Newly developed DNA nanostructures can form flexible, fluid, and stimuli-responsive condensates without relying on chemical cross-linking, report researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo and Chuo University, in the journal JACS Au.
Owing to a rigid tetrahedral motif that binds the linkers in a specific direction, the resulting string-like structures form condensates with exceptional fluidity and stability. These findings pave the way for adaptive soft materials with potential applications in drug delivery, artificial organelles, and bioengineering platforms.
Within living cells, certain biomolecules can organize themselves into specialized compartments called biomolecular condensates. These droplet-like structures play crucial roles in cellular functions, such as regulating gene expression and biochemical reactions; they essentially represent nature’s clever way of organizing cellular activity without the need for rigid membranes.
Magnetism plays a pivotal role in many biological systems. However, the intensity of the magnetic forces exerted between magnetic bodies is usually low, which demands the development of ultra-sensitivity tools for proper sensing. In this framework, magnetic force microscopy (MFM) offers excellent lateral resolution and the possibility of conducting single-molecule studies like other single-probe microscopy (SPM) techniques. This comprehensive review attempts to describe the paramount importance of magnetic forces for biological applications by highlighting MFM’s main advantages but also intrinsic limitations. While the working principles are described in depth, the article also focuses on novel micro- and nanofabrication procedures for MFM tips, which enhance the magnetic response signal of tested biomaterials compared to commercial nanoprobes. This work also depicts some relevant examples where MFM can quantitatively assess the magnetic performance of nanomaterials involved in biological systems, including magnetotactic bacteria, cryptochrome flavoproteins, and magnetic nanoparticles that can interact with animal tissues. Additionally, the most promising perspectives in this field are highlighted to make the reader aware of upcoming challenges when aiming toward quantum technologies.
In the race toward practical quantum computers and networks, photons — fundamental particles of light — hold intriguing possibilities as fast carriers of information at room temperature. Photons are typically controlled and coaxed into quantum states via waveguides on extended microchips, or through bulky devices built from lenses, mirrors, and beam splitters. The photons become entangled – enabling them to encode and process quantum information in parallel – through complex networks of these optical components. But such systems are notoriously difficult to scale up due to the large numbers and imperfections of parts required to do any meaningful computation or networking.
Could all those optical components could be collapsed into a single, flat, ultra-thin array of subwavelength elements that control light in the exact same way, but with far fewer fabricated parts?
Optics researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) did just that. The research team led by Federico Capasso, the Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering, created specially designed metasurfaces — flat devices etched with nanoscale light-manipulating patterns — to act as ultra-thin upgrades for quantum-optical chips and setups.
Researchers blend theoretical insight and precision experiments to entangle photons on an ultra-thin chip.
In nanophotonics, tiny structures are used to control light at the nanoscale and render it useful for technological applications. A key element here is optical resonators, which trap and amplify light of a certain color (wavelength).
Previous methods of controlling these resonances were more like a dimmer switch: You could weaken the resonance or slightly shift its color. However, genuine on-and-off switching was not possible, as the resonators always remain fundamentally coupled with the light.
A team led by Andreas Tittl, Professor of Experimental Physics at LMU, has now precisely achieved this breakthrough, together with partners from Monash University in Australia. As the researchers report in the journal Nature, they have developed a new method for controlling the coupling between nanoresonators and light in a targeted manner on ultrafast timescales. In this way, a resonance can be created from nothing within a few picoseconds or made to vanish completely again.
A new class of advanced steels needs more fine-tuning before use in system components for fusion energy—a more sustainable alternative to fission that combines two light atoms rather than splitting one heavy atom. The alloy, a type of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic or RAFM steel, contains billions of nanoscale particles of titanium carbide meant to absorb radiation and trap helium produced by fusion within a single component.
When subjected to radiation damage and helium concentrations representative of fusion, the titanium-carbide precipitates initially helped trap helium but later dissolved under high damage levels. After dissolving, the alloy swelled as it was no longer able to disperse and trap helium, which could compromise fusion energy system components.
The first-of-its-kind systematic investigation led by University of Michigan engineers was published in Acta Materialia and the Journal of Nuclear Materials in a series of three papers.
Three nano-glass spheres cling to one another. They form a tower-like cluster, similar to when you pile three scoops of ice cream on top of one another—only much smaller. The diameter of the nano cluster is ten times smaller than that of a human hair.
With the help of an optical device and laser beams, researchers at ETH Zurich have succeeded in keeping such objects almost completely motionless in levitation. This is significant when it comes to the future development of quantum sensors, which, together with quantum computers, constitute the most promising applications of quantum research.
The team’s work appears in Nature Physics.
Researchers have developed a simple yet highly effective method for delivering mRNA to target cells, opening up new possibilities for future non-vaccine mRNA medicines for a broad range of diseases.
The Monash University study, published in Nature Nanotechnology, is a significant development in how mRNA is precisely delivered to cells to maximize efficacy and minimize off-target effects—vital components for future mRNA medicines as they continue to evolve.
Led by the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Scientists (MIPS), the interdisciplinary team of researchers used advanced technologies coupled with preclinical studies to produce a highly versatile method that captures and attaches antibodies to the surface of mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles while the antibodies are in their optimal orientation, thus enhancing the mRNA’s effectiveness and reducing side effects by making sure it only reaches its target destination.
Veteran cryonicist and inventor of cryptographic hashing, Ralph Merkle, tells us how he came to decide that cryonics was a good idea. In his talk, Ralph discusses Information Theoretic Death, why information is so hard to destroy, and how advances in nano-tech might make cryonics revival possible.
Links:
• Cryosphere Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/ndshSfQwqz.
• Cryonics subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/cryonics/
#cryosphere
As a chronic condition, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can’t be cured, so treatment focuses on managing the disease and controlling its progression. Although current treatments help control RA symptoms in most people, they cannot prevent the onset of RA or painful flare-ups.
Now, researchers publishing in ACS Central Science have developed nanoparticles that could slow disease progression and reduce flare severity, based on results from tests with human blood and mice models with RA-like disease.
For a person diagnosed with RA, their immune system attacks tissue that makes up the joints, causing inflammation, swelling and pain. However, as the disease progresses, serious cartilage and bone damage can occur if left uncontrolled.