https://phys.org/nanotech-news/bio-medicine/ en-us The latest science news on nanobiology, nano medicine, nanotechnology, nanoscience, and nanotech. A research team led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has developed a new material that combines inorganic material with biological components to produce hydrogen peroxide more efficiently. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-layered-nano-biohybrid-sunlight-air.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Aug 2026 19:20:02 EDT news705851881 A vaccine's molecular structure plays a key role in determining how the immune system responds and prepares to protect the body from future exposure to a specific pathogen. To develop a vaccine that offers long-term protection from HIV, it's essential to promote a long-lasting immune response in which immune cells and antibodies prepared to combat the virus persist within the body. This has inspired scientists to find ways to alter vaccine structure to increase the duration and persistence of the immune response. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fine-tune-molecular-vaccines-immune.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:10:02 EDT news705858421 The tiny bones in your fingers withstand countless taps and swipes thanks to a precise blend of materials. Flexible collagen fibers form the framework, reinforced by hard calcium phosphate hydroxyapatite crystals. This is just one of countless examples in which living organisms weave organic materials directly into inorganic crystals with exquisite precision. In a recent study published in Nature Communications, scientists attempted to recreate such precise spatial arrangements in biomimetic composite materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-protein-nanoparticles-crystals-enabling.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Aug 2026 06:40:02 EDT news705724225 Venous malformations are abnormally shaped veins that develop when the cells lining blood vessels grow too fast when they aren't supposed to. Children can be born with them, and as the child grows, the venous malformations can get bigger. Venous malformations are a type of vascular malformation that can range from small and superficial to disfiguring, debilitating or even life-threatening. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-drug-nanoparticles-venous-malformations-mice.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:20:01 EDT news705763561 The use of nanoparticles in drug delivery offers key advantages: they can enable targeted drug delivery, protect active ingredients from premature degradation, extend their duration of action in the body and reduce side effects. However, as soon as nanoparticles come into contact with blood, proteins from the blood adsorb onto their surface—forming a so-called protein corona. This corona influences whether the particles are taken up by cells, how they distribute in the body or whether the immune system recognizes and attacks them. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nanoparticles-bloodstream.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:40:01 EDT news705746401 Transporting molecules across biological membranes is essential for life. In nature, this can occur through passive transport, known as diffusion. "Biological systems often use mechanical motion to accomplish tasks that cannot be achieved by diffusion alone," says Professor Laura Na Liu, director of the 2nd Physics Institute at the University of Stuttgart. For example, certain bacteria use extracellular contractile injection systems. These molecular nanomachines puncture target cells and deliver molecular cargo. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dna-origami-nanosyringe-molecules-synthetic.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:00:01 EDT news705666602 A joint research team—led by professor Young Seok Cho from the School of Medicine, alongside professor James J. Moon from the University of Michigan—has developed the world's first oral, microbiome-based nanomedicine. By leveraging natural metabolites produced by gut bacteria, the new drug significantly enhances immune cells' ability to attack cancer cells. The study was published in Nature Nanotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-oral-nanomedicine-cancer-immunotherapy-harnessing.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:40:03 EDT news705663844 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab have developed a new method to analyze the condition of immune cells in the blood. The method has been tested on patients with atherosclerosis and can distinguish their immune cells from those of healthy individuals. The study is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fluorescent-nanosensors-distinguish-healthy-diseased.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:40:04 EDT news705235081 One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is the accumulation of a peptide in the brain known as amyloid beta. A new study published in Nature Communications on July 22 has uncovered the atomic structure of the peptide in its harmful form. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-atomic-view-alzheimer-disease-peptide.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:03 EDT news705230402 Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. It's difficult to treat because tumor cells infiltrate the surrounding brain tissue, making it hard for surgeons to remove the cancer completely without damaging healthy tissue. Treatment is further complicated by the blood-brain barrier, which limits how well drugs and radiation therapy reach the brain. All these factors contribute to a five-year survival rate of only around 7%. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nanoparticles-surgeons-destroy-brain-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:20:03 EDT news705229622 For decades, scientists have accepted that the immune system naturally weakens with age. Georgia Tech biomedical engineer and Carl Ring Family Professor Ankur Singh wasn't convinced. Then the COVID-19 pandemic made the stakes impossible to ignore. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nanowires-key-functions-aging-cells.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:30:02 EDT news705168721 The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted severe consequences of unchecked respiratory disease, including cytokine storms. This phenomenon affected many COVID-19 patients and is a potential side effect of many other diseases involving significant inflammation, but approaches to treating these symptoms remain unclear. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cell-vesicles-trigger-lipid-counterstorm.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:00:04 EDT news704554321 A collaborative research group led by Hiroshi Daimon, a specially appointed research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, has developed an "atom-holography microscope" capable of directly observing three-dimensional atomic arrangements in nanoscale regions by combining the electron beam of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with CoDELMA, a newly developed two-dimensional display-type analyzer. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-atom-holography-microscope-visualization-3d.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:40:07 EDT news704621479 Nanoplastics—plastic particles smaller than one micrometer—are generated through the degradation and abrasion of plastic products and are increasingly detected in food, drinking water, air and biological tissues. Although the presence of plastic particles in animals and humans is well-established, determining how nanoplastics are distributed within complex organs, such as the brain, remains challenging. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-dimensional-visualization-nanoplastic-neonatal-mouse.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 29 Jul 2026 21:40:01 EDT news704540097 A new quantum sensing technique could enable measurements of single protein structures and other important molecules, with potential applications in drug discovery and structural biology. A research team from the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo developed a new method that uses a single molecule as a quantum sensor. Quantum sensors use unique properties of quantum mechanics to make ultra-precise measurements that traditional sensors cannot achieve. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-molecule-quantum-sensor-imaging-proteins.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:00:06 EDT news704463661 Social amoebae are unicellular organisms that act in concert, requiring extensive communication. Pierre Stallforth and colleagues studied modes of communication among cells of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, using fluorescent labeling and various imaging techniques. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-social-amoebae-nanotube-networks-linking.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:00:05 EDT news704458747 Imagine a smart bandage that could continuously monitor an infected wound, alerting doctors when bacteria spread or when treatment begins to work. That vision is one step closer to reality with new research from Virginia Tech. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nanoscale-sensor-personalized-medicine.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:20:05 EDT news704450881 Nanoporous material-based separation technology is vital in many applications because it can precisely distinguish between and separate nearly identical chemical or biochemical molecules. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-dynamic-nanopore-maximize-efficiency-molecule.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:40:06 EDT news704450222 Cancer cells survive by hiding from the immune system's surveillance. A KAIST research team has developed a new anticancer platform that makes cancer cells send out their own danger signals—prompting immune cells to attack—while simultaneously delivering gene therapy. The approach is expected to offer a new treatment strategy that combines cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy in a single nanoparticle. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-helical-nanoparticles-trigger-cancer-alarms.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:20:04 EDT news704448901 Scientists at Houston Methodist Research Institute have developed a biodegradable implant designed to deliver cancer-fighting immunotherapy drugs directly into tumors over an extended period, a strategy that could improve treatment effectiveness while reducing side effects. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-biodegradable-implant-cancer-immunotherapy-healthy.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:50:01 EDT news704387282 Researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, found a way to optimize how cells bind to small packages they release called extracellular vesicles. By coating the vesicles with metal ions, they made cells and their corresponding vesicles stick together more strongly than they would naturally. This reduced the time needed for cells to capture their own vesicles, even in mixtures containing billions of other vesicles. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-metal-ion-coating-extracellular-vesicles.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:00:02 EDT news704109301 Researchers at Queen Mary University of London and University of Cambridge in collaboration with colleagues at HHMI Janelia and NIH, have created some of the most detailed three-dimensional maps ever generated of human airway cells, revealing how the specialized cells that protect our lungs are built and organized. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-3d-nanoscale-human-airway-epithelium.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 23 Jul 2026 15:50:01 EDT news704038861 Immune cells protect and heal the human body. In medicine, they are specifically activated through biochemical reactions to treat certain diseases. Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, ETH Zurich, Humboldt University of Berlin, Charité Berlin and Inselspital Bern have now discovered that immune cells also respond to the surface structure of materials—without chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nanopores-human-cells-biochemical.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 23 Jul 2026 15:00:03 EDT news704030701 Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common form of head and neck cancer, and the number of new cases is predicted to rise by 30% in the next decade. Despite decades of cancer research, treating OSCC remains a challenge. The five-year survival rate is approximately 50%, and standard treatments such as ablative surgery and radiation often leave patients with permanent disfigurement or profound, lifelong impairment of essential oral functions such as speaking and swallowing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-lipid-nanoparticles-resistant-oral-tumors.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:00:02 EDT news704019430 Researchers at the University of Twente have developed an optical method that follows the shape changes of a single protein in liquid without attaching anything to it. It reads the protein's structure from its own molecular vibrations, free from the labels or tags that other techniques rely on. The method could help researchers study how proteins respond to drugs, toxins and other biomolecules. The paper is published in the journal ACS Nano. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-optical-method-proteins-shift.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:20:01 EDT news703943222 In a promising development for cancer treatment, a collaborative research team has overcome two issues that have prevented photothermal therapy, a much less invasive treatment option than surgery and/or radiation, from becoming more common. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-combined-nanoparticle-internal-laser-method.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:20:07 EDT news703935118 For decades, water utilities have relied on giant tanks filled with ion-exchange resin beads to remove perchlorate, a harmful industrial pollutant, from drinking water. The system works by attracting negatively charged perchlorate ions to positively charged resin beads, allowing purified water to flow out of the tanks. But the process leaves behind a difficult problem: resin beads loaded with perchlorate that must be regenerated or disposed of as hazardous waste. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ruthenium-nanoparticles-captured-perchlorate-harmless.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 21 Jul 2026 19:40:01 EDT news703865297 Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), have developed a swallowable nanoscale delivery platform designed to transport therapeutic enzymes through the stomach's acidic environment and activate a cancer-killing reaction at tumor sites. Early preclinical findings suggest that the approach may offer a new strategy for treating gastric cancer more precisely while reducing damage to healthy tissue. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-acid-resistant-nanocage-gastric-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:20:07 EDT news703779842 The immune system, the body's defense network against infections and injuries, can sometimes become too active. In these cases, it can produce too many immune mediators, fragments of genetic material or proteins that regulate immune responses. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nanoparticles-immune-molecules-blood.html Bio & Medicine Sat, 18 Jul 2026 13:40:01 EDT news703402994 Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the deadliest cancers because it is often diagnosed late and is difficult to treat. However, a South Korean research team has developed "smart nanoparticles" that remain hidden in normal tissue but shed their protective coating and release anticancer drugs once they reach tumor tissue. This drug delivery technology is attracting attention for its potential to reduce the side effects of cancer treatment while significantly improving treatment efficacy. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-stealth-anticancer-nanoparticles-mussel-proteins.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:20:07 EDT news703326031