https://phys.org/nanotech-news/bio-medicine/ en-us The latest science news on nanobiology, nano medicine, nanotechnology, nanoscience, and nanotech. MIT engineers have developed a new way to program natural killer (NK) immune cells to target cancerous T cells or T cells that have become autoreactive, leading to diseases such as lymphoma and autoimmune hepatitis. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nanoparticle-reprograms-nk-immune-cells.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:20:16 EDT news711107494 Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurological disorders associated with later life, and its prevalence rises sharply with age. It affects the brain systems that control movement, often causing tremor, stiffness, slowness and problems with balance, all of which can reduce independence and quality of life in older adults. The condition is mainly linked to the gradual loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nanostructure-ultrasound-potential-parkinson-treatment.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 12 Oct 2026 18:00:08 EDT news711038281 A spinach leaf can turn light into chemical energy. A struggling heart cannot. Researchers in China have brought part of the leaf's energy-making machinery into rat heart cells to test whether borrowed photosynthesis could help an overworked heart. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-spinach-nanoparticles-rat-hearts-photosynthesis.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 11 Oct 2026 07:40:01 EDT news710599646 A novel nanovesicle-based platform developed at Institute of Science Tokyo can measure hydrostatic pressure by converting pressure-induced molecular changes into fluorescence signals. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-adjustable-nanosensors-pressure-fluorescent-stiffness.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:00:02 EDT news710771521 Finding a single cancer cell in a tube of blood is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. As researchers seek to detect ever-smaller and rarer targets, from viruses to circulating tumor cells in blood, the demand for ultrasensitive, robust sensors that are practical for real-world samples continues to grow. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-method-free-particle-sensor-surfaces.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 09 Oct 2026 13:40:06 EDT news710766515 Nanobodies are extremely small antibody fragments that bind to specific molecules. When nanobodies are labeled with dyes, they can be used as probes to enhance super-resolution microscopy. However, conventional blinking dyes often perform poorly when attached to nanobodies, limiting their practical advantages. An international research team led by the University of Göttingen and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) has now shown that self-blinking dyes—which can switch between bright and dark states on their own—bypass this limitation. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-dyes-nanoscale-imaging-sacrificing-precision.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 07 Oct 2026 17:30:01 EDT news710609642 A research team has developed a highly sensitive electrochemical biosensor capable of rapidly and accurately diagnosing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks that may occur following head surgery or trauma. The team established a diagnostic platform that uses enzymes to detect subtle differences in sugars attached to protein surfaces and converts these differences into measurable electrical signals. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-highly-sensitive-biosensor-enables-rapid.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 06 Oct 2026 17:20:01 EDT news710516761 A team from Flinders University's Biomedical Nanoengineering Laboratory has found that vanillin has pronounced antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, making it a good candidate for wound-healing formulations. Their work is published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-vanillin-sweet-solution-chronic-wound.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:20:07 EDT news710495881 Contrast agents are compounds routinely used in clinical analysis to enhance differentiation between tissues or to increase the visibility of structures or fluids within the body, thus facilitating medical diagnosis. A study led by researcher Lucia Cardo and Ikerbasque research professor and AXA chair Maurizio Prato (both at CIC biomaGUNE) confirms that manganese-doped carbon nanodots could be the next generation of contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-manganese-doped-carbon-nanodots-rival.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:40:11 EDT news710411041 Recently, spatial omics has become a powerful tool, enabling researchers to see not only what molecules are present in a tissue, but also where they are located and how they are organized across cells, tissue structures and local microenvironments. This spatial context has deepened our understanding of cancer, neurobiology and immunology. Yet as the field advances, an important question remains: How many of these powerful technologies are ready for routine clinical use? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoneedle-arrays-rna-fresh-tissue.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 04 Oct 2026 17:00:06 EDT news709827261 From vaccines to gene therapies, mRNA medicines often rely on tiny fat-based particles called lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, to carry treatments where they need to go. But researchers still face a fundamental challenge: getting those therapies to the organs where they are needed most while limiting side effects elsewhere in the body. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-gut-mrna-tech-supercharges-vaccine.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:02 EDT news710062742 A research team led by an Oregon State University scientist has demonstrated in a mouse model a potentially better way to care for women facing the life-threatening condition of ectopic pregnancy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-mouse-reveals-magnetic-nanoparticles-potential.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 30 Sep 2026 16:20:16 EDT news709999622 Instead of capturing a memory with an iPhone camera, Carnegie Mellon University's Nivedita Shyamsundar used hers to make a scientific discovery. A senior in the Department of Chemistry, Shyamsundar studies tiny particles that could help medicines and vaccines travel more effectively through the human body and reach their targets. Her work may one day lead to better cancer treatments and stronger vaccines. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticle-mystery-iphone-camera.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:20:14 EDT news709887062 Nanoparticles could someday provide a new way to help soldiers fight back against deadly nerve agents on the front lines. In a new study, Northwestern University scientists developed a nanoparticle-based compound that, when mixed into clothing dyes, could limit the impact of chemicals commonly found in pesticides, insecticides and nerve agents. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wearable-nanotech-combat-nerve-agents.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:40:02 EDT news709889641 The research group at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Pontedera (Pisa), led by Gianni Ciofani, has developed new organic nanoparticles that combine multiple therapeutic functions in a single material for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-dopamine-based-nanotubes-combine-electrical.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:40:08 EDT news709831081 Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) at Kanazawa University have directly visualized how enzymes find and break DNA molecules in real time. Using high-speed atomic force microscopy, the team followed individual enzymes as they moved along DNA and found that they repeatedly returned to vulnerable regions before breaking them apart. The findings reveal how the structure of DNA influences its vulnerability to enzymatic breakdown. The research was led by Richard Wong and his team: Jingge Yang, Yujia Qiu, Keesiang Lim and Toshio Ando. The work is published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-exposed-dna-enzymes-imaging-reveals.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:00:17 EDT news709825561 RNA vaccines and other nucleic acid therapeutics are typically packaged within fatty molecules known as lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). MIT researchers have now developed a way to produce these particles much more quickly and with more precise control over their size and shape. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-automated-lipid-nanoparticle-production-rna.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 28 Sep 2026 13:20:07 EDT news709813443 New international best practice guidance, co-written at ANSTO, sets out how to measure where nanoparticles like titanium dioxide end up in the body and how long they remain. The guidance has been shared by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a forum and knowledge hub for data, analysis and best practices in public policy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticles-body-scientist-guidance.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:00:09 EDT news709795441 Researchers often use antibodies to detect specific molecules or biological markers because they are remarkably precise at recognizing their targets. However, finding the faint signals of cancer in blood samples is a challenge even for the most reliable techniques. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-laser-enables-colorectal-cancer-biomarker.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 25 Sep 2026 15:00:01 EDT news709553761 Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have teamed up with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company to uncover how storage conditions affect mRNA lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the technology behind COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments, and how to make them more effective. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-threatens-mrna-delivery-tris-buffer.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:40:05 EDT news709550701 Many liver and lung cancers arise in tissue that's already been scarred by chronic disease, such as hepatitis, cirrhosis or long-term lung damage. That scarring creates an environment that suppresses nearby immune cells, so by the time a tumor takes hold, it's often already shielded from the immune system and immunotherapy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticles-tumor-scarring-enable-immunotherapy.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:00:20 EDT news709548841 The COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrated the importance of rapid and reliable diagnostic methods for detecting and monitoring infectious diseases. Nucleic acids, including RNA, are key biomarkers used in the detection, monitoring and treatment of a wide range of diseases. However, isolating nucleic acids from biological samples can be challenging, particularly when they are present at very low concentrations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-modification-magnetic-nanoparticles-rna-isolation.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 25 Sep 2026 10:40:04 EDT news709547341 Honeycomb-shaped structures are familiar from beehives. Researchers have now designed molecules that self-assemble into a similar pattern on a scale far too small to see with the naked eye. These molecules are peptides: short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Each peptide consists of only nine amino acids. Many identical copies assemble into tiny fibers with a honeycomb-like interior filled with water. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-short-peptides-honeycomb-fibers-tiny.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 24 Sep 2026 14:20:17 EDT news709474573 An international collaboration led by the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Germany, has developed a labeling method that distinguishes fluorescent labels not by color but by how long it takes a dye to emit fluorescence. This makes it possible to visualize eight different proteins in a cell simultaneously in a single step using standard microscopes. The results have been published in the journal ACS Nano. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-fluorescence-proteins-cell.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 23 Sep 2026 16:00:10 EDT news709393321 An international research team has developed microscopic particles that can make blind retinas respond to light. The particles act as tiny light receptors. Researchers inject them into the eye, where they settle close to nerve cells in the retina. When light hits the particles, it triggers electrical and chemical processes that can activate the nerve cells and prompt them to send signals toward the brain. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticles-retinas-preclinical.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 22 Sep 2026 18:40:02 EDT news709314961 Researchers have developed an organoid-on-a-chip technology that verifies the efficacy of Parkinson's disease treatments in real time. The technology combines a stem cell–derived "mini-brain" with a nanoplasmonic sensor engineered to maximize light–matter interaction. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-gold-nanoplasmonic-chip-tracks-dopa.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:00:04 EDT news709290021 Gliomas are a major cause of cancer-related deaths in younger adults. About 7,000 patients harbor a common genetic mutation that affects the enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase 1. This mutated enzyme, called mIDH1, can produce a molecule that can reprogram both the tumor cells and the environment in which they grow. The molecule, known as 2-hydroxyglutarate, can also circulate in the blood and reprogram immune cells in the bone marrow. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticles-sensitize-gliomas-radiotherapy.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:20:01 EDT news709215301 Researchers have engineered a drug treatment that shows rapid effectiveness against endometriosis in early testing, laying the foundation for a potential therapy for an incurable, chronic disease that affects 1 in 10 women. The targeted nanotherapy, developed by a team of scientists at Washington State University, reduced endometriosis symptoms and disease progression after a single dose in a mouse model. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticle-drug-delivery-method-treatment.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 21 Sep 2026 15:40:02 EDT news709215002 Seeing a bachelor's thesis published in a scientific journal is relatively uncommon. For three theses linked to the same research group to result in scientific publications within just three months is downright rare. Yet that is exactly what has happened in Elsebeth Schröder's research group at the Division of Quantum Device Physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-amino-acids-bone-mineral-magnesium.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:40:01 EDT news708954721 What if signs of disease could be detected using nothing more than a tiny chip that fits in the palm of your hand and a camera, without ever visiting a hospital? A scene that once seemed possible only in science fiction has now moved one step closer to reality. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-portable-metasurface-biosensor-molecular-images.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:30:02 EDT news708875641