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Category: nanotechnology – Page 14

Gene-editing nanoparticle system targets multiple organs simultaneously

A gene-editing delivery system developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers simultaneously targeted the liver and lungs of a preclinical model of a rare genetic disease known as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), significantly improving symptoms for months after a single treatment, a new study shows. The findings, published in Nature Biotechnology, could lead to new therapies for a variety of genetic diseases that affect multiple organs.

“Multi-organ diseases may need to be treated in more than one place. The development of multi-organ-targeted therapeutics opens the door to realizing those opportunities for this and other diseases,” said study leader Daniel Siegwart, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry, and in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern.

Gene editing—a group of technologies designed to correct disease-causing mutations in the genome—has the potential to revolutionize medicine, Dr. Siegwart explained. Targeting these technologies to specific organs, tissues, or will be necessary to effectively and safely treat patients.

Passive cooling paint sweats off heat to deliver 10X cooling and 30% energy savings

A new cement-based paint can cool down the building by sweating off the heat. The cooling paint, named CCP-30, was designed by an international team of researchers and features a nanoparticle-modified porous structure composed of a calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel network.

This design enabled it to achieve superior cooling by combining both radiative, evaporative and reflective cooling mechanisms, which allowed it to reflect 88–92% of sunlight, emit 95% of the heat as , and hold about 30% of its weight in water, making it a paint ideal for keeping spaces cool throughout the day and across seasons.

As per the findings published in Science, the paint provides 10 times the cooling power of commercial cooling paints in tropical climates, resulting in electricity savings of 30 to 40%.

Electron microscopy technique captures nanoparticle organizations to forge new materials

A research team including members from the University of Michigan have unveiled a new observational technique that’s sensitive to the dynamics of the intrinsic quantum jiggles of materials, or phonons.

This work will help scientists and engineers better design metamaterials—substances that possess exotic properties that rarely exist in nature—that are reconfigurable and made from solutions containing nanoparticles that self-assemble into larger structures, the researchers said. These materials have wide-ranging applications, from shock absorption to devices that guide acoustic and optical energy in high-powered computer applications.

“This opens a new research area where nanoscale building blocks—along with their intrinsic optical, electromagnetic and —can be incorporated into mechanical metamaterials, enabling emerging technologies in multiple fields from robotics and mechanical engineering to information technology,” said Xiaoming Mao, U-M professor of physics and co-author of the new study.

Scientists Say Humans May Become Immortal by 2050 Here’s How

Will humans soon live forever? Scientists believe it’s possible — and it could happen as early as 2050.
In this video, we explore 10 shocking scientific breakthroughs that are pushing humanity closer to immortality.
From nanobots that cure disease from within, to brain uploading, cloning organs, and AI-driven consciousness — this is the future of life itself.

🧬 Get ready to discover the jaw-dropping technologies that might just make death optional.

⚠️ Don’t blink. The future is coming faster than you think.

Profiles in Versatility

During her uncle’s treatment in 2003, Green experienced what she refers to as a “divine download”—an electrifying idea inspired by her college internships at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the Institute of Optics. “If a satellite in outer space can tell if a dime on the ground is face up or face down, and if a cell phone can target just one cell phone on the other side of the planet,” she recalls thinking, “surely we should be able to harness the technology of lasers to treat cancer just at the site of the tumor, so we won’t have all of these side effects.”

In the nearly two decades that followed, Dr. Green rerouted her career, earned a physics PhD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham—the second Black woman to do so—and dove into cancer treatment research, with physics as her guide. In 2009, she developed a treatment that uses nanoparticles and lasers in tandem: Specially designed nanoparticles are injected into a solid tumor, and, when the tumor is hit with near infrared light, the nanoparticles heat up, killing the cancer cells. In a preliminary animal study published in 2014, Green tested the treatment on mice, whose tumors were eliminated with no observable side effects.

When Hadiyah-Nicole Green crossed the stage at her college graduation, she felt sure about what would come next. She’d start a career in optics—a good option for someone with a bachelor’s degree in physics—and that would be that.

Life, though, had other plans. The day after she graduated from Alabama A&M University, she learned that her aunt, Ora Lee Smith, had cancer. Smith and her husband had raised Green since she was four years old, after the death of Green’s mother and then grandparents.

Her aunt “said she’d rather die than experience the side effects of chemo or radiation,” says Green, now a medical physicist and founder and CEO of the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation.

Nanoscale phonon dynamics in self-assembled nanoparticle lattices

The realization and phonon imaging of nanoscale mechanical metamaterials has remained challenging. Here the authors resolve the phonon dynamics and band structures of five different self-assembled nanoparticle lattices, revealing the role of nanoscale colloidal interactions in modulating the lattice properties.

New nano-based filter for infrared light promises cheap, robust spectrometers

A new filter for infrared light could see scanning and screening technology tumble in price and size. Built on nanotechnology, the new heat-tunable filter promises hand-held, robust technology to replace current desktop infrared spectroscopy setups that are bulky, heavy and cost from $10,000 up to more than $100,000.

MXene-polymer composite enables printed, eco-friendly device for energy harvesting and motion sensing

Researchers at Boise State University have developed a novel, environmentally friendly triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that is fully printed and capable of harvesting biomechanical and environmental energy while also functioning as a real-time motion sensor. The innovation leverages a composite of Poly (vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) (PVBVA) and MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional TENGs that often rely on fluorinated polymers and complex fabrication.

From CO₂ to methane: Scientists discover how nickel nanoparticle shape and size control conversion

Every day, tons of CO₂ are released into the atmosphere, but what if we could transform it using clean energy? This is the question explored in a recent Politecnico di Milano study, which was featured on the cover of the journal ACS Catalysis. The research focuses on a process that transforms carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methane using carefully engineered nickel nanoparticles.

Entitled “Deciphering Size and Shape Effects on the Structure Sensitivity of the CO₂ Methanation Reaction on Nickel,” the study by Gabriele Spanò, Matteo Ferri, Raffaele Cheula, Matteo Monai, Bert M. Weckhuysen and Matteo Maestri investigates how the size and shape of nickel nanoparticles influence the rate at which is converted into methane.

Researchers at the Laboratory of Catalysis and Catalytic Processes (LCCP) at Politecnico di Milano’s Department of Energy are tackling a key climate challenge: reusing CO₂ to produce sustainable fuels. The LCCP is an internationally recognized leader in , driving forward practical solutions for cleaner energy.

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