What happens when these things are left in the body? http://www.livescience.com/technology/050415_nano_probes.html High-tech Probes Sneak Inside Your Cells By Bjorn Carey LiveScience Staff Writer posted: 15 April 2005 11:03 am ET The newest generation of nano-sized probes should give scientists a look into the secret lives of nuclei within your body, researchers say. The tiny probes, called quantum dots, are a melding of biology and technology. The crystalline semiconductors with a biological protein coating are no larger than a few hundred atoms. Importantly, they shine brilliantly when hit with a laser. Quantum dots are leaps and bounds better than current fluorescent probes, according to developers Fanqing Chen of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Daniele Gerion of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Not only are the dots non-toxic to the cell, but they don't fade when exposed to light. "The advantage is that they don't photo-bleach like conventional fluorescent dyes," Chen told LiveScience. The dots can stay in cells for weeks, Chen said, adding that "it looks like the protective coating we put on there is quite good." The tricky part was to get the dots through a nuclear membrane. Part of the solution is just a matter of making them tiny. But nuclear membranes have gate-keeping mechanisms to keep foreign objects out. To get past this barrier, Chen borrowed a page from a virus' playbook. The virus SV40 coats itself with a special protein that allows it to sneak into the nucleus. By attaching this protein to the quantum dot, the part biological, part nano-sized semiconductor slips through the membrane. Scientists attach probes to cellular molecules, such as DNA and proteins, to monitor their travels through a cell. Similarly, the probes could be attached to disease-fighting drugs and scientists could track how they go to work, Chen said. This type of information could help doctors in prescribing medications. The work was announced last month and detailed earlier in the journal Nanoletters. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
