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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Think Small"
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THINK SMALL. THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. DESTINATION: THE BRAIN. IF YOU WANTED TO TRAVEL TO AN INDIVIDUAL BRAIN CELL, HOW COULD YOU GET THERE FROM HERE? RESEARCHERS AT N-Y-U, M-I-T, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO HAVE DEMONSTRATED A NEW TECHNIQUE THAT THEY HOPE WILL, ONE DAY, ENABLE US TO MONITOR THE BRAIN AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL. WORKING WITH TINY PLATINUM "NANO-WIRES", 100 TIMES THINNER THAN A HUMAN HAIR--AND USING BLOOD VESSELS AS A LIVING HIGHWAY SYSTEM--THIS METHOD INVOLVES TRAVELING THROUGH THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM, TO ANY POINT IN THE BODY. THE WIRES ARE SO THIN THAT THEY DON'T BLOCK THE NORMAL FLOW OF BLOOD. THESE "NANO-WIRES" CAN GO THROUGH EVEN THE TINIEST CAPILLARIES, TO MONITOR BRAIN CELLS--AND PERHAPS PROVIDE NEW TREATMENTS FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE, HELP PINPOINT DAMAGE FROM SEVERE BRAIN INJURIES OR STROKE, AND EVEN DETECT THE PRESENCE OF TUMORS. IT KIND OF GIVES NEW MEANING TO THE PHRASE "GETTING WIRED". THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
