http://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. (Phys.org) —Nano-sized crystals of magnetic material can be found in a wide variety of organisms. Among the most studied are magnetotactic bacteria, which can orient and navigate using biosynthesized magnetosomes. These organelles are made from iron oxide or iron sulphide particles and may eventually have many therapeutic applications. When used in conjunction with new MRI-based methods, they can potentially be used as contrast agents or magnetic labels in imaging, or for drug delivery and local hyperthermic heating in treatment. A better understanding of how these magnetosomes are biomineralized, and how the three-dimensional fields that originate from them are structured is essential to achieve these goals. A new report this week in Nature describes an optical magnetic imaging technique that can be used to map magnetic field variations on the nanoscale. The author's wide-field microscopy technique allows parallel optical and magnetic imaging of many individual cells across a field of 100 microns or more. http://phys.org/news286108408.html Physics Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:33:49 EST news286108408 (Phys.org)—Electromagnetic devices, from power drills to smart-phones, require an electric current to create the magnetic fields that allow them to function. But with smaller devices, efficiently delivering a current to create magnetic fields becomes more difficult. http://phys.org/news281002995.html Nanotechnology Mon, 25 Feb 2013 08:23:26 EST news281002995 Migrating birds use magnetic particles within their body to create a 'map' with which to navigate using the earth's magnetic field, according to new research published today in Journal of the Royal Society Interface. http://phys.org/news279440184.html Biology Thu, 07 Feb 2013 06:20:19 EST news279440184 Graphene and related materials hold promise for the future of electrochemical sensors—detectors that measure the concentration of oxygen, toxic gases, and other substances—but many applications require greater sensitivity at lower detection ranges than scientists have been able to achieve. http://phys.org/news277649920.html Nanotechnology Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:58:59 EST news277649920 (Phys.org)—Using clusters of tiny magnetic particles about 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have shown that they can manipulate how thousands of cells divide, morph and develop finger-like extensions. http://phys.org/news269591520.html Nanotechnology Tue, 16 Oct 2012 07:32:25 EST news269591520 An interdisciplinary team of scientists from seven U.S. institutions says a disregard of three critical protocols, including sorting samples by size, explains why a group challenging the theory of a North American meteor-impact event some 12,900 years ago failed to find iron- and silica-rich magnetic particles in the sites they investigated. http://phys.org/news267179257.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:27:52 EST news267179257 (Phys.org) -- Using a sensor made of densely packed carbon nanotubes coated with gold nanoparticles, a researcher team headed by James Rusling of the University of Connecticut has developed a low-cost microfluidic device for detecting oral cancer. According to the researchers, the device is readily adaptable to detecting other cancers. http://phys.org/news260691132.html Nanotechnology Thu, 05 Jul 2012 07:13:21 EST news260691132 Microscopic particles are being coaxed by Duke University engineers to assemble themselves into larger crystalline structures by the use of varying concentrations of microscopic particles and magnetic fields. http://phys.org/news254486242.html Nanotechnology Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:37:34 EST news254486242 University at Buffalo scientists have used magnetic nanoparticles to remotely control ion channels, neurons in cell culture and even the movement of a tiny worm. http://phys.org/news236848472.html Nanotechnology Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:14:41 EST news236848472 Each year, plant viruses and fungal attacks lead to crop losses of up to 30 percent. That is why it is important to detect plant disease early on. Yet laboratory tests are expensive and often time-consuming. Researchers are now developing a low-cost quick test for use on site. http://phys.org/news234077668.html Chemistry Thu, 01 Sep 2011 06:35:29 EST news234077668 (PhysOrg.com) -- Alexey Snezhko and Igor Aronson, physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, have coaxed "micro-robots" to do their bidding. http://phys.org/news232102804.html Physics Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:10:03 EST news232102804 Glucose meters aren't just for diabetics anymore. Thanks to University of Illinois chemists, they can be used as simple, portable, inexpensive meters for a number of target molecules in blood, serum, water or food. http://phys.org/news230732673.html Chemistry Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:25:09 EST news230732673 Many aspects of cell behaviour are influenced by mechanical force, but how single cells respond to these forces is unclear. An EU-funded team of researchers sheds light on the relationship between the signals that affect cells' behaviour and their physical properties. The findings are published in the journal Nature Cell Biology. http://phys.org/news229341165.html Biology Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:53:06 EST news229341165 Slanted exterior edges on tiny magnetic disks could lead to a breakthrough in data processing. Materials researchers of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany, were able to create magnetic vortices with a diameter of only one third of a thousandth of a millimeter - structures which were impossible in the past. They could help to store larger amounts of data on increasingly smaller surfaces with as little energy as possible. http://phys.org/news219318482.html Physics Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:49:01 EST news219318482 Hitachi Maxell and Tokyo Institute of Technology today jointly announced the development of ultra high capacity tape media with ultra thin nano-structured magnetic film by using of facing targets sputtering method. The demonstrated a world-record areal density of 45.0 Gb/in2 in linear formatted perpendicular magnetic recording media. This latest technology enables over 50 TB capacity per a standard tape cartridge, which equals to 33 times larger than a capacity of the latest LTO Ultrium 5 data cartridge. http://phys.org/news193474299.html Technology Wed, 19 May 2010 07:52:08 EST news193474299 Carnegie Mellon University and Intel Corporation will unveil a new class of materials called solder magnetic nanocomposites that could help streamline the process of computer electronic packaging. The milestone research will be discussed at the 11th annual Magnetism and Magnetics Materials Conference Jan. 18-22 at the Marriott Washington Wardman Park in Washington, D.C. http://phys.org/news183131949.html Nanotechnology Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:59:44 EST news183131949 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Purdue University have created a magnetic "ferropaper" that might be used to make low-cost "micromotors" for surgical instruments, tiny tweezers to study cells and miniature speakers. http://phys.org/news181932026.html Nanotechnology Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:41:09 EST news181932026 (PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny nanoprobes have shown to be effective in delivering cancer drugs more directly to tumor cells - mitigating the damage to nearby healthy cells - and Purdue University research has shown that the nanoprobes are getting the drugs to right cellular compartments. http://phys.org/news180027243.html Nanotechnology Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:10:05 EST news180027243 Sandia researchers have developed a process that can mix tiny volumes of liquid, even in complicated spaces. http://phys.org/news175873414.html Physics Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:44:59 EST news175873414 Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre Berlin, in cooperation with colleagues from Dresden, St. Andrews, La Plata and Oxford, have for the first time observed magnetic monopoles and how they emerge in a real material. They publish this result in the journal Science within the Science Express web site on Sept. 3. http://phys.org/news171209923.html Physics Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:19:12 EST news171209923 (PhysOrg.com) -- Many of the new techniques based on nanotechnology that have been developed for faster and more sensitive detection of pathogens fail in day-to-day clinical use because they require complex sample preparation or measurement equipment, or simply cannot keep up with the large sample throughput in a clinic. Researchers working with Ralph Weissleder at Harvard Medical School have now developed a very simple process for the rapid detection of pathogens that requires no further sample preparation. http://phys.org/news168071819.html Chemistry Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:38:22 EST news168071819 (PhysOrg.com) -- Diagnosis and treatment in one go: Korean researchers led by Tae Gwan Park and Jinwoo Cheon have developed the basis for a four-in-one agent that can detect, target, and disable tumor cells while also making them macroscopically and microscopically visible. http://phys.org/news160820306.html Chemistry Wed, 06 May 2009 09:19:25 EST news160820306 (PhysOrg.com) -- Magnetic technology could help address a major problem that bioengineers face as they try to create new tissue: getting human cells to not only form structures, but to stimulate the growth of blood vessels to nourish their growth. http://phys.org/news158252321.html Nanotechnology Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:59:39 EST news158252321 The power of magnetism may address a major problem facing bioengineers as they try to create new tissue -- getting human cells to not only form structures, but to stimulate the growth of blood vessels to nourish that growth. http://phys.org/news157731834.html Nanotechnology Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:25:49 EST news157731834 A researcher has developed probes that can help pinpoint the location of tumors and might one day be able to directly attack cancer cells. http://phys.org/news156437147.html Nanotechnology Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:46:29 EST news156437147 (PhysOrg.com) -- What do Saturn and flowers have in common? As shapes, both possess certain symmetries that are easily recognizable in the natural world. Now, at an extremely small level, researchers from Duke University and the University of Massachusetts have created a unique set of conditions in which tiny particles within a solution will consistently assemble themselves into these and other complex shapes. http://phys.org/news154190856.html Nanotechnology Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:48:45 EST news154190856