#nano species diagnosis

[nvcl347]

NANOPULUS Diagnosis (Original G/T Species)

(Updated as of 2/5/19)

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PASSAGE 1 : ORIGIN

May 27 was the day people all around the world suddenly vanished without a trace. Families messaged loved ones, schools and businesses were closed, and people shut themselves from society. Everyone was on edge on who may be next. Some people believed that perhaps this was Judgement Day, and chaos nearly flamed everywhere. The next day, suddenly everything went quiet. No missing person reports, no anything. Turning on your local news station would only be discussing what had happened the day before with the only minor, cut-short stories here and there. Search parties went out across countries, while the overall world government kept quiet. For conspiracists, it was a miner’s dreamed hit goldmine.

The people who went missing that day never came back. Not until decades later, when by then, the incident had been forgotten by the world. Only a select few could recollect it clearly, but they had no power in their hands to challenge the authorities in court, and their days were already numbered.

PASSAGE 2 : RECOVERED CASE FILES

DECEMBER 1996

ENGAGED HENRY C. LILIAM AND JESSIE I. LILIAM REPORT SMALL PRESENTS STOLEN OVERNIGHT

NO SIGNS OF FORCED BREAK-IN DISCOVERED

SLIM WRAPPING PAPER TEARS SCATTERED ACROSS FLOOR

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF JANUARY 1997***

FEBRUARY 1998

SCHOOL BUILDING HAVING CONSISTENT POWER OUTAGES

REASON: UNKNOWN

PLAYGROUND AREA GENERATOR REPAIRED MARCH 1998

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF APRIL 1998***

OCTOBER 2003

CHILD REPORT OF LIVE MINIATURE DOLL SNAGGING FOOD FROM LEFTOVER CANDY

CANDY WRAPPER GNAWING MARKS MATCH NO DISCOVERED ANATOMY OF CREATURE IN PRESENT-DAY RECORDS

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF NOVEMBER 2003***

JUNE 2004

ANIMAL CARETAKER EMPLOYEE SARAH J. MALLS REPORT OF TINY UNKNOWN CREATURE TAMPERING WITH RODENT CAGES

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF JUNE 2004***

APRIL 2007

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DAVID A. HAN PERSONAL BELONGINGS REPEATEDLY DISAPPEAR

ALL STUDENTS CLAIMED THEMSELVES INNOCENT

PLAYBACK QUALITY MODERATE

NO STUDENTS CAPTURED TAMPERING WITH LOCKER #34

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF JUNE 2007***

SEPTEMBER 2009

FAST FOOD STORE MONITOR #3 CAPTURES “AGILE SMALL PERSON” RUMMAGING THROUGH STORAGE CONTAINERS

PLAYBACK QUALITY DAMAGED

AUTHORITY CONCLUSION: “IT’S MERELY A MOUSE PASSING THROUGH”

***CASE CLOSED AS OF DECEMBER 2009***

JULY 2010

48% OF U.S. CHILDREN SUDDENLY REPORT “REAL” FAIRIES OCCASIONALLY ROAMING BACKYARDS

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***TREND IS RISING***

PASSAGE 3 : THE RELEASE

In November of 2013, the records of these incidents were released, alongside what had caused them. These creatures were sent across the world by an organization of unknown origins nor title and placed these creatures into the black market, other experimental agencies, or just out into the wild for a study of its survival in certain environments. As hypothesized, this species thrives best in forest-like environments, however, the species at the same time has no capabilities of reproduction, and cannot survive as a whole due to its weak state in natural selection. But, due to major injections of unknown chemicals, the species’ life expectancy (if healthy), is just about the same as a human’s is. Some hypothesize this may be an enhanced version of what may be the experiments causing longer mice life expectancy, which are open to the public.

The overall species according to the organizational records is titled NANOPULUS, as to which the general public has dubbed the species, “The Nano Creatures.”

PASSAGE 4 : APPEARANCE

Most reports find the species mythical or “unrealistic” due to the sheer size of these creatures. All Nanos have been recorded in the average height range of 1-3 inches tall. This has managed to give Nanos numerous places for them to sneak and hide, along with the pressure of gravity giving them no struggle to run nimble and quick from their small amount of weight. The heaviest Nano on record weighed around 12.5 grams (.44 oz), equivalent to holding a stack of around five pennies in your hand. According to the files, the experimentalists had predicted (or perhaps hoped for) a height range of 4-5 inches at average, but apparently, a certain overdose of an undefined chemical caused an overreaction to the shrinkage expectancies.

The facial features of a Nano aren’t much of a difference to a human appearance, that is until you really look at them. Their ears are sharp- much like what you’d imagine from an elf- but not very pointy at their ends, and more rounded like ours instead. Their ears will slightly shift and twitch to help pick up any signals of noise or movement.

The next thing you may notice if you look close enough at a Nano is their eyes. Their eye color is unnatural and seems to shift through every hue of the rainbow. Looking closer, unlike our round pupils, Nanos have more round oval-shaped pupils. The first thing you may think of at this is perhaps a slit cat-like eye, but it’s not exactly like that, however. The oval pupil of a Nano is wider than a cat’s and is not pointed at the top and bottom like a cat’s either. Rather, it is rounded, mirroring the sharp-but-rounded ears they have as well. It is also worth noting that when the pupil of a Nano dilates, although having a similar shape to a cat’s, it does not flatten itself into one slick line. Instead, the pupil just shrinks, like a normal round pupil as would like humans. The smaller the pupil, the more intently the Nano is concentrating.

The Nanos also heir mutated traits of sharper teeth and fingers (not to be confused with nails) for defense. Their fingers are only slightly pointed and barely can cause a bleeding scratch. This goes the same for the toes of their feet as well. They could cause a small, nagging scrape, though. As for the teeth, now they can cause some bleeding. Nothing fatal, of course, but definitely a scratch that of a paper cut for sure if they were really desperate. The teeth are only slightly pointed and are wide, too. They are also smoothly rounded, similar to how their fingers and toes are formed.

Every Nano has one thing in reference to their past: their branding. Not a burned-in branding, but a stitched branding- like a tattoo- but it’s not exactly the same thing; it’s permanent, even when damaged… it can be regenerated just like normal skin. Each symbol was made to represent the Nano’s personality, and it is made up of one single line, like cursive letters. They can depict harshness or intellect, based on the design. Wavy lines represented a calm persona, while jagged meant the opposite. The single line never overlaps with itself. Many Nanos’ brandings show depictions of animals, such as ocelots for speed, but wavy to show they were collected as well. Another branding occurrence may be a jagged alligator, representing a vicious and brash Nano. No single pair of Nanos have the same exact branding; every single one of them is different, like fingerprints. That doesn’t mean they can’t have the same meaning, though; they just don’t have the same visible imagery.

PASSAGE 5 : EYE COLOR DEFINING

The following image illustrates the colors as to which a Nano’s iris can shift between, alongside what the color represents/what the Nano at that current state is feeling/what a Nano senses somebody else is feeling. If a Nano has “mixed feelings,” the defined colors of those feelings in the irises will mix together.

PASSAGE 6 : ABILITIES

Studies show that their ears have a high sensibility to noise, capable of easily alerting them off as much as the dropping of a pen just rooms away from their position. This has assisted them in the warning of when oncoming threats are nearby way ahead of time, giving them a good amount of time to find a place to securely conceal themselves. Even if the threat was running as fast as they could, they’d be lucky to get a sly glimpse of these tiny human creatures with their swift movement.

Their nose is much similar to dogs’ as well. Not in shape, of course, but in sensibility. They are incredibly strong and can smell out a piece of pepperoni from rooms away.

Nanos, much like mice, can actually survive great falls in height as opposing to the common belief that they couldn’t even survive the fall from a countertop. A nano at the size of one inch could actually survive a fall as high as an eleven story window and get up with little-to-no damage at all. Answer? Terminal velocity. Due to their small weight and frail bone structure, they can survive great falls with minimal damage, much like mice and rats.

What if a Nano is deaf? What if they are nose blind? “Sense of Danger,” they call it. That swelling feeling in your gut that something isn’t right, is exactly what Nano’s feel when legitimate danger is nearby. Sometimes for humans, it’s an overreaction, but Nano’s instincts are incredibly accurate in this case scenario. The only downside is, this Sense of Danger is purely based off of movement. If a dangerous object is inanimate, a Nano wouldn’t be aware of it.

Nanos heir a venom in their teeth, which can be injected by bite if they feel threatened. This venom, dubbed “Nurnostium,” causes a numbing sensation upon the surrounding area of the bite, causing it to fall asleep for a short period of time (recorded 5-10 minute average lasting effect). There are no fatal effects to this bite, but in order to escape capture, it is highly effective. It takes about a full minute for the effect to fully kick in. The venom in itself is incredibly strong and could cause an entire human to fall unconscious with just a quarter of a cup's injection of it. Because the Nano is so small in size, let alone its bite, the tiny portion of venom cannot affect the threat at its entirety.

PASSAGE 7 : WEAKNESSES

One of a Nano’s biggest weaknesses, of course, would be their size. So incredibly small, they have little-to-no chance in physical combat, making them quite queasy and fearful creatures. This is why they are so distant from interaction of many other creatures besides themselves… and humans- which is where we lean into our next weakness.

Curiosity kills the cat. With no recollection of almost anything of their past, they have an IQ intelligence of as much as a newborn child. Some will learn naturally, others will need introduction of “good and bad,” if their Sense of Danger doesn’t do the trick for them. All in all, Nanos are quite stupid for their age, and need a little help.

Tagging along with curiosity, explains their interest of sociality between themselves and humans. This urge won’t exactly occur to them until Nanos get a good look at what their physical appearance looks like. This isn’t necessarily a “good look” type of thing where they stare at themselves in the mirror, but a good look where they care to inspect themselves in their own point of view and make comparisons. ‘Arms? Hands? The big creatures have them. Legs? Feet? They have those, and I do too.’ Because humans are so similar in physical appearance compared to Nanos (who socialize with each other very well), it drives their interest and mental questionnaire as to ‘why they’re so much bigger compared to us,’ and want to socialize with them as they would each other. However, then their fear-factor comes in as to how absolutely massive humans are, which is why Nanos abstain themselves from view despite their urge to interact with us… like a war is going inside themselves. Go with willful curiosity? Or go with natural instinct?

Why is this considered a weakness? Well, if a Nano does fuss up to interact with a human (intentionally or accidental), there of course will be humans that are kind, maybe confused, and gentle. Others, as we know, will just be assholes. You know exactly what I’m talking about, which is why this is considered a weakness, and needs no further explanation.

Next weakness, is manipulation. Because of their feeble minds, Nanos are incredibly vulnerable to misdirectory, as when someone gains a Nano’s trust, they gain their trust. Nanos when they allow someone/something into their comfort zone, signals strong loyalty and affection. But, as easily as it can be achieved is as easily as it can be lost.

Their final weakness, which really isn’t too severe in any way, is their vocals: so small in size, Nanos can only vocalize to one another like mice. Air pressure on their lungs causes their pitch to rise incredibly to inaudible, squeaky-grunty chipmunk babble. Gradually, as they do learn language, however, they can minimally speak basic words like “yes,” “no,” or other such words/names. But, their grammar isn’t the best, and will talk much like cavemen, and the factor of their high-pitched voice still stands.

On the topic of vocals: unnaturally, and without any logical explanation on record, Nanos never pronounce proper names correctly, and they never entirely learn how to pronounce them either. The only ones they ever seem to get right are their own and others’ in the Nano species. Sometimes, they’ll never even attempt to pronounce someone by their real name, and refer to them as a single adjective or descriptions along the lines of “bad man,” “big man,” “strong,” “loud,” etc. Once someone/something is given a name, it keeps that name throughout the Nano species.

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Feel free to use in writing/illustration. Do not steal or repost. Be sure to tag me so I can see your work!

Tags if interested��- @anqshusxx @pizsospa @depressed-owl-in-narnia @cloud-addict @gianttol @mini-macaroon @tiny-artist-ace @gt-confessions @gt-handhelds @a-sweet-pea @lord-of-the-pastries @so-very-small @sawyergt @sadtinyissad @territorial-utopia

[oncexinxmyxdreams]

OC Profile Laurie Venkman as an adult (The Real Ghostbusters.)

OC

Bio

Name: Laurie Macy Venkman. 

Age: 25. (as of the February 2009, approaching the 25th Anniversary since Ghostbusters was founded.) 

Ethnicity: Caucasian with family roots running in Irish, Welsh, Dutch,  French, English and German. 

Species: Human. 

Height: 5'7".

Weight: 155 pounds.

Hair color: Dark brown.  

Hair style: Thick, shaggy hair falls a little past her shoulders. She has layers with wispy bangs. Keeps hair pulled into a ponytail for work and loves to style it for special occasions.  

Eye color: Deep cornflower blue. 

Birthday: September 13th, 1983. 

Gender: Female. 

Sexual Orientation: Straight. She’s guy crazy, but she’s waiting for the right one. 

Powers (if any): No.  

Distinguishing features (if any): Has a turned up nose like Peter's. Has defined cupid bow lips like her mom, but Peter's smile. Has mom’s round shape of face. Laurie has two tattoos out of memory/respect for her parents. One on her left outer bicep that says “Proton Princess” in Peter’s handwriting. Second one is at the lower, inner right arm of a heart with her mom’s initials inside. 

Blood Type: A-

Clothing

Day to day outfit: When she’s off-duty, Laurie prefers straight leg jeans for most of her attire. She likes blouses and simple tees: those are usually graphic like rock bands, Ghostbusters merchandise or even raglan tees. She has some favorites that have sarcastic sayings and one that says “I got it from Dad.” She has cool calf boots, cute deck shoes and classic hightop converses.    

Pajamas/What they wear to bed: Favorite pajamas are comfy black leggings and a black nightshirt. (It has a cat on it and says "to-do list: sleep."

Formal Clothes: Chic dresses in 80s-90s style. She loves the velvet/metallic fabrics for these and wearing black stylish pumps.  

Work/School uniform: Work attire is a black jumpsuit with dark purple trim. She prefers those colors to help her blend in more with the shadows when she hunts. She does have doc martin’s for her boots, but she prefers wearing her converses since they’re more flexible for running. She has extra pockets inside her jumpsuit for trinkets like a nail file to pick locks etc.   

Other (glasses, jewelry, etc): Has a black square digital watch. Wears a silver brushed metal ring that was a gift to her from a ghost she helped as one of her first solo missions. (She wears it on her right middle finger which symbolizes responsibility and balance.) She has four ear piercings: three normal lobe piercings and then industrial ones in the upper ear cartilage. While she has plenty earrings to choose, her favorite earrings are three simple gold hoops and industrial earrings are silver barbells with “diamond” studs. Loves having painted fingernails; usually in different purple shades.   

Health

Physical Illnesses: Overcame pneumonia at the age of 3. Suffers from hay fever like Peter. Now gets strong cases of flu when sick, but otherwise she's fine.

Mental Illnesses or disorders: She’s been guessed to have a learning disorder, but still no official diagnosis. Some have guessed ADD and Dyscalculia.

Medications?: Just regular vitamins.

Addictions (Drugs, alcohol?): No addictions. She likes to drink, her favorite cocktail being a White Russian, but she's careful. She’s never tried drugs. 

General Health: Fine enough considering that she works out every day, but she's got a big appetite. Being an inverted triangle body type, she carries weight in upper half: Measurements are 40-30-38. Her legs are the most toned part of her body, strong arms, broad shoulders and a size 12, but looks for bigger size shirts since she’s top heavy. Happy with her shape.   

Life/Preferences:

Likes: Fashion, sleeping, eating, cars, and motorcycles. She loves listening to her favorite music while mouthing the lyrics and dancing.     

Dislikes: Criminals, yogurt (that isn’t soft serve or frozen) and people doubting her since she’s not a college graduate. The one thing she despises the most is inaccuracy about The Ghostbusters. (She really hates the sequel they made.) 

Career: Becomes a Ghostbuster and runs the business. 

Hobbies/Talents: Hobby of making a bucket list, motorcycle riding and electric guitar. (Guitar was her mom’s.)  Terrific hand-eye coordination so that she rarely misses a target with archery at camp, ghostbusting and when she played baseball in high school as pitcher. It did take a lot of practicing though.   

Habits (good or bad): Chews on toothpicks or sucker sticks (similar to when she'd chew her pacifier as a toddler.)

Family: Mom is Claire Teague who passed away when she was 16 months old. Though she’s been long gone, Laurie keeps her memory alive.  Dad is, the one and only, Dr. Peter Venkman: Laurie's role model. On maternal side, Arnold and Ruth Teague are her grandparents and Aunt Caroline. By now, her grandparents have passed and Caroline lives out of the USA. Paternal side has her grandfather, Jim Venkman, but he's dragged Laurie into cons and she's fed up with him. She met her great uncle Alf once, but didn't like him that well. She's curious of her deceased grandma Lydia Venkman.

Friends: First best friends are from elementary school: Lindsay McKellips and Leslie Cantu. They call themselves “The L Girls.” Lindsay goes onto serve in the Air Force and Leslie becomes a teacher overseas. Close guy friends are family members of the Ghostbusters. Derek Lovejoy who's the son of Ray's cousin Sam. He's 20 and is training to be a veterinarian. Craig Reynolds who's one of Winston's nephews. Craig is 32 and a civil engineer who keeps an eye on Laurie when necessary. Ross Melnitz who's Janine's youngest nephew. He's 23 and does secretarial work for Ghostbusters while being in the field when required. Laurie considers him her closest friend since he knows all her ups and downs best. (Ross's original last name was Irwin until his parents divorced and he legally changed to his mom's maiden name as she did.)

Romantic/Love Interest(s): Had some boyfriends, but she’s not in a hurry for marriage and not ready to lose her virginity. (She went through a relationship where she almost did, but left the guy when she realized he was toxic.) She enjoys being single while still being flirty. She had one boyfriend that cheated with a girl who turned out to be Ross’s girlfriend and Laurie was furious with both of them. She doesn’t know it, but she and Ross will fall in love one day. So one day, she’ll be Laurie Melnitz.  

Pets: Her cat Punxsutawney or usually called Punx for short. He was a present for Laurie when she was 10 and they have a tight bond. He’s revealed later to be a Class 4 shapeshifter, but isn’t disposed. For one, he imprinted on Laurie the one time she was at the animal shelter though she wasn't aware of it. Secondly, he’s not found to be a threat. Finally, he prefers to stay in his cat form which is an Abyssinian breed. He’ll only change if he finds Laurie in danger. During a presentation at a convention, he transformed into a terror dog.      

Social Status: The only social status that matters to Laurie is that she’s Peter Venkman’s daughter. She doesn’t feel like she’s in his or the other Ghostbusters shadow. She’s not bothered if people say “Oh you’re that one ghostbuster’s kid” etc. because she’s proud of her dad.   

Favorite Food: New York Reuben Sandwiches (add barbecue potato chips, some grapes, a pickle, two vanilla Hostess zingers along with cherry coke and there’s her ideal lunch.) She loves other foods as well which is a contrast to the picky eater she was as a child.  

Favorite Color: Tie between purple and black.  

Favorite genre of music: 80′s Rock/New Wave like Journey and Duran Duran. Her ipod nano is just a huge playlist of 80s classics.     

Favorite movie genre: Fantasies. She grew up loving the scary 80s kid movies. Her favorite movie is The Secret of Nihm. 

Favorite Animal: Now its cats, but still has soft spots for sea lions and rabbits. 

Degree of Education: High school graduate. Her grades weren’t high enough to get her into college. (She feels a bit ashamed about it though Peter’s proud of her for overcoming her difficulties with school.)  

What language(s) can they speak?: Besides English, she has rudimentary skill in French and Latin which she learned after becoming a ghostbuster. Usually calls on Egon for languages she can’t understand. 

Can they cook?: She can cook and she can eat! 

Personality:

Positive Traits: Loyal, witty, fun-loving, resourceful, and affectionate. 

Negative Traits: Defiant, impulsive, cocky, impatient and has a foul mouth. 

Archetype: The Warrior (Merida from Brave or Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games.)  

Way they interact with others: Depends on who’s talking to her. She’s friendly to those she cares for even with her sarcasm, but if someone’s insulting, she’ll be blunt and rude right back. 

Way of speaking: Okay just like before, voice inspiration. Lilliana Mumy. When she’s not voicing Leni from The Loud House, she has great acting range of sweet, serious and sarcastic.   

Introvert or Extrovert?: Became more extroverted as she grew up and a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. She’s an ESTP...like her dad. 

Backstory Life 

Laurie was a true surprise since Claire, her mom, was told she'd never have children due to PCOS. However, the surprise was joyful and Claire loved her daughter more than anything. After Claire’s death, Laurie stayed with her grandparents, but eventually met Peter. As conflicted as he was with realizing he was a father, Laurie grew easily attached to him and he grew to love her as if he’d been there since her birth. After her grandma passed away. Laurie would be dropped off at the firehouse for days or weeks to the point she wanted to stay there. Peter and the Ghostbusters wanted her to, but she was under custody of her grandparents. Arnold despised Peter and refused to give up custody for Laurie’s wellbeing even though he didn’t care for her. (Winston predicted pride would be that man’s downfall if he wasn’t careful.)  There was even a point where Arnold only fed her yogurt which she grows to hate. At age 3, Laurie becomes critically ill with pneumonia due to her grandfather’s negligence (Its revealed he died from alcoholism and died in his house while Laurie was sick in her room.) Peter was in tears at the thought of losing her, especially since his own mother died from the same illness. When she’s cured, Laurie is finally allowed to live with Peter, which was what she hoped for. As she grows, she becomes more confident and less introverted by the time she’s a teen.    

Life Goals 

Laurie has one particular goal as an adult. That is to find the one who killed her mom. Since Claire died in the mid 80′s, DNA evidence was still in its infancy and the case was closed. However, Laurie isn’t a quitter until all options are futile. Its not just her mom’s case because Laurie has encountered ghosts of people who were killed, even children, and she can’t stand a criminal being free. Her first Ghostbusting mission was capturing and eventually helping a ghost who was murdered. So he’s the one who gave her the silver ring which she keeps as a promise to never forget those who died too soon.    

[elliot-orion]

I'm new to STS, so this week I'm asking a general question I'd love to hear people talk about: what have you written that means the most to you? It can be your favourite, or the thing you're most proud of, or the thing that has importance to you personally. :-) (I'm not sure if you do these questions, but dangit I always want to know about your writing lol)

.... whats STS..... i am dummy.... but im always down for questions!!! I know it’s cheesy since it’s what im publishing rn but Sparks Fly is genuinely the thing I’m most proud of. It’s hit so many firsts for me. It’s the first book im publishing, quite obviously, but its also the first book in the DHU, the one that started it all, its the first book I wrote with a polyam triad where I finally embraced my own polyam identity, and i wrote the first draft right after I got my diagnosis of ADHD, in the middle of high school and quite a bit too late to be really helpful. Sparky helped me work through a lot of my issues with it, namely how i was never diagnosed because no one wanted to acknowledge it, including my own therapist who wouldn’t give me the diagnosis bc she “doesn’t believe in labels”. That’s been a huge issue for me with her honestly, she’s so good with everything but she’s literally had me read kids books about why labels are bad and tried to convince me off labeling my gender and sexuality. So sparks fly helped me a lot with working through that, as well as working through some of my anxiety issues and just my never ending craving for acceptance. So it genuinely is a really important thing to me, and im so happy I finally get to share it. Other really important things I’ve written have been Paper Stars (which I’m determined to publish too) because it was just. really good feeling to write and I love to create alien species (even if im not a huge Scifi fan, just the science of it and space is so fun to me), and the first novel I wrote, way back when i was 13. It was also the first time i did nano, and my first win!! (The thing was shit, trust me, but it was my first full length novel and so its important). Thanks for asking love!!

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 56

Nanomedicine: A Novel Paradigm to Medicine

Nowadays, we have been accustomed to hear “nano-something,” and we hardly pay any attention to what this really means to us in our daily life. From the perspective of material science, nanoscience or nanotechnology deals with innovations and productions of materials on a nanometer scale (10-9 m) which exhibit unique properties with respect to their sizes and compositions. In general, such technologies could find applications in a variety of fields such as medicine, electronics, material sciences, etc.

The fascinating aspect of these materials stems from the fact that when certain particles or devices are manufactured on the nanometer size region by means of special chemical and physical methods, they start showing distinct properties dependent on size, shape, and elemental compositions (such as huge amount of light absorption/emission, plasmonic resonance, high surface area, ability to convert light into heat, desirable magnetic properties, etc). Each of these features have found many applications in technology and they provide superior properties when compared to conventional materials. This article will not cover each technology based on nanomaterials but rather focus on the medical aspects and applications of nanotechnology and the direction it is heading.

Nano-medicine is a novel branch of nanotechnology seeking to deliver medically relevant drugs and imaging agents to the desired sites of the body. Biomedical imaging and drug delivery fields are benefitting from nanotechnology to a greater extent because not only do nanomaterials provide unprecedented results in diagnosis and therapies, considerable amounts of incentives in the form of governmental and private funding also drive topnotch institutions and scientists to study these materials around globe. For instance, iron oxide—when designed and manufactured on the nanometer order—can compete with, if not replace, most of the commercial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents due to some of its attributes, (i.e., being much more sensitive) requiring a less amount compared to other contrast agents, non-toxic to humans, and easy to manipulate in terms of its chemistry. Nanometer-sized spherical and rod-shaped Cadmium/Tellerium/Lead sulfides and selenides, also known as “Quantum Dots,” can absorb and emit light from ultra-violet (UV) to infrared region (IR) and this phenomenon could be utilized to construct biomedical sensors capable of detecting biologically relevant species (such as blood glucose, tumor markers, hormones, and etc.) with great accuracy and speed. Even by using multiple colors emitting “Quantum Dots,” one can, in principle, detect more than one biological entity simultaneously. Furthermore, their superior emissive properties could be harnessed to develop sensitive and selective fluorescence imaging techniques and assays which can lead to simple and early diagnosis of diseases. Gold nanorods, if irradiated with IR lasers, can generate extreme local temperatures in the surrounding medium owing to “plasmonic resonance of surface electrons,” and this feature could be directed to killing of localized tumor tissues known as “Photothermal Theraphy”.

Another class of nanomaterial called liposomes can actually mimic lipid bilayer of the cell membrane which gives rise to a protective layer around organelles and nucleus, and maintains the transport of ions and molecules in and out of the cell. Synthetic liposomes, strikingly, can accommodate various cargoes extending from drugs to imaging agents in their inner cavity and render controlled release of its cargo as it circulates in the body, thereby providing longer bio-availability.

One of the most alluring uses of nanoparticle formulations in cancer therapy is their dimension. Certain sizes of nanoparticles can permeate into tumoral sites and be retained in that region longer than small particles or molecules. This extraordinary feature of nanoparticles, called “enhanced permeability and retention effect”, was utilized with liposomes to deliver chemotherapeutics to cancerous tissues effectively in a slow and controlled manner. In addition, chemical malleability of nanoparticles give rise to smart formulations which could respond to external stimuli in drug delivery applications. For example, the fact that cancer cells have lower pH values as compared to normal cells has been used to trigger release and delivery of drugs on site.

An alternative approach to conventional treatments is gene therapy in which the malfunctioning or mutant gene has been reintroduced into cells with a properly functioning one in order to restore the malady. Nanoparticles, especially polymeric counterparts, have shown promising results in encapsulating, carrying and delivering the gene of interest into desired cells.

Apart from synthetic nanoparticles, naturally occurring nanoparticles, have lately received great attention due to their unique structures and properties such as biocompatibility, uniform size, as well as suitability to chemical and genetic engineering. Plant and bacterial viruses, known as viral nanoparticles, have been tested for imaging and drug delivery applications, and because they infect only plants and bacteria, they are considered to be benign towards mammalians. Their inner and outer amino acids could be chemically modified with drugs and imaging modalities and cleverly engineered drug release mechanism could be invoked to operate upon external or internal stimulus.

Nanomaterials are, furthermore, suitable candidates for vaccine development. The immune system normally recognizes certain chemical groups on the surface of antigens (pathogens) and develops its defense mechanism based on this recognition. Multiple copies of these chemical groups could be chemically tailored around the surface of nanomaterial, and thereby could trigger the same immune response more efficiently.

The future of medicine will be shaped and enhanced through a targeted delivery of drugs and imaging contrasts into desired sites. Promisingly, nanoparticles will be able to assist in this regard to a considerable extent. Today’s cancer chemotherapy rely mostly on administering a variety of cancer drugs via intravenous (injecting through the vein) or oral means which delivers drugs to cancer cells as well as a considerable amount to healthy tissues which causes major side effects. In order to accumulate higher doses of drugs in tumor cells selectively and minimize nonspecific delivery, nanoparticles loaded with drugs and chemically decorated with “smart molecules” which have the ability to recognize cancer cells and specifically bind to them have been designed and tested successfully. These smart groups (organic molecules, antibodies, peptides and small molecules), surprisingly, have higher binding affinities toward some receptors over-expressed in cancer cells. Furthermore, encapsulation of drugs by nanomaterials provides a protective shell which prevents leakage of drugs to other sites.

An important drawback of cancer therapy is drug resistance in which cancer cells develop mechanisms to pump chemotherapeutics out of cells and decreases the efficacy of drugs. Nanoparticles, however, invalidate these resistance mechanisms by encapsulating drugs and should therefore not be exposed directly to surrounding cell environment. When nanoparticles reach the desired destination in the cell, an engineered mechanism or stimulus augment the release and drugs are expected to show their activity without any compromise.

It is fascinating to see how these small nanoparticles behave cleverly and orderly even though they look like inanimate and unconscious clusters of atoms. The extraordinary art, design and engineering witnessed in macro dimensions can also be seen in nano dimensions which means that a conscious and purposeful Hand of Power is present and visible in this nanoworld.

To sum up, nanomaterials could be ideal platforms for drug delivery and imaging applications and could complement the deficiencies in conventional therapies. Loading multiple copies of these entities into nanoparticles and devising clever mechanisms to target and deliver them into desired sites would be key elements in the nanomedicine of the future. We are living in a world where each of us has someone in our families or among our friends who are going through painful cancer treatments, which is a heart-rending and traumatic experience. Hopefully, nanomaterial-based therapies would give rise to solutions and success in battling against cancer. For in one prophetic tradition the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says: “O servants of God! Search for ways for treatment of illnesses. If God gives you ailments, for sure He bestows upon you cures for those.”

And why can’t this bestowal be in the nano form?

[irispublishersfashion]

Iris Publishers_Journal of Textile Science & Fashion Technology (JTSFT)

Imposing Application of Nano Cellulose Based Bio Sensor to Produce Test Kit of COVID: 19 Disease

Authored by Redwanul Hasan

Abstract

This article reflects that probable application of Nano cellulose to invent test kit of COVID: 19 diseases. It is recognized that COVID: 19 is a pandemic disease. Novel Corona virus is a mRNA virus which is enveloped by protein molecules. In the structure of corona virus, it contains protein spikes. In this conceptual article, the author predicts that Nano cellulose based test kit can detect corona virus positive in the human body. Cellulose is one of the most abundant biomass in the world. In the structure of cellulose there are lots of hydroxyl ion remain. Hydroxyl ion can give reaction with the amino acid. Authors wanted to develop a process model to make the test kit of COVID: 19 diseases. Wood is the best source of cellulose. Besides its, textile materials like cotton, flax etc are another good source of cellulose. In this article, the source of cellulose cannot play a vital role .The method of processing cellulose Nano device & reaction mechanism between hydroxyl ion & amino acid will play a significant role.

Keywords: Nanocellulsoe; Biosensors; Chromatography; Device; Point of care; Sustainable, Piezoelectric, Electrode, Electrophoresis

Introduction

Actually Nanocellulsoe is a promising natural material which is extracted from natural cellulosic source. There are varieties types of Nanocellulsoe. Like cellulose nanocrystal, Nanocellulsoe filament, bacterial cellulose is remaining in the research area. In this article author used Nano cellulose to produce test kit of COVID: 19 diseases. COVID: 19 is a pandemic disease in this world. There is a crisis of test kit in this world. This proposed model helps to experiment about the test kit. Nanocellulose is a cost effective advanced material which is used for biodegradability & low cytotoxicity. Advanced Nanocellulsoe was used for producing test kit of HIV virus, Ebola virus & hepatitis C virus [1].Professor Whiteside’s research group invented cellulose based point of care molecular devices at Harvard University [1]. Prediction goes that this process is applicable for making test kit of COVID: 19 diseases. Cellulose is a sustainable material source which can be extracted from cotton, wood, bacteria. Nanocellulose has a great mechanical characteristics .Actually the mechanical characteristics depend on the source of extraction [3].

Structural Analysis of Novel Corona Virus

Corona virus has four genera .They are: alpha corona virus, beta corona virus, gamma corona virus& delta corona virus. Alpha & beta corona virus create infection to the mammals. Gamma corona virus can affect the avian species. Delta corona virus can infect both mammals & avian species. Corona virus is a large enveloped, positive standard RNA virus. The genome sequence is 27-32 KB. In the structure of corona virus helical capsid is surrounded by nucelocapsid protein. There are three types of protein in novel corona virus. Membrane protein, envelope protein, spikes protein (Figure 1).

Besides the biomedical application of Nano cellulose has been used for some special functions. One of the functions is detecting the disease or acting as a diagnostic device. Actually it is a cellulose based device which is called point of care molecular device. These systems are low cost, lightweight, hydrophilic & porous. This device is revealed by renewable material & rehashes them to appropriate compact lab - on systems. The device is originally disclosed by the stamping patterns, channels & trial zones by involving a fragment of paper. The process of this Nano cellulose based point of core medical device is giving a biological sample like blood, urine & saliva are applied to the diagnosis media through a special device. The paper collisions the sample through the ducts to trial zones to mode the biochemical reaction. It is known to all Nano cellulose is a piezoelectric material [4]. It can change its electrical polarization during mechanical stress. The sensors are generally joined by sandwiching Nano cellulose between two electrodes. Due to piezoelectric approach, when blood, saliva etc are given in the trial zone an external force is created to the Nano cellulose film, then it changes electrical polarization & getting signal by sandwiched sensors. Finally chromatography method is used to diagnosis the disease (Figure 3).

Biochemical Reaction of Amino acid of Spike Protein & Hydroxyl ion of Nanocellulose

We all know that the PH of blood is 7.4. It’s a basic medium actually. When the patient will give the blood in Nano cellulose based device, it takes reaction between amino acid of spike protein & hydroxyl group of Nano cellulose. As blood is a basic medium reaction will be occurred following way (Figure 4).

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[avononneurotoxicity]

Effects of Pollutants on Neurotoxicity

Air pollution is a major problem of recent decades, which has a serious toxicological impact on human health and the environment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), particle pollution, ground-level O3, CO, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead (Pb) are the six major air pollutants which harm human health [Air Quality - Air Pollutants]. Particle pollutants, a mixture of particles found in the air, are major parts of air pollutants. Mounting evidence from studies shows that air pollution has been associated with diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and neurodevelopmental disorders.  The nervous system is mainly affected by heavy metals (lead, mercury and arsenic) and dioxins. Neurotoxicity leading to neuropathies, with symptoms such as memory disturbances, sleep disorders, anger, fatigue, hand tremors, blurred vision, and slurred speech, have been observed after arsenic, lead and mercury exposure. Lead exposure causes injury to the dopamine system, glutamate system, and N-methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor complex, which play an important role in memory functions. Mercury is also responsible for certain cases of neurological cancer. Dioxins decrease nerve conduction velocity and impaired mental development of children.

Entry of Air Pollutants into the Central Nervous System

Sustained exposure to significant levels of toxic pollutants may result in neuropathology through a variety of pathways and mechanisms. Air pollutants might not enter the CNS directly, but could exert adverse effect on the CNS by triggering the release of soluble inflammatory mediators from primary entry organs or secondary deposition sites. The release of inflammatory agents could then lead to or alter the susceptibility for neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in the CNS.

Route of CNS Effects

Air pollution is a complex toxin causing diverse CNS pathology through several interrelated mechanisms that may lead to CNS disease. These effects can be categorized into four major groups: 1) Systemic inflammation; 2) Particulate matter; 3) Adsorbed compounds; 4) Ozone.

1. Systemic Inflammation: Peripheral Impact on the Brain

The peripheral immune system communicates with the CNS through cytokines, where circulating cytokines impact peripheral innate immune cells, activate peripheral neuronal afferents, and physically enter the brain through diffusion and active transport to impact the CNS. In addition to cellular damage and modification of the ROS/cytokine milieu in the brain, systemic inflammation has recently been shown to alter the cellular make-up of innate immune cells in the brain. 

Air pollution causes pro-inflammatory signals, giving rise to a systemic-induced cytokine response that transfers inflammation to the brain. Exposure to particulate matter has been shown to elevate plasma cytokine. Further, PM has been shown to mobilize bone-marrow-derived neutrophils and monocytes into the circulation. Circulating cytokines produced in systemic inflammation, such as TNF α and IL-1β, are well known to cause neuroinflammation, neurotoxicity, and cerebral vascular damage. In addition to neuron damage, it is also proposed that systemic inflammation caused by air pollution may contribute to deteriorating olfactory, respiratory, and blood-brain barriers to enhance access to the CNS and further increase neuropathology. 

2. Particle Effects: Size matters

Ultrafine (nano-size particles) and fine particles are the most notorious of air pollution components. The nasal olfactory pathway is believed to be a key portal of entry, where inhaled nanoparticles have been shown to reach trigeminal nerves, brainstem, and hippocampus.Very recently, nano-sized particulate matter was identified to reach in the human brain even penetrating deep into the parenchyma. Ultrafine particles have a large surface-to-volume ratio and easily penetrate cellular membranes. Inhalation of these particles induces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

3. Adsorbed Compounds:

The particle components of air pollution have several toxic compounds present on their surface. Many of the adsorbed compounds present on PM are neurotoxic.Some adsorbed compounds are soluble and may become a toxic stimulus independent of the particle itself. Recent studies show that Acute manganese exposure typically occurs as an occupational exposure in humans and is liked to dopaminergic neurotoxicity and PD symptoms. Both traffic and environmentally derived manganese in air pollution was linked to increased risk for PD diagnosis. 

4. Ozone: Inhalation of Reactive Oxygen Species

Ozone is a reactive oxygen species and powerful inhaled oxidizing agent. Once in the lung, ozone interacts with proteins and lipids to create modified proteins/lipids, carbon/oxygen centered radicals, and toxic compounds. one is also associated with CNS effects. Recent studies with animal models have shown that oxidative stress induced by acute or chronic ozone exposure can lead to brain lipid peroxidation, dopaminergic neuron death in the substantia nigra, neuronal morphological damage, motor deficits and memory deficits. Further, prenatal exposure to ozone has been shown to alter neurotransmitter expression suggesting there may be a developmental impact on CNS development. In addition, some ozone effects are associated with the cerebral vasculature. Ozone exposure cause cytokine production in the brain, where enhanced IL-6 and TNFα expression was localized to astrocytes close to capillary walls. Thus, there is increasing experimental evidence that ozone causes neuroinflammation, lipid peroxidation in the brain, neuron damage, memory deficits, and motor deficits.

Cellular Mechanisms of Neuroinflammation

Cell and Cell organelles.

PMs can be taken up by mammalian cells in different ways, including phagocytosis, pinocytosis, passive diffusion, receptor-mediated endocytosis, direct penetration of the cell membrane, or transcytosis. PM that cannot enter cells directly could still interact with surface proteins and change cellular signaling and behavior.

The particles like UFPs may reach specific organelles, such as mitochondria, lysosomes, and nuclei, where they could induce an oxidative burst within their membranes. They may also induce the release of inflammatory mediators and cytokines by the cell. A recent study has shown that exposure to airborne UPMs is associated with mitochondrial damage. Damaged mitochondria may then contribute to increased oxidative-stress. Interaction of airborne PM with cellular proteins can also result in protein degradation and protein denaturation. Loss of enzyme activity and formation of autoantigens are possible consequences . Environmental NPs can also significantly increase the rate of protein fibrillation, which provides a possible link between air pollution and neurodegenerative disorders . Other key molecular pathways that are affected in neurodegenerative diseases lead to misfolding, aggregation, and accumulation of proteins in the brain . PMs that have the capability to enter nerve cells could contribute to these processes, so could oxidative stress that is induced by the air pollutants. 

Cellular responses to oxidative stress can lead to changes in mitochondria and other organelles, notably the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and eventually triggers the cell to enter a cell death pathway . Perturbed ER calcium homeostasis may also contribute to neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in neurodegenerative disorders.Loss of ER homeostasis triggers stress responses, which are a hallmark of many inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases  Recent studies have shown that exposure to airborne PM causes ER stress in lung tissue. Neurodegenerative disorders are often characterized by the aggregation and accumulation of misfolded proteins . Protein folding stress in the ER may lead to activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR). 

Astroglia

In the normal brain, astroglia play essential roles in providing glia-neuron contact, maintaining ionic homeostasis, buffering excess neurotransmitters, and secreting neurotrophic factors. Astroglial activation occurs in response to all types of injuries of the CNS. Consistent with this, astroglia are reported to be activated in humans chronically exposed to high levels of air pollution. Animal studies investigating ozone exposure have shown that astrocytes localized near brain capillaries have enhanced expression of IL-6 and TNFα . In addition, astrocyte exposure to ozone in vitro results in astrocyte death. 

Microglia

Microglia, the resident innate immune cells in the brain, are activated in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers and Parkinson's disease.  In fact, human autopsy studies show evidence of increased CD14 expression27 in response to chronic exposure to high concentrations of air pollution, indicating upregulation or activation of either infiltrating monocytes or the resident microglia cells. Microglia are activated in response to environmental toxicants. microglial activation, determined by changes in morphology and increase in superoxide production. Interestingly, microglia exposed to air pollution upregulate mRNA of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β and TNFα 91, suggesting that some forms of PM may be able to cause cytokine production. Further, there is evidence that metals associated with air pollution activate microglia that amplify dopaminergic neurotoxicity. In addition to neuronal death, disease proteins, and environmental triggers such as the components of air pollution, microglia are also activated in response to systemic inflammation through cytokine with disastrous neurotoxic consequences and cerebral vascular damage. While the majority of microglial activation is beneficial, activated microglia can become a chronic source of pro-inflammatory factors (TNFα, PGE2, and INFγ) and oxidative stress in the brain, driving neurodegenerative diseases.

Neuronal and Glial Cell Death

Air pollution-induced neuronal cell death may be direct or indirect via microglia activation. Several different types of NPs, including ambient UFPs, target mitochondria directly . This can lead to disruption of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, which leads to increased superoxide radical production. Furthermore, ambient UFPs perturb the permeability of the mitochondrial transition pore, resulting in the release of proapoptotic factors and ultimately programmed cell death. It has also been suggested that presynaptic terminals are a target for NP-mediated changes in glutamatergic neurotransmission, which can result in neuronal damage and finally neurodegeneration.

In addition to neurons, other CNS cells may also be target of air pollution. Indeed, astroglial cell death has been reported upon exposure to high dose of ozone and oligodendroglial cells may be affected by air pollution, and prefrontal white matter hyperintense lesions were observed in these studies. Brain endothelial cells and pericytes are other candidate target cells. Exposure to DEPs resulted in endothelial activation and dysfunction in rat brain capillaries. 

The Blood Brain Barrier

Cerebral microvessels (3- to 8-μm diameter) are distinct from most of the vasculature in that they are a formidable barrier to macromolecules, various toxins, small organic drugs, and ions . Thus, these small vessels within the brain parenchyma constitute the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is a chemical and physical barrier comprised of multiple cell types, metabolizing enzymes, and transporter proteins that protect the brain from external insult. Particulate matter has been identified in both human brain capillaries and the brain parenchyma. These nano-size particles have the capacity to injure endothelial cells and damage the BBB. particulate matter causes production of cytokines and reactive oxygen species (ROS) which signal changes in transporter expression and function and a decrease in expression of various tight junction proteins further contributing to CNS pathology. 

DNA Damage, and Genotoxicity

Metals, pesticides, and air pollutants, all of which have been associated with neurodegeneration share a common feature, namely, their capacity to lead to increased production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Although each pollutant has its own mechanism of toxicity, several air pollutants, like ozone, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and PM, are oxidants that can act directly on cellular components and disturb physiological functions. Some of these pollutants go through a series of metabolic reactions catalyzed by phase II enzymes, in order to be detoxified and excreted. These reactions involve chemical modifications, like oxidation, to increase the solubility of the original compound so that it can be excreted. During these metabolic reactions, many reactive intermediates, particularly ROS, are produced .Excessive ROS accumulation, however, poses a challenge for cell survival.  Both postmortem and in vivo studies have recently revealed a link between oxidative stress and air pollution-induced CNS injury. Exposure to combustion particles is consistently associated with oxidative damage to DNA and lipids in humans. DNA damage is also crucial in aging and in age-related disorders, such as AD. 

Gene-Air Pollution Interaction and Epigenetic Mechanisms

Air pollutants can change gene expression through a broad array of gene regulatory mechanisms. Epigenetics is a posttranscriptional control mechanism in gene regulation. Changes in DNA methylation and histone acetylation leads to imprinting, gene silencing, and suppression of gene expression without altering the sequence of the silenced genes. Epigenetic alternations are often involved in the pathogenesis of neurological disorders. Air pollution related neurological damage may occur via epigenetic effects. Nano and micro sized SiO2 exposure can significantly decrease genomic DNA methylation and levels of the related methyl transferase in epithelial cells line. Human studies showed that either short- or long-term exposure to air pollution in elderly can cause hypomethylation in peripheral lymphocytes. In addition, higher exposure to traffic-related air pollution is associated with shorter leukocyte telomeres, which is a sign of biological aging.

[sampatk]

Colloidal Selenium Nanoparticles Market Estimated to Record Highest CAGR by 2019-2026

According to the latest research report by Global Market Insights, colloidal selenium nanoparticles market is expected to exceed US$ 479.59 million by 2026. The prevailing trends allude that colloidal SeNP will be highly sought-after in medical and food industries.

Selenium has been perceived as an invaluable trace element, and low status as in recent decades, colloidal selenium nanoparticles have come up as a tremendous selenium species with reported therapeutics and chemopreventative properties. With enhanced anticancer and therapeutic cargo activities, there has been immense interest in their use as a carrier of therapeutic agents.

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 The advent of nanotechnology has brought a seismic shift in the development and drug discovery in treatment options and disease pathophysiology.

In recent years, nanoparticles selenium has sparked palpable attention as a food additive with selenium-deficiency. Nanoparticle systems are perceived as a compelling alternative to peroral drug delivery and have become an ideal nutritional supplement. The impact of bioactive compound supplements, including omega-6 fatty acids, omega-3, probiotics, vitamins, prebiotics in nanoparticles have gone through several studies.

Some of the factors as to why there has been rising trend to include nanotechnology in nutrition are protection against oxidation, administration and solubility, taste and smell, and effective passage via the gastrointestinal tract enhancing the bioavailability of supplemented substances.

Rising significance of selenium nanoparticles in medical industry

Selenium nanoparticles are becoming highly sought-after in food industry, mainly attributed to high bioavailability and lower toxicity as compared to organic and inorganic forms. Rising traction towards nano-selenium is credited to the likelihood of using selenium in zero oxidation state that offers tremendous bioavailability and low toxicity vis-à-vis other oxidation states.

Having adequate supply of selenium in the diet has made it possible to avert potential health problems from its deficiency. Owing to its low toxicity, high bioavailability and affordability, selenium nanoparticles have become ideal for supplementation.

Along with its use as an antioxidant with reduced risk of toxicity, selenium nanoparticles tend to possess capability as a chemopreventive agent.

Along with the use of colloidal selenium nanoparticles in food industry, its use in medical and healthcare has been evident by the fact that selenium nanoparticles are used as a chemopreventive agent. Nanotechnology application has offered a slew of advantages such as multifunctional therapy, early diagnosis, and drug delivery system in the field of cancer therapy. Several studies have claimed Nano-se to be instrumental in cancer chemo-prevention as a likely anticancer drug and anticancer drug delivery carrier.

Some of the other anticancer mechanisms of selenium comprise of the induction of DNA-repair genes, apoptosis, and cell-cycle arrest and inhibition of protein Kinase C activity, impact on androgen- and estrogen-receptor expression.

There have also been claims indicating SeNP to have antifungal and antimicrobial effect. Selenium nanoparticles have become an invaluable drug carrier by complementing strong drug loading capacity, the controlled size, low cytoxicity, and enhanced antitumor effect.

Research and development (R&D) activities on SeNP in the past few decades have offered a massive deal of evidence indicating the immense role which Se and its metabolites have been playing in human diseases.

Small is the new big as nanoparticles are proving to be instrumental in solving several pharmacokinetic (PK) and biopharmaceutical problems linked with several drugs in a range of disease classes. It is worth noting that NPs propel the penetration of water soluble compounds, peptides, ionized drugs and other biological therapeutics.

Selenium nanoparticles have shown attractive anticancer activity and reduced toxicity concerns. Accordingly, SeNPs have found increased application in several disease condition such as cancer, liver, diabetes, inflammatory disorders and drug induced toxicities. SeNP has provided a platform for anticancer therapy and are being used as nanosized delivery tools for anticancer drugs and differently charged biomolecules.

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Even though there are various treatment strategies, SeNP has considerably enhanced the approach of personalized medicine and have seemingly shown characteristics to combat drug resistance problems and reducing toxicities linked with chemotherapeutic agents. According to the latest research report by Global Market Insights, colloidal selenium nanoparticles market size is expected to exceed US$ 475 million by 2026. The prevailing trends allude that colloidal SeNP will be highly sought-after in medical and food industries.

The outlook exhibits the advancements of SeNPs with the likelihood of changing physiochemical attributes of the particles and providing a considerable therapeutic and dietary potential.

With the number of selenium cancer preventive R&D activities or trials being witnessed globally, the result of these trials is slated to offer more comprehensive view on the intake of Se for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

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[egg-and-koji]

“Gravity” A FFXIV Fanfic Ch 1

"Hear…”

Disorientation. The first sign something wasn't right. Doctor Daniella Ortega couldn’t remember the last few hours let alone the last few seconds. But that voice...

Daniella’s eyes fluttered open as it filled her mind. The sound soft and clear even over the near-deafening ringing in the doctor’s ears. Ringing followed by a throbbing trainwreck of a headache. Her body felt weak and sore, but not surprisingly not heavy. Not like she usually got after an exhausting mission. Instead, she felt lighter. Too light-weight; almost floating. Unless Lum decided to be an ass and switch on zero-g again. 

She blinked a few times getting a better grasp of her surroundings and sucked back the scream in her lungs when she saw she was in fact floating. Except, this time it wasn't because the ship's gravity had been altered.

Daniella floated exposed and unprotected in open space. 

Her hands shot up to cover her mouth and nose. Not that it would do much; by all accounts, she should have frozen to death the instant her body hit the space atmosphere. She had no suit on, only a medical uniform; white and light gray with the Elysium crest on her breast pocket. Thankfully, she had her BioTech wrist device. But even that offered no protection; a supercomputer, yes and a weapon-albeit a pathetic one, but nothing useful for her situation. Yet when she checked herself over, her fingers weren’t black with frostbite nor had her toes snapped off; they were still very much warm in her slip-on shoes. 

Okay-okay, keep your shit together Ortega, she told herself, you're alive, for now. If she was still alive after those last few seconds, would breathing in this atmosphere kill her? In a blind leap of faith, Daniella took a slow inhale through her nose. Oxygen? 

Her eyes followed the wisps of blue and green atmospheric gases dancing around starlight. Yellow and white distant stars littered every angle surrounding her. Was this a memory from a Paragon's past life? It’d be the only explanation for why it felt so empty. There were no planets, no ships, not even a warp gate.

Creator, she called out in her thoughts hoping to reach her deity through her BioTech. If this was a memory sent by them, what had she done to trigger it? She had no comm call or message that any of the other Paragons in her unit had one.

A sudden beam of light blinded her left peripheral. She raised her hand and turned towards it. Through the gaps between her fingers, she squinted to keep from being blinded by the light. As if it knew it was far too bright, the light dimmed allowing her to see more clearly. A massive star loomed in front of her. She choked on the gasp that escaped from her trembling lips. Her hand slumped down to her side. Is that… a Sun? 

“Creator!?” she heard herself shout yet she hadn’t opened her mouth. Not an unusual occurrence, if this was a memory.

"Hear…feel…," the voice spoke again. 

“Y-you’re not the Creator-who are you!?” Daniella demanded. 

The ball of light bobbed; brightening and dimming with every movement almost as if it were a set of lungs filling and emptying with a steady breath. She watched it for a while. The only two objects in this time and space. It made no move to grow closer nor did it disappear from her. If anything, it beckoned her. 

“Are you sentient?” she asked. This wasn’t a form her Creator used before and it didn’t match any of the known forms of the other Creators of her galaxy. Unless-

“Are you a Sentinel!?”

Daniella snarled as a wave of nauseating anger swirled in the pit of her belly. Had they captured her crew? Was this some new torture method they developed? If they knew she was a Paragon, this could be a method of breaking her for secrets. At best, the Sentinels might have only taken her and used the rest of the crew as ransom against the Federation. 

An insulting thought. There was no point in hoping for an outcome she knew wouldn't happen. Sentinels were… inhuman. Maybe they decided to be merciful to the “lesser species” and killed the crew off quickly; they’d be of no use except as fodder for their war machines. 

Except for Jordan…

Jordan they could use against her. Jordan they could bend and break. 

Daniella wiped his name from her lips as quickly as he appeared in her thoughts. She wouldn’t give the Sentinels that pleasure. 

Let them break me, I die as a Paragon!

Her throat stung as all the moisture disappeared. Her scalp pricked and tingled. Despite the flurry of rage building within her, she kept her breathing controlled. She braced herself as the light shined brighter and hovered closer to her. 

From it came emotions that pierced and swelled in her heart. Her fear and anger vanished, replaced by understanding from the Creator. Patience and guidance from her parents. Order and justice from the Paragons. Friendship and protection from The ESE Orion. Love and acceptance from-

Daniella blinked back her tears and extended a trembling hand towards it. Her face dropped to the open space below her. Whatever the light was she wanted to be near it, but if she moved would she fall forever? 

Consciously or not, she descended. The lapse of gravity slowed her fall. After a few seconds, her feet lightly touched a solid surface and after a heartbeat, she took a careful step forward. The light stayed in its position until just shy from her reach then it shot up behind her. 

"Hear… feel… think…", it echoed.

"Where am I-why am I not on The Orion? Did something happen?" she asked in a daze as she turned. The light bobbed again, waiting for her to follow.

Behind her, a hiss cracked like an oxygen leak of a damaged cruiser. A dark mist coiled against the pure atmosphere. It grew larger then disappeared as a black-robed figure stepped out; their face covered by the shadow of their hood. Energy radiated from their body; dark and powerful magic, not unlike a Sentinel...

From the light came fear. 

Daniella braced herself inhaling deeply to tap into her energy. Lines of dusky purple light streaked across her skin like electrical wiring. Her nervites were activating; a blessed technology from the Creator that marked her as a Paragon. Her people had no magic to counter the Sentinels’ natural abilities. This was her Creator's solution to their atrocities against mankind. 

But it wouldn’t be enough. Her active nervites would barely hold up a barrier in her condition. The weapon from her BioTech was a decent backup though. Sure it was shorter than the standard combat blades, but it was better than nothing. Sentinel or not, she wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

Suddenly, light surrounded her feet. Colors swirled and danced like flames. The blaze engulfed her before she had a chance to scream. 

Daniella’s body changed; heavier, sturdier. The familiar sound of metallic pieces clicking and snapping into place sent a wave of giddy violence down to her toes. When the flames died, she emerged fully dressed in an Exosuit; the nano-infused latex under armor hugged her body while the hybrid silicone-metallic plates protected her limbs and vital organs. The suit’s UI synced with the modules along her spine, recognizing them instantly; the sensors lining the under-suit and armor plating lit up with nervites. The sharing of nervite and nano-tech created a symbiotic relationship, allowing a Paragon abilities beyond their own capabilities. 

With the rush of adrenaline and no small amount of cockiness, she tapped deep into her energy. As the dark figure charged up a hidden power, she flicked her left wrist, and with a sharp hum, the white plasma blade descended. Then the dark mage and the Paragon lunged for each other.

Daniella awoke with a hiss. Her throat cracked. Every inch of her body screamed. Sore. Heavy. She lifted her fists to her eyes and rubbed the pain away. Embarrassing memories of her time as a neophyte in training resurfaced as this pain mimicked lessons. Except back then she was thrashed by Elder Paragons for her lack of restraint. She let her arms flop back down against the hard surface she laid on. One arm, she noticed, felt considerably lighter than the other. 

She raised her left wrist to find it naked. No Biotech. “Oh for Creator’s sake, Lum…”, she grumbled. 

While all Zinorphs were naturally curious, her crewmate Lum took it to the most annoying level possible. She guessed he took it to play some shitty prank on her. Good luck, idiot. After the first few times of handing it over and believing he was innocently curious about it, she programmed some minor security measures to deter him from any future shenanigans. Ha, hope you enjoy the zap, water breather.

Alright, focus Ortega, she told herself then mentally ran through her condition.

Headache, nausea, stiffness, dehydration, fatigue… the list went on. Without the BioTech, she wouldn’t have an accurate diagnosis of her health. Well, the stiffness might be this crappy cot. Her fingers ran over the rough canvas. She grumbled internally, dreading the fact that their mission must have gotten them stranded on yet another planet with another group of aliens with no modern technology who’s village they were very likely going to have to save… again... for the third time-technically fourth, but she wasn’t part of the crew for the first time. Daniella breathed steadily through her nose. She continued mentally checking over her injuries.

Left leg… sore. Right leg- 

“Shit!” She hissed as she tried to bend her leg up. The tent flap opened.

“Pray miss, you must needs rest,” a young human male said in strong accented Elysian. He tried to gently ease her back down.

“I must-what?”

“Your wounds have yet to heal and I fear the Wood Wailers wish to be off shortly.”

“Wood Wailer a local tribe? And why are you talking like that, you lose a bet or something?” 

“The... Wood Wailers are the guardsmen, mistress… I-”

The poor kid looked as confused as the doctor felt. She sat up on her elbows and studied him over. Every sentient creature in the galaxy knew humans came from Elysium. The only reason they settled on other planets was for farming colonies or Federation bases. 

Hm, he might be a Greenie, she thought. 

Judging by his clothes, Daniella assumed the young man came from a poor farming family and volunteered at a base to earn some units. He wore a dust-covered linen shirt and vomit green slacks. Those might be actual vomit stains though. A pair of flimsy leather sandals wrapped around his feet but the straps exposed dirt-covered toes. 

She, on the other hand, wore nothing more than the cotton-spandex shorts and tank top she always slept in. Which normally wouldn’t be an issue except that hers were caked in dried blood and dirt. Her exposed skin was covered in cuts and bruises. The bandages wrapped around her right leg looked like they hadn’t been changed in days. The fact that she was wrapped in bandages at all was alarming. Was this medical site in disarray? Not an issue for her, but she’d have to let her captain know if the supervising physician here needed to pull her from her crew for a few days. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s helped a med site and she didn’t mind; nothing brought her greater joy than medicine. Well, maybe the pride that beamed from the Creator when she did. Besides, it was part of her oath to ensure she left a planet having given every ounce of her medical prowess and aid too.

But to call this a Federation medical site was an insult. It took all of her mother’s patience and Creator’s wisdom to keep from chewing the poor kid out. 

It was nothing more than a tent-not that the Federation didn’t use tents, they were much, much better. There was barely enough room for the two of them and her nose burned from whatever herbs the kid fiddled with. The tent had no floor. Straight dirt. Even the air was gross; thick and damp with mold. The pungent stench of mud burned her nostrils. Stains, dried blood most likely, streaked across one side of the tent canvas. A spread of junk covered bottles sat cluttered on top of a wooden crate near the opening of the tent. A clay bowl full of red cloudy water and dirty bandages sat on a worn side table by her feet. 

That’s it. Nothing else.

“This clinic is disgusting, why wasn’t I placed in a Vite Chamber?” she asked.

“B-beg pardon?”

“A Vite Chamber-every med site has one. Where are the drones? Monitors? IVs?” Daniella questioned, the poor kid shaking his head at each word. “Seriously, there isn’t even a floor! Whoever’s in charge of this clinic isn’t keeping to code. Which base is this?”

“B-base? This is Camp Tranquil miss. There are no bases here-unless you mean the castra where you are from-well the Wood Wailers believe you to be Garlean on account of the vessel they pulled you from-but never have I ever witnessed an airship as they described...”

The young man stuttered and fumbled over his words; most of it gibberish. Fine then, she would have to find the supervising physician herself. But not being put in a chamber to replenish her nervite levels and heal, she had no choice but to tap into her nervite reserves to heal her injuries herself. The young man stumbled backward, eyes as wide as an owl as her tech sealed cuts and erased bruises within seconds. She unwrapped the bandage around her leg exposing a gnarly dark gash under her calf. Her muscle fibers stretched and fused back together as the nervites regenerate the tissue cells, then her skin sealed the wound leaving no scar behind. 

Daniella swung her legs over the side of the cot. “Who’s your supervisor?”

“My what,” he stuttered, taking another step back.

Yep, definitely a Greenie. 

She took a deep breath, mentally chanting the Creator’s wisdom and tried again, her voice soft. “Who is the doctor overseeing the clinic? You must have met him during the orientation.”

He shook his head again. She blinked and curled a brow.

“Okay… well, where’s the rest of my crew?”

“They said you were the only one the Wood Wailers found. They didn’t know how to enter the ship and you lay on the ground alone and unconscious.”

“My captain?” Her voice was barely a whisper. A sharp chill ran down her back. Daniella pinched the bridge of her nose then hopped off the cot. She wobbled for a second then and brushed past him out of the tent.

“No wait,” he called after her.

The “camp” was little more than a few tents and crates fenced in by short wooden railings. Off to one side of the camp stood a massive glowing crystal pylon with a large bronze ring and several metal embellishments. Wooden bridges split to other smaller land masses; one with a single watchtower. 

No comm towers. No auto-turrets. This camp couldn't even fend off a mouse!

A very tall, armed guard marched up behind her and shouted, “Hold prisoner!”

“Prisoner?” Daniella whipped around to face the voice. 

Her heart froze as her eyes traveled up, taking in dark leather armor wrapped around a terrifying height. His face was covered by a mask of the same material; the eye slits too dark to see his irises. Her wide-eyed stare settled on his very long and pointed ears.

“SENTINEL!”

On instinct, her nervites activated. With a growl, Daniella threw out her hands and pushed at the gravity around the Sentinel, flinging him backward and crashing against the fence. More Sentinels charged at her. She pushed and pulled in every direction. Some went straight up into the air and landed with an audible crunch. She lunged for a spear one dropped. 

“No stop!” shrieked the young man.

She snapped her wild scowl to him. He cowered with a few other humans under a collapsing awning. The Paragon placed herself between them and the Sentinels who circled and crept closer. 

“Get the Void out of here!” she barked over her shoulder. Slow steps crunched the ground behind her.

Like a cobra, she whipped around bringing the spear high over her head. A boy in a white robe with horns sticking out of his head raised his hand to her face.

“Sleep,” he whispered. Smoky purple light emerged from his palm and circled her head. 

“The fu-,” Daniella gasped then collapsed to the ground.

At a Federal Intergalactic Station, soldiers filled up an assembly hall for the command's debriefing. Species from across the Federation mixed and mingled with different crews as they awaited for the hologram to appear. Humans and humanoids settled into their seats or stood when all the seats were taken as a large hologram displayed the Elysian vice-admiral in the center of the room. He was an older gentleman with a sterned wrinkled face and broad features. Rows of lapels and medals lined the majority of his right shoulder pad. After a few formalities, the veteran addressed the current on-going issue.

“Recent reports from the Tressith suggest the Sentinels have made greater progress on the Starkiller project, allowing for an increase in the trajectory of the weapon's photon missiles,” the hologram spoke, “Working with Federation intelligence, our allies believe it’s only a matter of time before the weapon will reach its full potential. The Sentinels have already begun their tests, destroying two Tressith colonies in the process. The Federation has sent out orders for immediate evacuations of all colonies at the edge of the Delta Hyperion Galaxy.”

Doctor Daniella Ortega sat with the rest of her crew, chewing on the inside of her lip. Her eyes avoided looking directly at the hologram. Instead, they were focused on The Orion’s commander; the young Captain Hoshino. He was a valiant Elysian officer with several great feats on his record, but the majority of Federation command often overlooked him and his crew. 

That is, only the Elysian vice-admiral did.

Captain Hoshino's hands balled on his knees; the muscles of his strong jaw twitched as he listened to the vice-admiral continue. Daniella glanced at his tense gaze. His face was hard as he shot up at attention when the hologram called for the captains. 

“The Tressith have requested additional aid in relocating their colony populations,” the hologram continued, “Captain Hoshino, the Orion will not be needed for this mission. Return to your previous assignment.”

“Sir, with all due respect The Orion has had more dealings with the Tressith than any other Federation ship,” the young captain protested.

Jordan, don’t, Daniella cautioned in her thoughts.

“And the Federation is grateful for the opportunities your crew has presented to us in working with them. However, they requested aid for the evacuation of which The Orion is ill-equipped to handle.”

“Sir-”

“Captain!,” the hologram boomed, “You and your crew will return to the previous assignment, is that clear?”

Captain Hoshino’s face turned to stone. He saluted then turned out of the assembly hall, the rest of his crew following. Daniella trailed behind them as the captain took wide, heavy steps through the halls towards the docking bay. His knuckles turned white as he held them tightly behind his back; tense even when talking to his co-pilot.  

This was the third time Jordan had spoken out about taking on a new mission. Their crew was stuck with patrol missions around the colony sectors; not the grand expeditions they dealt with in the past.

Why didn’t you stay quiet, she sighed internally, why do you always have to look for trouble huh?

“Well that was disappointing,” a crewmate asked from her side. The Zinorph’s dual-tone voice bubbled as the water device around their neck rubbed against their vocal cords. Their mandibles clicked as they chuckled, “I expected a poorly scripted human drama!”

“I’m the doctor, it’s not my place to argue military policy,” she said dryly.

“Oh, just the doctor huh? Sure, let’s completely overlook the years of training you went through to become an absolute Sentinel killing machine.”

Daniella bit her bottom lip to keep the smirk there from getting any bigger. “Paragons don’t brag about their achievements. We protect Elysium and the Federation, nothing more.”

“Eh, still, what’s the point of having the title if you can’t toss it around now and then. It’d be the first time I’d see the vice-admiral outgunned.”

“Humility, honor, and sacrifice.” Her heart swelled with pride to say the tenets out loud. The two turned down a few corridors and finally entered the docking bay where their ship awaited. “Besides, I’m sure the vice-admiral had his reasons.”

The Zinorph hummed, “Like the fact that the captain is sleeping with his daughter?” They cackled again.

Daniella flinched and huffed. “We aren’t… together right now.”

“If you say so,” they said, “but I did hear the strangest sounds a few nights ago near med bay. Could’ve sworn I heard a struggle. Thought we were being boarded, didn’t think some of us were-”

“You’re an ass, Lum.”

“But you love me!”

“Not enough to not make a chowder out of you,” she half grumbled, “don’t make me flush your eggs into space.”

“Do it! I don’t want the little shits, my partner got rid of fifty the other day!”

“That’s awful!”

Lum laughed harder, their mandibles clicking playfully as they and the doctor followed the rest of their crew up The Orion’s boarding ramp. The captain remained stoic as the ship left the station. 

“Do you need anything from me, Captain?” Daniella asked once it was safe to freely move around the ship.

He didn’t turn to face her. “No.”

Her breath hitched to the sound of his clipped tone. She knew better than to push him; best leave it to his co-pilot or Lum. Daniella saluted his back and turned to the med bay, avoiding Lum’s slow worried clicks as she passed his navigation post. 

That night the captain didn’t join the crew for dinner. Lum tried to probe her for information, but she didn’t say a word. She slipped the empty aluminum tray into its clean up compartment then went for a shower in her suite. The hot water only encouraged her troubled thoughts, so she rushed and changed into her sleep clothes. 

Daniella knew if she went to bed now, she’d toss and turn and end up getting minimal sleep. Checking her messages might clear her mind. She sat down at an empty desk near her bed and tapped the dark glass at the center. A transparent holographic screen appeared. Her fingers gracefully swiped through messages: some from her Paragon comrades, a few from Lum-a recent one she ignored-and several from other command fleets offering her a spot on their medical teams. She spent a few hours reading them over. 

Guilt, shame, and unease filled her heart. 

She had been planning to transfer to another fleet for a few months now. A decision encouraged by her father who even sent his own letters of recommendation to the best fleets in the galaxy. It only made her feel worse. Having fleets compete for her, a Paragon, to join their ship was an honor and flattering; every fleet was better off with one and she had dedicated her life to the order. But having her father use her status along his rank was infuriating. 

Him doing so because he wanted her and Jordan separated crushed her soul.   And it wasn’t because of their differences in rank; if anything she outranked them all as a Paragon.  No... it was only because it was Jordan. 

He was there for me when you weren't, she spat internally, go ask the Creator; they’re the witness, they know everything! 

She paused and sucked back her anger. There was no point in working herself up, the Creator would be alarmed.  She mentally recited her Paragon vows but even that wasn’t enough to calm her. She buried her face in her hands wanting to drown in a scream when a knock on the metal door reeled her in. Swallowing the lump in her throat she said, “Come in.”

Heavy boots clicked against the floor panels as the door slid open then closed. Daniella swiveled in her chair. Jordan stood at the door dressed in Federation tactical pants and plain sleeveless undershirt; his thick ivory shoulders almost translucent against the dark gray material. Except for his artificial arm.  The latest in technological advancement; fully formed with all functions; made from light-weight titanium alloy and nano-infused silicone. It was completely indestructible.

And he hated it.

His cold hard stare lingered on the reddened flesh of his shoulder where machine attached to man. He shut his eyes and let out an exhausted breath. 

“The old man still hates me,” he muttered, his smooth voice pained, echoing a similar ache in Daniella’s heart. 

His lips pursed into a thin line as he stayed at the door. He ran a fleshy hand through the ebony locks of hair against his forehead. The neat sweep he always kept for formal dress twisted through his long pale fingers. His dark brows furrowed into a deep V as he leaned his metal arm on the doorframe 

“He’s just worried,” her voice soft as her eyes traced the lines and joints of the prosthesis. 

She pulled her eyes away quickly and turned back to the desk. 

He could despise the arm all he wanted, she thought, he was alive because of it, damnit!

She swallowed hard and swiped one of the screens over to her BioTech then turned to him again. With her left palm up, she touched the space in front of her and opened a smaller screen. 

“These are… some of the recommendations for the Federation fleets. There’s a few from Lum’s tribe and even one from Paragon Kovalchuk-weird to hear from him, he might just want a chance for a rematch though.” She let out a breathy chuckle. He ignored her; both hands-flesh and artificial-wrung together. 

Only the low hum of the ship’s engine filled the silence between them. 

Minutes felt like centuries. He kept his eyes on the floor. 

“I’m sure this isn’t the best time, but you did say to keep you informed on any updates on my transferring”-she cleared her throat-“I’d like it to be an official transfer so I’ll need your signature once I make my decision.”

His face twisted as his words came out in a broken whisper, “You can decide to stay.”

“We both agreed this was for the best,” she said, keeping her voice neutral, “as long as I’m here you can’t advance in rank, and now The Orion’s being held back too. How is that fair to anyone?”

His eyes snapped up to hers; icy blues on golden brown. “We don’t need to advance-we're fine as we are!”

“You can’t honestly tell me you're okay with doing grunt work for the next few years? The crew needs work. You belong on the field-

“And you belong with us!”

He reached out to grab the end of the doorframe with his prosthetic. The frame bent against the strength of it. He cursed and fumbled trying to bend it back to normal. More dents and bruises formed as the stronger metal fingers molded the frame like clay. His lip curled into an embarrassed frown. How many times had he flustered himself by accidentally breaking things with his new strength? 

Enough to make the smooth, suave Jordan Hoshino self-conscious apparently, her conscious answered.

A few minutes of metallic scratching and grumbled swearing passed. 

Daniella chewed on her lip to keep from giggling, but a wisp escaped the corner of her mouth.  “Leave it, Klax’ii can fix it later.”

She stepped over to him and cupped his face in her hands, warm honey on ivory, and gazed deeply into his eyes. There was the man she promised her heart to; the friend who healed her scars; the one she bound her soul too. He ducked his gaze.

“We can reevaluate the Orion, take on more recruits-if he’s afraid of you being out on the field-”

“You know that’s not why.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Then… I’ll retire.”

That again, she thought. 

Daniella rocked her head ‘no’ and took his prosthetic hand in hers; her skin warm against the sleek cold metal. He reached with his other hand to cup her cheek. She softly brushed it away, bringing up the one she held to caress her skin. He opened his mouth to protest but sucked in a gulp when she tapped into her nervites-increasing the stimulation of his hand’s sensors-and kissed every hinge and joint of his knuckles. 

“Just... stay, Dani-” He choked back a gasp as she kissed the synthetic muscles of his palm. 

Her kiss was a silent plea. 'Not tonight please.' More stimulation from her nervites. 'I love you. Please trust me.'

Jordan gripped her waist with his ‘safe hand’, thumb slipping under her shirt to lightly brush against her skin, sending a wave of heat up her spine. She looked up at him through her dark lashes. Her soft amber eyes meeting wild, smoldering blues. 

“Jordan-”

His mouth was hers hard and desperate, the roughness of his lips sending her thoughts swirling. Lips parted. Tongues met and withdrew, allowing for sighs to be consumed. In a quick pivot, he flattened her back to the plated wall near the door. The frigid metal sending a shiver through her body.

Her tongue traced his bottom lip. A hint of bourbon lingered. That explained his lack of argumentative vigor. The doorframe cried again under his grip. The sound of his heavy breathing and metal whining against metal all because of her tongue filled her with brazen want. Hungry, she clawed for the artificial hand.

“No,” he breathed. His other hand pinned hers to the back of his neck. Her fingers twisted the longer strands of jet black hair. 

It hurt how much she wished he wasn’t afraid to touch her with that hand. 

They tried once-in the shower-getting so caught up in the moment Jordan bent the showerhead. Lum cackled like a maniac when Daniella told him the ridiculous story she had to make up to explain it to their repair technician.

Daniella shivered as Jordan wedged his thigh between hers. She stifled a moan against his neck as she pressed her weight on him. He nudged his nose across her temple, drawing her lips back to his, and let out a groan as her nail gently tugged his scalp. 

The intercom near their heads buzzed. Lum’s voice breaking the wonderful haze.  “Uh, Dr. Ortega would you mind sending ‘Paragon Ortega’ and the captain over to the control deck-thanks!”

They cussed. Daniella dropped her hands to his chest and buried her forehead in his shoulder. Her heart pounded in her ears. His racing heart thrummed under her palms. Jordan panted into her neck, lips still brushing her pulsing skin. 

Daniella lifted her head off Jordan’s shoulder but moved no further away. Her eyes traced the flush of soft pink on his sculpted pale neck; his pulse quivering underneath. 

Mindless, she tilted her chin up and sucked. A sharp hiss escaped his teeth. He reached down to cup her knee to hook it around his waist. She arched her back and pressed her head against the wall, a hand gripping his shoulder and the other to claw at his prosthesis still buried against the doorframe. His synthetic muscles coiled and trembled under her touch. Her nails scraped loudly against the protective plating as he licked and nipped her lips, across her lovely square jaw… down her neck. She writhed against him with every further dip.

The intercom buzzed again.

“Look I’m sure I’m not interrupting something that you both say is not going on... but it was either: reach you on the com or send the “lizard” and that wouldn’t have been fun for anybody soo-”

Jordan growled then cleared his throat. He reached over with his artificial hand using every ounce of restraint to not crush the talk button. “Understood Lum.” 

Minutes passed with neither moving. 

Jordan sighed as he dipped his chin back to Daniella. He touched his forehead to hers and kissed the tip of her nose. “Looks like you’re needed up there Paragon.”

Daniella licked her lips as her breathing slowly returned to normal speeds. Timid eyes flicked to the strain in his pants. And with a crooked grin, she said, “looks like I’m needed here too.”

He chuckled hoarsely-his cheeks a soft pink-then swallowed hard, kissed her damp forehead, and eased her leg down. His human hand stayed on her waist, the other he brought closer but kept on the wall, away from her. Metal on metal clicked as he shifted. 

She cupped his face again, kissing cheeks, chin, nose. Everywhere. Yet, not enough. 

He pulled away a bit, allowing themselves more space to breathe. Slow. Patient. With the willpower of the Creator, he traced the underside of her bottom lip with the silicon pad of his metallic thumb. A burning wave coursed through her, involuntarily causing her nervites to flare. For a few seconds, her mind went blank only feeling his touch.

Jordan shook his head and grinned victoriously; blue eyes, like cosmic waves, shimmered; the creases in the corners of his lids stretched down towards his high cheekbones. “Later,” he promised, “we’ll find time.” 

There would never be enough time for moments like this. But every single one they cherished as if the very last. 

Jordan stepped out to the hall while Daniella reached next to her desk for a pullover hoodie and slip-on shoes. The two joined the rest of the crew in the control room where a distress signal played over the comm system; the horn echoed off the metal paneled walls. A distorted message buzzed on repeat. 

“Tressith merchant ship Captain,” Lum said, “coming from Jesic 9 station. No time stamp.”

“Run it through the VI,” Jordan told him.

Lum synced the message to The Orion’s translator and played it over the intercom. 

“All stations… this is vessel Itik-khra… Jesic 9… compromised. Sentinel scout… warning… requesting Paragon interception…”

The crew turned to their Paragon; focused and steady masking the storm of anxiety building in her gut. A scout could potentially mean a warship and The Orion wasn’t meant for a full-on assault. 

“None of the others have sent out a call,” her voice low, cautious, “did you send it to my Tech?”

The Zinorph nodded, their mandibles quivering. 

“How fast can you get reinforcements?” Jordan asked.

“Not fast enough,” Paragon Ortega replied, her tone neutral, controlled. She barely glanced at the captain. “Wouldn’t matter either way. They already sent out their request.” One she was bound to respond to even when the rest of The Orion was not. 

She felt Jordan’s eyes on her. She didn’t meet them. Not at that moment. ‘Dani’ needed to be buried for Paragon Ortega to appear. 

She knew that. He knew that.

No order from him could override a call for a Paragon. Even attempting to stop her would have serious repercussions. 

Her eyes finally flicked over to him, silently seeking a dismissal. Gone was the man she loved. Buried. 

Captain Hoshino stood rigid, white knuckle fists on the hologram table. “To your station, Paragon.”

[juniperpublishers-toxicology]

Nanobiotechnology in Understanding Cancer Biology-Juniper Publishers

Open Access Journal of Toxicology

Abstract

The biosynthesis of nano particles with a great deal of effort by using a 'Green technology' that gives an innocuous, inexpensive and environmental friendly approach has been widely used. The technology also leads to fabricate wonder materials for biomedical applications. The in vitro green approaches for the reduction of metal ions furnishes a flexible method to obtain nano particles with control over their size and shape that can be attributed to the flexibility of changing the medium pH and reaction temperature. This review provides an outlook on a range of devices and tools that can make a system for detection of a therapeutic agent and to determine its action on an intended target, facilitating the research in diagnosis and prevention of cancer. The validation of nano particles with these exciting approaches may serve a strong foundation for modified chemotherapies in the next phase of clinical trials which would lead to profound changes in oncological practices by facilitating the realization of personalized medicines through demonstration of safety as well as efficacy in human clinical trials. Keywords: Green technology; Wonder materials; Personalized medicines; Cancer; Modified chemotherapy.

Keywords:    Green technology; Wonder materials; Personalized medicines; Cancer; Modified chemotherapy

    Introduction

Since the first preparation of the nano-particles that was carried out by Michael Faraday as early as in 1857, nano has become a flavor in the world of science. Nanoparticles, because of their exciting phenomenon of small size and variable shapes as spherical, wiry, tubular or sheet like has gained tremendous importance in the areas of medical diagnostics, drug delivery, chemical industry, textile industry and electronics. The utilization of this technology for the preparation of nano based products in area of research and development is growing at a great pace and is still expected to grow further in the coming years. The revolutionary impact of nanoscience in today's world is associated with the unforeseen hazards of these particles related to its method of synthesis.

The intersection of nanotechnology and biotechnology has led to a fairly new area of technology; Nano biotechnology. This new area of research has been used in the development of nanomedicine that covers health care related areas of nanoscience and technology and serves structured nanodevices to analyze the specific biological system.

Top-down and bottom-up approaches

The synthesis of nanomaterials and effective fabrication of nanostructures follows two basic approaches; the top down approach involves successive cutting of larger parts to get nano sized particles of smaller and smaller dimensions. Bottom up approach follows building of material from atoms or molecules or by clusters. However, the disadvantage associated with the top down approach is the structural damage leading to imperfection of surface structure and patterns. Bottom up approaches provides a better chance to form nano structure with fewer defects although; the process frequently in Nanotechnology is not a newer concept.

Nano synthesis: a green remedy

A remarkable area of nanoresearch is often concern with the global environment. A great deal of effort has been put on that provides a better platform for the biosynthesis of nano particles by using plants [1] that are more innocuous, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly as they do not leave hazardous residues to pollute the atmosphere [2-6]. Although, the chemical method of synthesis requires less time for the fabrication of large quantity of nano particles, but are considered toxic and often lead to products that are non-eco-friendly [7]. In recent years, the in vitro green approaches for the reduction of metal ions provides a flexible, method to obtain nano particles with control over their size and shape that can be attributed to the flexibility of changing the medium pH and reaction temperature [8]. Variety of different plant species in combination with acid and salts of metals can be used to reduce ions of gold, copper, silver, platinum, iron and many others [9].

Current appearance in cancer diagnosis and drug delivery

Facilitating the research in diagnosis and prevention of diseases, Nanotechnology offers a range of devices and tools that can make a system for detection of a therapeutic agent and to determine its action on an intended target. In recent years, nanotechnology has become a boon in cancer research by helping the oncologist to spot the cancer in early stages by detecting biomarkers that are undetectable through conventional detection techniques. Nanotechnology researchers have provided nano medicine based approaches that have been considered safe and effective treatment of cancer. Of the advances driven by National Cancer Institute (NCI), the discrimination of a healthy and cancerous cell by the use of photo luminescent nano particles will enable the clinician to identify the precancerous lesions thereby providing an early signal to reverse the premalignant changes and also allowing a time release of an anticancer drug sequentially at a desired location (www.cancer.gov). Tumors targeting objective has also influenced the role of Gold Nano particles (AuNP's) by their conjugation to Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) and unique biomarker binded antibodies on tumor cells. The fabrication of AuNP's with PEG prevented the unwanted aggregation and lengthened the retention time in blood by preferential accumulation of the particles in the tumor [10]. In another study, researchers at Cornell University have figured out the attachment criteria of gold nano particles by merging with iron oxide into colorectal cancer cell seeking the role of antibodies that can deliver the gold to the cancerous cell which can be heated by passing infrared laser because of the efficient property of the tiny particles of gold alloy which in turn will kill the cancerous cells [11].

Nano particle based drug delivery have also gain considerable potential for effective drug delivery in cancer therapy. The major challenge in the treatment of the disease is to get the drug at a specific place that is needed thereby avoiding side effects to other non-targeted organs. The limitations associated with the chemotherapeutics used against such dreaded disease are their non-restricted cytotoxicity in context to increasing dosage concentration. The nano particle formulation resulted in enabling the strategy of targeted drug delivery and these includes benefits of their small size which allow an easy penetration into the cell membrane, binding and stabilization of protein and lysosomal escape after endocytosis [12] thereby leading to the development of faster and safer medicines. Recently, the emergence of numerous proteinic and other drugs for targeting various cellular process have created a demand for the development of intelligent drug delivery system [13]. To meet the requirements for intelligent release of therapeutic agents to perform various function of detection, isolation and treatment of diseased conditions, a smart delivery system such as stimuli responsive nano materials will be a promising approach [14].

Carbon nano tube with its hollow structure is one of the wonder nano material that have motivated the researchers to explore their potential in the application of drug delivery to transport drug molecules, proteins and nucleotides. The size and shape of these materials allow them to enter living cells by adhering covalently or non-covalently to the surface without causing cell damage [15]. The potential application of carbon nano tubes in biotechnology is of much interest for exhibiting its advantages in biosensors [16], biomedical devices [17] and drug delivery systems [18]. However, the fictionalizations of CNTs is needed to reduce the chances of cytotoxicity and improving their biocompatible properties. The surface properties of the CNTs greatly influence their internalization behavior into the cell that is aided by the hydrophilicity of the tube. Also, the shorter length nano tubes are more effectively transported across the cell than the bundled CNTs [19].

Engineering of polymeric nanostructures for drug delivery inputs the use of a highly branched polymer known as Dendrimers that resemble the architecture of a tree. These multi branched macromolecules have attracted the researchers for various application in many fields due to its low polydispersity and high functionality. Dendrimers have offered escalating attention in scientific research particularly in the area of biomedical and pharmaceutics as a potential drug vehicle. A well-defined globular structure of these materials ensures a reproductive pharmacokinetics besides causing an increased cellular uptake of the drugs conjugated to them [20].

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles have reported exponential increase in research and are one of the hottest areas in the field of nanomedicine and nano biotechnology for its functional application as biocompatible nanocarriers. With a mesoporous structure, MSNs have been explored to treat various kind of disease parameters including tissue engineering [21] diabetes [22] inflammation as well as cancer [23]. The unique tailor able structure of mesoporous silica nano particle with their high surface area to large pore volume endow them to encapsulate variety of therapeutic agent to emphasize the targeted delivery into desired location [24]. Currently, delivery of variety of molecules of pharmaceutical interest has been appeared by employing mesoporous materials [25]. Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle of size 50 to 300nm is considered facile for endocytosis without cytoxicity. Materials including MCM-41, SBA-15, SBA-1, SBA-3, HMS and MSU are groups of mesoporous biocompatibility and release kinetics of various drugs [13] materials that have been functionalized for improving the (Figure 1).

Nanotechnology in toxicity outlook; a concern/ lacunae

Although the use of wide variety of nanostructures continued to alter the current scenario of cancer disease and diagnostics as a carrier system due to its biocompatibility and ability to reduce systemic toxicity, a crucial investigation regarding the toxicological effect of nanoparticles and the route of particle administration as a potential source of toxicity has to be emphasized which may arise due to its size, shape, dosage, charge as well as surface chemistry. The effect of these Nano materials results from its interaction particularly with the proteins that may lead to clumping of the protein molecules and linking up of various medical conditions. The large sized particles, once inside will move to circulation and may accumulate in organs including liver, spleen heart and brain. Also, direct cell to cell transfer of these particles is very unlikely as the pores between the cells are even smaller than their size.

The absorption and opsonisation of nanomaterials or nanoparticles by serum protein may alter the effective size of the particles resulting in the change of an in vivo hydrodynamic diameter which is often lager than the size of in vitro Nanoparticles. There may be different trends of bio toxicity of nanomaterials in different ranges. Therefore, with the explosive increase in the research of this robust technology, it is necessary to have a concern outlook to fulfill the biomedical demand by well controlled fabrication of nano materials prior to be implemented in clinical practices.

Nanotechnology; validation in clinics.

The tremendous effort of the scientist towards protective utilization of nano particle based medicines or Nano medicines in fighting against cancer are showing promising outcomes. Concerning the issues associated with the drug circulation time and a localized therapy to the site of the disease, the utilization of Nano based therapeutics have a clear benefits than the unmodified drugs.

The progress route of Nano therapeutics has already been demonstrated in the clinic. Doxorubicin contained in a hollow nanoparticle used to treat ovarian cancer was the first Nano based cancer drug approved by Food and Drug Administration. Likewise, the evidence of nanoparticle delivered clinical RNA interference (RNAi) published in Nature [26], first demonstrated by Calando Pharmaceuticals was approved by FDA in various stages of trials.

The reduction of lung and toxillar lesion with a nanoparticle based therapeutic whereby the particles were combined with prostrate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) was reported by BIND Biosciences [27]. The outcome of the trial was greater efficacy compared to a lone drug at substantially lower doses. Furthermore, an albumin functionalized paclitaxel formulation of Celgene's Abraxane has got recognition for its necessary effect in the treatment of lung and pancreatic cancer along with breast cancer therapy by FDA (The-Scientist.com).

Drs. Ciaus Radu, Owen Witte and Micheal Phelps have designed a series of positron emission tomography (PET) at the Nano system Biology Cancer Center. The system was used for assigning chemotherapy to the patients such as gemcitabine, cytarabine, fludarabine and others to treat metastatic breast cancer, ovarian, lung as well as leukaemia and lymphomas. A bio distribution study was also conducted in eight healthy volunteers. A nanoparticle magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent found on the surface of newly developing blood vessels associated with early detection of tumor was developed by Dr. Gregory Lanza and his team at Siteman Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, Washington University. Phase I clinical trial was performed for assessing the utility of the agent in early detection of tumor.

A Nano sphere diagnostic company founded by Dr. Chad Mirkin at Nanomaterial for cancer diagnostic and therapeutic center has received approval by FDA for detecting cancer biomarkers by using Nano sensor. A clinical study using human tissue sample was performed to monitor low level of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) successfully

Nanomaterial using silica, metal, polymers as well as carbon based particles have been demonstrated on preclinical front which shows satisfactory results. Recently, a report on multi drug delivery action and efficacy of nanoparticles to mediate resistance in relapsing cancer and improving triple negative breast cancer was by a team of researchers (The-Scientist.com). Other approaches including layer by layer siRNA delivery for breast cancer, sequential administration of Nanoparticles for pancreatic cancer treatment and tumor penetrating peptides against ovarian cancer are very recent.

Thus, the validation of nanoparticles with these exciting approaches may serve a strong foundation for modified chemotherapies in the next phase of clinical trials which would lead to profound changes in oncological practices by facilitating the realization of personalized medicines through demonstration of safety as well as efficacy in human clinical trials.

Future prospects

Dealing with the most significant issue of cancer cells of Multi Drug Resistance (MDR) the heightened technology has shown inimitable benefits owing to a targeted delivery with its small sized vectors. The clinical prospects of nano materials are tremendously affecting the treatment of malignant cells which are more likely to possess the scene of multi drug resistance. The use of dendrimers as a promising material in nanooncology has been proved as an ideal candidate for delivering drugs to the tumor region, Besides this, dendrimers have been investigated for its use in killing bacterial cells as well as an agent for gene transfer and trans-membrane transport [12]. The case of synthesis of carbon nanotubes are considered as one of the strongest nano materials for considering the pathobiology of the disease under treatment. The efficient possibility of the nano tubes to target the cell receptors and blocking the cellular pathway of the disease by enabling the drug through the cell membrane is however a preferable system to kill the tumor. The promise of a successful cancer treatment using gold nano particles have led to bio affinity of gold nano particle probes for molecular and cellular imaging for early screening of the cancerous cells [28].

Mesoporous silica nano particles also meet the demand of cancer therapy by reducing the toxicity issues of many chemotherapeutic drugs. Due to the highly dynamic and heterogenous nature of the cancer, they can readily adapt to the stress imposed onto them. MSN-based nanocomposites target different phenotypes of a tumour thus holding a promising way to develop a co-operative therapy. FDA has recently approves a kind of ultrasound multimodal silica nanoparticles(Cornell dots) against advanced melanoma for even more specific diagnosis [24]. Besides that, the green method of synthesizing nanoparticles generated using plant phytochemicals can be also used in the discovery of new biomarkers and thus forming the basis of new drugs to fight cancer with refining diagnosis [29].

    Conclusion

Nanotechnology covers a lot of domain today and will cover a lot more in near future. The creation of nanodevices with their changing form and multiple purposes as in cancer research will help in understanding the behavior of physiological markers of a disease and responsiveness of a drug [30-33]. Thus, exploiting the materials at atom and molecular level for the promising production of new materials controlling their shape and size at nano scale level has become a matter of potential concern. Also, it is necessary to envision that green method of synthesis of the base product of these devices has number of substantial benefits in context to several parameters including non-toxicity and cost effectiveness. However, the assessment of nano materials into human body while treating several disparities, the release of particulate materials into the disease environment as well as the extent to which they enter the intended sites of penetration will determine the ultimate risk of exposure particularly for those that cannot be metabolize by our body. Therefore, it is worth considering before formulating them into such scenarios.

    Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the support from the entire biotechnology department, Assam down town University,Panikhaiti, Guwahati, Assam, India.

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[thrivous]

Harvard researchers have found that a master control gene, called "early growth response" (EGR), controls the process of whole-body regeneration in animals able to regenerate their entire bodies after being cut in half (see below). EGR is also active in humans, which could open tantalizing future possibilities.

"If humans can turn on EGR, and not only turn it on, but do it when our cells are injured, why can't we regenerate?" said research leader Mansi Srivastava. "The answer may be that if EGR is the power switch, we think the wiring is different. What EGR is talking to in human cells may be different than what it is talking to in the three-banded panther worm … So we want to figure out what those connections are, and then apply that to other animals, including vertebrates that can only do more limited regeneration."

The discovery has been covered by the mainstream press. “Humans of the future could REGROW limbs!” reads a sensationalized Daily Mail headline. “Humans may one day have the ability to regrow limbs after scientists at Harvard University uncovered the DNA switch that controls genes for whole-body regeneration,” notes a story published in The Telegraph.

Also very interesting is the work of University of Toronto scientists on magnetic tweezers and nanobots (see below). "You could imagine bringing in whole swarms of these nano-bots, and using them to either starve a tumor by blocking the blood vessels into the tumor, or destroy it directly via mechanical ablation," said research leader Yu Sun. "This would offer a way to treat cancers that are resistant to chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy."

Master control gene for whole body regeneration. Researchers at Harvard University have uncovered a number of DNA switches that appear to control genes used in the process of whole-body regeneration in planarian worms, jellyfish, and sea anemones that can actually regenerate their entire bodies after being cut in half. A research paper published in Science suggests that a "master control gene," called "early growth response" (EGR), acts like a power switch for regeneration. EGR and the other genes that play a role in the process are present in other species, including humans.

Magnetic tweezers and nanobots could help diagnose and fight cancer. Researchers at University of Toronto have built a set of magnetic “tweezers” that can position a nano-scale bead inside a human cell with high precision. The nano-bot has already been used to study the properties of cancer cells, and could lead to enhanced diagnosis and treatment. According to the scientists, the system, described in a research paper published in Science Robotics, achieves unprecedented accuracy in position and force control.

Health benefits of avocado seeds and green tea. Penn State researchers have found that an extract from the seeds of avocados exhibited anti-inflammatory properties in a laboratory study, published in Advances in Food Technology and Nutritional Sciences. According to the scientists, this is a potential source for novel anti-inflammatory compounds that could be developed as a functional food ingredient or pharmaceuticals. In related news, researchers at Ohio State University have found that green tea cut obesity and a number of inflammatory biomarkers linked with poor health in a study on laboratory mice, published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

Hydrogel contact lenses could one day treat serious eye diseases. Researchers at University of New Hampshire have created a hydrogel that could one day be made into a contact lens to more effectively treat corneal melting, a condition that is a significant cause for blindness worldwide. A study published in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering outlines how the new hydrogel deactivates some zinc-dependent enzymes called "matrix metalloproteinases" (MMPs), which are the major factors in corneal melting.

Excessive hygiene may backfire. Researchers at Graz University of Technology have found that excessive hygiene promotes the spread of germs resistant to antibiotics. The findings are detailed in a study published in Nature Communications. In seemingly related research results published in Cancer Immunology Research, researchers at Georgia State University have found that exposure to microbiota, or microorganisms such as bacteria, in the early stages of life plays a crucial role in establishing optimal conditions in the intestine that inhibit the development of colon cancer in adulthood.

Genetically engineered biosensor for leukemic stem cells. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have devised a new biosensor that can isolate and target leukemic stem cells. The device, built with genome engineering technology, is composed of a stem cell active enhancer fused with a fluorescence gene that labels the cells in which the enhancer is active, as described in a research paper published in Leukemia. The scientists are persuaded that the new biosensor can provide a prototype for precision oncology efforts to target patient-specific cells to fight the deadly disease.

Originally published at thrivous.com on March 18, 2019 at 01:23PM.

[sherristockman]

A Breathalyzer for Disease? Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola Humans have been given five interesting “super powers” — hearing, sight, taste, touch and smell, without which life may arguably be less rich and perhaps even dangerous. Today, however, recently developed breath-analysis technology can use “smell” to analyze and accurately diagnose 17 different diseases with 86 percent accuracy. For example, the Na-Nose technology can identify multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, several types of cancer, kidney failure and Crohn’s disease through the use of nanorays. According to CNN: “The theory behind the technology is that each of us has a unique chemical ‘fingerprint.’ Each disease also has a particular chemical signature, which can be detected on our breath. The Na-Nose technology, which consists of a sensor chamber with a breathing tube and software, is able to detect this precise chemistry of disease by interpreting the impact on our usual chemical fingerprint.”1 Researchers used nanorays (aka nanoarrays) for breath analyzation, which the journal ACS Nano noted was “validated by an independent analytical technique, i.e., gas chromatography linked with mass spectrometry [GC-MS].”2 Around 1,400 participants from different countries were tested using the Na-Nose technology, which accurately diagnosed disease approximately nine out of 10 times, Medical Daily reports, adding that if other diseases (besides the 17 specifically mentioned in the study) happen to be present in an individual’s “breathprint,” the device may detect those, as well.3 Those 17 detectable diseases include: Lung cancer Colorectal cancer Head and neck cancer Ovarian cancer Bladder cancer Prostate cancer Kidney cancer Gastric cancer Crohn’s disease Ulcerative colitis Irritable bowel syndrome Idiopathic Parkinson’s Atypical Parkinsonism Multiple sclerosis (MS) Pulmonary arterial hypertension Pre-eclampsia Chronic kidney disease The study stated, “One breath sample obtained from each subject was analyzed with the artificially intelligent nanoarray for disease diagnosis and classification, and a second was analyzed with GC-MS for exploring its chemical composition.”4 Na-Nose Technology: ‘Inexpensive, Noninvasive and Easy to Use’ It turns out that the study, conducted by colleagues from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and led by Hossam Haick, from the department of experimental technology development, revealed 13 exhaled chemical species known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are each associated with certain diseases, the composition of which differs from one disease to another, according to ACS Nano.5 Quartz cited research conducted over the last decade showing that with cystic fibrosis, for instance, patients’ bodies produce nearly quadruple the acetic acid — the base chemical in vinegar — compared to healthy people.6 Haick noted that besides boasting an equivalent accuracy to what’s currently available in the way of tools and expertise, Na-Nose breath analysis is not invasive, which can’t even be said about standard blood tests. Further, the developers described the technology as easy to use, affordable and a “miniaturized tool” that could be used for personalized screening, diagnosis and follow-up. Na-Nose technology imitates a human’s or dog’s sense of smell to evaluate a patient’s breath, Medical Daily7 explains, and can assess whether someone is healthy and predict who among healthy people have the highest risk for disease in the future. Haick stresses that one of the most important benefits of the device is to intercept diseases earlier, which may increase the chances of survival, especially for illnesses like cancer. In fact, Haick says the Na-Nose’s ability to detect lung cancer can increase survival rates from 10 percent to 70 percent.8 The scientists also noted that while detecting disease from breath samples has been used for infections, respiratory ailments and oncology (the study and treatment of cancer), the next step of sophistication in the process would be to not just diagnose an illness but classify its condition to determine the cause and appropriate therapy. Seven different companies have obtained licensing from Technion to develop commercially viable products for unique applications. Haick said he hopes they’re able to take what was developed in a lab and bring it to mass production. One idea is to create a smartphone that could essentially be called a “sniffphone” for monitoring health. However, he doesn’t expect any such technology to be available — either to the medical establishment or to the public — for several years due to the necessary testing and regulation involved. Ancient to Modern Technology and Potential Obstacles Ancient Greek medical practitioners used the five senses to identify their patients’ physical maladies. Until more sophisticated methods came along, all they had at their disposal were these senses and medieval instrumentation such as probes and speculums, Brought to Life9 says. Ancient doctors used observations such as skin color, touching patients to analyze body temperature and pulse, listening to heart rates and stomach rumblings, and smelling their patients’ breath, body odor and even their urine and feces to diagnose illnesses. Haick said the study expounded on the theme, noting that doctors circa 400 B.C. learned to evaluate their patients' possible link to disease by the VOCs their patients exhaled (although they didn’t call them VOCs then). “For example, the stools and urine of infant noblemen were smelt daily by their physicians.”10 Mangilal Agarwal, director of the Integrated Nanosystems Development Institute and an associate professor at Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, while not involved in Haick's study, is working on similar scent analysis technologies for disease diagnoses, specifically hypoglycemia, breast cancer and prostate cancer. While Agarwal commends Haick's work and the Na-Nose technology’s noninvasive capabilities (especially in light of the “sufficiently unpleasant experience” involving a prostate biopsy) he and other scientists raise concerns regarding whether environmental fluctuations and different regions could conceivably produce air signals and other factors that might throw off the sensor’s readings.11 Then there’s the call for smell technology requirements to first establish a profile of breath molecules for normal health, taking such variables as body mass index (BMI), gender, age and ethnicity into account. What subjects ate for dinner or mouth rinse usage might throw off breath analysis results, as would the failure to immediately test breath collections, as storing it for any length of time would doubtless skew results. Dogs and Fruit Flies as Disease Detectors Agarwal noted the canine connection to disease detection, which has fascinated the medical world for many years, CNN observed: “Breath has the scents or volatile biomarkers necessary to identify many diseases. We know this from canines who can detect hypoglycemia and epileptic seizures, fruit flies (and canines) that can detect cancer, and from giant rats that detect tuberculosis in Africa.”12 ChemoSense reported the work of Alja Lüdke and Giovanni Galizia, from the department of biology (and) neurobiology at University of Konstanz in Germany. The two noted in their paper "Sniffing Cancer: Will the Fruit Fly Beat the Dog?" that animals found to be highly sensitive to the smell of cancer may have sparked the first experimentation in electronic noses for cancer detection. “Cancer cells have a fundamentally different metabolism compared to normal cells, not least due to their tendency to grow fast and in an uncontrolled manner … Cancer cells may produce cancer-specific metabolites, and/or shift the relative concentration of common metabolites. These changes are then reflected in the emitted odour profile of cancer cells.”13 Cancer doesn’t even have to be visible, Lüdke and Galizia wrote, relating the case of a dog who detected a cancerous lesion on a woman’s leg through her trousers, which turned out to be malignant melanoma. However, fruit flies, when tested, were found to have olfactory receptors (50 different types) that are nearly as sensitive, compared to a dog’s 1,000 receptor types, and also with surprisingly accurate instances of disease detection.14 Smell Receptors: Humans Versus Animals Versus Breath Technology Canines have been shown to have 300 million smell receptor cells, and the part of their brain that analyzes different odors is 40 times larger than that of humans, most of whom possess around 6 million. The ability of trained dogs to detect disease in humans has been used all over the world. One study used hypoglycemic events in type 1 diabetes patients as a means to develop an alternative to diabetes alert dogs: “Canines trained as diabetes alert dogs (DADs) have demonstrated the ability to detect hypoglycemia from breath, which led us to hypothesize that hypoglycemia, a metabolic dysregulation leading to low blood glucose levels, could be identified through analyzing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained within breath.”15 Studies that demonstrate how quickly and accurately dogs can detect serious diseases like cancer are numerous. One in Britain found them to pinpoint bladder and prostate cancers 90 percent of the time, and sometimes even more frequently.16 In another, a trained Labrador retriever was able to detect colorectal cancer from breath and stool samples with similar accuracy.17 Dogs have even been able to identify people with abnormal blood sugar levels and predict seizures before they happen, even before the individuals realize anything’s wrong. But dogs have also been known to have “flawed technology,” so to speak, as they don’t perform the same way every time. Technologies like the Na-Nose could exist independently from needing a dog or some other animal’s ability to “sniff out” sickness. Coconut Oil and Peanut Butter: Detection and Potential Improvement Your ability to smell may be a marker for your odds of developing Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, it’s a progressive brain disorder that destroys brain cells and is ultimately fatal.18 A 2014 study reported that in 2010, while death certificates cited only 84,000 people as dying from Alzheimer’s, in reality, more like 503,400 people in the U.S. aged 75 years and older died from it,19 and Alzheimer’s death rates have risen even further since then.20 Scientists emphasize that early diagnosis and prevention strategies are crucial in slowing down this most common type of dementia. One of the most exciting breakthroughs, though, is also related to smell, in this instance being linked to diagnosing cognitive impairment early, which is crucial. Jennifer Stamps, who in 2013 was a graduate student at the University of Florida, devised the plan to test patients’ ability to smell peanut butter, a “pure odorant,” only detectable by the olfactory nerve. Patients blocked one nostril at a time for the test, while clinicians held the peanut butter and a ruler closer to each nostril at 1-centimeter (0.39-inch) increments until the patients said they could detect the fragrance — or not.21 Per Medical News Today: “The scientists found that patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease had a dramatic difference in detecting odor between the left and right nostril — the left nostril … did not detect the smell until it was an average of 10 cm closer to the nose than the right nostril had made the detection in patients with Alzheimer's disease.”22 One day, the peanut butter method of dementia detection may become a standard for early Alzheimer’s intervention. As Stamps explains, “If we can catch it at that early stage, we can start treatment more aggressively, and you can possibly prevent a lot of the progression.”23 Clinical studies show that coconut oil may be another substance with profound potential against Alzheimer’s disease. It started with the theory that ketone bodies, an alternative fuel for your brain that your body makes when digesting coconut oil, might have brain benefits. As the study ensued, Dr. Mary Newport, whose husband, Steve, began experiencing cognitive decline at age 51, found that giving him 4 teaspoons of coconut oil per day resulted in dramatic improvements. If you find you’re unable to smell peanut butter, it’s possible that you may benefit from using coconut oil. Until a treatment is found that will turn the symptoms of cognitive decline around or cure it outright, I recommend dosing yourself with coconut oil as described above (as well as making specific dietary changes); there are dozens of other benefits to gain as well. As for the “breathalyzer” that may one day become the go-to tool for detecting early-stage diseases, perhaps Alzheimer’s will be among those conditions that it will ultimately detect.

[medicilon-blog]

Barcoded silica nanotubes for bioanalysis

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Analysis of the chemical/biological species involved in health care is the most important step for diseases diagnosis and new drug compound screening. Barcoded nano/microparticles are attracting more and more interest for detection and identification of multiplexed chemical/biological species simultaneously. However, the development of barcoded particles is still in an early stage. To solve problems existing in current barcoded particles, such as spectral overlap and degradation of materials, our group has invented barcoded silica nanotubes (SNTs) and applied them to multiplexed immunoassays and cancer marker detection as coding materials. Barcode SNTs are fabricated by a multistep anodization template synthesis method. Each barcoded SNT has several segments with different reflectance values depending on their diameters and wall thicknesses. Therefore, the barcode of each SNT can be “read-out” with a conventional optical microscope. Barcoded SNTs have shown high stability and dispersibility in aqueous buffer media. Suspension arrays with barcoded SNTs have shown high sensitivity and high selectivity for the detection of multianalytes in the multiplexed immunoassays.

Magnetic field separation is one promising technique to replace tedious filtration or centrifugation separation for rapid, gentle, and reliable isolation of target analytes. Barcoded SNTs have been coupled with magnetic bead (MB) separation for protein detection and analysis. The species and number of final collected SNTs represent the types and amount of analyte proteins, respectively. By using barcoded SNTs instead of fluorescence as signals, these suspension arrays overcome the problems existing in current MB suspension arrays, such as fluorescence quenching and interference of MBs’ autofluorescence. Barcoded magnetic nanotubes (BMNTs) have also been successfully fabricated as dual-functional microcarriers for multiplexed immunoassays and cancer biomarker detection with magnetic separation. BMNTs combine the shape variety of barcoded SNTs and superparamagnetic properties of magnetic nanotubes. BMNTs overcome the problems in the existing dual-functional particles. The iron oxide nanocrystals are evenly dispersed in the inner void of the tubular structures without interference with the optical barcoded patterns. BMNTs have shown high selectivity when applied in multiplexed assays and cancer biomarker detection. The identification of BMNTs with software shows promising results for rapid data analysis. The dual-functional BMNTs provide a promising way for ultrafast, gentle, efficient, and automated detection of target chemical/biochemical molecules for diagnosis and drug compound screening.

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[thrivous]

First, recent scientific findings confirm what your mother and your grandmother used to tell you: sleep is very important. "We tend to focus on positive things more than anything else, but now we’re seeing that sleep deprivation may reverse that bias," say Penn Medicine scientists. "[If] you don’t get enough sleep, it reduces your ability to attend to positive things, which over time may confer risk for depression."

So, please sleep. Don’t make the mistake of losing sleep to gain time to do other things - what will happen is that sleep deprivation will severely reduce your ability to do those other things well, and enjoy them.

Those who are into nootropics and health supplements will be pleased to know that, according to recent research findings, protein supplements can rejuvenate senior citizen’s muscles and boost their strength.

But the main focus of this Pulse issue is material science and nanotechnology - the ability to manipulate matter with very high precision at very small scales. Advanced materials and manufacturing methods could heal the planet and, therefore, give better health to all, and especially to those who live in remote under-developed areas.

For example, scientists at the University of British Columbia have recently developed tiny devices that can be 3D-printed anywhere and monitor drinking water quality in real time to protect against waterborne illness.

Many world-class futurists discussed the potential of nanotechnology to heal the planet at a recent virtual event titled “Using Geoethical Nanotechnology to Combat Climate Change,” produced by Terasem. At a previous Terasem virtual event, futurist Melanie Swan gave a talk on BioNano technology, current status and prospects, and philosophical aspects, titled "Philosophy of Biological Cell Repair informs Geoethical Nanotechnology."

Using electric fields to guide neural stem cells to the right locations for brain therapy. Scientists at UC Davis have used electric fields to guide neural stem cells transplanted into the brain toward a specific location. Experiments on laboratory mice show that the transplanted stem cells were still in their new locations weeks or months after treatment. Neural stem cells are known to be able to treat brain injury, but have to reach right location first. Therefore, the new technique described in Stem Cell Reports could be used in therapies for brain injuries and strokes.

Using CRISPR to boost cancer immunotherapy. Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center have developed a new CRISPR-Cas9 genetic screening approach that enables discovery of new drug targets to aid cancer immunotherapy. In a research paper published in Nature, the scientists identify which genes, when deleted with CRISPR-Cas9, make the cancer cells more susceptible to PD-1 blockade, a promising new class of cancer immunotherapy.

Personalized dual networks in the brain. Harvard scientists have gained new insights into how the brain networks that are important for thought and remembering are organized in individual people, bringing the notion of using brain scans to help personalize medical treatments one step closer to reality. The study, published in Neuron, shows that separate intertwined networks, specialized for different tasks, co-process data in numerous areas of the brain and play key roles in planning, remembering and imagination, in ways that depend on the architecture of the brains of individuals.

How does the brain form long-term memories? In a research paper published in Neuron, neuroscientists at New York University have made advances in understanding how short-term memories become long-term memories. The scientists conclude that the consolidation of long-term memories is best explained by a “temporal hierarchy” of “time windows” that collectively alter the state of the brain, in ways related to how we process sound.

Nanosensors for diagnostic breath analysis. Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed diagnostic nanosensors using protein-encapsulated nanocatalysts, which can diagnose certain diseases by analyzing human exhaled breath. The study, selected as the cover-featured article in the July issue of Accounts of Chemical Research, shows that the new technique sets performance records and describes a disease diagnosis platform that recognizes individual breathing patterns by using a multiple sensor array system, which permits easily identifying health abnormalities.

Inserting ‘nano antibodies’ in living cells. Scientists at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) Munich and the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP) have managed to introduce tiny antibodies into living cells. Published in Nature Chemistry, the research paper describes how the researchers successfully permeated living mouse and human cells with small antibodies found in other animal species, also called nanobodies, and observe them microscopically. According to the scientists, medicine has extremely high hopes for these tiny antibodies.

Originally published at thrivous.com on July 24, 2017 at 09:31PM.