#4: Cancer in the Crosshairs.
Four decades after President Nixon famously declared “war on cancer,” nanotechnology appears to finally be taking the battle to the disease. Researchers at the University of Montreal have recently developed a nanosensor that can detect the presence of cancer cells by discerning minute variations in pH levels. This leads to the possibility that lipid-based nanocapsules—such as the ones being developed at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University—might soon be able to smuggle a cancer drug directly inside cancerous cells. The advantage of this approach is that instead of poisoning both healthy and diseased cells with chemotherapy (a common strategy today), in the future oncologists may be able to single out and slay just the cancer cells with precision-like accuracy.
#5: The Opposite of an
Out-of-Body Experience.
Harvard scientist Charles Lieber, a leading nanotechnology researcher, has developed an innovative nano-coating that might allow for a number of small implanted medical devices to safely reside inside the human body for extended periods of time. This seemingly modest advance could facilitate a revolution in how society detects, prevents and treats a variety of chronic ailments, including hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. Researchers are also rushing to develop nanoparticles, nanocapsules and other nanobiotechnology-based delivery methods that can cross the blood brain barrier. If successful, treatment options for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and brain tumors could become commonplace.
#6: Make Love, Not War.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has granted $100,000 to the University of Manchester to use advanced nanomaterials to develop a stronger, lighter condom. According to its creators not only is the condom unbreakable; it is so thin that it reportedly doesn’t diminish the experience of the user. Meanwhile, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, researchers have developed a sensor that exploits microfluidic nanotechnology to detect bombs and other explosives with a level of sensitivity greater than that of the best-
trained bomb-sniffing canine. The end result of these advances is that it’ll be easier to make love and harder to wage war.
#7: Seeing a Brighter Future.
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, Rice University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have exploited the unique properties of carbon nanotubes. They are working to develop a new terahertz detector that may soon lead to significant improvements in airport passenger screening, medical imaging and food inspection. At the same time, a team of researchers at the University of Utah are actively investigating how to exploit various nanoparticles to effectively administrator gene therapy. One of the more promising opportunities stemming from this research is the application of tailored nanoparticles to combat macular degeneration—a problem that affects millions of people worldwide—by delivering genes directly into patient’s retinas.
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