Nanoparticles

A decent chunk of energy usage goes towards lighting, so scientists at MIT are developing a new kind of passive lighting – glow-in-the-dark plants. In the latest experiments, the team made them glow brighter without harming their health.

Researchers have developed particles called dendrimers that are covered in tiny tentacles, arranged in patterns too small for the immune system to detect. These could be handy for delivering drugs or camouflaging implants to prevent rejection.

When it comes to contraceptives, men typically have to remember to use a condom, or get a difficult-to-reverse vasectomy. There may soon be a new option, however, in the form of injected particles that are magnetically guided to the testes.

Radiotherapy is one of the best treatments we have against cancer, but there's room for improvement. Now, researchers in Japan have developed nanoparticles that can penetrate tumors and kill them from within, after being activated by external X-rays.

The earlier cancer is detected, the better. MIT scientists have developed a diagnostic system that can be performed as a urine test to detect the presence of cancer, and if a positive is returned, a follow-up test can locate where it is in the body.

The European Food Safety Authority has reclassified food coloring E171 after an expert panel concluded it “can no longer be considered safe as a food additive.” The announcement comes after years of research indicated the additive may be unsafe.

An oral pill would be much easier for diabetics than daily insulin injections. An experimental new method for packing insulin into capsules helps it survive the trip through the stomach to the bloodstream, and releases its payload only when needed.

When a patient is receiving medication, it can be difficult to determine how much of the drug is actually making its way into their bloodstream. A new subdermal "tattoo" could help, thanks to its color-changing gold nanoparticles.

While there are glasses that help compensate for red-green color blindness, the lenses often can't be shaped to users' prescriptions. That's why scientists are developing a new type of corrective contact lens, inspired by old gold-containing glass.

Although various groups are working on nanoparticles that could be used for directed drug delivery via the bloodstream, most of those particles are made to "go with the flow." Now, however, researchers have created ones that can travel upstream.

Researchers at Yale University have shown how skin cancer could one day be treated with a simple injection. The team found that they could shrink tumors by injecting them with adhesive nanoparticles loaded with chemotherapy drugs.

Researchers at Brown University have developed a new way to make super-hard metals, up to four times harder than usual. The team made nanoparticle “building blocks” that could be fused together under pressure, thanks to a chemical treatment.