https://phys.org/nanotech-news/bio-medicine en-us The latest science news on nanobiology, nano medicine, nanotechnology, nanoscience, and nanotech. A team of scientists led by the University of Oxford have achieved a significant breakthrough in detecting modifications on protein structures. The method, published in Nature Nanotechnology, employs innovative nanopore technology to identify structural variations at the single-molecule level, even deep within long protein chains. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-nanopore-technology-breakthrough-protein-variant.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 01 Aug 2023 11:48:04 EDT news610109281 Researchers at Tel Aviv University have destroyed 90% of multiple myeloma blood cancer cells under laboratory conditions, and 60% in human tissues taken from patients at Rabin Medical Center (Belinson Hospital), using an RNA-based drug delivered to the cells by targeted lipid nanoparticles. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-drug-delivery-rna-therapy-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 31 Jul 2023 11:00:48 EDT news610020045 Improvements in crop productivity and nutritional value are needed to meet increased global demand for food in terms of both quantity and quality. A strategy being investigated by KAUST researchers to address the issue is the controlled delivery of bioactive molecules, such as growth-stimulating compounds and micronutrients that can be stored in fruits or grains to stimulate stress tolerance and enhance crop yield and resistance to pathogens. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-delivery-micronutrients-growth.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:59:17 EDT news610016353 A cutting-edge practice by two Vanderbilt researchers that enhances light in nanoscale structures could help in the detection of diseases like cancer. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-nanoscale-aid-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Nanophysics Fri, 28 Jul 2023 12:22:52 EDT news609765770 A more efficient way to test SARS-CoV-2 virus was developed recently by a research team led by Professor Wang Junfeng from Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS). The novel nano-immune magnetic bead (Mal-IMB) they developed in this research can efficiently be bound to SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus in the study of protein biomimetic mineralization and synthesized into magnetic nanoparticles. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-nano-immune-magnetic-bead-faster-sars-cov-.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 28 Jul 2023 12:03:13 EDT news609764537 Scientists have found a way to use nanotechnology to create a 3D "scaffold" to grow cells from the retina—paving the way for potential new ways of treating a common cause of blindness. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-retina-cells-cultured-nanofiber-scaffolds.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Thu, 27 Jul 2023 15:14:04 EDT news609689641 QUT researchers have developed a new approach for designing molecular ON-OFF switches based on proteins which can be used in a multitude of biotechnological, biomedical and bioengineering applications. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-protein-nano-switch-method-rapid-reliable.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 27 Jul 2023 13:39:42 EDT news609683978 Investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have designed an innovative RNA-based strategy to activate dendritic cells—which play a key role in immune response—that eradicated tumors and prevented their recurrence in mouse models of melanoma. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-lipid-nanoparticle-mrna-therapy-combats-melanoma.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 27 Jul 2023 11:00:01 EDT news609672889 Prof. Jiang Changlong's team at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed and synthesized two highly effective ratiometric fluorescence nanoprobes. The nanoprobes were combined with the color recognition function of smartphones to achieve visual quantitative detection of pesticides in food and environmental water. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-nanoprobe-visual-quantitative-pesticides.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:34:36 EDT news609586473 DNA can do more than pass genetic code from one generation to the next. For nearly 20 years, scientists have known of the molecule's ability to stabilize nanometer-sized clusters of silver atoms. Some of these structures glow visibly in red and green, making them useful in a variety of chemical and biosensing applications. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-machine-enables-discovery-dna-stabilized-silver.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 25 Jul 2023 10:04:49 EDT news609498284 In-cell engineering can be a powerful tool for synthesizing functional protein crystals with promising catalytic properties, show researchers at Tokyo Tech. Using genetically modified bacteria as an environmentally friendly synthesis platform, the researchers produced hybrid solid catalysts for artificial photosynthesis. These catalysts exhibit high activity, stability, and durability, highlighting the potential of the proposed innovative approach. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-artificial-photosynthesis-protein-crystals-bacteria.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 25 Jul 2023 09:40:00 EDT news609496797 Researchers in the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy have developed a drug delivery system that shows promise for greatly enhancing the efficacy of the medicine given to women with the life-threatening condition of ectopic pregnancy, which occurs when a fertilized egg implants somewhere other than the lining of the uterus. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-nanoparticle-drug-delivery-treatment-ectopic.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 25 Jul 2023 09:39:51 EDT news609496787 Two unfortunate facts about chemotherapy: It can harm healthy cells as well as cancerous ones, and many therapeutic targets stay within cancer cells, making them harder to reach. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-genetically-vesicles-cancer-cells.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 24 Jul 2023 16:48:03 EDT news609436081 Scientists at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) have discovered that a nano-sized carbon material derived from the oxidation of carbon-rich sources could be used to treat Down syndrome and other disorders associated with high levels of hydrogen sulfide. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-nano-sized-carbon-material-syndrome.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Fri, 21 Jul 2023 11:41:26 EDT news609158483 An interdisciplinary research team from Bochum, Duisburg and Zurich has developed a new approach to construct modular optical sensors which are capable of detecting viruses and bacteria. The researchers used fluorescent carbon nanotubes with a novel type of DNA anchors that act as molecular handles. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-bacteria-viruses-fluorescent-nanotubes.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Fri, 21 Jul 2023 09:28:04 EDT news609150482 A new way to see details smaller than half the wavelength of light has revealed how nanoscale scaffolding inside cells bridges to the macroscale during cell division. Unlike earlier superresolution techniques, the one developed and tested at the University of Michigan doesn't rely on molecules that wear out with prolonged use. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-superresolution-exploring-cell-division.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 20 Jul 2023 12:45:03 EDT news609075901 A team of bioengineers at Arizona State University has found a way to use a LEGO robot as a gradient mixer in one part of a process to create DNA origami nanostructures. In their paper published on the open-access site PLOS ONE, the group describes how they made their mixer and its performance. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-lego-robot-gradient-mixer-purify.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 20 Jul 2023 10:46:53 EDT news609068810 Over the past decade, teams of engineers, chemists and biologists have analyzed the physical and chemical properties of cicada wings, hoping to unlock the secret of their ability to kill microbes on contact. If this function of nature can be replicated by science, it may lead to development of new products with inherently antibacterial surfaces that are more effective than current chemical treatments. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-supercomputer-cicada-wings-bacteria.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 18 Jul 2023 16:32:05 EDT news608916721 Many diseases can be successfully treated in the simple environment of a cell culture dish, but to successfully treat real people, the drug agent has to take a journey through the infinitely more complex environment within our bodies and arrive, intact, inside the affected cells. This process, called drug delivery, is one of the most significant barriers in medicine. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-barriers-drug-delivery-lipid-nanoparticles.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 17 Jul 2023 11:47:05 EDT news608813222 Griffith University researchers have played a key role in using DNA "origami" templates to control the way viruses are assembled. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-craft-origami-dna-virus.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 17 Jul 2023 11:00:01 EDT news608804567 Over the past decade, researchers have sought more effective and enduring cancer treatments. Among the wide variety of immunotherapies, Stimulator of Interfron Genes activation (STING agonism) has emerged as a particularly promising approach that harnesses a patient's immune system to combat tumors throughout the body. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-nanostructures-immune-ability-combat-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Jul 2023 17:07:56 EDT news608486870 University of Texas at Dallas scientists have discovered a previously unknown "housekeeping" process in kidney cells that ejects unwanted content, resulting in cells that rejuvenate themselves and remain functioning and healthy. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-discovery-kidney-cells-self-renew.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Jul 2023 16:31:04 EDT news608484661 By combining multiple advanced technologies into a single system, EPFL researchers have made a significant step forward in diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). https://phys.org/news/2023-07-biosensor-neurogenerative-disease-proteins.html Bio & Medicine Nanophysics Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:38:04 EDT news608459881 One of the main ways cells "talk" to each other to coordinate essential biological activities such as muscle contraction, hormone release, neuronal firing, digestion and immune activation is through calcium signaling. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-light-activated-molecular-machines-cells.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 10 Jul 2023 11:34:38 EDT news608207675 In a paper published by the research team of Ali Hafezi-Moghadam, MD, Ph.D. at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham, authors introduced a biodegradable fluorescent nanoprobe to detect diabetic retinopathy (DR) in its early molecular stage. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-biodegradable-nanoprobe-diabetic-retinopathy-early.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:45:59 EDT news607869957 In nature, it is common to find structures that combine both soft and hard material. These structures are responsible for diverse mechanical properties and functions of biological systems. As a typical example, the human spine possesses alternating stacks of hard bones and soft intervertebral disks, which is an essential architecture that supports the human body while maintaining body flexibility. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-team-shape-transforming-colloidal-cargo-delivery.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Thu, 06 Jul 2023 09:46:15 EDT news607855571 For the first time in the world researchers at Tel Aviv University have encoded a toxin produced by bacteria into mRNA (messenger RNA) molecules and delivered these particles directly to cancer cells, causing the cells to produce the toxin—which eventually killed them with a success rate of 50%. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-cancer-cells-commit-suicide-self-produced.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 04 Jul 2023 06:44:52 EDT news607671888 A group led by researchers at Nagoya University in Japan has developed a technology to capture and release cell-free DNA (cfDNA) on nanowire surfaces from urine. By extracting this DNA, they were able to successfully detect IDH1 mutation, a characteristic genetic mutation of gliomas, a type of brain tumor. Their findings increase the effectiveness of cancer detection tests using urine. They published their results in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-urine-brain-tumors-capturing-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 03 Jul 2023 09:41:32 EDT news607596089 New research from Cardiff University, in collaboration with Astra Zeneca, used artificial intelligence to create microscopic particles that can effectively transport medicines to precisely target and treat diseased cells. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-ai-generated-nanoparticles-capable-modern-medicines.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 29 Jun 2023 10:10:59 EDT news607252256 Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have developed a nanoparticle—an extremely tiny biodegradable container—that has the potential to improve the delivery of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based vaccines for infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and vaccines for treating non-infectious diseases including cancer. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-scientists-nanoparticle-mrna-cancer-vaccines.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:10:07 EDT news607173001