NEWS - LIFE SCIENCE

Researchers in the laboratory of Lulu Qian, Caltech professor of bioengineering, are developing nanoscale machines made out of synthetic DNA, taking advantage of DNA's unique chemical bonding properties to build circuits that can process signals much like miniature computers. Operating at billionth-of-a-meter scales, these molecular machines can be designed to form DNA robots that sort cargos or to function like a neural network that can learn to recognize handwritten numeric

Until now, the early phase of drug discovery for the development of new therapeutics has been both cost- and time-intensive. Researchers at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) have now developed a platform on which extremely miniaturized nanodroplets with a volume of only 200 nanoliters per droplet – comparable to a grain of sand – and containing only 300 cells per test can be arranged. This platform enables the researchers to synthesize, characterize, and test thousands

Photosystem II doesn’t just collect sunlight – it makes incredibly smart decisions about what to do with that energy. What researchers have uncovered is how nature balances two contradictory goals: getting the most from every photon while also protecting itself from too much light.

Nanotechnology is significantly advancing medicine. Tiny, specially designed particles deliver active substances into diseased cells or have a healing effect themselves. To ensure that this happens as safely and effectively as possible, the behaviour of the nanoparticles after entering a cell must be studied in detail. Synchrotron radiation sources offer the best opportunities for this. In particular, the planned PETRA IV X-ray microscope at DESY promises detailed insights.

A team from UNIGE and the University of Pisa has designed surprisingly stable molecular assemblies, paving the way for new drug constructs and geometrically controlled materials.

Scientists at Rice University and University of Houston have developed an innovative, scalable approach to engineer bacterial cellulose into high-strength, multifunctional materials. The study, published in Nature Communications, introduces a dynamic biosynthesis technique that aligns bacterial cellulose fibers in real-time, resulting in robust biopolymer sheets with exceptional mechanical properties.

Engineers have harnessed quantum physics to detect the presence of biomolecules without the need for an external light source, overcoming a significant obstacle to the use of optical biosensors in healthcare and environmental monitoring settings.

Now, an interdisciplinary team of scientists at King’s have developed a nanoneedle patch that painlessly collects molecular information from tissues without removing or damaging them. This could allow healthcare teams to monitor disease in real time and perform multiple, repeatable tests from the same area – something impossible with standard biopsies.

A team of researchers from Brown University has developed a new nanotechnology-based approach that could improve treatment of fungal infections, particularly those caused by the increasingly drug-resistant Candida species.

Northwestern Medicine investigators have developed first-of-its-kind eyedrops that use synthetic nanoparticles to help the eye regenerate cells that have been damaged by mustard keratopathy, or exposure to mustard gas, and other inflammatory eye diseases, detailed in a recent study published in the journal NPJ Regenerative Medicine.

The team successfully generated two bubbles measuring about 10 micrometers in diameter that spontaneously vibrate at sub-megahertz frequencies, investigating how their vibrations affect each other. Using this apparatus, the researchers were able to precisely control the fast movements of bubbles at sub-megahertz frequencies as well as the surrounding flow.

A team of Brown University researchers has identified a promising new approach that may one day help to restore vision in people affected by macular degeneration and other retinal disorders.