Tiny Is Better: Nanotechnology Is An Exciting Field

Jan.11, 2010 in Technology and Gadgets

It’s a time where the lines between computer support and human support are changing. In Nassau County computer repair means people fixing computers. In Suffolk County computer repair means people fixing computers. But in the labs of esteemed universities studies are underway that would turn that notion on its head. Computer repair would mean essential body immune response would be done by miniature computers. Nanotechnology has evolved and it is about to alter the world. One of the major fields of change will be in medical technology.

Nanotechnology is the application of technology using miniscule materials. A nanometer is a unit of dimension. Nanotechnology useunits running between 1 and 100 nanometers. If you took 800,000 nanometers and set them next to each other it would be about the width of a hair. That’s small stuff. Being able to operate and manipulate elements at such a small level holds great potential benefit in the medical arena. A great number of research institutions are engaged in exciting studies that could change the face of health care. Some changes are already happening.

Currently there are many different studies using nanotechnology in a variety of ways. One application is in how nanotechnology can assist in diagnosing and treating cancer. One of the biggest drawbacks to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, is that it is a shotgun approach to treating the body. Normal and cancer cells are attacked. With nanotechnology only cancer cells can be treated. There are studies that employee RNA strands that can locate and connect to cancer cells. These strands, when connected can deposit cancer fighting drugs into the afflicted cells. Research has also considered the possibility of creating a color coding system using nanotechnology that would create protein indicators that would find and link to cancer cells for easy identification. Another developing use nanotechnology in the fight against cancer is nanoshells. Nanoshells are made of tiny beads with various densities made of gold. These shells are attracted to cancer cells, surround them and then are heated with near infrared light which destroys the cancer cells, but spares the nearby healthy cells not surrounded by nanoshells.

Nanodevices would be tiny enough to enter a cell. They would be so small that they would be able to interact with proteins and DNA. They would be able to monitor the cell and detect disease using a minimal amount of valuable cell tissue. This means that diseases and change in cell tissue could be monitored and detected much earlier in the process. Since success in fighting cancer often depends on early detection, this would be a major advance in cancer fighting technology.

Nanotechnology is a quickly becoming an area of science that combines many disciplines including; physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and many other sciences including political and social science. With ongoing discoveries in all different fields, the world of Nanotechnology will be fully upon us.