Nerdy Science Blog

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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I’m always interested in nanotechnology, but I didn’t have a chance to involve in it. Japanese Takahashi Kaito won the Most Bizarre award at The 49th International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photo Beam Technology and Nanofabrication Bizarre/Beautiful Micrograph Contest.

This photo was titled Chisai Benjo (”Small Toilet”) in magnication of ~15,000X, and I absolutely have no idea where it was located. According to the picture description, this small toilet might be a collective site for ions, electrons or even small molecules. Perhaps it’s a receptor or ligand. This photo is just so exciting.

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