TechBlog

In Arizona State University camera orbiting Mars has uncovered salt deposits on the cratered Martian surface, suggesting water was once widespread on the Red Planet.

Scientists say the more than 200 deposits likely formed through water evaporation and could be ideal places to look for past life because of salt’s preservative qualities.

The findings are being published Friday in Science magazine.

Continue reading ‘Salt on Mars? ASU helps scientists make discovery’ »

System is invisible to the immune system, preventing response
News source: University of California - Los Angeles, via AAAS EurekAlertUsing nanotechnology, scientists from UCLA and Northwestern University have developed a localized and controlled drug delivery method that is invisible to the immune system, a discovery that could provide newer and more effective treatments for cancer and other diseases.

…The researchers used nanoscale polymer films, about four nanometers per layer, to build a sort of matrix or platform to hold and slowly release an anti-inflammatory drug. The films are orders of magnitude thinner than conventional drug deliver coatings, said Genhong Cheng, a researcher at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and one of the study’s authors…

“Using this system, drugs could be released slowly and under control for weeks or longer,” said Cheng, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics. “A drug that is given orally or through the bloodstream travels throughout the system and dissipates from the body much more quickly. Using a more localized and controlled approach could limit side effects, particularly with chemotherapy drugs.” Continue reading ‘Copolymeric Nanofilm Platform for Controlled and Localized Therapeutic Delivery’ »