A new tool, holographic optical tweezers, use holographic technology to manipulate up to 300 nanoparticles at a time, such as beads of glass or polymer, that are too small and delicate to be handled with traditional laboratory instruments. The technology, also known as “optical tweezers,” could form the basis for tomorrow’s ultra-fast, light-powered communication devices [...]
Complex interactions between Saturn and its satellites have led scientists using NASA’s Cassini spacecraft to a comprehensive model that could explain how oxygen may end up on the surface of Saturn’s icy moon Titan. The presence of these oxygen atoms could potentially provide the basis for pre-biological chemistry.
Continue reading about Saturn system moves oxygen from Enceladus to Titan
How do plants and animals end up with right number of cells in all the right places? For the first time, scientists have gained insight into how this process is coordinated in plants.
Food presented in a virtual reality environment causes the same emotional responses as real food. Researchers compared the responses of people with anorexia and bulimia, and a control group, to the virtual and real-life snacks, suggesting that virtual food can be used for the evaluation and treatment of eating disorders.
Continue reading about Virtual food causes stress in patients affected by eating disorders
Faced with threats such as habitat loss and climate change, thousands of rare flowering plant species worldwide may become extinct before scientists can even discover them, according to a paper published today by a trio of American and British researchers in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Continue reading about Thousands of undiscovered plant species face extinction worldwide
The tunable fluorescent nanoparticles known as quantum dots make ideal tools for distinguishing and identifying rare cancer cells in tissue biopsies. Researchers have learned how multicolor quantum dots linked to antibodies can distinguish the Reed-Sternberg cells that are characteristic of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
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Particles found in sample container, but they could be contamination
Continue reading about ScienceShot: Japan Probe Picked Up Asteroid Dust—Maybe
This just in on e-mail from Michael Mann of Pennsylvania State University, University Park, himself…
Researchers have created a nano-sized light mill motor powerful enough to drive micro-sized disks. With rotational speed and direction controlled by the frequency of incident light waves, this new nanomotor should open the door to a broad range of applications in energy and biology as well as in nanoelectromechanical systems.
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Scientists have designed a nanoparticle that appears to effectively deliver genetic material into cells with minimal toxic effects. In lab experiments, the researchers have found that this device, a vector, is able to deliver DNA deeply enough into a cell to allow genetic material to be activated — a critical step in gene therapy. This [...]
Continue reading about Scientists design new delivery device for gene therapy