PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

6-Nov-2014

Contact: Nicholas Young Nicholas.Young@osumc.edu 614-293-4439 Ohio State University @osuresearch

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The health benefits of over-the-counter curcumin supplements might not get past your gut, but new research shows that a modified formulation of the spice releases its anti-inflammatory goodness throughout the body.

Curcumin is a naturally occurring compound found in the spice turmeric that has been used for centuries as an Ayurvedic medicine treatment for such ailments as allergies, diabetes and ulcers.

Anecdotal and scientific evidence suggests curcumin promotes health because it lowers inflammation, but it is not absorbed well by the body. Most curcumin in food or supplements stays in the gastrointestinal tract, and any portion that's absorbed is metabolized quickly.

Many research groups are testing the compound's effects on disorders ranging from colon cancer to osteoarthritis. Others, like these Ohio State University scientists, are investigating whether enabling widespread availability of curcumin's biological effects to the entire body could make it useful both therapeutically and as a daily supplement to combat disease.

"There's a reason why this compound has been used for hundreds of years in Eastern medicine. And this study suggests that we have identified a better and more effective way to deliver curcumin and know what diseases to use it for so that we can take advantage of its anti-inflammatory power," said Nicholas Young, a postdoctoral researcher in rheumatology and immunology at Ohio State and lead author of the study.

The research is published in the Nov. 4, 2014, issue of the journal PLOS ONE.

Curcumin powder was mixed with castor oil and polyethylene glycol in a process called nano-emulsion (think vinaigrette salad dressing), creating fluid teeming with microvesicles that contain curcumin. This process allows the compound to dissolve and be more easily absorbed by the gut to enter the bloodstream and tissues.

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New research adds spice to curcumin's health-promoting benefits

Google is in the early stages of developing a nanoparticle-covered pill to detect cancer and other serious health problems such as heart disease, according to Andrew Conrad, head of the life sciences team at Google X, who revealed the project last week at The Wall Street Journal's WSJDLive conference.

The pill would work in tandem with a wearable magnetic device worn by the patient; the device would guide the pill to different parts of the body and collect data that could reveal the person's potential for developing a variety of health problems.

"The idea is to functionalize these nanoparticles to make them do what we want," Conrad said.

There's considerable interest in the project, although it's in the early stages, with a time line of five years or more.

"Using metal nanoparticles for detecting tumor cells is an intriguing innovation," said Victoria Richards, associate professor of medical sciences at Quinnipiac University's Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine.

"It would be an advantage over invasive methods or less specific means of diagnostics," she told TechNewsWorld.

"Since specific ligands can be added to the surface of these magnetic -- or optical -- particles, specific cells can be targeted," Richards explained, including cancer cells, cancer-related biomarkers and lesions on organs.

From the patient's perspective, such a pill could lead to a radical change -- for the better -- from the current methods available, said Edward R. Flynn, chief scientific officer at Senior Scientific.

Finding and treating cancer possibly could be done without the use of radiation, for example.

"It would be done internally, with a pill, and without the use of invasive and expensive medical instruments," Flynn told TechNewsWorld.

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Take a Nano Pill and Call Google in the Morning?

6 hours ago

Modern hard drives only require an area of a few square nanometers for each bit of information. To protect ourselves from sunburn we use sunscreens that contain nanoparticles of titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. Is this the beginning of the nano era? Younan Xia (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) pursues this question in his editorial in the most recent edition of the journal Angewandte Chemie, which is dedicated to the topic of nanoscience (free to access until the end of 2014).

"Before 'nano' became a buzzword, people had already used nanomaterials for many decades, if not centuries," says Xia. "Take for example catalytic converters, which were commercialized in the 1970s." Our cells also contain nanoscale structures, such as those used for the production of proteins or to generate energy. These have long been the subjects of intensive research. "Nano" is thus not new at all. However, there remains much to discover, to investigate and to carry over into new areas of application.

"The quantum effect is probably the most exciting gift from the nanoworld," states Xia. "For example, nanoparticles of the same solid material (so-called quantum dots) give off light of different colors depending on particle size." This and other phenomena could be used for future electronic or photonic components. On the other hand, some applications benefit when properties remain the same as particles get smaller: although the dimensions of a transistor have shrunk from a few hundred micrometers to 22 nanometers over the last fifty years, they still operate on the same physical principles.

Nanomedicine allows for highly specific diagnosis and treatment on the molecular level. Highly efficient cancer drugs should be able to overcome barriers, recognize malignant cells, and selectively attack them. Says Xia, "A large number of drug delivery systems have been approved for cancer therapy in clinics." A complex field like nanomedicine requires interdisciplinary teams drawn from chemistry, physics, engineering, biology, genetics, proteomics, radiology, oncology, and public health. One of the biggest challenges is to draw these different people together for true collaboration.

Many nanomaterials have a long way to go to move from the lab to industrial application, because the production of precisely defined nanoparticles on an industrial scale is extremely difficult. In this area, microfluidics technology is turning out to be a highly promising alternative for scalable, reliable, and cost-effective production.

This special edition of Angewandte Chemie includes review articles by leading experts, providing an overview of the latest developments and issues: Harald Krug takes up the theme "Nanosafety Research Are We on the Right Track", Jens Rieger and his co-workers present "Formation of Nanoparticles and Nanostructures An Industrial Perspective on CaCO3, Cement, and Polymers", Reinhard Niessner discusses "The Many Faces of Soot: Characterization of Engine-released Soot Nanoparticles", and Frank von der Kammer and his co-workers offer "Spot the Difference: Engineered and Natural Nanoparticles in the Environment Release, Behavior, and Fate". Xia and his co-workers contribute "Engineered Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy".

"From electronics to photonics, information storage, communication, catalysis, energy, medicine, homeland security environment protection, cosmetics, and even building construction, every one of them could benefit from nanomaterials," concludes Xia. "Only when this relatively new and still seemingly bizarre realm of nano is able to make a positive and long-lasting impact on every aspect of our society, can we finally declare the arrival of the nano era."

Explore further: Nanosafety research: The quest for the gold standard

More information: "Editorial: Are We Entering the Nano Era?" Angewandte Chemie International Edition Volume 53, Issue 46, pages 1226812271, November 10, 2014. dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201406740

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Entering the Nano Era

Toronto, Canada (PRWEB) November 01, 2014

Nano Essentials, a company that features an all-natural concentrated product called E-Drops NANO that allows people to treat UTI without antibiotics, is pleased to announce that it is now offering free shipping to both the United States and Canada.

As a company spokesperson for the company explained, Nano Essentials has enjoyed a hugely successful last four months. For example, sales in Europe have increased by 112 percent since mid-summer. For those who are wondering how to treat UTI without antibiotics, E-Drops NANO can offer the relief that they are desperately looking for. Instead of just another cranberry product, E-Drops NANO offers a much stronger and more effective solution.

Unfortunately, many women are plagued by recurring and painful urinary tract infections and cystitis. In many cases, these health conditions are caused by E. coli bacteria. While some women are advised to take prescription antibiotics by their physician, in many cases, the company spokesperson said, these medications do not work as effectively as they expect them to. This has led many people to look into how to treat urinary tract infection without antibiotics.

E-drops NANO was invented by Dr. Enes Hasnagic, a leading expert in herbal medicine and nutraceuticals, the company spokesperson said, adding that it is used to effectively combat urinary and vaginal tract infections.

The plant extracts in E-drops NANO contain antibacterial and antiseptic properties, and these work to form a thin protective layer on the walls of the urinary tract to prevent bacterial growth.

Specifically, E-Drops NANO contain all-natural herbal extracts including juniper, lavender, eucalyptus and pine needle. To use it, people simply mix it with water and drink the liquid. The products natural antiseptic and antibacterial ingredients get right to work in the body, not only eliminating existing bacteria, but preventing future bacteria growth. E-Drops NANO are approved by Ministry of Health Canada and they are given an NPN# (Natural Product Number) as a UTI support.

Anybody who would like to learn more about Nano Essentials and their E-Drops NANO is welcome to visit the companys user-friendly website; there, they can read about the all-natural and effective product.

About Nano Essentials:

Nano Essentials exists to find alternative methods to treating some of the most common and uncommon conditions that affect peoples lives every day. By using state of the art, pharmaceutical research laboratory equipment, Nano Essentials have set their natural drug study, research, clinical testing, development and placement to the highest standards. They want to deliver nothing short of a perfect natural solution to help people fight their illnesses and conditions. For more information, please visit http://theurinarytractinfections.com/

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How to Treat UTI Without Antibiotics; Company Nano Essentials Now Offering Complimentary Shipping

According to Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, bipolar disorder affects 5.7 million adults in America. While there is no cure for bipolar disorder, new research may provide new drug therapies that could lessen the severity of bipolar symptoms.

Per Mayo Clinics definition of bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depressive disorder), the disorder is associated with mood swings that range from the lows of depression to the highs of mania. While bipolar disorder onset usually occurs when someone is in their mid 20s, it can also occur in children and older adults.

Some celebrities that have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder include Catherine Zeta-Jones, Demi Lovato, Kurt Cobain, and Britney Spears.

Bipolar symptoms are typically treated with a combination of medications and psychotherapy. There is no cure for bipolar disorder, unfortunately, but Northwestern Medicine scientists have recently made a discovery using super-resolution imaging on the brain that could lead to more effective treatment options in the future.

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We knew that ankyrin-G played an important role in bipolar disease, but we didnt know how, said Northwestern Medicine scientist Peter Penzes. Through this imaging method we found the gene formed in nanodomain structures in the synapses, and we determined that these structures control or regulate the behavior of synapses.

So what does this mean for treating bipolar symptoms in the future?

There is important information about genes and diseases that can only been seen at this level of resolution, Penzes said. We provide a neurobiological explanation of the function of the leading risk gene, and this might provide insight into the abnormalities in bipolar disorder. Put simply, with this new insight on brain functioning, improved treatment options are a real possibility.

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Bipolar Symptoms May Soon Be Treated With New Drugs

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Oct-2014

Contact: Erin White ewhite@northwestern.edu 847-491-4888 Northwestern University @northwesternu

CHICAGO --- A nano-sized discovery by Northwestern Medicine scientists helps explain how bipolar disorder affects the brain and could one day lead to new drug therapies to treat the mental illness.

Scientists used a new super-resolution imaging method -- the same method recognized with the 2014 Nobel Prize in chemistry -- to peer deep into brain tissue from mice with bipolar-like behaviors. In the synapses (where communication between brain cells occurs), they discovered tiny "nanodomain" structures with concentrated levels of ANK3 -- the gene most strongly associated with bipolar disorder risk. ANK3 is coding for the protein ankyrin-G.

"We knew that ankyrin-G played an important role in bipolar disease, but we didn't know how," said Northwestern Medicine scientist Peter Penzes, corresponding author of the paper. "Through this imaging method we found the gene formed in nanodomain structures in the synapses, and we determined that these structures control or regulate the behavior of synapses."

Penzes is a professor in physiology and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The results were published in the journal Neuron.

High-profile cases, including actress Catherine Zeta-Jones and politician Jesse Jackson, Jr., have brought attention to bipolar disorder. The illness causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. About 3 percent of Americans experience bipolar disorder symptoms, and there is no cure.

Recent large-scale human genetic studies have shown that genes can contribute to disease risk along with stress and other environmental factors. However, how these risk genes affect the brain is not known.

This is the first time any psychiatric risk gene has been analyzed at such a detailed level of resolution. As explained in the paper, Penzes used the Nikon Structured Illumination Super-resolution Microscope to study a mouse model of bipolar disorder. The microscope realizes resolution of up to 115 nanometers. To put that size in perspective, a nanometer is one-tenth of a micron, and there are 25,400 microns in one inch. Very few of these microscopes exist worldwide.

Link:

Bipolar disorder discovery at the nano level

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

20-Oct-2014

Contact: Alexander K Brown alexander.brown@springer.com 212-620-8063 Springer Science+Business Media

Professor (Prof.) Charles M. Lieber the Mark Hyman Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University has been presented with the first-ever Tsinghua University Press-Springer Nano Research Award. Mr. Junfeng Zong, the President of Tsinghua University Press and Dr. Lu Ye, Managing Director and Editorial Director of Springer China, presented the award certification, while Profs. Hongjie Dai and Yadong Li, Editors-in-Chief of the journal Nano Research, jointly presented the award medal to Prof. Lieber. The award is accompanied by a cash prize of US $10,000. After the award ceremony, Prof. Lieber made a keynote speech at the 2014 Sino-US Nano Forum.

Prof. Charles Lieber is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and one of the world's leading scientists in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Prof. Lieber's research has mainly focused on the growth, characterization and applications of nanomaterials and their broad range of applications in computer science, communications, optoelectronics, energy science, biology and medicine. His groundbreaking research has had a profound impact on the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, and he was ranked the number one researcher in chemistry for the decade 2000-2010 by Thomson Reuters.

Nano Research is an international academic journal sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, and is jointly published by Tsinghua University Press and Springer with a 2013 Impact Factor of 6.963. The Nano Research Award was established by the editorial board of the journal and funded by Tsinghua University Press and Springer, in order to recognize outstanding scientists who have made significant contributions to nanoscience.

The Editor-in-Chief of Nano Research, Prof. Hongjie Dai, is the J.G. Jackson and C.J. Wood Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University, and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In the Thomson Reuters list of the world's top 100 chemists, based on the impact of their published research, Prof. Dai was ranked number seven, and the top Chinese chemist for the decade 2000-2010.

Another Editor-in-Chief of Nano Research, Prof. Yadong Li, is a professor at Tsinghua University and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has twice taken second place in the National Natural Science Award. As an academic leader and leading scientist, he has directed the innovation research group project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation and the Ministry of Science and Technology's key nanoresearch project.

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Springer Science+Business Media is a leading global scientific, technical and medical publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe especially in Germany and the Netherlands primarily for physicians and professionals working in healthcare and road safety education. Springer published roughly 2,200 English-language journals and more than 8,400 new books in 2013, and the group is home to the world's largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. In 2013, Springer Science+Business Media generated sales of approximately EUR 943 million. The group employs more than 8,000 individuals across the globe.

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Springer and Tsinghua University Press award Nano Research Award

15.10.2014 - (idw) VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH

Berlin, Germany October 15th, 2014 A major step in implementing the ETPN Translation Hub has been reached, with three European projects entering the finalisation stage of their EU Grant Agreements. The project ENATRANS is for networking of SMEs in the nano-biomedical sector and supporting the SMEs with getting their products from the laboratory phase to the clinical applications. The projects 'NANOFACTURING' and 'NANOPILOT' will establish pilot lines to scale-up the production of novel nanopharmaceuticals from the lab-scale to the quantities needed for clinical testing. This announcement took place during the ETPN Annual Event 2014 in San Sebastian, Spain. The ENATRANS project (Enabling NAnomedicine TRANSlation) will ensure the global coherence of the Translation Hub and build a functioning supply chain of nanomedicine projects mainly ran by SMEs and ready to meet industrial and clinical needs. A Translational Advisory Board (TAB) will serve as the cornerstone to provide specific advice, guidance and recommendations to all nanomedicine actors dealing with translation issues and in need of assistance in specific areas of expertise.

Coordinator: ETPN Secretariat c/o VDI/VDE-IT (DE) Consortium: Nanobiotix (FR), CEA-Leti (FR), Bioanalytik Muenster e.V. (DE), Tel-Aviv University (IL), Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS (IT), and TecMinho (PT). Duration: 3 years Budget: 2 Mio.

The NanoFacturing project has two principal objectives. Firstly to scale up an existing Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) pilot line to a medium scale sustainable manufacturing process for solid core nanopharmaceuticals with a primary focus on glycan-coated gold nanoparticles. The process will also support consortium partners clinical programs such as IFOMs antiviral Dengue fever NP and other EU-wide nanomedicine programs. Secondly to create a large scale process platform that would serve as the basis for GMP compliant industrial manufacture and that will be available as a model for other European companies wishing to develop their own products.

Coordinator: Midatech Biogune (ES) Consortium: Centre for Process Innovation Limited (UK), Prochimia Surfaces SP.Z.O.O (PL), Galchimia S.A (ES), the University College Dublin and the National University of Ireland (IE), Applus S.A. LGAI Technological Center, S.A (ES), IFOM, Fondazione Istituto FIRC di Oncologia Molecolare (IT), and Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (CH). Duration: 4 years Budget: 8 Mio.

The NanoPilot project will build a pilot line for the production of polymer based nanopharmaceuticals in compliance with GMP. The size of the plant aims to be very small, with three systems to be produced at the end of the project. Continuous flow microreactors will be employed for two of the nanopharmaceuticals to be manufactured.

Coordinator: the Research Centre IK4-CIDETEC (ES) Consortium : A Research Institute - UT2A-ADERA (FR); two Universities - National University of Ireland, Galway (IE) and Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (ES) ; two industries - Sylentis (ES) and Chemtrix (NL) ; and three SMEs - iX-Factory (DE), Mejoran (ES) and Spinverse (FI).

Patrick Boisseau, chairman of the ETPN, added: We are very proud to announce such important news during the ETPN Annual Event 2014. The success of the EU calls 18 proposals have been received for pilot lines for upscaling the manufacturing of nanopharmaceuticals - shows the adequacy of ETPN recommendations with real SMEs needs. We also look forward for the perspectives on a nano-characterisation infrastructure, another major pillar of the Translation Hub asked by European nanomedicine actors. The ETPN is excited to work hand in hand with the different coordinators for a global coherence of actions and a more efficient European value chain in nanomedicine.

The ETPN Annual Event 2014 is taking place in San Sebastian (Spain) from October 15th to 16th, kindly co-organised by the nanoBasque Agency (SPRI) and hosted by CIC nanoGUNE, the Basque nanoscience cooperative research centre. -- End

About ETPN http://www.etpnanomedicine.eu The European Technology Platform Nanomedicine was established in 2005 as a joint initiative of the European Commission and CEOs of large industrial companies, SMEs and academic research institutions to investigate and advance joint activities in the area of nanotechnology in medicine. Since 2005 the ETPN published a number of strategic documents, roadmaps and structural requirements for an efficient translation of R&D results into innovative nanomedicine. The ETPN supports its members in coordinating their joint research efforts and improving communication amongst the members as well as towards the European Commission and the European Member States.

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European Commission opens the gate towards the implementation of Nanomedicine Translation Hub

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

15-Oct-2014

Contact: Joe Miksch jmiksch@pitt.edu 412-624-4356 University of Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGHUniversity of Pittsburgh researchers recently received another $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation to continue a combined multi-university, private-industry effort to develop implantable medical devices made from biodegradable metals.

Body-degradable metalsusually magnesium basedare not new, having been originally considered in the late 19th century. But, says Pitt's William Wagner, deputy director of the project and a principal investigator, "the question comes when you start to design medical devices for a specific application and a clinical partner says, 'We want that to be gone in a month, or a month-and-a-half, or we want that to be there for a year.'" Then you have to figure out how to meet those specifications, he says.

To that end, the Pitt team as well as collaborators at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) are creating new alloys and new manufacturing processes that suit clinical demands. The consortium seeks to design devices that can adapt to changes in a patient's body and dissolve once healing has occurred, reducing the follow-up procedures and potential complications of major orthopedic, craniofacial, and cardiovascular procedures and sparing millions of patients worldwide added pain and medical expenses.

Thus far, the consortium has created novel screws and plates for facial reconstruction, a stent to be used in kidney dialysis, a nerve guide, and a ring that will assist in pulling together and healing ruptured ligaments. The group has also created a tracheal stent for pediatric patients whose tracheas are underdeveloped at birth and prone to collapse. Once the stent is implanted, Wagnerdirector of Pitt's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and professor of surgery, bioengineering, and chemical engineering in the School of Medicine and Swanson School of Engineeringsays it would dissolve, obviating the need for a second procedure on the young patient.

The consortium's original grant, received in 2008, was for a total of $18.5 million over five years, shared by Pitt, UC, and the project's lead institution, N.C. A&T. The total of the grant extension is $4 million, including the $1.5 million received by Pitt.

Wagner says the project can be funded for up to 10 years, with the hope that the group effort will become self-sustaining. "Several devices are fairly far along in pre-clinical testing and are on the third, fourth, or fifth prototype," he says.

N.C. A&T, a Historically Black College and University with expertise in metallurgy, is serving as the lead institution on the project through its National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Revolutionizing Metallic Biomaterials. The University of Cincinnati has brought cutting-edge nano- and sensor technology to the table. Pitt's strength lies in biomaterials, bioengineering, and regenerative medicine.

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Creating medical devices with dissolving metal

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Excerpt from:

Meet the Harvard Professor Behind a Winning 1,870-Pound Pumpkin

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

8-Oct-2014

Contact: University of Leeds Press Office pressoffice@leeds.ac.uk 44-011-334-34196 University of Leeds @universityleeds

Scientists from the University of Leeds have taken a crucial step forward in bio-nanotechnology, a field that uses biology to develop new tools for science, technology and medicine.

The new study, published in print today in the journal Nano Letters, demonstrates how stable 'lipid membranes' the thin 'skin' that surrounds all biological cells can be applied to synthetic surfaces.

Importantly, the new technique can use these lipid membranes to 'draw' akin to using them like a biological ink with a resolution of 6 nanometres (6 billionths of a meter), which is much smaller than scientists had previously thought was possible.

"This is smaller than the active elements of the most advanced silicon chips and promises the ability to position functional biological molecules such as those involved in taste, smell, and other sensory roles with high precision, to create novel hybrid bio-electronic devices," said Professor Steve Evans, from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leeds and a co-author of the paper.

In the study, the researchers used something called Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), which is an imaging process that has a resolution down to only a fraction of a nanometer and works by scanning an object with a miniscule mechanical probe. AFM, however, is more than just an imaging tool and can be used to manipulate materials in order to create nanostructures and to 'draw' substances onto nano-sized regions. The latter is called 'nano-lithography' and was the technique used by Professor Evans and his team in this research.

The ability to controllably 'write' and 'position' lipid membrane fragments with such high precision was achieved by Mr George Heath, a PhD student from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leeds and the lead author of the research paper.

Mr Heath said: "The method is much like the inking of a pen. However, instead of writing with fluid ink, we allow the lipid molecules the ink to dry on the tip first. This allows us to then write underwater, which is the natural environment for lipid membranes. Previously, other research teams have focused on writing with lipids in air and they have only been able to achieve a resolution of microns, which is a thousand times larger than what we have demonstrated."

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Smallest world record has 'endless possibilities' for bio-nanotechnology

Amid alarm over the Ebola virus, a flurry of pitches has sprung up for products that claim to prevent and treat the deadly infection. Online -- and increasingly on social media sites -- these products are being hawked by paid consultants, supplement gurus and "wellness advocates," whose claims range from silly to pseudo-scientific.

In at least three cases to date, those pitches have drawn letters from the Food and Drug Administration, warning the companies involved to stop asserting that their products are safe and effective in treatment of Ebola or any other disease.

A late-September letter from the agency to the Utah-based company Young Living warns that its paid consultants have taken to the Internet, as well as to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, to claim that several of the company's essential oils can treat and ward off Ebola infection (as well as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, asthma, autism and cancers of all sorts).

A similar FDA letter went to DoTerra International, another Utah-based company selling essential oils.

In these cases, consultants and "wellness advocates" have touted the curative or preventive powers of melaleuca oil (also known as tea tree oil), cinnamon oil, oregano oil, and a blend of cinnamon, rosemary, clove, eucalyptus, and lemon oils marketed as "Thieves oil" for Ebola.

"If I were exposed to Ebola or had reason to believe I could be sick with it, I would use some of these oils every 10 minutes for a few hours, then cut back to every hour for the rest of the first day," wrote one consultant for Young Living on the website, under the heading, Essential Oils & More to Combat Ebola Virus.

"Then I would use them every 2 waking hours of the day for at least a week, or longer if it was known I was sick, the writer added.

Elsewhere on the same website, the health advisor wrote, "If Ebola was going around in my area . . . I would apply [Thieves oil] to my feet and armpits 2x/day or more and take it in capsules at least 2x/day for preventive purposes.

Essential oils have not shown any evidence of effectiveness against viruses, and certainly not against the Ebola virus, said Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology and professor of medicine at New York University.

The low value of such oils in fighting infectious disease is evident in a simple comparison, said Weissman: While American diets are not, on the whole, rich in the use of essential oils, African diets are.

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Unproven Ebola cures, preventives proliferate

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Sep-2014

Contact: Jeannette Spalding jeannette.spalding@case.edu 216-368-3004 Case Western Reserve University @casenews

Case Western Reserve University's synchrotron facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory is on its way to becoming the No. 1 beamline facility for biology in the world by early 2016, thanks to a jumpstart grant of $4.6 million from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

For two decades, the Case Center for Synchrotron Biosciences has developed and operated beamlines for an international community of users. These advanced instruments deliver ultra powerful x-rays that allow scientists to visualize in action the nano-scale structures of the body's molecules and proteins. Armed with these meticulous images, scientists attempt to pinpoint disease-causing vulnerabilities in the body's molecules and proteins and target those weaknesses for therapeutic intervention.

To prepare for the upgrade, the four existing beamlines of the center, located at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven laboratories in Upton, NY, will go offline Sept. 30 while construction continues on the new synchrotron light source (The NSLS-II), right next door. During the last two years, $50 million from NIH, the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy have been invested at Brookhaven to fund the construction of four new state-of-the-art beamlines at NSLS-II for the biological science user community. The recent award of $4.6 million from NIBIB to Case Western Reserve University will support the commissioning and operation of the beamlines allowing the re-start of user operations for both CWRU scientists and investigators from across the world.

"When NSLS-II opens, the lab's beamlines will have the brightest, most intense x-ray beams 100 times brighter than beamlines anywhere in the world," said Mark Chance, PhD, director of the Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "With this technology, NSLS-II will collect data 100 times faster than any other synchrotron facility in the world."

NIBIB also welcomes the research capabilities of the new beamlines at NSLS-II.

"We look forward to this new light source coming online and giving clarity to the molecular machines that are the inner working components of cells," said Christina Liu, PhD, program director of Molecular Imaging at NIBIB.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has entered the act as well. In 2012, the NSF awarded the Case Center for Synchrotron Biosciences a $4 million grant toward building a particularly specialized beamline dedicated to footprinting. With footprinting, the beamline provides highly detailed visualization of the structure and dynamics of biological macromolecules. Macromolecules are the "machines" of the cell, and footprinting at a synchrotron beamline enables scientists to identify key moving parts of the machine at the level of single nucleotides or amino acids that make up this molecular entity. Scientists can then view how molecular structures interact and move within a solution (liquid) state, often within living cells.

The rest is here:

Case Western Reserve University on track to become no. 1 synchrotron lab in world

Updated: 09/20/2014 11:32 PM Created: 09/20/2014 10:48 PM WNYT.com By: Steve Flamisch

GREAT BARRINGTON Gov. Deval Patrick met with supporters in Western Massachusetts on Saturday, hours after flying back from a week-long trade mission to Western Europe.

"We just got off the plane a few hours ago, and hustled right out to God's country here in the Berkshires," Patrick said in a one-on-one interview with NewsChannel 13.

During his overseas trip, the governor toured a wind form off the coast of Denmark, courting investors for a similar project in Massachusetts.

He then traveled to the United Kingdom, meeting with British government officials and leaders in the fast-growing life sciences industry.

And the governor wrapped-up in France, announcing that a Paris-based nano-medicine company will open its first U.S. office in the Bay State.

"It's all about jobs," Patrick said. "You know, this is a global economy. If you want to be in the global economy, and not just talk about it, you've got to get out there."

But critics have said Patrick, a Democrat, is padding his resume for a presidential run or a new job. After visiting one country in his first term, he has traveled to 15 countries in his second and final term.

"He says hes taking these trips to help the economy of Massachusetts, but personally, I think hes doing it for Deval Patrick," Republican state committee member Mike Case told NewsChannel 13.

"Hes not running for re-election, so hes got to find something to do after he leaves office," said Case, whose area includes Berkshire County.

Excerpt from:

Mass. governor returns from European trade mission

BOSTON (AP) Gov. Deval Patrick is heading back to Massachusetts after wrapping up his latest trade mission.

During the weeklong trip, Patrick began in in Copenhagen, Denmark. He also stopped in London, Lyon and Paris.

On Saturday, he was scheduled to leave Paris and return home.

Patrick said the trip was intended to expand opportunities between Massachusetts and European countries in the innovation economy, clean tech, digital gambling, financial services and education sectors.

On Friday Patrick announced that Nanobiotix a Paris-based nano-medicine company pioneering new approaches for cancer treatment will open its first U.S. office in Massachusetts.

The trade mission was Patrick's fourth this year.

Critics have faulted Patrick for spending too much time overseas.

Since 2010, Patrick has visited Israel, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Panama, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.

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Gov. Patrick returning from European trade mission

September 19, 2014

Anne-Mette Siem, Aarhus University

One sip of a perfectly poured glass of wine leads to an explosion of flavors in your mouth. Researchers at Aarhus University have now developed a nanosensor that can mimic what happens in your mouth when you drink wine. The sensor measures how you experience the sensation of dryness in the wine.

When wine growers turn their grapes into wine, they need to control a number of processes to bring out the desired flavor in the product that ends up in the wine bottle. An important part of the taste is known in wine terminology as astringency, and it is characteristic of the dry sensation you get in your mouth when you drink red wine in particular. It is the tannins in the wine that bring out the sensation that otherwise beyond compare can be likened to biting into an unripe banana. It is mixed with lots of tastes in the wine and feels both soft and dry.

Mini-mouth measures the effect of astringency

Researchers at the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO ), Aarhus University, have now developed a nanosensor that is capable of measuring the effect of astringency in your mouth when you drink wine. To put it simply, the sensor is a kind of mini-mouth that uses salivary proteins to measure the sensation that occurs in your mouth when you drink wine. The researchers are looking at how the proteins change in the interaction with the wine, and they can use this to describe the effect of the wine.

There is great potential in this both for the wine producers and for research into the medicine of the future. Indeed, it is the first time that a sensor has been produced that not only measures the amount of proteins and molecules in your mouth when you drink wine, but also measures the effect of wine or other substances entering your mouth.

Wine can be controlled from the beginning

The sensor makes it possible for wine producers to control the development of astringency during wine production because they can measure the level of astringency in the wine right from the beginning of the process. This can currently only be achieved when the wine is ready and only by using a professional tasting panel with the associated risk of human inaccuracy. Using the sensor, producers can work towards the desired sensation of dryness before the wine is ready.

We dont want to replace the wine taster. We just want a tool that is useful in wine production. When you produce wine, you know that the finished product should have a distinct taste with a certain level of astringency. If it doesnt work, people wont drink the wine, says PhD student Joana Guerreiro, first author of the scientific article in ACS NANO, which presents the sensor and its prospects.

Continue reading here:

Using Nanoscience To Make Wine Better

One sip of a perfectly poured glass of wine leads to an explosion of flavours in your mouth. Researchers at Aarhus University have now developed a nanosensor that can mimic what happens in your mouth when you drink wine. The sensor measures how you experience the sensation of dryness in the wine.

When wine growers turn their grapes into wine, they need to control a number of processes to bring out the desired flavour in the product that ends up in the wine bottle. An important part of the taste is known in wine terminology as astringency, and it is characteristic of the dry sensation you get in your mouth when you drink red wine in particular. It is the tannins in the wine that bring out the sensation that -- otherwise beyond compare -- can be likened to biting into an unripe banana. It is mixed with lots of tastes in the wine and feels both soft and dry.

Mini-mouth measures the effect of astringency

Researchers at the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO ), Aarhus University, have now developed a nanosensor that is capable of measuring the effect of astringency in your mouth when you drink wine. To put it simply, the sensor is a kind of mini-mouth that uses salivary proteins to measure the sensation that occurs in your mouth when you drink wine. The researchers are looking at how the proteins change in the interaction with the wine, and they can use this to describe the effect of the wine.

There is great potential in this -- both for the wine producers and for research into the medicine of the future. Indeed, it is the first time that a sensor has been produced that not only measures the amount of proteins and molecules in your mouth when you drink wine, but also measures the effect of wine -- or other substances -- entering your mouth.

Wine can be controlled from the beginning

The sensor makes it possible for wine producers to control the development of astringency during wine production because they can measure the level of astringency in the wine right from the beginning of the process. This can currently only be achieved when the wine is ready and only by using a professional tasting panel -- with the associated risk of human inaccuracy. Using the sensor, producers can work towards the desired sensation of dryness before the wine is ready.

"We don't want to replace the wine taster. We just want a tool that is useful in wine production. When you produce wine, you know that the finished product should have a distinct taste with a certain level of astringency. If it doesn't work, people won't drink the wine," says PhD student Joana Guerreiro, first author of the scientific article in ACS NANO, which presents the sensor and its prospects.

Better understanding of astringency

There are many different elements in wine that create astringency, and this makes it difficult to measure because there are so many parameters. The sensor turns this upside down by measuring the molecules in your mouth instead.

Read the original:

Nanoscience makes your wine better

Antibiotic resistance is now a bigger crisis than the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, a landmark report recently warned. The spread of deadly superbugs that evade even the most powerful antibiotics is happening across the world, United Nations officials have confirmed. The effects will be devastating meaning a simple scratch or urinary tract infection could kill.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a scourge that is threatening to get ugly because TB is usually cured by taking antibiotics for six to nine months. However, if that treatment is interrupted or the dose is cut down, the stubborn bacteria battle back and mutate into a tougher strain that can no longer be killed by drugs. Such strains are scaring the heck out of the medical community for good reason. Tuberculosis is highly contagious, holding the potential to wipe out wide swaths of humanity in the case of an epidemic of these drug resistant strains.

Australias first victim of a killer strain of drug-resistant tuberculosis died amid warnings of a looming health epidemic on Queenslands doorstep. Medical experts are seriously concerned about the handling of the TB epidemic in Papua New Guinea after Catherina Abraham died of an incurable form of the illness, known as XDR-TB (extensively drug resistant TB) in Cairns Base Hospital. Of course we always get big scares from the mainstream medical press, who are big cheerleaders of big pharmaceutical companies as our governmental medical officials.

Now medical experts are warning that drug resistant tuberculosis is such a problem in the Asia Pacific region that it could overwhelm health systems.

A drug-resistant TB case did touch off a scare in U.S. We dont know too much about a Nepalese man whos in medical isolation in Texas while being treated for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, the most difficult-to-treat kind.

XDR-TB is resistant not only to isoniazid and rifampin but also a class of drugs called fluoroquinolones and one or more potent injectable antibiotics. This is one of the nastiest of all antibiotics, which easily destroys peoples lives by itself.

TB germs become drug-resistant when patients fail to complete a course of treatment. When a partly-resistant strain is treated with the wrong drugs, it can become extensively resistant. There are about 60,000 people with XDR-TB strains like the Nepalese man whos in isolation. That means there are other people with XDR-TB traveling the world at any given time.

China and India Will Spread TB around the World

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Nano Medicine Treatments for Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

8-Sep-2014

Contact: Rikke Byesen rb@nano.ku.dk 452-875-0413 Faculty of Science - University of Copenhagen

Revolutionary nanotechnology method could help improve the development of new medicine and reduce costs. Researchers from the Nano-Science Center and the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new screening method that makes it possible to study cell membrane proteins that bind drugs, such as cannabis and adrenaline, while reducing the consumption of precious samples by a billion times.

About 40% of all medicines used today work through the so-called "G protein-coupled receptors". These receptors react to changes in the cell environment, for example, to increased amounts of chemicals like cannabis, adrenaline or the medications we take and are therefore of paramount importance to the pharmaceutical industry.

"There is a lot of attention on research into "G protein-coupled receptors", because they have a key roll in recognizing and binding different substances. Our new method is of interest to the industry because it can contribute to faster and cheaper drug development", explains Professor Dimitrios Stamou, who heads the Nanomedicine research group at the Nano-Science Center, where the method has been developed. The new method is described in a publication at the esteemed scientific journal Nature Methods.

Cheaper to test and develop medicine

The new method will reduce dramatically the use of precious membrane protein samples. Traditionally, you test a medicinal substance by using small drops of a sample containing the protein that the medicine binds to. If you look closely enough however, each drop is composed of thousands of billions of small nano-containers containing the isolated proteins. Until now, it has been assumed that all of these nano-containers are identical. But it turns out this is not the case and that is why researchers can use a billion times smaller samples for testing drug candidates than hitherto.

"We have discovered that each one of the countless nano-containers is unique. Our method allows us to collect information about each individual nano-container. We can use this information to construct high-throughput screens, where you can, for example, test how medicinal drugs bind G protein-coupled receptors", explains Signe Mathiasen, who is first author of the paper describing the screening method in Nature Methods. Signe Mathiasen has worked on developing a screening method over the last four years at the University of Copenhagen, where she wrote her PhD thesis research project under the supervision of Professor Stamou.

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Originally posted here:

New knowledge of cannabis paves the way for drug development

The quest to better understand human biology at a minuscule level has led to the creation of a $26 million international research centre in Melbourne.

A node of the centre will be based at The University of Queensland, led by researchers from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB).

The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology officially opened today brings together 19 chief investigators from around the world, with expertise in nanomaterial design and synthesis, cell biology, and engineering.

Nanomedicine is revolutionising the way we detect and treat diseases, said AIBNs Professor Mark Kendall, director of the Queensland node.

It is a rapidly emerging field of science and technology.

The centre would bring science disciplines together to build better understanding of living systems, including the human body.

To understand, diagnose and treat living systems requires technologies that interact with the biological environment with nanoscale precision, Professor Kendall said.

That is why bio-nano science is generating such excitement, especially in developing new technologies with the potential to revolutionise medicine.

The AIBNs Professor Andrew Whittaker said the centres scientific program would focus on four main application areas: delivery systems; imaging technologies; sensors and diagnostics; and vaccines.

The work in these areas will expand the fundamental Australian science base in bio-nano interactions and facilitate translation of these scientific discoveries into novel and innovative technologies, he said.

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Researchers seek big gains from targeting the tiny