a blog by the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
Did you know that scientists have used nanotechnology to develop a test for the MERS coronavirus? The results of the test can be seen by the naked eye within 10 minutes of interacting with the viral DNA, which can shorten the analysis and interpretation time.1 Current testing for the COVID-19 virus takes hours or days.2 So, …
Continue reading "Can nanotechnology help make a better COVID-19 test?"
Can you imagine a technology that could fight diseases in blood vessels, map out complex structures in the body, and measure toxic chemicals in the environment? The potential benefits of nanorobots (really really small robots designed to do things that humans are too big to do) are huge! But before nanorobots can be put into …
Continue reading "What can big robots teach us about nanorobots?"
Have you seen the movie Avatar? I remember being captivated by the colorful world of Pandora, where the Naāvi lived. Some of the most picturesque scenes take place in the forest, whose floor is decorated with bioluminescent plants and fungi, much like that shown in Figure 1. They all emit their colorful glow as Jake …
Continue reading "Using Gold Nanobullets for Genetic Engineering"
What happens to cells when they come into contact with nanoparticles? Researchers in the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology are trying to answer this question in a lot of different ways. The effect of exposing organisms to nanoparticles is not as simple as life or death. In one recent study1 we explored the molecular changes that …
Continue reading "Using Gene Expression to Learn About Nanoparticle Toxicity"
When you think about a scientist, what picture pops into your head? Iāll bet youāre picturing a lone scientist with wild hair, toiling away on some world-changing problem in lab. You know the one - that classic, crazy picture of the scientist. The truth is, when youāre a scientist one of the best parts of …
Continue reading "Teamwork Wins! Why Science Is Not an Individual Sport."
Sustainable Nano 