by Lyle Nyberg While the word “bacteria” conjures images of human illness and death for many people, the vast majority of bacteria in the world allow for the healthy functioning of humans and ecosystems. The …
Sustainable Nano
How do Nanoparticles Enter Cells?
by Jennifer Oritz There is an ovarian cancer drug called DOXIL that is delivered to cells in a nanoparticle made of molecules of fat. But, how does the nanoparticle enter the cell? According to a …
The Educational Impact of Meeting Real Scientists
by Zach Schrieber The most exciting moments of my pre-college education were from a field trip to the geology department of Augustana College where I was shown around the facilities by Dr. Michael Wolf. He …
How Some Nanoparticles are Like Chocolate Chip Cookies
by John Van Gilder Synthesizing nanoparticles is sometimes a lot like baking cookies. You start with ingredients, mix them together, and put them in the oven. After a few hours, you take them out and …
Slowing the Speed of Light to Zero
by Akash Sen For centuries humans have been obsessed with speed. We are constantly pushing the limits for how fast we can make things travel. Currently in modern physics, light is regarded as the fastest …
Swiss Army Knife of Science – Collaborations & Research Instrumentation
by Franz Geiger This blog post comes at a time when our center is probing the nano-bio interface (see prior blog entries below) with one of the largest collection of scientific research instrumentation to which …
The Roof Coating that could Reduce Smog
by Ky Christenson In 2012 around 7 million people died as a result of air pollution exposure according to the World Health Organization. Air Pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk. Reducing …
Invisible Remnants of Dead Stuff Hiding in Water
by Arielle Mensch Ready for a little test? Try to list all of the things you can think of that are found in a river or lake… I’m sure you came up with things like …
Animated Ladybug Super Zoom-In
by Tom Kuech Here is the underside of a ladybug. Click the image to enlarge. You won’t regret it! In this post I hope to help you appreciate just how small “nano” is, using the …
How I Study Nanoparticles’ Interactions with Biological Soup
by Lisa Jacob Designing non-toxic nanomaterials requires that we understand how those nanomaterials interact with biological systems. Systems such as you me, and all other organisms, contain a “biological soup” of chemical compounds, known as …