Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: biotech/medical – Page 973

Circa 2020 face_with_colon_three

Liquid metals are a promising functional material due to their unique combination of metallic properties and fluidity at room temperature. They are of interest in wide-ranging fields including stretchable and flexible electronics, reconfigurable devices, microfluidics, biomedicine, material synthesis, and catalysis. Transformation of bulk liquid metal into particles has enabled further advances by allowing access to a broader palette of fabrication techniques for device manufacture or by increasing area available for surface-based applications. For gallium-based liquid metal alloys, particle stabilization is typically achieved by the oxide that forms spontaneously on the surface, even when only trace amounts of oxygen are present. The utility of the particles formed is governed by the chemical, electrical, and mechanical properties of this oxide. To overcome some of the intrinsic limitations of the native oxide, it is demonstrated here for the first time that 2D graphene-based materials can encapsulate liquid metal particles during fabrication and imbue them with previously unattainable properties. This outer encapsulation layer is used to physically stabilize particles in a broad range of pH environments, modify the particles’ mechanical behavior, and control the electrical behavior of resulting films. This demonstration of graphene-based encapsulation of liquid metal particles represents a first foray into the creation of a suite of hybridized 2D material coated liquid metal particles.

Read more | >

Circa 2020 face_with_colon_three

UNSW researchers have overcome a major design challenge on the path to controlling the dimensions of so-called DNA nanobots—structures that assemble themselves from DNA components.

Self-assembling nanorobots may sound like science fiction, but new research in DNA nanotechnology has brought them a step closer to reality. Future nanobot use cases won’t just play out on the tiny scale, but include larger applications in the health and , such as wound healing and unclogging of arteries.

Continue reading “DNA nanobots build themselves: How can we help them grow the right way?” | >

Circa 2020 face_with_colon_three

Light-activated molecular nanomachines (MNMs) can be used to drill holes into prokaryotic (bacterial) cell walls and the membrane of eukaryotic cells, including mammalian cancer cells, by their fast rotational movement, leading to cell death. We examined how these MNMs function in multicellular organisms and investigated their use for treatment and eradication of specific diseases by causing damage to certain tissues and small organisms. Three model eukaryotic species, Caenorhabditis elegans, Daphnia pulex, and Mus musculus (mouse), were evaluated. These organisms were exposed to light-activated fast-rotating MNMs and their physiological and pathological changes were studied in detail. Slow rotating MNMs were used to control for the effects of rotation rate. We demonstrate that fast-rotating MNMs caused depigmentation and 70% mortality in C.

Read more | >

Researchers have discovered the human brain’s enhanced processing power may stem from differences in the structure and function of our neurons. Credit: Queensland Brain Institute / Professor Stephen Williams.

The human brain’s function is remarkable, driving all aspects of our creativity and thoughts. However, the neocortex, a region of the human brain responsible for these cognitive functions, has a similar overall structure to other mammals.

Researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ), The Mater Hospital, and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital have shown that changes in the structure and function of our neurons may be the cause of the human brain’s increased processing power.

Read more | >

The experiments demonstrated that the blood cells can sense when the environment outside the capillaries is low in oxygen – which occurs when neurons take up more oxygen to generate energy – and respond by rushing to deliver more. They also observed that this response if very rapid, occurring less than a second after oxygen is pulled out of the surrounding tissue.

This phenomenon is unique to the capillaries because of their size. The thin walls of the microvessels mean that the oxygen levels in adjacent brain tissue are mirrored within the capillaries, which can signal to red blood cells to spring into action.

The findings could have implications for a number of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease. It has been observed that blood flow in the brains of people with the disorder is impaired when compared to healthy brains. The difficulty in delivering the oxygen necessary for neuronal activity may help explain the cognitive difficulties that are one of the hallmarks of the disease.

Read more | >

It’s all thanks to nanoclusters.

A new nanoscale 3D printing material developed by Stanford University engineers may provide superior structural protection for satellites, drones, and microelectronics.

A dual-phase, nanostructured high-entropy alloy that has been 3D printed by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Georgia Institute of Technology is stronger and more ductile than other cutting-edge additively manufactured materials. This discovery could lead to higher-performance components for use in aerospace, medicine, energy, and transportation.

High entropy alloys (HEAs), as they are called, have gained popularity as a new paradigm in materials science over the past 15 years. They allow for the creation of a nearly limitless number of different alloy designs since they include five or more elements in nearly equal amounts. Brass, carbon steel, stainless steel, and bronze are examples of traditional alloys that mix a principal element with one or more trace elements.

Continue reading “A breakthrough 3D-printed material incredibly strong and ductile” | >

People affected by the lethal glioblastoma cancer only live for 12–18 months after diagnosis.

A global trial that began in 2007 has confirmed that a vaccine for the treatment of the most lethal brain cancer can give patients years of extended life.

Peterschreiber.media/iStock.

“This is a potent molecule that’s very exciting to us in terms of its potential for deployment against glioblastoma,” said Steve Kay, Ph.D., the senior author of the study.

Continue reading “Scientists have just made a breakthrough for a potential glioblastoma drug” | >