https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Inspired by living systems, researchers at Aalto University have developed a new material that changes its electrical behavior based on previous experience, effectively giving it a basic form of adaptive memory. Such adaptive materials could play a vital role in the next generation of medical and environmental sensors, as well as in soft robots or active surfaces. https://phys.org/news/2022-11-generation-material-history.html Materials Science Tue, 15 Nov 2022 10:37:58 EST news587731075 The number of potential therapeutic targets on the surfaces of human proteins is much greater than previously thought, according to the findings of a new study in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2022-04-abundant-secret-doors-human-proteins.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Apr 2022 11:04:00 EDT news568461834 Intelligent materials, the latest revolution in the field of materials science, can adapt their properties depending on changes in their surroundings. They can be used in everything from self-healing mobile phone screens, to shape-shifting airplane wings, and targeted drug delivery. Delivering drugs to a specific target inside the body using intelligent materials is particularly important for diseases like cancer, as the smart material only releases the drug payload when it detects the presence of a cancer cell, leaving the healthy cells unharmed. https://phys.org/news/2021-05-scientists-intelligent-material.html Materials Science Wed, 12 May 2021 11:08:35 EDT news540036510 Bioengineers can design smart drugs for antibody and nanomaterial-based therapies to optimize drug efficiency for increasingly efficient, early-stage preclinical trials. The ideal drug will have maximum efficiency at target tissue sites for transport from the tissue vasculature to the cellular environment. Researchers can use biological simulations coupled to in vitro approaches to predict their exposure rapidly and efficiently to predict drug biodistribution within single cells of live animal tissue without relying on animal studies. In a new study now published on Science Advances, Edward Price and Andre J. Gesquiere successfully used an in vitro assay and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model to translate in vitro cell kinetics to whole-body simulations across multiple species and nanomaterial types. The work allowed them to predict drug distributions inside individual tissue cells and the team expect this work to refine, reduce and replace animal testing while providing scientists a fresh perspective on drug development. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-animal-simulations-smart-drug-nanomaterial.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 12 Feb 2020 09:30:01 EST news500713525 A KAIST research team has developed a flexible drug delivery device with controlled release for personalized medicine, a step toward theragnosis. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-flexible-drug-delivery-microdevice-advance.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 14 Aug 2018 08:33:37 EDT news453454407 A method to activate targeted drugs, or smart drugs, only at the selected site of action, an approach that improves the drug's therapeutic effect and minimizes side effects, has been developed in a study led by Georgia State University. https://phys.org/news/2018-05-chemistry-smart-drugs-smarter.html Materials Science Thu, 17 May 2018 07:55:29 EDT news445762518 Nanotechnology is creating new opportunities for fighting disease – from delivering drugs in smart packaging to nanobots powered by the world's tiniest engines. https://phys.org/news/2017-06-drugs-nanotherapeutics-nanobots.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 26 Jun 2017 05:45:59 EDT news417674743 Stanford researchers have ripped the guts out of a virus and totally redesigned its core to repurpose its infectious capabilities into a safe vehicle for delivering vaccines and therapies directly where they are needed. https://phys.org/news/2015-09-team-re-engineers-virus-therapies-cells.html Biotechnology Mon, 21 Sep 2015 15:00:04 EDT news362065831 We invariably imagine electronic devices to be made from silicon chips, with which computers store and process information as binary digits (zeros and ones) represented by tiny electrical charges. But it need not be this way: among the alternatives to silicon are organic mediums such as DNA. https://phys.org/news/2015-09-dna-bodies.html Nanophysics Thu, 03 Sep 2015 07:50:02 EDT news360482490 DNA-coated colloids have been used to create novel self-assembling materials in a breakthrough experiment by EPFL and University of Cambridge scientists. https://phys.org/news/2013-06-dna-materials-life.html Biochemistry Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:54:45 EDT news290339671 Scientists are reporting development and successful initial testing of the first practical "smart" material that may supply the missing link in efforts to use in medicine a form of light that can penetrate four inches into the human body. Their report on the new polymer or plastic-like material, which has potential for use in diagnosing diseases and engineer new human tissues in the lab, appears in ACS' journal Macromolecules. https://phys.org/news/2011-11-smart-material-medical-potential-tissue-penetrating.html Polymers Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:40:01 EST news240673093 Scientists have developed a new method to make proteins form crystals using 'smart materials' that remember the shape and characteristics of the molecule. The technique, reported today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, should assist research into new medicines by helping scientists work out the structure of drug targets. https://phys.org/news/2011-06-boosting-drugs-smart-materials-proteins.html Materials Science Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:00:21 EDT news227792882 Researchers at North Carolina State University have successfully modified a common plant virus to deliver drugs only to specific cells inside the human body, without affecting surrounding tissue. These tiny "smart bombs" - each one thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair - could lead to more effective chemotherapy treatments with greatly reduced, or even eliminated, side effects. https://phys.org/news/2009-02-nanoparticle-smart-drug-delivery-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:56:30 EST news153668415