Nerdy Science Blog

French and Australian scientists develop a new way of delivering stem cells to regenerate bone.  According to Dr Frank Caruso of the Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the University of Melbourne, the new injectable format made of synthetic polymers enclosing growth factor and stem cells can be injected to any part of the bone to mend broken and diseased bones and joints, and only single injection is required.  The sizes of capsules range from about 100 nanometres to ten of microns.  Stem cell capsule may be used for treatment in 5 to 10 years time if all things go well.  One of the problems need to be solved now is the rate of releasing growth factors as it determines the number of injections needed.  Effective stem cell transplantation for bones and joints regrowth is critical as bone cells do not heal themselves very well sometimes.  The development of stem cell delivery in capsule form has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

(news [pic])

Can you imagine Obama in nano size?  I bet you can’t, but it is real.

John Hart. Sameh Tawfick, Michael De Volder and Will Walker used 150 million tiny carbon nanotubes to construct each face.

Australian gold rush started in 1851 when Edward Hargraves and his colleagues found gold near Bathurst, New South Wales.  It had a big impact on Australian economy and development.

Scientists had performed the dream which ancient Alchemists had dreamt — creating gold.  The gold was not visible to anyone as it was in nano size.  However nanoparticles of gold are only created in laboratories but not in nature.  Nanosized were discovered in Western Australia by scientists.  Scientists were searching for nano gold in nature to understand how geological processes transported and deposited gold.  This understanding can help gold explorers to find the new gold field.  Leader author, CSIRO’s Dr Rob Hough, explained that nanosized gold was common in environments where saline water interacts with gold deposits.  The gold nanoparticles were not detected earlier as they are transparent to electron beams.

(news)

This bowl of noodle won’t fill your stomach because it is only 1-micron 2-micron long x 0.5-micron thick noodles. This world’s smallest Ramen is created by Professor Masayuki Nakao, University of Tokyo, so that one million bowls of nano Ramen can be sold each meal. The purpose of creation is to develop new carbon nanotube-based microcircuit fabrication technology. The soup of this bowl of Ramen is consisted of ethanol and catalyst. Perhaps it’s the art of nano-cooking.

You can also know the history of Ramen at here.

[Source Pink Tentacle]

I was playing with Google Trends to see the trend for different keywords. The search volume for “microbiology” decreases over time, but the news volume increases.

I also search for other terms like “pharmacology”, “biotechnology”, “nanotechnology” and “immunology”. “Biotechnology” has the highest search and news volume, followed by “microbiology”. However “nanotechnology” related news increases over time and higher than other keywords except “biotechnology”. India is the country where most searches are generated.

You can also try to search for other keywords to know their trends, such as “evolution”, “biology”, “chemistry”, “physics” and “anatomy” (they have higher search volume than the keywords above).

There are stains on your clothes and you can’t remove it?  You don’t have time to wash your clothes?  Dr Walid Daoud from Monash had developed a nanoparticle coating that can help you remove stains easily.  All you need is sunlight.

The nanoparticle coating works on wool and silk fibre (soon cotton).  It decompose dirt, stains and microorganisms that are harmful.  It is composed of anatase titanium dioxide.  The chemical will react with sunlight for oxidation reaction.  This coating will not react on skin.

(news)

Monash University

A Monash University PhD student has developed a new technique that could revolutionise stem cell treatment for Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury.

David Nisbet from Monash University’s Department of Materials Engineering has used existing polymer-based biodegradable fibres, 100 times smaller than a human hair, and re-engineered them to create a unique 3-D scaffold that could potentially allow stem cells to repair damaged nerves in the human body more quickly and effectively.

The Hindu:

An Indian microbiologist is trying to use nanotechnology to help identify an opportunistic pathogen that colonises recto-vaginal areas in up to 50 per cent of women worldwide and causes several life-threatening diseases in infants. Atul Kumar Johri, Associate Professor at JNU’s School of Life Sciences in New Delhi, is keen to develop a mechanism to identify Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria that cause pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis in newborns and is responsible for significant morbidity in pregnant women and the elderly.

Dr. Johri along with scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia is working on a project to make use of nanotechnology for rapid, more sensitive as well as efficient detection of the GBS bacteria in pregnant women.

I read this “Molecular Beauty” written by Shannon Teoh and think that it’s funny.

With the introduction of the diabolical Nanocare Hair Dryer, a weapon coded EH2271, Panasonic will continue this trend towards healthy scalps and smooth hair cuticles. This is achieved by breaking down water into a nano-sized moisture ion, which is a 1,000 times smaller than a normal one.

These ions will then infiltrate and bury themselves deep within your strands of hair causing such dire effects as a 20 per cent increase in hair strength and reversing damage caused by such beauty treatments as hair colouring and perming.

Not only that, Panasonic is also wiping out sebum on your scalp! The nano ions will reduce sebum by 75 per cent, and increase moisture by 15 per cent, making it detestably clean.

It is also acidic, acidic, I tell you! With a pH of 5.5, it will protect against heavy brushing which removes protein from your hair.

As if this insanity has not gone far enough, Panasonic has also come up with the Nanocare Facial Ionic Steamer for healthy skin on your face. Again, nano ions — the very mention of them makes my blood boil — will penetrate deep under your skin, corrupting with deep and long-lasting moisturisation, keeping your skin soft and radiant.

The heat from the steamer will also encourage the production of nasty natural collagen, which will fight the effects of aging, keeping skin elastic.

The Australian:

THE Rudd Government’s budget axe will fall on the technology behind self-cleaning windows and stain-resistant clothes, after unions expressed concerns over the safety of the emerging field of nanotechnology.

As Treasurer Wayne Swan seeks to make savings of more than $10 billion, it has been decided that one of the casualties will be the four-year, $21.5 million National Nanotechnology Strategy launched by the Howard government. It is to be cut short by two years, saving Treasury almost $12 million.

Mike Ford, associate director of the University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Nanoscale Technology, said the surprise decision could leave Australia “out of the game” on nano-technology.