Talk about a surprising change!
Meet the world’s smallest snowman
Isn’t he adorable?
Researchers develop nanospears that can transport DNA to cells with pinpoint accuracy
This new technique is less harmful to the cells and more efficient than other non-viral DNA transfer techniques.
Scientists turn DNA into virtually any 3D shape imaginable
The fist DNA benders!
How butterflies have such a beautiful colour
They use the most advanced nanotechnology.
Largest database of crystal surfaces and shapes can help researchers design better materials
Crystal lovers rejoice – researchers have created the largest database of elemental crystal surfaces and shapes to date.
Self-healing textiles means you don’t have to throw away your torn jeans — just add water
The self-healing fabrics could break down lethal toxins before they reach the skin.
Remote-controlled microrobots could be the future of medicine
Tiny robots might soon replace invasive surgery.
Nano-probes sniff out cancer using their nucleic acids
In the new technique, nanotechnology is used to determine whether a specific target nucleic acid sequence exists within a mixture, and to quantify it if it does through a simple electronic signature.
The Hagfish produces a 12 nanometer wide, 15 centimeter long thread it clamps into a single cell
When it feels threatened, the hagfish produces a slime which is only 12 nanometers wide, but 15 centimeters long – 10,000,000 times longer than it is wide. It’s not clear exactly what this slime is made of (likely a sugar modification), but its purpose is to make the hagfish slippery and possibly clog the gills of a predator. The thread is clamped into
Watching Nanoscale Fluids Flow
Nanofluids, fluids containing nanometer-sized particles, show immense potential for future engineering. Even water flowing through nanotubes flows much faster than traditional mechanics says it should be possible. Now, researchers have found a way to directly image nanofluids. Researchers at Caltech have applied a new imaging technique called four-dimensional (4D) electron microscopy to the nanofluid dynamics problem. The technique was invented at Caltech, and
Nanoparticles make turkey eggs microbe-resistant
Australian brush turkeys incubate their eggs in places most animals would stay clear of: moist piles of rotting vegetation. There are some advantages to this approach, most notably that the heat released by the microbes keeps the eggs warm but those same microbes can also get through eggshells and kill the embryos. However, even though the risks are apparently huge, only 9% of
DNA nanobots deliver drugs in living cockroaches – it’s a computer, inside a cockroach
The future is here. Nano-sized entities made of DNA that are able to perform the same kind of logic operations as a silicon-based computer have been introduced into a living animal. It’s every Science Fiction fan’s dream come true. The tiny DNA computers are called origami robots, because they work by folding and unfolding strands of DNA; they travel around the insect’s body
Microbots no larger than a human cell set to carry more payload drugs
Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed a new type of microbots approximately the size of a human cell that can carry more targeted drugs than other such options. These can be guided wirelessly through magnetic field manipulation. The Chinese designed microbots as well as other micro or nano-scale alternatives are meant to funnel key substances for non-invasive
Creating the smallest Mona Lisa – just 30 microns across
Mona Lisa is probably the most well known picture in the world – it’s been painted thousands of times, inspired countless artists, and her enigmatic smile still puzzles researchers and artists alike; but never before has it been painted on such a small canvas. Demonstrating a very potent nanotechnique, researchers have made a miniature Mona Lisa that stretches 30 microns across
Creating glasses that don’t fog up
Creating glasses that don’t fog or freeze up could not only bring a world of comfort to millions of people, but it could also have a myriad of applications in cameras, microscopes, mirrors and refrigerated displays – to name just a few. While there have been many advancements in this field, so far, the main problem is that there is no
Cicada wing destroys bacteria solely through its physical structure
The veined wing of the clanger cicada kills bacteria is able to destroy bacteria by its structure alone – one of the first structures ever found that can do this. The clanger cicada is an insects that looks like something between a fly and a locust; its wings are covered with a vast hexagonal array of ‘nanopillars’ – basically blunted
Stealth nanoparticles sneak past immune system’s defences
Most of the time, when you’re sick, you want to deliver drugs and imaging agents to diseased cells or tumours where they’re needed most – that’s a problem researchers have solved quite a while ago, we can get particles pretty much wherever we want to. The thing is, most of the time, these agents are stopped by your immune system,
New nanotechnology will enable earlier cancer diagnosis
Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could potentially save millions of lives, improving the chances of survival for many patients. This is why researchers have developed nanoparticles which amplify tumor signals, making them much easier to detect. Nanotech to the rescue The new technology was developed by researchers from MIT and it makes biomarker detection much easier; a biomarker, which
The most sensitive scale in the world can measure to the yoctogram (proton’s mass)
While on the macro-scale conventional scales make us of gravity to measure mass, on the microscale there are a myriad of factors that interfere with measurements. Scientists at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have successfully created a scale made out of a single carbon nanotube which can accurately measure the smallest unit of mass, a yoctogram (one septillionth of a gram – 10-24 grams)
