http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Stents that keep weakened and flabby arteries from collapsing have been true life-savers. But after six months, those stents are no longer needed -- once the arteries are strengthened, they become unnecessary. Previously, doctors had no choice but to leave them in place. http://www.physorg.com/news178284711.html Biology Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:48:28 EST news178284711 (PhysOrg.com) -- One of the great promises of nanotechnologies lies in its ability to create drug-containing nanoparticles decorated with targeting molecules that recognize and bind to cancer cells, providing drug delivery only at the site of the targeted cells. Such site-specific drug delivery would not only boost the cancer-killing activity of a drug payload but also reduce potential side effects by greatly restricting or even eliminating the amount of drug reaching healthy tissue. http://www.physorg.com/news177922936.html Nanotechnology Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:40:05 EST news177922936 The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) has developed findNano, an application for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users discover and determine whether consumer products are nanotechnology-enabled. Nanotechnology, the emerging technology of using materials by engineering them at an incredibly small scale, has applications ranging from consumer electronics to improved drug delivery systems. http://www.physorg.com/news177249579.html Nanotechnology Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:30:03 EST news177249579 Researchers have developed an improved version of an enzyme that degrades the dense scar tissue that forms when the central nervous system is damaged. By digesting the tissue that blocks re-growth of damaged nerves, the improved enzyme - and new system for delivering it - could facilitate recovery from serious central nervous system injuries. http://www.physorg.com/news176398485.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:35:23 EST news176398485 In campy old movies, Lucretia Borgia swans around emptying powder from her ring into wine glasses carelessly left unattended. The poison ring is usually a confection of gold filigree holding a cabochon or faceted gemstone that can be broken to empty the ring's contents. It is invariably enormous - so large it is rather odd nobody seems to notice it. http://www.physorg.com/news176306859.html Nanotechnology Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:08:21 EST news176306859 (PhysOrg.com) -- Going smaller could bring better results, especially when it comes to cancer-fighting drugs. http://www.physorg.com/news176196750.html Nanotechnology Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:41:11 EST news176196750 Many medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes and chronic pain, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques have been developed, using an implanted heat source, an implanted electronic chip or other stimuli as an "on-off" switch to release the drugs into the body. But thus far, none of these methods can reliably do all that's needed: repeatedly turn dosing on and off, deliver consistent doses and adjust doses according to the patient's need. But now, a research team led by Daniel Kohane of Children's Hospital Boston has devised a solution that combines magnetism with nanotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news176116233.html Nanotechnology Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:11:06 EST news176116233 Two University of Rhode Island associate professors, biophysicists Yana Reshetnyak and Oleg Andreev, have discovered a technology that can detect cancerous tumors and deliver treatment to them without the harming the healthy cells surrounding them, thereby significantly reducing side effects. The URI couple has attracted more than $6 million in grants in four years. In addition, a number of health care and pharmaceutical companies have expressed interest in their work. http://www.physorg.com/news175868491.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:50:05 EST news175868491 Researchers have developed an optimized mouthpiece design to aid efficient drug delivery to the lungs by reducing the amount of medication wasted as it passes through the mouthpiece of an aerosol inhaler. With current inhaler designs, only approximately 10 to 20 percent of asthma medications are delivered to the lungs. And, because the lungs provide a direct and effective route of entry for medications into the bloodstream, an optimized mouthpiece design will reduce medication waste and may provide reproducible delivery of future inhaled medications. http://www.physorg.com/news175363387.html Medicine & Health Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:40:03 EST news175363387 (PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists, chemists and engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a novel method for the controlled formation of patchy particles, using charged, self-assembling molecules that may one day serve as drug-delivery vehicles to combat disease and perhaps be used in small batteries that store and release charge. http://www.physorg.com/news175276626.html Nanotechnology Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:57:56 EST news175276626 Futuristic plans to grow replacement organs, bones or muscles for soldiers maimed on the battlefield or patients suffering from debilitating disease or injury won't be anything but science fiction unless new blood vessels can grow into that tissue. http://www.physorg.com/news174652957.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:44:43 EST news174652957 Clemson bioengineer Frank Alexis is designing new ways to target drugs and reduce the chances for side effects. http://www.physorg.com/news174219683.html Nanotechnology Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:00:02 EST news174219683 (PhysOrg.com) -- Gene therapy holds promise in the treatment of cancer as well as a large number of other diseases. However, developing a scalable system for delivering genes to cells both efficiently and safely has been challenging. Now, two teams of researchers have developed versatile nanotechnology-enabled platforms that could get therapeutic genes safely and efficiently into cancer cells. http://www.physorg.com/news173102090.html Nanotechnology Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:55:22 EST news173102090 (PhysOrg.com) -- Small pieces of nucleic acid known as short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, can turn off the production of specific proteins, a property that makes them one of the more promising new classes of anticancer drugs in development. Indeed, at least two siRNA-based anticancer therapies, both delivered to tumors in nanoparticles, have begun human clinical trials. http://www.physorg.com/news172951531.html Nanotechnology Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:06:33 EST news172951531 The commercial failure of Exubera (Pfizer, New York, NY), the first inhaled insulin product to come to market, led other companies such as Eli Lilly-Alkermes to halt studies of similar drug delivery in development intended to compete for a share of the lucrative diabetes market. Does this signal defeat for efforts to deliver insulin via the lungs? The science and circumstances behind the Lilly-Alkermes decision to discontinue trials of the AIR inhaled insulin product are explored in a special supplement to Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics. http://www.physorg.com/news172925911.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:20:02 EST news172925911 (PhysOrg.com) -- Biomedical researchers suspect graphene, a novel nanomaterial made of sheets of single carbon atoms, would be useful in a variety of applications. But no one had studied the interaction between graphene and DNA, the building block of all living things. To learn more, PNNL's Zhiwen Tang, Yuehe Lin and colleagues from both PNNL and Princeton University built nanostructures of graphene and DNA. http://www.physorg.com/news172896200.html Nanotechnology Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:43:56 EST news172896200 An innovative drug-delivery system - nanoparticles encapsulating nitric oxide or prescription drugs - shows promise for topical treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), according to a new study by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. http://www.physorg.com/news172562185.html Nanotechnology Sat, 19 Sep 2009 06:57:39 EST news172562185 (PhysOrg.com) -- Many medical conditions, such as chronic pain, cancer and diabetes, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques have been developed, using an implanted heat source, an implanted electronic chip or other stimuli as an "on-off" switch to release the drugs into the body. But thus far, none of these methods can reliably do all that's needed: repeatedly turn dosing on and off, deliver consistent doses and adjust doses according to the patient's need. http://www.physorg.com/news172486374.html Nanotechnology Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:40:01 EST news172486374 (PhysOrg.com) -- The same properties of nanoparticles that make them so appealing to manufacturers may also have negative effects on the environment and human health. However, little is known which particles may be harmful. Part of the problem is determining exactly what a nanoparticle is. http://www.physorg.com/news172072324.html Nanotechnology Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:52:37 EST news172072324 Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a new way to deliver drugs into cancer cells by exposing them briefly to a non-harmful laser. Their results are published in a recent article in ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society. http://www.physorg.com/news171807411.html Nanotechnology Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:10:03 EST news171807411 (PhysOrg.com) -- With its unique double-helical structure, DNA has the ability to be used as a programmable building material to construct designer nanoscale architectures. Complex DNA architectures could have a variety of applications, from DNA-based nanomotors to biosensing and drug delivery. Taking the research a step forward, researchers have recently constructed a nanometer-sized tetrahedron from a single strand of DNA, using a method that could have advantages for assembling similar structures on a large scale. http://www.physorg.com/news171624372.html Nanotechnology Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:26:49 EST news171624372 Scientists have uncovered new details about how the cells in our bodies communicate with each other and their environment: findings that are of fundamental importance to human biology. http://www.physorg.com/news171611963.html Biology Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:59:54 EST news171611963 For cancer drug developers, finding an agent that kills tumor cells is only part of the equation. The drug also must spare healthy cells, and ideally its effects will be reversible to cut short any potentially dangerous side effects. Investigators from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report that they have assembled a new cancer drug delivery system that, in cell culture, achieves all of the above. The findings appear in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition. http://www.physorg.com/news170907018.html Nanotechnology Mon, 31 Aug 2009 07:10:01 EST news170907018 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a potential new drug delivery system. The finding is a biological mechanism for delivery of nanoparticles into tissue. The results are published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.physorg.com/news170419576.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:46:57 EST news170419576 For cancer drug developers, finding an agent that kills tumor cells is only part of the equation. The drug must also spare healthy cells, and - ideally - its effects will be reversible, to cut short any potentially dangerous side effects. http://www.physorg.com/news168774413.html Chemistry Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:00:03 EST news168774413 A research team at Northwestern University has developed a tool that can precisely deliver tiny doses of drug-carrying nanomaterials to individual cells. The tool, called the nanofountain probe, functions in two different ways. In one mode, the probe acts like a fountain pen with drug-coated nanodiamonds serving as the ink, allowing researchers to create devices by `writing` with it. The second mode functions as a single-cell syringe, permitting direct injection of biomolecules or chemicals into individual cells. The research was led by Horacio Dante Espinosa, Ph.D., and Dean Ho, Ph.D., and the results appear in the journal Small. http://www.physorg.com/news165512374.html Nanotechnology Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:10:03 EST news165512374 (PhysOrg.com) -- The recent explosion in the development of nanomaterials with enhanced performance characteristics for use in commercial and medical applications has increased the likelihood of people coming into direct contact with these materials. http://www.physorg.com/news164638938.html Nanotechnology Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:03:06 EST news164638938 A research team at Northwestern University has demonstrated a tool that can precisely deliver tiny doses of drug-carrying nanomaterials to individual cells. http://www.physorg.com/news161862130.html Nanotechnology Mon, 18 May 2009 10:42:37 EST news161862130 (PhysOrg.com) -- In his office, MIT Professor of Chemical Engineering Gregory Rutledge keeps a small piece of fabric that at first glance resembles a Kleenex. This tissue-like material, softer than silk, is composed of fibers that are a thousand times thinner than a human hair and holds promise for a wide range of applications including protective clothing, drug delivery and tissue engineering. http://www.physorg.com/news160760875.html Nanotechnology Tue, 05 May 2009 16:48:15 EST news160760875 A study published in a special issue of Photochemistry and Photobiology examines the emerging practice of drug delivery systems which use the application of light to activate medications in the body. http://www.physorg.com/news157645638.html Chemistry Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:27:38 EST news157645638