nanoparticles and antibiotics is effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The researchers hope to turn this discovery into viable [...]
Combating severe cancer with a new drug delivery system
Peritoneal cancer is difficult to treat and has a poor survival prognosis. But a new and effective nanomedicine delivery system is offering some hope. The company is called NaDeNo and is well underway with [...]
New Research Shows How Ketamine Acts As “Switch” in the Brain
According to a new study by researchers at Penn Medicine, ketamine, which is well-known as an anesthetic and is becoming increasingly popular as an antidepressant, dramatically reorganizes activity in the brain, almost as if [...]
Supercharged T Cells: A New Way To Kill Pancreatic Cancer With Minimal Side Effects
A new immunotherapy releases cancer-killing cytokines only within the tumor. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have developed a new T cell-based immunotherapy that selectively targets cancer cells, producing a powerful anti-cancer cytokine [...]
AI has designed bacteria-killing proteins from scratch – and they work
An AI was tasked with creating proteins with anti-microbial properties. Researchers then created a subset of the proteins and found some did the job. An AI has designed anti-microbial proteins that were then tested [...]
Using nanoparticles, researchers can identify and deliver synergistic combinations of cancer drugs
Treating cancer with combinations of drugs can be more effective than using a single drug. However, figuring out the optimal combination of drugs, and making sure that all of the drugs reach the right [...]
Humanity May Reach Singularity Within Just 7 Years, Trend Shows
By one unique metric, we could approach technological singularity by the end of this decade, if not sooner. A translation company developed a metric, Time to Edit (TTE), to calculate the time it takes for professional [...]
HYPER (Highly Interactive Particle Relics) – A New Model for Dark Matter
Phase transition in early universe changes strength of interaction between dark and normal matter. Dark matter remains one of the greatest mysteries of modern physics. It is clear that it must exist, because without [...]
New Nanoparticles Deliver Therapy Brain-Wide and Edit Alzheimer’s Gene
Summary: Researchers have developed a new family of nano-scale capsules capable of carrying CRISPR gene editing tools to different organs of the body before harmlessly dissolving. The capsules were able to enter the brains of [...]
Cancer’s Secret Weapon? Enzyme That Protects Against Viruses May Fuel Tumor Evolution
An enzyme that defends human cells against viruses can help drive cancer evolution towards greater malignancy by causing myriad mutations in cancer cells, according to a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine. The [...]
Scientists Uncover Japanese Fruit Juice That May Help Prevent Lung Cancer
Using a mouse model, Japanese researchers unleash the likely mechanism of action of Actinidia arguta (sarunashi) juice on lung cancer development. Lung cancer is a leading cause of death in Japan and across the [...]
In-place manufacturing method improves gas sensor capabilities, production time
When used as wearable medical devices, stretchy, flexible gas sensors can identify health conditions or issues by detecting oxygen or carbon dioxide levels in the breath or sweat. They also are useful for monitoring [...]
In the core of the cell: New insights into the utilization of nanotechnology-based drugs
Novel drugs, such as vaccines against covid-19, among others, are based on drug transport using nanoparticles. Whether this drug transport is negatively influenced by an accumulation of blood proteins on the nanoparticle’s surface was [...]
The costly lesson from COVID: why elimination should be the default global strategy for future pandemics
Imagine it is 2030. Doctors in a regional hospital in country X note an expanding cluster of individuals with severe respiratory disease. Rapid whole-genome sequencing identifies the disease-causing agent as a novel coronavirus. Epidemiological [...]
How Artificial Intelligence Found the Words To Kill Cancer Cells
A predictive model has been developed that enables researchers to encode instructions for cells to execute. Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and IBM Research have created a virtual library of thousands of “command sentences” [...]
Next-generation, light-activated nanotech for antibiotic-resistant superbugs
It's "lights out" for antibiotic-resistant superbugs as next-generation light-activated nanotech proves it can eradicate some of the most notorious and potentially deadly bacteria in the world. Developed by the University of South Australia and [...]
Unconventional experiments produce new nanoscale particles with big potential
Nanoparticles are complex materials smaller than 100 nanometers, or about the size of a virus, but they have a large range of potential applications, from medicine to energy to electronics. Now, hundreds of new [...]
Engineers to advance nanomedicine manufacturing using AI
A novel combination of artificial intelligence and production techniques could change the future of nanomedicine, according to Cornell researchers using a new $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to revolutionize how polymer [...]
Scientists Reveal How Trauma Changes the Brain
Trauma can have a profound impact on an individual’s life. Recent research has shed light on how traumatic events can alter the physical structure of our brains. These changes are not due to physical [...]
Artificial Organic Neurons Created – Almost Like Biological Nerve Cells
Biorealistic organic electrochemical neurons enabled by ion-tunable antiambipolarity in mixed ion-electron conducting polymers. Work to develop increasingly functional artificial nerve cells continues at the Laboratory for Organic Electronics, LOE. In 2022, a team of [...]
Repeated Stress Can Accelerate Aging of the Eye
Stress-induced retinal aging produces symptoms similar to those that occur naturally with aging. New research from the University of California, Irvine, indicates that aging plays a significant role in the death of retinal ganglion cells [...]
Cancer Breakthrough: Biological Pathway Identified That Leads Stem Cells To Die or Regenerate
Altering a cellular process can lead stem cells—cells from which other cells in the body develop—to die or regenerate, according to a new study led by Cedars-Sinai and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The findings, to [...]
New COVID-19 Vaccine Protects Against Infection and Coronavirus Brain Damage
The study was conducted by Spanish researchers from the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville and published in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience. Although the main effects of COVID-19 disease, caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, are seen in [...]
Nanotechnology may improve gene therapy for blindness
Using nanotechnology that enabled mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, a new approach to gene therapy may improve how physicians treat inherited forms of blindness. A collaborative team of researchers with Oregon Health & Science University and Oregon State [...]
Machine Learning Accelerates Drug Formulation Development, Changing the Game for Pharmaceutical Research
New study demonstrates the potential for machine learning to accelerate the development of innovative drug delivery technologies. Scientists at the University of Toronto have successfully tested the use of machine learning models to guide the design [...]
2.6 billion-year-old ancestors of the CRISPR gene-editing tool are resurrected
An international research group has for the first time reconstructed ancestors dating back 2.6 billion years of the well-known CRISPR-Cas system, and studied their evolution over time. The results suggest that the revitalized systems [...]
Old cure revived to help fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs
A treatment first used more than a century ago, that uses bacteria-killing viruses, is making a comeback in Australia and doctors hope it will help counter a growing crisis of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. The Alfred [...]
4 Mind-Boggling Technology Advances In Store For 2023
From the Forbes article by Chuck Brooks: 2022 was a transformative year for technological innovation and digital transformation. The trend will continue as the pace of innovation and development of potentially disruptive emerging technologies [...]
Scientists Have Decrypted the “Mechanical Code” of DNA
The mechanical code of DNA refers to the physical properties of DNA that are important for its function as genetic material. These properties include the structure of the double helix, the stability of the [...]
Cancer Research Breakthrough: Scientists Create First Human Bone Marrow ‘Organoids’
Researchers at Oxford University and the University of Birmingham have made a major breakthrough in cancer treatment by creating the first human bone marrow “organoids” that accurately replicate the key features of human bone marrow. The technology, which [...]