Turning a dangerous toxin into a biosensor

Some types of bacteria have the ability to punch holes into other cells and kill them. They do this by releasing specialized proteins called "pore-forming toxins" (PFTs) that latch onto the cell's membrane and form a tube-like ...

From ribbon to scroll: Gaining shape control by electrostatics

Northwestern Engineering materials science researchers have uncovered new insights into how electrostatic interactions can be regulated to attain and control scroll-like cochleate structures, which could inform how to capture ...

Graphene layer enables advance in super-resolution microscopy

Researchers at the University of Göttingen have developed a new method that takes advantage of the unusual properties of graphene to electromagnetically interact with fluorescing (light-emitting) molecules. This method allows ...

How to pop open soft nanoparticles using sound waves

Ultrasound has long been an important tool for medical imaging. Recently, medical researchers have demonstrated that focused ultrasound waves can also improve the delivery of therapeutic agents such as drugs and genetic material. ...

Water that never freezes

Can water reach minus 263 degrees Celsius without turning into ice? Yes it can, say researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, if it is confined in nanometre-scale lipid channels.

Biosensor may provide better cancer diagnosis

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have developed a new biological sensor that could help clinicians better diagnose cancer and epilepsy.

New lipid shape atlas holds key to early disease detection

Every bit of information about a person's health—their exposure to chemicals, their inherited risks, their current illnesses—lies within their molecules. That's a diverse array of substances that amounts to a number so ...

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