In this illustration, nanoparticles attach to or are taken up by the bacteria cells. Pan and his students are the first group to demonstrate that early detection of dental plaque in the clinic is possible using the regular intraoral X-ray machine which can seek out harmful bacteria populations.
Credit: University of Illinois Laboratory for Materials in Medicine

When the good and bad bacteria in our mouth become imbalanced, the bad bacteria form a biofilm (aka plaque), which can cause cavities, and if left untreated over time, can lead to cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases like diabetes and bacterial pneumonia.

A team of researchers from the University of Illinois has recently devised a practical nanotechnology-based method for detecting and treating the harmful bacteria that cau...

Elliptical orbits of bismuth surface electrons in a large magnetic field. The orientation and interference patterns of the electronic states reveal that the electrons prefer to occupy a single valley. Image created using a theoretical model of the data.
Credit: Ali Yazdani Laboratory, Princeton University

Researchers have made a finding that could help usher in new area of technology called ‘valleytronics.’ The study found that electrons in bismuth crystals prefer to collect in one valley rather than being distributed equally across valleys, setting up a type of electricity known as ferroelectricity. Energy valleys forming in crystals can trap single electrons. These valleys potentially could be used to store information, greatly enhancing what is capable with modern electronic devices.

In ...

Planetary nebula HuBi 1 (left) and another planetary nebula Abell39 (right, 6800 light years away from our solar system). Abell39 is an archetypal, textbook case of a spherical nebula surrounding a bright central star (a white dwarf), its nebula composes of hydrogen-rich ionized gas. HuBi 1, its central star has undergone a “born-again” event ejecting metal-rich material into the old, hydrogen-rich nebula, has a double-shell structure – a hydrogen-rich outer shell and a nitrogen-rich inner shell.
Credit: (HuBi 1 image adopted from Guerrero, Fang, Miller Bertolami, et al., 2018, Nature Astronomy, tmp, 112. Image credit for Abell39: The 3.5m WIYN Telescope, National Optical Astronomical Observatory, NSF. URL: https://www.noao.edu)

International team discovers an inside-out nebula surrounds a ...

First author Woojin Han observes muscle tissue samples treated with the new MuSC nanohydrogel.
Credit: Georgia Tech / Christopher Moore

Muscles of the elderly and of patients with Duchene muscular dystrophy have trouble regenerating. A new nanohydrogel with muscle stem cells has boosted muscle growth in mouse models while protecting the stem cells from immune reactions that usually weaken or destroy them. A car accident leaves an aging patient with severe muscle injuries that won’t heal. Treatment with muscle stem cells from a donor might restore damaged tissue, but doctors are unable to deliver them effectively. A new method may help change this.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology engineered a molecular matrix, a hydrogel, to deliver muscle stem cells called muscle satellit...