Nanoparticles used in common household items caused genetic damage in mice

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Nov 16, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (24) | 11

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson ...

When It Comes to Drug Delivery, Size Matters

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Nov 20, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(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 ...

Detecting the Undetectable in Prostate Cancer Testing

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Nov 18, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Northwestern University researchers, using an extremely sensitive nanotechnology-based tool known as the biobarcode system, has detected previously undetectable levels of prostate-specific antigen ...

Small nanoparticles bring big improvement to medical imaging

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Nov 18, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

If you're watching the complex processes in a living cell, it is easy to miss something important—especially if you are watching changes that take a long time to unfold and require high-spatial-resolution ...

Magnetic Nanotags Spot Cancer in Mice Earlier Than Current Methods

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Nov 17, 2009 | 3 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Searching for biomarkers that can warn of diseases such as cancer while they are still in their earliest stage is likely to become far easier thanks to an innovative biosensor chip developed by Stanford University ...

Running electronics using light

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

Oct 19, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (19) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- "If you open up almost any electronic gadget, you will see various elements that operating using electric circuitries," Nader Engheta tells PhysOrg.com. "Many of them have different functi ...

Nanoparticles for gene therapy improve

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Nov 06, 2009 | 5 / 5 (5) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- About five years ago, Professor Janet Sawicki at the Lankenau Institute in Pennsylvania read an article about nanoparticles developed by MIT's Robert Langer for gene therapy, the insertion ...

Two-In-One Punch Knocks Out Drug Resistant Cancer Cells

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Nov 04, 2009 | 5 / 5 (4) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cancer cells, like bacteria, can develop resistance to drug therapy, leading to relapse of disease. One approach showing promise in overcoming multidrug resistance in tumors is to combine two different anticancer ...

Could Maxwell's Demon Exist in Nanoscale Systems?

Physics / General Physics

Jun 24, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (18) | 30

(PhysOrg.com) -- Maxwell’s demon may be making a comeback. Physicists know that the demon, an imaginary creature that decreases the entropy of a system, cannot exist in macroscopic systems due to the energy ...

Using nanoparticles to increase the effiiciency of thin film solar cells

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Jun 12, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (19) | 8

Germany is one of the leading countries when it comes to efforts related to renewable energy sources. Therefore, it is no surprise that the Institute of Condensed Matter and Solid State Optics at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität ...

Scientists witness nature's complexity unfold in self-assembling quasicrystals

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 31, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (17) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Just a few decades ago, scientists believed that all ordered matter consists of self-repeating building blocks -- atoms, ions or molecules. In this view, the ordinary solids of everyday life ...

Nano-Scale Drug Delivery For Chemotherapy

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Oct 31, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (12) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Going smaller could bring better results, especially when it comes to cancer-fighting drugs.

Magnetic nanotags spot cancer in mice earlier than methods now in clinical use

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Oct 13, 2009 | 5 / 5 (8) | 0

Searching for biomarkers that can warn of diseases such as cancer while they are still in their earliest stage is likely to become far easier thanks to an innovative biosensor chip developed by Stanford University ...

Can a single molecule behave as a mirror?

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

Nov 18, 2008 | 4.4 / 5 (59) | 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- “We have shown for the first time, theoretically, that a single molecule can behave as a perfect mirror,” Mario Agio tells PhysOrg.com. “Imagine that your mirror at home becomes a single molecule and that y ...

Gold Nanoparticles Delivery Platinum Warheads to Tumors

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Oct 29, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (7) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cisplatin is one of the most powerful and effective drugs for treating a wide variety of cancers, but serious side effects ultimately limit the drug's use and effectiveness. Now, however, researchers have ...