by Zita Sárközi Our planet’s climate is warming faster than ever before and exceeds known paleoclimate rates of climate change.1 This rapid shift disrupts the delicate balance that allows plants and animals to thrive. As …
biology
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 …
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 …
What my Father-In-Law Taught me About Science
by Rebecca Klaper My father-in-law has lived on the same plot of farmland in northeast Georgia since he was 5 years old (he turned 60-something this year) and he knows everything about it. He is …
Fungus Amongus – the Nanoparticle Producers
by Jared Bozich Recent discoveries continue to highlight the many uses of that wonderful kingdom of life, fungus. Penicillin, a group of antibiotics that changed medicine forever, is derived from the Penicillium fungi (taken from …
Spying on chameleon nanoparticles inside living cells
by Galya Orr If you are exposed to nanoparticles, you might think they would move around inside your body unchanged. However, it would be more accurate to think of them as tiny chameleons, constantly changing …
The Cautionary Tale of DDT – Biomagnification, Bioaccumulation, and Research Motivation
by Laura Olenick We perform many different kinds of experiments in the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology—some that you might expect (like making new kinds of nanoparticles), and some that you might not (like feeding nanoparticles …
Nature’s nanotechnology, bio-mimicry, and making the superpowers of your dreams a reality
by Devrah Arndt Only over the past 20 years have we begun to harness the unique properties of nano-scale materials, while nature has been using nano- “technology” since the beginning of time to prevent infections, …
Nanomedicine Explainer – My Cat is in a Clinical Trial
by Ben Meyer I present to you my cat, Graboid. She has nanoparticles coursing through her veins, and those nanoparticles may save her life. Grabby is 14 years old. She was not featured at the …
Science Discipline Drama – past and present
by Ben Meyer A Biologist and a Chemist Walk into a Lab…then they have to share space and tools and work together…(you thought that was going to be a joke, right?) Let me preface my …