While attempting to solve one mystery about iron oxide-based nanoparticles, a research team working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) stumbled upon another one. But once its implications are understood, their discovery* may give nanotechnologists a new and useful tool. The nanoparticles in question are spheres of magnetite so tiny that a few thousand of them lined up would stretch a hair’s width, and they have potential uses both as the basis of better data storage systems and in biological applications such as hyperthermia treatment for cancer…

While attempting to solve one mystery about iron oxide-based nanoparticles, a research team working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) stumbled upon another one. But once its implications are understood, their discovery* may give nanotechnologists a new and useful tool. The nanoparticles in question are spheres of magnetite so tiny that a few thousand of them lined up would stretch a hair’s width, and they have potential uses both as the basis of better data storage systems and in biological applications such as hyperthermia treatment for cancer…

A collaboration of French and Canadian researchers have found that sucking a portion of a spherical globule of cells into a tiny pipette provides information about the adhesion between cells and the elastic properties of the tissue. The method is a novel approach for the study of the structural properties of tissues, and should offer insights into processes such as embryonic development, tissue growth and cancer. A paper describing the research appears online in Physical Review Letters on May 24…

Researchers in the US have discovered that the structural protein collagen can switch from its usual rigid form into a much floppier, more flexible state and back again, opening the door to the idea that targeting collagen itself rather than the enzymes that degrade it could be a way forward for developing drugs that prevent collagen from rupturing, for example in arterial plaques to reduce the risk of heart attack…

NanoLogix, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: NNLX) announces advancements to its go-to-market strategy, including the exploration of its BNP/BNF technologies by the University of Texas - Texas Medical Center. To facilitate its entry into a wide range of sectors and markets, NanoLogix also announces it has retained Technica Communications for marketing and public relations services. In addition, the company will return for a third year to exhibit at the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) General Meeting, being held in San Diego at the end of May…

Five times the tensile strength of steel and triple that of the currently best synthetic fibers: Spider silk is a fascinating material. But no one has thus far succeeded in producing the super fibers synthetically. How do spiders form long, highly stable and elastic fibers from the spider silk proteins stored in the silk gland within split seconds? Scientists from the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and the University of Bayreuth have now succeeded in unraveling the secret.

NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis will make its final flight May 14 carrying three University of Colorado at Boulder-built biomedical payload devices, including one to help scientists understand how and why slimy and troublesome clumps of microorganisms flourish in the low-gravity conditions of space…

By using entire islands as experimental laboratories, two Dartmouth biologists have performed one of the largest manipulations of natural selection ever conducted in a wild animal population. Their results, published online on May 9 by the journal Nature, show that competition among lizards is more important than predation by birds and snakes when it comes to survival of the fittest lizard…

Researchers in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Thomas Jefferson University have found that the level of a single protein in the tiny roundworm C. elegans determines how long it lives. Worms born without this protein, called arrestin, lived about one-third longer than normal, while worms that had triple the amount of arrestin lived one-third less. The research also showed that arrestin interacts with several other proteins within cells to regulate longevity. The human version of one of these proteins is PTEN, a well-known tumor suppressor..

Emory University scientists have discovered that simple peptides can organize into bi-layer membranes. The finding suggests a “missing link” between the pre-biotic Earth’s chemical inventory and the organizational scaffolding essential to life. “We’ve shown that peptides can form the kind of membranes needed to create long-range order,” says chemistry graduate student Seth Childers, lead author of the paper recently published by the German Chemical Society’s Angwandte Chemie…