Optics/​Photonics

A novel approach for the immediate sealing of traumatic wounds is under development. A portable microwave generator and handheld antenna are used to seal wounds, binding the edges of the wound together using a biodegradable protein sealant or “solder.” This method could be used for...

Sanjeevi Sivasankar was looking for a better tool to study how cells adhere to each other. Cells have surface proteins, called cadherins, that help them stick together. Different kinds of cells have different kinds of cadherins. The typical tools for observing and measuring those...

A new system for femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery developed at Stanford University School of Medicine uses a new approach to make the procedure less dependent on surgical skill and allow for greater consistency.

A microorganism was isolated from the surfaces of the cleanroom facility in which the Phoenix lander was assembled. The isolated bacterial strain was subjected to a comprehensive polyphasic analysis to characterize its taxonomic position. Both phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses...

One of the main techniques for measuring and monitoring mental activity, called functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), can often be impaired because a person's hair gets in the way. A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Arlington have...

Using chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, Georgia Tech researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins, and DNA directly into living cells. The work is believed to be the first to use activation of reactive carbon nanoparticles by lasers for...

An obstacle to successful cancer drug therapy is the existence of drug delivery barriers, which result in insufficient and heterogeneous drug delivery to the tumor tissue. This drug delivery problem not only limits the clinical application of existing chemotherapeutics,...