(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Harvard University have developed nanoparticles that can send gene treatment directly to various types of cells in bone marrow to correct mutations that cause sickle cell disease. The researchers used CRISPR/Cas and base gene-editing techniques in a mouse model of sickle cell disease to activate a form of hemoglobin and correct the sickle cell mutation.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Researchers from the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have engineered a seafood-waste material that removes chemical pesticides and herbicides from produce and extends shelf life. The material, made of a derivative of crab and shrimp shells, is designed to form a thin nanocrystal layer on the treated produce, removing chemical residues. The researchers used a smartphone app to check the chemical residue level. They found that this coating was effective in absorbing the chemical residues, enhanced the fruit’s shelf life, and was easily rinsed off.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health)
Engineers at Johns Hopkins University have created a new optical tool that could improve cancer imaging. Their approach uses tiny nanoprobes that light up when they attach to aggressive cancer cells, helping clinicians distinguish between localized cancers and those that are metastatic and have the potential to spread throughout the body. The team found that unlike CT or MRI scans, the nanoprobes effectively and consistently bound to metastatic prostate cancer cells and differentiated between them and non-metastatic cells.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)
Researchers from Vanderbilt University, Yale University, Northwestern University, and AstraZeneca have developed a set of nanoparticles that stimulate the immune system in mice to fight cancer and may eventually do the same in humans. The nanoparticles delivered a nucleic acid molecule that triggers an immune response that is normally used by the body to recognize foreign viruses to help the immune system mount a defense, according to the researchers.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)
Researchers from the University of Rochester have outlined a process for mapping heat transfer using luminescent nanoparticles. By applying highly doped upconverting nanoparticles to the surface of a device, the researchers were able to achieve super-high-resolution thermometry at the nanoscale level from up to 10 millimeters away. According to Andrea Pickel , one of the scientists involved in the study, this method could be used by manufacturers to improve a wide array of electrical components.