Jefferson and Delaware researchers combine tiny nanotubes and antibodies to detect cancer

By coating the surfaces of tiny carbon nanotubes with monoclonal antibodies, biochemists and engineers at Jefferson Medical College and the University of Delaware have teamed up to detect cancer cells in a tiny drop of water The work is aimed at developing nanotube-based biosensors that can spot cancer cells circulating in the blood from a …

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Flipping a single molecule switch: advance towards molecular computers

Researchers from Penn State, Rice University, and the University of Oregon demonstrated that single-molecule switches can be tailored to respond in predictable and stable ways, depending on the direction of the electric field applied to them The research is the latest achievement in the team’s ongoing studies of a family of stiff, stringy molecules known …

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Preview of Molecular nanotech issues: Ordering DNA sequences

YOU might think it would be difficult for a terrorist to obtain genes from the smallpox virus, or a similarly vicious pathogen. Well, it’s not. Armed with a fake email address, a would-be bioterrorist could probably order the building blocks of a deadly biological weapon online, and receive them by post within weeks. That’s the …

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Enabling tool: New microscope allows scientists to track a functioning protein with atomic-level precision

A Stanford University research team has designed the first microscope sensitive enough to track the real-time motion of a single protein down to the level of its individual atoms. Writing in the Nov. 13 online issue of the journal Nature, the Stanford researchers explain how the new instrument allowed them to settle long-standing scientific debates …

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Non-nano policy: Shortening approval cycle for vaccines

The Wall Street Journal discusses plans by the FDA to expedite vaccine approval. Expedited approval processes and enhancing the overall speed and efficiency of validating the safety and effectiveness of new drugs and technology would be useful and critical in accelerate the adoption of new technology like molecular manufacturing with medical applications. The FDA would …

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Singularity related: trying to map Brain cells to behavior

MIT’s new McGovern Institute for Brain Research hopes to connect the dots between brain cell activity and behavior changes. When fully staffed, the Institute will house 16 principal investigators. One group of scientists will work to develop more sensitive and accurate imaging technologies, which can probe the activities of single neurons. Another team will investigate …

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