Film  

The short film, Nano presents the near future, where nanotechnology administered into the bloodstream can sync with computer apps to augment the human genome. The story tells of a new law mandating and regulating this once elective procedure meets resistance from hacktivists who are conspiring to thwart the impending roll-out of “Nano version 2.0.”

Related articles

• Suspended Animation To Leap From The Pages of Science Fiction to Clinical Trials 
• Check Out This Science Fiction Film Written by Artificial Intelligence 
• Vernor Vinge, David Brin, and Others Debate The Singularity 

Co-written and directed by Mike Manning, 'Nano' is a dark short science fiction film that explores how genetic manipulation and nanotechnology may have unforeseen and unwanted effects. In 'Nano' the phrase, "there's an app for that," reaches new heights. Check out the film below.

The film presents a near future, where your phone is synced with your body via nanobots, and apps can be used to change your eye color instantly, or heighten sexual pleasure. The integrated experience is controlled by the Aspire Corporation, cooperating with a federal government that now mandates everyone have the technology implanted.

In 'Nano' a hacker named Zolee (Brooke Butler) makes contact with a police officer (Sebastian Vallentin Stenhøj) to try to thwart the oncoming Nano 2.0 rollout. One of the key features of the new version of Nano is known as, remote paralysis. "Remote paralysis is changing the way that America does law enforcement," states a talking head in the film.

Manning and producer Wesley Barker are both experienced in film and television. Barker recently worked on the visual effects for Luc Besson’s upcoming Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

For the filmmakers, the aim of 'Nano' is to showcase their work, in the hopes of leading to a new series. Based on the film, their odds look quite good.

Warning: 'Nano' contains a few NSFW moments.

SOURCE  Nano

By  33rd Square	Embed

Medicine  

Nanotechnology research is making exciting advances in a number of different academic fields, but it is in medicine where the tiniest particles can make the biggest differences. Treating cancer has always been a challenge, but one type of cancer is especially difficult, aggressive, and most often terminal.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that mostly affects the tissue that lines the lungs and the chest cavity. It is associated with exposure to asbestos and has affected thousands of people. Now, advances in the use of nanoparticles are giving these patients new hope.

Nanoparticles and Targeted Treatment

There are many different forms that nanotechnology can take, but in medicine and cancer treatment, tiny biomolecules, termed nanoparticles are proving to be useful in a number of treatments. For cancer and mesothelioma, nanoparticles can be used to encapsulate and then deliver medications or other factors directly to a tumor and directly into cancer cells.

Medicinal nanoparticles may range in size from just ten nanometers to 200 nanometers. The surfaces can be designed for different uses and to minimize the chances that they will be destroyed by a patient’s immune system. In targeting nanoparticles to cancer cells, antibodies can be used on the surface. Researchers doing this work select an antibody that matches receptors on the surfaces of cancer cells in the target tumor. This allows the nanoparticle to be directed right to the tumor and the cells of interest.

What makes targeted nanoparticles such an important achievement in cancer treatment is that it could replace systemic chemotherapy, which is the administration of chemotherapeutic drugs intravenously. It is systemic because the drugs spread throughout the body and act on any fast growing cells, not just cancer cells. This is what makes chemotherapy so uncomfortable for patients. It causes painful side effects, as well as hair loss. If those same drugs can be targeted at tumors specifically, side effects could be avoided and that would be a big deal for cancer patients.

Using Nanoparticles to Deliver Genetic Material

Nanoparticles that are targeted to strike tumors in the body can encapsulate chemotherapy drugs, but also genetic factors. These factors can be used to insert, delete, or change genes in cancer cells to direct them to slow their growth, to stop dividing, or to die. Research into this use for nanoparticles is already underway and has shown some promising and hopeful results for mesothelioma patients.

A group of researchers in Australia recently eliminated nearly all the cancer cells from a patient with late-stage mesothelioma. This is a huge achievement because mesothelioma in its later stages is very difficult to treat and is considered, short of a miracle, impossible to cure. One patient out of a group of six in this research saw almost complete remission after treatment with nanoparticles containing genetic factors. This was after the patient had failed to respond to several rounds of conventional chemotherapy.

Related articles

• Virus Found That Kills All Forms Of Breast Cancer In Laboratory 
• Therapeutic Cancer Vaccine Shows Promising Results  
• Shark Antibody Could Treat Cancer 

The genetic material used in the nanoparticles is called microRNA, or miRNA. These small pieces of genetic material were used in the study to insert a gene into the cells of mesothelioma tumors. Research had previously found a gene missing from the cancer cells, and by inserting this missing gene, the miRNA acted like a tumor suppressant, slowing and stopping the growth of tumors.

Nanotechnology is leading a revolution in science, but in medicine the use of nanoparticles means so much more. It means that patients who had previously had no hope of surviving a difficult cancer like mesothelioma, now can dream of a day when this cancer and others may be treatable and even curable.

By  Virgil Anderson	Embed
Virgil Anderson is a mesothelioma cancer survivor. He was treated by the carer network at mesothelioma.net, and wants more cancer patients find this information.

Technology  

When it comes to envisioning the technology that will rule our lives over the next few decades, the future is so small that we could easily misplace it or even fail to see it without a magnifying glass.

For every massively large technological advancement from Big Data to astronomy telescopes the size of office buildings, there are a handful of innovations that are too small for the human eye to acknowledge; nonetheless, these tiny technologies are shaping the future as we will come to know it. With all this in mind, here are three examples of how small things will be improving our lives very soon:

Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems

Remember how a few years ago you had to press a combination of keys in your smartphone to switch from the default portrait display to landscape mode? You no longer have to do that because an accelerometer detects the position angles of your mobile device and switches the display orientation accordingly. This is an example of a MEMS device, which are made with tiny printed circuit boards (PCBs) made by companies like Streamline Circuits, who specialize in laser printed circuits, plus some very small mechanical components. Distributed MEMS devices that collect kinetic energy from dance floors and sidewalks are already being used to generate electricity; combined with solar panels and batteries, these devices will be able to power streetlights without connecting them to the grid.

Related articles

• NASA Launches Three Satellites Into Orbit With Smart Phone Guts  
• Cloning Technique Allows For Consistent Production Of Carbon Nanotubes  
• MIT Researchers Create Tiny 3D Sensing Chips  

Nanotube Transistors

Move over, silicon processors, carbon nanotube fabrication is here to bring in the new era of personal computing. You know how mini PCs are doing away with legacy tower desktops? The next step consists of turning smartwatches into full desktop computers with wireless connectivity that can stream multimedia data to monitors, keyboards and speakers. Carbon nanotube research is being spearheaded by IBM in the United States; this is keeping up with Moore's Law, which posits that microprocessors should be getting smaller and more powerful on an exponential basis.

The CubeSat Program

Tiny developing nations such as Costa Rica are jumping into the space race with the help of CubeSats, mini satellites that can be as small as four inches while still being able to pack an array of sensors, processors and transmitters for the purpose of conduct space research. These miniature space instruments can perform a variety of experiments in orbit, and are already being considered for a Mars mission.

In the end, the three innovations listed herein prove that big things do come in very small packages when technology is involved.

By  Brooke Chaplan	Embed
Author Bio - 33rd Square contributor Brooke Chaplan is recent graduate of New Mexico University where she studied journalism. She loves to hike, bike, run and explore around her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She also enjoys blogging about health, fitness, fashion and many other topics.

Nanotechnology  

Nanotechnology is the technology and science of extremely small things that are typically less than 100 nanometers (nm) long. A nanometer is 10-9 long or about as long as three atoms sitting side by side. The technologies being developed at nanoscales will have major impacts on our future.

Nanotechnology is the technology and science of extremely small things that are typically less than 100 nanometers (nm) long. A nanometer is 10-9 long or about as long as three atoms sitting side by side. Things that small have different properties than do larger things, and nanotechnology has many different possible applications:

Related articles

• Nanotech Yarn Behaves Like Super-Strong Muscle 
• Researchers Close In On Nanotech Self-Assembly with Discovery of 'Teslaphoresis' 
• The Amazing Potential of Nanotechnology 

Treating cancer

Last year, scientists developed “nanocarriers” that can directly deliver cancer drugs to the patient’s tumor and thus reduce the damage to neighboring healthy cells. Some of them are so tiny they can slip through the walls of blood vessels on their way to the tumor.

Scientists are currently working on nanoparticles that will be able to recognize cancerous cells by their molecular structure. A variant nanoparticle called a nanoshell will be able to absorb light and then generate sufficient heat to kill the cancer cells.

Improving solar cells

Improving the efficiency of solar power has long been a challenge. Even today, a solar cell converts only about 20 percent of visible light—like that from the sun—into electricity.

Researchers at the Kyoto Institute announced in January 2017 that have built a “nano-sized” semiconductor with a narrower bandwidth concentrated on the shorter wavelengths that produce more heat and energy. The new semiconductor proved able to convert at least 40 percent of light into energy.

Veelo

Veelo is a class of nanotubes made by the company General Nano. The nanotubes are lightweight with conductive properties and can therefore be used in both airplanes and spacecraft. One type, called Veelo Blac, is described as “super-black” and can absorb over 99.6 percent of visible light. It can therefore absorb reflection and interference from light produced by stars, the moon and other sources. NASA will be using it on the mini-satellites or CubeSats that will be launched in 2018.

Wearable electronics

Wearable electronics like the Apple Watch aren’t just a fashion statement. They can be used as medical monitors, military GPS trackers and many other things. To fulfill their potential, wearable electronics need better energy sources, sensors and other devices—and those components have to be small. The various makers of wearable electronics are exploring the possibilities of using nanomaterials like silver nanowires graphene or carbon nanotubes.

Ultimate waterproofing

A company based in Britain called P2i has developed a nanotechnology called Aridion that can repel any liquid. It’s a polymer coating that can be sprayed on an object like a smartphone. If the smartphone gets wet, the liquid simply forms beads on its surface. Since the coating is less than 50 nm thick, the smartphone won’t look any different from an unprotected phone. The phone’s innards can also be sprayed and protected. Aridion was originally developed to protect soldiers’ uniforms from poisonous or corrosive chemicals.

By  Dixie Somers	Embed
Author Bio - Dixie is a freelance writer who loves to write about business, finance and self improvement. She lives in Arizona with her husband and three beautiful daughters.

Nanotechnology  

Researchers at Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered a way to use diamondoids — the smallest possible bits of diamond — to self-assemble atoms, LEGO-style, into the thinnest possible electrical wires, just three atoms wide.

"This method gives us a versatile toolkit where we can tinker with a number of ingredients and experimental conditions to create new materials with finely tuned electronic properties and interesting physics."

Scientists at Stanford University and the US Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered a way to use diamondoids – the smallest possible bits of diamond – to assemble atoms into the thinnest possible electrical wires, just three atoms wide.

By grabbing various types of atoms and putting them together building-block style, the new technique could potentially be used to build tiny wires for a wide range of applications, including fabrics that generate electricity, optoelectronic devices that employ both electricity and light, and superconducting materials that conduct electricity without any loss. The scientists reported their results in Nature Materials.

The animation above shows molecular building blocks joining the tip of a growing nanowire. Each block consists of a diamondoid – the smallest possible bit of diamond – attached to sulfur and copper atoms (yellow and brown spheres). Like LEGO blocks, they only fit together in certain ways that are determined by their size and shape. The copper and sulfur atoms form a conductive wire in the middle, and the diamondoids form an insulating outer shell.

“What we have shown here is that we can make tiny, conductive wires of the smallest possible size that essentially assemble themselves,” said Hao Yan, a Stanford postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the paper. “The process is a simple, one-pot synthesis. You dump the ingredients together and you can get results in half an hour. It’s almost as if the diamondoids know where they want to go.”

Fuzzy white clusters of nanowires on a lab bench, with a penny for scale.
Image Source - Hao Yan/SIMES; photo by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

In the image above, assembled with the help of diamondoids, the microscopic nanowires can be seen with the naked eye because the strong mutual attraction between their diamondoid shells makes them clump together, in this case by the millions. Also, at top right, is an image made with a scanning electron microscope shows nanowire clusters magnified 10,000 times. 

Related articles

• Glass Fibers May Open Door to Neuromorphic Computing 
• Nanowire Technology Could Extend Moore's Law Into The 2020's 
• Nanowire-Bridging Transistors May Power Next-Generation Electronics 

There are other methods to get materials to self-assemble, but this is the first one shown to make a nanowire with a solid, crystalline core that has good electronic properties, said study co-author Nicholas Melosh, an associate professor at SLAC and Stanford and investigator with SIMES, the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences at SLAC.

Over the past decade, a SIMES research program led by Melosh and SLAC/Stanford Professor Zhi-Xun Shen has found a number of potential uses for the little diamonds, including improving electron microscope images and making tiny electronic gadgets.

The needle-like wires have a semiconducting core – a combination of copper and sulfur known as a chalcogenide – surrounded by the attached diamondoids, which form an insulating shell.

The wires minuscule size is important, Melosh said, because a material that exists in just one or two dimensions – as atomic-scale dots, wires or sheets – can have very different, extraordinary properties compared to the same material made in bulk. The new method allows researchers to assemble those materials with atom-by-atom precision and control.

"You can imagine weaving those into fabrics to generate energy,” Melosh said. “This method gives us a versatile toolkit where we can tinker with a number of ingredients and experimental conditions to create new materials with finely tuned electronic properties and interesting physics.”

SOURCE  SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

By  33rd Square

Embed

Carbon Nanotubes  

Researchers have developed scalable and rapid deposition process to coat substrate surfaces with aligned carbon nanotubes. The results could lead to advances like in longer battery life, faster wireless communication and faster processing speeds for devices like smartphones and laptops.

For the first time, materials engineers have created carbon nanotube transistors that outperform state-of-the-art silicon transistors.

University of Wisconsin–Madison material scientists Michael Arnold and Padma Gopalan, created carbon nanotube transistors achieved current that’s 1.9 times higher than silicon transistors. The researchers reported their breaktrough in a paper published in the journal Science Advances.

Related articles

• Researchers Use Carbon Nanotubes for Quantum Computing 
• Researchers Use Carbon Nanotubes to Create Cat-Like E-Whiskers 
• Graphene-Based Supercapacitors Could Power Future Electric Vehicles 

“This achievement has been a dream of nanotechnology for the last 20 years,” says Arnold. “Making carbon nanotube transistors that are better than silicon transistors is a big milestone. This breakthrough in carbon nanotube transistor performance is a critical advance toward exploiting carbon nanotubes in logic, high-speed communications, and other semiconductor electronics technologies.”

This development could open the door for carbon nanotube transistors to replace silicon transistors and continue delivering the performance gains the computer industry relies on and that consumers demand. The new transistors are particularly promising for wireless communications technologies that require a lot of current flowing across a relatively small area.

Carbon nanotubes have long been recognized as a promising material for next-generation transistors and are some of the best electrical conductors ever discovered,.

Carbon nanotube transistors should be able to perform five times faster or use five times less energy than silicon transistors, according to extrapolations from single nanotube measurements. The nanotube’s ultra-small dimension makes it possible to rapidly change a current signal traveling across it, which could lead to substantial gains in the bandwidth of wireless communications devices.

Material scientists have struggled to isolate purely carbon nanotubes, which are crucial, because metallic nanotube impurities act like copper wires and disrupt their semiconducting properties — like a short in an electronic device.

The UW–Madison team used polymers to selectively sort out the semiconducting nanotubes, achieving a solution of ultra-high-purity semiconducting carbon nanotubes.

"There has been a lot of hype about carbon nanotubes that hasn’t been realized, and that has kind of soured many people’s outlook. But we think the hype is deserved."

“We’ve identified specific conditions in which you can get rid of nearly all metallic nanotubes, where we have less than 0.01 percent metallic nanotubes,” says Arnold. Placing and aligning the nanotubes is also difficult to control.

To make a good transistor, the nanotubes need to be aligned in just the right order, with just the right spacing, when assembled on a wafer. In 2014, the UW–Madison researchers overcame that challenge when they announced a technique, called “floating evaporative self-assembly,” that gives them this control.

The nanotubes must make good electrical contacts with the metal electrodes of the transistor. Because the polymer the UW–Madison researchers use to isolate the semiconducting nanotubes also acts like an insulating layer between the nanotubes and the electrodes, the team “baked” the nanotube arrays in a vacuum oven to remove the insulating layer. The result: excellent electrical contacts to the nanotubes.

The researchers also developed a treatment that removes residues from the nanotubes after they’re processed in solution.

“In our research, we’ve shown that we can simultaneously overcome all of these challenges of working with nanotubes, and that has allowed us to create these groundbreaking carbon nanotube transistors that surpass silicon and gallium arsenide transistors,” says Arnold.

Arnold says it’s exciting to finally reach the point where researchers can exploit the nanotubes to attain performance gains in actual technologies.

“There has been a lot of hype about carbon nanotubes that hasn’t been realized, and that has kind of soured many people’s outlook,” says Arnold. “But we think the hype is deserved. It has just taken decades of work for the materials science to catch up and allow us to effectively harness these materials.”

SOURCE  University of Wisconsin–Madison

By 33rd Square

Embed

Graphene  

Researchers have developed a laser-treatment process that allows them to use printed graphene for electric circuits and electrodes -- even on paper and other fragile surfaces. The technology could lead to many real-world, low-cost applications for printed graphene electronics, including sensors, fuel cells and medical devices.

Researchers at Iowa State University have been looking for ways to use graphene and its amazing properties in their sensors and other technologies. Now, in research published in the journal Nanoscale, they have demonstrated a laser-treatment process that allows them to use printed graphene for electric circuits and electrodes.

Graphene is great at conducting electricity and heat; it’s strong and stable. But researchers have struggled to move beyond tiny lab samples for studying its material properties to larger pieces for real-world applications.

Recent projects that used inkjet printers to print multi-layer graphene circuits and electrodes had the engineers thinking about using it for flexible, wearable and low-cost electronics. For example, “Could we make graphene at scales large enough for glucose sensors?” asked Suprem Das, an Iowa State postdoctoral research associate in mechanical engineering and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory.

But there were problems with the existing technology. Once printed, the graphene had to be treated to improve electrical conductivity and device performance. That usually meant high temperatures or chemicals – both could degrade flexible or disposable printing surfaces such as plastic films or even paper.

Das and Jonathan Claussen came up with the idea of using lasers to treat the graphene. Claussen, an Iowa State assistant professor of mechanical engineering and an Ames Laboratory associate, worked with Gary Cheng, an associate professor at Purdue University’s School of Industrial Engineering, to develop and test the idea.

The idea worked: They found treating inkjet-printed, multi-layer graphene electric circuits and electrodes with a pulsed-laser process improves electrical conductivity without damaging paper, polymers or other fragile printing surfaces.

Related articles

•  Research Leads to the 3D Printing of Pure Graphene Nanostructures
• Nanoshaping Technique Points to Future Manufacturing Method 
• Researchers Produce Magnetic Graphene 

“This creates a way to commercialize and scale-up the manufacturing of graphene,” Claussen said.

The findings are featured on the front cover of the journal Nanoscale’s issue 35. Claussen and Cheng are lead authors and Das is first author. Additional Iowa State co-authors are Allison Cargill, John Hondred and Shaowei Ding, graduate students in mechanical engineering. Additional Purdue co-authors are Qiong Nian and Mojib Saei, graduate students in industrial engineering.

"This creates a way to commercialize and scale-up the manufacturing of graphene."

Two major grants are supporting the project and related research: a three-year grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 11901762 and a three-year grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust. Iowa State’s College of Engineering and department of mechanical engineering are also supporting the research.

The Iowa State Research Foundation Inc. has filed for a patent on the technology.

“The breakthrough of this project is transforming the inkjet-printed graphene into a conductive material capable of being used in new applications,” Claussen said.

Those applications could include sensors with biological applications, energy storage systems, electrical conducting components and even paper-based electronics.

To make all that possible, the engineers developed computer-controlled laser technology that selectively irradiates inkjet-printed graphene oxide. The treatment removes ink binders and reduces graphene oxide to graphene – physically stitching together millions of tiny graphene flakes. The process makes electrical conductivity more than a thousand times better.

“The laser works with a rapid pulse of high-energy photons that do not destroy the graphene or the substrate,” Das said. “They heat locally. They bombard locally. They process locally.”

That localized, laser processing also changes the shape and structure of the printed graphene from a flat surface to one with raised, 3D nanostructures. The engineers say the 3D structures are like tiny petals rising from the surface. The rough and ridged structure increases the electrochemical reactivity of the graphene, making it useful for chemical and biological sensors.

All of that, according to Claussen’s team of nanoengineers, could move graphene to commercial applications.

“This work paves the way for not only paper-based electronics with graphene circuits,” the researchers wrote in their paper, “it enables the creation of low-cost and disposable graphene-based electrochemical electrodes for myriad applications including sensors, biosensors, fuel cells and (medical) devices.”

SOURCE  Iowa State University

By 33rd Square

Embed

Environment  

Sustainable technologies are continuing to develop, bringing us closer to a green future. From advances in building materials, to architecture, to green, nanotechnology, here are a few interesting examples.

There is no doubt that much of the new sustainable technology has the potential to help build a new and better place to live. In addition, there are green-oriented sustainability strategies today being implemented, such as:

• Sustainability: A non-compromised means to meet future needs on the planet by keeping damage or depletion of the earth's natural resources to a minimum. 
• "Cradle-to-Cradle" Design: Promoting the innovated design of re-used or recycled items. 
• Source Reduction: Re-designing production models in order to eliminate or reduce waste and pollution.
• Innovation: Developing options to existing technologies that pose a danger to health and the environment.
• Viability: Developing cutting-edge innovations in ideas and technologies that are practical, cost-effective and create new careers as well.

Taking the proverbial bull by the horns, many facets of society have already begun sustainable programs to deal with the increasing problems for planet earth.

Related articles

• 5 Changes You Can Make to Help Now 
• Why Technogaianism 
• Five Inventions That Can Green Up Our World 

The Roofing Industry

In the construction industry, developing more heat-resistant materials for specially formulated paints such as the color green, is now being more widely accepted and used. This particular color made with latest paint material is already known to reduce heat on a roof to help save energy costs.

Green Architecture

The Passivhaus Standard, or designing buildings for minimal demand on energy costs and natural resources, was first developed globally during the 1990s. As such, it is already implemented in many circles as it becomes the industry standard for eco-friendly building.

Along with this effective mindset, everything from choosing the right building materials to where and how a building is located, comes into play. In this way, professionals with a master’s in civil engineering can influence the green movement by incorporating new technologies and a green mindset into private and commercial building construction. If you have an interest in green architecture, visit here for more information.

Governmental/Institutional Purchasing Initiatives

Making it part of a viable strategy to research products, services and means of production that have a minimal impact on the environment sets in motion an expanded program at many levels of the economy. This necessarily dictates the creation of more departments to handle this large chore.

Green Nanotechnology

Using nanotechnology, or the manipulation of certain materials in nanometers, is a growing trend in today's sectors of energy, medical science and industries as well.

Today, green oriented technologies such as artificial photosynthesis, solar windows technology, waste and sewer treatment technology to ensure filtration of sewer systems and eco-concrete, are all geared towards lessening the impact of man-made damage to this planet. Sustainability today is not a question of a futuristic "if." It now has become a "how", "where" and "how much."

By Anica Oaks

Embed

Anica is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. She was raised in a big family, so she's used to putting things to a vote. Also, cartwheels are her specialty. You can connect with Anica here. Anica writes on behalf of the University of Florida, with degree programs such as a bachelor of science in biology that advance the development of biofuels and other conservation directives.

Medicine  

Medical testing technology has developed a lot in the last few years. New scientific discoveries, technology, and knowledge available are helping medical professionals keep us healthy and living longer. Here are a few examples.

The field of medical testing has exploded in the last few years with new scientific discoveries, technology, and knowledge available. It is hard for the average person to imagine how so many advances have been developed so quickly, but we know how important these advancements are in our health and in the lives of medical professionals who use them daily. Below are some of the most amazing advancements and what they mean for medical testing in the future.

Autoclaves and DNA Sequencers

Improved autoclaves and DNA sequencers allow for fetal DNA testing. Recent non-invasive autosomal testing methods lessen common dangers and reduce the risk of miscarriage, which was of great concern in earlier testing methods.

DNA testing now has the potential to eliminate several genetic diseases through Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats or CRISPR therapy which searches for unwanted or defective genes. These can then be cut and discarded, repaired, or even replaced. Cell-free fetal DNA testing for missing or extra chromosomes can prevent serious birth defects such as Down Syndrome as well. This new development has made pregnancy and birth a much safer experience for women and can help in long-term family planning.

Related articles

• Drug Found That Reverses Loss of Brain Connections in Alzheimer's Disease 
• Coffee's Incredible Health Benefits 
• Older Adults Benefit from Computerized Brain-Fitness Program 

Molecular Microscopes and Super Scanners

Although tests for rare diseases have been somewhat neglected of late, some researchers have continued to work in these areas. Molecular microscopes have led to blood and urine tests being developed for, among others, metachromatic leukodystrophy. This disease affects growth and development of myelin, which is the covering that insulates nerves.

Recently researchers at Johns Hopkins have engineered lab tests for a rare genetic blood cell disorder called HELLP, named for hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count. This is a life-threatening complication of pregnancy which can result in high blood pressure and end organ damage.

At University of Virginia, studies have led to the development of a blood test for ischemic stroke. This condition results from blocked blood flow to the brain. Position emission tomography or PET scanning has been used for years in diagnosing numerous diseases as well. Medical professionals require a bachelor of radiation science technology to operate this machine, but now PET is being used to diagnose the presence of brain plaque associated with Alzheimer's disease. This is great news for many people who weren’t sure how to get a clear diagnosis before.

Nano Enclosures

Perhaps the most exciting medical testing today is being developed in the field of nanotechnology. Diagnostic tests based on the use of Nano enclosures allow for much earlier discovery of disease processes than previous methods.

In brain cancer research, scientists are using magnetic nanoparticles and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging to make very early diagnosis of the disease. Nanoparticles release biomarkers which alert the tester to the presence of cancer cells.

Modern scanners, high-level computers, and astonishingly powerful camera-microscopes will allow even faster and better medical testing. Prevention and cure may be available in years, not decades, for formerly untreatable diseases.

By Brooke Chaplan

Embed

Author Bio - 33rd Square contributor Brooke Chaplan is recent graduate of New Mexico University where she studied journalism. She loves to hike, bike, run and explore around her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She also enjoys blogging about health, fitness, fashion and many other topics.

Nanotechnology  

Scientists at Rice University have discovered that the strong force field emitted by a Tesla coil causes carbon nanotubes to self-assemble into long wires, a phenomenon they call 'Teslaphoresis.'

Researchers at Rice University have discovered that the strong force field emitted by a Tesla coil causes carbon nanotubes to self-assemble into long wires, a phenomenon they call 'Teslaphoresis.'

The team led by Rice chemist Paul Cherukuri created a system that works by remotely oscillating positive and negative charges in each nanotube, causing them to chain together into long wires.

Cherukuri’s specially designed Tesla coil even generates a tractor beam-like effect as nanotube wires are pulled toward the coil over long distances. The research results have been published in the journal ACS Nano.

Related articles

• Super-Black Nanotechnology Breakthrough 
• Researchers Use Carbon Nanotubes for Quantum Computing 
• Researchers Use Implanted Carbon Nanotubes Implanted Under the Skin as Sensors 

Conventional directed self-assembly of matter using electric fields has been restricted to small scale structures, but with Teslaphoresis, the researchers exceeded this limitation by using the Tesla coil’s antenna to create a gradient high-voltage force field that projects into free space.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) placed within the Teslaphoretic (TEP) field polarized and self-assembled into wires that ranged in size from the nanoscale to the macroscale, the longest thus far being 15 cm. The researchers showed that the TEP field not only directed the self-assembly of long nanotube wires at remote distances (>30 cm) but could also wirelessly power nanotube-based LED circuits.
They also found that individualized CNTs self-organize to form long parallel arrays with high fidelity alignment to the TEP field. Teslaphoresis could be an effective tool for directed self-assembly from the bottom-up to the macroscale based on this work.

This force-field effect on matter had never been observed on such a large scale, Cherukuri said, and the phenomenon was unknown to Nikola Tesla, who invented the coil in 1891 with the intention of delivering wireless electrical energy.

"With Teslaphoresis, we have the ability to massively scale up force fields to move matter remotely"

“Electric fields have been used to move small objects, but only over ultrashort distances,” Cherukuri said. “With Teslaphoresis, we have the ability to massively scale up force fields to move matter remotely.”

The researchers discovered that the phenomenon simultaneously assembles and powers circuits that harvest energy from the field. In one experiment, nanotubes assembled themselves into wires, formed a circuit connecting two LEDs and then absorbed energy from the Tesla coil’s field to light them.

Cherukuri realized a redesigned Tesla coil could create a powerful force field at distances far greater than anyone imagined. His team observed alignment and movement of the nanotubes several feet away from the coil. “It is such a stunning thing to watch these nanotubes come alive and stitch themselves into wires on the other side of the room,” he said.

Lindsey Bornhoeft, the paper’s lead author and a biomedical engineering graduate student at Texas A&M University, said the directed force field from the bench-top coil at Rice is restricted to just a few feet. To examine the effects on matter at greater distances would require larger systems that are under development. Cherukuri suggested patterned surfaces and multiple Tesla coil systems could create more complex self-assembling circuits from nanoscale-sized particles.

“There are so many applications where one could utilize strong force fields to control the behavior of matter in both biological and artificial systems,” Cherukuri said. “And even more exciting is how much fundamental physics and chemistry we are discovering as we move along. This really is just the first act in an amazing story.” 

SOURCE  Rice University

By 33rd Square

Embed

Data Storage  

A major step in the development of digital data storage that is capable of surviving for billions of years has been made. Using nanostructured glass, scientists have developed the recording and retrieval processes of five dimensional (5D) digital data by femtosecond laser writing.

Researchers at the University of Southampton have made a development in the field of of digital data storage that may be capable of surviving for billions of years.

Using nanostructured glass, scientists from the University’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have developed the recording and retrieval processes of five dimensional (5D) digital data by femtosecond laser writing.

"It is thrilling to think that we have created the technology to preserve documents and information and store it in space for future generations."

The storage solution allows unprecedented properties including 360 TB/disc data capacity, thermal stability up to 1,000°C and virtually unlimited lifetime at room temperature (13.8 billion years at 190°C ) opening a new era of eternal data archiving.

The technology could be highly useful for organisations with big archives, such as national archives, museums and libraries, to preserve their information and records and could also be used for very stable and safe form of portable memory.

The technology was first experimentally demonstrated in 2013 when a 300 kb digital copy of a text file was successfully recorded in 5D. Now the researchers have further developed their 'Superman’ memory crystal.'

Now, major documents from human history such as Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Newton’s Opticks, Magna Carta and Kings James Bible, have been saved as digital copies that could survive the human race. A copy of the UDHR encoded to 5D data storage was recently presented to UNESCO by the ORC at the International Year of Light (IYL) closing ceremony in Mexico.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights recorded into 5D optical data

Related articles

• Superman Memory Crystals Created 
• Researchers Develop Neuromorphic Chip With Cognitive Abilities 
• How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything

The documents were recorded using ultrafast laser, producing extremely short and intense pulses of light. The file is written in three layers of nanostructured dots separated by five micrometres (one millionth of a metre). The self-assembled nanostructures change the way light travels through glass, modifying polarisation of light that can then be read by combination of optical microscope and a polariser, similar to that found in Polaroid sunglasses.

Coined as the ‘Superman memory crystal’, as the glass memory has been compared to the “memory crystals” used in the Superman films, the data is recorded via self-assembled nanostructures created in fused quartz. The information encoding is realised in five dimensions: the size and orientation in addition to the three dimensional position of these nanostructures.

Professor Peter Kazansky, from the ORC, says: “It is thrilling to think that we have created the technology to preserve documents and information and store it in space for future generations. This technology can secure the last evidence of our civilisation: all we’ve learnt will not be forgotten.”

The researchers will present their research at the photonics industry's renowned SPIE Photonics West—The International Society for Optical Engineering Conference in San Francisco, USA this week. The invited paper, ‘5D Data Storage by Ultrafast Laser Writing in Glass’ will be presented by the team.

SOURCE  University of Southampton

By 33rd Square

Embed

Nanotechnology  

Chemists at the University of Manchester have made a molecular machine with a ‘robotic arm’ that is able to pick up a molecular cargo, reposition it, set it down and release it at a second site approximately 2 nm away from the starting position.

Researchers have devised a nanoscale robot that can grasp a cargo molecule, pick it up, place it in a new position some distance away and release it. At no time does the cargo dissociate from the machine or exchange with other molecules. While such a sequence of actions is trivial on a macroscopic scale, to achieve it synthetically with small molecules is unprecedented and could mark the start of a new era of molecular robotics.

The work has been published in the journal Nature Chemistry.

If the technology develops further, it is conceivable that many of such nanobots could work in sequence as a microscale assembly line, building increasingly complex molecular structures. Modern day factory assembly lines often feature robots that pick up, reposition and connect components in a programmed manner.

Small-molecule robots should be able to manipulate materials to control molecular construction, in a manner reminiscent of that observed in biology and factory assembly lines. Such nanotechnology has the potential to ultimately revolutionize how molecules and materials are made.

Related articles

• The Amazing Potential of Nanotechnology 
• Prototype Fusion Reactor in Five Years? 
• Nanotech Molecular Assembler Created At University of Manchester 

The robotic molecule, developed by David Leigh’s laboratory at the University of Manchester, consists of three main components: a rotatable arm, a molecular platform and the small cargo molecule, 3-mercaptopropanehydrazide. 

The robot arm sits in center of the platform, at either side of which is an aldehyde group. The cargo molecule attaches at one side of the platform through a covalent hydrazone bond with the aldehyde on that side of the platform.

The gripping end of the robot arm possesses a thiol group. In the presence of iodine under basic conditions the thiol group of the arm and the cargo react to form a disulfide bond. The cargo is now attached to both the gripper and the platform. When acid is added, three processes occur sequentially. 

First the disulfide bond connecting the gripper and the cargo becomes locked, secondly the hydrazone bond between the cargo and the platform is loosened, and there is a rearrangement of hydrogen bonds at the nitrogen-rich fulcrum of the robot arm. This introduces strain, causing the arm to swing across to the other side of the platform, taking the cargo with it.

Once the cargo is the vicinity of the aldehyde group on the far side of the platform it attaches via a hydrazone bond and a change to basic conditions locks it in place. This also loosens the grip of the arm, depositing the cargo in its new position, around 2nm from where it started. Repeating the process under slightly different conditions of acidity causes the arm to pick up the cargo, swing it in the opposite direction and release it back to its original position.

A thiol group on the nanorobot's arm binds the red cargo molecule and a rearrangement of the central hydrazone bond moves the cargo from the blue to the green platform.

‘We are very excited about this,’ says Leigh. ‘We have taken components from the existing supramolecular toolbox and combined them into a multicomponent molecular machine where we can programme the movement of molecules to accomplish a task through highly synchronised dynamic covalent chemistry.’

"We have taken components from the existing supramolecular toolbox and combined them into a multicomponent molecular machine where we can programme the movement of molecules to accomplish a task."

This simple molecular device could represent an important stage in the evolution of synthetic molecular machines, Leigh suggests. ‘I think this shows that a multicomponent assembly can do much more than the sum of its parts, and could open the way to more complex structures. For example if we put lots of these in series we could pass a cargo from one arm to another – similar to a factory assembly line.’

Other experts in the field have applauded the group’s achievement. ‘This is another stunningly elegant molecular machine from the Leigh group,’ says Euan Kay of the University of St Andrews in the UK. ‘They have brought together several cutting-edge synthetic molecular machine components, and combined these to perform a task that has until now been beyond fully synthetic molecular machines.’

Feihe Yuang of Zheijiang University in China comments: ‘This amazing work is a significant step forward in the development of artificial molecular machines that work, and provides novel thought to manipulate substrates for controllable molecular construction in the future. Meanwhile, continuous cargo transporting as factory assembly lines will be worth the wait.’

SOURCE  Chemistry World

By 33rd Square

Embed