Scientists say just 1 cubic centimetre of the carbon nanotube material won’t break under the weight of more than 800 tonnesTsinghua University researchers are trying to get the fibre into mass production for use in military or other areas.
Category: nanotechnology – Page 306
DNA ‘dances’ in first explanation of how genetic material flows through a nucleus
“Previous work mostly focused on what was going on at the microscale of DNA,” says study co-author Michael Shelley, group leader for biophysical modeling at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Biology in New York City and co-director of the Courant Institute’s Applied Mathematics Laboratory at New York University. “People didn’t really think about what was going on at the larger scale.”
Shelley and colleagues simulated the motions of chromatin, the functional form of DNA inside the nucleus. Chromatin looks like beads on a string, with ball-like clusters of genetic material linked by strands of DNA. The researchers propose that molecular machines along the DNA cause segments of the chromatin to straighten and pull taut. This activity aligns neighboring strands to face the same direction. That alignment, in turn, results in a cascading waltz of genetic material shimmying across the nucleus.
The dancing DNA may play a role in gene expression, replication and remodeling, though the exact effects remain unclear, the researchers reported online October 22 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Regenerage — Spinal Cord Regeneration — Venga la Alegria — TV Azteca — Bioquark Inc.
Wonderful to see the continuing progress of Mr. Omar Flores, with the support of his lovely wife, actress Mayra Sierra, today on the Venga la Alegria (VLA) show on TV Azteca (http://www.aztecauno.com/vengalaalegria) — The importance of an integrated approach to curing spinal cord injury including family, physical therapists, and the medical team at Regenerage (https://regenerage.clinic/)
Molecular semiconductors could be the future of electronics, and this new technique offers a way to mass produce them
Visions for what we can do with future electronics depend on finding ways to go beyond the capabilities of silicon conductors. The experimental field of molecular electronics is thought to represent a way forward, and recent work at KTH may enable scalable production of the nanoscale electrodes that are needed in order to explore molecules and exploit their behavior as potentially valuable electronic materials.
Photo-catalytic Killing of HeLa Cancer Cells Using Facile Synthesized Pure and Ag Loaded WO3 Nanoparticles
The cancer is a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells, and in most of the cases develop into malignant masses of tissues called tumors, and it is the leading causes of mortality and a major public health challenge worldwide. In normal body, genes in the cell nucleus, containing long strings of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) regulate the controlled division and function of cells and any damage to DNA causes the mutation of genes, which in turn triggers the uncontrolled division of abnormal cells, leading to the damage of vital organs. Cancer cells can detach from the original mass of tumor and migrate to new locations through blood and lymphatic system and also cancer cells produce enzymes that are capable of breaking the normal cells. For cancer diagnostics, the conventional histopathological and radiological examinations are still used for evaluating the clinical and pathologic staging, needed for cancer treatments. Depends on the stage of cancer development, different treatment options like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplant, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted drug therapy and surgery are advised. The major disadvantages of the available advanced treatment options include non localized invasion to other body parts, intolerable cytotoxicity, unsystematic distribution of antitumor agents, immune to chemical agents, low bioavailability and limited option to evaluate the tumor cell response to therapies4,5. In spite of the drawbacks of these advanced treatment options, cancer is curable if it is diagnosed at an early stage.
Phototherapy has been used for the treatment of jaundice, cancer, dermatological conditions, and ophthalmological disorders by simply using the light of certain selected wavelength. Photodynamic therapy, on the other hand is a method of photosensitizing the action of drugs to kill cancer cells, but the major drawback of this treatment is that most of the drugs used for photodynamic therapy remain activated for a long time, leading to overdose to damage non cancer cells. In the photo-catalytic process, no drug is used, instead the nontoxic semiconductor photo-catalyst like WO3 generates electron hole pairs, when it is exposed to the light of appropriate wavelength and these photo-generated charge carriers mediate oxidation and reduction reactions in the cancer cell to eliminate them.
A nano stress reliever for sepsis
A peroxide scavenger nanoparticle reduces systemic inflammation in mouse models.
With 19 million cases per year worldwide, sepsis is one of the most life-threatening conditions in the intensive care unit. However, to date, there is no specific and effective treatment. Oxidative stress has been shown to play a major role in sepsis pathogenesis by altering the systemic immune response to infections, which, in turn, may lead to multiorgan dysfunction and cognitive impairment. Here, Rajendrakumar et al. developed a nanoparticle-based peroxide scavenger treatment for reducing oxidative stress during sepsis.
To produce the nanoassembly, the authors first developed a water-soluble nanoparticle core containing an active peroxide scavenger and a protein that stabilizes the scavenger and improves its biocompatibility. The nanoparticle core was then coated with a polymer material conjugated with mannose to help the final nanoassembly target inflammatory immune cells through the mannose receptor on the immune cell surfaces. The authors first confirmed in cell cultures that the nanoassembly can selectively reduce hydrogen peroxide–mediated free radical production with minimal toxicity. In cultures, immune cells demonstrated enhanced intracellular uptake of the particles and reduced production of inflammatory markers during activation. To demonstrate the therapeutic efficacy in vivo, the authors carried out three sets of animal studies. In the first set, the nanoassembly was shown to reduce locally induced tissue inflammation and prevent inflammatory immune cell infiltration.
Ballistic graphene Josephson junctions enter microwave circuits
Superconducting quantum microwave circuits can function as qubits, the building blocks of a future quantum computer. A critical component of these circuits, the Josephson junction, is typically made using aluminium oxide. Researchers in the Quantum Nanoscience department at the Delft University of Technology have now successfully incorporated a graphene Josephson junction into a superconducting microwave circuit. Their work provides new insight into the interaction of superconductivity and graphene and its possibilities as a material for quantum technologies.
The essential building block of a quantum computer is the quantum bit, or qubit. Unlike regular bits, which can either be one or zero, qubits can be one, zero or a superposition of both these states. This last possibility, that bits can be in a superposition of two states at the same time, allows quantum computers to work in ways not possible with classical computers. The implications are profound: Quantum computers will be able to solve problems that will take a regular computer longer than the age of the universe to solve.
There are many ways to create qubits. One of the tried and tested methods is by using superconducting microwave circuits. These circuits can be engineered in such a way that they behave as harmonic oscillators “If we put a charge on one side, it will go through the inductor and oscillate back and forth,” said Professor Gary Steele. “We make our qubits out of the different states of this charge bouncing back and forth.”
New Weapon Against Gruesome Venomous Snakebites Is Invisible to the Eye
When it comes to venomous snake bites, time is tissue. Even non-fatal snake bites still rapidly kill skin and muscle in a gruesome process called necrosis, often leaving victims permanently disfigured. In an effort to help reduce the global health burden of these bites, a team of scientists has developed an antivenom cocktail that saves tissue after a snake bite, sparing survivors a lifetime of disability.
In a paper published Thursday in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, researchers demonstrate that their formula, when injected into mice that had been exposed to venom from a black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis), protected against any tissue-killing effects. What’s unique about their new treatment is that it’s not made up of any one substance but a mixture of nanoparticles, which can target the individual compounds that make up a snake’s poison.
“If this is achieved, then the progression of this local necrosis would be halted, and then the person can be transported to a health facility to receive the antivenom, but the local tissue damage would have been controlled and the frequency of permanent tissue damage and sequelae would be reduced,” José María Gutiérrez, Ph.D.. a senior professor of microbiology at Instituto Clodomiro Picado (the University of Costa Rica) and one of the paper’s authors, tells Inverse.