http://verycleverideas.com Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:52:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Researchers from the University of California and Harvard-MIT have developed a new type of biodegradable, non-toxic nanoparticle (NP) that break down readily and can be excreted via the kidneys after delivering a drug payload to the target site thereby avoiding a major drawback with some other nanoparticle delivery systems that ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=200 Researchers at New York University and Harvard University have created an autonomous, bipedal DNA “walker” that can mimic a cell’s transportation system and which marks a step toward creating more complex synthetic molecular motors. Previous versions of walkers, which are able to move along a track of DNA, were unable to ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=198 While a large number of colours in nature are produced by pigments some, like the vibrant feathers of many types of birds, are instead produced by nanostructures. An interdisciplinary team at Yale University has found that these structures, which appear sponge-like with air bubbles, form by a process of self-assembly. They ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=196   There have been a number of attempts to create artificial blood, but most so far have some drawbacks, e.g. risk of heart attacks in the patients, usually trauma cases, that receive such transfusions. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have, however, now succeeded in constructing an artificial protein from scratch that ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=194 Using the world’s most advanced electron microscope, Eindhoven University of Technology researchers have, for the first time, captured high-resolution images of the earliest stages of bone formation. Utilizing the FEI Company’s cryoTitan microscope they imaged small clusters of calcium carbonate and showed that clusters consisting of around ten ions formed ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=192 Researchers at the Cidetec-IK4 Research Centre at San Sebastian in Spain have developed a new type of electrochemical nanobiosensor capable of detecting mutations in DNA much more rapidly than before. The sensor technology also offers the possibility to be extended to the detection of other types of molecule. The nanobiosensor comprises ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=190 Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California have succeeded in developing a device based on carbon nanotubes that can detect the entire visible spectrum of light and which may find potential uses in artificial retinas and other light gathering applications such as solar cells and miniature cameras for use in ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=188 Recent research at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, provides further evidence to suggest that total surface area rather than size, mass or number of particles may be the most appropriate metric in relation to the toxicity of some types of nanoparticles. This ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=186  University of Texas researchers have moved a step closer to treating melanomas using hollow gold nanospheres and near-infrared light. The work, carried out at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center utilizes hollow gold nanospheres of 40-50nm diameter which are targeted to melanoma tumours with a peptide that binds to the melanocortin ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=179 The human nervous system comprises an extremely complex network of neurons joined by synapses. When these synaptic connections fail, the nervous system does not function properly which may eventually leading to injury or disease. Researchers at Arkansas State University have demonstrated that magnetic nanotubes coupled with nerve growth factor can help ... http://verycleverideas.com/?p=177