nanotech

The body is a resilient biological structure, but there's one thing medical science, an increasing number of Baby Boomers, and the majority of professional athletes will all tell you: Take care of your joints, because once you burn up the cartilage you started with, you're not getting any more. But a breakthrough by Northwestern University scientists will now allow adult joints to naturally grow new cartilage for the very first time.

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It seems like everyone is trying to make nanomachines these days, usually through some expensive procedure like carving them out of an exotic material with a laser.

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Diabetics are saddled with the unenviable task of checking their blood sugar levels constantly, usually through a repeated ritual of pin-pricks and blood drawing. But a new non-invasive technology developed by a biochemical engineer at the University of Western Ontario lets diabetics keep tabs on their glucose levels with contact lenses that change colors as their blood sugar rises and falls.

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Forget all the nanotechnology devoted to fighting cancer, and just consider that nanoparticles have invaded makeup, anti-odor socks, sunscreen, plastic beer bottles and home pregnancy tests. Now scientists have developed a way to assess the health and environmental impact of such nanoparticles: a tiny microresonator that can detect and measure individual particles smaller than a single virus.

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A computer chip using nanotube circuitry can run much faster than a regular silicon chip, for a fraction of the cost, but no one has been able to effectively string together two nanotube transistors, let alone the thousands needed for a chip. Until now: researchers at Stanford University have built the first nanotube circuits, by stamping multiple layers of nanotubes on top of one another.

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In warfare, victory often rests on two key aspects of combat: good battlefield intel and a versatile mix of weaponry to counter various threats. But when it comes to battling cancer, physicians often work with little real-time information and a collection of single-facet treatments, many of which cannot be used in tandem.

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What do tiny smiling snowmen mean for science? Not much; these physicists just decided to show off their ability to make really small things.

This little guy measures just 10 micrometers across, or just 1/5th the width of a human hair. Scientists at the National Physics Laboratory in the UK built the snowman body from two tin beads, and milled the eyes and smile in the top bead using a focused ion beam. The snowman also has a platinum nose deposited by said ion beam, which probably beats a silly carrot any day.

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Drugs can affect different patients in unexpected ways, because of each person's unique genetic makeup. Now a newly FDA-approved device that screens blood for genetic variations within hours could allow physicians to choose the drug that best suits a particular patient, according to Technology Review.

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Spongebob may want to look into a nanotech upgrade that could permit him to walk on water. Chinese scientists have created carbon nanotube sponges that don't absorb water, leaving them plenty of room for absorbing oil or other icky organic goo.

The new sponges rely upon interconnected carbon nanotubes that naturally repel water, and can absorb 180 times their weight in organic matter. Current sponges used for oil spill cleanups and industrial applications can only absorb up to 20 times their own weight.

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Scientists know that nanoparticles can damage DNA in cells through direct interaction. Now, though, it appears that nanoparticles can also mess with DNA on the far side of a cellular barrier, by creating signaling molecules -- a never-before-seen phenomenon.

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