Using tiny rust-containing spheres to tag cells, scientists from Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have successfully used magnetic resonance imaging to track stem cells implanted into a living animal, believed to be a first.
In the December issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology, the research team report that the neuronal stem cells take up and hold onto the spheres, which contain a compound of iron and oxygen. The iron-laden cells create a magnetic black hole easily spotted by magnetic resonan
Logic dictates that when you increase the pressure acting on a material, it should compact. So a report from an international team of scientists that they have discovered a crystal formation that expands under pressure is intriguing. The counterintuitive behavior may be exploited to make a crystal sponge for chemical cleanup.
Writing in the December 19 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the researchers describe the behavior of natrolite, a type of zeolite, under increasi
Taking up regular drinking in middle age might cut the risk of heart disease, finds research in Heart. But the catch is, it increases the risk of dying from something else.
The researchers studied 7735 men from general practices in 24 British towns. The men were screened for heart disease between 1978 and 1980 when they were aged between 40 and 59. And they were asked about lifestyle, including smoking and drinking, and their medical history. Five years later, 7157 of them completed question
Strands of hair accurately measure second hand tobacco smoke exposure, finds research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. And they may be more effective than currently used methods, suggest the authors.
Measuring levels of cotinine, a break-down product of nicotine, in the urine is often used to gauge second hand smoke exposure. But people vary considerably in how much of this substance they metabolise and eliminate, whatever their levels of exposure, and cotinine stays in t
New techniques that might allow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to be used to give doctors subtle information about a tumour’s physiology and how it reacts to drug therapy are being developed.
The work is being carried out by doctors and medical physicists at the University of Aberdeen, with funding from the Swindon based Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Doctors treating cancerous tumours with drugs need to know quickly if the drug is having the desired effect t
Chemists make the world’s smallest building blocks.
US researchers have made the world’s smallest building blocks. The nanocubes are just a millionth of a millimetre (a nanometre) across 1 . Stacked like bricks, they could make up a range of materials with useful properties such as light emission or electrical conduction.
Many chemists are currently trying to develop molecular-scale construction kits in which the individual components are single molecules to
World’s largest optical mirror successfully installed on support system prototype for the first time to validate telescope’s extraordinary performance. The Giant Magellan Telescope today announced the successful installation of one…
Teleoperated robots for gathering moon dust are a step closer, according to new research by scientists at the University of Bristol. The team were able to complete a sample collection…
Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe the ‘inside-out’ growth of a galaxy in the early universe, only 700 million years after the Big Bang….
New types of sensors could help to develop plant protection products that are safe for bees. The increasing global demand for plant-based foods makes the use of pesticides necessary in…
Plants have a sophisticated mechanism for monitoring the production of new proteins. The “U1 snRNP” complex ensures that the protein blueprints are fully completed. This is important because cells tend…
Tiny transmitters provide first insights into precise migration routes of bats. Some bat species are among the world champions of seasonal migration in the animal kingdom. Leisler’s bat, for example,…
Researchers from Univ. of British Columbia and Drexel University Use Kirigami to Create Tunable Radio Antennas from MXene Nanomaterials. The future of wireless technology — from charging devices to boosting…
Using mechanisms inspired by nature to create new technological innovations is a signature of one Virginia Tech research team. The group led by Associate Professor Michael Bartlett has created an octopus-inspired adhesive,…
Materials researchers have created a new composite material that combines two incompatible properties: stiff yet with a high damping capacity. In brief Oscillations and vibrations damage machines and buildings, while…
New research achieves significant bandwidth in frequency conversion, paving the way for more efficient quantum information transfer and integrated photonic systems. Advancements in quantum information technology are paving the way…
Researchers will unveil the app on Oct. 15, at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology. Northwestern University engineers have developed a new system for full-body motion capture…
UDDC Ensures Seamless Transmission of Image Data to Microdisplays. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS have developed a Universal Display Data Converter (UDDC). This enables the transfer…