Nanotechnology News and Research

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A new method for manipulating macromolecules

The technique uses double-stranded DNA to direct the behavior of other molecules. In previous DNA nanotechnology efforts, duplex DNA has been used as a static lattice to construct geometrical objects in three dimensions.

29 Jun 2005

Unique arrays of proteins tethered onto self-assembled DNA nanostructures

In the fifty-year history since the structure of DNA was first revealed, what was once a Nobel prize- winning research discovery has become an omnipresent cultural icon co-opted for promoting everything from fragrances to musical acts.

20 Jun 2005

New complete muscle grown in the lab

A multinational team of researchers has grown new muscle complete with its own network of blood vessels in the laboratory, and implanted the new muscle in a living mouse. The accomplishment is a first for tissue engineering, according to a report in the June 19 issue of Nature Biotechnology.

19 Jun 2005

Nanotechnology used to smuggle a powerful chemotherapeutic drug inside tumor cells

University of Michigan scientists have created the nanotechnology equivalent of a Trojan horse to smuggle a powerful chemotherapeutic drug inside tumor cells - increasing the drug's cancer-killing activity and reducing its toxic side effects.

15 Jun 2005

Fundamental insights in how amyloid fibers form

Amyloid fibers are best known as the plaque that gunks up neurons in people with neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer's and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease--the human analog of mad cow disease.

9 Jun 2005

Research will benefit inhaler-users

Patients suffering from conditions as diverse as asthma and diabetes could benefit from research at Cardiff University to improve the effectiveness of drugs taken through spray inhalers.

30 May 2005

Tiny fluorescent crystals barely visible to the human eye that could revolutionise cancer diagnosis

Scientists funded by the Association for International Cancer Research have developed tiny fluorescent crystals barely visible to the human eye that could revolutionise cancer diagnosis and treatment in a big way.

26 May 2005

Ceramide can be administered through the blood stream to target and kill cancer cells

A Penn State College of Medicine study shows for the first time in an animal model that ceramide, a naturally occurring substance that prevents the growth of cells, can be administered through the blood stream to target and kill cancer cells.

25 May 2005

New insight into the machinery cells use to internalize cell surface receptors

Using state of the art imaging technology a team from Yale School of Medicine has glimpsed one of the cell's most important 'nano-machines' in action. The work, performed in collaboration with English and French scientists, provides new insight into the machinery cells use to internalize cell surface receptors.

22 May 2005

Engineers have found a way to modify a plastic to anchor molecules that promote nerve regeneration, blood vessel growth or other biological processes

In the study led by Dr. Christine Schmidt, the researchers identified a piece of protein from among a billion candidates that could perform the unusual feat of attaching to polypyrrole, a synthetic polymer (plastic) that conducts electricity and has shown promise in biomedical applications.

17 May 2005

Major Chinese breakthrough for pSivida - patent granted

This first patent grant in China is important as China has the highest incidence of primary liver cancer in the world with 345,844 cases in 2002 and is a logical target market for BrachySil. The potential lower cost of the Chinese registration pathway and the vast need of BrachySil like products make China an important commercial target.

9 May 2005

Researchers make new advances in determining the structure of all possible DNA sequences

Oregon State University researchers have made significant new advances in determining the structure of all possible DNA sequences – a discovery that in one sense takes up where Watson and Crick left off, after outlining in 1953 the double-helical structure of this biological blueprint for life.

3 May 2005

Asthma and diabetes sufferers could benefit nano-particle research

Patients suffering from conditions as diverse as asthma and diabetes could benefit from research at Cardiff University to improve the effectiveness of drugs taken through spray inhalers.

1 May 2005

New approach to fighting cancer, based on nanoscale particles

Researchers at Rice University in Texas have developed a new approach to fighting cancer, based on nanoscale particles that can both detect and destroy cancerous cells. The report appears in the April 13 issue of the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters.

13 Apr 2005

Antimicrobial soaps may expose consumers to significant quantities of chloroform

Researchers at Virginia Tech have discovered that the use of antimicrobial soaps and other products may unnecessarily be directly exposing consumers to significant quantities of chloroform.

12 Apr 2005

Significant progress in pSivida BioSilicon drug delivery evaluation

Global nanotechnology company pSivida Limited has announced that its evaluation of selected compounds from an undisclosed top five global pharmaceutical company has progressed successfully.

11 Apr 2005

Micro-organisms in clouds could play a crucial role in the spread of disease

The radical theories about nanobacteria – micro-organisms considerably smaller than ordinary bacteria - in clouds are published in two recent articles in the Journal of Proteome Research by Dr Andrei P. Sommer of the University of Ulm, Germany, and Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University, UK.

6 Apr 2005

Construction will enable pSivida to increase BrachySil production

Global nanotechnology company pSivida Limited has announced that it's UK manufacturing partner, Atomising Systems Ltd ("ASL"), has reached a key milestone in the manufacture of BrachySil, its lead product, by completing construction of a state of the art dedicated cleanroom facility to GMP specifications at its Sheffield plant in the United Kingdom. ASL is a world leader in high temperature atomising technology.

30 Mar 2005

New color-coded test for protein folding

Every protein--from albumin to testosterone--is folded into a unique, three-dimensional shape that allows it to function properly. Now Stanford University scientists have developed a simple test that instantly changes color when a protein molecule attached to a gold nanoparticle folds or unfolds.

28 Mar 2005

Ultrafast laser detection of cancer cells also may improve understanding of stem cells

To investigate tumors, pathologists currently rely on labor-intensive microscopic examination, using century-old cell-staining methods that can take days to complete and may give false readings.

23 Mar 2005